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"Kris! Look who I found!"
Kris turned to see Asriel leaning against his bed with one paw, a familiar-looking green die in the other, held between two digits.
They brushed their hair out of their face, getting a better look. They brightened slightly. "That's sick. Didn't you steal that from school?"
He bristled. "O-On accident! I brought it home and lost it after a couple days! I was gonna take it back, promise!"
"Aw, that's less sick. Anyway, check out what I got."
They poked their head underneath their bed, feeling around for a couple seconds before grabbing two items to present to their brother. He let out a gasp of delightful surprise.
"Oh my God! Dad's been looking for that forever! And..." He pointed. "one of the figure guys?"
They shrugged. "I dunno. He must've rolled under my bed a few months ago."
The figurine stood upright in their hand, the little jazz musician still jamming on his saxophone despite the months spent in the darkness below Kris's bed. They rubbed a finger over it, and a thin layer of dust came off.
Asriel grabbed the remote control, before coughing into his elbow. "Goodness, it's so dusty..." He flipped the remote over. "Oh, that's it all right. How did this thing get in your room?"
He showed them the turned-over remote, its back panel adorably adorned with cowboy stickers from a book they'd bought several years ago.
"... I think it was a prank. I probably just forgot about it."
Asriel groaned. "Come on, I thought Mom told you to stop doing that!"
"It's funny!"
He sighed and shook his head, before looking down again. His thumb went to trace over the textured stickers—there was one of a cowboy hat on the battery panel. "Well, I guess this guy can go back in the living room..."
"But we've already got a replacement. Several, if you check between the couch cushions. I think Dad's already bonded with the new remotes, anyway."
Kris gestured at the die, and Asriel obliged by passing it to them. They brought it close to their eye to inspect it.
Asriel chuckled awkwardly, fidgeting with his paws. "I-It's been months... I think I kind of made peace with the fact that I'd never see it again, and that I'd never bring it back to school, but I feel kind of attached to it now."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with keeping it. For all the school knows, it's just lost. If they've even noticed."
"But stealing is wrong, Kris!"
"If you take something as small as this and nobody misses it for months, is it technically stealing?"
Asriel rolled his eyes, but he was laughing. "Well, I guess... I'm awfully tempted to keep it. I like this color. I remember being surprised there was a green one."
"Catch."
Kris flicked the dice in an upward arc, and Asriel fumbled to catch it. He glared at them playfully.
"Well then, maybe the figurine should go back on the windowsill. It's weird we never noticed it was gone..."
"But..." Kris took the remote from their brother's hand. "These two guys have spent so much time together. Under my bed. I don't wanna separate them."
"Well, then..." He looked back down at the slightly translucent die in his hand. "Maybe they could use another friend. I'm worried this guy has been lonely in my drawer."
Kris smiled, holding out their hand for him to roll the die onto. "That's great. They can go on all sorts of wacky adventures together."
Asriel suddenly looked as if he'd gotten an idea, squatting down to pull out a shoe box from beneath his bed.
"Here," he said, opening the box. "Let's put them with Cat Petters. So we won't forget about them."
"It's like a time capsule."
"Well, not really. Only kind of."
Wordlessly, they set the items into the box, carefully adjusting their positions.
"They're gonna get jostled around when we move the box, you know?"
They just shrugged.
Finally, they looked satisfied with their work, and Asriel closed the box.
"I wanna do the honors."
"Gopher it!"
They kneeled next to Asriel's bed, sliding the box underneath into an empty space. "Here it is. Their final resting spot."
Asriel laughed. "Golly, you make it sound so morbid! It's not like they're dead or anything! It's not like we're never seeing them again!"
Kris just grinned, laughing along.