Frisk and Asriel are both tucked into bed by this time. Only a faint glow from a star-shaped nightlight illuminates the room and paints it a faint blue. It's plugged into an extension cord coming in under the door, by the foot of Asriel's bedframe.

The human shuffles under their blanket, trying to decide which of their sides would be more comfortable to sleep on. After rethinking their decision for the fifth time in short succession, and switching to face the wall again, similar stirring is heard from the opposite end of the room.

"Mm...Frisk? Are you awake?" mumbles their brother sleepily and it sounds like he's moving to sit up. The bedsprings make a quiet noise and the blanket flops against itself like it's being folded in half.

With a guilty frown, Frisk opens their eyes and turns back onto their left side to meet Asriel's gaze. The goat monster is indeed sitting, his eyes sporting a vague question and arms resting on his lap over the blanket when the two exchange looks.

"Can't you sleep, or–" Asriel pauses to yawn and covers his mouth with one paw, "or did you have a bad dream?" he finishes. Frisk averts their eyes.

"Can't sleep," they admit meekly. Their brother hums in acknowledgement, but the gesture is followed by an unsure look toward their knees.

"Are you..." he starts reluctantly, then looks to the ceiling instead. He seems unwilling to face Frisk for the moment. "Are you thinking about the Surface...?" Asriel finally manages, though his voice is quieter than before.

The human's eyes widen in surprise. They suppose it shouldn't be shocking that Asriel is finally bringing up their previous home. After all, their parents have been trying to make subtle queries about Frisk's former life before. Still, it somehow catches them off guard, coming from him.

While the boss monster seems to have taken on a tense pose, Frisk finds themselves relaxing only a second later. A sad smile forms on their lips.

"No," they tell him softly, eyes on the floor.

It's Asriel's turn to show surprise when he turns to look at Frisk again. The speck of doubt remains for a few moments before he becomes more contemplative. His shoulders settle into an easier position.

"Oh... Then, what's wrong?" he asks instead, more willing. Yet, the human allows the silence to drag a bit longer in their own uncertainty.

"The yellow lights," Frisk begins, then nervously meets Asriel's confused eyes, "What are they?"

Their brother only knits his brows more, his frown deeper. He goes to rub at one of his eyes, like his sleepiness may be the reason Frisk's affair doesn't make sense. The confusion wears off when he recalls an instance of "yellow lights" and he lowers his hand, then turns to smile at Frisk.

"You mean the floating lights in Waterfall?" When their eyes widen a fraction and their mouth sets into a line, Asriel can tell he's assumed wrong. His confusion makes a full return. "You don't mean those...?"

Frisk turns onto their stomach and pushes themselves up with their arms. They sit on their knees and face the empty wall before them. Maybe Asriel just hasn't been paying attention to them? But that doesn't make much sense. They are fairly noticeable.

"They're not just in Waterfall," Frisk says after a while, then turns to face their brother again, "But everywhere we've been."

The boss monster folds his blanket to the side and tosses his feet over the edge of his bed.

"Everywhere? I'm not sure what you mean, Frisk," he blinks, fully awake.

Their newly found worries are confirmed and they feel the muscles on their neck and shoulders tighten. They raise one hand to rub at their opposite arm guiltily. Frisk now knows they shouldn't have messed with that strange light.

"There's one in father's garden. I can show you," they suggest, then gesture toward their room door. Asriel follows their gaze and flinches.

"In the middle of the night? Mom and dad would... Be really worried if they found us missing," he quickly rejects the idea and rubs at the back of his neck.

"Y-you're right," Frisk suddenly realizes, their guilt having visibly increased. Asriel quietly winces at the sight of his regretful sibling and rushes to correct his mistake.

"It's okay! I'll come see it after breakfast tomorrow. For now, let's just try to get some sleep, alright?" he tries to say as soothingly as possible.

After a moment's hesitation, Frisk tries for a small smile and nods. Their brother is right and everything has been okay so far. And if it's not, they're sure they can figure it out the following day.

Asriel sighs as he relaxes and returns the human's faint smile.

"Goodnight," he says and pulls his legs back onto his mattress. Before he can start to tug his blanket back on, however, he pauses to look at Frisk again. "Hey, um... Do you think you'd fall asleep easier if we turned the light off?"

They consider it while their gaze lands to the glowing blue object in question. They've been sleeping with it on since moving into this room, but it's true it might be making things harder this time around. With that thought in mind, Frisk turns to nod at Asriel once more.

The latter smiles, but looks away at the same time, making the gesture seem insincere. He also doesn't make a move for the light, either.

The human waits a little longer before an amused snort escapes them. Asriel's face turns red, but still he doesn't utter a word. So he is scared of the dark.

The prince still wallows in his embarrasment when he hears the bedsprings on the other side of the room creak. At first they just think Frisk is lying down to sleep, but a moment later something enters his peripheral vision. As he's about to turn to look, something soft hits him on the upper arm and he jumps.

"Ah!" he shrieks, then covers his mouth with one hand and hopes that that sound isn't enough to wake their parents. He throws a fleeting glance toward the wall on the side of their bedroom, then looks to the item he's been tossed with. He finds it's Frisk's pillow, now lying beside him on the mattress.

In this time the ballet dancer has strode across the room, past the ballet shoes that hang from the corner pole of their bed and over the fuzzy, striped carpet. They crouch by the nightlight and catch Asriel's gaze, then throw him a smile, much warmer than the ones before.

At the reassuring sight of the human, the elder sibling feels a strange sense of relief.

"Frisk?" he still questions, though can't help his returning smile.

Frisk flicks off the light and the room is enveloped by complete darkness. The lines of their closet and dresser disappear with the rest of the space. The room in this unexpectedly ordinary house, considering their royal status, is covered in a sheet of unpenetrated black.

The human stands up and navigates by touch, palms sliding over the footboard of Asriel's bed. They make noises of abrasion when Frisk follows the feel of the cotton blend of their brother's sheets all the way up to their pillow.

"Make room for me," they ask quietly; For whatever reason, darkness always requires hushed voices to accompany it. They hear Asriel scooting over until he's by the gap between the bed and the wall, where they know two duck-shaped stuffed toys reside. Frisk moves their pillow by the headboard and accidentally bangs their knuckles on the wood with a quiet bang and a following "Ow."

With surprising fluidity, they climb next to Asriel and softly bump into his limbs a couple times. They're quick to establish their respective spaces as both lie down, then the elder sibling pulls the blanket over them. It's thick and warm, just like the one in Frisk's own bed.

"Thanks," Asriel says, only a bit above a whisper.

The remaining noise for a while is both of their slowing breathing. Then it's followed by more rustling when Frisk turns onto their side, facing away from their brother. Their eyelids start to feel heavy and soon close.

It's a whole different kind of silence when it's completely dark like this. It's almost like they could pretend the world doesn't exist outside their warm bubble.

It's no wonder that Asriel's voice is even quieter the next time he speaks.

"Hey..." He receives an acknowledging hum in response. "Why are you worried about some yellow lights?"

A beat of silence, then a sleepy mumble Asriel can barely make out:

"I'll tell you tomorrow..."

.

The next morning, the whole Dreemurr family is gathered at the breakfast table. They're having leftover snail pie from a few nights ago, before it can expire. When Toriel cooked it for dinner – at the time they had company over – she ended up making an excessive amount.

The sounds of cutlery decrease plate by plate as the family finishes their meals one by one. The plates are carried into the kitchen by Asriel and Frisk who, as usual, offer to do as much. Frisk has picked up the habit on their brother's example.

After dropping off the dishes, the pair stops by the opening between the kitchen and living room, where the dining table is. Or rather, Asriel stops and Frisk nearly runs into his back before they see what's happening and halt, too.

"Mom, dad?" the elder sibling starts to get their parents' attention, then turns to the only human with a questioning look.

Toriel and Asgore are casting expectant looks from their seats by the table, with the former doing a half-turn on her chair to view her children. Frisk stares at their brother, then averts their gaze and steps over to his side.

They know right away that this is about last night and fold their hands behind their back in a sheepish manner. Admittedly, they haven't expected Asriel to bring the matter up in front of their parents. But if they're being honest, it's probably the right thing to do.

"Is something wrong, my child?" asks the mother worriedly, brows knitted in that same concern. Asgore is more conservative with his reaction, a steady counterweight to his wife.

"Frisk told me something funny yesterday," Asriel begins, then turns to Frisk again as if to prod them to continue. Frisk clears their throat nervously when everyone's gazes fix onto them.

"There's something in the Royal Garden. A golden light," they tell, eyes flicking between both their parents. The adults glance at each other confusedly.

"Well, Cinnamon, why is that worriesome?" questions Toriel with her head slightly tilted. Asgore folds his arms over his chest, still silent as he waits for the children to elaborate.

Frisk bows their head and brings their hands in front of them to toy with their fingers. They take a small breath in preparation.

.

The effort proves wasted. Though Frisk points out precisely where they see the strange glinting light, no one else seems to be able to register it. At one point, the human makes their brother stand directly on top of it.

Nothing, but...

"Hey... Doesn't it kind of feel like we're forgetting something?"

[A/N] A shorter one, but I'm finally done with setup! Please let me know your thoughts~

mallariebuckley: Thank you!