Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Requests are CLOSED!

Hello~!

Although I am still working on the Our Happy Ending series I couldn't resist making something like this! It all started when my friend gave me a headcanon of their Rottencrop ship and here we are~

Before we begin I would like to say that I am a mediocre writer so don't expect beautiful masterpieces- And the characters requested will be on my own headcanons so sorry if they don't act the way you imagined them to!

I will write:

• Angst
• Fluff
• Happy endings (heh)
• Bad endings
• I know most of the more popular AUs, but I can't promise I know all of them!
• Polyamorous relationships 
• More to be added~

I will NOT write:

• NSFW, I am not that great at it
• Very graphic deaths
• Your own OCs as I definitely won't know how to write that-
• More to be added~

As for ships- I will write most ships! Fontcest, selfcest, regular ships, polyamorous, and even x readers- AS LONG AS ALL CHARACTERS ARE 18 OR OVER! If it's a platonic ship between a character x another Ex.) Parent!Underfell Papyrus x Child!Reader, I'll allow it! Just,,, nothing romantic, please.

I probably didn't put everything there, BUT! I do have the right to refuse a request if I am not comfortable writing it so please be nice to me I'm sorRY-

Don't expect something every day btw, I'm not that good.

If you'd like to talk to me elsewhere or just see my art, I have a Tumblr and an Instagram!

This is also on Quotev if you prefer reading it there! Kirininobu

+=platonic

x=romantic

So far, we have:

Rottencrop - A Farmer's Remedy (Horrortale Sans x Farmtale Sans)

Underfell - Safety Blanket (Underfell Papyrus + Winged Shadow Monster Child Reader)

Crossy boi - it's been a ruff night (Cross Sans x Half Wolf Reader)

Dreamberry - Sweet Dreams (Dream x Underswap Sans)

Dreammare - Golden Gleam (Dream x Nightmare)

Spirittale - Spirited Away (Spirit + Reader + Papyrus)

Undertale - Sunny Day (Undertale Papyrus feels loved uwu)

Swapfell - Purrfect Escape (Swapfell Sans x Neko Reader)

Horrorberry - Our Universe (Horrortale Sans x Underswap Sans)

Inkberry - Falling in Love (Ink Sans x Underswap Sans)

Nightmare's Gang - i didn't sign up for this (Nightmare + Child Reader)

Crossmare - Reversion (Nightmare x Cross Sans)

Errortale - Spicy Chocolate (Error Sans x Quirky Tsundere Reader)

Errorink - Don't Forget (Error Sans x Ink Sans)

Outertale - Galaxy Tears (Outertale Napstablook x Shy Nice Reader)

Sirentale - Sun and Moon (Sirentale Sans x Mermaid Reader)

Krossmare - Embrace (Nightmare x Cross Sans x Killer Sans)

Rottenjoke - Denial (Swapfell Sans x Undertale Sans) 

Crossmare - One Step at a Time (Nightmare x Cross Sans)

Dustberry - Wanna taco 'bout it? (Dust Sans x Underswap Sans)

Errink - Bit of a Problem (Error Sans x Ink Sans, bitty version??)

Rottenjoke - Nightmares (Swapfell Sans x Undertale Sans)

Multiverse - Sweet Sunshine (Underfell Sans x Underswap Sans x Chill Reader)

Underfell - Safety Blanket 2.0 (Underfell Papyrus + Winged Shadow Monster Child Reader)

Nightmare's Gang - i didn't sign up for this 2.0 (Nightmare + Child Reader)

Aftertale - Winter Blues (Geno Sans x Reader)

Undertale - Don't Get Burnt (Undertale Sans x Grillby *Abusive*, Undertale Sans x Reader *Pining*) Slight abusive relationship

Undertale - shirts. that's the title. (Undertale Papyrus + Reader)

Errorberry - Glitches Get Stitches (Error Sans x Underswap Sans)

Kustard - Time Zones (Undertale Sans x Underfell Sans)

Nightmare's Gang - Dysfunctional Family (Nightmare's Gang Platonic)

Kustard - Oblivious (Undertale Sans x Reader x Underfell Sans)

Killermare - Kids Again (Killer Sans x Nightmare)

[Insert ship name here] - Coffee-Stained Napkins (Othertale Sans x Fluffytale Sans)

Chapter Text

      He’s hoarding again… Hyun-Sik crouched down beside the bed and found where the granola bar was sticking out of; a small cardboard box full of small side dishes and bags of ingredients. That explains the smell too. He sighed and brought the box out from underneath and shifted through the pieces and came across a small notebook sitting at the bottom. He opened to a random page and found scribbles all over it- nothing was decipherable. His smile lowered into a slight frown when he noticed it was on almost all of the pages. The notebook hasn’t been touched in a while… Hopefully, that’s a good thing. Hearing the front door open, he quickly put the book back as well as the box and took a shortcut out right when Mars opened the door to his room. 

     He thought he was slick… Mars went to push the box further in, before changing his mind. He knows he shouldn’t be hoarding, but… He can’t help but fear that it will all be taken away. 

…

     Hyun-Sik watched Mars eat only half of every portion on his plate, before pushing it to Jupiter and leaving. He sighed in disappointment. He thought a bigger plate would let him eat more- but he still ate the exact amount as before. He turned back to the pot of stew and kept stirring before being interrupted by Mars’ brother. 

     “Sik-ah…” He jolted slightly before turning to the older Papyrus. 

     “yes, hyung? ”  Jupiter observed the way Hyun-Sik stood and smiled. 

     “I appreciate you for trying to help my brother. I have talked to him about this before, but he always just brushes me off. There’s a chance he’ll do the same to you but…” Jupiter looked away briefly, before looking directly into Hyun-Sik’s eyelights. “Maybe you could find a way around that?” He grinned brightly, his sockets closed in mirth. 

     Hyun-Sik couldn’t stop his smile from growing as well. A comfortable silence settled over them like a blanket as Hyun-Sik packed the rest of the soup away for the neighbors. Maybe…?

…

     Hyun-Sik walked up the beaten dirt path leading over the hill, holding small containers, and glanced behind him at the much bigger skeleton. Mars was walking a bit slowly in his attempt to not spill a single drop; Hyun-Sik chuckled softly at the sight before grabbing some of the bowls to add to his ever-increasing stack. Mars protested slightly before huffing. He knows he can never win against him. 

Time for experiment number one.

     “ hyung? do you mind if we sit down a bit? i’m sure your arms are getting tired.” Mars froze for a second before nodding slowly and setting his bowls down. Hyun-Sik did the same and plopped himself down onto the lush grass next to a tree and patted the spot beside him for Mars to do the same. He followed and leaned against the sturdy tree, sighing in relief. Hyun-Sik studied Mars- making sure he wasn’t pushing him too hard. Satisfied, he took out a basket from his inventory and placed it between them. Inside were some sandwiches and snacks for when they got hungry. He pulled a sandwich out and motioned for Mars to do the same. They ate in silence until Mars stopped. “have some more. i’m sure you’re still hungry…” Seeing his concerned expression, Mars submitted and grabbed another, nibbling slightly before eating some more. 

     Hyun-Sik had guessed right. Without Jupiter present to feed- and knowing he was fed- Mars would eat more. They both took in the beautiful scene before them.

     A golden sunset, with a perfect view of the other houses and fields on the land. The air was crisp, the wind blowing gently, smoke coming out of chimneys, children called back home for the night… A strange flash caught both of their sights and they were in awe. It only lasted for a second or two, but it was amazing. The Green Flash… Hyun-Sik remembered reading of this phenomenon but never expected to see it. He turned his skull to Mars to see him still enraptured, even as the sun dipped below the horizon. Stars speckled the sky, unobstructed by pollution and clouds. 

     Even after seeing the Flash, Hyun-Sik was more captivated by how beautiful Mars looked with the last golden rays reflecting off his bones; changing to a soft silver glow as the moon shone brighter. 

…

     “have you eaten today, hyung? ” Mars looked away from Jupiter and Ha Joon playing in the lake and turned to Hyun-Sik before nodding. He sat beside him. “how many times have you eaten?”

     “breakfast, then a snack…” Hyun-Sik hummed and handed him a plate of small hotdogs before they both turned back to their brothers. Thankfully, he made a routine to help Mars. The normal meal times would be spent with Mars eating half, then giving it to his brother. Then between those times after Mars sees that Jupiter is fed and happy, they’ll have a snack break together. Ha Joon even allowed it, knowing the progress his brother is trying to make and is achieving. 

     After a long time, he’s eating so much more. 

…

     Jupiter glanced at where his brother sat to see him engaged in conversation with his alternate. Ha Joon followed his gaze and huffed a fond laugh. They turned to each other with a knowing look. 

     Hyun-Sik has never cared about someone this much besides Ha Joon.

     Mars has never been this happy since the human had fallen. 

     It might take a while but... Anyone can tell that they're good for each other. They'll never get together, though. Not without a little push.

Chapter Text

     Stalking the nearly empty halls of Waterfall, he scanned his surroundings for anything peculiar. He paused in front of the Glowing Lantern Room and huffed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot in an annoyed rhythm. Why the hell did Undyne give me this assignment? He pulled the report out once more, quadruple checking to be sure he was reading it correctly.

Appearance: Black mass with a flowing tail. 

Reason: Reports of a shadow causing trouble for those in the Capital. 

Location: Spotted flying into Waterfall, has not left.

Extra: Tends to stick to dark places. 

      Papyrus sighed and looked to the ceiling of the hall. How vague can these monsters get?! A tiny sound drew his attention into the slowly darkening room he stood outside of. Well, if there’s anywhere dark, it’s here. He silently moved to the entrance and peeked inside, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He slowly entered the room, wary of anything moving, and crept to the center as quietly as he could. Which, of course, was incredibly silent. He stood in the middle of the nearly dark room until the lanterns finally flickered out, and he put out his eye light at the same time. The dark was stifling, the silence felt like pressure weighing on his body, and yet he stayed still and held his breath- patiently waiting for something, anything. As a minute passed by, Papyrus was about ready to give up and move on until shuffling was heard behind him. He tensed, ready for an attack, and when the monster tugged on his scarf he spun around and grabbed them, tapping the lantern beside him to light the room. 

     The monster screamed and screeched in his grasp before gasping and suddenly burst into tears. Papyrus, startled, dropped the shadow monster. They quickly silenced as they picked up the fabric they dropped and nuzzled into it. It’s… just a kid. Papyrus groaned, wishing he didn’t put so much effort into a harmless child. The child gripped their tail, or as Papyrus sees now is just a blanket, and sighed. He reached down and plucked the cloth from the flickering hands of the monster. He spread it to see it was very dirty and tattered.

     “I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’D KEEP THIS AROUND. IT’S TOO SMALL TO BRING ANY WARMTH-” The shadow monster screamed at Papyrus.

     “Mine! Mine mine mine! ” The dim room seemed to be coated in a black curtain, disappearing to reveal an Encounter. Papyrus was surprised to be pulled into one, staring dumbly at the buttons that appeared. However, he didn’t have much time to process when attacks flew at and around him. Bullets and pitch-black shadows whirled around him in a sort of cocoon. He looked angrily back at the child to see them pounding the ground with their fists and throwing a tantrum, eyes screwed shut. Do they not know? He swiftly pressed the Act button and threw the blanket back. The cloth hit them and surrounded their head, knocking them back. Fortunately, it stopped the attacks from flying everywhere and they now floated calmly around the room. The monster slowly pulled the blanket off, peeking slightly over the rim and glanced around the room. Noticing they were in an Encounter, they seemed to cower away from the tall skeleton. The child’s turn ended as they Spared him. Papyrus sighed and spared as well. The world returned to normal as Papyrus tapped the lantern once again for the room to lighten up. The child shakily stood, and Papyrus noticed their wings slowly spreading- most likely preparing to flee. As much as he would have loved to just leave the kid, he still had to bring someone in. 

     He put his hands up in a placating gesture and slowly knelt to the kid’s level. Well, as close as he could. With the child calming down and realizing he was being kind, Papyrus took this time to observe the monster. Shadows made up their body, looking like flames as they flickered and separated from their form, making it hard to determine the gender. The wings on their back were bat-like, small- but it seemed to fit their body type. The shadow tilted their head at him, curious as well. Moving from his dark red boots to the scarred socket, they pulled their blanket closer, worried he would take it again. Papyrus scanned the room, making sure it was just the two of them. He lowered his hands to grip his scarf, pulling it loose and in front of him. 

     “...I apologize. I know how important some things can be. See? This is important to me as well,” With the child focusing on him, he continued “My brother gave it to me. Did someone give that to you?” The monster didn’t respond, only glancing between the two fabrics. They finally looked him in his sockets and grabbed the hands that held the scarf. They walked backward, pulling Papyrus along with them. Papyrus, curious, followed. 

     Through more halls, across complex bridges, the child spread their wings and tried to take flight. With Papyrus’ weight, however, they couldn’t get very high. Papyrus let go and reassured them he’d stay with them. They flew down into the Dumps, glancing back every so often to make sure Papyrus was still following them. He carefully stepped on the dryest rocks he could find and eventually made it to the ground. The shadow monster led him deeper into the Dumps and Papyrus realized that maybe he shouldn’t have followed a monster so willingly, even if they were a child. And yet, he felt a sort of connection with them… They stopped in front of a large pile and went inside the damp yet stable box. Papyrus bent low and peeked inside the fort, seeing a small pillow and a stuffed rabbit laying in the corner. The child turned and grinned at him, revealing the sharp fangs they had.

     “Home!” Papyrus stared at them for a bit as they grabbed their blanket and wrapped it around the rabbit. 

     “...What’s your name, child?” Without looking away from their toy, they gave their name to him nonchalantly. “And… where are your parents?” They merely shrugged. No one, huh? “Well, if you don’t mind, can you come with me somewhere?” They finally turned to him and tilted their head. “Just for a bit. How about you bring your toy with you?” The child beamed and picked their fluffy bunny up and hopped out of the box. They stared up at Papyrus, and he held out a hand for them to take. They lit up in glee and gripped it gently, swinging their arms. Walking out of the Dump, he came to a decision that will change his and his brother’s life.

     Papyrus will bring them to Undyne’s and explain everything. He’s sure not even the King will lock away a child for not having control over their powers- and if they must be sent somewhere else other than a dirty box in the Dumps, well… Sans will just have to deal with having another family member to take care of.

Chapter Text

     You were just vibing, cooking up some of that delicious spaghet, when you were rudely interrupted with a bang at your door. Your ears flicked towards the source and you grinned, smelling the one you’ve been waiting for. You quickly take the pan off the stove and rush to your door. He finally arrived, late as always! Opening the door, you were not expecting to see this . Panting, clinging to the doorframe to not slip any further, Cross was quite the pathetic sight. 

     “Holy shit- Cross!” You rush to grab him as he falls forward, the blood that you just noticed leaking into your shirt. You picked him up and brought him inside, kicking the door close. Laying him carefully onto your now ruined couch, you hurried to get the healing items you had leftover. Coming back, you motioned him to open his jaw and slipped the cinnamon bunny between. It dissolved and worked it’s magic, small cuts scarring over and the biggest penetration healed slightly as well. You sat him up, wincing at the creaks and whimpers coming from the usually joking skeleton, and unraveled the many layers he had- something you kept telling him to not wear for this exact reason. It prolonged his pain, but it was necessary. You let go and he laid back, huffing with strain.

    You took the time to search for anything needing more than just magic. Small cuts, crack running across his left tibia, a few missing ribs, and… oh fuck. On the left side of his soul, there was a barely noticeable piece missing. Not enough to kill him, but it will bring a lot of pain. It was probably bigger before the bun and could heal with more, but it was still chilling to think of him stumbling to your isolated house with that kind of injury. You nodded to yourself. You got this! You took another piece of the bun and motioned him to open without turning. With nothing happening, you look at him to see he passed out. 

Well shit.

…

     It took a while for him to come to, so in the meantime, you finished cooking the spaghetti. Stirring the sauce, you zoned out. He’s never been this injured, has he? You don’t know. Sometimes he just completely disappears for weeks at a time, what if those times were because he was in a coma or something?! You really need to talk with him… 

     Combining the sauce with the soft pasta, just the way you both liked it, you mixed before plating your creation. It was a bit sloppy, but it was something. You went to the living room with both plates and saw Cross was still asleep. That’s ok, he’s just resting. Not in a coma. Yep. Turning on your tv revealed another Mettaton movie, the one that lasted hours of just him laying down as flower petals rained down on him. Ah… a classic. You were able to finish your plate before you got an idea. Skipping to the kitchen, you looked through your cupboards- tail swishing and ears twitching- and found what you were looking for. You skip back and crouch down to be level with him. 

     Waving the chocolate bar in front of his nasal ridge, you saw it start to twitch. A few seconds passed before his sockets snapped open and he snatched it from your grasp, swallowing the bar whole. You chuckle fondly, relieved that he seemed much better than before. You grab the plate of cold spaghetti and present it to him, much to his confusion. 

     “You didn’t wake up soon enough, now you shall suffer from freeze.” He scoffed and rolled his eye lights but accepted it anyway. He knows if he didn’t he’ll never get this chance again. Cold spaghet is better than no spaghet. Creepily watching him as he ate, tail wagging slowly as both of your wolf ears paid attention to just him, it gave the effect you wanted. 

     “What?? What is it? Do I have something on my skull? Huh? Just say it already!” You giggle at his torture before getting serious. 

     “Cross… Why did you come here like this? Who… did this to you?” Cross looked down and his plate, lights flitting back and forth as if searching for the answer in the sea of pasta. He centered his lights on your concerned expression, thick brows furrowed in worry. He sighed. 

     “I… Nightmare was in a pissy mood and… I said something I shouldn’t have… He snapped and, well… this happened,”  Seeing you look shocked and confused, he decided to continue the story. “He told me to never come back. That’s why I’m here. I’m sorry.” You slumped in defeat and wrapped your arms around his neck, wary of his chest. He lifted his arms and laid them around your waist, slightly pulling you closer before letting go. 

     “You can stay here as long as you’d like, Cross. I don’t mind.” He smiled tiredly. 

     “Thanks. I just need somewhere to stay till he cools down enough for me to come crawling back like always.” 

     “You don’t have to go back, though.” He tilted his skull in confusion, stars he looked adorable when he did that. 

     “I don’t want to be a burden… I don’t mind. He’s not that bad. Most of the time…” He mumbles and glances away. 

     “You could never be a burden to me.” With the amount of determination in your tone of voice, he turned in surprise to look you straight in your golden eyes. They reminded him of someone who gave him hope before everything occurred… Before he even knew what was happening, your face was a lot closer than it was previously- probably because you were trying your damn hardest to give the skeleton a smooch. Cross jolted back, surprised at the sudden skinship, and you began to apologize profusely. 

     “I-I’m so sorry! I don’t know why I did that- I didn't mean- It wasn’t-“ Before you could stumble into a larger mess, Cross leaned in this time and- well, it was definitely less awkward than before. It was almost like magic was making his teeth more cushiony, like lips. It was much easier to kiss him now that he was prepared for it. He rendered you speechless as he pulled away. You both stared into each other’s eyes, conveying emotions better than words ever could. Your lips twitched up into a smile, revealing sharp fangs that usually never showed. Cross returned it gently as the lights underground began to brighten, imitating the sun peeking over the horizon to start the new day.

Chapter Text

     It was a dark and stormy night, the sky as red as the blood littering the streets of the once cheerful universe. Dream was hidden away, watching carefully from the shadows of the alleyway. He brought the shivering child closer to his ribcage in an attempt to comfort them and block their view as well. He watched as Error cut clean through another monster in dismay. Dream slowly stood up with the child and attempted to go through a portal - only to be grabbed and yanked out into the open. He had dropped the kid in the process, but it was probably for the best, judging by the expression aimed at him.

     He rolled out of the way of Nightmare’s strike and flipped to stand before summoning his weapon. He drew the string back quickly and created arrows to rain down on his opponent, drawing the energy from those who still had hope. It was dangerous, but he had no other choice. Firing, he turned to get some distance, only to fail once again by a tendril wrapped around his leg. He hissed at the pain but snapped the bow in half to form his double daggers and sliced at the appendage, making his brother recoil. Before he could do anything else, a big splash of paint covered both Error as well as his brother. Seems like backup has come. Relieved, he shakily got up and limped back to the alley with the child - only to see a small pile of dust. He dropped to his knees. 

     He can’t even protect a young monster. Maybe his brother was right, this wasn’t the first time he felt like this, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. A hand on his shoulder brought his gaze away and up to see a Sans’ concerned gaze. He sighed and stood, limping to the portal leading to a copy of Undertale. He smiled at those looking his way as he went to sit down at one of the various chairs. He subtly stole away some of the happiness and relief some felt to heal his wounds bit by bit until he could eventually move around. He stayed smiling gently as he waited for Ink to finish up the repairs of the universe, a variant of Dancetale if he remembered correctly. 

     A few hours passed, and Dream’s cheeks were really starting to hurt. Fortunately, Ink soon stepped into the recovery center and he spoke to those still in need of major healing. He was tempted to give a report now, but seeing Ink so… well, not exactly happy but close enough, made him hesitate. He didn’t want to damper the mood, and he highly doubted speaking to a soulless creature would help him feel better, anyway. Checking to see that Ink was indeed done and didn’t leave halfway through, he turned and cut a rift into the air and stepped through into Underswap.

     He kept up his facade as he greeted and thanked anyone who surprised him with a gift. At least these monsters are better than my own, he thought bitterly - grinning his way through until he arrived at his… would he be considered his lover? Dream just wasn’t sure at this point. He can’t see why Blue confessed to him, nor could he understand why he accepted his confession, but seeing Blue open the door with an understanding smile made his doubts fall away. 

     He remembered how Ink had teased him about it for weeks - how Blue could not stop talking about him even without Dream’s aura influencing him. He was suspicious, he had his doubts. After all, why would someone like a being who technically didn’t have a soul and was constantly being hunted by a murderous beast? And yet, a few days later, Blue has admitted his feelings when Ink had shoved them both in the closet. Dream felt love, he could recognize that feeling. So, he did what everyone else has done because he didn’t want to see him be disappointed.

     He still didn’t understand what Blue saw in him, but as he took off his boots and followed Blue to his room, he understood why he fell in love with the skeleton. Blue closed the door as they both stepped through before going to his rocket ship bed and patting beside him in invitation. Dream finally dropped his smile and it showed just how exhausted he was, rings beneath his eyes, slouched posture… he would have never shown this side of himself before. He approached the bed and laid sideways before Blue pulled him closer and hugged him tightly as he pulled the blanket over them, not mentioning the fact that Dream had started to tremble and sob. He pet his skull in comfort, closing his eyes and leaning his head against Dream’s. As the shivering died down, Blue began what was soon becoming a daily routine. 

     “Once upon a time… in an old castle… there lived a prince.”

Chapter Text

     “Aww c’mon, Dreamy! I said I was sorry!” Dream ignored Ink’s attempts and simply pouted. “How was I supposed to know that you were on a date?” 

     “I told you this a week ago! You wrote it down, too!” Dream huffed at Ink’s sheepish expression, already knowing the answer once he saw his friend’s scarf. 

     “Error washed it before I could copy it down…” He rolled his lights before sighing and turning to the idiot. 

     “Why did you bring me here, then? Wait - didn’t I tell you not to suddenly summon others without warning? What if I was naked or something!” Dream realized his mistake a bit too late as Ink began to smirk and giggle mischievously. 

     “OhohoHO what were you two doing before?” He waggled his brows at the other guardian and cackled.

     “YOU DIDN’T ANSWER MY QUESTION!!” He shouted in embarrassment. Ink perked up before leading Dream into his office. Dream cringed slightly at the ungodly mess of a room - papers scattered all over the floor and desk and Blue - wait, Blue? He was face down on the couch, asleep? His attention was brought elsewhere when Ink opened every drawer at his desk. 

     “Hmm… It should be here somewhere… Ah - there it is!” 

     “What is it?” Ink took out a carefully wrapped box and skipped over to his friend and handed it over. 

     “Since Nightmare was still all evil and mean last year, we never bothered with a present! Well, Blue mentioned birthdays and we sorta felt bad cause we know you used to send over gifts during that time and we didn’t so we brainstormed and found something to give him!” Well, that explained why Blue was passed out on the admittedly comfortable couch. Dream took it from Ink’s hands and turned it over.

     “There’s no tag, though…?” Ink looked off to the side at Blue, before answering. 

     “What we found… we decided to let you give it to him.” He turned back and quietly laughed at the face Dream made. 

     “Decided to or just forgot?” An extended amount of silence answered his question. “Of course… What are you trying to give?” Ink only winked before pushing Dream out of the room to go back to his date. Dream shook his head at his friend’s actions before returning to the castle. There, he was greeted by absolute chaos. The other Sanses living there - Cross, Killer, Horror, and Dust - were turning over furniture in a panicked frenzy. Well, Dust was just sitting there and Horror was daydreaming, but the other two caused enough destruction for everyone. 

     “H-Hey! What’s going on?” Everyone paused and glanced over before everything went back into motion.

     “ dream! ” They hugged him with tears in their eyes, Dream barely managing to lift the box out of the way. 

     “we thought you were dead! why the hell did you suddenly fall into the lake?! we’ve been looking everywhere for you!!” 

     “Did you check the Doodlesphere…?” You know that one Pikachu meme? Yea. Dream sighed in exasperation before asking where Nightmare was. They pointed him to his office and left him alone to clean up their mess. ‘Clean up’ meaning that they’d make the many Dark Papyrus’ around the castle do it for them. Dream let them be and walked down the dark hallways and made a note to himself to ask Nightmare about the lights - the number of times he’s seen Cross trip because it was too dark is far too high, and frankly very embarrassing, even if he didn’t know Dream saw it most of the time. Knocking on the large ornate doors, he entered once he heard his lover give permission. He was looked and felt relaxed, but Dream could feel his tension from universes away. He put the box on a table on the way over before wrapping his arms around his goopy boyfriend, thankful that it was a possibility now. 

     “I’m sorry, Night. Ink wanted to give you something.” NIghtmare rolled his one eye at the mention of the little demon skeleton. 

     “ What did he give you? ” Dream motioned over to the colorful box on the table and Nightmare used one of his limbs to bring it over. Dream situated himself on Nightmare’s lap as it came and peered down at it. On top was a yellow card fitted between the ribbons to stay in place, it was addressed to the King. He reluctantly opened it, wary of any pranks like glitter exploding everywhere, but nothing came. In perfect cursive, it read -

      I had found this when I first visited your original universe, before meeting Dream. I put it away in my closet and forgot about it completely, to no one’s surprise, but talking to Blue made me remember! I knew it was yours once I noticed how similar it was to Dream’s, sorry I didn’t give it to you sooner! It was really dirty, so I cleaned it for you too. You’re welcome, Nighty~

      Nightmare scoffed at the letter but placed it gently on his desk, to Dream’s amusement. He held the gift far away, having no trust in Ink since the last time, but once again - nothing came out. He brought it closer and Dream peeked in as well, gasping at its contents. Inside laid an ancient golden band, the front was lifted in a simple shape, a square, and inside of the metal was a hole in the shape of an upside-down crescent moon. It was Nightmare’s old crown, something he thought he had lost forever so long ago… He huffed a small laugh as Dream scrambled to get off and stand. Dream excitedly picked the circlet up and brought it to the small light, recognizing the way it gleamed from centuries before. It was the real deal, nearly as perfect as Dream’s crown minus a few chips and cracks. He twirled around to face Nightmare and held it up questioningly. Nightmare decided to humor him, so he stood and knelt before his lover. Dream flushed and grinned brightly, then gently placed the crown on top of his boyfriend’s skull. It sunk in slightly but stayed clean and in place. Dream made a high pitched noise and jumped into NIghtmare’s arms again, laughing in glee. Such a small object brought so much joy to both of them, even if the king of negativity wouldn’t admit it. 

     They both made a mental note to thank Ink for preserving the artifact.

Chapter Text

     You looked left and right, suspicious of the strange quiet throughout the house, and for good reason. Next thing you know you’re soaking wet and staring up at Sans , who stood on the balcony with a bucket in hand. Why you little… Sans immediately bolted, wisps of blue flowing rapidly from his sockets. You didn’t stop to think about why the laziest person you know was running, not until you got smacked in the face with an entire container of white powder. You looked at Papyrus with a betrayed expression as the brother’s high-fived each other. 

     A few weeks ago, Sans had pranked you. A simple one, really - if a bit infuriating. He had kept teleporting behind you after he tapped your shoulder, making you whirl around in circles until you were too dizzy to stand. It was, apparently, his favorite prank to do, considering it was how you met him in the first place. When you had first arrived in this strange place, you were not expecting monsters that depended on their spirits so much. Every monster had glowing swirls instead of pupils and their spirits were constantly out in the open - a shape similar to their pupils. 

     With all of the pranks happening to you, you decided to do something about it. You had replaced his favorite condiment with the spiciest thing you owned, and the look on his skull made it worth it. It went back and forth for a little while, but then a prank went wrong. Sans had balanced a bucket of ice water on the front door, expecting to see you come through since he heard your voice - imagine his surprise when he was met with the sight of his brother standing soaking wet and gawking. Papyrus lowered a disapproving gaze at you both on the couch, and you both looked down in shame. 

     “HMM… I GUESS THIS CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING… I SHALL JOIN THIS PRANK WAR!” And that started the threeway war, sometimes teaming up against each other and being teamed against. It was already chaotic against Sans, it only got worse with Papyrus in the game. He always managed to get you both because you’d be focused more on Sans - and that brings you here.

     “you really think it’ll work?” You nod confidently enough that Sans couldn’t help but trust you. As predicted, Papyrus didn’t fall for a single trap - always catching it, disabling it, dodging it, ad yet falling for every single one. You put your acting skills to the test by showing disappointment, pouting up at the taller skeleton as he boasted about his skills. He walked past you into the living room, still talking about how he found the pranks skillfully. You struggled to stay facing forward, hoping that it would work… and it did.

     “NYEH?!” You turn in excitement as Sans came running from his room to peer over the banister at Papyrus. You and Sans giggle at the pout Papyrus aimed at you two, hanging upside down with a magic rope tied around his ankle. Finally! You high fived Sans and stepped forward to get him down - only to find yourself falling through a hole. 

     “?!” How did this even happen?? The answer came with laughter, Papyrus looked down upon you and Sans - somehow escaping the rope trap. 

     “YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU FOOLED ME AND YOU DIDN’T WATCH ME TO MAKE SURE, IT WAS YOUR DOWNFALL! YOU WOULD HAVE NOTICED ME STEP OVER THE CARPET COVERED HOLE! BUT YOU DIDN’T!!” As Papyrus cackled, you and Sans had the same thought…

Papyrus wins this war… for now.

Chapter Text

     Papyrus was a bit disappointed. He’s used to this, but he thought it would be different this year - considering he’s on the surface and he has more friends. And yet here he is, at the grocery store with Undyne, to look for something Toriel needed. He browsed the shelves for an oddly specific brand of pasta sauce and came up with nothing at this store too. Papyrus huffed and put his hands on his hips, frustrated that the brand was either sold out everywhere or rare to find. Maybe he should check human stores? He turned to Undyne and asked, missing the fact that she nearly threw her phone but caught herself and merely slipped it into her pocket. She quickly nodded and they set off on another journey to another location. This store had a lot of sauce, he’ll give them that. Browsing once more, he scanned the aisles up and down before finding what he was looking for.

     “AHA! UNDYNE, LOOK! I FOUND IT!” Papyrus ignored the glares of the humans around him to wave the can at his friend and saw her eye briefly widen. 

     “Damn, so you did…” She seemed a bit nervous now, but he guessed it was due to the ratio of human to monster in the building. Deciding not to wait any longer, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the self-checkout less chance of encountering mean humans. Undyne quickly typed something out on her phone while Papyrus paid. She hoped it would be enough time… but it wasn’t, apparently. 

     “Hello darling~” Mettaton stopped them from continuing forward, but Papyrus didn’t seem to mind with the way his sockets glittered. Undyne sighed with relief and defeat before allowing the celebrity to lead them to a nearby monster cafe. Monsters and humans alike gawked at the robot but thankfully let them be. “So what brings a handsome piece like you to this side of town?”

     “I COULD ASK THE SAME OF YOU, METTATON! NOT THAT I DON’T WANT YOU HERE…!” Mettaton chortled at Papyrus’ slight panic and chanced a glance at the aquatic monster and smoothly directed the conversation to himself. He spent the next two hours boasting about himself and what he did while he was away, to Undyne’s horror. Two hours of this torture… It’s worth it…! Think of Papyrus…!

      The text Undyne received was a blessing, and she immediately cut the conversation short. She was grateful for the small distraction, but she also wanted nothing more than to jump off a cliff. She rushed Papyrus out the door, ignoring his complaints to glance behind her at Mettaton and saw him wink at her - she smirked a bit at that. Now they could continue their walk back, with perhaps a few stops along the way. 

     “Oh! Hello, Papyrus! Today’s a special day, isn’t it? Here, have a flower!” 

     “Howdy Papyrus! How about some nice cream on this fine sunny day? Here, on the house!”

     “Papyrus! How’s the family? I see you’re doing well!”

     There were many pitstops during their walk home, and Papyrus seemed overjoyed. He shifted the gifts he received higher on his arm, already juggling a lot with Undyne was carrying those that he just couldn’t manage to hold without dropping, which was impressively little. They finally made it home, Undyne sent a quick text to warn those waiting. She opened the door for him and let him through before shutting it, covering them in darkness. Papyrus adjusted to the dark quickly and first spotted the balloons around the room before lights suddenly blinded him and everyone jumped out.

     “Happy Birthday!!” Papyrus gaped at them, surprised, before grinning brighter than the sun. Sans chuckled as Undyne took everything out of her friend’s hands, allowing Papyrus to experience everything fully. Everyone was here, from humans to monsters - their dining table was full of more presents and had a huge pie in the middle. The balloons he noticed were all different colors and were littered around the room, either attached to a string or lying on the floor, and Papyrus saw a banner saying ‘Happy Birthday Papyrus’.

     He was very emotional - he’s never had a party this big just for him. It was a dream come true, and it was the best birthday present he could have ever gotten. He was thankful for his friends and family, he truly was.

Chapter Text

     Working under the Queen can be stressful. Constantly worrying over everything, trying to be careful but not too careful, trying not to offend her - it was difficult for people to get close to her because of their fear. Sans, though, has no trouble getting along with her. Simple small talk, a pun here or there, and you find yourself being the Queen’s favorite. Of course, Sans isn’t perfect, far from it, but at least he is trusted with almost every secret. He’s served her for decades now, he might as well be an expert at this point, but he still slips up sometimes.

Crack!

      Sans trembled from where he knelt before the mighty throne of the Queen, feeling her disapproving gaze on him as marrow dripped down the side of his skull. He heard Alphys shift uncomfortably and Papyrus grit his teeth before Toriel spoke again. 

     “I shall ask again. Why did you allow the monsters to escape?” Sans desperately tried to gather his thoughts for a sensible excuse and took too long. He laid on the floor, whimpering softly at the pain he felt and the lack of feeling in his right arm. The Queen sighed before sitting upon her throne again. “You may leave. I expect you back here tomorrow, understand?” Sans used his remaining arm to lift himself up and nodded shakily. Papyrus rushed forward, keeping his gaze down, and helped Sans get back home. He and Alphys made eye contact for a second, but it only made him feel worse. He doesn’t need her pity… 

     Working under the Queen can be stressful. If you are her favorite, she will expect your loyalty and you can expect hers. You are protected from others, but that also means you are her favorite toy to torture .

…

     Soft purring came from you and you cuddled up to your lover’s side, watching Undyne use her weak healing magic on his shattered arm. Sans leaned his head on yours, eyes voided like they were hours ago - you were waiting for your beautiful amethysts to come back. You didn’t know why Sans was punished, you didn’t even know what his mission was - they won’t tell you much, only that he had gotten a report of some deaths happening in the capital and that he was sent to either detain them or murder them. He failed, that much you could gather, but he has never failed before, so why now? You understood soon enough when you saw another Sans appear out of nowhere late at night. 

     This Sans had brought his own Neko girlfriend. He wore a similar bandanna, only it was light blue. His ensemble was mostly grey with blue accents, and he introduced himself as Blue, which made you giggle a bit. The other version of you was very kind, not a single bad bone in her body. A bit too bright for you, but you didn’t mind. Your ears swiveled to Blue when he cleared his throat. 

     “Ahem. I apologize for the way my friend Red acted when he arrived, we weren’t expecting so much trouble when we got here.” You listened to his explanation, and you were very interested in his offer. Either go with him to a better world and live happily or stay here. You didn’t really have anything to lose since Sans and his brother were invited to go along too, but you refused to leave your skeleton’s side, the same with Papyrus. He was thoughtful, weighing the pros and cons. 

     “So we may never return? And no one can step through but us?” Blue nodded, and that was all that was needed. As long as he could say goodbye to some… acquaintances… and not worry about a manhunt, he was willing to go. With that, Blue recommended that everyone sleeps before leaving. Universal traveling can be pretty exhausting! 

     In a few hours, you went with Sans to say goodbye to Alphys and Undyne. You never knew them, not really, aside from healing trips, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t emotional as Alphys noogied Sans and Undyne cackled quietly next to her. It was unfortunate that you couldn’t bring them along, but Alphys didn’t want to leave anyway. You were on your way back to the portal before you heard a familiar voice call out. Shit, this is bad. Sans has always talked about the Queen in reverence, would he really be able to leave her behind? He turned to the side, not fully facing her yet.

     “So this is where you have run off to… Are you really going to leave your Queen, soldier?” Sans hesitated, subtly pushing you towards the portal. “After everything I have done for you, this is how you pay me? Shame on you, skeleton. I will, however, forgive you if you come back to me, Sans.” 

     “sans…?” Papyrus mumbled worriedly. He wanted to reach out and just yank him through, but he had to trust his brother. Blue held his lover’s clawed hand tighter, prepared for anything.

     “It is your choice, Sans. Who shall you trust?” The Queen’s smile widened, knowing she had already won. Sans looked to the side of him at the other skeletons, and back at his majesty. He turned fully to his majesty and heard a broken ‘no’ whisper from behind him. He smiled up at his majesty. 

   “Dr. Undyne showed me something the other day.” Toriel’s smile shrunk as her brow furrowed, confused. Sans grinned. “It was a popular text post by someone. I think it went, ‘I will face God,” He began to walk back to his new family. “And walk backward into Hell.’ ” He watched as his Queen’s expression lost its victorious smirk and grew furious. She gave a mighty roar, and that’s when Sans began to run, the others following. He gripped your hand firmly and sprinted to the portal, jumping through right before the fire could reach you both. You giggled as adrenaline pumped through your veins, tail swishing in excitement as you ran to the small campsite nearby with the other skeletons and Neko. You looked back and the portal was no more. You finally escaped that hellhole, with your family by your side.

Chapter Text

     Horror knows who Blue is. Blue is one of the only people he can’t forget. How could he forget, when Blue was the one who showed him that he wasn’t just some insignificant version of the original others didn’t care about? Horror can remember that scene almost perfectly in his mind - like his soul refused to forget. He was a bit bitter, wondering where this perfect memory hides all the time. Horror - wait, his name is Mars now, isn’t it? Yeah… Mars was surprised by how much mercy he was shown. He wasn’t used to it, but he was glad he went with Blue so long ago. A simple offer, that was all it took, and Mars was out of there.

     Blue helped him reunite with his brother, helped him heal, helped him find a new home, and eventually helped his friends find peace as well. Mars’ family grew a lot bigger in only two months, even Nightmare eventually succumbed to his kindness - even if he only tolerated him. Now the whole gang, minus Nightmare most of the time, spent most of their day at Farmtale. He liked Hyun-Sik, he was very patient when Mars needed a moment to rest. They weren’t staying for free, of course. There were a lot of chores to do, but everyone seemed ok with that. It gave them a distraction from the screams of their demons. Unfortunately, Blue had to help too, on the weekends. It was a deal, after all. Fortunately, it gave Mars more time with Blue, and they got close. Real close. So close, in fact, that they -

     “RS- AR- S- MARS!” Mars jumped and stared wide-eyed at a worried Blue, confused on where he was and what he was doing, before sheepishly grinning in apology. Oops… Guess I spaced out again… Blue huffed - not in an annoyed way, it was more of a concerned huff, Mars can tell the difference now. “SO THIS IS WHERE YOU’VE BEEN. WE WERE LOOKING FOR YOU! ARE YOU OK?” Mars smiled and nodded, still looking a bit dazed. Blue sighed and sat beside the much larger monster and let him lean against him. “I SUPPOSE THEY CAN WAIT FOR A LITTLE LONGER…” Mars snuggled closer and mumbled something similar to a ‘thank you’. They sat in comfortable silence for a little while longer until he felt focused enough to go back out. Blue brightly recounted his day with his Ink (they had gone ice skating when Ink had said he had never done that before) while Mars nodded along, smiling gently as the soft spring breeze brushed the two. 

...

     “you are the sun i admire from my little planet.” 

     “AND YOU ARE THE LITTLE PLANET I PROTECT WITH MY LIGHT.”

Chapter Text

     Ink was always busy, he rarely had time for fun with Nightmare and Error running amok, but now with both of them settling down for a more peaceful life, he finds himself with too much time on his hands - time he spends either bothering Error, annoying Dream, or being with Blue. He went to Error’s spot initially, only to immediately be thrown out. 

     “ I’m not dealing with you today! ” Rude, right? So Ink went to Dream to complain, only to find him busy spending time with Nightmare and Cross. Knowing that Dream would be too sad to be any fun, he went to Blue instead. He had more luck here. Blue welcomed him in, dressed in casual wear because it was apparently his day off. And that’s where Ink wound up, sprawled carelessly on his floor as he complained about how bored he was. Blue hummed thoughtfully before suggesting random things available. Ink groaned and said no to everything, so Blue decided to ask Ink-

     “WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, THEN?” Ink sat up and fell silent, so quiet and contemplative that Blue started to fear for his life until Ink gave a simple answer. 

     “Ice skating.”

     “...ICE SKATING.” Ink flopped back down in agony. 

     “I’ve never done it! Not really, anyway! Every time I’ve been on ice was because I was running for my life from someone trying to kill me…” Ink pouted and Blue felt a bit bad for his reaction. Blue knew that Ink probably didn’t care or refused to realize it, but it really is unfortunate that the free time he had was very, very short. He never had time to when he discovered how to traverse universes… Blue decided then and there to make this experience memorable. 

     “PLEASE WAIT HERE, INK! I UH… FORGOT TO GRAB TOILET PAPER!” Blue dashed out the door, leaving behind a confused Ink.

     “I thought those were a myth…! Wait, skeleton’s use bathrooms!?”

…

     When Blue had told him to wait, he didn’t expect to find Ink still at his house. The surprise must have shown since Ink tilted his head in question, reminding Blue of a forgetful puppy. He smiled and began to drag Ink out of the house, ignoring his splutters along the way. It was already nighttime, and Blue felt a bit bad for making him wait as long as he did, but he hoped it’d be worth it. Leading him through the woods, they finally arrived at their destination. Ink’s reaction was what he wanted, slack-jawed and wide-eyed as he took in the sights. Blue had invited anyone willing to have fun on the ice, and he had decorated the perimeter of the froze lake with string lights and magical blue fires. 

     Dream waved from where he stood with Nightmare before they both came over. Dream hopped over to Ink in excitement, rambling about how it was his and NIghtmare’s first-time ice skating as well. Nightmare looked a bit grumpy, but it was probably due to the amount of joy here. Before the two could start squealing like a bunch of fangirls Blue took Ink away to a temporary stall. There, his brother Honey waved a bit tiredly before grinning softly. 

     “sup, bro? ink.” Ink smiled brightly and asked for two pairs of skates, which Honey begrudgingly handed over. They quickly put it on before running to the ice, stepping on. Blue would have missed Ink if he hadn’t been trained to react quickly, but he managed to catch him before he could fall. Error cackled as he leisurely flowed around the other skaters. Ink pouted at him before tilting his head up to look at his savior with a goofy grin. 

     “Guess I fell for you, huh?”

Chapter Text

     The King of Nightmares is a malevolent being, capable of creating an army at will, capable of making the strongest creatures bow down before him - so imagine his surprise when a small, measly human child won’t let go of him. He’s been trying for the past hour to get them to let go, to no avail - and his so-called subordinates have been laughing and recording his struggle instead of helping like they are supposed to. Nightmare was going to enjoy destroying their phones right in front of him. Normally he would have just killed the soul for just touching him, but he hesitated. The reason why he came here was because of the negativity flowing from this child as they were abused by those in the village. Now the whole village was dead, and a clingy child won’t let go. He would have killed them in a heartbeat, but memories he had locked away crept forth and prevented him from doing so. 

     A golden portal was forming not too far away, and when Nightmare caught sight of it he gave up. He picked up Cross and Killer, the only two that had come to assist, and hopped through back to his castle - human still attached to his leg. Their hair was started to clump together from the tar dripping off of Nightmare’s body, and he sighed in annoyance. He put the two down and ordered them to get the rest of the gang and wait in the throne room (they saluted with goofy smiles before scampering off). He kept trying to get them to let go to no avail. He took the time to cross his arms and observe the human who dared to touch him. Mono-colored tattered clothing was all they had - no shoes, hair a mess… Other than that, Nightmare couldn’t understand the motivation behind the assaults on a child, until they looked up and peered into Nightmare’s light blue pupils. 

     Red. Kind, blood-red eyes. The red seemed to shimmer with hints of gold, and Nightmare understood. Humans have always hated those that were different. 

…

     The child eventually let him go, thankfully, at the promise of food. They still stuck close, and Nightmare had a feeling that they imprinted onto him. He gave another sigh of defeat before leading them to the throne room, which was technically also the dining room since that was where they ate. Opening the door revealed chaos. Killer was throwing his knives at the nightmare Papyrus situated by the kitchen door, watching mischievously as the Papyrus desperately tried to not get impaled while also attempting to block the kitchen from Horror’s ravenous approaches. Error merely looked on in boredom, wanting nothing more than to be back in his void to continue watching Undernovela. Dust was cheering Killer on as Cross tried in vain to get Error’s attention. Nightmare sighed before lashing out with his extra limbs, stopping Killer and putting Horror back in his seat. They all calmed down slightly as they caught sight of their leader and someone new. The human peeked shyly from behind their ‘savior’. Silence filled the room until Dust spoke up. 

     “wow, boss. never expected you to be the type to kidnap children.” Nightmare scowled in annoyance. 

     “ I did not kidnap them. They would not let go of me until now. ” The ones who weren’t with him were skeptical until Killer confirmed his words. Nightmare rolled his eyes. 

     “ s̶o̶ w̶h̶a̶t̶ a̶r̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶ g̶o̶n̶n̶a̶ d̶o̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ i̶t̶? i̶ c̶a̶n̶ t̶a̶k̶e̶ ‘e̶m̶ o̶f̶f̶ y̶o̶u̶r̶ h̶a̶n̶d̶s̶ i̶f̶ y̶o̶u̶ w̶a̶n̶t̶. ” The kid turned away and burrowed into Nightmare’s pants when they saw the ominous glint in the destroyer’s eyes. Nightmare knew he was bluffing (he know Error hates destroying the children most) but the human didn’t. He turned to look at the human, who stared up at him, and wondered what to do with it. He couldn’t take them back, not while Ink and Dream were doing damage control, so the only option was to keep them temporarily. He still didn’t feel comfortable killing them, interestingly enough. Of course, he can’t have the others thinking he’s gone soft.

      “ You all will take care of them while they are here, but if you would rather confront the stars alone then go ahead. ” With a team, taking down the stars is already hard, and going alone is practically a death wish. It was obvious what they chose with the way they beckoned the human over to meet. Nightmare sighed and one of his henchmen stepped forward nervously. 

     “ U-Um, sir? ”

     “ Prepare a room for the child. And cancel any plans involving all of us while you are at it. ” The Papyrus bowed and scurried off with a few more following behind. Nightmare sighed for what felt like the hundredth time in an hour. Now he has another child to care for - and the worst part is, they were acting more mature than the rest of them combined!

Chapter Text

     When Cross got a call to rush back to the castle, he thought about every possible ba scenario that could have happened, or just a dumb little surprise Horror did. He did get a surprise, but it wasn’t something he expected. He came home to everyone bickering and stressing over something, and Cross immediately started to stress out too until Horror caught sight of him and gripped his shoulders tightly. 

     “thank the stars you’re here! i have no idea how this happened but-” 

     “nightmare turned into a kid!!” Killer cut in. Cross was very confused. Error sighed, annoyed, and filled him in. 

     “ h̶e̶r̶e̶’s̶ w̶h̶a̶t̶ h̶a̶p̶p̶e̶n̶e̶d̶... ”

__

      “ s̶h̶i̶t̶! ” 

     “ Stop being careless! ” 

     “ ‘m̶ n̶o̶t̶ d̶o̶i̶n̶’ i̶t̶ o̶n̶ p̶u̶r̶p̶o̶s̶e̶! ” Error just wanted a day to himself, but instead, he was called in for a meeting with ‘his majesty’ which turned into a full-fledged fight between them and the stars. Just his luck… they were steadily being pushed back, Ink missing his brush and Dream low on energy still wasn’t enough. They weren’t prepared for a fight, so they had to retreat. Error formed a portal to one of the variants of Horrortale and motioned Nightmare through. They made it, but not before Ink swiped a vial full of a liquid nearby and threw it at them, hitting Nightmare on his back. They went straight to his castle and to his office. Nothing happened during the meeting, and they didn’t expect anything to happen until Nightmare started to feel sick. 

     He stumbled and fell, the tar covering his body falling apart and dissolving into the air. Error watched in shock as the goop melted away to reveal pure white bones underneath, clothed in a violet suit accented with crescent moons and colors of gold. He sat up and grabbed his skull in pain before starting at the sight of white. Error could see him better this way, and noted the familiar golden belt around his waist with the initials ‘NM’. He almost looked like… an exact copy of Dream, but edgy. 

     They started to hyperventilate and fat purple tears streamed down their skull, and that’s when Error finally moved. He ran out in search of someone and noticed the distinct lack of Papyruses guarding the halls. He found Killer and guided him to the other, and quickly called everyone back to the castle…

__

      “when will he turn back? he will turn back, right?” Error lifted up a vial with small golden droplets remaining inside. 

     “ i̶ w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶’t̶ c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶ o̶n̶ i̶t̶. ” The bottle was labeled ‘Reversion Spell III’. Cross carefully took it from his teacher’s hands and turned it over to find out more. 

Experiment 3

Ingredients: Tree bark from the ToF, Leaves from the ToF, Black sap (Nightmare), Water, Golden apple chip (Dream), Bone chip (Blue), Code from DT

To Be Tested.

      Well, that explained the result. Cross wondered if Ink threw this specific vial on purpose or not… 

     “where’s nightmare right now?” Killer gestured down the hall and replied.

     “bedroom. he passed out from it, i guess.” Cross left them to their worry, discreetly pulling out his secret phone and saw a message.

Did it work?

     Cross didn’t reply. Not yet, at least - not until he knows for certain. Opening the bedroom door revealed a dimly lit room with a small figure resting on the lush bed. Nightmare was big enough to make the king-size bed seem like a perfect size, but this version was curled up and only took up ¼ of the space. The Nightmare was a lot smaller than the other, and Cross felt as though his… aura… completely changed as well. He silently sat on the bed and stroked the smooth, dry bone. 

     He was sure that he met this version before. Not physically, but he definitely felt a stronger connection with them - like they weren’t submerged anymore. Small moments of love, subtle worried glances, trembling when they thought he was dead… yes, this skeleton was the one. Those other times… the torture, the mind games, those were from someone else. Someone… not Nightmare. This was the one hidden deep underneath the writhing mass of negativity.  He knew that he needed to put a stop to this, especially when he…

      Soft whimpers and sounds of liquid hitting against liquid was all Cross could hear, aside from the frantic mumbling of ‘get out’ and ‘leave me alone’ and ‘let me go’.

      When Ink proposed an idea, he immediately jumped on. He didn’t ask how Ink came up with this idea, he didn’t want to. If he died from this attempt, at least he can know he tried. They worked on it as much as they could but could not come up with the right solution when they didn’t have a way to test it. Well, it didn’t matter now, and now they can be happy again… No more pain for Dream, no more secret late-night calls to Ink, no more sadness for his King.  Everything he did was for Nightmare, for he loved him with all his soul. 

…

     “It worked? Oh, thank the stars…” Ink could be heard celebrating in the background, boasting about his ideas, prompting an eye roll from Cross. “Is he… okay?” 

     “he’s fine, just asleep right now. i think you should come over soon though, to explain things. i’ll... tell the others what happened.” Cross was not excited about this conversation. 

Chapter Text

     Error was in a predicament. 

     He met a human - a human that had befriended the Star Sanses. Their first ‘meeting’ was very… rocky. It made sense - Error had tried to kill her after all - and yet Blue kept telling him it was because she liked him? Was this just a human thing that he doesn’t understand? Sure, she would always seek him out, saying that everyone was busy but him (Even though he’d just ignore her attempts at friendship. She was hella determined, he’ll give her that). Not to mention the countless times someone called her out. 

     “You like him, don’t you~?” 

     “W-What? Pfft, who would like him?” It was offensive, but he didn’t care. It was true, after all. Ink and Blue were just weird. However, as stated before, Error was in a predicament. 

     Right there, on his favorite beanbag, was a chocolate bar. On it was a note, but he didn’t dare go near it. The only people who could access this void are Ink and Nightmare, two people he did not trust. The bar could be a prank or even poisoned, but they wouldn’t leave a note, now would they? He didn’t care if the voices were urging him to go closer, they could be in on it too. How stupid do they think he is? Honestly… Oh, now the voices were annoyed. Serves them right. He picked it up with his strings, intending to fling the problem into Underfell until he saw some of the contents on the note. It was from the human, huh? He hesitantly brought it closer to himself and took off the note. 

Blue said you like chocolate, and I had an extra. Enjoy!

-(y/n)

     If he gets sick, it’ll be worth it. ...It was some pretty good chocolate, his favorite kind too. Did the human like the same things he did? The voices were telling him to thank her and, well, he might as well, right? And that’s how he found himself at the Star headquarters. He wandered in, hands in his pockets, looking around in a nonchalant way. She should be somewhere around here...

     “Error!” He turned to Blue, who was running up to him happily. “What are you doing here? Wait- are you here for (y/n)?” He seemed to vibrate at the thought, stars filling his sockets. Error nearly ignored him but instead sighed and agreed. Various voices had threatened him if he turned down the ‘adorable ball of energy’. 

     Blue only got more excited and almost grabbed him before changing his mind at the last second, thankfully. Error followed at a slow pace behind Blue, scanning the halls for any exits - just in case he ran into someone with a grudge. Fortunately, he came to a stop in front of their gym with no incidents. Blue left with a cheerful ‘good luck!’, whatever that means. He entered to find Ink sparring Dream - more like annoying him - with the human cheering off to the side. She jumped when she noticed Error approaching, panicking about something Error didn’t understand. He was fully prepared to talk to her, (lies) he just wanted to watch the fight for a bit beforehand. They sat in a semi-awkward silence, until (y/n) spoke.

     “How are you, Error?” He answered with a grunt, he looked a bit distracted… “...What brings you here?” Without glancing at her, he responded dryly-

     “Why, you want me to leave?” 

     “Well- no! That’s not what I meant-” Error scoffed, “I just don’t see you come here often… It’s nice to see you again, though!” He smirked in response. 

     “What, are you flirting with me now?” She blushed and spluttered denials. How amusing. 

     “Thank you. For the… you know.” The human’s smile grew slowly, but she didn’t respond. She looked away as she felt the flush reach her ears, hoping her hair blocked it from Error’s sight. 

     It didn’t, to Error’s amusement. They sat in comfortable silence, content with watching the battle in front of them as unspoken feelings swirled in their souls.

Chapter Text

     It’s been decades since Undertale came out and a very long time since this beautiful multiverse was created. However, people have been losing interest… It was slow progress, obviously, but it was still noticeable. Unfinished universes have died off, smaller worlds have slowly erased themselves… Those popular enough to either have a completed world or a complete character are the only ones left alive. The multiverse has become small - and Ink was terrified. Creators left more often than not. Eventually, there will be no one who remembered their children. They will be alone, Ink will be alone. Ink will be abandoned, again , just like with… 

___

     White, everywhere he looked it was white. He sat there, bored out of his mind. Even the other monsters here were beginning to be too… repetitive. His brother, (Papyrus, was it?) spoke to him, more than the others, but nothing helped. He was the only one with a soul, feelings, free will… He grew tired of it all and decided to leave permanently. 

___

      It didn’t work. Of course. Now he’s one of the only soulless creatures in a sea of beautiful souls. Why did he even bother protecting this place? They could have managed just fine without him, he’s sure of it…

     Ink collapsed in the alleyway, hidden from sight to preserve his fragile dignity. He pressed his back against the filthy wall, hands on his skull where ears would be. His breathing got quicker, more panicked. His sockets were squeezed shut as his fingers started to dig grooves into his skull. He didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die, he didn’t w ant to die, he didn’t want to die -

Not yet…!

     “ Hey, Rainbow Asshole, ” No response, “ Oi, Ink! ” Ink flinched at the distorted shout, making Error sigh in exasperation. He sat next to the rattling skeleton, considering an idea for a second before acting on it. He pulled out a blanket and laid it on Ink’s shoulders before bringing him close in a weird-looking hug - Error felt slight pain, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t handle. He rubbed his back, breathing in exaggeratedly, “ Come on, asshole, you can feel that, yea? Follow my breathing… That’s it… ” Eventually, Ink calmed down enough to speak.

     “I’m sorry…” Error hummed, confused. “This fear is stupid… I should be over it by now…” Error shook his head, risking more pain by nuzzling into the blanket between them. 

     “ It’s… not stupid. ” Ink only tilted his head down, trying to hide his tears. 

     “Please don’t leave me…”

     “ I won’t, dumbass… Who do you take me for? ” Ink stayed silent, and Error worried that this will become a regular occurrence. “ Let’s go home and get you healed up, ok? ” 

     “Ok… Thank you.” Ink followed Error through the portal into his home - Error didn’t want to risk another panic by going to his anti-void. He left to find something to heal up the wounds, pretending to not notice the guardian trailing behind him like a lost puppy. Error led him back to the couch, giving Ink the ointment needed for the scratches littering his skull. The glitch pulled out his phone and messaged Dream - he was much better at comforting than Error was. 

     Watching Ink rub his skull in a sorrowful way - tears threatening to fall once more - Error wished that Ink could understand how much he mattered to him.

Chapter Text

     “Perfect, Darling! Let’s take a break before resuming!” Mettaton clapped his hands as he walked back to the dressing room, his cape swishing behind him. You sighed in relief, wanting nothing more than to go back to your dressing room. You turned and ran into one of your makeup artists, who was holding up a brush. You sighed once more, in annoyance this time, before allowing the bunny monster to fix the makeup on your face. You could already tell it was going to be a long day… You looked around as the artist leads you to your chair - noticing a strange, pale monster just floating in the air. When they locked eyes with you, they startled and disappeared. 

…

     It’s another break, thank the stars… This time you made a mad dash for your private room - when you didn’t see anyone you locked the door and moved to an empty corner and just… sat there. Your head was bowed as you controlled your breathing, calming your racing heart. You hated being near so many people at once… A few minutes of that and you finally moved from your spot. You went to your backpack and pulled out your phone, texting Mettaton to request a bit more time off before shooting the next scene. You needed to relax more… You pulled out your crocheting hook and the half-finished scarf and set an alarm for a few minutes before going to work, the repetitive motions lulling you into a peaceful world. When the alarm rang, you were ready to go back out - that is, until you nearly had a damn heart attack when you spotted a monster watching you. Now that they were closer, they looked like a… generic, crying cartoon ghost? 

     “o-oh… i didn’t mean to startle you… i’ll go now…” More tears slipped past his… eyes?

     “No, it’s fine... I didn’t notice you, so I was a bit surprised to see you. Did you need something?” 

     “oh… mettaton told me to check on you… and i got distracted… sorry…” You shook your head.

     “No, it’s fine. Sorry I took so long…” An awkward silence settled over the both of you as you looked everywhere but each other. Fortunately, the timid ghost spoke up.

     “what were you doing…? was that knitting…?” You scrunched your nose on instinct.

     “No, it’s crocheting. I… do it to calm down.” You rubbed your elbow, before realizing that you’re showing your… You instantly stop and straighten.

     “i see… why did you need to calm down?” You cringed slightly, causing the ghost to ponder just disappearing.

     “I’m… not the best with crowds…” You blushed at the admission - did you even know his name?

     “i understand how you feel… i prefer to be in the shadow of my cousin…” You smile at him, and introduced yourself before asking for his name. “o-oh... my name is napstablook…” 

     “It’s nice to meet you, Napstablook.” Napstablook hesitantly smiled back, the tears slowing to a stop. 

     “when i first saw you, i thought you were mean… i’m glad that’s not the case… i like you better this way…” You flush once again, embarrassed now that you remembered that he must have seen you when you were done with the universe.  

     “Yea… Sorry about that… You seem nice, too.” Before you could say any more to the galaxy ghost, Mettaton burst in with a dramatic flair. 

     “There you are, Darling! You’re up next, come on!” He gripped you by your shoulders and pushed you out the door. You obeyed with a chuckle and left to the set, leaving the cousins behind. “...So… What do you think of my newest apprentice?”

     “they’re nice… i like them…” Mettaton hummed and looked around the room before settling his golden sights on his cousin, mischief in his gaze. 

     “Should I ask them if they’d smooch a ghost?”

     “m-mettaton, no!” 

Chapter Text

     You’ve always enjoyed lounging in the sun, letting the warm rays reflect off of the countless shimmering scales scattered over your tail and body. You rested your cheek against your arm, letting the waves splash over you - anchored to a lone rock. It was a nice day today, there were no clouds in the sky - though that can always change. 

     You were hidden in an outcrop near the shore, confident no humans could find you. Countless tunnels were surrounding the area with only one true entrance - any human will drown before they could find this place. Unless, of course, they dropped in from above - but why would they if they didn’t have a reason to? It wasn’t the prettiest place, so it wasn’t a… (what was it called? Tourist attraction?) but it had a perfect view of the sky. You came here every day to sunbathe - even though you knew it wasn’t the smartest idea to stay in one place too long. 

     You hummed contently, eyes closed, before stiffening at the sound of an abnormal splash. You peeked through slitted eyes to the left of you, detecting a floating skull. Ah, just another poor soul lost to the waves. You closed your eyes again and relaxed further onto your special little rock. Wait a minute. That skull had glowing lights. You snapped open your eyes and rose to get a closer look, only to find it missing. You look around your area, the outcrop growing dark as a cloud blocked the sun’s rays. Looking below, you saw a glowing blue light circling you. You stiffened and prepared to bolt out of the pool until the creature stopped and swam to the surface. 

     They were a skeleton, but they didn’t look like a human’s corpse. They must be a monster breed, then. You remember meeting one of their kind, though they were a ribbon eel breed. Even though the skeleton’s tail was transparent - and, well, blue - you could tell he was a dolphin breed. Thank the heavens, you thought you were going to be eaten! Alas, it was only a playful mermaid. You were curious, you haven’t conversed with another mer in a while - much less a dolphin breed. You smile at them lazily, resting your head on your palm as you observed them. 

     “Hello. I’m surprised you found a way in.” The dolphin shrugged with a matching grin.

     “anything’s possible when you’re bored.” You hummed in agreement. “you’re a koi mer, aren’t ya? i thought koi mers lived in freshwater?” 

     “I know, right?” You chuckled and swished your tail - watching your thin, flowing fins bob with the ripples, “For some reason, I could only live in saltwater so... here I am, without a gasp.”

     “a gasp?” He chuckled.

     “A group of koi,” You answered with a grin, glad that you could make the other mer laugh.

     “a group of dolphins is called a pod, never heard of somethin’ being called a gasp before, heh,” Well, you’re glad he finds that amusing. He tilted his head as he observed you as well. “you’re seriously alone?” 

     “Yep, if anyone came with me they’d die, and, well, the other mers I’ve met aren’t fond of staying in one place.” The skeleton nodded sagely. 

     “i know what you mean. i’d stay in one place too if my brother wasn’t so active.” 

     “Oh? You have a brother, stranger?” 

     “heh, yea. the name’s sans, by the way.”

     “Sans, huh? Nice to meet you.” You introduced yourself as well. “Don’t you have to go back to your pod, though? The sun is setting.” Sans looked contemplative and looked up through the hole of the outcrop. He was silent for a moment, before responding. 

     “i… think they can wait a little while longer. i want to see the stars from here.” 

     “The stars?”

     “yea. i’ve always preferred night over day.” You chuckled. 

     “I’ve always preferred the sun over the moon. However, I do find the night sky beautiful from here…” Sans hummed before resting on the rock across from you, sockets trained on the stars slowly coming into view. You watched the stars with your new friend, eventually falling asleep beneath the galaxy.

     When you awoke the next morning, the sun shone upon you once more - and Sans was gone.

Chapter Text

     When you live with someone for a lot of years, you start to notice things about them. Big actions, small ticks… You start to notice it. Cross and Killer, have picked up a lot of little ticks from Nightmare. 

     They know that he loves reading. Like, really loves reading. How? Well, a good indicator tends to be his tendrils. They are small and slow as he reads, which means he’s happy and content. Like how they lash at everything they can reach when he’s angry, or how they drip the strange black tar more when he’s sad. They are a pretty big sign of his mental state - and he hasn’t realized it. 

     Nightmare, the guardian of negative emotions, doesn’t know. He always accuses the two of being secret empaths, mind-readers, everything he can think of. It’s pretty hilarious to everyone that he can be this oblivious. It’s always easy to tell when he’s about to snap when he gets excited… and when he feels disappointed. 

     Like now. Cross woke up to Killer shaking him roughly. He nearly smacked him to the floor when Killer pointed out that a certain someone was missing from the king-sized bed. Nightmare sat on the couch, back facing them as he read a book. A dim lantern was providing enough light for the two to see that his tendrils were very… droopy. They glanced at each other and came to a decision. 

     Nightmare was distracted, eye light not even focused enough to process any of the words he was ‘reading’. When Killer plucked the book out of his hands NIghtmare growled, more annoyed than anything. Cross sat next to him, silent as he observed the way Killer dealt with Nightmare - taking notes. NIghtmare huffed and pouted in his seat, crossing his arms and shifting to face away from his two boyfriends - Killer only ignored his hissy fit and nestled up to Cross, he snuggled right back and sat in the quiet for a while. 

     And by a while, he meant approximately two seconds. Nightmare wrapped a tendril around the two and yanked them over, loosening his hold when they got close but not letting go. Cross heard a huff of laughter coming from Killer and had to hide his own amused smile. Instead, he leaned more onto his boyfriend and closed his sockets, feeling safe and protective in Nightmare’s embrace.

Chapter Text

     The food court was full for a Monday. Razz grumbled as he trudged through, scanning the crowd for a certain little skeleton. Comic had invited him to hang out, using the excuse of ‘wanting to get to know him’, and yet when Razz texted him asking where he was - he didn’t respond. He clenched his jaw in annoyance, wondering yet again why he had agreed in the first place. 

      “c’mon bro, live a little! besides, you needed to go get some new clothes for your job, right? just go meet him! what’s the worst that could happen?” 

     The worst that could happen was that he couldn’t find the fucker and now three hours of his precious time was lost looking for him. Eventually, Razz gave up and found an empty seat he could sit in. He dropped himself onto it and leaned his head on his fist, looking at his phone once again. Still no response… it hasn’t even been seen yet. 

     “...’s so creepy...” Another message sent, this time detailing where he was. Hopefully Comic will show up eventually and this wasn’t a trick.

     “I know! Why does this mall allow creatures like that inside? Look at its skull! It might be planning to kill us all!” ...Oh. They were talking about him after all. 

     “Right? I mean, it’s literally a skeleton. Bringers of death! Isn’t it from one of those murderous universes as well? The government should have never let them back into society!” Razz didn’t move his head, but he still had a perfect view of the human couple. They weren’t exactly subtle about it, and now it felt like everyone was staring at him. 

     “The world was sooo much better without these monsters infecting our cities.” Razz knew he was probably overreacting, but he couldn’t help it. Old habits die hard. 

     “ They all deserve to die. ” He exited the app and pulled up his brother’s contact information, nearly pressing the call button when someone placed a cup in front of him. He looked up to Comic’s eternally smiling skull - his smile, however, was not genuine. He was looking - no, glaring - at the human couple, browbone furrowed in a way that showed he was pissed. Receiving the hint, they both fled the cafeteria. Comic turned to Razz, his grin more genuine than it was before. 

     “sorry for makin’ ya wait so long. phone died on the way ‘ere.” Razz squinted up at him, debating on whether to forgive him or not. He sighed and stood, grabbing the coffee cup along the way - deciding that it would be easier to forgive and forget. Probably. 

     “WHATEVER. YOU OWE ME A SHIRT.” Comic chuckled and trailed behind the former captain when he walked to the other side of the mall. 

     “yes, sir~” 

…

     Most of the trip was full of terrible puns and witty comments - Razz had been tempted way too many times to just throw him out a window. Yet, he persevered and got everything he needed (even a free new shirt with a science pun on the front). Comic was… not that bad of company, even if he had a few habits he needed to break. Overall, a successful trip with a few bumps in the beginning. He… actually kinda couldn’t wait for the next time he could hang out with his lazier version. 

     Razz opened the door to his house, announcing his arrival. He heard a shout of his name before a rosy-cheeked human came barreling through and into his midsection. He caught them with a slightly breathless chuckle and looked up when he heard the telling creak of a certain door. 

     Out came his brother, his shirt on backward with only one sock on, yawning his way over. He sleepily plucked Chara off of his older brother and lazily scanned him and the bags. He gave a mysterious smirk before shooing the teen away to speak with his brother. Hickory leaned against the kitchen doorway, making Razz feel even more self-conscious for literally no reason. 

     “you were out for a while.”

     “IT WAS ONLY FOR A FEW HOURS.” 

     “you left at noon. it’s ten.” 

     “SO?” Hickory’s smirk grew into a grin.

     “you had fun, didn’t you.” Razz scoffed and gave no verbal response, and yet that was answer enough. Hickory gave an amused chuckle and picked up the shopping bags he left, feeling victorious.

Chapter Text

     Usually, when Nightmare was mad, he’d stew in his anger quietly in his office. However, this time it was different - it was worse. The normally calm guardian was switched out for a being filled with rage. Cross couldn’t even remember the reason for his anger - not like he knew what it was about in the first place - but he still desperately tried to calm him down before he broke something. 

     “night, calm down! please, just take deep breaths, sit down, and-“

     “ I don’t need to calm down! I’m perfectly fine! ” Cross ducked as another vase was thrown his way, getting more and more nervous as time went on. At this rate, the others are going to investigate and Cross can’t protect them all. 

     “nightmare, come on…! d-do you need me to call someone else? dream? maybe-”

     “ SHUT UP! ” 

     “!!!” 

     They stare at each other in shock, marrow oozing down Cross’ cheek from the shallow yet visible cut Nightmare’s lashing tendrils caused. The white-clad skeleton stepped back and turned, walking straight through a portal that closed before Nightmare could follow. He could only stand there, feeling like his soul hit the floor with the weight of his guilt and regret. 

     He stayed in the destroyed office, sitting on the floor and taking deep breaths as Cross suggested earlier. He lifted his head and rested it on his patellas, closing his eyes at the sense of calm he felt - but with his mind clear, he remembered Cross’ expression before he left. Nightmare felt another pang of regret, but he stood up slowly anyway. He thought for a second, pondering where Cross could have gone, before opening a portal. 

     Cross wouldn’t be with Error - he can’t go into the anti-void. The other Nightmares reported no sighting of him, and talking to the dark Papyri revealed the same answer. Ink was no help, as he didn’t remember if he saw Cross or not. Then he started teasing and making fun of him and… well, Nightmare didn’t stick around for too long. The last option was his brother, who he found in a house near the castle - where he lived. 

     Nightmare stood outside of his brother’s house, hand raised as if to knock, and yet he hesitated. Soft words and giggles were heard from inside, and judging by his aura, Cross was there. Happy. With Dream, not with Nightmare. He backed away slowly, lowering his hand in defeat, and turned away. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave. So he sat on the bench near the house and waited. He could be patient, he’s waited far longer for fewer things than this. 

…

     “Here you go, I’m sorry if it’s not the greatest…” Cross shook his head with a soft smile before taking a bite of the cherry pie.

     “it’s not bad, actually! was the recipe easy to read? i know i don’t have the greatest handwriting…” Dream giggled.

     “No, it was really easy to follow, thank you! Your pies are much better, though.” Cross elbowed the guardian as a reprimand for the self-deprecation. 

     “c’mon, it was your first time! it’s great, honest.” Dream beamed, and Cross had to look away from the sun lest he loses his sight. He looked out the window at the bright crescent moon, stars sparkling in the night sky. A bench stood at the cliffside, looking out to the dark castle that was his home. And on that bench, sat a lonely skeleton - one he recognized. Cross hummed and finished the slice quickly. 

     “Is everything okay?” Dream tilted his head in concern when he saw that Cross was in a rush. 

     “yeah, i just… i should probably…” Dream looked out the window as well and understood the reasons. 

     “Oh, I see…” Dream looked back at Cross, contemplating on what to say - but it didn’t matter. 

     “everything’s fine, it was an accident. thanks for the healing and pie, dream.” He smiled reluctantly and nodded, allowing Cross to slip out of the house and into the night. 

     Nightmare was a sorry sight. His knees were pulled to his chest, kept in place by his arms wrapped around them. His skull was buried in his arms, but Cross knew Nightmare noticed him. He sat on the other side of the bench, admiring the view in peace. Nightmare was the first to break the silence. 

     “ I’m sorry, C. ” 

     “what for?”

     “ For hurting you… you must hate me now… ”

     “i’m sorry, moon. i didn’t mean to make you feel that way… i left because i thought you wanted to be alone.” Nightmare curled up more, tears springing in the corner of his sockets in relief and irritation. Not at Cross, but at himself. 

     “ I’m still sorry… ” Cross moved closer to Nightmare and leaned against him, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable feeling of the liquid hate seeping through his clothes. 

     “it’s okay, night. i know you didn’t mean to. i know it’s been getting harder to control your anger, but we’ll work through this together, okay?” Nightmare only nodded, but that was enough. 

     They’ll work through this together, one step at a time.

Chapter Text

     Dust didn’t know what was happening to him. He was acting… strange. Not like ‘himself’. He felt mad at everything, and he didn’t understand why. 

     He had yelled at Killer when he didn’t mean to. Killer didn’t even do anything - not really - he was just his normal, annoying self. Usually, Dust could tolerate it, but today he… snapped? Yeah, snapped. He doesn’t want to think about Killer’s expression. That was just the beginning, unfortunately. 

     When Nightmare called him in to give his assignment, Dust couldn’t focus. At all. He felt exhausted, angry, frustrated… so much so that eventually Nightmare had to say something. 

     “ As delicious as your frustration is, I have a feeling that you won’t be able to complete this mission if you stay that way. ” Dust tensed at the statement, and couldn’t find it in himself to relax - even when his brother rested his hands on his shoulders in concern. 

     “sorry, boss,” He forced through his teeth, “i won’t let this hinder me.” Nightmare huffed in amusement. 

     “ You’re on vacation. ” Dust blinked at him, slowly processing the statement. 

     “wha- but- i shouldn’t-“ Dust sputtered, trying to come up with something to say - but he had already lost. Nightmare leaned back in his chair, his mind already set. “what am i supposed to do?!”

     “ Relax? Get a hobby? I don’t know, that’s for you to decide. Call in Horror on the way out - he’ll take your place. ” Dust could only stand there, shocked at the sudden vacation. “ Well? ” Dust numbly walked out, conveniently running into Horror. 

     “you’re taking my job.” He left before his work partner could respond, walking through a portal into an unknown world. He wandered, the numbness easing into the normal fuzziness, before becoming angry. With his head slightly more clear, he noticed that the town was… empty, but not dusty. A pacifist world, and judging by the note on the skeleton brother’s home, it was Underswap. 

     Dust had met Blue on many occasions - mostly in a battle to the death, but still. He seemed okay enough, and Papyrus liked him, maybe he can give him a visit? Maybe seeing the determined expression come onto his face after the shock of meeting an old rival will lift the weight off his shoulders. He grinned and called up his magic to appear in a bustling town at the mountain’s base. 

     Timelines that reach the surface tend to live around the same place - shouldn’t be too hard to find them. Moving again, he came across a house that had many similarities to the one underground. Did his house look like this too? He slipped inside through an open window, revealing a homely living room. He could hear someone in the kitchen, and Papyrus reported that there was no one else. A bit disappointing, but at least the one he wants is still here. 

     His grinning facade plastered on his skull, he slinked into the kitchen and watched the small skeleton work. Tacos again, huh? It lasted about five minutes, Dust standing idly by. Interestingly enough, as motivated as he was before, now he kinda just.. wanted the peace to continue, just listening to the sounds Blue created. As the minutes ticked by, he relaxed marginally - his eye lights dimming in thought. He felt… calm? 

     “I DON’T MEAN TO SOUND RUDE, BUT WHY ARE YOU HERE? WITHOUT CAUSING TROUBLE??” Dust chuckled dryly. 

     “who said i didn’t?” Blue gave a mysterious smile. 

     “A FRIEND. YOU STILL HAVEN’T ANSWERED THE QUESTION.” Dust stayed silent, calculating. Blue didn’t pressure him, only finishing up the taco and walking past him to the dining table. He put down the platter and sat in one of the chairs before motioning to the seat across from him. 

     “WANNA TACO ‘BOUT IT?” Dust sat with a huff, not giving the reaction Blue was hoping for. He shrugged anyway, before taking one of the tacos he made and biting into it. “MMM! IT’S SOOOO GOOD! YOU’RE MISSING OUT, FRIEND.” Dust eyes the platter, tempted but not willing. Blue decided to pull out the big guns. “YOU KNOW THESE TACOS ARE PART GHOST, RIGHT? YOUR BROTHER CAN HAVE SOME IF HE’D LIKE.” Dust blinked owlishly after him, stunned into silence. He shifted his gaze to his brother’s hand reaching out - and picking up the food. Papyrus’ red sockets lit up and he devoured the entire taco. Blue watched the taco disappear in a single bite with amusement. “I’M GLAD YOU LIKE IT!” Dust slowly reached out and took one as his brother stole another. They ate in relative silence - at least, Blue did. 

     “COME ON, BROTHER. MAYBE THIS VERSION OF YOU WILL UNDERSTAND YOUR WOES!” Dust thought it over as Papyrus kept rambling in the background, before coming to a decision. 

     “i feel frustrated.”

     “HM?” 

     “annoyed. at... everything? i dunno…” Blue hummed and leaned back, tapping his chin in a thinking pose.

     “SOUNDS LIKE A CLASSIC CASE OF SENSORY OVERLOAD.” 

     “sensory overload…?” Blue nodded confidently.

     “IT MEANS THAT ONE OR MORE OF YOUR SENSES HAVE BEEN OVER-STIMULATED! HAVE YOU BEEN ANYWHERE LOUD RECENTLY?” Dust thought back and realized that - yeah, he went to a huge festival for a mission. He told Blue and he huffed with a grin.

     “I’M SURE IT’S QUIETER IN THE CASTLE THAN AT A FESTIVAL. NOW, I’M GOING TO IGNORE THE PART YOU SAID ABOUT A MISSION, AND I AM GOING TO PRESCRIBE YOU WITH SOME TIME ALONE! OR, AS ALONE AS YOU CAN BE.” Dust scoffed.

     “and why should i listen to you?” 

     “YOU DON’T HAVE TO, BUT IF YOU WANT TO BE IN TIP TOP SHAPE THAN YOU SHOULD TAKE MY ADVICE!” Dust only rolled his eyes and pulled up a doorway to the castle, stepping through to whatever chaos awaited him. Blue called out to him quickly,

     “YOU CAN COME HERE ANY TIME TO COOL DOWN, FRIEND! EVEN IF I’M NOT HERE!” Dust didn’t give him a response and only closed the portal, but the fact that he came back the very next day was answer enough.

Chapter Text

Error hated a lot of things. Ink, abominations, new abominations, touching, the Voices, dirty hackers… the list goes on. In fact, he could add a new one to his list. This… tiny skeleton. A bitty, Ink had said. A stupid, dependent, useless pet. And worst of all, it was a smaller copy of Ink. Of all monsters! Ink!! Error damn near threw it out the window, but Ink had threatened demanded that he take care of him for a little while. When questioned, Ink only stated that he had a bitty of his own to care for. Not ominous at all… What Error didn’t understand is why Ink wouldn’t take care of something that’s literally him. 

Now Error sat in his favorite bean bag, pouting as he watched Undernovela in a desperate attempt to ignore the Voices and the bitty. Abomination #7153 was trying to climb up, and nearly made it - until his foot slipped and he found himself tumbling to the floor - or… not? Glowing blue strings had stretched out to catch him mid-air, and were slowly putting him on the chair. 

“Don’t move, don’t speak, and don’t touch me.” The Ink bitty smiled at their temporary owner, relieved to finally be seen. While he was still a bit startled, he was just glad that this bigger version of Error wasn’t as bad as he had thought. 

~

Leaving the Anti-Void, he skipped over to his dining room table to see that his bitty still sat where he was, albeit poutier than before. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting, friend!” The Error bitty only crossed his arms and huffed. 

“I don’t understand why you had to separate us…” 

“I can only take care of one with the job I have.” The Error growled. 

“Then why didn’t you keep Ink? Wouldn’t he be better for whatever job you have?” 

“Maybe, but if I gave you to Error he would have already ripped you to shreds.” The statement made the bitty freeze. 

“Then why the hell did you give him Ink!?” 

“Cause he wouldn’t hurt me~” The bitty could only stare blankly at the idiot before him, watching as Ink cleaned around the living room. 

He then turned and held out his hand, offering a ride. Error was hesitant, softly patting the bone as a test, before climbing on. Ink grinned, glad that the Error didn’t have haphephobia, and reached behind him to grab Broomy. 

“Alright, bud! Let’s get some supplies for your stay.” Error, begrudgingly, allowed him to carry him around the bitty universe.

Chapter Text

     Razz was… conflicted. He had two choices, one of which is a tad bit embarrassing and the other was just plain cruel. Maybe. He thought it would be cruel. You know what, let’s go back to the beginning. 

     Papyrus had suggested having movie nights every week so everyone could finally “BOND AND NOT ARGUE AT EVERY SECOND!!” Well, to say it had actually... worked. The movie nights helped give everyone a conversation starter, discover differences, learn each other’s preferences, and even helped everyone find someone that liked the same things they did. 

     Now he looked forward to movie nights, even ones that didn’t have everyone included because of school or work. He found out about romance, comedy, action, drama… even though he didn’t really enjoy some genres, seeing the others so happy made him endure it. Sometimes the movies were surprisingly good, anyway, but he’s getting off-topic. 

     A pleasant surprise was that Papyrus, good ole cinnabun Papyrus, loved horror movies. Thrillers, puzzling murders, you name it. His favorite series is Saw - it held everything he loved. Mysteries, gore, puzzles … However, not everyone can handle horror movies. Whenever they would watch one - Stretch, Comic, and his brother Hickory would always leave. They didn’t like jump scares, and some couldn’t handle the sight of blood, so they would always leave beforehand and maybe come back for the next pick. 

     This time, however, Comic decided to stay for a movie. Understandable, if a bit stupid. Papyrus has been excited about the next movie in the Saw franchise and Comic, being the idiot he is, couldn’t say no to going, especially since Papyrus would have had to go alone otherwise. 

     When Razz got home from the library the brothers were already back from the theater. Papyrus was chattering about the scenes and traps to a quiet Comic. Which is very weird to see, considering how much that guy can talk. Razz could tell there was something wrong with him, but he stupidly brushed it off. 

     That night they had seen Papyrus leave to another country for ambassador duties, gone for only three days, and yet… well. 

     Razz was heading to the kitchen for some water when he noticed something unusual. Comic’s room usually had these weird… flames spouting out from beneath the door - but it was gone. Instead, there was a streak of light that most likely was coming from his ‘lamp’. 

     Razz stood outside of Comic’s bedroom. He had two choices: knock and reveal to Comic that he does, in fact, have the ability to care - or he could just walk away and never sleep again for the rest of his life because of his guilt. His hand was raised as if to knock, but he hesitated. He knew Sans either had a nightmare or couldn’t sleep - he didn’t have to strain his hearing to hear the rattles coming from the room. Razz huffed and decided to just go for it. Giving a soft but firm knock, he waited for a response, but all that answered him was unnerving silence. The rattling was cut off, and the lights immediately turned off. 

     “Um, Comic…?” A few more moments passed before he heard the shuffling of slippers approach the door. Comic opened the door to reveal his tired expression, the bags beneath his sockets seemingly darker than before. He leaned on the doorframe in an attempt to look cool. 

     “sup, razz? whatcha doin’ up?” 

     “Shouldn’t I Be Saying That?” Comic gave a barely noticeable flinch. 

     “heh. just couldn’t find it in me to sleep, i guess.” Comic, not sleeping, especially after an eventful day? Not possible. 

     “Sure… Are You Okay? Was The Movie That Scary?” 

     “no… no, it’s… it’s not that. i was just about to sleep so…” Razz didn’t want to leave quite yet. 

     “Well, I, Um, Do… You Mind If I Come In For A Bit?” Comic looked surprised, but he let Razz in any way. He moved to the bare mattress on the floor and flopped onto it, arms behind his head. Razz cringed at the pile of socks and trash, cautiously eyeing the trash tornado as well. He reluctantly sat down on the corner of Sans’ bed, his knees coming up to his chest due to the ‘bed’ being a single mattress. Though, surprisingly, the mattress was pretty comfortable. They sat in very awkward silence, Razz wasn’t used to this and Sans wasn’t used to Razz being in his bedroom. At last, Sans decided to give in. 

     “okay, maybe i was a bit scared.” Razz chuckled. 

     “So He Finally Admits It.” 

     “heh, yeah… it’s a really dumb thing to be scared of though.” 

     “Everyone Has A Fear. Besides, Most Fears Come From Something That Impacted Them Greatly In The Past.” 

     “do you have a fear?”

     “...A Few.” The tension in the air dissipated at the confessions. Razz sighed and moved to stand up. “Well, I Won’t Stop You From Trying To Sleep Again So…” 

     “can… you stay?” Razz blinked at Sans, but he had turned over. Razz hesitates, weighing his choices, before giving in. He laid beside Sans, originally at a respectable distance. They listened to the soft sound of crickets and wind. Razz thought about another difficult choice. 

     His brother Hickory used to have nightmares all the time too, fortunately, he’s doing much better now, but before the only thing that could help him sleep was having his brother in the room with him. Preferably…

     Razz slowly put an arm around Sans’ rib cage, testing the waters. Sans tensed, but quickly relaxed. He brought Sans closer and closer until they were flush against each other. He could still feel the slight rattling from his counterpart, so he held on tighter - pretending to be oblivious to the tears flowing from Sans’ sockets. 

     Razz would probably be gone by morning, but for now… this was okay. 

Chapter Text

     When you were younger, you always kept to yourself. Avoiding drama, dodging any hatred towards you… the only thing that was your friend was books. Books were also how you met Red and Blue. 

     Blue just couldn’t keep quiet in the library when he was annoyed, so you had gotten curious and followed the sound. Apparently, he was annoyed that Red wouldn’t help him reach a book, so you did so instead - immediately quieting the usually loud skeleton. Red had scoffed at you, back then, as Blue tried his hardest to befriend you. 

     Years later, of course, a lot of things changed. Red was more friendly, more open - and Blue was still an absolute sweetheart, though you knew now that he was far from naive and innocent. Another thing that changed was your trio’s relationships - Blue and Red started dating about a year ago. They’re adorable, and you were happy that they finally got together after so many years of pining after each other. 

     Recently, however, you’ve been having… feelings for them - both of them. You didn’t want to somehow ruin your friendship with them, but the thought wouldn’t leave your head - even as you were on your way over to their house. 

     You knew you were off the moment you arrived, so you tried your hardest to be like normal. Laughing at their jokes, giving input in their conversations…. but you supposed that it wasn’t enough. 

     Blue, being the absolute sweetheart he is, noticed you weren’t acting like you usually did. 

     “IS EVERYTHING OKAY, SUNSHINE? YOU’VE BEEN QUIETER THAN NORMAL…” You laugh his concern off. 

     “Oh, heh, yeah, I’m fine. Just… thinking.” 

     “ABOUT WHAT?” He asked as he sat beside you on the couch, effectively trapping you to give in. Sneaky bastard. Well… maybe a half-truth won’t give it away?

     “I… I’ve been feeling something… for two people? Like, I don’t mind being with one, but I also don’t mind being with both at the same time? No, that’s not right… uh… it’s like, the two people I like are already dating each other - but I don’t want them to break up, either. I just kinda… wanna be included? Romantically??” Even you knew that was confusing. And yet, somehow, Blue knew exactly what your troubles were. He got up and walked to the bookshelf next to the tv, browsing the selection of books for a few seconds before pulling one out. He bounded over to you and held it out for you to take. You gingerly did and read the title. 

Polyamory for Dummies

     “Ouch.” Blue giggled and sat down once again. 

     “JUST GIVE IT A READ! IT MIGHT HELP, IT MIGHT NOT! DOESN’T HURT TO TRY.” You suppose you could agree with that. 

     So when you arrived back in your humble abode, you opened up the book and started reading. As you kept going, you found out more and more about yourself. Maybe you did want a poly relationship with Blue and Red, but what if… what if you were just jealous the whole time? Jealous of being the third wheel? Of their adorable relationship? 

     And so, you decided to talk to your local therapist - Sans the skeleton. 

     He easily let you inside, only using his magic to unlock the door. You walked into the clean living room - Papyrus must have been by pretty recently - and sat on the floor since the monster gremlin took up the whole couch. He turned his skull to you with an easy-going smile. 

     “come here for somethin’?” You began your story. Explaining how you felt, your fears, and your hopes. By the end, Sans looked like he was about to laugh. Which was, admittedly, surprising and aggravating.

     “Why are you laughing?? This is serious!” 

     “hahah i know! i know, i’m sorry, i just-“ Sans kept going, and you pouted as you patiently waited for him to stop. “heheheh… oh man, this is priceless… listen, kid, just go talk to ‘em, okay? it’s kinda obvious you aren’t jealous. jealous people will try their best to break them up, or keep their attention all on you, all you want is to be included in the cuddlin’, the smoochin’, so just trust me on this one.” 

     “Okay…” Despite your doubts, you decided to follow Sans’ suggestion anyway - missing another elongated skull peek out from his brother’s bedroom doorway. 

     “WHAT A MESS… MESSIER THAN YOUR BEDROOM!!”

…

     Standing outside of the house once again, you lightly rapped on the door. You heard a few clangs, and even a startled yelp from Red, before the door swung open to reveal Blue’s joyful expression. 

     “SUNSHINE! COME IN, COME IN!” You entered to quite a sight - Red face down on the floor as a tiny white dog slept peacefully on his back. He barely lifted his arm and waved at you, causing you to relax just a tiny bit more. You sat on the couch and watched Red drag himself up with amusement. 

     “sup, sweetheart?” You only responded with a smile - one so fake and nerve-racking that it brought Red’s own lazy smile down. 

     “There’s… something I wanted to talk about…”

     “IT IS ABOUT YOUR CRUSH ON US, CORRECT?” You somehow choked on your spit, “MWEH HEH HEH! YOU ARE NOT AS SUBTLE AS YOU THINK, SUNSHINE!” Red pats your back as you struggle to breathe. 

     “ay, relax, sweets. we aren’t mad or anythin’, we knew ya liked us since like, the beginnin’.” You only looked at them both with a pitiful expression. “we’ve talked about it and stuff and… well, we wouldn’t mind another addition if you don’t.” 

     “...Really?” They both nodded in their own special way, and you felt your soul flutter with excitement. “Yeah… Okay, I’m willing to try.” Blue cheered and hugged you tightly, thankfully resisting any motivations to do anything more. Red chuckled at the sight and only patted your back. 

     Yeah… You could work with this.

Chapter Text

     It takes a village to raise a child - Papyrus knew this was true. It was how he was raised, after all. It was how all children were raised - at least in Snowdin. Snowdin was more… forgiving… than the other towns and cities, so he had had a relatively ‘normal’ childhood, but the main reason for that was the fact that children were getting… rarer as the days go by. It could be from death, from no trust, or even premature birth, but it had been years since the last monster child was born - in the entire underground. 

     So when the shadow arrived, he was hesitant to let them out of his sight - though he didn’t exactly know the reason why other than fear of them disappearing. Was it guilt? Was it because he never had the chance to care for someone so young before? Was it because he knew what it was like to be a homeless orphan? Maybe it was all of the reasons, but it didn’t matter now. It seemed like… the child was what this small town needed. 

     The normally violent monsters were more careful of what they did because they didn’t want the monster child to see something someone so young shouldn’t. The shopkeeper gave free Cinnabuns just for them, and the inn owner offered blankets and pillows for the young monster. Grillby was actually willing to give free food - only for the child, though. 

     Most importantly, Sans immediately got attached to the small monster as well. He was surprisingly willing to help Papyrus care for the child, but it probably was because he felt like he was given a second chance. Sans had pulled out Papyrus’ old kid clothes and toys, and let the shadow loose. 

     They excitedly shuffled through each and every item in the boxes and settled for a few items. A small purple scarf, a few shirts and shorts, and Papyrus’ old dog plushy. 

     Papyrus then put everything away in his room, because he refused to let the child sleep in Sans’ disastrous room and they had nowhere else to go. 

     However, it has been long enough. He was so distracted that he had forgotten to give a report to Undyne - which he remembered when Undyne nearly stormed over in a blind rage. He made sure the shadow monster stayed asleep, and that Sans was watching, then left. 

     The uniquely shaped fish house looked strangely intimidating today. Most likely because of the anger he could feel from even outside. He sighed and lifted his fist to knock, and didn’t have the chance to. The door slammed open and he was dragged inside. 

     “WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, LIEUTENANT?! THAT REPORT WAS DUE TWO DAYS AGO!! ” 

     “APOLOGIES, CAPTAIN.” Undyne huffed and collapsed onto her chair, motioning Papyrus to sit across from her.

     “Fine. Report?”

     “IT APPEARS THAT THE SHADOW MONSTER THAT HAS BEEN TERRORIZING THE CAPITAL IS A MERE CHILD INCAPABLE OF CONTROLLING THEIR MAGIC.” 

     “Incapable? Where are their parents?”

     “GONE. THEY WON’T SAY MORE THAN THAT.” Undyne hummed and put her hand to her chin, “I BELIEVE THAT I CAN TRAIN THEM.” She raised a scarred brow. 

     “Oh?” Papyrus nodded confidently, “Heh. Alright, bastard, I’ll allow it! So long as they don’t cause any more trouble, I’ll talk to the King, ya hear?!” Papyrus gave a rare grin. 

     “YES, CAPTAIN!”

Chapter Text

If you had told Nightmare a few months ago that the reason he managed to trap Dream was because of a small human child, he would have laughed in your face before tearing you limb from limb. Now, however, he stares into the sockets of his brother enemy. 

~

A few days ago, Nightmare had made a small mistake. When he had opened the portal, the human child now affectionately called Murr, short for Murder (and before you ask, yes, Nightmare had vehemently refused to use the name, but it had stuck with the rest of them and thus, their name became Murr) had followed him through. 

Luck was not on his side, as this time Dream was already there instead of late to the party like he usually is - which sucked. Nightmare tried desperately to hide Murr away, worried that Dream would think he was getting soft (or that he was going to kill the child, but he doesn’t care what his nemesis thinks). However, it was all in vain. Dream spotted the child quickly and attempted to reach them. Unfortunately, Nightmare would not let Murr be taken away without a fight. He lashed out and struck harder, faster, and more unpredictably. 

Dream was pushed further back, and he stared at the child with slight fear. Nightmare did not understand why, but the expression made him feel… hurt. So he turned that hurt into hate and kept slashing at the thin barrier Dream had summoned last minute. However, it was a bit too late to keep attacking this au. 

A puddle nearby started to vibrate and float, most likely forming Ink and possibly Blue, so Nightmare knew he had to leave quickly. He grabbed Murr and threw himself through his portal and shut it before anyone could follow him through. He sat up and glared down at Murr’s innocent confused face. 

“ You’re grounded. ” That was a phrase Murr understood - but only because of their brothers' recklessness. They whined, but Nightmare was not having it. He picked them up and carried them straight to their room, then closed the door. He had to strengthen the defenses in his castle… and perhaps set a trap for any idiot foolish enough to try and ‘rescue’ the child. He was expecting company very soon if they saw him take Murr home. 

What he didn’t expect was for Dream, the one creature incapable of defending themselves in his universe, to be trapped in the net. 

The trap he laid out was simple, just a net made of his negative energy strong enough to hold most creatures. It was also pretty easy to avoid, but only because Nightmare had wanted to lead them to an ambush by his Dark Army, but it wasn’t even necessary! Did Ink and Blue let him come here alone, or did they not know? Was Dream really this stupid?

Staring at his face, Nightmare knew the answer. He put on his devilish facade and circled the caught guardian. 

“ Well, well, well… and here I thought you were smarter than this, ” he tsked and shook his head in mock disappointment. “ I suppose this is what I should have expected, brother. ” He spat out the word like it was a vile thing, even if his soul felt like it was being torn apart in fear and sadness. A small voice whispered right next to him, but he didn’t react - he was familiar with the man following him. 

“ I can sense that you have gotten soft… you better not back out of the plan now, guardian.  After all, we had a deal. I protect you, you gain all of the power from the tree, and you bring me back. It’s so simple, and he’s right there, so what are you waiting for. ” What was he waiting for? Once he killed Dream, he would be free of this painful curse... and yet, his soul was torn. Maybe he had gotten soft. Or maybe, he started to realize that he didn’t need the power, nor did he want it. And maybe, just maybe, he realized that his ‘friend’ was never really his friend in the first place. 

A pebble skipping across the floor drew his attention to the side, where his gaze found Murr. They were shivering from the cold - only dressed in a thin nightshirt and short. They held their hands over their heart in a sort of praying position, the soft red pupils staring deep into their father’s eyes (when had he thought of them as his child?). It caused Nightmare to hesitate, and by the time he realized that he had loosened his hold on Dream, it was too late. 

But instead of using the opportunity to attack, Dream only released himself and stared at Nightmare with a sickenly sweet hopeful expression. Nightmare backed away, cautious not of Dream, but of the demon his ‘friend’ had become. He was a pulsating mass of pure hate, and Night could see that it was directed at his brother. He didn’t even think of a proper plan like he usually would - he just needed to save his brother again. He lunged at Dream and dragged his startling form away and into the castle, faintly hearing and feeling something shatter inside of him. 

Dream would have stopped and escaped if he hadn’t noticed the great spike of pure fear in his brother’s soul. Nightmare scooped Murr into his arms and dashed to the ‘safe place’ - his castle. He mentally ordered his army to shut every door and window, paranoid from the sight of the demon, but when he looked outside just before the door closed… it was empty. No tendrils, no shadows, not even a speck of dust was stirred. As if he wasn’t there in the first place, but Nightmare knew better than that. 

That… beast, had manipulated him. Promising freedom, painless living, and happiness, but brought none of that. Sure, Nightmare wasn’t being assaulted anymore, but that was only because they were all dead, and everyone else either feared him or worshipped him. This wasn’t what he wanted, but his blind rage had convinced him otherwise. He had played right into his hands, like an idiot. 

When Nightmare started to hyperventilate, Dream hesitantly reached out to comfort him - but hissed when the resulting touch only burned him. Dream needed to do something, the panicked tapping on his brother’s cheeks by the small human child did nothing. 

He ran through the halls, looking left and right, but didn’t see a speck of life. That is until he ran into Dust, who was leaving the dining hall holding the rest of the gang. Dream didn’t care how strange it looked to see him there, he only gripped Dust’s arm and dragged him down the hall. Dust fought against him, obviously surprised and freaked out. He shouted words Dream didn’t understand, but he had no time. Fortunately, the others followed at a distance - more curious than anything, but still prepared for a battle. 

The closer they got to the entrance, the louder the sounds were. Sobbing, gasping, and wailing could be heard from far away, and that was what made the gang rush into action. They pushed past Dream and rushed to Murr and Nightmare, Horror and Dust comforting Murr as Killer and Cross tried to find the reason for their boss’s rare panic attack. Dream lingered, tears forming as he realized how he couldn’t even help his brother. 

Nightmare had calmed down enough to see clearly, and he was embarrassed for being seen by not only his brother but by his subordinates as well. Before he could try to salvage his reputation though, he had a child to take care of. 

He moved to Murr and took them into his arms, calming them down quickly with his aura. He looked up and stared at Dream with a tired expression. He had a lot to talk about and explain, but for now, Dream would have to wait. Nightmare himself felt tired and weak, but that was nothing compared to what Dream must feel. He looked like he could barely stand - swaying in place as he struggled to keep his sockets open. Nightmare sighed. 

“ Dream… go back and recover. We… have a lot to discuss, but not now. ” Dream scanned Nightmare, looking for a lie or malicious intent (Nightmare pretended to not feel hurt by it), and nodded. Nightmare formed a portal and Dream stepped through into a random universe, still watching Nightmare with sad, concerned eyes, but Nightmare had had enough for an entire millennium. 

He would explain everything later when he didn’t feel like passing out at any second, and when his coworkers stopped fussing over him. 

Chapter Text

The nights grow longer, the air gets colder, and the crisp clean air is a refreshing change - a clear sign that winter is fast approaching. You breathe in with a soft smile on your face, eyes closed to cherish the moment. Soon, however, that smile falls. You open your eyes and look to your partner, observing his expression once more. The side you can see is the solid part, not the droopy socket because this way Geno can see you, but his gaze was tilted up at the beautiful clear night sky, one he could never tire of. After being stuck in a void for however long it had been (Months? Years? Decades? You were never told, and you had a feeling that he didn’t know either), he would sometimes disappear to think, and you would always find him on the roof just like this. Geno forever has a soft spot for you, and would never turn you away when you sat next to him. Today, however, his expression looked solemn. 

“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” You softly ask. Geno sighed and eventually looked away from the starry night sky, watching his hand fiddle with the end of his scarf instead. 

“thinking, i guess,” You rubbed his back, concern showing in your eyes, and he slumps and grumbles, “i dunno, it’s kinda stupid…” You lay your head on his shoulder and hum. 

“I’m sure it’s not. I’m all ears if you wanna talk, Gen.” The hill you sat in was silent for a few moments before his soft voice carried through. 

“i miss my old family. i know i should just be glad to be out of the save screen, that I’m even alive, but… i can’t help feeling this. this… guilt, and regret, for ever taking that determination. if i hadn’t, i would have never been trapped for so long, i would be with…” He inhales, and shakily lets that air go, “but… then i wouldn’t have met you.” You look up at him with questioning eyes, and he smiles softly at you. You giggle and look away bashfully. 

“Aw… well, I don’t think that’s a stupid thing to think about. They may be the same people as your old family, but they’re not exactly your family if that makes sense? Well, I get it, and I don’t think you should feel guilty for thinking that. It’s normal, G.” You nuzzle further into his brother’s scarf, letting the air go from tense to serene. 

“...Do you think your brother would have liked me?” Geno didn’t need to ask which one you meant. He chuckled and nuzzled back. 

“he would have adored you, love.”

Chapter Text

“...and i just think that we could do better, ya know? we haven’t been doing the best, and i know i haven’t been making enough time for you, but… i’m trying to… grillby?”

“.........Yeah, sure………” Sans’ shoulders slumped, and he looked down at the filthy table with a sigh. Grillby was still looking out of the window, disinterested as always. Every time Sans tried to have this talk, Grillby would never listen. It must be because he feels bad, right? Or maybe Sans has been bothering him about it too much…? But you and his brother said that… No, he must be annoying his boyfriend. Maybe he should talk less…? Maybe…

“...anyway, i should head home soon…” Grillby finally looked at Sans. He tilted his head, gaze as stifling as ever, and spoke. 

“.....After a few rounds……?.....” Sans looked at him with hope in his lights before his smile grew wider. 

“yeah, sure. they can wait a little longer.” 

…

It has been six hours. Six hours since the time Sans was supposed to be home. You watched Papyrus pace the living room, not bothering to try and decipher his anxious muttering. You sigh and look at your phone once again. 

Sansational

Hey, where are you? We’re getting worried

Are you okay? Why aren’t you answering?

Hello?? Sans please answer

Come on. This isn’t funny

*Delivered

5 missed calls. 

You furrowed your brows before tossing your dignity out the window. You reluctantly pulled up Grillby’s number. 

Asshat

Hey. Where are you guys? 

I’m serious. Where’s Sans. 

* Seen

You groan and call him, lifting your phone to your ear. It rang twice before going straight to voicemail. The dick declined your call…! You growled and almost threw your phone until Papyrus’ phone began ringing. He dashed to the phone and picked up with urgency. 

“HELLO? AH, GRILLBY, YES… OH, APOLOGIES, WE DID NOT MEAN TO DISTURB YOUR SLEEP IT’S JUST… OH, YOU WERE? NO, HE ISN’T HOME… OKAY, THANK YOU…” Papyrus turned to you with a weary expression, and you could already tell the news wouldn’t be good. “HE SAID SANS IS STILL AT THE BAR…” That did it for you. 

“What?! Did you say Grillby was asleep? Does that mean he’s at his house?! He left Sans at the bar?!” Papyrus nodded and that’s when you hopped up and went straight for your car - Papyrus did nothing to stop you, but he could only hope that you went to pick up Sans instead of beating Grillby up. 

…

The bar Grillby had chosen was run down, surrounded by torn down buildings covered in graffiti. The bar looked like a criminal organization with the way the ‘patrons’ glared at everyone near. You wouldn’t put it past Grillby if he had done that on purpose. You steeled your resolve and marched into the establishment, your eyes zeroing in immediately on Sans. 

He was in a booth near the back corner, which was supposed to help customers be secluded but instead it was crowded by humans and monsters alike trying to convince him to leave. They cooed and bribed, curious over one of the last of the skeleton type. You shoved your way through the crowd and spotted Sans backed up to the corner, magic constricted and wobbly. They darted over to you and seemed to dilate at the sight of you. You fought down the thoughts of how happy you were that he trusted you that much and just grabbed him by the arm to hoist him up. You elbowed you’re way through with Sans in tow and managed to make it to your car, where a gang of teens was attempting to break into. 

“Hey! Get the fuck outta here!” They jumped and bolted, thankfully being too cautious to try and fight back. You couldn’t get in a fistfight and watch Sans at the same time, after all. You unlocked the car and coaxed Sans inside, texting Papyrus that you were bringing him home. 

The drive was scarily silent. Sans looking out the window and most likely trying not to puke, and you were too pissed about the situation to say anything. 

“...m’sorry.” You glance around him from the rearview mirror. 

“What for?” 

“for stayin’ so late… too late… sorry…” You shook your head. 

“No, don’t be sorry. Why didn’t you check your texts?” Sans grumbled and pulled out his phone. 

“oh, dead.” You sighed. 

“Why did Grillby leave?” 

“i dunno… i didn’ know he left…” Your grip on the steering wheel tightened and you clenched your teeth. 

“Okay. We’re gonna be home soon so… sleep, if you want.” There was no answer, so you glanced at him once more to find him curled in a trembling ball. You loosened your hold on the wheel and slumped over. “I’m sorry that he’s such an asshole, Sans. You don’t deserve that…” He stayed silent, breathing pattern slowing to signal that he was asleep. 

“I wish you knew how much we love you...”

Chapter Text

“I KNOW YOU LIKE MY SHIRTS, BUT NOW YOU’VE EVEN STOLEN MY DOUBLES!” 

You sheepishly laugh from the doorway, having just gotten back from hanging out with Alphys. 

“Guess I got caught, huh?” 

“NYEH HEH HEH! BUT OF COURSE! NOTHING ESCAPES THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ IMPECCABLE SIGHT, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TRYING TO PUT MY CLOTHES BACK IN THE RIGHT PLACE!” 

“Haha oops.” Papyrus huffs and plants his hands on his hips. His latest shirt design (one you made a mental note to snatch up later) was of a cute looking skull with apples in the sockets and a dark liquid swirling around it, the words below being ‘Bone Apple Tea’. Adorable. And just the right size, too. You knew because a crop top on Papyrus was just the right length for your favorite pants. You innocently smile up at him when he notices the way you stared at his shirt, sockets narrowed in suspicion. Then, he snaps. 

“PFFT…! ALRIGHT, YOU ADORABLE HUMAN, YOU CAN ALWAYS USE ANY SHIRT YOU WANT! SO LONG AS IT WON’T GO INTO THE TRASH RIGHT AWAY. HONESTLY, THAT CUSTOMER WAS SO RUDE!” You briefly frown at the mention of the customer, a human male who had gone into Papyrus’ shop and bought a shirt only to throw it away in front of Papyrus. He had stomped off, seemingly triumphant, and yet unknowingly looking like an idiot. Papyrus had merely brushed off the shirt, washed it overnight, sold it again, and got twice the amount of money. Seriously, why would the guy pay for it only to throw it out anyway?

“Heheh, thanks, bro!” You decided to skip away into the kitchen to grab some soda, obliviously passing by a shocked Papyrus. He watched you rummage the kitchen before a great, big smile nearly snaps his jaw right off of his skull. You called him ‘bro’! He dashed into the kitchen and hoisted you up. 

“HUMAN, HOW ABOUT WE MAKE SOME SHIRT DESIGNS TOGETHER? THAT WOULD BE FUN, WOULDN’T IT?” You happily nodded, trying not to spill the soda on Papyrus’ skull. He gleefully led you to his bedroom, eager to start right away, and who were you to refuse?

Chapter Text

Error was having… a day. 

One of those days where it feels like the whole multiverse is against you (which is technically true) and that the creators are doing everything in their power to make you fail fail fail. 

It started off with him waking up to an empty bed. Which was fine, it was whatever, but it was cold as hell, which he did not like. Then, it was the coffee. He loved coffee, it made him more tolerable, so his boyfriend always made sure to start a brew right before leaving for work. However, that means he can’t stay to watch it, so he leaves it on, and unfortunately, the coffee maker broke. So all Error had was watery bean juice. Disgusting. 

He had to go to that dumb cat cafe because it was close by and the barista made what he liked but when he got there he was there. Nightmare. Flirting up the barista. Error had gritted his teeth, seething at the blatant display of affection. It was too damn early for this. He had marched up and demanded Ccino’s attention, who flushed and stuttered his customer service speech and prepared Error’s order. But alas, nothing can go his way, and Ccino was out of the special coffee grind he likes. 

“I-I can go run and get some more if you’d like to-“ 

“ Don’t bother! ” It was uncalled for, to snap at Ccino, and he felt a pang of regret from his hurt expression, but he was still just so… frustrated. Seeing Nightmare’s frown did not help. 

He went straight home and didn’t even bother with anything. He left the dishes undone, his clothes strewn about the floor, his messages left unread, and just went to sleep. 

…

After what felt like minutes but was really almost six hours, he heard the familiar sound of a warp gate being created in the living room. Instead of getting up to greet him, or even getting up to check that it’s not the rainbow asshole, he merely turned onto his side with a huff. He closed his sockets and crossed his arms, unwilling to get up. 

Soon enough, the bedroom door slowly creaked open, and Error knew it was his… friend. He heard Blue sigh in relief (and that managed to make Error feel worse knowing that he had worried Blue) and the bed dipped as Blue sat on his side of the bed. 

Error sighed as well and turned over to pout up at his ‘friend’, startling Blue who was leaving a box on their nightstand (Error liked to sleep against a wall, so they had to share a small table together cluttered with stray strings and empty cups Error never cleaned). 

“Hello, Darling! I didn’t know you were awake.” Blue chirped. Error only grumbled and closed his sockets once more. “Aw, come on, Ru! I have a surprise for you~” 

This piqued Error’s interest, and he sat up to stare intently at the box, squinting to make out the tiny designs on the wrapping paper. Blue handed it over, and Error made quick work of the flimsy paper and tore into the box with his sharpened phalanges to find...

A navy blue scarf. It was bumpy, there were some holes in the stitching, and it looked like a toddler made it, but...

“I took some knitting classes with Dream today, and when we were told we were making scarves I knew that I wanted to make you one! I didn’t... quite know what color you would have liked, so I asked, but you didn’t respond... so I asked Ink and chose the opposite color because I know he would choose the worst one to spite you and I… hope it’s ok? Error?” He didn’t respond, staring blankly. Then, he grabbed the scarf and, clutching it to his chest, collapsed onto Blue. Blue sighed and swiftly pet his head, not daring to initiate more contact, and sat there for however long he wanted. 

Except maybe not that long, his legs were already starting to cramp.

Chapter Text

“SANS, GET UP! WE HAVE TO GO!!” 

“huh… wha…?” Sans blearily opened his sockets and squinted up at his brother’s silhouette. Papyrus huffed with his hands on his hips, right foot tapping in a fast tempo. 

“THE MULTIVERSE MEETING? OBVIOUSLY? SANS, I KNOW IT’S NOT OFTEN THAT IT HAPPENS, BUT I REMINDED YOU LAST NIGHT! NOW HURRY AND GET READY, WE’RE ALMOST LATE!” Papyrus left the room and shut the door to give Sans some privacy. He turned to the special analog clock on the other side of his bed. The clock said it was about 2:35 a.m., about half an hour before the meeting. Sans sighed and reluctantly got up to get changed, deciding to listen to his brother’s advice for once. After all, it’s not like this meeting is very often - not for his universe anyway. 

Sans and Papyrus stood near the entrance of the underground, quietly listening to the soft sounds of nature. It’s been years since they’ve been back, but it felt… nice. A cracking sound drew their attention to a door standing in front of the flower patch. They opened the lone door and stepped out into the Doodlesphere, a weird place that held every universe. Everyone sees the universes differently, the most common being sheets of paper, but for Sans, they looked like floating islands with doors to the world. Interestingly enough, it was only his universe and Ink who saw it that way. 

The main island was Ink’s ‘home’. It was just a house in the middle of the multiverse, and it looked almost identical to Sans’ house on the outside, but Sans knew it was far bigger than his house. Magic, he supposed. The meeting room was to the side, it had a huge table with about a hundred chairs with tv screens on both ends. 

There were a few universes here already, they were either sitting or walking around. Sans went straight to his assigned seat, plopping onto his chair and thumping onto the table. He heard Papyrus sigh before walking off. A few minutes went by before he heard familiar footsteps. He patiently waited, and only sat up when they tapped his skull three times. He smiled genuinely at him, happy to see him after so many years. Or a year, in his friend’s case. 

“did ya wait long?” 

“nah, you’re good.” Red sat in the seat beside him and propped his chin on his hand with a smirk. 

“y’look older. how long has it been again?” 

“eight years for me. you look happy, anything happen?” Red shrugged, his smile getting wider. 

“just met someone is all.” Sans acted surprised, even as he felt his soul clench. 

“oh?” Red started telling his old friend about the new guy, but even Sans could see that Red was uncomfortable - and for an understandable reason. 

The time zones between universes were a curse. While eight years had passed for Sans, only three months had passed for Red, and because of that… they could never grow closer. Not that they didn’t want to, but… they couldn’t deal with any more tragedy. They had spoken about their feelings for each other, but… nothing could be done - especially if it takes eight years to see each other for only half a day. It wasn’t worth it. 

The meeting soon began, and they sat in somewhat awkward silence. Ink started the check-ins, Blue reported any sightings, everyone gave extra information… and then they all were free to do whatever for the rest of the day. Despite their wishes, they decided to split up and converse with others. 

The time zones between universes were a curse, but perhaps it was better this way.

Chapter Text

You’re Just A Burden. 

Dust grunts as he dodges another glowing spear. He narrowed his sockets in concentration and teleported behind his target, summoning his blasters and instantly activating them. Another miss. 

You Can’t Even Hit A Single Monster, How Did I Die At Your Hands?

The Undyne shouted something, rage in her expression, but Dust only ignored her. He shot hundreds of sharpened bones in her general direction, and she easily dodged them. Is he getting rusty? He only took a break for a week…

Pathetic. 

Dust grit his teeth and charged forward. Undyne’s eye widened in surprise before she quickly jumped back from the slash, managing to switch Dust’s soul to green. He blocked each advance, and Dust finally got a scratch in once he was released. His pupils dilated as his grin grew wider, and he moved to attack again-

Why Are You So Damn Happy About That? Cross Would Have Already Killed Her, And He’s Soft.  You Can’t Even Fight. You Truly Deserve To Die. 

Dust faltered and fell over, panting. He quickly stood and spun around to Undye, his attacks becoming more desperate as his vision blurred. It’s gonna be one of these days, huh? Just as a spear was about to hit him, he heard a strangled scream before the sound of dust falling reached him. He collapsed onto his knees, breathing harshly, and hit the wooden planks beneath him in anger. He felt hands slide under his arms and lift him to his feet, whispering encouragement and apologies softly to him. 

You Burden. You Needed His Help Because You Can’t Do Anything Right.

Dust didn’t reply to his brother’s words, he already believed them. He lumbered after Cross, staring at his monochrome shoes, and waited as his teammate opened a portal to the hideout. He shut his sockets in disappointment, already imagining the lecture he was about to get from his Boss. He only hoped Killer wasn’t there to make fun of him and make it worse. 

Of course, nothing goes his way. In the throne room stood his King with his arms crossed, and Killer was there with Horror with a tight grin. At least Dust knows he wouldn’t speak out with the Boss there. 

“ Dust, what is the meaning of this? Why did I have to hear from Cross about your poor mentality? Do you have anything to say? ” Dust tried to keep the tears at bay as he replied.

“...no, boss. i’m sorry for slipping.” All was silent until Nightmare gave a sigh. 

“ Very well, then. You are dismissed from your duties until further notice. Everyone, behave. ” He punctuated that order with a narrowed socket, specifically glaring at Killer. Killer only gave a small nod, unusual for the normally hyperactive bastard. With Nightmare’s dismissal, everyone left the room and silently followed Dust to his bedroom. He felt his soul twitch - wary and confused - but he kept silent. He opened the door and moved to close it, only for a bloody shoe to stop it. Horror curled his sharpened phalanges around the wood and tugged it away to level a steady eye on Dust. He looked away and instead went to his bed to lay down. 

The trio of misfits followed through, and Horror sat on the bed next to him and began petting his skull through the hood. His ribs rumbled with a sort of purr, giving a nice and relaxing sound to focus on instead of his brother’s scathing words. Cross sat by the foot of his bed then gently and hesitantly brought his blanket up to his shoulders - doing nothing more. He knew Dust didn’t like him very well yet. Killer, however, still stood by the door in an awkward stance. While the two were used to comforting friends and family, Killer has forgotten how to over the resets. He decided to just sit on the floor of the bed, huffing and crossing his arms in fake annoyance. While Dust didn’t react, not even turn to look at them, they could sense that he appreciated the distractions. They could only hope this sink into depression would pass in time, even if it meant they had to show their soft side for a little longer.

~~~

Nightmare quietly pushed open the door and glanced at the Sanses lying around the bedroom. Two on the bed, one on the floor, and one on the couch. He huffed and rolled his eye before fixing their positions. 

He moved Killer more comfortably on the couch and pulled a blanket he stole over him. He grabbed Cross with his tendrils and pulled him off the floor to lay on another chair (still uncomfortable but better than the floor), and pulled a blanket over him as well. He moved on to the biggest of them all and moved Dust’s blanket more on top of him. Nightmare watched Dust’s expression carefully and noticed slight hints of tension in his soul. He sighed and softly placed his hand on his skull, pulling the negativity from his nightmare into his soul. Dust relaxed from the tense position and fell into a calmer sleep. 

With his boys now properly asleep, he left the room with a soft sigh. In his mind, he added another interesting fact to the list. How ironic for a bunch of murderers to try and comfort a fellow murderer. Dysfunctional family indeed.

Chapter Text

Once again, Sans was upset after a nightmare. These occurrences have been getting frequent - too frequent. You sigh as you stop at another red light, wanting nothing more than to run it, but alas. You glance at your phone during the pause to reread the message sent to you. 

another nightmare

he’s asking for you

try to get here soon it’s a bad one i think

You furrow your brows in worry and continue driving once the light turned green. Only a few turns into the neighborhood brought you to your destination. 

You pull up onto the driveway and steel your resolve - you would make this night better for Sans, no matter what. You took your sleepover bag, (it was likely you’d stay over), and rang the doorbell once situated. 

Red answers the door looking disheveled - bags under his sockets and shirt horrendously wrinkled with stains. It must have been a rough week… He let you in silently and you made your way to their bedroom as Red took your bag to the guest room. 

Knocking on the door and opening it, you spotted and shivering Sans curled around his pillow. You gently make your way over and climb onto the bed before stroking his skull - nothing more than that. Sans calmed down and turned towards you, revealing teary sockets and worse eye bags than Red. 

“Oh, Sans…” You felt horrible and wished you could do more than just be company, but you wouldn’t dare. And yet… Sans crawled up to become a ball on your lap - cuddling you while sniffling. You froze, unsure of what to do when you shot your gaze to the doorframe to see what you feared. Red was watching. You opened your mouth and closed it, gaping like a fish out of water, and Red chuckled. 

“ c’mon, you two, let’s get comfortable. ” With alarm bells ringing in your head, Sans moved you so you were on your back with him clinging to your side. You were stiff, staring at the ceiling in panic, then at Red. 

“You’re okay with this?” Red scoffed. 

“ why wouldn’ i be? we’ve been pining over ya fer years now. ” 

“Oh. Okay. Makes sense. Gotcha.” Sans snorted, which was great since that meant he was getting better. Even if it was because of how confused and sarcastic you sounded. “Mind telling me when y’all started liking me too?”

“ oh? too? so we were right. ” Shit. There was no escaping this one. 

“Uh-“ 

“shh, we can talk more in the morning. can we watch a movie?” Red sighed exaggeratedly and got up. 

“ i suppose, yer majesty. ” Sans snuggled closer to you, and you finally started to relax and wrap an arm around him too. You got another pleasant surprise when Red cuddled up to your other side. “ yer pretty warm, you doing okay? ” Red gave you a sly grin, the bastard. You didn’t bless him with a verbal response and only snuggled the two more. That was still enough for him. 

When you found yourself being the only one left awake, you mentally thanked your past self for driving here in pajamas and submitted to slumber. 

…

You awoke to the smell of pancakes. Mmm, pancakes. You opened your eyes and glance around, slowly remembering the night before as your eyes laid upon a still sleeping Sans. You smile softly and give him a small kiss on his head, making him hum and smile in his sleep. Adorable. Now you found yourself in a predicament. Get up to get pancakes and rik waking Sans, or perish from hunger. Well, this wasn’t the worst way to go. You closed your eyes to embrace your fate, when light is cast into the room made you open them once more. 

There stood Red, haloed by the light in the hallway - making him look like your angel. And he was, as he walked over with a delicious pile of pancakes. He sat down and shoved Sans over none too gently, and yet he still didn’t wake up. You still glared at Red for a bit - annoyed at the sudden cold. He only grinned and handed you your plate, and all was forgiven. 

You two ate in companionable silence - well, whatever silence you could get over Sans’ obnoxious snoring. He really woke up and chose violence. When you finished eating, you grabbed one of the fluffiest pillows and whacked him on the face. He shot up with a dramatic gasp. Serves him right. At least he was feeling better. 

There would have to be a discussion about what was revealed last night, but for now, this was okay.

Chapter Text

“you’ve never seen a playground before? really? ” Nightmare knew Killer didn’t mean it condescendingly, and Nightmare was created way before playgrounds were what they were today, yet he still couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. 

“ I have heard of them from fictional stories, but I have never played in one before. They were not exactly commonly brought with traveling villages. ” Killer still gaped at him with an offended expression, and Nightmare wanted nothing more than to evaporate on the spot. Killer’s face got a determined glint, and he firmly gripped Nightmare’s hands in his with a promise. 

“let’s go to a playground. right now.”

“What? Right now?!” 

“right now!” Nightmare spluttered as Killer bounced in place, “c’mon, it’ll be fun! i’ll show you the joys of childhood!! pleeaase?” 

“ But… but we’re adults! And I’m the king of negativity!! Would it not be strange for us to be spotted in a playground of all things? ” 

“what are they gonna do? kick us out? let’s just go! we can leave if you’re uncomfortable, but it doesn’t hurt to try!” It would hurt to try, actually, if Nightmare was found by his brother or even Ink… but he couldn’t say no to that face. Not when he did the puppy eyes that always melted Nightmare's stone-cold soul. 

He gave a defeated sigh and Killer took that as an answer. He cheered and jumped around before spinning back to his boyfriend just as quickly. 

“i think i saw one in one of the swaptales we just corrupted, it should be desolate enough no? cause, you know, they’re all dead until ink finishes repairs?” 

“ What if we get caught by the Stars, then? ” Killer didn’t have glowing eyes like his other counterparts, and yet Nightmare knew he rolled his eyes. 

“oh come on. you’d feel them from like, a mile away.” Nightmare sighed, he knows when to give up. He pulled up a portal and let Killer lead the way through - keeping his negativity low to not attract unwanted visitors. 

Killer held his hand firmly despite the black tar seeping through his gloves and walked in the direction he believed held the playground. A few minutes later revealed what he was looking for - even if it was a bit dusty and, well, bloody apparently. But hey! No bodies!! There was a swing set, a tall geodome, an obstacle course, those rocking horses, and even a seesaw!

He let go of Nightmare and skipped to the obstacle course and clambered up the rock climbing wall. He bounced in place and cheerfully called out to his boyfriend with a bright smile. Nightmare huffed with an amused grin and followed soon after. 

Killer ran around showing Nightmare what everything did - from the rolling pins for tic-tac-toe to the pole leading back down to the ground (which he promptly slid down in a ‘sexy’ pose, earning a bit of laughter from his beloved). Nightmare went down the steps like an adult, even if he secretly wanted to use the pole too. 

Up next was the seesaw, which Killer eagerly pat the one side for Nightmare to sit on. He did hesitantly, unsure of how this seat could be fun. His curiosity was soon sated when Killer dropped onto the other end - making Nightmare nearly launch from his spot if he hadn’t gripped the handle so tightly. His eye was wide as he mumbled ‘nope’ over and over again, sliding down from his high chair. Killer burst into laughter and rolled off his seat from the motion. He gave Nightmare mercy and moved on to the slides. 

Killer slid down with his hands up, acting as though he were on a roller coaster even though he chose the shortest and most boring slide. Nightmare snorted at the sight and eyed the bigger twistier slide. With a shrug he sat down and slid, coming out the other end to his Killer. Nightmare smiled, having fun for such a small ‘date’. The geodome caught Nightmare’s eye, and he curiously tilted his head at Killer. 

“oh, that’s a pretty new addition to playgrounds! it’s something you can climb and feel superior to your peers.” Nightmare walked towards it and slowly began to climb. It reminded him of simpler times when he would climb the tree he had… been born to protect. He made it to the top and saw Killer still at the bottom. 

“ Why are you still there? ” Killer shrugged helplessly. 

“i‘ve never been that great at climbing.” At those words, Nightmare climbed down - understanding of Killer’s apprehension. His brother used to be terrified of climbing trees, until one day he was forced to… Nightmare shook his head to dislodge the thoughts and followed Killer to the swings. 

They idly swung, staring up at the stars in the night sky. Killer leaned his cheek against the chain and looked over at his boyfriend. Nightmare was entranced by the stars - the sky was clear today, and he was glad for it. He softly smiled and glanced back at the stars. 

…

“there’s no way dream did that!” 

“ I know, right? But it’s true! He stole the book! ” Killer cackled. 

“wow, he was a lil criminal back then!” Nightmare chuckled at the fond memory, before glancing over by the trees worriedly. 

“ I think they’re here. We should get going soon. ” 

“aw, boo, we were having fun!” Killer poured but got up anyway, dusting off his pants. He held a hand out to his boyfriend, eager to go home to have dinner with the others. Nightmare took it and hefted himself up and opened a portal leading to the dining room that was already full and loud of his members. 

Right before he leaves through the portal, he glances towards the trees bordering the playground. He could have sworn he heard and felt someone there, as well as a flash of yellow, but… no, if it was Dream, surely he would have attacked, right? He shook his head, of course it wouldn’t be Dream. He was never good at hiding his emotions… 

He left without another glance back - leaving behind a thoughtful guardian.

Chapter Text

Ccino’s Cat Cafe is well known to be a multiversal hub for humans and monsters alike. Of course, most of them are skeletons who were formerly known as Sans or Papyrus, but that’s to be expected. 

After all, the owner is also a Sans. Even if he hasn’t been called ‘Sans’ in a very, very long time. Instead, he was named after his own business, and Ccino has long gotten used to the nickname. 

Ccino has also long gotten used to the many strange beings who enter his cafe. 

Ranging from the normal human and monster customers to godly beings with the power to destroy the entire multiverse, he has come across many who were friendly or straight up disrespectful (however, those who pick a fight tend to be kicked to the curb before they can even open their mouth by the other patrons). 

One of his regulars (who goes by the name of Killer) was one of those disrespectful customers. Emphasis on the ‘was’. 

Now, he simply visits to purchase some much-appreciated coffee and spoil the many cats lounging around the cafe. 

Sure, Killer was one of his regulars, and so Ccino always knew what to brew and what cat to coax from their hiding place for him, but he never thought much of the genocidal maniac. He was simply just… a customer who had a predictable routine. 

Today, the routine was broken in quite a jarring way. 

It started when the bell rang at the door, signaling the arrival of a customer. Ccino turned from the espresso machine and prepared his usual greeting, only to stop short. 

There stood his regular customer, wearing a lazy grin and holding his hand up in greeting. However, next to him was… someone he hasn’t met yet. 

This new customer was a Sans, who must have gone through some trauma similar to Horror. He had a gaping hole at the top corner of his skull, and his eye socket seemed to cave in as well. What was most interesting about him was the fact that rainbow… smoke? Came flowing from those orifices. Ccino wasn’t even sure it was smoke or steam - it was way too thick to see through. 

Ccino shook himself out of his shock and slapped a grin on his face once again. 

“Welcome to Ccino’s Cat Cafe! What will you be ordering today?” Killer chuckled as he walked up to the counter, then leaned against it.

“aw, c’mon, ccino, you know what i want.” Ccino sighed. 

“Yes, I do. I wasn’t talking to you.” Killer barked out another laugh and pointed his thumb behind him at his companion. 

“this is color. color, ccino. so, whaddya want? my treat.” Color finally, finally , spoke - and wow, maybe Ccino was becoming a narcissist, but his voice was as smooth as the color flowing from his head. 

“i’ll just have… a hot chocolate.” Ccino nodded with a smile. 

“Coming right up!” He swiftly turned and started up the espresso machine once more for Killer and began to steam some milk for the hot chocolate. 

Once the drinks were heated to the appropriate temperature and poured into appropriate mugs, he began to flavor and decorate. 

A splash of vanilla and caramel for Killer, along with some creamer added to make a leaf-shaped design. 

For Color… Ccino wasn’t sure what he would like aside from just plain hot chocolate. But… 

Ccino glanced over at Color and found him with three cats climbing him like a tree, with said tree looking more and more flustered as Killer cackled at the display. 

Ccino thinks he knows what to add. 

A dash of vanilla extract, a sprinkle of sugar, a layer of foam, and finally… a little soul created from cocoa powder. 

The duo walked back to the counter once he called out that he was finished, and thus began the second-guessing. 

Killer left without a glance at Color's drink, thank the stars, but Color… he just… stood there, watching the foam slowly melt into the hot chocolate, with a growing flush spreading across his cheekbones. 

Ccino stared at the drink as well and began to feel flustered too. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe this was a mistake! This was too much, too soon! 

It wasn’t like Ccino to flirt!!! What was he thinking?! 

Then, a hand gripped the mug and drank from it. Using the mug to cover his flush, Color mumbled. 

“...thank you.” He swiftly turned and sat back down. 

Ccino wanted to die. This was embarrassing. He’ll never live this down. He can never be seen again. He must change identities and move to another state, cafe be damned! He - He… was watching Killer leave. 

Killer was leaving? Already? 

Ccino turned to the table only to come face to face with Color, and he barely suppressed the embarrassing sound that almost escaped. 

Color set the two empty mugs down on the counter, then sheepishly held out a napkin with numbers written on it. 

“if you’re… ever free, do you maybe wanna, ya know, see each other? sometime?” Oh, be still my soul. Ccino has fallen for this man hard. In the span of barely an hour. 

All he could do was nod, grab the paper, and watch Color go. 

“ Maybe, ” he thought as he rubbed the napkin with his thumb, “ I didn’t mess up as badly as I thought .”