Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sans remembered the day the barrier broke vividly. In all of the timelines he could recall, it was the first time he'd ever seen it. The first time the barrier had ever broken and Frisk lead them up to the surface, setting all of the monsters free. He couldn't believe it. He stared at the sun for the first time all while bracing himself for the reset. He was ready to wake up in his bed again, hear the crash of Papyrus dropping an entire pot of spaghetti for what was probably the thousandth time. He took a deep breath of fresh air that sent his magic into a flurry.

He shoved down his anxieties and forced himself to enjoy the view. Even if it did reset, this would still be a memory he wanted to hold on to.

This place was paradise. Sans was absolutely sure of it. He watched the sun paint the sky with vibrant shades of red and pink and orange. He never thought he would see such things, he'd only ever heard stories of such sights. In the underground, he only ever had dark rock with sparkling rocks they had once called 'stars'. Now he would see real stars, in a real sky, with real nights and days and clouds and seasons! He would see seasons! Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn!

Papyrus, beside him, was going wild. He pointed at everything and named them. He saw the trees, the rocks, the plants, the sky, and the clouds. He moved on to the animals and named the birds, the squirrels, the bears, the frogs. Any animals he saw that hadn't made appearances in his favorite book, Peek-a-Boo with Fluffy Bunny, he didn't know the name of so he started calling them by one of their characteristics. Toriel and Asgore stood beside each other, staring up at the sky in wonderment, as though they had never seen it before when they were the only two aside from Frisk who'd ever had, just not in a very long time. Frisk looked at it in much the same way as they did.

"Hey, punks, you comin'?" Undyne asked as she took Alphys' hand, the scientist blushing furiously and staring at their joined hands as though that was definitely the most amazing thing happening, definitely not the fact that they were walking on the surface. Sans glanced over at them and blinked, then looked to Frisk. He took her sleeve when she tried to walk over to join Undyne, Papyrus, and the rest.

"in a minute." Sans waved to them. "you guys go on, i just wanna say somethin' to her real quick. like, tree seconds?" He winked and Undyne rolled her eyes, leaving with them as Frisk looked up at him curiously. She took his hand as he lead her over to a cluster of rocks for them to sit on. Sans grunted as he sat down. He was suddenly exhausted.

"hey, kiddo, i'm glad i caught a moment with you alone." He rested his hands on his knees as Frisk struggled to climb onto the rock beside him, grunting softly. He reached over and helped her out and she thanked him with a grin. She wasn't one for many words. "so... ah... well," Sans struggled to find the proper words where she would understand him. "okay. uh, there's a lot about... all of this... that you probably don't understand. you probably will never understand it as long as you live." Sans knew she didn't remember each time she reset. There was no way she could look at the world so innocently if she remembered all of the horrible things she had done or all of the horrible things they had done to her in return. The way she acted and spoke and flirted and still made the same mistakes she did in past timelines, the only explanation is that she didn't know better because she didn't remember doing it before. "i just... wanted to ask something of you. i wanted to... see, i don't know... i don't know what it is that happens in the head o' yours that makes it happen, but... i have lived this exact day, over and over again for months on end. and it's because you want to. you want to meet us all over again, you explained it to me once as you did it. you said you wanted a fresh start, and a little voice in your head was telling you that you could."

He watched as Frisk looked both scared and shocked, placing her hand on her head. He reached over and put his hand over her's, pulling her closer to him and kissing her forehead. Her nose scrunched up as she grinned at him. 

"what i'm askin is for you to not do it." She blinked, her face falling. She looked confused. "look, kid, it's not that it wouldn't be great to meet you all over again, to go back and become best friends. it sounds great, in theory. but kiddo, that's not how the world works. it's not how time is supposed to work, you're not supposed to be able to do that. okay? i'm so tired, bucko. i just want to... i want to move on to tomorrow. maybe even next week, or next month!" Frisk watched his face as it filled with absolute desperation, "please don't reset. please, never reset, ever again." He pleaded, "promise me?" After a moment, Frisk nodded and smiled up at Sans.

"I promise," she murmured in her soft, sweet voice. Sans let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She giggled and hugged him in return.

"and... and i promise i'll keep you safe, okay?" He murmured, "that promise i made to tori doesn't really apply anymore, y'know? asgore don't want your soul, and neither do any of the monsters you freed, so i'm amending it, and i'm making the promise to you this time. frisk, i promise to you that as long as i live, wherever we are--here, underground, wherever--i will personally see to it that you are safe from harm. okay?" He didn't realize he had been crying until he saw his blue magic spilling onto her sweater. She gave another sweet laugh and took her sleeve and wiped his tears from his eye sockets. He was just so overwhelmingly grateful for her in that moment. 

He never had to experience this day again. He never had to see Papyrus die. He never had to crush her soul over and over and over again.

And she never had to know what she'd done to him.

Frisk held up her pinky. Sans was confused, his brows puckering as he looked her over. Why was she just holding up her pinky at him, and looking at him expectantly? When he didn't immediately do what she wanted him to, Frisk grew frustrated and grabbed his hand, manipulating his pinky bones until they were interlocked with her pinky. She smiled again, satisfied.

"Pinky promise." She stated with a happy grin. Sans blinked and smiled, remembering one of the previous humans had been all about pinky promises. Apparently, they were sacred to humans and meant the promise absolutely could not be broken. He liked that.

"pinky promise."

Chapter Text

Welcome to New New Home!  

Frisk couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement at the large wooden sign that marked her entrance into the home of the monsters. In the passenger seat, Sans snorted. 

"you'd think someone would tell him how terrible he is at naming things. or help him out." He mused thoughtfully, staring out the window as Frisk drove. There were still several more miles between the entrance into the territory and when they would actually see civilization. There was, however, a long line awaiting them at the security checkpoint. Sans gave a dramatic groan and slouched down into his seat. "i hate this checkpoint so much."

"Oh, quit'cha bitchin'." Frisk teased, pushing his shoulder teasingly. "Dogamy and Dogaressa have been getting faster, and they finally cleared Greater and Lesser Dog to help out as well. See? There are four lanes now instead of two. It'll go by fast, I promise. Besides, you should be thankful for their work. If just any human could get in here, who knows how much work would be on your hands protecting me?" Since growing up with such a talkative group of people, Frisk had started talking more. Especially around Sans, getting the information she wanted from him was a chore and a half.

"yeah, yeah, but still." He grumbled, shutting his eyes. "wake me when we're home."

Frisk rolled her eyes again and agreed, knowing she couldn't stop the skeleton from falling asleep in her car. She greeted Greater Dog happily, and he immediately let her and Sans through. Everyone knew the face of their ambassador. When she glanced at her watch, she realized it had only taken them fifteen minutes to get through. That was record time.

Frisk was sad that they needed to have the checkpoint in the first place, but their initial arrival into the surface had been nightmarish. They were not received well, by any means. They were immediately met with aggression from the people until Asgore managed to pacify the people long enough to explain and speak with the people in charge. With a promise of peace, they were given territory to settle into and an agreement to work with the people around them on a symbiotic relationship.

It took the monsters a very long time to reveal Frisk, though, and when they did all hell broke loose once more. Monsters were accused of kidnapping a child, and demanded they return her. Asgore and Toriel refused, and it nearly brought war on them once more. It wasn't until Frisk surrendered herself without the knowledge of her parents or friends that the humans listened.

It was a difficult discussion, with a child that barely spoke. It had been two years since they returned to the surface, and Frisk hadn't changed much in the way of talking. She didn't like it. They asked her what her name was. "Frisk Dreemurr." Her age, "Dunno." Who her parents were, "Toriel and Asgore." Where she lived, "New New Home." They questioned her for days, trying to piece together her old life, and when they tried to tell Frisk who she was, she refused the information.

No matter what they told her, she was Frisk Dreemurr. They did tell her how old she was and when her birthday was, which she was fine with, but her parents remained Toriel and Asgore. She still lived in New New Home. She ran away from her foster homes seventeen times, and by then she was fourteen and the monsters had been on the surface for three years. It took all that time for the humans to finally release her back home to her parents, allowing them full legal custody when such things so far had still been unheard of.

Frisk emerged from her reverie and glanced at Sans, tapping his shoulder. "Sansy, remember when I finally came home after the humans gave me back?" She asked softly, smiling. Sans grunted and blinked, looking over to her.

"course i do."

"That was a good day."

"it was. why you bringin' it up?"

Frisk shrugged, "Was just thinking about it. I remembered how Toriel and Asgore were waiting there with their arms wide open for me to go to them... and I ran right past them and hugged you." 

Sans laughed, "i remember that. toriel and asgore were so mad at me." Frisk grinned.

"I hugged them eventually!" She laughed, then sighed. "Definitely a real good day."

"yup. i was just glad..." He trailed off, looking uncomfortable. Frisk glanced over at him, confused, trying to keep her focus on the road.

"Glad what?" She wondered, "Come on, tell me."

"glad... you didn't reset. you called me a lot, cryin'. you were tellin' me about the little voice, tellin' you that you could. you didn't understand what it meant entirely, just that you knew it could make everything better. i was so fuckin' terrified..." Sans sighed, his body glowing a faint blue with anxiety. "but you told me you wouldn't, because of your promise." The glowing calmed and he smiled at her, offering her his pinky. She grinned and interlocked them.

"Never." She promised, "The idea of resets is still kind of confusing though... Chara helped me a little, of course, but she's been quiet ever since I came home that day." She murmured. Sans steeled at the name. Frisk had tried to explain her to him before, but he already knew all about her. He'd studied the differences between her and Frisk in the underground. He knew when that little creature in her head was making the decisions and killing the monsters. He hated her, and he wished she were out of Frisk's head entirely, but at least she had left them all alone for the past five years. Frisk insisted Chara was good, that she'd only meant to help her. Sans begged to differ, but explaining it to Frisk was impossible. Frisk didn't remember the bad things she had done, and if he had his way she never would.

Frisk asked him a lot of questions about the resets, but Sans had become a master of diverting the conversation.

"they are really confusing, wouldn't expect you to fully understand." Sans allowed, "look at that, we're home."

Frisk blinked and grinned at the sight of the beautiful woodland cabin house halfway up Mt. Ebott. This was her mother Toriel's home. Toriel stood outside, scanning over her dead garden with a deep frown on her face. She had the opposite of a green thumb, and it never failed to make Frisk laugh when she attempted another garden only for it all to die within days of being planted.

"Ma!" Frisk called as she parked and burst from her car, running up to her mother and leaping into her shocked arms.

"My child, I had no idea you were coming home today!" Toriel gasped, holding the young woman against her chest happily.

Frisk grinned and nuzzled into her, "We finished up early so I thought I'd surprise you." She breathed in her mother's scent, freshly baked dough and chimney fire. She sighed happily, and Toriel looked over at the car where Sans emerged.

Being from the underground, there were several monsters that had never experienced the sun before. They had no idea the effects the sun would have on them. Some monsters were too sensitive to the rays and they decided to stay underground, where they were safe. Other monsters were completely unaffected by it. Then there were monsters, like Sans, who were affected in a very nice way. Sans and his brother had grown, a lot. Underground, Sans was approximately 4'7". After a few months on the surface, though, Sans had grown to an immense 6'6" with wider, thicker bones than his brother. Papyrus sat pretty at 8'3" with a much thinner build. The sight of the two, unless you knew their cuddly personalities, was actually terrifying. 

Frisk always felt tiny beside either of the brothers, being only 5'4". Going places with Papyrus was near impossible, but he'd grown quite used to ducking under doorways or just sitting down where he could inside buildings with ceilings that were too low for him. Luckily, though, they were few and far between since the underground was used to tall monsters. It was when they were outside of New New Home that his height was really an issue.

"Sans! I am very glad to see you as well!" Toriel released her daughter and went over to Sans, giving him a pleased hug. He returned it.

"what's for dinner? you can only survive on fast food for so long before you need a nice, home-cooked meal. i mean, look at me! i'm all bones!" He held his arms out in a show and Toriel laughed, but Frisk refused. She'd heard nothing but puns for the last two months since they'd been away on an ambassadorial meeting to America to work on the monster relationships there.

"I will throw something together. You two should go tell Papyrus you're home, he will be thrilled! He has missed you two deeply." Toriel insisted, kissing Frisk's cheek before heading inside to put together dinner. Frisk headed inside as well, calling out for her friend.

"Papy!"

She heard a thud, then some creative non-curses. Papyrus emerged from the guest bedroom, grinning when he saw his brother and Frisk. He had lived there for the two months they were away so that neither he or Toriel got too lonely. He hurried over to them and scooped Frisk up like she were merely a child still. She enjoyed that someone could still hold her like that.

"HUMAN, YOU HAVE RETURNED HOME! I HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH, I AM EAGER TO HEAR ABOUT ALL OF YOUR VENTURES IN AMERICA!" He held her tight, too tight.

"P-papy, c-can't--"

"you're gunna break her, paps."

Papyrus yelped and released her, setting her down on the floor.

"APOLOGIES, I--I JUST GOT VERY EXCITED TO HAVE YOU BACK. WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN." He laughed nervously. Frisk wrapped her arms around his spinal column in a hug.

"I know, Papy. I'm excited to be home, and to see you. I saved a lot of stories to tell you." She giggled. "I even brought all of my notes from the meetings to read to you!" 

Papyrus squealed with glee. "NYEHEHEH, GOODIE!" He then looked to his brother and gave Sans an enthusiastic hug as well, which Sans returned with less enthusiasm but the same amount of affection. Frisk could barely stand the sight of the two and how much they clearly loved each other. It was too much for her little heart to handle.

"good to see you too, paps." He murmured.

"HAVE YOU TOLD UNDYNE AND ALPHYS OF YOUR RETURN HOME YET?" Papyrus wondered as they all made their way to the dining room to wait for Toriel's food.

"i talked to alphys a day or two ago, she's still away on super important scientific stuff..."

"WOWIE, THAT SOUNDS SUPER IMPORTANT."

Sans laughed, "yeah. she won't tell anyone what it is, but undyne goes where she goes and neither had been answering so they don't know we're back. we'll tell 'em eventually." Frisk frowned, not enjoying all of Alphys' sudden secrecy surrounding her science. She thought all of that was done after the reveal of her lab, but Frisk also understood that it wasn't just her anymore. She had entire teams now, so it wasn't up to her whether or not everything was to be kept under wraps.

She was still frustrated, though.

"WELL, THEY WILL BE ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO HEAR YOUR ARE HOME." Papyrus insisted, then decided to go over and assist Toriel in cooking their dinner. He had gotten much better at cooking since coming to the surface, and he was absolutely obsessed with the Food Network. It was constantly playing at his house in the living room. The irony of a skeleton being obsessed with food and cooking wasn't lost on her.

Once the food was done, Toriel set it out for the group to eat. Spaghetti and meatballs, naturally. Frisk eagerly dug into her food, having missed home cooking since her departure. Sure, a lot of her dinners were extremely expensive and at fancy restaurants but nothing compared to Toriel's or Papyrus'.

"I'VE LEARNED A NEW RECIPE I WOULD LIKE TO TRY SOON, FOR MACARONI AND CHEESE. CHEESE HAS CALCIUM, WHICH IS GOOD FOR BONES." Papyrus declared after taking a huge bite of spaghetti. Frisk laughed.

"You told me that on the phone already. You should make it on a night that I stay over." She offered thoughtfully, smiling at him. Frisk and Papyrus spent a lot of time on the phone together. Mostly it was just Papyrus talking about his day, with minimal prodding needed on Frisk's end. They talked at least three nights a week, and Frisk would always call Papyrus. It made him feel loved, and Sans liked that she did that for him. Her relationship with Papyrus was something really special.

"YES, OF COURSE. YOU SHOULD STAY OVER SOME TIME THIS WEEK, SANS AND I WILL MAKE A TELEVISION FORT AND WE CAN WATCH ONE OF THOSE FOOD BATTLE SHOWS." He looked utterly pleased. Frisk nodded in agreement with a mouthful of spaghetti.

"That sounds awesome!" Frisk was almost as excited as Papyrus was, which was something to say. Papyrus was simply naturally enthusiastic, and it was infectious.

"OH, AND WE SHOULD DEFINITELY GO TO THE NEW GRILLBY'S FRANCHISE! HE WILL BE WORKING THERE FOR A WHILE BEFORE HE HIRES NEW EMPLOYEES. MUFFET IS JOINING HIM, THEY MAKE QUITE THE CUTE COUPLE." He took another big bite of his food.

Sans perked up at the mention of Grillby's, "that sounds like a plan. why don't we go tomorrow?" He glanced over at Frisk, who was suddenly squirming. 

"Well, I was gunna go to Asgore's tomorrow and talk to him about everything." Frisk glanced at Toriel, who acted cool at the mention of her ex-husband. She was glad since usually his name bothered her.

"we could go to grillby's after."

Frisk looked Sans over and gave a weak smile. "You know we're home now. You... don't have to stick right beside me twenty-four seven... You can go do your own thing, I won't be upset."

"you breaking up with me, kiddo?" Sans chuckled, sipping some ketchup Toriel had placed in front of him.

"N-no! I just... you've been stuck with me for a while, I figured..."

"listen, i'm never stuck with you. i don't do things i don't wanna." Sans spoke sternly and Frisk went quiet, allowing a meek smile.

"Okay... we'll go to Grillby's tomorrow."

"good." With that, Sans stood up. "thank you for the food, tori. paps and i should head home, though. i haven't been in my own bed in a real long time, i might start getting withdrawals soon. i bed you adieu." Sans winked and Toriel laughed, but Frisk maintained her composure as she rolled her eyes. "let's go, paps. my pet rock is probably starving."

"ACTUALLY, I HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING SINCE YOU LEFT. DID YOU KNOW THAT PET ROCKS DO NOT ACTUALLY REQUIRE FOOD?"

Sans mocked surprise, "you're kiddin'!"

"I AM NOT, I WOULD NOT KID ABOUT YOUR PET ROCK'S HEALTH."

Sans glanced at Frisk, pointing to his brother. "he's so fuckin' cool."

"Language, Sans Serif." Toriel scolded.

"sorry, tori." Sans chuckled, "alright, text me if you need anything, kid. i'll be here in a heartbeat."

"You don't have a heartbeat." Frisk quipped. Sans groaned, his eyelights disappearing for a moment.

"bye, frisk. bye, tori."

"GOODBYE, TORIEL. HUMAN. CALL ME." Papyrus requested. Frisk agreed, watching the two brothers leave. Frisk was eager to have a night to herself, finally. She sat and chatted with Toriel briefly, since she and her mother were constantly texting anyway they pretty much already talked about everything that felt like talking about.

Once it grew late enough, Frisk retired to her room. She did a little paperwork, browsed the internet for a bit, then found herself with nothing left to do. She glanced at her phone and was surprised to find she had no texts or calls. She sighed and shut her eyes, frustrated as she wished Sans were there with her to talk to.

Could she really not go more than a few hours without talking to Sans?

Frisk pulled out her phone and wrote out a quick message, then just stared at it in frustration as her thumb hovered over the send button. Before she could hit it, her phone beeped with an incoming message.

SansyBones: hey

Frisk couldn't stop her grin as she rolled onto her back and stared at the message. Within the two months, they were gone, lines had blurred a bit in their relationship. To anyone who asked, they were friends. Best friends, in fact. He was her bodyguard so naturally they spent an incredible amount of time together their best friendship was inevitable.

Her mind wandered back to their first week in the hotel. At first, they had been rather awkward. Their hotel room was only one room with two queen beds and a television. Frisk hadn't read the website well enough, she supposed, but she was too meek to complain. It had been her mistake, after all, so they stuck it out. Eventually Frisk adjusted to having Sans with her constantly, with pretty much no breaks from him. She even got used to the never-ending stream of puns, for her own survival. Four days in, Frisk had a long day of meetings and puns and decided to go back to their hotel room and drink. Sure, she was technically underage, but she was safe in her hotel and didn't care. Sans left at one point to pick up food, leaving Frisk alone with her bottle. When he returned with their pizza, she was curled up in the corner of the room with a bottle of rum in her fist, in absolute hysterics. 

"shit! kid, what's goin' on? you ok? did something happen?" Sans hurried over to her and sat beside her, pulling her into his lap. Frisk babbled incoherently for a bit, then just gave up on talking until she finally calmed down. She lifted up her phone to show Sans her most recent text. 

Jess: OMG I LOST MY V CARD

"v card? frisk, what the hell is that? that important, or...?"

Frisk looked up at him with watery eyes, "Her virginity, bonehead." She sniffled, "She's two years younger than me. Two years! And here I am, a big fucking loser virgin!" She cried again, wiping at her eyes, "I haven't even had my first kiss! I've never even had a boyfriend or girlfriend!" She sniffled and huffed, her lip trembling as she leaned into Sans. "I hate that I never got to be a real teenager..." She whimpered softly as Sans hugged her a bit tighter.

"well, you got the underage drinking down." She glared at him and he gave her a meek smile, "i am sorry, kiddo... i really am, you shouldn't've had any of this put on your shoulders... but we're all so grateful, we really are. we owe you so much, we'd do anything for you."

"Anything?" Frisk perked, looking up at Sans. He  grimaced, then tried to amend it but Frisk spoke up too quickly, "Kiss me."

Sans sputtered, "you're drunk, and upset, and--"

"I didn't tell you to fuck me!" Frisk snapped, "I asked you to kiss me. Just a kiss, so I can at least say I've kissed someone. Please? Look, I'd rather have my first kiss be with someone who loves me, and is there for me, and won't ever leave me rather than some loser who only wants to get his dick wet, you know?" 

"those things also apply to papyrus..."

Frisk glared at him, then pulled out her phone.

"what're you doin'?"

"Texting Papyrus. You make a good point, he was my first ever date too, so why not make him my first kiss?" She stated haughtily, only to have Sans rip her phone from her hands and toss it onto the bed on the other side of the room. Frisk pulled away from him and crossed her arms like a child.

"why do you even care so much about this?" He demanded, "you wouldn't be having this type of reaction if you hadn't thought about this before." His hand trailed up her back and went to her hair, rubbing her scalp soothingly.

Frisk attempted to look indifferent in her shrug as she looked away from him. "Of course I think about it... girls my age, nineteen, have usually... done these things before," she leaned against him again, her head resting on his shoulder, "but I've been over here, you know, being an ambassador and being busy and being the daughter of a monster king and... shit, Sans, I never got to be a kid." Her voice grew heavier and she let out another sob.

"i know... i know..." He murmured, then took a deep breath and pushed her a little bit away from him, holding her face in his hands and watching as tears fell down her cheeks. "if i do this, no one finds out. absolutely no one, especially your parents or papyrus. capiche?"

Frisk gave a weak smile and nodded her head eagerly, her heart thudding against her rib cage. He removed a hand and held out his pinky, which she joined with hers.

"alright... here goes." He sighed and leaned in. Sans didn't have lips, since he was a skeleton. What he did have was magic. To make up for his lack of skin, his magic acted as a protective barrier around him. It glowed with a faint blue tint, mocking human skin. That meant that when Frisk leaned in and pressed her lips against him, she met two magic blue lips in return. She smiled against him, trembling with glee. She gave a soft moan as Sans rested his hand on the nape of her neck, holding her where she was.

A moment later, Frisk had her arms wrapped around his neck and she was pressing against him more. She shifted so she straddled his hips and had him pressed against the wall behind him. He gave a weak grunt in response. Frisk pressed her tongue against his magic and he instinctively opened his mouth for her to explore. She could taste his magic thrumming against her. It tasted like copper and blue raspberries. She moaned softly as his hands went to her hips, rubbing circles around their points. Her hands went to his waistband, where a blue glow had slowly been growing brighter. That's when Sans grabbed her wrists and pulled away.

"you're drunk." He murmured hoarsely.

"So fuckin' what?"

"you're my best friend."

"Still not relevant."

"you're belligerent. you're intoxicated. you're not in your right mind, you're upset about your friend. when this-- if this happens, it'd happen when you can't regret it the next morning." He stated, scooping her up in his arms as he stood and he placed her on her bed, then climbed into his own.

"Asshole." Frisk curled up in her bed, ignoring Sans in his own bed. He stared at the wall all night, letting his glow fade.

Frisk covered her face in embarrassment as she remembered that night. He didn't really talk to her the next day, but he was sweet in helping her nurse her hangover. She still hasn't touched rum since then. Apparently, it makes her molest her best friends. Best friend, rather. Well, really, only Sans. She gave a weak groan and stared at her phone. She still hadn't responded to him. 

You: sup

She sighed and shut her eyes. She was glad she hadn't gotten so blackout drunk she didn't remember the kiss, though Sans was under the impression she had. The next morning, she played ignorant and acted as though the kiss never happened. Sans seemed relieved but was still quiet all day. By the next day everything was back to normal, and Frisk was glad. Still, she couldn't get the kiss out of her head. 

She didn't know she could feel that way about someone. What little sexual education she'd had, due to her being raised by monsters with little to no knowledge of human biology, the idea of having sex made her stressed and nervous. But in that moment, with Sans, she had been so ready. The feel of his lips against her's, the taste of his magic tongue, and his fingers working her hips the way they did...

Her hands slipped into her pants, her mind lingering on that night.

Until her phone buzzed again. 

SansyBones: u havin a hard time sleeping 2

Frisk looked confused, then glanced at the time. It was past midnight. She almost never stayed awake that late, and she didn't even feel tired yet. Part of it was probably the time difference between America and where was was now, but she was usually good at reorienting herself to the timezone she was in.

You: Guess so. Didn't know how late it was. Wow.

SansyBones: its real quiet

Frisk smiled. She had noticed the silence too. Sans always made some sort of noise, be it slurping from a ketchup bottle or the turning of pages in his books or shifting in his sleep or even just his breathing. It had become a comfort to have that constant white noise with her. Now, alone in her room, it was just silent.

You: Yup. I'm gunna go to sleep now. G'night.

Frisk bit her lip and her fingers slipped under her waistband again. When she finished herself, she was finally adequately tired to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

Frisk was in bed, Sans bracing himself above her as they kissed. Her heart was absolutely racing, her whole body filled with warmth. She gave a moan as she tugged at his pullover, which he happily helped her remove. She was shaking as he put more weight on her, his hands shifting back to her hip bones. He loved touching her where her bones were more pronounced--hip bones, her collarbones, her shoulders and shoulder blades, her spine. She loved it when he touched her in general.

"Sans," she gasped and his fingers slipped underneath her clothing, sliding up her stomach to her ribs. He groaned against her lips. It sounded like he was trying to say something. She put her hands on his sternum and pushed him up, confused. "Sans?"

He stared down at her, stiff. His left eye was glowing blue and yellow. " dirty brother killer." His hands were at her throat as he pinned her to her bed.

"Sans!" She clawed at his hands and arms, her heart hammering in her chest as she tried to breathe. "W-Wha--AH!"

Frisk woke up with a gasp, clutching at her neck. It took her a few minutes to get oriented and get her heart rate and breathing down to normal levels. She hadn't had a nightmare like that in so long, one where Sans wanted to kill her or was trying to kill her. Of course, Sans never learned about those. She rested her hands on her throat still, amazed at how real everything had felt this time. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, waiting until she stopped trembling to get to her feet.

Today she was going to go visit her father, Asgore, and talk to him about her trip. He was completely technologically impaired and had the most basic of cell phones for emergencies only, and even that was only charged and on him about twenty percent of the time. Instead, he had people who took messages for him and would find him to deliver them personally.

Frisk groaned tiredly, checking the time. Ten AM! She never slept that late. She chocked it up to a mix of her nightmare and the time adjustment and pulled up her text messages. She had received a quick good night from Sans a few minutes after her last text to him. She smiled.

You: Morning! Going to Dad's in a bit 

Whether or not Sans was awake was a fifty-fifty toss up. She yawned and stood, tossing her phone on her bed and heading to her bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She grimaced at the reflection, black mascara and eyeliner gave her the aesthetic of a raccoon. She always forgot to remove her makeup before bed, which was a bad habit that she would break one day. Just not today. She huffed at herself and grabbed a makeup remover wipe, scrubbing at her face to start her day off with a clean slate. She tossed the used wipe in the trash and yawned, arching her back and stretching with lots of satisfying pops.

"jeeeeeeez."

Frisk yelped and jumped, looking over to see Sans sitting on her bed. He was cringing hard at all of her joints cracking.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Seeing him, Frisk's heart started racing again. Her dream was too fresh in her mind, she could still feel his hand on her throat. She rubbed her neck uncomfortably. Sans shrugged, looking Frisk over thoughtfully.

"i figured it'd just be faster if i were already here so you didn't have to pick me up on your way to asgore's." He explained, a twinge of concern on his face as he saw her reaction. "man, i didn't know i'd scare you that badly..."

"I... no... It's fine, I just... didn't expect you..." Frisk squirmed and tried her best to keep her hands from shaking as she squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush. She turned away from Sans slightly to try to mask it further. "Besides, I mean, you know Toriel doesn't think it's appropriate for you to be in my room with the door shut." She shoved her toothbrush into her mouth so she didn't have to say anything else.

Sans laughed, "what does she think we're gunna do? bone ?" He teased, "besides, we were literally sleeping in the same room for two months. if it was gunna happen it would have."

"Mhmm..." Frisk mumbled into her toothbrush awkwardly. Her stomach was in absolute knots. She spit out some toothpaste. "She doesn't actually know we didn't have separate bedrooms, so if that detail could remain between us..." She pushed her toothbrush back into her mouth.

"oooh, we're keepin' secrets from momma goat now. gotcha."

Frisk did everything she could to not look at Sans, keeping her eyes on the mirror and only looking at herself. She hoped he didn't notice how weird she was acting, but Sans was remarkably perceptive. Frisk rinsed her mouth out and sighed, brushing her hair quietly, then she glanced at the door to the bathroom. 

"Uhm... I'm gunna shower, so..." Sans quirked a brow bone as her hand went to the door.

"alright. if it'll get you to stop shaking."

Frisk blushed and frowned at him, then gave a heavy sigh as she shut the door and climbed into the shower. She didn't understand why her dream was suddenly bothering her so much. When she was younger, right after leaving the underground mostly, she had plenty of horrible nightmares. Sans throwing her across the air, herself cutting down her friends, or being cut down by them time and time again. She did remember being killed a few times by Undyne and Mettaton, but she always came back and was fine with Chara helping her learn from her mistakes. She always attributed her nightmares to those and moved on. It's not like they had ever happened. She could never dream of hurting them, ever.

Sans had never hurt her. He would never hurt her. He wasn't capable of it.

Frisk spent the whole time in the shower preparing herself to spend time with Sans without freaking out. When she felt she was adequately gathered, she stepped out and towel dried herself, wrapping the towel around herself and stepping out to browse her clothes for an outfit for the day. She felt his eyes following her. He didn't used to watch her nearly as much as he did since their kiss.

Frisk grabbed an outfit quickly and scurried back into her bathroom to change. She didn't even bother drying her hair, just threw it into a ponytail. She kept telling herself she needed to get it cut, since it was about at her shoulder blades at this point. She just never thought of it at an appropriate time. When she stepped out, Sans blinked in surprise.

When they had moved to the surface and Sans grew, he was no longer able to fit into his old blue hoodie and shorts and t-shirt he wore every day. Since then, he had bought a new navy blue pullover hoodie ( that constantly had one string stupidly long and the other side nonexistent and the unevenness of it nearly drove Frisk insane but no matter how many times she would fix it, it would somehow go back to the way it was immediately) and a pair of gray sweatpants and a new pair of slippers. He had let Frisk pick out his new slippers, so he was stuck with a pair of furry pink slippers that he wore so much he had to replace them every few months.

Anyway, Sans had thrown out all of his old clothes. Or so he thought. Frisk had gone through and plucked out his blue hoodie. She loved it, and all through Snowdin she wished she could steal it. She had been so cold. So she stole it and kept it, and wore it whenever she so desired no matter how threadbare and worn it got. Sans evidently had no idea, and was shocked to see her wearing it.

"i threw that out." 

"I fished it out of the trash."

"do you have any idea how old that is?"

"Nope."

"it's older than you." 

"You're older than me."

Sans was speechless. What she had said was a bit ridiculous and irrelevant, so she understood why he would have no response. It gave Frisk a moment of peace to just adjust to being next to him. She looked him over, realizing suddenly how blurry he was.

"Glasses!" Frisk shouted, going over to her bedside table and slipping her glasses onto her face. "Better!" When she was a kid, she'd never been to an eye doctor before and spent her life squinting at everything, barely able to see clearly. She had just assumed that was what the world was like. Then she returned to the surface and was taken by the humans, the first thing they did was get her glasses. She was shocked to see the world clearly for the first time in her life. She didn't wear them all that much, especially not around the house, but she was legally required to when driving so that was the only time she ever did.

Sans chuckled. "don't wanna forget those and run over a 'pothole' again." 

"Okay, it was a remarkably dark gray dog--"

"it was moving. "

"Very slowly!" 

"and barking. "

"You promised me you wouldn't bring this up ever again!" Frisk's eyes watered as guilt swelled in her chest. You run over a dog thinking it's a pothole one time...

Sans stopped grinning when he saw tears fall down her cheeks. "i wasn't--it was a  joke, it was years ago--" He stood and stepped closer to her, his hands hovering awkwardly. Frisk couldn't help the tears, couldn't stop them. Running over the dog had traumatized her. They had rushed it to the vet and the dog survived, but she still felt terrible about it.

To top it off, her emotions had already been entirely out of whack all morning so bringing up the dog just sent her over the edge. She covered her face with her hands and cried heavily.

"shit, shit, shit--" Sans grabbed her and pulled her into his chest, holding the back of her head and letting her cry against him. It took her a few minutes to calm down, but when she did she gave a laugh.

"S-sorry... I don't know why... I'm fine." She pulled away and wiped her face free of tears, taking a deep breath. Sans didn't seem too convinced that she really was fine, but at least he didn't pry. "Let's get to Dad's house, then?" She grabbed her keys and her purse from her bedside table and stepped out of her room, making her way out to her car as Sans followed close behind.

He didn't know why she was acting so weird. They got into the car and she drove, he took the passenger seat as always. He watched her carefully. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned the 'bone' thing when she reminded him of Toriel's discomforts. Maybe she thought he wanted that, and where she didn't even remember their kiss--something Sans could not get out of his head--he had made things awkward between them.

He shut his eyes. He was so stupid, he shouldn't have said that. Then, when she stepped out in just her towel, he just... stared. He couldn't help it. She did that in front of him constantly in their hotel room too. Couldn't she just bring her clothes into the bathroom with her? Why did she do this to him? It was torture. It was impossible for him to tear his eyes off her body.

Since their kiss, it was all he could do not to keep his hands on her constantly. He was hoping she had remembered, and maybe they could do something like that again while she was sober, but she didn't. The next day was like it had never even happened. He tended to her hangover as she recovered and nothing was ever mentioned. It was killing him.

"look... pal, if i made you uncomfortable, i didn't mean..."

Frisk looked confused. "Uncomfortable? How?"

"y'know... uh, in the room... implying we would... have intercourse..."

Frisk blinked, "Oh! That, no! Not at all, it's not like that would ever even happen, you know? It was a joke. Ma's just really cautious, hearing all the horror stories about human teenagers getting pregnant so young." She laughed, but it was so obviously forced and borderline hysteric. Sans grimaced, reading her carefully. 

Not like it would ever even happen, you know?

Why the hell not?

Frisk smiled as they finally arrived at Asgore's home on the summit of Mt. Ebott. She absolutely loved the garden that surrounded Asgore's home. She went up to each flower and took a deep breath, enjoying the pleasant aromas each provided. She was sure some of these flowers weren't even meant to be alive in the area or at this time of the year, but somehow her father made it work. She laughed and hurried up to the door, giving it a knock before simply pushing the door open.

"DAD!" Frisk shouted as Sans filed in behind her, looking around the house. Really, he was looking anywhere but at Frisk. Frisk was looking anywhere but at Sans. They were a very awkward pair.

There was a stumbling down some stairs, like Asgore had missed one but recovered. "Frisk! Your mother told me you were back, I'm so glad to see you!" Frisk looked a bit confused, since her mother never would go out of her way to talk to him. She pushed it aside and went to wrap her arms around the big furball.

"The meetings went well, but I'm sure you've been updated already on all of that. I just wanted to visit you since I've been gone for so long. I love the new flowers!" She hummed, "I didn't think the golden flowers from the underground would survive up here."

"Yes, yes, I heard. And I wasn't sure about them either, but I transplanted a few experimentally and they seem to be even healthier up here. Must be something about the sun." Asgore smiled, hugging her tight and lifting her off the ground, giving her a spin. Frisk laughed.

"I'm glad, your garden never could be complete without them."

"Ah! I haven't even offered you any tea yet! Come, let's go to the kitchen." Asgore smiled and beckoned them both to follow to the kitchen where he started a pot of water and prepared three mugs with golden flower teabags. Sans wasn't one for much else but ketchup, but he always took a cup of tea from Asgore. No one had the heart to reject a cup, and very few ever really wanted to.

In the kitchen, Frisk went exploring for some breakfast as well. "Sans," she called, handing him a bottle of ketchup from the fridge. He gave a quiet thanks and took it. Frisk smiled meekly and went back to her searches.

"Pie? Why do you have pie? Did you finally bake a good one?" Frisk asked, looking up at her father. He froze for a second, faint color glowing on his cheeks.

"No--I mean, uh, yes! I did. I baked a good one, and... if you would like a piece, have one! Just don't tell your mother I allowed pie for breakfast." Frisk rolled her eyes, laughing.

"I'm nineteen, Dad, I think I'm old enough to make breakfast decisions without asking Ma first." She hummed thoughtfully, cutting herself a piece and then one for Sans and she took a seat, setting the pie down in front of Sans.

"thanks, bucko." Frisk grimaced at him as he dug into the pie. She took a bite as well.

It tasted exactly like Toriel's. She glanced at Sans and he seemed to be having the same thought, looking over at Asgore with a knowing smile.

"How was your time away from home? You'd never been gone for so long, your mother and I were worried about you getting homesick."

"Hm, you two must have spent some time together worrying, then?" Frisk smirked. She wasn't good at masking her emotions, and Sans gave a light chuckle as Asgore became clearly uncomfortable.

"As parents do when their children leave, of course. We discussed matters." He allowed, taking a seat at the table with Frisk and Sans and sipping on his tea.

Frisk was grinning ear to ear. This was her dream come true, her parents getting back together after so long apart! "So I'm sure you two shared some tea and pie, then?" 

"Naturally, we did. Of course."

Frisk bit her tongue to keep from asking what else the two may have shared. She was too excited, her parents were back together! It was every child's dream! Sans seemed to read her face.

"why don't you talk about your meeting with the president of the united states, eh?" He offered, and Frisk was a bit disheartened that he didn't help her out with her cross-examination of Asgore to determine the exact nature of his relationship with Toriel.

"Yeah... whatever... meeting with the president... bullshit..." Frisk muttered, but she knew she shouldn't press the matter of her parents. Asgore would be mortified and who knows what Toriel would think if he had told her. 

"Frisk, language, please," Asgore looked exhausted suddenly, and Frisk figured she'd let him have his secrets. She knew one day he would tell her at least, and then maybe they could all live together and she could see her parents live happily together.

"Sorry." She ate up her pie instead of teasing further, chatting with her father about all of her meetings. He had his own representatives that immediately reported back to him, of course, but he liked to hear Frisk's side of everything as well. Frisk also liked hearing what he had to say. It had been a very, very long time since Asgore had to deal with human politics, and they were so different he had to adjust. They helped each other navigate it all, with help from humans who were eager to help out monsters.

They chatted for hours, eventually the conversation strayed from politics since the two didn't like to talk about them for too long. Sans remained mostly quiet throughout, interjecting here and there to insert his opinions. That was unusual for him, he loved to talk about politics and things, but this morning he just didn't seem into it.

"Alright, Dad, I think I'm gunna head home. I have to write up a report and send it in by tonight about everything that I'm working on. The press is gunna have a lot of questions to ask me, you know the deal. I gotta get my stories straight so they can't accuse me of lying or misinformation." Frisk sighed, going over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She took a deep breath, breathing in her father's comforting scent. He smelled like soil and flowers and fur. She loved his fuzzy hugs, they were so comforting she could fall asleep there any day. Somehow, he was still second best to the skeleton brothers. She didn't know why, it's just how it was.

"Of course, I will not keep you." Asgore hummed softly, hugging her tightly in return. "Go ahead out to the car. I must discuss a few quick things with Sans, he will be right out."

Sans blinked and looked confused, looking between Frisk and Asgore as though they had conspired something together while he wasn't paying attention. When he looked at Frisk, though, she shrugged cluelessly and left the two men alone, waiting out in the car for Sans to join her, which he did ten minutes later. She was expecting him to look meek or scared or something like that, but he almost looked smug instead.

"What did you two talk about?" Frisk asked curiously, starting the car. Sans only shrugged.

"nothin' much, just stuff." Frisk frowned at him, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, you keep your secrets, Sans. Whatever." She huffed at him, driving away. "You using your shortcut home from my place or you want me to drop you off?"

"you should come by and spend the night. paps missed you a lot, we should do a movie night, maybe? and sleepover. you can do your paperwork over there, paps will leave you alone while you do it. he just wants to be around you." Sans offered thoughtfully. Frisk quirked a brow, looking Sans over.

"I didn't pack clothes for tonight or tomorrow."

"borrow some of mine, i got t-shirts and shit. or paps'. neither of us cares." Frisk gave a heavy sigh.

"Papy sounds pretty needy."

"i know."

Frisk only laughed and nodded. "Fine, I'll spend the night. Hey, wait, weren't we going to Grillby's today? I thought you had mentioned that, I think?" She remembered, starting up the car and pulling out to get on her way to Sans and Papyrus' home.

"eh. not feelin' up to seein' grillbz today. it's already been some sorta morning so I think we should just head back to my house and watch stupid movies with papyrus while eating junk food."

"That sounds like every single night we had in America." Frisk pointed out with a soft laugh, keeping her eyes on the road but she had to stop herself from looking over at Sans, wanting to see his smiling face.

"yeah, but this time it's with papyrus. it's completely different."

Frisk gave him that one.

Before Frisk drove to the house, she stopped at the grocery store and picked up some junk food for the night. Pizza, chicken, chips, cookies, soda, etc. Then she finally drove back to the house. She smiled at the sight of it. Basically, the brothers had recreated their home from the underground on the surface. It was a cute, compact cabin but without the shed they'd had. Where Papyrus spent a significantly less amount of time capturing humans, he felt they simply didn't need it. They had also made the house quite a bit taller to accommodate for their changes.

Papyrus emerged from the house as soon as he heard them pull into the driveway. "HUMAN!" He hurried to the car and grabbed the groceries, "I AM SO GLAD YOU HAVE ARRIVED. SANS TOLD ME OF THE NIGHT WE SHALL HAVE TOGETHER AND I AM EAGER TO COOK PLENTY OF GARBAGE SUSTENANCE FOR YOU TO CONSUME WHILE WE WATCH FILMS I HAVE METICULOUSLY CHOSEN OUT OF OUR LIMITED COLLECTION." Frisk grinned. Papyrus never failed to make her feel better.

"I'll help you cook, we can do it together." She insisted, hopping out of the car and following Papyrus in as he went to the kitchen with the groceries. Luckily, Frisk had convinced the brothers to not make their sink quite so high this time. It was still taller to accommodate Papyrus, much of the kitchen was, but at least Frisk only needed a step-stool to reach most things rather than a ladder. "Oh, shi--p. Ship captain." Frisk caught herself quickly, she hated cursing in front of him. Everything about him screamed purity, so cursing in front of him seemed plain wrong. "I accidentally got chicken wings with bones in 'em."

"THAT'S ALRIGHT, HUMAN. I DO NOT MIND, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH EATING MEAT WITH BONES IN IT, REALLY. DID SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU THINK OTHERWISE? BECAUSE THEY'RE WRONG. IF SOMEONE DOES, JUST TELL THEM THE GRRREAT PAPYRUS SAYS IT IS FINE. NYEHEHEH!"

Frisk smiled and gave a soft laugh as she started the oven for the pizza and wings, then grabbed bowls to pour the cookies and chips into for easy access throughout the movie. Papyrus already put the soda in the freezer to make it cold faster.

"What movies did you pick out?" She wondered as she set everything out on baking sheets and waited for the oven to preheat.

"HUMAN, I HAVE DISCOVERED AN AMAZING COMPANY THAT MAKES THE BEST MOVIES. HAVE YOU HEARD OF A MR. DISNEY?"

When everything was cooked, Frisk set it all up on the coffee table as Papyrus put in the first movie. Frozen . It felt appropriate, given that they had all met in Snowdin. Frisk sighed and settled into the couch comfortably between the two brothers. Almost immediately, Sans was resting on his hand and half asleep. Neither complained about the movie selection, which included Frozen, Inside Out, Brave, Up, Moana, Zootopia, and The Little Mermaid. Frisk could have offered him others from her personal favorites of Disney movies, but she enjoyed pretending she had never seen any of them before. Papyrus spent ninety percent of the time checking that Frisk was paying attention and appreciating the emotions. 

At one point, Papyrus shouted at Sans to stay awake and watch the most heartbreaking parts of the movies. They had just started the movie Up. Papyrus made sure the two were paying attention to the beginning. As Frisk watched, she teared up and decided to quell her emotions with some wings. She dug in eagerly, eating the meat off the thin bones and then sucking off what remained of any sauce and meat.

She had eaten five by the time she noticed Sans starting at her with an unreadable expression. Frisk turned and stared at in him return with a small bone still poking from between her lips. Quietly, she pulled it from her mouth and set it down on her plate, a blush rising to her cheeks. She noticed Sans was glowing ever so faintly, mostly over his cheekbones and there was another focus underneath the lower part of his hoodie. She noticed his pupils were tiny pinpricks in the center of his sockets, fixated on her mouth.

"Uh..."

"OH MY GOODNESS." Papyrus suddenly cried out. It was the scene where the old man was at his wife's gravesite. "TRUE LOVE CUT SO SHORT! GOOD THING MONSTERS SIMPLY DO NOT DIE OF OLD AGE UNLESS THEY HAVE CHILDREN." He stated through his orange tears. Frisk leaned against Papyrus and hugged him, letting his little statement process.

Didn't age until they had children. Humans and monsters, so far, were incapable of having a child together, which meant that if a human were to get into a relationship with a monster...

Frisk felt her heart fall into her stomach. She imagined herself, silver-haired and cripple in a hospital bed with Sans sitting beside her, the same as the day the had met.

"OH! DON'T WORRY, HUMAN, AT THE END OF THE MOVIE HE IS HAPPY ONCE AGAIN! WATCH, WATCH, THE PECULIAR ROUND CHILD IS MY FAVORITE." Frisk blinked, not realizing tears had filled her eyes.

"Uh... o-oh, good. I was worried." Frisk took a deep breath and sighed, grimacing. She could still feel Sans' eyes on her, so she glanced back at him. That made him look away quickly, fixating onto the television screen.

As the night wore on and Frisk had her fair share of the junk food, with Sans and Papyrus picking at it but avoiding the chicken wings at all costs, Frisk was getting drowsy. Sans was still awake due to Papyrus' constant nudging him to make sure he was paying attention. Inside Out was playing now, and Frisk was doing everything she could to avoid her food coma. She grunted and stood, leaving to grab a ridiculous amount of pillows. When she returned, she shoved them all against Papyrus to cover any hard bone edges that might make her uncomfortable. Papyrus looked curious but didn't question her. Frisk grinned and curled up on her newly-fluffed friend. Papyrus smiled in return and wrapped his arms around her. Sans glanced over at them again. His face was unreadable as he looked the two over and then shut his eyes and turned away from the two. Frisk disregarded him, knowing they would have to have a discussion later anyway.

Frisk went back to watching the movie. Papyrus' energy made it impossible for her to fall asleep. Each exciting thing that happened had him shaking her and whispering obvious things in her ear. His whispering was only just under a normal person's talking voice, but Sans and Frisk had grown so used to it that it didn't bother them. As the night started winding down, however, and the movie was over and Papyrus started chatting with Sans about the movie to test that he was paying attention, Papyrus started petting Frisk's head.

Frisk relaxed immediately as Papyrus' glove-covered fingers massaged her scalp and brushed through her hair. He did it absently, as it was soothing for the both of them. Frisk had always enjoyed cuddling with the skeleton brothers, platonically of course. Ever since she was a kid, new to the surface, Frisk had a habit of going to them for comfort and would frequently fall asleep on them. Papyrus never knew what to do at first, since he was so energetic and constantly wanted to be moving, so he developed a habit of petting her head so that he could remain moving in some manner and she would sleep easier. Sans was basically just a living pillow and had no problems coping with a sleeping Frisk.

Papyrus asked Sans to get up and change the movie to the next one, which Sans obliged as he noted how comfortable Frisk was. She was basically half asleep, and as The Little Mermaid started as the last movie of the night, the soothing tones overtook her and she fell asleep in Papyrus' lap.

Chapter Text

"I'm just trying to protect you."

Frisk stood in a golden hall. A skull hovered before her, glaring at her. One after another appeared in a row. She watched as blue magic developed in their mouths. She gave a weak cry and started running, trying to be faster than the massive blue lasers that shot out at her. She wasn't fast enough and she screamed as they tore her apart, her soul shattering.

"I just want you to understand."

She was alive again, back in her place in the hall. A barrage of white bones burst through the walls and up through the floor. Frisk tried to dodge, to deflect, to get away but she wasn't successful. They tore through her flesh and bone. One ripped her arm from her body, more gored through her legs. She couldn't move. More bones shot up from the ground where she laid, piercing through her shoulders and her stomach. She cried out, but another silenced her by bursting through her throat. Finally, a bone fell from the ceiling and broke her soul in two.

"Please just listen."

Same place again. Her soul glowed bright blue. Her stomach sank, the sensation of flying through the air unhindered made her feel like she was going to vomit. That was, until she hit the ceiling with a sickening crack. She was only there for a second before she was in freefall back to the ground, smacking into the rubble. Things were broken, she could tell, but she was done--or so she thought. She was lifted and thrown to the right. She hit the corner of a window awning, right in the small of her back. She felt a snap and pain shot all the way up her spine. She fell to the ground again, only to be picked up like a ragdoll and thrown into the opposite wall. Her shoulder crumbled on impact. Pain racked through her, and she was unable to fight anymore and she begged to die. Everything her body did was excruciating. She looked up, searching for something, anything, to kill her. Instead, she saw Sans standing above her, his eye glowing blue and yellow. He grinned down at her maliciously, he was enjoying this. 

"He is not innocent."

Frisk woke in a cold sweat. The tv screen was on the loop of the menu screen for Zootopia. The brothers had made it through The Little Mermaid it seemed. Her body was sore with the awkward position in which she had fallen asleep. She gave a shaky breath, a hand going to her shoulder to be absolutely sure it was still in place. She wiggled her toes to prove she could. That was far too real.

She moved very slowly, not wanting to wake the sleeping Papyrus or Sans but she desperately needed to relieve her joints. She grunted softly as feeling suddenly returned to her foot and the tingles were excruciating.

It took a minute, but she finally managed to get free of Papyrus' embrace and she got to her feet, taking a moment to adjust to the darkness and letting her foot wake up. She thanked the stars that Papyrus didn't so much as rouse at the change. She pressed her lips together at the tightness in her spine and, without thinking, arched back and heard six distinct pops.

"are you fucking kiddin' me?"

It took everything in her not to scream, but she jumped right out of her skin when she heard Sans' voice. She took a deep breath and rested her hand over her heart to calm down before turning and looking at him.

"Sorry," she went to sit back down, feeling like her knees were ready to buckle beneath her, but Sans stood instead and took her arm. Everything felt fuzzy, the same feeling her foot felt when waking up, and then they were in his bedroom. The number of socks in there was horrifying. "What the hell, Sans?" She sounded utterly exhausted.

"what the hell me? what the hell you. you've been weird ever since we started that trip. since you got blackout drunk. i thought it was just being stuck in a hotel room together, but now we're home and you're still bein' fucking weird. i'm tired of it, and you're going to tell me what the hell is going on." He looked exhausted and frustrated and Frisk felt awful for putting him through this. She pulled her arm out of his grip like he had burned her, stepping backward until she was pressed against the wall.

"I don't know what you're--"

"don't. lie. to. me."

Frisk pressed her lips together awkwardly. "What time is it anyway?"

"time for you to start talkin'." Sans was having none of her deflection and she was sure cracking her back hadn't given him a very sunny disposition either. He stepped forward, giving them only a foot of space between. Frisk looked up at him. What did she say? That she remembered the kiss? Did she tell him about her nightmares? He had been so relieved when she finally stopped having them, though the contents were never mentioned. She was almost ashamed of them. She was certainly scared of them.

"I..." She had to decide. The kiss or the nightmares. The one she just had was probably the worst, and she was terrified of him. Seeing him, one eye bright blue and yellow, staring down at her with that manic grin. That sadistic, evil grin of enjoyment... She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Choose. "I remember the kiss."

Sans blinked and stared at her. He looked her over, as though she were lying. Like he wanted her to be lying.

"I remember the whole night, actually. Uhm, I wasn't blackout drunk... so, I remembered the whole night. I've been lying to you." She stared down at her feet in shame. There was no reason for him to know about her nightmares.

Sans was quiet for a long time until he finally whispered a quiet "shit".

"i'm sorry. i know you'd regret it and i did it anyway. you were just so upset, and i just..." 

Shut up.

"i was already frustrated from the day, and you were beggin' me to kiss you and you sounded pretty reasonable, y'know?"

Shut up.

"i just--fuck, i was wrong and i can't make up any real excuses."

"Shut up." Frisk finally spoke, gripping his hoodie and pulling him down to her, kissing him to keep him quiet. Sans grunted and pulled away quickly, looking confused.

"you're really messing with my head, here."

Frisk pressed herself back against the wall, holding her head. "I'm sorry, Sans. I really am. I didn't... That night, I was drunk, but it wasn't the first time I ever wanted you to kiss me." She admitted, "I don't regret the kiss. Not really, I was just embarrassed and I was thinking maybe you would resent me for making you do it, or something? I'm not entirely sure why I lied. Maybe it was just easier." She looked ashamed of herself.

"and the kiss just now?"

"Ah... to get you to stop apologizing mainly."

Sans quirked a brow bone, "secondarily, then?"

"Because I wanted to kiss you sober."

Sans let out a breath and nearly crumpled onto her. He rested his head against the wall and placed a hand on her cheek, the other bracing him on the wall behind her. "what are you doin' to me?" His fingers played with little stray hairs that had made their way out of her ponytail. Frisk inhaled and wrapped her arms around him gently. His fingers paused on her cheekbone.

"Sans?"

"yeah, kiddo?"

"Did... did you want to kiss me too?"

His fingers found her chin and he tipped her face up so they were looking at each other.

"for years." He murmured, his thumb playing with her bottom lip. 

"So... do you want to kiss me now?"

Sans barked out a laugh, "are you fucking kiddin' me? are you really asking?" Frisk flushed in embarrassment. His smile softened and he pulled away slightly to give him more space to lean down closer to her. His nasal crest pressed against her nose. "it takes so much from me not to kiss you every waking hour. not touching you is agony. i want you so badly, frisk."

Her heart gave a pathetic little leap when he said her name. It was so rare that he ever did, always calling her 'kid', or 'kiddo', 'pal', 'scout', 'bucko'. Hearing her name from his lips did wicked things to her, especially in this setting.

I'm just trying to protect you.

Frisk took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat. Her dream had been so vivid and painful, but she shoved it down. She was going to enjoy being with Sans. She was going to kiss him, and it was going to be amazing. Her dream didn't matter. It wasn't real.

Frisk let a smile spread across her lips and she got on her tip-toes, closing the gap between them and kissing him. He gave a satisfied groan against her lips. He slipped his fingers behind her knees and in one swift motion pinned her to the wall by pressing his chest against her, then lifted her legs and hooked them onto his hipbones. Frisk yelped in surprise but refused to break their kiss. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he grabbed her ass in fascination. As much as he loved where her bones were pressed right against her skin, he was truly entranced by her more squishy parts.

There was a moment where Frisk pulled away for air, much to Sans' disappointment. He didn't have to breathe, but he did out of some instinctual reflex. He forgot to frequently and forgot Frisk had to.

I just want you to understand.

"frisk..." his voice was low and heavy and drove her wild. One arm remained under her ass, the other wrapped around her back as he pulled her off the wall and went over to his bed. He threw her down. She giggled softly and looked up at him. He looked down at her.

Please just listen.

Sans crawled on top of her, grabbing her shirt and lifting it off of her as she lifted her arms and squirmed out of it. Her body shuddered with anticipation. She stared up at him as he showered her exposed skin with kisses, his hands explored her and grabbed and prodded and poked and pinched whatever he could reach. Frisk tried to keep quiet. He returned to her lips to help her.

His hand went to her throat.

He is not innocent.

He brushed his fingers along the back of her neck and then over his shoulder blades. Her stomach twisted, she couldn't breathe. He ran his tongue along her lip and she gave a strangled sound, putting her hands on his sternum and pushing him up off her. He blinked in surprise but obeyed quickly, looking her over. Her body language had completely changed.

"uh...?"

Frisk gave a weak whimper, her whole body trembling as she sat up and hugged herself.

dirty brother killer.

Her body ached, her back and shoulder spasming as though her dream had really happened. It was hard to breathe or speak.

"we don't have to--it's fine, i didn't meant to push you too far..."

Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it. She shut her eyes and shook her head, as though that might shake away the horrible memories. Memories? Dreams. They were dreams, just dreams... Sans took her shoulders again and she flinched back.

"whoa, whoa, okay..." He retreated, sitting at the end of the bed and just watching her. "we got more to talk about, or...?"

I'm just trying to protect you.

I just need you to understand.

Please just listen.

He is not innocent.

Frisk looked up at Sans, she felt herself get feverish. She opened her mouth, he deserved an explanation. She didn't want him to feel badly, but her whole body was screaming to get away from him with no explanation. She didn't understand.

"SANS? HUMAN?" Papyrus called groggily from the living room. Frisk jumped, looking at the shut door that blocked Papyrus from seeing them. She straightened herself out, grabbing her shirt and putting it on, and cleared her throat.

"he'll go to bed on his own..."

"You should go to him." Frisk murmured uncomfortably.

"frisk--" 

"Please."

Sans rubbed his face in complete frustration, but obeyed. "comin', paps." He called back out, stepping out from his bedroom and leaving Frisk to her thoughts.

Sans made his way out to his brother, who was currently working on removing pillows from the gaps in his bones. "she woke up, figured i'd let her go back to bed in my room so she didn't disturb you."

"HOW VERY THOUGHTFUL OF YOU, I ONLY WORRIED A MOMENT WHEN SHE WAS NOT ON ME BUT I FORGET WHAT FINICKY SLEEPERS HUMANS ARE." He smiled as he got to his feet and began tidying up, putting the movies away and the dishes in the sink. Sans made a quiet sound of acknowledgment. "SHALL I SET UP THE COUCH FOR YOU OR THE HUMAN?" 

"N-No need, Papy, I have to head home. I just realized, uhm, all my paperwork is there and I d-didn't work on it at all yesterday." Frisk emerged from the room, breathless and shaking.

"TRULY? SHALL I DRIVE YOU HOME, THEN? YOU LOOK EXHAUSTED! ARE YOU WELL?" Papyrus hurried over to her, his hands fluttering over her body helplessly. Frisk gave a weak laugh and embraced him quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"IT'S TWO AM, THAT IS VERY EARLY FOR HUMANS, ISN'T IT? SANS CAN DRI--"

"NO." Frisk gasped before she could stop it. Both brothers were silent, Sans in particular looked ready to off himself. His hands were shoved into his hoodie, the hood pulled over his head. He quietly went to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. Papyrus shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, that... I can drive myself home, Papy. I'll be fine."

"DID SOMETHING HAPPEN BETWEEN YOU AND SANS?"

Frisk grimaced. "We're fine. Everything's fine. I'm sorry, I really have to go."

"MMM... OKAY, JUST... CALL ME WHEN YOU'RE HOME SAFE? PLEASE?"

"I will, I promise." She assured him and left, getting into her car and driving home.

Sans went through the last two months over and over and over again. He couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong. They kissed one night, and Frisk acted slightly more awkward around him for like two days. Then she was pretty much fine, just squirmy around more romantic settings. The rest of their trip went fine aside from that, she pretended not to remember the kiss and Sans pretended it didn't happen. Sure, he noticed more things about her since then, about her body language and he paid more attention to what she wore and he watched her lips when she spoke. She didn't notice any of it though.

Then they got home. Maybe it was the texts? He had missed her, having her in the same room had been soothing. There was no worrying about where she was and if she was safe. Her breathing at night was the perfect white noise. He had a hard time sleeping without it, so he let her know. Maybe that was her tipping point.

She was jumpy all day today. He startled her, showing up in her room when she texted him. She was shaking. She acted like him being in her room was this wild concept, but she still walked out of the bathroom in front of him on only her towel. Did she think because he was a monster that he didn't appreciate a bare body or something? She acted like she didn't really want to spend the night here in the first place.

Then tonight. They were kissing, he was into it, he thought she was into it. She helped him take her shirt off. Suddenly she was freaking out and pushing him off.

It didn't make sense.

Nothing about this made any sense to him.

What was he doing wrong?

The first thing Frisk did when she got home was call Papyrus. He was thrilled to know she got home safe and wished her a good night, he was sorry he had kept her from her very important work. She smiled. How could Papyrus legitimately never once fail to make her feel better?

When they hung up, she went straight to bed and fell asleep.

"Y... you... really hate me that much? Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here... Not you... But them! Ha... ha..."

Frisk cried. "Ma! I... I didn't..."

"I believe in you... you can do better... even if you don't think so... I promise." Papyrus disintegrated before her, the dust blowing in a gust over her. He got into her hair, her clothes, and she even inhaled some.

She didn't know what to say. Papyrus was dead? How did he die? She looked down at her hands. She was absolutely covered in dust, so much so it was like a second skin.

"If you... if you think I'm gunna give up hope... you're wrong! Cause I've got my friends behind me! Alphys told me she was gunna watch me fight you, and if anything went wrong, she would... evacuate everyone! By now she's called Asgore, and told him to absorb the six human souls... and with that power... this world will live on."

Frisk whimpered, watching as Undyne melted into a puddle before her and then disappeared. What was she talking about? Stopping her? What did Frisk do?

"Rotten ingredients can always be discarded."

"Ngh... guess... you don't wanna join my fan club?"

Frisk felt ready to vomit. Why were all of her friends saying these things? Why were they dying? Who had hurt them? She looked down at her hands and found a dust-covered knife. She doubled over and screamed. 

"guess that's it, huh? ... just... don't say i didn't warn ya... welp... i'm goin' to grillby's... papyrus, do you want anything?"

"Why not settle this over a nice cup of tea?"

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

Frisk screamed. She was absolutely covered in the dust of everyone she loved. She didn't understand why, but at the same time there was underlying satisfaction. Why would she feel this way? Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Muffet, Mettaton, Sans, Asgore. She gasped and sobbed, dropping the knife in her hand.

What the hell was going on?!

"Ask him to tell you what happened. Or I will."

Frisk awoke with a start, broken out in a cold sweat once more. She groaned and pulled her shirt off since it was soaking wet. She hurried into her shower, feeling too gross to stay in bed with the state she was in.

She was absolutely miserable. Guilt ate at her stomach.

There was no way this happened. There was no way she killed her friends. There was no way she could ever even dream of cutting down any of them. She couldn't... she couldn't...

She sat under the water for what felt like forever. She made it as hot as she could, feeling it scorch over her skin. To her it felt good, like it was cleansing her soul as well. She needed it. She grabbed the soap and started scrubbing her skin as hard as she could, all over. It was like she felt the dust on her skin still. She didn't kill them. She couldn't hurt them. She would never hurt them.

She choked out a sob. Why would she be dreaming such horrible things? What was with the warnings? What could Sans have possibly done? She just saw herself killing him... She shuddered, curling into a ball at the bottom of the shower. She let the scalding water run over her back. Why wasn't she allowed to be happy with Sans?

The two kisses they'd shared so far had been the best two moments of her life. What she felt in those moments had been so real, and so wonderful... 

"Why can't I be happy?" Frisk whispered to herself. Was she doomed to this torment for wanting to be with him? What did Chara mean, he wasn't innocent? She remembered the dreams, of Sans throwing her and stabbing her and mangling her body over and over again.

When the water started getting cold, Frisk finally turned it off and stepped out.

She stood up tall in her room and took a deep breath, steeling herself. "They are nothing but nightmares." She decided. "Just. Nightmares." She didn't kill anyone. She didn't hurt anyone. The things she was seeing didn't happen.  She was just scared of finally being with Sans, and she was psyching herself out by making things up. Chara was gone. It wasn't real. 

Nothing was real.

She picked up her phone, about to text Sans, when she realized it was only six AM. There was no way he would be awake.

For a moment, she wondered if he would even answer the phone for her. After what she did, she wondered if maybe he was done with her. She wouldn't be surprised, she definitely wouldn't blame him. She felt horrible for freaking out the way she did. She picked up her phone anyway.

You: I'm so sorry.

She tossed her phone onto her bed and got dressed for the day, then set herself up at her desk and got to work on all the paperwork she was supposed to do yesterday. She groaned as her stomach growled around eight AM. She got up from her desk and headed out to the kitchen, throwing her hair up into a ponytail as she made herself some toast and poured some orange juice into a cup. A few moments later Toriel made her way out to. She gave a cry of surprise at seeing Frisk. 

"FRISK!" She shouted. Frisk blinked, hearing another sound down the hallway that abruptly stopped.

"...Yes?" She munched on her toast, browsing her internet on her phone absently.

"W-well, I did not expect you to be here! I received a text message from Sans that said you would be with him and Papyrus all night, s-so I was expecting an empty house this morning! Silly me!" She was speaking quite loudly for such a quiet morning. Frisk was too tired to think anything of it.

"Yeah, I got home early this morning to finish up a few papers." She murmured, taking another bite of her toast as Toriel stared blankly at her tea kettle. Frisk sighed and stood, preparing two cups of tea and taking one. Toriel hesitated.

"Thank you, my child, for preparing me one cup of tea. One cup, that is only for myself. I alone will drink everything in the cup." Frisk quirked an eyebrow, until it all fell into place.

Asgore was absolutely, definitely here. Frisk let a grin spread across her face.

"Course, Ma. Just for you. I'll just, you know, pack up all my things from the table and go to my room, I'll be there for the next five hours probably so the house will really be allll yours, I'll have my headphones in, you know, in case you wanted to watch Netflix super loud or something." She couldn't stop her giggling as she grabbed her phone, juice, tea, and plate and hurried out of the kitchen and went back to her room.

She giggled to herself as she shut her door. Her parents were back together!

She grabbed her phone, ready to text Sans all about it. Then she stopped herself. He still hadn't responded to her apology, she didn't want to start acting like everything was normal before she even knew if he still wanted to talk to her.

Frisk opened up her phone. She glanced at the text messages, wondering if he had responded and she just didn't get an alert.

Seen: 6:04 AM

Oh.

Frisk felt her heart sink to her toes. He must be ignoring her. He was lazy, but he always responded to her texts. She sighed.

It was just as well he ignored her. Perhaps taking a small break from seeing each other for a little bit would be for the best.

Except she already missed him.

Chapter Text

"Undyne!" Frisk couldn't hold back her excitement as she bolted for the former Head of the Royal Guard right as she emerged from her car. She had texted Frisk to come outside with absolutely no context. This couldn't have been a better surprise.

"Hey there, punk!" Undyne grinned and caught Frisk as she leapt into her for a hug. She laughed, scrubbing Frisk's head and ruining her hair. Frisk didn't mind, she was too excited to see her friend. She hadn't seen Undyne since before her trip to America with Sans. She looked into the car curiously. 

"Where's Alphys?" She wondered, pulling away from Undyne and inspecting the contents of the car. It was only filled with Undyne's things. She frowned, glancing up at Undyne. "Everything okay?"

Undyne shrugged, looking away from Frisk. "Uh. She's busy. At the lab."

Frisk looked her over. "Why aren't you with her?"

"Uhh..." She shifted uncomfortably, scrubbing the back of her neck and grimacing. She clearly didn't want to be talking about this, but Frisk needed to know what was going on. Alphys and Undyne were so perfect together. If they didn't work, how was there any hope for anyone else?

"Are you and Al okay?" Frisk pried softly, putting her hand on Undyne's arm in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. Undyne looked down at her feet.

"I... I got tired of being cooped up in that dumb hotel twenty-four seven. I was completely alone constantly, I got to see her maybe four hours a day and she spends the whole time sleeping... She's so busy with that science shit she does at the lab, I..." Undyne took a deep breath, "I told her I was coming home. She could either come with me or not." Her face fell, "She stayed at the lab."

Frisk embraced Undyne once more and channeled her inner Papyrus, "Well, you're home now! You're here with me and Papy, and we can all do something together! Maybe have a movie night!" She offered, wanting to make Undyne feel better. She grabbed Undyne's hand and led her inside, her other hand pulling out her cell phone. "I'll text Papy, he'll be right over and we'll have a great time, okay?"

Undyne followed Frisk inside obediently. "You're forgetting Sans." She pointed out thoughtfully. Frisk grimaced and gave a sigh of annoyance.

"I'm not forgetting anyone." She muttered and Undyne looked curious. They reached Frisk's room and stepped inside.

"Looks like you're having some relationship problems too." She commented, taking a seat on Frisk's bed. Frisk shrugged, sitting down beside her.

"I mean, it's not like we were ever in a relationship or anything." Undyne snorted, but Frisk ignored it, "Anyway, he hasn't talked to me in two weeks and I dunno..." She trailed off as she pulled out her phone, inviting Papyrus to come over and hang out with them. He replied swiftly, offering to bring Sans. Then, without giving her time to reply, quickly said Sans did not feel up to going out and would not be coming anyway. He assured her he would get ready and be over shortly.

"What? What'd he do to you!? You need me to beat him up!? I will! Just say the word and he's a dead man!" Undyne was on her feet, a spear appearing in her fist out of nowhere. Frisk yelped seeing the spear, waving her hands in an attempt to pacify her.

"No, no! No, no, no! It was all my fault, really! I don't even blame him! I... I really don't want to get into it, Dye. Can we just leave it alone?" Frisk grimaced. She glanced at her conversation with Sans briefly.

You: I'm so sorry.

Seen: 2 weeks ago

Frisk gave a soft huff at it. She didn't understand why he wouldn't respond to her. She didn't understand why he wouldn't say anything at all to her. He was even actively avoiding her now. When she frowned suddenly Undyne noticed. She looked halfway between murderous and manic.

She raised her spear in the air. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is, no one ignores my punk! No one hurts your feelings, ever! We are BEST FRIENDS! BEST FRIENDS FIGHT FOR EACH OTHER!" She declared, brandishing the spear in a way that made Frisk fear for her home's structure.

Frisk gave a weak smile, "Best friends also... uh... sit down and watch stupid movies together. A-and at the same time, they eat junk food and talk about the last three months of each others' lives to catch up?" She offered meekly. Undyne calmed down and nodded.

"Best friends do that too! Alright!" She grinned.

Frisk's phone chirped and she glanced at it. She had a text message from Papyrus.

PapyKins: UNFORTUNATELY I WILL BE UNABLE TO ARRIVE TONIGHT FOR FUN SHENANIGANS WITH YOU AND UNDYNE. OTHER THINGS HAVE ARISEN THAT REQUIRE MY IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. PLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES. THE GREAT PAPYRUS THANKS YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

Frisk stared at it for a moment. Was Papyrus really canceling on her? Papyrus never, ever canceled. Never.

Maybe... Sans had gotten to him as well.

Undyne noticed Frisk staring at the screen and snatched it from her, taking a read. 

"That... that DINGUS! How DARE he cancel on us! HHNNNNNGHHH!" She plucked up her spear once more and chucked it out Frisk's open window--a window that she didn't actually know was open, it just happened to be so by chance and pure luck--then she looked at Frisk, a determined grin on her face. "Alright! That's it! I have decided, Frisk! You and I! We will put on our BEST AND SEXIEST CLOTHING! We will go ALL OUT, and COMPLETELY DOLL OURSELVES UP! And we will GO OUT! Tonight! And we will seduce WHOMSOEVER WE DESIRE! Because we are two BEAUTIFUL, INDEPENDENT WOMEN! FUHUHUHUU!"

Frisk blinked as Undyne laughed maniacally, running out to her car and bringing in two bags and then running back inside with them.

"FUHUHUHUHUHU! Let's get ready! Come on, Frisk!"

Undyne had arrived at her house at six PM. By the time they were finished completely getting ready it was eight PM, which was a moderately appropriate time to go out and get completely hammered, right? Frisk grabbed a tiny purse and filled it with her phone, ID, her lipstick, and cash for her drinks.

"You still sure about this, Dye?" Frisk wondered as she looked over at her friend. She had to admit, Undyne looked absolutely amazing. Her figure was in top form and it was hugged in all the right places by a red and black, leather and satin dress that ended just under her ass. Most of her long red hair was pulled into a curled ponytail, with just the bangs left out and covering her eyepatch. Undyne laughed.

"Fuhuhu! Of course I'm sure!" She insisted, finishing up her makeup in the mirror. She went with her red eyeshadow as usual with dramatic black eyeliner and dark red lipstick. She grinned at herself, revealing pearly white chompers. When they made it to the surface, Undyne decided to fix her teeth by yanking them all out and letting new ones grow in white and sharp. Frisk felt entirely inadequate next to her. 

She wore a simple, little black dress that reached her mid-thigh and hugged her body, but she was curvier than Undyne was, and she wasn't nearly as sexy. She had done her makeup with a purple smokey eye and dark purple lipstick with heavy contour and even fake eyelashes, which she almost never did but Undyne kept encouraging her to 'go harder'. 

Undyne finished her makeup and stood, flexing her muscles and laughing. "Alright! Let's go! Hell yeah! First stop, pregame at Grillby's!" Did Undyne ever not yell? Frisk wondered that a lot, then she just smiled. Her confidence was contagious as she and Frisk climbed into their taxi--there was absolutely no way either of them were going to be able to drive home tonight.  Frisk was glad to be home, where the drinking age was eighteen rather than twenty-one in America. Frisk clutched her purse tight as the taxi brought them to Grillby's.

Undyne stopped by every single table first to say hello to all of her former guardsmen and a few stragglers, catching up with the patrons as Frisk went right up to Grillby and greeted him happily. He waved to her in a friendly manner and fixed up her usual drink.

Magic liquor was a million times better than human liquor. Frisk loved it because it hardly even tasted like alcohol. The only downside was that it hit humans hard and fast, but Frisk didn't mind. It didn't give her as bad of a hangover as human alcohol did, and it didn't make her vomit if she drank too much. Frisk looked down at the shot Grillby placed in front of her. It was a cool blue color and bubbled gently. 

Frisk threw it back quickly, immediately feeling the effects. She usually came to Grillby's after a hard day of work and she just wanted to relax, and that's what the shot did for her. It sent warmth throughout her veins and she felt everything relax. Her body and her mind lost all of the tension she'd been harboring. She didn't think about Sans or politics. She didn't think about anything but being there, with Undyne, and having a good night. 

Undyne joined Frisk and ordered her own shots. She ordered several, demanding a mystery selection that would help the two women have a great night.

"We're gunna get ourselves some tonight! Hell yeah!" Undyne shouted and Grillby just looked at them with a light nod, mixing up their shots and setting out a rainbow of colors and textures in front of them.

Frisk grabbed an orange shot that looked like it was made of fire and Undyne grabbed a purple one. They counted down and threw them back together. Frisk's body felt like it was ablaze and she hissed, but it was a good burning. She shuddered at the sudden burst of confidence she had. She noted that Undyne seemed to mellow ever so slightly. Frisk had two more shots, a pink one and a lavender, and Undyne double fisted the rest of the colors. 

"WOO!" Undyne shouted, jumping up from her stool, "Pregame finished! Alright, Frisk! We're going to the CLUB! WE'RE GUNNA GET LAID!" She flexed her muscles, grunting and punching the air, pumped for what the rest of the night had in store for them. Frisk watched as Grillby pulled out his phone, typing something. She thought nothing of it. 

"Okay! Let's go!" Frisk agreed, letting Undyne take her hand and pull her out of Grillby's and hailing another taxi and drive them to the hottest club in New New Home.

LEGS, an MTT Night Club. Frisk giggled as she and Undyne walked underneath large replicas of Mettaton's legs to get in. They were just so ridiculous, but the club she admitted was extraordinary. Mettaton knew how to throw a party. Frisk grinned and scanned the dance floor, then looked up. In a station above the dancefloor was Napstablook as the DJ. Frisk loved how he looked now. When they reached the surface, Mettaton demanded Alphys make Napstablook a body as well, so she did. It matched Napstablook nicely--the metals he was made of were in cool blue tones and he was fashioned after an average-looking human male. Napstablook's only real request was that he had four arms to better work his station, and he only ever wore a plain white t-shirt and ripped jeans much to his cousin's disappointment.

"Look! Undyne, it's Nap!" Frisk pointed up at Napstablook excitedly. Undyne followed her finger to find him. She grinned and waved at her friend, shouting up at him trying to gain his attention.

"AYY! NEIGHBORINO! HEY!" Frisk was shocked when Napstablook actually heard her and looked down. He cracked a sheepish smile and waved down at them. "PLAY US THE HOT SHIT, WILL YA!? WE'RE GETTIN' LAID!" Frisk would normally blush at such an outburst, but with the shots still burning in her chest and giving her a ridiculous amount of bravery, she was simply too intoxicated to care. Napstablook gave them a thumbs up and the music eased into a different, throbbing beat.

"Hell yes!" Frisk laughed, feeling Undyne put her hand on her lower back and guide her up to the bar. Undyne's hand didn't move from its spot as they ordered a few drinks. Frisk felt tingles run along her spine as Undyne made her order, requesting shots 'for a good time'. The bartender, another robot who looked perpetually enraged, looked between the two and mixed them each up a pink drink that had bubbles in the center in the shape of hearts. The two drank them without question. Frisk felt warm in very... specific places. Undyne demanded another round and the robot made them an electric purple shot that sparked in the glass. 

"Alright, last one! Then the DANCE FLOOR!" Undyne handed Frisk the last shot and they threw them back. "WOO!" She grabbed Frisk's hand and pulled her out to the center of the floor where the two would get the most attention.

Frisk started dancing without a second thought, moving with the wubs of the music as it pierced through to her core. She loved the sensations mixed with how the shots made her feel. They played with her emotions, washing away the stress and anxiety that made her so scared all the time. She loved that she could just feel good. She shut her eyes and shook her hips.

A moment later she felt two hands grip her waist. Frisk's eyes shot open and she looked over her shoulder, seeing Undyne pressed against her. "Look at 'em, they're staring." She murmured huskily in Frisk's ear. She looked around, noticing how the monsters and humans surrounding them turned their heads. Frisk grinned and reached back, placing her hands on the back of Undyne's neck and grinding back against her. Her heart pounded in her chest in tune with the music. Undyne's hands moved down to her hips, holding her closer. "This is so fuckin' hot, yeah?" Frisk's body reacted to Undyne's voice with fervor. 

"Fuck yes," She was breathless as the music picked up and the two gyrated along with it. More and more monsters stopped what they were doing to look at the two. The former captain of the royal guard dancing with the savior. The angel. The human.

"Isn't she dating the royal scientist?"

"Pretty sure the human is with the funny skeleton."

"No one fucking cares, just look at them!"

"That's so hot..."

Frisk ignored the comments she overheard. It didn't matter. None of it mattered. She felt her soul burn with determination and she twisted around in Undyne's arms to dance with her face to face. Undyne's hands slid over her body smoothly as they moved, Frisk raising her arms above her head. She let the music and Undyne tell her what to do. Undyne's face was flushed from the shots and the dancing, her breathing slightly ragged. Frisk's heart pounded to the beat, her whole body on fire from the shots as Undyne's hands lowered down to grip her ass. The crowd around them made sounds of surprise and awe.

Frisk looked up and met Undyne's eyes, noticing how transfixed they were on her lips. Frisk smiled, placing her hands on the back of Undyne's neck and pulled her down harshly, pressing their lips together. Undyne gave a happy moan, giving Frisk's ass a lingering squeeze before sliding up her hips and waist and stopping just shy of her breasts, leaving pleasurable tingles in their wake.

The sensations of Undyne's touches only made Frisk braver and she ran her tongue along Undyne's lip, which Undyne happily obliged by parting her lips only to push her tongue into Frisk's mouth and the two battled for dominance, neither backing down easily as they made sounds of pure ecstasy. Frisk smiled at the taste of Undyne, like pure lake water and cucumber. She completely forgot that they were in a crowded club surrounded by onlookers.

Frisk never thought she would feel this way about Undyne.

She wanted more.

When Undyne pulled away, Frisk gave an unceremonious whine. Undyne laughed, twisted Frisk around and started dancing to the rhythm once more. There was chatter all around them, talking about the kiss and the two being together. They talked about how hot they were together, about the scandals of the rumored relationships Frisk must be in (Of the candidates, Sans was leading, but Papyrus was also up there along with MK, Napstablook, and even Aaron). Frisk heard a few mentions of Alphys as well. She didn't feel an ounce of care about how much she could be hurting anyone. She didn't feel badly at all.

Frisk had everything focused on Undyne's hands on her, moving over her body and leaving those delicious trails wherever they left. Frisk shut her eyes and let the sensations take over. She didn't realize the sounds she was making as she felt Undyne's lips on her neck and shoulders, her hands working her hips and thighs, slowly growing closer to her crotch. Undyne nipped at her shoulders gently, careful not to break the skin. She left small red marks in a trail from the bottom of her ear and all along her collarbone. 

"Dye," Frisk moaned softly, her breathing heavy.

"Shit, say it again," Undyne murmured huskily, her hands working in circles. Frisk's body felt like livewire at every touch.

"Undyne," Frisk purred. Undyne gave a moan, groping at Frisk. Frisk trembled under her fingers. She opened her eyes, wanting to look at Undyne again.

Only when she looked around the crowd, she met the eyes of someone else.

Sans.

Frisk dropped her hands and put them over Undyne's, stopping them where they had been making their way to her inner thighs. Undyne noticed Frisk freeze in place and followed her eyes. She smirked lecherously when she saw Sans and moved one hand to Frisk's chin, tipping it over to her and kissing her deeply once more. Frisk moaned against her lips, her mind muddled and confused. She was fixated on Undyne, but seeing Sans made her mind go haywire with emotions.

Frisk's arm was gripped and she was jerked away from Undyne.

"alright, you two. no one's havin' sex on the dance floor tonight." Sans' voice was cool and strategically neutral. He didn't look down at them, only took hold of their arms. "so we're all gunna go home and sober up, ok?"

"What the fuck, Sans! Let me go!" Undyne protested, but even she seemed weak and tired from all their dancing and drinking. She was panting and sweating, looking over at Frisk who was completely compliant as Sans slipped one arm around her waist to keep her standing and gripped Undyne's arm with the other.

"you were about to be kicked out anyway. you two are way over your limits." It felt like Frisk's whole body was waking up from being numb and then they were all in Frisk's bedroom. Undyne was shouting slurred profanities as Sans pushed Frisk onto her bed. Frisk let out a whine of protest as Sans disappeared with Undyne. She groaned pathetically and laid down, falling asleep out of pure exhaustion.

Frisk groaned and shuffled in bed, trying to sit up. She felt dizzy almost immediately and laid back down. Magic hangovers weren't like regular hangovers. She didn't get a massive headache and she didn't vomit for feel nauseous. However, it did make her extremely dizzy for a little bit into the next day.

Slowly, as Frisk woke up more, her night came back to her. She remembered the shots at Grillby's. She remembered taking the taxi to LEGS. She remembered getting there and drinking some more. The dance floor with Undyne. Undyne pressed up against her. Undyne's hands all over her. Kissing Undyne. 

Frisk's face flushed. She didn't know what was in those shots, but she would never request shots 'for a good time' ever again. She groaned and doubled over before her phone rang. She glanced over at it. 

Undyne.

She answered it, "Uhm... hey..." she tried her best not to sound awkward, but there was no masking her shame. 

"Hey, punk," Undyne's voice was soft, "just checking in on you. We got pretty messed up last night, huh?" She laughed. Frisk joined her, her nerves taking over.

"We did... you remember all of it?" She asked meekly.

"Yup." 

"Yeah..." Frisk took a deep breath, "do you... are you... uh..." 

"They gave us ambrosia, punk. It's a strong aphrodisiac, especially to monsters. Both of us were out of our minds, don't worry. I know you don't actually feel anything for me and like hell I feel anything about you! Uh... no offense, just... You know, I'm in love with Alphys and all."

"No! Yeah, of course, Dye! I was just... Ambrosia, huh? That was pretty strong, I guess. I was... if Sans hadn't interrupted..."

"You woulda had the BEST DAMN NIGHT OF YOUR LIFE! FUHUHUU!" Undyne burst into laughter, Frisk joining in as she laughed breathlessly, a huge weight off her chest. She was glad Undyne wasn't going to let things be awkward between them.

"I'm sure I would have, haha. Thank you, Dye." Frisk smiled, rummaging through her bedside drawer for some popato chisps to help her head so she could take a shower without slipping and dying.

"No problem! Just wanted to make sure you were okay, Sans left me pretty quickly and I didn't know if he went back to you and... I don't know, do something to you. I was worried but I was too drunk to do anything. He looked really pissed. Were you two an item or something?" 

Frisk sighed, "Well, I mean... we made out once or twice..." She admitted. 

She heard hysteric laughter on Undyne's end, "How the hell does that even work?! I mean, I know skellys do shit. Hell, Papyrus got mad tail underground, you know? But I've never actually seen how it works." Frisk felt her head clearing with the help of the monster food.

"It's uhm, it's weird. They have this... magic aura around them that kinda, acts like skin I guess? It's crazy but it works and it feels amazing." She sighed as she recalled the night in Sans' bedroom. She felt the same way for him that she had felt for Undyne last night, but with Sans she had been completely sober.

"That's wild! Do they have magic tongues?"

"Yeah."

"I wonder if they have magic cocks?" Undyne laughed again.

"Dye! Shut up! Oh, my stars!" Frisk's face burned, but it wasn't like she hadn't thought about it. She remembered the bright glow coming from Sans' pants, the same glow that surrounded his tongue. It was brighter and more opaque than the one that covered his body when he was feeling something too strongly. She recalled feeling a slight bulge against her as well.

"Fine, fine! But he was really pissed last night, punk. You told me he was ignoring you, though. I don't know if he's tried to talk to you yet today, but you two should definitely fuck soon because you two are literally perfect for each other." It was like Undyne was just saying everything that came through her mind without a censor.

Frisk grimaced, "That won't happen."

"Why not?"

"I... uhm... I've been having these... nightmares..." Frisk admitted. She needed to get them off her chest. They still ate at her.

"Nightmares? What the hell's a nightmare gotta do with being with Sans?" Undyne demanded. Frisk sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"It's like... I don't know, Dye, I... every time I'm with him I get this really horrible feeling. Like it's in my soul. Sans isn't innocent, I have to be... protected from him? Like he's hurt me before and I don't remember it? I don't know, they're so crazy but every time I get close to him they come back to me full force and I can't breathe, I can't think, I just... have to get away." Frisk explained. Talking about them helped her process, helped her think clearer about them. It put words to her emotions.

"Frisk, that sounds like PTSD. It's not, because Sans has never hurt you and he would never hurt you, but damn those nightmares are messing you up if it makes you have a panic attack like that. You should see someone about that." Undyne explained. Frisk let it sink in.

"PTSD, huh? ... Huh..." Frisk murmured, trying to piece that into the puzzle she'd created for herself. Trying to see the whole picture of what everything could possibly mean. "Thank you, Dye... anyway, I have to go shower and wash my sheets since I got my makeup all over everything on my bed." She laughed breathlessly, "Thank you for checking in on me."

"Course, punk! I'm always here for you! Have a good one!" They said their farewells and hung up, allowing Frisk to go shower and great ready for the day.

Chapter Text

He still remembered the feel of her lips on his. He didn't know why he tormented himself like this. He couldn't stop himself from picturing his future, with him and Frisk living a happy domestic life together in peace.

Then he remembered the last time he saw her. The movie night. They were kissing, he was touching her. He lifted her up and threw her down on his bed. His mind was overwhelmed, excited to be touching Frisk the way we was, the way he'd been dreaming of for years prior. He took off her shirt.

Then... Then it happened. She freaked out.

It took him a long time to put everything together, but he believed he finally found the missing piece.

He was a monster.

It was so simple, he felt like an idiot for not realizing. The rest of the world knew it already. Humans and monsters just didn't belong together like that. Frisk realized that, and she pushed him away. It was hard for him to blame her, though. No one could really love a monster like him, especially not a human like Frisk.

He sighed miserably and grabbed his phone. He looked at the text again for what felt like the millionth time.

kiddo: I'm so sorry.

Sans had written out so many replies and then left them all as drafts. Nothing ever seemed right. He didn't know exactly what he wanted to say or how. Did he say that everything was okay, when he knew he'd be lying? Did he say everything was fine and they could live happily ever after in a cute, platonic friendship because Frisk didn't want to fuck a monster? Because she loved him, but not enough?

He knew he would have to reply eventually. Two weeks was a bit excessive and he knew Frisk was upset, from what he'd heard from Toriel. He knew he couldn't avoid Frisk forever given that he literally worked for her. This was also starting to affect Papyrus, who wanted nothing more than to invite Frisk over every night and watch stupid shows on TV and then listen to Frisk's stories at night until he fell asleep. Sans' childish behavior was affecting his brother and he hated it.

There was a knock at his door.

Sans groaned and checked the time. Six PM. He should probably get up and do something with what little bits remained of his day. Or he could go back to sleep and try again tomorrow. That seemed like the best plan he'd come up with so far.

"BROTHER?" Papyrus called inside hesitantly, then opened the door and peeked inside. He huffed when he saw Sans in only his sweatpants, tangled up in his bedsheets and looking at his phone. "I HAVE RECEIVED A TEXT MESSAGE FROM THE HUMAN. SHE HAS INFORMED ME THAT UNDYNE IS HOME AND THEY ARE REQUESTING A SLUMBER PARTY. EVIDENTLY UNDYNE HAS HAD A FIGHT WITH ALPHYS AND NEEDS TO BE CHEERED UP." Papyrus sounded excited at the idea of hanging out with Frisk and Undyne, and he wanted to share his excitement with Sans. Sans felt terrible, but he just couldn't bring himself to reciprocate the feelings.

"nah, bro, not gunna go." Sans rolled to face away from Papyrus, clutching his blankets up to his chest. He wanted to go, he really did. He wanted to see Undyne too, and he wanted to see Frisk so badly it hurt. He wanted to have a fun night with his friends. He knew, though, that he just couldn't be around Frisk and not hold her, and couldn't stop himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her until she needed air and realized that it didn't matter if he was a monster, he could love her better than any human ever could. Then he'd kiss her some more. He wanted more than just kisses too. He didn't know he could want someone so carnally.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING? WHY NOT?" Papyrus looked concerned. Sans knew Papyrus had noticed he was actively avoiding being around Frisk, cancelling plans whenever they happened to line up with Frisk's. Papyrus never asked him about it, though, just accepting his brother's decisions. Sans was grateful, but now Papyrus was able to ask questions.

"uh... not feelin' too hot." Sans lied, badly. He cringed immediately, realizing what he had just done.

Caretaker Papyrus has been activated.

"OH, NO!" Papyrus cried, "I CANNOT GO EITHER, THEN. I MUST STAY HOME AND TAKE CARE OF YOU! WORRY NOT, DEAR BROTHER, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE JUST THE LOCALLY FAMOUS SOUP RECIPE TO TEND TO YOUR AILMENTS." Sans groaned, smacking himself in the face. Why did he say he wasn't feeling well? "I WILL INFORM THE HUMAN THAT I CANNOT MAKE IT EITHER AND I SHALL STAY HOME UNTIL YOU FEEL BETTER."

"paps, you don't have to--"

"NONSENSE." Papyrus waved his hand at Sans dismissively and left his room to get to work on the soup. Sans covered his face in frustration. He took a deep breath, resting his arm over his face.

He was such an idiot. Literally any other excuse that existed in the universe and Papyrus happily would have gone on his merry way to spend time with Frisk and Undyne. He could have said his dog was lost, his hamster was going through a divorce, his kneecap was missing, the air didn't taste right that morning, the stars weren't aligned properly. Papyrus would have accepted it, probably with an "I KNEW IT", and left. It wasn't that Papyrus was dumb enough to think those stories were actually true, but he knew when Sans actively tried to be creative with a ridiculous excuse that it was best not to pry.

If Sans was sick, though, all bets were off and Papyrus was glued to him.

Sans knew how badly Papyrus wanted to go and he just couldn't get creative enough. Papyrus was so selfless and Sans was so... not.

Sans groaned miserably and rolled back over, forcing himself to sit up on the edge of his bed. He took a deep breath, suppressing his temptations to just go to Frisk's house and join her and Undyne. Maybe kick out Undyne. Maybe just be alone with Frisk again. He could throw her on her bed, kiss her again, listen to the lovely little sounds she made when he touched her...

He shook his head, ignoring the the feverish glow of his bones. He needed to stop thinking like that. It would never happen again. She had made it perfectly clear how she felt about him and how revolted she was by it.

Revolted. He was pretty revolting, wasn't he? Completely disgusting. A horrific pile of bones.

He got to his feet and slipped on his fluffy pink slippers. A hole had formed in the toe area big enough for him to push his big toe through. He needed to get a new pair of them soon, but he wondered why he even kept buying the same pair over and over. When he got to the surface and grew, he thought it was a brilliant idea to let the cute little human take him shopping for a new pair of slippers to replace the white pair that were too small. Frisk fixated on the fluffiest pair of fluorescent pink slippers and demanded he put them on. Sans relented, letting her have whatever her perfect little heart desired, and he wound up buying them to amuse her. Then here was was, years later, going back every eight months and buying the same exact pair.

He remembered her reaction when he first put them on. Her sweet, delighted giggle as she bounced up and down. Her face was lit up with delight, she even clapped. Sans thought about that every time he put them on. "They're perfect for you!" she had decided.

He sighed and stood up, grabbing his hoodie and slipping it over his head. He stepped out of his room and walking downstairs where he saw Papyrus hard at work on his soup. He gave a weak, tired smile.

"ey, bro, i'm gunna go for a walk," he called over to Papyrus. Papyrus glanced over his shoulder.

"ARE YOU SURE THAT IS WISE IN YOUR CONDITION?" Sans narrowed his eyes at Papyrus. There was something in his voice, a certain tone that hinted at something more. Papyrus knew something. He knew... he knew Sans was lying about being sick. He knew, but he was still home with him, still making him soup.

Stars, Papyrus was so awesome.

"yeah, i think it'll make me feel better. i'll be back." Sans murmured and went out the door swiftly. Only a second later he was across town, standing outside of Grillby's. Sans stepped inside and went to take his usual place at the bar, sitting right across from Grillby as the living fire placed a bottle of ketchup before him. Sans took it and squirted it into his mouth before laying his head on the bar, thoroughly exhausted. He groaned in exhaustion.

"This is the fourteenth day in a row you've done this." Grillby commented coolly, tending to other patrons as they came up to him but continually returning to Sans. Sans shrugged.

"so?" He muttered miserably. Grillby placed a glass in front of him. Inside was a liquid that looked a lot like ketchup. Grillby pushed it closer to him and Sans grabbed it thoughtfully. "fuck's this?"

"On the house."

Sans shrugged and sipped it. It was a Bloody Magic. Monster's version of a Bloody Mary. It didn't taste half bad. Sans drank it all in under a minute. "thanks, grillbz." He murmured, going back to his ketchup. The drink soothed his nerves, even if only slightly. Grillby looked Sans over again.

"Have you still not spoken with Frisk?" He wondered, wiping down his bar.

"nope."

"Will you?"

"probably not."

Grillby sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead in irritation, looking at Sans. "You realize you cannot resolve something without actually speaking with the other person. She is likely very confused as to why you will not respond to her. She is probably hurting just as badly as you are." He wiped down a glass and put it away. Sans grunted.

"well... she hurt me first."

"We are not children, Sans."

"mmph..." Sans rested his head on the bar and shut his eyes. He could feel Grillby's eyes on him, judging him. "i'd call you a liar, but i can't tell. your pants are always on fire ."

Grillby took a deep breath. The puns were out, he knew he wouldn't be getting anything serious from Sans for the rest of the night. Sans sat for another hour, chatting with Grillby about nothing and cracking fire-related puns that Grillby had heard a thousand times over. He never complained. "alright, alright, i gotta get home before paps starts worryin'. thanks for listening, grillbz." Sans got up from his stood.

"Farewell, Sans." Grillby waved as Sans left, it was roughly 7:45. When he stepped out of Grillby's, he was immediately back at home. He stepped inside and Papyrus had already set out two bowls of soup for the two of them. He looked up at Sans happily.

"THE SOUP IS READY. IT... MIGHT BE A LITTLE COLD, YOU WERE GONE OVER AN HOUR, BUT IT'S STILL GOOD!" Papyrus insisted, looking thrilled that Sans was home. Sans blinked and nodded, walking over to the table and plucking the bowl up and tipping it into his mouth. Papyrus took a deep breath to calm himself from the offence. "SPOONS DO EXIST, BROTHER."

"mm, it's an unnecessary middleman." He commented in return, "soup's fantastic, paps. there more?" He wondered, glancing over at the massive pot he'd cooked it all in. Papyrus looked delighted and stood up quickly, snatching Sans' bowl from him and pouring another bowl for him, this time pointedly placing a spoon inside. Sans disregarded the spoon and drank the soup down again. Papyrus was nearly in tears with glee.

"YOU REALLY LIKE IT?"

"it's freakin' delicious." Sans chuckled. Papyrus gave a squeak of joy.

"SO. NOW THAT YOU MUST BE FEELING BETTER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH THIS MARATHON ON THE TELEVISION OF MY FAVORITE SHOW? IT IS CALLED 'CUTTHROAT KITCHEN'. IT IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL, IF NOT A LITTLE... UNDERHANDED IN THEIR METHODS. IT IS LIKE PUZZLES, WITH COOKING." Papyrus looked hopeful, "ALTON BROWN IS FANTASTIC."

Sans laughed and nodded, placing his dishes in the sink, then going to the living room and taking a seat on the couch. Papyrus turned the tv on and clicked over to the correct station, then took a seat as well. Halfway through the first episode, Sans got a text from Grillby. He looked confused. Had he forgotten something at the bar?

grillbzzz: Frisk is here with Undyne. They arrived a short while after you left. They have been drinking heavily and are thoroughly intoxicated. Undyne has declared they are 'gunna get laid'. They are headed off to LEGS. I thought you would like to know.

Sans' temper flared as he stared at his phone. It took everything in him to to crush his phone in his palm. Gunna get laid, huh? Frisk the virgin, out actively searching for a one-night stand in a monster club? Was she gunna get one of them riled up and then run away too? Or maybe it truly was just Sans that she couldn't handle the idea of being with.

He wanted desperately to believe it was all Undyne's idea. It certainly sounded like something she would think of at least, but the pessimistic voice in his head reminded him that Frisk had lied to him before. She could easily have been lying about everything. Maybe she really was a little whore.

Thinking that made his soul hurt. He set his phone down as calmly as he could, but he was shaking. Papyrus took notice of his brother's sudden change of mood.

"BROTHER? WHAT'S WRONG? YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY, THEY GET SABOTAGED AND STILL WIN ALL THE TIME."

Sans pinched his nasal bones.

"i'm fine." The bitterness in his voice was tangible.

"IT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE NOTHING, BROTHER." Papyrus shifted so he was facing Sans, pausing the television. "I DO NOT LIKE WHEN YOU KEEP SECRETS FROM ME. I'M NOT STUPID, YOU KNOW. I WAS JUST JOKING BEFORE, I KNOW YOU ARE NOT UPSET ABOUT THE SABOTAGE." He frowned at Sans. Sans knew he was hurting him and he hated himself for it. "I NOTICE THINGS. LIKE THAT NIGHT WHEN THE THREE OF US WATCHED DISNEY MOVIES TOGETHER, AND WE ALL FELL ASLEEP. I WOKE UP AND YOU STEPPED OUT OF YOUR ROOM, QUITE UPSET AND WITHOUT YOUR HOODIE ON. THEN THE HUMAN CAME OUT ONLY A MOMENT LATER." Papyrus gave his brother a look like 'are you serious?'. Sans flushed a light blue. "THEN EVER SINCE YOU HAVE AVOIDED HER. I DO NOT KNOW... EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT, BUT EVERYONE KNOWS THAT YOU TWO LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND WE ALL WANT YOU TO MAKE UP. SO... WHAT HAPPENED?"

Sans looked up at his brother. It was too easy for him to forget that Papyrus wasn't this innocent and pure cinnamon bun that needed to be protected from the outside world by being kept in a bubble. Papyrus was incredibly intelligent and clever, evidenced by all the puzzles he had designed. Sans got ahold of his notebook once and found hundreds of incredible designs that would stump even him. Then Sans would see it designed once more on the next page, dumbed down so anyone could solve it with ease and just a bit of common sense. Papyrus was also a skilled fighter, beating Undyne with ease, but he would hold himself back so no one would get hurt in the process. Papyrus was brilliant and powerful, but he was kind to a fault. One day it could get him killed.

It did get him killed.

Sans took a deep breath and held his skull. He had been caught by Papyrus. That would happen to him. "frisk and i... had a fight." He couldn't bring himself to actually explain the full extent of what happened in his bedroom, even though he knew Papyrus knew. "fights happen, though. feelings were hurt. but it's fine, paps, and we'll work through it eventually. right now... we're just giving each other space, okay? you don't have to worry. it's just... not something i really want to get into right now. you understand that, right?"

Papyrus looked immensely satisfied with himself, smiling at Sans. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON THAT YOU WEREN'T TELLING ME. NYEHEHE, YOU CANNOT SLIDE THINGS BY ME SO EASILY, BROTHER!" He declared with a smug look on his face. Sans laughed softly as well.

"nope, i definitely can't." Sans admired Papyrus more than anything. "i'm sorry for worrying you... and keeping you from hangin' with undyne and frisk, though. you coulda gone, i'da been fine."

Papyrus shrugged, "WHEN SOMETHING AFFECTS YOU SO BADLY THAT YOU CANNOT EVEN THINK OF A CREATIVE LIE TO GET ME TO GO AWAY, I KNOW IT IS NOT SOMETHING I CAN IGNORE ANY LONGER."

Holy shit. Sans didn't even think of that. How was Papyrus so smart? He was too good for him.

"ANYWAY, I DO NOT MIND. I WILL HAVE A PLETHORA OF OPPORTUNITIES TO BE WITH THE HUMAN AND UNDYNE, I WILL NOT WORRY ABOUT ONE MEAGER NIGHT. BESIDES, YOU AND I HAVE BONDED ONLY MORE BY MY STAYING HOME. THAT IS WORTH MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE I COULD HAVE DONE TONIGHT."

Sans wanted to puke, and that wasn't even something skeletons were capable of. He didn't deserve to have Papyrus as a brother.

"thanks, paps."

"OF COURSE. LET'S GET BACK TO THE SHOW." Papyrus turned and played the show once more. Sans sat down and wallowed in how worthless he was, not even paying attention to the show anymore.

After another full episode played, Sans' phone started blowing up.

bonesmoker: FRISK. UNDYNE. MOVING. LOTS. TOUCHING. WHO TOUCHED ME? I'VE BEEN PAT.

fiveeyes: A little spider told me that your charge is getting quite indecent with Undyne at LEGS.

armless: Bro! Check it!

Attached was a picture of Frisk and Undyne in the center of the dancefloor. It was hard to make out all the details, but he saw the only things that mattered. Frisk was pressed up against Undyne, the two kissing and looking quite pleased with it, and Undyne's hands gripping Frisk's ass.

armless: Thought that was your ass, dude!

"you've gotta be fuckin' kidding me." Sans muttered, glaring at the screen of his phone. Undyne? Really?

djghost: hey.. sorry to bother you.... undyne's at legs with frisk...... they're getting........ unruly............. please take care of this................... i don't want to get the bouncer involved....................... sorry for bothering you.......................... bye.................................. sorry again........................................

Papyrus was shocked at Sans' mouth. He looked like Sans had just slapped him across the face. "WHAT'S GOING ON?" He asked as the next episode started playing. Sans shook his head.

"i gotta go." Sans stood up.

"IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?" Papyrus demanded, looking deeply concerned.

"it's... it's frisk. i have to go pick her up. it'll be fine, just--i gotta go right now." Sans took a deep breath to gather himself. He was seething. He shoved his phone in his pocket before he could throw it across the room.

He stepped out the door of his house, and then he was on the dance floor in LEGS. He looked around quickly to search for Undyne and Frisk, but it was a bit more difficult through the thick wall of people. Sans pushed through them and found they had cleared a circle around Undyne and Frisk, and those two were putting on quite the show.

Sans couldn't help but stare just like the rest of them. He watched as Undyne's hands moved over Frisk's curves, and the expression on Frisk's face was one of pure lust. Her eyes were heavy and clouded over in ecstasy, then she shut them. He watched as Undyne slid her hands, slowly, closer and closer to Frisk's crotch. Jealousy sparked in him and he worked on shoving through the remaining people between him and Frisk. He watched as Undyne peppered kisses and nibbles down Frisk's neck and the noises Frisk made drove him wild.

Rage filled his chest and he focused everything on keeping his face completely neutral. It was quite the difficult task.

"Dye," Frisk moaned out. Undyne muttered something in Frisk's ear that made her purr out her name again. He watched as Frisk trembled at the touches.

Mine. She's mine. She's all mine. Stop touching her. Mine!

Frisk opened her eyes again, still clouded over with lust. She looked around, taking in the crowd that was eating up her show for them. Then she made eye contact with Sans. He watched her freeze, her hands hurriedly going over Undyne's, which were dangerously close to reaching her crotch. Sans felt murderous, he was ready to rip Undyne's hands off for even daring to touch Frisk the way she was. Not using his magic to throw her back against the wall and punish her for her sins took everything in him.

Undyne looked up and noticed him as well, meeting his eyes. She smirked wickedly, took Frisk's chin and tipped it up to her. She kissed Frisk hungrily, eliciting another deep moan from Frisk.

Dead. She's dead. Dead. Dead. She's dead.

Sans took Frisk by her arm and yanked her out of Undyne's grip. He saw the same haze over Undyne's eyes that was in Frisk's. There was no way either of them were in their right mind, no matter how badly he wanted to be pissed off and blame them entirely. He remembered this club sold ambrosia after a moment, a magic aphrodisiac liquor that LEGS loved to hand out willy nilly to make things at their club more interesting.

"alright, you two. no one's havin' sex on the dance floor tonight." He struggled to keep his voice level, grabbing Undyne's arm as well.

"What the fuck, Sans! Let me go!" Undyne fought him, but the liquor had made her weak and sloppy. She was too uncoordinated to effectively fight him and remain on her feet at the same time. Undyne looked at Frisk desperately. He sighed and snaked his arm around Frisk's waist, holding her tight to him as though Undyne were actually able to physically take her away from him. Frisk was quiet and complicit with him, which he appreciated.

"you were about to be kicked out anyway. you two are way over your limits." He explained carefully, and the next second they were in Frisk's bedroom. Frisk was already half-asleep in his arm, coming down from her high as soon as they were out of the upbeat music of the nightclub. Sans sat her down on her bed and she flopped right down into it. The next moment Sans was in Undyne's apartment. She growled, but it came out closer to a groan.

Sans glared at her as he let her go and she just dropped to the floor, falling on her ass. He couldn't believe she could be so irresponsible with Frisk. She knew how monster liquor affected humans so much more strongly than it did monsters. How could she let Frisk get so drunk, and how could she let her drink ambrosia?! He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but he was far too angry. Undyne glared up at him.

"if anything had happened to her, you would be dead where you sit." Sans growled darkly, shaking with rage. Undyne glared right back at him, trying to be tough.

"Fuck you, Sans." She spat back at him.

Sans growled at her and shut his eyes to focus, then he was back with Frisk.

She was fast asleep, right where he had left her. She was on top of her blankets, sprawled in a position that just couldn't be comfortable. He softened as soon as he saw her. He wanted to be mad at her, but he just couldn't bring himself to be once he was actually beside her. He quietly went over to her, gently lifting her up and shifting the bedsheets over. He placed her back down and tucked her underneath the blankets, positioning her carefully so she wouldn't wake up sore from an awkward sleeping position. She gave a soft moan as he touched her.

He felt a glow coming on quickly. His bones reacted just at the sound of her voice. He sighed and took a seat beside her and just watched her sleep, wanting to make sure she was alright and would remain alright. He watched her breathing, watched as she shuffled in her sleep and repositioned. She gave such soft and sweet whimpers. Maybe she was dreaming.

He missed her so much.

He didn't leave her until she roused from her sleep in the morning. He quickly disappeared and went back home, climbing into his own bed and wallowing once more.

Chapter Text

"I ordered this without the onion."

Frisk took a deep breath and pinched her nose in frustration. She had tried to sneak by the table without talking to them. They had done nothing but complain since the time they sat down and she tried her best to be patient and understanding, but there was only so much a girl could take. She turned to the table and let out her breath slowly.

"Ma'am, I can guarantee you that you never once said anything about no onion throughout your order. Besides, you've eaten almost everything on your plate already. Including the onions." Frisk explained levelly, trying to keep her composure.

"I want an entirely new plate made." The woman demanded, scooting her plate over to Frisk. Her children sat across from her, looking embarrassed to be with her.

"Ma'am, I cannot do that--"

"I am allergic to onions, missy! You could have killed me, you're lucky I'm not calling the cops!"

"Well, ma'am, let me go ahead and call you an ambulance since you're so allergic, because both the appetizer you ordered and your entree both contained onions, and you ate them both almost in their entirety!" Frisk snapped.

"Do I need to contact the owner? He's a personal friend, I'll have your job!"

Frisk couldn't believe these were the very people she had spent approximately half of her life fighting for their rights. She couldn't believe her life had somehow lead her to this point where instead of serving them an an ambassador, she was serving them their breakfast and lunch. Then she was standing there, having her dumbass waitressing job threatened by a woman who was full of bullshit. She wondered exactly how she had gotten here.

Of course, it started with her night with Undyne. While the two danced, completely blasted drunk and high on ambrosia, they hadn't noticed all the people surrounding them with their camera phones out. They had snapped an incredible amount of photographs and videos and by the next morning, when Frisk got off the phone with Undyne and made her way to the living room with her breakfast, she found out just how many there were. She turned on the TV and was assaulted with her night from every single angle.

It wasn't as though Frisk was unused to media attention. She had been in the news hundreds of times due to her work for the monster community. She had been painted in all sorts of lights before, either bad or good depending on the network's stance on the monsters she had freed. It was always water off a duck's back, she didn't care if they wanted to twist her into this horrible person, she knew what she was doing was right and good.

This, however, twisted her stomach into a tight knot she couldn't unwind. Herself in a not-so-modest dress in the arms of Undyne, a monster of her same gender, with her tongue down her throat. "MTTTV EXCLUSIVE; THE SAVIOR'S TRAGIC LOVE STORY." This was bad. This was so bad.

Frisk couldn't dial the numbers fast enough. She knew it'd be next to impossible to reach him, but her reputation depended on it. His title was so wrong, his story was wrong, she couldn't accept this. It wasn't that she would be ashamed if she was in love with Undyne, it was the fact that it simply wasn't true.

"FRISK AND UNDYNE; THEIR 'UNDYING' LOVE"

Frisk wanted to scream as the reporter started in on their story.

"Hello, Darling!" Mettaton's voice crooned through the phone. Frisk breathed a sigh of relief, glad he had answered so easily. "I was just about to call you!" Of course he was. "I wanted to get my exclusive scoop on what happened last night at my club, I'm so glad you got me first. I expected your phone to be blowing up by now!" He exclaimed. The fake emotions in his voice made her sick.

"I can't imagine why that would happen, can you?" Frisk tried to keep her tone calm. "Couldn't be because the news is making up stories about me, would it?"

"Making them up? Darling, you and Undyne have been in love for eight years!" Mettaton insisted. Frisk could punch a wall.

"Oh, my stars, Metta, LOVE and IN LOVE are two completely different things!" Frisk shouted into the phone, "You have to take this story down. You need to stop, you need to delete them off the internet and stop reporting on it right now. You're going to ruin me! I can't be explaining this to everyone I meet for years to come!"

Mettaton sighed, "Tsk, tsk, Frisk. You know I can't do that. It would look terrible!"

"How do you think this looks for me!? Undyne is with someone else! I mean, they were on a break, but still! Stars, Metta, you're being so ignorant. Do you have any idea what this will do to me?!" She demanded.

"You'll be famous, Darling! Look what scandals like this did for the Darkashians!" Mettaton laughed like she was being completely ridiculous.

"Dim Darkashian's sex tape? This isn't--Metta! You're just so--TAKE THE STORY DOWN! This is slander!"

Mettaton gasped. Slander was a huge deal and could cost him millions of dollars and his audience if they deemed him and unreliable source.

"If you do not take this shit down immediately, about Undyne and I being in love and making her out to be this horrible cheater on Alphys--do you even care about how this is hurting Alphy?!--then I'm bringing Dad's lawyers into this!"

Mettaton was quiet for a little while longer. "I... I will handle this." He murmured softly and hung up. Frisk could have cried with relief. The stories would be taken down, and she would be fine eventually. Except the stories had already been running for who knows how long and she had no idea how many people had seen it, but she knew that Mettaton's morning news was one of the most watched shows in New New Home. Frisk knew she was in for a miserable week.

The rest of that day was filled with intermittent conversations with everyone she knew, basically. Several were text conversations, like with Monster Kid who was checking facts with Mettaton's reports since he had been there that night. He was confused, since Undyne was his idol he thought he had known everything about her. Frisk assured him they didn't have a relationship past being friends and they were just intoxicated, which he accepted. She wished all of her conversations were like that. She had thought once that monsters were very relaxed in how they viewed relationships, but she learned that day that as soon as you kissed someone apparently you were madly in love and expecting your first child soon.

When did Frisk become pregnant? Or Undyne?

HOW did they get pregnant?

Frisk never expected she would have to answer those questions. Or that she would be told by other people that she was, in fact, pregnant.

Undyne called her again later in the day. They shared stories of their conversations from that morning and laughed, vented, and then moved on expecting it all to be done. That was short-lived.

The next day, Mettaton had certainly handled things the only way he knew how. With more drama. " CAPTAIN AND SAVIOR; TROUBLE IN PARADISE? PARADISE NEVER EXISTED! " Frisk couldn't believe him. She was far too tired to deal with this. She wanted to go right back to bed, but she hadn't actually even gotten out of bed yet. The headline had appeared on her phone as soon as she opened it. She hated Mettaton so much right then, and for a moment she wished Alphys had never repaired his body.

Frisk groaned and rolled out of bed miserably, not even bothering to put any extra clothes on besides her too-large t-shirt she was sure she had borrowed from Sans at one point and just never returned. Anger flared in her chest at her realization about the t-shirt, but she was too tired to bother doing anything about it. When she took it off to shower she'd probably just burn it then. It could be therapeutic. She got to her feet and walked out to the kitchen to grab herself some breakfast.

Only when she got to the kitchen, she found both of her parents seated at the table. Frisk was almost tempted to shout "gotcha!", given how secretive the two had been, but then she saw the looks on their faces. This wasn't a personal meeting between them, they were definitely waiting for her to come out.

"Hey, pops." Frisk said casually, going to the fridge to grab herself some juice, then grabbing an apple from the fruitbowl on the counter. She stood, taking a bite out of the fruit and looking at them nervously.

"Frisk." Asgore fiddled with his fingers. She grimaced, shifting on her feet. "Dear. Uh... take a seat. Please." He motioned to the seat across the table from them. Frisk seat her juice down on the table and obeyed quietly, chewing on her lip.

"You guys look like you're gunna tell me Grandpa died." She laughed breathily, then blinked and frowned. "Gerson didn't die, right?"

Asgore gave a stiff laugh. "No. He is alive and well." Frisk pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Uhm... would you like some tea?" Asgore wasn't as ready to start the conversation as he seemed, getting up from his chair and going to the kettle on the stove. Frisk took another bite of her apple and Toriel rubbed her forehead.

"Frisk, my child," she started softly, reaching her hand across the table and resting it on Frisk's free hand. Frisk looked up and met her eyes, "we will start this by saying that we both love you, very much. Nothing in this world could ever change that. You understand?" Frisk gave a nervous chuckle.

"You breaking up with me, Ma? Leaving me for another child?" She joked. She got her coping skills from Sans. Toriel sighed, "Am I not the apple of your eye anymore?" She played with the half-eaten fruit in her hand. Toriel shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Please, Frisk, be serious." Frisk shut up quickly and looked down at her hands. Asgore returned with her cup of tea and placed it in front of her before taking his seat beside Toriel again. They would definitely not be announcing their reunion today, she was sure.

Toriel gathered herself again and clasped her hands together in front of herself, looking over at Asgore expectantly. The meek king looked thoroughly uncomfortable as he lifted a bag onto the table and pulled out a thick stack of letters. Frisk wished she had put on her glasses. Asgore noticed her lack of glasses and just held them in front of himself.

"S-so... uh..." Asgore looked at Toriel helplessly, but she gave him a very stern look in return. "Throughout the day yesterday, I received several letters from each country for which you have acted as our ambassador to..." He shuffled nervously in his seat. He wanted to be here as much as Frisk did. "They all, uh, spoke with one another yesterday after the... you know... the news of what happened... at Mettaton's nightclub... y-you and... Undyne..." He rustled the papers in his hands like he could make them say something different.

Frisk held her cup of tea in her hands and brought it to her lips quietly, her face going bright red. She was sure her parents had seen all of the pictures and the videos. If ever there was something she wished they had never seen it was those. No matter how old she was, her parents never should have to see their child act in such a way.

"Well... together, without contacting me... they unanimously decided that... uh... well... okay, they have this thing... uhm... they did... they..." Asgore was flustered and didn't know how to say it.

"Frisk, the humans have this term called persona non grata . It means 'unacceptable person'. To put it simply, they have deemed you an unsuitable ambassador and no longer wish you to be within their countries acting on behalf of the monsters. Your father and I will be starting our search for our new ambassador today." Toriel stated, looking Frisk over.

Frisk was shocked. She reeled back and stared forward, calmly sipping at her tea as she processed the news. She was fired. She'd never been fired before. Of course, she had never had another job to be fired from before. She was mostly surprised by how much relief she felt. She wanted to feel bad, she had put so much more work on her parents' shoulders needlessly, but she was just so eager to move on with her life and do something that didn't place the weight of the world on her shoulders every day.

"I..." Frisk looked over at Asgore as he started speaking again. He held his face in his hands helplessly. "I just wish you hadn't been so irresponsible."

The breath was ripped from her lungs. She stared at Asgore as tears pricked in her eyes. She had disappointed him. She hadn't even really considered that yet. "I..." Her lungs felt miniscule, she tried to take a deep breath but it was too short. "I'm sorry, Dad." Her lip trembled. She expected him to stand, apologize, and pull her into his arms like he always had whenever she cried but he remained seated. Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"We love you, Frisk. This has just... we are disappointed that this happened, and feel that... with proper precautions and thought, this never would have been made a problem." Toriel explained cautiously. Frisk nodded wordlessly, still watching Asgore as he scratched his head in frustration. Toriel grabbed the papers and placed them in front of her. "We thought you would like to read them, they explain the decisions they made.

"I understand it already, Ma." Frisk swallowed the ball of tears in her throat, letting her anger overtake her other emotions, "The rest of the world is full of bigots who think they can regulate who other people love. They don't think a woman can love a woman, let alone a human love a monster! They call that beastiality! A human and a monster is equal to a human and a dog, and that's just... it's so... they're so ignorant, Ma! It's like shouting at a cow and expecting it to understand. So you know what, Ma? Dad? I'm glad I'm not the ambassador anymore. I'm glad I don't have to deal with the idiotic governments anymore. I'm glad I don't have to deal with politics or politicians. I'm glad I can just live my life now. I'm sorry it happened the way it did, but... But I'm not going to apologize for it happening." Frisk's lips quivered as he pressed her lips together, her voice heavy with emotion. She got to her feet as Toriel and Asgore sat in a shocked silence. She grabbed her apple and went back to her room. She went to her room and went to her bathroom, climbing into her shower.

Showering and getting ready for the day was force of habit at this point. She realized she wasn't even doing anything with her days at this point. She bad been given the initial break from her responsibilities due to the large amount of time she had spent away from home, but now what did she actually have to do? She was fired.

When she stepped out of the shower, rather than get dressed into appropriate clothing, she grabbed an old pair of sweats and climbed into her bed, pulling the covers up and over herself. She laid there and moped about the turn her life had taken so abruptly. An hour or two later, her phone was ringing. She grabbed it and answered without checking who it was.

"Hello?"

".... Oh...." She blinked when she realized it was Napstablook, and she had answered in a quite unpleasant voice.

"Blooky, I'm so sorry. I... Hey, how are you?" She rolled into a sitting position in her bed.

"I'm fine.... I watched the news..... I know it's not true....... I'm sorry........." Frisk smiled weakly.

"There's nothing you could have done." She assured him.

"Yeah... I'm sorry...... but, hey..... i was wondering....... maybe you'd want to come over........ lay on the ground and feel like garbage.............. with me....." He offered meekly and Frisk laughed at the offer. Not because it was ridiculous, but because that was basically what she was already doing, just in her own bed and alone.

"You know what? I'd love that. I'll be right over."

"..Oh... okay..... I'll be here..." He hung up and Frisk grabbed her glasses and left her room. Asgore and Toriel were still at the table talking about something or other, Frisk didn't pay attention. They turned when she walked by and acted like they wanted to say something, but Frisk didn't give them a chance to. She walked out the door briskly and drove out to Napstablook's house.

Frisk really didn't understand how the number one recording track artist in the world could still have such low self-esteem. He acted as though he had no talent and still worked full time as a dj for Mettaton, never toured, and put his tracks on file-sharing websites for free even though when they were put on paid websites, people happily bought them. Napstablook was a strange little robot, but Frisk adored him.

When Frisk reached his house she knocked a few times before walking right in and going to his living room. There she sound Undyne, laying down in the center of the floor with her eyes shut. She peeked her eyes open when Frisk walked in and she waved quietly.

"What're you in for?" Frisk wondered as she placed herself beside Undyne and laid down.

"I talked to Alphy," Undyne started quietly as Frisk shut her eyes, resting her hands on her stomach. "She said she's fine with everything that happened. We were on a break and she know it meant nothing. I mean, I could never feel romantic things about you!" Frisk frowned at her. "Not to say--you know what I mean! Anyway, we talked and we're great! She's coming home!"

"Then why are you laying down and feeling like garbage?" Frisk wondered.

"Because she isn't coming home until next week!"

Frisk rolled her eyes, "Sounds terrible." Undyne grunted in agreement and the two fell silent. There was something about Napstablook's floor that made it easy to just lay down and process everything. Everything about her life seemed to be falling apart and none of it would have happened if she just hadn't made Sans kiss her.

If she hadn't gotten drunk and asked Sans to kiss her, he wouldn't have. If that hadn't happened, she never would have had that nightmare about him. If she hadn't had that nightmare about him, she never would have acted weird around him. If she had never acted weird around him, he never would have snapped at her that night. If that hadn't happened, they wouldn't have kissed again. If that hadn't happened, she wouldn't have freaked out and given him blue balls.

Because that's what had happened. Sans was ignoring her because she gave him blue balls. It was the only explanation Frisk could rationalize. It happened a lot, didn't it? Men really didn't like blue balls. She wondered, briefly, if Sans even had balls in the first place but the thought didn't last long.

If Sans hadn't ignored her, Frisk never would have needed a girls' night with Undyne. Everyone knew what that night had turned into. Now she was laying on Napstablook's floor, jobless and best friendless with absolutely no path for her life and she was a disappointment to her parents.

And absolutely all of it was entirely her fault.

Even Papyrus wasn't talking to her as much as he usually did. She still called him at least three times a week to talk about what had happened in the last day or two and to hear Papyrus' stories, but now each time she called he only ever spoke for a few minutes and then it was just dead air. Then he cancelled on her and she knew something was wrong. She knew that somehow Sans had gotten to him and now Papyrus was upset with her too. It was like she and Sans had gotten a divorce and the kids picked their sides--Frisk got Undyne and Sans got Papyrus.

Napstablook came out and joined them after a little bit and laid down.

"Thank you for joining me..." He murmured softly.

"Any time, Blooky." Frisk assured him. Undyne only grunted in acknowledgment. "Dye, has Papyrus been weird with you at all?" She asked softly, the idea of Papyrus somehow being upset with her driving her crazy.

"Hm..." Undyne looked thoughtful, "Now that I think about it, he hasn't really been talking much the last week or two." She shrugged, "He's been spending a lot of time with Sans. Apparently Sans was sick the other day."

"Sans was sick?" Frisk was mad at how concerned she felt. She wanted to stop caring about him. If he could just drop her like that, why should she give a shit about him if he was under the weather?

"Yeah, sometimes our magic just gets a little outta whack when we let our emotions get the better of us. It goes away quickly though, and Paps is so nurturing no one's ever sick longer than a day." Undyne assured her.

Frisk sighed, "I miss Papy," she murmured softly. Undyne pulled out her phone immediately. "What are you doing?"

"Tellin' him to come over."

"What?! Dye, no! He'll feel obligated--"

"Papyrus loves you, you dumb punk. He'd love to come over, he always does, he's just been worried about his dumb brother... hey, what're you feelin' like garbage about, anyway? Is it those stories Metta posted?" She asked as she texted Papyrus.

Frisk shrugged, "I'm an unacceptable person."

"What!? Don't say that about yourself! You're perfectly acceptable!"

Frisk laughed, "No, like, it's this term that the governments used for me. Unacceptable person, No Personus Great or what-the-fuck-ever." Frisk waved her hand in the air, "Basically I was fired this morning. Not the ambassador anymore."

"WHAT!? They can't do that to you! You're the most acceptable person ever! I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THEM!"

"That's not what I'm upset about." Frisk clarified quickly. "It was... Toriel and Asgore are disappointed in me for it." She felt her emotions swell in her chest again. She didn't like thinking about that part of her day. She wasn't ready to process it.

Undyne reached out and put her hand on Frisk's shoulder. "I'm so sorry about what happened, Frisk. I really am. I should have... protected you..." Frisk took her hands quickly, shaking her head.

"There's nothing for you to apologize about, Dye. I'm not a kid anymore, I make my own decisions and live with the consequences." She insisted, pulling Undyne in for a hug. Undyne returned it, then pulled away and texted Papyrus a few more times. "What are you saying now?"

"That you're an unemployed loser and we need to fix that."

"What!?" Frisk snatched her phone but it was already sent. "Nooo! Undyne, I don't want another job yet! I don't even have any work experience!" She protested, "What have you done?!"

"Hey! Unemployment is unacceptable unless you're some broken weirdo!" That wasn't politically correct but Frisk wasn't going to fight with her.

"I've been unemployed for like five minutes." Frisk pouted.

"And look at you! All you've done since you got fired is mope around on Naps' floor." Undyne stated matter-of-factly. She was by all means correct, but she said it in the worst way possible. Frisk groaned and rubbed her face in irritation.

"Dye, why can't I just have one day to not do anything?"

"Cause you're not a broken loser! Hey, Nap, you got a computer?" Undyne asked, grabbing Frisk's hand and standing, lifting Frisk up with her.

"...Yeah..." Napstablook pointed to his computer in the corner of the living room. Undyne got on, closing out of all of his file-sharing websites, and searched for lists of hiring places throughout New New Home.

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS ARRIVED!" Papyrus didn't even knock as he entered into Napstablook's home. "HUMAN!" He hurried over to Frisk and scooped her up into his arms enthusiastically. Frisk could cry with relief as she hugged him in return. "I HAVE WRITTEN YOU A COVER LETTER AND A RESUME TO HAND OUT TO POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS."

Frisk blinked. "We only texted you like fifteen minutes ago." She looked confused as she was placed down and handed the papers. She read through the cover letter and it was eloquently written out cover letter that any employer would fall for. Frisk even blushed at it, it was just so beautiful. Then she looked at the resume.

The resume consisted of her basic information, and then the only other thing on the paper, in bold uppercase papyrus font, was "SAVIOR". It took everything in her not to burst into laughter. Papyrus looked utterly pleased with himself as Frisk grinned and hugged him again.

"Thank you, Papy." She murmured.

"I have a list of all of the places hiring in New New Home!" Undyne waved her freshly printed paper over her head and hurried over to the two. "We're gunna get you a job! FUHUHUHUHU!"

"WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THE HUMAN HAS A JOB! NYEHEHEHE!"

Frisk was never not amazed by the two of them together. They were the perfect pair when it came to getting things done and keeping a good attitude about it. It was infectious, and as much as Frisk wanted to keep wallowing it was impossible. Not with them around.

"NOW, HUMAN, ARE YOU READY? I BELIEVE I HAVE ALLOWED YOU ADEQUATE TIME TO MOPE AROUND BUT NOW WE MUST BE ON OUR WAY. THE SOONER WE START THE SOONER WE FINISH AND BY THE END OF THE DAY YOU WILL HAVE A JOB!" Frisk blinked and looked down at herself. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was dressed in her sweats. "DO NOT WORRY, I HAVE THOUGHT AHEAD AND I HAVE BROUGHT YOU A JOB-SEEKING OUTFIT!" He handed Frisk a pair of pants and a t-shirt with sharpie writing saying "GREAT EMPLOYEE".

Frisk considered protesting, but didn't. All of New New Home knew Papyrus and she figured they would understand. She took the clothes and went to Napstablook's bedroom to change and then hurried back out to her friends. Undyne laughed at her.

"Let's go, punk!"

Chapter Text

That day, Grillby was the true savior. At least, the savior of Frisk's day. Frisk had been happy to see that he was the top of Papyrus' list, given that the location was still new and he was actively hiring. Grillby was a really cool guy (Frisk laughed at herself and received an odd look from Papyrus) and she would enjoy working for him. So Frisk walked in with Papyrus and Undyne in tow, showcasing her job-hunting outfit with pride.

Grillby glanced from from the table he was serving and looked over the group curiously, a plate on pancakes in his hand. Grillby's had started opening in the mornings due to his merge with Muffet's bakery so he served breakfast to accommodate. Soon after he started serving lunch and dinner because of the amount of business he started getting. "It's quite the hot spot ," as Sans would say.

Frisk smiled and stepped closer to Grillby meekly, clutching her papers in her hands. Grillby waved to her. "H-hey, Grillb, I w-was--AH!" She yelped as Undyne shoved her closer to him while he set down the last of the plates and then turned to face them completely.

"Employers like confidence! Square your shoulders, puff out your chest, project your voice!" Undyne scolded lightly, slapping the small of Frisk's back to make her stand up straighter.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ALSO STRUGGLED WITH SUCH THINGS WHEN I WENT ON MY JOB HUNT AT FIRST. ESPECIALLY PROJECTING MY VOICE." Papyrus nodded his head knowingly, but somehow Frisk doubted he was being entirely truthful. Grillby quirked a fiery brow, looking Frisk over and noticing her shirt. He looked thoughtful, then beckoned the small group to follow him over to the bar. Frisk did so and took a seat as he grabbed her a paper application and placed it on the bar in front of her, then gave her a pen.

"Thank you, Grillby." Frisk smiled politely and handed him her cover letter and resume, then got to work on filling out the paper application. Grillby looked over the cover letter first, looking quite impressed with it. Then he looked over the resume. He kept his face carefully neutral, but his flames went wild as he tried to hold back his laughter. Finally he just turned around and was soon gasping for breath.

"ARE THEY NOT BRILLIANT?" Papyrus asked, looking quite pleased with himself, "I FEEL AS THOUGH A RESUME SHOULD ONLY CONTAIN WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT FOR AN EMPLOYER TO KNOW." He declared proudly. Never mind all of Frisk's humanitarian work and her years as an ambassador. She had saved the whole underground. Grillby nodded his head and, once he had gathered himself, turned back around. He straightened out his vest and glanced at Frisk's application.

"I'm done," she handed him the filled-out application and in return, Grillby handed her a thick stack of hiring paperwork. Frisk blinked in both surprise and confusion, looking the papers over. "I... I mean, aren't there, like, interviews you need to go through? Vetting? Drug tests?"

Grillby looked amused and turned to look at Undyne expectantly. Undyne was confused until it clicked with her, "Vetting. Right. Uh, yeah! She's great!"

Grillby turned his gaze onto Papyrus, who was absolutely beaming. "SHE WILL BE THE BEST EMPLOYEE YOU COULD EVER HIRE!" Grillby faced Frisk again and gave her a thumbs up. Frisk threw her arms up in the air gleefully.

"You're really hiring me? Thank you so much, Grillby! You have no idea how much this means to me!" Frisk leapt up from her chair and ran around the bar to pull Grillby into a hug. He was shocked for a second but swiftly returned the embrace. Hugging Grillby was a strange sensation to feel, given that he was living fire. Frisk always expected to be burned, and with the temperatures she'd feel around him she felt like she was supposed to be, but she never did. Most of what she felt was in her soul, it was weird, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

"CONGRATULATIONS, HUMAN!" Papyrus hurried around the counter and joined them, towering over them as he tried to wrap his arms around them. Undyne joined quickly as well. Grillby pulled away after only a second, since he needed to return to his customers. He pointed to the papers for Frisk to finish up.

So there she was, standing beside a horrible woman who was doing everything in her power to get her entire meal comped by the establishment and make Frisk's life a living hell in the process. It was Frisk's first day on her own, without Grillby holding her hand throughout each table. Grillby was placed behind the bar today, still keeping an eye on Frisk but mostly tending to other things. As soon as the woman mentioned knowing the owner, though, Frisk couldn't stop the grin that spread across her cheeks.

"Do you? Oh, well let me get him for you!" Frisk insisted and turned as the woman tried to protest.

"N-no! It's fine, I'll just--"

"Grillb!" Frisk called over, waving to Grillby. He glanced up in surprise, "This woman is apparently one of your best friends?" Grillby slowly slid out from behind the bar as the woman's face went white. He wiggled his fingers at her in greeting. "Should I go pack my things? She says she'll have me fired because she ordered her entree without onions because she's deathly allergic. But she also ate the entirety of her appetizer, and almost all of her entree as well without noticing the abundance of them."

Grillby nodded his head throughout the explanation, staring down the woman as his flames slowly went from red to blue.

"I-I... must have been mistaken... I thought... someone else o-owned this--"

"Oh, perhaps you wanted Miss Muffet? She's just up back, if you'd like." Frisk offered thoughtfully, looking smug as Grillby's flames only grew hotter.

"That's fine, uhm, I should go." The woman offered meekly, gathering up her purse and moving to get out of the booth. Grillby stood in front of her, holding out his hand. THe woman looked at him, horrified.

"You expect me to pay for this, after such poor customer service?!" She demanded, absolutely aghast. Her hand was placed over her chest in offense, then watched as Grillby quietly grabbed her plate. The plate (which was made of steel as all of his plates and cups were made of, just in case) almost immediately started shining in his palm and the food on top of it started to char and finally was all just ash, the plate bright red. The woman's eyes were wide as saucers and she was speechless. She swiftly produced the cash for her food and placed it in Grillby's hand. "I'll take my change back in--" she was silenced by Grillby's stare. "Uhm... she will take my change..." she muttered, her face bright red as she slipped out of the booth and grabbed her children, leaving quickly.

Grillby took a deep breath and slipped the money into Frisk's pocket, then patted her head affectionately. "Good job," he commented, pleased, and went back behind the bar. Frisk stayed at the table and cleaned it all up, putting on a glove to take care of the metal plate he'd superheated. She loved having Grillby as her boss. He was no-nonsense when it came to customers, which meant that Frisk didn't have to deal with too much bullshit throughout her day. Of course, Grillby politely requested that she try to maintain her temper as much as she could, simply because not all monsters had very flowery dispositions. However, he wouldn't have his staff abused or manipulated either.

Frisk quickly checked up on the rest of her customers, hearing a few apologies on behalf of the woman who had treated her so badly. Frisk laughed it off with them and got them what they needed before heading back to the bar the ring out the client with the cash she had been handed. "Thank you for standing up for me, Grillby." She murmured softly as he handed a customer their drink. Frisk pulled up the woman's order and went to place the money in the till until Grillby reached over, voiding out the woman's order entirely, putting his hand over her's to stop her from putting any money into the till. "What should I--?"

Grillby took her hand and pushed it back into her pocket. Frisk blinked when she realized what he meant. "Oh! Oh, thank you, you don't have to..." Grillby shook his head, then pointed to a table that was trying to wave her down. She blushed and nodded. "Right, okay. Uhm, thank you so much. I owe you so much." She said quickly and hurried over to the table that needed her.

The rest of her day went much better, and Frisk was grateful. Really, it would have been difficult for it to be worse than it had been. When it came time for her to clock out and go home, she quickly went up to Grillby to check in.

"Hey, I've finished up all my chores and all my tables are happy, I've cleaned everything up. You need anything else from me before I go?" She asked him. She knew he would be fine, since he could run this place single-handedly easily, or even with both of his hands tied behind his back. Still, she just wanted to be sure. Grillby shook his head, making a motion to let her know she was good to leave. She nodded and thanked him once more before heading out the door, only to be ambushed immediately.

"HUMAN!" Frisk yelped in genuine fear as she looked over and saw an eight foot skeleton hurtling towards her. He scooped her up as he continued running at the same speed. "COME WITH ME, THERE ARE MATTERS THAT REQUIRE YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!" He threw her over his shoulder. Frisk was completely overwhelmed.

"P-Papy, my car!" She cried helplessly, though she wasn't sure why her car was her main concern.

"WE SHALL PICK IT UP LATER."

"What's even going on? Is everyone okay?!" Frisk demanded.

"EVERYONE IS FINE. DON'T WORRY, YOU WILL SEE." Papyrus snickered, running her over to his bright red convertible that matched his old bed from the underground. He threw Frisk into the passenger seat, then climbed in himself and drove them to Undyne's apartment building. He parked and got out, plucking Frisk up from her seat and hurrying inside.

"SURPRISE!" Papyrus shouted in unison with Undyne as she blew on a noisemaker and jumped out from behind the couch. "It's not a huge party or nothin', but everyone that really matters is here and we're gunna have loads of fun, ya hear me? Congratulations on that job, punk!" Undyne hurried over to Frisk and pulled her into an obnoxious hug, lifting her up and spinning her around. Frisk laughed, completely surprised and touched.

"You guys didn't have to do this for me, but thank you so much." Frisk smiled as she was let go of.

Undyne shrugged and stood beside Papyrus, both looking extremely pleased with themselves. "Well, we noticed you weren't havin' a real great month with, you know, what happened between us and the results of that. Also with Sa--er, he-who-shall-not-be-named." She offered thoughtfully. So now Sans was Voldemort? "So we took a reason to celebrate you and we have! And we're going to have ALL THE FUN!" She grinned, winking at her.

"What do you do at a three man party, anyway?" Frisk wondered cluelessly.

"WORRY  NOT! I HAVE COMPILED A LIST!" Frisk blinked. How did Papyrus have any time for anything else with all of the lists he seemed to be compiling constantly? "I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE TYPICAL PARTY HABITS OF HUMANS OF YOUR AGE, AND I MADE A LIST OF THE MOST FAVORED. NUMBER ONE OF THE LIST WAS DRINKING! HOWEVER, UPON CLOSER RESEARCH, THE MOST COMMON BEVERAGES DRANK AT PARTIES IS THAT OF ALCOHOLIC VARIETY. I HAVE PURCHASED A WIDE SELECTION IN THE KITCHEN."

Frisk was shocked and went to the kitchen quickly, looking it all over. He certainly did have a wide variety. There were juices and sodas on one side, and on the other were hard liquors, magic ones thankfully. Frisk was surprised, but Papyrus was always filled with surprises. She loved him so much.

"THERE ARE ALSO THESE GAMES CALLED DRINKING GAMES FOR WHICH YOU POUR A SMALL AMOUNT OF LIQUOR INTO A SMALL DRINKING GLASSES AND YOU DRINK IT ALL DOWN VERY QUICKLY. THE RULES CAN VARY, SO I HAVE COMPILED A LIST OF RULES THAT COMPLEMENT THE PLANS I HAVE MADE FOR TONIGHT'S FESTIVITIES. FIRST, I HAVE DECIDED WE WILL PLAY A ROUSING GAME OF TRUTH OR DARE. HOWEVER, THAT WILL BE AFTER WE EAT THE DELICIOUS CAKE I BOUGHT. I FEEL WE SHOULD EAT SOMETHING FIRST TO LESSEN THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF THE ALCOHOL."

Papyrus hurried over and grabbed the cake from the fridge, bringing it out and showing Frisk happily.

CONGRATUATONS ON FRIST DAY OF WORK FIRSK

Frisk had to read it twice. "THEY MADE A FEW SMALL MISTAKES IN THE LETTERING AND THE FLOWERS MIGHT BE A VARIETY I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH, BUT I BELIEVE IT ALL GIVES THE CAKE PERSONALITY." Papyrus defended quickly. Frisk loved Papyrus so much it made her heart hurt--an employee had messed up her cake so badly it looked like a child had done it, but Papyrus refused to be upset by it. Instead, the cake has personality.

"I love it, Papy." Frisk giggled softly. Papyrus grinned and cut the cake up into pieces, dealing them out to Frisk and Undyne. Frisk dug into the cake eagerly. It was a chocolate cake, and for some reason chocolate always pleased her immensely. It wasn't even her her favorite flavor or anything. She shrugged it off and polished off her plate quickly, having not eaten since breakfast that morning. Papyrus readied three shot glasses and a bottle of magic rum, setting the three of them up in the living room on the floor.

"ALRIGHTY, FOR THE FIRST PART OF OUR NIGHT'S GAME OF TRUTH OR DARE, I HAVE ADDED A THIRD OPTION." Papyrus explained, looking thoroughly pleased with himself and his plans. Frisk waited with baited breath as Undyne joined them. "WHEN YOU ARE GIVEN YOUR QUESTION OR YOUR DARE, YOU MAY OPT OUT AND INSTEAD TAKE A SHOT. HOWEVER, THIS MEANS THE QUESTIONS MUST BE PERSONAL AND THE DARES RUTHLESS." He looked smug, "I HAVE ANOTHER LIST OF OPTIONS IF YOU FIND YOURSELF AT A LOSS FOR IDEAS." How was Papyrus always so prepared?

"This is gunna be awesome! FUCK YEAH, BONDING!" Undyne threw her fist in the air and poured herself a shot for the shits and giggles. "Since we're celebrating her tonight, Let's have Frisk starts us off." She decided, both of them turning to look towards Frisk. She flushed at being put on the spot.

"Uh, okay... Uh, Undyne, truth or dare?"

"FUHUHUHU! As if I'd choose anything but dare!" Undyne snorted, crossing her arms, "Do your worst."

"Uhm, alright, yeah..." Frisk racked her brain, causing Papyrus to nudge his list closer to her. Frisk glanced down at it, "Kiss Papyrus?" Frisk looked up at Papyrus in amusement. He was still grinning.

"PFFT! Easy!" Undyne got onto her knees and Papyrus eagerly leaned down, offering his face to Undyne. Undyne kissed his bare teeth obnoxiously. Frisk was surprised when she didn't see orange lips meeting Undyne, perhaps Papyrus was just different from Sans. She did see orange color Papyrus' cheekbones and he giggled like a child.

"OH, UNDYNE, YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE A SKELETON FEEL LOVED."

"Alright my turn! Paps, truth or dare.

"TRUTH. ASK ME ANYTHING, I AM AN OPEN BOOK." Papyrus declared proudly.

Undyne grinned wickedly and rubbed her hands together, "How many people have you had sex with?" Papyrus was quiet, looking up to help him focus as he thought, racking his brain. Then he lifted his hands to start counting on his fingers. Frisk's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull as she watched him count. He filled one fist, then another, and then another. He still wasn't done.

"Papyrus got mad tail in the underground" seemed to be an understatement.

"TWENTY-THREE, IF MY ACCOUNTS ARE ACCURATE. WHICH THEY ARE." Papyrus nodded definitively, "AND THEY WERE ALL QUITE LOVELY PEOPLE. THINKING ABOUT IT, I SHOULD CONTACT A FEW TO SEE HOW THEY ARE DOING. IT'S SO STRANGE HOW EASILY ONE CAN FALL OUT OF CONTACT WITH SOMEONE THEY CARE ABOUT."

"Papy's a ho..." Frisk breathed softly to herself as she stared at him in shock, forgetting momentarily how casual monsters were when it came to sex. Papyrus then looked to Frisk.

"HUMAN. TRUTH OR DARE?" Frisk blinked. Somehow, after learning that tidbit of information, Papyrus looked different to her. Much less innocent and pure than she typically thought of him.

"... Truth?"

"WELL, WELL, HUMAN," Papyrus chuckled and looked over his list, "HAVE YOU EVER DREAMED OF INTERCOURSE WITH ANYONE WITHIN OUR FRIENDGROUP?" He smirked devilishly.

Frisk stared at Papyrus dumbly. There was absolutely no way he was ever going to learn of her wet dreams starring his brother. Frisk poured herself a shot and threw it back quickly, hissing as it burned all the way down her throat and into her stomach.

"NYEH-HEH-HEH, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS VICTORIOUS!" He laughed happily.

"Shit... Papy, truth or dare?" Frisk asked, wanting to get him back for making her drink.

"TRUTH."

"Alright, hm... Have you ever been sexually attracted to anyone within our group?" She asked with a smirk. Papyrus looked thoughtful.

"WELL, WHEN I FIRST MET UNDYNE I ADMIRED HER A GREAT DEAL, AND NATURALLY GIVEN HER DRIVE AND POWER AND WORK ETHIC I WAS VERY ATTRACTED TO HER. NOW, HOWEVER, SHE IS MY DEAREST FRIEND." Papyrus explained, "BUT DO NOT FEEL BADLY, HUMAN. YOU AND I HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN ON A DATE BEFORE, DO YOU REMEMBER?"

Frisk laughed, "I remember it vividly." She could never forget being rejected by a skeleton monster.  "I'm not insulted that you  don't want my body, Papy, don't worry." She chuckled as Papyrus turned to Undyne.

"TRUTH OR DARE?" He asked her.

"Dare, baby, dare!"

"I DARE YOU CALL ALPHYS AND SAY... 'I AM A PUNGENT FISH WOMAN'."    Papyrus threw his head back as he laughed maniacally, "NOW, I AM NOT CALLING YOU A PUNGENT FISH WOMAN. HOWEVER, I DO FIND THE PHRASE QUITE AMUSING." Undyne swiftly pulled out her phone and dialed.

"Hey, babe!" She said as Alphys answered. Frisk nor Papyrus could hear what Alphys was saying on the other end. "Did you know I am a pungent fish woman?" Undyne snickered, then her face fell, "What the hell?! This is a DARE, Alphy!" She looked offended for only another second though. "Ohh! You got me too! Oh man, I love you, babe! Hey, wanna say hi to Paps and Frisk?" She grinned, then handed the phone over to Frisk.

"Hey, Alphy!" Frisk smiled into the phone.

"Hey! J-just wanted to s-say hello!"

Frisk was thoughtful a moment, "Hey, what're you doing right now? We could put you on speaker and we could have you join in with us! Instead you could just do truths!" Frisk offered eagerly, wanting to include Alphys at least a little.

"S-sure! Sounds good! Uhm, I'm only on b-break right now, th-though, so I'll have to l-leave in a bit." She amended quickly, but sounded excited.

"Awesome! Here--" Frisk put the phone on speaker, "You're on speaker now! Hey, since you're new incoming, you go ahead and ask one of us."

"Okay!" Alphys joined in, "Uh-uhm, Frisk! Truth or dare."

"Truth me, Alphy." On her basically empty stomach, Frisk was already feeling the shot just a bit.

"Hmm... what... was your first kiss like!"

Frisk fell silent a moment. Her first kiss. Her heart pounded a bit, wondering what they knew, but then she realized none of them really knew about her losing her lip-ginity so recently to a certain burly skeleton. Frisk racked her brain in search of a creative way to tell the story.

"It was..."

She remembered the feeling of his magic on her lips. The taste of copper and blue raspberries. How much more she wanted from him.

"Good."

Papyrus looked unimpressed, "'GOOD'?"

"She asked what it was like. Good. It was good." Frisk stated, feeling her cheeks warm over. Undyne huffed.

"Alright, Alphy, truth or dare?" Frisk asked, wanting to include Alphys while they still had her.

"O-oh! M-me? Truth! Idon'treallyhaveanotheroptionhere..."

Frisk thought for a moment, "Watcha workin' on on the lab there, huh?" She asked, extremely curious as to what she could have been working on for so long. Alphys made an uncomfortable sound.

"Welp, I have to go! Whoopsie, almost went over on my break! Bye, dear, I love you!"

"I LOVE YOU TOO." Papyrus jutted in.

"Idiot, she meant me! Bye, babe, I love you too!" Alphys had already hung up. "Damn, oh well! It's supposed to be my turn anyway, since Frisk decided to give my turn away to Alphy! Okay, hmmm..." Undyne rubbed her chin, "Paps! Truth or dare!"

"DARE!" Papyrus looked smug.

"Okay, then. I dare you to... take off your shirt and play your ribs like xylophones! FUHUHUHU!" Papyrus merely looked confused and did as he was told, tapping on each rib individually. They didn't create the same noise as xylophones, but watching him try was quite amusing. "ALRIGHT, I COMPLETED IT. HUMAN, TRUTH OR DARE?"

"Uh, truth, I guess." Frisk shrugged, too scared of what they would ask of her with a dare.

"WHAT IS THE WORST THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE?"

Kill you.

The thought entered her brain before anything else. The breath left her lungs quickly and she shut her eyes. She hadn't killed anyone. Papyrus was right there, in front of her, happy and healthy. She forced the thought to the back of her head and tried to remember something she had actually done. "Uhm..." She took a deep breath, then remembered what she had done--she broke Papyrus' favorite action figure and blamed the dog. She grimaced and took the shot.

"Fuck..." She scowled and looked to Undyne. She wanted to make someone else drink with her, though she saw Undyne doing shots anyway. "Dye, truth or dare?"

"DARE! Do you even need to ask?" She snorted.

"Alright, I dare you to say that I'm your superior in every way." Undyne stared at Frisk in horror.

"Y...You?" Undyne looked Frisk's scrawnier, curvier frame over. "With... those arms?" Frisk looked smug, nodding her head. "And... and your battle strategies...? You? Miss Pacifist Mc-Flirts-with-everyone?"

"I beat you, didn't I?"

"Y-YOU RAN INTO THE HOTLANDS! I was in full armor!" Undyne was mortified.

"Say it, or take the shot." Frisk stated, "And in doing so, be bested by me again." She shrugged smugly, smirking at Undyne.

"F-fu... damn it, Frisk! You're my superior in every way!" Undyne spat the words like they were poison. Frisk grinned victoriously. Undyne glared at her.

"Alright, punk, truth or dare!"

"Uh... dare?" Frisk immediately regretted it.

"I dare you to kiss Papyrus!" She nearly shouted in her excitement, "Then we'll all have kissed each other, which makes it like none of us have ever kissed each other!"

"That's... that's not how that works..." Frisk tried to explain.

"Shut up and do it!"

Papyrus leaned down so Frisk could reach him easier as she took his head in her hands and placed a kiss on his cheekbone.

"NOW I, TOO, HAVE SHARED A KISS WITH YOU! JUST LIKE ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE!"

Frisk immediately sent a glare to Undyne. "You told!" She accused.

"He's my best friend, ya idiot, course I tell him everything!" Undyne put her hand over her heart in mock offence. Frisk sighed and looked to Papyrus.

"Papy, what do you know, exactly?" Frisk asked.

"FIRST I MUST SAY I WOULD LIKE A TRUTH." Papyrus stated matter-of-factly. Frisk huffed.

"Papyrus, truth or dare?"

"HMMMM... DARE." Frisk cursed at him.

"Oh, my stars, you two are trying to kill me." Frisk sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead. Then an idea popped into her head. "Papy, I dare you... to tell me everything Undyne told you about Sans and I. HA! YOU'VE BEEN JAPED!"

"I'VE BEEN JAPED!" Papyrus gasped, "I AM SO PROUD OF YOU, HUMAN. WELL... I HAVE BEEN TOLD OF THE FACT THAT YOU AND MY BROTHER HAVE SHARED ONE OR TWO PASSIONATE KISSES, AND ALSO THAT YOU WERE HAVING NIGHTMARES ABOUT HIM. BUT I TRULY BELIEVE THAT YOU AND MY BROTHER WOULD MAKE AN ADORABLE COUPLE." Papyrus insisted. "ANYWAY, HUMAN, TRUTH OR DARE."

"Uh... dare." Frisk figured Papyrus couldn't think of something too terrible.

"HM... I DARE YOU... TO DIVULGE THE CONTENTS OF YOUR NIGHTMARES."

Frisk took a shot.

And that's how the rest of the night went. Frisk even got terrible with her dares and truths, doing her best to get Undyne or Papyrus to crack and start drinking but the two truly had no shame. By the end of the night the two were completely sober, and Frisk was utterly smashed. They kept asking her about Sans and her nightmares and then they'd mix it up with making her do something humiliating while drunk out of her mind. They continued their game until Frisk passed out on the floor.

She really couldn't ever dream of asking for better friends than them.

Chapter Text

It was only two days after their party that Frisk received a text.

PapyKins: HUMAN, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU OVER FOR A MOVIE TONIGHT. JUST YOU AND I, TO SPEND SOME GREAT ONE ON ONE TIME WITH MY DEAREST DATEFRIEND. FEEL FREE TO HEAD RIGHT ON OVER WHEN YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS TEXT MESSAGE, JUST TEXT MESSAGE ME BACK SAYING YOU ARE COMING.

Frisk smiled, quickly replying to Papyrus to let him know she was on her way. She couldn't say no to him, and she wasn't working that night either, so she put some pants on, then grabbed her purse and glasses, heading out to Papyrus' house. Once she got there, Papyrus eagerly let her in.

When she got inside, she froze. "Papy, I thought this was just you and I?" She said warily, clutching her purse closer to herself nervously.

"IT IS." Papyrus headed to the kitchen to grab some food.

"But Sans is here, on the couch?"

"YES. JUST YOU, ME, AND SANS!"

Frisk took a deep breath of irritation, pressing her lips together awkwardly as she watched Sans sitting on the couch, looking even less impressed than Frisk felt. She grimaced, rubbing her arm. She could cut through the tension between them with a knife.

"Right, Papy..." She sighed and went over to the couch, sitting down on the opposite side as Sans. She didn't know what to say to him. She wasn't prepared to be around him, she didn't have adequate time to since Papyrus didn't tell her her would be there. The night had barely started and she was already frustrated.

"OH, GOOD. YOU TWO ARE ALREADY SITTING." Papyrus came back out and set a bowl of popcorn down on the table, starting up the movie he had picked out for the night. Still on his Disney kick, it was Aladdin tonight. Frisk expected him to take a seat between her and Sans to act as a nice buffer, but he seemed to have other plans. "OH, MY, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME," he wasn't looking at anything that told time, "I THINK I LEFT THE STOVE ON IN UNDYNE'S APARTMENT." Frisk felt dread fill her stomach. "I NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW OR ELSE HER WHOLE APARTMENT BUILDING WILL SET FIRE."

I've been japed.

It was just like when she first went to Undyne's home underground, Papyrus setting the two up to become best friends. She knew Papyrus only meant well, but this just wouldn't end up the same way.

"GOODBYE, HUMAN. SANS." Papyrus ran from the house, nearly ripping the door from it's hinges in his haste.

Frisk crossed her arms across her chest, curling up into the arm of the couch and staring at the screen blankly. She didn't want to just get up and leave. She didn't want Sans to win. She didn't know what Sans would be winning at, but that didn't matter. Slowly, the volume of the TV grew louder. Frisk glanced over at Sans, seeing him turn the volume up once every minute or so.

She tried not to let it get to her, but soon the TV was simply too loud.

"Can you stop?" She requested calmly. Sans glanced at her and pointedly turned the volume up. "What, are we children?" He turned it up another notch. Frisk took a deep breath to calm herself, turning to him. "Give me the remote." She ordered, holding out her palm. He didn't, only turning it up again. The TV was absolutely blaring. Frisk's temper flared. "It's too loud, turn it down!"

Sans turned it up until the TV couldn't go any louder. "can't hear ya, tv's too loud."

Frisk let out an angry growl and lunged across the couch to try to grab the remote from him. "Give it to me!" She demanded as he lifted the remote above his head when she reached for it.

"sorry, what was that?"

"Sans! Stop being such a prick! Give me the remote or turn it down!" She knelt beside him and grabbed his arm, trying to pull his whole arm down to her but he was too strong.

"frisk, i can't hear you. the tv's too loud, you have to project a bit more."

"Why are you even doing this!? Are you five!?" She crawled on top on him and pulled at his hoodie, yanking on his sleeve but she only succeeded in bringing his sleeve up to his elbow. The remote remained high in the air.

"you have hives? you should get that checked out, kiddo."

Frisk let out a growl of frustration and finally just stood on the couch, grabbing Sans' arm and prying the remote from his hand. She was too pissed to enjoy her victory. She hopped down and just turned to him after she turned the TV off. "What the fuck is your problem?" She demanded, "You don't have to be such a prick about all of this, you know."

Sans' smug grin went away and he stood, looming over Frisk as he stepped closer until they were chest-to-chest--or, chest-to-face, given the height difference.

"my problem?" Sans asked coolly, "what's my problem?" He tucked his fingers underneath her chin, tipping it up and leaning down so they were nearly face to face, " i don't have the problem here, bucko. i don't freak out and abandon someone just because i've suddenly decided i don't want to be with a monster ."

Frisk was stunned into silence. Her face crumpled up with a mix of confusion and bewilderment. "What are you talking about?!"

Sans barked out a bitter laugh. Frisk glared at him. "that's why you pushed me away and ran off. it's why you kept remembering the kiss a secret. you're ashamed of being in love with a monster." He stated, like it was a fact.

"Are you kidding me?" Frisk grabbed the front of his hoodie and tugged it ever-so-slightly closer to her face. "You listen to me, bone boy, and listen good. I do not give a flying fuck that you're a monster and I never fucking have. Are you going to stand here and tell me that, because of this bone-headed idea that I'm a monsterphobe , you have decidedly ignored me for all this time? Because you got this stupid story in your head that I suddenly care that you're a monster?!" Her heart pounded in her chest due to a mix of adrenaline, rage, and the fact that she realized how close their faces had gotten.

"it's the only explanation that makes any sense." Sans was breathing heavily, his eyes flickering from her lips to her eyes. He tipped her chin closer.

"Then you're a fucking idiot!" Frisk spat breathlessly, then crushed her lips against him. Her body was hot with anger still, but damn if it didn't feel good to kiss him again. She missed him so much, she missed talking to him and being around him and touching him, cuddling with him. She clutched his hoodie tighter and pulled him closer as he slipped his arms around her back. She gave a soft moan, feeling him shake against her. She pulled away after a second. "Is... is this okay?" She asked, suddenly very meek. Without responding Sans kissed her again, letting go of her waist and just holding her head, one hand going to the back of her neck and the other cupping her cheek.

He pulled back slightly to let her breathe. "please don't push me away again." He pleaded, his voice strained. "please don't leave. don't play with me, i can't--" Frisk pecked him on the lips and gently eased him back to sit on the couch again, crawling on top of him so she was straddling his hips. She rested her hands on his chest and smiled softly.

"I'm not going anywhere," she promised, taking his hand and twining her pinky with his. Sans went to kiss her again, but pulled back at the last moment and grabbed her glasses, putting them on the table by the couch, then kissed her again with a fervor. She felt him run his hands up and down her waist and she cooed happily. He brushed his tongue over her lip expectantly.

Copper and blue raspberries. She moaned softly and put up a valiant fight as he explored her mouth, his hands pressing into her shoulder blades and then roaming down her spine, feeling each individual vertebrae until he reached her tailbone and he decided to cup her asscheeks, giving them a firm squeeze. She gasped and moaned, tingles running up her spine at the sensation. Sans brought his fingers around to her stomach and slipped his hands underneath her shirt, warily lifting it. Frisk pulled away from him and lifted her arms above her head, letting him pull it up and over her head and throw it on the ground.

Sans grinned and she felt butterflies as he ran his fingers along each individual rib happily until he was blocked by her bra. He glanced up at her, noting how heavy her breathing was. She frowned.

"This is a two way street, bucko. " She mocked, grabbing his hoodie.

"hold on, gimme a minute. compared to this, you aren't gunna be seein' anythin' of worth." He sighed as he took in the sight of her for a moment before pulling his hoodie up over his head, tossing it to the floor with her shirt.

"Don't talk about yourself like that." Frisk protested softly, running her fingers over his bones. She liked seeing his magic react to her, thrumming and whirling beneath her fingertips and somehow making both her and him feel good at the same time. Frisk grinned as she touched his ribs, his sternum, and clavicles. He gave a soft groan of pleasure, his eyes hooding over. Frisk was fascinated, wondering what else she could do to make him feel so good.

"I wonder if they have magic cocks?"

She leaned in and kissed him once more, cupping his cheek bones thoughtfully before climbing off of him. She glanced at him and noticed the look of fright on his face. She smiled sweetly.

"I'm not pushing you away," she reassured him, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves as she settled herself between his knees, noting the nearly opaque blue glow shining through his pants and showing all through his open pelvis. She smirked, hooking her fingers into his waistband.

"what're you doin?" Sans asked in a hoarse whisper, blue coloring his whole body. He stared at her, absolutely transfixed by her. He lifted his hips for her as she completely undressed him. His breath hitched as she pressed her palms into the inner curves of his iliac crests down to his pubis where the magic started to focus. She grinned and rubbed there, hearing strangled noises from Sans as a magic shaft formed there for her. Looking at it, it reminded her a lot of his tongue, just phallus shaped.

"Apologizing," Frisk explained softly, looking over his magic cock thoughtfully. It wasn't anatomically correct, it was shaped more like a vibrator than a human penis, but she had no complaints. Carefully, she raised her hand and brushed a finger along the length. Sans gasped.

He grabbed her wrists quickly, taking a deep breath to gather himself. "frisk... i know you feel badly, and i'm so sorry for making you feel like that. i shouldn't have made assumptions like that, but you do not have to do this just to... make it up to me..." His face was riddled with anxiety as he watched her pry his fingers from her wrists.

Frisk huffed, " I don't do things I don't wanna ." She mocked a phrase he had said to her once, smirking. She felt his magic throb beneath her touch, reacting and moving as she explored it, staring in fascination. To her it was like figuring out a new puzzle. What buttons did she have to press, what switches did she flick? What did she have to move where to make what she wanted to accomplish happen?

She was filled with determination.

She wrapped her hand around the base of his magic and gave it a pump.

"ah-ha..-ah..." Sans covered his face like he was in agony. She grinned and pumped again along the length of his magic. She did it again, and again, and kept doing it as Sans made strangled noises of enjoyment. Sans bucked in her hands.

"Hold still," she ordered a wry smirk. He groaned, digging his hands into the couch and nearly ripping it apart. She could tell he was focusing everything into not moving with her. She enjoying watching him like this, helpless and vulnerable and she had all the power in the world. She watched his glow slowly growing brighter throughout his body. She wondered if that was anything of significance. She kept an eye on the glow as she worked him with her hands, and frowned when she realized it had reached a stalling point.

So she changed tactics, held the base, and pressed her lips to the tip thoughtfully. There was a quick burst of light, though it quickly settled back to the same tone, and she knew exactly what the glow meant.

" shiiiiiiiiit ," Sans groaned loudly as she slid his magic into her mouth, pushing it to the back of her throat, then sucking in her cheeks as she pulled back slowly. Sans was panting heavily and one of his hands went to grip her ponytail. It took everything in her power not to grin in victory and she picked up the pace, both hands working whatever her mouth couldn't take in. Sans was muttering under his breath, and she couldn't quite make out his words.

The sounds Sans made sent tingles down her spine and made her core warm. She pressed her tongue flat against him as she pulled up, then lapped at the tip. Sans shuddered and gripped her ponytail tighter, his whole body tense. She noticed the glow was nearly completely opaque and throbbing. It piqued her curiosity.

She started to go faster, and with her speed he kept growing brighter and brighter, the whole house lit up by him. He opened his mouth wordlessly, gasping and shaking. He threw his head back.

" frisk, " he strained breathlessly.

Frisk took everything she could into her mouth, part of him slipping down her throat. He shouted. The aura of magic around him burst like a popped balloon and suddenly it was dark in the house save for a few sparks that flickered from his bones. His magic in her mouth disappeared, leaving remnants of his flavor on her tongue. Frisk was out of breath as she pulled back from him, giving a meek smile as she wiped her lips from her own saliva. He was motionless, slumped back on the couch. He had released his grip of her ponytail, letting his arm fall limp beside him.

"Did... I do a good job?" She wondered softly, resting her hands on his knees. Sans was completely winded, taking another second to gather himself before he leaned over, taking her by the waist and scooping her up into his lap, holding her to his chest. Frisk giggled, wrapping her arms around him and just enjoying being close to him.

"that was amazing, frisk." She would never get sick of hearing her name from his mouth. She blushed and kissed him again sweetly, then squeaked in surprised when he hoisted her up and stood, carrying her upstairs to his bedroom.

Frisk laughed, "What are you doing?" She ran her fingers along his vertebrae happily. Sans slammed his door shut behind him, throwing Frisk down onto his bed. She adjusted herself, her heart hammering in her chest as Sans stared down at her. She blushed and put her arms over her chest. This was really happening. The glow returned faintly as he climbed on top of her.

"it's your turn now," he decided, watching as she chewed her lip anxiously. She pressed her knees together and looked away from him, her whole face colored bright red. "now, now, don't you go getting shy on me now. not after everything you just did." he chuckled, sitting up and placing his hands over her knees and gently spreading them apart, seating himself between them. He rested his hands over her arms and moved to lift them, but she refused. He looked down at her, confused and frustrated. "look, kid, if you really don't want to go further we don't have to..."

She was quiet, taking deep breaths.

"frisk?"

More silence. He heaved a great sigh and was about to pull his hands away from her and relent, but she removed her arms first and let him stare down at her in just her bra. He grinned, seeing her blush crawl all the way down her chest. She grimaced as he reached for her bra, so he only rested them on her ribs.

"okay. okay," he murmured, his thumbs rubbing just under her breasts. She looked at at him anxiously, resting her hands over her own breasts as though to hide them from his view. He watched her with hooded eyes, "what's goin' on?"

"I... I'm... nervous..." she murmured quietly, "I've never... been with someone..."

"you've also never given a blowjob before, i can tell you hands down that was by far the best i've ever had." He assured her thoughtfully. She grimaced and looked up at him, and he noted the fear in her eyes. He gave a soft laugh and leaned down, kissing her. If that was all they did that night he could be completely happy. "i won't push you. i don't want you to be uncomfortable. why don't we just keep doin' what we're doin' and go from there?"

Frisk nodded in agreement and Sans smiled, bracing himself above her and kissing her happily, licking her lip and then slipping his tongue into her mouth as she opened for him. He took her hands in his own and placed them above her head as he explored her mouth. His soul thrummed through him excitedly. This was everything he'd dreamed, being with Frisk finally. He groaned happily, pinning her wrists where they were as he started trailing kisses down to her neck. He watched as Frisk bit her lip. He felt her heartbeat on his lips as he kissed at her neck, taking a bit of skin between his teeth. She gasped and shivered.

It was music to his ear holes. He could listen to her sounds for as long as he lived. He decided to test the waters, letting go of her wrists and running his hands over her bare skin curiously. He went over her collarbones to her shoulders, watching her skin react with goosebumps. He made a curious sound and brushed over the underside of her arms where the skin was much softer. She giggled and squirmed.

"Don't do that," she stated, then quickly amended it, "it's not... it tickles, but it's not... pleasant."

"duly noted." Sans remarked, noting how she had kept her arms above her head without him holding them there. He brought his hands back down and brought a hand between her breasts, rubbing her sternum curiously. It seemed that touching bones on her didn't have the same effect as they did on him. He watched as her nipples hardened beneath her bra. He smirked and lowered his mouth to her clavicle, nibbling and kissing her as he slipped his hands around her back.

"you are so fuckin' beautiful," he murmured huskily. He pressed his palms into her shoulder blades, then went to her vertebrae. He brought his hands back around by following her ribs. He felt her stomach twitch at the sensations, soft moans slipping her her lips when he started brushing over her stomach. First, he followed the defined line that ran from the tip of her sternum down to her belly button. From there his fingers fanned out, making sure to touch every single part of her and gauge her reactions. Frisk gasped and shuddered when he reached the sensitive skin on the inner points of her hipbones. He quirked a brow and dug his fingers in.

Her squirming was absolutely delicious. She whimpered and her back arched her into him more. Sans was glowing, completely turned on by her reactions to him. He was ready for round two, but he had plans for Frisk. He was willing to wait his turn. This was enough for him, pleasing Frisk and listening to her make these sounds all for him.

"you're so perfect... so soft, and fuck... your body is so... gorgeous..." he vaguely recalled muttering compliments to her between kisses, but he was too focused on her. Curiously, he slipped his fingers down to her waistband and she gasped and swiftly grabbed his wrists, lifting them off. She was nervous, she wasn't ready yet. He got it. He relented easily and diverted route instead, going back up to her ribs and brushing the underside of her breasts, where her skin met fabric. He wanted the obstacle gone.

He reached around and placed his hands onto the small of her back where she had arched up into him. She was breathing shakily. He went for the little clasp placed over her spine and he fumbled with it for a moment while Frisk rested her hand on his humerus. He shoved the long list of puns to the back of his mind. He needed to focus all of his efforts into unclasping this fucking contraption.

"frisk, i... could you... i can't... fuckin'..." He couldn't find the right words through his frustrations. Frisk blushed and giggled, placing a quick kiss on his lips to pacify him as she angled herself so she could awkwardly reach around her back. A second later, her bra was free. Sans was absolutely convinced humans actually did have a little bit of magic in them. Eagerly, Sans grabbed her bra straps and slid it free from her body and he tossed it aside.

It was like unwrapping the best presents in the world. He held her ribs in his palms and ran his thumbs over her perky breasts in absolute fascination. Frisk shuddered and bit her lip, moaning softly. She let her arms rest at her sides, her hands balling into fists. Sans couldn't stop staring at her. She looked up at him, smiling at his face. He slid his hands up and cupped them over her chest, giving them a gentle squeeze. He gave her nipples a few flicks. She stifled herself, her breathing picking up pace.

Sans leaned down and nuzzled into her neck. "you can make noise, if you want. no one can hear us," he informed her softly, really just wanting to hear her more. Frisk took a deep breath and gasped sharply as he pinched her nipples gently. He chuckled, "i want to hear you moan for me."

"Ngh... mmhmm." Was all she could manage. That was good enough for him. He kissed down her neck and went back to her collarbone, taking her skin in his mouth again and biting down on it.

Her groan was very encouraging.

He held her breasts in his palms and squeezed and pushed them, manipulating them as he bit her skin and then peppered the marks with happy kisses. With each round of movements he got more rough with her and each time he elicited a better, more exciting response. He loved how uneven her breathing got and how she trembled beneath him. Her thighs squeezed tighter against his femurs.

When he was done with her shoulders, he trailed kisses down her sternum and then cupped a breast in his hand, exposing her taut nipple as his face hovered over it. His tongue slipped out and flicked over it.

"AH!"

He grinned and lowered his mouth, taking her nipple in his teeth. He sucked gently and bit down on her.

"Oh, my... stars..." She whimpered with the most perfect panting. Her back arched farther into him. His free hand slipped under her back with the other worked her neglected breast. His fingers brushed along her spine as he licked, sucked, and nibbled on her nipple happily. When he was satisfied, he moved his mouth over to the other and repeated the cycle. His free hand trailed down to her waistband again, testing the waters. She grabbed his wrist again and he relented easily, gripping her free breast instead.

Her whimpers were deliciously pathetic and he loved every single second of them. She placed her hands on the back of his skull, digging her fingers into his magic. When he was finished with her breasts he pulled away and glanced at her face. She was on cloud nine, but when she realized he had pulled away she looked betrayed.

"relax, i have better things to do." he smirked lecherously and placed his hands back over her tits and his mouth went to the lowest point of her sternum, using his tongue to massage her flesh as he made his way down the divot in the center of her stomach. He worked her breasts as he nibbled at her hips, then pressed his tongue into the sensitive skin happily and worked circled into her. She went wild beneath him, moaning louder than she had before. He moved from hip to hip, giving each an equal amount of attention. She bucked into him, wanting more as her stomach twitched with each move he made.

He made his way lower until his lips met fabric. He looked up at her as he fingers at her waistband. She took a deep breath and whimpered, nodding her head eagerly.

"Please," She begged. He grinned and undid her button, then pulled her pants off as she lifted her hips and feet to help him. She chewed her lip anxiously.

"my, oh my..." Sans murmured heavily, resting his hands on her knees. "you're fucking soaked. " He groaned with pure desire, rubbing his hands up and down her thighs. She was flustered, her entire upper torso bright red. She was looking at him, her eyebrows puckered. He went for her panties and she didn't stop him. "can i? is this okay?" He asked her warily.

"Yes, Sans, please, " she begged impatiently. Sans grinned and slipped her panties down and she lifted her rump for him to toss the to the side. He loomed over her for a moment and just took her bare body in.

"you're just... so... perfect..." he struggled to find the words he wanted. She was more than perfect. She was flawless, extraordinary, marvelous... there weren't enough adjectives in this language for her. He couldn't describe her adequately by any means. He gave up and positioned himself between her knees, placing his arms underneath her knees and wrapping them around to grip her hips. Her breathing was labored, feeling his breath on her core.

He didn't go straight for the goal, though. He went back to where he had been working before, pressing sweet, lingering kisses at the center and very slowly made his way down, kissing and licking at the sensitive skin. He lingered at the spot just above her lips and nipped her. Frisk made an impatient whine.

" Sans !" She begged helplessly, her thighs shaking on either side of his head. He laughed.

"okay, okay," he chuckled, spreading her lips apart and inspected her for a moment, enjoying the sight. She grunted and he got the hint, finding the small pink nub and closing his mouth around it. Frisk sucked in her breath and moaned in ecstasy as he started licking.

"Fuck..." She whispered breathlessly, squirming slightly in his hands. She turned her head to the side and squeezed her eyes shut. Sans kept going eagerly.

He lived for the sounds she made. He ran his tongue in circles around her clit, careful not to spend all of his attention on it, rather went for it's peripherals so she didn't get overstimulated to a point where it was just uncomfortable. Frisk grabbed at the bed and threw her head back, her body arching upward and giving him easier access to her clit. She was breathing heavily and groaning with each exhale. It was driving him wild.

"Oh, shit, Sans... fuck..." She gasped out. He removed a hand from her hips and slipped a finger into her heat. She was so tight around him.

Frisk could barely keep any form of coherency as Sans worked her. Everything his did was carefully calculated. His magic tongue did things to her she never thought she would feel without her vibrator. His magic always had a thrumming quality to it, but against her clit it was like electricity, vibrating against her and adding that one extra quality to throw her over the edge. Except every time she would come close, he removed his tongue from her and instead he pushed it into her warmth, lapping in and out of her.

When she started screaming his name is when he focused everything on her clit, pushing two fingers into her and curling them against her g-spot.

"HA--S-SANS, I--AH!" She couldn't complete her sentence before she released, clenching around his fingers as her body lurched forward, cumming hard as he held her hips still, working her through it as she cried out, clutching his skull. Waves of pleasure pushed through her as her muscles released her, letting her fall back into the bed, panting heavily.

Sans pulled away from her and wiped his mouth on his bedsheet, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. He ran his hands over her thighs happily, " did i do a good job ?" He teased her gently, laughed as Frisk weakly cuffed his arm. He took that as a yes, looking over her limp body. His glow was back in full force, his magic cock fully erect. Frisk glanced at it drowsily.

"Already?" She asked him in bewilderment, "How?" She looked ready to go to sleep. Sans shrugged.

"lots of excess magic, i suppose. we don't have to go again if you're tired--"

"I want to." Frisk said quickly, taking a deep breath and sitting up. Her body was covered in a glistening layer of sweat. She took his hands and pulled him down, laying him on his back on the bed. He obeyed her curiously, smirking as she placed him down.

"you sure you don't want me to take the lead?" He wondered as she moved to straddle his hips, putting his cock in her palm and angling it for herself carefully. Sans rested his hands on her waist and looked up at her as she positioned herself on her knees.

"I'm fine, I think..." She murmured.

"alright, just... take it slow. it shouldn't hurt you too much, and nothing should actually break if you're actually prepared, okay? just... you can stop at any point." He worried over her too much. She placed her hand over his mouth.

"Shut up." She ordered. He obeyed.

She placed a hand on his ribs and guided him to her entrance, then he slid inside her. Very easily as well, given her recent orgasm and how much foreplay they'd had. Their moans sang in unison as Frisk sat as far down as she could and froze.

It didn't hurt, necessarily. It was more like she was stretching a muscle she hadn't used, ever. Which was accurate to what was happening, wasn't it? She bit her lip and grimaced. Sans dug his fingers into her flesh.

"holy shit... frisk..." He grunted, using all of his power not to grab her hips and move her up and down on his own. She lifted herself up and then sat again, going a bit further. She gasped, feeling an uncomfortable twinge but it still felt so good to have him inside her. He looked up at her face, concern on his face.

"are you--" he was silenced as she lifted again and moved back down faster this time, giving a soft grunt. It didn't hurt this time. " aaaaahhh-haha-ahh... " he hissed and moaned as Frisk started moving more rhythmically, both hands going to his ribs and gripping them to help steady herself.

Frisk groaned in pleasure as she rode him, her toes curling as she positioned herself just so each time she pressed down he was hitting a spot that drove her wild. Sans couldn't stop himself from pressing down on her hips, making her go down harder and deeper. It didn't hurt at all as his magic was static inside of her as well.

"Stars, Sans..." she whimpered as he slammed her down. She studied how his glow changed with each thrust until it stopped growing. He groaned and grabbed her thighs, lifting her off of him. "Sans?" He shifted and placed Frisk on her back onto the bed, positioning himself between her legs again.

He wanted to take control, so he did. Frisk didn't protest, especially not when he dropped his hand to start playing with her clit after he put himself back inside her. He started thrusting again and Frisk positioned herself until it felt amazing again, so he was hitting that one spot that made her whole body feel it. She moaned out his name again and he grunted in response, thrusting harder.

Frisk let out a moan she felt from her toes as Sans pushed in and out of her, probably with a little bit more aggression than was necessary, but he lost himself in feeling her. He couldn't help it. Everything felt so amazing. He'd never felt this way before about anyone. Sex had never felt this good before. His glow was nearly opaque and he felt her clenching around him as he circled her clit.

He looked thoughtful for a second and stopped. "turn over," he ordered. Frisk looked confused and looked up at him, upset that he'd stopped. He sighed, "turn--" he grabbed her hips and flipped her so she was on her stomach, "--over." He smiled and grabbed her hips, lifting her ass up to him. He positioned himself into her again. "adjust yourself until it feels good." He pushed into her slowly, giving her a chance to drop her hips and arch her back, placing a pillow under her stomach. Sans hissed with pleasure. Frisk gave a whimper, but it was definitely a good one. Sans began thrusting again and Frisk gave a shuddering gasp, feeling his length rub against her g-spot's wall with every single insertion. She was practically choking on her moans.

His arm wrapped around her leg and started rubbing her clit once more. Her moans grew louder and louder until she was practically screaming his name. His glow was complete opaque, lighting up his entire room.

"are you...?"

"Y-Yes! Fuck, Sans! STARS!" She managed to choke out. He picked up the pace, thrusting hard into her with enthusiasm until she was absolutely screaming. He held on as long as he could while she released around him. He gave a shout, trying to hold back while she convulsed and spasmed, trying to ride hers out until his magic burst and the room was dark again, sparks popping from his bones as the two collapsed onto the bed together. Frisk's breathing was ragged. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled into into his chest.

"Holy... mother of... I had no idea... it was like that..." Frisk managed through gasps, her whole body limp with exhaustion.

"yeah... thanks for cumming. " Sans chuckled out.

"Seriously, Sans?" Frisk frowned.

"sorry. couldn't help it," he murmured, reaching over and grabbing his blanket, pulling it over the both of them as Frisk shut her eyes, nestled up against him.

"Why do I love you?" She muttered tiredly. Sans' soul throbbed at the words. Maybe not in the ideal sentence, but they were still said.

"honestly, i have no fuckin' idea."

"Mmm... I'm still mad at you for ignoring me. Don't think you're off the hook..." She nuzzled into him in exhaustion as he brushed his fingers over her soft skin. He grimaced.

"yeah... we have a lot to talk about..." he murmured softly. Frisk made a quiet sound of acknowledgement before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Frisk emerged from the thick, dense forest and reached a clearing. Her mind was foggy, she didn't remember how she got here, but she didn't question it. She looked over the clearing and found it was a beautiful green meadow speckled with a rainbow of flowers. As she came out from the shadows she felt the warmth of the sun on her face. She moved to the center of the meadow and held out her arms, basking in the warm glow of the sun. The breeze picked up the aroma from the flowers and milled it around her. She took a deep breath, smelling the flowers happily.

From the treeline she heard birds chirping out their love songs, leaping from the trees and fluttering around her as they followed the breeze. She giggled, looking up at them as they danced in the sky. She smiled and shut her eyes, letting the pleasantness of the meadow seep into her.

She sighed in complete contentment, but slowly she started to grow uncomfortably warm. It was as though the sun were growing hotter, or possibly closer? She frowned and felt her body shudder at the changes. She took another breath and smelled smoke. Her eyes shot open and she looked around in a panic. Where was the fire? She couldn't see a fire. Really, she couldn't see anything. She realized it was almost completely dark surrounding her. The meadow was gone, she saw no trees or birds or flowers. Rather walls of stone and dirt surrounded her instead. The sun was gone.

She still smelled smoke. She still found no fire. She looked around everywhere, finding nothing. Until she looked down.

She was on fire. Frisk gave a shout of panic, reaching down and trying to brush the flames off her legs. That did nothing for the fire as it ate her pant legs and crawled upwards. Frisk felt like she was melting as her legs blistered and peeled off her bones. She swatted at the flames, then noticed her clothes and hands were completely covered in white dust. Where did it come from?

She looked up and she noticed movement, her body trembling as she whimpered in agony. A short distance from her she saw a small girl. The contrast of her green and yellow striped sweater and her flaming red hair made her stand out against the monochrome of the rock walls. She clutched a knife in her hands and looked up at Frisk with bright red eyes, her lips pulled into a wide grin. Her cheeks were a rosy pink.

"Do you think you can ignore me, Frisk?" Chara demanded, "Do you think these are really just nightmares? Do you think you can live a happy, perfect life with that boneheaded comedian? Do you think I'll let you do that without making sure you know everything that you did? Without knowing everything he did?" Chara threw her head back and laughed, playing with the knife thoughtfully. A second later Chara appeared right beside her, leaning into Frisk's ear. Frisk whimpered. "Can you feel them?" She whispered as a sensation ran up and down Frisk's spine, like bugs skittering across her skin and burrowing into her. "Can you feel your sins ?"

Frisk reached for her back and clawed at it. The flames were creeping up to her waist and she dug into her skin. She opened up her mouth to try to speak, to explain to Chara, to ask her what the hell she was talking about, but all that came out was a wail. She cried as she searched for help but only found a glowing blue and yellow eye staring down at her, judging her. A scream ripped from her throat.

"frisk, wake up! wake up! "

Frisk was shaken awake and her heart was hammering against her chest. She panicked and scrambled up and off the bed, still feeling the things on her. She scratched and dug at her back. She hyperventilated, " GET THEM OFF! " Her fingernails grew bloody as they cut into her skin. Sobs wracked through her as she pleaded with Sans to make the invisible things go away. "GET THEM OFF, PLEASE! PLEASE!"

"there's nothing on you! you're okay, everything's okay!" Sans crawled down beside her and took her wrists to stop her from hurting herself. "there's nothing there, frisk! snap out of it!" Frisk squirmed underneath him as he pinned her to the ground, her bloody back staining his carpet. She was too weak to get away from him, but she continued squirming as the sensations from her dreams continued.

"They're there... my b-back... m-my sins... cr-rawling..." Frisk managed between sobs, gasping and shaking. Somehow she still felt like she was on fire, she wasn't sure if her legs were okay or not. Sans stared down at her blankly.

"frisk... sweetheart..." he tried to keep his voice level as he gently released her wrists, grabbing the blanket and giving it to her as she stared up at him. He watched her and inhaled pointedly. She followed suit, taking a slow breath in, giving a small whine as she gasped involuntarily. Sans exhaled pointedly. Frisk slowly let out her breath, only to give a soft sob. Sans repeated this a few times until Frisk's hysteria was managed. Sans gave a weak groan and helped her sit up.

"what happened? in your dream, what...?" Frisk whimpered as she wrapped the blanket around herself, sniffling and taking a deep breath. Tears still streamed down her cheeks.

"It... it was a beautiful day outside..." Frisk started, and Sans immediately knew where it was going. He felt everything in him go cold. "The birds... were singing," she sniffled and shuddered, "the flowers were blooming..." It seemed as though she had calmed. She wasn't shaking, the tears had stopped and only what remained in her eyes dripped down. She looked up at Sans and met his eyes.

"And I was b u r n i n g  i n    h  e  l  l  ."

Sans' soul twisted inside him. He reached out and pulled Frisk into his arms and he held her close to his chest, tucking her under his chin. She laid there, limp, as she dwelt on her nightmare. Sans hoped desperately that Papyrus hadn't come home that night and heard everything that had just happened. Given that his door was still on it's hinges and there wasn't an eight foot skeleton fretting over Frisk, he figured he stayed with Undyne. He knew Papyrus would have had a thousand questions and Sans had very few answers for him. After holding Frisk for a few moments, Sans scooped her up and stood, stepping out of his room.

Sans froze and looked down, noticing the pile beside his bedroom door. Blue covered his cheeks as he noticed it contained the neatly folded forms of his hoodie, his pants, and Frisk's shirt. Apparently, Papyrus was indeed home and Sans would have a lot of explaining to do. He wasn't looking forward to it. He quickly snatched up the clothes and brought them into the bathroom with him and Frisk. He set her down gently on the toilet, which was only added for Frisk, and he started up the shower.

"What're you doing?" Frisk whimpered blearily, still really only half awake and her hysterics hadn't helped her energy levels. She held the blanket tighter against herself as Sans took her hand and held it under the water. He wasn't a very good judge of temperature and needed her help.

"you need to shower. you're covered in blood, and sweat, and probably other things."

Frisk groaned in a mix of irritation and exhaustion. "Can't we do this in the morning?" She huffed softly, nodding once the temperature was fine. Sans reached over and peeled the blanket off of her, tossing it to the side and then helping her into the tub, seating her with her back to the water so it would rinse the blood off of her back. She hissed in pain and gripped his tibias.

"we can't have all these gettin' infected," Sans scolded lightly, like he was explaining simple things to a child. Frisk shuddered and arched her back away from the water, gasping and doing everything in her power not to scream. "shit... sweetheart, you really did a number on yourself." He grabbed a clean body cloth and gently dabbed at the cuts, getting the crusts off so he could see everything more clearly.

" OW! " Frisk dug her fingers into his bones.

"i'm sorry, but it has to be done." Once he had cleaned her back off he got a good look at the damage she had done to herself. Most of them were superficial cuts, red and raised but with only small beads of blood being produced. A few more were deep and bleeding heavily, with one that looked like it could use stitches. "stars, frisk..." He grabbed a bar of soap and lathered up a different rag, handing it to her so she could wash the rest of her body. He lathered up his own to wash what he could of her back. She hissed and whimpered throughout, but didn't try to stop him.

As he washed her, Sans considered what Frisk had said in her hysteria. She repeated words he had said to her before in a much darker timeline. Things he told her when he stood before her in a golden hall, still reeling from the death of his brother and everyone he had ever known. When it was only him and Asgore who remained between her and the barrier.

Sans wondered what else Frisk knew.

Did she know more than just what he had said?

Did she know what he did?

Did she know what she did?

"Sans," Frisk murmured softly, pulling him out of his reverie. She gave his tibias a gentle squeeze as she turned her head a bit, glancing at him. Sans looked up and gave a weak smile, He had gotten most of the bleeding to stop, but there were a few cuts that persisted.

"yeah, sweetheart?" His bones were riddled with stress as he watched her turn back towards the wall. She squirmed under his fingers as he tried to use his magic to get the last few to stop bleeding. He hated how limited he was in healing magic.

"What happened in the underground?"

Sans took a deep breath, wanting to answer her but he just couldn't. "lots of things happened in the underground, hun, you're gunna have to be more specific." He got the last few to at least not bleed as much as they were so he stood, then turned and helped Frisk out of the tub. She scowled at him but took his hand. He seated her backwards on the toilet and grabbed a dry towel, gently patting her back dry. She shivered in pain.

"Sans," she turned her head to look at him again and he avoided her eyes, focusing on her wounds. "You know what I mean. The resets."

Sans grimaced, going for the bandages and antibiotic ointment. He smothered her back in the ointment, "again, there were lots of resets. i need specifics." He was being difficult on purpose, hoping she would change her mind and decide she really didn't want to know.

"What did I do to everyone? Why is Chara in my dreams, telling me that you're not innocent? Why does she feel like she has to warn me?" Frisk snapped at him in frustration. Sans paused at the mention of Chara, reeling a bit.

"you're dreaming about chara? why didn't you tell me?" Frisk's face flushed and she pressed her lips together, looking away and staring at the wall, resting her head on the tank. She just wanted answers and Sans was avoiding it at all costs. She did recognize how he diverted talking about the underground and resets before, but she never really gave it much thought. She had always believed that she would only go back to the beginning of the day just to meet all of her friends again, like Sans had said she did, and she also remembered Chara's small voice telling her of all the horrible things on the surface when the barrier had broken. Chara told her how she would never have to grow up if she just reset and relived the same day. It was only now that, considering everything, she realized she might be wrong about what she actually did when the resets happened.

"I didn't want to worry you. I know how much you don't like her. Please stop avoiding my questions, Sans. I need to know what I did. I need to know why I'm having these nightmares just because I want to be with you. Please, just stop changing the subject and just answer me, damn it!" Frisk pressed her forehead into her palms in exhaustion.

Sans gave a heavy sigh. He had more questions for her, but he knew trying to ask her again would only result in more shouting and frustration. "fine. alright. frisk, in the underground, you did a lot of things..." Sans tried to find the correct words and phrasing. He knew how Frisk felt about Chara, how she was this sweet little voice in her head that had lead her through the underground, but only because that's the only Chara she remembered experiencing. She said Chara had helped her when she was scared, calming her fears. That wasn't the Chara Sans knew. "i didn't really lie to you. i just left out... some details." Sans scratched his skull uncomfortably.

"Pretty important details." Frisk muttered, then felt his hands shaking against her skin. He was terrified of the words coming from his mouth.

"i know..." He reached over and grabbed his sweatpants and pulled them on, then took his hoodie and put it over her head. She slid her arms through the sleeves carefully and stood up, noting how the hoodie went all the way down to her knees. In other circumstances, she'd giggle at it and make a joke about how she wished he'd given her his hoodie in Snowdin. "there were timelines where you would fall down and you just... you wouldn't be you."

"What does that mean?" Sans shook his head and took her hand, stepping out of the bathroom.

As soon as they stepped out, Papyrus hurried out of his room and looked at the two, concern riddling his face. Frisk yelped in surprise and jumped back, causing Papyrus to yelp and jump back as well.

"Human, are you alright?" His usual loud voice was made quieter by his sleepiness. He looked her over, leaning down and taking her hands. Frisk took a deep breath and nodded, giving a weak smile.

"I'm fine, Papy, thank you." She assured him, "What are you doing... home? And awake?" She wondered, causing Papyrus to stand up straight and shrug.

"Undyne and I finished our training and I had forgotten my sleeping clothes at home, so I just came home instead. You two were fast asleep by the time I got home, in case you were wondering if I had overheard your intercourse." Frisk's face went bright red and she covered her face in embarrassment. "I woke when I heard your screaming. It frightened me..."

"I'm fine, Papy. It was just a nightmare again, I uh... I freaked out a little bit but it's okay, really."  She insisted, looking up at the giant skeleton.

"I was thinking about making some tea to assist me in going back to sleep, would you two like some as well? Perhaps it will calm all of our nerves. You both don't seem very well either." Papyrus looked at the two knowingly.

"i don't need any tea, it'll just run right through me ." Frisk glared at Sans. Of course Sans would make a joke at a time like this, he wasn't very good a serious talks, especially when Papyrus was involved.

"Sans, please, it's far too early..." She pleaded softly, taking Papyrus' hand and wandering down the stairs with him to go get tea. She would need the help to sleep again tonight, and she figured it would give Sans a bit more time to think of what to say.

"sorry, i was just... tea sing." Frisk groaned as they got to the kitchen and Papyrus got to work on the tea. Sans and Frisk sat at the table.

"So did my plan work?" Papyrus wondered as he went to boil the water, glancing back at them with a hopeful smile. Frisk glanced at Sans at the same moment he looked to her. Forgetting her nightmares a moment, she let a smile slip onto her lips as well.

"What was your plan exactly, Papy?" Sans scooted his chair closer to Frisk and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"To get you two alone together, of course." Papyrus looked immensely pleased with himself as he turned and looked at the two. "I knew that neither of you would let your pride take the hit and just leave, you two would try to stick out the night. Then, being alone, something might make you strike up a conversation and with both of your obvious love for one another, you would take the opportunity to make up. Given the result, I would say that my plan worked at least a little."

Papyrus was pretty smart.

"i guess you could say that's what happened," Sans allowed, smiling down at Frisk. She giggled and nuzzled against him. Papyrus was thrilled, turning back around to the boiling water and pouring it into cups with a teabag. He handed one bag to Frisk and set a little honey bear on the table in front of her.

"Well, I am very glad." Papyrus took a seat and stirred a bit of honey into his cup before taking a sip. "You two needed it. Everyone was tired of you ignoring one another and it was exhausting to deal with, to be frank." He looked over Frisk and Sans and grinned when he saw how close they were. "I am so glad you two are finally happy." Frisk took her cup of tea and sipped at it.

"me too, paps." Sans chuckled and took Frisk's cup from her hands, taking a sip from it. He coughed and spat. "needs more sugar, babe." He muttered.

"Well it's not your tea, bonehead." Frisk quipped, taking her cup back and taking another drink. Papyrus was beside himself, watching them banter. He giggled into his cup, trying to stifle himself.

"You two are adoooorable," Papyrus cooed softly. Sans' cheeks turned blue.

"anyway, paps, we gotta get back to bed. i'm exhausted, so's she. so're you. let's all go then, yeah?" Sans stood carefully and took Frisk's hand, helping her stand. She went over to Papyrus while he was still seated and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"Thank you for the tea, Papy," she hummed happily. He returned her hug, giving her a quick pat on the back. She gasped and shuddered, collapsing under his hand and falling to her knees. Sans rushed over and grabbed her.

"W-WHAT'D I DO? WHAT HAPPENED?" Papyrus' voice rose with panic as he withdrew his arms from Frisk like he had been burned. Sans helped Frisk stand as she whimpered, still wordless as pain racked through her. She gasped for air, feeling her back grow wet again. Sans grimaced and scooped her up into his arms.

"frisk cut herself a bit on her back, but it'll be fine, paps, promise. you go ahead and go to bed." Sans reassured him. Papyrus didn't look too convinced but nodded, getting up.

"I-I'M SORRY, HUMAN..." He murmured softly, walking out of the room, his shoulders hunched with guilt.

Sans sighed and a second later was in his room with Frisk. He carefully lifted his hoodie over her head and examined the bandage. It was bleeding through over one of the cuts, but not a lot. It didn't warrant a change, so he put another t-shirt on her and grabbed a few painkillers her kept around only for her and handed her a few to drink down. She took them quickly and sighed as they took effect immediately with the assistance of a magic additive. Sans took her hand and climbed onto the bed with her. She moved to sit across from him, but he had other plans. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest.

"So, resets and timelines. I wasn't me?" Frisk reminded him carefully.

"wow, jumpin' right back into it." Sans muttered sarcastically, leaning back against the wall as he held her. He hated that he couldn't have just enjoyed his first night with her, spending the whole time holding her to his chest and saying sweet things to her. Instead he was reliving the worst day of his life.

"Yes, we are. I need answers, or I'll never be able to sleep." Frisk took his hands and twined their fingers together thoughtfully.

"right... right..." Sans took a deep breath, "so... you weren't you, because chara was making you do the things you did." He seemed to hold her tighter a bit, like he was scared she would run away from him upon hearing what he had to say. Frisk gave his hands a squeeze.

"Like kill Toriel." She offered.

"...yeah, like... like that." Sans rested his head on her shoulder.

"And... Undyne?" Sans nodded into her neck. "And... And Asgore? ... Papyrus? ... You?"

"how do you know all of this?" He asked in frustration.

Frisk pressed her lips together and shrugged, "The nightmares I've been having since coming to the surface showed me doing all these awful things. They stopped for a long time, you remember? I used to tell you all about them and you said they were nothing, just stress, me coping with everything that happened. You lied to me." She scowled, feeling resentment fill her chest. She swallowed it down, "But that doesn't matter anymore. None of that matters." She reminded herself carefully, tightening Sans' arms around her. "What matters is that they started again, right after we got home from that trip."

"What happened in them?" Sans pulled his hands from her fingers and started playing with her hands absently.

"Well, in that one we were, uh, together. We were on my bed kissing and, well, disrobing..."

"Gettin' frisk y?" Sans chuckled. Frisk slapped his hand.

"Then you... you were choking me." Sans' hands stopped moving, "You called me a 'dirty brother killer', and I was so scared." Frisk shifted uncomfortably and held his hands once more. "Then the next night I had another nightmare. Chara was telling me she was only trying to protect me, and that you weren't innocent. She said it as I was being killed over and over again. I felt my soul shatter so many times in a row... I was shot by these giant skulls with huge blue lasers, then bones like Papyrus' attacks were shooting out of the walls, and then the force of gravity kept changing and I was being slammed against the walls and the floor and the ceiling. It hurt so bad and I could feel it, like it was really happening." Sans was completely still against her as he processed all of this new information. "That was the night of our movie night, it was the reason I woke up. Then, when we were together, you... you had put your hand against my throat and I just... The nightmares got to me. I'm so sorry, Sans... I should have told you."

"don't apologize." Sans turned her around and peppered kisses over her face. It was only then she realized a few tears had spilled down her cheeks. "never apologize. i was a complete child, it was my fault for making up my own explanations. those nightmares..." He took a breath to brace himself, "most of your nightmares, even the ones you had when you were younger, were real."

Frisk shuddered at the words. It was different than just knowing they were real, hearing they were real made it all settle in. "I really killed everyone."

"it was all chara. it wasn't you, not really. she made you do those things, she made you kill them." Sans explained quickly, holding her head as he looked her in the eyes, making sure she was still listening to him. He needed to make sure she didn't feel like it was all her fault. "but you made this timeline happen. you had mercy, and you made sure we all made it to the surface, and you didn't reset. you haven't reset ever since, and that's what matters."

"But Chara's the one who helped me, she got me through all of the puzzles, and the fights... Chara's always been so good to me. I know her, she couldn't..." Frisk was lost. She and Chara had bonded when she had been active still. Frisk considered her a great friend, and here Sans was blaming every bad thing she had ever done on her.

Sans sighed, "but i know you , frisk, and you're just not capable of the things that happened in the underground. i heard stories of chara from toriel and asgore, and you heard about her from asriel. she was a disturbed child, she almost killed asgore. she was the mastermind behind her own death, and then she got her own brother killed." Frisk rubbed her face in frustration. This was all just turning out to be too much.

"But she helped me..."

"that doesn't change what happened. look... you know what happened now, and it's stupidly early. can we go back to bed and talk about this all in the morning?" Sans requested, his hands going to her shoulders. Frisk nodded, her eyes far away as she tried to process everything properly. Sans placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "thank you." It was silent as Sans helped her lay down carefully, flat on her back so she didn't hurt herself again. He cuddled in beside her and wrapped his arm over her. "i am sorry, you know." He muttered after a moment.

"Sorry?" Frisk repeated in confusion.

"keepin' all that from you. i should've told you. it would have explained the nightmares, everything, and this never could have... gotten in the way." Frisk turned to Sans and gave him a weak smile, lifting a hand to rest on his cheek.

"It's all in the past." She assured him, "Now I know. Now we can move on, and we can be happy. Together."

"together." Sans grinned, "i like that." He leaned in a pressed a kiss to her lips. She sighed into him happily and returned his kiss until he pulled away a moment later. "anyway, i just wanted to say that. we should actually sleep now." He chuckled, nuzzling into her and shutting his eyes. Frisk was amazed with how quickly he fell asleep beside her.

Frisk shut her eyes and joined him, only to find herself standing in a dark room.

Everything was dead silent. Frisk looked around in fright and confusion. She felt pain in her arm from her fall.

Her fall?

She turned around and saw a small patch of golden flowers that basked in a beam of sunlight. When she turned back around she saw a doorway. Intrigued, she walked through it. She saw another spot where the light broke through. She didn't know why she had expected to see another golden flower there, but she was surprised instead when she saw the little red haired girl again.

The girl's head shot up and she stared at Frisk. Tears ran down her cheeks and pain contorted her face.

"I'm not the enemy." She stated brokenly, lifting her knife with a trembling hand as she pointed it at Frisk. "I helped you. I made sure you knew everything you did. I'm not just some bad guy in the story that everyone can j-just blame everything on. I'm not the villain, Frisk!" Chara threw the knife and it pierced Frisk's soul with a heavy thud . Frisk gasped and stumbled backward, grasping the knife in her hands. She watched as her soul emerged from her chest. It cracked once, twice. Chara stepped forward and grabbed her soul in her fist, gripping it tight.

She clenched her fist tighter and Frisk's soul shattered between her fingers.

" You are ."

Chapter Text

Frisk was so tired. She wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep, to fall into the blessed mindless void where she had no worries or cares or regrets to keep her awake. Instead, she laid in her bed with Sans snoring beside her as her mind overflowed with everything she had done. Every time she would shut her eyes she was met with different horrors; her mother kneeling before her with a gash through her chest, Papyrus holding his own head as he insisted she was still good, Undyne melting before her as she insisted on the underground's victory. She could still feel the knife in her chest and Chara's look of complete rage. In order to steel herself in reality, Frisk had to keep her eyes open and the sight was getting old, fast.

She wasn't really sure how many times she had counted Sans' ceiling tiles, but she knew the number by heart. She could even recite the row and column number of a few tiles that had interesting patterns on them, like one with a stain that looked like Doggo or another that looked like a froggit. It was useless information, but she had nothing better to do with her time as Sans slept like a rock. She was almost angry at him for how easily he could just fall asleep and stay asleep. She was envious.

All Frisk wanted was to sleep, and she didn't know why that was such a tall order. She hadn't really slept since her last nightmare with Chara two days ago. Chara's words haunted her, she wondered what she meant by saying Frisk was the bad guy. Perhaps Chara was commenting on what Sans had said, or maybe she was just trying to scare Frisk even more.

Whatever it was, it only really succeeded in making Frisk too scared and anxious to sleep, or at least sleep soundly. Every once in awhile she'd doze off mindlessly, only for the memories and nightmares to resurface and she would panic herself awake again with only five minutes of rest. Frisk knew she looked like shit, and she felt like shit, and when she had gone into work the next day at Grillby's he commented on it. She had insisted that she was completely fine but after she served the wrong meals to the wrong tables six times in a row, Grillby sent her home. Frisk didn't do very well without sleep, evidently.

When she got to Sans' house, he worried over her. She said she wasn't feeling well, which she wasn't so it wasn't a lie. Caretaker Papyrus was activated immediately. He made her several soups to try and make her feel better, and they each tasted delicious and she thanked him profusely, but that night when she went to bed with Sans it was only more of the same--melting, kneeling, dust.

So there she was, counting the ceiling tiles one more time as she tried to force the horrors she had committed to the back of her mind to keep from haunting her. She wished she hadn't pressed the matter with Sans. She wished he had never told her what she had done (what Chara had done, as Sans insisted), she wished she could have avoided facing any of it for the rest of her life and she could have just lived happily in ignorance with Sans at her side.

Thinking about Sans made her whole body feel warm. For just a moment, the horrible memories melted away and she was able to enjoy just being beside him. She shifted slowly, so as not to wake him, and just stared at his sleeping face. Every time she remembered their night together a grin slipped onto her face and her cheeks went rosy. She disregarded the nightmares that had followed, not letting her beautiful night be marred by them. She loved looking at him so peaceful, taking in every little detail and realizing that he was all hers.

Sans shifted a bit and Frisk bit her lip, feeling badly for waking him. His eyes blinked open drowsily and his eyelights gave a warm glow as he looked down at her with a curious grumble, his arms slipping back around her waist. Her heart gave a helpless flutter as a lazy, tired smile spread across his face. She pressed her palms against his sternum and gave a weak smile in return.

"heya, sweetheart," his voice was sleepy and came from deep in his chest, giving it a husky quality. Frisk momentarily forgot how to speak as her heard skipped a beat, her brain needing to catch up with the rest of her body. Sweetheart . Not kid, not bucko, not pal or sport or any of the child nicknames he had used for her for so long. She was his sweetheart now, and she absolutely loved it. She tried to reel in her smile but nothing could stop it from growing into a wide grin. Sans smirked in return and tangled his fingers into her hair, pulling her in for a brief kiss. He scrubbed his fingers into the nape of her neck, "why aren't you sleepin'?"

She blinked as the reasons flooded back, pushing her good feelings away. Her smile faltered. Her heartbeat picked up for a moment, and she was wordless as her love for Sans and her nightmares battled in her head. She grimaced and took a deep breath, thinking about how badly she just wanted to sleep. Perhaps Sans would be able to help her. Perhaps...

An idea popped into her head. She rubbed her palms over his sternum and along the lengths of his ribs. A soft rumble erupted from his chest, and the glow that came to his bones indicated her plan was working. The hand at the nape of her scalp began massaging her, the other running up and down the length of her spine in reciprocation, then poked into the small of her back to draw her closer.

"tryin' to jump my bones ?" Awake for thirty seconds and his first pun of the day was already made. If she didn't know better, she would say it was a record (there was one day they were going to a funeral for a very influential monster rights activist, Sans had slept in and Frisk woke him to get ready. He opened his mouth and the first thing he said was "mournin'," and his shit-eating grin told her he knew exactly what he'd done). Frisk scowled at him and he chuckled, grabbing her ass and pulling her hips flush against his own. "i'm not complainin' or nothin', i just didn't think you'd be one for..." he trailed as he reached for his phone to check the time, "two am sex?" He blinked in surprise and looked back to her in confusion. "you just wake up, or...?"

Frisk considered lying to him more, but she decided she really didn't want to keep that habit up. Instead, she fingered the tip of his sternum and ran her fingers along the inside of his ribs, "Couldn't sleep," she admitted, smirking up at him and tugging him a bit closer to she could kiss him hungrily. He hummed pleasantly into her lips, working her mouth skillfully and slipping his tongue between her teeth. The familiar taste of his magic was comforting and it washed her mind clean. She was able to just focus on Sans, and being with him. One of his hands went to her panties, pressing against her warmth over the fabric. She gave a quiet gasp, muffling herself she she knew what a light sleeper Papyrus could be. Sans pulled away from her after a moment

"can't sleep, hm?" He was thoughtful as he worked a bit of magic into his fingertips, applying only the lightest amount of pressure as he worked in little cycles, teasing her. She whimpered, angling her hips closer to him. He smirked. "i got this."

Sans was filled with determination.

Two hours later, Frisk was hugging a pillow into her stomach, curled up into the fetal position with her eyes closed, her forehead against Sans' hip as he sat up beside her. He held a quantum mechanics textbook in his hands that he was reading to her. He had been absolutely sure that round four would finally exhaust her enough that she would just pass out, but it just didn't work. So he changed tactics and grabbed one of his old textbooks from his bookcase.

Listening to him drone on and on about scientists with complicated names and theories filled with massive words that Sans seemed to pronounce seamlessly was certainly boring. Despite the bland topic, everything sounded very intriguing coming from Sans' tongue. Frisk gave a frustrated sigh and rolled onto her back, pushing the pillow over his face.

"seriously? paps never lasts more than five minutes with this one." Sans sounded exhausted as well. He reached over and plucked the pillow off her head, then poked her cheek to make her look at him. "what's got you so worked up that six orgasms and quantum mechanics can't fix?"

She really wasn't prepared to talk about it with him anymore. She wasn't ready to hear more and more about how everything was really Chara's fault and she was this innocent bystander to it all. Maybe if he could explain how she could just suddenly lose any and all control of her own body she might try to understand. It just didn't make sense.

She huffed and looked away from him again. "You know what it is and I really don't want to think about it anymore."

Sans resisted the free 'I told you so' moment.

"right, yeah, of course." He sighed, then set the book aside and curled up beside her, "i've got one other trick up my sleeve. it helped paps when he was a babybones, he had a lot of horrible nightmares too for a while. it was a huge chore to get him to fall asleep." He laid on his side and pulled Frisk to him so they were chest to chest. He took her arms and adjusted them to that she reached up inside his ribcage. He had her clutch them so she was holding him against herself as well, "Alright, now just shut your eyes."

Frisk obeyed, expecting to find more terrible sights behind her eyelids, but instead she found a faint blue glow. Frisk blinked her eyes open again quickly, curious as to what was happening and why it was making her feel so calm. She saw Sans was glowing again, but it was different than the glow of his arousal. It was warmer and dimmer, and it was focused into the center of his chest rather than coating his bones.

"can't fall asleep with your eyes open," Sans pointed out teasingly, chuckling at her, "c'mon, you can ask questions in the morning when you wake up."

Frisk was too tired to ask any questions anyway. She just nodded mutely and shut her eyes again. The light somehow made her whole body feel more relaxed, she was able to focus on the glow rather than the thoughts that lingered in the back of her mind. It felt like she was soothed right down to her very soul. For a moment it was like she was just floating on a cloud, no worries plaguing her, and soon she was fast asleep.

Frisk's phone rang at eight in the morning, but Sans snatched it up and answered it before she could be woken by it. She was out like a light, sleeping more soundly than he'd ever seen her.

"hello?" He spoke as quietly as he could, keeping a wary eye on Frisk. He wished he had taken a look at the caller ID before answering.

"Greetings. Wait, Sans? I apologize, I thought I was calling Frisk--" It was Toriel. Well, this would be a fun discussion.

"yeah, no, you did call her phone. i just, uh, answered it instead." Sans explained quietly, turning the volume down on the phone as well. Frisk didn't so much as shift in her sleep, and he was grateful.

"And what exactly are you doing answering her phone?" Toriel demanded, and Sans could feel her suspicion through the phone. He grimaced. He hadn't discussed telling anyone about them yet with Frisk. Only Papyrus knew so far, although whatever Papyrus knew Undyne was sure to know soon after. So Papyrus and Undyne knew, probably. However, Undyne also kept no secrets from Alphys... So more than likely Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys all knew about Frisk and Sans.

Not Toriel or Asgore. Not yet.

Sans thought fast, "well, frisk's been havin' a real hard time fallin' asleep the past few days, so i've been helpin' 'er out, since i had all the experience with paps' night terrors when 'e was a kid 'n all..." He wasn't lying to her, at least, and Toriel was pacified.

"Oh, I had no idea. Is that why she has not been home?" Toriel wondered, now only seeming worried for her daughter. Sans stared down at Frisk, keeping himself from reaching over and touching her possessively. Only then did it click that Frisk might not have actually slept in a few days, which might have been the real reason she came home from work early. The thought of her struggling for so long while laying right beside him bothered him deeply. He wondered if she'd always be hiding her pain from him or if one day she'd actually be comfortable enough with him to be honest.

"uh, yeah, actually. that's why." He hoped that was a lie

Toriel didn't sound too pleased, but she let the topic drop. "Well, thank you for assisting her, Sans. Anyway, as for the reason I called, Asgore and I had a few things we would like to discuss with you and Frisk today. We can wait for her to wake, however, given that she has been struggling with that. Would you give us a call when she does, and then perhaps head over?"

"course, tori. we will. you'll be my first call when she wakes up." He found himself absently playing with Frisk's hair once he realized just how hard she was sleeping.

"Thank you. We will look forward to your call."

"right. bye, tori." He hung up, placing Frisk's phone back on the night stand and waiting patiently for her to wake up.

Frisk slept for a solid ten more hours. When she did finally wake, she rolled over and let out a massive groan as she stretched, arching her back and lifting her arms above her head. Sans cringed hard as he heard loud, distinct pops of her joints releasing, but he didn't say anything. She blinked deliriously and slowly came back to reality, yawning and giving herself a moment to let her mind clear.

Sans' soul swelled with complete and utter adoration as he took in the sight of her waking up beside him. He loved seeing her with messy bedhead--mostly just last night's ponytail halfway pulled out, her hair going every which direction in a way he was sure defied gravity. He loved seeing her in his t-shirt, completely unkempt on her torso, practically backwards on her. He reached over and took her by the waist, pulling her back over to him and giving her a good morning kiss. She giggled softly in response.

"mornin'. how'd ya sleep?" Frisk pulled her knees up against her chest and nuzzled against him.

"I don't think I've slept that well since I was an infant, honestly." She murmured, "What the hell did you do and can you do it every night?"

Sans smiled lazily, "it's just a little magic i can do, but it's really pretty taxin'. if you really need me to, of course i'd be more than happy." If he could prevent it, he never wanted Frisk to suffer ever again. "paps didn't need anythin' that drastic too much, only every once in awhile." He chuckled and gestured for her to turn around. She did and he lifted up her shirt to examine her back. The cuts had scabbed over nicely and he only needed to bandage the one deep one, since Frisk refused to go to the hospital and get it stitched. "good, good. anyway, you need to go get cleaned up an' dressed an' shit. your parents called this morning but i told 'em you were sleepin' and that we'd be over whenever you got up. considering it's six now..."

"Six? Holy shit," Frisk was floored. She didn't recall a single time in her memory that she had slept that long, ever. She stood and went to her bag, grabbing the outfit she had grabbed for the day. Sans took his phone and dialed Toriel, putting the phone to his ear just as Frisk pulled his t-shirt over her head. Sans found himself just staring at her, taking in every little detail of her body. He saw the little dimples on her lower back, the indents of where her abdomen met her hips, the small gap between her thighs--

"Hello? Sans? Are you there? Have you accidentally dialed my number with your posterior--?"

"wha--oh! heya, tori, sorry, i was..." He probably shouldn't tell her that he was distracted by her naked daughter. "uh, frisk woke up a minute ago. she's gettin' ready now, so we'll be headin' on over soon."

"She certainly slept for a very long time, is she alright?" Toriel sounded concerned, "We can reschedule if she truly is not well. You could just bring her home and we can tend to her health instead, we are at Asgore's home..." Sans was irritated by the statement, but it made sense when he thought about it from her perspective. They were Frisk's parents, and he was just her very good friend. Why would Frisk stay with him if she were ill?

"she's fine, just a touch of insomnia. nothing any of us haven't encountered at least once. it'll be fine, tori, trust me. we can do whatever it is you need us for. we'll see you in a bit."

"I will see you soon," Toriel sighed, "Oh! Come hungry, I am cooking supper and I have made enough for all of us." Sans agreed and they hung up. Sans looked back at Frisk and was disappointed to see she was already dressed. He stood and pulled his sweatpants on, then a t-shirt and his pullover. Frisk ran a brush through her hair, then threw it right back up into a ponytail. She grabbed her glasses and her shoes as Sans put on his slippers.

"Ready!" Frisk stepped over to Sans, taking his hand and pulling him down to meet her for a sweet kiss. Sans felt his cheekbones glow with affection. Together, they walked out of the house and to Frisk's car, and she drove them to Asgore's home. They walked in together.  "Ma! Dad! I'm home!" Frisk called out.

"In the dining room, dear!" Toriel called back. Frisk took the lead as they walked to the dining room and Frisk took a seat. Dinner hadn't been set out yet, but her stomach was already growling. She ignored her hunger, figuring dinner would be out soon.

"So, what's going on?" She noticed Toriel sitting on Asgore's right-hand side at the table. A smile spread across her face, noting the close proximity of the two. She already knew they were sneaking around, but now they were being so open about it. Maybe her dreams really were coming true. Sans took the seat beside Frisk. Frisk nearly exploded with joy when she saw Asgore reach over, taking Toriel's hand in his own affectionately.

"Well, Frisk, we felt it was appropriate now for you to know..." Asgore looked to Toriel with adoration on his face. She blushed and turned to look at Frisk with a happy smile.

She placed her other hand over Asgore's, "Your father and I are back together now. We will be remarrying in this world to make everything official once more." She seemed a bit apprehensive as she looked to Frisk, "The reasons I left your father are no longer issues we face anymore, and I believe he has made up for his mistakes ten-fold. We have had several discussions regarding everything we went through and we are very happy to be together once more." She spoke quickly, like she felt she needed to justify herself. "We were hoping you would feel happy for us as well."

Frisk gave a shout of glee and shot out of her chair, hurrying over to her parents and placing herself between them, hugging them both. "Ahh! This is the best day of my life!" Toriel and Asgore hugged her in return, creating a happy family huddle. It was everything Frisk had dreamed it would be. "I've been praying you two would get back together forever! You guys have no idea how happy this makes me! I love you two so much, oh my goodness, this is amazing!"

Asgore's laugh was filled with relief, "I am glad you are happy for us." He kissed Frisk's cheek gently and let her go as she pulled away from them.

"We are so happy, Frisk. We were so hoping we could all be a family together." Toriel kissed Frisk's other cheek. Sans enjoyed seeing the three of them so happy.

"Yes, please!" Frisk giggled, going back to her chair and sitting back down, grinning ear to ear.

There was a knock at the door. Asgore and Toriel shared a looked and Toriel stood, going to answer the door. Frisk was confused, "Did you two order dinner...?" Very few places in the underground delivered so high up Mt. Ebott. Asgore's smile was more forced now.

"Oh, well, no, dinner is in the kitchen. This is our second round of, uh, news for you." Frisk grew slightly more uncomfortable, her happy feelings from their first bit of news fading as she watched her father. He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat, "We believe we have found an adequate replacement for the ambassador position." He explained carefully, "Tori! Bring her in, please."

Frisk stiffened in her seat and glanced at Sans quickly. He looked just as surprised as she felt, but they kept their faces carefully neutral as Toriel reentered the room with a woman beside her. Frisk's temper flared, but underneath the table she felt Sans' hand on her knee, giving it a squeeze. The woman was gorgeous.

She was a fox monster, with a tall, lithe body. Her fur was gray and silver with black accents, and she was dressed immaculately in a gray pencil skirt and white button-up. Her facial features were sharp and elegant, the long fur on her hackles pulled back into a smooth ponytail. She was smiling at Frisk and Sans, lifting her hand and wiggling her fingers.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to actually meet you two. I've heard so many wonderful things. I'm Vexa, but you may call me Vicky. Humans tend to be more comfortable around monsters with more human-sounding names."

Frisk forced down her pride and rose from her seat, tapping Sans' arm to make him do so as well. She wanted to hate her, she really wanted to hate her. The day had taken a completely different turn than she had anticipated, and now she was staring at her gorgeous replacement. The world would never like her as much as they liked Frisk, they couldn't. Frisk had spent so long building her relationship...

Right, then she took a wrecking ball to those relationships by making out with a monster on a dancefloor. She had almost forgotten.

"Vicky, it's nice to meet you." Frisk was trying very hard not to let her jealousy show over her voice and features. She saw how happy her parents looked, seeing the two together, she didn't want to disappoint them again. Vicky took Frisk's hand in a firm handshake. Suddenly, Vicky seemed a bit nervous, her ears tipping back a bit meekly.

"It is so lovely to finally meet you, Frisk. I have followed your career ever since the migration, and I am so very impressed with how you handled everything that was thrown at you, especially at such a young age. I admire you so much, and... if I may, I just cannot believe I am truly in the presence of the savior right now." She had to kneel down a bit to match Frisk's height, her tail tucked down humbly.

Fuck. If Vicky kept up the flattery, it would actually be impossible for Frisk to just blindly hate her. Frisk really just wanted to hate her, it would make the whole thing so much easier.

She felt her cheeks warm over and she was actually speechless for a moment. She had been convinced that most of the monster world was over the savior schtick by now. "Oh, wow, uh, thank you. I... I'm glad you, uh, like me." Sans snorted in laughter at Frisk, and she glared at him briefly. "Uh, it's nice to meet you too." She took a step back, allowing Sans to meet her.

She really hated how Vexa's eyes lingered over Sans' huge frame, all of Vicky's humbleness disappearing as she rose back to her full height, her tail curling back up and her ears perked. She took Sans' hand with an eager smile as she opened her mouth to greet him.

Only to yelp and jerk her hand back quickly. Sans had a buzzer in his palm. "Oh, yes, you must be Sans. I was warned about you." She laughed genuinely, actually amused by the little prank. Her smiled was playful. "You're funny."

Sans' ego was stroked, and he liked it. "actually, i'm sans. you had it right the first time."

Vicky's laugh was real, resting a hand on her stomach. "Of course, of course." She hummed, finding Sans' stupid jokes hilarious.

"good, i'm glad i didn't fox up our first meeting."

Shut up, Sans. Shut up. Stop making her laugh. She doesn't deserve it. Shut up, Sans, stop it.

Vexa threw her head back, grabbing a chair to keep herself from falling over. Sans was living for the laughs, grinning as he watched Vicky's reactions. He loved it.

Maybe Frisk should laugh at his jokes more?

"Well! Now that the three of you have met, I will go get dinner." Toriel said happily, thrilled with how well they seemed to receive each other, and then left to go grab dinner from the kitchen. Frisk and Sans returned to their seats.

Asgore beckoned for Vicky to take a seat as well, which she did. Right next to Sans. Frisk didn't care that it was the most logical seat for her to take, given that it was the closest one to her and she would have to walk all the way around to table to take the one between Frisk and Toriel, it still bothered her. Sans' hand returned to her thigh.

"right, so what's any o' this got to do with me?" Sans wondered, looking over at Asgore, "tori mentioned that i was somehow a part too." Asgore nodded, playing with his placemat thoughtfully.

"Yes, of course, Sans. Well, Toriel and I have discussed it over quite thoroughly. We have determined that, with Frisk no longer being the ambassador we have no real reason to keep you on as her bodyguard. However, throughout your career you did a fantastic job protecting her," Sans' hand squeezed a bit harder on Frisk's thigh, "So we would like for you to keep your position as the bodyguard to the monster ambassador. For Vicky." Asgore smiled at him like they had given him the best opportunity in the world.

Frisk blanched, "What?" Without Sans physically holding her back, she would have shot up from her chair. "But he's mine! My bodyguard, I mean. What about--"

"Frisk, calm down this instant." Frisk shut her mouth at her father's stern words. "You are no longer in any real, constant danger, you understand." Asgore lowered his tone to his usual, more kind voice. "No one in monster kind wishes to see you harmed, and no humans can make it past our borders to bring any to you. You don't travel outside of New New Home with any regularity, and if you do we will be happy to provide you with protection. However, you are a waitress now, my dear, and we need Sans for better things." Now Vicky was better than her, and better for Sans. Sans gave her leg a gentle shake. "He already has experience, and if we can avoid training someone else to do this job we would like to."

Vicky sat pretty in her chair, her gaze fixed on Sans.

"i'd like some time to think about it and consider a few things before i give my decision, if that's alright?" Sans requested levelly. Asgore nodded in understanding.

"Of course, Sans. If we could have an answer by the end of the week?"

"sure thing."

Toriel returned with dinner, placing down all of the filled plates before taking her seat once more with a happy smile. Asgore filled her in on everything that was discussed in her absence. She looked to Frisk, "We understand that it might be a bit uncomfortable, you and Sans are dear friends and he wouldn't have all the time he has for you now, but I was hoping we could all be mature and think about things rationally."

"Of course, Ma." Frisk spoke sheepishly. Vicky seemed completely unperturbed by anything, and it made Frisk hate her even more.

"Now, why don't we all get to know Vexa?" Toriel asked eagerly, looking to their new friend. Vicky blinked in surprise, but smiled all the same.

"Ask me anything, I'm an open book." She stated, sitting up even straighter somehow. Frisk noticed her immaculate posture and sat up a bit more as well, trying to square her shoulders and straighten her back. It just wound up taking up too much effort and she slouched over once more as soon as her attention was taken away by anything else.

"Where are you from?" Frisk piped up, "In the underground, I mean. I never met you before." She knew she hadn't actually met every monster ever, but she felt like she was supposed to have met her before.

"Snowdin, actually. I lived a bit deeper in the forest than your travels brought you to, but I heard all about you from my neighbors." Vicky smiled and shrugged.

Sans rested his elbows on the table, angling himself to look at her. "there's snow way i never met you, then."

Vicky giggled at the pun, giving an endearing snort. She blushed, covering her mouth. "Well, icy where you might think that," she returned, making Sans grin even wider, "but I didn't get out much. I was only ever in the librarby, or at home. I did meet Papyrus a few times, I wonder if he remembers me..." She trailed a bit, then looked to Sans once more.

"maybe i knew your parents?" Sans offered thoughtfully.

Vicky gave a heavy sigh, "Perhaps, before they were tragically murdered when I was only a young girl..." She murmured.

"oh, shit, i'm sorry, i had no ide--"

Vicky snorted with laughter again, "I'm kidding! No, my parents are completely fine. You likely didn't know them either. They were very much homebodies, kept to themselves." She stated, "Besides, I'm absolutely sure I would have heard all about you had they ever met you." She reached over and placed her hand on his arm.

Frisk considered the possibility that she might actually be capable of murder.

Chapter Text

Only a second later Sans moved his arm from beneath Vicky's touch and reached for the ketchup bottle Toriel had placed in front of him. He smothered his entire plate in red quite unceremoniously before taking a swig straight from the bottle. Vicky watched in mute fascination, studying Sans like the curiosity he was. Asgore and Toriel weren't impressed with his show but said nothing, noting how well Vicky seemed to take it.

Sans swallowed his ketchup, "alright, maybe i didn't know 'em," he allowed thoughtfully, watching Vicky, "but if you and your folks were such homebodies, why're you in such a social field?" He wondered, following up his question with a large bite of bright red mashed potatoes. Vicky blinked and stared as he ate for a moment before she realized she was actually supposed to respond. Frisk, meanwhile, gripped her utensils in two white-knuckled fists. Why was Sans engaging her so much? Why did he care about her at all?

Vicky poked at her food thoughtfully, "Well, I was really only a homebody because my parents were. They made the underground out to be such an awful place, like it was kill or be killed..." She trailed for a moment, "But I didn't believe them. I got tired of constantly being alone with my books and papers. I studied a lot, and read about lots of different subjects. I really loved to read about science--"

"science?" She had piqued Sans' interest. Frisk saw the excited spark in his eyes. Vicky smiled and nodded eagerly.

"Of course! I started this book on quantum physics and the theory of the space-time continuum." Sans was nearly beside himself. He'd just read the same book, he had tried to tell Frisk about it but she didn't understand half the jargon he was saying so he had stopped. "Anyway, I read everything the librarby had to offer. Then the barrier broke, and I migrated to the surface while my parents stayed behind. I checked out the human librarbies--uh, pardon, libraries , and read everything I could there. I fell in love with the political sciences of the human world and the integration of monsters into their everyday life. I followed all of Frisk's amazing works for the community and I decided I really wanted to help as well. So, I did all of the research I could on this world and all of it's countries and I did whatever I could to help advance monster's progress in this world." Oh what a freaking perfect philanthropist she was for the monster world. Wasn't she just so self-sacrificing.

Sans was eating it up. His attention was fixed on her. Frisk wanted her to stop talking to him.

"So what am I here for?" She asked her parents, her voice a little louder than knecessary. Her parents had been paying all of their attention to perfect Vicky as well. They and Sans all turned back to Frisk at the question. Vicky just kept smiling her stupid, perfect smile. Did she have dimples? How the fuck did foxes have dimples?

Toriel spoke up first, "Your father and I were hoping you two could spend some time together and you might share your knowledge with her. Perhaps give her the notes you took so diligently? It might help her get familiar with how she might be received by the different places she will be working." She smiled so hopefully, wanting Frisk and Vicky to get along, "Then, you might become good friends and it will make this transition so much easier for everyone involved." Except Frisk already hated her.

"Gotcha," Frisk murmured softly. She didn't want to do any of that, at all. "I can share my notes, sure. It's not like I have any use for them anymore." She forced a smile. Her notes was the most she was willing to do, but she would have to dig them out of her closet. It might take her a few months to do.

"Thank you, dear."

Sans turned back to Vicky and Frisk withheld an annoyed groan. More about Vicky?

"What makes you good enough to follow in frisk's place?" He asked. It sounded like it should be a rude question, but Sans' voice was teasing.

Was he flirting?

Frisk tasted venom in the back of her throat. Of course he would flirt with her, afterall she seemed perfect for him. She made jokes, she laughed at his jokes, she loved science and all that quantum shit, she was a book nerd like he was. Her body was perfect, to boot. What wasn't perfect about her? Of course she could replace Frisk in a heartbeat.

"Well, Sans, she was truly our first choice for the position," Asgore spoke up so Vicky had a chance to eat her food. She took dainty bites from the tip of her fork. She looked so elegant Frisk wanted to throat punch her. Instead she stabbed her potatoes aggressively. Frisk knew she should be handling this meeting with much more maturity, but she just didn't have it in her. "We're actually a bit surprised that neither of you two seem to know her already. She has been a very strong political advocate for monster rights. She has established stable, trusting relationships with several politically strong humans in many countries through her travels around the world. She has been very well received among humans so far. She has a widespread following already, and her reputation is impeccable. Her views and beliefs mirrors ours quite closely, and she has the same goal for the monster-humans relationship as we do." Asgore's eyes were shining with excitement, "Truly, if you have the time at some point you should hear her ten-year plan!"

Sans shrugged, "well, if she's so well established and has all these friends all over the world, what's she really need me for?" Again, it sounded like a rude question but his tone made it lighter.

Toriel looked bemused, "Because she will be the ambassador for monster-kind, Sans. Not only that, she will be a monster ambassador, not a sweet little human who was adopted by us." Frisk's nose scrunched up in distaste and Toriel took notice. "That is not to say you are... you know what I meant, my child. You are our daughter, but you are still very much a human." Frisk understood what she meant, but she still didn't really like the implications of what was said. She was their daughter, but she was a human . "Anyway, Sans, if you are so opposed to it we will not make you take this job. We would love it if you would, as it would be a massive burden from our shoulders. Even if, perhaps, you took the job temporarily so that we might have time to find another for the position and train them."

Frisk didn't like the idea of Sans spending so much time alone with her. She imagined them growing closer with long discussions deep into the night about science a books. She saw them laughing together as they had a battle of puns and wits. She saw them sharing a one bedroom hotel with two queen beds. She saw them drinking together as friends. She saw them only using one bed that night. She saw him touching Vicky the same way he touched Frisk. She saw Sans leaving her at Vicky's every beckon call.

She saw Sans leaving her.

Sans took notice of Frisk's tense, squared shoulders and her distant gaze. He saw her mashed but uneaten food. "i'll think about it." Frisk's eyes darted over to him, her lips pressed together tersely.

Sans jumped at the earliest opportunity to leave, once he had finished all of his food and the conversation had wound down to a point where it was appropriate to excuse themselves. Frisk told Toriel she would have to drop Sans off at his home and then she would be at Toriel's house that night. Toriel agreed and said she would be home later.

Frisk drove Sans and herself right to Toriel's home and they went directly to her room. It was after ten and Frisk had to be to work the next morning, but her whole body was still tense. She changed into an oversized t-shirt and perched herself on the edge of her bed as Sans meandered over to her tiny library to find himself something to read after Frisk fell asleep.

Frisk tried to keep her mouth shut so they might be able to just enjoy the night, but she couldn't. "You're not taking the job, right?"

She heard Sans exhale forcefully. He stopped his searches and turned to look at her. "you really wanna talk about this tonight?" He asked her tiredly, grabbing a random book from the shelves. He stood and walked over to Frisk, setting the book he had grabbed down on a nightstand and then shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets.

Frisk looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, I would." She met his gaze, crossing her arms over her chest. Sans angled his face up into the ceiling and shut his eyes.

"you're not gunna like my answer."

"Try me."

"alright, then yes, i'm very seriously considering taking the job."

Frisk sucked her breath in through her teeth. "But why ?"

"well, first of all, i do actually need a job. paps can't pay for everythin' all by himself. the job's easy to do and i'm good at it, and it's way better than havin' seventeen separate jobs like i did underground so paps could pursue bein' in the royal guard. this one pays real well and i barely have to work. it's a lot of travellin', but i kinda like it." Frisk hated how reasonable he was being. She wanted to be upset at him for ever considering the job, but the adult part of her brain completely agreed with him.

"You're fine with travelling all around the world constantly? Like, constantly . When will I ever be able to see you?" Frisk asked desperately, taking a deep breath to try and settle her helpless heart. Sans rubbed his face tiredly.

"i understand that, and that's why i'm only considering it, not just takin' it straight away. you gotta see where i'm comin' from though, this affects more people than just me an' you. someone's life is in my hands and my decision could possibly get them killed. tori an' asgore are relyin' on me too." Sans took a seat at the end of the bed, placing his hand on her knee. Frisk was having none of it.

"What about me?" She demanded, hating how selfish the words sounded coming from her lips. After everything she and Sans had been through recently, she decided she deserved to be a little selfish. "What about being with me? What about being around me? Sansy, I... every time I've been separated from you that I can remember, terrible things happened. Now you're telling me you're completely fine with just uppin' leaving me for months on end, years even! You know that ambassadors are supposed to actually live in embassies in the countries they're stationed in, right? You would be living in another country." Of course, Frisk had been a special case. The whole monster-human relationship made the monster ambassador a very different situation than ambassadors between countries. That, and Frisk had been a minor for a vast majority of the time she filled the position.

Sans nodded his head in understanding, gripping her thigh thoughtfully. "okay."

"Okay?" Frisk perked, looking at him.

"okay. you really don't want me to take the job, i get it." He climbed up onto the bed and sat with his back against the headboard, grabbing her waist and pulling her up against him with her back to his chest. "so i won't take it, because i care about you more than anyone or anything else in this world. except, possibly, papyrus but he's my bro so that's a given." He chuckled lightly, "however, i definitely will do it temporarily, so that they can train a new one."

Frisk ignored the last part, instead deciding to focus on her small victory. The victory where Sans wasn't leaving her for another woman (hey, technically that statement is accurate). "Okay... I can accept that." She murmured softly, burying herself deeper into his arms.

"good." Sans smiled, just sitting and holding her in silence for a moment. Then he decided to open his mouth and ruin it. "you really hate that vexa chick, don't you?" Frisk actually growled.

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"depends, is it workin'?" Sans smirked and chuckled. Frisk didn't want to be upset, but she couldn't help it. "really though, she seemed fine to me, i just don't understand why you got so irritated at dinner."

"Because she's fucking... stupid!" Frisk burst, "She was just... fuckin'... standing there all... perfect with her smooth-ass ponytail and her shiny, beautiful fur. Her annoying, lilting voice like she'd never experienced a freakin' hardship in her life. Her fuckin' tall, lithe body like she could fuckin' swim through the air itself. Don't get me started on her personality! She could get probably hold a conversation with Jerry and not even get irritated once! Who does that!? Who can just get along with Jerry !? And she's fuckin' smart, and well-read, and she laughed at your jokes ! Genuinely! Laughed!"

"careful, sweetheart, i might think you've got a crush on her." Sans was thoroughly amused.

"Shut up." She barked in return.

"well it's either that or you're jealous ." He let the word linger on his tongue and he gave Frisk a pointed squeeze, wiggling her a bit in his lap.

"No! I'm not!" She was. She really was.

"yes, you are. and there's absolutely nothin' to even be jealous of, she's nothin' compared to you, sweetheart--"

"You didn't call me sweetheart in front of her." Frisk blurted out before she could stop herself. Sans paused for a moment.

"correction," he started, "i didn't call you sweetheart in front of your parents. did you want them askin' questions in front of her?"

Frisk frowned, "You have a problem with her knowing we're together?" She quipped. His arms wrapped tighter around her stomach, a chuckle rumbling through his chest.

"i only figured it was a more personal conversation to have with them, especially if they wanted to voice their opinions that might not align with ours. why does callin' you sweetheart in front of her even matter? ... wait, do you think i'm gunna leave you for her or somethin'?" Sans gave a surprised shout of laughter.

"... Or somethin'."

"you think she actually might want me?" His voice was filled with complete disbelief. "sweetheart, literally nobody wants this bag o' bones but you. i'm still amazed you would even want me. i don't have redeemin' qualities, you understand that, right?"

Frisk scoffed, "Don't talk about yourself like that. You're wonderful, you stupid bonehead." She twisted around to face him. He didn't look convinced, and perhaps her phrasing didn't help much. "What, you don't believe me? Fine, let me list everything out for you, shall I?"

Frisk was filled with determination.

"First, you're the most fiercely loyal person I have ever met in my life," she started, ticking off a finger.

"you really don't have to..." Sans avoided her eyes, turning his head away from her as he squirmed uncomfortably beneath her. Frisk tucked her fingers underneath his mandible and forced him to face her.

"Second, your priorities have always been your family and friends first, the rest of your life second. You will drop anything and everything in your life just to make sure everyone else is okay, and that's to a fault. That's beautiful." She smiled softly as she ticked off her second finger and moved on to the next one. "Third, you will do anything and everything to protect what is yours. You'd sooner die than let anything happen to someone you love."

"that's probably not entirely accu--"

"You stepped in front of a semi because it was about to hit Papyrus. I'm so glad the bones were able to actually stop it in its tracks because you would have been completely dusted." Frisk stated, disarming his argument before he could finish it, "Hell, I could see you protecting Doggo to your last breath." Sans only shrugged, his face glowing bright blue in embarrassment. Frisk was enjoying this, "Fourth, you're hilarious. I know we all tend to moan and groan when you make those puns, but we all really love them, you know. You can make entire rooms laugh, and you love to make people laugh. It's a wonderful thing, Sansy, and I only adore you more for it." She cupped either side of his jaw in her hands, making him look her in the eyes. He was grimacing.

"they're just dumb puns..."

"Fifth of all, you're absolutely fucking brilliant." She was going to be done at four, but his last comment made her want to double down. "You were the assistant to the royal scientist. You know quantum mechanics and, y'know, all that stuff, like the back of your hand. When you talk about it, I don't know half the words coming out of your mouth but I still love hearing about it because you're so passionate about it! You can solve Papyrus' most difficult puzzles with ease. When you apply yourself you even rival Alphys. I've heard your discussions with her, over hearing you disprove some of her theories with things she never even thought of before." Frisk was grinning ear-to-ear. As she spoke she was realizing that as much as she thought these things in her head so much, she never really thought to tell him just how much she adored everything about him. "You're loving, you're kind, you're compassionate. You're the most wonderful person I've ever met. If someone doesn't want you, they are the fool." She leaned in and kissing him sweetly. He rested his hands on her waist, giving a heavy sigh against her lips.

She pulled away after a moment, having more to say. "And I do hate Vicky--Vexa--whatever, because she will see these things in you and, unless she is an absolute idiot, she'll make a move on you. Honestly, I'd be insulted if she didn't make a move. You're worth being flirted with. I don't want her to, but damn it she should."

Sans was laughing again, "do you have any idea how confusing you sound right now?" He still looked quite uncomfortable. Frisk shrugged, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I really don't care. I don't like her, and I won't like her. I'll hate her if she flirts with you, because you're mine. I'll hate her if she doesn't flirt with you, because by all means you're the perfect person to be with. I'll just never, ever like her, and I'm okay with that. We really only have to deal with her until her new bodyguard is trained."  Sans sighed and leaned into Frisk happily, kissing her again as he dug his thumbs into the sensitive point on the inner corners of her hips. She squeaked against his lips.

Sans put a bit of space between there lips, "you're so... contradictory. and confusing." He mused, rubbing small circles with his thumbs.

"Kinda like quantum mechanics." Frisk pointed out thoughtfully.

"y'know, i do love quantum mechanics." Sans smirked.

"You do?" Frisk chewed her lip.

"yup. a lot, in fact." She watched him carefully as he worked in bigger circles on her hips. "really, i think about quantum mechanics all day, sometimes so much it keeps me awake at night. i then think about it all day, and when i get to see quantum mechanics it makes my whole day a good one. i couldn't imagine my life without it."

Frisk giggled. "Sansy?"

"yeah, sweetheart?"

"I love you, too."

The next day Sans called Toriel and Asgore to tell them his decision. They were understandably disappointed that he wouldn't remain on as Vicky's permanent bodyguard, but they were very glad he would at least fill in until they could make other arrangements. Frisk was very upset when she found out that Sans would be starting so quickly, needing to go with both of her parents and Vicky to the US in only a few days so that Vicky could be introduced as the new ambassador. She knew it was what he had signed up for, she just wasn't happy about this whole situation in general.

She did wish that had been the worst part of her day, though.

It had been bedtime for Frisk, since she had to be up early the next morning to start opening training with Grillby. She was eager to learn how to open on her own, as it would be more hours weekly and more money in tips. Grillby was considering teaching her everything about his bar so that she could take over as the manager and he could leave that franchise alone and help out the others.

Sans laid beside Frisk, reading a dumb romance novel that Frisk had bought in her early teens and never got around to getting rid of. It was the book he grabbed randomly yesterday. He had started reading it mainly as a joke since Frisk had told him how awful it was, but now he was absolutely enthralled with the series and was finishing them with remarkable speed. Only one day had passed and he was on the third book.

"Sans, why are you even reading that? It's horrible, I don't even know why I read it when I was thirteen... although, admittedly, the one you're on is probably the best in the series." Frisk snorted as she browsed the internet on her tablet. Sans shook his head.

"i have to know if she chooses jacob or edward, sweetheart. i  have to. " His eyes were fixated on the pages. Frisk laughed at him, shaking her head as she rolled off the bed.

Frisk stretched as she landed on her feet by the bed, "Alright, my little Twihard, I'm gunna go to the kitchen and get myself something to drink. You want anything?"

"i want the volturi to die, fuck those pricks..." Sans muttered. She rolled her eyes and left the room, going out to the kitchen. She rummaged the cabinets for her favorite cup and waited for the tap water to run cold enough to fill her cup. When she did, she took a few gulps while she stood there and then refilled it one more time and then she walked back to her room.

She stepped inside expecting to find Sans still curled up in her bed, the book clutched in his hands like it was the most precious of gems. Instead, he was stood in the center of her room with her cellphone held to his skull. She was going to have to talk to him about the acceptability of answering other people's phones without their permission. She opened her mouth to comment on it when he turned around. His eyelights were tiny pinpricks. Her mouth shut immediately and he held her phone out to her wordlessly. She blinked, studying his sober expression as she took her phone and put it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Frisk!" It was Undyne. She shouted into the phone so loud Frisk had to pull it away from her ear. She stared at Sans in confusion, her eyebrows puckering together.

"Dye? What's up?"

"There was an explosion at the lab!" Undyne sobbed into the phone, her voice just above hysterical. Frisk felt her heart freeze in place and the chill ran over her bones. Well, she had been ready to go to bed, but now she was definitely wide awake.

"What... are you talking about?" Frisk murmured, keeping her voice level as she slowly processed the information. "What happened?"

"I don't fucking know, okay? I was at the stupid-ass fucking airport for hours on end today waiting for her flight and it got delayed three times! I texted Alphys like crazy but I figured, fucking, hey! Like, you turned your fucking phones off on those dumbass airplanes, right? Right! So, like, maybe she fucking forgot to turn it back on or she turned it off early or something like that shit, FUCK! I don't know! But her flight fucking arrived at the airport and everyone exited and she WASN'T FUCKING ON IT. So I called her and I called her and I called her, she didn't FUCKING answer. I checked all the other possible flights she could have possibly fucking been on and she wasn't on ANY OF THEM. Then I called her fucking work and they DIDN'T ANSWER EITHER. SO YOU KNOW WHAT I DID!?"

Break her eardrum, for one. Frisk didn't respond, figuring the question was rhetorical. She was correct.

"I CALLED HER FUCKING BOSS. AND HER FUCKING BOSS HAD CONVENIENTLY FUCKING FORGOT TO TELL ME THAT HER FUCKING LAB! BLEW!! UP!!!"

Frisk's ears hurt at all the screaming. She felt her heart hammering against her chest. Undyne's rage was helping her force her words out through intermittent sobs. Frisk was doing her best to remain calm, Undyne's panic was enough for all of them

"Okay. Okay, Dye," Frisk spoke calmly, trying to remain reasonable. "What's going on with Alphys? Is she okay? Where is she?" As she talked, Frisk worked on getting her clothes back on to go to Undyne, wherever she might be. Sans saw what she was doing and followed suit.

"She was in the fucking lab when it happened. I don't know much else, just that she was brought to a human hospital and she's in transit to Savior's Mercy hospital." For a moment is sounded like Undyne has lost her steam and was calming down. The next second, Frisk was forced to hold her phone as far away from her ear as possible as Undyne screamed once more, "SHIT YOU FUCKING FUCK FUCKER! MOVE! YOU FUCKING DIPSHIT, GREEN MEANS GO! GREEN! MEANS! GO!" There was loud honking in the background.

Frisk blinked in disbelief, "Dye, what are you doing right now?"

"DRIVING."

"You really shouldn't be driving right now! Sans and I can come pick you up! Stars, you're going to cause an accident!" Frisk spoke sternly into the phone, but she wasn't sure if Undyne was even listening to her.

"Alphys should be at Savior's Mercy in a half hour! I need to be there for her when she gets here! What if--if she... if sh-she d... du..." Undyne couldn't bring herself to say the word. Frisk didn't blame her. She listened to Undyne suck in her breath and then let it out with a loud, frustrated growl.

Frisk grimaced, "We'll be there in fifteen minutes."

They said their goodbyes and Frisk hung up, standing there for a moment with her phone clutched in her hands. She stared at Sans. She read the panic on his face. Sans was always much closer to Alphys than Frisk or Papyrus ever were. They had bonded a lot over science and they made highly educated puns together that flew right over everyone else's heads. Whenever they were all together and Undyne, Papyrus, and Frisk would get into wild shenanigans, Sans would be found in the corner discussing things like the actual physicals behind how the breasts of anime girls moved. She talked to him about all of her insecurities and he was there for her with advice in one hand and a joke in the other.

Frisk had found herself questioning many times whether or not she was his best friend or if it was Alphys. Then Alphys started this new project with the humans and her constant texts with Sans and everyone else had stopped almost entirely. She grew distant from everyone, including Sans.

Sans blinked, "i could just bring us there--"

"No. Driving only takes us fifteen minutes, and you can't do that trick thing when you're stressed."

Sans nodded. Frisk was right. She was always right.

sugartits: Hey, the results came back for Alphy.

Seen: 9:32 PM

SansyBones: sweet whats up

Seen: 9:33 PM

sugartits: Well, she's got strong brain activity so she's not a vegetable. Her panels came back and they were really good, so they don't think she'll have to go into another surgery. Her body's recovering nicely, her magic levels are climbing so she's replenishing it adequately. They are saying they won't try to wake her from the coma, though...

Seen: 9:38 PM

SansyBones: thats good tho i wouldnt want em 2 wake er an have er not b ready 2 wake up ya no?

Seen: 9:39 PM

sugartits: I really wish you were just here, though. You would know everything we would and if anything... you know, happened... I just want you here with me.

Seen: 9:40 PM

SansyBones: im only gunna be gone barely 2 days everythins gunna b fine

Seen: 9:40 PM

sugartits: I know, I know. I just really hate that you're gunna be gone with /her/.

Seen: 9:42 PM

SansyBones: u r aware ur parents r with us 2

Seen: 9:42 PM

sugartits: I know that too. You know what I mean, bonehead. With everything that happened with Alphys I just don't understand why the meeting couldn't be postponed or even they could just find someone else this once. Why wouldn't they want to be here too?

Seen: 9:49 PM

SansyBones: i get it but u just said shes fine an this meetin is real important 2

Seen: 9:50 PM

SansyBones: everythin will b fine well b home in the blink of an eye

Seen: 9:50 PM

sugartits: Yeah, okay...

Seen: 9:50 PM

SansyBones: neway they tell ya bout what caused the accident yet

Seen: 9:53 PM

sugartits: More of the same. They keep bringing it to us like they're telling us new information.

Seen: 9:54 PM

sugartits: "We cannot divulge the exact nature of the experiment. We can only tell you that it was a very controlled environment where a foreign body was somehow introduced. The foreign body reacted badly with the controlled substance and it caused catastrophic failure within the experiment, which in turn caused the explosion."

Seen: 9:58 PM

sugartits: Apparently it was actually two monsters who were dusted in the explosion, though, not just one. Out of the three humans that were there, there was the one we know who died immediately, but the other two are still in critical care. They're not thinking they're gunna make it.

Seen: 10:04 PM

sugartits: No one knows how Alphys has done so well... she's so lucky. I'm still so scared, though...

Seen: 10:06 PM

SansyBones: i no but itll b fine i promise

Seen: 10:07 PM

SansyBones: hows undyne doin

Seen: 10:07 PM

sugartits: She's relieved with the results we got back, I think she's doing a bit better. She's still stressed out and won't leave Alphy's side. Even Paps can't get her to leave. She's convinced at any moment Alphy will just spontaneously dust.

Seen: 10:13 PM

sugartits: It's so beautiful how much she loves her.

Seen: 10:13 PM

SansyBones: loves pretty great in general

Seen: 10:14 PM

sugartits: It is :)

Seen: 10:15 PM

SansyBones: heh

Seen: 10:15 PM

SansyBones: planes boardin

Seen: 10:17 PM

sugartits: Okay.

Seen: 10:17 PM

sugartits: It's really weird being in bed alone. I don't know if I can make it through tonight, to be completely honest.

Seen: 10:32 PM

SansyBones: ull b fine

Seen: 10:37 PM

sugartits: You don't know that.

Seen: 10:38 PM

SansyBones: i mean u did it 4 19 yrs

Seen: 10:39 PM

sugartits: What if I need you to use that glowing magic thing on me?

Seen: 10:40 PM

sugartits: Or if I need that /other/ glowing magic thing? ;)
Seen: 10:40 PM

SansyBones: well the first 1 ur sol on i guess

Seen: 10:42 PM

SansyBones: but u havent had a nightmare in a few nights

Seen: 10:42 PM

SansyBones: idk what 2 tell ya bout the other 1

Seen: 10:43 PM

sugartits: But what if I do have another nightmare and you're not here?

Seen: 10:45 PM

SansyBones: im only a phonecall away sweetheart u no that

Seen: 10:46 PM

sugartits: I miss you.

Seen: 10:46 PM

SansyBones: ive only been gone 4 hrs

Seen: 10:48 PM

sugartits: So you're telling me you don't miss me?

Seen: 10:49 PM

SansyBones: i didnt say that actually

Seen: 10:50 PM

sugartits: Mmhmmm..

Seen: 10:51 PM

SansyBones: u callin me a phoney

Seen: 10:51 PM

sugartits: You're pretty much TEXTbook.

Seen: 10:52 PM

SansyBones: did u just

Seen: 10:52 PM

sugartits: Finish your sentence, Sansy, don't KEYp me in suspense. ;)

Seen: 10:53 PM

SansyBones: oms

Seen: 10:53 PM

sugartits: Perhaps I should give you some SPACE?

Seen: 10:54 PM

SansyBones: i love u

Seen: 10:54 PM

sugartits: LOLOL

Seen: 10:54 PM

SansyBones: u been workin on puns without me

Seen: 10:55 PM

sugartits: A little. I saw how much you liked it when little miss Vextra did it...

Seen: 10:56 PM

SansyBones: i mean she can't b that bad if she made u so punderful

Seen: 10:56 PM

SansyBones: she cant actually bother u that much

Seen: 10:56 PM

sugartits: Let's just say if she touches you at all on your little trip, you'll have a whole new threat to protect her from.

Seen: 10:58 PM

SansyBones: farbeit 4 me 2 ever get in ur way

Seen: 10:58 PM

sugartits: Good :)

Seen: 10:59 PM

SansyBones: phones dyin an gotta shut it off neway for takeoff

Seen: 11:02 PM

SansyBones: ill txt u when we land

Seen: 11:02 PM

SansyBones: love u

Seen: 11:02 PM

sugartits: Okay. I love you too. I think I'll try to get some shuteye. Night.

Seen: 11:03 PM

SansyBones: gnight

Seen: 11:04 PM

SansyBones: hey landed safe n sound

Sent: 3:45 AM

SansyBones: right ur probably sleepin

Sent: 3:46 AM

SansyBones: text me when ur up

Sent: 3:46 AM

SansyBones: sleepin in today?

Sent: 7:45 AM

SansyBones: dont u have work?

Sent: 7:56 AM

SansyBones: grillbz said u didnt show up or call in

Sent: 8:15 AM

SansyBones: u playin hookie

Sent: 8:16 AM

SansyBones: this is gettin a bit ridiculous

Sent: 9:56 AM

SansyBones: im real worried

Sent: 9:59 AM

SansyBones: y arent u answering my calls

Sent: 10:36 AM

SansyBones: r u ok

Sent: 10:48 AM

SansyBones: y wont u pick up ne1s calls

Sent: 11:17 AM

SansyBones: paps dropped by both of ur rents houses n ur not at either??

Sent: 12:03 PM

SansyBones: where the fuck r u

Sent: 12:24 PM

SansyBones: sweetheart

Sent: 12:26 PM

SansyBones: i talked 2 ur rents

Sent: 12:42 PM

SansyBones: were on the next flight home

Sent: 1:05 PM

SansyBones: sweetheart

Sent: 1:05 PM

SansyBones: where are you?

Sent: 1:05 PM

SansyBones: FRISK????

Sent: 1:05 PM

Chapter Text

The first few moments after a reset were always so peaceful.

Sans woke blissfully, his mind in an innocent fog. He groaned as he roused from his bed, untangling himself from his threadbare blanket. He turned onto his side, reaching for his phone that had somehow managed to make its way to the very end of his bed. He grunted as he stretched for it, then checked the time. Only eight AM. It was far too early for him to be awake. His shift at the sentry station didn't start until nine, which meant he had a full fifty-nine more minutes before he had to get up. He sighed contentedly and rolled around to go back to sleep.

CRASH

Sans jumped. Rationally, he knew it was just Papyrus downstairs being clumsy about making some breakfast spaghetti, but something about it was very jarring. He blinked as his mind tried to process it. It sounded so familiar, but it wasn't like Papyrus went dropping pots and pans constantly. Thinking about it, everything about the morning felt far too familiar. Like deja vu. He looked around his room, feeling like something about it was just wrong. Perhaps everything was wrong. But then, nothing was wrong.

It was still the same self-sustaining tornado in the corner, filled with his discarded socks and making the same soothing whirs. His treadmill was still confusingly located in the very center of his room. Same lamp. Same bureau. Same socks cluttering his floor.

This was definitely his room. But it also wasn't.

He only had another second of his ignorant bliss before it all came crashing back full force. He gave an agonized shout and clutched his head in his hands. It felt like his entire soul was being disintegrated and rebuilt in one fell swoop.

Then he remembered everything. Every single reset came back to him. He remembered every time Frisk emerged from the ruins--when she was covered in dust, or when she had that look of innocent wonderment. He remembered every decision she had made after that. Whether she decided to spare Papyrus and then leave him alone, or if she dated him, or if she fought him and cut him down. He could remember when she would run away from Undyne and then still turned to pour water over her to save her life, or if she just walked away. Or If she didn't run and instead killed her. He remembered every time he faced her in the judgment hall.

Sans curled into a tight ball on his bed, clutching his chest. His soul reeled with millions of emotions. He couldn't remember a reset ever being this painful.

Slowly, after all of the old timelines in the underground started to settle, a new one rose. A timeline where everyone was spared and the barrier broke. He remembered stepping through it with his friends. He remembered sitting down with Frisk and making their promises. He remembered the humans stealing her away, and then giving her back when she refused to stay. He remembered tutoring her in math and science. He remembered protecting her as she gave inspiring speeches. He remembered watching her grow into a beautiful young woman. He was her best friend, her shoulder to cry on, her confidante. He remembered kissing her. He fought with her. Then they made up. He held her again. He slept with her held securely in his arms. He was with her in all the ways he had dreamed of. They were together. They were happy. Everything was good.

He couldn't remember anything past that.

Why did it all reset?

He searched his memory. There must be something missing. A blank space somewhere that would explain why he was back in this day again. He just couldn't remember it.

Sans brought himself to his feet, trying to reorient himself.

This was a joke. That's why he couldn't remember why it was reset, because it wasn't. This was all an elaborate prank, it had to be. Nothing had actually been reset, and he was at home. He was going to open his door and everyone he loved would be standing just outside. They would shout at him, "April Fools!" and laugh at their hilarious joke. Except it wasn't April, and this wasn't a funny joke.

Sans stumbled over to his door and gripped the knob for dear life. He braced himself, sucking in his breath. He was ready for this prank to be over.

He opened the door.

There was no one there.

Sans fell to his knees, still clinging to the doorknob.

"no..." he whispered, too softly for anyone to hear. He could barely hear himself either. "no, no, no..." He couldn't believe it. "no, nono, nonono..." He refused to believe it. He had been free. He had been living a good, happy life. He was in love. He had his friends and his family. They all had their perfect, happy ending. He was happy. Sans the skeleton had finally been happy.

How could all of that just be gone ?

Maybe this all really was a joke. A huge, cosmic joke and Sans was the punchline.

He wondered who was laughing at it.

It took him a few minutes to muster up the strength to get back to his feet. It was then that he noticed just how small everything around him seemed, then realized after a moment he was actually quite small as well. Somehow that made everything seem just so much worse.

Sans figured pretty quickly that it was a bit backwards for him to be so upset about being small, considering everything else. He shut his eyes and focused, organizing everything in his mind in order of priority. Frisk quickly overtook his shrinkage problem. Frisk was his priority in general.

It took him a second to really focus on her.

Frisk. Where was she? What happened to her? What made her reset? What made her break her promise?

Sans searched his floor and found his old clothes in a pile. He grimaced and plucked up his ketchup stained white t-shirt and threw it on, then his old zip-up hoodie. He searched a bit harder for his used-to-be-white slippers and put those on as well. The clothes felt strange on his back, but familiar at the same time. Once dressed, he made his way out his bedroom door and down the stairs. He stepped just into view of the kitchen, where he found Papyrus. He couldn't help but stare.

Papyrus was so short , and that was never something Sans ever believed he would think about his brother. It's the only thing he could think as the other skeleton cleaned tomato sauce from the ceiling and counters of the kitchen. All of the noodles had already been scooped up off the floor and placed back into the pot he had dropped. As Sans stared, Papyrus took notice and looked over at him.

"YOU'RE UP QUITE EARLY, BROTHER. DID I WAKE YOU?"

Sans started at the voice that came from Papyrus. He had never noticed it growing deeper on the surface as his brother grew larger, but evidently it had. It had just been too gradual to notice, he supposed. With that realization, Sans was suddenly afraid to speak as well. What if his voice had done the same? He was going to sound like a babybones again.

Sans didn't process that he was supposed to respond to his brother. So much had changed. He was trying to process his new reality. He wondered if this was even real. If anything was real.

"...BROTHER?"

Sans blinked, rebooting. He looked at Papyrus.

"I ASKED YOU IF I HAD WOKEN YOU. YOU NEVER GET UP THIS MUCH EARLIER THAN YOUR SHIFTS." Papyrus was uneasy as he watched Sans stand in the center of the living room, staring blankly into space. He was used to his brother behaving bizarrely, but this was something else.

Sans took another second to respond. "...wake me...?" he murmured curiously, "no. no, you didn't... wake me, no, i was already awake... couldn't get back to sleep..." His voice had definitely gotten higher, which really irritated him.

Papyrus' worry wasn't quelled yet, "ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU DON'T SEEM TO BE DOING VERY WELL THIS MORNING. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO BED? I CAN INFORM UNDYNE THAT YOU ARE ILL AND CANNOT MAKE IT." he offered thoughtfully, standing and moving to approach him. Sans jolted backward and shook his head. He had to go to work. He had to be at the door.

"'m fine, honest. i don't mind goin' to work today," Sans insisted as he headed for the door.

"WOWIE, YOU MUST REALLY BE ILL," Papyrus commented with little humor, "WELL... GOOD LUCK TODAY. YOU KNOW, I REALLY THINK WE WILL CATCH A HUMAN TODAY. I CAN FEEL IT!" The taller skeleton grinned hopefully. Sans turned back to him, his hand resting on the doorknob.

Sans smirked, "...in your bones ?" He chuckled as Papyrus growled at him. "heh. i think so too, paps. i'm headin' out now. might stop by grillby's on the way out." He turned back and walked out the door. He stopped on their doorstep, the door shutting behind him, and stared at the scape before him.

Snowdin.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been there. He had never looked back after crossing the barrier. He didn't even grab anything from his home. He had been completely done with the underground in its entirety.

Now he was back, staring at it as the same time passed that he had passed through so many times before. He hated it.

He hated Snowdin.

Sans had to force himself to calm down and think. He tried to remember about what time Frisk usually exited the ruins. It did vary every once in awhile, but usually it took her a few hours. It was almost never earlier than an hour. He knew he had a little bit of time before she showed up but too many 'what if?' questions stacked up in his mind.

What if she was early? What if she was scared? What if she was hurt? What if she remembered everything this time? What if she was confused? What if she wasn't herself? What if she was hurting monsters? What if she killed Toriel? What if she hated him? What if, what if, what if.

What if he was going to relive this same day over and over, again ?

Sans had to know.

As much as Sans considered going to classic old Grillby's to eat, he couldn't. He didn't even feel hungry at the moment, he was too preoccupied by his questions. Instead, he made his way through the snowy terrain and past all of Papyrus' puzzles. Finally, he got to the door. He didn't know why he expected it to look differently than it did. It was the same as it had always been.

Sans stood directly in front of the door, shoving his hands into his pockets. He would not miss her emersion from the ruins.

As he waited, he let his mind wander back to the previous timeline. The gap in his memory bothered him deeply. To fill it, he considered every single possibility that could possibly lead her to reset.

One option, Frisk had a fight with someone. That one didn't sit right with him, but it was possible. If the fight was bad enough and she was convinced it was irreparable, or perhaps she was thrown into an emotional tizzy. She was a very emotional woman. But, Sans considered, it just didn't seem like something that would make Frisk reset all of their progress.

Option two, Frisk had gotten sick. Sickness in humans had an immense effect on their mental health. It can make them unable to think clearly, and she had to be absolutely out of her mind to ever consider resetting. He just didn't see her really being so horribly sick that she would make such a huge mistake, though.

Option three, someone else was sick. Or perhaps someone had died. Someone she loved dearly. This one made the most sense to him. Frisk didn't do very well when it came to loss. She would go to the ends of the earth for the people she loved. She might even reset the whole world, for another chance to save them. Sans just didn't know who could have died. He couldn't remember anything happening that would lead to someone dying.

He considered the possibility that Frisk had died and reset, but that didn't make a lot of sense either. When she died she would just go back to the last time she was determined. Of course he had no idea when that might have been, but he had a few ideas. She just didn't decide to just go back to that point, instead choosing to reset everything. It didn't make sense.

Nothing clicked any lightbulbs in his head. Nothing brought a memory to the forefront of his mind. He still had no leads and it was driving him crazy.

He had to stop himself from thinking any harder, it was only making him more and more upset. He gave a weak groan and rubbed his forehead as a headache developed. He would just have to ask her whenever she finally made it out of the ruins. It was his only option.

After a while, Sans checked the time. She was late. Perhaps she had gone through exactly what he did, all of the memories crashing down at once, and she was reorienting herself with the underground. It had been a while for both of them. He wondered if she would finally remember the resets this time, if her life on the surface had been significant enough that she just couldn't forget it. If she remembered Sans, and she would still love him.

Sans shut that line of thought down quickly.  He shouldn't let himself think such hopeful thoughts. He didn't think he could handle the disappointment of meeting a Frisk who couldn't remember him if he psyched himself up to meet one who did.

He remembered a time before where he had been over hope in its entirety. He had numbed himself to a point where the resets didn't hurt him anymore. A reset couldn't hurt him if they weren't taking anything away from him. He had no expectations of experiencing the next day. He didn't wake up in the morning and expect to see his brother happy and healthy at the end of the day. He didn't go to the door to the ruins in the morning and wait for Toriel to join him there and share stupid jokes with one another.

The deaths got to a point where they didn't even bother him anymore. He knew the next morning they would be right back in their places.

In the end, his thought process was this--

If nothing that happened was permanent, did it ever actually happen?

If nothing ever actually happens, do any of his decisions even matter?

If nothing he decided even mattered, why did he ever bother getting out of bed in the morning?

A wave of exhaustion flooded over Sans' small frame. He remembered feeling like that for so long. Even after the last reset, breaking the barrier and living on the surface, he was terrified of the impermanence of his world. He knew how quickly and easily everything could be stripped from him. He had nightmares that he had returned to Snowdin overnight, and he braced himself for that reality every morning. It took him several years to get over those nightmares. It took him even longer to start enjoying his days with his family and friends, thinking that it was actually going to stick this time.

His perfect, happy ending.

His 'happily ever after', as Papyrus' Disney movies liked to say.

Sans took a deep breath of frustration as he checked the time again. She was really late now. Several hours had passed by then. Where was she? She rarely ever took this long. He knew he just had to be patient, but he didn't want to be patient. He wanted her then and there, explaining everything to him. He deserved to know.

But, he had to admit, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. So he just waited some more, staring at the door. She was four hours late. Five hours. Seven. Nine. Twelve. Where the hell was she? What little patience Sans had was wearing thin.

Sans felt something grip his shoulder and he nearly jumped out of his clothes, giving a shout of fright as he leapt back against the door. His eye shone bright blue and yellow, his hand held out in front of himself. It took him a second to process the sight of a smaller Papyrus standing in front of him, looking as terrified as Sans was. Sans groaned and placed his hand over his sternum, his eye fading slowly as he collected himself.

"don't scare me like that, paps."

"I-I DID NOT MEAN TO. I WAS WORRIED, YOU DID NOT COME HOME AT THE END OF YOUR SHIFT. YOU'VE NEVER STAYED AFTER... I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF YOU EVER STAYED UNTIL THE END OF ONE. ANYWAY, I MADE YOU DINNER. IT MIGHT BE COLD NOW, BUT THAT IS ALRIGHT. IT CAN ALWAYS BE REHEATED." Papyrus' smile was a bit forced, "COME NOW, BROTHER." He turned slightly, but stopped when he realized Sans wasn't going to follow. He was trying hard to remain hopeful. "SANS?"

"i think i'm gunna stay, actually. like you said, i really think a human might come out any second." Sans shoved his hands back into his pockets and tried to look as casual as possible. Papyrus wasn't convinced.

"NO, I DO NOT THINK THAT IS A VERY GOOD IDEA. YOU NEED YOUR REST." He insisted weakly.

"i'll be fine, honest."

"WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU? I KNOW I REQUESTED THAT YOU TAKE YOUR POST MORE SERIOUSLY, BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT. I... I KNOW I SAID I BELIEVED A HUMAN MIGHT SHOW UP TODAY, BUT... I WAS JUST TRYING TO BE POSITIVE, PERHAPS LIFT YOUR SPIRITS. THE LIKELIHOOD OF A HUMAN FALLING TODAY... IT'S REALLY QUITE SLIM. PLEASE, COME HOME NOW." Papyrus looked Sans over worriedly, his eyebrows puckering together.

But Sans refused.

"no. i'm sorry, bro, but i'm not going anywhere."

"YOU REALLY JUST DO NOT LOOK WELL AT ALL, I'M QUITE CONCERNED. YOU CAN EVEN STAY HOME TOMORROW, I WILL TELL UNDYNE THAT YOU ARE NOT WELL..."

"no."

Papyrus took a step closer to Sans, persisting. "I CAN EVEN TAKE YOUR PLACE IF YOU ARE SO CONCERNED WITH A HUMAN FALLING AND NOT GETTING CAUGHT. I DO NOT MIND AT ALL... YOU CAN JUST RELIEVE ME IN THE MORNING, AFTER YOU HAVE RESTED." He insisted, another step closer to him.

Memories of Papyrus' death flashed through his mind. Sans shook his head even more, starting to panic. What if the wrong Frisk stepped through that door, and Papyrus was there to try to stop her...

"go home, paps." Sans muttered coldly, his eye flickering.

Papyrus stepped even closer, close enough to grab Sans. "I WILL NOT RETURN HOME WITHOUT YOU." He was adamant.

"i said go home !"

Papyrus' soul glowed a bright blue and he was thrown backward, crying out as his body slammed into a tree with a heavy thud. Sans froze in horror and could only stare at Papyrus as he fell into a heap in the snow. Papyrus shook as he brought himself back to his feet. He took deep breaths, his eyes wide. He looked at Sans with an expression of complete betrayal. There was also something else that took Sans a second to recognize.

Fear.

Papyrus was scared of him.

Sans blinked, "i..." Before he could manage a full sentence, Papyrus fled. "... i'm so sorry, paps..." Sans sighed and stepped out a few steps and turned back around to face the door.

Thirteen hours.

He was growing tired. He considered going home and apologizing profusely to Papyrus. He didn't deserve for magic to be used against him, he had only been trying to help. He was only ever trying to help. Sans knew that as soon as he apologized he would be forgiven as well, and it only made him more mad at himself. He didn't deserve to have Papyrus.

He should go home.

He had to.

Sans turned around to start his journey home when he finally heard that little click. He whirled around toward the door and fixated on it. Slowly, it creaked open.

Frisk. She was here. She was finally here for him.

A small body slipped through the crack of the door. Sans couldn't stop himself, he didn't even give her a second before he was on her, pulling her into his arms. "frisk, you're here! i know you probably don't remember me, but i don't care, it doesn't matter. you're here and i ju--"

Sans stopped and reeled, feeling his arms to limp at his sides. He fell to his knees, looking down at his chest. A knife protruded from between two of his ribs and partly into his sternum, piercing right through his soul. He grunted weakly, speechless. He turned his gaze back to the girl in front of him.

This wasn't Frisk.

Red hair. Pale skin. Rosy cheeks. Green and yellow striped shirt.

She grinned down at him, giving a soft giggle.

"I can see you're really dying to meet me... Comedian."

Her laugh echoed in his ears as his soul shattered into pieces.

~*~

She was completely empty. She was numb. Everything around her was pure blackness followed by only more of the blackness. The silence of it all was near deafening. The nothingness was suffocating. There was nothing to entice any senses.

She came to very slowly as she felt herself materialize. Her mind was as empty as the nothingness that surrounded her. She felt her body floating. It was a strange sensation, lighter than water but heavier than air. She stayed completely still, unpulled in any direction. She wondered idly if this place even had an up or down or sideways. She could only feel confusion fill her mind, but it echoed against nothing. She had nothing to combat it with. She took a deep breath, only to feel even more confused. She knew it was supposed to be different. She was supposed to feel satisfied, it was supposed to do something for her. She knew something, she just didn't know what it was. She let the breath out with a soft sigh. It was a non-issue anyway, she decided. She couldn't suffocate if she was already dead.

Dead. She repeated it in her head a few times. It didn't feel right. She couldn't be dead. She didn't remember dying. She remembered...

Nothing.

Her face scrunched up in concentration. She couldn't remember anything about her life, she realized. She couldn't remember her name. She couldn't remember where she the world she had existed in. She couldn't remember what she felt--happiness, sadness, anger, pain. She was just there, in the vast emptiness.

Did she even exist? Had she ever existed before? Was this all a fabrication of nothing? Was this all she was, or ever could be, or ever had been? Just a body in the black space of emptiness.

The black crushed her chest and squeezed her lungs, forcing whatever filled them from her body.

She couldn't be nothing. There had to be more, she was sure of it. She just didn't know what more there could be. She lifted her hands to look at them. If she didn't exist, why would she have hands? She curled her fingers and created two fists, but she knew it was off somehow. There was no satisfaction of movement in the action, it just... happened. She couldn't feel herself move, she didn't get the sensation of her muscles flexing beneath her skin. She grimaced. She could remember the sensations she was supposed to be feeling, but they were covered in a cloudy haze. She knew she was missing something.

She sighed and shut her eyes once more, letting her body go limp. It was too hard to try and remember anything. She could feel everything, just under the surface of her conscious. It bubbled and stirred where it was, just out of her reach. She realized quickly that she just didn't care enough to reach for it. She didn't want it anymore. She was fine like this.

So she just floated.

Until something made her open her eyes again. She didn't know what it was or why she even bothered, but she noticed small flecks of white had materialized in front of her. She blinked as she tried to process what she was seeing. She fixated on the spots as they grew closer. Or was it just getting larger? Or perhaps brighter? She didn't understand the dimensions of what was around her. Did the nothingness even spread that far? She didn't know. She didn't know anything anymore.

Slowly, she noticed it was gaining a more defined shape as it grew bigger (or grew closer?). She noticed the white was attached to a black shape as well. It was strange to be able to distinguish the black mass from the black of the emptiness. She recognized it soon enough as a malformed person. She made out the white head that moved into a black cloaked torso, then saw four smaller specks of white surrounding it. She blinked in confusion. There was someone else there with her, somehow. She thought she was alone. She didn't have a memory of ever meeting another person.

It was closer now, or just larger--that part was still very confusing. She was able to see the face clearer--one closed eye and the other was open and it was smiling. There were two cracks, one trailing up it's skull from it's right eye and another trailing down into it's smile from the left. The four white orbs had taken more form and she recognized them as hands, but two had holes in their palms. Another moment later and the person was as large as her and she realized there really was space between them and it was closing up fast.

She yelped and held out her hands, but it had stopped just short of crashing into her. Two hands caught her arms, holding her still and bringing her closer until she was face to face with it. It grinned and she gave a cry, feeling fear.

Fear was a strange emotion.

The nothingness muffled her cries as the person looked her over with interest, a look a familiarity on it's face. It gave a breathy, crackling laugh.

"Hello, sweet child, it is so lovely to see another face here." He offered her one of his hands in greeting, "My name is Doctor W. D. Gaster."

She pushed back against him, fear overtaking her. It was an unpleasant emotion, and she didn't want it. It made her heart race uncomfortably, it filled her previously-empty chest with panic and she wanted to run away. She didn't know this man, he could be a threat. He could hurt her. She preferred the numbness.

She took deep, dissatisfying breaths. Gaster's grip didn't relent at all, holding her tighter if anything. She realized how strange it felt to have something touching her skin, but she didn't have much time to dwell on that. His two free hands made a pacifying gesture, trying to calm her as she fought against his grasp. She was too confused, she didn't understand why he was talking to her. His speech was strange as well. At first it only came out as complete, but when she listened carefully to the different sound of it's echoes she realized she understood him somehow. She frowned at him, still fearful.

She eyed him warily, "Gaster." She repeated hesitantly, only to be taken aback by the sound of her own voice. It was different than she had expected, older. She didn't really know how her voice should have sounded, she couldn't recall ever having one. Somehow she had thought her voice would be smaller, more child-like.

The being who called himself Gaster looked pleased when she said his name and nodded his head eagerly, holding her arms a little tighter.

"Yes, yes! Gaster! That's right!" He seemed to like hearing his own name. She felt her fears pacifying as she noticed how innocent he seemed. She wondered for a moment how long he had been in the same place she was, and how much of it he had spent completely alone. Maybe he was just happy to have another person there with him. He must be lonely. Two of his hands took her shoulders and gave them a quick rub, the other two entwining together on front of him. "What is your name, sweet child?"

She paused and racked her mind. She knew it was there, in the massive unpopped bubble beneath her conscious. She just couldn't recall it.

Seeing her struggle, Gaster shook his head and waved his hands dismissively. "Never mind that. Do not hurt yourself." He teased her lightly, poking her forehead. She huffed in irritation, pressing her lips together. Not remembering was so frustrating. "You do seem quite lost." He took her chin delicately between a forefinger and thumb, angling her face upwards to his own. Two small orbs of light reflected in his eye sockets. They seemed to stare deep into her. "You must not have your memories back yet." He sounded sympathetic.

"Memories..." She trailed. Gaster gave a soft chuckle, nodding his head. One of his hands went to her hair and brushed through it thoughtfully. It felt very pleasant.

"Yes. Memories. I'm sure you know at least what memories are. You seem very intelligent, too intelligent to not know that you are missing something very vital." His hands continued playing with her hair, quelling the fear that was resurfacing. How did he know that she couldn't remember anything. When he looked at her, she felt like he could see right into the emptiness of her mind. It was a chilling sensation.

Hesitantly, Gaster closed his hands around her. One pressed into the small of her back, another into the nape of her neck, and the remaining two cupped together over her sternum. "May I?" He requested expectantly, but in her confusion she was completely wordless. He laughed at himself, "Right, you wouldn't know what I was asking for, would you? Hm... Shut your eyes." He requested. She obeyed and let her eyes close.

The sensation in her chest was like nothing she'd have imagined. Where she had been feeling the absolute nothingness was suddenly... something. A tightness overtook her chest, and then it was like a vacuum. Then it was over, and she was empty again.

"Open them." He sounded excited as she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to fully comprehend what she was seeing. Between two of his hands he held a purely white orb in the shape of a heart. She stared at it blankly and he noticed that she didn't really understand the significance of what he held. He removed his fingers from it so she could see it more clearly. "This is your soul, sweet child, and there is something very wrong with it."

Chapter Text

The loud, luxurious groan that erupted from Chara reverberated throughout her entire body as she pulled herself up and out of the flowers that covered her. Excitement filled her stomach (HA! her stomach! She had her own body again!) and she shuddered, feeling temperature for the first time since she was buried. She didn't understand all of the magic that had gone into this, she was sure her body had deteriorated into the soil and was consumed by the creatures there long ago. However, that wasn't something she was going to linger on for too long. She had much more important matters to tend to.

Laying in the flowers, Chara searched her mind. "Frisk?" She whispered softly, her voice hoarse and scratchy from lack of use and her mouth was almost completely dry. She reached out for Frisk, figuring that this new development would only mean they had switched places, wouldn't it? She thought that was a reasonable train of thought. However, Frisk was nowhere to be found. Chara soothed herself quickly, though. When she had first shown up in Frisk's mind, she had been pretty tired and confused and it took her a little bit of time to find her own voice or presence. Frisk was likely just going through that too. She'd be better soon enough.

Chara filled her lungs and stretched her underused limbs, feeling their delicious aches as her muscles got exactly what they wanted--movement. She eagerly overstretched her joints until they popped in the most satisfactory fashion. She gave a soft moan of pleasure, then shifted to get herself into a standing position. She felt her body trembling with the stress, but she was confident as she moved to make her first step.

Then she stumbled and fell into a useless heap on the ground, scraping her hands on the rock and dirt beneath her.

Right. She hadn't actually walked on her own in... a very long time. She grunted and huffed in frustration. As she tried to pull herself back to her feet, she felt like a child--

Wait. She was a child. Right, she should probably remember that. Her mouth twisted up in concentration as she got back to her feet, balancing carefully as her nearly completely atrophied legs worked on baring her full weight once more. It felt strange for her to focus so hard on something she had once done so thoughtlessly. She knew how to do it, it just felt like she was overthinking it. Psyching herself out.

"Put one foot in front of the other..."

Chara's head shot up at the song. The jingle from another life that she had only half lived. She frowned and glared at the doorway she heard the singing coming from. She grunted in frustration, focusing even harder on just getting herself to walk. How did she center herself so that she didn't topple over as soon as she lifted her foot again? Uhg, it wasn't like this was rocket surgery. Or... something like that.

"And soon you'll be walkin' 'cross the floo-oo-oor!"

The voice singing the tune was familiar too, and it was taunting her. Mocking her. She needed to stand up, walk over to it, and shut it the hell up. She took a deep breath. Knowing she would be shutting the voice up filled her with determination.

She successfully took a step, only for her knees to give way beneath her weight and she was splayed across the dark floor once more. She had more scrapes up her arms and over her knees. Maybe she needed a little bit more than determination to do this.

"You put one foot in front of the other..."

Chara growled as the mocking singing continued. She forced herself up to her feet again, determination and pride helping to keep her knees locked. This time, as she took each step, she used her arms as counterweights as she forced each one to carry her without buckling again. She grunted and huffed with each step, her legs shaking and aching beneath her. She refused to let her knees give again. She was going to get to that door, walk right into that room, and shut that stupid voice up if it was the last thing she did.

She stumbled over to the doorway.

"And soon you'll be walkin' out the..."

Chara gasped and sputtered from effort as she finally reached the doorway, clinging to the arch for dear life as she felt her whole body shudder. It took everything out of her just to make it such a short distance, how was she going to manage to make it all the way across the underground?

"DOOOOOOOOR!"

Chara eyes went to the light that broke through the surface and the yellow flower that grinned back at her as it basked in it. She glared at it bitterly, trying to look tough and intimidating but it was a little difficult when she was still trembling from exertion over a few little steps. The flower heaved a great sigh as vines emerged from the ground around Chara. She yelped and clung to the arch.

"Howdy. I'm... well, I would introduce myself, but..." His grin changed into a sneer as the vines wrapped around Chara's limbs, holding her up as he forced her to take exaggerated steps towards him. "You already know me pretty well, don't you, Chara?"

Chara tried to resist the steps, but her body simply didn't contain the power that required.

"Flowey," she allowed bitterly, glaring at the golden flower, "could you lay off with the vines? I can walk on my own." She huffed as she gave weak tugs at the vines. Flowey gave his own version of a shrug with his leaves, his vines releasing her and he watched with a smug grin as she fell back onto the ground. His vines retreated a bit away from her.

"Sure, you looked like a real Usain Bolt over there." He snickered, vines curling around him as he watched her thoughtfully.

"You really shouldn't use those references, you're not actually supposed to know them." Chara stated in annoyance, pulling herself back up to her feet. She didn't want to look weak in front of him, not when she was so used to being the powerful one. Flowey darkened considerably at her statement.

"Yeah, about that," Flowey steadily grew larger, vines thickening and curling around her. They weren't touching her, or constricting around her, they were more forming a grassy prison around her. Chara shrunk back in on herself, hugging her chest. Flowey loomed over her, his face absolutely enraged. "Why shouldn't I know them? Why the hell are we back here, Chara!?" He demanded, pressing closer to her face.

Chara sputtered and stepped away from him, taking everything in her not to stumble to the ground. "B-back off, petals!" She spat at him, but he didn't relent even a bit.

" Why did you reset ?" He demanded, "I had a good thing goin' for me. I had plenty of annoying little humans around to keep my boredom at bay. I could torment them whenever and however I wanted, I was the main act! They swarmed down here to visit the crass little flower! And do you have any idea how it feels to wake a vacationing family's innocent little baby and make it cry around the clock while they're helpless to do anything? To watch the life drain from them day by day as they realize what a mistake procreation was? Watch as they slowly accepted their fate, knowing they would never sleep ever again? And you ripped that from me!" He arched ever closer to her small frame, "And not only that, but you brought that stupid smiley trashbag back too?!"

"I said back off !" Chara shrieked again. She didn't have the power, the LV, or the EXP to fight him, and she wasn't looking forward to dying a hundred times in a row to him. Unable to resist it, she felt as Flower drew her soul out from her chest. He glared at it and sneered as his vines curled around it and pulled it closer to his face. A chuckle slipped from his mouth.

"Wow, you could even trick someone into believing that this might actually be your own soul, couldn't you?" Green spread over the vibrant red of her soul. Flowey inspected it closely, his vines not exactly gentle over the delicate object in its clutches. Chara whimpered, her body feeling the constriction. "...And would ya look at that, you've already broken your new toy. What'd you do to it, Chara?"

She blinked and stopped cowering away from him, even leaning in closer in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She demanded, reaching out for it. Flowey unraveled his vines and pushed her soul closer, but not close enough that she could snatch it from him. The tip of a vine ran down the center of her soul, tracing over a hairline fracture right down the center of it. "W-what?! How did that happen? I just got this... what did she do to it?!" She shouted in frustration, leaping to grab the soul back but Flowey jerked it away from her quickly, watching as she fell into a heap in his green prison.

"This is just what you do, Chara. You take perfectly good things and you ruin them." Flowey gave a dramatic sigh of dismay, shaking his head. "You took the perfectly good timeline we all lived in happily and you ruined that. You took a perfectly good pie recipe and you ruined that. You took our perfectly good family and ruined that..."

Chara sputtered, "W-well, you took our perfectly good plan and you ruined that!" She snapped right back at him, then gave a shriek as his vines encircled and gripped her wrists and ankles and tugged her up into the air, one going around her neck and shoulders  to keep her facing him. Flowey put his face only inches from her's, his face filled with molten hatred.

A grin spread across his face as he hissed through his teeth, "Without your stupid plan in the first place, we never would have died. We could have grown up." His vines tightened around her limbs and she whimpered in discomfort.

"W-we've been around far too long... t-to still be dwelling on that... little detail..." Chara's voice went weak as his vine closer around her throat a bit more, not cutting off her hair or the blood but enough to make her scared he would. She could do nothing to stop him as he pulled her limbs in every which way, like a medieval torture device. "A-Asriel, please..."

Flowey looked even more enraged when she said her brother's name, "I'm not that stupid scapegoat of yours anymore!" He snarled into her face, "And I can assure you, I will not be sitting back and letting you reset my life over and over again. If that's what you're planning on here..." He brought her soul back up to her line of sight, his vines curling around the mounds of the heart. They gave a tug in opposite directions, forcing her fracture apart. Chara gasped and gave a strangled cry of agony as it split, but not entirely. She whimpered and shuddered. Her body screamed in pain as it felt like it was being torn apart in every way she could imagine.

She was going to die, and this wouldn't be the first time she would, or the last. Tears filled her eyes, wondering if he was really going to drag this out. He'd probably wanted to do this to her for a very long time, but he couldn't kill someone who was already dead. She wondered how long he'd planned this out.

She did deserve this, she supposed.

Chara shut her eyes as she gave up, she was just going to let it happen and change her tactics next reset. She just had to wait for her soul to shatter...

Heat engulfed the room, making Chara open her eyes again. As the vines shrank away from her body and she fell to the ground once more, she found herself searching for the source. Flowey's vines were scorched and he quickly slinked his vines back into the ground, Chara's soul falling free from his grasp as well and hurrying back into her body.

"We're not done," Flowey hissed to her before slipping back into the earth beneath them. Chara clutched herself tight, her entire body hurting and aching. She was having second thoughts on having her own body again. It wasn't like she'd had much of a choice though. What was she supposed to do? Just let all of that happen to Frisk?

"Oh, my child, I am so sorry that happened to you. Greetings, my name... m-my... name..." Chara looked up as the woman's words fell into silence. She heard her breath run ragged and Chara gave a weak smile in return, beholding her mother. "My... child..."

Toriel was hesitant. She was convinced her eyes were betraying her. Perhaps it was the filthy green and yellow sweater she wore, or the strikingly similar hed hair. Maybe it was the deep brown eyes, or the rosy cheeks. So familiar, but so impossible. She was dead.

"Mama..."

Toriel broke and ran to the small, dirty child and pulled them into her embrace.

Chara wasn't as emotional as Toriel, given that she had seen her mother much more recently than Toriel had seen her. Still, she hadn't held her own mother in a long time either. Chara sighed and melted into the warm embrace that smelled of embers and pie.

"Chara... oh, Chara, my child, my sweet child..." Toriel whispered softly, petting through Chara's matted and dirt filled hair. Toriel cried softly in her overwhelming joy at having her child back in her arms again. A part of her wondered if, perhaps, Asriel had returned in the same fashion... She pushed it aside and just enjoyed what she had there. "How... how are you... here... oh, Chara..." She couldn't manage a full sentence, filled with too many emotions to be able to focus on just one thought or expression. There was so much she wanted to say, too much to do. She couldn't move from her position on the floor, she was convinced everything would just give out beneath her.

"I missed you too, Mama," Chara murmured softly, not minding how much her body hurt each time she was squeezed. It felt too nice to be in her mother's arms again at all, with her own body. The hugs she would get while inside Frisk were always muted, and she knew they weren't really hugs meant for her which only dampened them even more. This was her's, the hug and the emotions were all for her.

It took the two a while to decide it was time to get up, and really it was only because Chara started coughing. She realized how dry her mouth felt, and her body was pleading for some food and water. Toriel listened to the groans her stomach made and sighed, getting to her feet and taking Chara's hand. She went to help Chara lift herself, but her yelp of pain as her shoulder was pulled on made Toriel stop.

"My child, I am so sorry!" She leaned down and scooped Chara's frail frame up easily, "Let us get you some food and water, yes? Perhaps some tea..." Toriel suddenly grinned widely as they walked through the ruins. "Chocolate pie! I have some chocolate, I could make you your favorite pie, would you like that?"

Chara's stomach moaned eagerly at the idea of her mother's chocolate pie. "Yes, please." She murmured, burying herself into her mother's chest.

On their way through the ruins, monsters peaked out to catch a glimpse of the new human in Toriel's arms. Chara giggled as she saw them, waving her fingers. Most hurried off at Toriel's stern looks, but Chara took notice of one froggit that looked particularly interested. She smiled at it.

"Well aren't you a handsome fella?" She knew the froggit wouldn't actually understand her, but it seemed flattered anyway and blushed as it hopped off, seemingly pleased.

Toriel stepped into her home and set Chara down on her chair. Chara settled in easily, giving a pleasant sigh as she melted into the soft plush and Toriel stood in the center of the room, looking a bit lost.

"I... I'll get you some water, uhm, do not... go anywhere." There was genuine fear in her voice as she made her way to the kitchen, continuously looking back at Chara to make sure she was still there. "J-just rest, alright?" Toriel said as she returned with a glass of water. Chara took it with hands shaking from effort and eagerly drank the water, but when it fell into her stomach it stirred unpleasantly in the empty depths. She grunted weakly and nodded to her mother.

"Okay, Mama," she murmured softly, "I'm not going anywhere."

Toriel gave a smile and went into the kitchen. Every few minutes she poked her head back out, as though she didn't believe Chara would still be there, in that chair, waiting for chocolate pie. Chara didn't blame her. Magic was capable of a lot, but it was unheard of that it would bring someone back from the dead. Chara didn't understand the full depths of what had happened either, but she didn't let herself dwell on it too long.

As Toriel baked, Chara scoured her mind for any sign of Frisk. She was tired and frustrated and, for the most part, Frisk was a nice sounding board. She had been hoping, maybe, that she could go through this journey one more time with her friend. Maybe she could show Frisk the best possible journey throughout the underground. Frisk had missed so much almost every single time. She didn't take certain paths, she didn't even bother going through the depths of the forest and get all that it had to offer with the various people who lived there. Frisk neglected so many people with so many interesting stories, so many new potential friends she would have enjoyed aside from the comedian and his brother.

Chara felt anger pool in her chest at the thought of that stupid comedian. Filling Frisk's head with all of those crazy conjectures. He had no idea what was really happening with Frisk's body every time his perfect little angel did something he didn't deem as something she was capable of.

"Th-the pie will be done soon, my child. Do not worry." Chara looked up in confusion, then realized her whole body had tensed. She released her fists. Toriel must have believed she was growing upset over how long the pie was taking.

Chara smiled at her mother and shook her head. "I understand, Mama..." She murmured softly as Toriel stepped closer and knelt down, taking stock of Chara's injuries. She frowned deeply.

"These bruises... the marks... your whole body... oh, my child, I should have destroyed that weed a very long time ago. I can't believe it did this to you. When you eat, it will all be better, I assure you." She insisted, her voice heavy with grief. Chara grunted as she sat up.

"Mama, I'm fine, I promise." She insisted, reaching out for her hands and taking them tightly. "I'm home now. And..." She knew she wouldn't be staying in the ruins. She had so much more to do, and she was frightened to make a promise she couldn't keep. But Toriel was so distressed, and upset... "I'm not going anywhere."

She felt so bad for lying, but she couldn't bare it if she saw her mother cry. It would destroy her resolve. Toriel's face lit up and quickly made the lie worth it. She pressed a kiss to Chara's forehead, making her whole body feel warm. She felt loved. It was so wonderful.

"I know, dear... I know..." A short while later the pie was done and Toriel brought out a slice. She placed the plate in Chara's lap and offered her a bite. Chara took it eagerly, and the effects were immediate. She nearly moaned as the warmth took over all of her aching joints. A strange tingling sensation overwhelmed her legs and arms. Another bite and the tingling turned into a buzzing as her muscles returned to what they once were and the pain in her joints was completely gone. The fuzziness of her memories cleared as well.

She had more she needed to do. The newfound clarity urged her, but she was so comfortably there with her mother. She didn't want to...

But she had to.

Chara finished the pie and felt one-hundred percent again and warily got to her feet. Toriel smiled and held her arms around her, not touching her but there just in case she fell. Chara was elated when she took a step without fail. She was all better, and now she could make her way out of the ruins and into Snowdin, where she would start her journey.

If Toriel wouldn't rouse Frisk, what would?

But would it really be that bad if she spent... a little bit of time with her mother?

Chara did have all the time in the world.

So she did. She lost track of time easily as she spent time in the kitchen with Toriel and the two spoke about the underground and how everything had changed. Chara avoided talking about her father, not wanting to upset her mother too badly. It wasn't until it was late at night and Toriel went to bed that Chara slipped downstairs to exit the ruins, a knife from the kitchen in her palms.

She got to the door and pushed it open hesitantly, peeking around. As soon as she stepped out, though, she was assaulted and pulled into an embrace.

"frisk, you're here!"

Chara went cold with rage as the stupid comedian held her. He really did have no idea. He was so stupid, so clueless. What an idiot.

"i know you probably don't remember me," Oh, how naive he was. He never did fully understand the dynamics between her and Frisk. Maybe he couldn't even tell the difference between them physically.

Where was Frisk, anyway? Her skelelover was here, embracing them, and she was nowhere to be found. Surely this would rouse her, her most favorite liar in the world.

"but i don't care, it doesn't matter."

What? Of course it mattered, Frisk wasn't in her head! She was supposed to be there, that was how this was supposed to work. She never would have agreed to a reset if she had ever believed Frisk wouldn't be there with her. How dare this stupid comedian even dare say it didn't matter? Chara grit her teeth.

Maybe sweetness wasn't how she was supposed to get her back. Maybe she had to try something else...

"you're here and I ju--"

Chara shoved her knife into Sans' chest, aiming for his upside-down white soul in his chest. He stopped talking, finally, and fell to his knees in front of her. He looked down at her knife and she felt a bit of pride swell in her chest. She always did enjoy bringing him to his knees. He stared at her in shock as he tried to process that she, indeed, was not his little Sweetheart.

She grinned, "I can see you're really dying to meet me... Comedian."

She laughed as he fell into dust, kicking the pile bitterly. Killing him made her feel so good. She felt her power increase and her body felt so much better, but it was all so bittersweet.

She still had no idea where Frisk was.

~*~

She really had no other option than to just take him at his word. She had never seen her own soul before, that she could recall, so she had no idea what it would normally look like or what it should look like. He held the pure white light in his hands like it was a delicate artifact. She watched the light curiously. It wasn't like a lightbulb, with one constant stream of light emanating from it in straight beams. The light seemed to have a life of it's own, it moved and swirled and seemed to dance in itself. It was beautiful.

Was thinking your own soul was beautiful vain?

Gaster's hands started moving around her soul. He pushed and prodded at it curiously. He played with it, manipulating it in his fingers thoughtfully. He pulled it closer to himself, seeming to forget she was even there. She took a few shallow breaths, color rising to her cheeks. Having her soul played with made her feel odd sensations all over her body. She supposed, after a moment of thought, having any sensations would be odd compared to the numbness she had grown so used to. Gaster took notice of her reactions and stopped, looking a bit sheepish.

He cleared his throat, "You see, this is not how your soul is supposed to appear." He informed her, pushing it slightly closer to her to let her examine it herself. She reached out to do so, running her fingers through the white aura. It felt like she was feeling through the heated smoke above and open flame, just without the burning heat. He chuckled and adjusted her hands carefully, then placed her soul into her open palms. "See, your soul is not supposed to be this color. Human souls come in many colors, but white simply is not one of them."

She blinked at him in response as she trudged up what she could in her mind about colors. She had a vague recollection of them, but she couldn't quite place the names. For some reason the name Roy came to her mind? That seemed dumb.

Gaster chuckled at her expression, then clapped two hands together and spread them apart slowly. Glittering magic appeared between them in multiple colors. It was breathtaking against the emptiness around them. "These are the colors of your world, I know you remember them. They are one of the most integral parts of existence." It made sense to her somehow and, slowly, the words came to her.

"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet!" She shouted eagerly. He grinned and clapped his hands for her, like a father who just heard his child speak their first worlds. He was beside himself.

"Yes! You are absolutely correct!"

She gasped, "Roy." She murmured, remembering the name, "Roy G. Biv." Gaster was stunned a moment.

Then he threw his head back and laughed, "You are something else, sweet child. You're remembering mnemonics, silly things that help you remember more complex ideas." He told her. Seeing him so thrilled with her made her feel something else. Her chest was filled with warmth, a spark in her stomach making her feel light and bright. Her lips pulled into a smile and she laughed as well, a few quick chirps. It made her feel nice. She'd take this over fear any day. "Look at you! Laughing already, remembering mnemonics. We'll have you all back together in no time."

He waved his hands quickly, shaking off his excitement and then returned to the matter at hand, her soul. He placed his palm against the back of her cupped hands and pushed her soul closer to her face. She felt like the light should be hurting her eyes, but instead looking into it only made her feel better. Lighter, happier.

"Now, you see, a human soul is usually one of the colors of the rainbow we just saw." He explained carefully, cupping his hands together and making the colors appear individually as he spoke. "The colors will correlate to whatever trait is most prominent in the human. Purple, or violet as you called it, is for perseverance. The next color is cyan, rather than indigo, and that is for patience. Blue is for integrity, green is for kindness, yellow is justice, orange is bravery, and finally the color red for determination." The colors dissipated into the emptiness and he returned to her soul, "White is not a color for human souls. You will see monsters with white souls, that is the only color monster souls are, but they are different from humans. Their shape is upside down, but... nevermind that, we aren't speaking of monster souls. White, in the context of your soul, represent emptiness."

She let him slip over the topic of monsters, she would be sure so come back to it later. She had a more pressing matter to deal with.

"I'm... empty?" She certainly felt empty, but hearing it somehow validated her. It confirmed what she had been feeling, or the lack thereof, and that made her feel better. Gaster's features seemed to soften a bit as he studied her soul.

"Yes, sweet child. You are completely empty. Imagine yourself as a piece of paper," he looked up at her to be sure she was following. There would always be basic concepts that remained in every soul. She nodded, prodding him to continue, "You're a paper that has been written on over and over again, filling you up. Then, someone took an eraser and scrubbed off all of your contents. That is what has happened, essentially. Your color was erased with your writing, and we have to take a pencil to you and decipher what remains." He smiled at her kindly and wrapped his hands around her soul again, plucking it from her palms. "Luckily for you, I am experienced in this particular area. Lost souls seem to gravitate to me..."

Gaster was frowning as his fingers explored her soul. She frowned in return, urging herself forward so she could see what he was looking at so keenly. He seemed startled when she was suddenly so close to him and laughed nervously. He took her shoulder in his hand and brought her closer to her soul, letting her eyes follow the trail his finger dragged through on it's surface.

"I did not notice before, but you are a little bit broken as well," he murmured sorrowfully. She reached out. It was just a hairline fracture down the center of her soul. It didn't clear down to the apex, but it was close to it. She pressed her lips together in thought, trying to place how she had broken her soul.

"Broken," she parroted after a moment, reachin out to touch the fracture for herself. It was like feeling a crack on a mirror. Gaster nodded his head, wearing a sorrowful expression. He heaved a great sigh.

"Yes," he absently ran his hands along the sides of her soul. She gasped quietly, feeling a slight tingle at the center of her chest that spread throughout her body, filling her with a different type of warmth than when she had felt happiness. Gaster stopped abruptly. "Apologies, it has... been a while since I have held a soul." The sensations stopped and she felt disappointed. Gaster hesitantly released the soul, allowing it to float between them and act as a sort of focal point for them.

She sighed, the disappointment of no longer being touched not lasting very long. She knew she had other things to worry about, but wasn't absolutely sure as to what they were. Gaster watched her expressions and smiled.

"First, let us choose our priority. Why don't we ask what brings you here?" He offered thoughtfully, trying to give some direction to her lost expression. She nodded eagerly, then blinked.

"Where... are we?" She asked him. He was surprised and then grinned. He put a bit of distance between them and spread his hands out, like he was showcasing something grand.

"Ah! Sweet child, we welcome to scenic the Void!"

"WELCOME tO SCeNic--" her memory stuttered and faded as soon as it appeared. She blinked. The voice so familiar, so inappropriately loud and eager to please her...

"The vast, empty expanses beyond space and between the timelines!" She didn't have time to process her memory as another was triggered. She gave a shout.

"Timelines!" Something about that word made her heart leap. It excited her, stirring something in the pool of her thoughts that brought a memory just under its surface. She clutched her hands into tight fists, pressing into either side of her head. She knew something about timelines, something very important. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. Gaster caught her wrists and pulled them from her head.

"Do not hurt yourself. Trying to force memories can only make them burrow deeper at times. They will only come when they are meant to." He assured her gently.

She only huffed and pulled her wrists from his grasp to cross them over her chest in frustration. It was annoying to be so empty, to just be a shell of the person she once had been--supposedly. She wasn't sure of anything, but she knew there was something important that she needed to remember. It was like she could taste it, like bile in the back of her throat.

"I need to remember." She stated with resolution, staring at Gaster. He chuckled in amusement, placing his hands behind her and holding her in place, placing his face just in front of hers with little space between.

"Alright. We'll start with something easier this time... Your name."

Chapter Text

CRASH

Sans was grateful that the reset wasn't nearly as painful this time. As his memories slowly came back to him, he was disappointed when he still couldn't remember the missing days. He and Frisk were together, and then everything was reset. Nothing in between. He felt his bones glow with frustration.

The most recent timeline took the longest to return. He woke up and ran to the door immediately, waiting for what felt like forever for Frisk to emerge from the ruins. The Papyrus came to fetch him and bring him home, but he refused. Sans felt guilt overtake him as he remembered throwing his own brother into a tree using his magic. Papyrus didn't deserve that. He was glad that at least Papyrus wouldn't remember that.

Sans remembered waiting a bit longer. Then, finally, the door opened. He was so excited to see Frisk again, to hold her in his arms. There was something about those emotions that didn't quite sit right with him. It was like he hadn't seen her in weeks, almost. Like she hadn't been around him. He understood missing her, but this was different.

Had she been gone? In the missing days, had something happened to her?

He felt the lead in his head, the memory slipping just over his head and out of his grasp. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Sans scowled in frustration and threw his blanket off of himself, going to get dressed.

He remembered holding Frisk in his arms and talking to her, saying how much had missed her. He hadn't actually paid attention, though, and he didn't realize he wasn't holding Frisk. He was holding someone else, a different child with red hair and a green sweater. He felt the knife in his chest and it shattered his soul.

"I can see you're really dying to meet me... Comedian."

The only explanation was that it was Chara. Frisk had mentioned once that she had an affinity for puns, and Sans was angry at how good that one had been. He remembered the look on her face as he died, the absolute hatred...

Wait, wait, wait.

If this was Chara, and she had her own body...

Where the hell was Frisk?

Sans panicked and readied himself with fervor. He wished he hadn't just upset himself so much, he couldn't use his shortcut when he was this frenzied. He'd wind up losing a bone or something in the process.

Chara had her own body, how was that possible? It made no sense, these timelines and resets were supposed to be almost perfect mirrors of each other. All splinters of the same exact timeline. How could something like this happen, how could it just change? He wished he could go to his lab and do his research.

Did this mean that Chara had the power of the resets now? Dread filled his bones. Was she just going to kill everyone and then reset, over and over again with no respite? With no repercussions? It wasn't like she could die or be punished, not really. Not when she could just slip right back to the beginning of the day whenever she so desired.

What did this mean for Frisk? What happened to her body? Perhaps, had they switched places? Was Frisk now in Chara's head, a sweet little voice begging for her to have mercy? Or was she just gone? Did she exist in the timelines anymore? Was he ever going to see her again?

No. No, no.

"fuck, shit!" Sans cursed and shook his head. This wasn't a prank, it couldn't be. It wasn't even real, this was a fucking nightmare. A new one, where everything was stripped away from him in every way possible. Not only was he going to lose his brother, but the woman he had loved never even existed. But that was impossible, wasn't it? The timelines had centered around Frisk, she was the one with the power.

Then again, the timelines had once been Flowey's.

Sans was pissed. Chara had hijacked his life and rewound all of his progress, only to erase Frisk from the world entirely. Was should going to kill him every time too? Was this her idea of entertainment? Run rampant throughout the underground, killing everyone? The only thing Sans knew for sure, he wasn't going to be that easy again.

He stormed out of his room. Not only was he upset about the new development with Chara and Frisk, he now had to walk all the way to the door because his trick wouldn't work with him like this. He had to ignore Papyrus as he walked past the filthy kitchen.

"YOU'RE UP QUI--BROTHER? SANS? WHERE ARE YOU--"

Sans swung the door open and didn't even bother shutting it behind him. He didn't have time. He could talk to Papyrus next timeline, or the one after that. He had all the time in the world to sit down with Papyrus and chat about what might happen that day or the next. How a human would definitely show up that day, which one always did and Sans had to pretend he had no idea.

When he got to the door, he decided to stand a bit farther back. He leaned back against a tree, shoving his hands into his pockets and staring at the door. He took deep breaths to try to calm his magic. He felt his eye glowing and he tried to blink it away. It was hard, trying to control his emotions when everything inside him was in turmoil. He had so many questions and so few answers, and he had no idea if he could get any from Chara whenever she decided to emerge. He wondered when that would be.

Evidently, the answer was two hours.

Sans watched as she slipped through the doors and looked around warily until her eyes landed on him. He watched as her lips spread into a grin and she gave a soft giggle as she stepped out fully, letting the door slam shut behind her.

"Know who I am yet?" She wondered curiously, tipping her head.

"you're certainly not frisk." Sans allowed thoughtfully and she quirked an eyebrow.

"Humor me, Comedian. Tell me how you know."

"well, dusting me was a little out of chara cter for frisk. you also lack all of her chara sma. when i look at you, too, you're really more of a... chara cature of her than anything. you got some of her features, but you don't even compare to her." Perhaps the severity of the situation should have spared it from his wordplay, but they were too good for him to pass up.

Chara chuckled as she looked him over, "You're funny." She murmured, then moved to walk past him and into the snowy terrain between the ruins and Snowdin, as though Sans would just let her have free reign. Sans snorted and her soul shone bright blue as she was thrown against a tree. She gasped and sputtered, the wind knocked out of her. She struggled to breathe for a few moments, but when she finally did she laughed. "J-Just like old times, eh, Comedian?" She coughed out, her grin only spreading more.

"yup," Sans walked up to her, his hands still shoved into his pockets. "i got questions for ya, you ain't gettin' out of 'em that easy." He stated, feeling his eye glow as he glared at her. She stared at him smugly.

"Am I?" She pondered thoughtfully.

Sans was already far too annoyed to deal with her bullshit. "what happened to frisk? where is she, and why are we here?" He demanded. Chara continued grinning her shit-eating grin. She looked smug, far too smug. He wanted to wipe that stupid grin off her face.

She shrugged.

She fucking shrugged.

"Why don't you tell me why I would tell you anything?"

Sans grit his teeth and two massive skulls appeared behind him, staring down their noses at Chara. "because if you don't, you're gunna have a really bad time." He snarled through his teeth. Chara's grin didn't even waver. What the hell was this kid's problem?

"Will I, now? Aren't you only supposed to kill those who have committed violence first?" She wondered, "Because, if you'll notice, my LV is still zero."

She giggled as Sans blinked, looking her over and taking a closer look at her soul. It made no sense to him. She was supposed to have emptied the ruins. That was just... it was what she did. She killed people, he was convinced that Toriel was already gone. But, when he looked her over there was no dust on her hands. The knife she loved to wield so much was tucked securely in her waistband, unused. What kind of timeline was this?

"you haven't killed anyone?" Sans murmured in disbelief.

Chara snickered, "Not yet, at least. I didn't really feel like killing my own mother. How disgusting do you think I am, Comedian, that you think I would be capable of matricide? Really, I don't know where you are but you should really come back... Toriel -ity!" Chara threw her head back and laughed. Sans could only stare at her blankly.

Chara was making jokes. Chara wasn't killing everyone she came into contact with. What was this? Had he been wrong...?

"then why the hell'd you kill me last timeline? and why'd you reset afterward? did you waste all your energy killing everyone?" Sans demanded, balling his hands into fists. It had been a long time since he had so seriously considered punching a little girl. He took a step closer to her. Chara rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.

"Wow, you're so very ignorant." She muttered, twisting her lips in an annoyed smirk. She snorted, shaking her head, "I'm really enjoying how you make all of these grand statements about me, and yet you have never actually met me before." She quirked a brow at him, smirking.

"i like how you're skirting my questions, demon ." He filled the word with as much venom as he could. Chara stared at him in disbelief.

"Wow, you're trudging up that little name now, huh? I say it once, in a timeline where I'm feeling particularly edgy..." She muttered to herself.

"answer me!"

"Alright, alright. Let me down then, Comedian, and we can discuss things like adults." She allowed thoughtfully, still smiling at him. He wanted to rip her lips from her flesh just to get the grin off her face.

Sans crossed his arms over his chest, "you're a child."

That made Chara scowl and Sans felt a bit better, "I suppose, physically, you might be correct however I recall that I am actually much, much older than you." Chara stated, sucking in her breath through her nose as she met his eyes. "Respect your elders, Comedian."

Sans watched her carefully. He wasn't sure what to do. She could very easily be lying to him about everything, however the facts were facts--she had no EXP, and no LV, and no dust on her hands. This timeline's Chara had made it entirely through the ruins without killing anyone. And maybe, if he did let her go, he could finally get answers.

He sighed and let her go. "now, tell me. why did you kill me?" He demanded, watching with amusement as she dropped and fell on her ass. She grunted and whined, pulling herself back up and rubbing her posterior.

"Why wouldn't I? You're an ass," she stated simply, glaring at him, "You were always telling Frisk how everything bad she ever did was my fault. She wanted to know what had actually happened, Comedian, not what you thought happened. You went on and on about how she's just so good and pure and blameless..." She started shaking with anger as she spoke. The passion behind her words made Sans take a step back. "You don't even know me, where do you get off telling her things like that?"

Sans watched her in disbelief, "so what are you gunna tell me the nightmares she was havin' were about, then? the ones with you torturin' her? the ones about me hurtin' her? were those you bein' innocent and pure?" He shot back at her.

"Okay, I'll give you that. Perhaps I was a little... intense ," she allowed carefully, rubbing her shoulder awkwardly, "but she wasn't listening to any of my more subtle warnings. She didn't remember all of the things you did to her. She was going to exist in that life never knowing what you were capable of, and I wasn't going to stand for it. She deserved to know her whole story before she made the decision to love you. I was hoping that by remembering, she might remember... all of the timelines, even me... us..." Chara blushed and looked away from Sans.

"why couldn't you just tell 'er?" Sans wondered, taking note of her blush.

Chara laughed, "Yes, of course, why not? Because the world you lived in just loved when you believed the things the little voice in your head told you. Because if she went to you with all of these new ideas, the truths of the timelines, you would have backed me up. I... I left her for her own good. She deserved to have a normal life, without me... Whenever I did tell her anything, she never fully believed me anyway. Like I'm some sort of liar..." She gave a heavy sigh, a defeated look on her face. "I only wanted what was best for her. And you..." Her face twisted up with anger, " you're not what's best for her. But for some reason she looks at--at-- that !" She gestured wildly over his frame with a look of utter disbelief, "and she gets all hot and bothered somehow!"

Sans wasn't going to stand there and argue with her on that point. He couldn't believe Frisk loved him either. "well, she woulda been spared a lot of suffering if you had just left her alone. you ruined her life, you know that? those nightmares seriously fucked with her head."

Chara groaned and rubbed her forehead, "Okay, I get it, maybe my methods could have been a little more thought through, but gimme a break! I didn't expect her to go making out with Undyne and losing her job and the become a waitress, or..." she looked ready to vomit, "having sex with you. " She shuddered in disgust. Sans' face glowed bright blue.

"please, for the love of everything good in this world, never say things like that while you're in the body of a child."

"Alright," Chara conceded easily, rubbing her upset stomach.

"thanks..." Sans took a moment to let his glow die down, trying to refocus. "now, what happened to frisk? where is she?"

Chara immediately fell silent, training her gaze somewhere behind Sans. She pressed her lips together, twisting them uncomfortably. Sans stood in front of her, getting in her way in case she decided to try to dart off without his magic holding her hostage. She looked up at him, her expression searching. Her lips pursed in concentration.

She shrugged again. "I dunno."

Sans growled and took a few steps forward, grabbing the front of her sweater and throwing her back against the tree.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on, Comedian. She's in here, she has to be." Chara's voice raised a few pitches and she clutched Sans' fist tightly in her fingers, a bit thrown by his aggression. She hadn't actually expected him to physically manhandle her. "Perhaps she's just resting for a bit. I know, y'know, for a while, when I was the voice in her head, I didn't really know what to do with myself either... She's probably just, uh, gaining her footing, or... lack thereof, I suppose. Relax."

Sans scowled and looked her over. He didn't know if he could trust a single word from out of her mouth. "you're tellin' the truth?" She huffed at the question.

"I wouldn't joke when it comes to Frisk." He only scowled deeper, "Trust me, Comedian. When it comes to Frisk we both only want what is best for her, that much I know." She insisted, trying to pry his fingers open to let her go.

"then why the hell are we standing here, demon? why are you in her place, controlling this body? why is she the one in your head? why did the reset even happen?" He demanded, pushing her back against the tree with each question. She grunted as the bark of the tree dug into her back. He watched her face fill with fright.

"Let me go!" She spat at him and he did, letting her drop to his feet. She rubbed her back and groaned before getting to her feet again, "I'm getting really sick and tired of falling." She muttered to herself, brushing the snow off of her knees. She took a deep breath and looked at Sans, "Are you telling me that you don't remember what lead to the reset?"

"no, i don't." Sans pushed his fists back into his pockets, "do you?"

"How come you don't remember? You always remember everything." Chara pushed, frowning, "What would make you not remember something? I thought that was, like, your superpower or something."

"you're supposed to remember it all too!"

"If I remembered, do you think I'd be asking you?" Chara wondered.

" i asked you !"

"Semantics."

Wow, this girl was something else.

"Well, what's the last thing you remember?" Chara pried. Sans thought about it for a moment, then felt his cheeks warm over.

"i... uh... we... made up."

"Up or out, Comedian?"

Sans glared at her. "we'd fought about me taking the new job tori and asgore offered me. we fought, made up , and she went to sleep. i was reading this dumbass book..." Which he was dying to know the ending to, and was made only more upset knowing he couldn't and might not ever know it, "then... nothin'... what about you?"

Chara scratched her chin awkwardly, "Well, I remember... something about... uhm, maybe, uh, perhaps... making her dream about me... y'know," she coughed awkwardly, "stabbing her in the chest?" She shifted on her feet and offered Sans a meek smile.

Sans stared at her with empty sockets for a moment. "stars... for someone who supposedly cares about her, you really have zero evidence."

"I get it, okay? I'm bad at showing affection , or showing that I care ." She exaggerated the words and rolled her eyes, "Jeez louise, stop being so..." she paused and grinned, " judgy ." She snickered and it was Sans' turn to roll his eyes. When Chara recovered from her pun that Sans didn't seem to entirely appreciate, she gave a heavy sigh and looked around, smirking. He didn't like the look of it. "Okay, so you don't remember what brought on the reset... That's fine, you know. All we have to do is jog your memories. Or perhaps... take them for a run?"

Sans sputtered and it took him a second to register that she had taken off, running away from him as fast as she could. As soon as his mind caught up with him, he went to run after her but she was gone. Completely disappeared.

Fuck.

~*~

"My name..." She nodded, taking a deep, still extremely dissatisfying breath. Somehow, it floated right up to the front of her mind and exploded from her mouth. "Francine Isadora Sky." She stated, a thrilled grin spreading across her face. Then, something about it just didn't feel right. The name was so long. Something about her demanded a curt, crisp name. She could hear echoes of it in her head, being beckoned through quick snaps.

"You don't seem very convinced," Gaster allowed her softly, looking amused as he read the frustration on her face.

"I'm... it's my name, but it's not... it's not..." she shook her head, searching. It was wrong, she knew it was. "Francine... Fran... Izzy? Sky... Fr... is..." Her eyes went wide and she yelped with glee, "Frisk! Frisk! Frisk Dree... murr? Frisk Dreemurr?" She blinked as the second name slipped out. She felt Gaster's hands still against her, his face going vacant for a moment.

"Frisk Dreemurr..." he repeated thoughtfully, blinking down at her as his smile returned. "Lovely name, dear. It suits you." He tipped his head and watched her, "Next question?" She nodded eagerly. "Where do you live?"

"New New Home," she stated easily, then squinted, "or... Snowdin? New Home?" Her face crumpled up.

Gaster kneaded his fingers into her shoulders, "It is common to have multiple homes, do not stress else you'll lock your memories right back up." She huffed with frustration, but it felt nice to have her muscles stimulated. The sense of touch was so starved here in the void. She didn't like struggling to have her own memories. Gaster noted how irritated she was growing and only grinned wider, "We're getting it back, look at what we already know!" He said enthusiastically. She allowed herself a small smile, his demeanor very encouraging.

"Maybe a little more challenging this time. Who do you love the most?"

Frisk hesitated a bit more this time. As the memories came to fruition, more came up to battle them. She did love someone, she knew she did. The feelings were overwhelming as she envisioned herself in the arms of a tall, burly skeleton dressed in a blue hoodie. He leaned down and they shared a passionate kiss together. She felt all the lust she had for him, wanting more of him right then and there. Then, in the same breath but a different memory, she was staring up into the same face. This time, however, he stood over her dying body as she bled out on a golden floor. In this memory he was smaller and shorter. She felt smaller too, younger, and she felt so filled with bitter hatred and defeat, but still so fiercely determined to destroy him. She stared up at him with his shit-eating grin.

How could she be older and sharing a kiss with him, but younger and dying by his hand?

She grasped her head and gave a weak cry, her whole body shuddering with the conflict. Gaster's hand fluttered over her helplessly, then took her securely and held her against him, letting one of his hands run up and down her back soothingly. "Shh, shh, we will forget that question. Let's move on to something else... perhaps, what is your favorite color?" He asked, trying to give her something else to focus on.

She took the bait eagerly and blinked, feeling herself calm down slowly. "... Blue." She murmured softly, resting against the smooth expanse of Gaster's chest. He sighed with relief.

"What about... your favorite animal?" He wondered. He watched with immense pleasure as her lips spread back into a smile.

"Dogs." She stated definitively, envisioning small white fluffy dogs running around with thick bones in their mouths. He nodded in approval.

"Dogs, of course." He murmured, "What's your favorite... food?"

Frisk grimaced and racked her brain, but too many answers popped up and leapt out at her. However, every single one didn't feel quite right. Chocolate, spaghetti, pie, tea, hot dogs, ketchup... Maybe all of them? Maybe none of them? They all felt so significant to her, but she couldn't place the meanings behind them. She grimaced, frustrated.

"I..." She tried to remember the tastes of each thing, and immediately the spaghetti was knocked out. Then chocolate, she really didn't like chocolate that much. Then ketchup, because it was a condiment and not a food. That left hot dogs, pie, and tea. Couldn't be tea, despite the warm feelings it brought her, because it was a drink. Now she only had to choose between hot dogs and pie. She felt a smile spread over her lips affectionately, "Butterscotch-cinnamon pie."

Gaster was beside himself, "Wonderful! So specific, look at how you can accomplish whatever you strive for. Soon enough you'll be good as new, remembering everything!" He insisted pleasantly, holding her a little closer. "Why don't we ask, perhaps, how old you are?"

Frisk froze.

She saw herself dying over and over again. She had died at the age of eleven time and time again. She felt her small form being crushed, stabbed, ripped apart. She saw her own blood spattering walls and flooding floors. She felt her skin being disintegrated. She saw her soul crumble into pieces multiple times in quick succession. Then she felt much older finally, nineteen. She shuddered, feeling dread and misery fill her bones. Loneliness. Abandonment. Worthlessness.

"Nevermind, nevermind, let's focus on something else. Please, shh, shh, sweet child," Gaster insisted, squeezing her again and hoping to draw her back out of her memories. She blinked and came to quickly enough.

"I don't know how old I am..." She murmured, "I've... died... too many times."

"Yes, I gathered that... See, sometimes... time isn't quite as linear as people tend to believe it is. I shouldn't have asked that question, I will do better next time. Let's think about something else." Frisk nodded and looked around, noticing her soul once more. She eyed it a moment, then looked back to Gaster and pulled away from him a bit.

"What about your soul?" She asked him, wanting to stray away from herself for a moment so she could recoup. Gaster looked startled by the question, a hand flattening itself over his chest. He straightened himself out, a purple glow overcoming his cheeks.

He cleared his throat, "My... soul? Mine?" He asked her.

She nodded her head eagerly, "Yes, your soul."

"You would... like to see it?" He seemed incredibly flattered and a bit abashed.

"Well, you've seen mine." She allowed softly, giving a soft laugh. Two of his hands went to his cheeks as two cupped over his chest. He was speechless, sputtering over his words. He went from refusing to allowing it and then questioning whether or not she was sure she even truly wanted to see it. "Come on, please?" She urged a bit more.

Gaster sighed and nodded, "Alright..." Slowly, the two hands over his chest disappearing as his eyes fixated on her. A moment later, they reappeared. What she saw wasn't quite what she had expected. She leaned in a bit closer and reached out, looking up at Gaster as though asking for permission.

"Please do," something in his voice sounded strained and desperate. She gently took the upside-down heart in her hands.

It was so extremely different from her own. Not only the part where it was upside-down, but it was also smaller. She glanced over at her own soul, with it's vibrant light radiating all around them. It might be able to pass off as a flashlight, it was just so bright. Then, she looked at his. She knew it was supposed to be white, as he had said that earlier, but this one was far more gray than that. It was incredibly dull, the faintest glow emanating from the center of the soul and barely illuminating her palms as she clutched it. It was almost depressing to see such a lifeless soul.

When she ran her fingers over the soft surface, she gave a sound of surprise. "Yours is broken too!" She frowned, looking up at him with concern written all over her face. "A-are you okay?" She was almost scared to let his soul go, afraid it would shatter without her holding it together. Her fingers traced over what felt like hundreds of miniscule fractures that spiderwebbed over the entire surface of the small gray shape. Gaster gave a weak laugh and shook his head in amusement.

"I have been here a very long time, sweet child... Eventually, my soul will simply shatter and I will cease to be. No one is truly meant to exist in this place." He allowed softly with a helpless shrug. "I accepted my fate long ago."

She was aghast and shook her head. "No." She stated, "No, I won't let that happen. I'll... I'll recover my memories. I'll get them all back and... and I'll save us both." She decided.

A stripe of red flickered through the fracture in her soul.

Knowing she was going to save herself and Gaster from the void filled her with determination.

Chapter Text

Sans tried to search for Chara, he really did. He searched for over an hour throughout Snowdin, but the girl seemingly disappeared into thin air. He checked every single place Frisk had habitually gone to almost every single timeline, but he completely failed to find the little demon child. She had lived in the underground once, so he was sure that she knew of hiding spots and she didn't exactly want to be found by him, so he just gave up.

Really, did he need to find her? As much as he had questions for her, he knew that ultimately the two of them had the same goal--they both wanted Frisk back. She had yet to kill anyone in this timeline, so why would she start now? Besides, Papyrus would likely catch her if she tried to go to Waterfall and Sans would be the first to hear if that happened, and then he would be reunited with the rampant child and he could ask her more questions then.

Happy with his conclusion, Sans had another idea. Still roughly recalling old numbers and calculations from his studies and research on the timelines, he could go to his old lab and run them again. Maybe something in them could tell him what happened differently this timeline. Maybe he could figure something out, maybe he could--

His thoughts were interrupted as his path was cut off by a bright yellow flower.

"Howdy, Trashbag."

Sans blinked and looked down at the incredibly out of place plant in surprise. He had almost gotten to a point where he forgot about the flower altogether. He had become a complete nonissue once Frisk had finally given up on trying to get him to come to the surface with her. She tried very hard for several years, deciding that despite all of the horrible things he had done, he was worth saving too. However, not even the most determined soul could get the human-hating flower to come to the surface. So, as long as Sans stayed away from the travel blogs that ranted and raved about the crass little flower underground, and remarkably how no child seemed to be able to sleep through the night there, he didn't think about him at all.

He heaved a great sigh of annoyance. "really don't have time for you, petals." Sans muttered in irritation, moving to step around the failed botany experiment. Flowey huffed and only shifted in front of wherever Sans went to step.

The flower refused to be ignored, "Really, now? Because, to me, it looks like we have plenty of time. All the time in the world, actually." Flowey commented nonchalantly, growing larger to make himself more of an obstacle for the side-stepping skeleton. Sans gave up and grunted in frustration, glaring at Flowey. The plant had a point, they all had plenty of time. Too much of it, in fact. He shoved his fists into his jacket.

"what do you want? as far as i knew, you avoided me." Sans felt his magic thrumming through his bones, ready for a fight if that was the end game here. He never could know when it came to Flowey, who was about as unpredictable as Frisk and Chara had been. Something about the power of reset made things like basic morals and ideals fly right out the window. What use were they when anything that turned out badly could just be erased in the next moment?

Flowey was nonplussed, "I did. I don't like you, and I never will." He explained easily, causing Sans' brows to raise as he looked the flower over incredulously. Well, he was certainly honest. "However, I liked that last timeline, and I'm sure you want to be here just about as much as I do. I figured we could help each other out, maybe find out exactly what happened. My knowledge of the mechanics of resets and your knowledge of the science behind it... together, we might make a good partnership, eh?" He offered, sounding entirely too reasonable for the psychopath he was known to be. Sans took his words with a grain of salt, contemplating the consequences of working with the maniacal perennial.

"yeah, and what can you offer me that i can't figure out on my own?"

Flowey's face curled up into a wild smile, his leaves arching inward. "I know a lot of things, Trashbag. That happens when I'm down here in the underground for years and you're up on the surface, face-first in ambassadorial pussy and avoiding your old home like the plague."

Sans pinched his nasal bones in irritation, shutting his eye sockets. It took him a moment to ignore the flower's crass statement. He wasn't wrong he just didn't have to say it . How did he know about his and Frisk's relationship anyway? He didn't seem the type for gossip magazines, and it wasn't like his and Frisk's relationship was exactly a hot topic.

"okay, say you know things i don't. what's helping me gunna do for you? you aren't someone i'd ever call selfless by any stretch of the imagination."

Flowey nodded thoughtfully, "Well, look at you. Perceptive as always. Helping you gets me out of this loop too. Neither of us are huge fans of Chara's, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend--"

"unless that enemy is also your enemy. then there's just three enemies."

"I don't hate you nearly as much as her. You aren't the only one who hates having their life toyed with."

Sans almost felt flattered, but he swiftly grew annoyed again. He snorted so violently that, if he had the flesh for it, the action would have hurt him. "this coming from you, of all beings. the one other person who has actively fucked with the actual timeline of my life." The yellow flower rolled his eyes, but Sans wasn't having it, "don't you fuckin' dare. you toyed with my life just as much, if not more than she ever did. not only that, at least she kills my brother quickly. you... what you did to him, how you treated him, how you tormented him... don't you sit there and try to pretend you're a victim." He felt his magic create a fiery, angry aura around him as he faced Flowey, remembering all of the awful things the flower had done before when he was intoxicated with the same power that Chara now abused.

Flowey was silent, knowing nothing more that he said would make Sans calm down. He just had to wait.

He didn't wait long. Sans gathered himself, the aura dissipating as he considered everything. As much as it killed him to say it, but he needed allies. He needed help if he was going to figure out a way to get home, or at least get back on track into a timeline that would eventually lead him back there. "... fine. i'll help you. you'll help me." He finally allowed, though it physically pained him to say it. Flowey looked thrilled.

"Good! Now, I--"

"uh-uh. shut up." Sans interrupted, "first, i'm gunna go run numbers in my lab. you're gunna find chara and keep an eye on 'er, cause she says she's got no lv and i want it to stay that way, capiche?" Flowey looked like he wanted to protest, but he knew that this was the best he could ask for until a little more trust was built up between them. So, rather than fight it, he nodded complacently and disappeared into the ground.

Sans' frame relaxed and he stared up at the ceiling of the cavern for a moment. He really, really hated the underground.

It took him quite a bit of time to convince Alphys to let him into the Core. She was hesitant and afraid and Sans had to explain everything about timelines to her, which she refused to believe for quite a bit until Sans convinced her to let him show her the numbers and calculations and he revealed everything he knew about her that he feasibly shouldn't. Finally, she let him in and he got to work with computers that, after the eight years of technological advancement that he had experienced, felt like actual dinosaurs underneath his fingers.

Just as Sans was getting into it, making progress and seeing results, vines popped out from the ground. He scowled as they made their way closer to him, poking and prodding him. He knew what they meant, only the thinnest vines could get into this enclosed area. Alphys was nose-deep into a book and not paying attention, not realizing one of her most awful creations was sneaking in to get the skeleton's notice.

"i'll be right back, al."

"O-okay, I'll b-be here!"

Sans snarled in annoyance once he was out of the lab and glared at the flower. "i'm tryin' to work here, i thought that's what you wanted me to do? what the fuck do you want, why won't you leave me alone? you're supposed to be watchin' the kid." He scowled as Flowey shrunk down to his usual small flower, looking annoyed at the harsh greeting.

"I just figured you would want me to let you know what was going on, but if you're good, I can just go--"

Sans grit his teeth and huffed, "well, i already pulled myself away from al so you might as well tell me whatever was so important." He shoved his hands into his pockets as he stared the flower down, massively irritated at being pulled away from his work and with how unbothered Flowey seemed.

Leaves quirked up in a shrug, "Just thought you might want to check up on your brother, is all." He offered innocently, making Sans' face purse with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"what? why? i..." He didn't know what question to ask, but he knew Flowey. He knew that he wouldn't waste time just to send Sans on a wild goose chase, not when he wanted something. Not when the both of them just wanted to get home, and Sans was actively trying to make that happen. Therefore, there was a reason for Sans to go home and check on his brother, whatever that reason may be. "... fine, whatever, i'll finish the research later." He muttered, still annoyed and irritated as he shook his head. Flowey looked pleased with himself and dipped back into the ground as Sans turned and took a step, blipping in and out of reality to return home as fast as possible.

Sans pulled out his phone and texted his brother, asking him where he was. Without Frisk, he wasn't absolutely sure what Papyrus' schedule would be. There was also the variable of Chara wandering around, so pretty much anything was possible. Sans figured he would check the house first, since Papyrus checked the house a few times a day to make sure Sans wasn't home napping instead of at his post. Knowing Papyrus, he would get a response within a minute.

Sans rubbed his face as he opened the door to his house, calling out "paps, you home?" as he did. Rather than be greeted by the sight or sound of his brother, instead he was met with a cloud of dust as a part of the ceiling collapsed in front of him. Dust and debris erupted up from the ground and formed a cloud around Sans. Sans waved his hand in front of his face to clear the air. Sans felt his soul sink, "paps?" he shouted into the dust, "bro?"

The house was completely destroyed, and he didn't mean that in the Papyrus sense where Sans had left one too many socks on the floor. No, it was literally destroyed. The walls and the floor were torn apart. He saw bones sticking out of the foundation and holes that littered the drywall and logs of the cabin. Sans grit his teeth and pushed through the wreckage, shoving chunks of wood and furniture aside. "pap? papyrus?" He shouted, pulling out his phone and praying his brother had responded to him, telling him that he was gone with Undyne or still at his post or something, anything. He shoved a massive piece of wall out of his way as he called Papyrus instead. He heard Papyrus' ringtone from his brother's bedroom.

Shit. Shit, he needed to find Papyrus.

Sans ran up the stairs, tripping over bits and pieces of the railing and hopping over a few stairs that were missing entirely. "papyrus! it's okay, i'm here! i'm here! bro!" He struggled with the door to Papyrus' bedroom. As he fumbled with the doorknob and pushed, the door had no give, as though it were blocked. Frustrated, Sans took a deep breath and gave one last push with all his strength. The door was ripped off the frame and he stumbled, tripping over it as it seesawed off the wreckage on the inside of the room. Sans fell on his face, but quickly recovered and shook his head. He heard a yelp and whimper from the corner of the room.

"papyrus?" Sans shook his head and coughed, letting the debris settle around him until he could see clearly, but then he realized that this room had much more dust in it compared to the rest of the house. He took a shuddering breath, his eyes falling on the small frame of the girl in the corner of the room. "...chara?" He was confused. Why would Chara be in Papyrus' room, of all places?

He was going to get up and ask her questions, he was going to ask her where Papyrus was and what had happened to his house until he noticed the thick pile of dust in front of her. At her feet rested a dirty, torn red scarf. He felt his bones go cold and he searched her once more, scouring her soul, her LV specifically. A growl developed low and deep in his chest as he got to his feet, stepping up to the pile and bending over to pluck the scarf up.

She was a liar. A filthy liar. A dirty brother killer. A murderer. He trusted her, why would he be so foolish? He knew he shouldn't have believed her, that she would remain without violence through this timeline. As soon as he turned his back she flipped and killed his brother, again. He heard her cries and whimpers from her corner.

She knew exactly what she was in for.

Good.

Sans let her sit in her place, nearly pissing herself as she trembled. He clutched the scarf, his breathing deep and even as he inspected it. Chara looked up at him, her dust-covered cheeks betraying her stream of tears.

"S-Sans, I--"

He took a step toward her. Her words broke off as she gave a sharp, fearful cry and flinched away from him, covering her head. He liked seeing her like this, scared and aware of what she had done. Dreading what Sans was going to do to her.

"Pl-lease! Please, l-listen!" She quailed, gripping her hair and pressing her back against the wall as much as she could without completely flattening her body. She shrieked as Sans took another step closer to her, close enough to reach out and touch her.

She was gasping in a thick panic, simpering as she tried to talk to Sans. "I d-didn't, I wasn't--please--"

Sans knelt down in front of her and she trembled, desperate groans erupting from her belly as she peered at him from behind her arms. He noticed that she had, in fact, pissed herself. He took immense pleasure in the blubbering mess she was in front of him. He brought the scarf up to his face and shut his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath and he was greeted with dust.

"Please, please, please, Sans, j-just give me a s-second to explain-- "

He pulled the scarf away from his face and stared down at Chara a moment longer before getting on his knees and reaching out, wrapping the scarf around her neck once as he held each end in his fists. He took a deep breath and basked in the true terror in her gaze as she met his eyelights.

"... please, believe me, I didn't mean--"

He wrapped it around her neck once more and started pulling. Chara breathed in sharply, quickly understanding she wouldn't be drawing another. Her small hands went up to the fabric at her esophagus, trying to give herself some space between the scarf and her neck but the both of them new it would be fruitless. Her own strength was nothing compared to the enraged skeleton whose strength she was at the mercy of--or, the lack of mercy.

"Sa-ans..." she whimpered out, tears pooling in her eyes. Sans didn't care. He didn't want her excuses, he would let her lie to him again. He wouldn't have mercy on her anymore, and he wouldn't let this death be nearly as merciful as the others. He refused to let her just shatter and reset immediately. He was going to make her think twice about ever encountering him again.

This time, she was going to die exactly on his own terms. Satisfaction filled him as he watched her lips move with no sound coming out. He took immense gratification as her face grew bright red, like a shiny balloon that only he was allowed to pop. He loved watching her claw at her throat and at the scarf like somehow she could actually do anything about them. He basked in the fulfillment as her legs kicked out and she slipped between his knees and she squirmed with her back on the floor. Dust surrounded them as she disturbed the piles and consequently the remains of his brother settled on the both of them.

"I BELIEVE IN YOU... YOU CAN DO BETTER..."

i don't want to.

A bitter laugh escaped his chest as Sans looked down at Chara's struggling form. She was only here because Papyrus didn't know when to stop believing in people, and that had only happened because Sans tried that too. Soft gargling sounds slipped out of her.

She was so pathetic.

He grinned maniacally as she stared up at him, and he watched as her eyes slowly faded from panic stricken to a dull acceptance of her fate. Her lids drooped groggily, thought they never quite shut all the way. He chuckled as the light left them and they seemed to flatten lifelessly. He still didn't loosen his hold as her fingers stilled on the scarf at her throat and her arms fell limp and splayed on either side of her body. Her chest relaxed and her legs flattened underneath him. Her head rocked backward, suspended in the air only by the scarf's hold on her neck.

Sans still didn't let go, he refused. He took sick pleasure in seeing her like this. He never got to enjoy the sight of her lifeless corpse for very long before she would reset, so he took in every moment he could. A red glow emerged from her chest as her soul broke through and greeted him. He was surprised to see it was already fractured before it splintered off once, twice, and then shattered into dust before him.

What did that fracture mean?

Still holding the scarf, he felt his soul pushing against his chest. It was like a vacuum was held right up against him and the only thing it sought was to rip his soul from his bones. He grunted, knowing exactly what was happening. One would think he would get used to the sensation eventually, but each time was just as horrible. This kid wasted no time in resetting, did she?

Not wasting the opportunity, he gave the scarf a final jerk and relished in the sound of her neck snapping just as he was plunged into darkness.

Sans woke up in bed, groaning and rolling over in search of his phone. It had inexplicably made its way to the very end of the bed, meaning he had to untangle from his threadbare sheets to reach it. He sighed and checked the time. It was only 8 AM.

CRASH

The ignorance was so nice.

~*~

Each answer was better and more confident than the last, and she was absolutely thrilled about it. Though the bubble wasn't quite popped, she didn't have the free reign she so desperately wanted over her memories, when Gaster would ask her a question the answers were practically free-flowing out of her mouth. He had commented on the red stripe down the center of her soul, intrigued by it. It glowed steadily, throbbing to match her excitement with each memory she would recall.

"Alright, why don't we go over what we know so far." Gaster instructed. He didn't want to burn her out, or frustrate her by working her into a brick wall. He knew that they had been pressing their luck with the last few questions. She was frustrated by him stopping, but she nodded despite it.

"Okay," she agreed, worrying her lip in thought. "My name... is Frisk Dreemurr. I was adopted by my parents, Toriel and Asgore Dreemurr." She took notice of the discomfort that flickered over Gaster's face when she would say the names of her parents, but she brushed it off. She knew she could ask him later, perhaps on their next break. "My favorite color is blue, my favorite animal is dogs, I last lived in New New Home. I was an ambassador, but I was fired..." She trailed off, "because... I... fought with someone. The one, uh, the one that I loved? His... his name... I can't... uhg!" She hissed in frustration, desperately wanting to remember him. She had a shadow of a face in her mind, the same one she recalled killing her and hurting her too.

"Skip over it, we cannot force them to come to us." Gaster instructed.

She sighed heavily and nodded again, "I then became a waitress at Grillby's. But... before all of that, I was an orphan on the surface. I didn't have any friends or family there, and... I climbed up Mt. Ebott one day and I fell down a hole. After that fall, I was given... or, I got... I... well, after that I somehow got the power to reset time? And... I did... I did some very good things, and also... also not very good things..." Gaster reached out, hearing the distressed pitch to her voice. "I..."

"Shh, sweet child, we do not have to upset ourselves, instead let's... let's..." He trailed off, withdrawing his hands from her body with a frightened look on his face. She blinked at his sudden retreat, looking him over worriedly.

"What's wrong? Gaster?" She asked, reaching out and placing her hand over one of his. She followed his fixated gaze and they landed on her soul. The vibrant white shape hovered in the air, and she noticed it was different again. She saw the thick fracture down the center, not quite reaching the apex but close. Since she had decided that she was going to free herself and Gaster from the void, the fracture had been glowing red too, but that wasn't what was different. No, she saw something else--the fracture had splintered off, webbing out from its initial break. Twice. How had she not noticed before?

The red followed the fractures like veins over her soul and she yelped, reaching out and bringing her soul closer to herself from where it had been hovering before, just to the side of the two, illuminating their surroundings and humming in tune with the weak monotony of Gaster's own soul.

"What? Why is it doing that? Am I dying? Gaster, why is it spreading? I thought I was doing well!" Fear returned to her, and she didn't like it. Gaster had no explanation to give her, despite wanting to comfort her.

"I... could not tell you what is happening, child, I wish I could... but, it does not look like you are going to shatter. Not the same why a dying soul does. See, your color?" He grew closer to her, pressing their shoulders together and dragging his finger along the new fractures. "When a dying soul shatters, it does not glow. My only deduction is... that your true soul is trying to break through. I cannot be certain, this has never happened before. It does not do to panic, however. Panic and fear halt progress." He explained, wanting desperately to comfort her and help her so that they could continue their work on her memories.

She peered up at him with watery, frightfilled eyes. "You think so? ... You think it might be working?" She managed. Gaster peered down at her, one of his hands going to her cheek as she pressed against him further.

He smiled, allowing her this hope. "Yes, sweet child, I do."