There was nothing left to do here. The battle had been won, the quest was well over, and Susie and Kris had finally reached their destination. The purple-gray walls of the corridor were frigid and their footsteps echoed throughout the empty space.

So, this was it.

Ralsei forced a smile as he watched his new friends leave, holding his green oversized hat against his loudly beating chest. He reached a paw up towards the fluffy, cloud-like fur of his left cheek. He couldn’t keep himself from shaking. It didn’t really matter, though. Susie and Kris had already turned the corner, and he was alone again, all too quickly.

What if they don’t come back? A silly notion, but he couldn’t help but worry. He didn’t want to be alone again. Even after being with Kris and Susie for only a few hours, he wasn’t sure if he could handle the emptiness that weighed in his delicate heart. What if they forget about me?

The prince, his body slightly stiff, crouched beside the nearest wall of the corridor and leaned against it. He fiddled with his floppy, green cap, and he visibly jolted when he realized he still had the white ribbon tucked around it. He hadn’t realized he had it the whole time. Looking at it instantly reminded him of the time Kris had given it to him.







“Ah...you’re giving it to me?”

Kris nodded almost mechanically, yet a hint of a smile perked around the corners of their lips.

Ralsei paused for a moment, pink dusting his masked, dark fur. “...Does it look pretty?”







The fluffy boy lightly twacked at his own face at the memory. “Ah, what a embarrassing thing to say. Oh, I need to stop thinking about it…”

But Ralsei couldn’t. It was Kris, after all, and Ralsei couldn’t ever keep his mind off of them. Sure, Kris had always been so stoic, so quiet. But they would always act so kind to everyone and everything; it made it seem that being merciful was effortless. In Ralsei’s opinion, that made them even more amazing. Even so, he still wished that Kris would be a little more expressive.

Ralsei’s fuzzy brows furrowed. There was that one time, though--







Lancer had looked on upon the three of them, Susie inspecting the blueprints Kris had formulated.

The blueprints “sucked ass,” as someone with a filthy mouth would say, but because the invention was meant to “thrash your own ass,” Kris could care less.

Susie looked rather bemused and looked over the blueprints with a face that could have only been interpreted as a look of disgusted confusion. “...It looks like you guys wanna kiss?”

Ralsei had bitten his lower lip from underneath his pink scarf, but--of course-- no one saw. “It’s okay to express yourself, Kris,” he had mumbled when he could finally manage to speak.

Kris had inconspicuously lowered their head at their friends’ comments, but neither Susie nor Lancer had noticed. Kris had turned around to peer at Ralsei, who was standing behind them as usual.

Their blue-tinted skin had reddened notibally as they looked over their internally-dying companion. Then, as soon as they had glanced, they turned away again, and Ralsei felt as if he could breathe once more.

“Thank goodness,” he had thought to himself.

But as soon as his heart had stopped thrumming so violently, he so innocently wanted more.







Why didn’t they see how he felt for them? Hadn’t he made it obvious enough?

The legend had been fulfilled--the world had been rescued from its demise. That was all he had wanted before. So why now did he feel so unhappy?

Maybe I’m being selfish, Ralsei thought, cradling his hat as if searching for comfort. But I really want a hug. As awkward as they made him feel at the time, Kris’s hugs made Ralsei feel so warm, so protected, and so fluttery simeotaneously.

The empty hallway and the growing heartache suddenly made Ralsei aware of the sound of footsteps. But as soon as he had heard the noise, it stopped at once. The prince listened for several moments afterword, feeling rather uncomfortable.

Maybe I’m imagining things...though, I really wish that were Kris.

Ralsei frowned, placed the hat atop his head, and his adorable face was shrouded in darkness once more. He clasped his hands as if praying, but instead he decided to sing:









“When the light is running low

And the shadows start to grow

And the places that you know

Seem like fantasy…”

His voice was delicate and entracing as the song floated by.







“There's a light inside your soul

That’s still shining in the cold

With the truth,

The promise in our hearts...”







And though his tune remained melodic and charming, his voice waved only slightly. He shut his eyes and let his head droop as soon as he heard it thinning. He resumed the last words of the song in a gentle whisper:







“Don't forget,

I'm with you in the dark…”







An abrupt silence followed, but it did not continue for long. Fast-moving tears dribbled onto the front of his cloak. His lower lip quivered, and he curled into himself as his small body began to shake as well. He cried hopelessly, burying his face into his pink scarf. He lifted his paws to wipe his face, though to his abject surprise someone cupped his soft cheek before he could move.

Ralsei’s tear-filled eyes flashed open. “H-Huh?!” His eyes widened as he recognized the figure in front of him. “K-Kris?!”

“Why are you crying?”

Ralsei’s heart raced. Kris is here? Didn’t they leave?! Why are they here?!

Kris was crouched in front of him, their hand still outstretched. Their frown was deeper than usual, out of concern. “Why are you crying?” they repeated, brushing away Ralsei’s tears with their thumb.

“Uhm...I, ah, made myself cry,” the prince managed through his shock. He offered a soft laugh, yet it sounded more like a whimper than anything else.

“The song was pretty,” Kris responded. “You’re really talented.”

“Aw, thanks...but…” Ralsei blinked rapidly, still trying to take in the situation. “W-why are you here again, Kris? I thought you were going home.”

“I will be going….eventually, but I felt like our goodbyes were too abrupt. Susie went on without me. I had to persuade her though. She didn’t want to leave on her own.”

“Will she be okay?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Kris stated confidently. They reached out to hold both of his cheeks with both hands, and Ralsei flushed. He couldn’t help but smile, however.

“Umm...Kris? What are you doing?”

They said nothing at first. They removed one hand to move their bangs out of their face, and their intense, scarlet eyes came into view. Ralsei shuddered involuntarily as they looked him over slowly, before asking softly, “Can you tell me the real reason why you were crying?”

Ralsei couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes at the question, but he forced the feeling away as much as he could. “I...haha...well, I, um…,” he looked away at first, his mind reeling and unable to form coherent sentences. Kris sighed and lowered their bangs. They wrapped their arms around Ralsei’s shoulders and squeezed gently. The sudden movement wiped the adorable look off of Ralsei’s face, but luckily he wore an ever cuter look underneath. His cheeks burned.

Their closeness was so pleasant , and Ralsei would have hugged back if his mind hadn’t frozen.

“Relax,” Kris muttered, their voice gentle. “Why are you shaking?” They brushed their fingers through the fur on the back of his head.

“Kris, I-I…”

“Shhh...it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.”

“...No,” Ralsei decided, wanting to tell Kris how he felt before he lost his chance. “...I need to say it. I… I want you to know that I’ve always…You always have made me so happy. And now that you need to go, I…” He knew that he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop.

Kris was silent.

“I don’t know what I’ll do without you… T-that is to say…,” he swallowed and reached out to wrap his arms across their back as he continued, “I-I really like you, Kris. ”

The words slipped out before Ralsei could stop his emotions from taking over again. The dark fur on his sweet face had turned a red not unlike his crush’s eye color. Kris went characteristically silent and pulled away slightly to stare into Ralsei’s eyes. The prince immediately averted his gaze. “Um…”

Kris smiled and cocked their head slightly. “You like me? I can’t say I feel the same.”

Oh?!?! Oh, oh no…

On the verge of tears, Ralsei’s gaze snapped back onto Kris’s face. His heart plummeted and his eyes grew huge at the supposed rejection. “W-wha...Oh…?”

Kris caught on quickly and shook their head. “No, don’t cry, sweetheart. That’s not what I meant.” When Ralsei still looked crestfallen, they continued, “I mean that I don’t just like you, Ralsei,” they muttered, a smirk playing on their lips. They chuckled softly and snuggled their face into his fur.

Ralsei blinked in surprise before a relieved and timid smile crossed his face. He leaned closer into the hug, though he still bit his lip hesitantly. “I-I don’t know what to say…I didn’t think I’d, ah, get this far…”

Kris chuckled and shook their head once more. “Why wouldn’t you? You’re perfect.”

Ralsei giggled and ducked into his scarf. “You’ve always been good at flirting…”

“Yes, but I mean it.”









There was nothing left to do here, or so he had thought. The battle had been won, the quest was well over, and Susie and Kris had finally reached the end. But it wasn’t the end for Ralsei, for there was something about him that entranced Kris, made them adore him. And imagine the chance they had to be happy when Ralsei felt the same way.

Of course he did; he had been alone for so long--but finally, no longer.

So, this was it.







“Can…,” the volume of his voice dropped as soon as Kris looked at him again. “Can you please, uhm…”

Kris caught on quickly, noting that Ralsei had figited his scarf into a nervous knot. They smiled and asked lowly, “You want a kiss?”

Ralsei looked up at them with large eyes and nodded. In response, they gently pet Ralsei’s right ear before leaning forward to press their lips to his. The prince couldn’t help the joy that bubbled in his chest as Kris continuously pressed innocent kisses onto his mouth and fur.

“I...I don’t think I’ve ever felt this happy before…,” Ralsei laughed sweetly, his eyes glossing over. “It’s so nice.” He closed his eyes. “It makes me not want to let go...”

“As long as you want me to hold you, I will,” Kris promised.