Distant Stars, Distant Voices

[Frisk and Flowey stargazing on the summit of Mt Ebott.]

"Can you see anything?"

Flowey mashed his face against Frisk's, trying to sneak a peek at the night sky above. They huffed and pushed back with a coy smile, still trying to adjust the telescope for anything beyond blurry spots in a sprawling dark splotch. This proved far more difficult and time-consuming than they expected and the lack of expertise was doing its best to overtake the enthusiasm.

Still, there was nothing a little steadfast stubbornness couldn't solve.

Their companion groaned and loosened his hold upon their arm. Like a floral snake, he uncurled from his rather relaxed or just plain oblivious prey, crawling all the way back to the ground. He shot a fairly neutral glance at the colorful flowerpot next to their bag. While he was far more accepting of it than ever before, being in the soil was always a far different experience. When asked, he described it to Frisk like a combination of fresh air and biting into a meal. This was especially true for the surface, where nothing could ever get in his way, save for a highway or a concrete floor.

Rather than contemplate on possible head traumas, he extended a pair of leaves and opened up the colorful lunchbox hiding in the bag. As usual, they only had the essentials with them, such as: sandwiches, crackers, gummies and a small bag of general assorted candy. Opting for the superior healthy approach, Flowey immediately popped the candy bag open and tossed a bit of taffy in his mouth. The somewhat sticky candy had become one of his fast favorites.

"I think it works now..." Frisk muttered, still very much focused on just trying to get the telescope to work as it should have.

They reached out, just until their index finger touched the ground. Following up on the unspoken signal, Flowey grabbed another taffy and slammed the lunchbox shut. Moving over to Frisk's finger, he allowed his body to extend once again, in a decidedly snake-like motion. He quickly moved onto the knuckles, wrist, arm, and by the time Frisk checked, his bright face was perched right on their shoulder once again.

A brief pat on Frisk's cheek made them open their mouth, in which Flowey immediately deposited a prize. The human frowned and spat the wrapper out, receiving the real candy in its place once their friend managed to stop snickering.

"Very funny." they mumbled, taffy already making sure to seal their mouth shut again. They moved the telescope ever-slightly to the right, just so he could peek into it as well.

And so he did, laughter completely gone after just a second.

The sight was nothing short of breathtaking. Choosing Mt. Ebott as their location very quickly proved to have been the correct decision. They followed dozens, if not hundreds of beautiful sparkly glows, all of them immersed in the dark ocean. Some of them barely twinkled, while others burned bright, proudly stepping forth from among the rest. Some of them even seemed to shoot off into the distance all of a sudden, but by the time he blinked, they were gone again. His eye just kept darting back and forth, trying to take in everything. He wanted to count them all, right this instant, but could barely go past a dozen before another shiny speck caught his gaze.

His petals perked just a little, noting the sound of paper rustling. It may have been the stargazing guide Frisk brought along, but he just couldn't take his eyes off the stars to so much as check.

"Try to find the Big Dipper." Frisk said. "Look for stars that in shape of a bowl, with three more as a handle."

The flower nodded and scoured the vast space beyond. While trying to spot the constellation Frisk mentioned seemed daunting, he was very determined to find it. After a couple minutes though, he tore his eyes from the alluring beauty of space, staring straight into the book of constellations his friend helpfully held up to eye-level. He took a little while to properly observe the very helpful image, etching the names and positions into his flowery brain.

Soon enough, he spotted a couple of stars that seemed to fit the bill.

"I think I've got it!" he nearly shouted, pulling Frisk's head over. "Over there! A bit to the right... and lower... is that it?"

"Maybe..." Frisk mumbled, checking the book. A bright smile spread across their face, once they peeked through telescope again. "You're right! It's right there!"

They took turns in marveling at the constellation they so expertly spotted, reading minor details about it to one another every time they switched. The book may have been relatively thin, but it was jam-packed with details. Eventually though, even the vastness of space got a little tiring and the two decided to share a sandwich. The warmth of summer seeped rather well into Ebott surface, keeping the two warm and cozy.

"They're so different." Flowey mused, holding the little sandwich cube in his leaves, before devouring it. His cheeks, puffy from the large bite, were a never-ending source of amusement for Frisk.

"Different from what?" they asked, tearing another bit off the food for Flowey, followed by a bite for themself.

"Different from... ew—" he whined, passing a piece of raw tomato back to Frisk. He really liked Toriel's sandwiches, but was also surprisingly picky about the vegetables. "Different from the Wishing Room, back in the Underground."

Frisk took the shred of tomato, exchanging it for another portion, this time without the offending vegetable.

"I spent so much time looking at those stones." he said, playfully rolling the bit of food between his conjured appendages. "Mom, Dad, even Chara said that the real ones are a lot different, but those were all I had. To me, those were the stars. And I kept wishing at my stars, to see the real stars."

There was a smile there, but Frisk knew well it wasn't a fully honest one. Those were still often difficult to bring to the surface.

"Are they like you imagined them?"

"They're... sparklier!" he said, brief sadness morphing into the look of a very contemplative flower. "And much further away. I don't think I could grow big enough to touch any of them."

Frisk giggled at the statement, forcing him to stuff another piece in his mouth and chew ardently to hide the embarrassment.

"What about you?" he asked. The child's amusement dwindled at once, leaving a somewhat morose look on their face.

"I like the stars!" Frisk said, a little quicker than necessary. Just enough to raise suspicion. "Really, I like them. Stars are pretty. I just—"

Frisk's words halted as they wiped their nose, tearing a much larger piece off for Flowey this time around. He reached out, leaf lightly patting the hand reaching out for him.

"I just wish someone watched them with me." they said finally, turning to face the flower again. "So we could find the brightest, connect the constellations, wish upon shooting stars together. It's not fair for me to hog all the wishes."

"Well, you can forget about that!" Flowey protested, chomping down on the last of his sandwich bits. "I have wishes too, you know! So from now on, you only get a quarter!"

"Why just a quarter?" Frisk mock-whined, giggling at Flowey's pouty face.

"You had a head start! I need to catch up to you!"

The child giggled once again and leaned back. They allowed gravity to take hold, pulling them to the soft ground with a low thud. Flowey huffed, but climbed on over them, taking their rightful place against their shoulder. He turned and ruffled Frisk's sweater, just enough to form a makeshift pillow. All nice and cozy, he leaned back and allowed his vision to be filled by the starry sky once again.

Minuscule specks within the limitless ocean of the night, they flickered, twinkled and pulsed playfully, each and every one more than enough to enrapture both of the children. The sheer scope of their sight was so incredibly large, that by comparison, they were just like the stars above. Just two tiny, yet beaming little bodies in a vast, but just as populous world.

"Fine, you can have a third of them." he muttered. The summit was silent to the point he could swear his friend's distant heartbeats were the loudest noise he's ever heard. "But only because we're friends."

A smile spread across Frisk's face once more, their cheeks glistening in the distant starlight. Flowey could have had all the wishes in the world, for all they cared. They weren't greedy, after all, they only ever had one. It was a wish Frisk repeated for years and years, in whispers and tears, in demands and screams. They always believed the stars above would have heard and granted their request, if they hadn't been so far away. If they were closer, Frisk's voice surely would have reached them.

Perhaps this is why it was the last plea, made in passing through the Wishing Room of the Underground, that finally made it come true.