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That was the first time Frisk hadn't been sleeping in the afternoon. They couldn't; they had to get their house ready because they were going to have company that day, and lots of it.
Once they finished their journey underground, Clover, their ghost companion, had been resurrected along with the other children. They still didn't understand why only they were resurrected and not Chara, their other ghost companion. It was something Flowey still refused to tell them.
Chara had been peacefully existing as a ghost since they emerged from the underground, and with Alphys's help, they no longer needed the intervention of the god of hyperdeath. A little determination on this side and a donation of a piece of their soul had been all it took for Chara to become corporeal again.
And of course, the first to celebrate was none other than the cowpoke. Ever since their trip, they'd had a feeling that the cowpoke and their ghost had feelings for each other, and tonight they wanted to confirm it.
To do this, they devised a plan: first, they would invite all the resurrected to their home as a simple act of fellowship; second, they would make a gentle suggestion of playing a party game with them; third, one of them would say seven minutes in heaven and that was it; they didn't need anything more than that.
Frisk let out an evil laugh, feeling like a mastermind. They sat on the couch and waited a moment. Then, a goat monster entered the room with a bowling ball in one of her hands.
"Okay, my child. I'll go to bowling night with our friends. Are you sure you don't want to go?"
In response, Frisk smiled as innocently as they could and shook their head.
"Okay, you're staying with Chara. You two take care of yourselves and don't open the door to strangers."
With that, Toriel left the house, and Frisk's smile turned even more mischievous.
It was only a matter of time before the others arrived, and they could bet anything on who would be the first.
Then the minutes passed, and the door rang 15 minutes before the appointed time. It seemed obvious.
Frisk quickly approached and opened the door, finding another human, this one with yellow eyes and clothes that looked like something out of a cowboy movie.
Clover, the soul of justice, had arrived.
"How are you, Frisk? Looks like I'm a little early."
“You're just in time. I'm sure the others will be here soon” Frisk said, stepping away from the door and inviting the cowpoke in.
Clover gladly accepted, stepping inside and examining everything they could, as if looking for something.
Frisk chuckled softly and closed the door again. They could already sense who Clover was looking for.
"I'm sure Chara will be happy to see you. Wait a second, I'll call them."
Clover turned to look at Frisk upon hearing that name, and their eyes seemed to sparkle. Maybe this would be the day they finally revealed their deepest feelings to that red-eyed human.
Frisk went up to the second floor of the house, knocking on their siblings's door and hearing footsteps approaching.
The door opened, and Frisk saw red eyes glowing in the darkness.
"What do you want?" A serious voice spoke from inside the room.
"Clover's here, and they seems excited to see you. Don't leave them hanging."
Chara felt their cheeks heat up a little. The thought of that cowpoke being excited to see them made their stomach turn. However, they wasn't going to deny that they could share that feeling.
"Well... if that's the case, I can't keep them waiting."
With that, Chara left their room, escorting Frisk to the living room.
Frisk smiled again. They already had the two most important pieces of their plan; they just needed to wait for the others to show up to put it into action.
And that didn't take long. When they reached the living room, they heard another knock on the door. Clover looked over, a small smile forming on their face.
"Looks like they're here."
Frisk nodded and ran to open the door, finding five humans standing outside, some carrying drinks, others with bags of snacks.
"Hey, guys? Come in, make yourself at home."
And they all entered, each greeting the couple and sitting down.
Frisk also approached, clapping twice and clasping their hands together on their chest.
“All right, we're about to start the first fellowship meeting of The Fallen Humans.”
Clover raised an eyebrow at that name, and another human, a copper-skinned boy, jumped up.
“Wait! That name sucks. I was thinking of calling us The Heroes of the Underground!”
Then a dark-skinned, curly-haired girl burst out laughing.
"That name only serves to inflate your big ego, Robin."
"Shut up, Luna! The name is great. Who else thinks so?"
Robin looked around, only seeing Clover raising their hand.
“Thanks, Clover. At least you support me.”
Chara glanced at the cowpoke and whispered.
“You really like that name?”
Clover let out a small laugh and shook their head.
"I'm just supporting him so he doesn't feel bad."
Then Frisk clapped again, drawing everyone's attention to them.
"Well, that's also going to be something we'll discuss here. I invited you this time to talk a little, maybe tell each other stories or even do activities together. I'd like us, as humans who've gone through the same experience, to get along. What do you say?"
The others stared at them in silence until a girl with blonde hair and a light blue sweater spoke up.
"That includes eating everything in your fridge, right, Frisk?!"
That comment was all it took to make the laughter erupt. Seeing everyone laughing brought a genuine smile to Frisk's face. They just hoped the girl was joking.
The first hour of their meeting passed peacefully, everyone recounting their experiences underground, obviously skipping the ending, that is, until Chara's turn came.
They cleared their throat before speaking, thinking about what to say. They knew everyone present had heard the most tragic part, but they was sure only Clover and Frisk knew the best moments.
“Well, there was this one time Asriel wanted to challenge old Gerson to a fight. Can anyone guess how long they fought?”
Clover laughed; they already knew the answer. Chara had told them that story before, as well as Frisk.
Robin raised his hand and spoke in a loud voice.
“I'm sure Asriel is strong, maybe not as strong as the old man, but that fight must have gone on for hours!”
Chara laughed in response and shook their head.
“Asriel tried to fight old Gerson, and their fight lasted exactly… eight seconds. I'm sure it would have lasted less if Gerson hadn't been compassionate.”
Then another burst of laughter erupted. Chara smiled a little as they remembered that moment. Perhaps they was so focused on remembering the worst moments of their life that those fun moments were lost in their memory until they was revived.
And so time continued to pass, until everyone ran out of stories to tell. At that moment, Frisk jumped up, ready to continue with their plan.
“Okay, now what? Do you have any ideas on how to continue this meeting?”
At that moment, a boy with glasses raised a hand.
“We could play something together.”
Frisk smiled slightly. All they had to do was suggest it, and the other pieces would fall like dominoes.
“A game? Well… I don't have enough board games for that many people, but we could play something else… you know… truth or dare, I've never… or maybe 7 minutes in heaven.”
Robin stood up from his seat, speaking again in a loud voice.
“Seems like you're trying to create tension, huh Frisk?! Well, the 7 minutes idea sounds good to me. What do everyone else say?”
Most of them looked at each other, some looking at specific people, as was the case with Clover, who glanced sideways at the red-eyed human sitting next to them.
Then Luna also raised her hand.
"This is the first good idea you've had, Robin, and Frisk suggested it first."
And little by little, the other humans raised their hands as well. Clover didn't take long to raise theirs, still glancing sideways at Chara.
Chara watched as they became the center of attention again. A part of them wanted to raise their hand but didn't seem to dare, or that was until they saw Clover out of the corner of their eye. Their hand was already raised and their eyes were fixed on theirs.
A thought crossed their mind: spending those seven minutes with Clover wouldn't be so bad. They felt their cheeks heat up at the thought.
"All right, let's play that game..."
Frisk clapped again and placed an empty soda bottle on the floor.
"Okay, since we're all here, we can begin."
And without another word, they spun the bottle.
Clover watched as the bottle spun; the game seemed like the perfect excuse to spend a moment alone with Chara and, with that, confess everything they felt.
After a few seconds, the bottle stopped; one side pointed at Robin and the other at Luna.
Then a small commotion started among the other humans.
“Oh, come on! With him?!” said the curly-haired girl.
“What?! Are you scared?!” Robin said with a confident smile.
“Never!” Luna replied, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him toward the bathroom.
Clover laughed and put a hand to her mouth, speaking loudly.
“Remember, it’s only 7 minutes, Luna!”
Robin responded to the comment, also speaking loudly.
“You wish you had the courage to do the same to Chara!”
Frisk grabbed their phone, set the timer, and looked at the others.
Then the door closed, leaving the other humans in an awkward silence and Clover with a small blush on their face.
Those seven minutes passed quickly. When the bathroom door opened again, the two humans silently returned to their respective seats.
"Let's continue" Robin said with a small blush on his face.
Frisk burst out laughing as they looked at the newcomers.
"Okay, let's spin the bottle again!"
Then, they placed the bottle back on the ground and spun it. Chara caught a glimpse of the cowpoke. They didn't know when they and Frisk had switched seats, leaving them face to face.
After a few seconds, the bottle stopped, one end pointing at Clover and the other at Chara. They stared at each other for a few seconds in complete silence.
Or so it was until the commotion erupted again. Frisk just watched with a smile, seeing as their plan had been a success.
Clover stood up from their seat, adjusting their hat and clearing their throat.
“Well… Chara, it’s okay if you don’t want to. It might be a bit awkwa-”
Their words were interrupted when they felt a tug on their arm, and when they saw who it was, they saw those familiar red eyes.
“You didn’t dare, Clover!” Robin shouted, watching as the red-eyed human pulled the cowpoke toward the bathroom.
“Remember, it’s only seven minutes, cowpoke!” Luna added, before the door closed.
Clover stood in the darkness; all they could see were Chara’s glowing eyes, and a brief silence fell between them, a silence that didn’t last long.
“Well… Clover? Are you okay?”
Clover took a moment to answer. Chara knew very well that the cowpoke was somewhat afraid of the dark.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Did you know your eyes glow? It's like magic" Chara replied with a small laugh.
"Yeah, it seems Alphys left plenty of determination when she brought me back to life..."
“Really?... how cool…”
Then Chara took one of Clover's hands in their own.
“Hey… I don't think we have more than five minutes left. Do you want to take the risk, Cowpoke?”
Clover froze for a moment. They could feel their face heating up and Chara's hands gently caressing their.
"Okay... all right."
With permission, Chara brought the cowpoke's hand to their lips, placing a kiss on their knuckles and then letting it rest on their cheek.
Clover looked away slightly, or so they tried, before feeling a hand gently cup their jaw.
“You look so cute when you're nervous” Chara said, gently running one of their hands down Clover's cheek and leaning in a little closer.
“You make me feel like this…”
“That's good to know.”
Clover could feel Chara's breath hitting theirs, the sensation sending shivers through their body.
“Chara… I wanted to tell you that I like you… ever since our trip…”
Chara responded with a small laugh and leaned a little closer, seeing the reflection of their own eyes in Clover’s.
“I think it’s a little late for you to tell me that, cowpoke.”
“You told me to take the risk, I’m just listening to you.”
Chara rolled their eyes and ended up connecting their lips with Clover's. The kiss was awkward due to their lack of experience, but it was enough to convey what they felt for each other.
When they separated, Clover's eyes shone with their own yellow. The moment seemed magical to both of them, or so it was until they heard a knock on the door and Frisk's voice on the other side.
“Uh… Guys, it’s been over seven minutes… I wouldn’t bother you, but the others want to play too.”
Chara glanced at the door and looked back at Clover.
“Oh, looks like we’re out of time. I’m not good with words, but I hope that makes sense.”
Clover nodded, and they both left the bathroom.
Perhaps their confession hadn't received a verbal response, but from what they could feel, it was abundantly clear that their feelings were reciprocated.