It was late in the night, and Asgore couldn't sleep. It was his first night in his new home with Frisk and Toriel, and he was lying awake, feeling so happy and lucky that he couldn't even imagine sleeping.

Part of him was absurdly worried that if he did sleep, he'd somehow wake up and discover that this was all a dream, and that he was actually still Underground, sleeping alone, walking alone, gardening alone - always alone.

But each time he thought of that, he looked over to his side and found Toriel there, curled up on her side and sleeping deeply. He wondered how she could sleep so easily. He wished he knew how. He turned around and slipped his arms around her waist, pressing up behind her carefully, hoping not to wake her. Just doing that was also dreamlike, and he rested his face behind her head, taking in her scent deeply and sighing from how comforting it - and she - was.

To his surprise, he heard a sigh from her in response, and she whispered, "Go to sleep, Asgore."

He went red, embarrassed that he'd been caught not only awake, but cuddling her in such a silly way. "I... sorry," he stammered.

Toriel woke up a bit more, unable to help it. Feeling him against her back, being held by him in such a tender way, was actually wonderful to her. She'd fallen asleep so easily at his side, not having done so in ages, and she knew that the difference was him. She also knew that his sleeplessness was also like him. He'd been like that the first few months of their first marriage, after all.

Old patterns, new again. Old love, reborn and stronger.

Toriel remembered, then, just how to make him sleepy. With a sly grin, she turned over and faced him, and he blinked at her, surprised by her expression. She reached up and touched his cheek gently, and his eyes softened - and so did her own. She slipped close and pressed against him, sliding her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. His eyes flared, but he automatically held her close. She kissed him, gently, and he murmured softly against her lips, desire hitting them both.

In mere moments, they were naked together, and shortly after that, Toriel had climbed atop him and had taken him into her, pressing against him and holding him close. She moved in such a way that drew it out, made it last, but both were quiet, gasps of pleasure mere puffs of air, cries of delight muffled by deep kisses and gentle caresses. They knew they had to be quiet, lest they wake up Frisk, but there was almost something sweeter about the quiet, more intimate, as though so much more could be exchanged and conveyed only through gestures in silence.

When Toriel hit her peak, she bit down on her lip and had to hide her face in Asgore's neck, clinging to him tight. He held her, shutting his eyes and loving every moment of it, adoring that she always seemed to smile whenever she came, and marveling that it was he who could bring her such pleasure. When she calmed, he kissed her, then rolled her gently onto her back. She hooked her legs around him and arched her back, closing her eyes and sighing deeply, still smiling. He leaned down and held her close as he moved, finding that keeping quiet could indeed be a challenge, but one he met easily. It was easy - everything was - with Toriel.

When he was close, she knew it, and pulled him closer, holding onto him tighter - everywhere. He swallowed a groan and shut his eyes tight, and he kissed her, the sound small against her lips, but enough to bring a soft sound from her in reply. She whispered, so gently, "Please, Gorey," and her words, like always, struck him deep. He was unable to hold back, and held her tight as he came, shaking, barely able to restrain himself from crying out her name.

She held him as they both calmed, already feeling sleepy again. Now, finally, he felt that way, too, and nuzzled his face into her neck, bringing a small laugh from her. They stayed that way for so long that when Toriel's eyes closed and her hold on him relaxed, he barely realised it. He had the thought to grab a blanket and pull it over them lazily, before sleep claimed him, too. Throughout the night, though they moved a bit in slumber, they still remained close, so that when they awoke in the morning, it was to each other.

The first morning of their fresh start.