Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Error was not in the best state when he became aware of his surroundings.

His mind felt like mushy water slushing around his skull, his breathing pain and laborious as he trudged through the empty above ground streets, the way he wabbled and stumbled would make anyone think he did ten times the amount of drugs you’re suppose to do but no, he wasn’t on any drugs though he probably wish he was with all the pain he was in.

He wasn’t in the mood for murder, frankly he just wanted to get some yarn for his knitting but nooooo the store clerk wouldn’t let him have it without ‘paying’ and then she had the gall to call the police on him. It was a blood shed he would’ve enjoyed it if he actually remembered what happened, pretty sure he got shot and he must’ve wiped the police squad clean because he’s stumbling around go knows where holding an blood arm of a woman.

Slumping against a brick wall to catch a breather and to spit out some of the blood he had forming in his mouth, he’s not sure why he’s still holding the arm but he feels his magic begin to replenish slowly, its not much but it’s enough for him to teleport home.

He’ll make a mental note to destroy this AU later once he’s back to health.

Suddenly, he perks up to a sound of some trash cans in the alleyway next to him being knocked over, he naturally tenses up, hoping it’s just a raccoon or some stray cat. Sounds of footsteps approach him and he braces himself, clutching his free hand ready to summon a portal.

Out from a shadows was a stray….but not a stray from this AU.

It took a lot to make Error feel horrified at situations but this made his soul race as he stared down familiar soulless pink hue eyes.

There in the shadows was a Fresh Sans---- in terrible conditions, Error couldn’t begin to think at what could cause something like this to happen to a Fresh parasite, their clothes brightness and painful colors were dampened by layers of dirt and grime, their host looked to be barely held together and overall Fresh looked….mangey… a sickly feral animal.

It didn’t help that they lacked their glasses, giving Error a rather hungry look.

He noticed that their eyes were focused on the arm Error was still holding, thickly swallowing, he quickly tossed the arm to them---- their eyes light up as the arm is tossed their way.

Error didn’t bother to look back, he just summoned his portal and headed out.

It was truly the first time he’s seen a Fresh parasite so roughen up, so unwell, he almost felt bad for them, maybe, its hard to tell.

But overall he didn’t think much about the experience.

…..

Until they found him again.

This time around, he had just finished up collecting every last soul in the Underswap underground, clutching these beauties like gems, admiring the souls to be added to his collection.

Then he heard those footsteps again and this time, he pulls out his strings, the colors while still dull, stuck out against the white snow of the forests.

This time, Fresh’s colors did look a bit better yet still was torn and discolored, they were still struggling to walk, limping like a zombie. Error only lowered his guard when he saw a more curious look on the parasite’s face, their head mimicking the way Error was tilting his head.

The two stood there for a long while, leaving Error more unnerved than anything, Fresh’s tend to be chatterboxes, never shutting up no matter what you did to them yet this one was quiet as a mouse, not even opening their mouth to show off those animal like fangs they tend to hide.

Error takes a deep breath, trying to calm his soul, “What do you want?”

Fresh moves closer which makes Error try to shuffle back.

“Seriously what?” He puffs up his chest, trying to be scary though it’s not doing much since Fresh is much taller than them, “Don’t even think about possessing me!”

That seem to stop Fresh in their tracks, their eyes darting around Error’s body, it made them feel slightly violated until he picks up that those eyes seem to be trying to find something on him.

“You…You want food?” he cautiously asks which made the parasite perk up.

He gets a little nervous, patting down his pockets, “hold on a second…”

He finds half a block of chocolate, frowning, he’d rather keep it for himself but if it helped to keep that parasite from killing him then sacrifices had to be made.

“Here” he tosses it to them and they stumble to catch it, not waiting on tearing into it. Eating like a frantic animal that’s been starving for months.

Error slumps his shoulder slightly, watching this unfold in front of him, “you’re hungry aren’t you?”

Fresh seems a bit distracted with their meal, which gives Error an idea, granted a really bad idea that could easily go wrong knowing how unpredictable parasites can be.

“I can give you more food” he said, which snaps Fresh out of it but Error quickly raises his hand to stop them from…speaking? They haven’t said a single word to him, “---But you gotta follow my rules and do things for me got it?”

Fresh doesn’t even question it, nodding excitedly, Error can’t help but nervously chuckle, hoping the other monster didn’t pick up that. He just realized he may have signed a death wish that he now can’t back down from.

“Alright” he snaps his fingers to summon a portal, “how about I get us a couple of milkshakes eh?”

Chapter Text

Error basically had an overgrown puppy follow him into the next AU, an overgrown puppy that could kill him in any second so he was keeping and guard up, not letting Fresh walk too close to him. He jumps slightly when Fresh pops up behind him from the darkness of the night above the underground, still unsure why Fresh isn’t making any annoying small talk with him.

His eyes scan the empty park, only lit up by streetlights, spotting a lone woman by herself, clearly waiting for someone to pick her up. A perfect target.

“okay so I wanna see how you work” Error quietly explained, “Take out that chick for me and maybe I’ll treat you to something nice”

Fresh smiled and nodded, giving a quick thumbs up before diving into the thicket of bushes and trees, Error wasn’t expecting much when it came to Fresh parasites and their tactics, assuming that Fresh would just show up and talk to her, smooth things over before possessing her or something along those lines, something he’s seem parasites do plenty of times.

However Fresh didn’t show up, leaving him to wonder if Fresh ditched him, it was only when he saw the glint of their sunglasses reflect off the street lamp’s light, a shiver runs up his spine, watching Fresh stalk around the woman, circling her a like a predator with her unaware of the beast, suddenly Error felt like an outsider looking in on the mindset of this particular parasite, he had never encountered a parasite that did this, not in the slightest.

There was something horrifying…yet enticing watching this unfold.

Fresh’s motions grew still as the woman looked up from her phone, scanning her surroundings but it seem that she didn’t spot them so they moved on, trekking slowly closer and closer to her and just at the moment when she seemed the most distracted.

That’s when Fresh pounced.

In a blink of an eye, Error watched as her ribcage exploded from her chest, barely giving her a chance to scream as her blood and guts spilled to the ground, Fresh’s teeth part to show those all too familiar fangs as they dug them into her flesh, tearing her part, piece by piece. His soul was pounding through his chest watching this, it was like his feet were glued into place, the woman that once stood there was no more, just a mass of flesh and bones.

Fresh was covered in blood, especially around the mouth, strains of flesh and blood veins still lingered in their teeth, Error wasn’t sure how to react, granted he’s done way worst towards people but this, seeing a Fresh parasite just go feral on someone was unnerveing.

“You got----you got—ah something” Was all Error could muster up, watching the way the other monster twitched slightly.

Eventually Fresh snapped out of their daze and they grumbled about the mess they, looking down at themselves in unamusement, Error didn’t really have anything that really helped other than a handkerchief that he stole off some Sans, awkwardly offering it to them though he quickly pulled away once Fresh’s blood stained hands grabbed it.

They managed to wiped off the blood that hadn’t dried up too much though they still were covering in many stains of blood and grime but they seem pleased with their crime, looking over to Error for his approval.

“well…your methods are..something…” he remarks quietly, “but you got the job done pretty well, I’m impressed”

Fresh seem to lit up with a bright smile, showing off their bloodied teeth, they quickly seemed to release something and waved to get Error’s attention again.

“What? You want something?” he asked, a little confused.

They take a moment to pull something out from their jacket, a small white board with a marker, Error watches on as Fresh begins to write something down on it and then showing it to the shorter monster.

‘thanks a ton for takin’ me out here!’ the sign said in a very clean basic handwriting.

Error blinked, deadpan expression, “you could talk”

‘well sort of I’m mute’ they wrote down quickly, a little embarrassed.

“All this time you could have said something!” Error was quick to exclaim, “And here I was thinking I managed to piss off a parasite into giving me the silent treatment”

‘that would be funny if that were the case’

The came Error’s questioning, “Why didn’t you say—or write anything sooner?”

They take a little time to write down what they wanted to say, ‘didn’t have enough magic to summon it ATM’

“Okay---Okay that’s fair” he adds as he summons a portal, “can I ask why you’re mute? Is it by choice or like a possession issue…?”

Fresh makes a small thrilling noise as they wrote once more, with a little bit more hesitation, ‘defective parasite, just can’t talk, can make noises just fine’

That was very interesting information to Error as the two walked into the portal, it seemed to satisfy him for the moment but at the same time it raised a few questions for him as well like---- why was Fresh in such a poor state when he first found them? What’s with the more animalistic behavior? And frankly Error was very curious as to what differences this Fresh had over others.

He was very curious about his new partner in crime, though he’ll keep his curiosity at arm’s length.

Chapter Text

He’s lost track of time for the most part but he’s pretty sure it’s been a week since he’s sort of---accidently adopted Fresh into his life and he can’t deny that destroying AUs and killing people has been a lot more fun, watching Fresh graphically tear into the bodies of their victims excite a sensation in his soul that he’s never felt before.

Fresh had also begun to look a little better, they don’t walk with a heavy limp anymore and their clothes’ colors have slowly brighten back up. Error was also learning a lot about this Fresh that contradicts everything he knew about these things.

Like right now, Error could just stare from his bean bag, watching Fresh lay on their stomach and proceed to lick their hand and then rub it over their face….was Fresh trying to clean themselves? Like a cat?

He could ask…lord knows that now that Error had someone who he mildly tolerates, he’s been non stop talking about his hobbies to them all the while they nodded along or just made small comments on the whiteboard they carry, he should try to ask them some things.

“Hey Fresh..” He spoke up, getting a chirp from Fresh as they looked at him, “I wanna ask ya some things..”

Fresh tilted their head then pulled out their whiteboard, ‘Shoot.’

“that uh hand thing you’re doing..?” he gestures, “What are you doing?”

‘oh just cleaning myself’

“That’s how you clean yourself?” Error was confused, do parasites not know laundromats exist?

‘yeah now my colors are back!’ they chirp with joy, adding, ‘I couldn’t do it before cause of how low my magic was, I was so tired’

Error had a gut feeling Fresh was avoiding the topic, “How did you even get in that state? Most parasites I’ve seen take pride in their looks…no offense..”

That’s when Fresh went quiet, their glasses shifting slightly with a hit of sadness and for a second Error felt like he may have overstepped his boundaries with them, then they begin to scribble something on the whiteboard and showed it to Error.

It was a star.

It took Error a moment to figure out what that meant but when it did his eyes widen---- Stars Sanses.

“Those idiots---the Star Sanses right?” he asked, trying to not show his own displeasure, Fresh nods, “Sweet Asgore what the hell did they do?”

Fresh didn’t write anything, they simply clutched the whiteboard in their arms. It was very much a sore spot for them and he didn’t blame them, those idiots are the worse. Fresh then wrote something.

‘they locked me up in their basement’

Reading that made his own soul freeze up in terror, he knew those three were horrible people parading about how morally pure and wholesome they were but he didn’t think they were all fucking disgusting…

Actually, Error could believe it. People who brag about how morally good they are non-stop tend to be the people who do the worst things.

But Error couldn’t think about that for long as they saw Fresh begin to tremble at the mere thought of recalling that memory, he wasn’t sure what to do, he didn’t know what were their limits and he didn’t want to upset them further yet he couldn’t just leave them like this.

“Fresh…Fresh” he tries to coax them, patting the side of the beanbag, “Come here”

Slowly, Fresh does make their way, shuffling over to just lay on the side of the beanbag, keeping space for Error. For a second, Error’s claw drifted over their head before quickly retracting. Leaving the two in quietness with Error unsure how to go about this, he wasn’t good with emotions let it be with someone else who also isn’t good at emotions.

“You don’t have to tell me anything” he musters up to say, eyes darting around the floor, “But I’m sorry you had to go through that, they’re assholes to anyone that isn’t in their little group”

A mute chuckle escapes Fresh’s mouth, adding, ‘Thanks E but I do kinda want to talk about it…it’s hard’

Then they wrote, ‘they are buttholes tho’

“You’re goddamn right” he remarks.

Then Fresh began to write down their experiences, it takes a bit of time due to how small the whiteboard is but Error manages to piece it together…and it’s not a pretty story….

‘they bounded me up in chains and put a dog muzzle on me..it was humiliating---- I lost track of time being trapped under their basement barely fed anything’

‘the worst part is they kept talking down to me, treating me like I was stupid.. you know that voice when you talk to pets? That one. I hated that voice, it made me feel like I was some dumb mindless animal they could fawn over..”

Though Fresh was trying to keep their handwriting as clear as possible, as they talked, their hand writing grew more shaking, a low grumble coming from their body. All the while Error just listen to all of this, imagining the horror they had to go through.

‘I hate that voice’

Error couldn’t blame them, if someone talked down to him like that he’d lose his mind too…and kill them.

“Then how did you get out?” he asked, watching them wipe off their writing.

‘I don’t remember I just remember being scared and hungry’ they admitted with a shrug, ‘I got out, ate a couple of rats and then found you’

Fresh then wrote something before quickly wiping it away, he didn’t even get a chance to see what they wrote before they wrote something else.

‘Thanks for keeping me around E’

Error felt warmth shiver through his soul reading those lines, he was little dumbstruck but at the same time, it felt nice, strange but nice.

“It’s nothing” he shrugs looking over to them, “besides, you’re the best parasite I’ve met”

‘Really?’ their face lit up.

“Pretty much” he relaxes back into the bean bag and without even thinking, pats Fresh’s head, “The Fresh’s I’ve come across are so annoying…they never stop talking!...ugh”

He feels Fresh stiffed up under his hand that’s when it hits him of what he’s doing, quickly pulling his hand away, flustered beyond belief.

“f-fuck..shit sorry” he rambled cursed out, clutching his hand.

Fresh paused with a warm expression themselves as they wrote something down before quickly wiping it away and writing something else to show to Error.

‘It’s fine E’

It seemed to calm Error down as he sunk back into his seat, letting Fresh rest beside it while they clutched their whiteboard in their arms tightly, warmth still lingered on their cheeks as they tried to suppress the small purr that was escaping them.

Chapter Text

Today was bit more laborious for collecting souls, some Sanses really have the nerve to fight back against him, leaving him very worn out after the battles, which made him more thankful that he had Fresh around, Error was thankfully in one piece and mostly was suffering a mild nose bleed.

Still, he was exhausted, as soon as he and Fresh stepped into the anti-void and he hung up his newest addition to his soul collection, he promptly passed out on the beanbag with Fresh sitting down next to the side of the bean bag, a little dusty from the monster hunt so they decided to clean themselves, Error didn’t care that they were doing this really close to him, he was too tired to care, closing his eyes and listening to Fresh run their tongue over their arm.

At some point time had passed thought Error wasn’t sure how long, he remembers stirring slightly to a sensation on his hand, he perked his eye socket a little to see Fresh gently licking his hand, Error couldn’t help but compare Fresh to a cat, some strays would come up to him and rub their faces on his legs and most of the time he hated it but this, he didn’t mind this.

He’d assume Fresh’s tongue would be grossly wet but to his surprised it was rather dry, his hand felt like it was gently being brushed with a comb, it felt rather nice so he dared not to move, letting Fresh do their little thing.

It wasn’t long before Fresh stopped and proceeded to lick Error’s forehead…it was a little weirder, feeling that dry tongue run up against the space between his eyes, this probably would’ve felt nicer if Error had fur or hair. He opens his eye up a little more, hoping Fresh doesn’t notice yet as they seem to be content with what they were doing, a small rumble of a purr coming from their chest.

Fresh’s purring made his soul ease from the worries and stress he’s typically under, sometimes he doesn’t realize how uptight he is at time, the sound is soothing as it blocks out the voices in his head, reminding him to focus on Fresh.

He’s never been this way towards another person, let alone a parasite, it’s strange, nerve wracking, yet comforting. Error never knew how much he needed another person in his life and he was okay with what he has now.

Is this love…? Eh, he rather not think about that right now.

Then Fresh stops grooming him so he decidedly opens his eyes to look over at them, seeing them tense up in surprise.

“Why did you stop?” Error quietly asks with a soft grumble, he scoots over on the beanbag to make some room, “Come here..”

Error patted the extra space while Fresh stared at it for a few seconds, hesitate at first, giving Error another look before climbing on board, they were a bit tall so they had to awkwardly curl around him, clearly embarrassed about getting caught in the act.

“Did you think I was asleep?” he asks.

They slowly nod, shamefully.

For some reason that gets a chuckle out of him, “cute, keep doing it, but if you start licking my balls I’ll kick you out”

Fresh gave him a deadpan unamused look which got him laughing before he then relaxes once more, letting Fresh scoot a little closer so they could lick his forehead again, though a little slower this time, making Error growing more relax by the second. Every now and then, Fresh would stop as if to think of something before going back to grooming him, purring up a comfortable storm inside their chest..

He should ask why they want to clean him, was he just that dirty? Just some parasite instinct kicking in? As a way to show Error that they were both equals? Whatever this means for the parasite he lives with, he hopes it means good things.

Chapter Text

Another day, another hunt.

Killing is always a blur for Error, a splash of dazzling bright reds, the terrified screams of his victims begging for mercy, the cackle of magic in his fingertips as he slices through his victims with his strings, cutting them up like paper. It’s music to his skull and adrenaline for his soul.

Fresh has been getting more reckless yet there was a sense of control in their feral chaos, watching, stalking the victim, waiting for their guard to be lowered before striking in the vulnerable places, the chest, the throat, the stomach, any place Fresh could sink their claws and teeth into. It was quiet a sight to see Fresh’s brightly covered clothes covered in blood and dust that made Error’s soul act strangely inside his chest.

They seem pretty content with their hunt, licking their mouth, though their hands were sticky so they couldn’t grab their whiteboard to talk to Error so they awkwardly gesture to Error about the nearby river, it does take Error a minute to figure it out.

“You wanna clean yourself?” he asks which gets a nod from Fresh, “Alright, don’t be gone for too long, who knows if those Stars Sanses are lurking around”

Fresh gave a bloody thumbs up and a smile before waddling over to the river. Error managed to keep the blood off most of his outfit, shorts and slippers were a bit stained and his jacket got a few tears in his jacket, he huffs in annoyance, taking off his jacket and summoning a needle, threading his own blue string through it.

That’s how he past the time while Fresh washed up, fixing up all the rips and tears in his jacket, letting himself relax for a brief moment to gather his magic back.

It wasn’t long till he heard footsteps approach him and he lazily looked over and spotted the brightly colored green pants.

“You cleaned up pretty quickly” Error spoke with surprise yet casually.

The calmness in him quickly disappeared when he heard them speak, “I’m always clean bruh, my looks are pretty fly”

Horror filled Error’s bones as he eyes dart over to the Fresh; That wasn’t his Fresh.

He gripped his jacket in his arms, never daring to look away from the parasite that was approaching him, snarling his yellow teeth, anything to get them away from him. That Fresh smirked at him, knowingly taunting him as they moved closer.

“Ya know ya a real mystery E ya don’t tend ta hang around long after a kill” Fresh spoke up, their voice grating against Error’s skull, “Waitin’ on someone?”

“Leave me alone..” he hissed out, trembling , summoning strings around his fingertips, praying that his Fresh would be coming back.

“But ya ain’t alone are ya?” they asked in such a way that made the air around him uncomfortable, “I can smell ya got someone around but ya ain’t got a mark, tch it’s their faulting fer not markin’ ya sooner”

Error doesn’t know what the other Fresh is going on about but all he wanted to do is get away from the creep and find his Fresh in hopes that this one would just back off yet his legs were frozen to the ground, unable to move. As he braced himself for a fight a blur of colors rush past him smacking the other Fresh back.

He looks up and sees his Fresh, loudly huffing and hissing at the other Fresh who seemed surprised watching them act out.

The other Fresh looks Fresh up and down, “Really? You scored him? Some off brand mutt like ya should’ve keeled over the sec you were born”

Fresh screeched at the other, Error too frazzled to understand what the other Fresh was saying but just now noticing that his Fresh is a lot shorter than the other Fresh and their colors weren’t as painfully bright. The other Fresh was very much mocking Fresh for being defective.

“Which probs explains why ya haven’t marked him, why would he choose you as his mate?” The other Fresh mocked.

Fresh looked so tempted to strike the other parasite, growling loudly that is until Error took their hand and protectively stood by them, snapping them out of their feral state, surprised at him glaring at the other parasite.

“Back off or else” Error threatened the other, holding their hand tightly.

It seemed that now the other Fresh got the message, frowning at this loosing battle, they fresh poof out of there, leaving a stain of rainbow glitter. Error let go of the air he was holding and sighed heavily, letting go of Fresh’s hand as he finally puts on his jacket.

“What the fuck that nutjob going on about?” he mused to himself, yet as he looked over to Fresh, he noticed them trembling a bit, “Fresh?”

He didn’t get to react as Fresh suddenly pulled him into a tight hug--- which was more contact that Error was used to with Fresh, it threw him off and he felt his body growing tense as Fresh buried their face into his shoulder, their panting loudly against his skull.

“Fresh..” he asked quietly, lightly pushing the other, “F-Fresh get off--- it’s too much---”

He gives them another light yet firm push before they snap out of it and let Error go, a sour expression on their face though he wasn’t sure if it was him or the other Fresh’s causing. Error managed to collect his nerves, grateful all that was over.

Fresh on the other hand was restless, fidgety, not looking Error in the eyes as they get their whiteboard and wrote down what Error was hoping to hear.

‘Wanna go back home?’

“Please” he exhaled out, gathering his stressed magic to summon a portal, he’d rather forget that creepy interaction and just lay low for a few days and it looked like Fresh agreed yet seem to have something on their mind, fiddling with their pockets, shifting side to side.

But right now, Error needed to decompress then he can ask what’s up with them.

Chapter Text

Fresh had been in a slump ever since that whole other Fresh encounter, Error’s not stupid, he’d notice it pretty quickly and figured that all that yapping hit a sore spot in them, it was best to not talk about it so soon so he just let Fresh rest up, letting them lick his hand or head though they weren’t doing it with the same kind of vigor they once had.

He had all the time to figure out what to say yet he wasn’t fully sure what to say, he’s not even sure what they see in him.

They were leaning against the beanbag he was sitting on, not focused on anything with their hoodie up, glooming about, Error sighs and shuts the book he was reading, letting it hang up on the strings.

“Alright enough time has passed, what’s up?” Error finally rips the bandage off, “Did what the other Fresh say really bother you?”

Fresh slightly looks up, glasses hidden away by their hoodie, Error lifted a bit of the hoodie to get a better look at them pouting. It takes them a moment to pull out their whiteboard.

‘a little’

Then they wrote again.

‘I don’t blame you for leaving me for a stronger parasite’

Error almost wanted to laugh but he didn’t instead letting out more of an annoyed huff of air.

“For god’s sake Fresh, I like you” Error tells them off which makes the parasite tense and grow flustered, “Trust me that other one is waaay too annoying, I don’t think I could stand another minute with them--- plus you’ve save my skin---erm bones plenty of times”

Fresh grows a little fidgety, ‘thanks’

Error raises a brow, “I have a feeling that’s not all of it”

‘No’ they admitted, slowly hiding behind the board, ‘it was also the other things they said to you’

“Like what?” he didn’t really remember too much, more focus on not getting possessed.

Fresh becomes restless, unable to sit still or even look Error which only confused him even more, what this some kind of secret parasite thing?

Eventually they manage to calm down, easing the small whines of embarrassment and taking deep breaths, shakily writing down their words carefully.

‘That Fresh wanted to force you to be their mate..’

“Mate….?”

‘like partner…or breeding mate..’

Upon reading that, Error’s eyes grew wide like saucers, his face glowing in a bright blue hue. Oh god, that parasite wanted to fuck him into marriage.

Fresh grew worried looking over at him, ‘are you okay?’

“Yeah---I uh, wow” He sinks a little in his beanbag, “That’s---that’s--- a lot---”

‘Yeah’

“Thank god I dodged a bullet then…”

‘More like a nuke’

“Heh yeah…” then he adds, “Wait, don’t you guys reproduce asexually? What’s a point of a mate then?”

‘We evolved to reproduce asexually yes but it seems that we haven’t evolved out the urge for a mate’ Fresh tries to explain, flustered and Error didn’t blame them, it must be like teaching a kid how sex works--- but for parasites.

“Oh…”

‘Yeah that probably explains why you’ve been hassled by so many parasites in the past’ Fresh adds on, ‘they could smell that you didn’t have a mark on ya’

“Right…” Error manages to say, trying to take this all in, his soul racing inside his ribcage, many emotions running through his bones, “What’s this ‘mark’?”

Fresh goes dead quiet, it was unnerving.

“Fresh..”

Slowly they stare at him.

“….Do I have to have sex to have this ‘mark’?”

Fresh let out a screech of flustered shock, frantically waving their arms around, making many noises of distress before quickly covering up their face. Heavily panting to themselves, leaving Error feeling more awkward about his questions and his thoughts.

‘Mate’ implies romantic intentions and Error certainly didn’t mind Fresh and enjoyed being around them but a relationship together sounds strange to him…..a 90s genderless parasite who’s mute and a destroyer of worlds with terrible social anxiety being together… it’s not something he’s seen in his romcom flicks he’s watched.

And maybe…that’s okay.

He’s happy with them, they’re happy with him as long as they’re both happy then that’s love, just a strange different kind of love.

“Right sorry, forget I even suggested that” Error said with a groan, shame running through his bones, “so like, how do I get this mark?”

It takes a long time for Fresh to finally explain and calm themselves back down, writing slowly and carefully with a warming face.

‘well you need to have a mate…’ they hide their face behind the whiteboard, ‘that will mark you with their teeth’

“So I just need to get bitten?”

‘Basically yeah, usually on the neck or ribs. Then all those other Freshs’s will leave ya alone’ they also add on.

Then came the hardest question to admit for Error, finding himself chewing on the end of his yellow-tipped claws, “Well…w-would you do it?”

Fresh stared at the other monster dumbfounded, the marker twitching in their hands. It was better if his Fresh marked him rather another creepy, annoying one to do it.

‘Do…you want me to be ya mate?’

That was a very loaded question for Error.

He sighs and rubs his temple, “Maybe, not fully the way you parasites do it--- but i trust you y’know? You’re pretty chill and—y’know nice and all that---- I trust you over any parasite”

Error felt a little flustered admitting all of that but it seemed to ease Fresh a bit as they added.

‘I like ya too E’

That got him all riled up again, “S-shut up”

Fresh chirped out a quiet laughter, playfully shrugging at him before climbing up to join him on the beanbag, a much happier mood now, resting along side Error, sharing his warmth.

“So…do you wanna do it now?” Error suggested, better now than having another Fresh try and force it on him.

It was clear that Fresh wanted too, jiggling their leg in an antsy manner. So Error decided to get parasite a little riled up by gently removing a sleeve of his jacket and gently tugging his red shirt a bit to show off a bit of shoulder bones, he tried not to smirk when he saw the way Fresh was staring.

“Fresh you’re drooling” he teased.

They quickly looked away, wiping their mouth before looking back, annoyed with Error’s teasing as his smirk grew wider all the while they knew he wouldn’t be smirking for any longer. Fresh shifted their position so that they were on top of him, their shadow looming over his body, quickly shutting him right up.

Error shrinks a little seeing them loom over him, so quickly forgetting that despite being a rather gentle giant towards him, they were still a being with animal-like needs, still capable of being rough. This was a lot of trust Error was putting into them, Fresh must’ve sensed it as they gently stroked his cheekbones, their warmth calmed him down as he leaned into the touch with his soul racing in all kinds of ways.

Fresh leans down, their hot breath tingling his shoulder, making his body shiver slightly, they were gentle as they parted their jaw, showing off those sharp pearlie whites that barely scrap against his shoulder. He shudders a small gasp for a moment, bracing himself as he feels a bit of pressure of Fresh slowly sinking into him.

It didn’t sting at first, felting more like a tightening pressure around his shoulder but as more and more of the blade of their teeth sink further into the hard bones, that’s when the sting slowly kicked in, like a bunch of needles being dug into him, he gasps and grabs onto Fresh’s jacket for support, screwing his eyes shut as they pushed further, sucking air through his teeth.

Their tongue ran over the open wounds, causing the pain to throb over and around his neck, Error’s soul racing in his ribcage with all kinds of excited magic, the type of magic that was making him realize just now that he might be into this. There was something so pure and pleasurable about letting them bite him, an act of a bond, a sigh of dedication to him that made his chest warmly bloom with delight.

The procedure wasn’t long as Fresh finally unhooked their teeth from his shoulder, leaving it a pulsing, throbbing hot pain on his shoulder and it wasn’t long before Error finally gasped for air and slumped back into the beanbag. Fresh sympathized with him as they carefully cuddled up to him, avoiding the new mark wound, letting off a gentle purr.

“That’s gonna sting good…” Error remarks, giving Fresh a gentle chin scratch which makes them purr louder, “Thank god it was just the shoulder…my ribs are too sensitive for that”

Fresh gave him a sly look to which Error frowns, “Don’t get any ideas”

They chuckle before relaxing back into their healing purr, helping Error through the process, now he was marked, making him Fresh’s mate though it’s a little strange to go through with this parasite ritual, there were benefits for both of them, Fresh has a mate and Error won’t be harassed by other Fresh’s--- it’s a win win situation.

Despite starting with Error pampering Fresh, he was glad he was getting some loving care, he’ll need it for a while as the mark heals.

Chapter Text

Error had walked into a trap. Their latest hunt he managed to grab a human child in his strings, readying to rip their soul out while Fresh was taking out the others, just as he was about to rip their soul out and add it to his collection, a strong impact of a brush hits him causing his mind to spin and his body to fly across the area, tumbling as he landed.

He didn’t need to look to know who hit him with a giant brush, which his mind still reeling, he manages to quickly roll away from another attack. Heaving slightly as he tries to regain his footing, pissed off that his victim managed to escapes, shooting glares at Ink.

“I’d figure you’d be causing chaos here, you even got a buddy with you!” Ink goes on his little hero talk.

Error frankly isn’t interested in the slightest listening to that kind of junk, snarling his teeth, he’s quick on fighting back with a flurry of strings that Ink masterfully dodges, The two hash out for a while, with Error throwing every attack he could at the other only for him to move away and dodge---- Error was getting a little suspicious with how Ink wasn’t really attacking him, maybe swinging his brush about to get him to back off but never fully hitting him.

But Error was too pissed off to really understand what the other’s plan was aside from running away from him. That is until he heard a yelp from behind, knowing that sound coming from Fresh, his head whipped around to witness the horror he was seeing.

Both Blue and Dream were holding poles that had a noose that was clamping down on their neck and wrists, making it harder to free themselves as they were shoves to the ground by the two of them, frantic and wild-eyed as they yelped and whined for Error’s attention, kicking up dirt which made it harder to the two to fully hold them down.

Once again, the Stars Sanses were treating them like an mindless animal for being different.

He realized now that Ink was trying to lead him away from Fresh so they could trap them, they didn’t come here for Error, they came here for Fresh.

At that moment, Error saw red--- to hell he was letting those idiots drag them back into that cold, dark basement, that was his mate they were all hurting!

Error turned and bolted straight to them, that’s when Ink changed his tactic and actually started fighting, grabbing him and throwing him around, just far enough to never reach Fresh, all the while they frantically yelped and howled, gasping for air as Dream and Blue closed on in around them.

The glitch was thrown into a nearby garbage pile, sharp metals cutting into his clothes and wounds, the back of his head smacking into a gasoline drum causing his vision to grow starry and spotty. Hearing Fresh’s cries motivated him just enough for force himself back upright, every inch of his body burned in pain ad anger as nausea begins to hit him.

He only snarled when he saw Ink getting in the way.

“Come on Error, I’m sure you have brains to know not to mess with an wild animal” Ink spoke.

“That’s…that’s not an animal” Error hissed, gritting his teeth, “That’s a person!”

“What? That thing? That’s not a person, they don’t even speak” Ink defended with a playful shrug.

The anger that’s boiling inside his soul was never-ending, frantically trying to find a way, he remembers the gasoline tank behind him, it was going to be a stupid idea but he just needed to get those idiots away from him and Fresh.

There was a barely functioning toaster that was still lightly sparking next to Ink, not enough to start a fire but if he aimed the drum just right. Not waiting any long, he used his strings to wrap around the drum and with all his might throws it at Ink and the artist reacts as planned, wrack the drum with his brush and causing the top lid of it to crack and spill everywhere.

The second it hit the spark, the blast was instant.

His wounds stung hard as he scrambled out of the blast, barely conscious as he struggled to make his way to Fresh, they watched in horror as Error collapses to the ground just a few inches from them, burn marks over his body as he weakly looked over, heaving with his hand reaching out towards them.

“Ha…Ha..” He struggled to breath, “Sorry…I wasn’t a good enough mate..”

Error doesn’t remember much after that other than blacking out to the gross smell of burnt bones and gasoline.

Must have been hours before he woke up, the feeling of some weight pressed up on his chest and the smell of dirt followed by the gentle sound of purring.

…purring?

Error forces his eyes to open, overwhelmed by the blinding white of the anti-void, which made the sickness inside him much worst. He looks over to see and feel Fresh resting up on his chest, cuddling him protectively and purring over his aching wounds, not noticing that he was awake yet. He reaches up to pet Fresh under their hat which then alerted them, worry written over their face.

He smiles weakly, “Hey..”

Fresh chokes on the air in utter joy, hugging Error and purring even louder that Error could feel every part of his body vibrate, he could only hug back softly, happy to have them safe with him.

“I missed you too” He says, “What happened?”

It takes Fresh a moment to explain, between wanting to comfort Error and actually writing down what happened, to sum it up, during the explosion they managed to break free from the noose due to it getting burnt in the process though it left a gash around their neck that they pointed to a little too happily.

‘then I wreck up the star sanses and drag you, since you’re the only one who can summon a portal to the anti-void I kinda had to shake you awake enough to do your magic’ Fresh explained, trying to fit everything on the whiteboard.

“That’s…that’s a lot to take in” he spoke, rubbing his sort head, “but thanks Fresh”

‘No prob bob!’ they smile before adding, ‘also I think you’re a wonderful mate!’

There little doodles of hearts around the word ‘mate’ and it hits Error of what he said to them before he passed out, blushing lightly at that memory but at the same time, it eased his soul that he was doing well for Fresh and they seem pretty happy with him.

Rest of the day was spent resting and cuddling, Fresh happily tending and purring for Error’s quick recovery and all Error hoped was that Fresh would no longer be treated like a crazed animal, that memory of Fresh being strangled by Dream and Blue while they cried out in pain will forever be burned into his skull. All he could do is be the best mate for them and never let them go through that again.

They’ll never go through that again as long as he’s around.