Chapter Text
Seth hadn’t expected to come back when the Lightners closed the Darkworld so it was a pleasant surprise when they woke up in Castle Town. Susie taking them there hadn’t been a part of their plan but from what they could tell, Susie had a hard time letting Darkners go. That being said, it wasn’t unpleasant. They liked being conscious and having limbs, being able to write was a plus but they just didn’t feel like they belonged. So they wrote in their book.
“Green is working at the bakery, Yellow started hanging out in the love Dojo and Orange is constantly trying to get other Darkners to fight her in some strange attempt to prove herself the bravest. Blue mostly hangs out wherever Yellow is, he does stray to the music shop on occasion. And Aqua… she’s made friends with Lancer. They bounce around Castle town causing chaos wherever they go. It’s barely been a day and I feel lost. Everyone else has found their place in this town while I've barely left the castle!”
Seth sat their notebook down and turned around on the lime green bed that they were laying on. They picked up the Ralsei plush that had been sitting next to them and stared at it. What did they think of the Prince? They remembered all the time they had clashed with Flowery about the dark world and what should be done with Asgore and while they didn’t like that side of him…
There was something about him. There was a moment in the valley when even after everything they did to stop him from reaching their goals, he helped them. He helped them back up despite having just tried to kill them. They thought about that moment for a long time, starting to blush for a bit before sitting up in bed.
They squeezed the plush tightly. His kindness. How despite this massive burden on his shoulders (or her shoulders from how Flowery was talking about them) he was kind. He remained kind despite all his hardships, trying to help when he could and wherever he could. They couldn’t help but also feel bad for them. To have earned that kindness they must have some incredible burden, people aren’t just normally that kind.
Maybe it was how much of an anomaly he was to him. He was a prince who felt he was destined to follow the prophecy, yet he so desperately wanted to break it. It intrigued them. In all the stories they had written, the prophecy was a good thing! A beacon of hope in the darkest of times or a guarantee that things would turn out ok. When Ralsei talked about it, it seemed like it guaranteed the death of everyone on the planet. That the roaring would happen and take everyone. They wanted to comfort him. Maybe that was why they found him so fascinating. Or maybe he was just that fluffy.
Having been lost in thought about the Dark Prince they nearly jumped out of their petals when the door cracked open and they heard a familiar soft voice ask, “Is it ok if I come in?”
Seth quickly hurled the Ralsei plush across the room as hard as they could before responding, “Yes! Everything is ok”
Seth quickly fixed the position of their glasses while Ralsei gently kicked the door open with his foot. Prince of the Dark entered the room while holding a large stack of books. He very carefully balances them in his hands while peaking around the side of his literature tower to speak more directly to Seth.
“Sorry for barging in like this but nobody had seen you for a while so I figured you’d gone somewhere a little more… quiet?”
Seth sighed, “Yes sorry about that, I just wanted to get away from everything for a moment.”
Ralsei sat the books down and asked, “Is castle town not to your liking? We could build something for you if you need a place to stay.”
Seth shook their head, “No its not that! Its just… a lot. Even I can only handle Aqua for so long and with her new little pal she’s become some sort of unstoppable force of tomfoolery.”
Ralsei giggled, “Yes they are quite the duo. I honestly expected them to clash quite a bit but I’m glad Lancer has a new friend. To be honest, he tires me out when the lightner’s are gone so its nice he has someone else to hangout with for a bit. I also wanted to ask, is there any particular reason you chose my room?”
Seth’s face dropped, “Your… room?” They looked around for a moment, taking in the room in its entirety for the first time. The lime green furniture. The floor was accented with green. The plush of Ralsei he had been gripping earlier.
Their face went from a dark purple to a bright magenta once they realized this was indeed, Ralsei’s room. “No no no It’s not like that! I mean, this place was just the quietest and no one was in it so I just set up camp here. I didn't mean anything by it!”
Seth started to gather up their things. “Sorry ill just go, I didn't mean to intrude.” After picking up their pencil and notebooks they started to head for the door. Their was a special kind of embarrassment they felt for trying to steal the Prince’s room. In all honesty, they felt a little bummed out that they would have to find a new place to sit. They had found the room to be quite relaxing.
As they reached the door, they felt a soft paw on their shoulder followed by the sound of Ralsei’s voice. “I’m not saying you have to leave, I actually brought all these books here for you and I to read.”
Seth turned around and saw the large pile of books in the center of the room. “For you and me?”
Ralsei smiled, “Well I remembered you like to write so I brought some books that I thought we might like. I wanted to see if you would like to start a little book club with me?”
Seth held their notebook tightly to their chest, “A book club? But why with only me, surely there’s someone else in here that wants to read with you.”
Ralsei rubbed the back of his head and sighed, “Not really. I’m frankly just as surprised as you are. I thought Queen might've been interested a while ago but she would just start generating summaries of the books and reading that. It was quite irritating to be honest.”
“Well… I suppose it couldn’t hurt to start a book club with you.”
Ralsei grabbed and held one of Seth’s hands in his own and smiled at them, “Finally! Someone else to read with!”
Seth blushed for a moment and looked away, “T… Thank you for this.”
“Its no problem. And if you want to stay in here that’s fine by me! I don't usually sleep much anyway.”
Ralsei exited the room but quickly peaked his head through the door to say one last thing, “I hope I can make you feel at home here.”
Seth waved at Ralsei until they heard the door click shut. Then they waited a little longer until the door clicked shut before sitting on the ground and rubbing their hands on their eyes while they blushed.
“A club… just for us.”