Chapter 1

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Chara. Happy birthday to you!"

Chara closed their eyes and blew out the candles on their birthday cake.

They couldn't believe that they had made it this far in life. It was their 18th birthday, and they couldn't be happier.

So much had happened in the last 6 years.

But, they decided to focus on that later. For now, they focused on the little skelegoat sitting on their lap and the four kids sitting around them.

Alice, Alex, and Frisk cheered and the rest of the monsters around them applauded. Mila reached up and patted her face.

"Happy burthday!" Mila yelled in their face. Chara chuckled, despite their ringing ears.

"That's right, Mila. Thank you!" Chara patted the young skelegoat's head.

"Here, kiddo, lemme take her from ya," Sans said as he went to pick up Mila. The little skelegoat struggled, but then relaxed as her father picked her up and put her over his shoulder. She signed something, too fast for Chara to catch.

She must be talking to Handy again…

Handy was the imaginary friend of Mila. Although Chara couldn't say he had the best ideas, Mila enjoyed his company.

Then again, Chara partly wished that Mila would grow out of imaginary friends soon. They knew that it was normal for a six year old, but Handy had done some bad things.

Handy hasn't done anything too wrong. Yet. I'll focus on that later.

For now, it was party time.

And what a party it was.

"HUMAN! OPEN YOUR PRESENTS!" Papyrus smiled as he put down a plate, on top of which was a present covered in...spaghetti wrapping paper?

Chara decided not to question it as they reached over to the present and used a short fingernail to rip through the pasta. They flinched back for a second at the unexpected heat of the pasta.

"YES...I MADE SURE TO MAKE IT EXTRA HOT SO THAT YOU COULD STILL EAT IT, HUMAN! SO I MADE IT...IN HOTLAND!" Papyrus smiled. Chara paused for a second, wondering why anyone would think that was a good idea.

Like the choice in wrapping paper, they decided not to question it.

"Thanks, Papyrus. I appreciate it." Chara smiled gently as they tried again, this time getting through the boiling hot spaghetti and revealing the present- a box.

"This isn't going to be one of those box-in-a-box jokes, is it?" Chara joked as they opened the present, revealing another, plastic box.

"Oh my Asgore, it is."

"No, darling, open that box." Mettaton guided them gently as they opened the box, a vial of glitter falling out. A very specific pink glitter, to be exact.

"That's right! MTT Brand Glitter in the shade Shoes!" Mettaton announced. "You have all of the prototypes that I created!"

"DON'T YOU MEAN, THE COMPANY?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant…" Mettaton pursed his lips for a second.

"Thank you, Metta!" Chara smiled as they opened the rest of the box to reveal several more glitters- Grey, Black, and more Pink.

"Arms, Legs, and more Shoes…" Chara read.

Seems like he made them in shades of his own coloring…

"Thank you, Metta." They smiled and stood up, standing on their tip-toes in an unsuccessful attempt to reach his height.

Despite the years, Chara hadn't grown an inch. Mettaton picked them up instead and hugged them.

"You're very welcome, darling." He ruffled their short hair and put them down. Chara went to sit down and unwrap the next present, this time- thankfully, they thought to themselves- wrapped in normal paper. It was pretty paper, white, but it seemed to be tie-dyed with black, yellow, and purple. Chara could tell that whoever had bought it had put a lot of effort into it- it even had a letter that was tie-dyed the same colors. Chara touched it, surprised by the feel of soft velvet rather than cold, rough paper.

"Wow, this is nice," They commented, grabbing the letter and carefully peeling the tape off of the present. They opened the letter and pulled out the white letter inside. They read down the letter, preferring not to read it out loud.

Happy Birthday Chara!

We hope you enjoy this letter from the two of us.

Love, Alice and Alex

"Thanks, you two," Chara smiled, reaching over to hug the two girls, rustling Alex's long brown hair and hugging Alice's waist. They let go of the two and sat down to open the present. They gasped as they found a bunch of books!

"Mermaids and Magic. You got me the Mermaids and Magic series!?" Chara squeaked, jumping up. "Thank you!" They hugged the two girls even tighter, the smile on their face growing even more. "By the way, I love your hair, Alice."

"O-oh, thank you!" The girl beamed and covered her mouth in embarrassment. She tilted her head, allowing her trendy pink, blue, and purple hair to shine in the light of the kitchen. "It's my favorite one I've done."

"Even more so than the red?" Chara joked, recalling how much Alice hated her red hair.

"No, I loved red w-way more." Alice rolled her eyes and giggled. "Let's get back to your presents." She grabbed an oddly shaped present and handed it to the birthday child. "This one is from Grandpa Asgore." Chara took it and examined the package carefully. It had been wrapped carefully, but messily, a sign, they assumed, that Asgore had attempted to wrap it without magic.

They really appreciated the efforts their family went to. They set down said present and carefully removed the packaging, setting it to the side and looking at the present itself.

It was a gardening bag, complete with the various shovels. Looking through the pockets of the bag, they found several seeds as well.

"Thanks, Dad." Chara smiled, standing up to hug the former king of the Underground. Without hesitation, he hugged them back, glad to know that they were happy.

Everyone liked seeing them happy, it seemed. The next present had been a painting done by Frisk and Mila- one that Chara appreciated greatly, for they knew how protective Frisk got of their paintings and how they disliked giving out said paintings.

"Thank you so much, Frisk!" Chara had smiled, hugging them tightly.

You're welcome. They signed, smiling. While Frisk had been taking speech therapy for the last 4 years and felt more comfortable speaking, they still signed at home.

"You too, Mila!" Chara let go of their sibling and hugged the small goat, taking her out of Sans' arms.

"I wove you, Sawa!" Mila mumbled, hugging the older person.

"I guess this means this last present is from you guys," Chara commented, holding Mila in one arm and grabbing the envelope with their other hand. They already knew what it was. It was the same every year.

"Thank you, Mom and Dunkle Sans." Chara smiled as they opened it to reveal a card with money inside.

"Of course, my child." Toriel smiled and hugged them, putting a furry arm around Chara's shoulders.

There's just one person missing… They frowned, and then shook it off.

Azzy said he was at work. They told themselves. He'll give you your present when he gets home.

As those words crossed their mind, the door slammed open.

"Chara!" Asriel yelped, slamming the door behind him. Mila and Alice flinched, Alice moving towards Chara and clutching their arm, keeping an eye on Asriel and Mila burying her face into Chara.

"Azzy? You said you wouldn't be home until late." Chara asked the goat, surprised. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah, they were slow, so I told them it was my sibling's birthday and they let me go." He dropped his hand and held up a small bag. "Here's your birthday present, Chara."

"Thanks, Azzy." Chara smirked, taking the bag from him. They opened the bag and gasped at the contents.

"Wat is it, Sawa?" Mila asked.

"It's my locket." Chara opened it, seeing a picture taken recently at the ice rink near Asgore. Chara was holding Mila, surrounded by Alice, Frisk, and Asriel. All of their faces were frozen in a laugh. They smiled and looked up at their brother.

"Azzy…"

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it!" Chara grasped the goat in a huge hug, grasping him tightly. He chuckled.

"You're welcome, Chara." He hugged them back tightly.

*A/N

Hey guys!

I'm so so so sorry for the late update.

I can't really guarantee when the next update will be, I might just do a schedule of updating whenever I have a chapter done until I get back into a writing rhythm.

Anyways, I will see y'all next chapter!

~Skater