Onward and Forward

by TheAzureTyphoon

Since the departure from the Underground, life has been looking up for Monsterkind, all thanks to the effort of a human boy. Now, with Monsters on the Surface, they face new challenges whiles adapting to human culture while having a new outlook on life and things then what they had been used to Underground and It's a fresh start for everyone. Even King Asgore and the Main Seven

2. Progression of a day

Onward and Forward

Chapter 2: Progression of a day

Okay, here's a few things I want to point out.

I apologize about the wait. Some things were beyond my control and hench, this chapter is late. I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Legends. Just to make things easier on your part.

' - for character thoughts

" - for when characters speak

{} - for memory segments of characters.

Alright, there you go. Now, enjoy the next chapter of Undertale!

The light of the early morning had shone over the town of Ebott, bringing the start of a new day for everyone in town. For the kids, it was time for school, for the adults, it was time for work. Everyone had something to do this day, as they did every day. The also included the Dreemurr Family, for they were no different. The morning sun shined its light in the room that belonged to the Monster King, rousing him from his slumber. Squinting his closed eyes as the light was cast upon them, he woke. Propping himself upwards while still sitting on the bed, he let out a fairly loud yawn to push the grip further away, despite how much he wanted to go back to its embrace. Properly sitting upright, he reached for the sky and stretched, bringing, even more, relief, allowing his muscles to relax after a night of tossing and turning and constant moving about. Scratching his beard as his eyes adjusted, he swung his lower half off the bed and stood up to do another series of stretches just for good measures and to complete the set. He stood there for a brief moment to assess his current standing in the room. He looked down to see that he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday and let out a small chuckle.

"Seems that I was so tired, I forgot to change," he said to himself while letting out another yawn, this time, much shorter. Taking a breath, he embraced the new day and walked over to the desk that was nearby, he saw that the digital clock, courtesy of Alphys, simply sitting there as it blinked: 6:35.

"Looks likes I'm five minutes early before the alarm went off. Good, that roughly gives me a five-minute head start and two hours to get things ready. Let's see, first things first. I could use a shower. Luckily the bathroom is right next door." He said to himself while reaching over to the device, Tapping the top of the clock, turning off the alarm, Asgore looked over and saw that his daily entry in the journal was currently empty. Quick to remedy that little problem, he took the pen nearby and quickly scribbled on the no longer blank page and it simply read:

'Nice day today!'

Smiling to himself, he placed the pen down done with his daily morning task. Even though completed, he noticed a small glint that came from underneath the journal, thanks to the light of the morning sun. But he didn't mind it, in fact, he simply outright ignored it and placed it out of his mind. Starting off right, he began to remove his clothes, starting with his pink floral pattern shirt, he went button by button until the flaps of his shirt fell open, revealing his burly golden chest. Sliding the shirt off, he balled and tossed it into a nearby hamper. Following up, he went for his short, starting with the button quickly undoing it the flaps were free and he took the zipper between his claws and pulled it down in a quick fashion, giving himself more breathing room so to speak. What caught him a little off guard, yet was to be expected around this time, every morning. he chuckled to himself as he saw that release of the pants allowed his 'Scepter' to stand at full attention, despite being caged by his boxers.

"Sorry, old friend. No time for the usual morning 'Ruling', there's work to be done," Asgore spoke down to it. "Seems like there's never time for that anymore." Allowing the shorts to fall down to his ankles, he stepped out of them and bent down to pick them up. Like his shirt, he also tossed it and now simply stood there in his boxers with an unrelenting morning wood. He simply sighed while taking hold of the towel that was resting on the back of the chair and slung it on his shoulders.

'Looks like it not going to go away anytime soon… Hm, I did wake up five minutes ahead of schedule, I suppose I can spare a little time to myself.' Asgore thought to himself while turning the handle and walked out into the small corridor. Poking his head out into the hallway, seeing that it was only him, he quickly stepped out of his room and quietly closed the door behind him, As to not disturb those who might be awake, then again, he was always the one up at this hour, but it never hurt to be sure. He looked over to the door that was directly in front him and knew who it belonged to, which caused him to wistfully let out a breath. Putting it out of mind, Asgore took steps to make sure he was careful not to disturb her, but he didn't have to worry too much though, so there was that to keep in mind. Reaching the end, he took hold of the handle and pushed his way in and flipped the light switch on the wall nearby once he was inside the room. Once the lights had revealed the room he was in, the color that he saw was a cool baby blue that covered every corner of the room and it had all the essentials of a bathroom. The sink with toothbrushes, toothpaste placed the on the countertop, there was also A towel rack with decorative towels hanging off the railing, a waste basket, a toilet and a shower with a shower curtain off to the far side. Placing the towel on the sink, he halfheartedly pushed the door close but the click sound never came, leaving it slightly ajar, but he paid it no mind. Walking over to the tub, he leaned over and took hold of the knob and turned it about a quarter of the way, letting the hot water start to run. Stepping back, he took hold of the edges of his boxers and pulled them down, now showing off his full form, in the nude, and his shaft was still at attention. Ignoring that, he held up his bandage covered hand and peeled off the aid. Tossing it into the waste basket, he looked at it to see that the bleeding had long since stopped and all that remained was a red gash that was now healing on its own. It was still red, but he no longer felt pain, just an odd sensation whenever he gripped and released his hand, Placing the thought it out of his mind, he continued with the undressing.

Stepping out of the shambles of his boxers and into the tub, he reached down to the faucet running the water and pulled the tab upwards, changing it from pouring it out of the faucet below, up to the showerhead above in that rain like fashion. Closing his eyes, he let out a breath of both relief and comfort as the water fell on him, quickly matting his fur and made it all the way to his skin beneath.

"Nothing like a warm shower to start the day," he said to himself, letting the rest of his body get washed over with water from top to bottom, starting his with horns, the liquid traveled down the extremities then over his head and hair, changing the golden color it was to a darker shade of its former hue. Placing his palms together, he placed them under the water and let it pool and splashed it on his face, enjoying the warmness, plus it helped wake him up further. The water continued on, coating his chest, his arms, belly, everything as long he remained under it. Taking a step back, he reached over to the nearby basket and took hold of the shampoo that was there. The bottle labeled: Groom and Wash acted as a two-in-one and it was extra large, just for him. Popping the cap open, he poured a handful of the shampoo in one hand and placed it back on the basket. Closing his hands together, making them nice and sudsy for use, he proceeded to coat his body with it. Massaging himself while working the suds into his fur, he managed to coat his upper half relatively easy, but that was only half the job done. Standing back under the water, he closed his eyes and allowed the water to do its job, avoiding any possible chances of getting shampoo there.

"Don't need a repeat of last time," Asgore said to himself while relaxed under the cascade. As he did, his thoughts began to wander back to last night and what had transpired. He had remembered of today's goal. Alphys, Undyne and himself were going swimsuit shopping later on in preparation for their beach day come the following weekend. "If that's the case, I'll need to buy the essentials for the beach… Hm, only thing is, I've never been to the beach before. Most likely Alphys and Undyne have more experience, so I'll leave that to them." He told himself. By now, the water had washed off the lingering suds and he went for another handful, this time, focusing on the lower half of his body. Repeating the same actions until it was covered in suds, he started at the waist and worked down and around, going from his waist and his buttocks down his legs. He didn't dwell too long on his crotch, mostly because he wanted to get the rest of his body cleaned first before getting to that. Standing back under the shower, his thoughts went back to what he was previously thinking about, which was relatively easy. "Hm, from what they told me, we were going to need swimsuits. The only question is, what brand would Asriel and Frisk like? Probably something that their friends would have." He said to himself while letting the water wash over him, allowing the thoughts to leave his mind again. Asgore simply stood there and allowed his thoughts again, and the recollections from last night's dinner came back to mind. He was nervous about what Undyne said about him showing off what he had, but that didn't really get to him, what got to him, was the image of Toriel in a swimsuit. Undyne had teased them pretty relentlessly last night about it, so it ended up sticking around. And because of the marine biped's antics, the very thought of seeing his ex in ALL of her voluptuousness glory, killed any chance he had of losing hardness.

Blushing deeply, he looked down to see that it was fully erect and throbbing. Waiting. He stood there for a moment and simply looked at it, contemplating his options, but he didn't really see any reason to deny himself this. He was up early, he had time before everyone else, so why not? Letting out a breath, he reached down for it and got a good grip on it, causing a stifled gasp to leave his clenched teeth. 'It's been awhile since I've done this.' Asgore thought to himself as he closed his hand around it, not being too loose or too tight, making sure it was just right which caused another grunt to leave his lips. Starting a simple motion, he worked from the base of his shaft all the way up to the top and back down the same way. He repeated this motion over and over again a few times with a slight huff of breath escaping his lips each tip he went the full length, making sure that no spot was left. Placing his free hand on the shower wall in front of him, Asgore gave in to his lustful thoughts of the caprine female and used that as his source to carry out his deed. As he continued to stroke, he scanned his memories of when the two of them while keeping the simple up and down motion going until he came across a very special one which caused him to smiled.

It was the memory of their very first time together, during a warm summer night.

His breathing picked up as he brought the memory back to the surface and remembered how it happened, proceeding to pick up the pace a little faster while making sure to limit himself, wanting this to last.

{The memory of the two of them in each other's embrace while nothing but the sounds of their moans, grunts, and cries filled the nighttime air. He could even remember how secluded it was amongst the trees, bushes and shrubbery while having a good look of the town they lived in, at a very far distant without worry of being bothered. He felt her grip tighten around him and she pulled him close and locked lips to keep the noise down, despite it being just them, there. It was obvious that she was still somewhat nervous about being found out and the noises she made, but he enjoyed the sounds, cries, moans she emitted so much that he would pull away just to hear it. He even remembered telling her she had nothing to be ashamed of and that he loved it when she made sounds, like she was now, which in turn, caused her blush to deepen greatly. The fact that she was enjoying it just as much as he was, causing him to press on more while getting a little rougher while still being gentle at the same time}. Asgore briefly grits his teeth before relaxing again and his pumping got a little harder as he remembered the tight, warm, wet embrace and remember how she sounded when calling out for him. Pure cherubic, and it was the perfect sound in the world, something that only lovers could hear when together in such a way. {Whenever they connected over and over and over again, as deeply as possible, the pitch got higher and higher, and yet, not once did he grow tired or irritated of hearing her cries or his own name leave her lips, for it only served to make him thrust harder. Needless to say, he did the same thing for hers but in a much more masculine tone that was low and riveting, that it was still just as endearing for her ears as well.} As the jerking session went on, Asgore felt the familiar telltale signs of his limit approaching, but was still so far away, and yet, his breathing was starting to pick up a bit more as the memory was starting to reach the most intense sections. {Using her strength, despite being wrapped in the throes of intense veneration, managed to flip them both over, so that now, she was on top. Asgore's heart skipped a beat when he saw the look in her eyes as she stared down at him. Half-lidded and lazy like, yet focused and oozing with passion and lust, those were the eyes of someone who had surrendered to their passions! And the full moon behind her which cast a full body shadow from the front only added to the effect she had on him. Not being one to be outdone, he easily matched that look of hers with his own lecherous smirk and thrust up, surprising her to the point where she let out a fairly loud yelp. He was really glad that they were pretty far from the town, but that was beside the point, from there on, they shook off their inhibitions and enjoyed themselves like any young lovers would without a care in the world.} As the memory played out, Asgore pressed off the wall and walked back until his back pressed against the one behind him and allowed his head to fall back until his horns touched the ceramic tile. Giving in, the pace picked up and his breaths got shallower and shallower as he surrendered to the most carnal parts of his memory, never letting up on the jerking, the pacing was perfect as he felt his climax rising and yet still had ways to go. As his eyes remained closed, all he could see was the beautiful fem caprine who plagued his fantasies and his mind naturally followed along as at that point, he couldn't hold back his voice.

"Ohh, Tori…!" He moaned out to the air, keeping the memory of them going as he relived that precious moment of his life.

As the warm light hit her face, Toriel was slowly roused from her slumber, departing from the realm of sleep. Squinting her closed eyes as she set up from the bed and yawned gracefully while covering her mouth. She opened her eyes and rubbed the corners while sitting up, forcing the covers to slump over as she turned her body around and placed both of her feet on the carpet floor while giving herself a chance to start up with the occasional reaching stretches. Feeling her muscles contract and release, she began to wake up a little more as well. Standing from the bed, the lavender colored nightgown that she was wearing, did the same thing and fell down to full height as she did a few more stretches, causing a slight coo of relief to leave her lips. Allowing one last yawn to leave, she looked over to the window to see that morning had come once more to Ebott. Feeling slightly more awake than previously, she turned over to her desk to see the amount of scattered graded papers, even though messy, she was glad to have managed to finish grading all of her students papers yesterday afternoon but didn't bother to place them back together, mostly due to handling other matters. Seeing as now was a good time before starting the day, she took this chance and set the papers in order, so there was that. Walking over to the desk, Toriel made quick work of the mess and started to alphabetize them into a neat stack, giving her desk more work room and less clutter. While she was doing that, she noticed that clock that was above her books had read 6:42 which surprised her a bit as the last paper was now in place with the others.

"Goodness, to think that I would wake up this early," She said to herself while placing the papers back in her bag that was sitting nearby on the edge of the desk. With that out of the way, she placed a hand beneath her chin and pondered at this, not one for being an early bird, she knew that Ebott Elementary didn't start for another 2 hours and 30 minutes, so there was that. She wondered why she was up now and not an hour later. "Hm, well regardless, just means I have more time to take a bath," Toriel said to herself while taking hold of the towel that was nearby. With item in hand, she walked over to her bedroom door and open the door and pushed her way out, closing it behind her.

Now that she was in the corridor, Toriel noticed that Asgore's door was closed shut again like it had been when she retired last night. Considering herself lucky that he was still in his room, she turned her attention away from it faced the northern part of the small hallway that lead to the bathroom. "I can hardly remember the last time I indulged in a bath and now I have the chance to do so! And with Asgore still sleep, I have nothing to worry abou- Hm?" she paused as her attention was directed towards the bathroom door. She noticed that it was slightly opened and could somewhat feel the steam was coming from the room. Curious, she approached the door and was able to hear the shower going on as the sound bounced off the wall. Slowly pressing the door open more than it already was, the caprine fem peeked past the door to see what was going on. Looking around the room to see what was going on in here, she focused on the shower, seeing it run down into the tub. The shower curtain was pushed back, showing off everything inside, including the person as well. What she saw next caused her to silently gasp. She pull back into the hall and carefully backed away from the door, hands covering her mouth in shock.

Toriel had nearly walked in on Asgore, masturbating.

Feeling her cheeks flush a deep a red from what she had just seen, nearly caused her to lose balance and she had to reach over towards her door just to have a grip. Placing a hand over her chest, she took in some breaths to calm herself down from what she just witnessed.

"Dear me, that's something I definitely didn't need to see," Toriel said to herself while making sure to keep her voice down. The fact that she caught a glimpse of his… Scepter, as she used to call it, brought up a lot of memories of the past, memories when they were together which made her frown a little, but she quickly shook it off and the most recent event came back and so did the blush. To see something like that happen definitely caught her off guard. It had been a long time since seeing it and she wish she hadn't while having mixed feeling as well. The color, the perfect angle, the girth, everything. Memories of them together were worming their way back into her mind even though she shook them away. She could even remember how much she enjoyed do it with him. Clenching her hand into a fist, she forced it away again and turned away from the bathroom in an attempt to ward off. 'I really wished he would, at least, close the door, then this wouldn't have happened!' Toriel thought to herself while letting out a sigh as she took hold of the door handle to her bedroom and gripped it. 'So much for taking an early morning bath. It would seem as though I have no choice but to wait.' She thought to herself. Just as she was about to open and step in.

"Ohh, Tori…!" Asgore moaned out from the bathroom, causing the carpine's mind to come to a screeching halt and blush a very deep shade of red. Hearing her old pet name come from his lips, paused her every single action and forced to face the bathroom that Asgore was still in, unable to say anything. The fact she walked in on him masturbating and how he called out her name, while doing that, left Toriel speechless at the realization.

'... me?' she asked herself while keeping her attention pinpoint when she realized that Asgore thinking of her. Toriel's hand never left the door, she was still taking into account what she heard him say, her thoughts wandering into that area of her mind before reeling them back in, and sharply shook them away again. 'No,' she told herself. 'This is going to stop, it has to stop! Why am I even thinking about this!' Breaking her thoughts, she quickly shook her head to allow rational thought to take over. 'I'd best leave here, perhaps that'll help.' Toriel surmised while managing to pull her head away and look towards her own door. Just as she turned the door handle, she unwillingly let those thoughts come back, this time, stronger than ever. She looked towards the bathroom, then her own, then back, and back again, caught in a loop of listening to either his thoughts or give in to her desires. 'I could easily go back in and pretend this never happened….' She turned towards the bathroom. 'Although, a little showing couldn't hurt…'. She stood in place while weighing her options. As an adult and a teacher, such action was unacceptable, but, a little peeking wouldn't hurt too much. After all, she could simply keep it to herself and go about her day as usual for it would be her personal secret. Letting out a breath, Toriel knew that this was going to a bad idea, no doubt. But other than that, something stronger compelled her to go through with such action.

Steeling herself while her heart was thumping in her chest, Toriel went against her better judgment, and walked over to the bathroom. Resting against the frame while peeking her head in just a bit to remain unseen, she placed her attention back on Asgore, seeing that he was still going at it, and from what could be seen, his pacing got a little faster too. Quickly looking up towards his face, she saw the bliss placed on it, one from their nights together so very long ago. Taking in that image into mind, she made sure that it would stay long after he was done. Pulling away from his face, her eyes began to travel down the length of his body, from the chest down, she noticed how the water that remained on him and continued thanks to the shower from above, was only adding fuel to her internal fire, burning hotly enough to make her lightly huff. Finally, she made it back to where her eyes were before and continued to bare witness of his deed, locking onto his shaft and kept it there, watching him intently. As she did, she took into account how he was going about this and remained silent, letting his grunts and groans do the talking for the both of them. From where she was standing, she could easily guess the size it was and continued to watch the stroking. All eight inches of it. Toriel knew this was wrong, incorrect and improper, that she should stop while she was ahead and just leave. Even if she wanted to, something else from the back of her mind drove her to stay and purvey her lustful curiosity. The motion of white running across the long stretch of pink in an up and down fashion made the caprine lean in a bit more as if to get a better look, even though she had plenty right now. Switching from pressing to leaning against the frame for better support and position, she felt a small twinge in her loins that made her shift her legs a bit while staring at the scene before her. Watching his strokes go a little faster with each rub, his low groans continued to flow into her ears, making the caprine fem shiver. In response to that, Toriel couldn't help but stifle a very low, almost non-existent, moan of her own, as if trying to match his. Any chances of her leaving right now were shattered completely, for she was completely focused on this. As she shifted her hips to the scene before her and quietly hummed herself as she continued watching. Without knowing it or intending to, the arm that was free had slowly made its way to the front of her nightgown and pressed inwards between her thighs, she began to pet herself, moving at her own pace.

'It's been so long... He's still as big as I remember…' Toriel said to herself as she continued watching him, dirty and perverse thoughts were rapidly filling her mind, pushing away the rational ones further, which caused her to shiver more as various images of different times when they were together, most of them were when they were young adults, free from their parents to make their own decisions. Tracking his movements, Toriel's eyes landed on the tip and could very easily see what it was and made her reach up and bite down on her knuckle and shudder a bit as the petting got a little firmer. 'If only I was there to polish it…' she lustfully thought to herself as the idea of being on her knees and attending to his rod, played across her mind. Just the thought of that made her shudder a little harder as she leaned in a little more, staying mindful of her limit. Breaths coming quicker than she would like his and the self-petting getting a little bit harder, it got to the point where she was slightly bending over as the pleasure was making itself more known. Pressing into thighs a little more, she was able to slightly feel the dampness that was gathering there, thanks to her gown being very thin.

By now, Asgore was at his limit. Thanks to neglecting this basic need for awhile now, the duration wasn't that short, but because of the memory of Toriel was among his most favorite, had brought his limit faster. Slouching off the wall a bit and hunching over, Asgore clenched his eyes closed and gritted his teeth as he crossed the threshold of his limit, no longer being able to hold back. His grip around his shaft tightened and got faster and his breathing got faster and faster as the memories continued to replay and he couldn't hold back any longer,

"T-Tori… Oh God, Tori…! I-I can't… I can't…!" His lips parted back and his teeth gritted closed and he gave one last grunt of release. Bringing his hand down to the base of his shaft with one final jerk, he kept it there as it twitched repeatedly until he was passed the point, then erupted blast after thick white blast of his essence into the shower. It arched, with the few strands that either shot on to him, his hand or just drip entirely. this kept up for a few more seconds before it slowed to a trickle and then stopped entirely as he felt a shudder of relief run throughout his body as a smile formed on his lips as he let out a breath of relief. With his breathing returning back, he stood up right after pressing off the wall and looked down at his handiwork. "Whew… it has definitely been awhile since I've done that. How long has it been since then? Day? weeks?" He questioned himself as he felt himself calming down. Placing himself back under the shower head, he continued with the rest of his cleaning, feeling pleased with himself afterward. "Hm, no matter, what's done is done. I've been in the shower long enough, I'd best get a move on, should I want to get breakfast ready on time." Asgore said to himself as he took hold of the shampoo bottle and lathered up for one more washing and coating.

On the outside of the bathroom, Toriel, still on her own high, pulled back into the hall just as silently as before and rested against her door while coming to terms on what had just happened and still dealing with the aftereffects. Still in place, her hands where she left them, petting herself at the image of Asgore finally releasing. The rational part came back, but the desire still stood strong, which made her feel all the more guilty, but she didn't stop. The petting continued and she couldn't help but blush at it, to where her breath hitched each time.

'I... I can't believe I just did that…!" She squirmed as the last part played again and again in mind, the rubbing getting a little stronger and more direct. Thanks to her biting down, she was able to hold the moans that were trying to escape. She had said to herself that she and Asgore were done, that there wouldn't be any chance of them getting back together at all, but here she was, standing in the hallway with a knuckle between her teeth and a hand between her thighs while images of what she had seen Asgore do, playing over again in her mind, causing her toes to curl, leaving scrape marks on the wooden floor. She would've kept going, possibly risking further exposure, but stopped everything when she heard the shower turn off. Surprised, she pulled her hands away from their previous positions and quickly made herself scarce, retreating back to her room, to avoid seeing him. Reaching for the handle and pressing the door in, Toriel had conceded herself back into her room with an audible closing that could've been easily heard by Asgore.

As he stepped out of the shower after turning it off, he took hold of the towel that was nearby and wrapped it around his waist. Just as he did, he heard a door close and it spooked him a bit but realized that it must have Toriel. It made sense that it would've been her, because, although it rarely happened, she would wake up this early just like him, so it was by chance that she would be up around this time. He guessed that she was hoping to use the shower, but must've heard it running and returned back to her room. "Whoops. Look like I took too long. Hopefully, I can still make breakfast for everyone." Asgore said to himself. He would've left it at that, but noticed that the door was slightly parted and looked perplexed. "Odd, I thought it was closed. Oh well, just one less problem today." he chuckled while reaching down to pick up his boxers and depart from the bathroom, flicking the lights off. Before heading back to his room, he stopped in front of Toriel's door and knocked, hoping to gain her attention. "Tori? I'm done with the shower now, you're free to use it if you want." Asgore told her from the other side.

Toriel jumped from the sudden knock on her door, causing her to turn her attention towards it, but didn't say anything. "Tori" Asgore called out to her. "I'm done with the shower now, you can use it if you want." she heard him say. The bathroom was free, but she wasn't really in the right frame of mind, not after what she saw. "Uh, no! It's okay, thank you for telling me…!" Toriel told him from the other side of the door, hoping that would be enough to make him leave. After a few seconds of silence, she guessed that he had left and there she sat on her bed, still reeling from before. Toriel could only let out a sigh as she remained in place, knowing that eventually, they were going to have to talk to each other at some point today. "Today is off to such a start, I really wish I could take back what I saw." she said to herself while proceeding to get ready.

"Uh, no! It's okay, thank you for telling me!" He heard her say. Asgore could see that was all he was going to get out of her and turned to face his room and entered it. closing it behind him. He tossed his boxers in with the rest of his dirty clothes and proceeded to dry himself off as he looked at his clock and it now read 6:55 and the caprine male smiled at this. "Perfect, I have more than enough time! I'll even be able to pack the boys their lunch." Asgore said to himself as he tossed his towel back onto the chair and proceeded to dress after heading over to his dresser and rummaged through clothes to wear. He didn't have to worry about going out too soon, that would be something for well into the day after his sons were in school. He decided to go with something simple and comfortable that didn't require much effort. Nothing better than a plain shirt and shorts to do the job, which was good on his part. Once dressed, he left his room and proceeded downstairs to get started on the meal.

After getting breakfast done and prepared, the Monster King made his way up the stairs that led to the upper rooms of the house where the others slept. He would've woken Alphys up first, but decided against it. He figured that Alphys was once again, up late with Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus, watching more Anime she had bought online. It was their day off, so he would let them sleep in. As he rounded the corner and walked across the ledge, he came to a stop in front of the boys' room. Taking the handle, he turned the knob and gently pushed into their room. Asgore couldn't help but smile warmly as he saw them, peacefully still slumbering away, even though the sun was now up and shining into the room, chasing away the shadows. The light was placed on them and they looked like they were glowing faintly, like tiny innocent angels. He felt a warmness in his heart as he looked upon, but mostly at Frisk. No matter how much time or days had passed by, he was grateful to have his son back and always would be. Letting out a brief sigh, he walked over to the both of them to wake them, starting with Asriel.

"Raise and shine, my future heirs," Asgore called out to the both them, gently shaking them out of their slumbering state and into the waking world. He moved over to Frisk and did the same thing, ruffling his bed hair in the process. "It's a brand new day, let's greet it with a fresh attitude." the caprine said while walking over to the window and opened the blinds, letting more light into the room. As expected, both boys groaned as they began to wake, Asriel being the first to sit up and rub his eyes clean, whereas Frisk would stretch out his arms as a yawn followed. "Good morning, you two." Asgore greeted them.

"Morning, Daddy." Asriel yawns out to his father.

*though still a little groggy, you tell Dad good morning as well.*

"You both look well and rested. I take it that, you both had good dreams?" he asked them both. Asriel and Frisk nodded as they could feel themselves wake up more. Frisk was the first one out of bed to hug his father, or, at least, attempt to. Smiling, Asgore knelt down to his level and gave him a fatherly hug that made the boy smile. Asriel was quick to follow up and hop out of bed, not wanting to miss out on the daily morning hug, which made the elder male chuckle and brought him, completing the family set. Just holding them close was enough to start his day off on a good note and gave both boys a kiss on the forehead, making them giggle at the feel of his beard. "Alright now. It's Friday, boys. Last day before the weekend. Now, hop to. I've got breakfast prepared you both. It'd be best not to keep your mother waiting." Asgore pointed out while letting them both go.

"Okay, we'll be down soon," Asriel told him as they watched the male make his way towards their door.

"Very good," he stepped out of the room and was about to close it, but not without telling them something else. "And be sure to brush behind your fangs. Both of you" then closed the door, leaving them to get dressed for school. Smiling, he began to make his way down the second-floor hallway that led to the stairs and back to the first floor. It didn't take him long to get back to the ground floor and proceed to the kitchen. He wanted to double check that everything was in proper order, before the boys and their mother departed for the day. Rounding the corner to leave the hallway, he ceased his movement when his eyes fell upon Toriel, who was currently the only one in the room and was at the table, merely just sitting there, chin resting on the back of her hands with a look of exhaustion, blankly looking ahead of her, not even knowing that he was standing there at the entrance. Asgore could only guess that she managed to slip past him as he went to wake up the boys, which would explain why she wasn't there when he left. As he continued to look her way, Asgore couldn't help but wonder what it was that was bothering her this early in the morning. Normally, he would come in to see that she had a cup of tea in hand, sipping away at its contents with a look content on her face, but not this time. Feeling the anticipation begin to rise again, Asgore took a quick breath to calm himself before calling out to her, despite where their relationship stood. Even though Toriel was upset with him, he still cared a great deal about her and couldn't bear the thought of seeing her like this. The boys were still getting ready, so there was time for the both of them before they were off, so now seemed like a good time to talk, just the two of them. Starting off with a cough, he stepped into the kitchen, letting her know of his presence. "Good morning, Tori." Asgore started.

Toriel let out a small gasp as the familiar voice and looked up to see that Asgore was standing there at the entrance, a patient and gentle smile on his face. Feeling her face flush as her eyes fell on him, she quickly looked off to the side to avoid any possible eye contact, she was still trying to forget what she saw earlier. "O-oh, Asgore. Good morning." She replied, keeping her eyes off to the side. "It would seem like we're both up early..." Toriel replied while keeping her eyes away from him. Asgore saw her turn away and knew that was to be expected. He knew that being in same room as her, when it was just them only, it just made things worse for him. At least, he didn't have to worry about her scathing glare this time. Regardless of how he felt, he walked towards the table while keeping his distance.

"Indeed, we are. This doesn't happen very often..." he fell silent and the awkwardness was starting to set in on them, both of them could feel it. Not wanting that to happen and make things harder than they already were, Asgore continued to speak. "I… um," Asgore struggled, trying to find the right words to use. He hesitated for a moment but found something to go on. "You look nice today." He complimented, noticing her outfit: as standard light blue cowl cashmere sweater and a black vest overlaying it, He also took into account, her white spotted dress that went down to her ankles. Toriel blushed a little deeper when he complimented on how she looked but continued to look away.

"T-thank you," she replied simply, not going any further than that and then the silence fell again with the awkwardness twice as strong. Not finding the word to keep the talking going, he was about to give up and leave, that is until Toriel was the one to say something. "Did you sleep well?" she asked him. A little surprised, Asgore was quick to reply.

"Yes, yes I did. Thank you for asking. Yours?" he asked back.

"It was... " she took a moment to come up with an excuse. "Alright, to say the least."

"Rough night, I assume?"

"...yes. It was." She replied, continuing to keep up the lie.

"Now that you mention it, I did notice that you were looking a bit down when I walked in. Normally you look really peaceful in the mornings, but not today. Would you like to talk about it?" Asgore asked, waiting patiently on her reply.

There was that sickening sweetness of his again. making her sigh out. She really didn't feel like engaging any further than it had gone, but she knew all too well that she couldn't remain silent forever, not around him at least. He was a very patient goat that would insistently wait until she spoke her turn. Not seeing a reason to not answer him, she angled her head so that their eyes didn't meet, but rather, she was able to see him in her peripheral vision. The blush had since toned down to a very faint pink color, but the feeling remained,

"I'm fine, Asgore. Just a bit tired, but I'll be right as rain, soon enough." Toriel lied. She knew that wasn't the case, but didn't really feel like dwelling on it, wanting to only put it out of mind and forget about it entirely.

"Are you sure? If that's the case, I can put on some tea to help sooth your nerves." Asgore offered her,

"That's quite alright, I just need my classroom and I'll be right as rain," Toriel replied while tapping her finger on the table, hoping that would stop him from prying further.

"Well, if you're sure about it. At least, eat something, you're going to need the energy for the day." Asgore pointed out while taking a seat that was adjacent to where she was sitting.

"I've noticed," she acknowledged while looking at the four plates of breakfast in front of her. "and, once again, I thank you. But I'm not all that hungry." She replied again, but Asgore wasn't satisfied with that answer.

"Tori, please. You have to eat something. Going to work on an empty stomach is bad for-"

"I said I'm FINE, Asgore!" She sharply interrupted, feeling her frustrations slip up and out, causing the Monster King to flinch at the sudden sting of her word. That little outburst of hers caught him off guard when she directed it his way, it caused the tension between them to thicken even more. Suffice to say, it was thick enough to cut. But no, they both just sat there in silence, not bothering to say anything. How could they? What could possibly be said to lessen it? It was taking an obvious toll on them, and with the ticking of the clock in the background wasn't helping either. Asgore felt the sting of her words when she firmly called out his name, causing him to back off from the recoil and cupped his hands together while hunching over just a bit, crumbling on the inside. Toriel was feeling the impact of her actions as well. she didn't mean to snap at him, it was just that, because of what the caprine saw earlier, she was still on edge from that and brief eye contact when he walked in didn't help either. The ticking kept going and the silence prolonged itself, which would have made things worse than they already are. Thankfully it didn't reach that point. Letting out a breath, she opened her mouth in a start. "...Asgore, listen, I didn't mean to-"

"You're right," Asgore replied, cutting her mid-sentence. "I shouldn't have pressed any further than that, I'm sorry, Tori" he continued, letting out a defeated sigh. Placing his hands flat on the table, he looked towards the one with the gash and placed the other over it, covering the now mending wound while lightly squeezing at it. Briefly falling silent after saying that, he stood up from the table, causing her to in his direction, but his eyes were cast forward, refusing to look at hers. "I'll leave breakfast to you and boys. I've packed their lunches and they're right there on the counter, as well as yours. Please make sure that they receive it" Asgore pointed out while making his way around the table and made his way towards the entrance. Toriel watched him proceed to leave the room and was quick to realize her error as he walked past her. She reached out in an attempt to stop him, hoping to get him to stay, but hesitated and allowed her fingers to skirt off that small spacing between them and let it grow larger. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to keep him there, but once again, nothing came out and the space between them grew even more. "I'll be in my studies, should you need me. Don't worry, I'll be sure to see you and the boys off." Asgore concluded as he stepped out into the main hall, leaving her alone in the kitchen with nothing but the sound of the ticking clock. retracting her hand, she grasped it and placed it on the table in front of her and reflected on what had happened. Lowering her head, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh of disappointment at herself. This wasn't the first time she had a little outburst directed at him and she knew it. Every time she did, she felt guilty about it as it would drive him away from her and in turn, furthering the tension between them which served to purse her lips tightly.

"Great, I yelled at him again… why does this keep happening?" Toriel asked herself, clenching her hands together and resting her head on top of them, slumping over just a little bit further over the table, upset with actions. She knew that he cared about her wellbeing and was just looking out for her, she knew that all too well, but thanks to that outburst and managing to drive him away, it just made her feel all the more disgusted at how she behaved. She had more than enough reason to go after him and apologize for what she said. To clear up this misunderstanding and hopefully start off the day the right way.

But, she didn't, or rather, she wouldn't.

Decided against it, she let him go, figuring that it wouldn't do any good right now, not while the both of them were still recovering from this and that it would probably be for the best, but still, it didn't help improve her mood any better. If anything, it just further lowered it.

Stepping out of the kitchen and walking a bit further away, Asgore let out one of his own and halted all motion when right in front of the entrance to the studies. Once again, he had managed to get on her bad side and all before the day had even started. Sinking his head, Asgore did what he did best whenever he managed to upset Toriel, put it out of mind and deal with later. Facing his studies, about to put one foot inside, was stopped by a familiar voice. He turned his head towards the stairs to see that both of his sons were now fully dressed and ready for the day ahead, polo shirts properly tucked into their khaki pants and bags on their backs. Turning to face them as they just reached the bottom of the stairs, he watched them approach him with Asriel being the first to run up to him and Frisk following close behind.

"Dad! Dad!" Asriel called out to his father, stopping before him, looking up to the male with his usual morning greeting, causing Asgore to smile and kneel down to his level. "Me and Frisk are ready for school! See?" Asriel added while standing back, allowing him to see all of them.

"Indeed, you are, both of you." Asgore complimented, making Asriel smile once more. Frisk remained the same while giving a nod of agreement with him. "Alright, let's see those pearly whites greet the day," Asgore told them. Both boys stood side by side and smiled widely, lips receding back and showing off their fangs, all of them were nice, clean and shining. Satisfied with that, he placed his hands on both their heads and ruffled, making them both chuckled. With that out of the way, Asgore hummed to himself and stood back up to full height and looked over at Frisk and a thoughtful look came across his face, which Frisk was quick to notice.

*You asked Asgore if something was wrong.*

"Hm? Oh, no. Nothing is wrong, I was just wondering, Child." Asgore pointed out while looking at his brown hair, even though it had been a full seven months, his hair was just as wild as ever. "It's been a good while and your hair is still the same ever since you came to the Underground that day and it's been well over few months since we've left it. Perhaps it time to have you get a haircut?" Asgore offered. Just those words alone were enough to make him jump at the very idea of losing his hair and it caused him to lean back a bit as if to avoid the question and Asgore was quick to notice that. "Is something the matter, Child?" he asked the former human. Despite being shocked, Frisk kept his notorious poker face while placing his hands on his head and kept his eyes on his father.

"You don't want your hair cut, Frisk?" Asriel asked as well while turning to face him.

*You tell Dad and Asriel, your hair is the source of your DETERMINATION.*

It was hard for Asgore to keep a straight face himself, simply seeing Frisk's while hearing the words DETERMINATION leave his lips was enough to get him to chuckle out. Reaching out, he placed his hand back on the boy's head and ruffled his hair some more. "Well, if that's the case, we have to make sure that DETERMINATION preserved. Still, we could manage to keep it under control. Well, more on that later. Now, run along boys, your mother is in the kitchen waiting on ." Asgore told them while stepping back a bit.

"Wait, you're not gonna eat with us?" Asriel asked his father, a frown forming on his face at the thought of his dad not joining them.

"I'm sorry, boys. But as things turned out, I'm still ways from goal. I thought I was done, but it would seem that I'm not, just yet. So I have to get a head start today if I hope to get more done." Asgore told the boy, but Asriel knew better than what his father was telling him.

"Dad," Asriel started, looking down while holding his hands together in that humble manner, his fingers twiddling about each other. "You don't have to lie to me and Frisk, you and Mom had a fight again, didn't you?" he asked him. Asgore bit his lip for a brief second, but let out a sigh and only nodded at his question. "I knew it," Asriel added while casting his head down. Frisk reached over and patted his brother on the shoulder in consolation.

Asgore internally winced at the reply he was given by his son. He already upset Toriel, he didn't want to do the same to his sons, not when they had a long day of school ahead of them. Kneeling back down. he reached over placed both hands on his shoulders to look Asriel square in the face, making sure that their eyes connected. He showed the boy a warm smile and began to speak again.

"Well, we didn't necessarily 'fight'" He started. "I simply said the wrong thing and it made your mother upset with me… again. She's somewhat tired, so it was my fault for pushing too far." Asgore replied, hoping that would serve better than the initial idea that was already in Asriel's head. "So things are still okay between us, Son. I just made another mistake." Asgore added. That seemed to calm the boy down a bit.

"Really? You guys didn't fight?" Asriel asked back to him.

"That's correct, just a little miscommunication. Things will blow over by the time you're off to school and back normal when you get both get home. So, put the thought out of your head, alright?" Asgore asked him. Letting out a faint sniff, Asriel nodded at the request of his father and showed off a little smile, even though his hands were still together. "There's that smile. Already, I feel my day brighten up. Now go on, your food is going to get cold if you don't eat." Asgore pointed out, ushering the boys to the kitchen where Toriel was waiting on them. Watching them go, the smile that was on his face instantly fell off and away and a more morose look replaced it as his shoulders slumped. 'Well, at least, the both of them will have a good day at school, I'm glad I can give them that, at least.' he said to himself while walking into his studies, preparing to pick up where he left off yesterday, only to find that there wasn't much point.

Time: 8:00am

"Frisk! Asriel! It's eight o'clock, it's time to go!" Toriel called out to the boys from the main hall of the house. She was standing at the door, waiting on the children to appear so they could take off. Thankfully there was no traffic this early in the morning, so they would get there in a matter of minutes, so that was a plus. The boys would also get a chance to socialize with their friends before classes start and she would be able to prepare the lessons for her class, which was good on her part, because, after that little blow up at Asgore, she wanted to get out as soon as possible. On command, both of them came scampering out of the Tv room at her call with their book bags on their backs and ready to start their day. "Perfect, now come along, boys. The sooner we start the day the sooner it'll be done." Toriel added while taking hold of the door and opening it, letting it swing out.

"Wait, what about Dad? He was gonna see us all off." Asriel said, which caused Toriel to flinch.

"D-did he now? We are expected to be there early," She hinted while placing a foot out the door while keeping her body in the house.

"Please, Mom? He does this every morning. Can't Dad do just that?" Asriel asked while looking into his mother's eyes. Both colored pigments locking on to each other. Toriel bit her lip from the inside, quivering at how her son was looking her. She would have guessed that he was doing it on purpose, but could see that he had his eyebrows in a knitted position, a look of sadness placed on his face. She quickly looked over to Frisk to see that he had that same straight-faced look but could see that he was DETERMINED to let Asriel have his moment. Then she thought back to the incident in the kitchen and it hit her like a truck when it came back to mind, internally wincing at that memory, clearly still loathing at herself for such a thing. Between listening to her mind to just step out the door and Asriel pleading through his eyes, she gave in, placing her foot back into the house and nodded at her son's request, a small smile aimed his way. Asriel saw that and his mood changed to a more cheerful one. darting over to her and gave her leg a hug. "Thanks, Mom," Asriel said while hugging a little harder, glad that his mother agreed. letting out a quick sigh, she placed a hand on his head, petting it as if to say 'You're welcome' without speaking. Looking over at Frisk, she saw that he was giving her a thumbs-up. She chuckled to herself as she saw that and felt Asriel let go of her leg. As she watched them talk, Toriel internally groaned as she waited along with them. She really didn't want to be around Asgore right now and would rather be on the road instead of sharing the same space as him, But after what she did combined with Asriel asking for just a few more minutes with his dad, letting him see them off was the least she could do for him, right? Luckily they didn't have to wait long.

From the studies, Asgore emerged and as to be expected, both Asriel and Frisk ran up to him and latched onto his legs, hugging the male. The caprine male let out a hearty chuckle as they did.

"Looks like my two favorites sons are ready for school! Very good!" Asgore complimented while placing both hands on their heads and ruffled, which made both boys giggle. "Well, you two have a full day of learning to get done and Friends to hang out with, while your mother has a lot of students to teach. Best to not keep her waiting," The Monster King hinted while patting them gently to let go, which they did. "Both of you have your lunches?" he asked while walking them over.

"Yes! Packed away and ready for later." Asriel answered.

*You tell Dad that eating the lunch he made will fill you with DETERMINATION.*

"I thought your hair was the source of your DETERMINATION."

*You tell him that your DETERMINATION has multiple sources.*

Both Asgore and Asriel laughed at Frisk's answer while Toriel, despite her current feelings, merely stood there and was surprised at herself to find out that she was smiling. Not only at the scene before her but at Asgore as well. The pure joy on his face, the matching smiles, the elation of just being around them watching them, the peaceful atmosphere that could be seen and felt. But what really got at her, was his smile, a pure, loving and fatherly smile. It looked so pure and comforting that she felt her heart flutter for a second then the confusion set in. But, why? She found herself questioning that while watching them. The happiness that he was easily able to give them was something that made her happy as well, but at the same time, she despised him for all that he had done in the past and yet for some reason, she both accepted that and rejected it all in one, placing herself in an even more conflicting position.

"Is that so, you're resourceful, for someone so young. That's good to have." Asgore replied to him.

"Frisk is all kinds of awesome!" Asriel complimented while looking at his brother. Frisk took to that and gave him a thumbs up, which made his sibling chuckle in response.

"Indeed, he is," Asgore added while petting his head again. "Speaking of which, We're still going to beach next Saturday and I'm heading out with Undyne and Alphys to pick out your swim trunks today. Is there any kind of brand that you both like? Something that's popular among your friends?" he asked the both of them.

"Brand? What do you mean?" Asriel asked back, head tilting to the side in confusion. Frisk tapped on his shoulder, gaining his attention.

*You tell Asriel that a brand is something that most people and monsters knows very easily, Like how we all knew Mettaton's as MTT.*

"Ohhhhh, okay. I get it now." Asriel replied while turning back to his father and continued. "Um, no, not really. Just so long as it's green and yellow, I don't mind the design. Thank you." the boy added.

*You tell Asgore to make yours blue and purple.*

"Alright; For Asriel: yellow and green. For Frisk: blue and purple. Okay, I'll make sure to keep that in mind. Now, I've kept you all long enough. Time for you to go. Send off hugs?" He asked them while holding his arms out for the both of them and waited,

"Send off hugs!"

*Send off hugs!*

Both of them said while leaping into his thick arms and latched onto him, both of their small arms wrapped around his neck and pressed into him while Asgore closed his own on them and gave a small shake, making both Frisk and Asriel giggle out when he nuzzled their heads. Letting them go, and standing back up, he walked them over back to Toriel, who had snapped out of her thoughts as she saw them all approach. "You two have a nice day today! Frisk, look after your brother. Asriel, do your very best." Asgore told them.

"We promise!" Asriel told his father. "C'mon Frisk, let's go." he added while taking the lead and leaving the house, heading out to the car in the driveway.

*You tell dad that you'll see him later.*

Asgore watched the two of them step out of the house and made their way to the car, waiting on Toriel to take them to school. Once they were out, both goats were standing at the opened doorway and it was just the two of them once again, and that tension was back again, causing the both to remain silent, awkwardly shuffling about as they struggled to find the right words, but had difficulty doing so, which was to be expected. Toriel folded her arms in the usual manner, with the means to glare a burning hole into him and frown disapprovingly, but decided against it. Rather, she looked off to the side and simply pursed her lips while Asgore placed his hand behind his head, rubbing that spot as ideas on how to approach this was proving hard.

"Um…" Asgore started before stopping again. "Guess it's time for you to leave, huh?" He pointed out. Looking off to the side, she nodded.

"Indeed, it is. And… well, I'd best not keep the children waiting." Toriel replied while taking a small step back in a more hesitant manner.

"It's for the best…" Asgore replied. "The boys have their lunches. You have yours?"

"Yes, I made sure…"

"Good, good. You three will be well off then."

"Right…" They both fell silent again and the awkwardness was setting in quickly, making the adults shuffle about again until Toriel broke it. "Is there anything else you wanted to ask?"

"N-no, not really." Was Asgore's reply. She nodded and turned to leave the house, but stopped once more when he called out to her. "Um, Tori?" Asgore called out, his voice causing her to flinch a bit. Whether it be from be stopped again or being called by her pet name, she didn't know.

"Yes? what is it?" She asked, keeping her back towards him. Asgore opened his mouth to say something else but decided against it. Stepping back and placing space between them, he only offered a smile as best he could, seeing that the boys were eager to go. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head as an answer.

"It's nothing, forget it." Asgore replied while turning back to the study, "I'll see you and the boys later. Have a wonderful day, Dearest." He added while walking away. Toriel felt her cheeks flush deeply at that word and looked back to see that he was already walking away from her. Once again, she didn't say anything as he moved away from her. The word 'Dearest' always managed to get her cheeks to flare up when she heard it, no matter what. But what got her, was how it slipped past his lips. She wondered if it was accidental and it just came out or was intentional. Watching Asgore step into the studies, she opened her mouth to say something else but quickly closed it again, not seeing the point in it. Silently, she stepped out the door, with the knob in hand, pulling it close and locking it behind her. From the window of the studies, Asgore watched the car pull out of the driveway and drive off towards the school, leaving him, Undyne and Alphys alone in the house, but mostly him since that was how he was currently feeling, despite two of his family members around. Reclining into his chair, he let out a sigh and cast his attention skywards, allowing his mind wander for a bit.

"Well, she calmed down, that's good. Still, to think I called her that…" he said to himself. Pulling his attention away from the ceiling and looked over his desk, An assortment of books, papers, clippings as well as pens scattered about was all over the desk, making the area quite messy and disorganized. He had meant to spruce up a bit and make it more presentable, but the time just got away from him. When you were studying to be a part of the United Nations, it takes a lot out of you, but when doing it for the sake of Monsterkind, it continued to drive him to see it done. All in the name for Monsters everywhere. "Well, what's done is done. Hm, the hedges are tended and the flower's daily watering aren't until later. I could easily clean the kitchen… then again Undyne and Alphys aren't up yet, so I'll just wait until then. Looks like I have free time." He leaned over to the shelf and popped it open, revealing a novel that he been reading in his spare time when given the chance to enjoy himself. "A little reading wouldn't hurt to pass the time, now would it?" He said to himself while eyeing it a little longer. Pulling out the novel, It read: The Sonnets, by William Shakespeare. In the last few months, Asgore found himself taking a liking to the style of writing and convey of wording along with the emotions that went into every single phrase, even though a little confused at first. He stuck with it and found himself both intertwined and entertained with each sonnet he read. Cracking it open to where his bookmark placed him, he reclined into his chair and got comfy as he began to read. "Hm, I should've put on some tea, oh well." He added while diverting his attention to the novel, allowing himself to enjoy his reading.

Time: 8:15am

Pulling into the teacher's parking lot, Toriel and her two boys had made it to Ebott Elementary with 15 minutes, much earlier than expected, but good on her part just meant more time to get things in order for her class. Stepping out of the car and locking it behind, the three of them started towards the building while passing other instructors on the way in. With greetings and waves this morning heading their way, the day was to a fairly good start, placing Toriel in a more positive mood. She was out of the house and in her element. Least she didn't have to worry about feeling anymore awkward. Stepping into the school, they rounded into the main office and proceeded into the attendance room.

"Alright, you two." She reached into her mailbox and pulled out attendance cards as well as lesson plans and worksheets, neatly stacking them together in a tower-like formation. "There's still time before classes start. Go on and spend time with your friends. I'll be in the room setting up work ahead." She kneeled down, bringing herself to their eye level. "I'll see you then. Be good, alright?"

"We promise." Was Asriel's only reply while Frisk did the usual single nod of affirmation, bringing a smile to her face. With the stack of papers in one arm, just like what Asgore did this morning, she held out her arms for both of them. They knew what that meant and tightly embraced her with their tiny arms as she did the same. As the connecting continued, she went a little further and placed quick pecks on their foreheads, causing them giggle at that. They pulled back and proceeded to hand her their bag, knowing that she would automatically take them to the classroom.

"That's good to hear. Now, remember what your father said, and I'll see you when the bell rings." Standing upright once more while now escorting them out of the office.

"We remember, C'mon Frisk! I bet Kid's waiting for us right now." Asriel guessed while taking the lead, his brother following close behind. Toriel couldn't help but chuckle as they left the back way out to the playground where all the other children were. Seeing this as her chance, she began to walk away from the Main Office and towards her classroom with papers and bags in tow.

"Ah, Ms. Dreemurr, there you are! Good morning," called out a feminine voice, bringing the goat's walking to a halt. Turning to face the source, only to see that it was a fellow teacher, like her.

"Come now, Elizabeth. We're still off the clock until 8:30, no need to be formal just yet." chuckling at the announcement of her last name.

"Sorry, sorry. Just a habit I can't seem to shake. You've been working here for a while now, so it just stuck." she held up two coffee cups, one for each of them and Toriel smiled at her offer. "I know how much you like cream and sugar, so I made one ready, so don't worry. It's still hot. I'd hand it to you," she looked to see a number of items Toriel was carrying. "But it looks like you have your hands full."

"Indeed, I do. If you would be a dear and carry it to my room."

"Say no more. We got a bit of time, let's walk and talk." Elizabeth took the lead, already know where the room was, so that made the trek easy on their part. "So, you're here, early as usual. Things went alright back at the house?" Silence fell on the both of them and Elizabeth only huffed at the answer.

"Looks like they didn't."

"Already, you can tell, and I didn't even have to hint."

"Hey, when you're living with an Ex, it's pretty easy to pick up on."

"Is that another human concept?" Toriel questioned.

"It's called Women's Intuition." She chuckled. "But from the looks of it," she stopped to directly face her and scan, causing the carpine fem to look surprised. Elizabeth only smirked as she got the answer she was looking for. "You caught him doing something 'hot' during his private time, got hot and bothered, felt guilty about it, and chased him off again. Am I right?"

With a blush that appeared on her face and the memory about it coming back to the surface, She found herself sighing at the reply and only nodded at that, not really having a counter. "As much as I don't want to remember, that's correct. That all happened this morning."

"Five points for me."

"As always, you somehow manage know of these things, without getting the details. Honestly Eliza, how DO you manage to do that?" Elizabeth chuckled at that and continued the walking, seeing that they were approaching the classroom.

"Psychic powers." was her response. Quick, simple and to the point which earned a chuckle from Toriel.

"Oh, nonsense."

"Don't worry, in time, you'll come to see that my predictions are always right on the mark. Well, you've had a few months in advance to see them in action, but my point still stands." both women had a fair little laugh of their own, but it didn't last, for Elizabeth continued. "By the way, I've been meaning to talk to you about Asriel." Knowing that tone, Toriel panicked a little but kept it under control.

"Why, is something the matter? Did he do something wrong?" were the questions, but the fellow teacher shook her head in disagreement, calming her down a bit.

"No no no, nothing bad, mind you. If fact, quite the opposite. He, along with Frisk, have the highest grade in my class, and I'm proud of them for that. It's just that...lately, I've noticed that Asriel is having difficulty with his multiplication and he's being teased for it." Elizabeth pointed out. Toriel managed to open the door and flicked on the lights.

"Teased? By whom?" she asked, her tone slowly lowering as she walked over to her desk, placing the papers on table and the bags at her son's desks. Placing the mug next to the papers, the math teacher placed the rim to her lips and took a sip of the still hot coffee.

"Well," she trailed, looking off to the side as she began to explain.

*Meanwhile, outside of the school*

Asriel and Frisk had departed from the main building of the school and were now standing outside along with the rest of the children, Monster and Human alike. Most were running around and playing while others sat on the ground and were just talking to each other, filling the ground with noise. There were also instructors there to monitor the children to keep them from getting too out of hand. Pretty much a typical scene of children at school before the day started for them. Preparing to find their friends, they were stopped by a familiar voice.

"Hey! Frisk! Asriel! Dudes, over here!" Both boys looked to see that Kid was there on the asphalt, bouncing in place to get their attention, the flaps of his sleeves doing the same as him. Asriel was the first wave before turning back to Frisk.

"There he is like I said. Let's go tell him about next Saturday and see if wants to come with." Frisk watched him begin to dart out, fully intent on talking with their friend. Not one to dawdle, he followed at a much slower pace, happy to see his brother in a good mood, but that didn't last when what he saw next forced him into a sprint.

"Hey, Kid! Me and Frisk got something to tell yo-" it all happened so fast for him to process and before he knew it, it was too late. Feeling his foot get caught on something, he toppled over and with a thud, he landed square on the ground with his hands breaking his fall. Landing on his front, as he grunted he slowly picked himself up but it was quickly met with a chuckle from behind him and he knew who it belong to.

"Whoops. Careful your 'Majesty'"

"Oh… H-hi Chad…" Asriel replied while getting up, dusting himself off. Off to the side, he saw the human boy with his hands in his pockets, looking down at him with a mean-spirited sneer on his face as he did whenever he was near. his shirt messily untucked and a bandage resting on his forearm and hair uncombed mess. Holding on to his arm with a hand he looked off to the side, staying in place.

"Had a little fall from grace, did ya? Got watch out for that."

Pursing his lips, he didn't say anything, nor did he have to either. In that instance, both Frisk and Kid had made it over to the goat boy and looked him over, Obviously, Frisk was the first to check on him while keeping his eyes on him.

*You asked Asriel if he was alright.*

"Y-yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for asking Frisk." chuckled Asriel, showing off a smiled as best as he could to his brother. Wiping a bit of dirt that had landed on his face, Frisk smiled back and patted the top of his head, calming him down. After seeing his smile, he turned back to face Chad and even though he kept his straight poker face, he intensely stared the kid down, but he was unaffected by it.

"Again, you have to have your brother help you, figures."

"Asriel! you okay?" Kid asked him, getting a nod and a smile, which made him grin as well but turned his attention to the same target as Frisk. "Chad, you jerk! Why did trip him? He coulda been seriously hurt!" he followed up.

"And the lackey shows up as well. Great."

"Answer us! Why'd you do it?!"

"What? it was just a trip, nothing a 'Prince' can't handle, right?" Asriel winched a bit and his grip got tighter from how he was addressed and was doing his best not give in and cry. Kid was about to say something else but didn't get the chance to. Instead, it was Frisk who had decided to take action and stepped over to the boy, walking right into Chad's space and sized him up, despite how taller he was.

"Frisk?" Kid called out but didn't get a reply.

"Hm, got something to say, Mute?"

*You tell Chad to stop bothering Asriel*

"Ah, so you can speak. And if I say no?"

At hearing those words, Frisk's normally horizontal eye briefly changed to arches and a frown had replaced his normal straight line lips, replacing his standard poker face with a more menacing expression and it was aimed Chad's way, arching his eyebrows in surprise, but Frisk didn't stop there. He even went so far as to do something he very rarely did on such occasions: open and half one of eyes, directly aiming it towards the boy. Angered at the fact that his brother had been insulted and injured, Frisk kept locked on to him, not giving him a chance to dodge. Without meaning to, he felt a quick burst of energy come to surface from inside him, coursing throughout his body to every part, even through the eye. Quickly but surely flashed red which went without saying that it shocked Chad, but he didn't show it, merely downplaying his surprise with a chuckle. Clenching his hands into fists, he felt a brief but hot sensation there that didn't pain him, it just served to make him grip harder, feeling whatever it was slowly flicker. With all of this going on at once, the hybrid took one last step forward, a couple of inches away from physically touching him. Chad tried to back up a bit, but Frisk wouldn't let the space between them diminish. Looking up directly to his face, Frisk didn't falter when he spoke his next words.

*You vehemently tell Chad to leave Asriel alone.*

His fangs briefly showing, getting his point across. Frisk was about to keep going and he would've, but Asriel had stepped over, placing a hand on his shoulder, causing him to quickly calm down. His eye closed, the frown disappeared, causing his face to go back to normal and the energy he felt in his hands had dissipated, allowing him to unclench. Turning to face his brother, he saw Asriel simply shake his head with knitted eyebrows.

"It's okay Frisk, I'm alright. It's not worth getting in trouble over." Frisk looked back towards Chad with one last glare, then back to him, nodding in reply. "Thank you."

"Ugh, see, he's fine. Don't know why you always gotta come to his rescue." Turning his back to them with an overhead wave, Chad began walking away from the three of them, knowing that an instructor would come over to see what was going on, and he didn't want that this early in the morning. "Well whatever, I'm outta here. Just know that your brother can't protect you forever. Later 'Prince'" were the last words he said as they watched him go blend in with the other students. Scoffing as they watched him go, Frisk turned to see that Asriel had cast his eyes downwards, hands fiddling together and slightly hunched over. Placing a hand on the boy's head, Frisk only smiled when he got the reaction he did.

*You tell Asriel that you'll always be there to protect him.*

"Yeah, dude! Don't listen to that jerk. Me and Frisk got your back."

A warm smile came onto his face at his brother's words and he cheered up a bit, feeling better that Frisk was there for him.

"Thanks, Frisk, you too Kid."

*You reminded Asriel to tell Kid something important.*

"Something important? What is it?" Asriel remembered what he wanted to say to Kid, and seeing as how was a good chance, he told the fellow monster of the plan that his family came up with.

"How do you feel about going to the beach next Saturday?"

Time: 10:45am

*Back at the Dreemurr Residence*

Rousing from her sleep, Undyne had finally woken up, groggy and disoriented after pulling a late binge Anime marathon with Alphys. Sure it was her day off, but she always did this when she had the day off. Motioning herself off the bed and standing tall, she let out a yawn and did her usual morning stretches to get things up and working, kickstarting her energy and shake off the lingering sleep.

"Aw man, looks like I binged again… unbecoming of a gym teacher, still, managed to get enough sleep, though." She looked over to her calendar to see that the other 4 days were crossed off. Something she did every night before going to bed. She could see that day read: Friday. Then the memory of last night came to the surface. Today, She, Alphys, and Asgore were going shopping. Smirking, she made her way to the door and opened it, stepping out into the main hall. she didn't bother closing the door. Instead, she made her way across the second-floor past Frisk and Asriel's room and down the stairs. Reaching the bottom stairs, she walked over the studies and peeked in to see that Asgore was there again, as usual, In his chair, leaning back with a book in hand. Silently chuckling to herself, Undyne made her presence known by knocking on the wall. "Mornin' Fluffybuns. As usual, I never see you without a book in hand, turning the pages, along with tea on the side."

Asgore looked up from his novel to see that the marine biped, clad in a simple nightshirt and shorts, was standing at the entryway with that usual smirk. Her hair was untied and a bit frizzy, but nothing a little grooming couldn't handle and was wearing her recognizable eyepatch. Closing his book, he turned his attention to her, proceeding to leave his seat.

"Good morning to you as well, Undyne. And yes, it's true. I just forgot to make some. But that aside, you're up later than usual. Late night bingeing with Alphys again?" He asked while making his way over to where she stood.

Chuckling at her own debunking, a nod followed as he was now at arm's length. "That easy to see huh? Welp, ya got me. Yeah, even when Papy and Sans went off to bed, Me and Alphy kept going until about… 3 in the morning." Undyne stated, leaning against the doorway arch, arms folding.

"3 in the morning? My, my. It must have been a good session to keep you up that late."

"Oh yeah. She recently bought the box set of One Punch Man, and it was AWESOME! So many crazy bad guys all of them getting punched in the face with, well… one punch by this one bald guy named Saitama! He's the main protagonist but from first seeing him, you wouldn't think so, because of his face being so plain. Oh and there was a psychic chick with green hair, her name was Tatsumaki and she floating all about and did crazy things with her mind. There was also this Cyborg; named Genos with super speed and afterburner hands that shoot fire and energy blasts and has looks that would make even Mettaton jealous! There was also this guy with a bat and the hair and the attitude… ugh! There's just so many awesome moments, too many to explain! So good! You should watch it sometime, it does the explaining a lot better than what I summarized. Trust me, you'll come to enjoy it, I promise." Undyne said while taking a breath from explaining.

Asgore couldn't help but chortle lowly at the positive rant about it and only nodded in agreement as she did, making a mental note to do just that when given the chance. "Is that right? If it's anything like you said, I'll be sure to do just that. Though, I may be a little bit confused on the characters, so be sure to point out who's who, alright?" He asked while stepping out of the room as she followed closely behind.

"You bet, I'd be happy to! But, you know, last night? You didn't join us, again and you usually do. But, that hasn't been for a while now. You alright? Did Toriel's lecture get to you?" Undyne asked, arms falling to her sides while looking at him as he waved it off..

No no no. Nothing of the sort, I assure you. I'm well over it. I've been told worst in the past, nothing I can't handle." he replied, chuckling as usual.

"Asgore," Undyne started, but he was quick to stop here.

"I know, I know. There's no need to worry. The past is the past. No point in bring up bad memories, right?" He asked her.

"Well yeah, that's true, I guess… she didn't have to be so harsh about it, though"

"No, she had every right to be, it was all my fault, after all." He chuckled again. Undyne looked off to the side and winced at those words, disliking the fact they came from his mouth. But for his sake, she'd ignore them. "Anyways, what's done is done and besides, aren't we going shopping today? We were going to pick out swimwear." Asgore pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. It's what…" she trailed.

"10:45"

"Perfect, more than enough time. I can see that you're already dressed for the day. Which is good, that'll save us time. I'll go and get Alphys, if I let her sleep any longer, the whole day will be gone and we wouldn't want that, now do we?"

"True. She does tend to do that. You go get her, I'll quickly make you both something to eat. The usual, right?" He asked as he bypassed her.

"With a bit of bacon in the eggs and it'll be perfect."

"Alright. I'll have it ready by then."

"Awesome, thanks, Asgore." Undyne thanked as she watched head back into the kitchen.

That was her cue to retrieve the sleeping reptile, who was nearby. Walking over to the door that lead to the basement and opening it, she could see that the lights were ones and everything was up and running like they normally did the past days. Making her way down, she noticed a ton of machinery, gadgets, tools and various metal parts all about the basement, with the constant beeping and flashing lights, it made the area look more like a factory workplace then a bedroom in a basement. The room was large enough to house a machine of that size, for it took up one-third of the room still allowing plenty of space to move around and about without feeling cluttered. With how big it was, it was a good thing that they had the basement insulated, otherwise, they'd NEVER get any sleep with all the noise it made. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Undyne looked around the place, only to eventually find the reptile resting in her bed… on a balcony. She also noticed that she was on her laptop, her claws quickly clacking away at the keyboard while the screen was bright and her attention was on it, not even noticing her, she couldn't help but smirk at her.

"Yo Alphy! You up to more nerd stuff this early?" Undyne called up to her.

Alphys jumped pretty hard in her bed, latching onto the device in her lap from falling from her. Looking over the railing and down towards the ground, she saw that Undyne was standing there, toothily grinning her way, making the reptile blush lightly as she watched from above.

"g-geez, Undyne, you nearly scared the laptop out of my lap." Alphys groaned out, a sigh of relief following.

Undyne couldn't help but chuckle at the reptile's flustered face and shrugged. "Sorry babe. You were doing your focus thing again. You didn't even see me come in."

"You didn't have to shout, ya know…"

"Like I said, sorry bout that."

"Alright, alright. You're forgiven." Alphys chuckled.

"Forgiveness!" Undyne cheered, prolonging Alphys' chuckling. "So! what were ya workin' on, anyways?"

"Nothing special, just some processing some notes, facts and figures for the team."

"Ohh, got a project coming up?"

"Yeah, a pretty big one too. So we're getting everything in order. Just a little more and It'll be complete." Alphys replied.

"Really? That sounds awesome Alphy. Since we're on the subject, how much you got done?"

"Hmm, if I had to do a quick scan" Alphys trailed while turning back to her laptop, clicking away, from Undyne was hearing, she was going pretty fast, rapidly pressing the keys back to back as she scanned the screen. Halting, Alphys turned to look down at the fish girl and gave her the answer. "About… 87% through. At the current pace, I'm going, I'll have it all done and ready by tomorrow afternoon, my fastest time yet." she concluded while closing her laptop.

"Ah, pitting yourself against a personal clock, huh? Impressive as always, hun." Undyne complemented her, causing the Alphys to blush again, shrinking humbly. "While normally I hate to pull you from your work, Fluffybuns is making us something to eat right now. So c'mon down, we shouldn't keep him waiting."

"Is he doing the thing with the eggs and bacon again?" her voice rising a bit, sounding hopeful.

"Yep, if ya want it come and get it. Should be nice and hot by now." Undyne baited, which the reptile took hold of.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" She tapped a few buttons out of Undyne's view and the balcony above her came alive and began to slide down the wall on a conveyor belt. Seeing it make its way down, she moved back a good distance and stayed as it came to a complete stop. Once on the ground, she popped the side open and stepped out, revealing her form. Alphys was wearing a simple long, dark blue shirt that went down to her knees with the picture of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie plastered on the front. Now that she was on the ground, Undyne stepped over, pulling her into a hug, embracing tightly while place kissed the top of her head. As to be expected, Alphys squealed delightfully as her girlfriend gave her usual morning affection.

"Good morning, by the way." Undyne started.

"Morning to you as well," Alphys replied.

"Thanks. Now that you're here, let's get going." Said the fish girl, pulling away from her to lead, which the reptile quickly followed behind, making all kinds of small talk back up the stairs to the main part of the house.

Time: 11:20am

Location: Ebott Shopping Center

After a bit of time searching and searching for a good parking spot, they finally managed to find a good one that wasn't too near,yet not too far from the building. Turning off the car, Undyne was the first one out and waiting on the two of them to follow behind.

"Alright you two, we made it, outta of the car, we've got shopping to do!" She said, closing the door right away. Asgore and Alphys stepped out as well and looked upon the large building before them, big bold letters that spelled out: Ebott Shopping Center overhead. On the ground level, they saw tons of people and monsters walking in and out, some with bags, some without.

"Golly, It's still the same as I last saw it before," Asgore replied.

"Well yeah, you WERE here last month, remember? You were expecting some massive change so soon?" Undyne asked him.

"Undyne, you know I'm not one for these kinds of places." he pointed out to her.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, Loud places ain't your style. But we won't be here long, I promise. We just go in, get your suits, and get out. Simple."

"Don't worry Asgore," Alphys comforted, patting him on the arm. "I know the feeling of being in a place like this. It feels stifling at first, but you get used to it. It's loud, yes. But nothing you can't handle. You'll do just fine" she consoled, showing the Monster King a smile, which brought out his own.

"I'll do well to keep that in mind. Thank you, Alphys." Asgore replied.

"Happy to help."

"C'mon you two, let's get going!" Undyne called out to them, already standing in the divider bank. Nodding, they left the car and started towards the mall.

Once inside the building, the first thing that greeted them, was the cool air, what followed that was the various amounts of both people and monsters alike, as they were walking to and fro from place to place, store to store while some were simply sitting around in the comfort area and talking to each other about various things while allowing the children to play with each other.

"Leave the leading to us, Fluffybuns. Me and Alphy have been here multiple times, we know this place like the back of our hands, First things first. We gotta take the Escalator up to the fifth floor. Now, let's get going!" Undyne said, taking point while they followed behind, which didn't take long, seeing as how it was the first thing to greet them upon entering. Taking one at random, they rode past various floors, even though the ride was slow, it was pleasant. It gave Undyne and Alphys a chance to talk amongst themselves while Asgore took in the sight of the various stores they passed by. There were some within view of them, and they had very interesting names, along with the contents inside, at least from what he could see on the ride up. From what he saw, some names struck Asgore as odd as he read them. One of them read: Men's Lane and on the inside, he could see that there were an amount of suits, overcoats, bow and ties, sweater vests, and any other seasonal fashions that were on display, There was also one that had a lot more technology and devices with a majority of people coming in and out with bags and bags containing the store brand, for it read: IC Heaven. It was there where he got his phone and even as confusing as it was to get the hang of it, at first, seeing as how it was his first official one to begin with, he cherished it. Even though he didn't come here often, he had to admit, the place looked amazing, with so many stores to pick and chose from, he could guess why a lot of people would spend their time here.

As they continued upwards, while Undyne and Alphys were talking about some various stuff, he took in more sights of stores along the way, finding some odd, to say the least, and some of them very appealing which managed to capture his interest. He even saw a Bookstore and immediately remembered that he was in search of a new novel to read, hopefully, they would have it in stock. Making a mental note, he made sure to tell them about it coming back down to explore. As the escalator continued on, what Asgore saw next made him blush a fair shade of red as they passed it. A number of women; human and monster alike, going in and coming out with bags was surprising to say the least. Even at this distance, he could easily make out frills. Lots and lots of frills, Some white, some black, some in every spectrum of the rainbow. Just before his thoughts got out of control

"Hey, Asgore!" He jumped a bit, facing both Undyne and Alphys. "What's got your face all red?" She asked.

"Oh! Nothing, it's nothing." He said while looking off to the side.

"Nothing? Oh please," Undyne pointed out. "Something clearly is-" She looked at his eyes and shifted them towards where he was looking. The she noticed that department that they had passed by and showed off a teasing grin. Alphys saw that and only sighed at where this was going. "ohhhhhh, I see now." She followed up while walking down a few steps to be on his level. "I take it that you've noticed Colette's Visceral?"

"Was it that obvious?" he asked back, his voice humble.

"With your face turning red all of a sudden, yeah. It was."

"I see. Wish you hadn't seen that."

"Relax, Fluffy, it's nothing to be ashamed of, I mean, you'd definitely be the type to glow like that if you stepped in there." Undyne pointed out.

"So it would seem. Just what kind of store is it?" He questioned.

"Well, to put it in basic terms, it's a store where folks go to buy sexy outfits for their lovers, confidants, pets, you name." She waved her hand as various words came to mind. Hearing her be so casual about it flushed his cheeks a little harder this time.

"Really? People and Monsters really buy such things?"

"Yes and yes. You saw the amount of people coming in and out, so that question pretty much answers itself."

"I had no idea. But, wait, Undyne how do you know all this?"

"Well, I've in been there before at the behest of Alphy," Undyne trailed while looking back to the reptile seeing a noticeable blush that could match Asgore's fairly easily. To make it, even more, obvious, the replied awkwardly hunching over, fiddling her fingers together. "But I mostly got the details from Bratty and Catty. And yes, they both work there.

"They do? Not something I would have thought about."

"Nah, I could see it happen the moment we moved to the surface. The reason? Catty did it to impress Burgerpants while Bratty, being ever inseparable from her friend, tagged along just because. Despite their mannerisms, they're actually pretty good sales clerks."

"Really? That is impressive. Wait, she doing this to impress that sporadic young man?"

"Yep. Catty and BP are dating."

"They are?"

"Yeah. She texted me about it a couple of months ago. And think, all of that because he snuck them some burgers. Go figure."

"Indeed. When we were in the Underground, I was able to know about all my citizens' daily happenings, now that we're on the surface, I barely know anything now." Asgore chuckled to himself.

"That's the beauty of technology. But yeah, back on topic. That's pretty much all there is to be said about that store. And continuing on the topic of being there, Alphys tried to get me inside that place, even though she knows, I'm not really the frou-frou type of girl."

"You can be if you, y-ya know, tried." Alphys chipped in, making her girlfriend chuckle.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Hun but I think I'll stick to shorts. Besides, I hear from them that they received a cat-girl shipment a few days ago. If you like, we can stop by on the way back so you can try them out~" Undyne winked, making the reptile lightly mewl in protest, holding in her squeal.

"Undyyyyyne, don't tease me like that."

"Sorry, sorry. I know how much you like Mew Mew, so I thought, why not? That's the closest you can get, right?"

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"maaaaaaybe."

Watching his two friends go back and forth with their light teasing and banter, making each other laugh so easily, Asgore couldn't help but chuckle to himself as memories of the past started to resurface. Seeing the two of them on such good terms warmed his heart, but at the same time caused him to feel a low but noticeable pang in the same spot. His mind wandered back to simpler times when he and Toriel were like this, joking, talking, teasing one another without a care in the world. What he remember fondly was the sound of her laughter, that just eased his troubles away for a time. Nostalgia caused the carpine to smile at that and it persisted. The smile he was wearing was one that showed was of both happiness and longing. Seeing the top approaching, he shook his head of the thoughts and remained silent while listening to the two of them going back and forth.

Finally reaching the top floor and after a bit of walking down the lane, they had come to a stop as they reached the department of their original destination, and Asgore was the first to marvel at how it looked, from where he was standing. The first thing to greet them was a large and eye catching title that was accompanied by various images of clothing types above the lettering. There were also bulletins on the outside of the store advertising sales and deals with various at a certain percentage for both common and pricey outfits.

"And here we are; Yearly wears." Undyne announced while taking steps over towards the doors. "The store that has every type of clothing you can think of. Classy or Casual, Pretty and Flirty, you name it, they have it."

Confused, Asgore was quick to notice at how she said they had every piece of clothing here when they passed by various stores that had clothing in them, the concept still evading him, he spoke out about it. "They have every type of clothing in here? What about all the other stores that we passed by?"

"That's just how things work, Asgore. Certain brands and logos just appeal to various types of people. It sounds silly, yes, but that just how things are on the Surface. I wouldn't put too much thought into it. Let's just go in and get this done." Alphys pointed out, stepping into the store. Taking her advice, Asgore did just that and walked into the store with the both of them.

Once inside, he was greeted with a large assortment of cloths that ranged from short sleeved shirts to long sleeved ones. Pants, shorts, dress pants, dresses, that was just to name a few that was seen from where he was standing. He also noticed that, just like how there were people and monsters outside, there were some inside as well, all shopping and inspecting their choice of purchase. It wasn't too packed, it wasn't too thinned, it was just the normal amount during a weekday. He was tempted to go off on his own to do some searching while getting a feel for the place but was stopped when greeted by a voice, a semi-high pitch, and pleasant, that belonged to a young human woman. Walking up to them, Asgore could see that it was one of the clerks that had come to greet them, she was wearing the store uniform same as the ones walking around or working the cash registers

"Hi! Welcome to Yearly Wears, the store where our clothes are fashionable all year round. My name is Melissa," She introduced herself to the three of them, working her way across, starting with Alphys then Undyne, eyeing them both up and down and nodding. "How may I… I," The moment she made it over to Asgore, her words halted and failed as her eyes fell on him, causing smile slowly vanished as a faint blush began to take place, pursing her lips as a result. Noticing her sudden silence, Asgore couldn't help but chuckle both nervously and lightly. Not really knowing why she stopped her introduction, he only smiled a bit and gave her a little wave that snapped her out of it. Quickly shaking it off, she returned back to her professional state with a slight cough to start. "Welcome to Yearly Wears. My name is Melissa," she began again, cutting down the whole introduction to a shorter version. "How may I assist you all today?"

Just as he was about to say why they were there, but Undyne quickly stepped in, "We're here for this guy," dropping onto Asgore while her arm landed on his shoulder, she leaned against him for support while keeping the conversation going. "Well, him and his two kids back home. We need swimsuits for the three of them, Plans for a beach day coming up soon. Got anything to help us? Also, his kids are ages 12 and 10, so we need something for them too."

"Ah, I see. Then allow me to lead you to the summer section of the store. There, we have all you'll need for a full day of fun in the sun." She took point of them and lead them over to the men's section, allowing them to see what available for purchase. It wasn't that long a walk, just a few steps before the color changed to a more summer type hue, There were others that matched their respective season, but they didn't pay that much attention to them. "And here we are! Our very own small slice of Summer. From flip-flops to tank tops, swim trunks to one piece you can find it all here." The clerk pointed out while coming to a halt, as did the three of them.

"Perfect. We can take it from here, thanks."

"Wonderful! Once you're done, please make your way over to the registers and we'll ring you up. Until then." Turning away, she gave one Asgore one last glance and proceeded, attending to her duties, causing him to chuckle lightly.

"Well, she seemed friendly."

"That's what makes this place great when coming here… well, ONE of the reasons.

"There's more?" Asgore asked.

"That's right, look up." Alphys angled her head upwards while he followed. He looked up to see that various banners of people, both man, and woman, were in various styles of clothing that pertain to the season sections of garbs. The three of them were in the summer section so the outfits were vague matches of what was in the area. Most were in casual wear, such as shorts, and shirts without sleeves and flip flops. Nothing too out of the ordinary there, but it did beg the question why she told him to look.

"I don't understand. Aren't they all models just advertising?" He asked while looked at the others in various sections before returning his attention back to Alphys.

"You would think that's the case, but you'd be surprised that it's not. Those are regular people, all of them. Not the bigger models that you hear about on TV, but everyday folks." Undyne informed, much to Asgore's surprise.

"I didn't think things like that happened." he replied.

"Even though it's rare, it does happen. That's pretty much why this place is well known.

"That it does, Anyway, let's get what we can here for. It's my free day, and I'm gonna spend it watching Anime, nonstop. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to Assassination Classroom before sundown." Undyne pointed out while going through various articles of clothing to pass the time.

"And we wouldn't want to keep you from that, now would we? But keep in mind, Asriel wants green and yellow while Frisk wants blue and purple. See if you can find anything in those colors." Asgore instructed. With all that being said, they broke off to various part of the area in search of anything that would catch their attention.

The searching went fairly well, for finding swim trunks for boys was easy enough, but it mostly came down to styles though where they dwelled on for the most part. Asgore found something simple, not too crazy that he was sure that both boys would adore. Undyne and Alphys stuck together in theirs and compared what they found seeing which was a good choice, she found something with spiky designs while the reptile approached with more box-like patterns. Needless to say, it went pretty well, but that's to say there were moments when they would goof off, just to get a laugh out of each other. It ranged from Undyne holding up black speedos with a grin, causing both Alphys and Asgore to go red in the face to a revealing two piece, forcing the Monster King to face away. There was embarrassment to be shared and laughter to be had, overall, making the time out a good one.

"Honestly Undyne, did you really have to show me that?" They were now standing at the front desk with the items of their choice laid out, the cashier going over the pricing as they waited on her to finish up so they could leave.

"I think you reacted pretty well. Forgot about how fast you tinted."

"Hey, c'mon Undyne, don't tease him like that."

"Little late for that I'm afraid."

"But did you have to make it obvious?

"Doesn't get much more obvious when holding out speedos or a two piece." Undyne pointed out, chuckling to herself. The final ring broke their conversation to see that the cashier had finished the ringing. They turned their attention towards the man that had the store's logo on the bag, folding them neatly and placing them into the bag.

"Alright, the total is going to come around to $35.62. Will that be cash or credit?" He asked politely, patiently waiting on them.

"We'll go with cash. And no Asgore, I got it covered this time. Think of it as thanks for handling that little fiasco last week." Undyne said while reaching into her back pocket, preparing to pull out her wallet and pay.

"That will not be necessary." A firm and deep voice had spoken, breaking the, halting Undyne and causing Asgore and Alphys to look off to the side to see where it came from. When they did, they were surprised to see the human male walking their way, his face was strict and direct yet at the same time, calm and approachable, the perfect combination. His physique could easily be seen through the short sleeved shirt and vest, strong jawline and well-maintained beard.

From what they could guess just by appearances, he was the owner of the store.

The man was also accompanied by Melissa who was following close behind, holding a clipboard in her arms along with that same friendly smile as they got closer. Upon reaching them, they both stopped in front of the three of them, all eyes on him. To their surprise, he stood just as tall as Asgore and that was something they rarely saw.

"Allow me to introduce myself, My name is Matthew Millard, manager of Yearly Wears. Pleased to make your acquaintances" He held out his hand before Asgore as a gesture of a proper greeting.

Responding in kind, he took hold of his and gripped."Asgore Dreemurr. Pleased to meet you,Mr. Miller." He said with a shake before letting go. "Is there something we can help you with?"

"Quite the contrary, Mr. Dreemurr. It's something you can help me with."

"Me?" he asked, a confused expression painted his face.

"That is correct."

"What is it that he can do?" Undyne asked, interested in where this was going.

"I was just getting to that Ms… Ms"

"Undyne. And this here's my girlfriend; Alphys. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Millard." Undyne introduced them both, making things easier.

"A pleasure, ladies." He said with a bow of the head. Turning back to Asgore, he continued with what he was going to say. "Where was I? Ah, yes. From what my associate; Ms. Anderson has told me about you the moment you walked in our store, she was not wrong. From what I'm seeing, you definitely have the potential we're seeking."

"Seeking? How do you mean?"

"Before we touch on that, allow me to get a better look at you, Mr. Dreemurr." Matthew stepped closer to inspect the goat over, fingers tapping his chin as he kept his eyes on him, scanning thoroughly. "Hm, yes, yes I see." He began to circle the male, taking in all of what he had to offer. Needless to say that Asgore was nervous about the whole thing, but kept silent about it. "Broad, wide shoulders complemented with angled triceps, well-toned back, maintained glutes and arms with the right amount of muscles. Good, now let's move back to the front," he rotated to the front of the Monster King. "Pigeon chest with perfect pectorals and quite the belly on you. Not too much, and not too little, the perfect muscle gut." Matthew complimented while continuing to analyze.

Flabbergasted by the complement, Asgore felt a small sense of pride as he took great care to maintain his current body image. It wasn't often he was praised on something like that. "Um… Thank you, I try to make sure to keep it that way." he chuckled as he heard Matthew give one of his own.

"And you've done a good job, not to mention, you have a pretty impressive jawline as well, sculptured and boxed, a rare combination to have. Very impressive, Mr. Dreemurr." Matthew stated while stepping back to look at him whole again.

"Well, I think you're pretty impressive yourself, Mr. Miller" was the reply, earning a hearty laugh from the human.

"A customer with a good sense of taste. I find that most wonderful."

As the two males made slight conversation with each, Undyne couldn't help but chuckle herself as this was going on. She turned her attention down to Alphys, seeing that she was fidgeting nonstop and had her eyes solely focused on the two in front of her, even managing to see a blush tinting her cheeks. It didn't take much to put two and two together and grin formed on her lips, showing off her teeth. Leaning down while resting a hand on her, she lowered her voice to avoid being heard by the others. "So~"

"So, what?" Alphys replied, turning to see that Undyne had leaned into her space with a hushed voice, as well as grinning. Her eyes went wide and briefly turned away for she knew that type of smirk she was wearing and what would mean. "Undyne, no."

"Oh c'mon, you know you want too~"

"Undyne please, no…" her blush deepening.

"You're really gonna make me say it?"

"Undyyyne…!"

"Guess I am. Is your Baradar going nuts?" the fish-girl teased, making the reptile internally squeal at the idea of those two. and she knew was right. Alphys puffed her cheek in a huff as her blush persisted. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Why do you do this to me?"

"Cuz you're super cute when red."

"Oh my God." Undyne snicked at the answer she was given.

"Don't deny it, you know it's true and so do I. So~ do you ship it?" puffing her cheeks a little harder, still keeping her face turned, she only sighed at the question. Alphys wanted to pretend to be mad at her, just couldn't. Instead only smirking while turning to face them again, a chuckle leaving her lips.

"You know me so well. And yes, I do indeed ship." And her reward was a stolen kiss on the cheek.

"Pleasantries aside, the reason why I was inspecting you was that you have the potential to be a fellow model for Yearly Wears and I would like to offer you that chance." Matthew announced, catching all three of the Monsters off guard, especially Asgore.

"No way… No way! For real?" Undyne was the first to react

"I am indeed serious."

"Oh wow! That's something you don't hear every day."

"M-me? You want me to model?" Asgore asked the man before him, hesitation beginning to rear, but Matthew was quick to notice it, for he had seen this before.

"Indeed, I am. It's not often do we find someone of your appearance at our doorstep. Which is why I would like to have you on our team."

"Someone like me? I don't know,"

"you should go for it, Asgore. It sounds like a pretty good opportunity." Undyne pointed out to him. He looked over to the both of them. "You heard the man, this is something pretty rare. It's not every day you get a chance like this."

"I'm with Undyne on this, to be given something like this, I wouldn't refuse without thinking things through."

"Are you sure? I mean, it does sound nice, but…" he trailed.

"Mr. Dreemurr," Asgore turned when Matthew called out his name, listening to what he had to say. "You're nervous, I can both see and understand that. Many others were uncertain as well when I offered them a chance."

"They were?" was his response, less nervous and a bit more curious.

"That's right." Melissa chipped in. "Did you see the banners of people when you walked in?" she pointed the ceiling and they all did. "They were all just like you, Mr. Dreemurr, regular folks that were nervous about being asked to model. But, look at them now, here they are representing Yearly Wears."

"I see. That would explain why Undyne told me about them being normal."

"Indeed. I mean, being asked to model out of the blue, who wouldn't be hesitant about it? What I mean is, I'm not asking you be a full model outright just yet. Before we get to that, we shall start with protocol. I would like to introduce you to some sample photo shootings to help you get your feet wet and know what it is that you'll be doing, should you accept. What do you say Mr. Dreemurr?" Asgore could see that all eyes were on him now, waiting for the answer that determines everything. Needless to say, he was unsure about going through it. He didn't, rather he couldn't see himself as model material, let alone represent a company. He had no experience on the matter, plus, he already had enough to deal on plate and going through with this was just asking for more uninvited problems that he really didn't need. He was going to be a full time member of the UN and that was going to take up most of time, meaning that he wouldn't have time such luxuries, assuming that he would ever be accepted in. Plus, a Monster as a model, the notion was ludicrous at best . It was most likely for the best that he didn't go through with it.

Then again, there was the chance that he wouldn't land the position, so there was that bit of information to ease his mind. If that was the case, he guessed he could see what was the harm in trying out, they were just sample shoots after all, so why not?

"Well… I suppose I could try it out, for just a bit." was Asgore reply.

"Wonderful answer, Sir. I assure you that it will be an experience to remember long after you leave here. Please follow Ms. Anderson to the backroom, there, she'll help you get situated and prepped for the shooting, don't worry about paying for those." he motion towards the items on the counter. "I'll take care of it. I look forward to talking with you afterwards.

"This way Mr. Dreemurr." Melissa instructed while leading away while Asgore followed behind.

"What about Alphys and Undyne?" he asked.

"They can come to." That was all he needed to hear. Waving them to follow, they quickly tagged behind and all proceeded to the back of the store, eager to see the Monster King in action from behind a camera lens. All Asgore could hope was that this went well and that he wouldn't get the position, but a little break here and there would do him some good and help him study even more. now that he had the chance to relax.

Time: 1:05pm

After taking care of what they had originally set for, their time there was well spent. they took the rest of it to browse what was there to see, it ranged from the entertainment department to a bookstore or whatever managed to catch their attention best. They even took the opportunity to have lunch there along with Catty and Bratty afterwards, It was their break, so why not pay them with a surprise visit? With all that said and done, they had departed from the mall and were currently on the road with Undyne at the wheel while they were doing their own thing to pass the time on the way back home. The station that was currently on the dashboard radio with music playing throughout the car, serving as ambiance. As the driving went on, Undyne noticed that Asgore was staring out the window, propping his head while watching various cars go by. Normally this would be the point where they would be talking, but not him. He just kept quiet during the ride.

"C'mon Asgore, you're not still hung about the whole photo thing, are you?" Her question managed to jolt him a bit and his reply was a simple chuckle. "I figured you were."

"Sorry Undyne, I'm still coming to terms that I actually went through with it. How'd you know?" Asgore turned his eyes to her, seeing a toothy smirk appear.

"Asgore, we've been friends ever since I was a bratty little squirt, it's pretty safe to say that I know you, man, I'm a little shocked you would doubt that."

"Right right, I keep forgetting about that. I should have known better, But yeah, it goes without saying that I am."

"I can see that. I'm also gonna guess that you're worried that if you do land the position, it'll ruin your chances to get into the UN, right?"

"That too."

"Geez fluffybuns, you worry too much, ya know that?"

"It's a habit, I will admit."

"A bad habit.".

"I know, I know, it's just that, I want to make sure that everything goes correctly."

"And they will, I promise!" taking in a quick breath, she continued. "Look Asgore. I know you got a lot on your shoulders and I get that, but worrying about what's gonna happen next or something that's beyond your control is just wasting energy. You're better off being concerned when the day comes when you CAN do something about it than now. So just relax. We're all rooting for you." Undyne encouraged, bringing a smile to Asgore face. He could feel himself calming a little from her words for he knew that she was right. Running around in circles constantly worrying and wasting energy wasn't going to help at all. Pretty insightful coming from someone as brash as her, so he noted.

"Once again, you never cease to surprise me with that hidden side of you."

"That's what makes Undyne awesome, there's no predicting with her." Alphys chimed, she took that moment to look up from her book to add her two cents into the mix.

"Damn right I'm awesome! And don't you two forget it!" Was her reply, much to Asgore and Alphys' expectation, nonetheless, her reaction was something that was found to always be amusing, no matter what it was, she always managed to add that bit of kick as the topper. As the driving continued, a thought popped into Asgore's head and remembered. His sons were doing a project for school about buttercup flowers and was due soon. He got an idea and announced it to them.

"Undyne, before we return home, can we stop by somewhere? I want to pick up something for Frisk and Asriel."

"Um," the request had come out of left field, catching her off guard a bit. "sure, I guess I can do that, but why?"

"It's for their project and I want to help them, even if it's a little."

"For the squirts, huh?" she smirks. "Not a day goes by when you're not thinkin' about them."

"Of course. They're both my dust and blood, there isn't anything I wouldn't for them. If I can help in some form, even the smallest way possible way, then I'll do it. Anything to help them succeed." was Asgore's reply, much to the fish-girl's satisfaction. Nodding, she knew what he meant by that and agreed with him. She always wanted the best of her students, no matter what it was or what they did. Be it sports, playing simple games, morning warm ups, it didn't matter, so long as they always gave 100% she would be proud of them, no matter what they did or choose.

"You're a good father Asgore," Asgore blushed slightly, chuckling lightly as a claw scratched through his beard, enjoying the compliment. "You're simply amazing to the both of them, I've noticed. I just wish Toriel could see that." she added

"Come now Undyne, it's fine. I don't mind, honestly. Just so long as I can be there for my sons and my people, then that's all that matters to me."

I know, I know, just… Man! Wish she would just cut you some slack! You don't deserve the stink eye all the time."

"She has reason to still be upset after what I've done. But so long as we're on speaking terms, then I don't mind it."

Undyne could see that she wasn't going to get anymore out of him, she knew this all too well when the subject of his ex came into play. not seeing much of the point of trying to get more out of him, she decided to just leave it there, ending it with a sigh. "Fine, fine. No point in going on about it. Just wish you were a bit assertive sometimes." She took a breath to calm down. As much as it irritated her at how Toriel treated Asgore, she placed the thought out mind, not really in the mood to go on a tangent about her. With that out of the way, she decided to see where it was that Asgore wanted to go, pushing the thoughts out of mind. "Anyways, where was it that you wanted to go?"

"you already know the place," was his reply.

Time: 1:50

Location: Base of Mt. Ebott

Off in the distance of the mountain that overlooked the town and city of Ebott, there stood the mountain that had served as former captor to all of Monsterkind for passing centuries until this very day. The forestation that covered the base of the mountain served as accentuation point from where they stood while still being able to see from the ground. Now out of the car, they were now standing on the trail that led back to their former home and prison, Needless to say, mixed feelings were clearly evident, and that was just from looking at the outside. Especially Undyne and Alphys.

"Mt. Ebott… man. Never thought I'd see myself come back here again. It's a weird feeling." Undyne started her eye locked onto the mountainside in the distance.

"The feeling's mutual. This is the last place I'd ever want to be. Just looking at it from here, it's pretty creepy."

"Hmp. More like an eyesore, if you ask me." Both girls looked at each other with concerned expressions and Asgore was quick to pick up on that. He knew that this would happen, but what he had in mind wouldn't take him very long, so he granted them that reprieve. Stepping forward onto the dirt trail, they turned their attention back to him, seeing that he was smiling as usual.

"It is odd, returning to the place that held dominion over us. But, rest assured, we won't be here long. I'm just going to pick out some flowers and that will be all. I've been meaning to, but never got around to it."

"That would explain the flower pot you brought from home."

"Yes it does, Now then, this will only take a moment. Please, talk amongst yourselves until I return." turning away, he started his trek up to the mountain.

"Wait, you're going there alone?" Undyne stopped him, surprised that he suggest something dangerous.

"She's right, Asgore. Mt. Ebott is still a dangerous place to be, even now. Wouldn't it be better if we all went together?" Alphys suggested to him, but it was met with a simple chuckle and wave from the Monster King.

"That's quite alright. I'm just going to the Throne room and only there. I'll be back before you know it. Plus, it'll be faster if I go alone. Means I'll be back home to greet the boys. So please, talk amongst yourselves." He turned away from them and proceeded up the trail, leading to the mountainside while Alphys and Undyne stood there, watching him go. When he was out of earshot, now seemed like a good time to talk.

"Is there a reason why he needed to come here? We've could have stopped by a flower shop to get some buttercups." Alphys pointed out, watching Asgore get smaller and smaller the more he climbed.

"We've coulda done that if he wanted regular flowers, but those types of flowers very rarely bloom around this time. The kind in the mountain is different from the ones here on the surface. They'll stay in bloom all year round no matter what."

"Flowers that stay in bloom all year? Never heard of that before. I know that he brought me an abundant amount for conducting DETERMINATION infusion experiments and that they were still perfect fine after Frisk found them in my true lab. How did you know about them?"

"Something he told me when I was a kid, it just stuck with, I guess.

"Ah, I see."

"Not only that but also it would blemish his Gardener's Pride." was Undyne's reply, slightly confusing the reptile.

"Gardener's Pride?"

"Right, like you know how I have my pride as a warrior, he has his as a gardener. He grew those flowers from the ground up. Whenever he wasn't training me, I would find him tending to his flowers. They mean a great deal to him because he put a lot of effort in them. You can tell by how he treats ours back home." Alphys could see a smile on her face and took into account of what she just heard.

"I see, I never knew that side of him." she replied.

"You'd be surprised what you can learn when you hang out around him long enough." Alphys found herself nodding in agreement.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

"Good." A brief silence fell on them, but it didn't last. Toothily grinning, Undyne turned her attention back to the reptile which she noticed that it was aimed in her direction. "Well, Asgore did say to talk with each other, so let's do just that.

"S-sure. What did you have in mind?"

"I'm glad you asked, Babe." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, jumping to the pic section, a wide smile never leaving her face as she browsed the contents inside. Finding what she was looking for, she tapped the screen, enlarging the image and showing it off to Alphys, causing a deep shade of red to appear the moment her eyes fell on it. "You think Toriel enjoyed the gifts I sent her?"

Amidst the sea of bright yellow petals that decorated the floor of the now abandoned castle, It was that Asgore, resting on his knees, sat in the middle of the golden flower bed tending to flowers before him. With trowel in hand, quickly, accurately yet gently, he pressed into the soil of the selected flora and worked his way around it, making sure that the jabs were deep enough to the collected amount of dirt while making sure to avoid damaging the roots of others. He was happy to see that his garden was still doing alright, even after the departure of this place. It had been several months and still, the flowers were still the same as ever, much to his surprise. Then again, these weren't normal flowers after all. Now that the circling was done, he placed the shovel like tool off to the side and slipped his fingers into the ring, his claws easily slid through the dirt, the cool substance worked its way past his pads and through his white fur, bits and crumbs sticking easily as he took hold of the clump, essentially grasping the plant whole. With a gentle amount of force along with a firm grasp on the base, he lifted the plant from out of the ground bits of it dropping back into the now empty space beneath it. Moving it over the pot, he easily placed it in the center and scooped the surrounding dirt to cover the space. With a few pats for good measure, Asgore clapped off the dirt while proudly looking at his handiwork.

A flower that had been cleanly and perfectly eviscerated from its floral brethren and was now encased by a standard clay pot. Reaching down with a dirt covered hand, he fondly caressed the petals of the Buttercup and smiled. "Perfect, another successful transfer plant. Now they'll both have something to both show and tell about." Grasping hold of the pottery, along with the only instrument that he brought with him, Asgore stood upright with his items in tow. Allowing himself to gaze upon the wall of the throne room, memories came flooding back from just being in this room alone. Memories of his ruling alongside his then-wife, Where Asriel and Chara would play for countless hours to the point where he couldn't keep up anymore, where he would train Undyne, where he and Toriel would spend most of their time enjoying each other company… Even the memories of where everything had tragically came crashing down. Doing his best not to allow the past back in, he pushed the awful recollection away, he continued to allow the pleasant ones more free reign as phantasms of the golden days played out in front of him one by one.

It was hard to not get emotional watching the replay of his past, but despite the horrible history and alluvion of what had cast them all to the Underground, there were also plenty of good and cherished memories of this empty space. Letting out a sigh, Asgore figured that it would be best to leave now before any more moments latched on. He had two boys to go home two and he was one to keep his promises. Casting one last glance at his former home, he stepped past the divider and proceeded towards the entrance where his friends were waiting outside.

"I should come check on the flowers more often."

To be continued…