It had all started innocently enough. Chara and Asriel had been on Asriel's bed in Asgore's house, Chara sitting cross-legged with a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other while Asriel laid on his stomach to type onto a laptop. Though Chara was much more skilled with computers they had a tendency to browse the internet and share memes rather than focus on schoolwork, so they had been given the low-tech option. "No, Asriel," Chara corrected something he had just said, "you mixed them up again. Think of 'latitude' going side to side, like the rungs of a ladder. Latitude, ladder, get it?"

Asriel huffed. "I hate geography," he whined. "I learned a lot of math and science and stuff when I was Flowey, but there weren't any surface geography books in the Underground."

"Even with that dragging down your average you still have some of the highest marks in the class," Chara consoled them. "You probably could have tested into a higher grade than you did."

"You could have too," Asriel countered without looking up from the screen. It was the short form of an argument they'd had several times before; while Asriel had essentially cheated by bringing knowledge studied over the course of many resets, Chara was naturally more intelligent than the average ten year old. Either of them could have been accepted to a school for gifted children, but both declined. Each knew the other had the same reason: they did not want to be in a different grade, or a different school, from each other. Or from Frisk.

Asriel changed the subject by asking, "How come we're always doing homework in my room?"

"It's because your room is so boring," Chara said. "No posters, no television, no distractions. It's a lot easier to get work done when there isn't a game system or anything to pull us away." Asriel nodded in understanding. "I have to believe you keep this place so spartan on purpose. After all, your room at Toriel's doesn't look anything like-"

They stopped. Now that they thought about it, what did Asriel's room at Toriel's house look like? They tried to summon a picture of it in their mind's eye but the only thing that came to mind was their shared room a lifetime ago in New Home. Why could they not remember? They were only in there last… last… huh. Now that they thought about it they were unsure when the last time they had seen it was, or even if they had ever seen it. Whenever they were visiting Frisk and Asriel, they always hung out in the backyard, or the living room, or Frisk's room. But never Asriel's room.

"You know," Chara said idly. "I don't think I've ever seen your room at Toriel's." Asriel's pen stopped writing. "How curious. I should pop in the next time we're there."

"Um," Asriel said, swallowing. "That's kind of a weird thing to do. Just… going into someone's room, just to see it?" His hand with the pencil quivered, though he willed it still when Chara's gaze flicked down to it.

Chara's curiosity turned into suspicion. It would be one thing if it were a rare occasion to be invited in, but never? They leaned forward to peer over the top of his laptop. "Asriel, why haven't I ever been in that room before?" Asriel's face was frozen, the hints of tears were in the corners of his eyes but his mouth stayed perfectly neutral. The question hung in the air for several seconds as the two children engaged in a staring contest. Chara flinched first. "I suppose it's not important," they dismissed. "I merely thought it was odd, that's all." They knew their own smile had grown rigid and false, but it was all they could do to keep from screaming out the answer to their own question: 'I have not been inside because you don't want me in there.'

Chara tried not to be upset about it. This was not bad. It was good, healthy even. Asriel had always been a bit too open, a little too disrespectful of boundaries of others and too unwilling to enforce his own. So if there were parts of his life that he did not want Chara involved in and stuck to his guns about keeping them out, this could only be a good thing. They could tell themselves that over and over, recognize the logic was sound and it was objectively true. They could look upon how everything ended so long ago when he did not have those scruples and how they had betrayed that trust. If that trust was no longer so freely given, well, what right did they have to complain? But that did not make it sting any less. The boy who was once their Best Friend Forever held out a hand to stop them from entering into a portion of their life. No matter how minor the barrier or how justified its erection, the human spirit would not easily accept being barred from where they had always been free to tread before. It is perhaps to Chara's credit that they were able to keep themselves from descending to true resentment.

Not that they would meekly accept Asriel's decision. Not without an earnest attempt to steamroll over it.

It took a few days of planning but Chara finally managed to corner Frisk without Asriel being around at the lunch table. Chara had a reasonable suspicion Frisk was aware of whatever reason Asriel had for keeping them out of his room, but they could hardly be expected to talk of their brother's secrets right in front of him. Chara tried to ease their way into the conversation by talking about class assignments, and classmates, and the weather, and any other type of small talk they could think of. After three or four questions Frisk sighed and tilted their head to the side. "Alright, what's bugging you?"

Chara feigned innocence, "I have no idea what you mean. I am simply making small talk, as friends the same age are wont to do."

This was the exact wrong thing to say. Frisk pointed an accusing finger at Chara and challenged, "You have to be really upset to use words like 'wont'. Or to do small talk."

Chara realized they had overcompensated again, appearing to be so innocent they absolutely had to be up to something. "Fine, I admit I have a problem only you can help resolve."

"Oh?" Frisk shifted in their seat closer. "The great Chara, asking for my help? You've gotta be real…" They stopped as the word failed to come to them and substituted, "You must need help bad."

"I will not be mocked," Chara said, standing. "I will simply have to find another to-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Frisk said quickly, motioning for Chara to sit back down. "I was surprised, you're smart so I thought there wasn't anything I could do. But if you're in trouble I'll be glad to help! So, who do you need me to beat up?"

"No assistance like that is necessary, thank you. The issue is our mutual brother. I have realized I have never seen the room he has at your house, and his room in my house is rather devoid of decorations or personality. I wondered if this was an innocent oversight, but he rather forcefully denied me entrance. Would you happen to know anything about this?"

Frisk drummed their fingers on the table nervously. "Um… yeah. He asked me not to invite you into his room. And he told me why. But… he also made me promise not to tell you…"

Unbelievable! Unconscionable, even! Whatever problems Asriel had with Chara, they did not need to get Frisk involved in whatever act of petty revenge he was planning! Yes, Frisk was Asriel's sibling, but they were also one of Chara's best friends! How dare he try to put them in between them! Chara's hands formed into fists unbidden. "I have to know," Chara explained. "Why doesn't he want me in there? Why can't he let me know why?"

"It's nothing serious," Frisk insisted. "It's… well, it's serious to him. It's not worth getting mad over, really! You'd laugh if you knew."

"Coming from someone who knows what circumstances I laugh in, such a statement is not comforting."

Frisk frowned. "I promised him. He'd feel lied to if I told you, and you'd get mad at me for breaking a promise."

Chara was about to argue that they would not hold it against Frisk for doing what they told them to, but wisely shut their mouth when they realized, yes, they really would get angry if Frisk broke a promise. They dipped their head and clapped their hands together in supplication. "You must understand how vexed I am about this. I can't let this go. If you can tell me anything, anything at all, I would be in your debt."

Faced with Chara begging, Frisk's heart moved ever so slightly. "Weeeeeeeeell," they started, putting together what they could say that would, through an oversight or technicality, not be breaking Asriel's rule. "Asriel still thinks you're really cool. And, they don't want to do anything that might make you think he's not cool."

"What?" Chara said. "You two of all people know what a massive dork I am. What would make him think-"

"Chara," they interrupted. "I saw your membories. You said he was a crybaby. You teased him a lot. You called him 'weird' all the time, any time he liked something you didn't." Chara winced. Yes, that was true… but was it really Chara's fault if he took it so hard? Frisk concluded, "If you want him to let you into his room, you hafta show you won't judge him for it."

"And how can I possibly do that? I don't even know what I'm not supposed to be judging him for!"

Frisk held up their hands, symbolically washing themself of any further responsibility. "I told you what I can!" they said. "You like puzzles, figure it out yourself!"

Chara was prevented (or spared, if they were being emotionally honest) from pressing the issue by Asriel's appearance. The child Boss Monster heaved a sigh of relief, evidently unaware of the conversation he interrupted. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he sat down. "Someone went and hid my lunchbox on me. Didn't even take anything, just buried it under some coats. Who does that?"

Chara knew Frisk was staring at them behind their closed eyes, but they knew Frisk would not say anything. Frisk's sense of morality was skewed, but they were a fierce defender of the playground rules such as "Snitches get stitches." Even if by some miracle Frisk could prove anything they would keep the secret safe. Frisk "hmmm"ed for a moment and asked, "Oh yeah, Chara. When you came in today, didn't you knock a couple coats down? That must have been why Asriel had trouble finding their lunch."

That dirty rat!

Asriel turned to stare at Chara. What could they do now? "Ah," they stammered. "Y-yes, something like that happened now that I think of it. I must have… covered Asriel's lunchbox by mistake. So strange for it to be there to begin with… but I am sorry. I did not even realize…"

Asriel waved off, "Nah, it's okay. Mistakes happen, I guess." They pulled out a sandwich and a juice box, frowning. "Although… you're usually pretty good about cleaning things up. Why didn't you just pick up the coats you knocked over?"

Chara's eyes flicked over to Frisk, hoping for assistance. By the look of Frisk's smirk, however, they were far too amused by Chara's flailing to bail them out. In their heart Chara promised vengeance for this. "I, must have been in a rush, I guess. Or something. I'll be more careful in the future." Asriel accepted this with no further questions. Chara wished they could do the same, but now their own question had been replaced by a puzzle. How could they convince Asriel to let them into his confidence when they did not even know the nature of what secret was being kept from them?

While they were pondering this, a crisis of a completely different sort came upon them. That Friday their school held a pep rally for the local sports team. Toriel had offered to get Chara out of it, but they had insisted on not receiving special treatment. This was a terrible mistake. Chara had never been good with crowds at even the best of times: dealing with a massive group of rowdy middle schoolers cheering and hollering at the top of their lungs was more than they could handle and they cursed their foolish pride. They ended up having a panic attack and fleeing from the auditorium, and two days later their nerves were still so shot their teeth chattered. They cursed themself for being so weak. Dozens of other kids in the school or the city were able to put up with a simple crowd, and Frisk seemed to come alive in such circumstances. Meanwhile here they were, relegated to their bedroom, unable to take a single step outside. They were curled up in their nightwear, their meals being delivered at the door by Asgore. They held a stuffed pink hippo in their arms, squeezing as if letting go would mean plummeting to their death.

They had still not fully recovered by Sunday, when Asgore's week with Asriel would begin. Toriel and Asgore had been co-parenting Asriel for a few years now, switching off who would take care of them week by week. Since both of them lived in the same neighborhood it was almost a formality; no matter who he was with Asriel still went to the same school, had the same friends, had nearly the same life. He could simply walk down the block to the other parent's house if he wanted to, though he tried to treat both parents equally and would not deny either of them their time without a good reason. So for the next week Asriel would be living under the same roof as Chara again. And despite everything they did not want to miss a moment of time with him. Now if only their stupid anxiety would get the hint and go away…!

They heard the front door open and their pulse spiked. He was here! Asriel was here! It was no use, they could not get themself to calm down. Not when the door closed, not when he heard soft pawprints come up the stairs, not when he heard a knock at their door. "Chara?" Asriel asked. "Are you awake? Are you okay?"

And now they were worrying him. Asgore must have told him they had not left their room since coming home Friday, and of course Asriel would get upset. Just like usual, Chara could only cause problems for people around them and worry everyone sick over- They caught themself before the spiral could begin, remembering what their therapist had told them. Chara had to make an effort to remember not to turn other people's care into another reason to beat themself up, to appreciate other people without making it all about themself. It was odd the way self-hatred made one self-centered, but thinking about their past life they could definitely see it as true. "Yeah. Y-Yeah," they repeated, sure they spoke too softly the first time to be heard. "Y-you can come in." They were going to deal with this. They were not going to run away. This was Asriel for Pete's sake, the one person who had more reason to hate them than anyone else and still was willing to call them his sibling, the very least they could do was-

Asriel opened the door and stepped inside, moving slowly so that Chara could see where they were and what they were doing. "All those screaming kids, huh?" Asriel said, guessing the reason for their current state. Chara nodded. "It was good of you to try. But you know, you don't have to rush things. Nobody's going to fault you if you aren't like me or Frisk. Take breaks away from people if you gotta. Oh!" They leaned forward, their eyes locked on something at Chara's chest level. They looked down… and their heart lodged in their throat when they realized they were still holding onto the stuffed hippo.

They had, of course, indulged in hugging Asriel's stuffed animals in the Underground when they could not bear to be around anyone but still needed some anchor to hold onto. However, they had always been careful to hide it from Asriel. When Asriel gushed over their stuffed animals Chara had outwardly acted with boredom or even outright mockery. "Those things are for babies," Chara had told him then. "Big kids don't hang out with stuffed animals."

After all the teasing they gave him during that time Asriel would have been well within his rights to point and laugh or at the very least call Chara out on their hypocrisy. Instead he leaned in with a beatific smile and waved at the stuffed hippo. "Howdy," he called out softly. "What's their name?"

Chara looked down at the stuffed hippo. Gradually their breathing eased and their pulse slowed. They looked at Asriel again. Perhaps the teasing had been only delayed? If Chara revealed that they were the kind of person that not only owned stuffed animals, but named them, would that open the floodgates? They swallowed. "… Her. Madeline."

Asriel blinked. "Madeline? Kind of a weird name."

Even this mild rebuke was enough to set them off. "I don't want to hear that from you, 'Flowey the Flower'," Chara snapped with more venom than they intended. In the past Asriel would have teared up and stammered apologies after Chara lashed out at them unfairly. But this was not the Asriel of the past. This was an Asriel that had been through much more, seen what depths of depravity he and others could sink to, and came out the other end with a greater understanding of humanity in general and Chara in particular than he ever could have had before. So Asriel gave them a deadpan look for half a second, then dropped down on all fours. He crawled under the bed and started dragging something out from under it. No! That was-! But Chara was too shocked to stop him before he finished dragging a plastic container out from under the bed and popped open the lid. Inside was Chara's collection of stuffed animals, hidden out of view of the casual observer or visitor to their room. Chara felt their cheeks burn and they clenched their teeth, waiting for the mocking laughter Asriel had kept in check before but would surely not be able to resist now.

Instead he answered the question that had not occurred to them, "Yeah, I knew this was here the whole time. I knew you liked stuffies a little bit, but you'd keep them hidden 'cause you think you're not supposed to like them. Your collection would have been either under your bed or in your closet, so… huh?" Asriel's brow furrowed. He reached into the box and drew out a brown bear (Drew, Chara realized, they would recognize the bear with the missing right eye anywhere). As he inspected it the left eye of the bear slid off, though Asriel was quick enough to catch it before it fell back into the box. Rather than apologize for ruining the bear Asriel's eyes narrowed. With an expert hand he flipped the bear over and read the tag protruding from its bottom. "I knew it," he said with a click of his tongue. "A Bestest '4X. They used a different producer for their thread that year and it's a lot weaker than normal. There are so many of these bears who've lost one or both of their original eyes…" He shook his head and flipped the bear back over, looking from the bear's now-eyeless face and the eye in his hand.

"Sorry I'm not a stuffed animal connoisseur," Chara grumbled, pulling Madeline closer. "Maybe I wouldn't have bought something so cheap if I had a better eye for that sort of thing." Asriel hmm-ed but said nothing, still holding the bear and the eye in his paws. Chara licked their lips and asked tentatively, trying to make it sound like a casual request, "… Can he be fixed?"

"Oh yeah, I can do that easily," Asriel said. "Mom taught me a little bit of sewing, and I think I have a spare eye that's pretty close to the one that's missing too. It might not look 100% right, but it'll definitely stay on a lot better when I'm done."

"I see," Chara said with a smile. "Then, I will leave Drew in your capable hands, Dr. Dreemurr."

Asriel snickered but played along, "The surgery will be done in about two days. I have to grab my sewing… er, medical instruments from Mom's house. But I assure you, Mr. Drew will received the best care in the world!"

Two days later Asriel really did deliver the repaired bear. Drew's new eye was slightly larger than the old one, but by such a miniscule fraction it was unnoticeable unless one knew exactly what to look for. Asriel dug one toe claw into the dirt and apologized for how shoddy the work was, but Chara insisted they were more than satisfied with the results.

The next Saturday Chara and Asriel went over to Frisk's house. They had worked things out beforehand that Asriel would simply spend the night there, rather than head back to Asgore's only to return the next day for the official switch-off. "Hi!" Frisk greeted them at the door with a wave. "I got Smashing Fighters all set up. We're gonna have to practice a lot if we wanna beat MK next time!"

Asriel looked at Chara and smiled. "Actually," he said. "I was thinking… we could go up to my room first."

Chara and Frisk both looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them expected this. "Really?" Frisk asked. "But you said-"

"I think it will be okay," Asriel said. "Besides, I think they can help us settle the argument. Shall we go?" This last part was said to Chara, who nodded while wiping a single tear from their eye. They had done it! They were unsure how, but they were trusted enough to gain access to his room! Asriel bounded up the stairs and Chara followed in hot pursuit. They clapped their hands together in excitement as Asriel paused in front of his door. "I know you've been waiting for this, so I hope it doesn't disappoint!" With that he flung open the door.

Asriel's room was… well. The walls were painted a pale yellow and the floor was polished hardwood. The ceiling was covered in star-shaped stickers, and some part of Chara already knew they were the glow-in-the-dark kind. There was a computer desk in the corner with a bag of snacks and a mug filled with pens sharing space with the monitor. But what got Chara's attention was where Asriel's full-size bed was pushed against the far wall, or where Chara assumed the bed was supposed to be. A gigantic pile of stuffed animals, reaching higher than any of their heads, had been dumped over the top of the bed, covering the entire surface in stuffed animals of every shape and size. Chara could not even begin to count how many there were, and there was no doubt that if a stuffed version of an animal existed they were represented in that massive collection.

Asriel skipped into his room and held his arms out proudly. "So! What do you think?"

Chara found it difficult to put their thoughts in order. Currently they were too busy trying to wrap their head around the certain knowledge that Asriel had developed a name and backstory for every single one of the stuffed animals on his bed to decide what they thought about this. "Asriel," they said, pointing at the bed. "What… is that?"

Asriel's smile fell. "It's… Chara, I thought you liked stuffed animals."

"It is not the content so much as the quantity which I find difficult to approve of," Chara explained. "Your entire bed is covered! Where do you even sleep?"

Asriel licked his lips. "Underneath them."

"Under-" Chara stopped and pinched the bridge of their nose. "That seems like an incredible hassle. Why would you do that?"

Asriel opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it with a determined look. "No, you know what? I'll show you!"

Chara felt Asriel's magic field wash over them, followed by an airy feeling of weightlessness. They slowly floated into the air, Frisk gasping in surprise. Chara's arms and legs flailed wildly in the air, trying to find some purchase from which to control themself. "Asriel this is not funny, put me down right-!" But instead Chara was flung headfirst toward the bed. It was all they could do to cross their forearms in front of their face before impact. Instead of knocking all the stuffed animals across the room Chara sunk into the pile like a javelin hurled into a pile of sand. Their socks stuck out from under the pile, but they were otherwise completely covered by stuffed animals.

Chara found themself still unable to move, held in place by Asriel's magic. "Don't try to break out just yet," Asriel told them. "Just… lay still. See how it feels." Chara sighed and resigned themself to their punishment. It was dark underneath the pile, only a tiny bit of light seeping in between the cracks of legs and arms. Fluff surrounded them on all sides, like they were swimming inside of a cloud. Not only that, but they swore they could feel the animals wrapping their arms around them, a sea of hugs that made them feel safe and secure.

"Chara?" Frisk asked. "Are you alright? You haven't said anything, are you hurt?"

Oh, Asriel had released his magic some time ago. They must not have heard their sibling and Frisk calling for them. "I'm fine. And I'm actually starting to come around to Asriel's point of view," Chara admitted. "It really is quite pleasant under here."

"What's it feel like?" Frisk asked.

Chara struggled to put their feelings into words. How could they describe this in a way Frisk would understand? "Feels like garbage?"

Asriel bleated in clear offense but Frisk asked, "Really?! Make way, I'm coming in!" They hopped onto the bed and wriggled their own way into the pile. As they settled in they sighed in contentment.

"Hey!" Asriel called. "Save room for me!"

Chara chuckled. "You're the one who introduced this to us, of course we would not leave you out. Come join the fun."

Asriel took the invitation and dove in between Chara and Frisk. The two humans carefully sidled away to make room for him; the pile was just large enough to cover all three of them, so they had to snuggle close to fit everyone. Asriel's fur was a different kind of fluffiness to the stuffies, deeper and softer and warmer. Chara found they still preferred this to all the stuffed animals in the world.

Chara's eyelids drooped, and suddenly it took a lot of effort to keep them open. "Hey," Chara said, their voice droning. "It's… really comfy in here. I might… take a nap…"

"That sounds good," Asriel drawled, punctuating their statement with a yawn. "But we might sleep… the whole day away…"

"Frisk," Chara asked. "Wake us up if we fall asleep."

"Mmmmka'," Frisk mumbled. In their drowsy state of mind Chara did not recognize the obvious flaw in their plan. Instead they reasoned they could relax for a while, secure that someone would wake them up if they drifted off.

And that is how Toriel discovered three pairs of legs sticking out from under a pile of stuffed animals when she went to deliver cookies to the children. She only barely managed to contain her laughter, set the cookies down, and take a picture on her phone for posterity.