Chapter Text
The alarms blared. It woke him up in an instance, and no longer than a millisecond, he appeared in the shed-turned-lab, his jacket forgotten in his room.
His graphs were going crazy, showing signals that were overlapping and connecting in a few places as a shrill came from the metal contraption. The lights got brighter, no doubt from the energy output- and his vision was glued on the graphs before him.
There were so many lines.
... So many lines.
He’s never seen so much in one screen before, the amount of lines that followed his own timeline… Some of them parallel. Some of them exactly the same as his, almost like one, until right at the moment the monsters from his own time escaped to the surface. Some went on a completely different direction somewhere further back in the timeline- making the same pattern as his but reverse.
Those two lines… That’s when he noticed it was making contact with machine's 'radar', it's range of view. And at that point… He saw that the lines glitched. Something was corrupted.
“… what?”
His face fell as he looked the abnormality in the contact and his actual machine corresponding.
He had to turn it off, now.
He ran to it and hasted to shut it down-
And that was all that he remembered before his vision was filled with a bright white light, falling unconscious.
It was sunny today.
You looked up at the skies. Blue, dotted with clouds, the sun not too harsh- it was kind of chilly, but it was welcome, and the sun kept you in a comfortable temperature. It's nice.
You'd just finished your work earlier than usual- it'd been a slow day, and you had nothing else to do, so your manager had quickly sent you home. You were ecstatic to actually be given some time off instead of being made to stay for overtime, so you'd taken the chance. No need to look a gift horse in the mouth.
... Actually, all in all, your life is nice and comfortable at the moment. You've been living alone for awhile now, and unlike what you'd thought, you're doing pretty ok for a 'new' adult on their own. You had a stable job, you could pay your apartment on your own, your life wasn't in shambles and you're living by with some extra cash in your pocket.
The city you live in is nice, the people are nice and- hey. Lots of monsters live here.
You live in Ebott. Not actually the mountain of the same name- you live in Ebott City. Years after the monsters broke onto the surface, they've integrated with human society better despite some people's concerns. Sure there were people who were (and still are) against 'oTHeR rAcEs, thEy'rE noT even hUmaN' mixing but- they were honestly not much of a problem and things were going good for them... At least here in Ebott anyways.
You live around the neighborhood of SURFACE HOME.
... Yeah, you thought it was a funny name too- but apparently Asgore, the king of monsters, had a knack for naming things... Conveniently? That and there were places called HOME and NEW HOME down underground so… You guess this is a bit better? Maybe?
You just happened to move in right as they'd broken out- and it was pretty fun to see the monsters come out and get used to life on the surface. It was then you knew you've chosen the right place to move to.
It was particularly interesting to meet the diplomat of monsters when he came to explain everything to not only humans- but monsters as well. People had been ready to give monsters homes- you being blessed to be part of a community that was very open and welcoming to the newcomers. And funnily enough... the one that stole all your attention wasn't the uniformed, tall skeleton who is the actual diplomat- it was his brother.
His name is Sans, and in contrast to his tall, lanky and thin brother- he was round, thick boned and short.
… Well, short in comparison. Monsters were usually around the size of humans, or bigger… And he was maybe a few inches taller than you. Not enough for you to have to tilt your head up, but enough for you to look a bit higher than if you looked straight.
You were part of a small volunteer group that was going to help the monsters ‘integrate’ easier, help and guide them around if they need help with their housing or anything else for the matter, so you already knew about the aforementioned diplomat, Papyrus, before he came and gave a small speech to monsters that are just starting to permanently move out from the Underground. You had time to spend, and you decided to make small talk with Sans, who'd followed his brother for 'moral support', apparently.
… He was pleasant. He was easygoing, he wasn’t even wearing anything formal, only in a white shirt, blue hoodie, and white-striped shorts, and… Fluffy slippers? You remember the first thing you said to him after exchanging greetings was that particular observation- and you couldn’t help spluttering a bit at the sight, the pink foot-wear looking quite ridiculous at the event, especially with his brother standing right there.
“tickled your funny bone, eh?” His smile had widened- become more genuine when he said that, what with his jaw fused and his grin seeming to be eternal.
And that’s when you found out… Sans was a comedian.
… Well. He used to be a comedian, from what he told you through short stories of how life was in the underground. Sans is a jokester, a prankster (When you shook his hand you heard a loud fart-like noise. Yes, he had a whoopee cushion on his palm). He seemed to just love messing with everyone and everything, especially when it fished some angry insult-compliments from Papyrus- and the easiest to conjure up was usually through puns. And Sans loves puns.
You had spent that first time with Sans with more polite conversation, talking about his brother, talking about work, and hey would you look at that- you were exchanging numbers with him. After sometime, you’d level up from being acquaintances to becoming friends. It wasn’t uncommon for you to be chatting him up on your phone, sometimes setting up a meet. He lives in the suburbs of Ebott named quaintly as “Monster Village”. Where Surface Home was the ‘bustling city’ homes of the monsters, Monster Village was just that. Not an actual village per se, but it was where monsters lived quiet lives in the relative calmness of the suburbs.
It was odd knowing Papyrus’ work, thinking he would’ve lived in Surface Home, but seeing Sans and how lazy he is at walking, and after he told you Papyrus loved jogging in the morning in fresh air- you guess it makes sense that they’d live far out from the heart. Apparently it reminded them a bit of their home back in the Underground too.
Sometimes it made you feel a little… Sad? That they’d live far out, especially Sans, since he seems partial to travel so far everyday, even if he did surprise you when he indiscriminately showed you he had teleportation powers. All that working hard had in truth hurt your social life a bit… Sure, you were no shut-in, but other than colleagues and a few of your apartment tenants, you didn’t really have a friend you could hang out and chill with regularly.
And Sans had been your chill friend ever since the integration, and you’ve actually managed to snag him more than a couple of times to go around the city with you, from going to a cafe belonging to an ex-shopkeeper from Snowdin, to which Sans had the great pleasure to meet with again- to another ex-Snowdin establishment, one named Grillby’s, a nice warm bar tended to by a literal fiery flame monster.
Lately though… You haven't been able to get some time with the lazybones, and not because you’ve been busy. It’s Sans that seems to be busy, though for the life of you, you don’t know what. He’s been responding to your messages less and less, and when you do get to message him and ask if he’s got time to go with you somewhere some day…
sans: sorry kiddo, can’t go anywhere
You: Again?
sans: sorry
sans: next time
You: When do you think next time will be?
It takes time for him to answer you, and you’d frown.
sans: dont know
Well… It wasn’t that long since you’ve hung out with Sans.
It was about a month ago. You shouldn't been bummed out but... with how things are lately, you've been meeting Sans several times a week, his reluctance for moving chipping away. When you were only his acquaintance, you only met him once a month, and that's usually a maybe.
You guess… It just raised your hopes that you actually had something going on with Sans, when eventually the monsters in Grillby’s had started to recognize you as Sans’ 'partner'.
… W-well, not that you were anything special with him, right? No, you weren’t, you just wanted to be good friends with him, is all. He was just fun to be around with..? He was a genuine, nice guy, and you just like being with him. Nothing... Nothing more, probably... Even if you did have a crush on the skeleton, you wouldn't really hope much of it anyways.
But to have him suddenly seem a bit distant, not telling you what’s going on with him, why even Papyrus had become scarce in Surface Home... You were worried and quite sad.
…
But today…
sans: heya buddy.
sans: ya wanna go somewhere this weekend?
Your heart practically soared when you saw his text, which came as soon as you finished early. Sans’ timing was impeccable- you knew it was a good day when you felt how perfectly warm and pleasant the sun was on your skin while you walked through the thin crowd to the station, thinking of heading home.
You: Yeah!
You: Where do you think you wanna go?
You: Grillby’s?
Apparently, Sans hadn’t just thrown his phone away as soon as he sent his message… He had been answering slowly ever since the mystery thing happened awhile ago.
sans: sure
sans: anything sounds good to me
sans: haven’t seen you in awhile, i gotta make up to my partner, huh?
You smile at the mention. It had taken awhile to really warm up to Sans, to make him consider you than just a human he should be polite with- getting him comfortable with you.
You: Aww sans
You: You choose. You’re the one who’s been busy, where do you wanna go?
sans: i told you, anywhere’s good.
sans: hey, you know that ebott aquarium’s gonna be open in a few months?
You: Oh really? I didn’t know there was an opening date already!
sans: heheheheh yeah
sans: you know a few things when your brother is the diplomat
sans: so grillbys, weekend, usual time?
You smile. How you’ve missed your blue, bony friend.
You: Sounds good to me! :)
You’re really going to meet Sans soon! That message alone had made your already pretty good day even better, and you find yourself beaming as the train chugs through the city. Your conversation with him carried on through the trip, and you couldn’t stop smiling while you texted back and forth with him, making the ride feel shorter. You really have been missing him, and you can’t wait for the weekends to roll around. Sans had been asking about your day and you’ve been asking him back. The train comes to a halt in the main interchange station of Ebott city- Surface station.
You: Ok sans, i’m on surface now
You: Gotta get home, it’s not rush hour but still, it's surface station...
You: Talk to you later?
You hope he’ll be on later, as you carefully grip onto the phone, dodging walking people as you walk towards the exit. It sure can be… Adventurous when you live in the heart of the city.
sans: yep
sans: finally having some me time, i got time to talk with my h
You raise a brow at the unfinished sentence, and the message quickly gets deleted to your confusion.
sans: i can talk to ya later.
… Huh, ok-
sans: also stop looking at your phone while you’re walking
sans: might bump into someone
You blink as you get shoved by a rushing salaryman, running towards a train that has just announced its departure.
You: Right
You: Srr you
You quickly shove your phone back in, ignoring the typo as you try pay attention to your surroundings. Eventually you spot the grand entrance of the station, the gates just ahead. But just as you’re about to head there…
In the middle of a crowd, was white. A round, smooth skull was standing out from the (honestly, thin) crowd, head turned away from you and looking up at the signs displaying the schedules, destinations, train tracks and what not.
You smile. You didn’t expect Sans to be in the station- you rarely see him ride public transport.
Is that why he ‘warned’ you about bumping into someone?
Even if he wasn’t, you were happy to see your friend again. You cheerfully bound towards him, skidding past people who were heading to and from the gates.
“Hey, Sans!” His skull straightened when he heard you calling to him, and you approach him. You plant a palm on his back in greeting, and he turns his head to look at you. “Nice to see you he-“
…
It’s not Sans.
You stop in your tracks, the smile on your face turning tight and tense, your eyes widening when you make eye contact with him.
He… He looks similar to Sans, that’s for sure but- you got the wrong person. His eyelights weren’t the soft, friendly round whites you’re used to with that lax expression that could make you relax around him in an instant- his eyelights were red and small, almost mere pinpricks in their sockets as he watched you with wide sockets. He had a toothy mouth, like Sans, but- they were sharp as daggers, and one of them had caught the afternoon light filtering from the many skylights that littered the station’s ceiling. It was a golden tooth. His teeth were sat straight, his expression neutral while he kept watching you. And now that you look again… He’s wearing clothes decidedly very different from the skeleton you were familiar with- a black hoodie with fur lining the hood, yellow striped basketball shorts, and red sneakers instead of Sans' lazy pink slippers. And… Oh god, now that you’re up close you realize how tall he is- yes, Sans is also taller than you, but you actually need to crane your neck a bit to look into this guy’s sockets. He looks… Well… He looks much sharper around the edges than Sans is.
Now that you think of it, he does look kind of similar what with the shape of their skulls but… How did you mistake this guy for Sans?! Now you’ve just slapped a stranger's back.
And you realize with that thought- you hadn’t even taken your hand off of the guy yet.
… Fuck.
“Ah- oh, um.“ You struggled, quickly pulling your hand away as if his hoodie had suddenly electrocuted you, fingers curling into your palm from your loss of words. “S-sorry, I thought...“ You gulped, now the skeleton’s brows were furrowing between his sockets, and you feel like those teeth are looking especially sharp when you look at them again. “I thought you were someone else.”
Are you racist for thinking this guy was your friend just because he’s a skeleton with a similar skull and outfit to the one you know? Oh please mr. shark-teeth skeleton, don't be mad-
His face didn’t change and you felt yourself shrink when he turned to you fully. Seeing his front side, you see he's wearing a red sweater-turtleneck, and you see a corner of his mouth slowly lift up in a smirk.
…
He was… Quite intimidating. Nothing like the laid back skele-buddy you thought he was.
“oh, darlin'-“ He spoke, and you found your face flattening at his voice and choice of word. Admittedly his voice is similar to Sans’- but also not at all at the same time. He had an accent to him that reminded you of how people talked in crime movies, with a bit of a drawl, while his voice… Was deep and rough- Husky?? And- not to mention, you don’t think you’ve heard someone talk to you quite in a tone quite like that. “don’t like what yer seein’?”
“Wh-Wha?” Was he mad at you? You think he’s mad at you. “I- no, that’s not what I said, it’s just that… I thought you were someone else, you looked like a friend from afar- but it seems like you're not and I'msorryforbotheringyou.” You clasped your hands together and give him a nervous smile, maybe pressing your lips together a little bit too hard.
“huh?" His eyelights lit up in an amused way. "nah, ya ain’t botherin’ me, lil’ lady.” His sockets lidded, and you find those red eyelights of his… Seemed lecherous, as they seemed to wander, before looking back at you in the eye. “in fact, i asked ya that because… i quite like what i’m seein’.”
… Oh.
Ooohhh noooo...
Was- is- what- what is he doing. Is he flirting with you? Did he just- Why did him saying a solid few sentences get you so red? You find, dismayed, that your cheeks started to heat up, and seeing this, his grin turns smug. Ah, you guess it must be showing on your face.
“I- uh, you- thank you,” You end up saying stupidly, shifting awkwardly in place- You’ve never been in this situation before? And it confuses you how you’re supposed to act? “Nice… teeth you’ve got there,” You slap a hand over your mouth, as your eyes had so happen to have landed back on those razors, that particular observation in your subconscious. What a great first impression you're making, huh (Y/n)?
The skeleton blinks at your remark- and bends backwards, guffawing, and you get a better look at his teeth as they’re opened, and you even get a peek inside his mouth, which is absolutely black, as black as the void. You stiffen from his voice, but no one around seems to notice.
“ahah- ahahah… thanks fer the observation, sweetheart.” He leans a bit closer, purposefully showing his teeth off to you. "all the better to eat you with." He winks, moving back to relax his shoulders, and you find yourself flushing again, ignoring a shiver down your spine.
You splutter, and decide to ignore his 'comment'. “You’re not mad at me?” You ask him as a precaution. The skeleton raises his brow at you, looking a bit confused. “mad, why?”
“Because I just… I just slapped your back and mistook you for another person..?” You shrug, still a bit wary of this stranger, but giving an internal sigh of relief when he smiles at you, shaking your head. “nah, i told ya already. ya don't bother me none, doll.” He leans closer to you, and his previous kinda intimidating pose becomes lax, putting his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “i don’t mind a few slaps on the back from a pretty lady… trust me. ’s not like ya slapped me on the cheekbone.” He leans in to whisper to you as if it’s an amorous secret.
You get the feeling that he’s just messing around, and you finally give him a sincere smile. “You seem like the type to get around with the ladies, aren’t you?” You give him a look, crossing your arms. He chuckles, leaning away again. “maybe. maybe not. but i ain’t lyin’ that ya look like a fine dame t’ me, dollface.” He winks, his eyelights taking a deeper shade of red that has you flushing again, fumbling with the sleeve of your shirt and leaning back away from him.
Wow, this guy sure moves fast!
“A-ah, I bet you say that to everyone you meet.” You retort, trying to hide your shameful blushing. You just met this guy and sure, he might look a little bit like Sans, maybe, and you maybe have a crush on said Sans- but you have no business getting red over- well- this Red-clad stranger!
He chuckles, shaking his head. “haven’t gotten the chance to meet a lot of people here, so that’s not true either.”
.. Oh? “You’re new here?”
He nods. “yeah. just, uh… i just moved into the city." He looks apprehensive for a moment, sockets narrowing, looking around the station. "gotta say- these fancy trains ya got going around’s practical, but also quite… hm, quite complicated.”
“Oh, checking out the railway, then?” You see him eyeing the signs above the both of you, reading the tables. “Where are you heading?”
“oh, nowhere really.” He shrugs, and you tilt your head. “i toldja, i’m new. i’m here to scope out the city, kinda.” He gestures with his hands, “just checkin’ out where everywhere’s goin’. or at least the main lines anyways, tryin’ to see the buzz spots of the city, important sites, all that good stuff.”
“plus. maybe i'm lookin’ for a job too.” He adds.
You perk up at him, and you feel that surge of wanting to help this... Flirty stranger.
“Oh! Well, Surface is the heart of the city. Were you here looking for a job?”
“yeah, actually. but all the jobs here are office jobs- not my kinda thing, ya know?” He gestures to himself. It's not like you know him enough to make a judgement but outwardly at least, he certainly doesn’t look like the type to enjoy those kinds of jobs. He looks… He looks pretty solid and tough. He’s made of bones, you can see from his tibia and fibula that were visible from under his pants. And his arms… He’s wearing a jacket, but despite it you can tell the, mass(?) underneath it, something akin to muscles on humans. His hand was like Sans’, but bigger- the smooth bone fused, looking similar to a human's fleshy hands, while his phalanges were the size of human fingers. His neck was, well- not spine-sized, it was neck-sized, like a human’s, just made of bone. Then you reach his face- and oh god, you were just gawking at this stranger.
“heheheh…” Oh no, he had a deep, sultry laugh… “like what’cha see, dollface?” The nickname is as smooth as syrup, and you feel heat rush to your face again.
“I-I, no, I wasn't… fuck!” You drag your hand over your face, but it does nothing to quell the heat. “I was just… Nevermind.” He certainly has the same bone structure as Sans- in that, human bones are nowhere near the thickness of theirs, and this… skeleton that kinda looks like the edgier, taller (bigger?) version of Sans made it all the more noticeable.
“Y… You were gesturing at yourself!” You defended yourself when his smile only seemed to widen, but the monster just looks all the more smugger. If there was a table he could lean on, he looks like he would be leaning on it right now. Instead, he steps closer and looks at you from above, emphasizing the height difference, and you step back a bit. “your eyes were wanderin’, darlin’… though i myself am guilty of it.” He takes another sweep at your form and you feel steam leave your ears.
“O-ok, you don’t look like an office monster, I get it!” You break into a laugh, flustered, covering your face and holding your hand out at him as if to keep him back. The monster breaks into a more relaxed smile, giving you your personal space back.
“so… ya said ya could help me land a job, sweetheart?” He raises a brow, hands out, gesturing at you to help him.
“Oh.. I mean, I'll try my best!” You quickly answered. He may be flirty, but he doesn’t look like he wants to… Hurt you…? He might be scary enough that you don’t want to be somewhere alone with him at this point in time, with his seeming interest(?) in you but… He seems to be a laid-back guy.
Maybe he has more things in common with Sans than you thought.
"But you're the one landing the job, ok? I don't have authoritarian power to just hire you into a job!" You joke a bit, and that actually pulls a chuckle from the skeleton.
"'course i know that..." He rolls his eyelights before looking back to you. “ya sure ya weren’t off doing somethin’? ya look to be headin’ someplace.”
You wave him off, saying “Oh, I was going home. I had an early leave today actually, so I’ve got time to kill. What better way than to help a newbie out?” You smile up to him, inviting.
The skeleton is silent for a moment, and his smile falters. You wonder if it’s got something to do with what you said, but it immediately breaks into a bigger smile, his eyesockets lidding. “heh. thanks a lot, swee-“
BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT.
The skeleton freezes as he’s reaches a hand your way, something vibrating on him. His hand shoves into his pants pocket, fishing out a phone. It looks like a standard old phone- the kind you can only use to dial numbers, text, and maybe play a game of snake. I haven’t seen that kind of cellphone in years… You thought as his eyesockets widened at the screen, pressing the number immediately and bringing it close to his skull.
“hello?”
… Huh. Skeletons always look funny when they hold a phone to no e-
A loud voice shrieks from the other end of the call, and the skeleton actually needs to pull the phone away from his skull until the offending voice goes silent, waiting for his answer. He pulls the phone back and hastes an answer.
“y-yeah pa- boss, i’m right here, at surface.” He pauses as the voice makes a questioning noise. “n-no, the station. have ya been to surface, actual-?”
He’s cut off by an indignant yell, and he actually frowns from it, cringing a bit. You raise a brow at him, and he looks to you with a weak smile, a silent sorry written all over his face. “no boss, i wasn’t tryin’ ta say that about ya, of course.” He sighs. The voice says a few curt words before the skeleton answers back. “yeah, i’ll be there in a few.”
The next few words makes his expression turn into something… funny, and you see light sweat dotting his skull. “yeah, ok boss. i got it, i won’t be late. meet ya there, bro.” His expression softens again when it goes to bro, and you hear the caller say something back, only for the skeleton to chuckle. He presses the end-call button, and looks to you.
“… Boss? You’ve got work already, or…?”
“nah. that’s my bro- i call him boss.” He says, looking off to the side as if he’s thinking of amending something. “… call him bro too, but,” He shrugs, “he doesn’t like me sayin’ that in public.”
… Is he ok?
Your look is enough to make him wave his hands at you, signaling that it’s fine. “hey, i’m fine. we’re family- ain’t no little nickname gonna hurt.” He clarifies. The skeleton on the call and the one who flirted with you so openly before seem pretty different… But he flashes you a smile, that golden tooth gleaming in the sunlight.
“welp- he wants me there as soon as possible, he says he’s found somethin’ i might be useful for.” He chuckles good-naturedly. “sorry to cut this short, darlin’, but… i kinda hope we’ll meet again.”
“I… I agree.” You nod your head, maybe a bit meekly. Seeing the skeleton look so goofy for a second made you relax more. He wasn’t just a scary guy with a maybe-intimidating persona. “… You… Wanna trade numbers?”
“hell yea i do.” He hands you his… keypad cellphone, and you put in your number. You don’t even know how to add contacts on the ancient thing, so you hand it back to the skeleton. He takes it back and presses the call button, to which you pick it up. The skeleton playfully brings his phone to his skull and says, “is this that chicken place?”
You make a face at him, confused, and he grins. “‘cus i’d like to order some thighs.”
You splutter, ending the call. “Don’t make me regret giving you my number.”
“oh, ya won’t.” he winks at you. He opens his phone and goes “… uh… what’s yer name, darlin’? can’t jus’ call ya human in here, now, can i?”
“(Y/n).” You say confidently. No reason hiding your name- he’s got your number already. “So… What do I call you, oh flirtatious skeleton?”
The skeleton laughs before telling you. His mouths shifts to speak, before his eyelights go up as something seemed to hit him, then he says. “red. call me red, darlin’.”
Red… Well. Monsters are known in their efficient name making. You tap “Red” into the contacts list. Worrying you'd forget, you type out “Red Hot Stuff” to it. Red looks over your shoulder and chuckles. “so i see yer into puns.”
“Yeah.” You admit. “I’ve got a friend who kinda trapped me into liking them so… Kinda got into my head.”
“heh. sounds like a fun guy. i myself consider me as a pretty punny guy.” The simple drop made you smile at the memory of Sans, and Red seems delighted at your expression. “i’ll see ya around, darlin’.” he waves at you, taking a train bound for Green Peaks. You wonder where he would need to go on the line heading towards the base of Mt. Ebott but… Hey, it’s not your business, is it?
You head out of the gates, heading home, smiling at your newfound friend. It was refreshing, making your day even better.
…
sans: red, he's messaging me. look at your phone
…
Message deleted.