Well here it is. The first real chapter for this story. Finally digitalized and now posted. I'm still working on the next chapter for Aftertale, sorry that didn't get out as planned. Thanks for that Covid-19. But I also scrapped everything that I had and started over twice already because I'm having a hard time making it… satisfying I guess. I'm also working on the second chapter for this and have 13 pages of that so far, just not digitalized and nowhere near finished.
Chapter 1 - Moving On
"I would prefer you kept living, even if I died." Frisk once said.
Asriel remembered the moment well. It seemed like forever ago now though. He was watching the rain from a window in his house. It was late at night and the house was silent. He sighed as he turned and walked towards the crib in the room. 'Guess I can't kill myself now anyway.' He thought to himself.
Frel slept peacefully in the crib, somewhat unaware of his mother's death the week prior. Frel was Asriel's to take care of now, despite the excitement Frisk had for the journey. The child awoke and started to cry for any reason but a nightmare. Frisk always insisted on being the one to take care of Frel with any problem so now that she was gone, he didn't know how to care for him. He remembered that Frisk would usually try to sing a lullaby she heard from a friend on one of her trips to a different city, but it was hard for him to piece it together.
"Still…" He sighed. "Maybe if I paid more attention, this would have been easier for me." He said, mostly to himself.
Frel still hadn't stopped crying so Asriel started to hum what he could of the lullaby. It wasn't all that great but it slowly helped and Frel was back to sleep. Asriel laid him back down in the crib then looked out the window once more and let out another sigh. He finally stepped out of the bedroom and went to his own for the rest of the night.
Morning came and Asriel was waken by Frel's crying. He slowly got up and headed back to the other room. He picked Frel up then brought him downstairs for breakfast. Asriel put Frel into the highchair before heading into the kitchen to prepare some food.
While eating, someone knocked on the door. Asriel got up from the table and went to answer it.
"Good morning Asriel." Toriel greeted when he opened the door.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" He asked, allowing her inside.
"I'm just stopping by." She responded as she stepped inside.
"Can I get you something to eat?" He asked.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking though." She replied. "How are things going?" She asked.
There it was. "Oh, you know… Long. Hard. Sad." He replied.
"I see…" She sighed. "You know… I could come over and help from time to time." She offered.
"Thanks mom." He said. "But I can't ask that of you. You already had to deal with me and Frisk." He added.
"Can't be much harder." She said.
"I can't ask you to help." He said. "But you can if you're willing." He sighed.
She nodded, then a loud crash came from the kitchen, dining room causing the two of them to jump.
Asriel was the first to the kitchen despite Toriel being the one to start moving first. Frel had knocked down his plate. Asriel cleaned up the mess while Toriel tried to get Frel's face cleaned.
"Doesn't like cleaning, does he?" She asked.
Asriel shook his head then the two of them laughed a little.
"You can't have a job and take care of this little rascal at the same time." She stated. "Have you found someone to watch over him while you're at work?" She asked.
"Mom… You teach at the school, you can't be here too." Asriel replied.
"I know." She said. "Sans is still available at the time." She added.
"Sans?" Asriel asked.
She nodded. "I know he can be lazy, but he took good care of you and Frisk when I could not. She said.
"I know, but…" Asriel started. He looked over to Frel and let out a sigh. "What if I'm not there for him?" He asked. "He doesn't have his mom to help him grow up." He said.
"I know." Toriel sighed. "You can't always be there for your child. I would know that better than most. And it is sometimes better to leave him alone." She explained. "Guess I should get going." She said after looking at the time. "Please consider it." She asked before giving Asriel a hug.
"Okay mom." He sighed, returning the hug.
"Thank you. Have a nice day." She said. She then left.
Asriel looked back at Frel, who was getting impatient from being left in the highchair. Asriel picked him up then brought him to the living room before setting him down again. Frel began to play with some toys that were scattered around while Asriel sat down on the couch to think. He was brought back to reality when Frel started crying again. Asriel stood up then picked Frel up.
"Yep. Wet." Asriel sighed after checking Frel's diaper.
He brought Frel to the bathroom then changed his diaper. When done with that, Asriel brought him back to the living room. He then checked the time. There was still an hour and half before lunch. He picked up his phone and hesitantly called Sans as he sat back down on the couch again.
"hey buddy." Sans answered. "it's been a while." He said.
"Yep." Asriel responded.
"did ya need something?" Sans asked.
"Something like that." Asriel replied.
"okay?" Sans asked.
"I need to get back to work…" Asriel started but paused for a moment.
"but…?" Sans asked.
"But I don't have anyone to watch over Frel." Asriel finished. "Mom suggested that I ask you." He added.
"me?" Sans asked.
"Yep." Asriel sighed.
"i guess i could come over." Sans said. "when do you go to work?" He asked.
"Today I'll be going to work around four-thirty p.m., but I usually head out around five p.m. and don't get back until after eleven. And I have Sundays off." Asriel explained.
"guess i could do that now i'm working morning shifts. i'll be over later." Sans said.
"Thank you." Asriel said.
"no problem." Sans replied.
The two said goodbye to each other then hung up. Asriel set down his phone then found Frel, who was trying to climb an unstable stack of books. Asriel quickly got up from the couch then quickly went over to Frel and picked him up.
"Careful." Asriel said as he sat Frel down again. He then handed him some paper and crayons before sitting back down on the couch, this time keeping an eye on him until it was time to make lunch.
Later, there was another knock on the front door.
"Must be Sans." Asriel said as he walked over to and opened the door. He had to look down to actually see him.
"heya." Sans greeted.
"Howdy." Asriel replied.
"you've gotten taller." Sans said.
Asriel shrugged as he opened the door further.
"everything going okay?" Sans asked as he stepped inside.
Asriel gave a nod then closed the door. "I usually make dinner around five, he won't eat after six. Diapers are in the bathroom, second door on the left. Bottles are in the right side part of the second cupboard to the right of the dishwasher, plates are above. He gets a little messy when he eats and doesn't like to get cleaned and will fight you. And toys are, clearly, scattered around." He exlpained. "Any questions?" He asked.
"no, i think i got it all." Sans replied.
Asriel nodded before heading upstairs to change into his work clothes. After he got back down, he thanked Sans again then said goodbye to Frel.
"If anything happens, give me a call and I'll hurry back." He said.
"don't worry. i'll make sure the kid is safe." Sans said.
Asriel nodded then headed on out.
Sans waved goodbye before the door closed then sat down on the couch and kept his eye on Frel, who had moved from coloring to blocks.
At the time Asriel was walking to work, the air was warm and humid. He said hello to a couple of people and monsters that he passed by on the way. He came upon a large, mostly glass, office building. He headed up the stairs to get inside. The familiar architecture and smells of the office were relaxing, although his job was rather boring.
He worked in a small cubicle, taking calls from random people and monsters and making calls to others in the office. The particular office he worked in was for money management as well as documentation of discoveries from and for a human and monster magic research facility. And while it would have been more interesting to work in the testing facility, he got stuck here. And while it was more interesting at first, more calls made in less time, it had died down so much over time that it was always a race to be the one to pick up a phone. But the one thing that made the job worth it was the fact that he was one of the few personnel in the entire building to receive a computer to help create designs for new technology.
The research was mostly focused on helpful products like improved vehicles, shields, even safety systems that kept crime low throughout the city.
Back at Asriel's home, Sans was preparing dinner for Frel. So far, everything was going smoothly. Frel didn't cause any trouble and Sans managed to get him to take a nap. Sans sat him down in the highchair before he gave him dinner. He let out a chuckle as Frel literally began to dig into his food.
"guess he was right." He said. "you really are a messy eater." He added, walking to the kitchen for a rag to clean him with.
When Sans got back with the rag and started to try and clean Frel, he began to fight a squirm all over the place and Sans had to use his free hand to keep Frel from pushing away the rag. Finally, after a lot of struggling, Sans finished cleaning Frel. He brought the child to the living room then sat him down on the floor while he sat back down on the couch to keep an eye on him.
After hours of sitting in front of his computer, Asriel saved his draft of a design possibility and sent it to his boss before clocking out. His boss was a nice lady, and the reason he still had a job after the time he took away to grieve. They were good friends even though they rarely saw each other. Asriel left the office then walked the mile home, thinking about the friends he had left. He stopped in front of his house and looked up at it before walking up the porch stairs and heading inside. "I'm home." He said after closing the door.
"heya." Sans said from the couch.
"High daddy…" Frel said. He was sitting on Sans's lap, rubbing his eyes.
"What are you doing still awake?" Asriel asked as he picked him up.
"he had a bad dream then refused to go back to sleep until you got back." Sans replied.
"Had to wait for daddy to come home?" Asriel asked Frel, laughing a little.
Frel nodded.
"Why?" Asriel asked.
"The monsters came back…" Frel said.
"Could Sans not get rid of them?" Asriel asked.
Frel shook his head.
"Why not?" Asriel asked.
"he told me that only you can get rid of them." Sans replied for Frel.
Asriel let out a sigh as he shook his head. He couldn't help but smile down at Frel as he looked back with his innocent eyes. Asriel handed Sans some money then said goodbye to him before carrying Frel upstairs.
Once they were in Frel's room, Asriel turned on the light and sat down Frel then went to check the night-light. It didn't take long to realize what happened as he nearly stepped on some of the broken glass. "Did you break this?" He asked, turning towards Frel.
Frel shook his head.
Asriel sighed again. "Where was the monster?" He asked.
Frel pointed to his toy closet.
Asriel stood up then stepped over to the toy closet. He opened the door and looked around for a while. "There's nothing here now." He said as he turned around.
Frel looked past him into the closet for a while, trying to see if anything moved.
"Think you can fall asleep now?" Asriel asked.
Frel nodded, taking his eyes off the closet.
"Alright then." Asriel said. He picked up Frel then placed him in the crib before turning to leave.
"Daddy?" Frel asked before Asriel turned off the light. Asriel turned back around to look at him. "Can you sing to me?" Frel asked.
Asriel lightly smiled then began to sing the lullaby Frisk used to sing. Frel was asleep before Asriel finished singing so he turned off the light then stepped out of the room. He went to his own then laid down on his bed. "It's been a year since Sans started coming over to watch Frel for me." He said to himself then tried to sleep.