Okay people, sometimes i really hate you. jk, i love you all too much to hate you. but seriously, you guys are way too thirsty for older!scartale!charisk and since i suddenly couldn't stop thinking about it (the reviewer daichi ikesawa can attest to that), i decided to just write the damn thing. with bramblefire2's idea, it took me a whole day and around four mood swings with the change of music to write it. so the story is all over the place, but it's completed. i tried, but it's not as much romance as it is friendship so sorry *shrug* they're more partners than lovers so... i'll finish editing it and update it, but it'll be instead of the usual update since i am behind scheduale.

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAD READ, REVIEWED, FAVORITED, AND FOLLOWED MY STORY! I LOVE YOU ALL!

ENJOY ^^

warning: fighting, yelling, fluff, sadness

thanks a bunch for everything, you guys.

Confrontation

"No."

"BUT LADY TORIEL—"

"I said no."

Three monsters flinched at the harsh voice coming from the former queen, her words strong with authority.

"B-but why n-not, y-your h-highness?" The yellow dinosaur monster stuttered, her claws trembling around her papers. "Y-you kn-know th-that F-Frisk i-is—"

"Enough!" Toriel stood up, her paws clenched tightly and her muzzle set in a firm line. A skeleton sighed and rose from the couch and the trio turned to look at him as he stood in front of Toriel, eyesockets dark.

"tori. I had asked Alphys to do it since this has gone unattended for far too long. frisk isn't getting better and giving them soup and affection won't make it any better."

"Are you telling me that I don't know how to raise my child?" The boss monster trembled with anger. "I had asked you for help because I trust you and you turn around and look for strangers to talk to my child? You really think that someone who had never met Frisk before can help them where we, their family, couldn't?"

"yes." She faltered, eyes widening at the tired tone the skeleton sported. "we don't know how to help the kid. hell, we were the ones to cause this whole mess in the first place. and you know perfectly well our sins against them."

She flinched.

"Your highness," The blue-skinned monster rose from the couch as well, her fiery red hair swishing as she stood next to the skeleton, "Sans is right. We hurt them, we hunted them like they were… pray," She growled, "The punk can't trust us like we want them to. But maybe… Maybe…" She faltered here, but a big skeletal gloved hand was placed on her shoulder and she looked up. "Papyrus?"

The skeleton grinned and turned to Toriel. "LADY TORIEL, UNDYNE IS TRYING TO SAY THAT PERHAPS SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW FRISK COULD GIVE THEM A CHANCE OF BEING FREE."

"Free…?" The boss monster took a step back, shoulders hunched defensibly. "What is the meaning of this? Are you telling me that… that I am trapping my child?" She almost shrieked.

"O-of course n-not!" Alphys stood up as well. "P-perhaps we-we sh-should s-sit b-back down, w-we are t-too t-tense."

The four nodded and soon everyone were around the dining table, Undyne making tea and Papyrus helping the shaken Toriel to sit on the head of the table, smiling reassuringly at her.

"DON'T WORRY, LADY TORIEL. WE DO NOT THINK THAT YOU'RE NOT GREAT ENOUGH FOR THE GREAT HUMAN. BUT PERHAPS YOU NEED TO GIVE THEM SPACE."

"Space… but they're only nine… Asriel used to cling to me at that age…" Toriel looked down, shoulders quivering with suppressed tears. "Frisk still clings to me when I see them. I'm letting them have their own time and wait for them to come to me if they need anything. I never push them for answers. I am always there to make certain that they know that they're loved and nothing will happen to them ever again. What am I doing wrong?"

"nothing." Dark red eyes snapped up in surprise, looking to Sans, who was leaning on the wall next to Undyne, the redhead growling at him when he tried to sneak a ketchup into the kettle. He shrugged and appeared next to Papyrus, who sighed loudly.

"BROTHER, NO ONE WANTS YOUR DISGUSTING CONDIMENT IN THE TEA."

"why? it can 'condiment' the tea pretty nicely," Sans winked at the startled snort Toriel gave and shrugged when Papyrus shrieked with annoyance. Undyne groaned and Alphys nervously chuckled.

"SANS! WE ARE TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE SITUATION, NOT USE THOSE PUNS!"

"sorry bro. won't happen again."

"I HOPE SO…" Papyrus eyes his brother suspiciously and Toriel chuckled, turning away to wipe her eyes. Sans shrugged and looked dead into Papyrus' eyes.

"Now that that is 'kettle'd—"

"SANS!" Toriel barked a laugh and buried her face in her hands, soft sobs coming out of her. Undyne and Alphys stiffened while Papyrus smacked his face and muttered something about brothers and blame. Sans shrugged, appearing behind Toriel to pat her back.

"Your highness," Alphys took a deep breath and sat on the chair next to the former queen, "W-we know h-how much y-you h-have done f-for F-Frisk. B-but maybe it's t-time t-to let so-someone wh-who don't kn-know them to h-hear th-them out? Th-that person w-won't be able t-to judge F-Frisk since th-they don't know e-each other. I researched a bit, a-and humans n-need sometimes to g-go t-to one. I-it doesn't m-mean the-they're broken. Y-you d-didn't fail th-them."

"So what you are saying is that we won't ever be enough," Toriel exhaled heavily, body hunched over the table and the mother showing all of her exhaustion and fears to the world.

It was heartbreaking.

The door rang.

"I'LL GO GET IT!" Papyrus exclaimed and charged to the door. Undyne turned to Sans in confusion.

"The punk wasn't home?" Sans shook his head.

"nah, they're still sleeping in their room. this is just my bro being amazing as usual."

"What do you mean… Asgore?" Undyne blinked when the massive monster entered the house after the grinning skeleton. A predatory grin stretched on her face and she clapped Papyrus on the back when he reached her, circling an arm around his shoulder blades.

"You sneaky snitch!" She cackled and gave him a noogie, ignoring his pleas to be released. Alphys and Sans shared a look and she sighed while he shrugged as the two pushed the best friends out of the kitchen, giving the two boss monsters their time.

Asgore watched them leave with a fond smile before turning to the woman sitting by the table, his smile falling when he saw her.

"Tori…" He sighed and briskly approached her, grabbing a chair and settling next to her, maneuvering her so she would be clinging to his shirt. She sobbed as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"I… I failed them, Gorey! I thought that I only failed at keeping them safe. But I also… I also… Asgore, I killed them! Sans told me how those scars... Those scars on them is my entire fault! They are suffering and I can't do anything to make them feel better. All I can do is stand at the side and see another one of my children fade away. I can't do this anymore! I can't keep doing this anymore!"

"Tori…" Asgore sighed, knowing that this conversation was bound to happen, "I knew about their ability."

Toriel stiffened. He continued. "I had figured it out when you came to me about Frisk's pleads with me not to kill them. At the time you were in enough pain and I didn't want to burden you but now… now you know and I must confess my sins.

I had killed them ten times."

Toriel let out a sob. He inhaled raggedly. "And despite that, they still forgave me. They still call me 'dad' and smile happily when I show them how to take care of the garden. They still want to be around me. They still want me. And Tori, they still want you, their mother, to be there for them when they need it. But it's time to let someone share that burden. Keeping it to us had perhaps made things worse since we didn't see Frisk's needs but ours. We were scared to admit that we couldn't 'fix' our child, but it's not a matter of fixing…"

"It's a matter of guiding…" Toriel ended for him, her sobs still shaking her body. "I have been so selfish, haven't I?"

"We were all selfish." He smiled and patted the back of her head. "But we learn from our mistakes. So how about it, Tori? Want to give it a chance?"

Toriel let out a shuddering laugh. "It should happen even if I don't want to. If it'll help Frisk, I should do anything to give it to them." She inhaled deeply and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Thank you, Asgore, for not letting me make another mistake."

"I'm always happy to help," He smiled broadly, straightening up. When she looked at him in confusion, his smile turned warm and he placed a hand on hers, eyes filled with love. "I still want to give you everything I have. I still want to be by your side and help you when you need it. Just because I'm not your husband anymore doesn't mean that I am not your partner. And also," His eyes crinkled, "Frisk is my child as much as they are yours."

Toriel gazed at him in awe, muzzle trembling and fresh tears coming out of her eyes. She covered her mouth and turned away, shoulders trembling. "Thank you, Asgore. Thank you, Gorey… Thank you so much…"

He enveloped her in a quick embrace before backing away, his paws lingering on her shoulders, then on her face before releasing her. "Anytime."

Toriel smiled wetly at him, eyes filled with warmth. "Frisk is sleeping upstairs. Do you want to see them?"

Asgore stared at her in shock. The woman had never given him a direct consent to visit their child, always letting Frisk decide if they want to see him or not. He wanted to ask for the change of heart, but instead he quickly nodded and bid her goodbye as he headed to the stairs.

Toriel watched him go before slumping back into her chair, all strength leaving her as she cried.

And this marks the end of the seventeenth installment. if you have any criticism or anything to add, i would be happy to hear them.

please read and review so i could do better or be happy that people enjoy my writings ^^

p.s. for those who didn't understand.

'Something written' - Frisk's written words.

Something in italics - is frisk talking to chara in their head.

*something in italics - is chara talking.

something in bold - flashback