Chapter Text
PART ONE
Whoever says parenting was easy is completely insane, Sans growled inwardly.
He'd thought that having at least half of the same genetics would make it easier, but Caleb just wasn't having it. For today, his first birthday, I had bought him a special outfit. But the toddler was wriggling around consistently, making it impossible for his father to dress him properly.
"Mmmmmfffff! C'mon, bud! Please?" Sans frustrated groan turned into a beg as the child giggled.
"What, do you want your mom ta change ya instead? She's gonna get mad at me if I can't do this m'self. Pleeeeaaaase?! Just..."
Caleb whined as his father's skeletal hand came up to try again. Kicking, the boy made it impossible to get close.
"Really?! Why are ya bein' a brat?"
The baby giggled, tongue lolling out past his teeth. Sans returned it with his own, shaking his skull this way and that and letting the blue appendage flop this way and that.
The child giggled a little and then lay flat and still.
"Oh, I see how it is," Sans cried in amusement, finally getting the child's outfit on without a fight. "Whoever is better is the winner? Well, kiddo, then prepare to get majorly dunked on!"
"NAH!" Caleb cried in defiance, holding his arms up for his father to pull him into a warm, bony embrace.
"Yeah, yeah, we'll see, ya little noodle."
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALIBRI!"
The room filled with applause as the child sat up in his high chair and clapped all of the candles out. It was funny how he found more amusement in snuffing them out with his tiny ivory palms instead of blowing them out like other children. But seeing as this child wasn't human, it didn't really surprise anyone.
After clapping the final candle out, he turned to Sans and me, wearing a grin that could only be identified as: I did it, so praise me!
"Good job, Caleb!" I cooed, lifting my son into my arms and situating him properly so that he couldn't mistakenly kick my abdomen where a bump was currently forming.
"Yup, good work, kiddo!" Sans declared from behind me. "I hope you made a good wish!"
The child babbled a bit, clearly enjoying the attention. However, Sans and I both saw that mischievous light flaring in his eye-sockets.
Sans was the first to react, lifting the boy from my grasp, all the while ignoring my narrowed eyes.
"I got 'im. You just take it easy."
I scoffed, "Sans-Sweetie, I'm fine. Give it five months before you start to worry."
Sans turned back, eyeing me silently before wrapping his arm around my lower back and pulling me into a kiss. Ignoring the baby's grumbling discomfort, Sans deepened the kiss for another ten seconds before letting go.
He smiled affectionately. "Nope!"
The smile turned cheeky as he spun around and walked into the living room as I growled in disbelief. I could hear him snickering from beyond the wall that now separated us. Throwing my arms up, I huffed before turning around to grab a few slices of cake.
"So you decided to follow our lead, huh?" I chuckled as Alphys sputtered and Undyne narrowed her eyes.
"No, we aren't following you! We were planning a lot of this before you even showed up in the Underground!"
I shrugged, hands gently stroking my mildly inflated abdomen. I was on my second month and going off of my first pregnancy, it would be another ten to twelve months, if not more. Looking at Alphys, it was clear that she had less time, her completely rounded midsection the size of a watermelon. One would think that her and Undyne would have eggs being that the species they resembled both used eggs to reproduce. Apparently, though, pregnancy for all monsters worked the same as with humans, except that the Soul of the child was a visible upside down heart the color of the parents combined Souls.
Seeing as I had originally been human, my pregnancy didn't show the Soul unless a monster - or mage, like Frisk - purposefully tried to look at it. Even being a full monster now, the child didn't have the same kind of Soul. Unlike the other monsters, Sans and my child could be seen developing through hospital equipment instead of a Soul within goo that was like ectoplasm. Regardless, Caleb came out fine and we didn't have an issues occurring with new sibling as of now.
I grinned. "I'm sorry if I struck a nerve, Undyne. I was just saying that since Sans and I already have a son, you're a bit behind."
Undyne stood, shoulders tense. "Is that a challenge?"
I felt Sans anxiety through our link, but ignored it as I hummed, eyes dimming from exhaustion. "I don't know. What if it is? What kind of challenge would it be?"
Undyne let out a battle cry, startling my human family, and Caleb, who cried out in irritation at the fish woman.
"Who can have the most babies!"
I snorted. "Undyne, that is silly."
"Oh really? Why? Ya scared we'll kick your a-butt, punk?!"
I laughed, "No! Sans and I have spoken and we are limiting ourselves to three children. If you want to have more children than that, more power to you. But if you cannot handle that many, it might be harder for you in the long run."
Undyne growled. "You challenged me, nerd! I'll still show you up! No, we will show you up! How about this? The better parent wins!"
Papyrus stood, clapping his hands together. "NO, NO, UNDYNE! NOT THE BETTER PARENTS! YOU MUST BE THE BEST PARENTS!"
Undyne grinned maniacally. "Yeah! Good thinkin', Pap!"
She turned back to me. "Well, how about it? The Best Parents Challenge!"
I grinned up at her. "Sure. You're on!"
TO BE CONTINUED