DISCLAIMER; I own neither Doctor Who, nor Undertale. Sorry to disappoint.
Shutting his hardcover the Doctor rose from his recliner and beamed at his foster child as they reached the foot of the stairs, "Ah lookit you, dressed before noon! At this rate we could get you out that door by the time school starts up," He tried to sound encouraging but Chara rolled their eyes.
"Do not patronize me," They muttered, brushing past him to retrieve milk and cereal from the kitchen.
"Me? Patronizing? Well, maybe, only to the odd tyrant here or there," The Doctor bantered, letting their attitude roll off him as he followed.
"On the subject of my curriculum," Chara started, "I would prefer not to attend any public schools," They stated matter of factly. The Doctor blinked, he hadn't considered Chara would have a preference.
"Oh yes? More in a preparatory school mood are we?" He asked, pouring himself tea as Chara poured themselves Coco Puffs.
"God, no," Chara rejected, disgusted by the very notion (the Doctor couldn't help but exhale in relief), "Infact, I would like to take this opportunity to express a profound disinterest in any online school, faith school or, indeed, any and all sort of academia that would potentially involve me so much as speaking to another human being," The Doctor blinked and took a very long and very concerned sip of tea.
"Leaving–"
"Home schooling," Chara finished, "I would prefer it if you were my primary educator," They said in no uncertain terms.
"Home schooling," He repeated, almost blankly, casting his mind back to when he had served as a university professor, "Well. It would be. Possible," He chose his words carefully.
"Certainly it would pose no challenge to someone like you!" His foster urged, "Consider it. An alien with your knowledge? Your perspective? I could easily surpass the greatest minds of this generation."
"Blimey. Ambition," The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, "I can't help but notice you're emphasizing a lack of socialization here."
"And? So what? Having peers would only serve to be a distraction," Chara spoke pointedly, but the Doctor could only stifle a chuckle at the arrogance.
"Well, I'd like to think there's more to school than a focus on memorizing some dates and maths, " Said the Doctor, Chara frowned.
"Please," They scoffed, the Doctor raised an eyebrow but allowed his foster to say their peace, "That is so dismissive. Learning is more than 'memorizing some dates and maths'; I'm looking to fully comprehend concepts here! What could possibly be more important than that?"
The Doctor turned his head and ran a hand through his hair, of course he'd be raising the one child in all of creation who'd feel this way. The bookworm to end all bookworms. "Okay, maybe it was a tad reductive," He admitted, "But, what I'm trying to get at is being around other people would be good actually. Particularly at your age."
"No." Chara's frown transmuted into a scowl.
"No?"
"No. I do not find that 'good actually,'" Chara huffed, placing the offending phrase in sarcastic finger quotes. "Hell is other people," They quoted smugly. The Doctor recognized it and blinked.
"That's from Sartre," The Doctor pointed out exasperated, "Sartre said that. Sartre? Of all things? Sartre? What're you doing quoting 'No Exit'?"
"Don't change the subject."
"Well, you're just proving my point. You're already clever! Surely you wouldn't want to keep yourself in an echo chamber."
"I hardly see how homeschooling would be an echo chamber," Chara said after a mouthful of Cookie Crisp, "After all, we're disagreeing now aren't we? Hardly an echo chamber," The Doctor sighed and couldn't help but give a defeated little laugh.
"You would do so well in a debate club," He remarked.
"I know," Chara smirked.
"Listen, look," The Doctor came a bit closer to the human and delicately placed a hand on their shoulder, "I don't think you to be home schooled. I know your mother did it so well, and I'm really, really glad you have that much faith in me. But… I want to level with you here, I think you need friends, a routine, one of those extracurricular activities where you build a little house out of wood," He tried to sound enthusiastic, but Chara's smile had melted away and left them expressionless.
"Why?" They asked, red pupils intently glaring at him.
"It isn't… healthy to be this misanthropic. At any age." He admitted.
"I do not want to talk about this anymore," Chara decided, gripping their cereal bowl and raising to their feet.
"Alright, can we talk about it later then?" Asked the Doctor. Quietly, Chara walked to the sink and poured out what remained of their breakfast.
"No, I don't think we will. I understand your reasoning and I still disagree, but once again I find myself helpless in the face of decisions others have made for me." Despite the dryness of their voice their disappointment was palpable. "I just had to be adopted by the one alien who loves humanity," They murmured as they exited the kitchen.
The Doctor sighed and stared into the rest of his tea, while his shimmering reflection met his gaze he allowed himself a little levity, "Kids these days and their newfangled nihilism," and then drank the rest.
Author's Note: I am very bad at finishing any and all art projects, so my intentions with this story is keep it regulated to smaller vignettes centering on the premise. They will not be posted in any chronological order. Special Thanks to my incredible boyfriend for proof-reading this, as well as several friends for their support for such a specific concept. Thank-you very much for reading.