Work Text:
“Come on little bro, you can do it!” Little six years old Asriel Dreemure was bent over the crib of his younger brother, looking at the baby with expectation in his big green eyes. The tiny human inside was basking in the attention, babbling incoherently as he played with his stuffed cat. Their mother had told Asriel that according to the book she had read, it was about time for the human to say his first word and Asriel was determined that it would be his name.
“As-ri-el.” He repeated his own name slowly; his tail lazily wagged behind him as he fixated his gaze on Kris. Kris for his part did just babbled and wriggled around. “As-ri-el, it is not that hard. Come on, I want to be able to brag to Dess about this.” He leaned further over the railing, his long ears dangling down, just out of the baby’s reach. Seeing his brother this close, Kris threw his plush away and lifted his hands. “Ah-ah”, he stuttered, making grabbing motions with his fingers as his red eyes gleamed with joy.
Hearing the first letting of his name, Asriel leaned closer, excitement flaring up inside him. “Yes, that is it, Kris. As-ri-el, you can do it!” Leaning even closer, Asriel was practically vibrating for excitement. Only for it to turn into pain as small hands grabbed his ears and tugged on them. “Ouch!” The kid shouted and tried to pry his brother’s fingers away, all while the tiny human was laughing and giggling. “Kris, this is not funny!” Cried Asriel as his eyes grew wetter. Why did he have to be such a cry baby?
Their commotion quickly followed loud steps up the staircase and before he could pry himself free, the door slammed open and their mother rushed inside. Her hooves clicked on the wooden floor as she crossed the room. “Asriel, what are you doing with the baby?” She sounded as tired as one would expect a mother of two to be. She had just laid down a little to rest before their visitors arrive and now, she had to play damage control again.
“I didn’t do anything; Kris is being mean!” Asriel complained and tugged at his ears, but the human stubbornly held on. “Kris is a baby, he does not know what he is doing.” Chastising her eldest, Toriel gently pried Kris’ fingers away, before she scooped him into her arms. “Clean yourself up a little, the Holidays are about to arrive and you wouldn’t want little Dess see you like this, don’t you?” The mention of his best friend had Asriel rush over to the bathroom to clean his face. Toriel couldn’t help but smile, her son was such a nice and kind kid.
…
Half an hour later the doorbell rang and four reindeers filled into the goat monsters’ house. Rudy right away went to Asgore to greet his friend with a hug, before he planted a chaste kiss on Toriel’s cheek. “Asgore, Tori, so nice to see you again.” He greeted them like it hadn’t just been a day since they last saw each other. Carol meanwhile had her hands full with their own baby Noelle, but still offered the two goat monsters a friendly if coldish smile. Noelle was snoozing in her arm and right new to her stood her older daughter, which quickly ripped her hand free from her mother’s to rush over to Asriel, who was looking eyes with Kris.
The baby had been put down on the couch in a basket and as before, the goat monster was trying hard to get his brother to speak. “As-ri-el, come Kris.” As Dess heard her friend’s words, she couldn’t help herself but laugh. “Are you bullying your brother, Azzy?” She ruffled the fur on top of his head, ruining his combed look, before she smiled at Kris with her large teeth shining in the light. “Hey Krismas, still looking like a potato I see.”
As soon as the baby laid eyes on the dark-haired reindeer, his demeanour brightened even further. Laughter escaped his lips as he reached out to her. Without asking for permission, Dess reached down to carefully pick up the child. Unlike her cry baby friend, she was not afraid to touch a baby. As soon as she had him up in her face, the baby reached for her curly black hair. Being used to Noelle’s grabby hands, she only winched slightly before she made cooing noises at the baby.
“Who is a good potato monkey? Yes, you are”, Kris giggled as she held him. Meanwhile Asriel was anything but humoured. Turning on his hooves, the small goat rushed over to his aunt. “Aunt Carol, Dess is being mean to Kris and is calling him names.” Dess let out a sigh, of course Azzy would snitch on her. She would so get him back for that later. For now, she just enjoyed the giggling baby in her hands. Other than peaceful Noelle, Kris had some life in him, she had so wanted a little brother.
“December Holiday! What did I tell you about using slurs?” Her mother’s angry voice was slightly hushed to not disturb the babies, but she could feel her glare nonetheless. Annoyed she glanced over her shoulder. “But mom, he does look like one.” Her words earned a chuckle from Rudy, who went over to gently place a hand on her shoulder. “Dess, remember what I told you about the difference between thinking and speaking? This is something you may think, but not say.”
Nodding at her father’s voice, Dess looked at Kris. “Sorry little potato”, she said and nuzzled the human, who only laughed louder as the adults let out gasps. “December!” “Dess!” Despite knowing she would be in trouble, she couldn’t help but laugh, which only riled Kris up further. Letting go of her hair, the human flailed his tiny arms around and babbled loudly.
“D”, Kris stared at Dess with his bright red eyes. There was an unusually strong intent in the otherwise unfocussed gaze of the baby as he continued to babble. “De”, as his voice cracked slightly, he suddenly had her full intention and not just hers, but her father’s as well.
“Dess!” Kris giggled and slapped her arms with his tiny hands.
For a moment, the entire room was quiet, all eyes were on the human. Then, Asriel broke the silence. “Nooooo!” Breaky away from aunt Carol, he rushed over and plucked Kris from Dess. “That does not count! That was just your nickname.” After throwing Dess his best attempt at a glare, Asriel quickly shifted his attention to the baby. Gently bouncing him in his arms he cooed at the human.
“Come on Kris. As-ri-el. You can do it Kris. Say your big brother’s name.” Dess just laughed loudly at the display. “Looks like even your brother finds your name silly. Good thing my dad named Krismas, otherwise he would be called Togore or something like that.” This time she got more than just a scolding. A light slap hit the back of her head, causing her to rub the spot in pain. “December Holiday! One more word out of you and you will be grounded until Christmas.” Her mother growled at her, or well, a reindeer’s version of a growl.
As if he wanted to save her, Kris started to babble louder again. His red eyes went away from his big brother and stared at Dess again. If Dess didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that the baby glanced smugly up at her mother, before he opened his mouth again. “De… Dec… ember. December! Ho hol holid ay. Holiday!”
The thick and uncomfortable air in the room had vanished in an instant as Toriel rushed over to grab her child to celebrate his first words. Carol’s annoyance had been dimmed as well, as the joyful air in the room washed over her. Rudy slapped Asgore’s back, already talking about grabbing a beer to celebrate. And while the adults celebrated, Asriel sank to his knees and made himself small, all while Dess petted his back.
This was so unfair! Thought the boy to himself as he glared at his mother’s back. At least it couldn’t get any worse.
“Come on Krismas, who am I?” “R-rudy!” With a groan, the young kid fell forward and landed face-first on the wooden floor. How he prayed to the Angel right now that he could sink into the earth.