Chapter Text
Frisk woke up the next day feeling significantly better; their hands and cheek were both fully healed, and they had slept well knowing that they were on their way to being able to legally stay with their monster family. Papyrus also seemed to radiate an aura of calmness that warded off both of your nightmares.
They slipped on their slippers and skipped to set the table, mismatched napkins and cutlery and all. Sans ruffled their hair as he walked by, having begrudgingly been woken by his brother so he would actually eat something that wasn’t a condiment. You doubted that "Syrup with a side of pancakes" was what he was going for, though.
Frisk chowed down on their stack, which they topped with sliced bananas and blueberries. You wished they had chocolate syrup, but table would have to do.
Just as they were finishing clearing up, the phone rang. Toriel scurried to get it.
“Hello? Yes, this is."
"..."
"Yes, they are;"
Gradually the activity in the room slowed to a halt as everyone began listening to the conversation.
"...Must it be so soon? I do believe that display was enough to make it evident that he is an unsuitable parent;"
"Tell me about it." Frisk's thoughts were only a mix of vibrant purple and piercing yellow that muddled together until they were a docile shade of grey.
"It does not matter if they had a pen in their hand he did not have the right to attack my child .”. They will be present only for their required testimony, and then will be leaving. There is already a record of what they told you.” She sighed. “Very well.”
___
Frisk was terrified. More terrified than when they faced Toriel the third time, than when they faced Undyne for the twentieth, than when they faught Flowey.
The details were too blurry for you to read, so you couldn’t even take the stand for them. You knew what might help, though.
“Papyrus?” Chara mumbled.
“YES, HUMAN?”
“I don't want to go alone. I… Could you ask people if they would want to come with me?” you internally cursed; that was way more direct than Frisk would ever be. Sans noticed. He did not comment.
“CERTAINLY! WE SHALL PROVIDE THE UTTERMOST LEVEL OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT. And I believe we shall be the most intimidating of friends. Nyeh.. Not to you, of course." Frisk smiled. You sighed.
Today was going to be a loooong day.
___
Predictably, Papyrus invited every monster he could think of, all of which were mildly appalled by the notion that a child had to testify**
Toriel, fortunately, noticed what had occurred, and sent out notices to most that there would not be enough space, but that they would appreciate their well-wishes regardless. The lineup of attendees wound up being Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, and Grillby. You didn’t ask why Grillby was kept on the registrar, but you weren’t complaining. At least there was one person there who had never tried to stab either of you.
Just as the last few people walked into the courtroom, you heard a loud thud.
“OW. I’m okay!!” Monster Kid rushed over. “Yo! I heard that Frisk needed help?”
Two people who hadn’t tried to stab you. Score! You felt a pang of guilt as you remembered that you had almost attacked– no, you had attacked him. You tried to bury the thought hoping it wouldn't seep through– Frisk really didn't need to deal with your guilt on top of everything. MK ended up taking a seat on Undyne’s lap.
Frisk avoided all eye contact, playing with the hem of their sweater. They tugged at the loose thread.
___
During the questioning period, it became evident that the defence lawyer had only one goal in life, and that goal was to be a dick to traumatized kids. While he could have gotten away with verifying only the bare bones of the details, he insisted on verifying every single aspect of their case. It had already been ten minutes, and as they described how they ended up in their father's custody and what happened after, Frisk's fear and sadness and washed over you in waves of purple and blue. You tried your best to comfort them, but your rage kind of prevented that form being effective.
Frisk's father continued to roll his eyes and occasionally glare back at them when they answered something he didn't approve of. You wanted to see his annoyed and empathy-deprived face ripped off and replaced with one that was more fitting and see every attack that had ever been launched in Frisk's direction directed toward him. You weren't the only one.
Oh, if looks could kill, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Toriel's eyes blazed, as she stood looking as regal and merciless as humans portrayed monsters to be;
Undyne grasped at the arm of her chair so strongly that it snapped. She subtly placed it back before resuming the glare war, which she was unquestionably winning. MK copied her expression, occasionally glancing back to make sure that was what he was supposed to do.
Alphys looked kind of like she wanted to throw up.
Mettaton had some sort of glare-stare-without-blinking-or-expression thing going on, which seemed to be pretty effective.
You couldn't actually read Grillby's expression. But a giant ball of fire in a wooden courtroom seemed intimidating enough as-is.
Sans’ blank sockets bore into him, an expression made all the more terrifying by the knowledge of what he could actually do.
What surprised you the most, though, was that Papyrus’s looked furious; you had never seen that look on his face prior to now in any timeline, and were quite content that it was not pointed in your direction. His sockets flickered with a soft glow, but he alternated between glaring at the father, and glancing sympathetically back at Frisk. You didn't know how his expression could alternate back and forth so quickly.
Frisk remained expressionless, talking in a calm, steady voice, and you would hardly be able to tell they were upset at all if it weren’t for the trembling of their fingertips or the way their inhales sharply pierced their speech or the waves of yellow that radiated within their consciousness.
“Why did you climb mount Ebott?”
Frisk paused, glanced over to the emotional support bench for support, and Papyrus glowed in response.
“I wanted to disappear.”
“What did you think disappearing entailed?”
“Do you honestly have to ask that you dipshit” you hissed.
Frisk clenched their fists. “I didn’t really care– it didn’t really matter. I just– … I couldn’t go home again.”
“Why couldn’t you?”
Frisks nails dug into their palms so hard they started to bleed. You wanted to smash the gavel into the lawyer’s eyesocket. Alia looked like she genuinely consider doing the same if her career wasn't on the line.
You butted in, answering for them. “I’ve already answered that question. He hurt me. Can I go now?”
“Just a few more questions.”
They ground their teeth. They were asked. They answered.
Alia took over the second she could, and Frisk was given permission to leave.
Chara helped steer their legs in the direction of the monster family, where Toriel scooped them up into her arms and carried them out. Frisk started to sob the moment they were out of the room, and clung to her as if she was their only lifeline. You could deal. You would probably still like their hugs too, had they not all repeatedly burned you. If it felt like pins relentlessly piercing your skin now, so be it. They needed her.
Toriel had to stay behind to answer further legal questions, but the rest of the monsters joined them home.
Frisk spent the ride back in silence, and upon arriving, sat down in a ball on the floor in front of the sofa. They felt absolutely awful– they hadn’t wanted to be that emotional around the other monsters– that weak. They all had thought that they were strong and determined, and Frisk was sure that they’d shattered that illusion. Instead, they found themselves in a cloud of support.
Papyrus picked them up and spun them into a hug.
“FRISK! THAT WAS VERY BRAVE OF YOU,”
“What?” They thought.
”It was.”
“You are such a strong human– I do not know what you need in terms of support at the moment, but WE SHALL PROVIDE IT!” Frisk turned to the others, puzzled.
“Yeah.. kid.. that took guts. M’ proud of you.” Undyne said, ruffling their hair.
“Y-yeah…” Alphys added.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you darling– but you made it out. If there is anything you need, do ask.”
“You’re the coolest kid I know!” MK added.
You could tell that Sans wanted to say something, but angry blue magic still periodically flared around his hands, and his pupils continued to flicker, so he opted to just nod in their direction. You could understand the sentiment.
With the flow of support coming in, Frisk once again burst into tears, covering their face.
“AHH! NYEH.. DO YOU WISH FOR ME TO PUT YOU DOWN?” Papyrus glanced around nervously.
“no! no... I just.. “ Frisk sniffled. “thank you.” How on earth they found the crushing group hug that ensued enjoyable you would never know; but they did, and felt marginally better.
After Grillby brought out hot chocolate for everyone, everyone piled around the small sofa. Frisk opted to watch the same rendition of Snow White that you’d seen as a kid.
Eventually, the guests trickled out, all wishing them the best and telling them to call if they ever needed to.
_____
Frisk again asked to sleep in Papyrus’s bed, and the skeleton had obliged. Despite this, they were restless for a good portion of the night, often waking up in a panic before noticing the bones cocooning them, and the comforting orange glow he emitted.
_____
Sans didn’t sleep.
Due to the tense monster/human relations and the publicity around the case, he couldn’t officially give Frisk’s father a bad time. If the security cameras in the prison happened to flicker for a few minutes just past midnight, and the other prisoners knew what their father was charged with from the second he arrived the next morning, it was just a coincidence.
Just after 3am, he finally relaxed, sitting on the bed across from his brother and Frisk. Papyrus’s arm rested protectively over the smaller human.
_____
The next morning, Frisk had tried to convince the adults that they were okay, but when Toriel insisted they stay home for a few days, they accepted the break, and agreed to take a couple of days off to recover.
They slumped onto the couch, curled up in a blanket as Toriel brought them tea and toast before leaving.
They spent the majority of the first two days lounging around the house, occasionally accompanying one of the skeletons on errands.
When they woke up from nightmares, it usually took more than a voice in their own head to calm them down– but Papyrus seemed abnormally adept at handling their stress, and calming them down after triggers.
When they froze when a man in the supermarket looked and sounded too similar, he wordlessly picked them up and carried on, asking for their input on what different soups contained or what types of dishes one could make with different pastas.
One afternoon, Papyrus burst into the house clutching what appeared to be several bags of art supplies.
“FRISK!” they winced slightly at the noise.
Eyyy finally you agree!
“Oh..” he marginally lowered his volume before speaking again. “Frisk! I found an online blog that advised that making a glitter jar can be beneficial for stress! Would you like to make one?”
… A glitter jar?
Frisk, wanting something to do, agreed, and so the jar making began.
_____
After about an hour, the project was done, with Papyrus having made one of gold, orange, and red glitters, and Frisk having made one of blue, pink, and silver with larger gold stars.
Testingly, they shook it, and the particles glittered swirled slowly in the sunlight.
Okay, you had to admit, it was pretty.
They shook it again and smiled, happy with their creation.
Unfortunately, Papyrus shook his a bit too vigorously, and would up drenching himself in the solution as it spilled over him.
“AHHH! What will I do?? I will now be forever sparkled!.”
Frisk laughed. “Maybe you could make a pink one for Mettaton and then both be glitter buddies.”
You weren’t sure how you could tell if a skeleton blushed, even less so if they were drenched in art supplies, but you were pretty sure he did.
“I AM FAIRLY CERTAIN HIS BODY IS MEANT TO AVOID MOST LIQUIDS.”
“Or you could just cover him in the glitter.” You added
“… I FEEL AS THOUGH THAT WOULD NOT BE A JOKE SO MUCH AS A FREE MAKEOVER.”
“You’re probably right” they giggled.