A few weeks later, Toriel and Asgore were both suddenly woken up by a loud crying. Asgore rolled over to face Toriel and said, "Your turn Tori."
"I know, I know," Toriel said as she got out of bed. She walked down the hallway and opened one of the bedroom doors. She walked in to the nursery she and Asgore had built and walked up to the crib. In the crib was a baby goat-like monster in a green footed onesie with yellow stripes.
Toriel picked up the baby and made light shushing sounds as she rocked him gently. "Shh, it's alright Asriel, you're alright," she whispered to the baby. "Mother's here now. No need for tears."
One thing that Asgore and Toriel had both noticed about their son was how incredibly sensitive he was. The slightest thing would make him start crying, and it would take quite a bit of time to calm him down. As a result, neither parents had gotten much sleep recently.
Asriel continued to cry in his mother's arms, even kicking his legs. "Shh, you're okay Asriel," Toriel hushed. "What's wrong, hmm?"
Toriel considered the things that could be making her son upset. "Perhaps you are hungry," she said, walking with her son to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of milk out of the fridge and warmed it with her fire magic. She tested the heat on her wrist and gave it to the boy, who immediately started to drink.
"There we go, all better now?" she asked as Asriel continued to drink. She carried him to the living room and sat in her comfy sitting chair and hummed a melody to him.
Once Asriel was done with his bottle, the baby boy started to cry again and Toriel sighed slightly. She then had an idea and carried him to the nursery. She sat in the rocking chair and started to rock it as she changed how she held Asriel.
She held her son in one arm and used her free hand to grab a music box off the mantle. She wound the box and a simple lullaby tune played through it. The tune had its desired effect as Asriel slowly stopped crying and let out a yawn.
Toriel smiled at her son as he snuggled into her arm and closed his eyes, falling asleep. She gently placed him in his crib and walked out of the room as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake him.
Once Toriel went back to hers and Asgore's bedroom, she laid down next to her husband and sighed slightly. Asgore let out a snore and Toriel giggled a bit at him as she snuggled up next to him and fell asleep as well.
"Are you absolutely positive you have to go?" Asgore asked.
Toriel sighed at her husband and said, "Yes Gorey, I am. We need food, so I am going into town to get some. I haven't been to town since Asriel was born a month ago. I won't be too long, but I have a few other errands I need to run as well."
"But why can't you take Asriel with you?"
"My errands are incredibly tedious and I don't need him making a fuss because I am taking too long. While that may be selfish, it will also benefit you. He is your son as well, Asgore. You need to spend more time with him."
"But he prefers you!"
"Oh nonsense."
"Tori, it takes you barely any time at all to calm him down when he starts crying. It takes me at least an hour. All you need to do is walk into the room and he calms down!"
"Gorey, I won't be long. You two will be fine together. Trust me."
Asgore let out a sigh, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument, and relented, "Very well then."
Toriel kissed him on the cheek and said, "I love you very much."
"And I love you too my wife."
"Now, Asriel is currently sleeping in his crib, but he should wake up soon. He'll probably be hungry, so just heat up a bottle from the fridge. He'll also need another nap in about four hours. I should be home by then, but if I'm not, then just put him down for his nap. Got that?"
"I believe so."
"If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me. I'll be back soon."
After Toriel left, Asgore went to the living room and looked through the books they had on the shelves. He saw a favorite of his wife's, 72 Uses for Snails, and took it off the shelf.
As he began to read, he heard an all too familiar crying echo through the house. "Here we go," he said, putting down the book. The goat monster walked to the nursery and saw Asriel crying in his crib.
"Don't worry son, your father's here," Asgore said, picking up the baby. Asriel looked up at the person holding him and continued to cry, making Asgore sigh.
"I know you wish I was your mother, but she's not here right now." These words made Asriel cry louder, and Asgore started to panic. "But don't worry!" he said, panic evident in his voice. "You and I will have a grand time together! Isn't that right?"
Asriel continued wailing and Asgore started to think of ways to calm his son. "Hmmm, Tori said you'd be hungry. Why don't we both get something to eat?"
Asgore walked with Asriel in his arms to the kitchen, bouncing the baby gently in an attempt to soothe him. Once they reached the kitchen, Asgore pulled out a snail pie that Toriel had made. He placed it on the counter before grabbing a bottle of milk.
Asgore heated the bottle with his flame magic and changed how he was holding Asriel. The baby was so small that he could fit in one of Asgore's arms, and the king could still feed him with the hand he was holding him with.
Asgore sighed with relief as Asriel stopped crying to drink his bottle. Asgore then used his free hand to cut himself a slice of snail pie and heat it with his fire magic. Once the pie was heated, Asgore went to the dining room table and sat down, feeding his son with one hand and himself with the other.
He was about halfway through his slice of pie when Asriel started to cry again, pulling away from the bottle. "All done?" Asgore asked, standing up. He held Asriel so the baby's head was over his shoulder and bounced him lightly.
"Shh, it's okay," Asgore shushed. "No need for tears. What's wrong, hmm?"
Asriel then coughed and Asgore felt something wet fall onto his purple cape and golden pauldrons. The father quickly held his son away from the wetness and asked, "All done now?"
Asriel responded by spitting up again, this time hitting Asgore square in the chest. "Great," Asgore mumbled to himself, disgusted.
Asriel looked at his father and saw the look of disgust on his face. This caused the baby distress as tears formed in his eyes and he let out a whine.
"Oh, no no no," Asgore said quickly. "It's alright. Daddy's fine now. I can just change out of this. Please don't cry."
Asriel ignored his father's plea and started wailing loudly, making Asgore wince. "Hey, you're okay," Asgore said. "Daddy's sorry he made that face. Please don't cry."
Asriel continued to cry and Asgore panicked. "Please stop crying," he begged.
Several hours later and Asgore was exhausted. No matter what he tried, Asriel kept crying. Nothing seemed to be able to calm the baby down.
Asgore had changed into a new set of robes a couple hours ago and was absolutely out of ideas on how to calm his son. He had already fed the boy, checked his diaper, offered him a toy, even made silly faces.
"Asriel, please stop," Asgore begged. The baby's voice has become almost hoarse by this point, and Asgore just wanted his son to quiet down.
As Asgore continued to walk with his son around the house, he heard his phone ringing. The goat monster went to grab it and froze when he saw it was Toriel. Luckily, he was in the nursery, so he set Asriel down in the crib. This caused the baby to cry even louder, and Asgore said, "I'll be right back Asriel."
Asgore went into the kitchen and answered his phone. "Hello?" he asked.
"Gorey, it's me," Toriel said over the phone. "How is everything going?"
"Everything is going wonderful," Asgore lied through his teeth.
"Asriel isn't giving you too much trouble?"
"No, he's been an absolute angel this entire time."
"That's good. I will be home soon, alright? He's sleeping, right?"
"I just put him down."
There was then a loud wail that went through the house and Toriel asked in a panic, "What was that?!"
"Um, I stubbed my toe."
"Asgore, I'll be home soon."
Toriel then hung up the phone and Asgore groaned to himself. He went back to the nursery and saw Asriel still crying, his fur stained with tears.
Asgore sighed to himself and looked at his son. "Asriel, please stop crying," he begged. "Your mother will be home soon." He walked up to the crib and picked up a small bunny toy and waved it in front of the baby's face.
Asriel lowered his volume a bit and Asgore's eyes widened. He continued to hold the bunny and bent close to his son." Shh, Shh, Shh, there there," he said gently. "Be quiet."
He put his two large paws together and leaned his head against them. "Go to sleep," he whispered as Asriel continued to lightly whine.
Asgore spun the mobile hanging over Asriel lightly and said, "Stop crying my son. You've got a lot to look forward to, you know? A normal monster life stuck here in the Underground. Cold and damp, no real sunlight, no hope of leaving. Save the tears for later boyyo."
Asriel continued to cry lightly and Asgore rubbed his own face with his paw." I'm sorry about that," he apologized. "It was crabby. It's because I'm old. I'm so old Asriel. I don't know why your mother sticks around an old goat like me."
Asgore chuckled to himself over that joke and saw that Asriel had stopped crying. The baby was now instead staring up at his father, his eyes wide.
"But you, my son, you are so young," Asgore said as he picked up his son. Asriel cooed at being picked up and Asgore smiled at him.
"You know, right now, everything's ahead of you. You could be anything. You could walk among the stars if you wanted to."
Asgore thought about the glow worms in Waterfall meant to emulate the night sky and sighed. "The stars don't actually look like what you think they do. They look so much more beautiful. I hope that someday you get to see them. A night sky full of stars. A bright sunny day. A rainbow going across the sky.
"It's so beautiful on the surface my son. I know you would love it. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make it so that you, along with every other monster down here, will see the surface again. I promise."
Asriel let out a small yawn in his father's arms and closed his eyes, falling asleep. Asgore smiled at his son and gently kissed him on the forehead before putting him back in the crib.
The goat monster quietly turned off the light and closed the door to the nursery as he heard the door to the house open.
"Hello?" Toriel called from the door. Asgore rushed up to her with a finger against his mouth and Toriel nodded. She gave her husband a hug and whispered, "How did everything go?"
Asgore smiled at her and gently kissed her cheek as he helped her carry in the groceries.
"It went well."
Yes, part of Asgore's talk with Asriel is from Doctor Who. Sue me, okay? I love that scene so much and couldn't resist adding it somewhere.