light it up

But again…her questions…

“I-I don’t know! I didn’t create the business model.” Chara squeaked, “I just know about it from-”

“What was that?”

She stared at him, brow furrowed, lips turned down in a frown that threatened to become a scowl. She wasn’t about to let him go at all.

“You know about it from..? Sorry, I don’t think I caught that.”

“Bringing you to a bad hotel with aquariums? Th-that’s out of the question. Besides! You shouldn’t ask people you just met to bring you to a hotel. That’s…that’s for…people, you’re um…closer with.” What this girl okay in the head? Seriously, there was no way Chara would do something so…raunchy as to take her to a hotel like that!

But she still didn’t quite know what he meant by ‘like that.’

“R-right, forget I asked about any of that.”

They turned away and led him back out of the room, back to the hallway outside. The kitchen would be too busy right now, and dinner was almost ready...private rooms were absolutely off limits, especially hers...

“C’mon,” she said, “I’ll show you the pool.”

And again she walked off, though this time she waited for him to come to her side.

...nope, she couldn’t let it go.

“It’s…um…hotels that aren’t very good. So they’ll have an attraction like this to lure guests in despite being…either in the bad part of town or…other various…issues.” Like questionable cleanliness. That sort of an explanation should be fine. He wondered if he should be feeling something, alone in the room with this girl and dodging such a question.

“Why would they lure in guests with an aquarium though...? Surely there are other ways to do so.” They search his expression for some hint at the real answer, but can’t tell anything in particular. “How would hotels in the ‘bad part of town’ even have aquariums? ...Maybe you should just bring me to one so I can see for myself..”

“It’s interesting.” He said with a smile, turning back towards her, “I’ve never seen anything like that outside of an actual public aquarium. I’m glad it was actually something cool, and not…you know.” Chara didn’t know where he was going with that, hand going into his hair to scratch a little.

“Are they your pets? Do they have any names?” The young man turned back towards the waters, smile faltering to a more comfortable, neutral expression. He wasn’t that impressed.

He thought it was a little dumb. But that wouldn’t be a polite reaction. Actually…he knew where else he’d expect to see such a display…

“Some kids who came by before named most of them ‘Nemo’. I don’t know if that counts.”

Back then, anyway. Maybe this time, it would be a little different. Maybe this time…if he were to act like what everyone expected…Perhaps they could be…friends? Yes…

Chara didn’t know what his father expected him to feel. He wasn’t sure what he felt either.

“…Cool?” Wasn’t that code for I’m going to kidnap and murder you? Never had there been a time in life, tv, or cinema that ‘Wanna see something cool’ ended in a good way. Nonetheless, Chara followed this Mary person. There wasn’t anything else to do and shying away from it would make all his strides to change…worthless.

He didn’t glance back at his parents, keeping his apprehension private as he watched Mary’s hair sway as she walked.

The house wasn’t the largest, but it would still be fairly easy for him to get lost if he wandered off. Even so, she didn’t bother to make sure if he was following her. 

Mary turned around around halfway down the hallway, pleased to see that he was still close by. “So, like...I don’t actually know if you’ll like this, but most kids who visit do.”

She turned to the door beside him and opened it, then waited for him to enter. As soon as he was inside, she stepped in too and shut the door.

Quite like the rather classically beautiful woman at his side. She smiled warmly at Alexis, thanking her politely for the compliment, “My, I wasn’t aware you were such a beauty. Carlton, you failed to tell me enough details about your friends.”

He laughed somewhat guiltily in response, entering alongside her. He didn’t say anything about his child that lingered almost shyly behind the two. Chara had always been somewhat reclusive as he got older and older.

“You’re so darling,” she said, addressing him directly. “Did your father tell you we have a daughter around your age?”

Up on the stairs, Mary took that as her cue to start descending. She’d had plenty of practice at making it look like she was gliding down the steps rather than anything unsightly. She’d been dressed up finely, of course, as if she were a princess, and maybe coming down those steps she might have appeared as one to Chara.

“Oh, there she is,” said Alexis, turning to the stairs. “Come now Mary, greet our guests.”

Mary gazed down at the trio by the door, smiling warmly at the two adults as she descended the last few steps and walked over to them. She curtsied and greeted them politely, before turning her attention to the teenager beside them.

Her smile faltered.

That was a boy? He didn’t look like anything she might have expected, but that was...okay. Typical boys weren’t very interesting to her, so if he was different even in appearance, then maybe she could get some fun out of him.

“Hi,” she said, tone even and steady.  “I’m Mary.”

“Mary, you can show him around,” said Alexis, already herding Carlton and Rosemary toward the living room. She turned back to her fellow adults. “Dinner’ll be ready soon...”

So many AUs with @mercystick/@explosivation

Top is from a private rp, Frisk and Chara (they haven’t even met ironically but they’re two of my mains in it)

“Well…that works.”

Scientist!Chara, currently nickname-less, arriving with a bang, as usual.

“Well…that works.”

Scientist!Chara, currently nickname-less, arriving with a bang, as usual.