Heart Soul and Goat Fluff - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Pillows, Pajamas, and Snootles

"Ughh… Why did I eat so much!?!" Asriel slumps in his seat, his belly visibly bulging. You groan as well. The cinnamon butterscotch caramel cream brown sugar pie was mind-bogglingly good, but you definitely ate way to much. You loosen the drawstring on your pants, and slump down as well.

Toriel chuckles. "Moderation is something you'll both learn as you grow up. But now, I think we all could use some rest. You two must be exhausted."

You nod. "Yeah… I haven't had a proper bed to sleep in since… Well, since you took me in back in the ruins."

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I had no idea…" Toriel quickly stands and ushers you from the kitchen. "You go get a good, long night's sleep. I'll clean up from dinner. You too, Asriel, time for bed."

"Mom? Can I take a shower first?" Asriel blushes slightly. "I've still got coffee grounds in my fur, and I'm all sweaty from eating so much."

"Of course, little one. Come, let's see if Asgore had the presence of mind to leave some towels. Frisk, I'll be by in a little bit to tuck you and Asriel in."

You smile at the two of them. They're so adorable together. Asriel holds Toriel's hand as they go to explore the cupboards of the house. You wish you had a family like that when you were younger. But there's no reason to mope about the past, you figure, and you have a loving family now. As you get ready for bed, you wonder if that would make Asriel your brother. But Toriel never really 'adopted' you, did she? You just sort of… merged into their family. Would she be a step mother, or a mother-in-law? You can't remember the difference. One of them would mean you were married to Asriel, right? Your heart flutters slightly as you think about that. Being with Asriel… Of all the monsters you've met in the underground, he's by far the handsomest, the sweetest, and the one who needs affection the most. Even when he was trying to kill you, there was something… something tender about him. The way he begged you to let him win. How he started to miss intentionally toward the end. How your heart broke for him when he asked you to take care of Asgore and Toriel for him.

Well, now the two of you can take care of them together. You doubt Toriel needs much in the way of 'care', but Asgore seems… Well, your impression is that he's a brilliant leader, but doesn't necessarily remember how to take care of himself without Toriel's help. You wonder if there's anything you can do to help them get back together.

After changing into a pair of pajamas that you find in a chest of drawers (they're quite big on you, but you don't mind) and finding a comfy spot in the bed, you relax and feel your HP topping off. The food definitely helped. The door opens, and Asriel comes in, looking extra fluffy and clean. Toriel follows him in, and smiles at you. "Frisk… I don't know how to thank you enough for what you've done for me… for us."

You shrug. "Asriel deserves a happy ending. So do you."

Asriel climbs into the bed beside you. "You do to, Frisk. You, more than anyone else."

You have the urge to tell him that he is your happy ending, but you instead just shrug and grin. Toriel tucks the two of you in. "Good night, my little cinnamon buns." She kisses each of you on the forehead, and brushes some hair away from your eyes. "Sleep well. I love you both, so much."

Hearing her say that makes you feel warm and bubbly inside. You hadn't heard those words spoken to you in a very long time. She pauses at the door to look back at the two of you, then turns off the light and gently closes the door. You roll over onto your side to look at Asriel. It's fairly dark in the room, but there's some moonlight filtering in through the curtains over the window, and you can see Asriel's green eyes watching you.

"Frisk…" He reaches out and takes your hand in his paw. "I… I don't know how to tell you… What you did for me… Even after everything… You gave me the life I thought I'd never have. On the surface, with my family." He looks over at the window. The full moon is visible through the curtains. "I thought I'd only ever hear stories about the moon… about the sun, about how warm it feels on your fur, how the seasons change…" He sniffs, and you realize that he's crying again. You reach over to wipe his tears away, and he leans into your touch. "I know that you may not feel the same about… about me, but I have to… just this once…" He leans forward and, ever so gently, kisses you on the lips. You're so surprised that you don't have the chance to kiss back before he pulls away. "Thank you," he mumbles.

You scoot closer to him under the blankets. "Why would you assume I don't feel the same about you?" you ask, looking into his eyes. "You were the one who spared me. You… You understood me. You were the one who first saw me as Frisk, not as another Chara." You wipe his tears away, then lean in to kiss him back. This time, you give him a proper kiss. His fluff tickles your nose, but you don't mind. His lips are so soft and warm, and he tastes faintly of butterscotch. "You… You went through so much, and…" You bury your face underneath one of his ears. "I'm not going to let you just fade away. I'm not going to let you go. I promise."

He hugs you back, and the two of you spend a moment of comfortable silence just embracing. With his clean fur, he's even softer and fluffier than before, and you can feel his heart racing in his chest. He smells like soap and lavender and another smell that you can only describe as 'boss monster'.

When you lean back, he's still looking at you with those big green eyes. "Um… In case you haven't figured it out yet, I kinda have a crush on you," you mumble. "When I was going through the underground, I flirted with a lot of monsters, but that was just… just a way of getting around them. I never really had any interest in them. Not even Papyrus or Undyne. But you… I want to be with you. I want to date you. Will you go out with me?" you blurt out. A small voice in the back of your head cheers. This is what people your age should be doing. Asking out cute monsters, having dinner with family, being a kid. Not trying to save an entire society from stagnating underground, not fighting minibosses at every turn, not constantly resetting and reloading and saving and resetting again.

Asriel beams at you. "Of course I'll go out with you, silly. I thought you would have figured that out from me kissing you."

You shrug. "It never hurts to ask." 

Asriel giggles, and nuzzles his snoot into your cheek. "No, I suppose not. Um… Aren't we supposed to be resting and sleeping?"

"Aww, but I just asked out a cute monster! I want to spend time with him!" You fake-pout.

"I have a feeling that your 'cute monster' doesn't mind being with you while the two of you sleep." He touches the tip of his snoot to your nose, then yawns. "It's been a long day."

You agree. "As long as we can cuddle while we sleep." Asriel pulls you into his arms and snuggles into you. You carefully move one of his ears out of the way, then close your eyes.

You are just falling asleep when you hear Asriel mumble, "I won't let you go either." And with that, you fall into the deepest, happiest slumber you can remember having.