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Toriel never regretted being a teacher, but it sure was a tiring job sometimes.
Today the first-year children had been a bit more scattered and harder to control than usual—some days were just like that. On top of that, she’d had to stay late to make sure all the papers were graded and put into the system.
It was something she’d rather have not done on her first anniversary with Lulu, but sometimes these sacrifices had to be made if she didn’t want to get in trouble.
She really wasn’t expecting anything when she got home that night—since their anniversary fell in the middle of the week, she and Lulu had decided to celebrate on the weekend rather than the day itself.
But when Toriel arrived home, she found the lights dimmed, the air filled with a floral fragrance, and, in the dining room, the table set for two, with her best china put out and rose red candles lit.
“Lulu? What is this?” she called, stepping into the kitchen where she could hear someone bustling about. “Where are Frisk and Flowey?”
“Sent them to Sans and Papyrus for the night. Figured we’d want some peace and quiet,” the rabbit replied, pausing from pulling something out of the oven. She smiled. “Hello to you, too. Expected you to be home a little earlier, but I guess it’s just as well, gave me some time to get the food cooked.”
“I thought we were not going to celebrate until the weekend?” Toriel’s mouth twitched, a smile coming on.
“I know that’s what we said, but…” Lulu shrugged and carefully put a homemade lasagna on the counter. “You know, we both work so hard, I figured we deserved a nice night with nothing to worry about.”
Toriel noticed some uncooked garlic bread on the counter and moved to put it in the oven. “Well, I appreciate this very much,” she said as Lulu sliced up the lasagna. “I had to stay late to grade things, and I could certainly use a nice dinner.”
“Just wait until you see what’s in the fridge—don’t you peek now! It’s gonna be a surprise.”
As the garlic bread baked, Toriel went to her room to change into something nice for dinner. Soon enough, she and Lulu were eating and chatting and laughing at the table, Toriel showering Lulu with compliments for her cooking and Lulu shooting some right back for Toriel’s dress and appearance.
The surprise in the refrigerator turned out to be a delicious red velvet cake with vanilla icing. The two women ate nearly half the cake between themselves because of how good it was.
Eventually Toriel leaned back in her seat. “My goodness, I am just stuffed. Please, Lulu, let me clean up since you cooked. It is the least I can do.”
“Oh, no, I don’t think so, honey. There’s a lot out there. Besides—” Lulu stood. “Washing dishes is just more time spent together!”
After the cleaning was done, Lulu mysteriously disappeared upstairs, insisting that Toriel sit in the living room. Intrigued, Toriel did so, wondering what Lulu had planned now.
As it turned out, Lulu had gotten Toriel several gifts—a bouquet of red roses, a box of her favorite dark chocolates, and even a new set of topaz jewelry, which was her birthstone.
Toriel took the gifts in dismay. “Oh, Lulu, my sweet, I am afraid I have nothing for you! I have not had the chance to go look for anything yet.”
Lulu kissed her forehead. “Don’t you worry about it, sweetheart. I can wait a few more days. And even if you got me nothing, well, spending one year with you has been a gift by itself.”
“Oh, you sentimental old rabbit, you!” Toriel blushed. “It has also been a gift to have spent one year with you.”
Lulu lifted Toriel’s chin and kissed her lips. “I think we’re both sentimental old fools. Well, I’m bushed. You wanna watch some silly romance movie before we go to bed for the night?”
“I can think of nothing I would rather do.”
And so Toriel’s tough day ended better than she could have imagined. She went to bed that night with only love in her heart, thinking of how lucky she was to have spent one year so far with the wonderful monster that was Lulu.
Hopefully, these feelings would last for many years to come.