Chapter Text
Once upon a time, two races ruled over Earth, Humans, and Monsters. One day war broke out. Humans and Monsters fought a long and hard battle, during this time many humans sided with the monsters, creating the kingdom of Ebott, where monsters and humans could coincide with each other in peace while being ruled by two families. The monster king and queen; the Dreemurrs, and the human king and queen; Hoperrs.
As the war raged on, human and monster allies began to fall unsteady causing worry that the families may turn on each other. To consolidate their alliance the king and queen of each family called for the marriage of the eldest son of Gaster and the eldest daughter of Rieu, both vassals on each side.
The marriage was to take place in the court where everybody would be able to see the joining of the two families. It was a joyous occasion for many, as it marked an official alliance between the two royal families.
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You were scared, so, so scared. You knew the reason you were being forced into this was supposed to help your kingdom, and as your father had said, you didn’t have a choice, it was for the better of the kingdom. But to marry a monster? That was unheard of! Sure, humans and monsters had lived together in peace for years, but a monster marrying a human was completely unheard of.
You hadn’t wanted to be forced into a marriage, who would? Yet, you knew you had no choice, it didn’t matter if it was to help the kingdom. If your father wanted you to marry someone, you had no right to object. Not that you would. You weren’t stupid, you knew exactly what would happen if you talked back. You’d received one too many lashings from his cane to know better.
So, you sat there as one of the maids fixed your hair, pulling it tight to match your wedding dress. They said nothing, leaving you to your thoughts. What would he be like? Would he be half as cruel as your father? You could only hope he wouldn’t punish you for every little thing you did wrong, but isn’t that what husbands are supposed to do? Teach you not to make the same mistakes no matter how little it is?
You were brought out of your fears as the maid spoke up, telling you it was time to head out. Time to get married to a man you hadn’t even met before. You kept your head down, avoiding the eyes of curious onlookers, as the maid led you to your father.
“That solemn look is the reason people are talking!” he scowled, slapping you with his cane across the face. Any onlooker had the right sense to pretend they hadn’t seen anything. Not that it really mattered. You look away from your father, only to meet the (eyes?) eye-lights of the large, stocky skeleton standing by the priest.
Your gaze unwillingly lingered as you took in the man, or… monster, you were about to marry. He was tall, taller than any human male you had seen before, and rather stocky, filling out the clothes he wore like he had skin, despite being completely void of it. His face was rounded with cracks running from the top of his skull. His teeth were large and pointed, one appearing to be made of pure gold, pointed to fit like the others. His eye-lights were red, a beautiful shade of crimson that you could only admire.
It was only when the music started that you realized you had been staring at him… and he had been staring right back. The thought made you shiver. Was that normal? Was anything about this situation normal? No, you concluded, nothing about this was normal, nothing about marrying a monster was considered ‘normal’.
You kept your head down as your father led you up the aisle. You stayed silent as talk of the dowry took place. You flinched slightly as your father let go of you to take the money, and used his cane to push you to your position so the marriage could be officiated.
As the priest droned on, you continued to keep your eyes downcast, not daring to look up at your husband-to-be. Too afraid to see the shame of having to marry a wrench like you in his eye-lights.
You could feel yourself start to shake as the priest began to say those familiar words. “Do you, Sans Gaster, take Eve Rieu to be your-”
“yes.” You paused for a moment before slowly looking up to meet his eye-lights. You were astonished at just how much larger he was than you, completely towering over your tiny form. Your hands shook as you mulled over what he’d just said. He had confirmed it so fast. He hadn’t even waited to hear the whole sentence. His eye-lights met yours. He looked so certain, like… like he wanted you?
“Then, I pronounce you husband and wife, You may now bestow your kiss upon the bride” The priest concluded, not once sparing a glance over to you.
Your eyes widened as Sans stepped toward you, his smile lifting as he gently held your chin in his giant hand. You could feel your face heat up. This was going too fast. You weren’t ready, you didn’t even know him! You wanted to stop him, to object to this. But you couldn’t stop him. You knew that. To reject him in the first place would ensure some sort of punishment, but to reject him in front of everyone? At your wedding? When the marriage is supposed to establish an alliance between two kingdoms? Your fear of what not only he would do to you, but what your father would do to you made you freeze in absolute terror, and squeeze your eyes shut.
He noticed immediately, and to your surprise, paused just a few inches away from your face. His other hand moved to gently sweep a piece of stray hair out of your face. “open yer eyes.” he whispered gently. You obeyed, trying to keep the tears from gathering. Your eyes met his, they were soft, almost gentle. It felt odd. Nobody had ever looked at you like that. Like you were worth something. Was it… just an act? “its okay. i promise” He mumbled as he closed the distance between the two of you, pressing his teeth to your lips in a gentle kiss, before pulling away as the crowd erupted into cheers.
You didn’t have a chance to process what had just happened before you were suddenly rushed away again by the maids, after all, they still had to get you ready for tonight.
You felt conflicted. The way he had looked at you, so gentle and caring. Would he still look at you the same way tonight? Or was it really just an act he put on to help sell the marriage of the monster and human? Your stomach was in knots. You weren’t ready for this, you weren’t ready for any of this! You had only turned eighteen a month ago, and even though you were still considered ‘older’ than most girls who got married, you still felt extremely too young for any of this.
You tried not to think of what was coming as the maids finished up with you and started leading you to the bed-chamber. The sun was just starting to set, and you got a good view of it as you walked down the hall. It was so beautiful. How could something in this world be so beautiful?
When the door opened, your father stepped out. “You better not mess this up! If he walks away, then you know exactly what will happen to you” He scowled, already lifting his cane in warning. You nodded as he pushed you into the room. “And wipe that look off your face. You’ll scare him away” He barked, before stomping down the hall, letting the door shut and leaving you alone.
You felt numb as you sat in the chair waiting. The room was so pretty, and much, much nicer than your own. The bed in the center of the room looked so big and comfortable. Well, it was, until the thought of what would happen to you on it occurred. You could feel yourself shaking in fear as you resorted to staring at the floor and kept your mind blank.
It wasn’t long until you heard the sound of the door click open and Sans walked in, still wearing his wedding attire. The second he met eyes with you he stopped. His eye-lights were no longer soft, and he wasn’t smiling anymore. Your stomach twisted once again. It really was just an act, wasn’t it? You looked away from him, too aware of his presence in the room. You idly twiddled your fingers as you heard him move around the room.
He sat down in the chair opposite of you, moving it closer to you until your knees were practically touching. You tried to stop your hands from shaking and kept your head pointed down. You were so afraid, you almost just wanted him to get it over with, but you knew what that would mean. Your eyes flickered to the bed in fear. You didn’t want that. You most certainly weren’t ready for that. You wanted to cry. You had no choice. You knew that, he knew that. Would he take advantage of that? Was it considered ‘taking advantage’ when you’re married? You knew what your father would say. “It’s your marital duty. It doesn’t matter what you want. It only matters what he wants. You will do as he says.” Remembering his words made you shiver.
Out of the corner of your eye, you saw movement. You flinched as his hand came towards you. It rested gently on your hands. He hadn’t hit you. Your eyes focused on his hand. It really was giant, and completely made of bone. The tiny bones of his hands were fused together by something unseen. It was amazing. It was… magic.
The thought bewildered you, because for the first time in your life you were seeing actual magic. Magic was holding this man together in front of you. Magic was the reason he was even alive. It was something so simple, something you were sure people probably didn’t think of when they first saw the giant skeleton but to you it was incredible.
You didn’t even realize you had been playing with his hand until he cleared his throat. (he had a throat?) Your eyes shot up to meet his and your hands died in their actions.
“S-sorry” you mumbled, before finally letting go and looking back at the ground. You jumped as you heard him start to snicker. He was...laughing? He wasn’t mad? You hesitantly looked up at him. His eye-lights were bright, full of joy, and he was smiling widely. Was he really not mad? You hadn’t even asked to touch him, he should be mad at you. His eye-lights focused on your eyes when he realized you were looking at him. His laughter faltered and his eyebrows (bone-brows?) crooked in confusion.
“heh, what’s with that face? ya didn’t think i was mad at’cha did ya?” He asked, his voice a deep baritone. You looked away nervously. He made a tsk-ing sound, before moving his hand from your wrist to your face. (when had he moved his hand to your wrist?) You flinched and squeezed your eyes shut, fully prepared to be hit.
You were surprised when he instead, gently cupped your chin in his hands and made you look at him. You cautiously opened your eyes. He looked at you, his face full of concern until some sort of realization crossed his eyes and he scowled, looking away from your eyes and instead to your cheek. The cheek where your father had hit you. Had he hit you hard enough to bruise? You knew it wouldn’t be the first time, though you know he tried not to leave bruises in places people could see.
You were brought back to the present when he gently rubbed his thumb (phalange?) over said cheek. He looked angry, but his touches were gentle. Was he mad at you?
“can’t believe fathers could do this to their child” He grumbled as he eyes your cheek. “does it hurt?” he asked, finally looking you in the eyes again, his eye-lights, once again soft and gentle.
You shook your head in response, even though it wasn’t true, you could still feel the stinging on your cheek from where the cane had marked you. It was clear he could tell you were lying. You never had been good at lying.
You feared he would strike you. Instead, he gently moved his hand over your cheek, his eye-lights remaining soft. “this might feel a little weird.” he mumbled before closing his eyes. (how did he have eyelids?) There was a cool tingly sensation on your cheek, and your eyes drifted back up to where his eyes had been, only to see a faint red glow coming from under his eyelid.
It ended just as fast as it started, and before long he was gently retracting his hand and opening his eyelids to reveal his red eye-lights. Your cheek felt cool, and the stinging was gone. You had so many questions, you wanted to ask how he did that, what that even was! But you held your tongue. You knew it wasn’t your place to ask questions and the last thing you wanted another burning cheek.
He smirked and took your hand. “ya can ask questions. i can see you’re curious.” he spoke. Your eyes widened in surprise and you opened your mouth to speak, only to realize you didn’t actually know what you wanted to say. You stopped for a minute to think.
“H-how did you… do that? What was that?” you asked, trying not to show how excited you were. His smile widened and he let go of your hand and leaned back against the chair.
“called healing magic, only a few types of monsters can do it. i’m no good at it, my brothers much better. i know just enough to heal bruises and cuts” He prattled. Your eyes widened. He had used magic on you?!
“I’ve never seen magic before” you blurted before realizing what you said. You hadn’t even realized how comfortable you had gotten with him in the room. You started to recoil, feeling like it wasn’t something you were supposed to say until he spoke up again.
“could show ya some more magic some time,” he said with a wink. It took you a minute to realize what he was insinuating before you were a blushing mess. Wasn’t that the reason he was here in the first place? That fear from earlier came rushing back tenfold as you once again looked at the ground.
He quickly reached to grab your hands again, now holding both of yours in both of his giant hands, causing you to flinch at the sudden movement. “hey,” he whispered, not continuing until you looked at him again. “i’m not gonna make you do anything you don’t wanna, and i can see it’s pretty clear you don’t wanna, well you know...” he glanced over to the bed and then back to you. He wasn’t going to force you? He was giving you the option? A choice?
“But if we d-don’t my father- the marriage-”
“shh don’t worry about that, you humans have real weird traditions when it comes to marriage, monsters wouldn’t even think of that as something that would validate a marriage. in my eyes we’re married either way.” he comforted, one of his hands moving to gently rub your arm as he moved closer. You didn’t feel as panicked as before, he wasn’t making you do something you didn’t want to do.
“B-but if you leave now, he’ll know.”
“so i won’t.” he said simply. You were confused. If he wasn’t going to force you, and he wasn’t going to leave, then what was he going to do? “we can just go to sleep” he supplied, clearly sensing your confusion.
Sleep. Sleeping in the same bed. That was what married couples did, but the idea felt so foreign. Well, everything so far had felt so foreign, but you had never slept with anyone but yourself before. You sighed and nodded to yourself. Sleep. You could do that. That was a much better alternate than… well…
“Okay” you mumbled shyly. You watched as he smiled once again, clearly satisfied with your answer.
“okay.” he agreed, leading you to bed, before sliding in next to you. He gave you space, clearly being cautious of your personal space. “and if anyone asks about what happened tonight, you can tell them that we ‘officiated the marriage’ you don’t have to tell them we didn’t. Alright?” he added.
He wanted you to lie? But if your father found out that you lied… You shook yourself from that thought, you didn’t belong to your father anymore, you belonged to Sans, who was telling you to lie, and you had to do what he said. So, you would lie.
“Alright,” you whispered. Feeling a little bit more at ease with everything.
At some point that night you woke up tangled in his embrace. His arm was wrapped around you, holding you close to his chest while his other hand was tangled in your hair. You knew it should have unnerved you, being so close to somebody you hardly knew, but at the moment you couldn’t bring yourself to care, nobody had ever held you before, let alone so intimately. It almost felt… right in a way, to be in his arms. Would it be like this forever?
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You woke up the next morning to an empty bed. Sans had left at some point during the night. You knew you shouldn’t feel so upset about it. It wasn’t like he was supposed to stay, it would probably end up feeling awkward if he had. Maybe it was a good thing that he’d left before you woke up.
You spent the rest of the morning wondering when you would see your husband again. After last night, the word no longer felt so despairing and condemning. It made you feel excited, and bubbly. He had shown you things you had never seen before, made you feel things you’d never felt before, made you feel like you were worth something. He gave you a choice .
So, when your father came into your bedroom later that day absolutely livid, that floaty feeling in your chest sank to the bottom of your stomach.
“Your husband has left you. Of course, he has. Why didn’t I see this coming! Nobody wants something as worthless as you.”
“Where did he go?” you asked, flinching when he suddenly turned to you. He continued to scowl at you, lifting his cane as if to hit you before slamming it back down on the ground, spewing insults about how worthless you were before finally answering you. “He went to join the war. Said his assistance was needed. Bullshit! He just didn’t want you. Why would he? But of course, calling for a divorce a day after the wedding would unheard of!” This time he did hit you with his cane, Hitting you hard across your face, undoubtedly bruising it. You covered your cheek and whimpered when your hand came away with fresh blood on it.
Your father continued his rant until finally being called away by one of the maids to tend to some urgent matter, leaving you alone to “think about what a worthless piece of trash you are to have your husband leave you after one night.”
You sat in your room long after dark, refusing to eat, and finding it hard to sleep. He couldn’t have just up and left you, could he? Was last night some sort of test and you failed by refusing him?
You tried to talk yourself out of it, tried to remember those kind eyes and convince yourself that it wasn’t your fault he had left, but the longer you sat there, alone, the more you started to believe your father again. Why wouldn’t you? Your father never told lies. So why would he lie about how worthless you were?
You were worthless. So worthless you drove your husband away after only a night. You deserved this. You deserved whatever life had in plan for you, whatever punishment your father would undoubtedly have for you.
Worthless. A complete failure.
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