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Chapter 21 The Long Awaited Camping Trip
Warnings?: Nothing too bad, but there is a scene about a mysterious magazine that people sensitive to second hand embarrassment might have an issue with (NO, WAIT, COME BACK, IT'S NOTHING FREAKY! I PROMISE!)
Summary: The gang finally go on their camping trip! Everyone has a fantastic time, they explore a beautiful forest, go hiking, tell stories by the campfire, eat marshmallows, then bedtime soon comes and Frisk sends Flowey a text, it seems they have something to discuss…
Notes: I'm just going to leave this fresh batch of Gold Star cookies out here for you guys, even if you did... or didn't figure out why Frisk was acting so strangely in the last chapter, I think you'll enjoy them as a snack for this part of the story anyway.
Inspiration Song: 'Glad You Came' by The Wanted
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
You cast a spell on me, spell on me
You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me
And I decided you look well on me, well on me
So let's go somewhere no-one else can see, you and me
...
...
Flowey was sitting in the car watching sleepily as Papyrus, Sans, Toriel and Frisk went over the list of things they needed for the trip.
…It had been at least fifteen minutes since they started, at least it felt like it.
"CHIPS?" Papyrus questioned as he read from the checklist.
Frisk peered in the trunk, "got everything except ranch flavor,"
Papyrus checked off the list, "…ACCEPTABLE, THOUGH WE WILL NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT FROM UNDYNE," he shook his head and continued on, "VEGETABLE TREATS?"
Frisk looked embarrassed, "sorry, I couldn't help myself, I ate the last bit for breakfast this morning, but we still have ranch,"
"heh, maybe we can use it on the chips," Sans quipped, this gained a few snickers from Toriel and Frisk.
"AS I SUSPECTED, NO MATTER, I BROUGHT BACKUP VEGETABLE TREATS BECAUSE I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ADORE THEM," Papyrus said.
"Aw! Thank you Paps!" Frisk said cheerfully.
"YOU ARE QUITE WELCOME, NOW, SLEEP BAGS?"
Frisk patted at the fabric of one of the sleeping bags, "got all four of 'em plus an extra one just in case,"
Sans suddenly yawned loudly "if you don't mind bro, i'm just gonna go ahead and get in the car," he said pointing to the passenger seat with his thumb bone.
"I DO MIND, WE ARE NOT FINISHED AND YOU MUST PARTICIPATE," he then smiled at his friends as he looked over the next check box, "TOOTHBRUSHES? DID EVERYONE PACK THEM?"
"Yes, of course," Frisk said.
"Sure." Flowey called flatly from the car.
Before Sans could respond Toriel gasped suddenly, "oh! I do believe I forgot! I will be right back!" and scurried off back into the house.
Papyrus scribbled something on the checklist "TSK-TSK. AS I KNOW YOU HAVE YOUR TOOTHBRUSH SANS, AND I HAVE MINE… AND…HMMM…,"
Flowey poked his head out the door, "what? Are you done?"
Papyrus chuckled, "NO, OF COURSE NOT, I WAS JUST TRYING TO REMEMBER IF I BROUGHT MY HANDY DANDY PORTABLE OVEN SET AND- SANS WHAT DID I SAY? OUT OF THE CHAIR, ACCORDING TO THE LIST IT IS NOT TIME TO GO YET,"
Sans merely turned around in the car chair, with his legs hanging out of the doorway, "how's this?"
"NO SANS, OUT,"
"my legs are out,"
Frisk started giggling, watching as the brothers did their usual back and forth shenanigans, the show soon ending when Toriel came out with a toothbrush in hand, pleased with herself.
And then, Papyrus with one small scratch to a check box, his face lit up, "OKAY, WE HAVE EVERYTHING, LETS A-GO CAMPING FRIENDS!"
Everyone let out simultaneous breaths of relief.
...
Everything was quiet and getting slightly awkward until Sans flipped on the radio.
Then, sitting in the middle of the two teens, Papyrus looked over to Flowey, "I AM VERY HAPPY YOU AND FRISK ARE TALKING AGAIN, THINGS JUST DON'T SEEM RIGHT WHEN YOU TWO ARE AT ODDS WITH EACH OTHER,"
Flowey smiled lightly up at him from his phone, "thanks, Paps, I agree,"
"SO, NOW THAT IT'S OVER, WHAT WAS THE FIGHT ABOUT? NEITHER FRISK NOR YOU TOLD US, AND IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO GIVE ADVICE FOR LITERALLY SOMETHING YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT," he said.
Both Flowey and Frisk in question frowned, if one looked closely, they'd be able to see panic deep in both their eyes.
"Yes, I would also like to know," Toriel said from the driver's seat.
"ditto," Sans said.
"What fight?" Frisk blurted, attempting to look oblivious, causing Flowey to let out a nervous chuckle.
"THE FIGHT YOU TWO SAID YOU HAD AFTER YOU WENT TO THE FAIR, THE ONE THAT CAUSED FLOWEY TO LEAVE TO ASGORE'S FOR A MONTH, YOU KNNOOOW, THE ONE THAT CAUSED YOU TWO TO NOT TALK, AT ALL, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SIMPLY MUST KNOW,"
Frisk raised their eyebrows as if they finally remembered, "ohhh! That fight!"
"YES. THAT FIGHT." Papyrus said lowering his eyes.
For a split second did Flowey and Frisk lock eyes before Frisk shrugged, "can't say, it's a special human and flower only secret, we can only talk about it with other flowers and humans."
But Toriel spoke up, "but Flowey is-," then sighed in defeat and shook her head, "no, I don't think it's no use asking Papyrus dear, if they want to keep it secret, then it's only right it should stay that way,"
Papyrus nodded firmly, "YEAH, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, A SECRET IT SHALL STAY UNLESS ONE OF THEM OR BOTH FINALLY DECIDES TO CONFIDE IN US, AND ON THAT DAY, I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO GIVE THE RIGHT ADVICE,"
"And we will be sure to take it with open arms, O' Great Papyrus," Frisk said with a warm smile, then was very quick to switch the subject, "soooo, mom said the speech went really well yesterday, I still wish I could have gone,"
Papyrus beamed, "WE HAD IT RECORDED! ONCE I GET IT BACK, I WILL SEND IT TO YOU A.S.A.P," he then turned back to Flowey, "THAT REMINDS ME… I HAVE BEEN THINKING, FLOWEY, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?"
Flowey blinked, unpleasantly taken aback "what do I want to be when I what now?"
"DON'T WORRY IT WAS NOT A PUN! I SAID: 'WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP'! I ASK IT ALL THE TIME WHEN I VISIT THE SMALLER HUMAN SCHOOLS, FOR EXAMPLE, FRISK WANTS TO BE AN AMBASSADOR LIKE ME, OR HOW UNDYNE IS BECOMING A POLICE OFFICER, OR, HOW METTATON BECAME AN EVEN BIGGER, FLASHIER ENTERTAINER THAN BEFORE,"
Flowey frowned, always becoming deeply troubled whenever asked this particular question, for such a long time as a child he had been so absolutely sure royalty and/or ultimate power was going to be in his future, but after Frisk entered his life and changed everything, he had no idea what he wanted anymore for himself, he'd been pretty much a directionless mess since he left the Underground and still was one.
"Mmm, uh, I don't….really… know?"
"IT'S FINE IF YOU DON'T, YOU STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT, AH-HA! I KNOW, MAYBE YOU CAN BECOME A GREAT ROCKSTAR? I'VE BEEN TOLD YOU HAVE TALENT WITH MUSIC,"
A crooked smiled appeared on Flowey's face, still troubled, but now was mostly flattered, there was only a small handful of people who could have told Papyrus something like that.
"Thanks buddy, but what Frisk has told me about their adventure with Shyren, I don't think the rock star life is for me,"
Frisk pulled on their dark shades, and looked out their window dramatically.
"Yeeeeaah, it isn't an easy road, that's for sure. Nothing can prepare you for that sort of lifestyle, trust me boys,"
. . .
Not too long later they switched the subject and continued talking until they made it to the forest, who they met up with Undyne, Alphys and Asgore, who all helped them bring in their bags and supplies.
Undyne pointed everything out as they walked, giving them a brief mini tour.
"Over that way, if you walk a ways there's a hidden pond, it's worth taking a looking at, last year Alphys and me took the best picnic ever, ever. " she then pointed to a wooden shack as they passed it "washroom, toilets, whatever, it's in surprisingly good condition and clean so there's no reason to be a complete wuss and avoid it."
"Any snakes or bears?" Flowey asked abruptly.
"Not in the bathroom, but outside? Well I'm sure there are snakes, maybe small ones, I think I saw a medium sized wildcat once, it was really cool," Undyne answered.
"I think it was called a bobcat," Alphys spoke up.
Undyne snickered, "yeah, I thought it had a hilarious name, thanks sweetheart,"
"Are they dangerous?" Toriel asked worriedly.
"Um, I think not to us? There aren't there many in this area, so I don't think there's much to worry about, I brought different types of repellent just in case," Alphys answered.
And then, finally they reached the telltale sign that they reached their campsite by the looks of the Asgore sized tent and an average sized one not too far away with a few gadgets scattered about and three fold-able chairs set up.
"Okay! Looks like we're here! You can put me down Papyrus," Flowey said to the taller skeleton that had been carrying him.
"Now you're excited?" Frisk asked with an amused and curious smirk.
Flowey grinned cheekily at them as Papyrus knelt down and sat him and his flower pot onto the ground, "Yeah, I just realized how much good junk there has to be lying around here! It's time to add to my collection," he looked up at Papyrus, "just tip me out a little, this is fine, thanks,"
Papyrus did so, carefully tipping the pot over until Flowey began to move his roots out to the forest dirt, "JUNK COLLECTING? THAT REMINDS ME!" he looked up to Undyne, "DID YOU BRING MY METAL DETECTOR THAT YOU BORROWED?"
She held it up the entire thing effortlessly, "sure did buddy!"
Flowey then transferred his roots fully into the dirt, wiggling them out deeper into the earth, it was always an oddly refreshing feeling, he looked up at Papyrus, "does that mean you want to go with me?"
Papyrus smiled in agreement but held up a boney index finger "YES IT DOES, BUT FIRST, WE MUST BE RESPONSIBLE AND DO OUR DUTY TO HELP THE OTHERS GET EVERYTHING SET UP,"
Flowey sighed, forcing back his excitement to explore the vast forest "of course,"
…
After everything was done, Undyne began to change into her hiking boots.
"You see these Frisk? I'm going to climb the mountain, I've have to see just how tough you were as a puny little baby brat to make it all the way up," she said with a determined grin.
Frisk smirked back, looking impressed "too bad I don't remember much about it to give you any advice, good luck,"
Asgore perked up, "I will go with you, I am also interested in the trek, I also want to see how well they covered up the hole that Frisk fell through,"
Flowey looked over at his dad in surprise, "what?"
He nodded firmly, "yes, recently I hired a few monsters to cover it up so no one else could fall in and get hurt again, it took us quite a long time to find it,"
"I'm glad. That is probably one of the best choices you have made in a long time," Toriel said genuinely, she seemed proud.
He thought about Chara's grave site, saddened it would no longer get that beam a light that had always shined down warmly, it always grew the strongest flowers, and it was the spot he would always go to on his loneliest of days.
Then he looked over at Frisk, who looked lost in thought.
Without that hole, he wouldn't have met them either, but then again… Chara was long gone and no one was stuck in the mountain anymore, despite his saddening nostalgia, he guessed Asgore was right, it was for the best that the hole was patched up.
Maybe one day he'd have to take a look at that patch himself as well.
"It sounds like all of you are gonna have a blast, but I think I'm going off alone to go take pictures, this forest is super gorgeous," Frisk spoke up.
"Huh? you don't want to come with us?" Flowey said, now disappointed.
Frisk frowned, going momentarily silent as they mulled it over, then smiled awkwardly, "sorry, I need quiet if I want to get the really good shots, but I will def catch up with you two later, I've got an eye for finding hidden objects,"
"NYEH HEH! GOOD IDEA FRISK," Papyrus said, giving them a supportive pat on the shoulder.
"Oh!" Toriel chirped and went over them "are you sure you do not want to go with Sans and I? We are going snail collecting, and you are well aware that we are fairly quiet, so I am sure you will get very beautiful shots if you come with us,"
Frisk giggled, "no mom, don't worry, I'll be fine by myself,"
"Don't let the bobcats eat your legs kid!" Undyne called, waving as she and Asgore began to walk off in direction to the mountain.
"I won't!" Frisk called back, waving back cheerfully.
Toriel rubbed at her left temple, "I very much wish she had not said that," she said in a low concerned tone.
After a few minutes of reassuring Toriel, everyone broke off from the campsite, with Alphys following Papyrus and Flowey at the last minute, looking up their more mysterious finds on her phone.
. . .
A few hours later…
"-and I just don't think the fandom understands just how great and beautiful this couple is, so I feel it's my duty as a die hard Kissy Cutie fan to ship them until the end of time, they deserve it," Flowey heard Alphys firmly say as he popped up to the surface, he brought out a dingy rolled up magazine.
"WHAT'S THAT?" Papyrus asked, readying open the loot bag.
Flowey grinned enthusiastically, "I don't know yet, I found it under some leaves at a nearby abandoned campsite and took it without really looking through it, usually I'd ignore this sort of stuff, but something about it just seemed… mysterious?" he proceeded to unroll the magazine, the cover was faded and caked with dirt but he could tell there was something else was hidden inside, it looked like another magazine, so he flipped it open…
-and then immediately closed it tightly, his eyes now wide with shock and out of focus.
Both Alphys and Papyrus grew increasingly curious as Flowey's entire face quickly changed color.
"…Is…is that what I think it was?" Alphys asked suspiciously, scandalized, holding a claw over her mouth.
"IS WHAT YOU THINK IS WHAT?" Papyrus asked innocently.
Flowey said nothing but merely sternly roll the magazine back up and fiercely stuff it back it deep into the dirt where it belonged, free from the prying eyes of the older monsters.
"Yup, it was definitely what you thought it was Alphys," a familiar voice said from directly up above them.
…OH! Oh boy…
The three of them looked up to see Frisk, whom was caught in a net hanging from high up in a tree, with one leg sticking out, swinging it back and forth playfully, causing a few dirt and leaves to flutter down.
"OH NO! YOU'VE BEEN CAUGHT IN A TRAP! NOT AGAIN!" Papyrus cried out, reaching up toward them to help, but the net was too far up to even touch.
"Yeah, I've just been haaaanging around," they said in a sing song voice, swinging their leg in time.
"Are you okay?" Alphys asked with concern.
"Oh yeah I'm fine, I got stuck in here like ten something minutes ago, I'm preeeetty sure I can get myself out, but I noticed how nice it was, so I decided to stay for a while," they said.
"Seriously?" Flowey asked, slightly amused.
Frisk let out a sigh and attempted to stretch, shifting around a little, they were most likely getting pretty uncomfortable in there.
"…No, the rope is all gunked up and I dropped my phone when the net snatched me up, so I didn't have any gadgets to use, but I knew I would eventually get out sooner or later, still… it is pretty nice up here, I even saw a humming bird a few minutes ago, it was beautiful,"
Papyrus looked around and perked up when he finally noticed Frisk's phone and picked it up "FOUND IT! IT IS UNDAMAGED,"
"Thanks," Frisk said as Papyrus managed to hand it back to them.
"How come you didn't say anything sooner?" Alphys asked.
Frisk shrugged nonchalantly "I was, but you know I don't like to interrupt you when you get that passionate,"
Suddenly, stricken with an idea, Flowey raised a spiked vine, "here, Alphys back up, Papyrus, hold out your arms, Frisk…brace yourself, I'm gonna cut the rope,"
"What?!" Frisk blurted.
"OKAY!" Papyrus replied and did as he was asked, holding his arms out readily.
"No hold on, wait a minute!" Frisk cried out, but it was too late, Flowey was already lashing at the rope with his vine like a whip, it only took three quick slashes before everything came lose and Frisk, plus piles of leaves, dirt and twigs tumbled down on top of Papyrus, bringing them both to the ground with a loud thunk!
Papyrus and Frisk groaned in pain, Papyrus groaning even more as Frisk rolled off his arms and flopped onto to the dirt on their belly.
Flowey grit his teeth in embarrassment, watching in worry "oh! Golly, are you two okay?" this really wasn't how he envisioned his rescue to go.
"Never better," Frisk replied from the dirt, giving him a thumbs up, letting out an exhausted laugh.
"AND I AM DANDY. THIS MEANS NOTHING THOUGH, I WAS SIMPLY UNPREPARED FOR THE SUDDEN WEIGHT THAT WAS DROPPED UPON ME, FRISK IS A LOT HEAVIER THAN I REMEMBER THEM BEING," Papyrus said flicking a twig off his sleeve, looking disheveled but thankfully not mad, and neither did Frisk.
Alphys ran over to them and proceeded to help the two, patting the dirt and debris from their clothes as they moved into more comfortable sitting positions.
"Are you sure you're both alright? That was a pretty long fall," Alphys asked looking them over.
"I have a few scratches, but it's nothing some ointment and few band aids can't fix," Frisk said as they examined their thankfully tiny wounds.
"SAME." Papyrus said and the pulled at the old broken net and rope below them, "HMMMMM. A HUMAN CAUGHT IN A HUMAN TRAP, HOW IRONIC!"
"Yeah, I think I've gotten rusty, I wouldn't have fallen for this when I was little," Frisk replied and carefully stood up, helping Papyrus up as well before they began dusting their clothes one last time.
"NO, THIS IS A GRADE A DOUBLE PLUS PLUS TRAP, IT LOOKS AS IF IT HAD BEEN HIDDEN FOR A VERY LONG TIME, I MAY HAVE GOTTEN TRAPPED IN IT TOO IF I WERE A HUMAN,"
"Sorry guys," Flowey finally said guiltily.
Frisk smiled warmly down at him, "don't be, it's okay. You did good."
Suddenly Alphys let out a horrified gasp, causing the other three to instinctively turn to look to her.
"Undyne and Asgore fell down the hole!" she cried out looking down from her cell phone.
"OH NO! WAIT . . . I THOUGHT IT WAS PATCHED UP?" Papyrus asked, alarmed.
Alphys ran a claw over a head horn, "it was, but apparently they broke it after giving it too many test stomps, causing it to crack, and, um, Asgore said that they're fine and so is the flower bed,"
Flowey let out a relieved sigh, "that's good, and bad. Or no, mostly bad …so…they're stuck down there for the rest of the trip?"
Alphys nodded unhappily, "Undyne said that they won't be back until at least late tomorrow since they have to go through the whole Underground to make it to the exit and then make the trip to reach us again,"
Frisk blew out an impressed whistle and brought out their phone, "I'm going to send them moral support texts,"
Papyrus brought his out too, "YES! LETS ALL SEND THEM EMOTIONAL SUPPORT!"
Flowey, the only one without his phone, smiled tiredly as he watched the others, "you guys want to take this back to the campsite?"
Alphys let out a loud sigh of relief, "I thought no one would ask!"
"…SO INQUIRING MINDS NEED TO KNOW, WHAT WAS IN THE MAGAZINE?" Papyrus asked the split second before they began walking again.
Flowey exhaled roughly through his teeth, switching his eyes back and forth between Papyrus and Frisk, "…uhhmmmm…boring…human…things…?" he answered as innocently as he possible could, his root system re-finding the magazine and smashing it further and further down into the dirt.
Frisk seemed to be having a very difficult time holding back a stupidly giant grin, "yeah, super boring human stuff,"
That was when Flowey couldn't handle anymore embarrassment on the subject and disappeared into the dirt, no one seeing him again until they reached they campsite.
…
Later
Alphys looked up her from her phone "okay, um, Undyne says 'to stop giving her moral support,' and that 'she's had enough to last her the rest of her life', she also says that 'seriously, all of you are going to keep Asgore up all night trying to respond to all of the messages',"
Frisk smiled sheepishly as they continued typing on their phone, "just one more,"
Meanwhile, Toriel was busy gathering up the logs for the camp fire, she shook her head "they will be fine. Undyne and Asgore are extremely tough Boss monsters, although… I wonder how far they've gotten since they fell…I know! Alphys, ask Undyne at what time they fell, I believe I shall time them,"
"Okay Ms. Dreemurr," Alphys said with a slightly nervous smile.
"This ought to be interesting, good thinking mom," Flowey said as he looked through the loot pile with Papyrus.
"i was just thinking that," Sans said, walking over to sit next to Frisk.
"You were thinking of calling her mom?" Frisk asked with a silly grin.
"yup." Sans replied.
"SANS YOU CAN'T…," Papyrus began, but then paused, changing his mind, "NEVER MIND, I SUPPOSE TORIEL IS LIKE EVERYONE'S MOTHER, SHE IS THE QUEEN…IF YOU WANT TO SEE THAT WAY,"
Flowey shook his head dismissively, holding back a crabby comment, not enjoying the idea of sharing his mom with Sans, or the entire Monster population for that matter.
"Um, she says that they just made it to Snowdin, and that they fell an hour ago, she also sent me the first message about falling at 4:44. I guess you can go on that," Alphys spoke up to Toriel.
Toriel smiled politely, "thank you Alphys," she then dusted off her hands before pulling out her phone, "I shall now pull out the Timer App that Undyne showed me and. . . there!" she walked over to Alphys and showed her the phone, pointing to it, "do I leave it running or…?"
"Yup and… wait a second- I wonder if the River Person is still working there? Your idea might not work as well if they use their services," Alphys said.
Toriel shrugged, "it is fine, it's still quite a expedition with or without the River Person,"
"Okay, whatever you say Ms. Dreemurr…" Alphys said, and then with another device, plugged it into her phone.
"What is it that you are doing now?"
"Seeing if I can make the signals stronger, I have a special system for texting, but trying to make a call from here to the Underground is…um…very, very difficult, and I was thinking that… maybe if I can get it to work, we can talk to Undyne and Asgore on speaker phone, I really hate that they had to miss out,"
"Awww, that's so sweet Alphys," Frisk gushed.
"IT REALLY IS," Papyrus added.
Alphys smiled shyly, "thanks."
. . .
The sun was in the midst of setting, lowering its self slowly but surely while the stars were beginning to show themselves, a few twinkles at a time.
Meanwhile as Alphys worked on her phone, Toriel finally started up the camp fire, causing Papyrus to jump up and gather the food, over eager to start cooking.
He wasn't the only one to cook, Toriel soon joined him, with Sans dodging around and between them to help out.
At some point during the fun, Flowey found himself popping up next to the chair that Frisk sat in, he couldn't have been less obvious if he tried.
They didn't seem notice him at first though... they were busy scrolling through their phone, they had a tense expression on their face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Frisk jumped in surprise, quickly hiding their phone in their bag, "nothing! Just… reading through some old texts… from ouuurrr not-so-old pal Florencer?"
He stared at them suspiciously, "you mean Forester?"
They stared back, and then let out a short nervous, embarrassed laugh at themselves before quickly settling back down, "yeah, him, that guy,"
Flowey frowned, obviously Frisk was lying to him and was also doing a terrible job at hiding it, but… from the way they were acting something told him it was best to ignore it.
"…Are you still 'hung up' on him? You look kind of upset," he genuinely asked, going along with their lie.
Frisk looked at the others, whom had gone mostly quiet and were trying to hide the fact (and failing) that they were side glancing at the teenagers, Frisk then looked at Flowey and motioned at the rest, whispering down to him.
"We'll talk about it later, we have an interested audience at the moment,"
Flowey blinked and looked at them, growing embarrassed… for Frisk.
"Yeah, gotcha," he whispered back.
"I got it!" Alphys announced suddenly holding up her phone as if it were a magical scepter wand, and then quickly shrinking back when everyone turned their attention to her.
"THEN WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR! LET'S CALL THEM!" Papyrus cheered.
. . .
"So, what did you guys make?" Undyne asked.
"S'MORES AND WEENIES, IT'S GREAT," Papyrus piped up happily.
They heard Undyne laugh "alright! Weenies eatin' weenies!"
"They also surprise grilled some veggies just for me," Frisk interjected, smiling admiringly at their family.
"Sans and I are eating escargot, Asgore, do you wish I save you some?" Toriel asked.
"That would be lovely Toriel, thank you," Asgore said.
"Dad, what are you guys eating?" Flowey asked.
"Cinnamon bunnies, I had forgotten how much better they taste down here than they do up above, I am still very glad the Shopkeeper did not give away the original recipe," Asgore replied, "I know, we should buy a few more, and once we reach Old New Home, I will fix us tea and we can eat them together,"
"YEAH!" Undyne cheered.
Frisk sighed glumly, "I miss the Shopkeeper, she's so nice and pretty, mom, we should really go back for a visit some time,"
"Of course Frisk, oh and that reminds me, Flowey, when will you visit the Underground again? It's been so long since you left, don't you miss it at all?" Toriel asked.
Flowey licked a bit of marshmallow from the side of his cheek, "nope! Hahaha."
Toriel paused at his answer, leaning forward to get a clear, careful look into his eyes "...dear… just how many s'mores have you had?" she asked with a skeptical frown.
"Just one, I think I need- s'more!" Flowey replied with a giggly toothy grin.
Toriel and a few others giggled, but Papyrus gasped, "YOU NEVER MAKE PUNS, WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU MY FRIEND?" and then, as he looked closer, he noticed a small plastic bag that Flowey was hiding behind a blanket close by, and with a quick snatch, he held it up in the air.
It was a second bag of back up marshmallows, and by the looks of it, Flowey had managed to eat half the bag while no one was looking.
"lots of marshmallow by the look of it,"Sans quipped.
"Golly, not my marshstash!" Flowey said in a sudden surprise, but was unable to hold the frown and started laughing hard; the second pun causing Frisk to finally crack and join him in his laughter, unable to resist his silly behavior.
"Oh Flowey no! You know what too much sugar does to you! You are going to regret this later when that headache hits mister," Toriel lectured.
"TSK-TSK, HERE, PERHAPS THIS WILL BE IN BETTER HANDS WITH YOU," Papyrus said to Toriel, giving her the bag of marshmallows, which she firmly took.
"Thank you Papyrus," she said.
Meanwhile Flowey was trying to focus on feeling guilty, which he was to an extent, but he was just too hyped up to really stay focused on anything really.
"Do not worry son, you must think marshmellow thoughts," Asgore said, causing half the group to groan, with Flowey surprisingly laughing the loudest among them.
"Do not encourage our son with bad puns Asgore, it did not help," Toriel said, displeased.
Undyne spoke up "I know what will help! A swift child friendly smack in the-,"
"-I have an idea! Let's stop talking about me," Flowey interrupted, and then flashed a sudden flashlight from out of nowhere up under his face, and grinned a horrifying toothy grin, "-and tell horror stories instead! AHAHAHAHAHA!!" flicking the flashlight on and off repeatedly, making his face even more horrifying for spooky emphasis.
Almost everyone seemed up for it until Frisk interrupted them "let's not," they said, causing Flowey to look up at them with major disappointment.
"And why not? Isn't this what people usually do when they camp?" Flowey asked, confused.
"It is," Toriel said quietly, looking almost as disappointed.
"Sorry guys, I don't really want to hear any right now, and you guys know Papyrus can't handle them," Frisk said, waving and arm over in the skeleton's direction for helpful emphasis.
"...PLEASE FRISK, NO NEED TO CODDLE ME, JUST BECAUSE I JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE A NIGHTMARE AFTER WATCHING ONE SCARY MOVIE, DOES NOT MEAN IT WAS BECAUSE OF SAID SCARY MOVIE,"
"ok, then, how about i tell the scary story? mine won't be too terrifying, promise," Sans offered.
Frisk shook their head, "you always say that, but the next thing I know, someone in the story can't find their dog and suddenly the world is being taken over and being eaten by giant sharp toothed aliens,"
Flowey scoffed loudly "that's nothing! I can think of something one hundred times scarier in a blink of an eye," he then cackled deviously, but lost his enthusiasm quickly when Frisk threw him a Look.
But then, over the phone they heard Undyne speak up "I have an idea! I'll just tell you guys a few of my adventures from my Royal Guard days, this way you'll be scared, but also inspired!"
Everyone looked at Frisk expectantly and hopefully, who had only to think it over under a few milliseconds before they grinned sheepishly "works for me!"
. . .
Twenty Minutes later…
"And then, finally, standing at the cliff with my enemies crowding behind me, my armor badly cracked, the lava exploding in front of me, I thought I was going to be a goner… until-," but due to increasing static from the receiver, they couldn't hear her, everyone stared at the phone in grueling anticipation.
"Undyne? Undyne? You keep cutting out," Alphys said, but they only heard more static, she waited a little longer, silent, but nothing happened, "they must be getting too deep into the Underground, guess I'm going to have to hang up,"
"Jeez, cliff hanger of the century, literally," Frisk grumbled, poking at the fire with a stick before tossing it in.
"you're telling me kid, i think we all would have gotten more sleep if we had just told a horror story," Sans sighed.
"I KNOW WHAT WILL MAKE THINGS BETTER! FLOWEY, PLAY US A SONG!" Papyrus said.
Flowey's current frown deepened, "I hate to disappoint you, but I didn't bring my guitar,"
"AW, WHY NOT?" Papyrus said, who was in fact disappointed, as most of the group now was again.
Flowey grimaced when he caught sight of their faces, "I… didn't…want to?"
Toriel pouted, "but you play so beautifully, it's such a shame that you don't want to let the others hear,"
But Frisk jumped into the conversation defensively "while you're completely right, Flowey is still working on his skills, I'm sure when he's ready- it'll be even more amazing than if he had brought his guitar!"
Flowey smirked bashfully up at Frisk, and they smiled back down at him warmly.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
"WOWIE, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DISPLAY OF FRIEND SHIP!" Papyrus said wiping a tear from his eye, earning him a grin from Frisk, Flowey simply nodded in shy agreement.
"it sure is. and i agree, it's no issue if the guitar player doesn't want to play, we can just go the lazier route and just play some music from our phones," Sans spoke up from his laid back chair, he looked like he was on the brink of having a really good nap.
Alphys gasped with joy, excitedly holding her claws together "I am so glad you said that Sans! Because there's this beautiful anime theme song that I've had stuck in my head all day, and I really think all of you would love it,"
"Oh boy." Flowey quietly said under his breath unenthusiastically.
"Don't listen to him! Go ahead and play your song Alphys, I want to hear," Frisk said, motioning her to go on.
"I also would like to hear, I am sure it will be lovely," Toriel persuaded.
Flowey sighed guiltily, 10 points go to Frisk and Toriel for their award winning subtly when it came to putting him in his place. . .
Alphys's expression and attitude changed to shy in a blink of an eye, embarrassed from the sudden attention "uuhhm, thank you, but um… Papyrus! How about you play a song first and I go second?"
"I WOULD LOVE TO!" Papyrus said and began to look up his list of songs, narrowing his eyes as he scrolled through, becoming indecisive "SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM…I KNOW! I SHALL HIT THE MYSTERY CHOICE BUTTON!"
. . .
The group continued to listen to music, having fun, chatting, telling jokes and relaxing around the warm camp fire, watching the stars until it grew late.
And too soon, it was time for bed. . .
. . .
Flowey was one of the first ones in the tents, he had been unsure where to sleep, at first he considered Frisk's tent, until he realized that there wasn't going to be too much space between them… which made him particularity skittish, which was more than he could handle at the time especially with the mysterious limbo their friendship was at.
So, he then took Papyrus's tent into an option, it was a lot bigger, but once he remembered that Papyrus talked in his sleep- he backed off and liked to toss and turn, either way, he knew he wouldn't be able to get any sleep.
But then, in a fortunate strike of luck, after over hearing his mother say that she was going to sleep under the stars, leaving a perfectly empty tent for free, so without question, he went for hers instead, how perfect.
The downside to it was that he was unable to sleep due to the headache that was rearing its ugly head, he opted for closing his eyes and focusing on the gentle sounds outside, the slight shifts of everyone's slowing movement, quiet conversations he couldn't quite make out, the peaceful crickets, hushed giggles coming from Alphys that insinuated she was probably texting Undyne. . .
His mom had been right about camping, it really was nice.
They had to do this again. . .
. . . .
He was almost asleep when suddenly he heard his cell phone buzz, he almost ignored it when it buzzed again, causing him to crack an eye open curiously and notice Frisk's contact picture that illuminated in the dark.
No, he changed his mind instantly, no ignoring this one.
He rubbed his eyes with a vine as he picked up the phone and checked the messages.
-'we need to continue our conversation about Forester, meet me at the pond'
And-
-'I'll be the cute human sitting next the water sausages, behind that huge azalea bush'
For some reason, he became nervous, Frisk was continually acting stranger and stranger and he-
...Oh…
A familiar, deep, sadness crept in and overtook him, how could he have been so blind?
He understood now, Frisk still had feelings for Forester, but was feeling guilty because they knew how Flowey felt, no wonder they had wanted to act like his confession never happened or why they had been acting so off around him. . .
He didn't want to go, he didn't want to talk them, he knew it would only hurt… but they needed him right now, and he couldn't ignore them, not anymore, never again.
So, laying his phone down, he sighed deeply and tunneled down, he knew the place Frisk had talked about, they had passed by it on the way back to the camp, they had joked about it like they always did when they saw the typha plant (or water sausages, cattails, whatever).
. . .
Finally, he reached the surface again once after he spotted the azalea bush's roots, knowing exactly where he was.
He stared up at it, gazing at the many bright pink flowers, anticipation looming over him as he thought about who was behind it, he took a moment to himself, taking a big breath and slowly letting it out, he really didn't want to do this.
But he shut his eyes tight, temporarily willing his anxiety away and tunneled again, around the bush, popping back up, the first thing he saw surprised him.
It was the pond, it was lit by the moonlight and all the stars diamond clear in the night, and it was gorgeous.
"…It's nice isn't?" said a quiet familiar voice.
He looked over, his breath catching when he caught sight of Frisk who sat nearby with a blanket wrapped around them, the moonlight also shining down and glinting off their hair and eyes mystically, the pond becoming instantly the second most gorgeous thing in front of him.
"Y-you…wanted to talk?" he said hoarsely, ugh, come on, his nerves were really acting up, he took a moment to compose himself, briefly clearing his throat "…about Forester?"
Frisk smiled weakly, brushing a few strands behind their ear, "yes…and no,"
And then, they scooted over next to him, pulling the blanket around him until it was tented around behind Flowey, making sure that he was warm.
"I hope you didn't get a headache," Frisk said with concern.
"I did, but it's not that bad, don't worry about it," he said, avoiding eye contact, staring at the water.
They were quiet for a little while, the sound of the water and crickets filling their silence, he wasn't going to push Frisk to talk, it wasn't like he wanted to hear about it anyway… besides, he didn't really want to break the trance that his best friend had just put him under.
And then, too soon, it was broken anyway as Frisk took a deep long breath, and exhaled.
"I have to be honest… I…I'm not hung up on Forester anymore, I'm actually hung up on a different person, well… a monster actually, you know him,"
Flowey held back his grimace, dread filling him, not really wanting to guess who this monster could be.
He heard and felt Frisk shift and look at him, they let out a sad chuckle, "gosh, doing it this way was a really, really bad idea… Asriel, don't… don't be upset, can you look at me?"
He looked over at their leg hesitantly, that was all he could manage, his frown deepening "to be honest, I don't really want to,"
They made a soft empathetic sigh.
"I understand, so I'll… I'll just go ahead and tell you straight out . . . that . . .you should know you never have to worry about getting jealous over Forester, or Monster Kid or anyone else ever again, because the monster I'm hung up on. . . is my closest best friend,"
Flowey snapped his wide eyes up at them in pure confusion and shock, finding them looking back at him, their expression full of emotion and Determination.
They had to be talking about someone else because there was no possible way they were trying to say what he thought they were. . .
No way. . .
He tried to speak and found it difficult, "you…you… what are you saying Frisk?"
Frisk's smile tightened and they looked away briefly before back to him, he realized in surprise that they were nervous, really nervous. . .
"What I'm trying to say is…," their smile widened and eyes glittering with telltale sign of tears "that I love you Asriel, I… really…really, love you, as a best friend, yes, but also so much more than that,"
They then briefly wiped their eyes "-I love you, romantically,"
It was like time seemed to stop. . .
All he could do was stare at them with a slack jaw as he became overwhelmed with only more confusion and shock, but also… happiness, unbelievable, unequivocal happiness-
-And then he had to wince as he was hit with pain, a lot of it, it had not been this bad in a long time, it caused him to shutter and shake, but the feeling happiness was just as strong, it made him lightheaded.
Tears came to his eyes and he let out a dizzy laugh, it was just too much for him to handle, was this what being on drugs was like?
Frisk pursed their lips worriedly, turned their body to face him and held onto him with both hands, holding him, "ssshhhhh, easy, easy I just knew this would happen, are you okay?"
The warmth and touch of their hands was so nice, he laughed again softly, shuttering.
"Am I 'okay'?! Gosh, Frisk you really are an idiot!" he laughed again, god he was so happy.
Frisk smiled, chuckling softly, rubbing away one's of his tears with their thumb "see, this was one of the reasons I was afraid of telling you, I didn't want to hurt you, until I realized that… you were going to hurt no matter what I did,"
He stared at them as they spoke, logic and reason returning to him, as happy as he was… he was still incredibly confused, his smile dropped, causing Frisk's smile to drop too, worriedly.
His thoughts started to slip out "…how…?"
"'How' what?" Frisk asked.
"How…is this even possible? How could you have feelings for me? F-for the longest time, I was so sure you'd never be crazy enough to ever feel the same way, how could you like a… a flower? Especially one like me? Or…wait… I must be asleep or in some kind of coma, or… do you think I'm dead again?" he couldn't seem to stop himself from rambling, this was just too wonderful to be real, he felt so strange.
Frisk looked at him with a deep saddened expression, "no, I do think you're in shock though."
They pet the back of his head soothingly, which quite helped to keep him rooted in reality.
"…I guess I should explain this the easiest way I can think of… do you remember all those times when I was just 'flirting' to compliment you? Well, now I want to flirt with you because I'm also in love with you,"
At that, they had to take a moment, temporarily removing their hand to bring it to their chest, smiling hard, closing their eyes briefly "goodness, that feels so good to say," they said under their breath, chuckling silently as Flowey stared, stunned with large sparkling eyes.
They opened their eyes, gathering their full focus back on Flowey and continued on "...and all of those times, all those things I've ever said were true, and I've had to refrain from flirting for awhile, but just case you've forgotten…I've…I've always thought you were genuinely handsome, both as a flower and as your inner self-,"
"Inner sel- YOU HAVE?" he blurted, if his cheeks weren't already orange, they were now.
Frisk laughed tearfully "yes, of course I do! And… this is going to come as a further surprise, but…I also find your personality attractive too, and when I look at you… I don't see just a flower, I see a beautiful person inside, and I've come to realize that I really, really, really want to hug and smooch that beautiful person, no matter what he looks like,"
For the second time that night, the breath got caught in his throat, tears flooding his eyesight, completely overwhelmed, he grinned big "Frisk, you… sappy idiot,"
Frisk laughed breathlessly, "call me names all you want, but I mean every little sappy word,"
Flowey gave them an emotional wiggly smile and wiped away a few tears "s-so… how long…?"
Frisk hesitantly removed a hand to fidget and rub at the back of their neck shyly, "how long since I figured all of this out?"
He nodded slowly.
They looked off at the pond, a particularity sentimental smile appearing on their face as they thought back, then gazed at him.
"Well, remember when you went away to stay at Asgore's to train? I was trying to figure out why I was so upset that you were leaving, and why I missed you more than I usually would… and it hit me that my tiny little childhood crush on you grew into something way bigger than I could have ever anticipated,"
Flowey leaned into their palm, no longer able to hold himself up, "childhood?! You-you-you… you had a crush on me for that long?!" he blurted in a loud hushed voice.
They giggled and rolled their eyes, "Asriel, how could I not have a crush on you when you were showing off left and right? God of Hyperdeath? More like God of Hyperhotness, oh, and saving me from falling from the tree? Making me laugh and holding my hand when I was sick that one time? It's never surprised me how easily and hard I fell for you, I never stood a chance,"
"Wow." Flowey uttered, his face completely orange now, practically glowing.
"I also have another confession to make…," they started.
"I'm not sure if I can handle another…," Flowey half joked with a tired but happy smile.
"Don't worry, this one is nothing too big… it's just about my excuse for how weird I was acting yesterday, see, when you told me your feelings, I was so relieved and happy… but then I remembered your soul and saw how much pain you've been in, and I thought…maybe you were right that it wouldn't work, so I let you go, I stayed quiet, but, it was really tough for me too, you know? I tried my hardest to pretend like everything would be okay…,"
Flowey nodded understandingly, feeling more and more like a moron as he watched and listened, finding the energy to hold himself up again as he did.
"But then I got fed up with all of it and I said to myself 'I got it! I'll just make him hate me instead! That way I can't cause him any more pain! That way he'll never feel physical pain for me again! Frisk you're a genius!' and so…I tried that, but like you saw, it… didn't really work," Frisk said, shaking their head at themselves.
He let out a short laugh, gosh they were so cute "that was your way of trying to make me hate you?"
Frisk sighed, and shyly smiled at him.
"It didn't work because I just couldn't bring myself to do anything worse than pull pranks on you and call you names, I had basically zero Determination to hurt you or lose you, our friendship is too precious to me to throw away,"
Flowey stared at them lovingly, completely touched and unable to think of anything else to say, a comfortable silence settling between them again.
Then, with a leap of courage, he summoned out a vine and began to wrap it around the hand that still held him, a satisfied feeling bubbling within him when they enclosed their fingers around it, he felt wonderfully complete knowing that Frisk felt the same way.
And yet… he also felt somehow still incomplete, there was always that lingering feeling of wanting to be more. . .
"I wish I could hold your hand for real," he said quietly, more sorrow showing through his voice than he wanted.
"But you are holding my hand," Frisk informed him softly.
But not the way he wanted to, still, he smiled, it was okay, this reality was more than enough for him, so much more.
The words Frisk had said once echoed through his mind…
'It's real as long as you can manage it'
It made him feel better. . .
With another burst of courage, he began to uproot himself from the earth and crawl a little closer to them "here, pick me up,"
And they did without question, and smiled in pleasant surprise when he reached out with two vines as if they were arms and wrapped them around Frisk's torso, with a slight nudge he attempted to pull himself towards their chest, but he needed help.
Immediately figuring out what he was trying to do, Frisk pulled him in closer and wrapped their arms around him as well, forming a much needed and deserved hug.
There had only been a few times when the duo had hugged like this, but now it all seemed to mean even more than before, so much more.
Flowey pressed the side of his head close into the warmth and softness of their chest and closed his eyes; he could hear their heartbeat loud and clear… and… wow, it was thumping away really fast in there.
"Are you okay?" he asked without looking up.
They laughed shyly "yeah, of course, it's just that…I was…really, really, really nervous to confess my feelings, and well that and you give me heart flutters like crazy,"
He moved back a bit to look at them, again shocked, "I do?! You were?!"
Frisk had to laugh again, they couldn't help it, "yes, do I need to repeat myself about how handsome you are Mr. HyperHotness?"
Flowey just stared at them unsurely ". . . maybe?"
Then slowly, a sheepish grin appeared on his face.
He was then pulled back into Frisk's arms as they wrapped him back into their cushioned chest, both giggling as if they were little kids again.
Soon the giggling faded and Frisk moved back to lay flat on their back onto the grass and sighed slowly, the peaceful calm returning.
Flowey stayed there, enveloped in Frisk's warm safe arms, he wasn't sure he could have been any happier than he was now, he barely even noticed all the pain he felt, it was if it all been pushed into the background, as if his happiness had purposely snuck it into a fog to get lost.
..
When Frisk's heartbeat began to calm, he turned around on his back, he attempted to look up at their face, but at his angle all he could see was the view underneath their chin, so he opted for staring at the stars with them instead.
He then heard them swallow, "s-so… do you want to date?" they asked him in a small, quiet voice.
The question repeated itself in his mind . . . 'do you want to date?'
'Do you want to date?'
Another burst of courage came over him, that and Determination.
He narrowed his eyebrows, pushed himself up, turned around and looked down at Frisk's face in desperate confusion, "you say that like I don't want to, of course I do Frisk!"
Frisk blinked, "but at the river… you seemed so scared, and after what you said about it not working, I thought-"
"I said it wouldn't work because I WAS scared Frisk! Scared and STUPID because I was so absolutely sure you were going to reject me! I wasn't joking when I said I thought you'd never be crazy enough to fall for me!" he explained, and then paused when he finally noticed how close he was to their face, instantly becoming anxious, he quickly shimmied off of them and rooted himself back into the dirt.
He stared at them closely with contemplation, holding his breath.
Frisk gaped, their turned to be stunned, taking a long time to sit back up, staring back with deep emotional eyes, and then cracked a very embarrassed smiled.
"Do you want to hear something really funny? Before you confessed at the fair, I…um… was also afraid that you would reject me if I said anything. . .but only because I thought you still despised romance, and then after your confession-? Oh boy, it's a miracle I was strong enough to text you tonight,"
Flowey exhaled and laughed in disbelief "so, are you telling me . . . that we were both scared of confessing because we both afraid of the rejection?"
"Yeah!" Frisk blurted, their embarrassed smile growing bigger.
He leaned forward "and that we wasted all that time acting like idiots and suffering for over a year when we could have been like this all along?"
"Yep," Frisk answered, sounding ashamed of themselves for being a said idiot.
"And… you really did just asked me if I wanted to date you?" he asked warily, he knew what he said earlier, but he just needed more clarification, just to make sure.
Frisk smiled warmly at him now, any hint of nervousness that his best friend had before seemed gone now and they were back to their usual self.
"Yes, yes I did, but we don't have to make a big deal about it if it hurts you too much, we can go about life like we usually do, but with tons of love notes and a lot more hand holding,"
"You sound like you've been thinking about this a lot," he said, pleasantly taken back.
"Daydream actually," they corrected, blushing.
His eyebrows raised and a shy small grin appeared on his face.
"Me too," he admitted, his voice a near whisper.
The best part about it though was that daydreams usually never came true… yet here they were.
And then, with that line of thought, something dawned on the both of them at the same time.
"…Frisk?"
"…Yeah?"
"Maybe, we should hold off from telling everyone else about this… us… for as long as possible," he said nervously.
Frisked looked down at him slowly, "as much as I think we need to quit hiding secrets like this… I couldn't agree with you more, I don't think any of the others would give us a break, or… can you imagine what Toriel and Asgore would say? Or do?"
"I have, and nothing I keep coming up with is good," he said in a wary, low voice.
He thought about telling them how Asgore, Sans, and Mettaton already sort of knew but not really(?), but perhaps it was best if he saved that story for another day, he didn't want to ruin the mood any further.
"You do know what is good though?" Frisk asked, their tone mischievous and flirty, instantly flipping Flowey's mood from nervous to well, a different kind of nervous, a pleasant nervous. Giddy perhaps.
"No, what?" he asked shyly smirking.
"Kissing," they whispered, leaned down to his level, closed their eyes and slowly leaned in. . .
His eyebrows shot up and his entire face turned bright orange, and in his mind he screamed, this is what he wanted to do for a long time, but now that he had the opportunity, he couldn't have been more unprepared and less ready.
Anxious and staring at Frisk's face as it came in closer like a freight train, he panicked, he didn't want to let them down, but at the same time, he was absolutely 150 % sure if he did this now, he'd end up doing something that would embarrass them both.
And then . . . he had an idea, most likely a bad one, but it was all he had right now…
As soon as they grew too close, he summoned out a vine, raised it in the air and pressed it gently but firmly against Frisk's lips, which were, still amazingly soft as he remembered, in his mind's eye he slapped himself hard in the face with regret for not being brave enough.
"Mwa." He uttered quietly for sound effect before pulling the vine back, wincing slightly at himself from the high levels of regret he was feeling.
Frisk opened their eyes, absolutely perplexed for a brief moment until they caught sight of the vine and gave Flowey an odd look as they put two and two together, and then quickly covered their mouth when they realized that they might have been too forward "oh good god! I'm so sorry, was that too much?"
But for the first time, Flowey smiled back, albeit shyly "no, just too soon," and then, it finally dawned on him that nothing was holding him back anymore now as he again remembered Frisk felt the same way, the shy smile turning daringly flirtatious as another wave of courage hit him.
"But next time… I'll be ready,"
Frisk's covered their mouth with their other hand as their face lit up and they grinned, pleasantly surprised, taken aback in the best way.
And then they pulled out a finger gun and pointed it at Flowey, "and I'll be waiting, babe," they said in flirty tone, and flashed him a cheesy grin, to anyone else watching, Frisk looked ridiculous, but Flowey was in absolute love.
Another fit of giggles came over them, once they began to calm down again, Frisk grabbed their cell phone, "we should take a picture, this is practically one of the best nights of my life, I need proof,"
But once they switched the screen on they gasped in mild horror, "1:50? Cripes we need to get to bed, Papyrus said he wanted to go on an early morning hike and agghhh, I knew waiting until everyone was asleep was a bad idea," they groaned.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Flowey said, once again uprooting himself once again, reached out and climbed onto Frisk's right arm, "here, it'll be faster to the campsite if we do it like this together,"
Frisk chuckled quietly and flashed a flirtier than usual grin at him, they didn't say anything but he could tell by the look in their eyes that they were thinking of a lot of one liners that would embarrass him and make him blush.
-Which he did anyway, he gently prodded at their arm with a vine "stop looking at me like that, you… you… human, and lets go,"
"Waitwaitwait, not so fast, Fastey, I still want a picture," Frisk said as they pulled out the camera app on their phone, it was then that Flowey thought to climb up to the side of their shoulder so it would be an easier picture to take.
Frisk seemed to approve as they lean their head to the side toward his, their smile becoming warmer and happier than he had seen it be in a very long time.
They took a few pictures, and then quickly looked over them, all of them showing just how excited both of the best friends were to finally be something even more.
"You need to send those to me," Flowey said suddenly as Frisk was in the middle of picking up the blanket off the grass and flinging off any debris from it.
"Of course baby," Frisk said slickly and wrapped the blanket over their shoulders (and around Flowey) and began to walk.
Flowey blinked, taken back by the comment and the way it was said, "okay, that's too much,"
Frisk grinned sheepishly, "yeah, I know, but I can't promise I won't say it again,"
He had trouble fighting back the smile that tried to take over his face, "it's fine I guess, I've faced worse fates,"
Not long before reaching the campsite, Frisk spoke up, "so, do you want to sleep in my tent with me?"
Flowey tensed up, remembering the lack of room there would be, but at the same time… it shouldn't have to be such a big issue- should it? They'd slept in the same room tons of times, they even took naps out in the backyard, heck he had even dosed off a little on the walk there.
Clearly they were used to each others closeness by now… or… no, not completely, not when he didn't have the metaphorical guts to kiss them.
"Sorry, um, there's a… lot of… stuff I need to think about, I'll just end up keeping you awake," he said, making an excuse, but it wasn't exactly a lie either.
"It's no problem, I get it, there's not a lot of wiggle room in there, so I understand if it makes you feel awkward," they said, quieting down as they entered the campsite.
He thought back to when they were kids, comparing the differences, and yeah, not being in love was a lot easier, but still, just like his soul, he wouldn't trade the feeling for the world and it was times like this that convinced him to keep these special things despite all the new painfully awkward experiences that went along with love, especially romantic love.
Soon they slowed to a stop and gently scooped him from their shoulder with soft hands, leaned in as if they were going to kiss him again, but instead pressed their forehead to his and gave him a nuzzle, he reciprocated, nuzzling back, playfully and purposely messing up their bangs.
Too soon they bent down and planted him back to the ground, he looked up at them with warmth, he could almost feel himself adoring them even more.
"Goodnight Asriel," they whispered to him, their smile really was beautiful.
He wanted to say goodnight back, but the words ended up getting jumbled up in a flustered mess in his throat, instead he smiled back bashfully and nodded.
And despite what he had told Frisk, he ended up sleeping like a baby that night.
...
...
Secret Inspiration Song!: 'Venus' by Sleeping At Last
The night sky once ruled my imagination.
Now I turn the dials with careful calculation.
After a while, I thought I'd never find you.
I convinced myself that I would never find you,
When suddenly I saw you.
At first I thought you were a constellation.
I made a map of your stars, then I had a revelation:
You're as beautiful as endless,
You're the universe I'm helpless in.
An astronomer at my best
When I throw away the measurements.
Like a telescope,
I will pull you so close
'til no space lies in between.
And suddenly I see you.
Suddenly I see you.
I was a billion little pieces, 'til you pulled me into focus.
Astronomy in reverse, it was me who was discovered