Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ice skating is a dance.

Definitely something to be admired, perfected throughout years of practice and perfection of the craft. It clearly meant a lot to the men and women out on the ice, they pivot and twirl with such elegance that it was slightly believable that they were just made for it. Though, none were as amazing as the man that was out on the ice in that moment, his black bodysuit clung to his slender body, defining every single bone there was to define. He was so determined with every stride he took, his face never faltering even once- but of course he was focused, there was thousands of eyes on him. His moves were perfected down to the movements of his fingertips, it was all calculated and pre-planned before he dived out onto the ice. He finished up his performance with a bow and the crowd erupted into clapping and cheers, God how they loved him. God how the man watching him loved him. He twirled with the strings of his orange hoodie intently while he watched as the skeleton danced around with the shaved ice and the music of his skates hitting the floor. Stretch was basically at the edge of his seat admiring him, he never felt so focused on something before. He was never one for ice skating, that was until his younger brother dragged him to watch some ice skaters and he was hooked the moment he saw Edge enter the arena. There was just something about the way his face always looked so in it, he could only wish to be so dedicated to something like Edge was to skating. Anybody could tell that he had been practicing almost all of his life, he had found his craft and he had mastered it. Damn, he thought, if only I could just talk to him once. Truth be told Stretch would be happy if he were just sharing the same air as him, maybe lucky enough to be in the same room. When Edge finished up his dance and left the rink he always felt a bit disheartened, he would pay all the money in the world to see him skate for hours on end. Stretch wanted to leave but he couldn’t just abandon his younger brother like that, he may have enjoyed watching the skaters but certainly not enough to not notice his brother suddenly not being beside him. He begrudgingly stayed for the rest of the show, clapping lightly for every skater so he didn’t look like an asshole to the rest of the audience. Stretch probably would’ve passed out if it wasn’t for his brother tugging at his hoodie sleeve and notifying him that it was finally time to leave.
“I cant believe you were about to fall asleep here! Seriously brother, your laziness knows no bounds.”
He scoffed as he stood up and offered his hand to Stretch who gladly accepted, immediately shoving his hands back in his pockets as he went down the rows of seats beneath them.
“Sorry Blue, guess there’s just snow way of getting my sleeping past you.”
He snickered at his own pun and fiddled with the lighter in his pocket, itching for a smoke when they left the building. He would’ve just smoked inside if it wasn’t for the large “NO SMOKING” warnings on basically every wall, damn shame, he thought to himself.

Well, what can ya do.

He walked sluggishly behind his brother as he ranted and raved about each and every one of the performances, he did mentioned Edges but pretty much at the same level as the other ones. Stretch knew that Edge was the best skater there but him and his brother never really did have the same opinion on things. Blue loved Napstaton but he didn’t care much for him, Blue loved tacos while Stretch found better food elsewhere. Eh, they’re bros, it was normal.

Something else seemed to catch his attention as he walked beside Blue, a small brush of the shoulder to snap him back into reality. He blinked a few times and turned to look behind him, casually checking out who had just passed him.

Shit.

It was like time had stopped as he he realized who was standing mere feet behind him, his black bodysuit still clinging to his frame. The cold has defined a small red blush on his face, standing out from the pale of his skull. God was he stunning. His skates clacked together as he held them both in one hand, they were the most gorgeous shade of off white, almost a bit red if you stared at them in the right lighting. They were covered in certain areas with gorgeous crimson rubies, they sparkled and shined like nothing Stretch had ever seen up close before. It was like he was the embodiment of perfection. Jesus, could Stretch be any more obvious with his staring? He had entirely turned his body around now with his mouth slightly agape as he stared in awe at Edge. He sat down in one of the cold plastic seats to put his skates on, tying them with as much elegance that he did everything else with. They were perfect bows, same size on each skate. Edge was always so precise with everything that he did, he knew he always had eyes on him so it’s no wonder he felt like he had to put on a performance for whatever audience he had, large or small. It was a miracle that Stretch was even able to catch him alone like this, what was he even doing? He had finished up almost a half an hour ago and should’ve left. He didn’t dare move a muscle as he watched Edge get up and make his way back to the skating rink, easily gliding his way to the middle to do some impressive tricks that would’ve amazed anybody who was watching. However tonight there was only an audience of one. One man who was lucky enough to see this all for himself. It was like his body was forcing itself to move on his own as he took the seat where Edge just was, quietly trying to get comfortable in the hard plastic so he could enjoy this moment.

It was obvious that Edge loved being out on the ice, you could tell by every move that he made and the contended smile on his face when there were no judges there with searingly cold gazes, no pun intended. His blades hit the ice with almost mathematical accuracy, each time they collided it was like a note that was added to a song, making it even more perfect than before. Well, this was all certainly music to Stretch’s ears (metaphorically speaking). Being a skeleton didn’t really grant him the ability to have ears, but the lovely ensemble of ice being shaved still reverberated in his skull like a melody. Stretch couldn’t help but smile as he stared, he had never been one to actually turn all of his attention towards something, but Edge always managed to draw him in with his complicated dances, Stretch would probably fall about 17 times before he could do any of that. That’s what makes it so interesting, he thought, he’s more talented than I could ever be. He felt his soul flutter a bit as he thought Edge looked directly in his direction.

Shit, was his staring too obvious?? Or was it the fact that he was there completely alone just watching him skate like some creep??

Stretch grabbed the plastic seat beneath him as his mind ran, Edge had stopped skating and was definitely looking at him now. He gently glided up to the edge of the rink and put his fingers up to the glass, looking up at Stretch. The distance was too far to tell what Edges expression was, but by God was Stretch panicked. He wasn’t exactly expecting to get noticed by the man he’d been watching preform for a few months now, especially not like this.

Oddly enough, he felt some strange connection between them- like their souls were drawing them together. Stretch had always heard of the invisible soulmate string theory but he never really believed in it. His locked shoulders and jaw relaxed gently back into the hard chair, letting out a deep breath and blinking a few times. He could’ve sworn that Edge was smiling at him. He pushed off the rinks glass and swiftly spun around a few times, jumping and landing a perfect pirouette in Stretches direction, he gently bowed and glided off to the exit of the rink.

Did that actually just happen? Was Stretch just dreaming of this??

As much as his brain was trying to convince him this was a dream he knew these feelings were far too strong to be fabricated. He was practically clinging to his chest as he felt his soul thump over and over again, nothing could’ve prepared him for any of that. He didn’t even know how much time had passed since he had sat down to watch Edge skate, he guessed maybe 10 or 15 minutes based on how cold his face felt. It didn’t take make to feel chilled to the bone in an ice skating rink, especially one for figure skaters.

Stretch willed himself to stand up in an attempt to leave the rink, but he noticed something on the ice. Ice skaters blades were sharp enough to carve into the ice and make patterns but this was drawing Stretch’s attention in.

He could’ve sworn that man had carved his number into the ice just for him.

Chapter Text

A number?

He had gotten world renowned ice skater Edges number, and it had been given to him in the most impressive way possible.

Jesus God, he couldn’t stop staring at it etched into the ice. The numbers shined obviously at him as he felt his face light up such a shade of orange that he saw it reflect on the glass in front of him. Pull yourself together Stretch, your brother is waiting for you. He could practically feel Blues glare on the back of his skull as he stood there with his arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently. He was clearly growing annoyed with Stretch just sitting and standing there, seemingly admiring nothing. Atleast nothing that he could see. That number was written for him and him alone, he knew it, why else would he have done that? He knew that people came and buffed the ice after the day was done, so why out all that effort into carving his number if not for Stretch to see it?

He quickly typed the number into his phone before speed walking up to Blue, knowing he was aggravated with him but knew he could always get him to calm down eventually.

“So suddenly you’re interested in the ice? You always complain when I bring you out here!”

“..I just thought I saw something in the ice, like seein’ stuff in the clouds.”

He smiled at Blue and easily took the lead in them leaving, after all he was still itching for that cigarette. Plus, he had always had the longer legs between the two of them. They quickly advanced past all of the people talking in the lobby about the previous skaters performances, gossiping about who they thought was the best out of the multiple contestants. Stretch was sure if they all just saw what happened in the rink they’d all agree that Edge was undoubtedly the best. It was raw talent in its purest form, free from the judges scores and spectators eyes.

Upon stepping outside they were both greeted with the warmth of sunshine and its bright rays on the ground. The air was still except for a small buzz of chatter from people just leaving the building, a bare wind danced past them and hugged their faces like a loving embrace. It was practically a perfect day, Blue always picked the best times to come to these things, it was never too late or too early to atleast be awake for it. Small clouds speckled the sky like scattered paint on a light blue canvas, the thing Stretch liked most about the surface was definitely seeing the actual sky whenever he wanted. There was so much to be appreciated about it, so much so that Stretch didn’t really mind being forced to smoke out here instead of inside. He carefully took the long stick out of the box and made sure to light it properly for a few seconds before inhaling and letting himself slump against the painted brick of the cold wall. He felt his shoulders relax as he breathed in and a small smile spread across his face, content with finally being able to have this moment. He watched as Blue got into their car and he flashed 5 fingers to him, meaning he had just 5 minutes before he was forced to put it out and get into the car. His brother was already prepping the tree shaped air freshener around the rear view mirror and played with it a bit before finding a position that seemed right. Stretch pleadingly held up 6 fingers at his brother, begging for atleast one more minute, but unfortunately all he was met with was crossed arms and a very firm “5”.

Well, you can’t win em all.

Those 5 minutes seemed to fly by like 5 seconds as he watched the cigarette start to shrivel down to the orange base, he had almost finished it when Blue honked the cars horn and signaled that it was time to leave. He sighed and stamped it out on the cracked bricks and let it drop to the ground where many other cigarette butts happened to lay, kind of like a graveyard for smokers. He coughed a bit before popping open the cars passenger door and plopping himself down in the seat, laying his feet on the dashboard in his usual spots where scuffs were forming from wear and tear.

“Don’t put your feet there, it could be dangerous!”

“Ya say that every time Blue but nothin’ has happened so far, I think i’m good to chill for a bit.”

“Can you atleast clean the scuff marks your shoes are making?”

“Will do bro.”

Somehow him and Blue knew he wasn’t going to clean the marks off, most likely because he had made the same promise with all the other times his feet were rested on the dash, leaving a small print behind every time that he said he’d get cleaned up sooner or later. He pulled his seatbelt over him and kicked his seat back, taking this as an opportunity to catch a quite relaxing moment as they drove home. Blue was a surprisingly good driver so he knew he was in good hands, even if he didn’t really know how Blue got his license or this car. All he knew was that he smelled the classic New Car Scent air freshener Blue had placed and was able to hear the car kick on as Blue put in his keys that seemed to jangle wherever he went.

He always found drive homes so comforting, he never knew why though. Maybe it was the sound of the rocks crunching under the cars wheels or the hum of the engine as it powered the whole machine. He guessed that everything had to have a drive somehow, pun intended. Stretch also got to listen to his brothers commentary as he drove on the roads, mostly stuff about how people ‘really had no manners’. Blue always tried to see the best in people but that apparently didn’t apply to when he’s behind a steering wheel. Thankfully they didn’t live that far so the road rage was short lived, probably good for the both of them. Blue lightly shook Stretch awake as he had fallen asleep on the ride home, he groaned and rubbed his eyes, being slower to unbuckle his seat belt and put his seat back up. Blue was already at the door when he had eventually gotten out of the car, he sluggishly moved towards him and smiled as Blue opened the door for the both of them, letting Stretch go first as he usually did. He made his way up the creaky wooden steps as his brother eagerly made his way into the kitchen, declaring tacos for dinner for the third night in a row. Not that Stretch was complaining, atleast they were edible tacos.

He got up to his messy, unkempt room and smiled. Just like home. He stretched his arms above his head and removed his orange hoodie and tossed it on the floor, flopping down on his mattress that he called a bed and barely pulled a blanket over himself. God he could take a nap, he did do a lot today between watching that ice show and other errands his brother made him run when he couldn’t. He felt his eyes shut in an all too familiar sense as he could feel the sense of him drifting off into sleep, it almost claimed him successfully as its victim before Stretch realized that he had Edges number and hadn’t even texted him yet. What a gentleman he is. He reached out for his phone somewhere across the bed and pulled up his contacts to reveal the skaters number, a blank canvas of conversation to be had but Stretch didn’t want to come off too strong and he was still drifting in and out of unconsciousness. He sent a simple ‘hey 👋’ before putting his phone down and slipping into his regularly scheduled nap.

Stretch awoke a few hours later to the smell of tacos in the house and the tv on downstairs, Blue was probably watched Napstatons show right now, it’s basically the only reason he’d touch the thing. Stretch groggily reached for his phone and let out a few noises as he stretched his arms and legs, after a good nap like that it was basically customary. He really only wanted to check the time but what he saw at the bottom of his screen shocked him even more than the fact that it was 7:30 pm. Edge had texted him back. Texted him back 15 minutes ago. It may have just been a simple ‘Hello. 🙂’ but it was worth the wait. Stretch’s soul soared seeing the notification and he opened it almost immediately, trying to think of something good to reply with that Edge would like. Just a simple ‘sorry, woke up from a nap lol, wyd?’ sufficed for him as he immediately turned the phone off and set it down. He didn’t know when Edge would answer, and if he even would answer, but God was he excited for it. He hadn’t felt this excited for something since Alphys agreed to train his brother for the royal guard.

He was really hoping this was the start of something as he made his way downstairs for some tacos that Blue had made, he needed to eat eventually. He kept his phone at the ready in one of his shorts pockets, just waiting for that little buzz that let him know Edge responded to his text, but he knew Edge was a busy man that didn’t have all the time in the world to text like he did. All he could do was hope for this one thing to work out correctly for him, even slightly.

Chapter Text

‘Hello. 🙂’

It’s not his best work of a response but then again we hasn’t given the best to work with. He sighed as he placed his phone down on his polished, oak wood mantle and set his ice skates down by it. He didn’t usually allow himself much time to rest but today he certainly needed it as he plopped himself down on his luxurious almost silk couch, being a professional skater gave him a lot of financial advantage but God did he sometimes wish he had someone else to fill the space of the empty couch seats. He just wanted someone to cuddle up to when he came home from a long day of having all eyes on him, he always wished he just had someone that would admire him on the ice or off. The sinking feeling of loneliness grew as he slumped down into the soft cushions that had always cradled him effortlessly on nights like these. He wrapped his arms around himself to atleast trick his brain into thinking he was receiving human touch, he couldn’t remember the last time he actually let himself have it. The only physical contact he has from any other close person in his life is from his brother, and that’s usually just simple stuff like a hand on the shoulder or lightly punching him in the arm for fun.

For once, he just wanted someone- anyone, to wrap their arms around him and hold him tightly in their embrace like he did to himself. He had fantasized about it every night as he sat on the couch or laid down in bed. The moonlight was never a comforting sight to him, for he was as lonely as it was. Its light only reflected the suns, after all. When he usually felt tears in his sockets he just felt numbness, after so many years of doing this day or day he got used to the heavy weight of being alone.

Sure, he may have acted self centered and that he was many levels above everybody but like most other things about him it was only a lie. He had never thought he was better than anybody, even his so called lazy brother. He used this front of superiority as a defense mechanism, he had never intended to let anybody inside even though he dreamed of somebody reaching out and breaking down the walls he made to live. Edge may have needed that toughness in the underground but now that they were on the surface he didn’t know what to do with himself. It felt like he didn’t have a purpose now that they had achieved their goal of being free, truth be told even on the surface he didn’t feel free. He had trapped himself inside of a space where he constantly felt watched, judged, sneered at, and made a joke of.

When Edge picked up ice skating he thought it would be a nice hobby to keep him busy and that reminded him of snowdin, he knew that if he didn’t have something reminiscing of home that he would probably go insane so he clung to this one thing for dear life and didn’t let go. With his royal guard skills and precision he quickly rose to the top, impressing judges worldwide with how he puppeteered his body to match their ridiculous standards. He was used to high expectations but God were the judges in ice skating brutal; if he had made so much as one tiny mistake they’d dock points off and much less clap for him when he was finished. The judges also found it odd that he never worked with a partner like most professional ice skaters did, they had seen partners come and go but they weren’t exactly sure they’d seen someone with no partner who had no intention on working with one. It was just suspected that he was more of a loner type and thats a part of what made his skating so lovely to watch for the audience, his moves were all made up solely by him and him alone, the raw emotion that he put into every single one was enough to make grown men weep.

Oh, how he knew they’d mock him if he saw him in this state. He was curled up on the couch hugging himself like he was a child again, he doesn’t remember the last time he didn’t feel helpless like one. His body shook and trembled with rage and discontent against himself, how could he let it get like this? He knew he wasn’t the older brother but he still needed some integrity for fucks sake. Yet here he was, sobbing into himself as a silent yell for help directed to anybody willing enough to work with someone as difficult as he was. He would plead and sob until his throat was sore and his sockets ached from the continuous tears filling them. Edge was entirely drained from the life and energy he felt he once had, he was finally worn. He hasn’t even bothered to change out of his uniform before he started throwing his useless tantrum, it still clung coldly to his body and choked him with vile intent. He grabbed tightly at the fabric that stuck to his skeleton, he wanted nothing more to rip it off and never put it on again, he wanted to rip it up and throw it in a fire to never see that black stretchy material that covered him with its taunting promises of purpose. Shit, if only he could-

“…Uh…Boss…?”

Dammit-
what time was it? He thought his brother wasn’t supposed to be home for atleast another hour! He rapidly tried to decrease the noise of his sobs and rub his sockets dry, turning around to face Sans who was awkwardly standing behind him. He looked concerned, he never really did see when Edge got like this.

“What do you want?”

“What’s…what’s goin’ on Boss? I ain’t ever seen ya like this before, so i’m kinda freaked out…”

He cautiously sat down on the seat next to his curled up body, taking off his jacket and setting it on the back of the couch. That thing always made him sweat anyways.

“Just leave me be Sans, I don’t need your pity right now.”

“It ain’t pity Boss, i’m just tryin’ ta’ fuckin’ help.”

Edge crossed his arms and sighed, he knew he was upset but also knew that his brother didn’t deserve to get it taken out on him like he was some sort of bad dog.

“You don’t need to worry about me Sans, just go to your room and let me deal with this myself.”

“I ain’t gonna leave ya here. You’re my brother ‘n I wanna help.”

He was always so stubborn. He doesn’t need to handle the pressure of all of his brothers problems especially when he’s struggling himself with things that he won’t even say unless he’s stupid drunk. Edge sighed and leaned against his brothers shoulder, burying his face into the large amount of fluff lining his hood. He gently clung to Reds arm, messing with the jackets fabric in his boney fingers. The jacket smelled strongly of mustard and cheap booze, Edge couldn’t decide which one he disliked inhaling more. Both made him want to gag, but he was used to it after living in a house with Red for so long.

“..Am I…unloveable, Sans…?”

“W-whaddya talkin’ about Boss?”

The smaller skeleton chuckled nervously, putting one of his arms around his brother who was clearly in more mental distress than he wanted to let on. Red was a bit confused, Edge had never asked him something like that before, let alone had he ever seen Edge this way. Everytime Edge was upset he just stormed off to his room or somewhere in Waterfall to blow off steam. He could feel how his brother hesitated before he answered, even in his lowest he still wanted his words to come out clearly, poor fucker was always trying to impress somebody.

“…It’s nothing, forget I said anything.”

“Listen, Boss- if ya want my honest opinion, I think people would be stupid not ta’ love ya. Yer like, the coolest fucker on this surface.”

“Was I not ‘the coolest fucker’ in the underground?”

He let out a soft laugh as he took his face out of the man’s hood, he didn’t want to admit it but his brother always knew what to say to make him feel better. Sure him and his brother fought sometimes, but Red knew him better than any monster OR human. They’ve been through practically everything together, they braved the underground, integrating onto the surface, and all of the other shit that’s happened these last few months. Edge smiled and wrapped his arms around Red, pulling him closer towards him. God, where would he be without his brother?

“You’ve always been the coolest fucker anywhere Boss. Not ta’ mention most terrifying!”

Red let out a good laugh as he accepted the hug, quickly wrapping his arms around Edge before pulling back. They never really hugged so it was a little weird for Red to experience out of the blue like that. He just knew he meant what he said about Edge, even if he’s a strict hardass on him sometimes.

“…Thank you brother. You can be not the worst sometimes.”

“And you can be not an asshole when ya wanna be.”

They both let out laughs of their own as Edge got up from the couch and grabbed his phone off the mantle, quickly checking if he had gotten a response from Stretch yet. His smile faltered for a second as he saw zero notifications, but quickly regained his composure (and his ego) and he went up to his bedroom. He gently shut the door behind him and stripped of his black bodysuit, taking a small moment to admire himself in his full length mirror that had a good few cracks near the top where he could see his face. His body was covered skull to toe in scars from his time as the captain of the royal guard, and from his time in the underground in general. Edge shuddered looking at himself and folded the bodysuit on his rather large bed, putting it in one of his dresser drawers that had many other bodysuits like it in a few varying colors. He slipped on a more comfortable T-shirt and sleep shorts as it was getting quite late in the day and he knew he was going to be busy tomorrow. Edge made his way over to his large vanity mirror and turned up the radio that was sitting on it, he knew he could just use his phone for that but he like the home feeling of turning a radios dials. He struggled through a few channels before finding the right one that was playing some lovely slow songs that he could easily fall asleep to…if he slept tonight at all.

He was eager to cuddle into his bed, pulling the comfortable red covers over himself, resting his skull on the satin black pillows underneath it. Sometimes he understood why his brother stayed in bed all day. He dragged his phone towards him and checked yet again for a notification, surprisingly seeing something this time.
Ah. He was just napping.
Edge was quick to come up with a response as he was used to talking to people from an entire lifetime of experience being in the spotlight of whatever he was doing at the moment. It was simply just him stating that he was laying in bed and was about to get some rest as he had a busy day in the morning, to his shock he got a response back almost as soon as he sent one.

‘Id be sleeping too if I hadn’t just napped,
my bro wants me to eat so i’m downstairs watching TV with him’

Oh, so he has a brother as well. Could it be the shorter skeleton dressed in blue he saw with Stretch earlier that day in the crowd? Surely it couldn’t hurt to check.

—3:32 am—

Edge felt delirious with tiredness but it was like he couldn’t will himself to turn his phone off and stop talking to Stretch, even though the majority of their conversations weren’t even about anything in particular. It was just stupid stuff like what their favorite activity was or a favorite food they enjoyed making or eating. Strangely, it was the happiest Edge had felt in a very long time. He felt like he had just gotten a perfect scoring on a performance yet he was just sitting in bed messaging someone he had met the day prior. He could feel his sockets get heavier as he sent each message out but he didn’t want their conversation to end so soon, especially not when he was enjoying it so much… but he can’t sacrifice his sleep like this. Not for someone who could potentially hurt him if he got too close. Edge decided to send out a simple ‘Goodnight.’ message to end everything and turned his phone off, moving to the other side of his bed so he wasn’t tempted to text Stretch again. He felt his head get light as he drifted off into a sound sleep curled up in his bed, holding his pillow close to him. He knew he was going to be a bitch in the morning but he didn’t care about that anymore, he was just glad he had someone to make him feel a little less lonely for a few hours while he lay stagnant in bed as he did many other nights. He imagined Stretch sitting in his bed with him, gently pulling the moved covers over his shoulders and holding him tightly in his arms, making him feel wanted and loved. It certainly was sweet to fantasize about as the slow music filled his room, it was like he had felt safe for the first time in his life thinking about all of this, even if him carving his number in the ice was just because he was bored and wanted someone to talk to.

He felt his phone buzz from a few inches away from him and had to fight himself to not pick it up and respond, refusing to let curiously smother the cat. He had sent nothing more than a mere ‘Goodnight.’ and didn’t want to deal with what might’ve been him being berated for being so inconsiderate in how he chose to end their conversation. He could only force the message out of his brain as he fell back into sleep, the buzz having startled him into a small state of consciousness. Stretch figured he wouldn’t see the message until the morning so he sent a simple ‘G’night popsicle lol’ hoping that Edge would get a kick out of the nickname. He knew Edge could be stuck up at times but who can’t appreciate a good pun? He smiled thinking about it and put his cigarette out on an ash tray next to his bed, letting himself slump out for the night ready to get berated by Blue in the morning for staying up so late.