Gift and Be Gifted

The weather had taken a turn for the wild after his last delivery. The continuous snow was accompanied by a bitter wind with a knife edge of cold. But Asgore's fur, his affinity for fire and the urgent text he received blunted it all. He'd taken time to slip out of his uniform, but other than that he was going to one of the houses he delivered to for an unexpected second time. It was as he reached the street in question that he spotted an elderly human taking very careful steps and shivering fiercely. He didn't stop to think.

"Howdy, are you alright?"

Gently resting a mighty hand on the man's shoulder, Asgore let the spell flow into him. The shivering stopped, and he looked more relaxed. To his credit, he wasn't unnerved by Asgore's appearance.

"Thank you kindly, sir, that's a useful trick."

"Oh, indeed. Do you need anything else?"

"No, I'm just passing through. But thanks again, for everything."

"Everything?"

The old man didn't answer, but steadied himself and continued down the street. Remembering the reason he was out here instead of home, Asgore completed his walk to Toriel's house. It took a little effort to struggle against the wind, but he got the door closed.

"Hello?"

"In here."

Walking into the living room, he saw Toriel sitting by the fire, looking equally curious about what was going on.

"Oh, good evening."

"Asgore," she said. She still sounded conflicted about being in his presence. Entirely understandable, of course.

"Frisk asked you to wait here as well?"

She nodded. "They begged me to wait here for them. I could not refuse. You are still wearing your hat, by the way."

"Oh." He whisked it off. "I'm surprised you let them go off alone, Toriel."

"No, Undyne accompanied them."

"Ah," said Asgore, his concern unwinding a little, "they'll be fine then."

"Yes. Part of me still does not want them to be out so late, but after braving the Underground, I understand when they do something like this, it is for a good reason. Now, I suppose you do not know what this present might be?"

"Present?"

She gestured to the coffee table, where a tall cylinder wrapped in silver and gold paper rested. "They brought it home earlier, and told me not to open it until they sent a signal. I thought you might have been that signal, but it appears we shall have to wait to UNWRAP this mystery."

Asgore allowed himself a smile. Feeling relaxed enough to joke in his presence was a good sign.

"It's a lot of effort. What on earth could it be?"

"It is strange. And, they already got us separate presents." She pointed to the nearby tree. "So this is-"

Her phone buzzed. A text message arrived, which she read aloud.

Home soon. Open it now!

Bewildered, Asgore merely sat in his chair as Toriel carefully unwrapped the present. He missed her particular unwrapping technique, always trying to conserve wrapping paper. His recollections were interrupted by a sudden glow.

"Wh-what is-?!"

The present was a glass container, and in the exact middle, a white heart floated with perfect stillness, upside down.

"That is... It looks like what I, um... kept the souls in..."

These words were no comfort. Toriel's face was contorted in conflict between continued curiosity and mild discomfort at this strange gift. Nevertheless she picked up the jar and rotated it. No matter what the angle, the soul remained at the same orientation.

"...the human souls did that too."

She looked affronted at the reminder, but didn't press the issue, continuing to study the curious present. "Whose soul is this? Only you or I could leave one behind."

"Wait," said Asgore with sudden urgency, "do you feel that?"

"What-"

"Shh." He put his hand on his chest. Perplexed, she put down the container and copied him. He was right. A presence was there, a connection. It hadn't been there since-

"Asgore! Is this-"

The front door opened, the sudden gust of icy wind stopping the conversation dead. Frisk entered the room, beaming at the two monsters and the container. They weren't alone, but it wasn't just Undyne who accompanied them.

"Why'd you send her after me AGAIN?"

"I told ya, that last time was an accident! But yeah, Frisk asked me to find you."

"What, didja feel sorry for me because how cold it is? You two really are id-"

The flower wrapped round Frisk's arm like a rope stopped talking as he registered who else was in the room.

"What is this?! Breaking their hearts after HE begged you not to? I knew you had it in you!"

"Hey, Petals, can it! We're doing you a favour!"

"Could have fooled me."

"You... you were at the barrier?" Toriel was frowning, trying to pick details out from the confused account of that day.

"I guess so. Howdy." Both of them flinched at the greeting, but they didn't know why. "So what is this about-"

He positively froze as his eyes were drawn to the coffee table.

"Is this a sick joke?! Rub it in, pretend you found my-"

"I did find it," said Frisk simply, "it's yours."

"Yours?" asked Asgore. "Does that mean... is that-"

"HEY! I'm Flowey. That's all you need to know!"

"But you don't have to be, if you don't want to."

"Frisk, you said that earlier, what the heck are you talking about?"

Undyne's question went unanswered. Instead the four of them watched the hungry look on Flowey's face as he stared at the soul. "How did you get it?"

"I had help. You wouldn't remember him." Asgore absently scratched the back of his head.

"B-but…" a quiet desperation stole across Flowey, "it's too late. Even if it lets me feel again I can't be HIM. It's not strong enough on its own."

"H-him?!"

Frisk ignored Toriel. "You're right, normally. But I found a way. We made it stronger."

"The guy I can't remember made it stronger?"

"No, someone else." They didn't go into details.

There wasn't much movement for a while while the five of them were bathed in the firelight. Frisk and Flowey stared at each other, Undyne looked just as lost as earlier, and connections were dawning in Asgore and Toriel, slowly because of how impossible it seemed to them.

"...no," said Flowey simply, "I'll just screw up again. It's better if you forget about me."

"No way!" bellowed Undyne, "not after freezing my butt off chasing after you. Whatever the kid wants to give you, just take it!"

"You don't get it." His voice was soft. "I don't deserve it. Dammit, I feel bad just being near it. But yeah, there's too much on my tally."

Tears were welling in the beady black eyes. It was strange, thought Asgore. He'd never seen a flower cry before. But there was something in the sniffles that all but confirmed what his soul had been screaming at him since Frisk arrived, and Toriel's face said the same thing, a core of hope deftly parrying a large coalition of other emotions.

"So, uh, you screwed up or something in the past, kid?" asked Undyne.

"Big time."

"So what? Who doesn't? I screw up! You know how many fire extinguishers Alphys stocks in our kitchen? Does that mean I should just order pizza every night? Hell no! Screwing up only matters if you give up! And if you screw up again, try harder! Prove yourself wrong!"

"Whatever you have done," exclaimed Toriel suddenly, "we will be there for you!" Asgore nodded.

"It's okay," said Frisk softly, "you can..."

The hunger bubbled to the surface again, but it was tempered. It was now an earnest longing, fighting against the doubt in his eyes.

"...over there. Gimme some room."

With the widest smile, Frisk picked up the soul container and took it to the indicated patch of floor. Releasing the catch, they took the lid off, while Flowey clambered off their arm and settled unevenly on the floor. Frisk rejoined the three monsters, each with a different expression, and patiently waited. After a moment, Flowey reached out a vine and touched it-

Everyone was blinded. Four pairs of eyes (and a patch) were deluged in unexpected floodlights. There was a rush of power, and over that noise they could hear a gasp that seemed to change in tone with each breath. It went on so long it was a while before anyone realised the light had gone.

Nobody could make the figure out at first, their eyes returning to the semi-lit gloom of the room. But it wore green. At last, they could make out a furry arm reaching within the container where Flowey's vine had been. The fingers twitched. Then they started flexing rapidly. And then they were touching the long floppy ears and the furry muzzle and the pointed fangs and every inch of the new body they could reach, all the while shuddering breaths signalled that lungs were working. And then-

"Mom! Dad!"

Toriel's arms were full of child, and both broke down into tears. They weren't alone, for Asgore did the same, quickly joining them. Frisk had unbridled joy on their own face. Undyne did not cry, but her stoic expression showed she understood the implications of what just happened, even if she didn't know how the hell they got here.

"Oh. Uh. The Prince. Okay. Well that's awesome. You doin' okay?" There was a muffled grunt from Toriel's chest. Undyne took it as assent. "Cool. Well, you guys got a lot of catching up to do, so I'm gonna-"

"Dnt gvv!" Asriel pulled his face clear of the hug. "Don't go yet, please. I want to thank you. You persuaded me to try again! I seriously considered leaving, but you got me to change my mind. This is worth it!"

"Yes," said Asgore, who looked on the verge of fainting, "and you helped bring him here physically. On such a terrible night. I cannot thank you enough."

"Oh. Well. 's my job, right? You know I do anything for the Royal Family. An' when Frisk said it would make you happy... gotta help out the family, right?"

Before she knew what was happening, Undyne was in a hug that might have crushed a lesser person. Normally she gave these out, so it was interesting to be on the receiving end. Her mouth split into a grin, and the two hugs coalesced into one large hug, with Frisk clambering up Asgore to be in the middle of it. The family could start to truly heal.

Outside this happy scene, the old human looked on with a twinkle in his crinkly face. The weather had calmed after the flash of light, so he no longer felt the need to clutch his coat. With soft crunches, four hooves landed lightly on the snow.

"Hey boss, you sure it was okay to do that? Seems kinda excessive."

"Perhaps," shrugged the man, "but that child didn't ask for anything else from me. Their father provides everything. It might have been a bit much if they wanted a new soul from scratch, but they took care to get it themselves. Empowering it to allow this was fine."

"Still," said the reindeer, "it's a pretty big gift. Normally someone else would handle a wish like that."

"True. But I saw it. They've done a lot of good things this year. Even if they were in a unique position, I think they've earned it."

"Well yeah, I was there when they found you. But what about him? If they've done a lot of good, then by that logic he's done a lot of bad. Does he deserve this?"

The bright eyes closed. "A fair point. He has a dark past and he knows it. But nobody is naughty forever. And I can tell that by doing this, he shall be much less naughty in the future. Sometimes you can't wait until someone sits in judgement. You have to be proactive about it so you don't have to judge in the first place."

The reindeer's haunches shrugged. "Your call. So, you gonna start giving presents to monsters now?"

"Not if I can help it," he said shrewdly. "If I take over for him, their ideas about me will influence me, and I'm already sick of having to dwell on that business in Nicea because of history nerds. If it spreads far enough I may even change physically. It's happened before."

"You mean you'd be like him? It wouldn't be all bad. Fur's pretty useful when you're flying-"

He laughed. "Oh come on."

"-the fire magic would be totally useful-"

"Seriously, cut it out."

"-and you're missing out on the subtle ways you can express yourself with a tail."

"No, Rudolph! My wife would probably change too, and the last thing I want is for her to rip her dresses with claws. No, the King of Monsters is doing a good job, and long may he do it."

"Is that part of this too? Incentive for him to keep doing it?"

"Perhaps, but officially it's a child's special wish. Now, shall we stop at that farmer's market on Crete to pick up some fresh carrots for you and the boys?"

"You know just what to say, boss!"