Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Aga sat in the waiting room, quietly fidgeting with her long white dress. She had been waiting awhile and the silence began to eat away at her. Aga began tapping her toes against the smooth wooden floor with the tiny clicks and clacks of her nails creating a soft beat she hummed along too. This continued for a few minutes, until a high pitched squeak interrupted the tune, and Aga stopped to look at the new arrival peeking in from the door way.

"Aga, dear, you may come in now." A familiar lamb monster had peeked her head into the door, smiling brightly.

Aga nodded, hopping from her seat. The lamb monster, Ms. Mary, widened the door way letting Aga pass through into the next room.

The room was a warmly lit, but neat and orderly, a place perfect for it's purpose. Four chairs and a table, a neat arrangement of flowers in the middle. Simple, professional.

Aga had been in here a few times, but there was always a reason she wasn't adopted. But Aga was hopeful, and despite so many disappointments, Aga had the feeling this might be the one.

She hopped into her chair, just tall enough to look over the table and smile at the woman sitting across from her. The woman smiled to, and offered her hand to Aga. Aga reached over with a fizzy white paw and shook it gently. Aga wasn't one to be shy, but she understood how important first impressions were.

Ms. Mary sat beside Aga is a slightly bigger chair, and introduced Aga to the woman, "This is Aga. Aga, this is Mrs. Mathews," Ms. Mary gestured to the woman, "I see you have already had the chance to meet, so feel free to start asking any questions you may have."

Aga couldn't help but stare at Mrs. Mathews while Ms. Mary talked. She was very pretty, with softly curling strawberry brown hair and soulful brown eyes above her little nose and dusty rose colored lips. The woman also seemed a bit nervous, perhaps because Aga and Ms. Mary were monsters, but it could also have been she had never adopted before.

Mrs. Mathews' voice broke Aga's stare as she asked her about what she liked.

Aga was quick to respond. "I like flowers! My favorite are daffodils, but I like a lot of other flowers too! I also really like cinnamon and butterscotch pie, and my favorite color is yellow!"

Instead of the usual polite smile most people gave Aga, Mrs. Mathews looked just as excited as Aga had, encouraging the bunny monster with her reply.

"I like flowers too, but my favorite would have to be orchids. They're very pretty, don't you think?"

Aga nodded, and thought a bit before asking her a question. "What's your job?"

Mrs. Mathews chuckled, "I model for a makeup company, though I mostly test new products from home when I'm not at a photo shoot."

"Well that makes sense, you're really pretty!" Aga beamed.

Mrs. Mathews smile grew and she let out a hearty laugh. For a moment Aga was worried she had down something wrong, but Ms. Mary nodded approvingly.

"So, Aga, what would you like to be when you're older?" Mrs. Mathews asked with a genuinely curious expression.

Again, Aga knew exactly how to respond, "I wanna be a florist! They get to make so many people happy... And they get to look at pretty flowers all day!"

Mrs. Mathews again laughed, and Aga swore she could see tiny stars dancing in Mrs. Mathews' eyes. Aga couldn't help but widen her own smile, as she laughed with her.

"You are a very sweet child, Aga. I don't believe I've had such a charming conversation in a long while." Mrs. Mathews explained, her lips turned up at the edges.

Aga felt a flood of sincerity from Mrs. Mathews as she said this, and it gave Aga a good impression of what her soul color might be.

"Mrs. Mathews, I'd like to discuss some important things you'll need to to know about Aga." Ms. Mary interrupted the silence, immediately crushing Aga's hope. Of course Aga knew what Ms. Mary had to say was important information, dangerous to not know. Yet it seemed to her that it was more harmful to her possible adoption than anything.

Aga watched Mrs. Mathews nodded carefully, concern clearly etched in her features.

"Aga's hope points are very low. It is common for a non boss monster to have an average of 30 hp, but Aga only has ten. She does have fairly high defense and attack, but with so few points, it means it is very easy for her to be severely hurt, even accidentally," Ms. Mary explains, watching Mrs. Mathew's pensive face.

Aga fidgeted nervously in her seat. This was usually when and adopter would decide it wasn't worth the risk, no one wanted a fragile child. Especially a monster child, considering there were still so many threats against monsterkind.

But apparently, Mrs. Mathews wasn't your average adopter.

"Well, then I'll just have to be extra careful with her then," Mrs. Mathews' smile returned, and Aga could feel her soul pulsating with joy.

Ms. Mary looked relieved when she spoke next. "Alright then. Aga, go ahead and start packing your things. Mrs. Mathew and I have some paperwork to go over in the meantime."

Aga nodded, and she threw Mrs. Mathews one last grateful smile before she bound out the door, through the waiting room, and down the hall to her room.

Aga didn't have much in the way of things, but everything she had was important, and to her, irreplaceable. A potted dandelion, a gift from a friend. A jar full of candy, her favorite kinds. And Lastly, a doll made to look like queen Toriel, sewn by her grand mother before her passing. She packed each item away carefully and once she was done she snuggled into her pillow for the las time. But Aga wasn't sad. No, Aga was excited for her new life, a new home, and a new family for her to love.

Aga was filled with hope for a new tomorrow.

Chapter Text

The smell of a new car would always be on top of Aga's favorite smells. In a way, even the most aromatic flowers could not compare. But, of course, Aga would never let that be known; she had a reputation to uphold!

Yet, it was all the better when her second favorite smell entered the car. In the short time Aga had known Mrs. Mathews, she discovered she had a distinct scent about her. She had mused it was some sort of perfume, but the word 'perfume' really didn't sit right with her. Aga found herself adoring the sweet, crisp scent and it's incredible calming affects all the same, whether it had a name or not.

"Are you all buckled up, Aga?" Mrs. Mathews' voice floated to her ears, as she peeked into the backseat where Aga sat in her booster seat.

Aga hummed, clicking the two buckles together, and fastening them tightly around her tiny frame before giving Mrs. Mathews a exuberant, 'Yes Ma'm!' Mrs. Mathews gave a wide grin and turned toward the wheel, starting the car, and driving out of the parking lot.

They were on their way into a more human populated area, which Aga recognized as the heart of Ebbot city. She had heard that was where 'Frisk' (the angel of the underground, as some called them) lived. It was also a place she had visited once with her grandmother when they had gone to see her cousin Nic, who had found his niche in the city with his Nicecream business. It held some of her best memories with her grandmother, and Nic had been very nice, and gave her lots of Nicecream. Aga hoped she would see him around the city.

Aga liked watching everything go by outside her window as they drove; the tall trees that passed by her window, their branches making the sunlight flicker into different shapes and brightnesses on the world around them; the walls bordering the highway, smooth tiles making up beautiful mosaics of the mountain landscape; even watching the people who talked, walked, and ran along the sidewalk were enjoyable to Aga.

To a monster, everything on the surface was fascinating. Everything was always changing, always growing.

It wasn't long before they had pulled into the driveway of a neat little two-story house, bordered by a row of long short bushes and large tree in the corner of the yard. Simple, just how Aga liked it.

She unbuckled herself from the seat, and slowly slipped her feet onto the cement driveway, feeling the cool stone under her feet. It was almost shocking to Aga to not feel grass between her toes as she bound over to join Mrs. Mathews, who had unloaded Aga's bag from the back and was opening the front door.

The inside of the house was even more beautiful than the outside had been. Mrs. Mathews hadn't been lying when she said she loved flowers; pots of healthy sweet peas, hyacinths, and roses covered the shelfs and their perfumed scent was intoxicatingly sweet. The many paintings and pictures on each wall, too, were a testament to Mrs. Mathews' love for the floral arts. Aga knew instantly that she was going to love living in this house.

Something seemed a bit off however, because beside Mrs. Mathew's and the potted flowers, another scent filled the house. It smelt something like grape cough syrup, but it was far too pleasant compared to what she remembered the syrup to be. Aga scrunched up her nose, taking a deep breath of air. The smell was becoming stronger the farther Aga and Mrs. Mathews went into the house, until it reached its peek when they arrived in the kitchen.

"Jack! I'm home!" Mrs. Mathews called, setting her purse down on the end of the counter top.
Aga heard a thump, then a groan from upstairs. Mrs. Mathews snorted, snickering as she walked through the kitchen and up a set of stairs leading to the second floor. Aga cocked her head a bit to the side, trying to listen. Faintly, Aga could hear Mrs. Mathews talking to someone (Jack?) and his low and muffled replies to her.

Mrs. Mathews finally made her way down the steps, behind her a man with short brown hair and a kindly face. He looked to be about thirty five, maybe younger, and was wearing green flannel pajamas. The smell of grape cough syrup was stronger now, but it no longer smelled like cough syrup, instead closer to a grape jelly smell. Aga felt some what hungry now.

The man moved forward in front of Aga and crouched down to her height. "Hello, Aga. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Jack, but you can call me J."

Aga smiled, "Nice to meet you, Mr. J."

Mrs. Mathews and Jack shared a goofy look and both adults shared a quick laugh. However, Aga had no idea why. But she thought they were adorable together.

"Well, how about you tell Jack about yourself while I make lunch, Aga?" Mrs. Mathews prompted, rifling through her purse for a hair band.

Jack stood from his crouch, moving to sit on one of the stools that lined the countertop. He pat the stool beside him, looking at Aga with a smile. Aga bounced over, but quickly found the chair a bit too tall for her to climb on top of.

"Umm, I think I need a little help?" Aga asked, looking at Jack pitifully. Jack took one of her paws into his hand giving Aga a helpful pull so she could climb onto the seat. Aga's ears burned, she really hated asking for help on something that should be so easy.

Aga mumbled a thank you, her ears drooping a bit in shame and embarrassment. Jack frowned, furrowing his eye brows. "It's ok to ask for help, Aga," Jack said, then leaned in and whispered, "I used to be really short when I was twelve. I could barely look over a countertop! You definitely would have had me beat."

Aga giggled, trying to imagine a tiny Jack, looking longingly at the last cookie on the counter which was just barley out of reach.

'Hmmm... Cookies.' Thought Aga, now extremely hungry. She looked up at Mrs. Mathews, whose hair was now put into a messy bun of auburn hair, was putting a pot of water on the stove. Aga wondered what she was making. Maybe pasta? She hoped what ever it was would be done quickly.

"So, what do you think, Aga? Do you like it here? I know I do." Aga turned to face Jack, who was leaning back in his chair, with his arms folded in front of him. He was smiling a silly smile, which made her laugh.

Aga smiled, "I think I do, too!"

Aga knew she was going to love living with the Mathews, filling her with hope.

Chapter Text

Aga woke up bright and early the next morning. She wasn't sure why though.

The shades were shut tight, letting in the barest amount of sunlight through the window. Her bed was warm and comfortably soft. The air was still and quiet. Sleeping in was supposed to be guaranteed by these factors.

So why was she awake?

Then it hit her, her heightened senses picking up on the subtle smell... Of coffee.

Aga had never tried coffee, but her grandmother had always made it in the mornings, black and plain. In a way it had been Aga's wake up call. The smell of coffee reminded Aga of others things; the smell of dusty books in the old Librarby where she and her grandmother spent so much time together; the delicious taste of butterscotch pancakes in the mornings; and her grandmother's old coffee brewer which she said "made better coffee than any other." And there was no point debating it, for whenever she came to the Librarby with her great big pot of coffee to share, it was gone within the hour.

Aga slipped from her bedsheets and smoothed out her stars and moons printed nightgown. Aga gave a great yawn that should have been impossible for such a tiny monster, then flicked the bedside lamp's switch. The room was dimly illuminated by the lamp, but it was just enough light to guide Aga to the shades so she could let in the morning light.

Bright and warm, the sunlight streamed through the now opened shades filling the small room with much needed light. Aga felt a smile tug at her mouth as she left the room, still in her nightgown.

Out in the kitchen, Mrs. Mathews was drinking a cup of coffee. It was early, the sun just barely rising over the little homes, and Mrs. Mathews was already frustrated with the school system.

She had called Sunrise Middle School yesterday afternoon, asking for an appointment for Aga to tour the school as a student. However, despite saying they would call that morning to confirm her appointment, they hadn't called. And it was getting pretty damn close to time they said she could come in. And Mrs. Mathews simply would not stand for being late.

A tiny yawn took her attention from her frustration. She turned to see Aga, bright eyed and bushy tailed, looking longingly at Mrs. Mathew's cup of coffee. She felt the sudden urge to cuddle her frustrations away.

"Good morning, Aga. Did you sleep well?"

Aga mhmm'd, struggling to pull herself up onto the tall chair beside Mrs. Mathews. Mrs. Mathews felt a chuckle rising, but she held her tongue as to not embarrass the poor child. Aga looked up at Mrs. Mathews as though she wanted to say something, but then...

The phone rang.

Mrs. Mathews shoved the phone to her ear, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello! This is Linda Smith, calling to confirm Mrs. Mathew's appointment for Aga to tour Sunrise Middle School. Is this she?"

Mrs. Mathews growled back her response, "Yes, this is she. But I'd like to ask why this call was so late?"

The woman on the other line was at a lost for words. "Well, umm, you see, there was a PTA meeting this morning and it lasted... Longer than expected. There was a bit of a fi– discussion over some school policies that needed to be settled as soon as possible. I'm extremely sorry for not contacting you earlier."

Mrs. Mathews let out a soft sigh, her frustration easing only slightly. "It's alright. I'll be at the school shortly with Aga. Thank you." She removed the phone from her ear and hung up before the other line could respond.

Aga sat looking at Mrs. Mathews in awe. Her new mom took nothing from nobody and that was awesome. Scooch over a lil', Queen Toriel! Make room for Mrs. Mathews!

Mrs. Mathews blushed when she noticed Aga staring at her with her tiny mouth open and her bright orange eyes wide and expressive. "You are so cool!"

Mrs. Mathews felt a snort escape her. She loved this child. So, so much.

"Thank you, Aga," She said, taking a quick last gulp of coffee, "Now, how about you go and get yourself dressed? We're looking at a new school this morning and we've got to be there ASAP!"

...

Besides Mrs. Mathews' tendency to go over the speed limit, the car ride was pretty uneventful. Aga had to admit something, however; she was nervous about attending a new school and she missed her friends at her old school.

They approached the school, Aga with uncertainty, Mrs. Mathews with confidence. A flustered woman in a light yellow blouse and a black pencil skirt stood outside the doors and the moment she saw Mrs. Mathews she put on a forced smile. The sickly sweet smell of lemon bars was thick in air, almost overwhelming Aga. It was just... Too sweet.

"Ah, Mrs. Mathews! I'm glad you could make it. Again, I apologize for not contacting you sooner. And... " she looked at Aga for a second, her expression strange, "This must be Aga?"

A similar unreadable expression crossed Mrs. Mathews face. "I'm glad I could too, Mrs. Smith. And, yes, I recently adopted Aga and I'm hoping this school will be a good fit for her. There aren't many schools in the area and I figure it'll be good for Aga to go to an unsegregated school."

The woman's eyes flicked from Aga to Mrs. Mathews face and she shrunk a bit under Mrs. Mathews gaze. Aga knew she had to be missing something important, but she couldn't for the life of her figure it out. Two completely different scents fought for dominance.

"W-well, let's go in shall we? One of the students will show Aga around while I give you a tour of the campus." Mrs. Mathews nodded as she took Aga's hand and led her into the school building.

Inside, students were busy chatting with each other, laughing, and taking books from the lockers lining the wall. For the first time in two years, Aga felt much smaller that she was.

"Aga?" A familiar high-pitched voice asked.
Aga looked in the direction of the voice and her soul brightened and sang in her chest. There, a young, armless monster stood looking at her with a toothy smile in their distinctive orange and yellow sweater.

"MK!" Aga squeaked, sprinting over to them, and bowing MK over as she leapt onto them.

Seeing an old friend from the underground made Aga happy and filled her with Hope.

Chapter Text

Aga hugged MK tightly, not letting them move out of her embrace.

Their nervous chuckle broke Aga from her blissful haze of reunion, "Y-yo Ag! Don't go embarrassing me in front of Frisk!"

Aga let MK go and stood, following their gaze to see a young human about her age in a blue and purple stripped sweater. They appeared to be holding back a laugh with a hand over their mouth.

MK immediately jumped to their feet, a embarrassed blush on their face. "Yo! Ag! This is my friend Frisk! Their so cool, man!"

Frisk waved to Aga as a hello.

Aga tilted her head and unsurely waved back.

"Yo! I forgot to tell you! Frisk's mute!" MK announced. Aga's cheeks flushed and she looked apologetic.

Again, Frisk silently laughed, then signed to Aga, "It's alright, that happens a lot. You couldn't have known."

"O-oh! Um," Aga abashedly nodded, then wobbly signed back to Frisk. "Thank you. Would you feel more comfortable if I signed?"

Frisk looked surprised, but an excited (all thought muted) laugh reached them, "Whatever you'd like to do is fine! I'm only mute, not deaf!"

"Yo! I didn't know you knew sign language too, Ag! Man, what'd I do to get such cool friends?" MK laughed, looking pridefully toward their friends.

Frisk shook their head, laughing again, then playfully punched MK in the shoulder.

"Aga?"

Aga perked up and noticed Mrs. Mathews coming across the hallway towards her with an frustrated looking Mrs. Smith not far behind.

Aga looked guiltily up at Mrs. Mathews, "Sorry for wandering off."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it Aga," she glanced at Frisk and MK with a smile, "Now, do you think you could introduce me to your friends here?"

Looking quite chipper, Aga introduced her friends. "This is MK! They were my best friend in the underground and they still are! And this is Frisk! I just met them, but they're really nice!"

Mrs. Mathew introduced herself, but before she could say anything else Mrs. Smith interrupted her. She looked at Mrs. Smith with an unamused expression, but she didn't seem to notice. Both MK and Frisk looked a bit nervous, but Aga couldn't think of why.

"I hate to interrupt, but we should get started on the tour." She noticed Frisk and MK's presences, and the same unreadable expression crossed her face, "Do you... Know these two, Aga?"

"Uh huh!"

Mrs. Smith looked strangely at the three, "Well then. I suppose one of you can take Aga through your classes." She looked pointedly at Frisk and MK, before MK piped up, saying they would show her round.

Mrs. Mathews looked happy as Aga moved into hug MK again, which elicited an embarrassed "Aga!" from them.

"Well, he needs to be getting to class, so it's best Mrs. Mathews and I get started on our own tour around the school."

Both Frisk and Aga tensed at the use of 'he'. MK looking dejectedly at the floor, as they all knew that while MK was biologically male, they preferred to be non-binary. Aga wondered if maybe Mrs. Smith didn't know, but something told her that wasn't the case.

Mrs. Mathews wished for Aga to have fun and told her that they would meet back in the hall after the school day was over before she and Mrs. Smith left them.

There was a suddenly sigh of relief from both MK and Frisk, but Aga was bewildered. Why had they acted that way?

"Aw man. Mrs. Smith is the worst." MK groaned, to which Frisk agreed.

"What's wrong with Mrs. Smith? Well... I suppose she did use the wrong pronoun for MK, but anyone could accidentally do that..," Aga paused in her thinking. Had Mrs. Smith done that before? If so... How many times? Did she even bother to ask MK what they want to be called? Did she even care..?

Then Aga understood. That strange look Mrs. Smith gave when she first saw Aga, the look she gave them when she saw her with MK and Frisk... Was disgust. Like a blow to the gut, she realized that maybe not all humans were nice.

"She's done that before, hasn't she? And she... Doesn't care, does she?" Aga muttered and both children nodded sadly.

The bell rung.

Aga pulled her long ears down on each side of her head, trying to block out the obnoxious ringing, while MK and Frisk were busy taking books from their lockers. They came back for Aga a moment later and she followed them down the long hall into their first classroom.

The room was very... Pink. Not that Aga disliked the color, but the many variations and hues clashed, overwhelming Aga with the need to walk right back out the door. Even worse, everything smelt like cheep perfume and way too much hand-sanitizer, making Aga's eyes water. Even worse was the fact that Frisk and MK were immune to the smell. She figured they must have gotten used to it during their time on the surface.

An older looking woman with a homely face and very short white hair sat at the teacher's desk, looking over several papers and marking them with a pink-inked pen. She looked quite absorbed in her work, but a slight smile danced at her lips as she went through each one.

Aga bound over to the empty seat next to MK. Where Frisk sat more towards the front, MK sat closer to the back, therefore more room for Aga to choose a seat. Then came the final bell and the chatter in the classroom began to subside.

The woman stood and walked front and center, looked around the classroom, then began to sign. "Good morning, class!"

Everyone in the class room began to sign back in a similar way, except for a few bored looking students sitting in the back and poor armless, handless, MK. But luckily it didn't stop them from looking extremely excited about the signing.

"Good morning, Mrs. Lopez!" Was what they had signed back, although a bit sloppily.

Mrs. Lopez grinned kindly, her eyes wrinkling a bit at the edges, clearing impressed the effort's of the class. She noticed Aga's presence in the back row of students and motioned for her to come up, "Hello there. You must be Aga, yes? Mrs. Smith told me to expect you this morning, but my, I was not expecting to meet such a pretty young monster!"

Aga felt her face flush and she nodded mutely, standing next to Mrs. Lopez.

"How about you introduce yourself to the class, then tell us something about yourself. Is that alright, Aga?"

To nervous to confirm that, yes, she didn't mind, (as well as excited,) she leapt into her introduction, "My name's Aga Morf, and, uh, I really like butterscotch?"

She didn't mean to make the last bit sound like a question, but she figured it didn't matter to much when she saw her friends' approval. She spotted Frisk giving her a thumbs up from their seat, as well as MK with the most encouraging smile on their face. Some of the girl students starred with big eyes and trembling lips. Another student, a boy who had previously looked bored with the class, was looking at Aga curiously, smiling.

"Well, it's good to meet you, Aga. Please, everyone, make Aga welcome today," Mrs. Lopez smiled, her eyes twinkling. A peppery, spicy smell overwhelmed the sanitizer and perfume, reminding Aga of the meal she had the previous night with the Mathews'. That Mexican food was definitely high on Aga's good food's list.

Aga skipped back to her seat, eager to get on with the day.

•••

Going to school with MK and Frisk was the best, Aga decided. Though, it helped that their first teacher, Mrs. Lopez, was incredibly nice. The classes they had attended afterwards were alright as well, but some teachers seemed distant and guarded when they met Aga.

But she didn't mind; as long as she had her friends, she was content.

Recess was definitely her second favorite part of the day, even though Aga was swarmed by wide eyed children with questions upon questions for the young monster. Frisk and MK ultimately came to save the day, whisking Aga away to play on the slide. One of the boys from the group followed them, she recognized him as the boy from Mrs. Lopez's class, but seemed to shy to say anything to them.

Just as Mrs. Mathews had said, she was waiting in the hallway when Aga and her friends exited the classroom. She looked happy once she saw Aga and picked her up in an embrace, before setting her down to speak.

"How was your day, Aga?"

Aga immediately regaled Mrs. Mathews with all of the details, telling her all about Mrs. Lopez and the many friends she made. Mrs. Mathews smiled and nodded, but there was certain distance between them that Aga hadn't noticed before.

"–How was your day?"

Mrs. Mathews looked as Aga, her expression soft, "It was good. I'm glad you had a good day, Aga."

Aga knew she wasn't telling whole the truth, but decided not to push it.