The Garden, Chapter 2: Undyne's Talk

Chapter 2: Asgore has a Talk with Undyne
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	Despite the… events of the walk, Asgore found himself at Undyne’s house. It was vaguely similar to her old one underground, though lacking a personal dummy and the small fire problem. He remembered going to her house almost daily, enjoying time with his near-daughter. Drinking tea, talking, laughing. Sometimes there would be cocao, which he loved to drink but the marshmallows would always stick in his beard, which was a horrible mess to clean up. He sighed at the small reminiscence.

	He walked up to the door, the ‘face’ no longer angry, but rather content. The windows were perfectly circular and the frame curled into a smile. He tapped on the opening, three times. He waited for a short while, hearing purposeful footstep walk through her foyer. The door opened, the hinges creaking slightly, a slightly groggy Undyne blinking at Asgore. Her eyes and mind connected, the image of Asgore removing all tiredness from her eyes and excitement removing the rust from her joints.

	“Asgore!” She nearly yelled, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his chest. He returned the hug, ruffling her red hair gently. She reached up, attempting to noogie her old father figure. “I didn’t expect to see you this early! How you doing you old lug?”

	Asgore smiled, “I have been doing okay. Enjoying the surface, of course.” Undyne gestured for him to come in, the comfy interior of her house inviting him as well. She had furnished it more than when her old one in the underground, a small seating area occupying the southern end of the house. A large couch with ample cushioning nearly called Asgore’s name. He sat heavily into the seat, sinking slowly into the soft pillows. It was the perfect size for the large monster, plenty of leg and elbow room. Undyne chuckled.

	“I’ll go make some tea, golden flower still your favorite?” she asked, moving over to her stove.

	“Of course,” he said, nodding with a smile. She got to work, tearing open the packets and setting some water to boil. Asgore looked around the house. It seemed slightly bigger than her last one, more windows as well. The fireplace was simple, brick with a wooden mantle, a small woodpile next to it. The walls weren’t scantily clad, plenty of photos and posters adorned them. They were primarily of Alphys, sometimes the two of them together. A larger one of the two holding each other on the beach stuck out, Asgore smiled at the picture. He was happy for the two, yet his heart panged. He ignored the feeling, burying the want deep within him.

	He looked at the mantle, on it was a framed photograph, along with her old helmet. Above the simple wooden shelf was two of her spears crossed on a plaque, a Delta Rune burned into the wood. Without her usual battle magic, they did not shine blue, but looked like run-of-the-mill spears. They were about five feet each, polished wooden handle, damascus steel tips. They were as impressive as they were simple, truly works of art. Each of the spearheads, funnily enough, were shaped after one of her teeth, the razor sharp cuspids perfect models for the weapon.

	His focus turned back to the photo, walking up to see what it was of. It looked like a barbeque at a park, Undyne toothily grinning at the camera. Several larger monsters were crowded in there, some looking at the camera, others focused on what they were doing.

	They all looked vaguely familiar, something about their similar demeanors and size. He saw two of them sitting next to each other on a bench, nice cream cones in their hands, smiles on their faces. One was a rabbit, the other a dragon. The memories snapped into place, it was a reunion of the royal guard! He smiled, all of his old guardsmen enjoying themselves and their new lives on the surface.

	“Oh yeah, we had that a few days ago.” She said behind Asgore, startling the old king. She was surprisingly stealthy. “Would’ve invited you, but I thought you’d be too busy.” She scratched the back of her neck, “Sorry.”

	Asgore smiled at Undyne, “Oh, it is no problem at all. I just hope you all had a great time.” He noticed the tray in her hands, holding two cups, one much larger than the other. He sat back on the couch with a sigh, grabbing the mug from the platter. “How has your transition to the surface been?” He asked, sipping at the tea.

	She sat down in the armchair next to his, taking a swig of her hot drink, “Oh, it’s been ok. Alphys and I are trying to find jobs and then she’s going to move in ASAP.”

	Asgore smiled again, “Glad to hear it! I am relieved that you are having a good time so far.” He looked at his reflection in his tea, “How have the other guardsman been doing? I was hoping to catch up with them. Are the bunny and dragon together finally?”

	“They are all fine, many of them are finding jobs in the police corp. Crime’s dropped just at the sight of them, so I think they might stay a while.” She laughed, “As for 01 and 02, they seem to be happily together.”

	Asgore set down his cup, clapping his hands together. “That is great! I’m happy for them. We should invite them over for tea someday.”

	Undyne chuckled, “Yeah, we should. But enough about the RG, what have you been up to, big guy?”

	He froze slightly. What has he been doing? “Well, I haven’t been doing much. Frisk has taken almost all of the responsibility for Human Monster Relations and seems to be doing a fine job at it. I have mainly just been trying to settle myself out. Hopefully I will get a job soon, maybe as a janitor.” He looked down at his tea, once again his face staring back. Was that really all he’d been doing?

	“Asgore,” Undyne stated, “Cut the crap. What’s been eating you?” She read his mind.

	He stayed silent.

	His old guard sighed, “It’s Toriel. Isn’t it?” He winced at the name, nodding sadly.

	“Was it that obvious?” He asked, finally looking up from his tea. His eyes were misty.

	“When you know someone for your whole life, so long that they are basically your father, you get to know them. Very well.” He looked back down, “You aren’t being your usual self.”

	He stared at the steam wafting from the cup, the dark liquid swirling slowly. His hand was shaking. “It-It’s complicated.”

	“I think I can handle it.”

	He took a deep breath, the steam following the air, “Everyone’s life has improved so much since we’ve been liberated. We get some odd looks and a little bit of discrimination, but it sure beats living in the Undergound. I mean look at what we’ve all done. Sans is slowly but surely getting over his depression, Papyrus is taking cooking lessons, you and Alphys are as happy as clams. Toriel and Frisk are living happily and well, Tori finally accomplishing her life-long dream of being a teacher. Frisk is happy as long as we’re happy.

	He sniffled. “It is selfish to say, but… what about me?” His voice faltered, the words dying in his throat as he spoke. “It could be worse. We could still be stuck Underground, or… worse, and I’m happy for everyone and will be as long as they are happy. But… I-I miss them so much.” Asgore’s usually deep voice cracked, his hands covering his face. Tears stained his cheeks, lines marching down to his beard.

	Undyne looked sadly at her old teacher. She shuffled in and sat next to Asgore, wrapping an arm around his broad shoulders. “It’s ok, you old fart. Let it all out. I’m here for you.”

	“I just… I-I…” His words almost hurt him to form, turning into wails and cries. Undyne rubbed the back of his arm, trying her best to calm the big guy down. His chest heaved as he wept, loud sobs sounding from the mountain of fluff. She’s never seen him like this before. She was used to the upbeat, somewhat sad goatdad that everyone knew, not the crying wreck that was sitting on her couch. But he had been there for her when her bravado failed and her feelings broken, this was the least she could do.

	“Shh, shh,” she cooed, “Just let it all out.” He didn’t refuse, his hands freeing his face and clutching at the slender monster next to him, burying his snout into her shoulder. She didn’t mind the hot tears wetting her shirt. She hugged the old king, pulling him tightly against her.

	He cried. He cried and cried until he couldn’t. Dry sobs were muffled by Undyne’s shirt, she looked sadly down at her old mentor. “How’s Frisk doing?” She asked, trying to comfort the old fluffball. It worked. He tried to settle himself, rubbing away the tears and sniffling.

	A smile crept onto his face “Fr-Frisk? She’s been doing wonderfully, best diplomat I’ve ever had.”

	“You should talk to her. Maybe spend a day or a weekend with her.” She offered, a smile of her own showing up.

	“Oh, she’s much too busy to spend a day with an old lug like me, let alone the weekend.” Undyne couldn’t tell if his smile was fake.

	“Besides, she’s got the b-best caretaker anyone could ask for. Tori’s plenty of fluffy goat-monster for her.”

	His smile cracked.

	“I-I wouldn’t be a good father to her anyway.”