The Last December I Saw Dess

by krissdagirl

Chapter 17: Downhill from here….

“K-Kris…? What happened? Why are you soaking wet….??”

Kris, Dess, And Azzy where standing just outside of the ice cream stand in town, it had been a pretty quiet summer day, the sun was shining brightly in the sky, the trees waving to each patron that hustled and bustled in the town…. 

”L-LAKE—- N-NOELLE….!!!” The kid stammers, pointing a shaky hand just down the road to where the crew had been hanging out only earlier that day— Dess and Azzy went to go get ice cream as a treat and planned on bringing some back for Noelle and Kris— they hadn’t been gone that long, only a couple of minutes—-

Just as the cashier is about to pass the couple the 4 ice creams they had ordered, the two older siblings turn on their heels, following Kris back to the lake leaving the cashier hopelessly confused because they already paid— neither Dess nor Azzy knew for certain what had happened, but they could tell something was incredibly wrong just by the look on their face, even if they hadn’t been completely drenched in water—-

 

“S-She tripped and something dragged her down—- I-I tried to get her out b-but—-“ Kris didn’t even get to finish their sentence before Asriel grabbed their younger sibling by the hand, and Dess ran faster than she had ever done for any home run as they booked it to the lake.

 

Azzy hadn’t ever seen Dess run that fast, nor even when they had been outrunning Titans and fighting for their lives in The Dark World— it was almost as if nothing else in the world could be heard but the sound of the trio trying to catch their breaths as they booked it through town, the sounds of sneakers hitting the concrete and then touching the grass before they treaded across sandy terrain—-

 

Dess looked at Azzy only for a brief moment, and somehow she ran even QUICKER than she already had been running—- he already knew what she was thinking.

 

”I’m coming in too—“ Asriel began, blinking when Dess wordlessly ran ahead and jumped head first into the lake, not even bothering to empty her pockets—- keys, wallet, phone—- everything was definitelyyyy going to need to be replaced.

 

Asriel felt a spike of panic in his blood as he wonders if Dess even KNEW where to look for Noelle— 

 

”W-Where did you say she got dragged under…?!!” Asriel cautions, grabbing Kris gently by both of the kid’s shoulders, a panicked look in his eyes mirroring their own.

 

”W-We were right over there—- I-I don’t know what happened, we were just standing by the l-lake and s-she slipped somehow, and then s-something….!!” They shuddered, blinking away tears.

 

”Kris—- it’s going to be okay, alright? We’re going to get Noelle and Dess back, I promise—- I need you to do me a favor, okay….? If I’m not back in 3 minutes, I need you to call mom and dad—- here’s my phone, okay? Do NOT move from this spot until an adult says otherwise, okay….? I-I think I have to go after them—-“ The older brother cautions, taking off his socks and shoes and tossing them in the grass as he mentally calculates how long they had been gone.

 

It had only been around 3PM on a hot summer day— how could things go from so normal to so catastrophic in a mere 15 minutes….?

 

They wouldn’t bother going back for their melted ice cream on the table outside the ice cream stand—- it belonged to the summertime ants now— it was probably soupy anyways with how hot it was, not that any of them would have even been able to eat at a time like this—

 

Just as he’s about to jump in after them, Dess and Noelle re-emerge from the Lake, Dess taking a deeeeeep ragged breath as Asriel quickly hops in, swimming over to them both to help drag her and Noelle out.

 

”A-ASRIEL SHE’S NOT BREATHING…..!!!!” Dess chokes out, trying to figure out what to do—- Dess is just about as pale as Noelle looks, and Asriel quickly goes into emergency mode.

 

”KRIS CALL AN AMBULANCE….!!!!”

 

”O-Okay….!!!!” 

“D-Dess, we need to focus—- where exactly did you find her in the lake…? We will have plenty of time to freak out once we’re in the hospital——“

 

”I-I…. I don’t know—- I couldn’t see a thing down there—— it was pure luck that I found her at all—-“

 

Asriel’s eyes widened as he and Dess exchanged a mysterious glance, one Kris wouldn’t understand until they were much older— 

 

One that read… both of them knew more than they had been letting on about what really happened down there…

”O-Okay—- can you help me check your sister for injuries….?” He asks, the two gently laying her down in the grass as Asriel checks for her heart beat.

 

”S-She still has a pulse….!! It’s faint, but it’s there— she probably passed out after inhaling too much water—- “

 

”I-I know CPR….!!!” Kris suddenly shouts, bolting over to the trio and kneeling to the ground.

 

”YOU DO….?!!” The couple asks in unison.

 

”Yeah, mom made me take it for an elective— don’t you know CPR too, Azzy….?? I thought I’ve seen you give it to Dess a few years back—-“ Kris says, taking a deep breath to calm their nerves before getting to work and trying to purge the water from her system—- not caring that their green and yellow striped sweater was going to get soaked all over again—

 

 

”I think that was the story I was giving everyone as an excuse on school grounds for us to k—-“ Dess began, to which Asriel blinks, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

”YOU WERE PRETENDING TO WHAT??”

 

”N-Not the time, Azzy—“

 

Azzy used to know CPR, but he hadn’t renewed his license for it in awhile— he was grateful Kris’s was up to date—- for some reason that was the one thing he couldn’t remember enough about to know how to accurately do the procedure—- Kris was right, yearsssss ago he did give Dess CPR—- but he didn’t even know if he did it right or not because APPARENTLY she fainted for some reason, not stopped breathing—-

Why couldn’t he remember what made her faint…?

 

Azzy took the phone from Kris, relaying as much information to the hospital as he could, before putting his phone away and turning to Dess:

 

”They’ll be here in 15 minutes—-“

 

”W-We can’t wait that long…..!!”

 

Just then, Noelle coughs, choking up a bunch of water and this mysterious black liquid that Dess and Azzy immediately recognized—- The two had seen something similar from The Dark World—

“NOELLE!!!!!” Dess and Azzy cry out in relief.

 

“N-NOELLE YOU’RE OKAY…..!!!!” Kris cries, throwing their arms around her and kissing her on the cheek.

 

Azzy and Dess blink and exchange a wordless glance—-

“I-I’M S-SO SORRY I LET YOU SLIP AND FALL A-AND I-I C-COULDN’T GET YOU BACK OUT IN T-TIME….!!!” They sniffed, blinking rapidly as they cupped her face in their hands for a moment, turning her face back and forth to check for any injuries that the love birds might have missed—-

 

“K-Kris….?” The blonde mumbles weakly, squinting to try and focus her gaze.

 

”S-Sis…? A-Azzy….?” She coughs, trying to sit up to see eveyone, but falling right back down— luckily Kris caught her so she didn’t hurt herself.

 

”W-what happened….? I-I just remember Kris screaming out my name—“

 

”S-Save your strength sis, we gotta get you to a hospital—-“

 

////

Kris hated to admit it out loud—- there were so many moments where Noelle had gotten involved in their lives and had been seriously hurt—- and they HATED dragging her into this— but, at the same time, if this was something that involved Dess….

 

”Hey, Azzy….?” They mumbled, walking into the kitchen where Asriel had been sitting and  tirelessly typing away on his laptop—- Azzy normally didn’t drink coffee and much preferred tea, but he was trying desperately to stay awake—- besides the fact that he felt like they were running out of time, every instance he fell asleep, he had been having these horrible nightmares about Dess—- and it was driving him insane….

 

So he figured he would just stay awake as long as he possibly could until he’d eventually collapse—- maybe once that happens he will be too tired to dream anymore, and he wouldn’t have any nightmares about her….

Kris stared blankly at him for a moment— it was almost nostalgic in a way— but for the wrong reasons…. Seeing him in the kitchen working in his computer at the small, cozy little wooden table their mom had reminded Kris of all the times Azzy would try to speed run his homework before Dess came over—- he was stressed out then, too… but it was a happy kind of stress—- Kris remembered him always smelling wayyyyy too much like hair gel on the weekends because he really wanted to impress her—- Kris was thankful that he’d always bake butterscotch-cinnamon pies for her though too, because it always made the house smell amazing, and by the time he was done, Kris couldn’t smell the chemicals of the hair gel anymore—

 

Asriel tapped his foot nervously under the table, black dress shoes kissing the yellow and white tiled floors with every moment…. It was quiet in the warmly lit kitchen, just the two Dreemurrs had been home today as Asriel had made a copy of everything he possibly could that was on the flash drive they had ‘borrowed’ from their mother, and then Susie skillfully returned the flash drive since she had been staying over by the school— 

 

Wait a second—-

 

“Kris, not to interrupt you, but this morning you told me Susie had been staying over by the school—- where exactly does she live…?? I don’t remember there being any houses by the school—-“

 

”Oh…. Right…. I kinda mean, uh…. She’s staying like, AT the school…. She’s been sleeping in The Dark World.” Kris said with a shrug, to which Asriel’s eyes widened.

 

”She… WHAT…??? No no no no Kris, she can’t do that—- it’s VERY dangerous to be overexposed to The Dark World like that—- time flows differently there—- not for nothing, but I think it was Dess’s overexposure that t-triggered—-“ He began, his breath catching in his throat as he tried NOT to go there—- especially not in front of Kris…..

 

”A-Actually, with you bringing Dess up anyway, there’s uh, something we should discuss…. I know we’ve been trying to keep Noelle out of it, but….. I think maybe it’s time we sat down with her and told her the truth….? Her family is just as involved in this as ours is— especially since Dess is literally her older sister, and all…. I know Dess hadn’t ever gotten to show us all The Dark World in the way she wanted to, outside that one time by accident in the woods back when we were all kids—- but…. She’s already been to The Dark World with us a few weeks ago…. Yeah, we convinced her it was all a dream, but… maybe we should tell her the truth…? She might be able to help us find answers, Asriel—- I don’t wanna drag her into this just as much as you don’t, maybe even more—- but….. there’s no denying she might have the answers we’re looking for….. She was here the day Dess…. You know….” Kris spoke, their voice trailing off.

 

”We…. We’re probably going to need to go to the other side of the police tape…..” Kris cautioned, putting a hand on their older brother’s shoulder.

The silence and tension between the two siblings grew in the yellow toned, floral decorative home…. The only thing that could be heard in that moment was the ceiling fan in the living room lazily turning, and the faint ticking of the analog clock on the wall—

 

Asriel’s eyes widened for a moment as he thought he lost track of his pulse for a second there—- had his heart just stopped?

 

”Y-You…. You wanna go…..”

 

”Yes….. I know you might not like it, but we have no choice….. and…. If we’re going to the last place Dess was seen alive…… we can’t do that without Noelle….”

 

A lingering anxiety hung in the air between the Dreemurr siblings—- Asriel hadn’t been home when it happened—- He remembered it was right after Christmas break—- the last time he had seen her was December of Last Year—- the first half of his beginning year at college went off without a hitch, but almost immediately after he returned, he remembered getting a phone call from Noelle—-

 

He took a month off from school, He had walked every single last inch of that place that had been roped off, closed to the public for the last year almost to the day—- he had put up so many ‘Missing Girl: December Holiday’ signs for months that he lost count——

 

MISSING GIRL:

NAME: DECEMBER “DESS” HOLIDAY 

AGE: 19

HEIGHT: 5’8”

WEIGHT:110 LBS

HAIR: LONG BROWN HAIR

EYES: BROWN

LAST SEEN:HOMETOWN

MISSING SINCE: 1/08/XX

A million and one things he had tried to forget flashed across his mind as he gripped the edge of the cute little wooden table their mother had picked out when their dad left in the kitchen to steady himself—-

 

“K-Kris…. I-I c-can’t—— I CAN’T GO BACK THERE—-“ Asriel cautioned, his eyes welling up with tears as he felt like all of the air in his body was suddenly filled with shards of glass—- he was panicking, and he couldn’t make it stop——

 

Just before he had nearly hyperventilated, Kris put another hand on their opposite shoulder—-

 

“ ‘Can’t’ ? Or ‘Won’t’? “ Kris cautioned, using one of Dess’s favorite lines….

 

“C-Can’t….! I-I c-can’t d-do it— K-Kris, I-I c-can’t go b-back there…..!!!” 

“Azzy…. Dess would do it for you….”

 

”I-I KNOW SHE WOULD…..!!!! I-I……. I….. I know….. I know if it was me…. Me instead of her….. she wouldn’t have stopped looking….. she would be out there right now setting the town ablaze, tearing everything apart brick by brick—— until she found me, or what was left of me—- and even THEN she probably wouldn’t stop…. Haha…. I…. I’m not as brave as she is, Kris…. I-I…… I’m a coward…. I…. I can’t go through that pain again…..”

 

”B-But what if Dess is alive? What if she’s out there somewhere and this is the only chance we have of saving her….? O-Or let’s say she’s… you know…. Don’t you want that truth…? That closure…? Asriel, don’t you wanna move o—-“

 

”STOP— STOP STOP STOP STOP—- D-DON’T YOU DARE FINISH THAT D*** SENTENCE KRIS—-…… P-Please….. I…. I-I…. I can’t…… I-I can’t go on without her, K-Kris…..” He says as Kris’s eyes widen at his use of language, and Asriel’s face is drenched in tears once again…. for more times during this trip than he cared to admit— everyone always thought he was a cry baby growing up because he was always so empathetic for his friends, though, when it came to his own problems, he had always smiled….. but….. ever since that day— that day everything had happened with Dess—- he rarely smiled at all…..

 

She was his everything….. his future, his life’s purpose…. And now that she was gone…. How has the world continued to spin without her….? It was almost some sort of cruel, sick joke…..

 

Kris’s own eyes welled up with tears as they saw their brother’s eyes—- it broke their heart to see him so broken… but… he wasn’t the only one in pain….. he might have been in love with Dess, but she meant the world to all of them—- they all loved her…. She was the sister they never had, she was the ACTUAL sister to Noelle, and she was a daughter to the Holiday Parents, and a future daughter in law to—- (wellll, almost, Kris had been the only one to know about the Ring Deposit Asriel kept in his glove compartment)—- She was a vital part of all of their lives…..

 

That was when suddenly Kris’s phone rang.

 

”U-Uh… It’s Noelle…. C-Can I answer it….?” Kris asks, and Asriel doesn’t know how to respond—- the two take too long, and it goes to voicemail.

Suddenly, they received a follow up text:

 

’Heyyyyy Kris! It’s Noelle! Are you home?’

 

Kris stares at the text for a moment, unsure of how to respond- their brother was clearly having a mental breakdown, and they themselves had also been drenched in tears at this point.

 

That was when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

 

”S-Should I uh… should I get that? Or just pretend we aren’t here…? The blinds are shut, right? We can just wait it out and see if they go away…..”

 

Just then, Kris received another follow up text:

‘Can we talk…? I’m outside.’

 

Kris blinks in confusion, quickly wiping their eyes and making a mad dash to the bathroom to see if they looked at least semi-presentable.

 

”H-How do I look…?” Kris mouths to Azzy, who in all the confusion, had also tried to clean himself up a little, and had stopped crying for the moment.

 

Kris always got so nervous around Noelle nowadays—- Though, he wasn’t really sure why they did… It was kind of adorable….

 

”Don’t give me that look, just answer the question….” They say with a sigh, before rolling their eyes.

 

”F-Forget it, she’s waited long enough, I’ll be right back—“ They say, and they quickly run up to the front door, opening it only enough for them to slip through, shutting it tightly behind them so Asriel would have some privacy——

 

//////////////////

 

“D-Do you want me to hold back your hair…?” Asriel winced, watching in horror as his girlfriend puked her guts out.

 

”N-No, g-germaphobe— Y-You’ll freak out….” She coughed, wiping her mouth as she leaned over the toilet.

 

Asriel ran a nervous hand through his own locks as he paced back and forth across the elaborate marble flooring of the ornate white and blue guest bathroom of The Holiday Home—

 

Dess had been having these—- episodes. One minute she was fine, same old Dess, running and talking a million miles a minute, out sprinting everyone, climbing trees, fighting demons, you name it…. same old same old—- next minute she either was fainting, throwing up, or coughing up blood—- she was constantly in and out of the hospital, and it was really taking a toll on Asriel’s mental health—- it would always happen without warning, and it wasn’t like there was any correlation between what was going on, either—

 

Asriel looked for that— a correlation…. hopelessly, desperately, jotting down record of anything he possibly could to try and help her—- it wasn’t leading to anything conclusive whatsoever—-

Everything had been fine only an hour ago—- they were snuggling on the sofa, watching an old Christmas movie, they were cozy underneath a red and green plaid blanket, he had an arm around her and she was resting her head on his chest as a pillow, totally normal, totally nothing too crazy— they’d just been relaxing—- they had even been cutely feeding each other the Christmas bark they had gotten done baking earlier that day and then all of a sudden she bolted upwards without warning, and ran to the bathroom—-

He couldn’t make heads or tails of it—-

He even shared his notes with the doctors—- at one point he thought maybe some reactions were because she was deficient in something…? Or maybe allergic to something…? But nothing in her diet had changed, and everything was pretty balanced that she ate and drank—- he should know, he was the one making her food for her—-

 

The thing that worried him most, was when she actually DID eat, she could hardly hold things down—- one day she’d be totally fine, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, happily chowing down on anything Azzy hand fed to her— the next she’d be holding a towel to her face because crimson red would start pouring from her nose and mouth—-

He hardly even slept anymore, and when he did, he usually slept with his sneakers on…. so this way, if he got a call in the middle of the night saying she was in the hospital again, he would be ready to run to her at a moment’s notice—- 

That was when he realized, she wasn’t just rejecting her lunch or the peppermint bark—- she had crimson red pouring from her mouth….

”O-Okay, I’m seriously calling an ambulance this time, Dess you gotta go back to the hospital—“ He panicked, hardly able to watch as he strained his heart to endure just a little longer to try and get all the facts about what was going down and make sure she was able to get back up— Asriel DEFINITELY didn’t do germs, and had CATASTROPHIC MELTDOWNS when it came to Dess being in any kind of pain what so ever— he wished desperately he was the one in pain instead of her— at least then it would be easier for him to physically bare—-

 

He couldn’t stand the idea of her being in pain and him not being able to help her—- it absolutely destroyed him—- he felt so useless—-

 

Dess struggled to pull herself to her knees as she braced her arms, trying to stand to her feet as she leaned across the sink to throw water on her face.

 

”N-No— anything but t-that… S-Shower, I need to shower— I-I’ll feel better after that—“ She began, taking a step closer towards him and her legs buckled beneath her.

 

”D-DESS…!!!!” He shrieks, bolting over to catch her, not caring that she had blood all over her shirt.

 

”S-Sorry… still a little light headed—-“ She smiles wryly, frowning when she saw Asriel blink away tears.

 

”H-Hey…. I’m okay…! Promise, see? Still smiling…!!” She said, pointing her shaky left hand to her face to show her perfect smile.

 

“D-December, I know you hate it at the hospital, but you have to go—- I think you lost too much blood again—- they probably need to give you another transfusion—-“

 

”N-No…!!! P-Please…. I h-hate them…. d-don’t make me go….. t-they’re so painful and I-I can’t walk or stand for days after that—- A-Azzy they make me feel w-worse….!!! ” She panicked, taking in a shaky breath as she once again insisted:

He hated seeing her like this— it was like something out of a nightmare—- how could the strongest person he’s ever known become so so sick….?

 

”J-Just let me take a shower, I promise I’ll be better after that…!! A-And then if I’m wrong, you can take me in— o-okay….??” She pleaded, to which he sighed—- he supposed there wasn’t any harm in letting her at least attempt to get a little cleaned up first, but he knew ultimately he would be taking her back in as soon as she was done— It was only a matter of time.

 

”H-Hey, I have my swim trunks in my bag—- can you go throw on a swimsuit so I can help you stand if that’s okay…? I have a bad feeling you’re gonna fall if you’re in there alone…..” He blushed, frowning in worry.

 

”You just wanna see me in a bikini~” She teases with a wink as she sticks her tongue out at him, attempting to lighten the mood.

 

Truthfully— Noelle told him yesterday that she had fallen in the shower…. She recovered quick, and was able to get back up, but she warned Asriel that Dess’s arms and legs were a little bruised, and not to be surprised if she wore pants and long sleeves today to try and hide it….

 

”Yep, you caught me. Totally dying to see my girlfriend in less clothes….” He said, forcing a smile and a laugh.

 

Dess didn’t buy his faked attitude, but she didn’t want to press further…. She knew he was worried about her….

 

”Can you get it for me…? It’s upstairs…. I actually have one hanging on the back of my bedroom door….” She said, to which Asriel raised an eyebrow.

 

”You do…?”

 

”Yeah…. “ She said, not elaborating why.

 

”Uh… sure. I’ll go get it.”

 

Asriel made sure she was sitting on a kitchen chair that he pulled over to her (those were far easier to clean if she were to have another episode and get blood on it than the couch was…) and he walked up the familiar stairwell that led to the second floor of the Holiday Mansion— Asriel knocked on Dess’s door out of habit, even though he knew she was downstairs—

 

“You goofball, why’d you knock? Don’t you know I’m down stairs?? You can go in!! I always tell you never to knock, just barge in like you own the place!! ” She says with a laugh, to which he blushes, laughing a little in response.

“Sorry, I can’t help if if I’m a gentleman! I can’t just BARGE into my girlfriend’s room unannounced!” He replies, cracking the door open just a smidge to view her dimly lit teal and purple room— 

 

He knew one day, he’d get to a point where he’d miss getting yelled at for knocking…

Asriel glanced around her room for a moment, taking in the familiar scent of Mint-Chocolate Chip Cookies and Fresh Pine— she really did smell like a perfect holiday candle, it was kind of crazy—

His gaze met piles of shoes a mess on the shag-carpeting floor, stacked CD’s and vinyls towered high as usual—- He always thought the ‘STOP’ sign on her closet door was the wildest thing— she was so edgy and cool, he wished he was brave enough to have HALF the style she did— he smiled sadly at the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling that made him reminisce the good old days of their early teens—- where did the time go?

 

”Swimsuit— right….” He muttered to himself, walking inside just enough to reach the hooks on the back of her door.

 

He figured Noelle must have had her put this here in case of an emergency—- Noelle and her parents had been at some sort of spelling competition for Noelle this weekend, so Azzy was tasked with keeping an eye on Dess at their place—

 

He blushed when he realized that the swimsuit was in fact a low-cut bikini—- not that he hadn’t seen her in one at the beach or the lake before— but this situation just felt…. different.

 

”U-Uh…. You wouldn’t happen to own any one piece suits, would you…??” He asks, walking over to the balcony and leaning over to look down at her.

 

”What am I? 9….?? No, I don’t own a one piece— why…?? Won’t it be easier for you to put soap on me in a bikini anyway…??” She called up to him, tilting her head.

 

Asriel genuinely thought his heart had stopped for a moment— he knew he didn’t have a choice because she would DEFINITELY be in danger if she tried to be in the shower by herself— but it didn’t occur to him that he would actually have to uh— help her…?

 

He thought he could just like spot her? Or something…?? Maybe hold her arm or hand so she didn’t fall…???

 

”I-If mom finds out about this, she’s probably gonna skin me alive…..” He blushes as he takes a deeeeeep breath, walking back down the stairs to pass her the swimwear, before walking over to his backpack to grab his own swim gear.

 

“Be right back….” He said, smiling softly at her and walking away to the guest bathroom to quickly get changed…. After he safely put his normal clothes tucked away into his backpack, he looked at himself in the mirror, splashing some water on his face.

 

”N-No big deal Azzy, you’ve seen Dess in a bikini plenty of times—- this is totally fine! You’re both in swim suits, it’s just like swimming….!! S-so what if you’re gonna be in a shower together and probably bathing her? You used to do stuff like that when you were kids!!” He winced, refusing to even look at his own reflection anymore he was so embarrassed—

 

“My mother is gonna kill me—-“ He sighed, quickly shaking his head to try and snap himself out of it—

 

Asriel walked down the elaborate marble hallway themed with seasonal holiday decor and smiled sadly to himself as he passed walls of photos of Dess, Azzy, Kris, and Noelle over the years— everyone looked so happy—- Asriel and Dess in matching rocker paint, Everyone minus Noelle on stage, Asriel and Dess on the Ferris wheel, Asriel and Dess at a square dance, homecoming,(it was abundantly clear Dess and Azzy were the favorites) various baseball games, prom—

 

He stopped and stared at the photo of them clad in matching cap and gowns—- Asriel felt his heart sink deeply in his chest…. How had senior prom and graduation only been a mere month apart and they looked so, so different….? Dess looked like she had lost nearly 15 pounds (and she already had the figure of a model and didn’t have weight to lose by any means) inbetween the time the two photos were taken— she looked so tired and drained, a wry smile on her paler than usual face— she still looked beautiful, but to anyone who actually knew Dess as well as he did could instantly tell something had been very, very wrong—- even though they had been hugging each other and had the biggest smiles ever on their faces, they both looked… sad….. their eyes looked beyond exhausted…. It was a really good photo, but…. He just wished in a way that they had just hung up the senior photos they took together the week before prom at the lake by themselves like he had hung up at his place— (they had those too, but chose to keep both) instead of the ones of them ACTUALLY in the cap and gown—- 

 

Asriel broke his gaze away from the photos, quickly walking back down the rest of the hallway when he realized quickly he had probably been gone for too long and should go check on her—-

 

“S-Sorry, got lost down Memory Lane—- I’m back now, you’re probably ready to— Dess, I thought you were gonna get dressed?” He deadpans, blinking when he realized not only was she not where he had left her in the kitchen chair, but she had been sitting by her guitar—- on the floor..?!

 

“I-I uhm….” She blushed, looking down at the ground.

 

”Asriel I can’t.”

 

”You can’t…. What?”

 

She sighed, looking away from him and down to her guitar—- she hadn’t been holding it, it actually was on the floor in it’s case she hardly ever had it in—- Asriel only knew it was in the case because Noelle told him that’s where she was putting it— she didn’t want Dess to try and hold the guitar and hurt herself while she was still healing.

 

Instead, Dess had just been looking at it—- staring intently, as if playing it inside her mind…. Normally, Dess would have just taken it out and tried to play it anyways—- but the fact that she DIDN’T—- that was a tell-tale sign that something was definitely, DEFINITELY wrong with her—-

 

“You…. You can’t get up, can you?” He frowns, to which she shakes her head.

 

”I-I tried…. For 10 minutes….” She admits sadly, felling totally embarrassed and horrible about herself….

 

”T-That’s okay! I’ve been dying for an excuse to hold you in my arms all day….~!” He quickly says in as charming of a tone of voice as he can muster, sprinting over to her.

The chandelier glitters in warning above their heads as he tries to lift the girl from the elaborate throw carpeting—-

 

”O-Ow ow ow ow….” She winces in pain, trying to stand, but she can’t—-

“S-Sorry…! I’m trying to be as gentle as I can….” He frowned, trying to figure out the best way to help her back up—

 

”D-Did you fall while I was in the bathroom….??”

 

”I-I’d rather not say…..” She laughs, to which he sighs, shaking his head.

 

Clinging to him gently, he picks her up by her forearms, helping her shakily stand.

 

“Okay, you good? Ready to get changed?” He asks, walking her over to the bathroom with an arm under hers for support.

 

Dess stayed quiet for a moment, refusing to look him in the eyes as she stared at her bright red converses.

 

”Here, allow me….” He says, realizing it’s probably too painful to bend down to take off her shoes by herself, and pulls the chair from easier over to Dess, helping her back down to the chair and gently grabbing her by the ankles one at a time, slipping off her shoes and mismatched socks gingerly.

 

”I’m gonna have to start calling you ‘December-ella!” He laughs, trying to make her smile.

 

She did a little, but she still looked really worried about something—-

 

“Dess…? What is it….?” He asks, tilting his head.

 

”A-Asriel, I don’t know if you know…. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I don’t want you to freak out…. I uh, I fell kinda bad yesterday in the shower—- I got up, but uh—- I’m a little bruised up…. So like, don’t freak out…. B-but, uhm…. Now that I just fell again—- I-I uh….. “ She blushed, looking away from him.

 

”You…. Y-You what…?”

 

”Can you take off my shirt?”

 

Asriel blinked, there was no WAY he heard her right—

 

“I-I’m sorry, I think I misheard you just now! It almost sounded like you asked me—“

 

”To take off my shirt? Yeahhhh… no, you didn’t mishear— I-I uhm…. I think I need help getting dressed. I can’t really move my fingers all that well right now— yesterday when I fell I landed on my left hand, and just now when I tried to catch myself, I tried to brace myself with my right— it didn’t go very well—- I-I don’t think I broke either of them— but I uh…. I can’t really feel my hands….” She sighed, looking away from him.

 

Asriel turned as red as her bikini printed with tiny mistletoe embroidery as he heard her words. 

“You do know I have to take you to the hospital now, for like, absolutely certainty, right…?” He winced, a small bead of sweat forming on his face.

 

”Y-Yeah, I’d figure you’d say that…. I won’t fight you anymore… just…. Please let me shower first…. I feel really gross…..” She frowned, gaze glued to the floor as her ears lowered.

 

”I-I just need you to take off my shirt and unzip my jeans, I think I should be able to do the rest— you just uh, might have to tie my suit in the back once I get it on….” She blushes, looking away from him.

 

“How did you get dressed this morning…??”

 

”Elley had to help me—- I should have just had her help me find sweats or something, I wasn’t thinking—- I just wanted to hide my stupid bruises from you so I put on black high waisted jeans and a red long sleeve t-shirt dress thinking: “Oh, this will hide my injuries from Azzy!” Not: “Oh, this is gonna hurt like he** to get out of on my own!! Andddd that was before I fell for a second time—- which, I guess would have been the third time in the last 24 hours if you didn’t catch me like you did earlier….” She laughed, shaking her head.

 

“C-Can you please help me get undressed now so we can shower together…?”

Toriel was definitely going to kill him.

Asriel felt like he was frozen, his heart wouldn’t stop hammering and his ears were ringing—-

 

“P-Pretty Please Asriel….?” She blushed, asking him again and snapping him back to reality.

 

”O-Okay I guess—- just uh—- how the heck do we do this without me seeing you…?!” He sighed, pinching the space inbetween his nose and his forehead as his brain tried desperately not to explode.

 

”C’mere—-“ He says, gently putting her arm around his shoulder, using his arm kind of like a brace around her mid-section, helping her walk to the bathroom.

 

“Can you stand on your own, or do you need to lean….?” He began, sighing when he realized the whole reason this was happening was because she COULDN’T really stand all that well—-

 

“Here, sit down on this chair.” He says, pulling the chair in from before as she leans on the bathroom counter to balance while she waits for his help to bring her to the chair.

 

”Okay…. Now what…??” She asks, looking up at him.

 

”O-Okay, I am going to very carefully unzip your jeans now with my eyes closed, and then you’re gonna turn around and face the door, okay?” He blushes, thankful that the Holidays lived in a GIANT mansion, and that there had been plenty of room in the bathroom—- if it had been his bathroom back at home, there wouldn’t be anywhere Dess could stand without him seeing her reflection in the mirror—-

 

“Okay, Unzip me, Dreemurr…~” She says in an alluring tone of voice, trying to lighten the mood.

 

”H-Hahahah… please don’t talk to me like that, this isn’t the kind of thing you’re making it sound like—- “ He winces again, getting closer to her and unbuttoning her jeans, slowly starting to unzip her, and closing his eyes tightly shut the second he’s certain things will end badly if he doesn’t.

 

”O-Okay, are you facing the wall yet…??” 

Asriel’s stomach does a backflip as he feels her hands on his shoulders and her breath graze his cheek.

 

”S-Sorry, hold on, using you to balance.”

 

”S-Sure totally fine yep no problem do what you gotta do girl—-“ He speaks in one quick breath, his voice cracking nervously as the tail end of his sentence went higher pitch in fear.

Asriel, don’t make this any weirder than it already is—-

”Okay, I’m facing the wall.” Dess says, and when he sees the back of her head and how lose her jeans are he feels this weird ache in his chest he couldn’t really pinpoint—-

 

“A-Alright…. U-Uh… I’m t-taking off your top now…. C-Cool?” He stammered, absentmindedly running his fingers through her soft brown locks.

 

She turned to look at him over her shoulder and she smiled, laughing a little.

 

”Why are you so nervous…~?” 

“I-I’M WORRIED ABOUT HURTING YOU AND THIS IS ACTUALLY INSANE, WE ARE INSANE PEOPLE. MY MOTHER IS GOING TO KILL US. DON’T MAKE IT ANY HARDER THAN IT ALREADY IS…..!!!”

 

”Okay, okay…~” She said, blushing a little—- he knew deep down, she was incredibly nervous too…. She was just deflecting, that’s what Dess always did— but… her body language said it all….. she was really trying not to freak out right now—- her shoulders were stiff, her cheeks were turning redder by the second, her face was even starting to turn pale—-

“G-Go ahead, take it off.” She stuttered, swearing under her breath at herself for doing so.

 

”A-Alright….U-Uh, sorry if my hands are cold—-“ He warns, gently lifting up the corners of her shirt and getting it about halfway—

She jumped a little, and he’s worried he’s hurt her somehow—

 

“Da** you weren’t kidding when you said your hands were FREEZING—- what did you do? Just get done touching ICE…..?!!”

 

”C-Cold hands, warm heart…?”

 

”H-Haha, yeah I guess that’s true—“

 

”Okay, now try to keep your balance, I’m gonna pull the rest of this over your head now—-“ He says, blushing when she nods.

 

With a deeeeep breath, Asriel lifts the rest of it over her head, trying his best not to stare at her exposed back—- sure enough, Noelle was right, she had taken a pretty bad fall…. Her arms and back were totally black and blue, and it looked like she even had a cut nearing her waist….

 

”Babe— you poor thing— I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad….” He frowned, gently touching her skin to better examine the injury—-

“W-Wait, that weird black scrolling mark thing you got from fighting the titan didn’t go away yet….? Has it lessened at all….? I-It looks the same in the place you showed me on your arms—- did it always go down your back like this….??” He worries, tracing the markings down her spine with his right hand.

 

He couldn’t know for sure because he had only ever seen it across the top of her back , neck, and shoulders, but now seeing her exposed skin, he could see it sprawled out in multiple directions, all stemming from the gash mark she had towards the center of her spine—- it sprawled around her ribcage, and stopped just at her hips—-

 

He reaches out to touch one of the spots that looks really bad, his ears dropping the longer he looks at her— is that why she had been so sick…? No, it couldn’t have been, she said she was sick as a kid—- but there was no way this was helping her by any means—- now wonder she had been in such terrible pain—- 

 

“O-ow ow ow—-“ She winced, jumping again.

 

”I’m sorry I’m sorry…!! I was just— I didn’t mean to—-“

 

”I-It’s okay, I’m gonna need your help with that anyway… I’m just being a baby, haha… da**… you know it’s bad if I’m saying I’M in pain— I normally never complain about that stuff—-“ She said, turning around to face him without thinking, both of them thankful that he had already closed his eyes the SECOND she said ‘OW’—

 

“Oh s*** I forgot—-“ She blushed deeply, quickly turning back away from him even though technicallyyyy she was still covered, sighing deeply in embarrassment once more as she turned to face the wall again.

 

“L-Let me know when it’s safe to open my eyes…..” He said in a frightened tone of voice—- he didn’t know WHAT exactly had happened, but hearing the words ‘I forgot’ and suddenly hearing her sound like she was right in front of him, instead of facing the wall, probablyyyyy didn’t mean anything good—

 

”A-Azzy…. Uh…. I kinda need you to take… everything off. I-I can’t reach that…..” She stammered, starring at the floor awkwardly.

 

”O-Oh, u-uh— u-uhm…!!!” He fumbled, re-opening his eyes and staring at her straps for a hot minute.

 

”H-How does this even come off?”

 

”Jeez… you’re joking.” 

“H-Hahaha…. N-No, I’m not—-“ He blushed miserably, looking at the multi-faceted hook and eye clips as he tried not to faint.

 

”Y-You just unhook it….”

 

”O-Oh…? U-Uh…. O-Okay…..” He blinked, unhooking her left shoulder strap, but not the back.

 

”O-Okay, uh, you’re doing it wrong— put the shoulder strap back— “ She laughs awkwardly, shaking her head as she holds her top up justttt in case.

 

”S-Sorry—- I-I uh, literally never had to help undress you… ever—-“ He mumbles, eyes widening slightly and blushing deeply when he’s certain his heart definitely stopped when she shrugs and says:

 

”Practice makes perfect, I guess.”

 

H-HOW COULD SHE BE SO CALM….??!!

 

”The thick band across my back Azzy, that’s the one you gotta unhook. Leave the other ones alone.”

 

”O-Okay, got it got it….!!” He squeaks, exhaling a breath he didn’t realize he had been harboring in his lungs when the straps fall to either side of her as she holds up the front—- 

 

Asriel is at a loss for words as he stares at her wild brown locks that just barely cover the rest of her exposed skin on her back—- he’s able to see almost exactly where and how she must have fallen in his mind, as well as another gash that he hadn’t seen previously underneath where the clothing item had been— seeing her injuries from the titan as well as from the times she had fallen made him feel light headed—- it makes his stomach feel like he was gonna get sick—- 

 

H-How long had she been in pain without telling him…..? Was the titan the reason she had been getting so hopelessly sick….? Or was it a combination of something she was born with and over exerting herself without being healed….?

 

He just stands there for a minute, totally trapped in his own mind as he can’t stop starring—- his heart weirdly ached and he tried to ignore the feeling of wanting to have a mental breakdown—

 

“Y-Your swimsuit is on the chair, you got it from here, right….?” He finally chokes out as he blushes like crazy when he realizes he should probably get out of her way, closing his eyes tightly shut so she has privacy.

 

”Y-Yeah, I think so….” She blushes, leaning on him for support once more, and he’s almost choking on his spit when again he feels her walk past him because this time he’s certain of the circumstances, and he’s terrified out of his mind—-

 

After a few minutes, she’s got half of her suit on, but once again she’s holding up her top—-

 

“ M’Kay Azzy, can you tie me up?” She asks, tapping him gently over her shoulder with one hand, and holding her suit up with the other so he opens his eyes.

 

”S-Sure….!” He whisper-shouts, walking up to her and trying to tie the red ties on either side of her neck into a pretty little bow.

 

”Hey uh, can you maybe make it a little tighter?”

 

”Y-Yeah, sure— Is this better…?”

 

”Uhhhh maybe just a tad loser…?”

 

”L-Looser…? U-uh, alright…. H-how’s this…?” He asks, blinking when she turns around to face him—- he feels like he’s swallowed a million butterflies as she gazes upward at him— 

 

W-Why did she have to wear a plunge neckline…? Couldn’t she have worn a one piece….? 

Asriel tried to look at something, ANYTHING but her— the elaborate chandelier on the ceiling, the blue and white backsplash tile work, the ornate mirror, the Victorian style bathtub with perfectly blue and gold accented complimenting curtains—-

“You tell me….” She says suddenly, looking at him and trying not to blush herself— 

“A-Are those uhm, new….?” She asks him when he remains quiet, trying to look away from his physique but totally failing at hiding her blushing face—-

 

HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY GET HOTTER EVERY DAY?!! STUPID WORKING OUT SCHEDULE—- STOP STARRING DESS, STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT—-

 

“Yeah, they are actually! I got them on sale the other day— pretty cool, right? The stars glow in the dark just like the ones on the ceiling we have do!” He smiles innocently as he holds up the corner of the fabric on his left leg, pointing happily at the design—- and for a minute she can’t help but fall deeper in love with him—-

 

“You’re so goofy~” She snickers, shaking her head at him.

 

”W-What…? I thought you’d think it was cool! We love the stars, I literally bought these cuz I thought you’d like them!” He lectures.

 

”No, don’t get me wrong, I do— you look really hot— just your reaction—- hahahahahha…. You’re just— hahahahahahaha, like a little kid sometimes…!!! “ She smiles, and all at once he’s head over heels.

 

He had been trying to look away from her the entire time but he couldn’t resist turning around to watch her laugh— she had the most beautiful laugh—-

 

Thaaaaaat was when she suddenly lost her balance as her knees buckled once again, and he quickly caught her, pulling her into his chest—-

 

They both blushed when they realized how warm the other one felt—- and both halves of the couple went totally silent for a second.

 

”S-Shower. Hospital. Yep. Shower then hospital…!” Asriel suddenly panics, picking her up by the waist and setting her down on the edge of the tub as he climbs in with her.

 

”O-Oh…. I just realized I’m gonna have to—-“ He began, his voice trailing off and his heart thudding even more in his chest.

 

”C-Can I just like, help you balance….?” He attempted to bargain, to which she raised an eyebrow, and he sighed.

 

”Yeahhhhh, I didn’t think that was gonna work either…. I don’t know how you’re supposed to reach your back, hair, or shoulders either if you can’t really move….” 

Taking another breath to try and calm his nerves, Asriel gatherers his courage and pours the body wash in his hands, gently rubbing the soap on her arms, down to her hands, her skin, and her ba—

 

“O-Ow ow ow….” She winces as he lightly touches some of her bruising without meaning to—-

 

“S-Sorry…! I’ll try to be more careful.”

 

”I-It’s okay, don't worry about i-it….” She said with a wry smile and shaky hands.

 

”I’m gonna wash your midsection now, hold on.” He says, pouring soap across her shoulder blades before quickly looking away so he didn’t stare at it dripping down her body, and washing her abs and stomach.

 

“O-Okay, I’m gonna hold the water for you now, I’m looking away so do what you gotta do.” He says, looking away as she washed the soap across her top away and down her stomach , letting the water run for awhile so it streamed down her legs—

 

“C-Can you help me get the soap off of my back….?” She blushes, and he nods, wordlessly pulling her hair to the side and running the warm water down the other side of her body—— 

 

Why wouldn’t his heart stop pounding….? Why did she have to stand so close to him in a stupid bikini….!?

 

”A-Alright, done….” He blushes, helping her turn back around.

 

”…..now we do my hair?” She asks, to which he nods, gently lathering both shampoo and conditioner in her hair, rinse, repeat. 

Azzy notices the small smile painted across her face as bubbles form in her hair and he tries not to blush— she always loved having her hair played with by him, she found it to be very relaxing—- whiiiiich he totally understood, he couldn’t help but melt every time she ran her fingers through his hair too—-

 

Suddenly Dess feels dizzy and missteps her footing, he catches her by her waist from behind, pulling her into him and stopping her from falling over, getting them both covered in soap.

 

”Y-You okay….?” He blushes, trying to ignore how soft her wet skin felt to the touch— why did she have to be so breathtaking….?!

 

”Y-Yeah, I think s-so….. thank you…..” She blushed, letting him hold her for probably longer than necessary— she was enjoying this far too much than she’d ever admit out loud—-

 

He rinces out her hair, and wordlessly gets the rest of the soap off of himself too…

 

“U-Uh…. Would it be too much for you to help me get dried off too….?” She blushed, looking up into his eyes.

 

”Y-You’re not serious——“ He squeaked, barely surviving the first task.

 

”I mostly just need you to dry my hair off with a towel and then maybe get me one of those beach cover things and then we can probably go—-“ She says, to which he sighs in relief…. It could have been wayyyyy worse—-

 

”F-Fine….. hold on let me get you a towel….” He said, knowing from memory where the Holidays kept their peppermint scented towels and smiling softly as he found them.

 

”H-Here you go….” He says, wrapping the first towel gently around her body, trying not to stare as he did so…. Then he grabbed another towel for her hair, gently drying off what he could before attempting to make her one of those towel-hat things…

 

”T-Thanks….” She blushed, the lingering feeling of the warmth of his hands on her skin making her melt a little— she couldn’t get enough of him—

 

She gazed at him longingly, her heart pounding in her chest as they accidentally locked eyes for a moment before he looks away to grab his own towel off the counter.

 

She reached out to him absentmindedly, gently touching his back as he wraps a towel around his own waist.

 

Instead of jumping like he usually would have, he slowly turns around, allowing her hand to linger on his skin as he looked into her eyes.

 

”Dess…. I really need you to get better….” He says, gently taking her hand and placing it atop his chest so she can feel how fast his heart was beating. 

“P-Please…..” He begs sadly, blinking away tears behind his eyes— He wished he wore contacts today in a way, but given the circumstances, he was also grateful he didn’t just in case something went wrong—- (thankfully, nothing did) he couldn’t really see her all that well at the moment without his glasses on anymore since he had to take them off, but….. he knew, he could tell by her body language and the way she was looking at him, even though he couldn’t fully make out the details of her face….

 

She knew something he didn’t…..

 

She knew……..

…..That they were running out of time…..

 

/////////////////////////////

Asriel didn’t know for sure what the two had been talking about outside, but he was beginning to wonder if maybe he should go out there too—- 

 

It was kind of crazy timing that when Kris and himself had been already discussing the topic of Noelle, that she just MAGICALLY showed up at the front door—-

 

Asriel felt kind of guilty about hiding inside like this—- maybe he should get himself cleaned up bare minimum justttttt in case she decided she wanted to come inside…??

 

Asriel and Noelle used to be so close, he felt bad that he had been slacking in the ‘adoptive older brother figure’ department—- He always treated her like she was his own kid sister ever since he and Dess had been together—

 

He couldn’t help but wonder… how different would things have been now between them all if Dess wasn’t…. Gone?

 

Asriel had always wondered what happened between Kris and Noelle— they used to be so close before….

 

Dess was the one that held eveyone together, of course now that she was gone everything fell apart at the seams…

 

Asriel walked out of the kitchen into the hallway that connected to the bathroom— 

 

“H-Haha…. How did I miss these….??” Asriel winced, starring at the giant wall of photos his mother had lovingly put up of Dess and himself over the years—-

 

Sure, there were plenty of pictures with ALL of them in the photos, but the majority of them where of him and Dess—- His gazes fixated on one in particular, the one of them holding hands, sitting in the kitchen, with a small basket of golden flowers and roses decorating the table—- there was a flower crown on Asriel’s head that Dess had made, the girl had always been an incredible learner, even though she refused to believe it—- and he had just placed the one he had been working on in the middle of the table, reaching over with his right hand and tucking a small, golden flower into her hair behind her ear—- they were about to kiss in that moment, but the SECOND the flash went off from his mother’s polaroid, they had realized they weren’t alone—-

 

“D-Don’t throw up, don’t t-throw up— A-Azzy D-Don’t——-“ He mumbled to himself, tearing his gaze away from the photo as more hot tears poured from his eyes and he locked himself in the bathroom— he had fully intended on trying to get a grip and clean himself up, but it hasn’t happened yet—-

 

The poor kid hardly had anything in his stomach at all, the only thing he had ingested since last night was black coffee—- and the only thing he even ATE yesterday was a warm slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie— and that was only because Kris practically forced some down his throat—-

 

What would Dess say if she saw him like this…??

 

Flushing the evidence down the toilet, Asriel throughly washes his hands and throws water profusely on his face, before brushing his teeth, not once but twice.

He stared at his tired, definitely depressed, (and hopefully just stressed out and not ACTUALLY getting sick), reflection in the mirror….. 

“Asriel Dreemurr….. you need to get a grip. You’re doing this for December, remember…? Get the heck a hold of yourself….” He whispered, his hands shaking as he gripped the rim of the sink to steady himself once more.

 

It was like no matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried—- he was coming unglued— everything was coming burning and crashing down into shambles without her— and the longer time continued to march forward, the worst things got….

Asriel quickly hopped in the shower, hoping the cold water would snap him out of it, and then grabbed a towel, drying off and changing into the new clothes he had set on the hooks on the back of the door last night for himself just in case—

 

After getting mostly dressed, Asriel blinked in confusion when he couldn’t find the yellow and green gingham cardigan he was CERTAIN he put in the bathroom for himself—-

 

“Uh…. What?” He mumbled to himself, checking the counter, floor, and even behind the door—-

 

“Okay, no big deal, I guess I’ll just grab another one….?” He mumbled, walking to the laundry room and throwing his clothes in the wash, before cleaning off his hands, and walking back towards his room down the hall—-

 

For a split second, he thought he had seen the back of Dess’s head—- starring at the same exact photo he had been earlier on the wall….

 

He stopped dead in his tracks, gazing at the familiar long, brown, wild locks—- beautiful as always, light ripped blue jeans, white converses—— and…  His green and yellow gingham cardigan….

 

”You know, I always wondered how sweet that kiss would have tasted if your mom wasn’t there—-“ He heard her voice say, and he doesn’t respond—- 

 

“Something about the way you made the pie that day…. It always tasted amazing, but I felt like the best butterscotch-cinnamon slices I ever had were the ones baked that morning…. You still smelled like it too when you put that flower in my hair…~” She continued, giggling a little to herself as he sees her reach up to touch the photo, signature metallic red nail polish she usually wore glistening in the light…

 

Asriel was frozen…. This HAD to have been his mind playing tricks on him— was this a memory from a conversation they must have had from a different time she had seen him? A different time she had stolen his cardigan? She honestly has probably worn about 80% of his clothes without his permission…. Any time something was missing from his wardrobe, was usually because Dess took it—

 

“You know….. I always thought I was the one never taking care of myself…. I never imagined….” She began, turning around on her heels and walking up to him.

 

”….That it would be you.” She said, and her previous nostalgic expression turns to one of melancholy—- she looks in his emeralds with her doe brown orbs, and all at once his heart shatters all over again—- 

He can’t do it—-

 

He can’t bring himself to face her—-

 

“You really should stop beating yourself up all the time for things that aren’t your fault, Asriel….. isn’t that what you used to always tell me?” He hears her sweet words say to him, and he refuses to open his eyes—- this isn’t real, he knows it can’t be real—- 

 

He can almost smell her mint chocolate chip cookie and fresh pine perfume—-

 

“Azzy…. Don’t forget how loved you are… okay? Noelle, Kris, your family…. And me most of all…. We all love you, Asriel….”

 

”P-Please stop… p-please s-stop…..” He mumbles, putting his hands over his eyes as he sinks to his knees….

 

When he opens his eyes, he sees her sitting there next to him on the wooden hardwood floor—- ‘kris-kross-applesauce’ with a kind, loving, and compassionate smile painted on her lips… but her eyes looked sad…

 

”I love you, Asriel…. You’re the smartest, kindest, strongest person I know…. You’re gonna figure this out….”

 

Asriel’s eyes well up with tears all over again as he looks at her in disbelief—-

 

This wasn’t real…. Was it?

 

”B-But…. H-How….? Dess…. I-I…. I can’t do this without you……” He trembles, and he looks away, shaking his head.

 

”Asriel…. I’m always with you…. In here, Remember? ‘Don’t forget…. I’m with you in the Dark..~’ “ She sings softly, getting closer to his chest, but not actually touching him as she points to his heart.

 

”And…. You’ll figure out something….. You always do…. You’re smart like that…~” She says with a wink.

 

He shakes his head, his mind melting as he no longer knows what’s reality and what isn’t—- there was no way she’s real——

 

He quickly stands up, forcing himself to walk towards his bedroom door, resting his hands on the handle as he squeezes his eyes tightly shut once more, taking a deeeeeeep breath.

 

”December, I love you—- and I really, really, miss you….. but….. I need to focus now….. I…. I have to find out what happened to you….. for real…..”

 

”It’s okay…. I know… And…. I love you more, Azzy.” She says, and something about the way she said it, he suddenly forgets the situation.

 

”Hahaha, no you don’t— I love you m—“ He begins as he opens his eyes, and she’s gone….. The cardigan in question sitting on the back of his desk chair—-Somewhere he didn’t remember leaving it at all….

 

Azzy walked over to the cardigan and picked it up, starring at the gingham fabric for a moment in disbelief…. It almost smelled like—-

 

“Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies and Fresh Pine….” He muttered under his breath, standing there shirtless as he tried to wrap his brain around this whole predicament—

 

He stared at the place where the glow in the dark stars she had lovingly placed with him all those years ago had been missing, it was too much…. Even though he had tried to hide everything that involved her away, it was like she would always be there— 

 

He should have known…. She was like the stars…. Always with him in the Dark…..

 

Maybe if they didn’t hand place each one together in both of their rooms he might have been brave enough to take those down sooner—- but even then, it wasn’t like they ever would have been completely erased… the years of wear and tear on the paint would be evident and leave a million star shaped outlines in its place—- As if Dess herself was saying “you really thought you’d forget me that easy, Asriel?”…. it… He could never bring himself to paint over them…..

 

“Azzy, are you still here…??” Kris asks, walking into the room with Noelle in tow, quickly throwing their hand over Noelle’s eyes when they noticed Asriel didn’t have a shirt on— luckily he was mostly covered—- (not that it mattered, but they knew how Noelle was.)

 

”H-Hey…. Uh, one sec—-“ Asriel stumbled, putting his arms through he sleeves of his cardigan and buttoning it up about halfway before stopping—-

 

“Good enough for now—- uh— Hey Noelle, what’s up….? Did you guys want to talk to me about something…?” He asks in as warm of a voice as he could muster.

 

Kris finally removed their hand from her eyes once their brother was dressed, allowing the two to interact.

 

”U-Uhm, hello, Asriel….!” She smiles shyly, looking over to Kris who gives her a nod of approval.

 

Asriel raises an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with his sibling before looking back to Dess’s little sister—-

 

“Uhm…. Mom wanted to uhm…. Mom wanted to invite you and Kris to dinner…. And uh, I’ll be there too….” She begins.

“Oh… uhm, alright… Kris and I would be delighted to join the two of you!” He said with a kind smile, furrowing his eyebrows when Noelle looked like she had more she wanted to still say—-

 

“Is…. Is there a follow up to that?” He asked, tilting his head.

 

She was quiet again, looking to Kris once more for guidance…. Kris sighed, shaking their head, speaking for her.

 

”So, Noelle…. Saw something.” Kris mumbled, still trying to fully mentally prepare for this conversation—-

 

“Saw something…? What… what do you mean?”

 

”Or rather…. She heard something….?”

 

”….She… what?” 

 

“She uh… was playing her games on the computer or whatever like she usually does…. But…. She could have sworn she heard Dess’s voice—-“

 

Asriel’s eyes widened as his stomach did a backflip—- had he not been the only one hearing and seeing things…??

 

”W-What did uh… what did you hear, Elley….??”

 

The blonde took a deeeeep breath, nervously fiddling with the hem of her red and green argyle sweater.

 

”O-Okay, so like, I was playing cat petterz like I always do, right? And like, I had multiple tabs open because I was typing some stuff up on my blog and blah blah blah, I won’t get too sidetracked on that— but… suddenly, I heard Dess’s voice— like, clear as day…. “

The girl swallowed hard, blinking away tears—-

 

“S-She… she said…. ‘Hello…?’ And when I heard her voice, I froze dead in my tracks— “

 

Asriel and Kris exchange a glance of concern before looking back at the girl, noticing for her to continue the story.

 

”…. I-I looked up from my computer, got up from my desk, and opened my bedroom door as quickly I could, tears in my eyes—- I… I didn’t see her anywhere, so I thought maybe it was my imagination…..” She said, sighing and twirling a blonde curl around her fingers nervously—-

 

“…..I d-double checked my phone and computer to make sure I didn’t accidentally have an old family video playing somehow or something— but JUST as I started playing again, I heard her say: ‘Anyone…?’ And then I was CERTAIN I was going crazy— it sounded like— like she was in her room or something…? So I broke in and when I got there, it was dead silent—- just as I was about to shut the door, I heard her voice say:’Is…. Is anybody out there…?’ “ She said, and at this point the girl had been shaking—-

 

“A-And…. When I heard the panic in her voice—- I-I thought I was gonna cry my eyes out—- she— she screamed—- almost at the top of h-her lungs—— ‘SOMEONE?! ANYONE?! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!” She said, and at this point she had full tears streaming down her face.

 

”I-I don’t know what happened, or why it happened, or how it happened—- b-but… I-I know my big sister’s voice—— T-That was Dess…..”

 

//////////////////////

 

“Why do you do that?”

 

”Do what?”

 

“You crumble up paper before you even use it, and then after you’ve crumble it, you actually flatten it out and then write something on it…?” Asriel asked, sitting on a park bench next to Dess—- she asked him if they could go get some fresh air, and she had brought the stationary that Azzy had recently gotten for her for their anniversary—- buttttttt it seemed that she had been using it in a rather…. Unconventional way.

 

”Because! It gives the paper character!!” She says with a smile and laugh, before folding another piece into a paper airplane, and shooting it at Asriel’s head, laughing even more when it lands in his hair.

 

”HAHAHAHHAAH!!!!! What a cute little hat you’ve got there, Azzy!!!! Guess you could say your head’s in the clouds today with the fact that a plane landed in your hair~” She laughs, to which he sighs, unfolding the paper carefully, as well as unzipping his backpack to grab a pencil for her, as well as one for himself.

 

”You know, when you asked me for stationary for our anniversary, I assumed you wanted to use it to write love letters or something to each other— maybe a cute little to do list, yummy recipes you wanted to try, new songs of yours, even—- not…. Crumble up the paper and pelt me with planes….” He says with a sigh, shaking his head.

 

Dess blushes in particular at the mention of ‘love letters’— She had been in fact writing one for him as they speak— the real reason she had crumbled the paper was because she was really nervous around him to write it— which was kind of silly, because she had no problem being physically romantic like holding his hand, being the one to initiate kissing or playing with each other’s hair—- but for some reason, when it came to writing… she was terrified. She always knew Asriel was smarter than her, and she always felt like anything she would ever write to him couldn’t hold a CANDLE to the novels he wrote about his love for her—- so she panics…. It was true that she indeed asked for stationary for their anniversary gift— which had really surprised him—- but she didn’t realize just how nervous she would be to actually WRITE him something—-

 

‘Dear Azzy….’ She wrote in pain print— (she couldn’t read or write cursive, this much he knew—) In fact, her handwriting was rather messy—- but Asriel absolutely loved that about her… he thought it was adorable.

 

”D-Don’t lookkkkkk! How are you supposed to be surprised if you watch me….?!!” She glared, turning away and leaning her back against him as she wrote… he laughed, turning around the opposite way from her as well, both of them bringing their knees and feet upward to balance on the edge of the bench as they both wrote.

 

’Dearest December….’ Asriel began, his immaculate handwriting looking like something out of a fairytale—- he always wrote letters to Dess in print so she could read them, but his handwriting was still incredibly pretty to look at.

 

”This is…. Really difficult.” She sighed, turning to look at him over her shoulder.

 

He smiled softly at her, laughing a little as he put his pencil behind his ear, and reached to brush a lose strand of her wild brown locks back into place.

 

”Dearest…. You don’t have to write to me now if you aren’t feeling up to it, we can put everything in my backpack and I can go push you on the swings or something instead…. You were the one who asked to write letters together ~” He said with a smile, kissing the top of her head.

 

She pouted, sighing in defeat.

 

”Whaaaat~? Do you not want to take a break…?” He asks, tilting his head.

 

”The swings do sound fun, and I dooooo wanna take a break, but I know if I don’t write something now, I never will….” She complains, to which he laughs, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

”I understand that logic…. So do you want to try to write a little bit longer and then see what happens?” 

“Y-Yes please…. If that’s okay…. You don’t mind, do you…?” 

“Anything you want Dess, I’m cool either way…~” He smiles, glancing back down to his paper, and instead of actually writing for a moment, he pretends, waiting to see if he can actually here the pencil strokes of her writing something or not….

 

Dess’s health had been doing a lot better surprisingly— but Asriel hadn’t stopped worrying— the last week she had finally been able to get out of bed on a regular basis, and though she still wasn’t eating as much as she used to, she’d definitely eaten more than she had been since she’s been sick…. Today she almost seemed like The Dess he knew, and that made him really happy—- but he wasn’t sure if she was just holding it together because it was their anniversary….

Normally on their anniversary, they would do something WILD like throw a huge party in The Dark World, Throw a mini concert in the park with Kris and Noelle, or BARE MINIMUM get a fancy dinner together—- (whiiiiich, Asriel always INSISTED he lets her pay even though her family was loaded.) 

 

They’d do something fun to celebrate…. But…. Something about this year just felt different….. it was the last year before Azzy would have to leave for college, and Dess’s health had been rapidly declining— even though their anniversary was normally a really happy occasion, and they were in fact over the moon to be celebrating another year of their love—- neither one really felt up to an elaborate celebration this time….

 

Asriel almost wondered if pushing her on the swings later was something too reckless right now—- what if she fell? What if it made her dizzy? Or hurt any of her injuries more in some way…? He was half-tempted to just cover her up in bubble wrap at this point she was so fragile lately— how could someone so tough and practically indestructible become bedridden overnight….? He still couldn’t get used to it… it really hurt his heart to see her like this…. He had been doing everything he could to put on a brave face and try to help her, but he was really worried…..

 

‘Dear Azzy…..

 

I just wanted to say I love you….I probably won’t write this as breathtakingly beautiful of a way as you will— but…. You really do mean the world to me….

 

I love you so so much…. I’m so thankful to have the most amazing best friend in not one, but TWO entire worlds—- and even more thankful for the fact that we also happen to be in love—- totally crazy, right? How lucky are we~? ‘

“Hey Azzy? Can I doodle on my letter?” She asks over her shoulder, her eyes filled with child-like wonder and curiosity.

 

He laughs a little when he hears her words, a huge smile spreading across his gorgeous face—- he looks back to her over his shoulder, gently twirling her hair around his fingers.

 

”Dess~ you can do whatever you want, baby~ it’s your letter…~” He beams, and they both blush—- he normally called her old-timey pet names like ‘Dearest’ or ‘Darling’ or ‘Dear’ —- something about hearing her call him ‘Baby’ —-

 

AHHHHH WHY IS HE SO FREAKIN FINE…?!!!!

 

“O-Okay….!!!” She blushed, turning back around after smiling and blushing like crazy, flattening her crumbled paper a liiiiitle bit more on top of the dragon-blazers themed clipboard he had given her to write on, before doodling them—- Dess had always liked to draw—- she and Azzy hadn’t been the BEST at it growing up, but she was actually a lot better at it now than she used to be—- her art was getting pretty good!

 

In the left corner she drew Asriel down on one knee proposing to her, and then she drew herself looking totally happy and surprised, with a little speech bubble that said: ‘YES! A MILLION TIMES YES, I WOULD LOVE TO MARRY YOU!!! I was starting to think you’d never ask!!!’ And then she wrote a little arrow with the subtitles that read: ‘Us after you graduate college’

 

Shes all happy and smiling as she’s doodling hearts—- and she’s so excited to show this to Asriel—- but just as she picks up the paper and turns around halfway to go show him—- she notices that he’s deep in thought, writing his own letter to her—- and Dess doesn’t have the heart to bother him….

 

She moves back a little, gently putting her hand back down with the sweet letter she had been holding, as she stares at him—- he really was otherworldly beautiful—- and when he was working or writing, or doing anything involving academics—— it was very clear he was in his element….

 

An element that she hadn’t ever been good at, and only tolerated because he had been able to hold her hand for the last few years and help her study—- he was the whole reason she was even able to graduate high school in the first place—- he literally BEGGED her not to drop out—— he tutored her every single day, and actually made learning kind of fun—-

She never thought she’d miss school, but in a way…. She kind of felt like she wish she liked it more—- maybe then they could have tried the whole ‘college life’ thing together instead of apart—-

 

But College…? Dess wasn’t built for something like that—- sure, if she really wanted to go, maybe she could— her family was loaded, it didn’t matter if she didn’t have the BEST grades or test scores—- sure she had GRADUATED with A/B honnor roll, but that was only because Azzy spent COUNTLESS SLEEPLESS NIGHTS tutoring her so she would pass—-

 

It wouldn’t be fair of her to expect him to help her through college now too—- they wouldn’t even be in the same classes anyways, it wasn’t like SHE was going to be an engineer—

 

It would literally only be a distraction— she would just be going to spend more time with him, not because she was academically inclined or because she wanted to better her education—- 

And even if for some reason she WAS smart enough on her own without him, it wasn’t like she could even go to classes like normal in her condition anyway because she was—-

 

Sick…..

Here she was thinking this whole time, things had to have been a lot easier on Azzy now that they’ve graduated—- but, it was quite the opposite, really….. 

 

Azzy got way less sleep NOW than the ENTIRE time he had all throughout school—- every time she woke up in the middle of the night, he was there, every time she was sick as a dog, he was there, every time she was rushed to the ER, HE WAS THERE—- every time she was crying her eyes out because she was so frightened or frustrated—- Asriel had been there—-

 

Asriel had been spending so much time, effort, and energy trying to take care of Dess— she wondered if he even had time to take care of himself at all— she knew he had been really stressed out lately, not just because of the time clock ticking for his college departure——

 

But… because of her…..

 

She….. she didn’t mean it—- but she was hurting him.

 

Over.

 

And Over.

 

And OVER AGAIN….

 

How could her stupid body not be able to just heal itself already…?! It would be ONE thing if she was the only one who had to suffer—- but now it was starting to affect everyone she cared about…. Her mom and dad… Noelle… Kris… and Asriel, most of all….

 

Her grip tightened sadly on the letter in her hands…..

 

How was Asriel even supposed to MAKE IT through college if he was too busy worrying about her…?

 

Dess tried to ignore the heartbreaking feeling in her chest as she looks down at the letter, gazing one last time at her drawing of them looking happy together before picking up her pencil once more….

 

‘Asriel…. I…. I’m really sorry I’ve been so sick lately….

You’ve been going though so, so much because of me… and… I’m so so sorry…..

 

You’re amazing and I love you for that… you’re such a beautiful person, inside and out…..  but….

 

I think….. I think maybe you should spend more time taking care of yourself too when you get a chance, Azzy…. Please don’t worry about me so much….  

……Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m going to get much better, and that kind of scares me….

Not because I’m afraid of dying, but because I’m afraid of something happening to you after I’m gone…. I know you love me, but somedays I just feel like everyone would be a lot less stressed out and happier if I was wasn’t around anymore…. some days I wish you didn’t love me as much as you did, because it will hurt you a lot less when I….           ‘ She started to write, but then erased the entire page after crossing everything out a million times.

She destroyed it all—- the sad parts of her letter, the happy parts— she gazed sadly one last time at her adorable little drawing in the corner before scribbling that out too—-

 

She felt like she was going to lose her mind—- her breath caught in her throat and she felt her lungs begin to tighten—

 

“W-Why..? Why can’t I do anything right…? Why am I always this stupid little problem everyone else has to fix…?!?” She mumbles under her breath, crumbling up the paper once more before unfolding it and glaring at it— but she decides that defacing it isn’t enough, she needed to destroy the evidence—-

 

Asriel thought he heard her say something and glanced up from his paper— then he blinked when he heard her tear up her own into multiple shreds, and fully turned around once she had stood up, putting her face in her hands after letting all the pieces fall into the grass like that of discarded confetti.

 

The crisp turn of fall air tousled Dess’s hair sadly as a chill was sent down Asriel’s spine while he stared—- he didn’t know what had happened, but there was a major change in her disposition—- 

 

”H-Hey, are you okay…?” The green eyed boy begins, going full on panic mode when he sees her eyes start to well up with tears.

 

”A-Asriel can you take me home please…..?” She asks with a bitter laugh, shaking her head at herself.

 

”W-Whoa whoa whoa, what’s wrong? What happened…? D-Do you wanna talk about it…??” He worries, opening his arms and holding them out to her.

 

When she doesn’t move, he walks up to her, pulling her into a hug, frowning when she’s shaking like a leaf….. 

 

“D-Dess…. You gotta talk to me… what’s up?” He asks with a frown, looking down at her.

 

She had been so happy only mere moments ago—- had she actually been in pain again and didn’t want to worry him…? Was she just trying really hard to be happy and strong today of all days because it was their anniversary…? What was it…?

 

”….Did I do something wrong…?” He asks suddenly, frowning when she sniffles and only shakes her head.

 

”N-No…. Y-You’re freakin’ perfect….” She mumbles, tears finally spilling down her face like a waterfall.

 

”D-December… Darling… please talk to me…. I don’t know how to help you if you don’t talk to me….” He frowns, rolling down his sleeves of his green and yellow hoodie to cover his hands, and softly wiping away her tears.

 

”I-I don’t deserve you, Asriel…..” She says bluntly, and his heart breaks so much, you can practically hear it shatter.

 

”W-What….?” He asks, stunned and confused.

“Y-You would be better off with another girl that’s not sick at college and not me.…”

 

In that moment, it was like the entire world had gone quite— the birds had stopped singing, the trees had stopped rustling—- 

 

There was no way she meant that—-

D-did she…. Did she not understand just how much he loved her…? Had he been neglectful to her again without meaning to be…? What was bringing all of this on…? How the he** does he fix it…?

 

I-I think I’m gonna be sick—-

”Dessy— that’s not true…..! H-How could you even think that way….?? December Holiday, I will always love you, you know that—- there IS no other girl for me, Dearest…. You’re my entire world—-“

 

”A-And that world is gonna shatter when I die, Asriel…!!” She cries, sobbing like that of a child as she balls her hands into tight little fists, not even having the strength to run off, or hit him like she would have if this had been only a year ago—- instead, she just rested her head against his chest in defeat, her hands falling to her sides.

Asriel’s eyes widen and his ears droop— he never thought in a million years that something like that would ever come out of her mouth— she had always been the one to laugh in the face of danger, to pick others up where they were down, to face anything life-threatening head on—-

 

She was so so strong— Asriel couldn’t picture a world where she….. where she’d—-

 

”D-Dess…..” The Dreemurr boy frowns, cupping her face in his hands to try and meet her gaze.

 

”December, please look at me….” He frowns, his heart breaking even more when she’s looking away from him, even though he’s holding her face.

 

”First of all, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you….. You’re getting better…!! You’re having a really good day— uh, health wise I mean—- I know right now you’re kinda crying your eyes out—- but you’re eating again, and you got out of bed! And—“

 

”Asriel, the bare minimum isn’t worth celebrating—- Anyone can eat food and get out of bed, that isn’t anything of note—“

 

Asriel took a deep breath, grabbing her left hand in his right and putting it on his own cheek, intertwining their fingers.

”December, you’ve literally been hooked up to machines for months, vomiting up blood, fainting in the street—- I know you aren’t running around committing arson, fighting titans, or rocking out on your guitar like you’re used to, and I’m really sorry that you’re in pain— but you better stop talking so badly about yourself—- don’t you dare say even for a MINUTE that we don’t belong together— So what? You think just because you’re sick that means I’ll suddenly stop loving you….? Dude, what the he** kind of concept is that….? If it was reversed, I know you’d never stop loving me if I had a terminal illness—- heck, you’d probably love me even more some how— December, I would literally take a bullet for you, we’ve literally fought ACTUAL DEMONS AND TITANS together— I would trade places with you in a heartbeat if I could—- Dess, you are getting better, we’re gonna find a cure…. It might take some time, but we’re gonna get through this—- you might not think so, but getting up and being able to get dressed, eat, even shower on your own—- that’s a big deal—- I literally had to help you with all of those things only last week, remember that…? ….I won’t let you talk so badly about yourself—- December…..you aren’t a burden to me—- I would much rather be here to help you and hold your hand every step of the way than to leave you to suffer alone—- you AREN’T alone in this, Dess—- this is OUR battle together, not yours alone….. The Roaring Knight and The God of HyperDeath until the end of time, right?   …..Look at you— we’re in a park today! We’re outside—- you can stand—- that’s amazing—— YOU’RE HERE. YOU’RE ALIVE—— Dess, I’m d*** right your health getting better is worth celebrating….” He says, and she’s surprised at him for swearing— he literally NEVER swore, and there was only one other time she could recall off the top of her head that he did—-

 

She looks into his eyes and she frowns, tearing up more as she gingerly runs her thumb along his cheek.

 

”A-Azzy I-I’m sorry…. I-I didn’t mean to ruin our anniversary…..” She says, and he feels incredibly guilty— he wasn’t trying to yell at her—- he hadn’t raised his voice at all—- not once—- in fact he had told her exactly what she needed to hear, and they both knew that…..

 

Though…. That didn’t make either of their heartbreak any less….

 

”I-I really think you should just take me home—-“ She says again, her voice trailing off into a whisper as she looks down, blinking away fresh tears when he pulls her into his chest, resting his chin atop her head.

 

”You didn’t ruin anything, December…. Your feelings are really important to me, and everything you’re feeling is completely valid, and you really, really, matter to me…. I know it was a painful conversation, but we needed to talk about this….. I-I’m sorry for yelling at you….As much as it hurts me to know you’re thinking like that, I’m really glad you trust me enough to talk to me… I just….. I need you to hold on just a little longer, babe….. please don’t think badly about yourself like that, okay…? It isn’t your fault that you got sick, you’re literally the strongest person I know, okay…? I know you’re gonna get through this… and you aren’t alone… I’ll be right there with you every step of the way… okay….?” He says, blinking away tears himself now, and she nods.

 

Asriel leans over, turning her slightly and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

 

”Why don’t we write later… can I push you on the swings…? You seemed really excited about that…..” He asks, to which she smiles sadly.

 

”T-Then can we go home…?” She asks, and his heart sinks.

They used to love coming to the park together—- they’d hang upside down on the monkey bars, push each other on the swings, chase each other around the playground—- things that took place only mere months ago seemed like ages ago now….

 

”Y-Yes…. I can take you home after….” He smiles sadly, bending down to pick up the shreds of paper so they aren’t littering, and tossing them in bunches inside the front pocket of his backpack.

He feels his heart nearly stop as he holds in his hands torn piece of paper in particular—- the drawing that she drew of him proposing—- even though it’s crumbled up and crossed out, he can still tell exactly what it was…. And he can’t help but want to cry….

 

Its really, really good—- it actually looks just like them—- how can she go from being so happy and drawing something like this just 10 minutes ago… clearly excited about the idea of maybe someday he would propose— to…. Saying that…. Saying that she didn’t think she deserved him…? Thinking that he would just stop loving her…? How could she even think things like that….? She was his entire world—-

 

”P-Please don’t read that….” She panics, and he frowns.

 

”I-I’m sorry…. I…I can throw it away when we get back to your place, I just don’t wanna litter…” He says, and all at once he’s worried again… if her letter was the reason she was so upset, he had a pretty good idea about what it probably said….

 

He felt really bad, he thought for sure when she was feeling a little better today that she would have been able to have a little fun on their anniversary— but so far, things were off to a rather rocky, and definitelyyyy depressing start— Her parents were out of town again, so they would have the house to themselves which was nice—- Dess didn’t know it, but Asriel actually paid Kris and Noelle to help him set up a really sweet tea party for her— so whenever they eventually DID get back home, their dining room was going to be FILLED with red roses and golden flowers— her absolute favorites—- He also made all of her favorite foods the night before too, all they had to do was reheat them, and he gave the kids very specific instructions on how to do just that while they were away— all he had to do was say the word and they would put everything in the oven—- 

 

Asriel put all of the stationary back in his bag with a sigh, putting the backpack over his right shoulder as he walked with her hand in hand to the swings.

 

”I’m just going to push you gently, alright…? The second it’s too much for you, just let me know… okay….?” He says, and she nods.

 

Pulling the swing forward for her to sit, he helps her maintain her balance and makes sure she’s holding on tight.

 

He pushes the small of her back gently, and she winces—

 

He stops trying to push her and holds the chains on either side of her…. She sighs, the two remembering that the injuries on her back where in fact still healing…

“W-why don’t we just—- can you just sit with me…? We don’t have to swing high up in the air and see who can go highest like we used to… we can just…. Enjoy each other’s company…. “ She says quietly.

 

He frowns for a moment as he listens to her speak, letting go of the chains and sitting in the swing beside her, and reaching across the way to hold her hand—-

 

“It’s…. It’s kind of nostalgic in a way, just getting to sit beside you on the swing…. It reminds me of the days we first started hanging out together…. Remember that…? We would come here after school, and talk for hours about anything that came to our minds….” He sad with a sad smile, squeezing her hand gently.

 

Dess almost smiled, but then suddenly something must have crossed her mind that she tried to dismiss— because all over again she’s quiet, staring down at her beat up red converses that she had been wearing instead of her favorite pair of black combat boots—- those made it a little easier for her to maintain her balance if she fell—-

 

“S-Sorry maybe we should skip the swings and just go home….”

”I-It’s okay….!! I can take you to the swings again when you feel better…!!” He says, forcing a smile and grabbing her hands once more, kissing the back of her left hand, then her right.

 

”I’ll take you home now, come on….”

 

——

 

Dess and Asriel walk in through the front door of The Holiday Home and Dess’s eyes widen in astonishment—-

 

“O-OH MY GOSH—- WHEN THE HE** DID YOU——“ She asks, her breath catching in her throat and tearing up.

Dess gazed in amazement at the scene before her— across her family’s ornate dining room table, there had been elegant China placed with care with a setting for two— a piping hot teapot filled with earl gray, sugar cubes, cream—- her line of sight followed to the beautiful bouquet of red roses and golden flowers she loved so much, tied together with the most adorable red gingham bow— he even had some extra flowers decorating the chandelier—- their was a giant ribbon banner across the foyer that read: ‘Happy Anniversary, December!’ Written in gold that he had spent the entire night making by hand—- 

Asriel smiled softly, walking over to the kitchen and setting his phone and backpack down for a moment so he could check on the oven—- sure enough, the grilled cheese, holiday cookies, butterscotch cinnamon pie, and manicotti (giant Italian pasta noodles stuffed with ricotta, spinach, and mozzarella topped with marinara sauce and more cheese) had been reheated to perfection.

 

”I didn’t do this alone… Krismas and Elley helped me…~” He said with a small smile, and as if on cue, they tried to tiptoe out of Noelle’s bedroom to spy on the two.

 

”So is Asriel proposing to you this time? Or what…??” They mumble under their breath.

 

”Kris…!! You can’t just say that out loud…!!” Noelle shrieks.

 

Dess and Azzy both blush just about as red as the sauce when they hear their younger siblings’ voices.

 

”I-I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WENT BACK TO THE HOUSE WITH MOM—-“

 

”Yeahhh, about that— choir practice ran a little late, she’s not gonna be here for another 20 minutes… sorry bro.” Kris said with a shrug, to which Dess laughs, and Asriel face palms.

 

”Are you two gonna make out again…?” Kris asks, walking down the stairs.

 

”If so, can Kris and I film it~?”

 

”WHY DO YOU WANT TO FILM IT…?!!” The two lovebirds shrieked in unison.

 

”You guys are LITERALLY like a romance film~!! Whenever Azzy and you get married someday, Kris and I wanna put together a collage of our favorite moments!! Because like, obviously I’m gonna be your Maid of Honor and Kris is gonna be The Best Human! DUH!!!” Noelle says in a happy and bubbly tone of voice to which Dess laughs, shaking her head.

 

”You guys sure you wanna film that? I’m gonna reallyyyyyy tear Azzy up and get lipstick all over his face~ it’ll probably be gross!!” Dess warns, trying to get them to be disinterested.

 

Asriel blushes, laughing nervously— he didn’t even think she would be up to anything like that— she normally went a tad bit overboard when it came to kissing him and could hold her breath wayyyy longer than he could, but since she had been bed ridden a lot lately, she didn’t really initiate wanting to do anything besides hold his hand or listen to him talk or have him play with her hair….

 

”Really…??” Noelle asks, blinking.

 

”Yepppp, I might even take off his shirt.”

 

Asriel blinks, furrowing his eyebrows when he hears her words, and just as he’s about to say: “DESS YOU CAN’T TELL THEM THINGS LIKE THAT—“ Kris chimes in saying:

 

”Yeah, I’ve seen her do it.” 

Anddddd that makes both Dess and Asriel stop talking, and very, very concerned—-

 

“Hahahah, you uhm, y-you what???” Dess asks, blinking multiple times, dumbfounded as she stares blankly at the human. 

“I’ve seen you take off his shirt and then you guys started kissing each other.” Kris says, as if it’s no big deal.

 

Noelle looks at Kris confused, then back at the couple, then back at Kris. 

Nothing can be heard in the kitchen except for the faint ticking of the timer Asriel had forgotten to shut.

 

Dess and Asriel exchange a worried glance for a moment before they continue:

 

”Yeah, remember last year at the beach…?? We were all building sandcastles and you took off his shirt to put sunscreen on him…? Then you guys started kissing and then I thew a beach ball at Asriel??” They say, and both Dess and Asriel sigh in relief.

 

”Why are you two being so cryptic and weird today…??” Kris asks, folding their arms across their chest.

 

”Sis, why do you take his shirt off…?? Is it so Asriel doesn’t get your lipstick on his clothes…??” She asks, tilting her head.

Just then the timer in the kitchen starts to ring— practically saved by the bell.

 

”YEP ELLEY, THAT IS EXACTLY WHY SHE DOES IT, LIPSTICK IS VERY DIFFICULT TO GET OUT OF MY CLOTHES— HAHAHAH, YOU KNOW WHAT?? WHY DON’T WE ALL JUST WATCH SOMETHING ON TV WHILE WE WAIT FOR MOM TO SHOW UP…..!!!” Asriel rambles in a panic as he runs to shut off the timer and sets the cooling food down on top of oven mitts on the table, before grabbing both younger siblings by the hand and walking with them into the living room, motioning for Dess to follow suit with his head.

 

She snickers a little, looking him up and down before rolling her eyes and following them, sitting across from him and curling up into the accent chair.

 

After around 20 minutes of watching a random Christmas movie, Toriel finally shows up to grab the kids and they share a brief conversation before waving goodbye, and now the couple were FINALLY alone, once again….

 

”So….. you’re planning on proposing~?” Dess asks teasingly, to which he turns paler than he already is.

 

”I-I’m glad you’re in a better mood…” He laughs, avoiding the question.

 

The girl was quiet for a moment before walking up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, and burying her face into the small of his back.

 

”I’d probably make a terrible wife….” She whispers, laughing a little.

 

He blinks, raising an eyebrow at her as he gently holds her hands that are around his waist, intertwining their fingers.

 

”A terrible wife you say? Is that an invitation to make me beg for you to spend the rest of your life with me…~?” He laughs back, smiling a little.

 

”I can only bake, I suck at cleaning, I’m loud, violent…. Hmm what else….. I’m chronically late—“

 

”Ah yes, my dream woman.”

 

”Shut up I wasn’t done~”

 

”….I’m not the greatest listener, I’m demanding, impulsive, incredibly stubborn, picky—“

 

”…And you’re humble, and you’re kind, and you’re drop dead gorgeous, and your strong, resourceful, courageous, and a lot smarter than you let on, you can play guitar like a rockstar, you’re great at video games, you’re fun, and funny, you’re never afraid to stand up for your friends or for what you believe in, anddddd you complete me in every way…~” He interrupted, turning around so that they were facing each other.

 

”Uhm, you didn’t say that I’m a really good kisser???” She scoffs, feigning offense, to which he laughs, wholeheartedly.

 

”I thought that was obvious, did you want me to say it out loud~?” He asks, looking into her eyes lovingly.

 

”Mhmmmm~” She purrs, batting her long, perfect, eyelashes at him.

 

”Okay, fine…. Dess, you’re incredibly hot and make me weak in the knees and take my breath away in every way— every time we kiss I think to myself I just might’ve died in your arms, because this has to be what heaven is….” He says, and she laughs.

 

”W-What….!!? Why are you laughing at me…??!” He blushes.

 

”That was TOTALLY cheesy!!!” She smiles, standing on her tip-toes and kissing him on the cheek.

 

”Whatever….~”

 

”Speeeeeeaking of cheesy, can we have some of the food you made now~? It totally smells amazing ~!!!” She smiles happily.

 

“Sure thing…~” The Dreemurr says with a smile, pulling out a chair for her to be able to sit in.

 

”Thank you~~” She beams, and his heart aches— she really was his entire world—- part of him wondered if maybe he should just propose to her before college— but he wanted to be in a better standing financially so he could afford a ring, and a house, and be able to help provide for her even though she technicallyyyyy didn’t need it— (he couldn’t help himself, his mother raised him right)…. 

Especially with the way her health has been fluctuating, he wondered if maybe he should propose sooner rather than later—- it would give her something to look forward to if she got sick again while he was away—

 

He was quiet for a moment as he pondered these things to himself, making a perfectly proportioned plate of all her favorites for her….

 

”Hey…. Uhm….” He began, setting a plate down in front of her, as well as a plate for himself as he sat beside her.

 

There were a million different things running through his mind— but he couldn’t choose which one to speak up about—-

 

“What’s up….?” Dess asked, looking at him and tilting her head.

 

”Uh… here.” He began, gently grabbing her left hand in his right, mumbling grace with his eyes closed, and then reopening his eyes, turning to look at her.

 

He held her hand gently, looking down at her soft skin and sighing as he couldn’t get his words and lips to agree with each other—-

 

He absentmindedly ran his thumb along the back of her hand, trying to figure out the best thing to say to her—-

 

Things had been…. Really tough, and they both had been trying really hard to be strong…. After today in the park, he was really, really, really worried—- sure, they were able to get through it, but it terrified him deep down— because if there was anything he knew about December, was that as much as she may seem like she lets everything roll right off her back, he knew that she was dealing with so much turmoil in her mind and heart right now—- 

 

‘And that world is going to shatter when I die, Asriel!!!’ Those words echoed in his mind like shattered glass in a windstorm, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get it out of his head—-

 

‘I…. I thought you were gonna die in that hospital bed, December!!!’

 

‘No, you don’t get it— I can’t lose you Azzy…’

 

’Azzy, the reason we didn’t hang out much as kids was because I grew up in the hospital….’

 

’I’m sorry, Dessriel might be a pipe dream…’

 

’Dess, why the he** did you run off like that…?!’

 

’Maybe you would be better off with a girl who isn’t sick at college instead of me….’

‘The bare minimum isn’t worth celebrating…’

 

’Dess you’ve been hooked up to machines, vomiting up blood, and fainting in the street for months—-‘

 

’Don’t you DARE say just because you’re sick we don’t belong together— how could you even think that way…?’

 

’December, I’ll never stop loving you—-‘

 

’Pinky promise?’

 

’I’m da** right your health is worth celebrating…’

 

Asriel looked at Dess as anxiety filled his throat—- he felt like his entire world was crumbling down on them both, and he was powerless to stop it—-

 

“U-Uhm….” Asriel choked, taking a deeeeeep breath and picking up her fork, piercing some of the manicotti, and holding it out to her, mentally scolding himself for letting his hands appear shaky in front of her—-

 

“Y-You wanted me to feed you, right…..?” He asks with a sad smile, blinking away tears as he fails to keep up the facade any longer—-

 

“Asriel……” She frowns, taking the fork from him and putting it down, scooting closer to him, and gently brushing his wispy snow colored bangs out of his eyes—

 

“Babe…. Talk to me.” She says, grabbing both of his hands in her own—- now it was her turn to be the comforting one.

 

”I-I’m o-okay—-! J-Just enjoy your anniversary dinner…!!!” He smiles sadly, glancing at her food for a moment before looking back at her— he was going to remove his hands and try to feed her again, but Dess squeezed his hands gently, and it made his heart break even more—-

 

He was going to miss this, wasn’t he….?

 

”Azzy, that isn’t how this works— you can’t just be the one to always clean up my messes all the time and be there for me and not expect me to return the favor…. You talked me down at the park, it’s my turn to talk you down…. I might not be the BEST listener, but…. I do TRY to listen…~” She smiles sadly, leaning in and rubbing her nose on his before kissing it softly, looking into his eyes once more.

 

”Baby, tell me what’s wrong…..” She says, tilting her head.

 

Asriel sighs, shaking his head— he could hardly meet her gaze without feeling like his heart was going to break into a million pieces and he’d eventually end up crying his eyes out—-

 

“I…. I… I-It hurts……” He mumbles, and all at once he’s a complete mess—- he’s uncontrollably sobbing, he’s hiccuping, he can’t look her in the eyes—- he tears his hands away from her, trying to hide his face——

 

“I-I’m s-sorry—- I-I j-just wanted t-today to be p-perfect for you—- andishouldnthavegivenyouthatstupidstationary— and m-maybe I shouldjustdropoutofcollegeandgetsometradeschooljobor something so we canspendmoretimetogether a-and I-I j-j-just….” He choked, and when she pulled him into her, resting his head in the nape of her neck, he cried harder…

 

She was going to interrupt him, but she figured it was better to let him get everything out first that he needed to say before she said anything…. So instead she just listened, softly stroking his hair and gently rubbing his back while he cried….

 

”I-I c-can’t l-lose y-you D-December…. I-I love you s-so much that it terrifies m-me—- I-I see you in e-everything I d-do… I’m the man I a-am today b-because o-of y-you…. A-and the idea of leaving you b-behind for f-four years washardenoughasitwasonitsown b-but now y-you’re s-sick—- a-and I-I really n-need you t-to get better a-and…. P-Please d-don’t keep t-telling me you’re gonna—- y-you’re gonna——“ He sobbed, he couldn’t get the word out—- the idea of Dess dying was something Asriel couldn’t live with— it killed him….

 

”Y-You a-aren’t going anywhere….. d-do you hear me, D-December….? W-We’re g-gonna find you a c-cure….! Y-You’re g-going to get better, I-I promise….!!! ” He sniffs, red, puffy eyes as he gently grabs her by her shoulders to meet her doe brown gaze—- 

 

Dess frowned, biting her lip as she heard his words…. It made her feel happy and sad all at once that he cared about her so much, but…. She knew deep down that was a promise he might not be able to keep, and she didn’t have the heart to tell him that….

 

”T-Thank you, Asriel….” She whispered sadly, forcing a smile as she looked at him.

 

”P-Please don’t leave me Dess….. Y-You have to get better…. I-I c-can’t live with myself if y-you….. i-if y-you….” He sobs, gently running his shaky hands through her precious hair, cupping her face in both of his hands softly—- she puts her hands over his, gently intertwining their fingers.

 

If someone would have told Dess a year ago that she’d have a chronic illness, she would have been like ‘Bring it on, takes a little more than being sick to knock The Legendary Roaring Knight down!!!’ Even though she knew as a kid she had been sick…. She was fine for so many years, and even though part of her worried growing up that it would come back, for awhile there, she thought maybe it never would—-

 

But here, now, seeing the light of her world sobbing in her arms like a child because he didn’t know if she would even make it to him graduating from college……

 

It broke her heart….

 

She felt like she was drowning, and no matter how much she tried to come up for air, something continued to drag her down to the bottom—-

 

“H-Hey… shhhhh…. I-it’s okay….. I-I’m okay….. see? I’m still smiling….!” She said, the saddest smile on her face as she forces a laugh—-

 

Dess normally wasn’t a crier, and she’d in fact had more mental breakdowns in the last few months since all of this started than she had in her ENTIRE life— but… Azzy…? It was always heartbreaking to her when he cried…. He was always so happy all the time…. And even though he had always been more of a crier than she had been, he seldom ever spoke up about his own problems…. He was very empathetic and emotional, and usually cried when his friends were in pain…. But crying about his own problems…? She couldn’t recall a single time he did that—- he’d always smile on days his heart was shattering…. No matter what.

 

But…. Seeing him so heartbroken and vulnerable like this….. it really, really broke her heart and soul beyond repair….

 

Dess kissed his forehead softly, gently wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him comfortingly.

 

”H-Hey, we’re gonna get through this…. You heard Krismas and Elley earlier….. they’re already planning the videos or speeches or whatever for our wedding—- so we like, totally can’t disappoint them, right…?? You and that brainiac mind of yours better hurry up and get all those straight A’s and degrees and then hurry back home and propose to me so we can get the rest of our lives started—- “ She said, trying to cheer him up.

 

He sniffled, holding back his tears a little so he could hear her words—-

 

“M-Maybe we can have Dessriel by the time we’re in our 30s so she doesn’t have too much of an age gap between Krismas and Elley—- this way she can hang out with them while she’s growing up before they eventually get married and start their careers and all that jazz…..” She blushes profusely, looking away from him for a moment before looking back to wipe away his tears with her thumbs.

 

He was quiet, his face soaked with tears as a small blush spread across his cheekbones—- m-maybe everything would turn out okay— she was talking about their future together like it was something just down the road— m-maybe if they both just continued down that path towards their happily ever after together, somehow, she would get better, and eventually everything would work itself out……

 

”S-So you’re saying….. y-you want us to have a kid together in our 30’s…?” He stammered, and she laughed nervously, looking away from him.

 

A-At least he cheered up a little—-

 

“H-Hahahah….. w-well if you’re gonna be away in college for 4 years, by the time you get back, you’ll be 22 turning 23– whichhhh would mean that if you immediately propose to me by the time you got back, that would mean we could get married by 24 or 25– so we c-could uhm—— g-go on a honeymoon or whatever—- get a h-house together or whatever—- and uh….. I dunno….? Enjoy married life without kids for 5 years…?? Maybe travel or something….? I’ll tell you what though, we better show Kris and Elley The Dark World wayyyyy before any of that happens….. because I’ll probably be down for the count for a bit while Dessriel’s an infant….” She rambles absentmindedly, and out of nowhere, Asriel is laughing wholeheartedly, wrapping his arms tightly around her and pulling her close to his heart, giving her a biiiiiiig kiss on the cheek.

 

”Gosh I love you…….” He says, and she smiles softly, wiping the last of his tears away….

 

”I love you too, Asriel….” She says, kissing his cheek back.

 

”Hey, you missed~”

 

”Whaaa— what…!! N-No I didn’t—-“ She stumbles, blushing madly when he gently cups her face in his hands and kisses her slowly and softly on the lips—- her heart hammers in her chest as his signature scent of butterscotch and cinnamon fills her senses— she melts into the kiss, slowly returning the favor as she drapes her arms lovingly around his neck, running her fingers gently though his hair—

 

He pulls away for a moment, not far away, but just enough so he can look her in the eyes.

 

”I love you, December… with all of my heart and my entire soul…” He says genuinely, and she’s happy and sad at the same time….

 

”I-I love you too, Asriel…..” She says, at a loss for words—- he always had her beat in articulation of verbally speaking how he loved her…

”Oh… I uhm—“ The girl begins, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small, folded piece of paper, passing it to him as she bites her lip.

 

”I was trying to wait until tonight to give it to you, but, I think you outdid me with your gift this year…..” She says, running a hand through her hair as her earrings gossip to each other about the paper in his hands.

 

”What… what is it?”

 

”Open it and find out.”

 

Asriel tilts his head and carefully unfolds the small, yellow piece of paper that appears to be some kind of… receipt? 

 

His eyes scan the docketed list multiple times, his eyes widening as he looks over the list:

 

• DORM YEAR 1- PAID IN FULL

• DORM YEAR 2- PAID IN FULL

• DORM YEAR 3- PAID IN FULL

• DORM YEAR 4- PAID IN FULL

• TEXT BOOKS YEAR 1- PAID IN FULL

•TEXT BOOKS YEAR 2- PAID IN FULL

• TEXT BOOKS YEAR 3- PAID IN FULL

• TEXT BOOKS YEAR 4- PAID IN FULL

• TUITION YEAR 1- PAID IN FULL

• TUITION YEAR 2- PAID IN FULL

• TUTION YEAR 3- PAID IN FULL

• TUITION YEAR 4- PAID IN FULL

—- REMAINING BALANCE——

• NO BALANCE REMAINING

 

Asriel’s breath caught in his throat as he blinks away tears, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looks up from the paper to meet her gaze.

 

”D-December please tell me you didn’t—-“ He chokes, anxiety filling his chest. Did she seriously pay his ENTIRE college tuition??! That’s like, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS——

 

“I-I wanted to get you something you could really get use out of this time….. you’re always giving me the most amazing and thoughtful things that you make by hand that take my breath away every time and—- I’m not creative like that…. So I thought…. M-Maybe I could do something that I know would leave you speechless….!” She blushed, biting her lip—- she KNEW how he would get when she’d spend money on him—- even though her family was loaded and it didn’t really matter to her, ESPECIALLY because she wanted to help him because he had spent so much time, effort, and energy helping her ever since she had gotten sick—- she hoped he wasn’t too upset….

 

”A-Are you mad…?” She frowns, her ears drooping a little as she rambled:

 

”I-I just really wanted to help you out in a way that would really make a difference in your life the way you made such a difference in mine….!! I-I know you’re determined to try and prove yourself, and I know you don’t like when I spend money on you like that because of the way you were raised and everything but—- Azzy, even with all of your scholarships, you and I both know that you’d still be paying those bills for a few years and— I-If you’re debt free after college, you won’t have to work so hard to get on your feet and then m-maybe we could—-“ She blushed more, fiddling with the hem of her cardigan.

 

”M-Maybe we could get started on the rest of our lives together sooner rather than later….?” She blushed, before looking down.

 

”I-I’m sorry—- I probably really overstepped my bounds this time—-“

 

”I’m paying you back.” He says suddenly, blinking away tears as he grabs both of her hands in his own.

 

”W-What…? N-No, that wasn’t the point of—-“

 

”December, I’m not taking no for an answer—- I don’t want you to have to feel like you need to always pay for everything for me—-  P-Please let me pay you back….! I’ll work really hard and pay you back over time, but I’ll give you every last dime and—-“

 

”Asriel—-“

 

”Dess, please—-“

 

”I didn’t pay for your college because I wanted you to be indebted to ME instead of the SCHOOL…. It was an anniversary gift—- I paid your tuition because I wanted—“ She blushed, forcing herself to meet his gaze.

 

”I-If you aren’t working as hard we can spend more time together….!! A-Azzy I just wanna spend the rest of my life with you, I don’t care about the money…..!!!” She confessed, and his heart sinks.

 

”Dess—- I—-“

 

”If you really wanna give me back that money somehow—- just…. Put it towards our future together, okay…? I don’t know—- use it for a down payment on our house or s-something…!!!”

 

”I-I’m really sorry, I wasn’t trying to upset you… I just—-“

”Dess… that was—- t-that was too generous I—- I really can’t accept this…” He tears up, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly, putting one hand around her lower back, and the other behind her head as he holds her closer.

 

”I-I promise I’ll make it worth the wait—- I’ll find a way to make it worth your while….” He whispers, kissing her on the top of her head.

 

”I-I’m sorry— I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, I-I… I am so incredibly happy and heartbroken all at once I—- I really don’t know what to say…. t-that was so thoughtful of you I just—-“ He began, blinking away more tears as he cupped her face in his hands gently.

 

”T-Thank you… thank you so, so, so, so, soooooo much for this—— really—- I don’t think I outdid you with gift giving at all, I think you outdid me—- but…. I do want to give it back to you in some way—- I…. I really like the idea that if you won’t let me give it to you directly back in cash, that you want me to put it towards our future together….. I…. I promise I am going to give that to you ten fold— with interest—- I…. I won’t spoil anything, but…. I do have some ideas on how I’m going to put those funds towards our future together…..” He blushed, running a hand gently across her cheek.

 

His heart hammered in his chest as he looked at her—- the boy leans in, closing the gap between them and kissing her sweetly, putting his hands on either side of her face gently.

Dess blinks, surprised that he’s kissing her, but it’s a welcome surprise— she leans in, kissing him more as she wraps her arms around his neck— they’re like that for a few minutes until suddenly he pulls away…. Not far, but just a mere breath from her lips.

 

”Hey…. I really wanna continue k-kissing, but… can I reheat our food? You didn’t really eat that much today, and if we’re gonna keep up the schedule of getting married after college and having Dessriel by the time we are in our 30s, we should probablyyyy make sure you’re not skipping your meals~” He teases, and laughs a little as she punches him in the arm.

 

”H-Hey…!! Your words, not mine~! I never saiiiiiid that I was proposing to you AFTER college—- how do you know I’m not gonna propose tonight? Or AT ALL~? Okay okay, don’t get the wrong idea—- I fully intend on spending the rest of my life with you and I would love to marry you and sweep you off your feet someday and—-“ He rambled, before quickly getting up.

 

Dess clenched her jaw, raising an eyebrow at him as she cracked her knuckles—

 

”I-I’m gonna go reheatourfoodnowokayiloveyoubye” He rambled, quickly bolting away from her as she chased him around the kitchen.

Somehow, Asriel knew, even then…..

 

It was….. undeniable…..

 

things were…..

 

Downhill from here….

 

////////

Asriel felt like the world around him was spinning in slow motion—-

 

There’s—-

 

No way…..

 

”You…. You can’t be serious….. t-that’s impossible…..” He stuttered, taking a step backwards as he shakes his head—-

 

Kris looked down for a moment, blinking away tears of their own before looking back and forth between the two.

 

”Asriel, we need to tell her the truth….. she deserves to know, and…. I for one… I can’t go another minute without feeling guilty for keeping another secret from her—- we all need to come clean right here and now— this family has been broken long enough—- how the he** are we supposed to move forward if we don’t acknowledge the problems right in front of us….?” Kris said, their hands staring to shake as they blinked away tears of their own.

 

”T-The truth…? What Secrets…? W-what….? A-Asriel, K-Kris…. What are you taking about…? What’s going on….??” The blonde asked, looking like she just might pass out herself—

 

Kris sighed, walking over to Noelle and grabbing her right hand, and then also reaching for Asriel’s as well— as if trying to physically bridge the gap between the three of them that was caused by Dess’s absence—-

 

“Noelle…. Do you…. Do you remember that time when we were kids in the woods….?”

 

Notes:

OMGGGGGGGGGG. GUYS. GUYSSSSSS.

(You can’t see it but I’m doing a little happy dance and screaming)

I AM LITERALLY SOOOOOO OBSESSED WITH DESSRIEL WHY ARE THEY SO ADORABLE AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Okay that is all lol.

I miiiiiiiight add more to this? It might have more chapters continuing the same plot, or it might be a list of like one shots that could go together or couldddd be individual depending on reader’s preference?

Basically, if I didn’t make it super obvious just yet and if this was something more in my head and not on paper (or on AO3), this is supposed to be like a collection of memories/journal entries that Asriel has about his time with Dess before leaving to go to college.

IF YOU THINK I SHOULD WRITE MORE FOR THISSSSSS, please let me know! :3

I’m stillllllll working on updating my other stories at least once a month until completion, if this becomes a FULL story, then I might apply that same rule to this one, however, if I keep it as one shots, then I might have a little bit of a different schedule for it depending on how much time I have after updating the others and posting more content on my TikTok!

I miiiiiiiight add more Deltarune content to my TikTok as well, I do have some ideas that I wanted to do, but I haven’t done much with it yet; fun fact, I was that one crazy girl who used to cosplay Q5U4EX7YY2E9N (aka QUEEN) back in like, 2020 lol XD but it’s sooooooooo far back that you might not see it lol, I think I took some of them down because of how silly they were now that I’m thinking about it, but I’m so tempted to re-upload them lol we shall see.

Anyways!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!! :)
STAY DETERMINED!!!!!