Chapter Text
Toriel looked into the mirror and frowned.
Had she dressed up too much? Not enough?
She was just wearing a simple, purple dress. She had worn it on days out with Alphys and Undyne before. She had worn it on days out with Frisk. She had even worn it when she had been 'hanging out' with Sans.
Was that a good thing? Or should she wear something that he hadn't seen before?
...Did she even own any clothes that Sans hadn't seen before?
No. No she did not.
She decided that the dress would suffice.
She wasn't quite sure why she was getting herself so worked up over this. It was just Sans. Her friend from the other side of the door.
Her friend who, just a few days ago, she had asked out on a date.
She couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Do you like raisins?" she had asked. His eyes had widened and his grin grew bigger.
"...yeah."
Toriel had tried to repress a chuckle. "Well then, how about a date?"
Sans snorted. "well, how can i say 'no' to that?"
"Is that a yes?" she had asked, smirking.
"course it's a yes, tor." After a few more minutes of flirtatious bliss, Sans had stood up. "as much as i'd love to stay and chat, i'm gonna have to head off. but..." he winked, "i'll see ya saturday." And with that, he was gone, leaving Toriel with a huge grin on her face.
Several days had passed, and although Toriel had not seen Sans in person since then, they had been texting every day, just like always. And now, today was the day. Her first date since...
Her first date since Asgore.
Stop being so nervous, you silly woman, Toriel scolded herself, her face turning pink. She decided that texting Sans would ease her nerves. Bring her back to reality and remind her that despite the turn that their relationship had taken, this was still Sans. Her goofy, punny friend.
-Hello Sans! I am looking forward to seeing you! She paused. Although I wish that you would tell me where we are going! x
Barely a minute had passed before she received a reply.
Sans: [18:58]
-yeah ok i'll tell you where we're going
-somewhere awesome
-That is not an answer! :-(
Sans: [18:59]
-shit you got me
-i'm not telling you though it's a surprise
-you'll like it i promise ;)
Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on her door. A familiar voice said "knock, knock."
Toriel grinned. "Who is there?"
"sore."
"Sore who?" She opened the door.
"sore-y i'm a little early" said Sans with a wink.
She giggled. "Oh, that is quite alright!"
He paused. "so uh...you look nice."
"Thank you! Although it would have been easier to choose an outfit if someone would tell me where we were going!" she feigned annoyance, her wide grin giving her away.
He rolled his eyes, smirking. "yeah, but where's the fun in that?" There was another pause. "so, uh. are you ready?"
"I certainly am!" she said, grabbing her bag. She had decided to bring a large sweater with her. Just in case.
"okay. well, uh..." he coughed. "...so. i don't think i've ever, uh...told you about this...thing i can do?"
Toriel waited for him to continue, and when he didn't, she raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes. That 'thing' you can do. I know exactly what you mean. Thank you for being so specific, Sans."
"heh. well, okay. so, this place we're going...i kinda know a shortcut. but...okay, just...close your eyes."
"...Why?"
"you'll see."
Toriel snorted. "Look at you, trying to be all mysterious." He shrugged, and she shook her head, smiling and closing her eyes regardless.
He took her hand, and suddenly, Toriel felt the ground disappear beneath her. She gasped, and the familiar warmth of her home had been replaced with a soft wind that was refreshingly cool, but not cold. The carpet had been replaced with what felt like a grassy surface. They were outside. "...Can I open my eyes?" she whispered.
"nah, not yet." He tugged her hand. "sit down."
"...This is not going to be one of your whoopee cushion pranks, is it?"
She could hear the smirk in his voice. "nope. not this time." She cautiously sat down, her hands feeling for the ground to avoid falling. Instead of grass, she could feel...some kind of material? Finally, she was sitting down. She did not often sit on the floor, and she shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.
"okay," he was whispering in her ear now, "face upwards. and then open your eyes."
She obliged and gasped at what she saw.
She had never seen so many stars in her entire life. She was always amazed by the sky, but living in the city unfortunately meant that there was a lot of light pollution and subsequently, she had not seen more than just a few stars at at time since arriving on the surface.
This, though...
There must have been hundreds of stars. It barely looked real; more like a painting. A beautiful painting of what the sky should look like; endless little specks of light twinkling on a black canvas.
"I..." she blinked. "This is...beautiful, Sans." She stole a glance at him. He was staring up at the stars as well, as captivated as she was. Toriel smiled at that, remembering the times that she had sat by the door for ages listening to her friend ramble on about astronomy. One of the first things he did when they arrived on the surface was buy dozens of books about space.
"yeah..." his gaze lingered for a moment before he turned to face her. "i just...thought you'd like it. i was gonna suggest going to a restaurant or something, but..." he sighed. "i dunno. this is one of my favourite places. it's kinda out of the way, y'know? i come here to think a lot."
Toriel understood. "So, this is where you come to escape?" she asked, her mind wandering to the bed of flowers back in the underground.
"...yeah, kinda. it's where i come to clear my mind, and uh...apparently also where i come to impress pretty ladies" he winked. Toriel giggled. Sans looked down, suddenly a little shy. "you're actually, uh...the only person i've shown this place to." Toriel's eyes widened. Her soul felt like it was made of sunshine. "do you...like it?"
Her grin widened. "Of course I like it, Sans. I am...honored that you feel that you can share your special place with me." She reached out and placed one hand on his. The corner of Sans's smile twitched.
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, looking at the stars. Suddenly, Toriel had a thought. "Sans, how did we get here?"
He blinked. "uh. magic?"
She side-eyed him. "I do not know any other monster that is able to do that kind of magic, Sans."
He laughed nervously. "no, seriously. it's, uh...magic. and a bit of science stuff." He sighed. "look, i'll explain it sometime, okay?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "i promise. and hey, you know that i hate promises."
She smiled again. "Yes. But you always keep them."
"uh. yeah. so you know i'll tell you. but...just not tonight, yeah?"
"Yes. Okay. That is fine, Sans. I was just being nosy! There is no pressure." She squeezed his hand. He smiled and looked at their intertwined hands for a moment. Suddenly, he withdrew his, startling Toriel.
"hey, i made a picnic" he blurted out. She blinked.
"...You...? Made...a picnic?"
"hey, no need to look so surprised. i may be lazy, but i love me some good food" he winked.
"No, no, I just..." she giggled. "I did not know that you were such a closet romantic, Sans" she teased. Sans blushed.
"well, uh, it was...actually papyrus's idea. and...that's the only skeleton in my closet. honestly." Toriel was about to bring up the weird teleportation magic, but then, remembering how uncomfortable he seemed when she had asked about it, decided against it.
"so hey," he continued, "i made a, uh, quiche. and papyrus kinda forced me into making spaghetti as well." Toriel gave him a wary look which made Sans chuckle. "don't worry, i made it, not papyrus. so there's no glitter in it. i couldn't find any snails, heh. but i brought some fruit and stuff. and...well, it's no b'scotch pie but i made some brownies which i know are a bit easier but i..."
"Sans," she stopped him. "This is...incredibly sweet of you. I..." she shook her head. "I would never have expected you to do something like this. Especially on a first date."
He feigned offence. "and what is that supposed to mean?" Toriel felt guilty until she noticed the smirk on Sans's face.
"Oh no, I did not mean it like that, Sans! I just meant...well, I have just...never seen this side of you, that's all."
"well, yeah. that's cos you didn't know how i felt." He shrugged, grin still plastered over his face. "if i'd just been like 'hey tori, lets go and have a picnic under the stars' you might have figured me out."
"I would have definitely figured you out."
"hm. i'm not so sure that 'definitely' is the right word" he teased. "you were actually pretty oblivious." She was blushing a bright red, and Sans decided to make it his goal to make her as flustered as possible.
"weird considering how observant you usually are."
She looked down, avoiding eye contact.
"i mean, i've had a thing for you for ages, tor. why wouldn't i? why wouldn't anyone?"
Her grin was wider and she was now pointedly looking away from him.
"you're...pretty great..." he shuffled closer and stroked the back of her head. "also, you're really flustered again. and it's adorable. again."
Suddenly, her head turned to face him. The sudden intense eye contact was making Sans blush now. She inched her face closer to his and narrowed her eyes. He looked down. She leaned in to whisper in his ear. "You are adorable when you're flustered too, Sans." She smirked, and his eyes met hers again.
"...are you just trying to make me get all embarrassed and dorky? cos it's working."
"I do not know. Is that not what you were trying to do just now?" They held eye contact for a moment longer, before bursting into simultaneous laughter.
"c'mon, let's eat some food" he said after he had recovered.
Toriel, who had not quite regained her composure, was still attempting to repress her laughing fit. Eventually, she too, recovered, and began to eat. "This is delicious, Sans. But you should have told me! I could have contributed!"
"yeah, but see tori, the whole point of a 'surprise' is that you DON'T tell the person that you're supposed to be surprising about it. that's why it's called a surprise."
"Oh, hush."
The rest of the night was...honestly the best first date that either Toriel or Sans had ever been on. The two of them sat under the blanket of stars for hours. Sans pointed out some constellations that he had learnt about from his astronomy books. He told her that he was saving up to buy a telescope, and that maybe one day the two of them could come back and look at the sky through it. On a clear night, he wanted to see Saturn.
Toriel excitedly told him about her recent trip to the library. She had never seen so many books in one place before. She had spent hours there, just flicking through books about...well, everything. There were more books in one section of that library than there were in the entire underground. It was amazing.
After a while, the air grew cold and the two decided that they should head home; they used one of Sans's 'shortcuts' again. It was less jarring this time. They stood outside Toriel's home. Both looked down at their feet, unsure of what to say, until Toriel broke the silence.
"I had...a wonderful evening tonight, Sans. Really. Thank you. Um." She pulled on the bottom of the sweater that she had brought along. "Next time...I will have to come up with an equally special activity."
Sans grinned. "next time?"
"I-if you want."
He let out a breath of laughter. "tori, of course. i...this..." he exhaled. "...tonight has been, well...just great."
"Yes." She looked up at him. He was still looking at his feet, his hands shoved into his pockets. "...Sans?" He finally looked up.
"yeah?"
Toriel blinked a few times before closing the gap between them. She leaned down and pressed her face into his, nuzzling against him. He paused before he reciprocated; his magic slowly leaving his body and mingling with hers. She had her hand around his neck, and there was magic coming from her hands as well. He wound his arms around her waist. The air around them was a combination of blue and purple, and both of them felt warm. Peaceful.
Both of them felt that they were exactly where they were supposed to be.
Eventually, they pulled away, holding each others hands.
"wow. that was..."
"Yes." Both of them were smiling widely. "Was that...okay?"
"of course it was 'okay,' tor. it was better than okay. it was..." he sighed. "Magic."
Toriel giggled. "I should have expected a joke from you" she shook her head fondly.
"hey. you're getting the full sans experience here. awesome date, plus awesome first kiss, plus hilarious joke. better get used to it" he winked.
She couldn't stop smiling. Neither could he. "Goodnight, Sans. Thank you again, for a wonderful evening."
He squeezed her hand. "night tor. get home safe." She chuckled. The door closed, and Sans, sighing contentedly, took a shortcut back home. Papyrus was sitting at the sofa, and upon seeing his brother materialise in the living room, squealed excitedly.
"BROTHER! YOU'RE BACK! HOW DID THE DATE GO?"
Sans was still smiling widely.
"...yeah, it went pretty well."