Reconciliation

The autumn wind blew briskly as Asgore emerged from Toriel’s house. The boss monster slipped on a wool-knitted jacket, a grim look on his furry face. Behind him, he could hear the cheerful laughter of the other monsters…of Toriel…Letting out a depressed sigh, Asgore left the house, slowly closing the door behind him. Asgore walked along the sidewalk, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His tired eyes watched the dying leaves of fall be carried by the gale. Death…he had been thinking about that a lot lately…

Crunch! Crunch!

“Hmm?” murmured Asgore as he glanced over his shoulder. “Is someone there?” For a moment, he had been hopeful that it was Toriel, coming to invite him back inside. But when he saw that no one was behind him, he felt like a fool. Of course she wouldn’t do that…she hated him…she’d always hate him. The boss monster went on, feeling a stinging sensation in his eyes.

Before long, the ex-king found himself at the local park. At this hour, it was empty, not a human or monster in sight. Asgore found a bench and sat down, his gaze turning towards the starry sky. This would be his resting place for the night. He hadn’t told anyone else, but he had been homeless ever since the barrier had broken. While he wasn’t completely broke (the landscaping job Toriel supplied him with gave him some money to buy food and clothes), he couldn’t seem to find his own place. Then again, Asgore was infamous in the humans’ history books for threatening humanity with war, and “siccing” his son on an “innocent” child. The humans would never trust a monster like him, let alone allow him to rent out a place to call home.

The ex-king’s mind wandered back to his former queen. He remembered a few hours ago, before the evening’s events. He remembered when Toriel called him for the first time in years. She was inviting him over for dinner. While Asgore could hear the reluctance in her voice, and Toriel made it clear that it was Frisk’s idea and she didn’t want to disappoint them, Asgore’s heart leaped for joy at another chance to make up with the she-monster. He had arrived early, before any of the other guests. Frisk was ecstatic, Toriel…not so much. The he-monster offered to help set things up, to which Toriel agreed. Unfortunately, luck hadn’t seemed to be on his side. Toriel shot many a glare at him when he mistakenly dropped a plate or utensil. She also ignored any of his attempts at small talk. The dinner wasn’t any better; Asgore merely sat in silence, watching as Toriel laughed and enjoyed everyone else’s company, especially Sans’. It took every fiber of the ex-king’s being to not burst into tears right then and there. After an hour or so of sitting and listening to everyone else enjoy themselves, Asgore decided to leave, and here he was now, sitting alone on the park bench that would be his bed. His hand brushed away the tears that had formed during his moment of recollection. His head tipped back, his eyes closed, and he let out a small cry of anguish.

“Tori…” he sobbed, his voice echoing in the emptiness.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

There was that noise again, but Asgore was far too caught up in his misery that he didn’t seem to notice. It was when he felt a small hand touch his that he was brought back to reality.

“Huh?” he murmured, looking down beside him. Staring back up at him was Frisk. “Frisk! Wh-What are you doing here? Tori will be very upset if she finds you so far from home.”

The small child smiled warmly, shaking their head. In a quiet voice, they asked if the boss monster was ok.

“Am I ok?” echoed Asgore. “Er…of course I am.”

Frisk pouted, skepticism glimmering in their eyes. Asgore simply chuckled, ruffling their hair.

“Now, now,” he cooed. “You know what they say. If you make such faces, your face will be stuck that way. You don’t want that, do you?” A gentle poke on the belly sent the child into a laughing fit. “Haha…there’s the face I was looking for.”

There was then a gentle silence. Asgore returned his gaze to the stars.

“I never grow tired of staring at the stars,” he quietly said. “They’re very beautiful, are they not, Frisk?” Frisk nodded, pointing as a silvery-white streak shot across the sky. “Ah, yes, a shooting star. I can recall making many wishes on them from the Underground. So far…only one of them has come true…Perhaps you will have more luck, Frisk?”

Another silence fell over them as Frisk closed their eyes, their wish formulating in their mind. As the shooting star vanished from sight, their eyes reopened, and they smiled at Asgore.

“Was it a special wish?” the boss monster asked curiously. The child nodded, pointing to you. Asgore’s eyes widened. “A wish…for me…? Frisk…” he smiled sadly. “Hahaha…you’re a very good-hearted child. Thank you.”

Buzz! Buzz!

Frisk pulled their phone from their pocket, wincing when they saw Toriel’s name on the caller ID.  The phone continued to ring, Frisk hesitating to answer. They looked to Asgore.

“You should answer that,” Asgore advised. “She needs to know that you’re ok.”

The child bit their lip, but nodded. They answered the phone.

“Frisk!?” Toriel’s worried voice came from the other end. “My child, where are you!?...The park? Alone!?...With Asgore?...Oh…well…I suppose that is better than being alone, but…I am coming to get you. I will be there shortly.”

Click…

“…You should’ve stayed with the others,” murmured the ex-king. “You didn’t have to come and check on me. I…I’m not worth it.”

Frisk argued that Asgore was their friend, and they cared about them just as much as they cared about Toriel and the others. Asgore shook his head, his golden mane’s shadow covering his eyes. Frisk could tell that Asgore believed horribly about himself, something they just couldn’t allow. To Frisk, Asgore was a kind and gentle soul who made mistakes, just like any living being. Unfortunately, Toriel’s resentment of him made him refuse to see the goodness that still existed in him.

The silence continued for a while, until the sounds of feet walking on the park’s grass. Asgore and Frisk looked up to see Toriel approaching them quickly. She stopped before them, breathing heavily. Her gaze shifted from a concerned, yet stern glance towards Frisk, to an angry, judgmental glower at Asgore.

“There you are, my child,” she began, extending her hand. “Come. We must go. I will check to see if you are unharmed when we return home.”

“They’re fine, Tori--” Asgore began, only for Toriel to snap back at him, her eyes glowing in her maternal rage.

“Hold your tongue, Dreemurr,” she spat. Despite Toriel’s usual kind nature, the goat woman felt a strange satisfaction seeing her ex-husband flinch at her words. In her mind, he was lucky she didn’t physically punish him for his past crimes. “Come, Frisk.” Toriel said again, lightly pulling the child after her.

Frisk looked back at Asgore, who stared at the ground, his body quivering as a fresh batch of tears squeezed out of his closed eyes. They then looked at Toriel, frowning. Frisk dug their heels into the ground, stopping Toriel in her tracks. Toriel looked down at them.

“Frisk?” she began, her eyes widening in surprise. “What are you…?”

Frisk looked back at Asgore, and Toriel did the same. Her eyes narrowed.

“Do not worry about him, innocent one,” she told the child firmly. “He is a grown adult. He does not need a child to comfort him. Come now.” She tugged Frisk’s arm gently, but, to her surprise, Frisk resisted. Again, Toriel pulled, but Frisk stood firm against her, as they did back in the ruins. “Frisk…do not be difficult. Please do not put me in that state of anguish again.”

Frisk was far more concerned with Asgore’s suffering than Toriel’s supposed anguish. They pulled away from Toriel, returning to Asgore, and hugging him around his round belly. Asgore stared down at them, mouth slightly agape.

“Frisk…” he whispered. He looked up, seeing Toriel march back over to them. As her paw reached out to grab Frisk’s arm, his arm shot out, clutching her wrist. The boss monsters stared into each other’s eyes, anger glowing in Toriel’s and depression glistening in Asgore’s. Frisk looked up at them both, waiting patiently for the silence to be broken. Slowly, Asgore began to speak. “Tori…I think you should let Frisk do as they wish.”

“What?” Toriel said, yanking her arm away, a ball of fire appearing in her palm. “How can you say that to me, whelp? Had I let Frisk do as they wished, you would have killed them, and the rest of humanity.”

“No…” Asgore murmured.

“Do not lie to me.” The fireball increased in size.

“I would not have killed humanity,” Asgore insisted. “And I did not want to kill Frisk…”

The fireball grew bigger and bigger, and Frisk could feel its temperature rise. Toriel had every intention of harming Asgore at this point. Their heart raced, their eyes gazing up nervously at the adult monsters.

“But you killed the other children,” Toriel growled. “Children I saved. Children I cared for. Children I fed. Do you not understand, you pathetic fool? They were all I had, and you took them from me--”

“WHAT CHOICE DID I HAVE!?”

Asgore’s voice echoed in the empty park. The he-monster had stood up from the bench, moving Frisk out of the way and advancing on Toriel. The she-monster, losing her rage and becoming frightened, caused the fireball to disappear, allowing the air to become cool once again. Asgore’s eyes were wide. Never had he yelled like that, especially not at the woman he loved so dearly. But she had pushed him too far, and Asgore had had enough. His head hung low.

“Forgive me,” he began, his voice hoarse. “I meant not to yell at you, Tori. But…what could I have done? My people needed hope. In my anger, I gave them the only gift of hope I could think of: breaking the barrier and killing humanity. But all anger fades, and mine did. But the hopes of the people were so important to me…I wished not to hurt them. Yes, I am a coward and I was never fit to be a king. But with my strength, I was the only one the monsters could look up to. This doesn’t excuse what I did, but I had to do something. I prolonged the killing because I wanted to make a compromise for myself and my people. I know that was wrong, but that cannot be changed.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “But I believe I am not the only one to blame for this.”

“Wh-What…?” gasped Toriel, her voice quiet.

“The kingdom needed you…I needed you…for all those years, I was without someone to aid me…left to try and find a solution for myself,” Asgore continued. “You left your role as queen because you disagreed. While I respect all opinions, you could’ve acted out your own plan to break the barrier quicker. With your brains, I knew you could come up with something. But you didn’t. Yes, I was a fool, but you left me to be a fool and hid in the ruins, an equally cowardly action. You acted as if you were the only one to suffer when our children died, you acted as if I was slaughtering your children, children you tried to hold against their will. While not as big a sin as mine, I cannot ignore kidnapping.”

The she-monster was speechless. In all her years of life, never had she thought if it that way. Her abandonment of her people because of her own beliefs. No matter how she had felt, she had been selfish…selfish, and possibly just as foolish and cowardly as she had claimed Asgore to be. Her head fell low.

“Y-You are right…” she said. “I…I have sinned as you have done, Asgore. But…I sinned for a selfish reason, while you sinned for our people…I…I did not think of it from your perspective.”

Asgore’s hand touched Toriel’s chin, tilting her head back up. She could see a look of relief in his eyes, as if a great burden had finally been pulled off his chest. He had been bottling frustrations and sadness within him for years, and she had been making it worse. A tear ran down her cheek, but Asgore quickly wiped it away.

“A-Asgore…” she whispered.

“It’s alright, Tori,” Asgore interrupted. “I could never think less of you, no matter what sin you may have done. I forgive you. I only wish you can do the same for me.”

“…I do not know if I can…” admitted the ex-queen. “All these years, I have built up so much unnecessary hatred and anger towards you…how can I let all of it go?”

“I can wait,” Asgore promised. “If it takes a thousand years, I will wait for your forgiveness, Tori.”

“G-Gorey…” Toriel’s hands cupped the he-monster’s fluffy cheeks. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him. “Oh, Gorey…I will try to forgive you. I understand now…my anger was foolish…you’ve made mistakes, as have I…I want to move on from them…together.”

“Ha…” Asgore laughed, a tear of happiness rolling down his cheek. “I promise to support you forever and always, Toriel.”

From the side, Frisk watched the formerly married couple make up, a smile forming on their face. They approached, tapping Toriel’s arm. When getting her attention, they pointed to Asgore, and then the bench. Toriel looked at Asgore.

“You…you do not have a place to stay?” she asked him. “Well…I suppose I could…if you would like…grant you the extra room in my house?”

A goofy smile appeared on Asgore’s face. “I would like that very much.”

Hand in hand, Asgore and Toriel began to walk off. Frisk went after them, taking Toriel’s hand. They looked up to the stars. It seemed that they had been lucky. Their wish seemed to be coming true.