Asgore wore only a light wool jacket, his beard carrying water droplets from the outdoors. He carefully stepped into the house and stood off to the side of the entrance as Toriel closed the door.
"Dad!" Frisk exclaimed. They ran to Asgore and gave a hug that only reached to his legs. His tense and mannered expression broke as he laughed.
"Someone's happy to see me." Asgore said, "I think you've gotten taller, or is it just me?"
"I think I have, too. And my tooth finally came out – see?" Frisk showed off a wide grin that exposed a gap in their bottom row of teeth. "And last week, I almost won the spelling bee. We had Earth Day and my teacher said it would be great if you could come help us make a school garden."
"Did they now?" Asgore chuckled, "Humans have a holiday for everything, it seems."
Toriel watched them uneasily as Frisk chattered away. For a moment, her worries about the storm and the girls all fell away to reveal something bigger. She couldn't help but think it was something from a dream; her human child giggling at a smiling Asgore in her new home upon the surface. Toriel realized she had seen it all a long time ago, hundreds and hundreds of years before. Her mind went back to the ruins, the underground… she had to snap herself out of it.
"Shall I warm up dinner for everyone?" Toriel asked, her arms crossed.
"I'll only be here shortly." Asgore assured her, "I just wanted to make sure the girls were okay."
She raised an eyebrow at him but decided to say nothing.
"You're going back home?" Frisk asked.
"We'll see each other another time," Asgore tried to sound hopeful, "Just not when the weather is this bad."
"Oh." Frisk said simply, their eyebrows furrowing. "Okay, Asgore."
Toriel saw the flicker in the child's expression but heard the unwavering in their voice. It reminded of herself for a moment – how she tried to keep her mask unbroken by the things that hurt her. Before she could say anything, Frisk had walked out of the room as if they were unbothered by Asgore leaving. He, in response, looked hurt and gave a sigh.
"It's getting late. I'll take the girls home in the morning." Asgore tried to give a small smile to her. "Good night."
"Asgore… wait up for a moment." Toriel exhaled. She couldn't believe she was about to do this. He was already at the door; she should have just let him go. But Frisk's expression, the hurt that they were hiding told her better. It was time to at least try and put everything aside.
Undyne and Alphys shared a look. Undyne took Alphys' hand and began to make their way out. "We'll just uh, go see where Frisk went." Undyne said.
She watched them leave and waited until she felt they had some privacy. She walked over to him, avoiding his gaze. Asgore looked at her expectantly.
"I haven't been the easiest to deal with as of late." She said, "…I apologize."
"I accept your apology." Asgore said quietly.
"I'll get to the point. If you do not mind sleeping on the couch, you may stay with us for tonight. I won't have you driving in the rain." Toriel offered.
"That's very generous of you, Toriel. But you have two more people in your house tonight and I shouldn't make it three. I can drive a few blocks without a problem." Asgore's face grew warm at the idea.
"Frisk seems to want you to stay," Toriel looked back at the floor. "You make them happy, something they haven't been for awhile."
"Is something happening at school?" Asgore asked.
"You know what's been wrong. Every time something like this happens, I just…" She looked at him but was determined not to let her emotions get the better of her, "At least stay for dinner. It will make Frisk happy."
"Toriel…" Asgore said, but she raised her hand.
"It's not a matter of what I want. You are welcome here." She insisted.
She spoke peacefully, but the anger inside her was beginning to simmer and the memories were taunting her as they crawled their way back. Seeing Frisk happy, the creaks and aches of an empty house in the ruins, child after child finding their way down to the underground, it was louder than the rain and stronger than the hold she had on herself.
He remained quiet.
"I have to get the fireplace going." Toriel stepped away from him to busy herself with something else. Lightning flashed through the windows covered in pouring rain – it was going to be a long night.