A/N: Hey guys! SSB here again with the promised FLUFF CHAP-where did everyone go? Wait, I haven't been away for that long, right? It's only been...

oh...

...

OH.

"well, well, well. looks like her highness is out of her death bed. i was wondering what the whole fuss was last night. this is an occasion for a celebration, right? we should have a kingdom-wide feast, fanfare on the streets, and maybe let a criminal be pardoned of his sins?"

Frisk grimaced, wishing they could go back in time. It wasn't the first time they wished to do that this week, of course, but this situation in particular twisted that need until it was all they could think of.

It was the morning after Chara's awakening, after the group hug and the eventual breakdown as Chara realised what had happened to their arm. Even now, Frisk could see how Chara's eyes were slightly puffed up from their tears despite their efforts to hide it. Still, however, even while wearing their pyjama, even while sitting on a wheelchair, Chara looked imposing, furious.

"Where is he?"

Frisk could still remember how Chara's voice had sounded: a sharp whisper that breathed ice to its listeners, like a cold knife trailing its tip at the back of one's neck. Frisk shivered at the dark pit that had formed within Chara's heart, swallowing all the joy and warmth into its dark abyss. They and Ms Toriel both tried to calm the princess down, to get them to sleep and worry about Sans later. But the more the two tried to console, the more the anger surged forth from underneath the ice.

It was hot, so scolding that Frisk flinched back as a molten sliver of anger seeped through the crack of Chara's mask and touched their soul. And it did not stop there. Angrier, angrier, and angrier still, Chara's rage boiled until Frisk felt like they were in a tub of molten lava, continuing to brew until there was nothing of them left.

Then suddenly, the ice shattered completely, opening the dam that was holding back all of Chara's emotions.

Frisk had braced themselves for a torrent of lava, for shouting, cursing and even violent fits as all of Chara's rage ignited at once in a fiery explosion that would cause devastation to all in its path. But none of that happened. There was no violence, no shouting, not even hate.

Chara simply burst into tears. And all Frisk could feel in their soul then was not the scorching heat of rage, but the cold dampness of loneliness, and fear.

Frisk had been shocked, so baffled by the sudden outburst of sobs and wails that they had stood frozen on the spot while Ms Toriel ran over to her child's side and hugged them in consolation. They wished they had moved sooner, because by the time they realised what they should have been doing in the first place and tried to go to Chara's comfort, Papyrus returned to the room, informing them that the doctor will be in soon. In that instant, Chara bit down on their lips and forcibly swallowed their sobs. Chara still had their pride and an image to upkeep, even if it was so broken at that point, all it did was make Frisk want to cry.

And now they were here, in Sans' room after the doctor made a extensive examination that brought even more bad news.

Chara, Frisk tried to contact right then, but their words were met with a cold apathy that chilled them to the bone. They squirmed, as did Papyrus, while the two Royalty stared unfazed at the smiling skeleton. The expression on Chara was not pleasant, and to see the expression mirrored by Ms Toriel made it ten times worse.

"what? no? no mercy for the imprisoned on this glorious day?" Sans said in a chuckling voice, and Frisk wondered why he had to act the way he did. Why did he have to say things so… mockingly? Why especially now?

"We do not practice the customs of Paschal Pardon, sir. And I do hope you do not akin yourself to the Lord and Saviour from my rejecting of your request," Chara said in a quiet voice.

"naw, i would never do that. i mean, i'm not much into stealing other people's shtick, you know?" he said vaguely. "you're on a wheelchair now?" he continue, and Frisk winced. Because of course he would point that out. "i thought your arm was hurt, not your…" he paused. "ah. it's the atrophy, right? lying in a bed for a week made your legs useless. man, that sucks. you're missing an arm and your legs. it wouldn't take much to take you down right now."

"SANS!" Papyrus gasped but was silenced when Chara raised their hand.

Chara smiled coldly, meeting the skeleton's own head on.

Then, the air shook. A blast of invisible force exploded forth from Chara, warping the air in front of them and sweeping over Sans. The skeleton's smile died and he slumped over on his seat, gasping for air.

Papyrus stepped forward, trying to assist his brother, but Frisk quickly grabbed his hand to stop him. They knew it was difficult for him to see this. It was difficult for them too. But they could not risk Papyrus getting hurt by placing himself in the path of Chara's wrath. Not right then.

"Indeed, sir," Chara began lowly. "You have guessed my injuries quite precisely. A week of bedrest and suddenly I am to be bound to this chair for the coming weeks. It is surprising how fragile our bodies are. I am very vulnerable in this state, and it truly wouldn't take much to take me down. But."

Another blast of air hit Sans head on.

Chara! Frisk gasp of horror went ignored.

"Please, do not think that I need even one arm to crush you right now. I may be at my weakest, but let me remind you that you are in an even worse situation with those cuffs. And since my mother has so graciously given me the right to assign you your punishment, I must advise you: watch your tongue."

Gasping for air, Sans glared at the princess. Chara smiled amicably and the hate between them seemed to grow like a rising flame. Frisk couldn't handle it anymore.

Chara, please, don't do this, they begged.

Chara's cool red eyes glanced over at them, their smile still present, reminding Frisk of the time back in HOME, when Chara had directed that smile on them before they plunged their dagger into their heart.

Why not? the princess said back, and Frisk shivered at the twisted playfulness dancing in their words.

It won't solve anything. You can be angry, but please, this is not right.

Chara laughed mockingly. Criminals commit crime. Punishment resolved them of their sins. And so this has been for all society for thousands of years.

What if there's another way? A way for us to be without hurting each other?

He has already hurt us.

But if we forgave him-

Why should I?

Frisk backed away, their soul reverberating from Chara's fiery words that boomed as though by an earthquake.

Deep brown eyes gazed into the cold red and its dark depth.

Because I forgave you, was Frisk's reply.

Chara was quiet, only numbness and cold coming through their connection. Then, they looked away, back at Sans who was finally recovering from the blasts of raw magic.

"Sans," they began. "You have attempted murder on the member of a Royal Family, knowing my identity. What have you to say for yourself?"

Chara.

"i plea not guilty," Sans said between wheezes and coughs. "princess chara died sixty years ago. logic dictates that you are not her, no matter how alike you are. i tried to obtain the human SOUL we need to break free of the barrier under the king's standing order. i've done no wrong."

Chara scoffed. "Playing tricks with words now? Circumstances? I find it cowardly, sir."

"i've never been a brave guy. i like to stick with what's most likely to get me the result i want."

Chara, please.

"You realise that I have free reign on your punishment? The least bit you can do is to try and lighten by ire."

"nah. can't be bothered. go ahead. give me your worst punishment if that's what you want. i don't give a shit."

Everyone regarded Chara. Frisk in particular, begged for their partner to turn around and look them in the eye. Because they wanted to stop this from occurring, they didn't want Sans to be the subject of the same fury they themselves had to endure. They couldn't bare to see a friend hurt.

But Chara was distant, ignored their pleas like the Chara of old who giggled at their pain and danced around their corpse.

"Very well, if you are so eager. Your punishment:" Chara began, and Frisk was nearly ready to run to them, to grab them and shake them. Do something to stop them. "… is to watch."

Frisk opened their mouth to shout, 'No! Don't!', but before they could utter any sound, Chara's words registered in their brain and their rising determination to save their friend fizzled out like a firework with a short fuse. "Huh?" they said accidentally out loud, and looked around the room where everyone seemed just as confused as they were.

Chara's smirk grew at everyone's reaction, especially Sans'.

"what?" Sans growled.

"To watch." Chara repeated nonchalantly. "With your eyes. You know what that is, yes?"

"i know what watching is. i'm asking what you mean by watch. watch what?"

"Watch us," Chara said with a wide smirk. "What? You think death was coming your way? A capital punishment, perhaps? Pain? Torture?" they turned to Frisk as they said this. "Oh no, no, no. That would be much too easy, and much too generic. Not to mention there will be others who would be ever so sad." Chara glanced over at Papyrus this time before turning back to Sans. "No, this punishment is yours and yours alone. No other shall be affected by this."

"and what is 'this' supposed to be?"

Chara rolled their eyes. "Oh come now, do keep up," they gestured at everyone. "It's this. Us. All of us."

Sans scowled, and Chara's smirk turn wider.

"Oh, Papyrus?" they called.

"Y-YES?" Papyrus stood to attention.

"You and I are friends, are we not?"

Papyrus blinked. "UHH, YEAH? I MEAN, YES! OF COURSE WE ARE! WE ARE GREAT FRIENDS!"

"Quite. And you like everyone else in this room, do you not?"

"YES! HER MAJESTY HAS OPENED UP A NEW WORLD OF CULINARY FOR ME THAT I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF BEFORE: SANDWICHES! AND FRISK IS A CHILD WHO IS VERY GOOD AT BEING A CHILD. I NEVER TOOK CARE OF ONE BEFORE AND IT IS A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR ME TO HAVE!"

Frisk looked up and the two of them met eyes. They both smiled fondly, and Chara smiled along. "And? Are you happy?" they asked.

"H-HAPPY?" Papyrus stammered. "WOW, THAT'S A STRANGE ONE. I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER BEEN ASKED THAT BEFORE. BUT UHH…" the skeleton considered the question, and after a moment, he smiled. "YEAH. I AM HAPPY. HAVING SO MANY NEW FRIENDS. I FEEL HAPPIER THAN I EVER REMEMBER BEING."

"I am glad then. Though imagine, how much happier you would be if your brother could join us, no?"

Papyrus' smile brightened at the mere idea, but Sans growled out loud.

"you manipulative little shit," he hissed.

Chara laughed, then gestured between the two of them. "Pot. Kettle. Black."

Sans growled low, and Chara relished it.

"Mr Sans. I acknowledge that you have been suspicious of our motives upon our meeting and attacked both the child and I under the order of my father just as every other monsters we encountered did. As such, all that I ask of you is to apologise for all that you have done to us, as honestly as you can. But if you refuse, you will remain imprisoned here. No outside contact may be had save for your meals, and a daily check up to make sure you are staying put. The only thing you will be allowed is to sit here, and… well, watch us all be happy without you," Chara grinned. "Oh, figuratively speaking of course. You won't be seeing us through the closed door, but worry not, I'm sure there are many laughters we will have without you around."

"wonderful," Sans said dryly.

"But given your relations with Papyrus, it would be remiss of me if I were not to show you mercy: Sans, will you apologise to me and the child right now and lift yourself of your imprisonment?"

"fuck off."

Chara grinned. "Very good. I think we're done here. Mother, may we leave?"

"Of course, my sweet," Ms Toriel said and wheeled Chara out of the room, followed by a sullen Papyrus who looked at Sans in disappointment before he walked away. Frisk was the last to leave, watching sadly their old friend, bitter and tied up on his bed, with no one else to support him. They wished they could give him a hug, but they were also afraid of what he might do. In the end, they too turned around and headed out the door. There, they found a sullen Papyrus being consoled by both Chara and Ms Toriel. The skeleton gave the two a thankful smile and walked downstairs so that he could start on breakfast.

Ms Toriel and Chara shared a few quiet words before the two noticed Frisk standing by Sans' door. Chara turned and gave them a smile, one that was charming, snobbish, and so very Chara, Frisk couldn't help but tear up, and they ran over to hug them so hard, the wheelchair got pushed back ever so slightly.

"Oh! Well, at least someone seems happy with my decision," Chara said with a pointed look at their mother.

"I am not displeased with your decision, simply surprised," Ms Toriel said.

"Not as much as I was when you told me you would give me free reign over the fool's punishment. It's like you expected me to be vicious," Chara said with a leering smirk.

"I am a mother first and foremost. Those who hurt children shall receive no mercy from me," Ms Toriel said with complete seriousness.

Ooh, she is rather frightening when she does that, no? Chara said with a soft chuckle.

Frisk clenched their partner tight and nodded softly into their waist.

"But I must ask: what made you come to such verdict?" Ms Toriel asked.

Frisk felt Chara's hand gently run over their back. "I would be lying if I said I was not thinking of a more severe punishment. A bit of prison time perhaps and a hefty fine would be the lightest. But…" Chara's hand moved up to Frisk's face and made the child look up at them in the eyes. "But I realise that I was not the only one that was hurt by him, and my wishes should only be considered part of a whole."

It took a moment, but Frisk understood Chara's meaning quickly, and they couldn't help but beam with a dazzling smile.

"Besides," Chara turned to their mother. "A punishment for a crime should be given so that the criminal learns from the experience and end up a better person. What I had in mind was revenge, and revenge makes for a poor lesson in ethics, I should think."

Ms Toriel appeared surprised, then smiled warmly before placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Since when have you grown so wise?"

"I've always been wise, mother. You just didn't realise."

"Or perhaps with a response like that you have still a long way to go," Ms Toriel laughed. "Come now. I will take you back to bed. Your body will need time to recover from a reckless magic usage like that."

Chara agreed, and Frisk followed as Ms Toriel wheeled and carried Chara back onto the bed. When tucked in, Ms Toriel left to make sure Papyrus hadn't set anything on fire, and Frisk and Chara was left alone.

Frisk sat on the chair besides the bed, the same one they've used in the past week to watch over their partner. Chara glanced at them watching, and smiled.

"What are you doing sitting there? Come on," they said, and patted the empty side of the bed. Frisk did not hesitate to worm into the sheets, and soon the two were staring at one another in silence, a happy smile on both of their faces.

"Thank you," Frisk said.

"You have nothing to be thankful for," Chara said. "You have just gave me a better idea for torture, that's all. All psychological. That fool will hate his imprisonment in the house now, I'm sure."

"Whatever the reason. I'm glad you didn't hurt him."

"Did you even hear what I just said? I'm hurting him emotionally."

"Yeah, well, it's not so bad. He's been a big meanie all week. He deserve a little something to teach him to be nicer."

Chara raised a brow. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with the child?"

Frisk stuck out their tongue then quickly hid their face beneath the sheets. Chara ripped the sheet away and the two entered a little scuffle which quickly devolved into the two of them in giggling fits. When the laughter died out, the two looked at one another in silence, in fondness. Chara reached out and touched Frisk's face in a gentle caress, and Frisk melted into it with a happy sigh.

"I can't believe you are here," Chara said in an awed whisper.

"Yeah. Thanks to you," Frisk said, their eyes closed as they indulged in the much missed touch.

They had meant it as a word of gratitude, but something about it prickled at Chara's heart. Frisk felt the warmth lessen and they opened their eyes quizzically as the princess pulled away.

"No," Chara shook their head, shame in their voice. "I heard what happened. It was you who saved me, not the other way around. If you hadn't found me in time, I would have died. You are my saviour. I accomplished nothing in the end."

"What?" Frisk gaped, shocked at the admission. "No, that's not true. I only found you because I met and followed Papyrus. And he was just following after the giant explosion that happened in the forest. I know you had something to do with that. We both did."

"Giant explosion…?" Chara frowned.

"You still don't remember what happened?" Frisk asked. During the doctor's examination earlier, Chara had admitted to having almost no memory of what happened during their fight with Sans, which was why their missing arm had affected them doubly hard.

"It's all foggy. Complete blank in some parts." Their gaze shifted back. "I don't know what happened. I don't…"

Frisk frowned and squeezed Chara's hand. Chara's one hand. Without meaning to, their gaze shifted over at the princess' right shoulder where the bed sheets lay too flat, and they couldn't help but look away as quickly as they could. When they looked back to meet Chara's gaze, they were ashamed to find that the expression on their partner's face was not that of anger or sadness, but of understanding.

"I'm sorry," Frisk said, ducking their head to avoid Chara's gaze.

"It's alright. It's hideous, I know."

"N-no! That's not what I meant," they said in horror. "It's not hideous. It's just that… It's…"

Their words tapered off, and they couldn't continue any further. A lump was starting to form in their throat, tears gathering in their eyes.

"What's wrong?" Chara asked.

"I… I can't fix it," Frisk said with a sniffle. "I can't go back. My powers are broken."

Chara was silent but did not appear surprised. "I assumed that had been the case. You would have already sent us back if you could." They scowled. "He did something to you, didn't he?"

Frisk shook their head. "Please, don't be mad."

"I find it hard not to be," Chara said, their expression softening. "But for you… I will try."

The words filled Frisk with unbridled joy, and the sudden burst of emotion brought them to tears and they began to sob.

"Shh," Chara soothed, instantly pulling them into a hug. "Hush now."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Frisk cried.

"No, no, no. It's okay. I don't care, okay? I don't care if you don't have your powers. I don't care if you can't fix my arm."

"But it's your arm!" Frisk wailed. "You got hurt trying to save me, and I can't do anything for you in return."

"There's nothing for you to do. I don't need you to do anything for me in return."

"But I'm the only one who could have saved it. This is the only reason I'm here, don't you see? Without my powers, I'm… I'm useless."

"No."

"Yes!"

"That is not true," Chara said hotly, their words like cast iron searing into Frisk's skin. "Calm now. There's a good child."

Frisk did, even though they still felt that way, had felt that way all throughout the week. They just didn't want to upset Chara anymore.

"Please, don't ever say those things about yourself." Chara's voice was a hoarse whisper, shuddering with each word as though they were moments away from bursting out in rage, or perhaps in tears. "You are… so amazing, can't you see? If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I'm sorry for slapping you that day. I'm sorry for pushing you away. I'm sorry for all the horrid things I've done to you and getting us into this situation in the first place. You aren't annoying. You aren't useless. You are…" Their voice choked and they swallowed as they were about to drown. "You deserve… so much."

"All I've ever wanted was to be your friend," Frisk spoke the truth from their heart.

"Then we are."

Frisk's eyes welled up again. "Just like that?"

Chara nodded. "I want to be better," they said. "I know you miss them. The other me. The one who loved you and cared. And I know I don't come even close to filling their role. But I want to at least try."

"You don't have to-"

"I do," Chara cut them off with a trembling voice. "This whole debacle happened because of my fears and stubbornness. The Chara you knew was older, wiser, better. I want to be that. For you."

Chara smiled -smiled- and suddenly everything was so bright, Frisk couldn't stop themselves from sobbing out loud.

They threw themselves at Chara, and Chara embraced them in a way the ghost Chara could only ever do in their dreams. Now it was real. It was reality, and it made them feel so much. All those resets, all those re-tries, just for this moment, and it was worth every single one of them.

"Children?"

The two pulled apart, just enough so that they could see Toriel standing by the doorway with a troubled look.

"I've been knocking for quite some time. Is everything alright?" she asked, her eyes darting between the two of them with worry.

The children turned to each other's tear filled eyes. Chara reached out and gave Frisk a wipe on their dribbling nose with a grin. Frisk cracked a smile, and both of them laughed.

"Yes," Chara said. "Yes, we're okay." And Frisk thought they'd never heard any words more true.

Chapter 18

Things were better now.

True, it has only been three days since they woke up, and during all of that time, Chara had only spent time in the room and occasionally the bathroom down the hall. But even still, looking back on their time, Chara could really say: things were better.

There was peace in the house, a sort of tranquility one usually sought to break out of after decades of living in its dull, mind-numbingly repetitive cycle. Chara relished it, and the others did too, they believed. Everyone was smiling: them, Frisk, their mother, and even Papyrus, though he would get a melancholic look whenever he stepped out into the hall and looked over at his brother's room.

The only thing that wasn't so great aside from that, was their recovery. And it wasn't that the recovery hadn't been progressing well. In fact, it had been progressing marvellously. But it was difficult. Far more difficult than they had first anticipated, though not in the way they had expected.

It wasn't the lack of limb or their inability to walk that caused them distress. It was their own instincts, the subconscious movements which they took in the spur of the moment.

More than once had they got out of bed in the morning in a drowsy haze, only to be rudely pulled out of it when their legs lost all semblance of strength and crumpled beneath them like a stack of cards. They would try and rely on their right arm to catch their fall, only for the ground to strike their face in full force as what they believed was their hand phased through the floor. Every time, it took them several moments to snap out of their confusion, and every time, it took them another moment to swallow their pride and request for help.

Sometimes, it wasn't these humiliating and often physically painful incidents that struck them the harshest, but the subtle ones. The little things. The first time they tried to cut an omelette to pieces with a fork and knife, they had to stop, and could not speak for the rest of the night until they were alone in the room and had a good cry. When their back started to ache from sitting upright for too long, they wrestled with the idea that their back will always hurt now from the imbalance of their shoulder weights causing their spine to groove. Life seemed so similar, yet so strangely different at the same time. And there was no reprieve. This was forever. And though Chara was used to feeling down, accustomed to the a bleak future the world had in store for them, the sheer certainty of their altered life never failed to strike what little hope they had left, and it would bring them to inevitable tears.

Thankfully, however, in these times of hardships, they were never left alone for too long.

Frisk -Frisk, their little angel- always knew when things got tough, when they felt that they had reached their limit, and when they felt like giving up. They were like a guardian angel, Chara thought, a fairy god mother they read about in the books, if not a little young, and a lot cuter than those uppity hags in the Grim tales.

Perhaps they couldn't be so praising given how their emotions were connected, but it couldn't take away from the fact that the child had ever been so sweet throughout all of their hardships. Frisk always volunteered to help them in therapy, always brought them food and water whenever they requested without complaint. Frisk would speak words of encouragement when they got sad, and would rile them up when they needed a bit more push. The child did all this and more, because somehow, by some miracle Chara dared not question, the child liked them. Loved them, even. In retrospect, perhaps this shouldn't have been surprising. Perhaps this wasn't all that much different from what the child usually did for them in the past. But after everything the two of them had been through, Chara started to see these acts under a new light; with new appreciation; a renewed awe.

Frisk was wonderful. Chara could say this without hesitation, and they tried their hardest to keep the child smiling all the time. They always agreed to play with Frisk now, greeted them with a smile and simply tried to be kinder to them in general. They found that it wasn't hard. They had always placed the little ones under a special pedestal, and once the idea that Frisk was a nuisance or a potential enemy was gone from their mind, their natural habits took over, and they found joy in seeing Frisk be the happiest they could be.

Yes, things were better now. Even if it was hard. Even if their life would never be the same as before. Chara didn't mind it at all. Because they had the child, and the child loved them.

"I hate you."

Well, most of the time, anyway.

Chara looked up from their book and over at the doorway where Frisk stood with a furious glare. As always, they greeted the child with a bright smile.

"Well, hello to you too, darling."

"You told Ms Toriel to get me new school books!" the child growled loudly between their clenched teeth as they stomped over to their bed. While Chara had been recovering, Frisk had been getting school lessons from their mother in a regular schedule which included lessons on multiple subjects throughout the day with one recess and one lunch break snuck in between. The time was now a little past midday, which meant that Frisk was on lunch.

"Ah, so she's done that already, has she? She's acted a lot faster than I expected," Chara said, honestly impressed.

"Ah ha! So you did tell her! Why would you do that? Do you know how hard those questions were?"

Chara rolled their eyes. "They're not 'hard'. They're just not the ones you're used to. I mean, really, what did you think I would do when you told me you were cheating with the other workbook?"

The shocked expression on Frisk's face was like that of a fish on a plank. "Wha-?! I never said that!"

"On the contrary: I believe your exact words were, 'Ms Toriel gives me the same schoolwork in every timeline. I know all the questions and answers by heart. I can finish my homework in a few minutes and I'll have all the rest of the day to play with you!'" Chara smiled, proud of the impossibly squeaky voice they used to imitate Frisk's. "If you've memorised all the answers, that means you weren't studying anything. You were simply tricking mother into thinking you were some genius. Hence, cheating."

Frisk flapped their jaw for a moment, again like a fish, then after a few attempt at a refute, crossed their arms and puffed out their cheek in frustration. "I can't believe you actually want me to study. That's like the most anti-kid thing you can do," they grumbled furiously.

"I would think it's the most pro-kid thing to do, if that's even a word," Chara said with a roll of their eyes. "Do you think I'd have an idiot as my partner? Of course not. Once we both return to school, I expect you to get good grades so that you don't embarrass me in front of our peers."

"I'm not gonna embarrass you in front of our… uhh, 'peers'?"

"The other students."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I'm not gonna embarrass you in front of our peers."

"Clearly." Chara deadpanned.

Frisk seethed. "Well, you know what? I think the other kids are gonna agree with me when they say that you're crazy for wanting me to study. Crazy-crazy!"

"You keep thinking that, darling. Though if I were you, I'd spend all that brain power actually studying."

Frisk grumbled and Chara hid their snicker behind their hand. They forgot how cute it was when Frisk got angry. They thought they should rile the child up a bit more often. Asking mother to put Brussels sprouts instead of the cream mash potato Frisk like to have next to their steak, perhaps? No, they couldn't do that. As much as they loved the expression of a frustrated Frisk, they liked the smiling Frisk a lot more.

The child continued to seethe, and Chara, believing it had gone on long enough, laid back, and patted their lap twice in a quick staccato.

The child leered over at them and Chara repeated the motion with a welcoming smile. Frisk crossed their arms, turned away as though they were ignoring Chara, but then threw themselves at the princess, laying their head down on Chara's lap.

Chara smiled, and gently began running their fingers through the child's hair, soothing Frisk's frown into a content smile.

Neither spoke. There was no need. It was just them, their connection, and the loving warmth that they could both feel from each other, each one's happiness helping the other's grow in a perpetual cycle of joy.

This was one of their past times now, Chara's favourite. And though they had never spoken about it, they believed it was the child's favourite too.

What a strange turn of events, Chara thought occasionally, especially in these moments when they would watch the child from afar, wondering about what it was that they found about the child so… different from the others. And then the child would look up. They would suddenly bloom into a bright, beaming smile that they never sent anyone else, and Chara would suddenly find themselves out of breath, out of mind that for a moment they forget where they are. How could have they ever been so utterly cruel to this kind spirit? It all seemed so silly now. So pointless. They hoped that they were doing enough to make up for it, because they didn't ever want this feeling, this wonderful warmth that they felt when Frisk was near, to ever go away.

"Chara?"

"Hm?" Chara opened their eyes, not knowing when they had closed it, and saw Frisk curiously smiling up at them.

"Did you hear what I just said?" Frisk said, already knowing the answer.

"Hm, I don't know. Something about playing with dolls and other childish things?"

Frisk slapped them lightly on the thigh and Chara giggled. "I don't play with dolls. I asked how your morning's been."

Chara considered the question for a bit. "Good, I think," they said at first, but their expression soured quickly. "Actually, no. It was boring. Quite boring, in fact."

"Did you finish your book?" Frisk asked.

"I've finished my book and two others. I would like to do something else now. And please don't suggest we play monopoly again."

Frisk closed their half open mouth and huffed. "Alright, what do you wanna do then?"

Chara smiled impishly, feeling like a boy elbowing his friend before doing something that the teachers would surely disapprove of. "How about… I do a little bit of magic?"

Frisk quirked a brow. "Uh, how about no?"

"Oh, come now. If I don't practice soon, I'll get rusty. The doctor only placed a restriction on me because he doesn't know how frustrating it is to limit yourself to five MP per day."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that he told you that because he knows what he's doing."

"Just this once, child. Pretty please?"

"Hmmm." Frisk placed their hand on their chin in a dramatic pose, before turning to Chara with a big, fat, "No."

"Well, I'm afraid there's nothing else that I wish to do," Chara huffed.

"Then I guess I'll get the monopoly board out."

"No, wait," Chara said, then sighed as Frisk giggled. "Do we honestly not have anything we can do that does not involve us endlessly playing that inane game?"

Frisk gave this a serious thought. "What did you used to do when you were bored? Maybe we can do it together?"

"Aside from reading books, Asriel and I used to run around outside all the time. I hardly think I am capable of doing that right now," Chara said, and waved their stump arm in emphasis.

"Weeell," Frisk nodded slowly. "Maybe we can…" they frowned. "Actually, never mind."

"What is it?" Chara asked, curiosity piqued.

Frisk bit their lips, uncertain gaze shifting to and away from Chara multiple times. "I… I was wondering what you used to do before Asriel."

"Before…" Chara began to repeat, before the meaning of Frisk's words caught on. The child was asking about what they used to do before Asriel. Before the Dreemurrs. Before… "Oh."

"Y-you don't have to answer, if you don't want to."

"That would be for the best," Chara said without hesitation. And despite it being their own suggestion, Frisk's disappointment showed quite plainly in their sagging shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. I know that stuff is out of bounds."

You know I would tell you if I can, Chara wanted to say, but knew that it would be a lie. They would never speak anything about their previous life ever again if they had the chance. But the child was so understanding, smiling even now not for their own benefit. It made Chara want to talk.

But not enough for them to actually do it.

Frisk huffed out loud in a forced show of exasperation. "I wish they didn't take away all of Papyrus' stuff. I could have shown you so much if we still had internet here."

It was a divergence, a poorly made one at that, but in the face of an oncoming waterfall, Chara was willing to grab even a strand of straw to save themselves. "It's standard to take away all means of contacting people outside during a situation like this. This is a house arrest, not an extended vacation. Besides, I still have no idea what you can show me with another phone. You've already shown me plenty with yours, have you not?"

"Yeah, but my phone is ancient. And the fact that you can even say that means you have no idea how much more there is to phone these days."

"Well, you could just explain it to me."

"I told you, I can't explain what the internet is. No one can."

"I bet you could if you studied more," Chara muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, my pretty little angel. I was just saying how cute you are when you're angry."

Frisk leered suspiciously, and Chara beamed wide. Eventually, Frisk laughed too, and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence, their brief awkwardness from before now mercifully past. Chara hoped that it would stay this way for a long time. Perhaps even forever.

"You know, before you mentioned it, I was actually planning on bringing you a book from the library."

Chara groaned. "Good thing I mentioned it then. I think I'll just burn the next book I see."

"Drama-queen," Frisk scoffed. "For your information, this was a human book I was planning on bringing. One of the most famous fantasy book in the world. Everybody knows what it is."

"Indeed?" Chara said. Though the idea of reading another book after having nothing else for entertainment wasn't too appealing, they could not deny that the idea of reading something from their literal future was intriguing. And a human book too, not the light and fluffy monster novels their mother liked to bring them. "And you think I will enjoy it?"

"Yeah, you bet!" Frisk said as they got up, starting to bounce with growing excitement. "It's called Harry Potter. It's a series with eight books. It's about this boy named Harry Potter who learns that he is a wizard and goes to magic school to find out all about it!"

"Oh." Suddenly, the kindling of excitement in Chara died and their expression switched from intrigued to unfathomably bored in a blink of an eye.

Frisk's bouncing slowed to a halt. "Don't you like fantasy?"

"Well…" Chara shrugged. "It's not that I don't like fantasy, per se. It's the magic part that I don't particularly like."

Frisk frowned. "You're the magical princess of an underground kingdom full of monsters and you don't like fantasy because of magic?"

"It's precisely because I'm a princess of this kingdom that I don't find fantasy very fun to read. Too many inaccuracies compared to reality."

"It's still magic though. It's supposed to be made up."

"Made up? I can burn a house down with one hand. That is not made up."

"Okay? What genre do you like then?" Frisk asked, crossing their arms.

Chara had to think about that for a moment. "I like… science fiction."

"What? Science fiction is fantasy too!"

"Yes, but without magic, see? And it's more… grounded, shall we say?"

"Yeah, aliens and spaceships and fake science that is totally notmagic. So grounded, right?"

Chara frowned. "Was that sass? Were you trying to be sassy?"

Frisk stuck out their tongue.

Chara squawked in indignation. "Well, I never. I'm going to ignore this inappropriate display of attitude and say that unlike those books about witches and wizards, science fiction has room to actually happen in the future."

Frisk rolled their eyes, but after a moment, seemed to consider the statement seriously.

"Oh!" they suddenly perked up in realisation. "Oh my god, why didn't I think of that before?"

Chara blinked. "Think of what, darling?"

Frisk beamed. "If you like sci-fi, we should absolutely have to watch a movie."

Chara quirked a brow. "A movie?"

"Yeah!" Frisk nodded. "Sci-fi movies have become super amazing with special effects. I bet you'll be totally blown away."

Chara frowned. "I'm not quite sure what any of that that means."

"It's okay," Frisk giggled. "I'll teach you everything you need to know."

Chara stared at the child's blooming smile, and could almost see the white glow around their head due to how dazzling it was. Chara laughed.

"Well, I must say your enthusiasm is quite something and the suggestion is sound as a concept. However, where would we watch a movie? I still cannot walk, and I do not believe any the wheelchair is suited to roll about in the snow, especially not far enough to go to a cinema unless it's right next door. So practicality wise, this suggestion seems doom to fail."

For some reason, Frisk frowned at this. "Um, you've been downstairs, right?"

"Just once for that little celebration we had two nights ago, but yes. Why?"

"What did you see there? What furnitures?"

"Furnitures? Well, I mean, there was the usual: the dining table, couches and sofas. There was that corner table with the phone on it."

"Anything else?"

Chara thought about this. "Oh, yes, there was that strange blackboard there, wasn't there? I recall it being the most peculiar thing. I mean a blackboard in the living room? But I've long given up questioning why Papyrus did anything anymore. It's healthier that way I think. Um, is that what you wanted to hear me say?"

Silent, Frisk openly gaped at them as though they had just admitted to first degree murder. "Oh my god," Frisk said. "You have no idea, do you?"

Chara frowned. "About what, darling?" they asked.

But the child never answered. Without warning, Frisk hopped out of the bed and ran towards the door, leaving a very confused Chara staring after them.

"What are you-? Where are you going?" Chara asked, but Frisk was already out the door by that point.

Out! I'm going to the library, Frisk's voice came in their mind instead.

What? The library? But why?

You'll see! I'll be back after school. If I'm late, remember: it's your fault for making Ms Toriel buy those super duper advanced books!

I told you, they're not hard. They're- Ugh, that's not the point. Why are you going? Why can't you tell me?

Shh! It's a secret!

But why would it be a secret? Chara stopped themselves from any further questions, knowing that they wouldn't be getting anything out of the child when they became stubborn. Oh, whatever. Look, just… Be careful out there, okay?

It's just next door. I'm asking Ms Toriel to go with me right now.

Chara nodded. Okay. I will see you later then.

See ya!

There were no more words exchanged between them and it took a moment for Chara to realise that the child had raised a barrier between their connection.

You really don't want me knowing what you're planning, hm? they asked the now silent Frisk. They sighed and laid back on the bed, completely alone once more.

They settled back down on the pillow and sighed, suddenly feeling drained. They tried to get back into the book they had been reading prior, but their mind was now abuzz with thoughts that had not visited in a long time.

They looked over at the corner of the room, at the window where Snowdin's pale artificial light shone in as though it was full moon on a cloudy day. And as they watched, the childishly decorated room peeled away, leaving a cold concrete room with a moulding mattress for a bed in the corner.

There was a child there. A little girl wearing a worn hospital gown, each hand gently running over the heads of two younger children who were using her lap as a pillow as they slept. The girl was looking up at the high window where the pale moonlight shone between the rusting metal bars. She was watching the stars, wondering about the world beyond, imagining the most stupendous things. Billions upon billions of possibilities just above her head. It used to be her hobby. Her favourite hobby that never ceased to amaze her, comfort her. She wondered when she had stopped.

In that moment, Chara closed her eyes to imagine a new world for herself, one where no buildings or city lights existed, no humans or monsters, no pain or suffering. No worries at all. And she dreamed of a wonderful scene, where she was lying on a grassy plain, watching the infinite twinkling stars above, with none other than Frisk right by her side.

"I say! This is an outrage! Most unorthodox! Put me down! Put me down, right now!"

Frisk rolled their eyes as they watched Chara be… well, Chara at Papyrus as they were carried down the stairs bridal style.

"Oh!" Chara yelped as they were dropped onto the couch next to Frisk. The princess glared at a clueless skeleton who bowed politely and backed off with a proud smile at a job well done.

"I WILL BE IN THE KITCHEN BREWING TEA IF YOU NEED ME, YOUR HIGHNESS," he said politely before leaving, using Chara's title as he had ever since he found out about their identity. Chara wished for him to treat them like a friend rather than royalty, but he had been so adamant about keeping ranks that Chara reluctantly agreed.

"Alright. I'm here now. This was your doing, I suppose," Chara growled once Papyrus was in the kitchen.

"Guess what we're doing?" Frisk asked, their entire being nearly bursting with eagerness to announce their plan.

"We're watching a movie?"

"Nope! We're watching a mo-!" Frisk blinked. "Hey! How did you know?"

Chara rolled their eyes. "After that fuss you made before you suddenly ran off? It wasn't exactly hard to guess."

Frisk pouted. "Well, I'm going to say it anyway: We're watching a movie!" they announced, and though it wasn't what they had planned, announcing it the way they had wished to made them giddy nonetheless.

"Really, now? And how shall we do that, I wonder? Have you procured us a ticket or two to the local cinema? Gotten us a cab, perhaps?" Chara said as they set their frazzled hair and clothes back in proper shape.

Frisk grinned. "Nope. We're gonna watch it on the TV!"

Chara's preening stopped. "The TV? What TV?"

Frisk suppressed a laugh and sat up straight. "Weeell, you may not know it, but there's a TV in this room. It's sitting out in the open right now for everyone to see. Can you guess where it is?"

Chara quirked a brow, then took a quick glance around the room. "Are you being serious?" they asked.

"As a funeral," Frisk said.

With one more skeptical look, Chara began to search about the living room, turning their head around the entire space once, twice, then thrice. Every time their eyes went over the flatscreen TV and gone past it without a single hint of recognition, Frisk had to press their hands over their mouth to stop from bursting into laughter.

Finally, after one final look at the room, Chara turned a suspicious glance at Frisk. "Alright, admit it: you are pulling my leg. There is no TV in this room."

A short bout of giggle escaped Frisk before they sucked it back up. "Yep. There is a TV. I can see it right now."

"Where?" Chara looked over their shoulder, completely missing the TV on the way and looking at the blank wall behind them. "Is there a projector of some sort hiding somewhere? Is this wall going to turn into a giant movie screen?"

"Nope. It's sitting right in front of you."

"What?" Chara turned to look straight at the TV, then continued to stare at it for the next five seconds. "What, you mean the blackboard there?"

Frisk could not hold back their joy and they immediately began to clap. "You found it!" they exclaimed. "That's the TV!"

Their words didn't sink in with Chara right away, and they almost thought their partner would laugh them off. Then, as seconds ticked by, the scrutinising expression slowly turned to a open mouth shock, bordering on disbelief.

"No," Chara nearly gasped.

"Yep!" Frisk burst into a fit of giggle.

For a moment, Chara was speechless, still unable to connect the two information. When they finally did, they tried to compose themselves. "W-well, I do suppose it somewhat resembles a TV. I mean, it's black, it has a screen to show an image. Can I get closer? Child?"

At their command, Frisk stood and helped Chara up, tucking their neck under Chara's arm so that they acted as a make shift crutch.

"It's… thin," Chara said as they examined the electronic up close. "And the screen. It's not glass, is it? How does it show pictures? I thought light had to be shot onto the screen from the back? Surely there can't be any lightbulbs behind something so thin?"

Frisk giggled again. Chara was acting like the TV was something out of Star Trek or Doctor Who. Then they realised, actually, yeah, that is probably how it was.

"And how are you supposed to operate it? I see no buttons, no dials. I don't even know how to turn it on."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I think the buttons are on the back. But those might be hard to reach. Papyrus! Do you know where the remote is?"

"ISN'T IT ON THE COUCH?" Papyrus yelled out from the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, the what?"

Frisk turned. "What?"

"You're… looking for something."

"… You mean the remote?"

Chara stared blankly. "What's a remote?"

Frisk blinked, and honestly, they didn't know how to respond to that. "You… don't know what a remote is?"

Chara -to their shock- nodded slowly.

Frisk gaped at them, then took in a deep breath. Right. No remote, they thought incredulously. No wonder they didn't know what the internet was. "O…kay, let me find it first then I can show you."

They helped Chara sit back on the couch and began searching about the furniture, lifting each cushion off the couch and fishing their hand in-between the ones that sat under Chara. A minute later, they found the remote where everyone eventually found it in: stuck between the bottom cushion and the arm rest.

"Ah ha!" they pulled the device out and held it out for Chara excitedly. "Okay, so this is a remote. With this, you can turn the TV on and off, change channels, and make the TV louder and quieter just by pushing theses buttons."

"No," Chara said as if scandalised. They received the remote like it was an infant and cradled it close to them as though it would shatter to million pieces if they weren't careful enough. They looked up and down the device and appeared completely frozen, clueless as to what to do next.

Frisk giggled at their trepidation. "Do you want me to show you?"

Chara didn't answer verbally, but they looked up at them with hope and a hint of fear, and Frisk took their hand, guided and wrapped it around the remote, then raised Chara's arm towards the TV. Together, they pressed the ON button.

With a melodic chime, the TV turned on.

The image that came on was just the 'stand by' channel with bars or different colours filling the screen. Frisk began to apologise and almost changed it to another channel, but in that moment, Chara gasped out loud, their hand tightening over the remote as they stared at the meaningless image in utter awe.

Frisk looked to their partner and frowned. "You… okay?"

"It… It has colours," Chara rasped.

Now it was Frisk's turn to gape in surprise. "You mean you didn't have coloured TV in your time?"

"No. Yes. I mean, they did have them, but I-" Chara started to say, but just as quickly as they had began, they stopped, and suddenly, Frisk felt heavy numbness coming from their partner's heart.

They recognised the feeling immediately. It was the same feeling Chara had earlier in the bedroom when they had asked about what they used to do back on the surface world. Frisk had stepped on another taboo subject, but they didn't know how.

They replayed their question over in their mind, trying to identify where they had misstepped with their question. They couldn't see it though. The question had been so simple, so mundane and detached from anything personal. It was a question of whether a technology existed in the past or not. Why would Chara be upset by a simple question of fact?

Finally, the princess took a slow, silent breath, and smiled that crooked smile they gave when they were forcing themselves. "No, they did have them," they said in a lighthearted, albeit shaky tone. "It was very new though. They were very expensive, you see?" They turned to the TV with a far away gaze. "So very expensive."

As Chara reached out to run the back of their hand over the flat screen, Frisk finally wondered if Chara had been rich enough to have a coloured TV themselves. If they had been rich enough to own a TV at all. The child had only ever known their partner as a princess and never knew how their life was like on the surface. The ghost Chara never shared any details of their past, feigning ignorance by telling them that it's been so long that they've forgotten. Perhaps that's why Chara reacted this way. Perhaps they hadn't been rich at all and was ashamed to reveal that fact to anyone now that they were a princess. But that's silly, Frisk thought. I don't care if they're poor. They sagged their shoulders. I thought we were past that.

If Chara had heard Frisk's words, they didn't show it. Instead they appeared to be enthralled by the screen that showed essentially nothing. Frisk waited them out. Though they felt somehow pushed away, they still wanted the princess to take in the new experience to their heart's content. When Chara finally turned back to Frisk, the enraptured awe on their face had Frisk's heart skip a beat.

"Thank you," Chara whispered with such raw sincerity, Frisk's face was set instantly aflame.

"I-it's nothing," the child said looking away. "Do you wanna watch something now?"

"Watch something?" Chara frowned, then smiled with a shocked laugh. "Oh, but of course. This is a TV. Of course we watch something on it. Oh, but I don't know what's on. Do we have a TV guide? Do you know if they have something science fiction related on right now?"

"No, we're gonna watch a movie, remember? I got some from the library. They're human movies that Dr Alphys donated. Do you remember her? I told you we will be meeting her in the future."

"Yes, I do remember that, but wait, did you say from the library? How can there be movies in the library? And you brought them here? What does that mean?"

Frisk smiled. All of these question, just for trying to watch some TV. "Come on, I'll show you something cool," they said. And they grabbed their bag they've taken to the library and prepared themselves for another long explanation.

It took several minutes to explain what a DVD was to Chara, and then another dozen or so to answer all of the question they had.

"So you're telling me, these little flat disk things work like a vinyl? Except for movies?"

"Yeah!" Frisk said, though they weren't quite sure what a vinyl was. "All the movies come out in these now after it shows in the cinema. They're more for collectors though nowadays. People usually watch movies on Netflix and Hulu and other stuff. Um, those are streaming services by the way. And uhh, streaming is watching a movie, except online. Oh, and online meaning you are using the internet."

Chara frowned in a way that said they understood nothing. "Maybe you should just show me how this DVD thing works."

"Yeah. Why don't you go ahead and pick out what you wanna see then? I'm a huge movie buff so I've seen all of these before so no need to worry about me. Take your time," Frisk reassured. And this was a suggestion they would learn to regret for the next half hour.

Selecting which movie to watch was… interesting. Or at least it was for Chara. For Frisk, it was an ungodly amount of waiting that had them rolling around on the couch like the bored child they were.

"Oh my god, you know I can't reset time anymore, right? Do you wanna watch a movie or what?" Frisk groaned not for the first time.

"Sh-sh-sh! Quiet, darling, I'm trying to read this cover."

"You're reading the partnered company list. Nobody reads the partnered company list."

"That can't be true. If nobody reads it, why would they spend the effort to write it down? Besides, I'm reading it. I mean, don't you think it fascinating? Universal Pictures existed in my time, and it's still here! I simply must see what other companies there are that I recognise. Now be a good child and be patient, please."

Frisk rolled their eyes so hard their entire head spun along. It was like this with every movie, every single DVD case. Each slogan had to be read, each review quotes, descriptions, and even the credits of actors, and directors. And once read, they were followed with several questions such as, "What is the Sundance film festival and how did this film win an award?", "What is this bizarre outfit everyone is wearing on this box?", "Cats vs Dogs? How is that even a movie? Will it just be meowing and barking the whole time?".

At first Frisk thought it was funny, how Chara had zero concept of what a typical DVD case was like. The questions were silly from their perspective, most of the time completely irrelevant to the movie at hand, yet as the questions repeated over, and the waiting time grew longer and longer, Frisk found that they were just about ready to start doing their homework to pass the time instead. And they hated doing homework.

"Why are you even looking at that? I told you, we can't watch PG-13 movies. I brought that along by mistake."

"Oh, but it's so very interesting," Chara whined. "Look, a science fiction film where a man finds out that the world he knows is merely a simulation. Isn't that fantastic?"

"No. We're not watching it until I'm thirteen."

Chara huffed. "I just don't quite understand what the point of this 'classification system' is. What kind of job has you decide who can and cannot watch a certain movie for the entire country? It's a moving picture on a screen. Can violence on it really be that bad?"

"I don't know because I never watched a PG-13 movie. And it's an important job to classify movies. I don't wanna accidentally watch something that's gonna scar me for life."

"Ugh. Why are things so needlessly complicated in the future? Such silly job wouldn't earn you a penny back in my days."

"Wow. 'Back in my days'? I can't believe you just pulled a granny card on me. Over a movie."

"Oi, it's rude to talk about a lady's age.'

"Oh, so you're a lady now?"

"I've always been a lady, darling."

"When you get something out of it, you mean."

"Same thing really," Chara smirked fiendishly, then sighed. "Fine. Very well. Let's stop now. I think I picked out enough movies that interested me." They gestured at the neat stack of DVDs they formed over time. "Let's go over them once more and we can decide which ones we both would like to watch."

Frisk raised a brow. "Chara, that's the entire stack except for that one PG-13 movie."

"Is it?" Chara questioned genuinely and looked to the neatly stacked tower of DVDs. "Huh. And so it is. That's a half an hour well spent, I say."

Frisk leered at the grinning Chara as they walked over to the pile. Briefly, they wondered how Chara even managed to stack the movies in such a neat pile with only one hand and while lying down on the couch, but quickly pushed the thought away in favour of getting to pick out the movie faster. They picked the first movie up on the top. It was Toy Story.

"Hey! This is my favourite movie!" they exclaimed.

Chara gestured at them, and Frisk held it down for them to see. Chara scrutinised the cover and then smiled. "Ah, it's this movie. The one that boasts 'visual wizardry' in the description. This is your favourite?"

"Yeah. Well, one of them anyway."

"One of them?"

Frisk smiled. "Yeah. I mean you can see how many movies there are just in this box. You can't settle for just one favourite."

Chara nodded. "I suppose if movies are so easy to collect like this, people would be watching a lot more of it."

Frisk tilted their head. "Did people not watch many movies in the past?"

"What is this movie about?" Chara asked, and Frisk blinked at the blatant dismissal of their own question. They would have brought it up too, but the way Chara looked at them then, their smile thin and not reaching their eyes, it made Frisk acknowledge that the question was not one for debate and push on.

"Um, it's about this cowboy toy, Woody, who used to be his owner's favourite toy, but then his owner gets a newer toy that he seems to like more. So Woody gets jealous, and he and Buzz get lost and they try to come back home together."

"Ah yes, now I remember," Chara said, their smile turning at ease. "What a quaint idea. I picked this out because I was very intrigued by the poster. This cowboy and the spaceman. They are toys as the title suggests, but what are they made out of? I can't seem to figure that out. They look like plastic but they're too… shiny. And if they are made out of plastic how do they have one expression on the front picture and a different expression on the back? Do they use different dolls?"

Frisk held back a growing giggle. "You don't know what a 3D animation is, do you?"

"Well, I know what a 3D is. You wear these strange glasses and the pictures pops out of the screen." Chara said, confirming their suspicion.

"Kinda. I mean, there are movies like that, but these aren't it. It means that those toys on the cover? They're not real toys. They're pictures made by people, you know, like a cartoon."

Chara blinked and they returned to the DVD cover with wide eyes. "But… they have shadows. And not just any shadows, but shadows that actually look like shadows."

"Yeah, they're made by really smart people using computers. Everything you see on the cover isn't really there."

"Computers?" Chara said and this time Frisk could not stifle their surprise.

"Um, you guys had computers in your time, right?" The child asked with a hint of worry. If Chara didn't know what a computer was, Frisk was going to have to do a lot more explaining about pretty much everything to Chara than they had anticipated.

"Well, yes, we did have computers in my time-" Frisk sighed with relief "-but I can't see what those massive machineries would have to do with anything."

Frisk frowned again. "Uhh, what do you mean? Wait, what do you think computers do?"

"Well…" Chara settled themselves, their posture prim and proper as though they were about to have a diplomatic meeting. "I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure. But they do not draw things, I know that. They're these… giant machines the size of a fridge -multiple fridges, in fact- with blink-y lights and giant film reels for recording data. You give it these really complicated math problems and it solves it for you really quickly. Oh, and they print out punch cards and you… do things with them... I think." They looked at Frisk's incredulous face and blushed. "D-don't look at me like that! Computers are for big business people! I've never seen one in my life!"

Frisk shook their head. "Oh Chara, you have so much to learn."

Chara's red blush engulfed their entire face. "Well then how about you tell me how things have changed if you know so much."

Frisk hummed. "Hmm, that'll be a really long explanation again. Why don't we watch the movie now and do that later?"

"Oh," Chara said, their disappointment clear. "I suppose we have been meandering for quite some time."

"Whoa, hey, no," Frisk said. "I'm sorry. I can tell you what computers do now if you want to know." they said sincerely.

Chara shook their head, "No, it's quite alright. We both knew things like this would happen. And I can't expect you to explain everything every time."

"It's still hard for you though."

"Perhaps. It's just that… there seems to be a lot that has changed, and all we're trying to do is watch a movie. I fear I may be in for a hard time in the future, trying to understand everything. I'm honestly not sure if I can."

"Of course you can," Frisk hugged Chara and squeezed their partner tightly in their arms. "You're smart. One of the smartest person I know. I promise, you'll know everything about everything once you get used to it."

"I certainly hope so." Chara said and pressed themselves into Frisk's embrace.

Frisk closed their eyes, savouring the contact with all they had. When they pulled back, they felt lightheaded, even more so when they saw the hooded eye smile Chara was giving them. They blinked, shook their head and cleared their throat before saying, "Come on, we have the movie. Let's watch it before dinner."

Chara nodded, and Frisk went ahead and put the movie on. The two of them sat on the couch, Frisk smiling as Chara stared stunned at the menu screen and its accompanying music came on. As the movie began, Frisk leaned into Chara's shoulder and the princess leaned back, and the two of them watched the movie with their hands intertwined, never letting go once throughout the entire session.

As the movie played, Frisk had to constantly hide their giggle. It wasn't the movie which had them in fits. No, they had seen Toy Story a hundred times over before and could recite the lines nearly word for word. It was the way Chara reacted to it, to how they were so surprised and amazed by every little thing. Even during the first credit scene Chara had been utterly confounded, and as soon as the first scene of the film came up, Chara's breath hitched, their entire body freezing. They were shocked at the quality of the image, they said, the sound. Everything was clean and crisp, the camera showing each scene as though the viewers were really there right next to the characters.

"Look at Andy!" they bounced -literally bounced- when the animated human first came on screen. "He's a person but he's not! Look at him! Child, are you looking? Child, look!"

It was like dealing with little kid who knew that she was about to get a bowl of ice cream any second from now. Frisk gently hushed them up, reassuring them that yes, they too were watching, and when Chara continued to stare at the screen with stunned awe, Frisk too continued to watch Chara, feeling so grateful that they got the privilege to see it all first hand.

As the movie continued, it brought with it many surprises that Frisk did not anticipate. Chara was constantly charmed by characters that appeared, at how the light reflected off of the toy's plastic surface, at how realistically they moved. There were loud, delighted laughter Frisk did not expect Chara to ever emit, horrified gasps when tragedy struck the characters out of the blue. When things got happy or energetic, they got pumped up and were almost ready to jump out of their seat to join the action. And when things got sad, Chara openly cried, sniffling as Frisk took them into their arms. Frisk who had anticipated many sarcastic comments from the usually cynical princess, was utterly shocked and amused by their reaction, and at the same time, was so glad to have shared this experience.

When the movie finished, Frisk sighed in contentment, in that feeling that one get after a good experience. They turned to Chara with a beaming smile, wondering what sort of expression the princess had. From the way they had been reacting, Frisk was surprised that Chara wasn't clapping at the end credit in a standing ovation.

They're probably too shocked by how good the movie was to do that, they thought.

But what they found when they turned to the princess was something else entirely. Chara wasn't in awe. They weren't stunned, nor smiling, nor clapping. They weren't even disappointed.

Chara was crying. They were weeping, without noise, with their shoulders shaking uncontrollably as tears trailed down their face. These weren't tears of joy, they weren't from how moved Chara was by the film. Chara was sad. So incredibly sad it was a wonder how they had kept it to themselves without Frisk finding out by actively feeling for their connection first.

"Chara?" Frisk said with concern. But Chara did not respond, only continuing to weep as the simple but jazzy tune of 'You've got a friend in me' continued to play on the screen.

Frisk sat by, struggling to understand what was happening, or to think of what to do. They wanted to call on Ms Toriel, get Papyrus or someone to check up if Chara was hurt somewhere physically, but when they tried to get out of their seat, Chara's hand clenched theirs tight, keeping them put. They didn't want them to go. And so, they stayed.

It was a long awkward few minutes, but by the time the credit finished, Chara's tears had subsided to an occasional hiccups and sniffles. It was another minute before Frisk had mustered up the courage to speak at all, and even when they did, they could not ask about the tears directly.

"D… did you like it?" they asked instead, scolding themselves immediately afterwards for being such a coward.

Chara turned to them blankly, then thankfully, smiled. "Yes, I did. Very much."

"Oh. Okay," Frisk nodded. "Do you… wanna watch the next one then?"

"The… next one?"

"Yeah. Toy Story 2. It's the sequel. As in like, the next part of the story."

"I know what a sequel is, darling," Chara informed with a light smile. "So they have sequels to movies too, do they?"

That last bit was mumbled so that Frisk could barely hear it. "Um, yeah?"

Chara turned their gaze onto the wooden floor. Then, after several seconds of silence, nodded solemnly. "Yes. I think I would like that."

Unsure of what else to do, Frisk simply nodded and said, "Okay."

And so, they put on the next movie, then after that, the second sequel, Toy Story 3. Throughout the experience, Ms Toriel and Papyrus joined in on the session, but Chara took no notice of them. With the sequels, Chara's reactions were much more subdued, but they reacted to each emotion being portrayed in the film quite strongly still. The only thing different was that during the laughs, the smiles, the angers and the wonders, Chara didn't stop crying.

When all the movies were finished, Chara was staring blankly at the screen, no emotion on their face other than simple exhaustion. Frisk didn't blame them for that. Watching three movies in a row was exhausting even for a healthy person. But for a sick person who had essentially cried all throughout? Frisk couldn't even imagine how tired they must have been right then. They squeezed on Chara's hand, trying to get the princess' attention, but Chara merely closed their eyes and remained silent.

"I think it is time for bed for you, my sweet. It has been quite the journey, has it not?" Toriel said, probably believing Chara's tears to be from the touching ending of the final movie. When she took them into her arms, Chara already had their eyes closed.

Frisk followed suite and sat by the bed as the adults said goodnight. They volunteered to keep Chara company until they fell asleep before returning downstairs to do their homework, and soon the two of them were left alone.

Frisk sat quietly as Chara laid in bed, their eyes closed and breathing even. For anyone it would have probably seem that the princess was already asleep. But Frisk knew that this wasn't the case. Even with their connection blocked, they could tell that. The question was what they were going to do about it. Because Chara had not spoken to them, and they did not know whether the princess would at all.

"Frisk?" Chara said, their voice piercing the silence as if to answer Frisk's internal question.

"Y-yeah?" Frisk said.

"Are all movies so wonderful?"

Though surprised by the question, Frisk smiled. "Many of them are. Some are bad. Some are terrible. But most of the time, yeah, they're really, really awesome."

Silence filled the room as Chara took in the answer with a small smile which then faded as they went still. For a moment, it appeared as though they had fallen asleep, but Frisk saw the bed shift, and they took Chara by the hand when the princess slowly reached it out for them to do so.

Chara squeezed and held on tight, almost desperately, like a prayer, mustering up their courage to say what they wanted to say. Finally, after a minute, they spoke.

"I'm sorry," they finally said. "I made you worry, didn't I?"

Frisk was quick to deny it. "No. It's okay. Sometimes, when you have to cry, you have to cry."

Chara hummed. "But you still were worried, because you didn't know why. Why I was crying."

Frisk said nothing, for they couldn't deny the obvious fact.

"It's silly, you know? The reason why I'm crying. It's so unimportant. Selfish, even. But I can't stop it. When we watched the movie, with all those pretty colours and sceneries and stories. It was… I…"

"Does it have to do with the surface world?" Frisk finally found the courage to ask. It was an action they quickly regretted.

Rather than answering the question, Chara burst into fresh tears. "I'm sorry," they said. "I'm sorry. I just… I'm sorry."

And Frisk knew instantly that Chara was apologising, not for their tears, but for their inability to share what was making them cry. Because they weren't brave enough. They were so scared, and they were sorry for that.

It broke Frisk's heart to see Chara like this, and they wished they could do something to help. But what? They could hug Chara of course, but that might cause the sorrows to double, for Frisk to be so understanding while Chara could only cry. The princess would think themselves pathetic and will only cry harder, Frisk was sure.

What Chara needed was courage. But it was also not the soft kind of courage Frisk usually provided through their connection. They needed a push, one that was hard enough to help them force past their fears, yet not so hard that it would break them in half. The princess needed courage, and to receive that courage, Frisk knew that they had to be courageous as well.

Frisk took Chara's hand into both of theirs, tightly and so firm that it brought Chara out of their tears to look at them. Frisk opened their mouth, then closed it when the words remained stuck in their throat. They swallowed, took a deep breath and looked Chara in the eye, drawing the courage from their need to help their partner, to remind themselves whom they were doing this for.

"I…" they began with a shaky voice. "I used to go to the movies all the time. Every new movie that came out, especially the cartoon ones, I would always go there on the first weekend."

Chara's tears began to subside as the princess tried to listen.

"It was our thing. Me, my mum and my dad. They both loved movies and I grew up watching them all the time. 3D animations were my favourite. It was the one type of movie we could always watch together. I would sit between mum and dad and hold each of their hand while we watched." Frisk couldn't stop their lips from forming into a smile. Memories of a tall man with glasses and an easy smile, a bob-cut haired woman with a sparkly personality, it played in their mind for the first time in forever. "Those were my favourite memories. From back on the surface."

It was a short story, nothing epic or moving or inspiring. But it didn't need to be.

There was a long moment of silence, and Frisk waited with baited breath for a response.

"'Were'?"

Frisk laughed. Of course that was Chara's first question. Of course Chara would notice. "Yeah. 'Were'."

Another pause. "What… happened to them?"

Frisk didn't answer. Their heart was already twisting with a long forgotten pain. They were willing to be brave for Chara, but even they had their limits.

Chara didn't press the issue. Frisk's pain was bared to them in full through their connection, and Chara had no desire to cause any more.

"I've never seen a movie before."

Frisk looked at them in surprise, but didn't interrupt.

"I've never been to the pictures, cinemas, theatres. Health and safety videos are probably as far as my 'movie knowledge' goes," Chara swallowed with visible difficulty. "When you showed me the coloured TV, it was so... wonderful. When I was young, I would walk past the TV shop every day, staring at the ones on display for minutes until the owner came out and shooed me away. All the kids in my class had a TV. None were coloured, but they still had one, while I alone… I…"

They choked.

"It's so superfluous, you know? It's not like we needed a TV. I didn't even know what was on it. But everyone had one. Everyone. And we just… didn't have the money. We never had the money. And I just wanted to see it. Just once. A coloured film. A coloured screen. A coloured ad, I don't care! I just-!"

Frisk squeezed their hand in reassurance. "It's okay. Shh, it's okay."

It took a moment for Chara to compose themselves, and when they did, they continued on in a quiet voice. "Once, when I was younger than you, I followed some of the older kids to sneak into a movie theatre. It was some sort of crime movie, typical boy film. But it was coloured, and we were sneaking in for free. I wanted to be there. And so I followed." They took a deep breath. "When the movie began, the loud noises and the faces of everyone in the theatre frightened me senseless. They looked like ghosts to me staring at the bright screen like that, and I began crying out like a baby. Isn't that silly?"

They laughed then, a sour, sobbing laugh to which Frisk couldn't laugh along.

"Those older kids ran away without me, and I was the only one who got caught. The movie clerk didn't even call the police on me. He just kicked me out to the streets. A little girl, crying and alone at night. I wandered the streets for god knows how long. Then, a man approached me. He asked me what I was doing outside. I thought he was trying to help me so I told him what happened. He said he was going to take me home, and in my fear I didn't realise that I hadn't even told him where I lived."

Frisk's breath hitched. They held Chara's hand tight and the the princess held them back.

"I… don't know where he was taking me. I never found out. A police car drove past us and the man ran off. I was so very confused, I started crying again. The officers pulled over, but both of them told me to wait in their car before they ran off to catch the man. The two of them took so long, I walked off on my own again. Stupid, I know, but I was scared. I didn't want to be alone anymore."

Chara's voice cracked at the last word, and they paused before continuing.

"It was two hours before my mama found me, and I was lucky that she did. She'd been walking about in the cold, calling out for me without so much as a search plan. If I had been a minute slower, or if I had taken one different turn before, we would have missed each other."

"Chara..."

"I was such a silly child then." Chara's voice turned harsh, angry as though they were speaking through their teeth. "I expected those older kids to take care of me. I trusted that man because he was an adult. I relied on the police because they were the god-damn police. And in the end it was by sheer chance that I was found."

"You were a kid. I'm still a kid and you were younger than me back then."

"My naivety got me nearly kidnapped, lost, possibly killed, or even worse," Chara growled. "There's no one in this world that you can rely on, child. Only yourself."

"That's not true," Frisk said. "It's not easy to rely on someone. They don't always get things right, and sometimes they make mistakes, but no one can be alone forever. You can find that person. That someone you can rely on unconditionally. One you can say with confidence that they'll never let you down." Frisk held Chara's hand tight. "I want to be that person to you. I want you to rely on me, just as much as I rely on you."

"Oh Frisk…" Chara turned to look at them with teary eyes. "You've shown me so much today. Things I never thought I would ever see as long as I live. I know you worried, but I'm not sad. I'm so grateful that I cannot put it into words. But with it… sometimes the things you show me, they come with so much memories, I can't control myself. I know I hurt you when I shut you away. I'm so sorry for that. God, I'm so sorry."

"No, stop that. You're telling me so much right now, can't you see? You're being so brave. Thank you so much."

"You make me want to be brave. No one besides the monsters have believed in me as much as you have. No humans have. Not since…"

Chara trailed off, though they seemed to wish to press on despite themselves. Frisk quickly shook their head. "No. It's okay. I didn't tell you everything and you don't have to either. You've shared so much already. This is good enough for me. More than enough."

Chara turned to look at them, their eyes flowing with new tears. "How are you always so sweet?"

Frisk shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I eat a lot of candy?"

There was a moment of pause, then Chara burst into laughter, a genuine, joyous laughter.

Frisk laughed too, their eyes also glistening with relieved tears.

The weight that had been stifling the air dissipated in an instant, leaving the two of them free to smile once more.

"Look at you," Chara breathed. "So kind. So wonderful. You sweet little idiot, you."

"Hey, after all that you're just gonna call me an idiot?" Frisk laughed.

"As long as you're spending your kindness to someone so undeserving as me, you'll always be an idiot."

"It's not about deserving. I want to be nice. To you, most of all."

"You see? Idiot." Chara grinned.

"Well, at least I'm your idiot, right?" Frisk said, and Chara laughed.

"Yes. You're my idiot. My sweet little idiot, you."

With a giggle, Frisk sat up to tuck the princess in and say their final good bye for the night. However, the moment they stood, they nearly tripped as they were suddenly pulled back down again.

Before they could question it, something small, moist, and impossibly soft pressed into their cheek.

It was only for a second, just a single moment, but as soon as it happened, Frisk jumped back, their eyes wide in disbelief. In contrast, Chara only looked up at them with a warm, affectionate smile.

"Thank you," Chara whispered, two simple words ladened with so much meaning.

"You're welcome," Frisk whispered back, their hand over their cheek, out of breath, and out of wit.

The princess relaxed and settled on the bed without another word. In another minute, their breathing evened out in the steady pace of deep sleep.

Frisk waited another minute to make sure that Chara wasn't going to wake up, then spent another carefully prying their hand from Chara's own. When they stepped out of the room, they did so in a daze, their head buzzing as though there was a swarm of bees trapped inside, looking for a way out. They placed a hand over their cheek again, cupping their palm so that they don't brush away the spot where Chara had pressed their lips in the small, chaste kiss.

Chara… They trembled. Chara… they…

"Frisk?"

They jumped slightly and looked down to see Toriel looking up at them from the living room.

"Is Chara asleep now?"

It took Frisk a second but they managed to eventually nod in affirmative.

"Are you okay? You seem unusually flustered. Is the heater on too high?"

This time, Frisk quickly shook their head, as though delaying their answer would somehow let Toriel know what had just transpired in the room.

Toriel quirked a brow at them before shaking her head. "Right. Well, how about you come downstairs then. Papyrus and I are almost done with dinner now. You can do your homework after, and if you are good, I will provide you with cookies and milk for dessert."

Cookies. Right. The thought of the sweet helped Frisk focus on reality and they nodded with a touch more enthusiasm. When Toriel went back into the kitchen, they walked down the stairs and got to working on their homework early, the thought of the kiss safely tucked away in the back of their mind where it wouldn't bother them for the rest of the night.

A/N: I can't really say anything other than that I am sorry for this delay. I've gotten sidetracked by a personal project detached from Undertale which is currently also not finished. It did help me learn a lot more about writing and I hope I'm able to utilise the new knowledge in the future, but it did come at the cost of putting this project on the shelf for far longer than I would have liked.

For everyone who used to follow this story, I am so deeply sorry. For those who are still around, I must thank you from the deepest part of my heart.

I got the next 2 chapters for this mostly written up, but depending on how the editing process goes, I may take some time ripping things out and rebuilding it. No promises on timing, as I am terrible at doing that.

Sorry again, and thank you. Hope to see you (and me) in the next chapter. Ciao!

Up next: Peace does not last