More Often

It had been some time since the Dark Fountain had been sealed. Balance appeared to have been restored, at least for now. Kris often returned to the Dark World to see all his friends, but Toriel began having suspicions when she caught him heading to the closet-he had to cut his time down to the weekends under "hanging out with friends," and that was hard enough because the school usually would be locked.

But it was worth it, the chance to see Ralsei was always worth it.

Sometimes Kris would bring Susie along, since she was good friends with Lancer, and when they'd depart she'd always poke fun at how "you love him, it's so obvious." Truthfully, she wasn't wrong. Ralsei was different than anyone Kris had ever met. He was incredibly kind, never showing a shred of hatred toward anything or anyone. He was smart, and loyal, and patient, and a good listener, and had a lovely singing voice, and… Beyond everything else, he was irresistibly adorable. Kris never forgot when he tied that white ribbon to Ralsei's hat, the blush that appeared followed by the question of whether or not he looked cute. He could never appear as anything other than perfect.

Kris came to respect him even more though upon inquiring about Ralsei's past. He never really met his parents, nor did he have many friends. Yet somehow, he made the greatest friend anyone could ever ask for. How he could avoid being loved by everyone in the Dark World was a mystery to Kris.

Kris stood with Ralsei where the Dark Fountain once flowed. It had been sealed after a grueling battle with the King, but in the end everything turned out okay. Lancer became the new king, immediately setting up a policy that Lightners were friends. Though no other Lightner had been here, Kris and Susie saw benefit to the new rule. No more fights that Kris never wanted in the first place. And Ralsei seemed to be a lot happier.

But even in his happiness, he still had a request of Kris. To see the Light World. He had never been there himself, only ever knowing the Dark World. It was why he had come with Kris to the top of the Card Castle. Kris was almost too excited to show Ralsei all the wonders of the Light World, and today had been a beautiful day when Kris woke up-the perfect day to bring Ralsei.

So they stepped forward, and got absorbed by light.

A few moments later and Kris recognized that they were in the side room in the school. He told Ralsei that he shouldn't pay much attention to the cluttered mess; it wasn't what Ralsei needed to see. Kris grabbed Ralsei by the hand and burst out through the front door of the school. What happened then made Kris' heart dance.

Everything mystified Ralsei. The wonder that sparkled in his eyes was nearly too amazing to look at, then his giddiness got the best of him and he bounced up and down for a moment.

"Kris? What's that?" he pointed over at the sun, which hung low over the horizon, flooding the sky in a beautiful sea of color.

"That's the sun! You remember all my descriptions, right?"

Kris had explained it before in his tales about the Light World. The sun rose and fell each day, giving warmth and light to the world. Because of it, the sky appears blue during the day, but right now at sunset it was a dazzling mix of reds.

"I never imagined this…" he said in awe.

His eyes darted every which way, but when he couldn't find anything else interesting Kris again grabbed his arm and took him to another spot that he thought Ralsei would enjoy.

"Look at this, Ralsei! This is the lake!"

The water glistened thanks to the sun's light, sparkling almost the same as Ralsei's eyes. It was a beautiful, crystal-clear blue that stretched on into the forest.

"...Amazing…" Ralsei could only gasp.

"Uh… I think that's all the town really has to offer that you don't have an equivalent of in the Dark World," Kris thought for a second, "Let's go to my house! I'm sure my mom will be okay with a guest."

Kris skipped along and Ralsei trailed right beside. If Susie caught them right now she'd surely have some quip that would half-ruin the moment.

On the way they had passed the library. Kris promised Ralsei he'd bring him there the next chance they got, Ralsei loved to read and now he'd get a chance to read books from the Light World.

Kris' house wasn't far. But even it seemed to give Ralsei a sense of joy. It was tucked away in a corner of town, surrounded by the forest and had nothing more than a humble attitude. Kris told Ralsei to wait a moment outside, then went in and asked Toriel if it were okay for a friend to stay over tonight. She agreed, already having made plans to bake a pie tonight. Kris ran back outside just to push Ralsei in.

"Here he is, mom!" Kris exclaimed.

"Oh? I don't believe we've met before, what's your name?" she asked softly.

"Ralsei, miss," he answered politely.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Ralsei. Any friend of Kris is always welcome here," she smiled, "If I may ask though, could you take off your hat?"

Kris always loved seeing Ralsei without his hat on, and now he'd have to agree to taking it off. So he did, and he revealed the smiling face Kris couldn't ignore.

Toriel laughed, "Well, you look just like my son! Or, at least when he was younger."

Kris assured Ralsei it was a compliment, everyone loved Asriel.

"How about you take him upstairs Kris? I will begin preparing dinner."

Kris nodded, and directed Ralsei to the stairs leading to the bedrooms. Unfortunately there was nothing much to do in Kris' room, but Ralsei didn't seem to mind. The two just shared conversations until Toriel called for dinner.

Ralsei dug in and called it the best he's ever eaten, saying he'd have to come back more often for the good food. Kris silently cheered at this, more time with Ralsei and in particular more sleepovers like the one they'd have tonight.

They went back to Kris' room, and by now the sun was all the way down and the moon was rising up. Stars began appearing in the sky, and again Ralsei looked on in wonder.

"Those are the stars I talked about. Pretty, aren't they?"

Ralsei nodded enthusiastically. His smile was enough to be the sun or the stars of the Dark World, it was so amazing to see.

"Unfortunately though, I think that's all I can show you for now…" Kris sighed.

But Ralsei embraced him in a hug.
"Oh thank you Kris! I loved this! We have to do this more often!" Ralsei beamed.

Kris of course wanted nothing more than to see Ralsei like this as much as possible. He agreed that he'd take Ralsei to the Light World more, and Ralsei seemed fit to burst with joy.

But it was starting to get late, and the town got cold at night-especially during the late fall like it was now. Ralsei in particular seemed to be not used to it. Despite his fur, the Dark World never really got cold or hot; it stayed at one temperature a lot of the time and it was enjoyably warm. Kris hatched a plan immediately.

"Are you cold Ralsei?"

He nodded.

"Do you think it'd be better for you if we slept in the same bed?"

Then the blush appeared. He was so cute when flustered like this.

"Uh... um... uh…" he stuttered.

"Don't worry, this is perfectly normal," Kris half-lied. It was true that people slept together in bed, usually as couples though, not just to stay warm. Either that or they had a bond like Kris and Asriel's, where nightmares would be chased away if they slept in the same bed.

"Um… o-okay, Kris," Ralsei was still blushing like crazy.

Kris turned off the lights. They got into bed together, and Kris wrapped Ralsei in a tight embrace. Ralsei didn't seem against it at all, positioning himself so that he was comfortable against Kris.

"We really should do this more often… love you, Ralsei."