Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sans didn’t know what to think as he stared at his reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. Out of all of the timelines he had witnessed, this was one he would never expect to see. It could all be over in a matter of moments with another reset so it wouldn’t matter what he did. However, Frisk had vowed never to reset the timeline ever again to send everyone back to the Underground and so far they had kept their word.

Sure, monster reproduction was different than that of humans since either parent could bear the offspring but he thought Toriel would be the one to carry the “burden.” Still, there it was, staring at him right in the face, so to speak; a small, faintly glowing soul floating inside a barrier where his abdomen would have been if he had a body.

It had been about a few weeks since the two tried to share some of their soul with each other. He remembered the event vividly.

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It was a Saturday night and he, Toriel, Frisk and Papyrus were watching a movie together. He and Toriel had been seeing each other for almost a year and it had been several months since she and Frisk let him and his brother move in with them. Papyrus and the child had fallen asleep, which was surprising because his brother hated taking naps and Frisk had waited what seemed like forever to them to see this movie. Toriel was stroking her adoptive child’s head as it lay in her lap when she gave out a sigh of discontent. “Something wrong, Tori?” he asked his girlfriend.

“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking,” the boss monster responded.

“About what?"

Toriel looked a bit comfortable wanting to admit her feelings but knowing that she could trust the older skeleton made it bearable “Just… about me and Frisk. I kind of lament being unable to get back together with Asgore.”

He stammered for a moment. “W-w-why? Aren’t you happy with our relationship?”

“Oh no! It’s not that at all! It’s just… I hate the thought of Frisk staying an only child. If we worked it out, we could have given them a little brother or sister and I doubt boss monsters can have children with other monsters. However, after what happened with Azriel and how old I am now, having another child might not be a good idea.”

“Aw, come on, you’re not THAT old, Tori. Besides, things are a lot better here that they use to be years ago.”

“That’s true.”

“So, let’s give it a shot.”

“Are you sure? I know you are not one for intimacy outside of the occasional kissing and cuddling.”

“Hey, as long as it makes you happy, I’d be willing to try almost anything.” He then gave her a reassuring smile.

“Well, why not?” Toriel began to move closer to him and nuzzled his skull.

“Wait, now? Tori, Frisk and Papyrus are right here!”

“I know but I wasn’t thinking of doing it on the couch, just about how lucky I am to have someone like you.”

He blushed a bit. “Thanks”

“That and the bedroom would be a better place. Just let me put Frisk to bed since the movie is just about over anyways.”

“All right, I’ll be waiting for you there.” He got up from the couch as soon as his girlfriend left with the human in her arms. He grabbed a nearby blanket and covered Papyrus with it while he used his magic to rearrange him into a more comfortable position. “Night, bro,” he told him quietly before turning off the television and departing for the master bedroom, where he sat on his side of the bed to wait for her.

Toriel arrived a moment later and took her spot on the bed. “Now you’re still sure you want to do this? You don’t have to just for my sake.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” He took off his shirt and placed it on the floor by the bed and Toriel did likewise. The couple faced each other and placed their hands on their own chests, where a soft glow began to resonate as they concentrated their magic to offer a piece of their soul for the potential offspring. Slowly they moved their hands and revealed a piece of their soul to merge together and began to use their magic to combine the two pieces together but as soon as the fragments fused, it vanished. A look of disappointment appeared on Toriel’s face.

“Well, drat. I’m sorry, Tori…” he said.

“It’s not your fault, Sans. I was expecting something like that to happen anyways…” Toriel got off of the bed, picked up her shirt and went into the master bathroom, shutting the door behind her and locking it.

Poor Toriel… he thought as he overheard his girlfriend sniffling. She really wanted to have that child. I wish there was something I could do. He sighed and changed into an oversized shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I was hoping it would work too, just so she could be happy. To be honest, I kind of liked the idea of becoming a father, even if I had to carry the soul myself. Guess it wasn’t meant to be… The skeleton got into bed and waited for his girlfriend to return but fell asleep a few minutes later.

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While thinking back on the incident, Sans suddenly remembered something he had learned years ago in a friend's research about souls. In very rare cases, a newly-formed soul would disappear upon fusion when both parties are hesitant and enter a limbo-like state for a short period of time until one of the offerors exhibits strong feelings of hope for a child and will attach itself as normal, undetected.

“So that’s why you’re here,” he quietly told the tiny soul. “It’s because I wished that the conception succeeded so that Toriel would be happy. Now I wish I knew how to feel about you choosing me to be your ‘mom’.” The skeleton continued getting ready for work while in the kitchen Toriel prepared breakfast for everyone. It was a Saturday so both she and Frisk were home this morning. Papyrus had just come back from a morning jog and even if he couldn’t achieve his dream of being a member of the royal guard anymore, a monster had to keep himself in shape for whatever comes his way.

“Mornin’ all,” Sans greeted, trying to act normal.

“Good morning, Sans,” Toriel responded as she flipped an egg she was frying.

“MORNING BROTHER!” Papyrus added.

Frisk just waved at him as the child put a forkful of hash browns in their mouth.

“So how many eggs would you like for breakfast?” the boss monster asked the older skeleton.

“Two please. I’m going to need it,” Sans answered. "I'm always busy on Saturdays.” He got a fork and knife from a nearby drawer and took a seat at the kitchen counter. “So, what are your guys’ plans for today?”

“Nothing much, just some chores I have to take care of.”

“SAME HERE. THE CAR NEEDS TO BE WASHED AND VACUUMED OUT AND FRISK SAID THAT THEY WERE GOING TO HELP ME,” Papyrus responded.

“Yep,” the child said as they nodded in agreement.

“Here you are, dear,” Toriel placed the plate of fried eggs in front of her boyfriend and kissed the top of his skull.

“Thanks, Tori.” As Sans picked up his silverware, he suddenly began to feel queasy and paused for a second, trying not to make a mess in front of the group. “Uh, excuse me for a moment. I just remembered I left something upstairs.” He tried his best to casually leave the kitchen before darting to the guest bathroom as soon as he was out of everyone’s line of sight. “Just great…” he groaned as he leaned against the toilet, recovering from vomiting. “I’m already getting morning sickness and it’s only been a few weeks.” He wiped his mouth with some toilet paper and got back onto his feet.

“Are you all right?” Toriel’s voice echoed from the hallway, hearing the clunk sound he made when he scrambled for the toilet.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just ran into something.”

“Well, be careful. The last thing you need is a broken bone.”

“No, the last thing I need right now is to be pregnant,” Sans groaned quietly to himself. Hopefully he could make it through work today without having to rush to the restroom every other moment. As soon as the nausea subsided, he returned to the kitchen counter, where his eggs have already gone cold.

“Got what you wanted?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, now hurry up and eat or you’ll be late for work.”

Sans tried to eat his meal as fast as he could without feeling nauseous again and was able to succeed. “Thanks for breakfast, Tori. Gotta go.” He tried to head out of the house as fast as he could before he got sick again and possibly revealing his condition before he was ready to do so.

“What about your lunch?”

“I’ll just buy something today. See you later!” The skeleton ran out the door and slammed it behind him, almost knocking down a nearby frame from the wall.

“Uh, bye.”

“God, that was close.” He tried to catch his breath from the small amount of panic that ran through him. “Okay Sans, you got this. It’s just a normal day. Once you get to work everything will be fine.” He snapped his fingers and warped himself to work but not as far as he usually did to help conserve the magic he would need to give to the child.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day was no better. The morning sickness lasted until the afternoon (why it was called morning sickness when it doesn’t happen just in the morning he’ll never know) and half the time he was able to work, he couldn’t concentrate, making a lot of customers very displeased. All the skeleton could think about is how everyone would react if they found out he was pregnant, especially humans. The stares, the comments behind his back, the insults; the thought of it all made him so self-conscious. Even worse was the thought of his family and friends suffering for something that was not their doing, or even losing the child Toriel yearned for. He couldn’t bring that onto them.

All Sans could do for now was try to hide it until he could figure out the best way to handle this situation. Since he always wore such baggy clothes because they were comfortable and the soul didn’t need a lot of magic to sustain itself at this point in time, it shouldn’t be too hard, but God knows for how long, though. He just hoped he could make it through without something bad happening to him or anyone that he cared about, especially Toriel and the very young soul within him.

Chapter Text

Sans managed to keep his little secret for the next several weeks but it took quite a bit of effort. Papyrus and Frisk were easy to fool thanks to their innocence. His girlfriend, however, was another story and not just because she had been a mother once before. When two monsters share their magic and part of their soul with each other to create a child, the other mate can sometimes feel the same things as the “mother” until the offspring is born. Morning sickness, mood swings, cravings, whatever. At the moment it would only be slight since she had only shared a tiny bit of magic with him when they created it so that was going in his favor. From here on out it would just get harder. He was already starting to feel more drained as the soul required more magic to sustain itself, making it feel like as if Greater Dog was sitting on his chest when it wanted to play. The morning sickness had yet to subside as well.

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One afternoon, Toriel spotted Sans making his way out of the bathroom after recently throwing up. “Are you all right?” she asked.

The skeleton stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned around.  It looked like his luck was starting to run out. “Oh, I-I-I’m just great. Just been feeling a little nauseous.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’re getting sick too.”

“‘Too?’” She better not get suspicious… he thought.

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling unwell myself a few days ago but the flu has been going around at the school. Guess I brought it home with me.”

Good, she thinks it’s just a flu bug. “I hope not. Don’t pass it along to Frisk and Papyrus. You know how my brother gets when he’s not feeling well and you get so worked up every time the kid gets a little cold, though I can’t say I blame you.” Sans knew of the story of what happened to the human she and Asgore adopted those many years ago so whenever someone she cared about got sick, she usually feared for the worst. “Don’t worry about me, though. I’ve gotten through worse illnesses than this.”

“All right but don’t be afraid to speak up if you need anything.”

That’s what you think. “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind but just to be safe, maybe I should stay in bed the rest of the day.”

“Good idea. I’ll go ahead and make you some tea.”

“Thanks Tori.” God, that was close. I better just keep on pretending I’m sick to be on the safe side. The skeleton went ahead and went to the master bedroom to get some rest and to wait for Toriel.

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It ended up that he didn’t need play sick. The next morning Sans had a bout of morning sickness that was so bad that it had had left him unable to even drink a cup of tea without wanting to puke and left him bedridden for the next few days. Once it did subside, he was practically starving so when dinner came, Sans quickly ate his meal, stuffing his face full of food with each piece covered with a variety of different condiments.

Toriel couldn’t help but chuckle as she watched him eat with such gusto.

“What’s so funny?” he asked with a full mouth.

“You’re eating like you were pregnant,” she responded, noting how he was making strange food combinations.

Sans began to choke after hearing her comment.

“THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EAT TOO FAST,” Papyrus scolded.

“Are you okay?” Frisk asked.

The older skeleton pounded on his chest until he could swallow. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he finally responded. “Sorry about that. I haven’t been able to eat for the last few days so I wanted a little bit of everything.”

“That’s quite all right, Sans. Just try to eat a little bit slower,” the boss monster told him.

The older skeleton nodded and went back to his meal, taking his time. He was just glad he was able to eat again and the group was still none the wiser.

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Sans was feeling so much better the next day, no longer feeling queasy or hungry but now he had a throbbing headache and was almost completely drained. “Feeling better today?” Toriel asked him.

“A little drained but otherwise okay,” the skeleton responded with a half-truth.

“Need any of my magic to help you recover? Don’t want you to relapse. Remember what happened to you last summer?”

“I think I can manage.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. Do you think you at least well enough to come with me today?”

“To do what?”

“You said you wanted to help me go shopping last night if you were feeling better.”

“Oh, I forgot about that.” Sans became conflicted. If Toriel shared some of her magic with him, the joint symptoms would just become stronger on her end, making the skeleton’s condition more obvious to his girlfriend. However, considering how bad he felt at the moment, Sans had to take the chance. Maybe he would be fortunate enough and Toriel would think she was the one expecting instead. “You know what? I think I will take you up on that offer."

“Very well, give me your hands.”

The skeleton did as he was told and their hands began to glow as Toriel transferred some of her magic to her boyfriend. As she did so, it felt as if the weight he had in his chest was lifting and was feeling rejuvenated. Sans just hoped the soul wouldn’t start glowing as he received the offering.

“So, how are you feeling now?” she asked as they let go.

“Much better, thanks Tori. Now let’s get going before it gets too busy.”

Sans wasn’t sure is he could last through an entire day of shopping with Toriel but with that bit of magic she gave him, he was at least feeling more energized. The two had quite a bit of stores to visit that day. The dry cleaners, optometrist, drug store and office supply store gave him no problems so it wasn’t that bad of a day until they got to the supermarket. They saved it for last so that the human food wouldn’t go off before they got home.

“Could you go to the produce section and get me a couple of bags baby carrots while I get the milk?” Toriel asked as they entered the grocery store.

“Baby…carrots…?” Sans answered uneasily.

“Yeah, they’re on sale and I need to put some more vegetables in Frisk’s lunch.”

“G-g-gotcha.” The skeleton tried to shake it off as he went to do what she asked. He quickly went and grabbed the vegetables and hurried back to Toriel. Someone had spilled some vegetable oil and because he wasn’t paying attention, Sans slipped and was sent sliding down the aisle and into a display of baby formula. Fortunately, neither he nor the little soul was hurt. “Of course…” he groaned, tossing a can aside as he got to his feet.

“There you go, Tori,” he said while putting the carrots in the basket.

“Are you okay?” she asked, seeing her boyfriend rubbing his hip.

“Yeah, I just kind of fell on the way back. Anything else you need me to get?”

“Just need a pound of oven roasted turkey from the deli. And try not to fall this time.”

“Will do.”

The skeleton went into a trance-like state for the rest of the stop to make sure nothing else reminding him of babies got his attention. It seemed to work until they went to check out. A young human child, a little over a year old, was sitting in the cart in front of them and stared at Sans. He nervously waved at the tyke, who responded with a smile and a happy giggle.

“What are you laughing at, sweetheart?” the child’s mother asked them before turning her attention towards the skeleton. “Oh, you like Mr. Monster?”

“Surprised the child isn’t scared of me,” he responded with a bit of quaking in his voice. “A lot of humans haven’t gotten use to us yet.”

The woman smiled back at him and started to get her groceries out of the shopping cart.

“You definitely have a way with kids,” Toriel told her boyfriend, who responded with a nervous smile and a shrug.

Sans was so relieved when they got back to the house. “Thank God we’re home,” he sighed. “I don’t think I could’ve taken anymore.”

“Hi Sans!” Frisk greeted as their mom’s boyfriend helped take the groceries into the kitchen.

“Hey kid. What’cha got there?” he asked, seeing that they were holding something.

“Some candy,” the child responded, showing it to Sans. It was one of those lollypops that made it look like you had a pacifier in your mouth when you ate it. Their friend had given it to them, thinking how funny it was. The skeleton backed up, panicking, while Frisk stared at him looking puzzled. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry for freaking out. I just had a bad day”

It was like the whole world was out against him. Was it retribution for hiding the situation so long from Toriel? Dinner wasn’t that great for him either. All he could think about was his current situation.

“Is something the matter? Usually you’re elbow-deep in condiments by now,” the boss monster asked him, noting how different his eating habits was that night compared to the day before.

“No, not at all. It just doesn’t sound good, alright?” He was starting to act defensive.

“What is with you right now? You were so tense all day and now you snap at me.”

Sans then realized that he was starting to get moody. “Sorry Tori. Guess I haven’t been feeling like myself. Still recovering from the flu, I guess.”

He hated to do this, but he would probably have to start avoiding her if he wanted to keep his pregnancy hidden. The skeleton just hoped that it wouldn’t make Toriel too suspicious or upset.

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The next few days were very quiet as both Sans and Toriel ended up not feeling like themselves. Both were quite worn-out but Toriel was not as tired as her boyfriend was. Her actions and physical appearance said something different. Her face started to show signs of fatigue and she had such a hard time keeping everything in line both at school and at home. On top of that, every time the boss monster tried to use her magic, she would just feel exhausted or unsteady afterwards. It was terrible.

I feel just awful, she thought one night while grading papers and sipping tea to help calm her stomach. I cannot concentrate on anything, I can’t use my magic like I should and feel like I’m going to get sick again. I haven’t felt this way since… Oh my gosh! Could it be? Toriel quickly got up from her desk, ran into the nearest bathroom and examined herself in the mirror. Her body was the same as it had always been. She then searched for anything that was out of the ordinary or if anything was feeding off of her magic but found nothing. “Just wishful thinking I guess…” Toriel sighed. She thought back on when she started feeling his way and then realized how strange Sans had been acting the last couple of months. “Do you suppose…” The boss monster would need some more evidence to back up her theory and she knew just who to ask.

“Excuse me, Papyrus,” she asked the younger skeleton as he made his way to the living room. “Would you mind keeping an eye socket on Sans for me for a while? I think something’s going on with him and I need to know what.”

“OF COURSE, TORIEL.”

“Thanks, I can always count on you.”

“THAT’S ME, MR. RELIABLE!” Papyrus posed with a confident grin.

Toriel was pleased at his response. If she couldn’t get to the bottom of this, his brother would.

Chapter Text

Papyrus felt like a ninja in one of those “childish cartoons” Undyne and Alphys watched but without the goofy outfits as he followed his brother for the next couple of weeks. Initially there nothing too out of the ordinary, well for Sans at least. As time went on, though, the younger skeleton began to notice some changes in him. His brother started to do more tasks physically, which was odd because typically he used his magic so either he didn’t have to get up or it was just too heavy or awkward to do manually. His movements also became more sluggish than usual and he seemed to nod off all the time. One night he even fell asleep at the dinner table with his head falling into a plate of snail pie! The event was funny at first but the more Papyrus thought about it and everything else he had observed, the more worried the younger skeleton became. He wasn’t the only one.

Toriel had suspicions that Sans was carrying a young soul for a while. She didn’t want to confront him about it at first, thinking maybe he just needed to sort things out but when he never did, she just became more and more frustrated. Now her boyfriend wouldn’t even let her get within three feet of him and he was avoiding speaking to her whenever possible. If he really was expecting, Sans trying to do it by himself would put both him and the baby in danger. Why wouldn’t he tell her? It was her child as well! Why does he feel the need to keep secrets? The boss monster decided to try and coax the truth out of him.

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Toriel tried to wake up early the next morning to beat Sans out of bed since he had been up and about unusually early recently. She would probably be grouchy all day now from the lack of sleep but fortunately, that’s what coffee was for.

“Sans… are you up?” she asked singsongingly.

The skeleton grumbled and pulled the sheets in closer to him as he curled into a ball.

Good. Maybe I can get some info out of him while he’s not fully awake, she thought. “How are you feeling?”

“...tired…” he responded, half-asleep and not really aware of the words coming out of his mouth.

“May I ask why you have been so tired lately?”

“…low magic… ”

“Still?”

“…been… sharing it…”

Sans then realized what he was saying and quickly jolted into an upright position, fully conscious. “All right Tori, what are you trying to pull?” he asked as he crossed his arms while at the same time trying to cover his abdomen.

“Nothing, dear.”

Her boyfriend glared back angrily.

“Okay, I was. You’ve just been so distant lately and I was hoping...”

“You were hoping to pump some information out of me, right? Well, nice try.” Sans quickly got out of bed and stomped into the walk-in closet to get dressed.

Well that didn’t work. It looked like Toriel would have to use a more direct approach but since everyone was going to be awake soon she would have to try again later after they both returned from work. However, Papyrus beat her to the punch shortly after he came home that night.

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“HEY SANS, CAN I TALK TO YOU FOR A SECOND?” the younger skeleton asked while his brother was putting away his belongings.

“Sure, what’s up bro?” he asked.

“ARE YOU SURE THAT YOU’RE ALL RIGHT? I CAN’T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT YOU REALLY HAVEN’T BEEN USING YOUR MAGIC RECENTLY AND YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAVEN’T SLEPT IN DAYS.”

“I’m totally fine, Papyrus. Don’t worry about it.”

“BUT I CAN’T HELP BUT WORRY, YOU’RE MY BROTHER AND I WANT TO HELP YOU.”

“I’ll be all right. I just need to be left alone for a while.”

“BUT YOU ARE NOT ALL RIGHT. YOU HAVE BEEN AVOIDING EVERYBODY AND ME AND TORIEL ARE VERY CONCERNED.”

“I know but there is nothing you can do. So please, just leave me alone...”

“NO, I WON’T!” Papyrus stomped the ground with his right foot in anger. “I PROMISED TORIEL AND I WOULD KEEP AN EYESOCKET OUT FOR YOU AND I WILL NOT BREAK THAT PROMISE! NOW TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON, SANS!” he demanded.

“I said LEAVE ME ALONE!” Sans snapped. His left eyesocket began to glow a bright blue as he flung his arm at his brother to get him to back off.

Papyrus recoiled at his response as his brother ran out the front door and slammed it behind him. “BROTHER…” He knew right then and there he had to tell Toriel everything.

Sans needed a moment to recover after his little freak out. He knew he shouldn’t have shouted at his brother like that but a combination of fear and “hormones” had taken over. Hopefully he would feel better after a short walk. The skeleton got maybe a few blocks down when he was confronted by two men dressed in dark clothes, one of them brandishing a knife.

“Hand over yer cash, bone man,” one of the muggers demanded.

“Unless you want to get a knife in your skull,” the other added.

Sans took a few steps backwards before he took off on foot, with the two thugs following right behind him. It was all he could do at the moment to keep from being turned to dust. Teleporting was out of the question because he didn’t have enough magic to pull it off without becoming fallen down. It was a good thing he was a fast runner. He was able to keep pace until he ended up in a small alleyway.

Crap, dead end! he thought in dread, sweat dripping from his skull.

“End of da line, skele,” the armed robber grinned menacingly as Sans turned around.

“Did you really think you could run away?” his accomplice stated.

The skeleton slowly back up against the wall and began to focus the little bit of magic he could use to fight back. He knew it would be dangerous for both him and the baby but he had no choice. If he was going down, it wouldn’t be without a fight. However, before Sans had a chance to attack, something crashed at his feet, scaring off his would-be assailants; a familiar aqua-colored spear. Undyne jumped down a second later from a nearby rooftop, coming to the aid of her friend’s brother.

“Yeah, you better run you bastards!” she yelled, shaking her fist in the air as the muggers fled.

“Wow, good timing,” Sans told her.

“Hey, they don’t call me the ‘Spear of Justice’ for nothing,” the fish monster grinned widely. “Are you all right?”

“I am now. Thanks a bunch.” Boy, was he glad to see her. Another moment later and it could have been the end for him and the little soul. “Uh, say, Undyne, you wouldn’t mind walking with me back to my house would you? After that incident, I don’t want to go back alone.”

“Not at all.”

“Thanks.” Sans felt so much better after hearing that response.

The two monsters strolled back together, an air of awkwardness flowing between them. Undyne decided to strike up a conversation to help break the silence.

“So what are you doing out this time of night?” she asked.

“Oh, I got into a heated argument with Papyrus and I needed to cool down,” Sans responded, not noticing he made a bit of a pun there.

“I’m surprised you didn’t just use one of your ‘shortcuts’ or something when you ran into those thugs. I know you’re not one for conflict. Is there some reason you’re not using your magic?”

Sans paused for a moment in dread. If he told her what was really going on, she would blab it to his brother, who would then tell Toriel. “No reason. Guess I was too much in a panic to think about it,” he lied.

“Good. The last time I had to help someone who couldn’t use their magic it turned out they were expecting.”

“Yeah, heh heh heh heh… ugh…”

The rest of the walk was pretty quiet after that. Undyne glanced over at her silent companion to check on him when she saw the fairly rounder shape of his stomach. Her eyes widened for a moment before quickly turning away so she wouldn’t embarrass him.

“Thanks for walking with me home, Undyne,” the skeleton said when they got to the front of the house.

“Hey, no problem and tell Papyrus I said hi.”

“Will do.”

“Oh, and don’t worry about me spilling the beans,” she added as he headed towards the front door. “I’m sure you have your reasons for not telling your brother about the baby yet.”

“Wait, you know?” Sans was shocked.

“Hey, I‘m no dummy. Papyrus was talking to me the other day about how he was worried about you and after what happened I just put two and two together. Plus, you’re starting to show a bit.”

The skeleton looked down and his face began to glow a bright blue as he tried to cover his belly with his jacket. If she was able to notice, there was almost no way he could keep on hiding it. “It’s starting to get that obvious, huh?”

Undyne nodded. “I hope you tell him soon.”

“Yeah but first I better tell Toriel.”

“Wait, you haven’t even told her yet?! Is it not hers or something?”

“What? No!”

“Then what’s the big deal? I would tell Alphys the moment I found out I was pregnant.”

“Yeah but I’m not you.”

“Listen, if you’re hiding this just because you’re afraid of a few stares then that is just a poor excuse for putting yourself and the kid at risk.”

“But… Toriel was supposed to be the pregnant one, not me! She was the one who wanted a child!”

“Then how come you’re the one having it?”

He was silent for a moment.

Undyne sighed in exasperation. “Well, I just hope you make the right decision. Good night, Sans.”

“Night.”

Sans cautiously entered the house as Undyne took her leave, the recent conversation they had buzzing through his skull. He probably should tell Toriel now before the pregnancy became even more obvious, especially if Undyne was able to spot it. If he just kept on lying and she found out on her own, he would never hear the end of it. Now if he only had the nerve, both figuratively and literally. Maybe some ketchup would help him “mustard” up the courage. He was able to make it into the kitchen when his girlfriend’s voice echoed from the master bedroom.

“Sans, I want to talk to you,” Toriel said in a stern voice.

Crap! he thought. “Uh, coming Tori,” Sans responded. The skeleton slowly made his way towards the room and peeked his head through the doorway. Toriel sat on the foot of the bed, hands sitting in her lap. He approached his girlfriend and sat down next to her. “So, uh, what is it you want to talk about?”

“Sans, Papyrus told me what happened between you two earlier. You shouldn’t have yelled at him like that. All he and I want to do is to help you and we can’t do that until you tell us what’s wrong.”

He kept his gaze away from his girlfriend. He couldn’t bear to tell her the truth, especially because he was being forced to do so.

“Sans… I know you’re hiding something.” Her tone of voice was harsh. “All I want is the truth. If you’re really sick, we have to know so you can get the help you need.”

His hands trembled a bit but he knew that she was going to find out sooner or later. Sans tried to confess but the words did not come to his nonexistent lips. All that came out was mumbling.

“What was that?” she asked.

The skeleton closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tried again. He was actually able to speak a sentence this time. “All right, I guess you deserve to know.” Sans swallowed hard and discreetly placed one of his hands on the side of his slightly larger than usual tummy. “I’m… uh… We’re… uh…” There’s got to be an easier way to do this, Sans thought, scratching his cranium. Then he got an idea. “Hey, Tori. What do you call a monster with two souls?”

“Sans, this is not the time for jokes.”

“Come on, what do you call a monster with two souls?”

Toriel sighed. “I don’t know.”

“A MOM-ster.”

Toriel tried to keep a straight face but began to laugh anyway for a moment until she realized that her suspicions were confirmed. “W-w-wait a minute… B-but, how? I thought…”

“Same here but I guess life is full of surprises, huh?”

Toriel became ecstatic and squealed with joy. “I knew it! I knew there was the reason I was feeling so awful a few weeks ago and couldn’t find a thing!” She hugged her boyfriend tightly, but not too tightly so she would not to hurt either him or the fragile soul he was carrying. “I can’t believe it! We’re going to be parents!” The boss monster broke from the embrace a moment later, held Sans by the shoulders and looked at him with unease. “But you shouldn’t have hidden it so long from me. You know that it takes a lot of magic to carry a baby to term and it would be dangerous for you to do it alone.”

“I know. I was just too ashamed to admit it.” The skeleton looked down and placed his hands over the little soul. “I was… afraid of all of the awful stares and comments I would get, especially from the humans. Many don’t know how monster biology works and they would see me as a freak and might try to hurt me or the child or any of you.” He let out a sigh. “Also, I didn’t want you to worry about me. I’m so use to looking out for everyone else and keeping secrets that I thought I could handle it on my own.”

“Oh, Sans… You know you never have to hide anything from me and you’re never alone. You have me, your brother, Frisk and all of our friends! We’ll always be there for you.”

The same look of support that he had given his girlfriend months ago was being reciprocated towards him. Sans smiled in response, took Toriel’s hands and placed them on his growing midsection. “Well, at least the kid will have a WOMB with a view,” he joked.

She chuckled and quickly got to her feet, grabbing her boyfriend by the arm. “Come on, we have to tell everyone!”

“NO!” he protested.

“This is important news, Sans! Would you rather wait and let the baby tell them?”

He did not like the thought of that, especially considering neither his brother nor Frisk did not know exactly where baby monsters came from. “I’m… just not sure they can handle it, especially Papyrus. You know how naïve he can be.”

“Listen, I know he’s your brother but you can’t protect him from everything in this world. He’s going to have to learn about these kinds of things sooner or later. How do you expect him to function on his own if you keep holding his hand?”

The skeleton sighed. “You’re right. I can’t baby him anymore, especially with another baby on the way.”

Toriel nodded. “Now since that’s settled, shall we go get them?”

“Might as well,” Sans shrugged as he got up from the bed. “I’ll do it.”

“No, we’ll do it. I don’t want you running off again.”

“All right.”

Sans went to Frisk’s bedroom with Toriel close behind since it was the closest room to them. The child was finishing their last bit of homework when he knocked.

“Yes?” they asked.

“Hey, Frisk,” the skeleton greeted. “Can you go and get Papyrus and tell him to meet Tori and I in the dining room? We have something important to tell you both.”

“Okay,” the human replied. They got up from their desk and went to go get the taller skeleton.

The group gathered in the dining room a minute later with Toriel and Sans sitting next to each other on one side of the table while Frisk and Papyrus sat at the other.

“SO WHAT’S GOING ON? DID YOU FINALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS UP WITH SANS?” Papyrus asked the boss monster.

“Yes, he’s perfectly fine,” Toriel responded.

“THEN WHY WAS HE ACTING SO WEIRD?”

“Tell them, Sans,” she whispered to her boyfriend.

The short skeleton was still nervous about sharing the news with Frisk and Papyrus but he felt more comfortable saying it himself than having Toriel do it for him. Sans rested his left hand on his abdomen and patted the barrier as he took a deep breath. “I’m, uh, going to have a baby,” he eventually said, unsure if they would understand.

Frisk just sat there, confused, while Papyrus was dumbfounded. “A BABY?!” his brother shouted.

“Mm-hmm,” Toriel added. “You’re going to be an uncle and Frisk is going to have a little brother or sister.”

“BUT HOW? AREN’T ECHO FLOWERS ARE ONLY FOUND IN THE UNDERGROUND?”

“What are you talking about, Papyrus? You don’t need an Echo Flower to have a child.”

“BUT THAT’S WHAT SANS TOLD ME.”

The boss monster glared at her boyfriend, who hid his face in shame. “Well, that’s not how it works.”

“SO LITTLE MONSTERS DON’T COME FROM PARENTS WISHING ON ECHO FLOWERS?”

“No, they do not.”

“And isn’t Sans a guy monster?” Frisk added. “How can he have a baby?”

Toriel pinched the bridge of her muzzle in exasperation. That was not the reaction she was hoping for. “Papyrus, Frisk, I think it’s time we had a little talk.”

Chapter Text

“SO LET’S SEE IF I GOT THIS, TWO MONSTERS SHARE A PIECE OF THEIR SOUL WHICH THEY COMBINE TOGETHER TO MAKE A NEW ONE AND THAT GROWS AND BECOMES A BABY?” Papyrus asked.

“Right and because they are made this way, either the mom or the dad can carry it until it is ready to survive on its own,” Toriel responded to his query.

“WOWIE, I DIDN’T KNOW WE COULD DO THAT!”

Frisk nodded in agreement, still trying to soak in the details.

Sans lounged on the couch in the living room as his listened in on the conversation. He had excused himself a moment earlier while his brother, Frisk and Toriel stayed in the dining room. His girlfriend was the more ideal person to explain such a delicate topic to the two than he was so the skeleton let her go over of the details on how baby monsters were made on her own.

Surprisingly, Sans felt pretty good after revealing that he was expecting to his family. Because it was out in the open now, he no longer had to worry about trying to hide the growing soul and the symptoms that came with it. As he stretched out, finally at ease, the expectant skeleton started to wonder why he felt the need to try and hide it at all. Probably just a force of habit from all of the things he had hidden from his brother over the years.

While Toriel went over “the Tsuderplanes and the Whimsums,” as some monsters called it, to Frisk and Papyrus, Sans pulled out his cell phone from a jacket pocket, selecting Undyne from his contacts list. He began to send the fish monster a text message:

______________________________________________________________________________

* welp, I did it, I told them about the kid

* Great! How did they take the news?

* toriel was thrilled, or course

* frisk and papyrus were… a bit confused, to say the least

* toriel is giving them “the talk” right now

* lol that’s gonna be interesting…

* Mind if I tell Alphys the news now that you’ve let them know?

* not at all

* Thanks

* btw, expect to get a lot of messages soon

* You know how she is

* i wouldn’t be surprised, lol

*Knew it, she’s freaking out!

*in a good way, right?

*Definitely

*Oop, she’s posting, Better clean out your inbox!

* on it. ttyl

* Bye “mom”!

* lol, bye

______________________________________________________________________________

Just like Undyne sent, a moment after he had ended the conversation, a small notification appeared on his phone’s screen about him being mentioned in a post on a social media site.

OMG @Sansational87 is preggers! Congrats to the future mom and his girlfriend @Goatmama #skelemom #MsDadGal #UnclePapyrus #BigSibFrisk

It only took another minute after seeing that post for his inbox to start flooding up with messages from various monsters (and a few humans, remarkably) sending their well-wishes to the “mother.”

“wow, and I though news spread fast when we were still in the underground!” he chuckled to himself before turning his attention to the womb-like barrier and the young soul that dwelled within it. “looks like you’ve already got a lot of people that can’t wait for you to get here.”

“So, you two have any questions?” Toriel asked as they came to the end of their conversation.

“Not right now,” Frisk responded, getting the gist of what their mother had told them.

“All right but if you do don’t be afraid to ask.”

“ME TOO?” the lean skeleton added.

“You too, Papyrus.”

“So, can we go now?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, you can leave, my child.”

The child got up from their seat and made a beeline back to their room to finish their homework.

“And Papyrus, before you leave, if you even need to know, um, the more mature version, just let me know.”

The younger skeleton was a bit confused by what she meant by “more mature version.” “THERE’S ANOTHER VERSION OF ‘THE TALK’?” he responded after a moment of silence.

“Well, yes. I couldn’t use it though because Frisk was in the room but you’re an adult. However, you don’t need to know right this moment if you don’t want to.”

“OKAY, TORIEL.” Papyrus was kind of glad she wasn’t going to tell him now. He wasn’t sure he could handle it after just learning where little monsters came from and on top of that that his brother was carrying one of his own. “I’LL… LET YOU KNOW.”

The boss monster softly smiled at him as he got up from his seat at the table. She was glad that she wouldn’t have to go through that version at the moment as well. Right now she’d rather spend some time with her boyfriend and their future child.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Sans was starting to feel like himself again thanks to Toriel sharing her magic to make sure he had enough for both him and the child. However, thanks to her little conversation with Frisk and Papyrus the other night, they wouldn’t stop bothering the two with so many questions. Half of the time they were about how he was feeling, if he needed anything or he had been doing what he was supposed to in order to make sure the baby would come into this world strong and healthy. The rest were just queries they had about the future member of their family.

“HEY, SANS,” Papyrus said, trying to get his brothers attention while he was straightening up the living room.

“what now, papyrus?” Sans groaned, dreading another long conversation with him about the baby.

“ARE YOU SURE YOU SHOULD BE DOING THAT IN YOUR CONDITION?”

“i told you it’s fine. i’m pregnant, not dying! besides, it’s not like i’m trying to do construction or anything like that.”

“OKAY, I’M JUST MAKING SURE THAT…”

“…i’m taking care of myself and the baby. i know, i know. you sound like a broken record right now.”

“WELL FORGIVE ME FOR BEING A CONCERNED UNCLE! SOMEONE’S GOT TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU WHILE TORIEL IS AT WORK!”

“well you’re doing a great job, helicopter parent,” there was a tone of sarcasm in Sans’ voice.

“AND WHAT’S THAT SUPPPOSE TO MEAN?” his brother placed his hands on his hips as he started back at him.

“ever since i told you that i was having a baby, you haven’t stopped treating me like a child and it’s getting on my nerves!”

“WELL SORRY!” Papyrus then left the room, fuming.

The expectant brother groaned in exasperation as he went back to cleaning up.

Meanwhile, Toriel was at work grading some tests when a familiar voice greeted her from the classroom door. It was her ex-husband and the school’s groundskeeper. Even though they were unable to totally repair their relationship, they managed to stay on good terms as friends.

The teacher looked up from her desk. “Hello there, Asgore,” she greeted as she took off her reading glasses. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard that you and Sans are expecting and I wanted to congratulate you two.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“So… does it feel odd?”

“If by ‘odd’ you mean that I’m not the one carrying the child, then yes and before you say anything, we are not going to name it Soriel or Torans.” Toriel said matter-of-factly. “You knew you were always bad at naming things.”

“Uh, yeah. Well, I also wanted to stop by and give you these.” Asgore pulled out a bouquet of golden flowers and a wrapped package from behind his back. “It’s my way of wishing the both of you good luck with your growing family. The flowers are for you and the gift is for Sans.”

“Thank you very much,” the teacher smiled as she took the items. “Now, I better get back to work if I want to get home on time tonight.”

“Same here. I just wanted to stop by. Anyway, congrats again.”

“Thank you.” Toriel placed the gifts on her desk and put her glasses back on. “Hmm, Torans could work though,” she said to herself before shaking her head. “No, we can be more creative than that.”

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Later that night, Sans sat in the living room flipping through various TV channels, waiting for his girlfriend to return. He was right on the edge of exploding and he hoped he could find something to watch to distract him from Papyrus.

“SANS?” his brother called.

Ugh, not again, the short skeleton thought. “what is it this time, bro?”

“WELL, FRISK AND I WERE TALKING AND WE BOTH WANT TO KNOW HOW LONG UNTIL THE BABY GETS HERE.”

“listen, this my first so i wouldn’t know. probably a few months at least. why don’t you ask tori when she gets home? she would know more about his than i would.”

“OKAY…”

“I’m home,” Toriel said, closing the front door behind her a moment later.

“oh, thank god!” Sans responded as she came into the house, flinging himself against the back of the couch.

“Something wrong, dear?” the boss monster asked as she entered the room.

“oh, it’s just papyrus. he’s been driving me up the wall today with all of his questions and concerns. i don’t think i could’ve taken anymore!” He was so infuriated that he didn’t even notice the items Toriel was carrying.

“Don’t be too hard on your brother, Sans. This is all new for him as well so there’s bound to be some things he’s going to ask you about.”

“yeah but I wasn’t expecting it to be all at once.”

“Well you can relax now. I’ll take over from here tonight.”

“thanks, i owe ya.”

“You already have,” Toriel kissed the top of Sans’ skull. “By the way, this is for you.” She took the box from her arm and handed it to her boyfriend. “It’s from Asgore. Just his way of saying congratulations.”

“oh, that was nice of him.” The expectant skeleton placed the gift onto his lap. “so, should I open it now or…?”

“No, go right ahead. You probably need something to help lift your spirits.”

Sans untied the ribbon and ripped open the paper, revealing the box beneath it. Out of the box he pulled out a shirt that said “Mr. Mom Guy” on it.

Toriel chuckled a bit, comparing the shirt to the sweater her ex had gotten years ago as a present from her and their late son. “Boy, that takes me back.”

“looks more like something papyrus would have in his closet. if i didn’t know that asgore gave it to me, i would have thought it was from my brother.” Sans attempted to correct himself, feeling like he just made a faux paus. “not that it’s a bad thing, though. i mean, it’s the thought that counts.”

His girlfriend tried not to laugh as she nodded.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The next several days drove the two expectant parents up the wall, especially during the weekend.  Frisk and Papyrus kept on asking all of their questions and each parent kept passing off the two to each other as if they were the ball in a tennis match. Eventually it drove Sans and Toriel so crazy that both parents snapped at them to stop. They were so relieved when Monday arrived, which meant Toriel had work, Frisk had school and Papyrus went over to Alphys and Undyne’s for their weekly cooking session.

The younger skeleton had really improved in his cooking skills the last few months thanks to Toriel’s help that now he was the one teaching Undyne. Lately he had been trying some healthier recipes to make for Sans and the unborn baby. They were pretty good but he always left such a big mess in the kitchen afterwards, much to the boss monster’s dismay.

“We did it!” Undyne grinned as she marveled at their newest creation. “Alphy will love this one!”

“SHE SHOULD, IT LOOKS ALMOST JUST LIKE THE ONE IN THAT MOVIE YOU SAID SHE WAS WATCHING THIS WEEKEND,” her friend responded.

“Yeah and it only took three tries to get it right this time!”

Papyrus glanced up at the clock on the microwave as he started to clean up. “IT’S GETTING LATE. I PROMISED THE HUMAN I WOULD BE BACK EARLY SO WE CAN PLAY THE VIDEO GAME THEY’RE BORROWING TOGETHER.”

“You go ahead and head on home; I’ll take over from here.”

“REALLY? THANKS UNDYNE!”

“No problem. Oh, and take these with you.” Undyne went to the coat closet and grabbed a bag and a wrapped box.

“MORE PRESENTS?” Papyrus complained.

“What do you mean ‘more presents’?”

“OH, TORIEL BROUGHT HOME A COUPLE OF PRESENTS FOR HER AND SANS FROM ASGORE SEVERAL DAYS AGO AND THE NEXT DAY SOME OF THE TEACHERS GAVE HER A COUPLE OF GIFT BASKETS. JUST THIS MORNING METTATON SENT OVER THIS GIANT STUFFED ANIMAL!” The skeleton flung his hands into the air in annoyance.

“Well, having a baby is a big deal.”

“BUT SHE’S NOT EVEN THE ONE HAVING IT! MY BROTHER IS!”

“Sounds like you’re getting a bit jealous there, buddy.”

“I’M NOT; I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO BECOMING AN UNCLE BUT EVERYONE IS MAKING SUCH A BIG DEAL OVER IT.”

“But weren’t you just saying that you got yelled at the other day for bugging Sans all day about the nibling?”

Her friend paused for a bit and blushed, feeling a bit sheepish. “I GUESS I AM TOO…”

Undyne smirked. “See? Things will calm down after a while. Not a lot of monsters have been born since we all came above ground so there’s a lot of excitement whenever a couple announces they’re expecting. The same thing happened with Dogamy and Dogaressa when they revealed that they were having puppies. Just hang in there, Papyrus.”

“I WILL.” he took the gifts Undyne still held in her arms. “THANKS FOR THESE.”

“You’re welcome and have fun with the kid tonight.”

Papyrus nodded and took his leave, presents in tow.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

“I’M BACK!” the younger skeleton shouted as soon as he got home.

“we’re in here, bro,” Sans responded, his voice echoing from the kitchen.

Papyrus made his way into the room where Sans and Toriel were, preparing dinner together.  Another item had been added to the mound of gifts on the counter since he had left with this one being a mix CD full of soothing songs and lullabies. From Napstablook, no doubt.

“GOT SOME MORE THINGS FOR YOU TWO.” The thin skeleton added to two items to the growing pile.

“Now who are these from?” Toriel asked.

“ALPHYS AND UNDYNE.”

“this is starting to get out of hand,” Sans stated.

“I’LL SAY BUT UNDYNE TOLD ME THAT IT SHOULD CALM DOWN EVENTUALLY.”

“Hopefully,” Toriel said to the two brothers. “If this keeps up I don’t think we’ll have enough room in this house for the baby!”

“SPEAKING OF ROOM FOR THE BABY, WHERE IS IT GOING TO SLEEP?”

“Good point, I haven’t even thought of that. I suppose I can always move my office into the master bedroom and the child can have that room.”

“I GOT A BETTER IDEA. WHY DON’T YOU MOVE YOUR OFFICE INTO MY ROOM! I DON’T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME IN THERE ANYWAYS.”

“Oh no, I can’t ask you to do that!”

“AW, COME ON, PLEASE? LET IT BE MY WAY OF MAKING UP FOR DRIVING YOU TWO CRAZY THE LAST FEW DAYS.”

“you sure bro?” the pregnant skeleton asked.

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS SURE. ONCE I OFFER SOMETHING, I NEVER TAKE IT BACK!”

“That’s so sweet of you. Thank you very much, Papyrus.”

“YOU ARE MOST WELCOME, TORIEL. NOW, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN HELP YOU WITH WHILE I AM HERE?”

“No, I believe I have it covered. Why don’t you go into the living room and play with Frisk? They’ve been patiently waiting for you to come home.”

“OH YES, I PROMISED I WOULD.”

“That was very nice of your brother to do that,” the boss monster said to her boyfriend as soon as Papyrus left.

“yeah, he’s definitely the coolest,” Sans responded. “i sometimes forget how reliable he can be.”

“He’s definitely done a bit of growing up lately. I’m proud of him.”

Sans nodded in agreement. “me too, tori, me too.”

Chapter Text

The one thing you can always predict about pregnancy is that it’s unpredictable, something Frisk and Papyrus learned very quickly. Sans had not been acting like his goofy, cheerful self as of late thanks to “hormones” and whenever Papyrus tried to cheer his brother up with some of his favorite puns, what he got in return was indifference or tears. And thanks to Toriel sharing magic with the expectant skeleton, she became temperamental from time to time as well. Between Sans seemingly random crying and Toriel becoming moody every now and again, life became like walking on eggshells for the younger skeleton and the human.

The two were hiding out in Frisk’s room one night, their only sanctuary from the sea of hormones. Ever since Papyrus offered to share his bedroom with Toriel so that the boss monster’s office could become the baby’s room, everybody’s rooms had been rearranged. Frisk’s room had now become the nursery because it was the closest to the master bedroom, Papyrus had moved most of his things into the Toriel’s office and Papyrus’ room now belonged to the human.

“I DON’T THINK I CAN TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS,” Papyrus sighed, overhearing his brother shouting at something, probably Toriel again.

“Me either,” Frisk added. Their mother being more grumpy than gentle had made it hard for the child to want to spend time with her before the baby came.

“SANS HASN’T BEEN THE SAME EVER SINCE HE TOLD US HE WAS GOING TO HAVE A BABY. WHEN HE’S NOT CRYING HE’S EATING AND WHEN HE’S NOT EATING HE’S SLEEPING. IF I DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS HAVING A BABY I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT HE WAS THE BABY!”

Frisk giggled at the slender skeleton’s comment. Looks like some of Sans had rubbed off on him thanks to Papyrus trying to make his brother feel better by using some of his jokes.

Papyrus groaned once he realized what he just said and covered his face with his hand. “GREAT, NOW I’M MAKING THE SAME JOKES THAT HE WOULD.”

“Well, someone has to.”

“BUT I DIDN’T WANT THAT PERSON TO BE ME!”

The child began to laugh. Even if the mood swings continued for both expectant parents for a while at least they weren’t the only one having to put up with it. After all, misery loves company. Once Frisk calmed down, they noticed that the arguing finally stopped. The child slowly opened the door to the bedroom and peered into the hallway. It seemed like the coast was clear. Hopefully it wasn’t just the eye of the storm. “I think things have calmed down for a minute. I’m going to quickly get a snack before something happens. Do you want anything?”

Papyrus shook his head. “SHOULDN’T YOU GET READY FOR BED SOON?”

The human looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand, noting that it was only a little past 7 p.m. “It’s not that late. I still got an hour.”

“WELL, I DON’T WANT YOU GETTING YELLED AT SO I’LL GET IT.”

“Maybe we should both go get it. Safety in numbers.”

“GOOD IDEA.”

The two quietly snuck out, trying not to do anything that would prompt Sans or Toriel to scold at them, even if the reason was no reason at all. They managed to make it to the living room when Papyrus spotted Toriel putting on her coat.

“WHERE ARE YOU OFF TO THIS TIME OF NIGHT? DON’T YOU HAVE WORK TOMORROW?” the younger skeleton asked.

“Oh, Sans is having cravings since I need to get a few things from the store anyway…” The boss monster sounded a bit annoyed, hopefully not with Papyrus.

“I CAN DO THAT FOR YOU.”

“Why thank you, Papyrus. I already made a list of the things he wants.” Toriel pulled out a piece of paper with a list of various items written on it and handed it to him.

The taller brother took a quick look over the list he was handed. The condiments he wasn’t too surprised about but rather the things listed underneath it. It was mainly a variety of fruit, something Sans usually never ate but one thing really caught his eye. Durian, really? He just hoped he could find some. “ANYTHING ELSE YOU NEED SINCE I’LL BE OUT?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. I also need you to get some ice packs.”

“WHATEVER FOR?”

“Well, if his pregnancy is going to be anything like mine was I’m sure he’s going to get hot flashes and if he does, I might as well. It never hurts to be prepared.”

“GOT IT.”

“Take me with you!” Frisk pleaded, wanting to get out of the house for more than just school.

“OF COURSE YOU CAN COME WITH ME.”

Toriel grabbed the child by the arm before they had a change to go get a sweater. “Oh no, you don’t. I’m not the only one who has to go to class in the morning. Now go and get ready for bed.”

“Fine…” Frisk went back to their room, a bit upset.

“Anyway, I appreciate you doing this. Just don’t stay out too long.” Toriel’s mood quickly shifted to intimidating. “If you do, I’ll hunt you down.”

“D-DON’T WORRY, TORIEL! I’LL BE BACK FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY ‘UNCLE PAPYRUS’!”

“Good.”

Papyrus shook off the sudden mood swing and spent the next few hours searching for the items his brother wanted. Most of it was easy to get since they were pretty common food items but the one thing Papyrus dreaded to get took most of his time. Eventually he had to give up with trying to find the fruit once he realized the one place he might find it was so many miles out of the way and probably closed by now. He just hoped that Toriel wouldn’t chew him out for being out so late. However, when he did return home, everyone was fast asleep. The thin skeleton let out a sigh of relief as he quietly put the groceries on the kitchen table for Sans to get to if he woke up in the middle of the night for them.

“i thought tori was going to go get the stuff,” a voice said from behind.

Papyrus turned around and was greeted by his brother. Sans had managed to get out of bed under his own power for a change. He was now in a usually happy mood, humming to himself while he poured himself a glass of water while his brother unpacked the provisions.

“WELL SHE DOES HAVE WORK IN THE MORNING SO I OFFERED TO GET IT. SORRY I COULDN’T GET ANY DURIAN. NO ONE SELLS IT AROUND HERE.”

His brother looked a bit disappointed. “oh well, i just wanted to know what it tasted like anyway.”

“IT WAS PROBABLY FOR THE BEST. SOMEOME SAID THAT THEY STINK AND I DON’T WANT TORIEL GETTING ANGRY BECAUSE WE MADE THE HOUSE SMELL.”

“well, at least you got everything else, right?”

“YES, I DID. I JUST HOPE SHE DOESN’T GET TOO MAD ON HOW MUCH I SPENT. A LOT OF THE FOODS YOU WANTED WEREN’T IN SEASON OR ON SALE.”

“i don’t think she’ll mind.” Sans took a seat by the counter with his water, grabbed some caramel ice cream topping and poured it on top of an onion.

Papyrus winced as he watched his brother took a big bite out of it was if it were an apple.

“what? you’ve heard of ‘caramelized onions,’ right?”

“YEAH BUT IT DOESN’T USE ACTUAL CARAMEL!”

“hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

“I’LL PASS.”

“your loss.” He took another large bite and put the onion down. “i’m sure you’ll like this, though.” Sans picked up a jar of marinara sauce and a banana and offed the two to his brother.

Papyrus had an unsure look on his face but he didn’t want to hurt the pregnant skeleton’s feelings. It was the last thing he wanted now that Sans was finally in a good mood again. He sat down next to his brother, carefully peeled the banana, dipped it into the sauce and slowly put in into his mouth. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad.

“HEY, THIS IS PRETTY GOOD.”

“see, I told ya.” The shorter brother put down the jar and grabbed some strawberries and a jar of relish. “here, try these together.”

The younger skeleton took him up on his offer and tried the odd combination. He was pleasantly surprised that he enjoyed it as well and continued to try the different mishmashes of food and condiments that Sans offered. It was like a whole new world of flavor combinations opened up for him.

Sans laughed, seeing his brother enjoying the food as much as he was. “by the way you’re eating that stuff, i’m surprised you’re not the pregnant one,” he joked.

Papyrus would have scolded his brother for his silly comment but he didn’t mind, though. He was just glad to have the old Sans back, even if at least for a while.

“anyway, i hate to do this to you but i’m going to have to ditch you on my day off tomorrow,” Sans said as he took a drink from his glass.

“HOW COME?” his brother asked.

“I gotta go and talk to my boss about taking an l.o.a.”

“L.O.A?”

“leave of absence. it’s getting kind of hard to do my job now with this in the way.” Sans leaned backwards in his seat and rubbed his enlarged abdomen. “it also doesn’t help that i can’t really use my magic anymore. i just hope she’ll understand.”

“WHY WOULDN’T SHE?”

“well, i’m a guy for starters.”

“HOW DOES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?”

“unlike us monsters, only female humans can bear children and i’m not sure if she knows that any monster can become pregnant, no matter what gender.”

“I GUESS THAT MAKSE SENSE. I HOPE IT WORKS OUT FOR YOU.”

“thanks bro.” Sans finished eating and sighed. “i feel so much better now.” The shorter skeleton began to close up some of the containers he had opened.

“OH, YOU DON’T NEED TO DO THAT! I’LL CLEAN THIS UP FOR YOU. NOW GO TO BED. I’LL ALLOW YOU TO BE A LAZYBONES UNTIL THE BABY COMES.”

The expectant brother smirked. “thanks.” He carefully got up from his seat, trying not to fall due to the shift in his center of gravity. “good night.”

“YOU TOO, BROTHER.” Papyrus began to gather all of the food items that were spread out onto the countertop while Sans headed towards the master bedroom. I HOPE SANS IS ABLE TO KEEP HIS JOB AFTER TALKING TO HIS BOSS TOMORROW, he thought to himself. WE’LL NEED THE MONEY SINCE THERE’LL BE A BABY SOON. Papyrus then got an idea. THAT’S IT!  I’LL GET A JOB WHILE SANS HAS TO LEAVE HIS SO WE’LL HAVE SOMETHING TO FALL BACK ON! HE’LL BE SO SURPRISED! NOW TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO START LOOKING…

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Toriel came home one evening a little bit later than she had hoped and he had no clue what she should do for dinner tonight. Hopefully Papyrus was in the kitchen trying out another one of his recipes so they could have that. “Sorry I’m late tonight,” she apologized to her family as she entered the house. “There was a small emergency at the school that I had to take care of.”

“don’t worry about it, tori.” Sans responded. He was sitting on the couch with Frisk while the two of them were playing a game together.  “i’m just glad you’re okay.”

“So where’s Papyrus?”

“He’s not here right now,” Frisk told their mother.

“Do you know where he went? It’s not his usual day to be over with Undyne and Alphys’.”

“he didn’t say,” Sans shrugged. “he just said it was a surprise and that he wouldn’t be home until late.”

“Well, I hope he doesn’t stay out of too long.”

“we can always call him if you start to worry but Papyrus is a grown monster. he can take care of himself.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

The boss monster put down her purse and looked at the clock on the wall. “Wow, it’s later than I thought. Would you all be opposed to going out for dinner tonight?”

“sounds good to me.”

Frisk nodded in agreement.

“All right. So where do you want to go tonight?”

“mind if we check out this new place?” Sans pulled up the restaurant on his phone and got up (with a little bit of trouble) to show it to his girlfriend. “it’s been getting pretty good reviews. alphys is even recommending it.”

She looked over the posts for it and noted the location. Fortunately it was only a short drive away. “Well, why not?”

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

It didn’t take long for the group to get to the restaurant Sans suggested. It wasn’t too busy but considering it was a weekday and it was a newer place, it didn’t have too much of a reputation yet.

“Hello and welcome,” a spider monster greeted as they entered the establishment.

“Hi Muffet!” Frisk smiled.

“Hello little human, it’s been a long time!”

The child nodded. “You work here now?”

“Co-own actually. I’m Grillby’s business partner.”

“grillby owns this place too?” Sans asked, knowing that he still owned him some money and was not in the mood to see him right now.

“Wee, it’s mostly his place.  He was still a bit short after saving up for a while so I came in as his not-so-silent partner thanks to the success of my bakery. Plus I wanted to expand my horizons a bit in the world of business.”

“Then why are you working here instead of your bakery?” Frisk inquired, trying not to sound rude.

“To help him save on wages so he can build up his bankroll to buy my share.”

“That makes sense. I’m surprised you have the time,” Toriel added.

“Ahuhuhuhu, you’d be surprised how much you can get done with three pairs of arms.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Now, let me show you all to your seats. Would a table be all right instead of a booth?”

“no complaints here,” Sans stated. “it will probably easier for me to get up from ‘cause, you know...”

“Oh yes, I heard. Congratulations on your little spiderling.”

“uh, thanks.”

Muffet took the trio to a table and handed them their menus. “Your server will be with you in just a moment. Enjoy yourselves tonight and don’t hesitate to ask for anything.”

“Thank you, Muffet,” Frisk smiled.

“It’s my pleasure.”

All three began to look over the menu to decide what to have as soon as she left.

“HI, EVERYONE! WHAT CAN I GET FOR YOU TONIGHT?” a very recognizable voice asked a moment later. The group looked up from their menus and was surprised to see Papyrus to the one to take their orders.

“papyrus?!” Sans asked, surprised. “what are you doing here?”

“IT’S MY NEW JOB! SINCE YOU CAN’T WORK, I WILL!”

“but you hate grease.”

“Yeah, I thought you were a skeleton with standards,” the child added.

“I AM BUT HUMAN FOOD AND HEALTH STANDARDS MEET MY OWN SO HERE I AM!”

“That’s very kind of you to do this Papyrus but I make enough money to support all of us,” Toriel told him. “You didn’t have to get a job.”

“BUT I WANTED TO! SANS HAS ALWAYS TOOK CARE OF US MONEY-WISE SO NOW IT’S MY TURN. ALSO, SEEING EVERYONE WORKING IN THE KITCHEN IS GIVING ME SOME GREAT IDEAS FOR NEW RECIPES!”

“Now Mom will never get her kitchen back,” Frisk said quietly to themselves, smiling.

“you know, I’m not going to be unable to work forever, just until the baby comes.” Sans told him. “alphys and undyne already offered to babysit on days Toriel and I both work. said it would be good practice for when they decide on having one of their own.”

“YOU KNOW, I COULD HAVE ALSO DONE THAT FOR YOU.”

“Yeah, but…”

Papyrus cut him off. “YOU DON’T TRUST ME?”

“N-n-n-no, that’s not it at all!”

“YOU COULDN’T EVEN TAKE CARE OF YOUR PET ROCK! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU COULD BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF A CHILD?”

“Why not? I’ve already done that for years.” The older skeleton gestured to his brother, starting to feel offended.

“NYAH! THIS ISN’T MY TABLE.” Papyrus then took off in a huff, trying not to make a scene.

Frisk stared at Sans, who glanced back at them, still feeling a bit insulted.

“What?” he asked.

“I think you hurt his feelings,” the human responded.

The expectant skeleton put his hand behind his skull and scratched it, realizing that he called his brother a child. “should I go and apologize?”

Toriel shook her head. “I suggest you wait until he gets home. Give him a chance to cool off.”

“all right.”

“Sorry about that, folks,” another voice told the group. A new server had come over to their table after Papyrus’ little outburst.

Sans stayed pretty quiet after that little tiff. All he could think about was how he had been acting towards his brother the last several weeks. Papyrus had been trying so hard to help take care of him and the baby and all he did was treat him poorly. He would blame hormones for his actions but he knew that was all bull. The short skeleton just hoped that his actions would cost his brother his new job.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

When Papyrus came home later that night, he ignored everyone and headed straight to his room, the door slightly slamming behind him.

“Sounds like your brother is home, Sans,” Toriel told her boyfriend. She was sitting in her chair, looking over her lesson plan for the upcoming school week while he was at his usual spot on the couch.

Sans sighed as he got up from his seat and walked up to his brother’s room. He stood there for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts before eventually knocking. “hey, bro. can I come in for a second?” he asked after cracking the door open a bit. Papyrus was sitting on the side of his bed, hunched over.

“I GUESS…” Papyrus responded. There was still a tone of pouting in his brother’s voice.

In response, the expectant skeleton opened the door just enough to get himself into the room and quietly closed it behind him. Sans approached his brother and took a seat next to his brother, making the bed bounce a bit as he made contact. “listen… i want to apologize for how i acted this evening. i hope i didn’t get you into trouble.”

Papyrus glanced as his brother and then looked away again.

“it’s not that i don’t want you to help look after our baby. i know you are capable. i mean, you do a great job with frisk. hell, i think you would do a great job.”

“YOU’RE JUST SAYING THAT TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER.”

“no, i mean it. the kid obviously likes you and i have a feeling that this one will too. i just didn’t want you to put your life on hold just to help us out.”

The younger brother sighed. “WELL, I GUESS ALPHYS AND UNDYNE DID ASK FIRST.”

Sans nodded. “i know i haven’t been my usual self lately and you’ve been trying hard to keep things together around here and tori and i are really grateful for that. listen… she and i were talking earlier and we want you to be the godfather of our kid.”

Papyrus’s lifted his head after hearing that last sentence, eye sockets wide. Did they really trust him that much? “G-G-GODFATHER? ARE YOU SURE? I MEAN, THAT’S KIND OF A BIG RESPONSIBILITY.”

“yeah but you’ve done a lot of growing up lately and i’m proud of you, bro. i’m sure you can handle it.”

The lanky skeleton gave a grateful smile. “THANKS, SANS. I APPRECIATE IT.”

Sans opened up his arms, ready to give a hug. Papyrus took him up on his offer and the two embraced for a few seconds before the two brothers gave a look of shock and quickly separated.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” Papyrus asked, quite startled.

“it just kicked…” The older brother stared at his protruding stomach. It was the very first movement that the child made that he was able to notice.

“WELL, THAT’S NOT VERY NICE…”

“no, papyrus, it’s a good thing. it means that the baby’s growing like it should. quick, go get toriel!”

“OKAY!” His brother ran out of the room to go tell her.

“wanted to get in on the action too?” he chuckled as the child “kicked” once more, practicing to control the magic around it that would ultimately become its body. It felt odd but at the same time, it was very pleasant. He heard a female voice squealing a second later followed by stomping as Toriel scrambled to the bedroom.

“Are you serious?! Did our child just move for the first time?!”

“yep, go ahead and feel for yourself.” He exposed his midsection to his girlfriend, revealing the barrier. It already begun to lose some of its transparency as the little soul inside was now starting to turn a soft Tyrian Purple, the color the baby’s magic would be once it was born.

The boss monster placed her hands onto the barrier and waited for the child to respond. She felt pressure against her left hand and began to laugh. Toriel was so glad that the little soul was doing well, considering how long her boyfriend went without her knowing, that her eyes began to well up with tears.

“you all right there tori?” Sans asked.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry for getting a little emotional but… I’m just so happy. I still can’t believe that it’s our child in there. That we get the chance to have one together. I mean, I always hoped that I was going to be the one to have our first child if we could but… I wouldn’t change any of this for anything in the world.”

“you know what? me either.” The couple laughed lightly and kissed, or at least attempted to, considering that Sans had no lips.

“oh crap, i forgot about papyrus!” the pregnant skeleton shouted in sudden realization. “i sent him to go get you that we didn’t finish our talk!”

“DON’T WORRY, I’M ALL RIGHT!” Papyrus shouted from the hallway. He was eavesdropping a bit on their conversation.

“Were you listening in the whole time?” Toriel asked as she crossed her arms.

“A LITTLE BIT, SORRY,” he confessed, peaking his head through the doorway.

“That’s quite all right. Well, since you’re here, could you possibly get me some corn?”

“oh, and some ketchup as well,” Sans added. He was about to go get the same thing once he was done talking to his brother.

“COMING RIGHT UP!” Papyrus responded before he darted off to the kitchen.

“were you reading my mind, tori?”

“Perhaps. Probably just sympathy pains though,” the boss monster confessed.

“i wouldn’t be surprised thanks to your share of magic.”

The younger skeleton reemerged a moment later with a can of corn with a spoon in it in one hand and a jar of ketchup in the other. “HERE YOU ARE,” he said as he handed the items to his brother. “BY THE WAY, SANS, GRILLBY SAYS YOU STILL HAVEN’T FINISHED PAYING OFF YOUR TAB.”

“yeah, I know.”

“OKAY, JUST MAKING SURE. IF YOU WANT, I CAN USE SOME OF MY PAYCHECK TO HELP YOU FINISH PAYING HIM OFF.”

“nah, you’ve done enough. i appreciate the thought, though.” Sans took a spoonful of ketchup-covered corn.

“SO… CAN I HAVE MY ROOM BACK?”

“Oh, sorry about that,” Toriel told him. “I forgot that we were still in here.”

“yeah, we’ll go ahead and get out of your hair,” her boyfriend added. The boss monster helped Sans off of the bed since his hands were full and they left Papyrus’ bedroom.

“So did ask him yet?” Toriel asked in the hallway as he took another bite.

“yep.”

“And?”

“he’d love to be the godfather. he really appreciated it.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Sans nodded before swallowing. The two continued sharing the can of food on the way back to the living room. “you know what i just realized; we haven’t started thinking about names yet.”

“You’re right but it getting kind of late now. We’ll have to take care of that tomorrow.”

“yeah, you’re probably right.” The child moved once more as the couple finished the corn, causing the father to twitch a bit. “don’t worry kid, you’ll get a name soon, just be patient.”