Kris slowly approached Castle Town coming from the fields, trying his best not to become too nervous at the fact that he was visiting this world for a very special reason today. He walked at a slow pace, for two reasons: he was there earlier than they had settled on, so he was in no rush…and he also had to remind himself that things were going to work out one way or another. He loved Ralsei after all, and the prince loved him back, too.

He remembered yesterday all too well, the day he had finally found the courage to take the step and admit his feelings to Ralsei…he had assumed that the love wasn't one-sided, as Ralsei's way of acting towards him indicated that he liked the human more than just a friend…but he couldn't be sure. It could have been that Ralsei was simply overjoyed because he had been lonely for so long…but the young prince certainly did show to have feelings for him, especially when he had finally asked Ralsei out…he still had the image of his face in mind.

The shock at Kris´ action; how red his face turned when he realized what Kris had said…and then the tears. Pure tears of joy as the fluffy boy understood the situation as a whole, what everything meant. He remembered how Ralsei had suddenly lunged forward while crying, throwing himself at Kris and wrapping both arms around him, holding the human as tightly as the goat monster was able to.

Tears had left his eyes in that moment as well, and slowly had he been able to wrap his arms around the prince and hug him back, nuzzling his head against that of Ralsei. They had been standing like this for an eternity, or at least that was what it had felt like…but in this moment of pure joy did Kris truly feel alive, he was able to feel the love inside of his heart bloom to its fullest, reaching his vocal cords as he held his love in his arms. “Ralsei, I…I love you.”

He had said it, in this moment…he had made a long explanation to Ralsei before, describing what he had felt without actually naming it…but these few words were all that had to be spoken. He had felt movement on his shoulder, it was Ralsei shifting the position of his head to be able to speak freely…Kris had felt how his shoulder was slightly wet from all the tears coming from the goat monster. “K-Kris…I…l-love you…too…”

Kris had in the end proposed the idea of going on a date the next time they would meet…and that date had he promised him to be today, the very day he was in, walking towards the castle his loved one lived in. He was nervous, he desperately hoped that things were going to be fine…it could be a bad omen if his first date with Ralsei went south after all. Love shone within him, and Determination soon joined the feeling; he knew that he had the power to make this day a great one…especially for Ralsei.

Kris slowly approached the castle looming above Castle Town, walking past the deserted buildings to reach the home of the fluffy prince he valued beyond comparison. He took a few deep breaths while walking towards the door to calm himself, also making sure to hold the gift he had brought for Ralsei, bought in the little shop Seam owned before returning to Castle Town, behind his back with one hand. With his free hand did he knock onto the door of the castle, patiently waiting for it to open…though did he notice his quickened heartbeat.

The door in front of him opened with a loud squeaking noise, just enough for someone to look outside in order to check on who was outside the castle. Kris could see the two eyes peeking through the opening, but they quickly disappeared again once they spotted him, just for the door to fully open and reveal the inhabitant of the castle. Ralsei stood in front of him with a terrible blush on his face, the white ribbon he had given to the prince on their adventure tied to his hat.

“K-Kris…h-how nice to see you a-again…” the prince stammered, clearly way more nervous about the whole situation than Kris himself was…and with how badly Ralsei was blushing and stammering, he became even more adorable than Kris would have thought to be possible. He quickly stepped forward and wrapped both of his arms around his loved one, careful not to let him see his gift he held in his hand. “It's nice to see you again as well, Ralsei…I've missed you,” Kris whispered as he held him in his arms, and after a short amount of time did he feel Ralsei's arms wrap themselves around him as well.

After some time did he take his arms away from Ralsei again, and his loved one did so as well after a bit of a delay. Kris stepped back a bit and showed Ralsei what he held in his hand: a chocolate heart. “I couldn't find anything that is as sweet as you are, but I hope that it is enough…” Kris whispered, and he felt how his cheeks began to feel hotter, he had to be blushing quite strongly. It was nothing compared to how Ralsei's face seemed to be lit on fire though, because as soon as he had spoken those words did the face of the prince turn into a deep shade of red.

“Thank you, Kris…” Ralsei managed to bring out with a lot of stammering, and he took the chocolate heart with shaking hands when Kris held it out to him, pressing the heart against his own with both of his hands as if he had found a treasure he wouldn't want to let go of. “I-I will bring it inside so it doesn't melt, okay?” the dark prince stuttered before quickly running inside of the castle, which he came back out of after a minute or so, heavily panting. Kris walked over to him and took him into his arms, though it seemed like Ralsei was a bit too exhausted to hug him back for the time being.

“You didn't have to run like that just to be with me again, you dork,” Kris said, quite amused at how much effort Ralsei put into being with him again, but it also warmed his heart quite a bit. Ralsei was still panting, and Kris just couldn't resist anymore; he lifted Ralsei's hat off his head and stood onto his toes to gain a bit of extra height, planting a kiss onto the fluffy head of his loved one. A loud gasp for air indicated that Ralsei realized what he had done, the panting stopping immediately. Kris stood onto his feet again and backed his head off a bit, the blush on Ralsei's now non-obscured face being the worst he had ever seen on anyone so far.

“You look so adorable, Ralsei…I love you,” Kris whispered as he still had his arms around Ralsei, and the fluffy goat put his arms around his body again as his shock apparently went away again, closely hugging him back now. “I…I love you too, Kris,” could he hear next to his head, sending a warm feeling through his entire body. Even though how obviously nervous Ralsei was, Kris was able to feel how honest and sincere his words were.

“So, we had agreed on you being the one to pick what we will do for our first date, Ralsei. What have you chosen, my dear?” Kris asked the fluffy prince. Ralsei backed his head off a bit to look into Kris' eyes, and smiled before responding. “Well, I have heard that Rouxls Kaard is making and selling ice cream as of late, so I thought that maybe the two of us could…you know…” the goat monster said, the shaking voice proving how nervous he was.

“That sounds like a fantastic idea! I assume that he sells it in his shop?” Kris replied with enthusiasm, seemingly surprising Ralsei. “U-uhm, yeah…” his loved one brought out, to which Kris quickly put the hat back where it belonged, hugging Ralsei afterwards again. “Shh, calm down…it will be a wonderful time we are going to have,” he whispered, and the quivering monster in his arms stopped shaking after a bit. He felt Ralsei breathe against his shoulder in a calmer and relaxed pattern, and he hugged him just a tiny bit tighter.

“Are you feeling calmer now, Ralsei?” Kris asked after a while, slowly letting go of his loved one again. He saw how badly the dark prince was blushing again, but the smile on his face said more than enough. “Yeah, thank you, Kris. Uhm…shall we go for the ice cream?” Ralsei replied, an unsure expression resting on his face at his question. Kris desperately needed ice cream, that he was certain of…Ralsei's adorableness threatened to melt him, especially with how the prince seemed to try and make this date as perfect as possible.

“I think we should, Ralsei. Are you ready to go, together with me?” Kris replied, and Ralsei enthusiastically walked out of the castle towards him and closed the door to it. “I think I am, Kris…” he said with a smile, and Kris smiled back with all of the affection he felt inside of him. They began walking towards the field outside of the town, and Kris offered Ralsei his hand halfway to the golden gate, which the fluffy prince took into his own after he hesitated for a few seconds with a terrible blush on his face.

“You don’t have to if it makes you feel uncomfortable, Ralsei,” Kris reminded him as they kept walking, passing through the gate marking the border between the field and Castle Town. “I-I know, but….this is nice, admittedly. I also want to make you happy, too…” his loved one answered, holding Kris´ hand just a bit tighter at his words. Kris looked him into his eyes, and inside of them could he clearly see how Ralsei wanted to make him happy.

“You make me happy when you are okay with what we are doing, Ralsei. That is my highest priority,” Kris spoke his mind, and he felt how his cheeks began to feel a bit hotter…he again was blushing thanks to Ralsei's adorableness. “Aww Kris! As long as you are with me, there is nothing that could bother me!” the dark prince beamed; the joy and affection coming from him was something that Kris could literally feel hit him as a warm wave.

“Nothing could bother you? Are you sure about that?” Kris asked him as a bit of a mean idea crossed his mind. Ralsei was adorable with how in love he was, no doubt, but he also found delight in something else: to see Ralsei slightly upset, or trying to be upset, but hopelessly failing at it because of how cute he was. He secretly hoped that Ralsei wouldn’t be too upset at what was about to happen, but at the same time…it was Ralsei, and he was in love with Kris, so there wasn’t any reason to worry, really.

The dark prince was about to cheerfully reply that he couldn’t imagine anything that would upset him while he was with Kris, but before he was able to do so did he suddenly feel the hand holding his own let go, and before he was able to question the reason for it did he feel both of Kris’ hands again, located at his sides…before the fingers began to tickle him, the surprise causing Ralsei to bend over and laugh uncontrollably, the seemingly merciless assault of Kris continuing for what seemed like an eternity.

Ralsei’s legs eventually gave in and he dropped to the ground, relieving him of the tickling for a split second before Kris knelt next to him, proceeding to tickle the dark prince with an amused grin. The only thing Ralsei was able to feel was how he kept being tickled by his loved one, until he finally found relief in the hands retreating from his body, allowing him to try and breathe normally again. He was panting quite heavily from the sheer amount of laughter, and he felt how hot his face was thanks to it.

“Hehe, are you still sure that nothing could bother you, my dear?” Kris asked while grinning, and after a few seconds which the fluffy prince used to catch his breath again was he able to reply: “K-Kris…you’re mean…” His loved one responded with cheerful laughter, taking the hat from Ralsei’s head and caressing the fur on his head instead of tickling him. “You can’t just make up for that mean attack with this,” Ralsei said, trying to sound angered at Kris…but he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at his loved one, and when Kris continued to chuckle at his response could he only resist chuckling for so long.

He eventually gave in to his desire to laugh away as well, and before long were both boys laughing at the scene that had just taken place. “Oh Ralsei, you are too adorable, even when trying to be upset,” did Kris say between laughs, causing Ralsei to blush some more at the compliment. “O-oh shush, I’m not adorable, Kris…” was his reply, but Kris obviously caught how flustered he was, smiling down at him and offering his prince his free hand to help him stand up again.

“I will have to disagree with you, because you are as cute and adorable as it gets. Should we continue our walk to Card Castle?” asked the human as he held his hand out to Ralsei, who took the offer and grabbed Kris’ hand, allowing the human to carefully pull him up. As Ralsei stood on his feet again went Kris on and put the hat back where it belonged, causing Ralsei to smile more at his boyfriend. “Thank you, Kris…but I am going to pay you back for that,” he said, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to just do something mean to Kris.

“That do I want to see happen, you couldn’t swat a fly if someone’s life didn’t depend on it,” was Kris’ reply as the human chuckled again with a grin, and Ralsei knew of the truth in his words. “I…you are right, I couldn’t bring myself to do that,” Ralsei admitted in defeat, seemingly amusing Kris further. His loved one chuckled once more before he hugged Ralsei, a gesture that the fluffy prince blushingly returned. “And that is why I love you so much; because you are a sweet and adorable, kind-hearted fluffy ray of sunshine in others’ lives,” could he hear Kris whisper into his ear, causing him to blush again.

He still wasn’t used to others showing kindness to him, especially not to the extent that Kris practiced when talking to others. He had nice things to say about Susie as well, how nice she had become thanks to them being friends and how much of a positive influence their adventure had on her. It was all true, Susie had turned out to be a nice girl, even if she did have her rough spots and sometimes a few annoying tendencies, but she and Kris had become good friends, and he was getting along with the purple dragon quite well, too.

It was not comparable to the pure kindness and affection that Kris displayed towards the fluffy prince, however. Whatever Kris said to him was influenced by the love blooming inside of his heart and soul, without a doubt. Even his assault of tickling the fluffy prince had to have been just to enjoy a moment like this with him. Ralsei was beyond happy to have Kris with him, and he felt even better knowing that Kris was happy with him as well.

Ralsei felt how Kris’ arms let go of him again after some time, and took his own away from Kris as well. He could see the happy smile that the human flashed him, and happily smiled back; he looked towards their direction of travel and reminded himself of their original plan: to get some ice cream…hopefully good one; he didn’t know if the Duke of Puzzles was any good at making it. He did have faith nonetheless, as he would always give everyone the opportunity to show what they are capable of.

“W-well, we should get going, what do you say? I don’t know how long Rouxls Kaard’s shop will be open,” Ralsei suggested, gaining a nod from Kris as a response. The dark prince noticed how his lover held a hand out to him again, and he was glad that he managed to not blush as badly this time, though he still felt a bit of heat gathering in his face. It would take him some time to get used to such a thing, that he knew, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Taking Kris’ hand, the duo set off and wandered through the Field of Hopes and Dreams once more, engaging in chit-chat about what had been going on in their lives.

It was mostly Kris who did the talking, but it didn’t bother the human. His life provided for a bit more excitement than Ralsei’s, at least until now. Maybe he could manage to get more people to visit the fluffy prince more often so that he wouldn’t be alone as much, though he at least made the effort to visit Card Castle every so often. He wanted to ensure that the prince wouldn’t feel as alone during the time that he and Susie had to attend school or other chores, and having him connect more with other Darkners seemed like a good idea in his mind.

As he talked more, Kris looked at Ralsei once more…he was smiling happily, alternatingly looking at the path they were walking on and the human, a spark of joy and excitement mixed with love shining in his eyes. It was obvious how glad and joyful the fluffy prince was at the development of the bond between them, and Kris himself felt the same; he felt blessed that he and Ralsei could be the way they were together. He really felt happy with his life, the friendship with Susie made his life richer in a lot of aspects, adding spice to the otherwise boring life that was the Light World’s daily business, while also providing each other with a person to rely on, even though both of them were still getting accustomed to opening up towards each other.

The people of the Dark World had he befriended as well, most importantly Lancer and Rouxls Kaard, who were both ruling in place of the old king they had defeated weeks ago. Such things as an army or prisoners were part of the past, though was the prior monarch still locked up and guarded. Only a few Ruddins and Hathies remained to guard the palace, the rest were now living simpler and more peaceful lives, now that they weren’t forced to serve as soldiers anymore.

Kris stopped as he noticed the mysterious door next to him, taking him out of his thoughts. Had he stopped talking to Ralsei? His loved one didn’t seem to mind though, as he was still happily smiling when he looked at him, a faint blush appearing on the prince’s face. Kris smiled back as he opened the door, gesturing Ralsei to step through before him. The goat monster nodded shortly and stepped through the door, his smile unwavering all the time…he really seemed to be at the peak of happiness, much to Kris’ joy. It made him smile as well, and with that smile on his face did he walk through the door as well, finding himself outside of Card Castle once he had passed the door frame.

The door closed behind him with a clicking sound, with Ralsei waiting for him next to it. “Uhm, Kris…I don’t know how to put that, but…uhm…” a rather suddenly nervous-looking Ralsei said as he was fidgeting with his fingers and looking at the ground while blushing, leading Kris to the knowledge of something important being on his loved one’s mind. “What is it, Ralsei? No need to be nervous, speak your mind,” Kris encouraged him in a soothing tone, seemingly having an effect on the prince.

“Well…I feel nervous about just displaying our love in public here. Over in the field and in Castle Town were we on our own, but the area here is populated, so…if it is okay with you, can we…not do all that here?” the goat monster spoke with nervousness in his voice, but Kris could understand him. He was still nervous about the whole love thing and what others would think about it. “Of course, that’s no problem. I want you to feel comfortable after all. Do you think we could at least tell Lancer and Rouxls Kaard? They are friends after all,” Kris agreed, but he still suggested to at least tell those closer to them.

“W-well…I suppose it would be fine if only the two of them knew, I don’t think that they would say anything bad about us or anything,” his loved one gave in, with Kris smiling at him at the answer. He gave him a quick hug before he began to slowly walk towards the castle. “Alright, I’m glad that you are at least willing to tell them,” Kris said with a smile directed at Ralsei as the young prince quickly caught up to him. Ralsei nervously smiled back as they were about to enter the castle, with two Ruddin Rangers guarding the entrance. They greeted the guardians who happily greeted the known heroes back, and entered the castle in order to reach the shop the promised ice cream was to be found in.

The castle hadn’t really changed much, almost everything was still the same. The most notable change was in the throne room being filled with slopes and the like for Lancer to ride his bike in, other than that things had remained the same. Only that the traps in the castle had been removed as well, to create a non-hostile area for everyone. Kris and Ralsei stepped into the elevator to the top floor, riding it to their destination and exiting it afterwards. The shop of Rouxls Kaard was now in sight, and Ralsei was already looking forward to enjoying a cold treat.

He pushed the door to the shop open, a small bell above it sounding at the contact with the door. He was greeted with the same music he had heard the first time he visited the shop as well, together with the owner of the shop in the all too familiar pose, moving his hands and feet in rhythm with the music. “Ahh, thoust hast returned to mine shop, thine appearance maketh me happy,” Rouxls Kaard greeted the two of them as Kris entered the shop behind Ralsei, his wide smile directed at the two of them.

“Hello Mr. Kaard, how are you doing?” the prince greeted the large blue monster, glad to see the owner as happy as he always was. He noticed how it was cooler in the shop than before, most likely due to the ice cream being sold here. His eyes fell on the counter with a glass window in front, several flavours of ice cream on display…and he had to admit that he didn’t even know what flavours were being sold. “Doing well, young one, as art the two of thee, I ists hoping. I seeth that thou art looking at the cold treatmenteth I haveth here,” the duke of puzzles replied as he saw Ralsei looking at the ice cream.

“Indeed, we came here to enjoy your ice cream. Would you care to tell us what you have to offer?” Kris asked, and looking around showed Ralsei that his loved one was looking at the ice cream as well. “Of courseth, young ones. Haveth a good look,” Rouxls excitedly replied as he swung his legs off the counter and stood on the ground on his side of it, stepping behind the several bowls of ice cream. He went to the leftmost one, filled with slightly glowing, orange ice cream.

“Thiseth here ists made of Glowberries, while this oneth here next to it has been created out of Darkchovies. It may soundeth bad, but it ists rather delicious, if I sayeth so mineself,” he explained as he pointed at it, and followed by showing them a bowl of black one. The pair of them looked at the bowls, their gaze wandering towards the other bowls on display. “What is in this bowl, Mr. Kaard?” Ralsei asked as he pointed at the bowl next to the one filled with the black ice cream.

“Oh, it ist a lovely creation of cinnamon-butterscotcheth, it possesseth an acquired tasteth,” the tall blue monster explained, and Ralsei turned around as he heard Kris gasp for air. He seemed to be focused on the bowl Rouxls had explained the content of just now. “D-did you say cinnamon-butterscotch?” the human asked with what seemed to be a high expectation, making Ralsei curious. “Why, indeedeth, my young friend. It is one of the besteth tastes I haveth to offer,” the duke replied, and Kris quickly grabbed Ralsei’s right hand with the both of his own.

“Ralsei, you have got to try cinnamon-butterscotch! It is excellent, almost as good as you are,” the Lightner excitedly said with a wide smile, his sudden interaction with him making him blush, a lot more heat gathering in his face as he was made aware of Rouxls Kaard observing them. “Oh, ists there somethinge…special going on between the two of thee?” the owner of the shop asked them with a bit of a smug smile. “Indeed, Ralsei and I have discovered that there is a mutual love for each other between us, and it makes us happy beyond anything,” Kris beamed, but Ralsei felt overly nervous about what Rouxls would think about them being like that.

“Oh mine goodness, just looketh at the twoeth of thee, a cuteth couple as it ists in beautifule stories. And with thou blushing like thiseth…no, I cannot resist! Becauseth we art friends, and becauseth of what a cuteth couple thou art, I shall give thine ice cream out for free, it shall be on the house this once,” the duke exclaimed in a joyful way, and it was then that Ralsei calmed down a bit…it seemed like Rouxls Kaard was in support of them, much to his relief.

“So you support us, Mr. Kaard?” Ralsei asked, blushing not as much as before. Kris still found it to be cute, but then again, he found Ralsei to be cute all the time. “But of courseth, young love like this ists something beautiful. I wisheth the besteth for thee, young ones,” the duke answered with an unwavering smile, and Kris appreciated that things were this way. He was convinced that Lancer would support them as well, but he was itching to show Ralsei the magic of cinnamon-butterscotch first.

“Thank you. Now, for our order, we both would like to have one scoop of cinnamon-butterscotch ice cream please,” he happily said, a glance to Ralsei, whose hand he still held, showing that he was curious about what made Kris go into ecstasy like this. “O-oh,” the dark prince managed to say as he looked at his hand again, seemingly noticing that it was still held by Kris. A calm smile that he directed at his fluffy loved one managed to seemingly ease him up again, looking less flustered and a bit more comfortable.

“Thine requesteth shall be fulfilled soon. Wouldst thou want it in a waffle cone?” Rouxls asked as he scooped up some of the ice cream, the texture reminding Kris of his home. He doubted that anything could be as good as his mother’s pie, but if it was even half as good it was going to be enough to make him happy and amaze Ralsei, that he knew. “Uhm...I would prefer a waffle cone, thank you,” did the voice of Ralsei speak, so Kris quickly added that he would take one as well.

“Cominge right up, mine friends,” the shop owner declared, taking out a waffle cone from under the counter and placing the scooped up ice cream onto it, handing it towards Ralsei. “Here, young one. Enjoy thine icy treat,” Rouxls said, and as Ralsei grabbed the waffle cone and thanked him did he quickly repeat the procedure, handing Kris the second ice cream as well. “Thank you very much. We will be going to see Lancer, if he is available,” Kris stated as he held his ice cream in his right hand, while Ralsei held his in his left. Their respective free hand held the other, and Kris knew that Lancer deserved to know of the newest development as well.

“The young monarch shouldst be free for the arrival of thee, I shallst be coming with you as well. It ists time for a break,” the tall blue monster replied, and swiftly walked around the counter towards the young couple. “Alright, let us get going, then. And once we’re outside of the shop, we will try this beautiful looking ice cream,” Kris instructed with enthusiasm, gaining a nod from Ralsei as approval. The fluffy prince looked at the ice cream, seemingly curious about its taste, but quickly followed Kris as he left the shop.

The small bell above the door again chimed as the two objects made contact, and its sound could be heard again after Rouxls Kaard left his shop as the last person, the door closing behind him. He turned around and locked the door with a small key he had stored in a pocket of his clothing, putting it away afterwards. “One never knoweth when someone couldst try and relieveth me of mine possessions, though I would doubt that someone of the castle wouldst do that,” the shopkeeper explained.

Kris however looked at the ice cream, itching to taste it, and a glance over at Ralsei showed that his boyfriend was just as impatient. “Ready to taste, my dear?” he asked the goat monster with a smile, causing Ralsei to smile back with a faint blush on his face. “Yeah, I want to know what it is like,” was his reply, and so they simultaneously licked the scoop of ice cream. The second the taste spread through his mouth felt Kris an exciting sensation, a reminding him of how he felt when he had tried his first ever cinnamon-butterscotch pie.

He was fascinated by how it tasted almost as good as his mother’s pie; it was in fact such a positive surprise that his eyes began to tear up. Another happy memory appeared: when he first introduced Susie to his mother’s creation. He had never seen Susie stop and do nothing once she had the food in her mouth, but this pie seemed to have amazed her beyond comparison. Susie had stood up and hugged Toriel, a surprise for everyone including Susie herself, as she apologized for the sudden rush of affection afterwards, followed by a list of compliments and descriptions of tastes and so on, praising the pie as the best thing she had ever eaten.

When Toriel had then offered to make her a pie each Sunday, having her over on that day to enjoy the pie together became a heart-warming moment each time. Susie had changed thanks to their adventure…or rather, unlocked her good qualities. She wasn’t a mean bully deep down, at her core was she a caring girl who had craved to find a friend and hid her insecurities behind a wall of aggression. Kris was glad that he and Ralsei, together with Lancer, had helped her uncover her potential, a shift that everyone welcomed.

Ralsei too seemed to be more than happy about how Susie had turned out to be, in fact did he seem gladder about it than Kris himself. He had always believed that Susie could be a hero, and she turned out to be way more than that: Susie was a true friend, one who would always have your back…and break that of those who would dare harm her friends. She had promised to work on her aggressive tendencies, but both Kris and Ralsei knew that she probably wouldn’t fully lose those. Not that they minded, because unlike them was Susie more blunt and straight to the point, and that was something they both needed at times, as they used to go into explaining things in detail and all. Kris smiled as he was made aware once more how great friends the three of them were.

“W-wow...” could he hear next to him, the voice taking him out of his thoughts and back into the present. The voice had come from next to him, as he turned his head did he determine Ralsei to have been the source of it. His eyes were widened, he seemed to be speechless as something seemed to have surprised or amazed him. “T-this is...this tastes absolutely fantastic!” Ralsei cheerfully exclaimed as he quickly took in more of the ice cream, seemingly forgetting his modesty as he made haste to take in as much of the ice cream as quickly as possible.

Kris barely managed to suppress a giggle or laugh at the scene, it was both cute and funny to see Ralsei not as the modest prince that he was and instead trying to gobble down the ice cream as quickly as possible. A smile was something that Kris couldn’t hold back, growing wide and wider as he kept observing Ralsei. “A-aaahhhhh,” did the prince exclaim all of a sudden as his expression turned into a pained one, and he held his free hand against his head. Kris had an idea what was going on. “Stop eating for now, Ralsei...I think you have just suffered brain freeze because you ate the ice cream too quickly,” Kris advised him with concern as he was worried about Ralsei now instead.

The dark prince did as he had been told, seemingly relaxing after some minutes had passed. “Phwew..that felt weawy intenfe,” was he able to say, causing both Kris and Rouxls Kaard to chuckle at Ralsei’s temporary misery. Kris wasn’t worried anymore, as he had dealt with brain freeze more often than he should have...but ice cream over learning his lesson it had always been in his life, and after a few times did he stop counting the amount of brain freezes he had suffered from. Letting more time pass for Ralsei to recover from it, Kris eventually found a time to comment on his behaviour. “I’m glad that you enjoy it a lot, my dear,” did he say with a bit of chuckling mixed into his sentence.

“Oh…I-I mean, it is very delicious…” Ralsei replied as he felt flustered, he didn’t know what had made him have at the ice cream like that…but its taste was so wonderful that he hadn’t been able to resist. He was glad that the pain in his head had subsided again, and his tongue didn’t feel weird anymore either. “It is, and I’m happy that you like it as much as Susie and I do. I will have to let you taste cinnamon-butterscotch pie like my mother uses to make it in the near future, it’s even better than the ice cream,” the Lightner he loved answered with a grin, and even though his eyes were obscured by his hair did Ralsei believe to see a gentle sparkle between the hairs.

“I ists pleased that thou art enjoying mine ice cream, shallst we be meetinge the kingeth now?” Rouxls Kaard spoke up, and Ralsei knew that they should visit Lancer and tell him the great news as well; it was only fair that way after all. He nodded before eating more of his ice cream, and looking at Kris allowed him to see how Kris nodded as well with a smile before continuing to eat his own ice cream. The three of them began walking to the stairs leading to the throne room, where Lancer was most likely minding his own business.

Ralsei thoroughly enjoyed everything that he was experiencing; Kris’ presence was more than comfortable to him, Rouxls Kaard showed support for them being together, and the ice cream was among the best things he had ever tasted in his entire life. Kris’ choice had been amazing, just as he thought Kris was himself. Though maybe a prankster at times and sometimes a bit more quiet than Ralsei would like, he was kind-hearted and caring at his core. Susie and him shared quite some things according to the two of them as well, they had both been loners in school until their adventure.

It also reminded him of himself, and he was happy how the lonely people had come together to be friends now. Each one of them cared about the others and would do anything for them, and whenever someone was feeling bad would the others be there for them. It made Ralsei especially happy that Susie showed care and tried her best to comfort her friends, and even though her approaches and attempts were still clumsy and in need of refinement, she was getting better at it and made everyone happy by showing how she tried to cheer them up again.

Screeching tires snapped him out of his thoughts again as they climbed up the stairs to the throne room, indicating that Lancer wasn’t busy with official duties right now and having fun instead. They stopped on the final step and looked through the room, just in time before Lancer shot past them on his bike and cycled up a slope in the corner before changing his direction and riding it down again. As he performed another turn did his head turn towards the stairs for a moment, and upon seeing the three of them standing there did his bike come to a screeching halt.

“Hohoho, my favourite Toothpaste Boy and his comrade who is always appearing blue are making an effort in entertaining me with their presence, together with Lesser Dad! How art thou feelinge?” did he shout before jumping off his bike, running up to the three and hugging Rouxls, who quickly picked him up and hugged him back, allowing Kris and Ralsei to get in for a group hug as well, careful not to lose their ice cream or smear it onto one of them. “We are feeling wonderful, Lancer. What about you?” Kris replied as he hugged the small spade boy. Lancer had become a good friend of them thanks to their adventure as well, mostly to Susie as they still used to mess around and play pranks on others, mostly at the expense of Ralsei. And sometimes did Kris chime in as well, to the fluffy prince’s dismay at first; in the end would everyone laugh about things however.

“I’m doing well, even better now with you being here! Oh, you got some ice cream from Lesser Dad?” Lancer asked as the four of them stopped hugging, with Rouxls setting him back onto the floor again, allowing the monarch to see the waffle cones in their hands. Ralsei had almost finished eating his ice cream by now, and it seemed like Kris wasn’t too far away from eating his cone either. “Indeedeth, the young ones are enjoyinge the treats that they got for free,” answered the duke of puzzles.

“For free? Why did they get it for free? Because they are our friends, right?” Lancer inquired, which was met by chuckling of both Kris and Rouxls Kaard. As the spade boy looked at the three of them in a confused manner did Kris take Ralsei’s free hand with his own, causing a bit of heat to gather in the prince’s face. Now did Lancer look back and forth between Kris and Ralsei in a more confused manner, making Rouxls laugh in delight. “Well, Lancer…Ralsei and I are a couple now,” explained Kris, the words sending a smile to Ralsei’s face as well. Lancer looked even more confused now. “A couple? How do you mean that?”

Instead of answering did Ralsei suddenly feel Kris kissing his cheek, a gasp coming as a reaction from both him and Lancer, combined with more heat gathering in Ralsei’s face. “Wouldst thou look at the younge love betweenst those two? I hadst no choice but to celebrate with givinge them a treateth for free,” Rouxls said in a happy manner, and slowly did a grin creep onto Lancer’s face as well. He ran up to and hugged both of them, grinning ear to ear while doing so.

“That’s awesome, but also a bit gross…I think you two look cute like that together though. Does Susie know about it as well?” was Lancer’s comment, and Kris didn’t quite know how Susie would react to them loving each other. He didn’t really expect any bad reaction coming from her though, so he looked into the future with confidence. “She doesn’t yet, but Ralsei and I will surprise her tomorrow when I’ll have her tag along again. She couldn’t come today due to family things, so I decided to use that opportunity to go on a date with Ralsei. Yesterday did I confess my love to him after Susie had left his castle already, and I stayed behind for a bit longer to tell him how I feel,” Kris explained, pure positivity swinging in his voice.

“I bet she will be surprised, and I’m sure that she’ll like to hear that!” Lancer enthusiastically said as he shot a fist up into the air. Ralsei on the other hand began to blush as he hadn’t agreed to anything like that. “W-we?! Kris, we never agreed on that!” Ralsei shouted as he was flustered, and his blush worsened when he noticed the others grinning at him. “I can seeth why thou hath chosen him, the younge one ists cute like this,” a seemingly bemused Rouxls Kaard commented, worsening his blush even further.

Kris grinned as he watched his obviously flustered boyfriend. He started biting off the waffle cone he held as there wasn’t a lot of ice cream left in it, savouring the flavour of cinnamon-butterscotch once more. This day really had been an amazing one; he showed Ralsei the magic of this gorgeous taste, Lancer and Rouxls Kaard were supportive of their relationship, and Ralsei seemed to be happy about the way things had gone as well, even though he was a flustered mess more often than not. Looking over, he saw how Ralsei bit off his own cone as well, the blush on his face slowly disappearing again, and upon meeting with Kris’ gaze did he smile back at the Lightner.

“You know, Ralsei…this may be a sweet and cold thing that we got today, but you are the sweetest treat of them all that warms my heart. I love you,” Kris said with the warmest smile, and he saw how Ralsei blushed a bit again and looked aside due to how flattered he was. A smile was visible on his face nonetheless, and Kris could hear him clearly as he whispered a “I love you too.” back to him. A warm feeling joined the satisfactory experience of being filled with a delicious icy treat, a warm feeling that made him happy and could only be produced by the one he loved. Their future, Kris knew, was going to be a great one…just like the one of those around them.