Second Chance

4 - Hated

"That thing isn't gonna make noise throughout the night, will it?", Chara nagged. The loud noise of the air mattress being inflated sounded deafening in the otherwise quiet room.

"Nah, just as it's inflating right now." Frisk turned around to smile at them.

"What if it deflates?", Asriel remarked. He sat at the foot of Chara's bed, leaning his elbows on the mattress.

"Hm..." Frisk pondered. "I'll just have Chara scoot over then.", they smirked.

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No."

The mattress finished up inflating. Frisk gently kicked it with the heel of their foot, checking the sturdiness of the bed. Bickering behind them continued, even though it sounded quite one-sided. It appeared Chara was growing a little tired.

Frisk thought back to the revelation they had in the car ride here. A crush? That's stupid. They had barely even spoken to Chara since they've gotten their own body. They looked back at them. The look on Chara's face had grown more drowsy than when they had first entered the room.

"They're getting tired, Asriel.", Frisk spoke.

"Mhm.", Chara hummed. They closed their eyes. As if they were hit with a hammer, they dozed off immediately.

The monster chuckled. "Am I that boring?" Their voice was not much more than a whisper.

"Give them a break, Asriel. You've probably been bugging their ears off all day."

"I've missed them too, you know."

Asriel looked up at the sleeping human. Their breathing was soft and quiet, the polar opposite to Frisk's snoring that was audible through even their bedroom walls. A soft smile decorated his face. Trying not to make too much noise, he pushed back his chair and stood up.

"I think it's about time I head home, too. Mom's probably finished up dinner by now." He looked at Frisk. "You're gonna be alright on your own?"

"I'll be fine." They smiled, gaze fixated on Chara.

"Alright. Alphys should be coming to check soon, but I'd say let them nap a little bit more. Looks like they need it."

Frisk nodded. "Enjoy your night, Asriel."

"You too."

The door closed, a bit louder than the two of them would have liked. The loud noise resulted in a twitch from Chara. Frisk smiled down at them.

"Hmm...", they pondered. "Maybe." Their voice was nothing but a mutter.

----

Chara awoke, the sound of quiet chatting being the first thing they heard. They could make up Frisk and Alphys' voices, but not quite what they were talking about. Probably about them. It was difficult to open their eyes. Their eyes felt heavy, and they themselves felt so too.

It was difficult to move their body. Not in a way that it was painful, just... hard. Their attempt to move must have alerted the other two. They felt a soft hand on their hair.

"Chara?" Their voice was soft like whispers.

"I'm up...", they managed to respond.

"Take it easy, alright?"

With a hazy mind, everything passes by in a heartbeat. Before they even knew it, Alphys had completed her checkup on them and left. Finally able to fully open their eyes, their gaze landed on Frisk.

"Hey there.", they whispered.

"Hi.", Chara muttered.

"I can finally properly chat with you." They grabbed the chair and took a seat next to the bed. "How was your day?"