Chapter Text
“Daddy, Daddy! Can I come wiff you?”
“Now, now, son…” Asgore started with a light heart. “You know you can’t come with Daddy to work. I have to stop bad guys, and you have to stay home to protect Mommy!” Asgore, clad in his police uniform, knelt down to be eye level with his young son. “Now, it’s a tough job, but I know you can do it, my son.”
Asriel dropped the puppy-dog eyes and straightened up, looking more serious than before. “There he is! That’s my boy, right there!” Asgore picked his son up, wrapping him in a tight hug with his massive arms. They were both covered head-to-toe in fur, but the golden whiskers on Asgore’s face and head made Asriel itch when Asgore nuzzled his face against his.
“H-hey, cut it out, Daddy!” Asriel struggled to get the words out because he was giggling so hard. “Dat tickles!!”
“Yes, cut it out, Daddy- Asriel has to get ready for service, does he not?” The boys turned their heads to see Toriel, dressed to the nines in her choir robes, resting her hands on her hips and looking impatient. However, when she saw Asgore in his uniform, her expression softened. “And there is my big handsome man~” Toriel scooped Asriel out of Asgore’s arms and gave Asgore a big kiss. “How I wish you could join us for service, at least sometimes…”
“Daddy has to save da town!” Asriel roared defensively before turning his head back to face Asgore. “Wight?”
“Haha, that’s right, kiddo. I’ll see you two this afternoon, alright?” He rustled the top of Asriel’s head, making his neat fur look disheveled. “Remember, son-”
Asriel cut off his father. “I know, I know, I’ll pwotect Mommy! Have fun today!!” Toriel took Asriel by the hand and the two waved goodbye to Asgore. After the door had shut, Toriel led Asriel to the dining table. He flinched, looking at the chair. “Guh… Mommy, do I weally need to sit in dat? What about my old chair?” Asriel looked at the chair that towered over him, wrestling with the idea that he might have to climb on top of it.
Toriel picked Asriel up and set him at the chair. “Now, now, you have grown far too big to use that old thing.” After setting Asriel at the table, Toriel walked over to the stovetop, where a batch of pancake batter was just dying to be made into a delicious treat. Toriel smiled softly, pondering. “Though, maybe one day, I shall be able to put it at the table again…” Asriel nibbled on his metal fork idly, tilting his head curiously, but he made no sound. He didn’t ponder too hard on Toriel’s words, his mind instead filled with thoughts about the pancakes whose rich, sweet scent wafted all the way to his seat and almost made him jump out and run to the kitchen. “Make sure you wear your bib, now, we would not want your Church clothes getting all dirty.” Toriel brought a plate of fluffy pancakes to the table, where her hungry little monster waited.
After having to change Asriel’s shirt because he did- after all- get his Church clothes dirty, Toriel and Asriel walked hand-in-hand to Home Town’s Church. “Mommy, aww you gonna sing today, too?”
“Yes, dear. Mommy is part of the choir, do you know what that means?” Asriel thought for a bit and shook his head, ‘No.’ Toriel smiled softly as they walked. “Well, a choir is like a… singing group? Mommy is part of the Church’s choir, so I must sing each time we go there.”
“Ooooh, I get it now!” Asriel said excitedly. He began to swing his arm back and forth, pulling Toriel’s arm with his own. Toriel saw his change in attitude and strongly suspected that he did not, in fact, get it now. Asriel was pulling at Toriel, trying to make her move faster. Visions of Toriel donning a Mohawk and singing on a stage flashed in Asriel’s mind, making him giggle with glee. “I wonder if I’ll be a rockstar like Mommy, or a hero like Daddy… I can’t wait to grow up!”
…
Asriel was quite an energetic child, so sitting through Father Alvin’s Church service was rough. Asriel did, however, find himself paying attention to the choir, when his mother and other churchgoers joined together in song. “Wow, Mommy, you’ww the best singer EVERH!!” Asriel exclaimed as he tackled Toriel in a hug. He peaked his head out, resting his chin against Toriel’s leg, staring at her with his cartoonishly wide eyes. “I wanna sing wike you one day!”
Toriel patted Asriel’s head softly. “That would be wonderful, dear! Would you like to practice singing with Mommy when we get home?” Asriel nodded. “Can you say choir? Co-eye-ur.” Toriel enunciated carefully.
“Co-eye-uw.” Asriel scrunched up his nose. “Co-eye-ur?” Toriel smiled and clapped, and Asriel lit up with delight. “Yay! I’m gonna be on the co-eye-ur wiff Mommy!”
“Come, now, dear, let us please settle down. You must use your inside voice, remember?” Asriel nodded, placing the index finger of one paw over his snout. “Very good, sweetie. Do you want some juice now?” Asriel’s excitement over things generally made him forgetful of his manners, even if he was just reminded of them. Toriel sighed and covered her eyes in embarrassment as Asriel began cheering loudly, running to the table where refreshments waited for him.
“My, what a rowdy one. Reminds me of my own.”
Toriel turned to face the voice that was addressing her. “Oh, Carol! I am surprised to see you here, this morning!” Toriel greeted the Mayor with a smile.
Carol’s smile was usually reserved for truly emotional moments- her being famous for her icy exterior- but a person as genuine as Toriel was hard not to greet with a smile. “Good morning to you, Toriel. I’m grateful that I actually was able to attend this morning. It’s rare that my workload is actually light enough, and…”
Toriel rested one hand over her elbow and the other hand against her cheek, cradling her head thoughtfully. “I suppose mayors do not get very long for maternity leave, do they?...”
Carol chuckled and shook her head. “No, they most certainly do not. It’s been a real challenge, finding a babysitter for little Noelle, but I’ve managed. Rudy’s been given some extra time off, too…” She swirled the juice around in her glass as her smile grew ever-so-slightly. “…After all, being mayor has its perks.” She could hardly conceal her playful smirk.
Toriel laughed heartily, and Asriel came back to her side, holding a glass of juice. “Hi! Aww you Mommy’s fwiend?” Asriel’s energetic tone made even Carol’s frozen heart thaw one degree. “Want some juice?” He held out his own glass, offering it to her.
Toriel rested her paw atop Asriel’s head. “Sweetie, this is Miss Holiday. She is the Mayor of this town, and Daddy works for her.”
Asriel put a finger to his chin, deep in thought. “If Daddy is a hero, and he works for her, then she must be a…” His eyes widened. “Aww you a supewhewo?”
“Pfft-” Carol stifled her laughter, trying to maintain appearances since practically the whole town was here.
“No, she’s the MAYOR. Don’t you know anything?” Yet another voice chimed into the conversation, this one a lot higher pitched than Carol’s. A small girl, only a little taller than Asriel, approached the group, a disdainful look on her face.
“December, be nice.” Carol chided with her own disapproving expression. “Come here and say hi. This here is Ms. Toriel, and the little one is Asriel.” Dess crossed her arms defiantly. “…You remember Mr. Asgore, don’t you? He works together with Mommy. This is his family- Won’t you say hi?”
“Hi!” Asriel said, rushing up to Dess. “Want some juice? It’s weally good!”
“No, thanks…” Dess pouted. “Mom, we’ve been here for so long, can we go now?”
Carol frowned and set her cup of juice down. “…Fine.” She turned to look at Toriel. “It was nice seeing you... I’ll tell your husband you said hello.”
Toriel covered her mouth and giggled. “That is quite kind of you. Have a good day, Carol.”
Just as Carol turned to leave, she stopped short. “…Oh, wait.” She leaned down to get closer to Asriel’s and Dess’s level. “…I just remembered, you’ll be starting kindergarten after the summer, right?”
Asriel tilted his head. “Kindew… Garden?”
Toriel smiled softly at him. “She is talking about ‘school,’ remember ‘school’ baby?”
Asriel nodded. “School! I know school!” He cheered, a little too loudly for Toriel’s and Carol’s taste, but neither tried to curb his enthusiasm.
“Well, my little December here will be starting at the same time as you.” Carol gestured towards Dess, who was hiding behind her, not wanting to engage with these strangers. “Dess, at least say hi to Ms. Toriel. She’ll be your teacher, starting in August.”
“I don’t want to go to school! I’m already smart!” Dess stamped her foot on the ground. She turned to face Asriel, and her scornful gaze made Asriel sad for some reason. “Hmph!”
Carol sighed and patted Dess’s shoulder. “I know, dear. Come now, let’s get moving. Sorry about that, Toriel. She won’t give you this much trouble in class.”
Toriel shook her head. “Compared to the trouble I expect this one to give me…” She gestured towards Asriel quietly, unbeknownst to him. “…I am not all that worried about it.” The women shared a short laugh once again before Carol and Dess departed. She turned to face Asriel once again. “Now, Mommy has to do a little bit of practice with the choir. Would you like to join us for a listen?” His cheerful nods melted her heart, and they walked hand-in-hand towards the practice room. A thought crossed her mind. “…Just make sure you stay quiet, dear. We can practice together at home.”
Surprisingly, Asriel managed to stay quiet during the whole practice. Once mother and son returned home, they practiced together- rather, Asriel sung and Toriel tried her best to help him develop his skills. “Well… This town was not built in a day…” Toriel thought as she nursed her aching ears, sore from Asriel’s dissonant attempts at singing. “Very good, sweetie! You will be ready to join the choir in no time!” Her reassuring voice was all Asriel needed to stay motivated.
…
Summers in Home Town were always blistering hot, but for most monsters, this was no issue. In general, only the monsters whose anatomy greatly involved ice or snow ever struggled with the heat. Even monsters with thick fur coats like the Dreemurrs were comfortable in the heat. However, the Holidays were an exception. “Can I go swimming, Mommy?” December asked while fanning herself. Reindeer monsters like the Holidays hailed from the extreme cold and often found it difficult to cool off during the heat due to their fur- so Dess tried to find different ways to beat the heat.
“No, dear.” Carol said flatly. “There are no pools in this town, anyhow. We can all go to the lake together, once Noelle grows a little bit bigger.” The two walked hand-in-hand back to their house, but Dess stomped her foot, trying to drag her mother to a halt. “What is it, December?”
“I wanna swim! It’s hot outside!” She was on the verge of tears, trying her best to seem mature and not throw a tantrum, but the heat really was bothering her.
Carol rubbed her temple with her free hand. “December, sweetie… How about you play indoors today? You and the babysitter can draw pictures together.” She felt her patience waning. “…Make sure that you don’t give her any attitude, like you’re giving me.”
Dess frowned and huffed. “I don’t wanna play with her, she smells bad.”
Carol’s scowl deepened. “You must not talk about other people that way, December. She’s a wonderful babysitter, and she’s helping Mommy and Daddy a lot by taking care of you and Noelle.”
“Why can’t I just take care of Noelle? I’m old enough to-”
“Not another word.” Carol cut Dess off sharply. “If you don’t want to play with the babysitter, you can just NOT play at all. Does that sound like fun?”
Dess felt a pang of fear at her mother’s raised voice, and struggled to not burst into tears. “…No…”
Carol’s stern voice softened ever so slightly. “…That’s better.” The pair approached the gate leading to their house, Carol remotely opening it. “Alright, now, sweetie. Play nice- and try to spend some time with your little sister. If you get hungry, the babysitter will whip something up for you. Your father will be home in…” She looked at her watch. “Three hours.”
She looked down to see Dess still pouting, and she knelt down to get closer to her. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Mommy wishes she could stay home with you and Noelle, but…” She let out an exhausted sigh. She wrapped her arms around Dess, pulling her in for a hug. “Mommy will see you around dinner time, okay? Do try and have fun today.”
“Fun.” The word was sort of funny in and of itself for Dess. How could she have fun? She was practically a prisoner in her own home, not allowed to go outside when Mom didn’t want her to, not able to play with Noelle cause she’s too little, not able to play with Mom or Dad because they were always gone for so long. Dess did not want to make do playing with the babysitter, even if she said she would just to appease her mother. She wanted to run around, to shout and jump up and down. She wanted to feel excited- or more precisely, she wanted to stop feeling so bored. Church, school, public appearance, nobody being there for her, everything in December’s 5 years of living seemed to point towards the fact that fun was a crime. Lying down on the sofa, Dess stared up at the ceiling and wondered how she could have fun right now. “Urk…” She grumbled as she pictured the boy she had met earlier that day. “HE looked like he was having fun…”
…
The school year was right around the corner, and Asriel, for one, was excited. He didn’t have a complete grasp as to what he’d even be doing, but the fact that he was getting to start something made him feel overjoyed. The night before classes began, Toriel and Asgore were worried that Asriel might be too excited to fall asleep, but he wound up crashing due to having spent all his excitement earlier in the day.
The next morning was as perfect as a family could hope their child’s first day of school to be. Everyone was dressed on time, Asriel did not make a mess during breakfast, and they were out the door with plenty of time to spare before class started. “Daddy, you’ww coming too? I thought you had to save the ciddy!” Asriel was walking hand-in-hand with both of his parents. It took some convincing for Toriel not to just drive them all, but Asgore wanted this moment to be special.
“Haha, that’s right, kiddo. I’ll be going to save the city right after you get to school.” There was a slight quavering in his voice, and his emotions were shining through his calm exterior. Toriel rested her eyes while walking, taking in the moment of pure bliss between the Dreemurrs.
“Aww, so you’ll be gone all day…” Asriel’s disappointed voice almost made Asgore crack, but he held strong.
“Yo, fluffybuns! Fancy meeting you here!” Asgore turned to see Rudy, his partner on the police force, walking his own kid to school.
Asriel turned to see that both Rudy and Asgore were wearing a police uniform. “Hey! Dat’s my dad’s costume!” He barked defensively, not realizing that it was standard for police to wear it.
“It’s called a police uniform!” December, who was just hiding behind Rudy, poked her head out to shout at Asriel. Something about Asriel’s apparent lack of knowledge deeply irked Dess. However, no matter how irritated she might seem, Asriel was completely oblivious.
Asriel recognized that snarky voice that spoke down to him, even if he didn't understand that part yet. “Hi! I wemember you!” Asriel waved energetically towards Dess, who in turn gave him the cold shoulder.
“Oh, and you must be little Asriel!” Rudy said cheerfully. They had crossed the street to meet the Dreemurrs at this point, despite Dess’s protesting.
“You know me?” Asriel frowned as he tried to remember a time when he had met a tall, antlered monster. He narrowed his eyes as he pictured Carol, who he also remembered being with the shorter reindeer. “Hmm… No, that's definitely not the lady from before…”
“Asriel, this is Rudy. This is Daddy’s partner, we fight crime together. You've met him, when you were just a baby, but you probably wouldn't remember that.” Asgore picked up Asriel, letting him sit on his strong arms for a moment.
Asriel’s eyes lit up, overjoyed to meet yet another hero like his father. “Fahaha, how adorable! And I see you’ve already met Dess here!” Rudy said as he put his hand on Dess’s shoulder. “Come on, don’t be shy.”
“I’m not shy! I wanna go home! I’ll babysit Noelle, I won’t throw any fits, so please, Papa!” Dess was on the verge of tears as she threw a fit- exactly like she had just said she would not.
Rudy excused himself and December as they went somewhere more private to talk. “Why’s she so sad?” Asriel wondered. “Mommy, Daddy, can I go cheer her up?”
Toriel smiled softly. “…Not now, dear. You will get to talk with her later, if you want.”
Asgore chuckled. “That one’s real shy. I hope you two can get along, in...” He said, stroking his golden beard in contemplation. Asgore then got onto his knees. “…In class.” He let a heavy sigh out as words that he was ultimately unprepared to say bubbled up in his throat. “Asriel, buddy, I’ll miss you. When we all get home tonight, let’s go to QC’s, okay?”
The realization that Asgore was saying goodbye in a sadder way than normal struck Asriel all at once. “Wh- but…” He looked from father to mother and back. He didn’t know why he was tearing up, but when Asgore and Toriel wrapped their fluffy arms around him, he started full-on bawling.
…
Asriel was still wiping his eyes when Toriel led them both into the school. “Hoho? And who’s this little feller here?” Asriel heard an old man’s voice calling out to him and Toriel, accompanied by the 'clacking' sound of a walking cane.
“This is my son, Asriel.” She was still holding Asriel’s hand, and Asriel was still shaken up from crying, but he managed to look at the man speaking to them. “Asriel, this is Mr. Boom. He will be your teacher one day.”
The turtle monster stroked his beard. “Well, I sure hope so! I’m not ready to croak just yet, and retirin’ just ain’t in my nature!” He let out a hearty ‘Gyahaha!’ which startled Asriel a little bit, but made him smile nonetheless.
“Hi… My name is Aswiel D… Dweemurr.” Asriel sniffled between his words, still regaining his composure.
“My, you look just like your mother. I’ll bet he’ll do well in school, just like she did too!” He gave a knowing wink to Toriel, who blushed in embarrassment. “Wouldja believe that, back in the day, I was her teacher?”
Asriel’s eyes widened. “Wooow, you’ve been a teacher for…” Asriel began counting on his fingers before realizing that he had nowhere near enough fingers to cover that much time- and he wasn’t exactly sure how old his mother was. “100 years!” Toriel grimaced at his math, and Gerson let out another hearty chuckle.
“Yup! Right on the money!” Gerson affectionally ruffled Asriel’s hair, making him giggle and forget all about the sadness and worry he was just feeling. “Well, now, I should be going. We don’t want the principal on our rears, now, do we?”
“You were the one holding us up, Mr. Boom.” Toriel said with narrowed eyes. Gerson just laughed again, and waved them goodbye.
“He’s a teacher?” Asriel whispered to his mother, and Toriel nodded.
"He is, indeed, and he is the best teacher you could ever hope for. Why, I remember when..." Toriel's voice trailed off, sounding nostalgic. "...Well, I can tell you the story after school, if you would like, dear. We really should be getting to class now." Asriel, now cheered up from his initial sadness, eagerly nodded.
…
The Kindergarten class started trickling in, parents coming in with their own kid, before giving them a tearful goodbye. “Hi Wudy!” Asriel waved at Rudy as he walked into the classroom, December in tow. Rudy waved back to Asriel and gave Toriel cheerful smile before departing.
There were only six students in the class, including Asriel and December. Asriel watched as a blue monster with floppy rabbit ears, a brownish monster who sort of looked like a cat, a purple-furred cat monster who really looked like a cat, and a green alligator monster with blonde hair all took their seats around Asriel.
However, Asriel's mind was not as focused on the other, seemingly overjoyed students who surrounded him. His mind was, instead, on Dess, who Asriel realized was a close friend of the family. “Hi, were you cwying? Me too!” He whispered to Dess, who was seated to his right. “Huh?”
Dess’s eyes were a familiar shade of red to Asriel’s- any time he had a crying fit- and her scowl made his heart flutter. She scoffed and turned away from the goat monster, trying to ignore him as she focused on Toriel instead. However, for the rest of the class, even when he was preoccupied making friends with the students around him, his mind lingered on the mean girl right beside him.