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A small hum filled the otherwise completely silent cavern, resonating higher and higher towards a small opening, way up above. Dim light shined down from it, the evening sun struggling to reach the entry of the now empty Underground.
There, in the center of the cave where the light gathered, laid a patch of golden flowers, tenaciously growing despite all odds. A watering can, held by a thin but firm vine, was slowly pouring its content onto it, making sure each of the parched plants received their even share.
All but one of them, that was.
The vine holding the can suddenly shook up and down in a violent fashion, a shout interrupting the previous calm. “It’s empty? Already? ”, said Flowey. “It’s barely even been… Argh!”
The flower let out frustrated curses, barely refraining from throwing the gardening tool against the wall. He absolutely hated refilling it; the closest water source was halfway across the Ruins, and that was just getting there. The way back was even worse, dragging the now extra heavy container without spilling it everywhere was an arduous task that usually took the better of an hour.
“Why is it even so hot during summer, anyways? Seasons are dumb!”
A few minutes passed, and the small flower simmered down. Still grumbling, Flowey put the watering can back in the pile of old gardening tools he kept next to a broken pillar. He could refill it later.
Soft footsteps echoed from the tunnel leading to the rest of the Underground, instantly grabbing his attention. He could vaguely see a figure approaching in the dark.
“Finally! Took you long enough!”
“Sorry.” The figure stepped closer to the light, revealing a brown-haired child wearing an apologetic smile. “I’m a bit late…”
“A bit late?”, Flowey repeated teasingly. “Gee, Frisk, I didn’t know two hours was such a small amount of time!”
Hearing his reply, Frisk simply winced. It wasn’t the first time they came late, but this was the longest wait so far. Flowey didn’t push them further for details. They probably had better things to do than to come here.
It had already been more than a year since the Barrier sealing the Underground was destroyed. After a thousand years of imprisonment, Monsters were finally able to look forward to bright future.
For the most part.
Naturally, discovering an entire race of magical, sentient creatures living right underneath their feet was no small shock to humanity. Many weren’t very happy at this revelation, animosity being a common reaction. Thankfully, there were many supporters, too. The majority remained neutral, however.
So far, no major decision was taken, whether good or bad. For now, at least.
Frisk plopped down on the flowerbed, right next to the teasing flower. The ground was still humid from earlier, though that didn’t seem to bother them at all.
“So,” they began. “How have you been?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the same I’ve been every single time you’ve asked on every single visit?” Flowey said, clearly annoyed. “Gosh, you ask the exact same thing each time. The reason I wait for you to come isn’t for me to tell you how bored I am!”
“You know I’m asking because I care about you.”
The flower paused. “You shouldn’t.” He said. “You know I don’t feel that back.”
“Doesn’t change the fact you’re my friend.”
“Doesn’t change the fact it’s a dumb way to ‘care’ for a friend!” Flowey rolled his eyes. “You know I don’t like it.”
Frisk’s smile turned mischievous. “Well, if I’m annoying you so much, I might as well stop visiting every so often.”
The flower hissed. “Don’t you dare! I’d actually get bored to death for real!”
“Well, I don’t want you to die, either.” Frisk replied. “So that’s problematic.”
“…You know, I don’t regret any of the times I’ve called you an idiot.”
Frisk merely raised a bemused eyebrow.
“I do have some regrets allowing these meetings in the first place, though.”
Frisk playfully poked him on the forehead before he could pull back. “Just stop complaining.”
“Ugh, fine.” Flowey ceded. “Can we please change subjects?”
“We may, your grumpy majesty.”
The flower deadpanned. “Don’t.”
“Sorry.”
Flowey sighed deeply, then went back to his usual cheerful facade.
“So, you mentioned last time that Toriel started to build her school?” He said.
“Yep! She finally got the, um, paper stuff done, so we started laying the foundations. It’s going well! And…” Frisk stifled a laugh. “Undyne’s been helping.”
“Undyne? Burnt-down-her-own-house Undyne, helping to build?” Flowey guffawed. “Don’t tell me she actually tried to pile drive the metal beams into the ground by herself?”
“What? No, of course not!” Frisk paused. “…Not really.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“She only had the idea! That doesn’t count.”
The flower scoffed. “Somehow, that’s not reassuring at all.”
“It’s not that bad, actually.” Frisk retorted, crossing their legs. “She’s been a great help!”
“Really?” Flowey said, skeptical. “No accidents? No stabbing, no fire, no nothing?”
“There’s been a few incidents here and there,” Frisk said, “but the worst was just her getting a bit too passionate and digging a hole 10 meters deep.”
“And nobody fell in?”
Frisk shook their head.
“…Huh.” Flowey tilted his head, visibly surprised. “I expected Undyne to… I don’t know.”
“She’s doing her best.”
“Hm.”
His gaze drifted to the ground, pensive. After a few moments, Frisk, who was similarly thinking of something, seemed to come to a decision, and opened their mouth to say something.
Flowey beat them to it, however.
“You want to say that I could be like Undyne, don’t you?” He guessed, eyes still on the flowerbed. “That I could go to the surface and control myself if I ‘did my best’.”
Stunned, Frisk froze for a few seconds, then answered in a dejected tone.
“…Yes.”
“That’s not the whole problem and you know it.” Flowey’s eyes went back to the child sitting next to him. “Besides, didn’t we agree not to talk about that anymore?”
Frisk looked back defiantly. “We agreed I wouldn’t talk about bringing you to the surface, not what you could do on the surface.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No it’s not.”
“It is!”
“Nuh-uh.”
“You- Ugh!” Flowey let out an exasperated groan. “Gosh, you can be such a hardhead sometimes, I swear.”
Said hardhead proudly took the compliment in stride by sticking out their tongue and blinking, in a poor attempt to imitate the flower’s signature expression.
Flowey snickered, unable to stop the grin slowly forming on his face. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”
The only answer he got was an amused snort, which promptly burst into full-blown laughter. The flower quickly joined the other child with a rare, genuine laugh of his own.
…It sounded a bit hollow, somehow.
After a while, both gradually calmed down. “You’re- you’re right,” said Frisk, still wheezing. “I’m a big, insufferable hardhead.”
“Took you that long to realize?” Flowey quipped teasingly.
“Yeah,” Frisk nodded, smirking. “Maybe I’m even as bad as you are!”
Flowey’s smile froze, before making a face. “Oh, come on! Can you not ruin the moment for once?”
“I couldn’t resist,” Frisk said, “We are in the Ruins, after all!”
A spinning ‘friendliness pellet’ appeared next to Flowey.
…At which the human barely stopped themself from going on another fit of laughter.
“…What’s so funny?” The flower asked, befuddled.
“N-nothing, it’s just…” They gestured at the floating pellet. “I know you want to appear threatening, but that’s not exactly… very…”
Frisk didn’t manage to finish their sentence, finally failing to hold back from laughing.
“Are you mocking me?” Flowey said, glowering.
“Me? Never!” They put their hand on their mouth, hiding their grin. “I would never mock you or your very, very menacing… pea shooter.”
His expression darkened. “Would you like me to remind you of what this ‘pea shooter’ can do, then?”
“Go ahead.” Frisk shrugged. “I doubt it would hurt much. You’re not as thorny as you were a year ago.”
“I’m warning you…”
They didn’t take the hint. “I don’t be-leaf you would actually-”
In an incredible feat of self-restraint, the furious flower almost let Frisk finish their sentence before hurling the bullet at full force right at their forehead.
They let out a pained cry and collapsed on the ground from the hit, their red Soul flashing for a split second.
They didn’t move afterwards.
Flowey’s mouth curled disdainfully. He didn’t even throw his pellet with the intent to kill, for once. “Stop playing dead, unless you want me to actually kill you?”
No response.
Seconds passed. Anger slowly shifted to confusion. Were they not acting?
He disappeared underground and reappeared next to their head. “…Frisk?”
Still no response.
Had he really murdered them? Flowey’s face went through a myriad of expressions before settling on an empty, neutral one. He’d yet again taken the life of the only person he’d call friend, this time from a bout of anger… He barely even felt anything about it, aside that small sting of annoyance. Or was it disappointment? He couldn’t tell what it was, but he hated it and-
-and he was jumping to conclusions, again. Frisk couldn’t be dead. If they did, their Soul would have been ripped from their body by the magical attack, or at least he would have seen it shatter. It only flashed.
That did not exclude the possibility of permanent damage. Flowey poked their unconscious face. From a few little… experiments… he did over some resets, he knew that so long as a Monster’s Soul was still held together, the person would survive.
Mostly.
Did that also apply to humans, though? He had no idea.
He carefully expanded his magic field, drawing out the unconscious human’s Soul to inspect it. It appeared within Frisk’s chest, a heart shining a vibrant red. The thought of taking it surfaced, but he shook it off.
Flowey’s gaze lingered a moment on the thin scar splitting it in two, reminiscing about the fight from back then, before moving on to the much more recent wound.
A small crack had appeared on the Soul’s upper right part, very probably from the earlier attack. It did not seem like much of a big deal; he had seen Frisk take much worse during their trip through the underground, most of which from him. Their Soul faded as he let go of his magic field; They would be fine.
Still, the fact that he hurt them left Flowey somewhat bitter. He thought he was over this.
After a moment of silence, he shook his head. “Why do I even care? Serves you right for being such a jerk.”
A pained voice interrupted his musings. “So you do care!”
Flowey swung to his side to see Frisk looking at him with a pained but happy expression.
“You!” Flowey shouted as vines exploded out of the ground threateningly. “You tricked me! You were awake all along!”
“What? No!” Frisk paled. “I just woke up!
“Liar!”
“I did!” Frisk stammered. “I wouldn’t do that kind of thing!”
Flowey leered at them, obviously unconvinced.
Frisk sat up, slightly panicked. “I- I admit I was teasing you intentionally to see how much it would take to make you angry-“ Flowey’s vines crept closer, making them flinch. “-but that’s all! I swear!”
Silence.
Flowey finally gave a small smile. “…Oh, really?”
“Yes!”
One of the vines smacked Frisk on the head, hard. “Ow!”
“Then that’s one of the dumbest, stupidest, most idiotic ideas I’ve ever heard!” Flowey scolded, absolutely fuming. “I could’ve killed you! I’m almost tempted to kill you right now for being so stupid!”
Frisk winced, rubbing their twice hurt forehead. “Sorry-”
“Sorry this, sorry that, is that all you ever say? A single dumb word can’t fix what already happened!” He let out an exasperated sigh. “What were you thinking?”
Frisk shifted awkwardly. “I… I just wanted to make you realize you got a lot better at controlling your anger.”
“Well, congratulations!” Flowey exclaimed in the most sarcastic tone he could muster. “You not only half achieved your goal, but as a nice bonus, you also discovered that I could feel a wee bit of guilt after attacking you and thinking you died. Golly, aren’t you glad?”
“You know what? I am!” Frisk said in a sudden outburst. “I am glad! It’s proof that you changed! Even if it’s only a bit, that’s still a huge step forward! You wouldn’t have cared at all when I first met you! I try to make you realize that, but every time I try to mention that you’ve gotten better, you shut it down or try to change subjects!”
Flowey blinked in surprise. But before he could think of a retort, Frisk hurried on. “You just… don’t seem to care about yourself, sometimes. And it frustrates me that you never want to talk about it!”
Frisk sighed. “And it’s the same with any conversation about going to the surface. We’re friends, aren’t we? So why can’t we talk about you, ever?”
Flowey opened his mouth slightly, but in the end simply shook his head.
“…You really, really want me to go to the surface, don’t you?”
Frisk perked up. “Of course I do! You deserve better!”
Flowey was unfazed, this time. “I don’t. Me breaking the barrier is easily cancelled out by all the things I’ve committed over countless Resets.”
Frisk tried to refute him, but the flower didn’t stop there. “Furthermore, the fact I felt sorry then doesn’t pardon me of anything, Frisk. And pretending it all never happened would practically justify everything I- and you- did as being ‘acceptable’.”
“Even if that’s true,” Frisk argued, unsatisfied by his explanation, “have you ever thought about how I feel?”
“…What?”
“You told me back then to be happy with the people who love me, but that’s impossible when I’m constantly aware that you’re down here, alone!” Frisk took a deep breath, their voice quivering. “Do you have any idea how many nightmares I’ve had after you almost froze to death last winter?”
“I told you to forget about me!”
“Well, sorry, but that’s just not happening.” Frisk said. crossing their arms.
“You- I-” Flowey was at a loss for words. “That’s just selfish of you, Frisk. Can’t you even respect my last wish? I… I just want to disappear.”
The human fell quiet, before asking:
“If… that’s really what you want… then why haven’t you…?”
The last words were left unsaid.
Above, on the surface, the Sun started to set. The cave’s illumination gradually began to dim, casting both fallen monster and human in darkness.
In the end, Frisk stood up.
“…You’re going?”
They nodded reluctantly. “Mom will worry if I don’t get back soon.” Hesitating, they added: “Can… can I still come for next time’s meeting?”
Silence was the only answer they received.
Frisk clenched their fists. Whether they were frustrated at themself, Flowey, or something else, even they couldn’t tell.
Ultimately, the human turned around and walked away.
“I’ll go.”
…Before coming to a screeching halt.
Frisk looked back at him, astonished. “Did you…?”
“You know what I said.” Flowey scoffed. “I won’t repeat myself.”
Elated yet incredulous, Frisk hurriedly walked back next to the flower. “You changed your mind?”
He rolled his eyes. “Duh. Obviously.”
“Why?”
“Long story short.” Flowey gave Frisk a long, hard look. “It’s because you’re an idiot hardhead. Unsurprisingly.”
Frisk froze, confused.
“I just can’t seem to drive it into your ridiculously thick skull to stop trying. Even after risking your life, I know for a fact you haven’t learnt a thing.” He sneered. “What next, Frisk? Are you going to risk your life even more? Mine? Your friends’?”
“I…”
“You can’t afford to act so recklessly, now! Resetting isn’t an option anymore!”
Frisk nodded bitterly, much of their earlier enthusiasm gone.
“…You’re right. I’ll be more careful. Though…” They suddenly smiled. “There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
Flowey raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”
“Just a guess.” The human winked, finger gunning at him. “We got to know each other a lot over the past year, after all!”
Flowey’s face scrunched up. “Ew. Stop that.”
“Rude.” Frisk dramatically put their hand on their chest. “That hurt my poor feelings.”
“Hah! I doubt it. But you’re right about the other reason.” He paused, looking down at the flowerbed. “Simply put… I want to let go.”
“Let go?” Frisk repeated, frowning.
“Our earlier conversation made me realize that, no matter how much I want to truly disappear, I… can’t.” Flowey chuckled dryly. “Even after all this time, I just can’t do it. There’s a part of me that clings to life relentlessly.”
He looked back at Frisk. “Let’s be honest. The reason I decided to tend to these flowers was to eventually join Chara in the grave. To bring closure to our story, once and for all. You should’ve realized it by now.”
The statement clearly made Frisk uncomfortable. “I had doubts, but… I wasn't sure.”
“We both know that won’t be happening, however.” Flowey continued. “What, then? Should I stay down here forever, talking to myself and reflecting on everything that’s gone wrong in my life, over and over and over again?”
He took a few seconds to collect himself. “…If it wasn’t for your visits, I think I might’ve started losing myself again.” He wanted to add something, but was seemingly at a loss, the words refusing to come out.
Finally, after many attempts, Flowey managed to say it.
“Thank you.”
Frisk beamed. “It’s the least I could do for my friend!”
The flower was stumped for a short while, not really knowing how to proceed from there.
“…A-Anyways,” Flowey coughed, eager to change subjects. “What I meant to say was, I’ve decided that what I want now is to start anew. To let go of my past. And I certainly can’t do that by staying here.”
“Are you going to come live with us, then?” Frisk asked.
“I’m considering it, but I haven’t-”
“That’s great!” They cut him off. “Everybody will be so happy to see you! Well… maybe not everybody. But still!”
“…Can’t you respect my decisions, ever?”
“Not if I disagree with them, no.”
Flowey grumbled something quietly, before relenting.
“Fine, I’ll go with you. Just… give me a moment.”
He disappeared underground and reappeared at the edge of the cave, rummaging through a pile of tools and other objects he’d gathered over the last year.
Eventually, Flowey brought back a single item: a tiny, unadorned metal box, that he carefully put down in the middle of the golden flowers.
“I can carry it for you, if you want.” Frisk proposed.
Flowey glanced at them. “I’m not bringing this back.”
They looked at it, curious. “What’s it for, then?”
He responded by opening the box, revealing its contents.
A gold heart locket.
“…Oh.” Frisk muttered, recognizing Asriel’s old belonging.
“I wanted to say goodbye, one last time.” He said softly.
After pondering a bit, Frisk reached for their back pocket and pulled out Chara’s matching pendant.
“I think you need this, too.”
Flowey blinked, surprised. “You still have that? It’s been more than a year!”
Frisk gave him a small smile. “Of course. You told me to keep it, so I wouldn’t give it to anyone else.”
He shook his head, chuckling, and took the locket with a single vine.
It didn’t join the other immediately, however.
After struggling a bit, vines being poor hand replacements, he managed to open it. On one side of the locket was a photograph of a young boss monster alongside a human child, both smiling brightly. On the other was an inscription that simply said, ‘Best Friends Forever’.
“…You know, that’s not what it was supposed to say, at first.” He said, eventually. “I wanted it to say ‘Best Siblings Forever’, but Chara insisted that we replace ‘Siblings’ with ‘Friends’. Said it rolled off the tongue better.”
The former boss monster sighed. “They weren’t wrong. But I knew that the real reason they wanted to change it was because they didn’t feel that they belonged. That they weren’t a real part of our family. I used to wonder why.”
He scoffed. “So I foolishly gave it my all. I tried to be an even better brother, someway or another. I’m sure Mom and Dad were doing the same, too.”
“I only realized much later that that wasn’t the problem. Chara… whatever the issue was, they kept it to themselves. They were never good at expressing their true feelings. Maybe, in time, they would’ve opened up…”
Flowey lowered his head. “Or maybe they never cared in the first place. Whether they gave me their Soul to save Monsterkind, or to have revenge on humanity, we’ll never know. I…I already accepted the fact that they weren’t the greatest person long ago.”
“I accepted it, so why…”
His voice choked.
“Why do I still feel so horrible…?”
Frisk, who had been silent until now, crouched down to pat the flower, in an attempt to comfort him.
After a while, Flowey tilted his head away. “…I’m fine.” He said. “Let’s just get this over with.”
He closed the locket and put it in the box alongside the other. Using multiple vines, he carefully dug a small hole, and buried the twin pendants within.
“Alright.” He turned back to Frisk. “Let’s- Are you crying?”
“Huh?” They wiped the tears off their face. “That’s… strange.” They said, confused. “I’m sad, but I don’t think it’s enough for me to actually…”
“Hah! That means you’re the crybaby now, not me!”
“What? That’s not fair! That one doesn’t count!”
“Of course it does.” Flowey said with a smug grin. “And aren’t you forgetting something? Isn’t a certain someone waiting for you?”
Color drained from Frisk face. “Oh no.”
“Golly, I can’t wait to see that happen.”
“Well, if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!”
“Nuh-uh. You’re on your own.”
Frisk held their arm before the flower. “Get on, or I’ll make sure you won’t get any pie for a very, very long time.”
“…You wouldn’t.”
“I absolutely would.”
He groaned, reluctantly climbing up the human’s arm with his roots. “I’ll get back at you for this, I swear!”
After making sure Flowey was well rooted on their shoulder, Frisk gave the cave one last look. They brushed their tear stains, thoughtful, but ultimately shrugged, and bolted towards Riverperson’s nearest post.
They didn’t have any time to waste.