AN: In this story Chara, Frisk, and Asriel are all teenagers. Toriel and Asgore are friends to a certain degree but there is no romance and no expectation of romance. Toriel adopted Frisk and Asgore adopted Chara after they legally separated. The goatparents share joint custody of Asriel. Chara and Frisk are they/them because that's how I roll.

Frisk scowled into their red plastic cup, swirling the dark liquid inside in a clockwise motion. Ordinarily they hated soda, they never liked the feeling of the bubbles going down their throat and the timing of it was always tricky. Drink it too fast and you belch for the next hour; drink too slow and it became so sweet even Chara would not touch it. But today they wanted soda. The bubbles were as spiky as their mood and they needed the caffeine anyway. All around them Toriel's New Year's Eve party was in full swing, with monsters and humans rubbing elbows and chatting merrily into the night. Frisk remained on the two-seater mini-couch, deterring anyone from engaging them in conversation by answering all questions directed toward them in gestures and monosyllables. It was as though they were emitting psychic waves that told everyone else to stay away. They hardly needed them. Everybody close to them already knew why Frisk was in such a rotten mood and to give them space.

"A party at Toriel's?" Chara had asked when they called earlier that day. Their trepidation was obvious even over the phone, and Frisk felt their chest clench. "Knowing her… she invited not only her fellow teachers, the PTA, and her adult friends, but all the monsters as well?"

Frisk gripped their phone tightly, knowing what was coming next but hoping they were wrong. "Y-yeah…"

"… I'm sorry. That sounds like too much of a crowd for me. The Christmas celebrations last week were a bit much and I really need some alone time to recharge." A pause. "I'll send her a text to let her know, I'm not so much of a coward that I'll leave you to face her wrath in my stead. You'll still have fun there without me, right?"

"Of course," Frisk lied.

That afternoon Frisk showered and put on their comfiest and most stylish t-shirt (magenta, no stripes, they were not a child anymore) and dark jeans, then helped their mother with the preparations. For sweet snacks Toriel made double-chocolate chip brownies, anise cookies, and snickerdoodles. Frisk was in charge of the salty snacks; a few bags of potato and tortilla chisps together with onion, mexican, and buffalo chicken dips. Chips, they corrected themself when Toriel gave them a strange look. Papyrus delivered his meatballs in a slow cooker that morning, so they would be ready about an hour before the party started. Besides that there were decorations to hang, alcoholic beverages to stock so they could be given out to monsters and humans old enough for them, cleaning to do, and just so so much to keep them busy that they did not think about Chara all afternoon, nope not at all.

The first guests showed up at 8 o'clock, discounting Papyrus who was there an hour early to set his crock pot to "warm". From that moment Frisk kept themself within view of the front door. They greeted everyone as they came in, scanning each of the faces of every guest. They recognized most of them, though some of the teachers and Toriel's friends brought a plus one they had never seen before. Frisk smiled and bid them welcome, trying to hide their disappointment that they had not found the face they were looking for. It went like this all night, Frisk's attention being grabbed every time the doorbell rang and scrambling to be the the first to the door. Every time their excitement flared a little less brightly, their melancholy afterward felt a little bit deeper. When 11 o'clock rolled around and nobody new had showed up for nearly half an hour, they finally gave up on being surprised. Asriel put a hand on their shoulder and gave a sympathetic smile. "They never liked big parties," he consoled. "I know they wish they could be here too, so try not to be hard on them."

It should be fine. It was fine. Chara was too much of an introvert for how gregarious the rest of the Dreemurrs were; in keeping with how he was as king Asgore wanted to constantly check in on everyone, acting the host even at other people's parties, and Toriel was still making up for time lost while she was hiding out in the Ruins and needed people around all the time. Chara was never happier than when they were in the company of themselves and maybe one or two very close friends. There were times when even that was too much for them, and they would spend hours huddled in their bedroom, playing video games or reading books, either dead tree or electronic, they weren't picky. As Chara had mentioned, the Christmas parties (one for school, one at Toriel's, and one more at Asgore's) had put a huge strain on them. By the end of Asgore's party on the 25th their smile was taking physical effort to keep up and Frisk had been forced to do the talking for both of them for fear of an animal growl coming out of Chara's throat instead of human speech. They had not seen Chara since; they retreated into their cocoon at their father's house, only speaking with Frisk via phone even a week later. It had been that hard on them. So Frisk understood. Chara needed some time for self-care. But still. Still. They were really hoping Chara would make it.

It was now 11:58. Everyone was crowded around the television waiting for the ball to drop. The door opened one last time to let the smokers back in, as Toriel hated cigarette smoke and would not allow a single one of those coffin nails into her abode. Frisk was still alone on the loveseat, even though there were now dozens of people crowded around and on their feet chittering with nervous excitement. Were they really that pitiful? Surrounded by people, but all alone because they could not be with the one person they most wanted?

Thirty seconds left. The chatter died and all movement stopped as everyone waited for the countdown to begin.

Well, that did it. Who needed Chara anyway? Just because they wanted them there, just because they wanted to start the new year off in the arms of their datefriend, that was no reason to be so disappointed. They were going to enjoy this without them. They'd take a picture of themself having fun and send it to them, and Chara would be so jealous and filled with regret they would never leave them in the lurch again.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!"

The loveseat creaked slightly as a person sat next to them. Someone in a green winter coat, probably one of the smokers from outside. Frisk took a breath to psyche themself up. Whoever they were, tonight was their lucky night. They turned and started speaking before their brain had a chance to talk them out of doing something stupid. "Hey, did you wanna-"

Two red eyes, set in a pale face flushed from the cold exertion, stared back at them. Their lips were slightly parted and heavy breaths in a quick rhythm came in and out from between them. Their ears were partially concealed by the green hood on their jacket but even from this distance Frisk could make out the bright yellow foam earplugs stuck inside them. "Yes?" Chara asked between gasps. "You were saying?"

"Seven! Six!"

Frisk swallowed. They had to raise their voice to be heard over the din of everyone else counting but now that Chara was right in their face it was difficult to say what they wanted to out loud. Time was running out and this was important to them, but they had to ask. "Um… w-when the clock hits zero… would you… like to-"

"Five! Four! Three!"

Chara leaned in close, their blush deepening. This time it might not have been the cold. Chara tried to meet their stare but averted their eyes after a moment. "Well… I did not run all the way here to miss the best part."

"Two! One!"

Permission granted and all forgiven, Frisk threw their arms around Chara's neck and pulled them in. As their lips touched they felt Chara's hands go around their waist.

A mighty cheer erupted from the rest of the room, utterly oblivious to what was happening on the loveseat. Confetti was thrown, streamers were blown, and the air was split with the deafening cry of wishing each other a, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

And for Frisk it already was.

Chara could not stay long in the main room afterward; even the few moments it took to say hello to Toriel and Asriel set their teeth on edge and they held Frisk's hand tightly for support. Frisk took them upstairs to their room, though Toriel warned them to keep the door open with a knowing gleam in their eye. From here the din of the party barely reached them. They lay next to each other on top of the covers with all their clothes on, the twin size bed too small for them to share but the two of them made an attempt at it anyway. Chara lay on their back staring at the ceiling, using Frisk's forearm as a pillow, while Frisk huddled up to their left arm. Only a few years ago Chara would not have been able to endure this for long; now Frisk's close presence seemed to reinvigorate them, their shyness and aversion to touch willing to make an exception for this one person. "You were late," Frisk said, stroking Chara's arm in long, slow pets.

Chara regarded them with a smirk. "Oh? I thought I was right on time."

Frisk giggled. "Did you really run all the way from your dad's house three blocks away to here, just to kiss me at midnight?"

"No." Chara turned their head away. "I… walked back and forth. I tried to get here half an hour ago but… I couldn't. I wanted to come inside and see you, but the thought of so many people in such a small space…" They shivered and clutched their elbows, resting their arms just below their ribcage. "So I would start back home, except I kept thinking of you. Of how you sounded when you said it was okay for me not to show up, and I could tell in your voice it wasn't okay at all. I knew what you wanted and that it was important to you. And still, I couldn't get through the door until it was nearly too late." They exhaled and turned toward Frisk, their eyes shimmering. "You can tell me if you need something from me. You're not the only one who can make sacrifices, you know."

"Why would you need to make sacrifices for me?" Frisk asked, a teasing edge to their voice. "Why would you want to?"

"F-Frisk…" Chara closed their eyes as heat radiated off their face. "Don't make me say something like that."

Frisk snuggled up closer. "I love you."

They felt Chara shift onto their side, then reach over and ruffle their hair. "Me too." Frisk responded by burying their face in Chara's chest, smiling with delirious happiness.

Chara's exhaustion caught up with them at the same time Frisk's soda-fueled caffeine high wore off. Within minutes both of them were soundly asleep, greeting the new year in each other's arms.

AN: Not my best work, but I whipped it together in a few hours to get it up in time for it to still be relevant. This fandom is one of the few good things to happen to me all year, so I decided I deserved some tooth-rotting Charisk fluff to close it out. I hope this next year is kind to you and yours.