Archive of Our Own

-Before the Adoption-

It was a year into their marriage that Noelle Holiday brought up the topic of kids. Being the more family-oriented of the two, she was open to exploring the possibility alongside her new wife. Susie Holiday was understandably hesitant at first, though she warmed up to the idea the more she thought about it. 

“Never really had stuff like this modeled for me,” Susie admitted. “But…I know I’m not handling it alone. If it’s with you, I think I can do it. And I guess I’d really like to, you know…have an even bigger family.” By the end, they were in agreement that adoption was the way to go. 

But it's who they ended up adopting that surprised their friends and themselves.

They paid a visit to the local orphanage to learn more about their possible kid. All of the monster orphans available were babies—dog monsters and cat monsters mostly, as they tended to be the more common of the monster species. Deer monsters were much rarer, and whatever Susie was was practically extinct, but they didn’t care if their kid looked like them or not. 

While looking at the list, none of the children had names except for one. Noelle pointed to the name.

"This girl is named Summer. Wouldn't it be silly if she ended up with us, Susie? 'Summer Holiday', faha!" 

"Oh, I'm not sure you want her," the orphanage director said, suddenly looking awkward. She was a long-haired cat monster and quite personable, though her demeanor stiffened at the mention of the name.

"Why not? What kinda monster is she?" Susie asked. 

The director paused. "She's...well, she's a human. Our only human."

Susie and Noelle exchanged a glance.

"How did a human end up at a monster orphanage?" Noelle wondered. "The nearest human village is at least a day by car..." 

"Capacity issue,” the director explained. “Summer was taking up space at her human orphanage that was needed for younger children, since humans tend to prefer adopting babies. So her village sent her all the way out here. But most monsters want to adopt other monsters, so this was never going to be the best arrangement for her. And at her current age, she has almost outgrown this place. We are just preparing to transfer her to her first foster home-"

"Nope."

Susie's firm voice made both the director and Noelle jump. "Susie?" she said in time with the director's "Pardon?"

"You're not putting a human kid through the system like that. They're already an outsider in this part of the world. Without any stability in their home life, they're gonna be miserable."

The director stiffened further, fur on end, but Noelle softened at Susie's words.

"I-I'm afraid I don't have much a choice, ma'am," the director stammered. "We tried very hard to find info on her blood family and found nothing. It appears she had no biological parents, grandparents, or next of kin to take her. There isn't much else we can do." 

Susie scaled it back, folding her arms and not saying anything. 

"Er, we're gonna take some time to think," Noelle cut in. "Thank you for speaking with us today." 

"Of course." The director saw them out. "I look forward to your decision."

Susie and Noelle discussed their decision at length after that. Though Susie tried to dodge around her outburst, Noelle kept coming back to it.

"Do you want to take her, Susie?" she finally asked. 

Susie shrugged. "Maybe. I dunno. But you don't have to say yes, Noelle. We have to both want this. Like, I know humans. Kris taught me a lot. But this is a huge decision and it's not an easy one. I just got pissed off for a second when she mentioned the shilling her off to the system thing. I know that happens all the time and I can’t stop it from happening to everyone. We can just take a monster baby, if you want."

"I...actually thought about this before," Noelle admitted. "Adopting a human, I mean. Hard not to when I grew up around Kris and the mixed family of the Dreemurs, you know? Even when I was little, I thought about what it would be like to have a human in my family...once I got over the fear of them under my bed, at least!" She smiled softly. "I know humans require different care than monsters, but I'm willing to learn. If you want her to be ours, I'd do my best raise her with you, no matter how challenging." 

Susie stared at the ground in thought for a bit. And then: 

"Let's, uh, let's meet her. See how that goes."

"Oh yes, good idea!”

Susie smiled with all her teeth. She looked back up at her wife and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Man, we can never just make the easy choice, eh?"

Noelle blushed almost as pink as Susie’s skin—even fully married, she still couldn’t help but get flustered when Susie showed sudden affection. She just managed to compose herself and kiss her back. “Nah.” 

They still had prep work to do before the meeting to get the house and themselves ready for potentially taking home this kid. Noelle threw herself into learning all she could about raising human children. Susie joked that her wife was attending "Mom Boot Camp". For all intents and purposes that's what it seemed like, with a copy of How To Care For A Human sitting on her side of the bed and loaded with red and green post-it notes, and her insistence on daily calls with Toriel to learn everything she needed to know about their potential endeavor. 

When the day finally came to meet her, the director had them stand in one of the empty playrooms and went to go get her. 

“Gosh, I’m nervous.” Noelle tugged at the sleeves of her checkered Christmas sweater. “I hope we make a good first impression on her!”

Susie shrugged, eyes fixed on the door. Internally she was just as panicked as Noelle, but she’d never show it. 

And then the door opened, and the director walked in with a little girl following behind. 

She had bright orange hair that fell in little curls at her shoulders and was wearing a tiny sundress. Noelle immediately looked at Susie and mouthed ‘she’s so cute!’, her eyes already starry. Susie smiled a bit in response. The dress was really not her style, but she wasn’t not adorable, either, like looking at a cute puppy. 

“Alright, Summer, these two are potentially interested in adopting you,” the director said. “I’ll let you three spend time together.” She closed the door behind her so just Summer was left. The human girl glanced back at the door and then ahead, her eyes wide and uncertain. 

Noelle smiled at her, doing her best to temper her nerves. “H-hi there, Summer! My name’s Noelle. You have beautiful hair, and I love your dress!”

Summer blinked at Noelle, and then looked over at Susie. 

“Uh, hey,” Susie greeted, rubbing the back of her head. “Susie.” 

Summer stared at her. It was a bit unnerving. Susie lowered her hand.

“So…yeah, your dress. It’s very orange. Orange isn’t really my color, but like, I guess it matches whatever you’ve got going on.” 

Summer’s eyes widened a bit as Susie talked. And then, she burst into tears.

Two things happened at once.

First, Susie froze. 

Her mettle popped like a balloon's chance meeting with a thumbtack. She could only stare dumbly at the crying human before her, unable to get herself to move.

Second, Noelle melted. 

All of her prior nerves were gone, replaced with an extremely potent mix of empathy—she was so often a frightened teary child herself when she was little—and a sudden fierce maternal instinct.

“I think she's scared..." Noelle's eyes softened as she stepped forward slowly, then crouched in front of Summer. 

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry we scared you." Warmth spread through her voice despite her winter aesthetic. It sounded caring enough to get the girl to peek out from her hands at the deer lady in front of her through her quiet sobs.

“The director mentioned to us that you've never seen monsters like us before. You probably haven’t seen monsters at all before coming here, huh? But I promise we won't hurt you. We want you to be safe and we want to protect you." 

Noelle carefully held out her paw facing up, the way she used to when casting support spells in the Dark World, for Summer to get a closer look and take hold of if she wanted. 

Summer did not make eye contact, but reached out her hand around sniffles. She put it on top of Noelle's and was briefly distracted by the soft fur, her hitching breath stopping as she touched it.

Noelle waited a bit before gently closing her paw over the little human's hand. It was so tiny...it was difficult not to just gather up the crying girl in a hug, but she didn't want to touch her further without permission.

"If you'd like, I can hold you. It's okay if you don't want that and that feels too close for you right now, but...seeing you so upset really makes me want to comfort you. I think the reason we cry is so others know that we need them to take care of us.”

Summer took a shaky breath and let go of her paw. Noelle held out her arms but not too much, giving her the option.

The human girl took one step forward, and paused. She was still refusing to make eye contact. 

Which made the sudden, rather powerful lunge into her arms all the more surprising.

Noelle gave a soft "oh!" as Summer buried her face deep into her Christmas sweater. She nearly fell over from the impact. Then, a surge of affection kicked up inside her like the world's warmest snowstorm as she wrapped Summer tight in her arms. Any sounds from beyond the room faded away as Noelle stood up, rocked lightly in place, and gently hummed a Christmas carol to the crying human. 

Susie stared awkwardly the whole time. She didn't want to interrupt whatever mom magic Noelle was working on the kid. By the time the crying had stopped, the girl was fast asleep in Noelle's arms, still lightly gripping her sweater.

"Success!" Noelle reported in a whisper. "I got her from tears to dreamland with just a bit of TLC...minus the face planting on my behalf.”

"You're a natural. Obviously. Good you're putting your Mom Boot Camp degree to use." Susie looked away. “Still…not the best first impression on my end, huh?”

Noelle readjusted the girl in her arms so she could reach out to Susie and take her hand.

“It’s okay. We can still talk about it if you want. We haven’t made any decisions yet.”

“Really?” Susie raised an eyebrow having just witnessed what she did. “We haven’t?”

Noelle cleared her throat. “I-I mean…I do feel close to her already. I haven't spent much time with kids before, so this is the first time I’ve rocked one to sleep, and…she just dove into my arms, Susie. I have no idea when the last time she had a hug was.” 

Susie sighed. “Look. I don’t want her to go to her alternative situation. She’s clearly too precious for that, she won’t last. And hey, I’m used to scaring people. I’m actually great at it. So, this is just a compliment to me that I haven’t lost my touch in my adulthood.” Susie grinned a moment, then dropped it. “But let’s see what Summer wants. Make sure the director asks her before we make any choices. Kid’s old enough that she should have some say.”

Noelle nodded, looking down fondly at the girl in her arms. “Yeah. For now, though, let’s let her rest.” 

Susie didn’t have a great feeling about their chances after that. But she was very wrong.

According to the director, Summer wanted to be with them. In fact, she was extremely eager to come home with them. Knowing the director had nothing to gain from lying, she had to assume Summer’s first meeting with them had gone over well in her little mind. 

“Guess she really loved you,” Susie had told Noelle when they got the news. “Not that that’s hard!” She added on the second bit just to elicit another blush, with success. 

When they picked Summer up, there were no tears—in fact, she had a bright smile. Her tiny hand eagerly took Noelle’s, though her eyes cast near-constant glances at Susie. Susie assumed it was out of caution and decided to keep out of the way until Summer was ready to start coming to her. 

-Week One-

Toriel was on call as needed as they helped Summer settle in to her new home the first week. For the most part, she took to the new living situation well. They started learning her preferences—she was a crusts-off her sandwiches kind of kid, she loved bathtime and the peppermint-scented shampoo Noelle had picked for her, and she liked puzzle games better than dolls (“Where was she during our Dark World days?” Susie had joked as they watched her assemble a jigsaw with impressive speed.)
Growing up, Noelle had been on the receiving end of Kris's pranks tons of times, and Toriel had reiterated to her that humans were naturally mischievous; but Summer was not a prankster. As Noelle explained it to Susie: “she likes to give nice surprises over nasty ones.” Like when she wandered outside and came back with fresh picked flowers for Noelle, or drew a really rough (but adorable) picture of herself, Noelle, and even Susie and put it on Noelle's plate during dinner.

Her relationship with Susie was different, though. Summer still stopped and stared a lot of the time Susie was around, leaving Noelle to do most of the caretaking. And Susie’s insecurity over it grew, but she did her best to keep tough and trust that things would work out with time.

-Week Two-

They were all sitting on the couch for the afternoon watching TV, although Summer wasn't actually watching. Instead she was sitting on Noelle’s lap, mesmerized by her antlers. Noelle patiently let her examine them with a smile. 

"Fuzzy," Summer reported with awe, running her tiny fingers along the surprising softness of one. 

"Yes, sweetheart, they are very fuzzy! That's called 'velvet'. It protects my antlers when they grow back in, although it kind of makes them a bit ticklish.” Summer ran her hand back and forth on the velvet while Noelle stifled giggles. 

Susie loved to make her wife laugh by touching her antlers when they were growing back for the year and especially sensitive. The sight of their kid doing the same now admittedly warmed her heart and made her grin. She scooched over and ruffled the velvet on Noelle's other antler. "Sure are fuzzy, huh, kiddo? I like ‘em, too."

"Susie! That's not fa-hahaha-fair!" Noelle failed to stifle further laughter and Susie grinned triumphantly. Summer briefly smiled herself.

Then her smile dropped. She glanced up at the very up-close sight of Susie, and pressed herself closer to Noelle's chest. 

"Oh, it's okay," Noelle quickly assured, hugging her tighter. "You're safe." 

"Sharp," Summer muttered, and Susie realized she must have seen her teeth up close when she was grinning just before.

"Yep, sharp teeth," Susie said. "It helps me eat anything and everything!"

Summer's eyes widened a moment. Then, she buried her face into Noelle's sweater. Noelle gently rubbed her back and sighed lightly. 

"Work in progress," she whispered to Susie, who did her best not to obviously sulk. 

-Week Three-

Summer had found her voice. She was very different than Kris in this regard—while Noelle was expecting a quiet human similar to her childhood friend, she got the opposite in the little redheaded chatterbox that Summer had become within weeks of adoption. The only time she didn’t talk was around Susie. 

But nothing could have prepared Noelle for what she heard in the middle of their third week together. 

It was a minor moment in retrospect. Summer came bounding down the steps, in a chunky Christmas sweater that used to be Noelle's when she was little. She slid into the kitchen on her fuzzy socks and then ran over to Noelle, who was just plating some freshly baked gingerbread for breakfast. 

"Good morning, Mama!" Summer exclaimed, hugging Noelle around the waist. “I slept good! I’m excited for breakfast!” 

Noelle froze deer-in-headlights style. She played what Summer had just called her for the very first time in her head over and over. Then she looked over at Susie at the table, her doe eyes huge and glassy and bright like she was going to cry from pure happiness. Susie just grinned with amusement. 

Noelle put the plate down and crouched to hug Summer tight. “G-good morning, sweetheart! Um, M-Mama is really happy you slept well! I just made fresh gingerbread for us.” 

She kissed Summer’s forehead and then scooped her up, taking the plate in her other paw. She sat her in the chair between her and Susie.

Summer was too preoccupied by the warm gingerbread to tense up around Susie, happily taking and munching on her slice. She was also totally oblivious to the emotional one-hit KO she’d dealt Noelle, who was nibbling her own gingerbread around a huge smile she couldn’t suppress while staring at nothing in particular. Susie remembered the first time she’d seen her like this. It was a while after they started dating, but the first time Susie casually called her her girlfriend. Noelle had choked on her cocoa and coughed for the next five minutes while Susie awkwardly patted her back saying “dude we’ve already kissed a bunch, isn't that just what we're called?” And again when they were married and she called her her wife during their honeymoon. One of her favorite parts of the deer girl was how novelty never wore off on her. 

“Gotta love Mama’s gingerbread,” Susie said to Summer through a full mouth, pleased when it made Noelle falter and then look right at her again with poorly contained euphoria. 

Summer looked up at Susie. She nodded once, and then broke eye contact and stared down at her plate. 

That was a start. Of course, it would be nice to earn a title, too. Susie didn’t care what, but…something would be better than nothing.

-Week Four-

For the most part, Summer slept well. She went down pretty early and seemed to like her bedroom. 

That's why her sudden, midnight yelling had been so distressing. Susie and Noelle hadn't been asleep, up late watching movies together. Noelle’s ears twitched sharply when she heard the sound. Almost instantly, they sprang up off the couch at once.

“Summer!” Noelle’s voice was heavy with panic as they both raced to the stairs. Their time in the Dark World taught them to have fast reflexes to any threat. Susie charged into the bedroom first, ready to fight whatever was causing their kid distress. 

But nothing was in the room. Just Summer, sitting up in bed in her candy cane striped pajamas, sobbing. A bad dream. 

Summer wasn't much of a crier. It was the first time they'd seen her in tears since they picked her up. 

But the sight had the exact same effect on Noelle. She went to her immediately, picking her up off the bed and holding her tight with whispered words. "Gosh, your little heart is racing...my poor baby. You're okay now, it was just a scary dream. Mama's got you." Summer glanced up at her mom through her sobs and settled a bit as Noelle kissed her tear-stained cheeks. 

“I’ll, uh, guard the door.” Susie offered, going to stand by it. Noelle sat down on the bedside with her as they waited for Summer to calm a little before speaking again. 

Noelle was tucking strands of Summer’s messy red hair behind her ears by the time she seemed to catch her breath. "Want to tell us what happened, sweetheart?” 

“Cold,” she muttered. Noelle went stiff.

“C-Cold…?” She wasn’t sure why, but her kid saying that made her stomach clench. 

“U-uh-huh. Cold and dark and rocky.” 

“Oh.” A cave. Noelle relaxed. She wasn’t actually sure where she thought the dream was going, but she was glad it didn’t go there. 

“T-there was a big scary dragon,” Summer went on. “And it attacked me with fire breath!” 

“A big scary…” Noelle glanced to the door with a scolding look. “Susie, are you letting her watch your action movies?” 

“Huh? No way!” Susie shook her head quickly. “She’s always napping when I watch.” She paused. “Wait, what about you? You’re the one who’s been playing Dragon Blazers VI and she spends 24/7 attached to you!” 

“What?!” Noelle looked absolutely appalled by the accusation…a little too appalled. “I only play when she’s napping, too!…And, um, sometimes when she’s coloring. Once during snack time. She’s peaked over my shoulder a few times. B-but I told her to look away because it’s a game for bigger kids and grownups!”

“Like hearing that has stopped any kid ever.” Susie smirked. “Noelle, you know you’re my favorite monster, but this one isn't on me.” 

Noelle sheepishly cleared her throat and turned back to Summer, who was still sniffling. “W-well, anyways. That does sound very scary, sweetheart. But it wasn’t real. You’re safe in your bedroom with Mama and Susie. Neither of us will let anything happen to you.” She carefully dried Summer’s tears. “It’s okay to be scared, though. Dragons are scary. I used to be scared of all sorts of things. And much smaller and sillier things, like mice. But it turns out they're actually kind of friendly! Maybe some dragons are friendly, too?” 

Summer leaned against Noelle’s shoulder, taking a few shuddery breathes but not quite calmed down. 

“Hey, kid.” Summer perked up at being directly addressed. It’s not often Susie would talk to her directly, usually giving her the space she seemed to want. “Listen. If there are any mean dragons around—not chill ones, but like the mean ones in your dream messing with you…I’ll beat em up. So you don't have to be scared, kay?"

Summer stared right at Susie and didn’t look away this time. Miraculously, the tears seemed to dry up at that statement. She took a deep breath and calmed fully, feeling braver. 

“Oh! There we go…” Noelle sighed with relief seeing their kid okay again. “Do you think you can go back to sleep, sweetheart?”

Summer hesitated. Susie spoke up for her.

“Maybe we can crash here. I’ll stay guarding the door and Mama can cuddle up in bed with you.” 

Summer actually smiled at that and nodded a few times. Susie smiled back and looked at Noelle expectantly.

Noelle responded by standing from the bed and pulling back the covers. She got in with Summer and gently tucked the covers around them both. “Sleepover it is!” 

Everyone slept well that night. Even Susie, who was posted up by the doorframe and not in the most comfortable position. The sight of Summer’s smile was enough to make her sleep as well as the other two members of her family. 

-Week Five-

Unfortunately, that was the only night where it felt like they were a family. Otherwise, Summer was back to her wordless hedging self around her second mom. And Susie was growing more unsure as the days went by.

Noelle noticed, of course. But Susie didn’t like to talk about things until she was ready, so she waited for her wife to initiate the conversation. 

Summer was taking a nap when she brought it up over the kitchen table, Susie's usual voracious appetite not as strong as she stared down at her half-eaten plate of Christmas cookies. 

“Maybe I’m just not mom material to her, y’know? Not like you. I don't have a kind face or soft voice or fuzzy antlers, and I don't sing Christmas carol lullabies or read bedtime stories or dole out gentle kisses the way you do. It’s really not my style.”  

“Doesn’t mean you can’t be a mom,” Noelle assured her, reaching out to take her hand across the table. “You’re just more tough. And very protective. She saw that when she had her nightmare, remember? You made her feel safe and protected. You made her feel brave.”

“I guess." Susie paused. "Why did she want to come home with us so bad? I get if it was just for you, but…I want to know what she really thinks about me.”

“She won’t tell me.” Noelle sighed. “I’ve asked a lot, Susie. I told her you care about her just as much as I do and she can talk to you. I tried to figure out what exactly about you scares her, but she won’t say anything when I bring you up.” 

“Huh. It’s fine. Whatever.”

“Is it?” Noelle tilted her head. “I think we need to get to the bottom of this. For both of your sakes.”

“I’m used to it, Noelle. Not everyone sees in me what you do.” She gave a big shrug, though it seemed a lot more resigned than usual. 

Noelle shook her head and squeezed her hand tightly.

“We’ll figure it out, Susie. I promise.” 

-Week Six-

Noelle had to go on a day trip to visit her mother's retirement home, leaving Summer in Susie’s care. Well, almost.

“Uh, no way. She’s not gonna be down for that. I know you think it’s good bonding time or whatever, but I think it’s a bad idea and she’s gonna hate it.”

“I understand, Susie, but I really need to go to this and I don’t think we have time to find a babysitter…”

“Not a problem. I know just the guy.”

They hadn’t visited the Dark World for a few years. But Ralsei was the most capable Darkner she knew. And Summer had no objections on going to the Castle Town—she had heard a lot from Noelle about their Dark World adventures. The G rated version, at least. But Castle Town was safe. And with Kris currently traveling abroad, the citizens were eager to have some new company. 

So with Noelle’s blessing, Summer was dropped off at Castle Town for the day, and Susie had time alone in the house to watch all the action movies she wanted. 

But she could hardly focus on them. She spent the whole time wondering what her friends would find out. She had asked both Ralsei and Lancer to try and figure out what exactly Summer found so scary about her, and they agreed to do some prying. 

And she got answers in the forms of two letters Summer brought back with her when Noelle picked her up.

“Both for you,” Noelle told her. “Want to read them now or—”

Susie was already uncrumpling the first one. It was etched out in a very familiar scrawl. 

Susie!!

Ohoho (I’m writing that out so you can hear it!) thank you for asking me to sit on your Baby! I think she had much fun in Castle Town with us! Ralsei baked her a cake and they hugged a bunch and then we played tons of games in the Dojo! 

I asked about you, and did you know? The Baby doesn’t find you so scary at all. She said she thinks you are so, so cool! Cooler than ice! Cooler than your cold girlfriend-wife! But she doesn’t think you will find her cool back. She wants to know how to be cool to impress you and asked me how to do it. So I was showing her my coolest splat sounds! But she didn't seem interested. Anyway, come visit again soon!

That was all in the first letter. Susie blinked. She wordlessly checked the second one.

Dear Susie,

Hi! How are you? We talked briefly when you dropped off Summer but let’s catch up properly over tea sometime! 

I think Lancer might have told you, but she isn’t afraid of you! It’s the opposite. When I asked, she told us she really admires you. But as a result she’s all stressed out about living up to that. She's not afraid of you, she's afraid of not being cool enough for you. You should tell her you think she’s cool! 

PS She gives great hugs ]:) Make sure to let her hug you, Susie!

Unlike toothpaste boy, who is NOT cool! Was written in the margins of that. 

“Wait wait wait.” Susie re-read the letter. “Wait. They're saying…what are they saying?!”

Susie was almost taken aback. She did take pride in her intimidation power, but obviously didn’t want it in this context. But, to think she wasn’t scared of Susie herself, but thought she was cool…?

Noelle read over the letters and beamed. “Wow, Susie! That makes a ton of sense, actually! She really wanted to be adopted by us. She includes you in all her family drawings. She’s always looking at you, even if she never talks to you. And when we had our sleepover, too! If she was really scared, she wouldn’t have calmed down with you sitting right there in her doorway. She goes quiet around you, but it’s not a fear response. It’s an admiration response. She’s been idolizing you.”

“That’s…huh.” Susie paced around the room. “Huh. Okay. Huh. Wait, but she cried when we first met…?”

“Didn’t you insult her dress?”

“Insult is a strong word, but…yeah, I guess I could see why she thought that.” 

Noelle's voice was bright with relief. “I think it’s great! She’s not afraid of you at all! She really likes you!”

“U-uh, yeah…” Susie stopped walking. She had genuinely no idea how to respond to all this. It was kind of overwhelming. “Can we…can we ask her?” 

“Of course.”

And they did. Noelle was the one to ask, but Susie was there as witness.

“Summer…are you avoiding Susie because you don’t want to look silly in front of her? Because you think she’s really, really cool?”

Summer paused, looking between both of them (moving away faster from Susie’s eye contact) and then gave a tiny nod. "Mm-hm. Cool and tough.”

“I see.” Noelle took Summer's hand. “Sweetheart, I totally get that. I was the same way around Susie when I was getting to know her. I thought, she’s the coolest monster I’ve ever seen! Super strong and tough! How could I ever talk to her?” 

Noelle smiled fondly at Susie as she spoke. Susie looked away, the faintest hint of a blush on her cheeks. “But you know? She’s cool, but she has feelings, too. And she doesn’t feel happy when people ignore her. She would be a lot happier if you talked to her.” 

Summer frowned a moment, then took a breath and regarded Susie. She nodded. “O-okay. I’m…sorry, Susie." 

It was the first time she’d said her name. Susie was already feeling flustered but gathered herself.

“I-it’s chill, kiddo. I’m, glad you look up to me so much. If you want, maybe I could, I dunno. Take you to an arcade or something? I’m pretty good and I know you like games since you’re always trying to watch what Mama is playing.”

Summer nodded very eagerly. Susie couldn’t help her smile and held out her fist. “Nice. It’s a deal.” 

Summer folded up her own hand into a fist, and hesitantly tapped it on Susie’s. Her eyes glowed with pure admiration and it was Susie’s turn to break eye contact. 

“A-anyways. Welcome back, Noelle. So. What are we cooking tonight?”

-Week Seven-

Things took a major turn for the better from there. Susie made good on her promise to take Summer to the arcade, where they had some long overdue bonding experiences. And Summer was good—she was particularly fast-footed at Dance Revolt. Noelle was a bit too clumsy to ever co-op on that with Susie, but Summer and her absolutely crushed it together. The newly added Lethal Glamour song was their best, and they were so in sync that other kids and their parents stopped just to watch the duo’s impressive footwork. They were practically rained on with prize tickets and took home so many prizes Noelle could barely fit them through the door. 

But Susie’s favorite moment that week came a few nights after their crazy haul, when they were putting Summer to bed. 

“Susie was sooo cool!” Summer was still gushing about the experience as she was tucked into bed surrounded by all the plushies they'd won. “She almost broke the controllers she was so quick, and the arcade owner begged her to slow down then gave her prizes just so she would stop! It was awesome!" 

“It sounds that way! Hey, sweetheart, you talk a lot about Susie being cool....I sort of want to know. Am I cool?” Noelle smiled hopefully. 

Summer stoically shook her head and Susie burst out laughing.

“W-What?!” Noelle stammered, although she was still smiling. “Summer, how could you!” 

“It’s cuz she can tell you’re a nerd,” Susie snorted. “It’s fine. You’re a very cute nerd, that’s all that matters.” 

Noelle huffed with a blush. “Fine. But I’m in charge of breakfast so you two better not gang up on me over my, uh, perceived lack of coolness!”

“We would never.” Summer and Susie exchanged grins. 

Once Summer was all tucked in, they both said goodnight in their own ways. Noelle gave her nose nuzzles and a goodnight kiss and stood up. "Goodnight, Summer. Sweet dreams!" 

“Night, Mama!"

"Night, kiddo," Susie said next, ruffling her hair affectionately. 

“Night, Susie!” Susie barely clocked Summer was talking about her for the next sentence until she noticed the kid making direct eye contact with her. “I love you!” 

Noelle and Susie both froze this time. Noelle had told Summer that phrase plenty, but Summer had never said it back to either of them herself until right now. And it was specifically to Susie. 

Susie didn’t respond. She turned her back to both of them, staring at the blank bedroom wall behind her.

“Susie…?” Noelle asked.

“Just…g-give me a moment…”

“Are you cr—“

“NOIMNOT.” Susie whirled around, her hair strategically covering her eyes. “IAMNOT. Wait, shit, sorry. Not a bedtime voice. A-anyways. I’m not, so. Don't ask.”

“Nor bedtime language,” Noelle muttered, but was smiling all the same. 

Summer had settled back into bed and closed her eyes as Noelle shut off the light and headed to their room. Susie lingered in the doorframe, staring at where the bed was, her voice as low and quiet as she could make it.

“Love ya too, kiddo.” 

-Week XXX-

Two very proud monster moms were seeing their human kid out the door.

An older Summer Holiday was dressed up in scout’s attire: shirt, sash littered with badges, beret with the Delta Rune symbol, a backpack full of cookies, and a determined expression to match. As the only human in a troop of Monster Scouts, you’d think she might have had trouble fitting in. But she was actually one of the most popular kids in the troop—it helped that she was naturally courageous, and that on one of their first camping trips she’d scared off a bear that wandered onto their campsite with a very loud, not very human-sounding roar. Everyone followed her around like moths to a flame after that. 

Noelle did some finally fussing over their kid, readjusting her beret and brushing down her sleeves. “There. Now our girl’s ready to go sell some cookies!”

She gave her a tight hug and then passed her to Susie. Susie held out one arm to her. 

“Wanna try your luck before you go?” 

Summer set her smile into one of pure focus. She took Susie’s hand.

“See if you can get my arm against that wall,” Susie nodded to the wall with the coat hangers. “Ready?”

Summer nodded fiercely. 

The impromptu arm wrestle was short-lived. Summer did her best, but Susie swiftly pushed her arm all the way down in the other direction. 

“Noble effort,” Susie said, patting her shoulder. 

But Summer looked resolute. “It’s gonna happen, Ma. Just you wait. I’ve been practicing a bunch with Auntie Dess.” 

“Mm-hm,” Susie grinned with all her teeth. “With all that determination, I’m sure you'll get there.” 

“And I’m gonna keep eating Buff Mints until I'm as strong as you!” Summer tapped the green Monster Scout cookie box in her backpack—if it was possible for a chocolate cookie to look jacked, that’s what the symbol on it resembled. They were the most beloved of the scout cookie line but Summer’s favorite especially, both for the rich chocolatey-mint flavor and for reminding her of the two most important monsters in her life. 

“Make sure you leave some for the customers!” Noelle chimed in. 

"But take first dibs, heh." Susie then pulled Summer into a side hug. “Have fun and make tons of money, kiddo.”

“Mm-hm! Bye, Ma and Mama. See you after scouts!” She gave a salute to her parents and then dashed out the door. 

Both were beaming long after she left.

“You know, I don’t think hearing her call us that will ever stop making me happy,” Noelle sighed. In a rare display of joy-induced boldness, she leaned up to kiss Susie.

Susie kissed back, then took Noelle's paw and squeezed as she thought about her amazing wife and brave little kid. About having a family that was hers.

“Yeah. Me neither.”