Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Hee hee, I'll try that some time. But you're cleaning up the mess," Asriel chuckled. He pushed against the apartment door, putting his key in and twisting. The door unlocked.

Leaning on his shoulder, Dess laughed, after successfully convincing Asriel to make a new recipe. "I'll use you as a rag," she quipped.

They stumbled through the doorway, and Asriel turned around and shut it, locking it and putting on the deadbolt. He set down his stuff on the counter, as did Dess. "I'm gonna get changed," Dess said, leading the way into the bedroom.

"Alright, I'll be there in a sec."

Dess padded over to the bedroom, and grabbed a sweatshirt and some sweatpants from the closet. She quickly dropped her dress and the rest of her clothes, slipping on the sweatshirt and sweatpants. She rubbed her eyes, and smiled.

She turned to leave the bedroom, and passed Asriel on the way out. "I'll be on the couch," she said, as Asriel spun around.

"W- Hey! Dess! Is that... that's my hoodie!" Asriel stared at her, pretending to frown.

Dess smirked. "No, it's mine." She twirled in her green and yellow stripe hoodie and strutted out, leaving Asriel muttering something indistinct. She shook her head, smiling, and went to the kitchen, standing on the tips of her hooves to grab a bottle of wine from the cabinet. She turned it around, reading the label, nodding to herself as she shut the cabinet door and plopped onto the couch.

A few seconds later, Asriel too was in comfortable clothes, and he plopped down next to Dess. He looked over as Dess popped open the wine, and took a swig. "No glasses?" He asked.

"Nah. No need."

Asriel shrugged. He took the bottle and had a gulp as well. "Huh. It tastes... minty?"

"Oh, that's just my spit. Sorry." Dess chuckled.

"Eww...!" Asriel took his shirt, and wiped the mouth of the bottle, before taking another drink from it.

Dess raised an eyebrow. "Dude. How is that weird to you? Do you realize the shit we've done to each other?" Asriel paused, and blushed.

"Fair enough..." he laughed, handing the bottle back to her. He leaned forward, grunting, as he grabbed the remote to the TV and pressed the power button. He pressed the smart TV menu option, and begrudgingly waited for the menu to appear.

Dess snickered as he painstakingly navigated the menus, struggling with the delay between options. He finally selected DeltaTube, and stared at the recommended screen. Dess perked up, and pointed at the screen. "Azzy. Azzy."

"What?"

"The, click on the top one. The top right. About the math stuff?"

"Didn't know you liked math." Asriel nodded in approval.

"I like the visuals. Makes me feel smart."

"Alright." He selected the video, and they sunk into the couch, letting the video serve as background noise. Asriel shuffled around, as Dess tried to cuddle him, eventually tangling themselves around each other's legs. They sighed, and gave up on finding a perfect position.

"So," Dess said, scratching Asriel's ears. "Quite the anniversary, huh?"

Asriel looked at her, smiling. "Yeah. It was a long night."

"You... liked it, right?"

"What? Oh... of course I did. It was lovely being with you." His left ear twitched as she scratched underneath, causing him to lean back into her. "I'm really glad we've ended up like this."

"No shit?" Dess smirked, although she was a bit confused.

"I mean, like, things could've gone very differently. I'm very happy with how we are right now. On the couch of our own apartment. Stable jobs. Married to the love of my life."

"Awww," Dess interrupted, blushing.

"Hee hee. But seriously, our biggest problem as of late was the AC going out. But now that it's cold, it doesn't even matter. I'm so lucky to have you. You're so funny, awesome, pretty, strong..." he gushed, on and on, until Dess had to stop scratching his ears and grab them.

They both giggled, leaning into each other. Dess reached for the bottle again, downing a good amount of it, licking her lips. She put it up to Asriel's mouth, and let him guzzle some. She put it back down on the table, before allowing Asriel to curl up closer to her.

Dess thought for a moment. She coughed, and asked, "How many kids you wanna have?"

"W-woah! That's, a, uh, loaded question..." Asriel stammered.

"Fine. You wanna have kids?"

"Yes! Uh, yes. I do. Do you?"

"Yup. So. How many kids do you wanna have?" Dess put a hand on her chin, looking intently at him.

Flustered, he replied, "I... well, right now, we could probably support, like, one kid? Give it a year or two, maybe another?" he scratched the back of his neck. He shook his head, and more confidently, said, "A number comes to mind, and that's two. I think two." He nodded. "What do you think?"

She nodded along, mostly in agreement. "Sounds good. I want four."

"Oh, um... maybe, we could do three? At most?"

"Perfect." Dess pecked him on the lips, grinning wide, and leaned back in the couch, watching the TV. "When do you think you'd be ready?"

"Huh. Well, maybe soon. I feel pretty stable at my current job. I assume you are as well?" She nodded. "Great, well, then I don't think there's anything in particular stopping us right now."

"We do need to start planning shit," Dess pointed out.

"Of course, but we could get started right now."

Dess smirked. "With the planning, or the baby-making?" She placed a hand on his thigh, purposefully making him shiver.

Asriel leaned forward, and grabbed the remote. He paused the video, and turned to meet Dess' gaze. She raised an eyebrow, as neither of them said a word. Once she was off-guard, Asriel lunged forward, pinning her to the couch and laying on top of her.

Her eyes opened wide, as did his, as they stared at each other for a moment, only inches away. Asriel smirked. "Why not both?"

"Nice." Dess chuckled. "You're getting pretty good at this stuff, huh?"

Asriel blushed, and giggled. "T-thanks..."

"Gotcha." Dess pushed him off, and got on top of him instead, causing him to laugh. They both chuckled, before Dess put her hand under his chin, pressing her lips against his in a kiss.

He wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her closer, before Dess gently broke off the kiss. "I love you," she whispered.

He kissed her once. "I love you too," he murmured, before they pulled each other back in.

Chapter Text

Dess slowly opened her eyes, squinting as the sunlight blasted her. She slowly lifted her head. She had fallen asleep on top of Asriel, who was still out cold. She smiled, gently playing with a tuft of fur beneath his neck.

He murmured in his sleep, so she stopped, opting to lay her head back down, gently taking his hand from behind his head and holding it. She sighed as his chest rose and fell beneath her, nearly putting her back to sleep.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Suddenly, a knock at the door. Asriel squirmed, but luckily stayed asleep, as Dess got off of him, and stood up next to the couch, rubbing her hooves into the carpet. She patted down her clothes, and kissed Asriel on the forehead, before going past the kitchenette, to the door, and opening it.

She leaned around the door, and waved. "Hey, Kris! What's going on?"

Kris nodded, and stepped inside. They were holding a box. "Howdy, Dess. I need your help. Nice sweatshirt."

"Uh, sure, I can help. Huh?" She added, looking down at her sweatshirt. She smirked, remembering how she grabbed this sweatshirt straight from Asriel's part of the closet. She looked back up, and nodded.

"I need you to watch this." They placed down the box on the floor.

"Huh? What is it?"

"It's Noelle's pet rat," they explained, opening the lid of the box.

Dess screamed, jumping back. "Wh- a... a RAT?!"

Hearing the scream, Asriel scrambled off the couch, and ran over. Panicked, he looked at the two, asking, "What? Is everything okay?!"

Kris dug their fist into the box, grabbing the rat and showing it off. It was a gray rat, with a long white tail and a green bow on its ear. "Noelle asked me to watch it. But something came up." They held it out to Asriel, who nervously took it. The rat squeaked as Asriel held it tight, but not too tight.

"What came up?" Dess asked, suspicious.

"Nunya."

"What's that?"

"None ya business. Thanks for taking care of it. Here's the bag of food..." they handed a small bag of seeds and nuts to Dess. "Feed it in an hour, and for lunch. Noelle will get it after that. And give it water whenever. Bye."

Before either Asriel or Dess could say anything, Kris ran out of the door, and slammed it behind them. They looked at each other, stunned, as the rat squirmed between Asriel's paws.

"What..." Dess stammered. "What do we do?"

"I..." Asriel was confused as well. After thinking, he said, "Kris said we need to feed it in an hour... maybe we can make it an enclosure?" Dess nodded, and as Asriel pet the rat with his one hand, holding it with the other, Dess searched for a box. 

She found an empty shipping box, and tore off the top. She grabbed some rags, and placed them on the bottom, and Asriel placed the rat in it. They set down the box, and stepped back, observing it for a few moments. It scurried around, sniffing the walls of the box. 

Asriel nervously approached, and picked up the box, moving it to the table next to the couch. They both sat down, looking at the rodent with interest. "Y'know, Dess. This could be good practice."

"Huh?" She looked at him with interest.

"Well, let's see if we can take care of this rat. If we can, then we can keep thinking about the whole kids thing. Right?"

"Hm. Fair enough." Dess pondered for a moment, before leaning back and kicking her feet up on the table. To Asriel's horror, while putting her foot up, she accidentally kicked the box, sending the rat flying. It landed on the floor, scampering in circles before pausing. "Oh shit," she muttered, as the rat scurried underneath the couch, squeaking the whole time.

"Crap!" Asriel shrieked, jumping up. "I'll, uh, look for it. Quick, close all the doors. We need to keep it-" he grunted as he got down to the floor, looking under the couch. "We need, ugh, to keep it contained."

"Alright," Dess said, running to the hallway and closing all of the doors. She checked for any more doors, and out of an abundance of caution, turned off the heater.

Asriel swept his hand underneath the carpet as he peered underneath, eventually coming to his feet, defeated. "The rat isn't there."

Dess smacked her forehead, and muttered, "Shit. I'm sorry. Maybe... maybe we could put food out? And it will come out for it?"

Asriel nodded his head and pointed his finger. "Good idea." He grabbed the bag of nuts and seeds, putting a handful on the floor in the middle of the room. While he did this, Dess snuck towards the kitchen, getting close to the floor and checking under the chairs and the table.

She looked underneath the countertop, and saw the rat, hiding in the corner. She slowly approached, before lunging for it, missing it. The rat sprinted away, and Dess hollered, "It's here! Get it!"

Asriel looked up, and ran over, seeing the rat run through the open area. He also jumped for it, landing on his chest, his hands reaching for the rat. He also missed. The rat climbed onto his back, squeaking with glee.

Dess scrambled to her feet, and seeing the creature on her husband, she growled, and leaped for it, landing on Asriel's back. He let out an "oof", as the rat barely avoided her hands, running onto his head and then jumping down to the floor. They both grunted as they got up to their feet, trying to run after the rat.

The rat dodged them again, weaving in between the legs of the furniture next to the doorway. It slipped on the hardwood for a moment, before regaining its footing and making for the center of the room, at the huge pile of food.

Dess stuck out her arm, stopping Asriel from running. "Shh. See if it eats it."

The rat looked around, and dove for the food, eating it loudly, letting out a few squeaks. The green bow shook as its head vibrated. Dess carefully stalked closer, careful not to make any noise. She slowly took off the sweatshirt, holding it in front of her, before quickly throwing it on top of the rat and pinning it.

The rat squealed a bit, before Dess grabbed it through the sweatshirt, putting her hand underneath to grab it properly. She stepped back, holding up the rodent like a trophy. She turned around proudly, grinning at Asriel.

Asriel stood, mouth agape. "Y-you..."

"Yup. Got it." She smirked, before placing the rat back in its box, and carefully placing the box back on the table. "What?" She asked, noticing Asriel's stare. He was blushing. "Oh," she chuckled, realizing she hadn't been wearing anything underneath the sweatshirt. She grabbed the sweatshirt, and shook it off, before slipping it back over her head and shuffling into it. 

She smirked at him, as he gulped. "Sorry, Dess, I... uh..." he stammered, before shaking his head. "No. I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting that. You're very, uh, beautiful." He smiled.

She grinned, leaning on her hip. "Yup, I know." Dess turned to the rat, watching it as she leaped back onto the couch. "Anyway. I was gonna shower now, but I'm not gonna shower till we get rid of this damn rat."

"Okay. I'll shower then too." Asriel nodded as he sat next to her.

"Hey," she laughed. "You just want to shower with me, huh. Freak."

"Yeah? I do?" He asked, confused. She sighed, laughing to herself. He checked his phone, and pointed out, "Hey. We should probably feed it now." He stood up, and took two paper plates from the kitchen. One, he filled with water. The second, he filled with a few handfuls of the mix still on the floor.

He placed the bowls in the box, watching as the rat enthusiastically began eating. He walked away to vacuum the mess, as Dess watched the rodent carefully. "Thanks," she hollered over the vacuum.

After a few minutes, the rat was finished eating, and it curled up in some of the rags and fell asleep. "Damn," Dess muttered.

"What?"

"It already fell asleep. Noelle will be here in what, an hour or two?"

"Yeah." Asriel looked over from the kitchen. He was wiping down the countertop. "Why, you wanna have lunch now?"

Dess stood up. "Sure." She turned to the box, and pointed at it, muttering, "If you move an INCH, I'll kill you." She walked away, sitting down on a stool at the counter where Asriel was waiting.

"Not a great start to the pet sitting, huh?" Asriel chuckled.

"Hey! We got it under control... and childcare is filled with surprises. We'll have to deal with stuff like that all the time."

"Hm. Fair enough," he replied, turning around to the cabinets. "For dinner, you were gonna make that stew, right?"

"Beef stew." She nodded.

Asriel thought for a moment. "I'm not starving yet, so I'll make something. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, can you make, like, grilled cheese?" She asked, putting her elbows on the counter, gazing at him. "I haven't had that in a while."

"Sure," he replied, turning to the fridge. He took out the cheese and butter, and from the cabinet, the bread. Dess watched on as he navigated the kitchen with ease. Although she would typically cook the more... advanced meals, Asriel was very good at some forms of cooking.

A few minutes later, Asriel flipped the sandwiches one last time, throwing them onto plates and placing one in front of his wife. She thanked him, and they both took a bite, eating in silence, the only sound in the room being the heater bubbling and the crunch of the bread.

Dess popped the last of her sandwich in her mouth, wiping her fingers off with a napkin before looking up at Asriel, who was still only halfway done. She picked up a crumb from her plate, and flicked it at him, laughing as it hit him on the nose. He scowled, but chuckled as he continued eating.

Dess checked her phone, seeing a new text from Noelle pop up. "Azzy?" Asriel looked up. "Elly will be here in a few minutes to pick up the rat." He wiped his mouth and cleared the plates, nodding.

"Alright, let's check on the little freak." Asriel walked over to the box, peering inside. He froze, stammering, "D-Dess? I-It's not in h-here..."

Dess screamed, and sprinted over, leaning over the table to check the box. "Th-there's no way..." she stammered, as she pushed the rags aside, frantically searching. As she panicked, Asriel grinned, holding the rat right behind her, waiting.

She turned around, and to her shock, saw the rat staring her down, only a few inches away from her. She screamed, and stumbled back, as Asriel doubled over in laughter. Asriel carefully placed the rat back in the box, between snorts, as Dess scowled. She shoved him to the couch, failing to stop his laughing.

"Dreemurr, I swear to the angel, I'll get you for this," she muttered.

"Hee hee, I gotcha back," he laughed.

She frowned, and crossed her arms. "You know, Azzy," she said, placing her hand on his sternum, firmly pinning him. "If you weren't so damn cute, I'd kill you right now."

Asriel squirmed, as she approached him. "S-sorry, I thought it was funny," he stammered, only causing her to laugh. She growled as she got closer, causing him to quiver.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Three sharp knocks came from the door, saving Asriel from his doom. Dess smirked, and retreated, walking up to the door. She opened it. Noelle was standing outside, waiting.

"Hi, Dess!" she said, wrapping her in a hug.

"Hey, Elly," Dess replied, hugging her tight. "We have your rat here," she said, scowling at Asriel, who was now carefully taking the rat out of the box. Noelle's eyes darted past Dess’s shoulder, curious.

Asriel walked over, carrying the rodent, before handing it to Noelle. "Hi Noelle," he said.

"Hi Azzy," she replied, gently taking the rat. "Hi Marshmallow! How was it with Uncle Azzy and Aunt Dess?" she cooed. She pet the rat slowly, and it ran onto her shoulder. "Was he well behaved?"

Asriel snickered, but Dess replied, "Very well behaved. We fed and watered him once. Yeah."

"Great! I'm gonna have a conversation with Kris about all... this, but I appreciate you two helping out."

"Of course," Asriel replied. "It was our pleasure."

"Well, bye you two!" Noelle said, turning around and waving goodbye.

"Bye," Asriel and Dess replied.

Dess closed the door once she left, locked it, and turned to Asriel. "After touching that rat... I need a shower. Ugh," she muttered.

Asriel perked up, hopping a bit on his feet. "Oh! Uh, same!"

Dess turned and cocked and eyebrow, failing to hide her smile. "Fine, Dreemurr. Come on." Asriel enthusiastically followed.

Chapter Text

"Azzy..! Yo!" Dess hollered from across the house. Asriel pushed his chair out from the desk, where he was hard at work with taxes... or something adult-like. "Azzy? Get out here!"

Asriel jogged out to the living room, where Dess was standing, hands against the windows, in awe. "What is it?" He asked, approaching.

"Dude. It's fucking snowing. FINALLY!" She turned around, jumping with joy. "I was taking a nap, we're getting so much snow!" Asriel walked around her, looking through the window. The entire street was covered in a sheet of snow, maybe a few inches. Enough to shut down any plans for the day. The trees were bending in the breeze, and there was not an animal in sight.

He gazed into the snow, at the smooth flowing waves of snow over the land. "Wow," he muttered. "When did it start?" he asked, turning around to look at her.

She shrugged, still looking outside. "Like I said, I was napping." She pondered something, before turning to meet his eyes, grinning. "Dude. Go finish your taxes. We have so much cool shit to do." Dess was practically jumping with joy, rattling off her ideas. "First, we have hot chocolate. Then, we make a fire in the fireplace, and watch a movie, and, and..."

"Woah. Dess, deer." He put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them. "One thing at a time, right?"

"You're right..." she said, sighing. Asriel lowered his hands. "Wait, hold on." She turned back. "Dear? Why have you been calling me that?"

Asriel feigned being offended. "I've been calling you that for years now?"

"Right. The eighties called, they want you back."

"You... you do realize... it's a joke, right?" Asriel asked, as if common knowledge. Dess raised an eyebrow. "Oh. My. An-gel. Dess, I've been saying d-e-e-r. But like d-e-a-r. It's a play on words?"

Dess' jaw dropped. "Dude. Dude." She paused for a long moment, slowly smiling. She began to laugh hysterically. "Fahahaha! How did I... fahaha... not notice?" She leaned on Asriel's shoulder, holding herself up with her hands. "That is the... fahaha... funniest shit..."

"Hee hee." Asriel chuckled, shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm gonna finish a few forms. Give me maybe ten minutes. Maybe you can make the hot chocolate while I'm doing that?"

"Alright," she replied, still snickering, trotting away towards the kitchen. Asriel sat back down at his desk, quickly finishing up the forms.

Asriel gently slammed his laptop shut, glad to finally be done with his work. He stood up, and put his arms up to stretch, groaning as the dizziness faded. He stepped back out to the main area, turning to see Dess stirring a pot.

He stepped behind her, giving her a hug. "I finished the stuff," he muttered, leaning his chin on her shoulder. "Are you almost done with the hot chocolate...?" he begged.

"Not yet," she laughed. "Go build a fire. We can sit in front of it, drink the hot chocolate, then kiss if it's good enough. How about that?"

Asriel grinned. Dess chuckled as he rushed to the fireplace, methodically setting up the logs and twigs perfectly. "This fire," he yelled, "will be PERFECT!" He grabbed a match, and after breaking two while trying to light it, he lit the match, and carefully lit a ball of newspaper. He placed that under the twigs, quickly setting them ablaze.

He placed the metal barrier in front of it, and scooted backwards, smiling. A moment later, Dess approached, bending down to hand him the hot chocolate. "There you go." She looked at the fire, which was now fiercely burning, loud crackles and heat filling the room. "I see I motivated you pretty well," she teased.

"Yup!" Asriel took a sip of the hot chocolate, quickly yelping as it burned his tongue. "Oop, too hot," he muttered. He looked at the mug. It was a gift, from Kris, for their wedding. It was solid black ceramic, with big, white, bold text saying "Liberal tears". He snorted, taking a whiff of the drink inside.

"How is it, though?" Dess asked, sipping her drink. "I read online that I should add cinnamon."

He took another sniff. He nodded. "Good idea." He blew on the top, and took another sip, as it was now slightly cooler. He gulped, enjoying the sensation. "It's very nice."

Dess scooted next to him, sitting side by side with him. She leaned her head to the side, resting it on his shoulder. They sat there, slowly drinking the hot chocolate, for a few minutes, silently watching the fire. Slowly, the log in the center, which was right over the middle of the flame, began to burn through, eventually snapping in half and collapsing, stoking the flames.

The noise shook Asriel out of his trance, and he took one last gulp of the cocoa. He licked his lips, setting the mug down on the marble in front of the fireplace. He gently leaned forward, staring into the fire.

Dess lifted up her head, and she turned to look at him. "What's so interesting about the fire?"

"A lot," he muttered. "I... can't put it into words."

"I feel you. I love fire. People always call me weird for that." Dess snorted.

"It is weird, though. We're both weird."

"True." She snickered. She took one last gulp of the hot chocolate, placing her mug next to Asriel's and turning to look at him. "You know I love how weird you are."

Asriel blushed. "Th... thanks. I love how weird you are too." They both chuckled.

Dess stood up, and pulled Asriel up with her. "Let's watch a movie now." They trotted over to the couch, throwing themselves onto it.

She grabbed the remote, turning on some random movie on the front page. Asriel leaned into her, and she pulled him in, petting the fluff above his head. He grumbled as they sunk into the couch together.

After a couple of minutes, Dess looked down at Asriel. He was staring at the movie, the lights flickering off of his eyes. "You look really cute right now," she murmured, kissing him on the head. He jumped a bit, looking up at her.

He smiled, his cheeks slightly red. They both readjusted, pulling each other in. She felt his fur brush against her slightly shorter, firmer fur, and while watching, she resumed scratching him.

He eventually turned to look at her, looking deep into her eyes, as if they were sparkling. He lowered his hands, pulling her closer to him. She smiled, putting her hands on the back of his head, leaning in to kiss him.

They softly kissed, making no effort to be precise or orderly. She grabbed a bit of his fur, ruffling it as she leaned into the contact. Asriel gently bit her upper lip, making her murmur something, and encouraging her to do the same.

Dess grumbled, pulling away to kiss him under the chin, slowly going to his neck. He giggled, trying to push her away, even though he didn't want her to stop. She smirked. His hands wandered to her back, gently feeling her, as she kept pecking him on the neck.

She softly kissed him one last time, and pulled away, looking up at him lovingly. They both smiled, leaning back into the couch. Asriel flopped over, laying down on her lap. 

"Tired?" Dess teased. He nodded, nuzzling into her chest. She let him curl up, kissing his forehead. She grabbed the remote, turning on the captions and turning down the volume, resuming her viewing of the movie as she pet him. "Love ya," she said.

"Love you too," he whispered, mumbling into her chest, calm as if nothing else mattered but her.

Chapter Text

HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK!

Asriel murmured and rolled over in bed, his hands going to cover his ears. The repeated honking- probably a car alarm- drilled into his skull. He opened his eyes, to see Dess suffering the same plight.

"Ugh... the hell?" She mumbled, laying on her back and pressing her palms against her ears, the dull noise attacking her. Asriel tumbled out of bed, shuffling over to the window. The sun was only barely up, and the car across the street was flashing and honking.

Just as suddenly as it began, the noise stopped, as the owner rushed to the car. Asriel turned around, and shrugged at Dess, who sighed. She toppled off the bed as well. "I'm up now, I guess. Damn." She sluggishly pulled out her phone, and checked the time. It was 6:03. "Azzy?"

"Yeah?" He replied, turning to look at her.

"It's kinda too late to go back to bed." She shrugged. "You got work at seven, right?"

"I have to leave at seven."

"I have to leave a bit after that. Early shift today." She scratched her head. "Wanna go for a walk? To stay awake."

Asriel smiled. "Sure!" They both went to their closet, and got changed. Dess made sure to tease him for bending down, as per usual.

They approached the front door, and Dess turned the knob and pulled. A cold breeze rushed in, making their fur tingle. "Cheez," Dess said, stepping back. "Definitely hoodie weather out there."

Asriel turned to the hanger, and grabbed two hoodies. One was a red flannel pattern, and one was a solid green with one yellow stripe. Dess grabbed the green hoodie, and threw it on, smirking at him. He chuckled as he slipped the red hoodie on.

They stepped outside together, and shut the door behind them. "Let's go that way," Asriel pointed, suggesting they turn left.

For a few moments, they just walked, as they got into a rhythm.

"What are you thinking about?" Asriel asked, nudging Dess to respond.

"Not much. Just a new album." Asriel looked over in interest, prompting her to continue. "A band I like- the Bar Biters, you know them- they are releasing a new album later."

"Oh, nice. I assume I'll be forced to listen to it?"

"You know you love that music, church boy." Asriel couldn't deny it. He would never dare to sing along, but the tunes themselves were rather catchy.

"I wouldn't mind it." Asriel looked ahead, while putting out his hands, fumbling to grab hers. They interlocked their fingers, gently swinging their arms together as they walked.

When they came to the end of the road, Dess checked her watch. "Let's turn around," she suggested. They turned, and walked on the other side of the road. Asriel slowly breathed, letting the cold wind flow through his fur.

After a few more minutes of walking side by side, Dess spoke up. "My turn," she began. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm," Asriel murmured. "You? Not much else."

"Awwww," Dess laughed, elbowing him. "You really are a dork."

"Well, I mean, what else do you expect from me?" They laughed together as they stepped up onto the porch, opening the door and stepping inside.

Asriel turned to grab his briefcase off of the stool, and turned back around. "I'll see you tonight, right?"

"Yup. I'll be back from work before you." Dess kissed him on the forehead, and he did as well, exchanging giggles. "See ya." Asriel waved as he shut the door behind him.

Dess stepped back, sighing and grinning. She grabbed a book from next to the couch, and laid down, opening it up.

Shivering, Asriel put one foot in front of the other, pushing through the air, which felt like a milkshake against his legs. He slowly lifted up his arm, fumbling with his keychain. Stepping inside, a hot blast of hair hit him, and he leaned into it, stumbling forward.

He looked up, closing the door behind him. Dess sat on a recliner, scribbling something in her notebook while strumming random chords. She looked up, seeing Asriel step inside. She put the guitar down, and rushed over, grabbing him.

"Azzy? You alright?" She grabbed his hands and squeezed them, bringing him to attention. "Jeez, your hands are cold..." she muttered.

Asriel nodded. "I'm okay... it just got really cold all of a sudden. And my car's heater didn't turn on." A powerful chill traveled down his spine. "I'm... fine..."

Dess shook her head, and took his arm, pulling him along. He slowly took a step, then another. He blindly followed her, trusting her to keep him balanced. "Cheez, you look fucked up," she muttered, looking at him with concern in her eyes. She turned down the hallway, quickly escorting him into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, she sat him down in front of the radiator, turning it on full blast. He sighed, slouching a bit, as she turned to the shower. She leaned in, and turned on the shower, making sure it was the right temperature for her Azzy.

A moment later, the room was filling up with steam, the glass walls of the shower turning opaque. Dess walked over to him, and put her hands under his arms, pulling him to his feet. "Strip," she commanded, and Asriel looked at her, blushing.

"O-okay," he nodded, slipping off his socks and fumbling to take off his pants and shirt. Dess did the same, and of course she teased Asriel for looking. Dess guided him into the shower, gently sitting him down on the bench below the water. He sighed, slouching as she massaged his chest, the hot water warming him up.

Asriel reached over to the soap, groaning as he tried to take some. Dess pulled him away, scowling at him. "Azzy. Let me do it. Relax. Please."

He nodded, grumbling as he leaned back more. He felt tingly inside as she carefully lathered him up, first his legs, then his waist, then his chest, then his arms. After peppering him with kisses, she sighed, and began to speak. "Baby. Tell me what's on your mind."

"Uhh..." he murmured, not so sure himself. It took him a moment, but he managed to pin down a fleeting thought. "I guess... I'm thinking about... our future?"

Dess smiled. "Like kids?" She rinsed off her hands, proceeding to carefully rinse him off.

"Heh. I guess so. More of the specifics. Like recipes." He scratched his chin. "I don't know. Things kids would eat. Like... pie?"

"That's just you, doofus."

"It would be 50% me, though."

Dess pretended to groan. "Ugh. Our kids would be geeks!"

"Speaking of which. I was on the banking website yesterday, filling out paperwork. And I opened a college account, for whenever. I got a really good rate. I put some of our savings in it."

"Oh?"

"I also did some budgeting. We're actually really doing well right now. I categorized our spending, and changed it around so that for potential kids-"

"Azzy." Dess turned, putting her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her.

"Yeah?"

She whispered, touching his thigh gently. "Why don't you stop worrying about the potential kids we haven't even had yet, and start putting them in me, goat boy?"

Asriel blushed fiercely. "Wh-what? R-right now?" He looked around the shower, dense steam pressing against him.

Dess chuckled. "Now is the perfect time, dude." She pressed her lips against his, pushing him to the shower wall.

Asriel excitedly smiled. "O-okay!!" Dess grinned, shaking her head in disbelief as they wrapped their arms around each other, energized by thoughts of the future nearing by the day.