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You’re walking around Ralsei’s castle, while Susie has gone off to see Lancer, looking for more furniture to put in your friend’s empty room. You’re spending a bit of time with him, too, trying to find something as well. Maybe you could give him one of your trophies? That might make him happy! Or maybe… Hm…
As you think, staring at the trophies above your bed, a throat being cleared pulls you out of your thoughts. Instinctively, your face turns toward the source of the sound—only to see the sheepish expression on your monster friend’s face. You frown slightly, tilting your head to the side.
“You know… You don’t have to do this? I… I’m not that important anyway. Whether my room is decorated or not doesn’t really matter. I just want you and Susie to be happy here. You don’t have to go looking for things to decorate my room with… it’s pointless…”
Ralsei mumbles softly, his eyes unable to meet yours. You’re now fully turned toward your friend, brows furrowed. This again? Ralsei still seems to have trouble understanding that your friendship is real and meaningful—that even if he’s just an object in the real world… it doesn’t change anything for you.
And besides… you have fun with him. At first, you felt pretty neutral about him, since you didn’t really know him yet, but that didn’t mean you held any sort of dislike toward Ralsei. Just a bit of confusion—because of how much he looks like your brother.
Now… you see him as a close friend, just like Susie. Someone important to you. So… seeing him put himself down like this, with that dejected look on his face, it makes you a little sad. Can you…?
Out of the corner of your eye, you can see that familiar text box, where your thoughts usually appear. A heart—the human soul—prepares to make a choice. A part of you grumbles at how limited you are, how sometimes you’re just a puppet. You can take control every now and then, but it’s hard… and exhausting…
To your great relief, the human soul makes the wise decision to “Comfort Ralsei,” which brings a small smile to your face. Perfect.
You take a step toward your friend, returning to your usual neutral expression.
“K-Kris? Is something wrong? You suddenly got really quiet…”
Another step—Ralsei backs away. You keep going, until you open your arms wide and pull your soft friend into a tight hug. Ralsei’s body tenses up, surprised by the sudden gesture of affection. He’s probably blushing, too.
It’s cute.
“Could you repeat what you just said? I didn’t quite catch it…~” you say with a playful smile, leaning close to one of his ears.
Ralsei lets out a small squeak and squirms in your arms, but you hug him a little tighter to stop him from escaping.
“Kris, your breath tickles!” the monster giggles, his face slightly red. On your end, you start to hum softly, as your trap gently closes around your friend.
“Oh? I’m tickling you? Oops, totally unintentional!” You nuzzle your nose against his neck, drawing out more giggles from Ralsei as he keeps squirming, trying to escape the sensation. But you keep him close, blowing raspberries on his ears or into his neck now and then. Poor Ralsei bursts into a full-on laughing fit. You hear him call your name, begging for mercy… But you show none.
It’s been a long time since you’ve seen your friend smile or laugh like this—and honestly? He needs it.
Ralsei eventually slips from your arms and ends up curled up on the floor… But that’s not enough to escape you. You kneel beside him, your mischievous fingers gently brushing against his sides. Ralsei squeaks and tries to push you away with his feet. Very, very bad move. You immediately grab one of his ankles and begin to stroke his paw pads, gently scratching between them.
Of course, you’re not that cruel—when you hear Ralsei struggling to breathe from laughing too hard, you quickly release him from his torment. He doesn’t take long to sit up, though still a bit dazed. But you don’t give him the chance to ask questions, or even speak.
“Do you feel a little better?” you ask, with a sly smile. You wait, giving Ralsei a moment to catch his breath and speak again.
“I… I guess? B-But Kris, why did you…”
“Hmmm? Oh that! It’s a technique I used on my brother when he apologized too much about something. I figured it might help you too—and maybe make you realize you’re saying nonsense… Susie and I care about you a lot. It… hurts to hear you ask us not to get attached to you.” You finally explain, as your small smile slowly fades.
Thankfully, your friend doesn’t seem upset. He gets back to his feet, and you do the same.
“I-I see! I’m feeling much better now, you just caught me off guard.”
“That was the point.” You stick out your tongue, feeling just a bit cheeky. It also reminded you of good times with your brother!
Of course, what you didn’t tell Ralsei is that Asriel was always quick to get revenge for the tickles—so you usually ended up a puddle of laughter afterward. But hey, that’s just a little detail.