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"Can I play?"
Kris looks at them in surprise. "You can play the piano too?"
They’re in Kris’s room in Castle Town, checking out the piano Ralsei had recently installed in it. It’s against the only corner of the room not occupied by furniture or moss. (Kris had made sure to remind Ralsei that the moss was not to be disturbed in any way, shape, or form while he moved the piano to their room) The bench accompanying it was made from the same materials as the bed, and Kris (the resident Bed Inspector) had declared it worthy.
Player shuffles on their feet, a sheepish grin on their face. "I mean, I picked up a few things over the years, but like, it's been a while since I got a world with a piano in it, so I miiiiight be a bit rusty, but I've been wanting to try to figure out a few pieces by rote, so-"
"Hell yeah, sib, go on!" Kris slides off the bench and moves to their bed, leaning against the wall. Technically, the bench was wide enough to fit both of them, but they’ve been at the piano for a while now, and their back was starting to ache so moving to the bed seemed like a better option.
Besides, they know well enough how annoying playing pieces while someone else was sitting on the bench with them could be. It was fine when they were smaller, but now it just irritates them whenever they couldn’t jump octaves because they didn’t want to hit someone.
Player sits down on the bench, rolling their sleeves up to their elbows. "The last time I could actually play was like- damn. I can't even remember anymore, jeez."
They frown, stretching their fingers out. "Nope, still can't do that chord. Note to self, ask for bigger hands. Damn."
"Hey," Player looks up to see Kris holding their hand up. "Small hand gang." Player's eyes light up, a short laugh escaping them as they clap their hands against Kris's.
"Not for long though! I'm getting bigger ones first chance I get!"
Kris scowls, placing a hand across their chest dramatically. "How dare you. I thought we had an understanding, sharing the struggle of smaller hands, unable to play chords and octaves. And yet," They gesture to Player's hands in mock disgust. "You would betray me at first chance."
Player chuckles, focusing back on the piano. "Yeah, yeah, cry about it. You're just jealous I can switch my hands out and you can't. Now hush. I require focus." They raise their hand and gently place it on the keys. "It's not much, but it's what I can still remember. I, uh. Wanted to get this one right because it was really emotional and impactful when I heard it and I really wanted to do it justice so I practiced on days on end so it's, uh, kinda muscle memory for me."
The gentle melody drains whatever tension Kris was holding, almost like Ralsei's Pacify spell. Player’s using the soft pedal, Kris notices after a while. It’s not much, just a simple tune consisting of the same notes repeating over and over, but still, it's- familiar, in a way. They're pretty sure they've never heard it before, but the warm and rich tone sings of home, nostalgic and bittersweet, like the days before Dess disappeared.
Before everything fell apart.
The song slows down, Player pausing and taking a deep breath. Their hand moves back to a higher position, resuming the melody. The soft notes tug at Kris’s heart, and they take a deep breath of their own. The song is telling a story, they realize. They’re not quite sure what story it’s telling, but it does a hell of a good job at it.
Slowly, the song begins to build up, shifting from a sad tune to a more powerful, yet still emotional one. Kris can make out a few tears on Player's face, and they wonder what the song exactly meant to them.
Again, the melody slows down, and this time it feels hopeful, calm and satisfied with the tale it told. The song ends with the same notes as it began with, Player humming along with the last repetition.
The two of them are silent, for a moment, before Kris wraps their arms around Player.
“Thanks.” Player sniffles, reaching up to hug them back.
“That was one of the best pieces I’ve ever heard in my entire life, sib, you gotta teach me that one.”
Player laughs. “It’s uh, Frisk called it ‘Undertale’. From, uh, the alternate timeline I mentioned. Y’know, the one where monsters were trapped underground? I heard it while I was passing by New Home, and trust me, it hit me so hard when I first heard it, I was almost a sobbing mess at the end-”
Kris can see that, actually. Heck, they teared up a bit when they heard it, whatever context Player must’ve heard it in would have added a lot to the emotional impact of the song.
“Any other songs you know?” Kris is curious, now. With all the adventures their sibling has been through, they’re bound to know a lot of them.
Player smiles. “Yeah. There’s a lot of them, actually, if I sat down and played all of them for you we would be here for days.”
“Well, at least show me your favorite ones?” Kris puts on their best puppy eyes, the ones that not even Toriel could resist.
Player buries their face in their hands. “Stop that, c’mon, Kris. All of them are really good, I can’t just pick a few favorites out of all of them!”
Kris hums. “Well, maybe we can go through them one adventure at a time? You can pick your favorites from one adventure, then next time we can listen to your favorites from another one!”
“Sure, I guess. Since I’ve already played a piece from the Frisk adventure, I’ll continue with my favorite ones from that one! I called this one ‘Hopes and Dreams’, it played during the final battle before we broke the Barrier, and-” Player doesn’t stop talking as they start playing the notes, leading to a few missed keys, but they gloss over those and continue playing.
It’s a good tune, Kris thinks. They’re glad Player can let them listen to it.