#toritale

Asriel opens his mouth and breathes out a wordless, toneless noise. Toriel's smile brightens eagerly under his fingers. "Hellooo," she repeats.

"Hhh—" Asriel rolls his tongue as if testing its quality. "Hhhn!"

Toriel laughs. "Almost!" she encourages. "He-llo!"

"Hthoah!" Asriel shrieks in delight of himself, patting her maw in flailing motions. "Hfff!"

Asgore's arms are full of flowers and soil bags when he sweeps into the room. He abandons them in a heap at the doorway to join them at the fireplace armchair and grin at Asriel over Toriel's shoulder. "Well, now! Is the little tyke talking yet?"

"Oh, just a little bit," she says, bouncing Asriel in her arms. "He does not like 'L' sounds, I think."

"Hao! Ba!" Asriel squeals, his wiggling limbs stretching toward his father instead.

"Aw, he's getting close. Howdy, son!" Asgore's hand is gargantuan in comparison to Asriel's  when he reaches over the chair to press their palms together. "How's the lesson going?"

Asriel's eyes grow round and fascinated. He runs his stubby fingers through Asgore's fur, mouths at him over his massive knuckles and says, "Howdy!"

Toriel and Asgore stare down at him. Then at each other. Joy seizes them in one swoop.

"Did he—?"

"He did!"

Asgore bursts into his booming, full laugh. Toriel glows at Asriel, who grins proudly between the two of them—almost in distinct understanding of his brilliance.

"How about that?" Asgore chortles. "He likes 'howdy' just fine!"

Toriel laughs, too. "He sounds just like you!"

"Howdy!" Asriel chirps again.

Asgore beams, claps Toriel on the shoulder and squeezes the both of them into a one-armed hug. "Howdy, son!"

"Howdy, Asriel!" Toriel echoes.

Toriel did not look up from the book of sprawling notes splayed across her desk, but took it with her when she crossed the room to Asgore's shoulder. She pushed it under his nose. "We should discuss adjusting the transportation of rations for the monsters living outside the capital."

Asgore blinked down at the book as Toriel flipped through the pages. "Er. Yes, of course. We—"

"I am worried, mind you. Especially since it is so much closer to the surface. But few as they are, if they truly wish to remain there, we must adjust to provide for them as well as we can. If we expand this waterway," Toriel laid her finger against a winding line on small, scribbled map. "We could have a working ferry system by the end of this year.”

"Tori," Asgore repeated, his voice slightly louder.

“Naturally, we would need to discuss feasibility with the architects, but—"

“Toriel.”

"Hm?" Toriel raised her head to him.

"I think we should hold a festival."

"A... a festival?" Toriel stared up at Asgore, incredulous. "I... Gorey, we can hardly spare the resources—!"

"Come on, you've been to festivals before." Asgore took the book and set it on the desk again before turning to her. His smile was gentle and coaxing. "You don't always need much. A bonfire, a few songs, maybe a few more chairs—"

"And time. You need time. I am not so sure we have that yet." Toriel plucked that book right back up and crossed to the window, clutching it to her chest. A crew of monsters toiled away at a wall in progress below. One of them, a young water elemental, stopped to lean against their shovel and rub wearily at their eyes. Toriel's brow creased sympathetically. Her grip loosened.

Asgore sidled up beside her. "We haven't seen a single human since we came here." He rubbed her shoulder and she leaned into him, laying her hand over his. "Let's slow down. Try to put a little home spirit into things!"

The corners of Toriel’s mouth pulled indecisively. Asgore waited. Then he gave her a playful little shake. "You're not saying you don't like parties anymore, are you?"

"Oh, Gorey, don’t—!"

"That'd be a shame. You loved them when we married."

"Now, that is hardly—"

"Then let's try it! You miss cooking, don't you? Singing?” Asgore pulled her along into a twirl and she was helpless to do anything but whirl along with him as his booming laughter filled her dark little office. ”Dancing!" “A child! You are being a child!” Toriel shrieked. She should not play along. She would not play along—and she was so sure of this that it only took the fourth spin before she was giggling like a dizzy teenager in his arms before a pile of salvaged books. Though she pushed fruitlessly against his chest, it was his steady, gentle hands that kept her from swaying over. The tension behind her eyes seemed now like a mere muted thrum.

When her eyes finally focused on his wide grin and his bright blue eyes, she could smile back. "Oh, of course I do. I just worry—"

"We won't do too much. I promise. But we could use a little joy right now." 

“Yes. Yes, you are right.” Toriel slipped out of Asgore’s arms toward the window again. A few of the workers had sat down by a half-finished section of wall to gossip amongst themselves. ”But there’s so much construction here. Wherever would we find the space?”