"Oh dear... That storm is just getting worse and worse." Toriel walked away from the window with a mug of hot chocolate in her hand. She placed it on the end table by the couch, where Frisk was reading by the lamplight. "How are you feeling, child?"
"I'm okay, Mom." Frisk said. They carefully took the mug and had a cautious sip of the drink - but Toriel had already waited for the drink to cool down before giving it to them, to avoid any kind of burns, of course. "The medicine will work soon."
"I hope so. I was hesitant about letting you play in the rain like that. I'll have to get you a scarf for next time." Toriel shook her head and sat next to Frisk, who put their mug back down on the table. "Now, where were we?"
Frisk passed Toriel the book they were reading as she adjusted her reading glasses. "Right, the beginning of Chapter Two. 'And so, the -'" She began, but a shrill ringing gave out from the kitchen. The phone.
"I got it," Frisk started to get up, but Toriel refused to let them.
"You're feeling under the weather, are you not?" She asked as she went to answer the phone. Frisk turned on the TV while they waited for her to come back. The weather report was on, talking about hurricane warnings and strong winds. Trees had been falling down a town over from Ebottville and flooding was happening in other areas.
"He did what?" Toriel asked rather loudly, "Undyne, put him on the phone this instant! No, do not get on that bus! He will drive you home right now!"
Frisk sighed. It was happening - again.
"Sleeping? Well, I'll -" Toriel must have been interrupted by Undyne, "It is very, very dangerous outside and I will not have you using the bus. He will drive you home, or so help me... Would you stop interrupting me, dear? I must speak with Asgore!"
"Mom?" Frisk called out, "What's going on?"
"Alphys and you will just have to stay over. He can at least drive you down a few blocks to my place." Toriel said to the phone, "And you will wake him up this minute before I walk over there myself, do you hear me?"
There was more unintelligible arguing over the phone that Frisk couldn't hear. Frisk finally heard the beep that meant she had finally hung up.
"Alphys and Undyne will be sleeping over tonight. Hopefully they won't be sick either from standing at a bus stop in weather like this." Toriel was talking more to herself than she was to Frisk, "Can you believe that in such weather? Your father better have them over in less than ten minutes - sleeping like that, two young girls in a hurricane at a bus stop..."
"Mom? You're doing it again." Frisk said.
"What? Oh, right, child. I apologize." She said rather quickly as she picked up a few books from the coffee table, "I have to go prepare the guest room. Hold onto the page we were reading on, okay?"
Frisk nodded. They would usually be excited for an occasion like this - a sleepover with Alphys and Undyne abound in pillow fights and tales from the underground - but instead they had their fingers crossed that the night wouldn't end in another fight.
How many weeks had it been? Three? It had been three weeks since Frisk spent actual time with Asgore. They hoped it would die down like everyone else did. Nobody really wanted to step in because the subject of their ex-marriage was very touchy. The angry tension became so prominent that group settings became especially... awkward. So Asgore usually strayed from their usual get-togethers to avoid ruining another evening.
Neither Toriel or Asgore wanted to hear what the others thought of it - they just wanted to work it out on their own. They would go about their business as normal without talking to the other and pretend nothing was wrong. Everyone thought it was best that nobody got involved, especially for Frisk. But Frisk knew. You just can't hide some things from a kid. Not with Toriel's angry muttering and Asgore's disappearances. Oh, how they knew.
Frisk sighed. Hopefully Alphys and Undyne would get here soon and the fun times could begin.
Lightning cracked a flash of light at the window, and Frisk could hear the sky rumble angrily and leaves swishing about in the formidable gusts of wind that swirled around the house. Toriel set a pair of flashlights on the table and an array of small candles.
"Oh, it's about time they arrived." Toriel said and went to open the door, "Hello, girls. Come in quick, you must be freezing."
"Hey kid!" Undyne greeted loudly, as she always did. She knelt down and opened her arms. Frisk got up excitedly and they went to give her a big bear hug. Undyne's face and hair were dripping, but Frisk didn't care. Undyne lifted them up and their laughter only grew.
"Spaceship time! Whooosh!"Undyne made sound effects as she lifted them in different turns. Then her voice became very animated and she carried her usual energy, "Now you're in for the landing! What are you going to do, soldier? You're crashing! Don't fail me now, kid!"
"U-Undyne, that's not our kid, you know! And h-hi, Frisk." Alphys smiled at them as she carefully took off her boots. Frisk waved as Undyne finally placed them on her hip.
"What? I was being way more careful than last time." Undyne said.
They were both soaked in rain, Undyne showing off her big teeth and Alphys clutching onto her wet jacket, trying not to shiver.
"Where's Dad?" Frisk asked.
Undyne and Alphys both looked out the door to see Asgore nearing Toriel, who stood at the front door.
"Good afternoon, Toriel." The former king said with a smile that tried to please.
"And to you, Asgore." She said, her voice attempting to sound a few degrees warmer than ice. "Come on in."