"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Frisk opened their eyes and saw darkness. They rubbed their eyes to clear them, and then they sat up in their bed. Looking to their right, they saw Chara lying on the ground, blankets strewn everywhere. Chara was breathing heavily and staring with a blank expression at the ceiling. Their eyes had a far-off look in them.
"What's wrong?" Frisk asked.
It took a while for Chara to become composed enough to respond. For a while, they lay there on their futon, hands gripping the blankets around them as if trying to hold on to something. Then, their eyes met with Frisk's, and they became startled. Quickly, Chara sat up and turned to face them.
"I...I had a nightmare," Chara replied. Their voice was dry and weak.
"Are you okay now?"
"Yeah. I think so. Maybe."
Alarmingly, Chara buried their face into their hands and made a whimpering sound. They exhaled, and then they faced towards Frisk again. This time, they appeared more frustrated than scared.
"What?" Chara said, their tone taking on a much sharper edge. "Why are you looking at me?"
"Chara, I – I'm just concerned, that's all," Frisk answered.
The look in Chara's eyes was familiar, but not in a good way. It was their old bitter and resentful look again.
"Don't look at me," Chara said, lying back down. They turned their back to Frisk.
"Is there something wrong? What happened in your nightmare?"
Chara didn't reply. They simply lay there, frozen.
"Hey, Chara. If you aren't feeling well, then – umm, do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?"
At this suggestion, Chara turned around again. There was still that angry expression on their face, but it seemed subdued now. When they spoke, the sharpness in their voice had diminished.
"Why do you care about me so much?" Chara asked.
The question took Frisk by surprise. They stared back at Chara with a blank expression, unsure of what to say.
"Well, Frisk?"
"I...I just do," Frisk said at last. "I'm concerned about your feelings. If you feel angry, or sad, or scared – isn't it natural for me to ask about how I can help?"
Chara turned their eyes away. They folded their arms and sat silently.
"How about this: do you want to sleep with me?" Frisk offered.
"...Really?"
"Yeah. My bed's not that big, but it could probably fit both of us."
A shaky smile crept over Chara's face, and they made a shy laugh. Then, they stood up and walked towards Frisk's bed. For a moment, they scrutinized Frisk, as if considering whether or not they should really sleep together. Then, shrugging, they climbed into Frisk's bed and grabbed the blanket.
Their bed could hardly contain the two of them. Frisk felt themselves being pushed up against the wall. They pushed back so that Chara didn't hog all of the space. At this, Chara turned towards them, frowning.
"Is this fine?" Chara asked.
"Yeah. If you feel better here, then it's okay."
Chara closed their eyes.
Frisk felt stuffy. They tossed and turned themselves around a few times, trying to find a position that was comfortable. Unfortunately, Chara didn't seem to be willing to give up anymore space. After turning around for a while, they stretched out their legs and gently pushed against Chara's shoulder, hoping to squeeze out just an inch more of space.
Chara opened their eyes.
"You're obviously not comfortable," Chara said. "I'll go back."
"Wait! No, I mean, I'm fine," Frisk replied. "I just need a little more space."
"Frisk. It's the middle of the night, but I'm wide awake. I don't think I'll be falling asleep anytime soon."
"Me too, you know."
An amusing thought came to their mind. Frisk turned to face Chara again, smiling slyly.
"Want to cuddle?"
"...Okay," Chara replied, to Frisk's surprise.
Just like during that night in the inn at Snowdin Town, Frisk gently wrapped their arms around Chara's back. Chara lowered their head and pushed themselves down the bed so that they could rest their face against Frisk's. Then, they placed one arm down over Frisk's back, and wrapped their other hand around Frisk's shoulder.
Frisk closed their eyes. Chara's body felt warm against their. They took a deep breath and smelled something pleasant. It was the scent of Chara's hair, which smelled like flowers.
"This is nice," Frisk said after lying like that for a while.
"Yeah." Chara giggled. "You know, if Tori-I mean, mother walks in on us like this, what do you think she'd say?"
"I don't know. You know mom better than me."
"Well..." Chara opened their eyes, and lowered their voice to a whisper. "Back when I lived with them in the underground, I used to sleep with...Asriel, too. Every time I had a nightmare. I don't think our parents really cared."
"Oh. So, she probably wouldn't care about us, either, right?"
"Yeah. I suppose..."
Chara lowered their head further. Frisk felt Chara's grip on them tighten, as if to pull them closer.
"You...do you really want to know what my nightmares are about?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. I'll tell you."
Chara closed their eyes, but they didn't relax their grip. Slowly, Frisk raised their arms so that they could put their hands close to Chara's shoulders.
"Before...before I fell into the underground, I used to live in a village," Chara began. "It was one of the small villages around the base of Mount Ebott. I lived with other humans."
"My...old 'family', the people who tried to raise me. They hated me. No matter what I did, they'd always find a reason to get mad at me. My...'parents', they weren't very happy people. They'd get angry every day. And whenever they had a problem...I was...I..."
Chara buried their face into Frisk's shoulders.
"I couldn't stand them. They'd hit me whenever they got angry. Even when I didn't do anything, they'd find a reason to beat me. I couldn't turn to anyone for help. Everyone in the village knew about my parents, and they didn't want to get involved. If I tried to tell anybody about the things my 'parents' did to me, they'd just hit me even harder..."
"I tried to kill myself, several times. I cut my arms. I tried to eat those poisonous flowers that grew in my village. I even tried to drown myself...but, every time, I never had the courage to go through with it. And, every time my parents found out, they'd beat me until I was too hurt to move."
Chara sniffed.
"They'd yell at me. They'd tell me that I was worthless. They'd say...they'd say that I was a nuisance, and that I should never have been born."
"...Eventually, I just decided to run away. I ran to Mount Ebott. But...I never forgot about the way that my parents, and that village, treated me. Even though my new family cared so much more about me, I, I...I wanted to get revenge. So, you know, that's why. That's why I..."
Frisk pulled Chara close, hugging them even more tightly.
"...That's why I have nightmares," Chara whispered at last in a choked voice. "Nightmares about being back in that village again, back with my old 'parents'."
Frisk held Chara, gently caressing them. They kept silent and let Chara cry against their shoulder. Tears stained both of their sweaters. Then, Chara took a few deep, shuddering breaths, and relaxed their grip on Frisk. Chara pulled their head away and stared into Frisk's eyes.
"Well, honestly, it's stupid to cry about this," Chara said in a firmer tone. They made a snickering laugh. "That was all really long ago. They're all probably dead by now. Every last one of them. If I went back to that village, no one would recognize or even remember me."
"It's okay to cry," Frisk said, patting Chara on the shoulder.
"Yeah. But it's still stupid."
Chara glanced up at Frisk. "What about you?" they asked suddenly. "What's your story for running away to Mt. Ebott?"
Frisk stared back. They opened their mouth, but found themselves unsure of what to say. Their own story was very different from Chara's, but – at the same time – it also wasn't a very good story. In a way, they didn't want to think that there was really any reason at all for them going to Mt. Ebott. Perhaps, everything had happened by chance, and – had they taken just another turn that day – they would never have fallen down that hole, and the monsters would still be stuck in the underground, and Chara would still be dead. Or maybe nothing was by chance, because at that time, for whatever reason, they had made the decision to go into the cave, and it was because of that decision that everything afterwards had happened.
They had thought about it, over and over again, trying to find reasons to explain everything, their own past, their own decisions. But, no matter how they thought about it, they couldn't find a convincing explanation. If they told their story like that, neither they nor Chara would be satisfied.
In the end, it was better to believe that it had been by chance.
"I was exploring the mountain," Frisk said. "There was a thunderstorm, so I decided to take shelter in the cave. Then, I tripped on some vines, and I fell into the cave."
Chara looked at Frisk weirdly, raising both of their eyes.
"That's it? What about your past?"
"My past?"
"Yeah. What happened to you before all of that?"
"...Nothing much, really. I didn't have parents, or even a family. I was just out exploring."
Chara looked away.
"Frisk."
"Yeah?"
"I'm beginning to feel sleepy again," Chara said, yawning. "Give me a goodnight kiss."
"...Okay."
Frisk leaned towards Chara and kissed them on their forehead.
"No, not like that," Chara said, smirking. They grabbed Frisk's shoulder with their hand again. "Like this."
Chara kissed Frisk on the lips.
Frisk was unsure of how to respond. But, feeling their closeness, and Chara's warm presence, they held the kiss. It was odd, but it felt good to kiss Chara, just like during that night at Snowdin. It felt good to be so tender towards each other. They held the kiss until Chara finally pulled away.
"Good night," Chara said.
"Good night," Frisk responded, resting their head against Chara's shoulder.
"How has Chara been lately?"
Frisk turned to face Toriel, towering above them with her warm goat-mom smile. Instead of her purple Delta Rune dress, she now wore a bright red sweater with the words "Best Goat Mom" knitted in yellow upon it. Chara had knitted that sweater.
"They's doing fine," Frisk answered, smiling. "I'm keeping them company."
"That is good. If it is okay, I have a request to make of the two of you."
Frisk nodded.
"As you know, I am almost finished drafting up a curriculum for the education of human and monster children who want to attend my school. Once it is accepted by the city mayor, I will start enrolling students right away. If it is fine, I would like you and Chara to be enrolled in this school as its first human students."
"Sure," Frisk replied. "Would you like me to pass this on to Chara?'
"Yes. That is exactly what I am asking," Toriel said, smiling.
"All right. I'll go talk to them."
Frisk went upstairs to their bedroom. To their surprise, they saw Chara standing out on the balcony, talking to someone. They walked past the bed and opened up the balcony door.
Chara turned around. The flower in the pot on the balcony ledge turned, too. A familiar face had appeared on the flower.
"Howdy, Frisk," Asriel said. "How are you today?"
"Hi, Asriel! I'm fine," Frisk responded. "What about you?"
"Well, you know me." Asriel made a mock expression of his mean flower-face, showing off a large and sadistic grin. Then, he smiled. "I'm the same, as usual. A flower."
"Oh, well, uh..." Frisk scratched their head.
"No, no, it's fine," Asriel said. "I understand how much the two of you are worried about me. Really, I'm all right. And, Frisk – I know what you've been trying to do. You've been getting Alphys to find ways to help me."
Frisk was surprised. "How did you-"
"Oh, you think I just lie here in my pot all day, sleeping?" Asriel said, grinning once more. "I listen to your conversations all the time. If I wasn't stuck in this pot, I'd be digging through the soil to go all over town, eavesdropping on everyone!"
"So...you know everything?"
"Yeah! And thank you, really. I can't express my gratitude."
Nodding, and with a shy smile, Frisk walked onto the balcony. Chara turned to look at them with a curious expression.
"So, Frisk?"
"I just talked to Toriel," Frisk began, leaning against the balcony railing, "She told me that she's almost done drafting up a curriculum for her school."
"Right. So, she's going to become a teacher?"
"Yeah. An she wants us to enrol."
Chara was silent for a few seconds. Then, they turned away and folded their arms together, pressing them against the surface of the railing. They stared out aimlessly into the distance for a while.
"So. I'll be going to school."
"Yeah."
"It's a school for both human and monster children, right? So...there's going to be monsters, right?"
"Yeah."
"But...there's going to be humans, too."
Frisk lowered their head. "Yes."
Chara became silent again. Then, they sighed.
"Whatever. I'll enrol."
"Really?"
"We'll be going to school together, right?" Chara closed their eyes, and their voice took on an embarrassed tone. "I guess...as long as you're there, I'll be fine."
Frisk turned to look at Chara. "Ah...thanks?"
"Don't mistake me," Chara said. "I can take care of myself. But...I'm more confident when you're around, okay? That's all."
A smile spread across Frisk's face. "Yeah."
They stared up at the sky.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was a clear blue, and the air was warm. Clouds drifted by calmly. There was the distant sound of waves lapping against the shore, mixed with the sounds of the city, of people chatting and cars speeding by, and also of laughter, both human and monster. They took a deep breath and smelled the ocean breeze. A calm wind blew past, and strands of hair flew in front of their eyes. They parted those strands, and then they turned to look at Chara, who was looking back, smiling.
They turned to the sky again, to the clouds, realizing what a wonderful view it was – a view that, for the first time in a long while, monsters could finally see again.
"Right," Frisk said, putting their hand over Chara's on the railing. "I'll be there with you."
Chara held their hand.
"Not just 'there'," Chara said. "You'll...be with me, always, right?"
Frisk gave a nod.
"Always."
Author's Note: SO. This chapter pretty much wraps up the plot of this story. I had a really good time writing it, and I'd like to thank all of you who have been reading along! As it's no doubt obvious by now, I love the Frisk x Chara pairing, perhaps to an unhealthy amount...I also like Frisk x Asriel (which seems to be much more popular), and even Chara x Asriel. Anyway, I will probably write more chapters later, because I won't be leaving this fandom anytime soon!