"Here's your hot tea," the brunette-haired waitress smiled, setting down a light blue teacup in front of Asgore. In her other hand was a white mug, which she also set down, this time, in front of Toriel. "And here's your coffee." She straightened and smiled politely. "Can I get you anything else?"
"No," Toriel quickly answered, her annoyed gaze focused on Asgore.
"Thank you," Asgore added, giving the waitress a bright smile.
"Let me know if you need anything else!" The chipper server walked to another of her tables, leaving Asgore and Toriel alone. An awkward silence settled. Asgore offered a smile.
Toriel sighed and turned her head to the right, looking out the window at nothing in particular. Why had she agreed to this? Oh yeah, she thought sourly. She'd promised Sans.
It happened a week ago, when Sans had come over to eat dinner at her apartment. She'd made a hamburger and fries for him, knowing it was his favorite meal, and a snail pie for herself. They'd traded phone numbers after the barrier broke and sent text messages to each other regularly. Not long after the monsters left the underground and began living with the humans again, they'd started having dinner once a week.
"Come on," Sans grinned, grabbing a bottle of ketchup and squirting its contents onto his plate. "Don't you miss him even a little?"
"No," she answered, stabbing the pie's perfect surface with her fork. The heat that had been trapped inside rose from the pie as steam.
"How do you know he hasn't changed?" Sans set the ketchup bottle down and grabbed a fry. "Monsters change, you know."
"That doesn't change what he did." Talking about Asgore was making Toriel uncomfortable, so she tried to steer the conversation to something else. "My flowers are finally starting to bloom."
"Don't change the subject." He narrowed his eye sockets. His expression became more serious, but his smile never faded. No matter what, Sans always kept a smile on his face. It was confusing sometimes, but she'd learned to read his expressions despite it. "Look, I promised Papyrus I'd get you to go on a date with Asgore."
"What?" Toriel glared at him. "Why would you do such a thing? I told you why I left. You said you understood."
"I do. I'm not saying you were wrong. But…." Sans lowered his head, staring at his plate and the food on it. "Look, Papyrus promised Undyne he'd ask me to talk to you about it."
"Undyne?" Toriel's anger faded slightly. "The royal guard captain?"
"Former captain," Sans corrected. "But, yes. It wasn't her idea, though. She promised Alphys."
"The scientist?" Toriel sighed and closed her eyes. Was her love life, or lack of, rather, just a joke to everyone?
"Former scientist, but yeah." A moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "It was her idea. She asked Undyne to ask Papyrus to ask me. Normally, I wouldn't care about interfering with someone's personal business, but my brother's been having some bad luck with the ladies. I'm not saying anything will come of it, but if he hears you gave Asgore another chance, maybe it'd cheer him up."
She sighed again and opened her eyes. Sans was looking at her again, his expression oddly solemn. Toriel couldn't recall ever seeing Sans this serious before. She let out a third sigh and grumbled, "Fine."
And that's why she was sitting in a café at a table across from Asgore on a "date". Of all the places to go to, why had he picked this one? Toriel's eyes focused on the reflections in the window of the coffee house they were in. It was called Amour Café, a name that clearly advertised how cheesy it was. The décor was pink and red and full of hearts. All of the customers were lovesick teenagers, save for herself and Asgore. Although, judging by Asgore's expression….
"Lovely day, isn't it?"
His voice distracted her thoughts. Turning away from the window, she reluctantly looked at him again. He looked nervous and unsure, almost like he did the first time they'd met. It was almost like a first date, except their history hung thick in the air like a heavy fog. It wasn't easy to forget, and Toriel didn't want to forget. She stayed silent, watching him. She was bored. They'd ordered a drink but they hadn't had any conversation. The date wasn't going anywhere so far.
Asgore's unsure expression turned to one of fear. He looked down at his teacup, then to the small white container holding colorful packets of sugar. He grabbed a pink one and ripped it open, pouring the tiny white sugar crystals into his tea. They dissolved in the hot liquid. Dropping the empty paper packet, he picked up his spoon and stirred the tea.
It wasn't fair to be this mad. After all, she had agreed to this "date". It wasn't like anyone forced her. "Yes, it is quite nice out."
Asgore looked up from his teacup in surprise. He opened his mouth to respond, but he didn't say anything.
Toriel cracked a smile. For someone who was the king of the monsters (or former king, at least), Asgore was kind of a goofball. He was always so nervous when it came to impressing her, always worrying about saying the right thing, doing the right thing, not messing up as to make her mad. After they got married, he didn't worry so much, but the whole journey up to that point, he had tried his best to court her just perfectly. It made the mistakes he had made special and memorable.
"Do you remember," Toriel continued, "our first date?"
The fear melted from Asgore's face and he, too, smiled. "I took you to Grillby's for dinner."
"You were such a nervous wreck." Toriel lifted the mug that had been sitting in front of her and took a sip. The coffee was nice and cool, but not cold. It was decaffeinated and plain; no cream or sugar. Just the way she liked it.
"Well, how could I not be? I was on a date with the prettiest monster I had ever laid eyes on." His smile slowly faded and his expression became more serious. "Just like I am right now."
Unsure of what to say, Toriel shifted her eyes away and stared at the table, taking another sip of her coffee to avoid the uncomfortable silence that was quickly filling the atmosphere around them. She could feel Asgore watching her.
"I wasn't sure you would give me another chance, Tori."
Her eyes met his, and she instantly felt old feelings rush to the surface. Pain shown on his face, and she knew it was the same pain she had been trying to ignore since she left. They'd both suffered heartbreak, and she had left in the end to deal with it alone.
"I'm still not sure you will give me a chance."
Toriel frowned at him, confused. "I'm here, aren't I?"
"Yes, you are." Asgore lowered his head, his eyes staring at his teacup. "I wasn't sure you would come, either. Now you're here, but I'm not sure if you're really going to give me another chance or not."
"I don't know, Asgore…." She trailed off, still frowning. Agreeing to meet him and actually showing up was one thing. But giving him another chance? She wasn't sure she could forgive him for what he did. Sometimes she felt lonely. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night and expected to find him lying next to her. She couldn't deny that sometimes, she missed him. But her anger at him always won. Her sorrow always won.
"I still love you, Toriel. I always have."
She lifted her head in surprise. Of all the things he could have said, she wasn't expecting him to say that. There was no doubt in her mind that he still loved her, but knowing it and actually hearing him say it were two different things. She could feel the familiar feeling of heartbreak return, fresh and raw. This time, it was different. This time, it wasn't fueled by pain and sorrow. This time, it was because she missed him. She missed Asgore. She missed her husband, her partner, her friend.
"I don't expect you to forgive me," he continued, "but I want you to know that, even if you don't give me another chance, I still love you and I always will." He sighed heavily and lifted his teacup, finally taking a sip.
"Oh, Asgore." She leaned back in her chair. "I don't know what to do. I'm still mad at you."
"I know. If I could go back and change everything, I would."
"But that's silly. You can't change the past." She took another sip of her coffee and looked out the window again.
"I wish I could." He looked distressed; his deep frown told her he meant every word. "If I could go back, if I could take away all of your grief, I would. I'd go back and bring our Asriel back."
The fury hit Toriel faster than she had expected it to. "You think that's what will take away my grief?" She glared at him, nearly slamming her coffee mug onto the table. "You'd go back and bring back our son, but what about everything else?"
"What?" Asgore flinched. "Isn't that what you want?"
"What I want is to move on, not linger in the past." She narrowed her eyes. "What about Chara? You'll bring back our son, but not Chara?"
"Well, if I could, I'd-"
"And what about what you did? Would you go back and change that? Would you bring back all those human children you killed?"
"I… Well, I mean…."
Toriel sighed and shook her head. "It's just as I thought. You're still the same old you, Asgore." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You're still selfish. Sans said you'd changed, but you haven't changed. Not one bit."
"Tori, I-"
"Don't Tori me." She'd had enough. It was clear that whatever they had once, it wouldn't happen again. It couldn't. Not as long as Asgore was still the same monster he had been before she left. She stood up from her chair. "Goodbye." Before he could say anything else, she was on her way to the door. He could pay for both of their drinks, for all she cared. She'd wasted enough time. She wanted to get on with her life, and it was clear to her that Asgore was to have no part in it. Their chapter was finished.
She'd made it out the door and a few feet down the sidewalk before she heard his voice calling her. "Toriel, wait!"
"What now," she groaned, spinning around to see Asgore running after her.
"Wait. Please." He slowed, panting now that he'd caught up to her.
Toriel crossed her arms. "Why should I waste any more time on you?"
Asgore frowned, the hurt from her remark registering in his eyes. She knew she should feel bad, but her anger at him was too great for her to feel any guilt. "I want to start over. I really do. I want to change, and I want you in my life."
"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you-"
"Wait," he interrupted.
She closed her mouth.
He hesitated for a moment, and then he continued. "You said I haven't changed. Maybe that's true. Maybe I'm still hung up on the past. It was hard to get through what happened. We lost two children." Asgore swallowed hard. "But I lost you too. I lost my wife; my best friend."
Toriel looked at the wall of the building next to them. She didn't feel guilty before, but she did now. She hadn't considered what her leaving must have been like for him.
"Please, Tori. Please give me another chance. Let me show you I can change. Let me show you I deserve you."
Tears formed at the edges of her eyes. What was she supposed to say? What could she say? After everything that had happened, how was she supposed to give him another chance? Did she even want to? Did she want to work things out? Countless thoughts swam around her head, the endless number of questions making her temple throb. "I don't know," she whispered.
"Please. Just one more chance. If I mess up, then I will leave you alone. You'll never hear from me again." His voice was soft, and, upon lifting her eyes to look at him, she saw his expression was as well.
"Asgore, I don't know. I don't have an answer for you."
He frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I don't know if I want to." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I wish I knew, but I don't. I'll… I'll call you when I know, okay?"
He looked disappointed and sad, but he nodded regardless. "Okay. Take as much time as you need."
She nodded. There was nothing else to say. Turning back around, she continued down the sidewalk, leaving Asgore behind, unsure if she would see him again or, if this time, she was leaving him for good.