Chapter Text
Today was the day of the move. And it was the day after you had picked up Pigeon, the younger brother of your best friend. Pigeon’s parents weren’t allowed to be near Pigeon and he had recently been admitted to a mental hospital. A major depressive episode had led to him having to stay there for a while. And now, he wasn’t permitted to live on his own anymore.
Given that Crow, Pigeon’s brother, was currently serving in the military across the ocean, you were the only person Crow trusted to care for the needs of his brother. You were happy to help, you’d do anything to help your friend. The only thing you were worried about was how Pigeon would deal with being surrounded by a bunch of strangers. Especially since it was gonna be Carlie who you’d be staying with.
Carlie used to be a friend of yours and Crow, but for some reason she was always jealous of how close you and him were. Always making a scene whenever the two of you hang out together alone. You were pretty happy to cut ties with her after high school, but now that you were getting into college… You unfortunately had to room up with her and her boyfriends because the rent prices near the college you applied to were… Ridiculous. If you could, you'd live in a small apartment or something like that, but you’re broke.
You could only hope that her boyfriends weren’t as bad as her. You could put up with it if it were just you living there, but your main concern was for Pigeon. The kid already wasn’t doing great, he didn’t need any more additional stress on top of the stress he already has to put up with. All you could do was help the kid the best you could. It was the least you could do to repay all the favors Crow has done for you.
“Hey kid. Wake up sleepyhead, I made breakfast,” You said, gently shaking Pigeon who was wrapped in blankets, sprawled out on your couch. The kid started awake, his eyes wide open. You quickly calmed him down, sitting down beside Pigeon and petting his hair. Pigeon slowly calmed down, letting out a shaky breath and leaning against you.
“Mmm… Sorry, sorry… Just got startled,” Pigeon murmured, rubbing his face. He sat up, looking over at you.
“It’s fine, kid. You just got back from the hospital. It’s normal to get startled, you had a rough month,” You assured, wrapping an arm around the kid and giving him a firm, comforting squeeze. Pigeon relaxed in your hold letting out a shaky sigh. You let go of him and stood up, walking back into the kitchen to prepare the plates of food.
Pigeon slowly got to his feet, legs shaking slightly. He wandered into the kitchen, sitting down at the dining table. He picked at his sleeves, leg bouncing. You made a mental note to get him to take his anxiety medication before you left. Maybe a nap in the car would do him some good.
The kid looked half-dead when you picked him up last night. He was trembling like a leaf, clinging to your side the entire time when you were checking him out of the hospital. You wish there was more you could do, but you didn’t know much about his situation besides what little information Crow and the hospital gave you. Pigeon didn’t say much either.
“Scrambled eggs and sausage. I heard you say that you like it before.” You placed a plate down in front of him, ruffling his long, black hair. You sat down beside him, your own plate in front of you. Humming softly, you grabbed your fork and started eating. You kept a close eye on Pigeon, making sure he ate.
“Thanks MC… This is really nice of you,” Pigeon murmured, looking up at you. His blue eyes shining with genuine appreciation. He looked better than he did last night. He was rested, not as stressed, and now he was getting a nice meal to eat.
Pigeon happily finished his food, making a comment on how it was a million times better than the hospital food. That made you proud of yourself, knowing that the kid enjoyed your cooking despite them being notoriously picky with what they eat.
Gathering the dishes, you placed them in the sink and got to cleaning them. Pigeon eagerly offered to dry them off and put them away. Though, he did need some help from you in figuring out where they went. You, of course, pointed out the cabinets without issue. Pigeon was quite the little helper. Happy to help and prove that he could still function like a person.
…
The next hour was filled with last minute packing. Art supplies, chargers, laptops, that kind of stuff. It wasn't much that you were bringing. Just some personal belongings and clothes of both you and Pigeon's. What you needed to get through college. And what Pigeon needed to deal with in his first year of highschool.
You put your backpack filled with personal belongings in the backseat, Pigeon doing the same on the other side of the car. After which, the both of you climbed in the front seat and drove out of the driveway of your parent's house. Pigeon was quick to grab the aux and plug in his phone, turning on his main playlist. It was filled with tons of different music that you had no room to judge considering your own style.
Jack Stauber, Skillet, Mystery skulls, and a few other bands you couldn't name off the top of your head. The kid had quite the pallet.
It would be maybe an hour or two until you arrived at Carlie’s house. You hoped that Pigeon would take at least a small nap before you got there. It would do him some good considering he didn’t get much sleep last night anyways.
“Why don’t you try and get some sleep? It’s gonna be a pretty long car ride.” You suggested, ruffling Pigeon’s hair. They swatted at your hand playfully, but yawned and nodded in agreement. Getting comfortable in their seat and relaxing. They were trying to sleep, so that was good enough for you.
The rest of the car ride went smoothly, you stopped one or twice to stretch your legs. As you pulled into the driveway of Carlie’s current residence your eyes widened in surprise. It was a lot larger than you expected. You didn’t think she’d have a home this big. Well, maybe her boyfriends were pretty rich. You hoped that Carlie’s boyfriends wouldn’t be as bad as her.
You parked the car, turning it off and stepping out. You decided to let Pigeon nap a bit longer, you’d get introduced to everyone first and then go wake him up. You grabbed your phone and put it in your pocket, heading up towards the house, your boots thumping against the ground with each step. You had Pigeon’s medical files from the mental hospital in case Carlie tried to doubt Pigeon’s mental state. She had a tendency to try and make you look bad.
Reaching the front porch you see someone sitting on the steps. It definitely wasn’t Carlie. As you step closer you recognize him. It was one of the monsters that were on the news when it was revealed that the barrier had been broken. If you remember correctly, his name was Papyrus, a skeleton monster. You straightened up and walked over, a friendly smile on your face.
“Hey! Are you uh… Are you a friend of Carlie’s?” You spoke up, accidentally startling the skeleton in the process. He looked over at you and nodded, stood up and put on a wide grin.
“Indeed! I am the Great Papyrus! And I’m actually one of Carlie’s boyfriends. I’m sure she mentioned me by name,” He said with a chuckle, flipping his cape that hung around his neck. Papyrus seemed nice, a little egotistical, but nice overall.
“Actually, no she didn’t. I’m a little shocked given how much she loved bragging about having a boyfriend in high school. Call me MC!” You extended your hand out to the lanky skeleton and he eagerly shook it. The force actually almost knocked you over. Papyrus quickly apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Uhh… I don’t mean to intrude but what is that?” Papyrus asked, pointing to the file in one of your hands. You showed him the outside of the file and pointed over to your car.
“It’s Pigeon’s hospital file. I figured it’d be easier to show everyone what’s going on with him then tell everyone. I wanna make things easy for the kid, he’s been through a lot,” You explained, tucking the file back under your arm. Papyrus nodded, understanding what you mean. He looked back at the car again, fidgeting with the fabric of his glove.
“He’s sleeping right now. He had a rough night. I’ll introduce you to him after I meet everyone else. Sounds good?” You added, tilting your head to the side.
“Of course! I’ll even make him something to eat to make sure he feels extra welcome!” Papyrus beamed, turning to lead you into the house. Seems like he'd be introducing you to everyone. This should go smoothly. You hoped.
Introductions weren’t smooth to say the least. The skeletons that lived in the house were all related, either being brothers or cousins. They were definitely a colorful bunch. There were Sans and Papyrus, Rustle and Edge, Mutt and Wine, and finally, Elio and Kepler. Now, comes the tricky part.
“I apologize for keeping this interaction a bit longer than I wanted, but there is some very important information I have to share with you all before I go and get our other guest.” You started, grabbed the file out from your coat and held it firmly.
You scanned the room to see the reactions. The red skeletons seemed annoyed with this, Papyrus was already off in the kitchen preparing Pigeon’s meal, the star brothers were intrigued, and Sans was staring at you with a lazy expression.
“Well? Get on with it. We haven’t got all day!” Edge snapped, shooting you a glare. Which you returned with your own bite. He definitely wasn’t expecting it by the way his confidence faltered.
“As you know, well I’m hoping you know. We will be having Pigeon stay with us. He’s the younger brother of a friend of mine. Carlie knew him too. Unfortunately, Pigeon had a mental breakdown… He was released from the hospital yesterday. So, it’d be much appreciated if you all didn’t cause him any additional stress.” You explained, holding out the file for any of them to take a look at if they wanted. You didn’t give them the exact details given that you didn’t know exactly what happened yourself.
Rustle stepped forward, the short skeleton took the file from your hand and scanned through it. His expression slowly turned from one of annoyance to one of horror and sorrow. A skeletal hand coming up over his mouth.
You had taken a look through the file yourself, but you didn’t get too far into it. The details were a bit too graphic for your stomach. Despite your outward style and attitude, you never were one for blood and graphic descriptions and images. It always makes your stomach churn.
“Holy fuckni’ shit… Poor kid,” Rustle murmured, slowly closing the file before Edge took it from his hand. The taller skeleton took the time to look through it himself. A similar expression crossed his skull. Quickly, Edge handed the file back to you and apologized for his earlier behavior.
“It’s alright. Just try not to be difficult on the kid. If he doesn’t wanna talk, don’t make him. Got it?” You said with a stern expression. Without waiting for a response you headed over to the kitchen poking your head in to check on Papyrus. He seemed to be almost done cooking which was good.
“Hey Papyrus, I’m gonna head out and go wake Pigeon. I’ll be right back.” You called out to him, giving him a smile before heading out the front door.
Heading over to your car you found Pigeon still fast asleep. He was so peaceful looking, you didn't have the heart to disturb him. So, you groaned in annoyance, thinking about how you’d get him inside. You looked back towards the house and helped when you were met with Edge standing right in front of you. He looked a little uneasy, but let out a small sigh. The tall skeleton looked at Pigeon, his brows furrowing with worry.
“What are you-”
“I can carry him inside,” Edge simply stated, shooing you to the side and opening the car door. He didn't give you the chance to protest, instead he scooped up Pigeon in his arms and started walking back to the house. Looks like he wanted to do something nice to make up for his earlier rude behavior.
“... Huh,” Was all you could respond with. You turned back to the car and opened up the back seat, grabbing Pigeon’s backpack and your suitcase full of clothes. Following Edge back to the house to bring the stuff to your room.
…
Later, Papyrus poked his head into your room. You had finished bringing everything inside and you were now just relaxing. You had changed out of the heavier clothing for a simple T-shirt and sweatpants. Your makeup had been wiped off and you were de-gothified. As some described it.
“Hey Papyrus. Finished cooking?” You looked over at him, turning off your phone and setting it down on the desk beside you.
“Indeed! I see the little human is still asleep. I was hoping to see him awake by now, but no matter! I, the great Papyrus, can still be an amazing host even if the guest is asleep.” He stepped into the room, sitting in the other chair situated in the room. You gave a small chuckle and nodded in response.
“I can wake him up. Need to anyway or else he won't be able to get to sleep tonight.” You joked, standing up and walking over to Pigeon’s bedside. Gently shaking him to get him to stir.
Pigeon’s eyes slowly opened, a tired groan escaping his mouth as he pulled his hood over his head. You chuckled, and grabbed his legs, dragging him out of bed. Pigeon yelped in surprise, trying to free himself from your hold. Papyrus stood up and went to help you, grabbing Pigeon's arms and helping you drag him out of the room.
“Put me downnnn! Five more minutes!” Pigeon whined, squirming in your hold. As you reached the stairs you let go of Pigeon’s legs and Papyrus let go of his arms. He grumbled and got off, brushing himself off. He shot you a glare before turning to look over at Papyrus. There was a pause of silence, and for a moment you feared that Pigeon was scared.
“Oh… My… Stars. This is the best thing ever!” Pigeon squealed, shaking his hands before hugging Papyrus tightly. Both you and Papyrus stood there in shock, but the lanky skeleton was quick to return the hug.
“Hehe. Not to be overconfident, but I am pretty great if I do say so myself,” Papyrus replied with a smirk. You couldn’t help but chuckle, crossing your arms over your chest. You were pretty pleased with the turn out.
“After all, I am the Great Papyrus!” He added, letting go of Pigeon and stepping back. Though you could notice the slight change in expression when Papyrus caught Pigeon’s eyes.
You could understand why the skeleton might’ve been startled. Pigeon’s eyes looked quite a bit like the eyes of the other skeletons. Black sclera and blue iris. Freaked you out the first time you saw them.
“You’re?... I saw you on the news! And like I thought you looked so cool! I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you in person!” Pigeon said, covering his mouth with one hand, he started giggling.
Looks like things will be going well.