Chapter Text
To be honest, Spamton could have stayed that way all day. His time was best spent wrapped up in his husband's arm, tangled together. But really, they were both getting too old for sleeping upright on the ground, and he knew Tenna needed to lie down and stretch out his joints.
Tenna sagged, his energy spent, but just as quickly stiffened in alarm. "The kids," he said urgently. "They- we still-"
"Note: They're fine, Tens," Spamton reassured him, without any idea if it was true. Surely it was; how much trouble could two kids get into in ten minutes unsupervised? "We can go back in a minute. You still need to get your bearings, and then we take an early rest." Spamton paused, glancing at the door where Suzy and her goat friend were still inside. "Do you want me to make him leave?"
"No! Goodness no," Tenna said. His grip had gotten stronger, little by little, until he could ease Spamton into his lap fully. As it was Spamton's favorite place to be, he had no complaints. "That's her friend! We can't be terrible hosts to her friend. It just... surprised me, is all. I can handle it now, no problem."
The mailman narrowed his eyes, unconvinced. A tiny bit of tension had knotted up Tenna's shoulders again, but it was nothing compared to that scene in the living room earlier.
Still, there was no ignoring the panic-attack-stricken elephant in the room.
"And if you can't?" Spamton asked quietly. Not unkindly, but firm.
His husband paused.
"Then I'll go to bed early." He averted his screen, staring up at the starry ceiling of the cave. "And I'll wake up a little braver tomorrow."
Angel, Spamton loved this man.
"Dear Tenna: that sounds like a good plan," Spamton said. He hopped off his lap, but stayed pressed against his side anyways. "I'll be right here, okay?"
"I know, Spammy," Tenna said. His screen was back on, the jagged smile firmly in place - his real one, at long last. "I know you are."
It took a little maneuvering to get him back on his feet - Tenna wasn't nearly as mobile as he used to be, but they'd been working around his damage for years and years. Spamton knew every trick and shortcut in the book for counterbalancing his giant robot, for helping leverage him up, for pressing against his bad knee until it steadied again. Tenna really needed a cane, more than anything, but he was ridiculously stubborn about such a thing.
Spamton opened the door and let Tenna shuffle in, but there were no brats in sight. The answer revealed itself in the form of soft conversation from behind Suzy's bedroom door. Part of Spamton was tempted to call out to them, but Tenna was already half-limping against the wall.
"Dearest Tenna," he said, gazing at the closed door. "Why don't I check on the kids? You rest up, Big Guy, and I'll be there in just a minute. Yours, truly - S.G.S."
It was the right call, he told himself, when Tenna drooped in relief. He agreed, and quietly thanked Spamton, and made his way gingerly to their own dilapidated bedroom. Spamton waited until he heard the sound of the springs giving way, of the frame protesting a heavy body, and only then did he start moving.
It's not that he didn't trust Suzy. Far from it - she wouldn't have stuck her neck out for them if she didn't care.
But that kid, when she introduced him... well. When Tenna froze, the goat had, too.
His small size made it much easier for Spamton to creep his way up, where the slightly-too-large door was more or less propped against the off-kilter doorframe. It made eavesdropping almost guiltily easy.
Just checking, Spamton assured himself. Just make sure she's okay.
They were on the tail end of giggling about something, making the little gasping noises teens did when they caught their breath after laughing like hyenas. Suzy snorted, which sent them both into hysterics again, and it took another moment to compose themselves.
Spamton couldn't help his smile. Seemed like they were both okay, then. Suzy was the most intuitive kid he knew - if she didn't feel safe with this guy, she'd hardly be snickering with him in her room.
Just as he turned back, Ramsay whispered, "I still can't believe it. You've got your own room! This is amazing, Susie!"
Susie?
Monster names worked a little differently. Or at the very least, Spamton's job meant the names were unique. Bullet-pattern birthday cards and magic letters were great and all, but it did no good if he couldn't make out a receiving address. So over the years, Spamton had learned the True Names of monsters.
When fanmail was addressed to 'that skeleton in Hometown', he knew to spend the whole trudge cursing at Sans. When they wanted a new toy ad to go to the Monster Kid, he could tell if it was the capital MK or not. In a crowd of Final Froggits, he could pick out the exact individual about to receive their jury-duty paperwork by Name alone.
So he knew instinctively that Ralsay hadn't said 'Suzy'.
Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe it was a mistake.
His feet locked on the floor, unmoving.
"Shut up, dumbass, they might hear us," she hissed, though he could definitely hear a smile in her voice. "Cmon, Ralsei, it's just a room."
Ralsei. Susie.
"It's more than that," the kid whispered back. He shifted, and springs creaked. He was definitely sitting on the bed with her. "You get to stay here! And they take care of you, right? It's like they... I mean, do they... do they know that you live at the-?"
"No." Her voice was a little sharper this time. Not snapping, the way she could be prone to doing when upset, but firm. "They don't know. They don't need to know."
Know what? Spamton's hands clenched automatically, feeling useless.
So many secrets in his family, and he knew none of them.
"...sorry." The kid - Ralsei? - said quietly. "I just... it's great. You're so lucky. I wish that I..."
The vague ire in her tone vanished in an instant. "Oh, hey man, it's all good." A rustling noise, like arms wrapping around something furry. "Look, it'll happen for you too, okay? You're literally the best ever. Anyone would be lucky to have you."
Spamton swallowed. Do not jump to conclusions, he told himself. There was so much left unsaid, do not get ahead of yourself.
"Really? But the headmaster..." rustling again. His voice came out muffled this time. "After the queen and king, she said people might be... hesitant. To adopt someone that looks like... me."
"Then they're stupid," Suzy - Susie - said bluntly. "It doesn't matter about your name or what you look like or anything you can do. You're Ralsei, and that's all you need to be." She took another pause, and Spamton tried to remember to breathe. "You're gonna find a family that wants you. I know it."
A huff of soft, tired laughter. And then, just as solemnly, "Well, you found people who want you, too!"
"Yeah," she mumbled. It sounded like they were both drifting off now, worn out with their antics. "They want me." A pause. A quiet, 'Baa' of a snore.
And then Susie whispered, "For now."
Spamton stood frozen. He only moved when he heard the loud, bass snores he'd grown so familiar with start to echo through their tiny house. Even with Tenna's static as a comforting drone in his ears, he did not sleep at all that night.
'For now'.