Another year older, a little bit stronger

[fulllifeconsequences]

Who: Frisk, Chara, and everyone who's up for a birthday party
Where: A second-floor tearoom
When: 5/25
Rating: PG, probably
Summary: Frisk turns 13 years old and gets to have an actual celebration! And I guess Chara gets to share their birthday too. Also, a goat shows up and EVERYONE SCREAMS.
The Story:

May 25th. Chara's had time to prepare for it. Everyone Sans managed to recruit into throwing a party has had time to prepare for it. And now it's here!

In their own way, they've... they've tried. When they first arrived here, they tore the head off a stuffed animal. More recently, they smashed a flowerpot. The former's been stitched together again, the latter assembled with glue and patience, and both sit on the windowsill of room 12, unannounced and devoid of fanfare, but present. In one of Chara's hands, a little gift, done up in blatantly Christmas-themed wrapping paper but nonetheless wrapped with painstaking neatness.

In the other, Frisk's hand. They've got places to be! Whether they like it or not, they're getting dragged out of their room and into the arms of everyone who loves them. Chara hauls them along to the door to one of the tearooms, then stops long enough to flash a bright smile.

"Okay, on three. Try to act surprised. One, two..."

They open the door and shove Frisk inside. Let them bask in a room full of balloons and streamers and treats and happy smiling faces, or... or whatever sort of ramshackle affair Alphys and Papyrus have put together.

"Three. Happy birthday, nerd."

Comments

[sciencelizard]

[Sneaky, but constructively!]

Well, at least uhm, it's a g-good like. We, uh, weren't sure if this was gonna turn out, uhm, okay, b-but it looks like it all worked out!

Oh! And, uhm, h-here.

[She procures from her back two boxes, wrapped in appropriately festive wrapping paper. One has Frisk's name on it, and the other... is actually addressed to Chara.]

F-For you! And, uhm, for Chara, but I d-didn't think they'd take it if it was, uh, f-from me, so maybe you could pass it over? They'd probably, uh, be m-more willing to take it if, uhm, it w-was from you.

[For Frisk, a full tea set, striped pink and blue to match the cup she gave them when they were feeling bad a few weeks previous. There's also a bottle of soda in there- the same brand they shared at the party. She doesn't know how they are for tea, and the soda choice seemed fitting. For Chara, a DVD of Spirited Away- the director's cut, with aaaaall the bonus features. Ya'll weren't so slick at Anime Club, you know.]

I hope, uhm, y-you like it!

[determinedest]

I'll make sure it gets to them.

[Frisk smiles at Alphys gratefully. She's really more thoughtful than she gives herself credit for. And the robots rolling all about the room - those have to be her doing. They bear too striking a resemblance to the products of Alphys's "screaming prank" not to be.

Frisk gasps in delight at the tea set, resplendent with stripes.]

It's so pretty!

[sciencelizard]

[She lights up when Frisk opens it and seems pleased- she wasn't sure what to get them, honestly, but maybe this could be a nod to getting through even sad times together with some warmer happiness. Plus, soda is great and she won't let Undyne rob this child of not getting any. That is just wrong.]

I'm g-glad you like it! One teacup just, w-wasn't enough, and I knew this h-had to exist somewhere.

[She wasted so much time with that closet getting the right colors.]

So, y-yeah! Happy birthday! H-Here's to another, uhm, g-great year, and all that.

[determinedest]

It's great. Thank you.

[They gotta hug her again. Just 'cause Alphys is that great. Tea is...it's really nice. Really soothing, and it reminds them of Asgore. Maybe Alphys knew that.]

Hey, um - that reminds me! Do you have a birthday? 'Cause, uh, I wanna be sure you get good stuff on your special day too!

[sciencelizard]

Oh! Well... t-technically, it already passed. It was, uh, A-April 6th. Back home it w-was a little bit away, and then there w-was, uh, that emotions event a-around then, so... I j-just wasn't thinking about it.

[She thinks, for a second, trying to make that sound less horribly crushing.]

B-But, uh, the prank war was a-around there! So it wasn't, uhm, a-all bad. I didn't even r-realize at the time, anyway, so...

[determinedest]

Aw.

[Frisk's face falls a little bit.]

I'm sorry. Maybe we can celebrate, like, a half-birthday, then. That's how it goes some of the time, right?

[sciencelizard]

I-It's okay, honestly! We can, uh, t-think about themed parties for other points in the year, or uh, something like that. I don't, uh, u-usually have parties anyway. Mostly I just w-watch anime or order in my favorite takeout.

[That's... that's sadder than she intended. Fuck. How does she save this.]

This party is a-about you, though! We can think about, uh, stuff f-for me later. It's not important right n-now.

[determinedest]

Yeah, but you did something nice for me, so I wanna do something nice for you!

[They grin, widely. They know exactly how to shop for Alphys too, so to speak - her interests were always very obvious.]

I'll ambush you with late birthday surprises. Maybe next Anime Party. It could happen at any time. You never know!

[sciencelizard]

[Omg that's like SURPRISE BIRTHDAY how is she even gonna deal with that??]

O-Oh my gosh, you don't have to-- I don't even k-know how I could handle just, knowing that y-you're, uh, lying in wait to spring birthday s-surprises at me! That's like, uh, a y-year round birthday!

[She's terribly flattered, she just also doesn't know how to express that.]

[determinedest]

You surprised me! I have to pay you back somehow! Those are the rules.

[Frisk grins devilishly. Alphys looks exceedingly flustered about the whole idea. And lucky for her, it's not so difficult to imagine what she might like.]

[sciencelizard]

A-Are they??? Oh gosh. That's gonna be, uh, a r-really big surprise!

[She's not horribly adverse to it; it'd probably be cute and she'd get presents and maybe cake! But also that's a lot of people putting a lot of thought into her of all people. That's so much. That's SO much.]

[determinedest]

It's in the official birthday manual.

[Probably, anyway. Because they said so.]

And I'm determined. So you'd better watch out.

[sciencelizard]

[Official birthday manual?? That's serious.]

I'll j-just have to watch my back! For all kinds of s-surprises coming at me from, uhm, any a-angle!

[determinedest]

Exactly.

[Frisk laughs, delighted and determined.]

But, honestly - thanks for planning all this.

[sciencelizard]

It was n-no problem. And it wasn't j-just me, it was everybody, but... thank y-you. I'm just really g-glad you like it.

[determinedest]

I do. I really, really do.

[One last hug, before they pop off to get some pie. They've really, really missed pie.]