Undertale - Legato, Christmas Oneshot

Asriel let out a gigantic burp. Afterwards, he leant back against the cushion, looking pleased with himself.

“Gross.” Frisk glanced at Asriel over the top of a new book.

“I think you mean ‘impressive’.”

“The only impressive thing is how you managed to pack away so much food without physically exploding. You’re gonna be bigger than your dad, someday.”

He tucked both hands behind his head, carefully avoiding his horns in an attempt to achieve maximum comfort. He was reclined against the window sofa, basking in the heat from the mostly burned down fireplace. Despite the snow and the moonlight outside, there was no need for blankets, so the various coverings on the couch were being used as pillows and nesting materials for the moment. Asriel had his legs out, whereas Frisk was sitting cross legged on the other end of the couch with their book.

“Nuh uh! I’m gonna stay 17 forever. That way, I can have as much pie as I want, whenever I want.”

“You’re gonna get fat~” Frisk teased in a singsong voice, turning to the next page carefully and hiding their grin with the book. “Besides, you already tried not aging once, and we both know how that turned out.”

Frisk managed another paragraph before they realised Asriel hadn’t provided a witty comeback. Frisk glanced up again, and Asriel was hugging his knees, looking out the window quietly. Whoops. Still too soon.

“Hey, don’t be like that. Come on, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bought it up.”

Asriel looked from the moonlight landscape to Frisk with a strained smile. “H-heh. It’s fine. I just started feeling ill, is all. Probably my fault, eating too much.”

“Sure.” They replied sarcastically. “I don’t believe you.” Frisk carefully slipped a bookmark into the right spot and snapped the book shut, the sudden sound causing Asriel to jump and look at Frisk as they put it aside and shuffled closer.

“Frisk.” Asriel whined nasally. “I’m fine, you don’t have to-”

“Sssh.” Frisk gently pried Asriel’s arms off of his knees and pushed his legs flat, out of the way. He blushed, wriggling back up against the pillows gently. “Your stomach hurts, right?”

“I, uh. Yeah. That’s it.”

“Definitely that, and not you being upset about what I said.”

“It’s been years. I don’t get upset about it anymore.”

“Sure. Well, lemme try and help you feel better.”

Frisk waited patiently for Asriel to settle back down a little. Eventually, he relented, still huffy but no longer actively trying to fend Frisk off. Frisk reached out and gently touched the ‘problem’, giving Asriel a gentle rub on the stomach. He wriggled, slightly, hands digging into the blankets under him.

“H-hey! That tickles!”

“Just relax. You know it feels good.” Frisk cooed, running their hands along his belly and gently patting it, massaging and yes, maybe sneaking in the odd tickle here and there.

“Ah! But… It’s so embarrassing.”

“What do you have to hide? I already know all about your weakness for rubs, and everyone else either went home or went to bed hours ago. It’s just us.”

“W-well… You don’t have to look so happy to see me squirm.”

“It’s so cute when you do it though!”

“S-shut up!” Asriel reached up and grabbed Frisk’s hands, prying them off of him. “You can’t just tickle me and expect me to be okay again all of a sudden, Frisk.”

Frisk grinned. “You said you were fine. Just an upset stomach.”

He looked away, letting Frisk’s hands go. “Well, I lied.” He leant back, resting his head against the wood of the windowsill. His horns made a tiny ‘thunk’ as they fell against the wood. They had really started to grow this year, and he was still getting used to them. “I hate that this happens, still. I should have moved on by now.”

“Hey, no one understands better than me. It’s gonna take a long time, and you might never really get over it. But I’ll be here to help, whenever you need me.”

“I shouldn’t need help.”

“Don’t be stupid, everyone needs help sometimes. Now, hold still.” Frisk turned around on the sofa, pushing Asriel’s legs apart and snuggling all the way up into his lap, back to his belly, leaning back against him gently and deftly threading their head under his chin. Asriel sighed, hesitating for a moment before slowly slipping his arms around Frisk, hugging them a little closer.

“...You feel a little cold.”

Frisk snagged some of the blankets they were sitting on and flicked them out, bringing the soft cotton down over the both of them. It had been getting a little chilly, now that the fireplace was mostly burned down. That meant Toriel was probably asleep, and her magical fire was waning as a result. It really was just the two of them now.

“You feel that weight, Az? That’s me, pressing against you. I’m here and I’m real, and all that stuff in your head… well, it’s in the past now, okay?”

Asriel sighed gently, giving Frisk a small squeeze. “I know. I really take my sweet time getting over things, huh?”

“Hey, it was my fault for bringing it up.”

“Heh. That it was. Jerk.”

“Jerk yourself! I put down my book for this!”

Asriel forwent another snappy comeback and instead retaliated with some tickles of his own. The exchange was intense but brief. Eventually, they settled back down, the both of them watching snow fall by moonlight.

“This is nice. I love this.” Asriel whispered, mostly to himself.

“I love you too.”

“Huh?”

“Uh, I love doing this too! It’s nice, and we might not have many more Christmases at home together, so we had better make the most of it.”

“Yeah.” Asriel relaxed back again, hopefully none the wiser. Frisk took a calming breath. That was close. “Hey, Frisk?”

“What?”

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too.”

The last of the glowing red embers in the fireplace slowly faded to black.