“Anything you want. My treat.”

Undyne blinked in surprise and gave a hesitant nod, looking past the glass sheet and over the array of treats on display. Asgore set his eyes on the goods as well, though not actually looking for anything to snack on; he had too much on his mind right now. He teeth unconsciously chewed on the pocky in his mouth, the brittle top breaking off in his mouth.

Asgore wasn’t into relationships. It wasn’t that he didn’t like them or he didn’t need them, but he just didn’t have the motivation to really seek one out. His relationship with his sister was enough to drag him out of his room, and so that’s all he really needed. Or, so he thought.

Undyne brought a slow hand up to her hair, her fingers lathing onto a particular lock and tightening it around them. He took notice, glancing over to watch her twirl her hair. Did she always do that? He hadn’t ever noticed. Well, if we were being fair, there were tons of things he failed to notice. Sometimes it would be certain hints his sister would give off, or maybe the angry looks he got from the spiders when he hadn’t paid his tab in months, or such as he fact that Undyne, someone he had once worked with and had been best friends with for a few years, was totally into him.  

The fish in question seemed to catch his gaze, a nervous look appearing on her face as she quickly chose blueberry donut. “That one,” she murmured hurriedly. Asgore caught on pretty quickly, and gave her a pat on the back. “Hey, take your time. We’re not in a hurry,” he told her. She just shook her head and pointed to it again. “No, I’m sure of it.”

Now, when it came to his obliviousness, in his defense, Asgore had never really had an interest in her to begin with, but that was because he never really had an interest in anyone. He didn’t find her cute or attractive or particularly eye-catching, because he just wasn’t looking for something like that. He assumed she would have made a few gestures of affection or interest in the past, but anything she said probably went straight over his horns. It hadn’t been until his main plant Goldilocks had told him what’s up that he realized that, well, it was in his face the entire time. He needed a plant to tell him about an incoming relationship with someone he’d known for years.

“You’re not going to get anything?” Undyne asked, her brow furrowed in slight confusion and a bit of worry. Asgore just grinned with the pocky between his teeth, showing he was covered. That seemed to sate her, as she merely gave a nod and took the donut Muffet had pulled out for her, giving a quick thanks before heading over to a small, two-person table. However, her goat friend wasn’t having that. The small establishment seemed a bit crowded, so he made a gesture to the door. “Let’s go outside,” he suggested, already heading towards the door with a bit of a moonwalk. Undyne blinked in surprise and quickly followed him out, taking her treat with her as they exited the warm camaraderie of Muffet’s and into the colder environment of Snowdin. Still, despite the snow and the chilly atmosphere, the two felt oddly warm.

As Asgore led her away from the plaza where Muffet’s resided, his mind began to wander as always. He stole a glance back at her, the visible pink on her cheeks and her unwillingness to make eye contact with him only fueled his newly discovered drive to know more about her. Perhaps this was to make up for all the hints and gestures he had been so blinded to for so long. If he were to be completely honest, he had no attraction to her from the get go. He didn’t find her pretty or attractive or anything like that; she was just Undyne, his smart former coworker. Now, in his defense, he was like that with everyone, and he would mostly blame it on lack of motivation on his part and no interest from the other party.  

Undyne didn’t ask where they were going. Asgore stopped at the path to the ruin, taking a small exhale before continuing down the trail at a slower pace. A calm smile was placed over his face as he stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets. Undyne was directly next to him, looking around awkwardly as the silence let itself be known.  

The pair set out on a slow, quiet walk with each other, saying nothing to the other person. Undyne looked down at her treat, finally finding the urge to eat it. Her partner seemed to notice, and finished off the pocky that once stuck out of his mouth like a toothpick. She glanced back at Asgore for a few fleeting moments before starting to nibble at the donut. He watched her from the corner of his eye, noticing how she took such minuscule crumbs off the top. From personal experience, he knew she could completely pig out on any overly processed that was placed in front of her. Why was she attempting to be so refined in front of him? He noticed her tinted cheeks darken more when she seemed to catch his staring eyes. She turned her head away, seemingly embarrassed to be watched. She opened her mouth to say something, or perhaps it was to try to eat more of her treat, but she ended up snapping it shut as her insecurities caused her to mumble gibberish to herself. Asgore blinked, continuing to watch her. She was so flustered and awkward, especially when it came to a still silence. He found it to be oddly adorable, if not a bit inconvenient. He wasn’t good at starting conversation, but he luckily knew her well enough to know how to get her out of this flustered state.

Undyne felt a small weight press down on her donut, and in a moment of confusion, she swiftly turned her head just in time to see Asgore pulling his head away his cheeks full. She looked down at her donut to see a large chunk of the top mysteriously missing. She blinked, her mind quickly connecting the dots to figure out the mystery of her now rainbow-shaped pastry.

“Asgore!” she bleated, breaking out of her shy demeanor to look at her friend helplessly. He glanced at her casually, his teeth working furiously to try and get the bite down. “Wuh?” he mumbled, his words muffled by the mushed treat in his mouth. “You took a bite of- how could you?” she complained, staring back down at her donut with a look of helpless loss and an expression that conveyed her deepest regrets for not watching it closer. The accused goat feigned ignorance as per usual, quickly swallowing the chunk. “I donut know what you’re talking about,” he defended in a mockingly haughty tone, looking away with a raised nose and closed eyes. “You’re such a jerk sometimes,” she complained, giving his arm a light shove of mild annoyance, going back to snacking on her food, taking much bigger bites in case he tried to steal another bite.  

“What are you doughing?” he chuckled, watching her try to gobble the thing down. Her mouth worked to force the chunk down before speaking. “I’m not keeping his around while there’s a pastry thief on the loose,” she huffed playfully. 

“A thief? Why, I never, and all because I wanted a taste of your goods.”

“A taste of my-?”

“Exactly,” Asgore smiled, relaxing his shoulders as he looked away. Undyne just gave him a funny look and finished off her treat, swallowing it down quickly so she would be able to talk to him again. “So, how are things at he lab?” he started off, genuine curiosity fueling the sudden inquiry. “Fine, fine,” she sighed, smiling. “No no, that isn’t going to suffice,” he told her, refusing to accept that statement. “Give me more.” She looked at him with a confused yet amused expression, a giggle escaping her. “What are you talking about? Nothing really happened at the lab,” she promised. “Everything was just fine.” Asgore just narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “I dunno… sounds pretty-“

“Fishy?” Undyne finished. The goat was forced to pause mid-pun, unsure how to respond now that he was foiled before he could even get the joke out. He was given a light nudge from Undyne, who grinned at him with pointed teeth that she didn’t show as often as she should. “We’ve how long have we worked together, Asgore?”

“Not long enough,” he sighed to himself, though it was low enough for Undyne to not notice.

“I’ve heard that joke from you so many times it doesn’t even register as a pun to me anymore,” she laughed, looking over at him with a cheerful grin. His soul lifted at the sight, a strange feeling for him. Perhaps it was because he finally realized he was with someone who laughed at his jokes and stayed with him for the sake of wanting to be around him. It put a feeling in his soul that he hadn’t felt in a long while. He didn’t exactly know if it was love, but he did know that he wanted to see her like this much more often.

Undyne looked down, still smiling to herself, before looking up and spotting something purple in the distance. “What’s that?” she said casually to Asgore, who gave a small “hmm?” as he looked up at the door. “Oh, that’s the door to the Ruins. Never seen them before?” She shook her head. “No,” she lied, deciding not to tell him how much she loved every single corny joke he gave to that door. “Ah. Well I tell jokes through there from time to time,” he said. “Y’know, knock knock jokes. You know just how much I-

“Adoor them?” she finished, granting her another surprised look and a playful nudge from the other as they turned around and headed back to Snowdin. “Okay, yeah, maybe you know me too well, okay?” he chuckled, looking over at her. “Is that a bad thing?” she asked, her cheeks darkening a little, going quiet as she felt a tad embarrassed. “Nah, ‘course not,” Asgore dismissed with a shake of his head. “No, it’s actually kind of adoorable, if you get what I mean.” Undyne flushed, her head turning to look away as she was unable to keep the stupid grin off of her face. Speaking of adorable…

“Hey, no, look at me,” Asgore encouraged softly, his own grin not fading as he was rewarded with her attention. “You should smile like that more,” he told her. “It looks great on you.” Undyne’s first instinct was to cradle her cheek as she attempted to hide her furious blush that practically covered her entire face at this point. “Ha, maybe I will,” she mumbled, looking away once again, her soul fluttering at his words.  

They rest of their walk back was like this, with silence becoming the norm once again, but it was far from awkward. Undyne felt happier than she had in years, and once they came to the border between their two homelands, both were upset they had to separate. Still, they didn’t let it get to them. Undyne turned to her friend, her confidence having grown since their walk. “I should go home. Thanks for the…”

Date.

“…trip to Muffet’s,” she smiled. “I really enjoyed it, and our walk, even if you did eat a good portion of my donut.” Asgore merely waved it off. “It was my pleasure,” he shrugged. “I enjoyed it, too. We should do something like this again sometime.” Undyne gave a nod, prompting him to start suggesting something. “Alright, how about we go on a…”

Date.

“…boat ride? The Riverperon’s pretty cool with letting people cruise,” he suggested. “Besides, I know how much you fish love water.  

Both were thinking it, but neither said it, just hoping it would just somehow be.

“Yeah, that’s be great,” Undyne agreed, letting out another soft giggle that made Asgore’s soul skip a beat. “Sweet. You have Wednesdays off, right? How about then?” he suggested, causing the other to give a quick nod. “Alright then. I’ll text you later, okay?” she told him as she began to head in the opposite direction. He gave her a small wave. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” he smiled, giving her one last wave before taking a shortcut back home.

That was surely an ordeal. He flopped back onto his mattress with a tired but happy sigh. He felt more complete somehow, as if that simple walk had really helped his soul. Maybe it just did. A weight wasn’t exactly lifted off of his shoulders, but he could feel as though his body was given more support. Maybe this would work out for the best.