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“Y-you don’t have to do this,” Asriel said quietly, even as he offered the buttercups in his open palms. The skin over his paw pads had already begun to blister from exposure to the petals.
They’d come so far. They were at the edge of freedom. Why would he want to give up now?
“I want to do it,” Chara insisted. They kept their legs still, despite wanting to kick them back and forth against the side of the bed, or bounce them up and down to relieve their energy.
(Not nervous energy. They weren’t nervous, or scared. They weren’t a coward.)
(They were going to be a hero, just like Dad always believed they could be.)
“I… okay.” Asriel swallowed, then nodded somberly. “I trust you, Chara.”
Guilt squirmed in their chest, like a bad bowl of snails. There was no reason for it. Asriel was going to be fine.
Chara was going to be fine, too. They'd be with their best friend, forever.
(And even if they weren't fine… well, everyone else would be. That was more important.)
They took the handful of buttercups and shoved them in their mouth.
It stung. Worse than the time they’d eaten fire candies on a dare. Worse than the time they’d snuck Mom’s wine. Worse than the stomach acid and alcoholic vomit that had come back up.
But they chewed and swallowed without dodging Asriel's eyes.
"There." They forced a grin, even as their throat burned and burned. They could feel petals stuck between their teeth, stinging the sensitive gums. A few were even wedged beneath their loose tooth.
(They'd be dead before it fell. Wasn't like it mattered; no tooth fairy came to the Underground, if such a creature had ever existed.)
"Do you feel…?" Asriel hovered nearby, his palms glowing green with healing magic.
"Stop that." Chara swatted them away. A little dose of magic wouldn't stop what was coming, though. They'd consumed twice the amount of flowers as Dad, and they had much less HP.
"R-right. Sorry." Tears started to well in Asriel's eyes, but for once, Chara didn't call him a crybaby. They were too busy fighting back their own stinging tears.
"...Stay wi’h me," Chara said, though it came out more like a question, wet and runny with the spit pooling in their mouth.
Asriel crawled up onto their bed without hesitation.
"Always, Chara."
They curled up under the covers, and Asriel held them as the poison inched through their veins.