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Chara was no longer surprised when they found Frisk leaning against random doorframes, mistletoe already hung above their heads, their infamous flirting grin waiting for them. The first December they’d started the tradition had caught the unprepared teen by surprise, they had begun making sure others had just gone through doors just before them, not wanting to be caught off guard but still, Frisk managed to get them.
Looking back, it was kind of funny how serious Chara had taken it, it had almost turned into a game to see how often Frisk could catch them under the mistletoe. They still weren’t sure how the thirteen year old Frisk had managed to get their intended target as often as they had, it was almost impressive. The thing that bothered Chara the most had been the small betting pool that had started, betting on just how much Frisk could get them which had served only as encouragement, at least they hadn’t been made to kiss every time they’d been caught. Fourteen year old Chara would not have been able to take quite that much, so Frisk had started carrying around a pen and paper.
That pen and paper had been their enemy that Christmas, one hundred and sixty two tallies, when December had finally ended; Frisk had worn the all too familiar grin and said that they had to try harder next year.
The next Christmas had not been as bad; they had not long admitted their feelings and Frisk had toned it down to “a mere ninety one”, but there had been no escaping their fate that year. As soon as they had walked through the door, that year’s pen was pushed under their nose with a “tally Char”, the small, cartoony flame on the end had taunted Chara with every mark they made in the same note pad, under the previous year’s tally. Even the simple ball point that had been used was taped above that year’s count. A few times, Chara had even given Frisk their “prize” as they had called it, which had left the younger teen grinning for a good couple of minutes after each one.
They were new to being date friends, but with how much the two were together, and how long they had spent as one person, they had a very “adult” relationship, as Frisk had put it. Even if all they really did was hold hands and cuddle a little. Frisk was more than happy to go at Chara’s pace, which they were eternally thankful for, so the occasional mistletoe kiss as thanks seemed more than enough to make Frisk happy.
By the next December, there were no holds barred. The two had started trying to learn magic, and Frisk had been taking to it a lot better than Chara had, that is to say while Chara was struggling to hold even the smallest of red knives between their hands, Frisk was levitating feathers for almost a minute a good two feet above their head. Chara knew what was coming, there would be no Mercy, this December was going to be a struggle to escape the damn weed.
The first day of December, Chara failed, miserably, getting almost seventy tallies in one afternoon. Now there was no escape, before just doorways were a risk, but Frisk was even hanging the nightmare plant from trees, lamp-posts, anything before revealing themselves to Chara. The first few times, they had been fine with giving into the tradition (admittedly, hanging the mistletoe from the power lines had been impressive), but with every capture, each one coming in weirder and weirder ways, Chara made it a point not to.
It had partly been out of curiosity, to see how imaginative Frisk could make it, but also because Chara was pretty sure nobody would be able to handle that much. A couple of days passed before they gave in again, simply because hanging it from a posing Papyrus’ arm had made them grin, especially when he noticed it hanging there a minute later which caused Chara to give them a second one. Frisk had added an extra tally for that, causing the older teen to roll their eyes but let them have it, much more enjoying the feeling of Frisk practically trying to get into their coat, groaning when they realised that they definitely should have worn a thicker coat before date friend hunting.
By the end of that December, Chara was barely surprised by anything that Frisk pulled to get their tallies, there were surprised by the amount of tallies that they had gotten, which had earned Frisk a gentle love tap and a fond “dork”, because five hundred and thirty was just a stupid number, and Chara had made sure Frisk knew that.
They had just grinned in response.
A week before the fourth December, Frisk offered the very worn note pad and a red and green striped pen, issuing them with the challenge of “try and beat me”, at first Chara had refused, but after a few rejections Frisk said there’d be a prize if Chara beat any of the previous records. When asked, Frisk had pulled out their phone, flicked through several pages of pictures before showing Chara the intended picture.
There wasn’t much in it, except for a small placard from Muffet’s bakery, which the spider baker was holding claiming that if Chara won, there would be a specially made Spider. Chocolate. Cake, that would be three times the size of the largest cake Muffet regularly sold.
Chara practically drooled at the picture, that was a big chocolate cake, and they had fallen in love with the spider’s smaller chocolate cupcakes the day they’d been added. Frisk regularly treated them to the smaller cakes, but had foregone feeding their love of the treats too much.
Clearly, Frisk had been preparing for any tricks that Chara would bring. So Chara would have to bring their A game, and for such a serious prize, this would require almost Sans level ‘appearing from nowhere.’
Despite how difficult it would be, they accepted the challenge, that much chocolate was too good to pass up. Perhaps it was playing into Frisk’s hands, but if the hands were offering such treats, Chara would do almost anything those hands asked. They spent the rest of the day being dragged around local monster stores, Chara imagining their future prize as Frisk spoke with as many of the local monsters as they could. Encouraging every Whimsun, cheering on Monster Kid and showing Mettaton how much they’d improved their magic before a lot of dramatic posing.
The posing definitely caught Chara’s attention, seeing the two masters of posing competing was always a sight to see. As soon as the spectacle ended, Chara’s mind was dragged back to the chocolate. Only vaguely aware that Frisk had reclaimed their hand in their’s and had gone back to talking with every monster they saw.
When December finally rolled round, Chara began the challenge in earnest, getting three tallies in the first hour. Frisk had seemed more than willing to go along with it at first, but after the third tally had been marked down, they had started evading everything Chara threw at them. A fourth tally was only added when the pair went to bed and Chara had used Frisk’s own bedroom door against them.
The pun that followed after that tally had been more than an effective enough deterrent to stop such low tactics in future, with how dark Chara flushed afterwards was also a nice reward that Frisk had caught on camera. The older of the two stormed outside to enjoy the rain, coming back only after the worst had faded leaving just the pink from the crisp winter air outside. Frisk just winked when Chara came back before closing their eyes to sleep.
When Chara finally joined Frisk, wrapping their arms around the smaller of the two as Frisk wrapped their arms around Chara. It was times like this that Frisk was happy they’d never stopped the “sharing beds” thing, even if they no longer did it to stop the nightmares but simply because beds felt empty without the other there, even if now the beds could be called too full.
Over the course of that December, Chara managed to tie with Frisk’s lowest score of nine-one, smirking as Frisk admitted that yes they had tied, that yes it was kind of a win for Chara and that yes they’ll get the chocolate cake in just over a week. Chara’s smirk was wiped off their face when Frisk had told them that they also kind of lost, and that Frisk would happily accept their prize now.
It was almost a relief when Frisk revealed their prize was a kiss because “I clearly didn’t get enough if you lost, Char.” Almost a relief, Frisk went around with the words ‘Beware the frisky Frisk’ written on their forehead in permanent marker for almost an entire week for that taunt.
When the cake-y prize finally arrived, it took both Frisk and Chara to carry it to Toriel’s dining room table, covering a fair portion of the oak surface. Chara had refused to leave the cake’s side, taking a large slice at every opportunity, only offering their closest friends and family slices they cut them self. These slices, were of course, half the size of their own, not even Frisk’s best attempts could get larger slices.
At least, they didn’t get larger slices until they had half the cake for them self and Chara had fallen asleep in a chocolate-y stupor. Not waking up for several hours, by then they were lying on the couch, leaning against their adoptive mom as Frisk leant on them, barely staying awake them self.
Alphys could be heard on the other side, and Chara definitely did not want to hear what was being said. It was hard enough ignoring their parents at breakfast on ‘Catfish’ mornings, and Frisk definitely didn’t help with very unsubtle hints as to what their moms sometimes got up to. The winks didn’t help either, it had been one of the few times that the two had slept in separate rooms.
The December after Frisk turned eighteen, they had claimed that Chara better be ready because “I, Frisk Pun, will smash my record for capture you, the tsundere Chara Anime, under the mistletoe.” And Chara could feel how serious their date friend was, they had used both of their full names, Frisk only used those during their ambassadorial duties. Each of the three times Chara had gone with them, they had spent the entire day being called ‘Chara Anime’ and it had been horrible.
Then they had the nerve to taunt Chara with a pun, truly living up to their last name, their parents would be proud. The worst part had been it was such an obvious pun, it was Frisk’s favourite, partly because it still made Chara’s face heat up and also because of the things it implied and Frisk knew that even if they weren’t that interested in it, Chara couldn’t help the mental images that came with it. They had been tempted to buy a water spritzer so they could spray Frisk down after every Frisky pun; they regretted their decision every time Frisk pulled out that pun against them.
When December rolled around, Chara had been expecting the first attempt to happen as soon as it turned midnight, then the following five more before the minute was even over. They hadn’t quite expected six more attempts within the same minute. Chara could already tell it was going to be an impossible month and just prayed to whatever was out there to let their date friend show them mercy. No matter how determined Chara was to stop them, how far Frisk’s magic had come during the last two years meant that nowhere was safe, at least before Frisk had to concentrate to carry the weed which had showed during every attack, but now they were could carry it effortlessly. They could even slow down others if they tried hard enough, which often resulted in five hour naps immediately after and then sleeping heavily the same night, even if they did nothing else for the rest of the day.
But Chara knew Frisk, they wouldn’t let a simple thing like exhaustion stop them beating their self-imposed challenge. So during the first week, whenever they felt the familiar tug of Frisk attempting to slow them, they simply stopped and accepted whatever punishment they had coming. They could take adding another tally if it meant Frisk wouldn’t push them self too hard, when Frisk finally caught on to why Chara simply stopped after the magic touched their soul, they immediately stopped.
Well, caught on is a too gentle a term. It was more their friends and family freaking out when they pushed too hard, passed out and woke up the next day with Chara and Toriel hovering over them. After a lengthy discussion as to why it had happened, with Frisk admitting they’d ‘only’ been doing a gentle tug to exploit the advantage Chara had willingly given them, the couple spent the rest of the day cuddling under a thick quilt on the sofa. Their loved ones doting on the still tired Frisk whilst Chara refused to let anyone else into their ‘Frisk and Chara burrito’, but was willing to let them crowd around them. But, just for that day.
The next couple of weeks were practically boring compared to the first week, but a lot less stressful on Chara’s nerves, even if they had to add just over five hundred tallies during those weeks. But now that Frisk had beaten their record, and early, the mistletoe trickery calmed down and although Chara expected another string of shenanigans, it never came. It almost felt boring to not get snuck up on by their shorter date friend, or ambushed with some form of affection before having to add a tally. They’d never admit it though, especially not to Frisk, that was simply asking for trouble.
That didn’t stop them from wishing Frisk ‘good morning, merry Christmas’ whilst holding mistletoe above their heads before they’d even gotten out of bed. The loving embrace and kiss had definitely been worth sleeping with mistletoe down the back of their shirt for. When the couple finally got downstairs, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and Asgore were waiting downstairs for the couple whilst Sans and Toriel traded as many seasonal puns as they could; not even Hanukkah or Kwanza were spared from being punned upon. Neither human were entirely sure how Papyrus hadn’t blown up from wordplay overdose, despite clearly hating the fact that the recently married pair were right beside him as they did it, Chara was almost impressed.
The last week of December Chara finally adjusted to the lack of an almost constant affectionate assault, in fact Frisk seemed nervous around them. Constantly keeping at least one hand in the pockets of whatever they were wearing that day, which had veered towards hoodies and thick jackets, each one bearing the small red heart over their real heart. Whenever the pair held hands, Frisk’s hold seemed tighter, as if when they’d let go they’d never get to touch again.
It was a lot more terrifying than Chara would admit, but they took every chance they got to hold Frisk as tight as they held them. To use their favourite puns, use the most ridiculous pick-up lines in their large arsenal flirtatious one liners, almost all of which Frisk had used on them or around them at some point. And whenever Frisk seemed to get lost in whatever thoughts were bothering them, Chara would rub the tip of their nose against Frisk’s cheek to snap them out of the possibly dangerous thoughts. No matter where they were or who was around, the looks of whoever was around when they did any of these always made Chara try to hide behind Frisk, their face heating up because this openly affectionate was new to them. Especially in front of those who weren’t used to the red eyed human being around as often as they were now, let alone showing any emotion that wasn’t boredom.
So, when New Year’s Eve finally came around, with Frisk spacing out almost every ten minutes Chara enlisted Toriel’s help in making a picnic, the very thought of which made Chara shiver. They were becoming domestic, if they weren’t already, the thought of their impending domestication had caused Chara to be a little more vigorous when it came to preparing the picnic. Especially since they’d left Sans in charge of distracting Frisk from whatever was bothering them, they had considered asking Sans for a little help with their plan, but the thought of his shortcuts killed the idea almost instantly. So instead, Chara would be driving them there them self, even if technically they hadn’t passed their test quite yet, it was only a short drive and they definitely weren’t going to walk there at night.
So, with a lead weight in their gut, a picnic basket in the trunk and an almost distressingly distracted Frisk in the passenger seat, Chara began the slow drive up Mt Ebott. Cheery Christmas jingles played from the car radio, it had proved enough to stir Frisk from their thoughts for a short while as they hummed along. Already seeing an improvement only steeled their resolve, it was going to be stupidly cheese-y and they’d never hear the end of it but damn it this was a long time coming and was a last ditch effort cheer Frisk back to normal.
When they finally pulled over, they grabbed the basket and Frisk before following a slightly worn trail through the undergrowth, dragging a confused date friend along behind them. Their eyes lit up with recognition when they finally emerged from the tree line to reveal a lone tree beside a dirt trail and against the cliff edge. The town’s lights sparkling beneath them as a full moon hung overhead. The path veered to the left into a very familiar opening in the rock face.
“This… This is where the barrier used to be…” Frisk whispered, the familiar setting bringing back a lot of memories, a lot of happy memories. This had been where a lot of monsters had caught their first sight a real sky; it was also the site of a lot of resets. Frisk turned their gaze questioningly to Chara, silently asking why here of all places on the mountain, there were a lot more sites, a lot of which boasted more privacy or a better view, some even had both so why here?
Chara hung the basket from a low hanging branch, pulling out the disturbingly clichéd white blanket with red hearts as decoration. It almost made them gag at how much of a stereotype this was, but right now they didn’t care. “This is my favourite spot to go to when I need… Alone time,” they explained, spreading the blanket across the ground and smoothing it out. “And I figured, for a first date, where could be better?” They refused to meet Frisk’s gaze, their hands shaking slightly as they placed the basket in the centre of the cliché.
If anyone asked later, Chara would claim it had been from the cold because they definitely wouldn’t be nervous about something as silly as this. And they definitely didn’t gasp in shock when Frisk wrapped their arms around them from behind, whispering into their ear “I love it.”
When Frisk finally let go, giggling as nervously as Chara felt, the two sat side by side on the cliché and dug into the myriad of treats that Chara and Toriel had packed into the basket. Almost all of them had some form of chocolate involved, which Frisk wasn’t surprised by, this had been prepared by Chara, and despite how much they protested the fact, they definitely had a chocolate addiction.
As Chara wrapped an arm around Frisk’s shoulders, prompting them to lean against their red eyed date, the word bringing a small smile to their features. “Why did it take us so long to do this?” They asked, their eyes trained on the stars above the couple.
“No idea,” was the whispered reply. “But I’m kind of glad we did,” Frisk felt a familiar weight as Chara rested their head on their’s. “Can you imagine how awkward we’d be if we did this when we first became date friends?”
A small laugh escaped the pair, they were both being awkward and they knew it, but if Chara was going to wheel out the rest of the first date clichés, they may as well be awkward as well. Of course, when either of them were asked about this, Frisk would embellish the details and Chara would simply answer ‘there was chocolate.’ Neither would willingly admit they spent more time watching the stars, with Frisk practically sharing Chara’s jacket, then actually talking.
After almost an hour, both of their phones went off, both devices letting out the exact same sound, causing both parties to heat up. They knew what that was, they’d been around each other to not know what that sound was, the question was why had Frisk set an alarm for five to midnight as well? Chara knew their reason, but Frisk’s... Before they could ask anything, Frisk had ducked their face into the older’s chest.
“Not a word,” came a muffled statement, causing Chara giggle.
“Had plans for midnight as well, Frisky?” They ask, a grin spreading across their face. Knowing them, it was for the exact same reason they had set an alarm, even in their distracted state they were still going to continue the midnight tradition, Chara could feel it.
“Shhh,” oh, this was even better, Chara was already piecing everything together, something had been bothering them and it had to do with midnight on New Year’s.
Fifty six.
They practically pulled Frisk onto their lap, their grin radiating mischievous intent. They gently kissed Frisk’s cheek, whispering “why don’t you do it now if it’s been bothering you?” They asked, leaving a trail of kisses to the edge of Frisk’s lips.
Fifty seven.
Frisk shivered slightly, pushing Chara away slightly. This wasn’t anywhere near the plan, now they wore the seem grin they had when they had something devious in mind and it was all wrong.
Dark red eyes met bright red as Frisk reached into the pocket of their blue hoodie, the all too familiar purple stripes seeming to take refuge behind their arms. Their hands shaking slightly as they wrapped around the small box hidden inside.
Fifty eight.
“Close your eyes Char.”
“Am I going to get a late present from Santa? Is it more mistletoe?” They teased gently, but doing as Frisk asked. Whatever Frisk had in mind, they were going to do it and Chara’s curiosity was a lot stronger than their desire to tease their date friend. Of course, they were still going to tease them.
They heard a soft pop before feeling Frisk’s cool fingers grip their own, something small and metallic gripped tightly in one of their hands which was spreading out their fingers one by one.
Fifty nine.
“You know Chara, when I first climbed Mt Ebott, I never expected any of this to happen. I hadn’t intended to make new friends, gain a new family… Or you, I never expected you to happen, but I am glad it did,” Frisk said, their voice barely more than a whisper.
“And when you did make yourself known, I didn’t expect to reset as often as I did, to do the things I did… To get to know you like I did,” oh no, they were being sappy, Chara could feel a small smile replacing the grin they’d been wearing.
Zero.
Chara felt Frisk kiss them, it was impossible not to, even as fireworks began to go off in the background all of their attention was on the person in front of them. Their fingers exploring the slightly scarred skin of their fingers and the feel of their lips on theirs.
When Frisk pulled away, they gripped Chara’s left hand almost tightly in their own. “I never expected to care about you like I do, I thought we’d just be friends but… We weren’t meant to be just friends, were we?” Something cold was put on the edge of Chara’s finger, “so, this year… I promise you myself, no matter what, I will always be yours, first and foremost.”
“You can open your eyes now,” Frisk said after a short pause. Now they had permission, Chara eyes shot open, staring at whatever was being held at the tip of their finger. The small band of silver, Chara felt their breathe hitch in their throat.
Frisk giggled slightly, “Do… you accept me?”
Chara could feel their body tensing, what was going on? That was a ring, a small, simple ring but the way it was being held at the tip of their ring finger…? What was Frisk thinking, they were seventeen, and Chara had only recently turned eighteen. That was a… A huge step, a huge-huge-hu-
“It’s a promise ring,” Frisk whispered, no longer watching Chara’s reaction but staring at their hands and the ring. “It’s a… Human tradition, I’m not even sure if it’s still done anymore but… It’s a promise, to always be yours, no matter what… Without the hassle of marriage,” Frisk glanced up. “That comes later,” they added, winking before looking back at the ring.
They kept staring at the ring, they had never seen the tradition practised them self and Chara had fallen a long time before Frisk, so how had they known it had even been a thing? But, it seemed too Frisk to know about such a tradition, they were an old romantic at heart, even if they didn’t act like it. This was blowing Chara’s plan clean out of the water, was this was what they’d been nervous about for the last week? Whether Chara would accept them?
“Oh Frisk,” they said, pushing their left hand forward until the small band was where it should be, where it belonged, “of course I ‘accept’ you, I love you Frisk.” Chara tensed almost immediately, they hadn’t used the L word yet, and they just sprouted it out loud. Chara could almost feel Frisk smiling at them as they made a point to stare at their new ring.
Frisk wrapped their arms around Chara’s neck, pulling their date friend as close as possible. “I love you to,” they whispered, playing with the tips of Chara’s hair as they wrapped their arms around their waist. The still cool band pressing ever so slightly against their back as the pair held each other close, picnic basket all but forgotten as red stared into red.