From my list of Undertale Tickle Prompts on my Deviantart page. Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. I own nothing.
Prompt 2: Tears Are Okay
(Undyne and Frisk; platonic pairing)
Undyne was in her room, tears falling down her face as she looked at a picture of one of her fellow police officers and dear friend. He had gotten gravely injured in the line of duty and unfortunately hadn't made it out of the surgery. His death hit all of the policemen and women hard as he had been with them for almost six years. Undyne felt a lump fill her throat and she couldn't help the tears falling down her face.
"Well, partner, you did your job well," she said softly. "But it's going to be hard without you."
She then thought about her partner's wife and newborn twins. Her partner had been so proud to be a new father. But now, he'd never be able to hold his kids again, nor would they ever be able to see him and hug him.
Again feeling tears spring to her eyes, Undyne lay on her bed, trying to keep her sobbing down, but that was hard. She knew another co-worker was delivering the sad news to the her partner's widow and her heart ached. Her partner and his wife had only been married a year ago and had just celebrated their anniversary. More tears fell uncontrollably from the fish woman's eyes.
Frisk, who was outside Undyne's door, softly knocked. "Aunty Undyne? Can I come in?" She asked.
She heard sobbing and gently pushed the door open, finding her aunt laying on the bed and crying rather harshly. Closing the door, she went up to the bed and climbed up on it, gently touching Undyne's arm.
Feeling the gentle touch, the fish woman opened her eyes to find her niece beside her and looking worried about her. She smiled gently. "I'm okay, punk," she said softly before holding up the picture of her partner. "Well, maybe not totally okay."
Frisk looked at the picture and recognized it right away and put two-and-two together. "Did he get hurt?" She asked.
Undyne nodded. "And he didn't make it," she said softly, more tears falling down her face and she tried to wipe them away. "Ugh. I normally don't cry but...he was more than just my partner. He was one of my best friends."
The young girl lay down beside her aunt, snuggling into her as a blue arm gently came around her. "Aunty, tears are okay," the child said softly. "It's okay to cry."
Those words made the waterworks flow and Undyne cried even harder, and Frisk was crying too before after about half-an-hour of crying, the fish woman just lay on her bed as the brown-haired child hugged her. "I'm sorry, Aunty Undyne," she said softly.
"Thanks, punk," she heard her aunt say softly before she heard her phone ring and she answered it. "Hello?"
"Undyne?" Came the all-too-familiar voice of her partner's widow.
"Claire," she said, sitting up. "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright," the widow said. "Can...Can you tell me what happened?"
Undyne's heart ached, but she knew her friend had to hear the truth. "We were taking down a counterfeiting ring," she said. "Your husband found where they were hiding at and we all went there, but I guess the criminals were expecting us. I got the door open and went in when I heard guns cocking and your husband pushed me down just as the guns fired. When I looked back and saw he was wounded, I stayed with him until the paramedics got there and I went with them in the ambulance, but...he died on the way to the hospital."
Claire had tears in her eyes and it was obvious through the phone. "He was going to take me and the babies to the beach this weekend," she said softly.
The fish woman felt tears sting her eyes. "Claire, your husband did ask me to do a couple things as we were in the ambulance," she said. "He asked me to tell you that he loved you and the twins very much and you three were his most valuable treasures."
The widow sniffled. "Thank you," she said.
"Also, if you and the twins need anything, my family and I are here for you guys, no matter what," Undyne continued. "You run into any kind of trouble or need help, just call. Any time of day or night."
Claire sniffled again. "Thank you, Undyne," she said. "My husband couldn't have had a better partner to work with and serve the city with."
That touched the warrior's heart. "Thanks, Claire," she said softly before Claire gently ended the call and Undyne hung up the phone, tears falling down her face again. "It's going to be hard without him."
"Aunty Undyne, could we all attend...the funeral?" Frisk asked.
She smiled a little. "If you and the others want to, yeah," she said.
The child gave a small smile. "I liked him as an uncle," she said, recalling when her aunt's police partner had come to her birthday parties or to the house to visit them all for holidays or just because, and when he had been dating his wife before they got married, he brought her with him and she had equally become fast friends with the monsters and they were very close. "What's Aunty Claire going to do?"
"Well, grieve and do what she can," Undyne said before sighing. "He'd still be alive if he hadn't jumped in to push me out of the way."
"But then you might have gotten hurt, Aunty Undyne," Frisk pointed out. "He cared about you and was thinking about you when he saved you."
"That's true and I'm grateful for that," the fish woman said. "But...he paid the ultimate price for it."
"You would have done the same for him though, right?" The child asked. "That's what friends do and I bet he's up in Heaven right now and has no regrets and he wouldn't want you to have regrets either."
Undyne looked at the ten-year-old child. "When did my little fighter niece get to be so smart?" She asked, a playful smile making it to her face before she caught Frisk in a hug and tickled her stomach, making her niece laugh and giggle before letting her up. "But you're right, punk. He wouldn't want me to feel guilty about his death. So, I won't, and I'll never forget him, no matter who I'm partnered up with."
Frisk smiled and hugged her aunt, who hugged her back, standing up and holding her niece in a gentle hold and rocking gently, which seemed to help them both. "I'll miss him too," Frisk admitted.
"We all will," Undyne admitted. "He was a brave man and one of the best humans I had the pleasure of being friends with."
They were quiet for a bit before the fish woman looked at her. "And Frisk? Thanks for helping me realize it's okay to cry," she said. "I don't like crying, but...I couldn't keep it in."
The child nodded. "It's not good to keep it in anyway," she said. "It only hurts more."
"That's true," Undyne said. "I think I know what they mean with the saying that tears are a part of healing."
A knock came to the door and the fish woman opened it to find Papyrus there and he gave her a sympathetic look before opening his arms out and Undyne immediately went into his embrace, drawing comfort from one of her best friends, which added to the comfort her niece was giving her. "I'm sorry, Undyne," Papyrus said softly. "Are you going to be okay?"
She lifted her head, sniffling, but a small smile was on her face and she nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay," she said. "It'll hurt for a while, but I'll be alright and I won't forget him. In fact, the next criminal I take down will be for my fallen partner."
"That's the Aunty Undyne we know," Frisk said as they all hugged again.
This story is a tribute to all the policemen, policewomen, and police dogs who have fallen in the line of duty while keeping citizens safe. May they never be forgotten.
GoldGuardian2418