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“You should have picked rock”
“c’mon, buddy, don’t be so hard with your mom, she just was tryin’ to roll with it”
“Just let him be, it’s the same every time”
Max furrows in his purple stripped sweater, looking unamused at the other kids. Sans is carrying him in his shoulders, trying to cheer up the kid who just want to go home.
Today is Valentine’s Day, and even when for some it means over-sized teddy bears and romantic dates, for you it just means another school activity (and chocolate at 50% off). Not that you want to do anything special anyway, you and Sans have been dating for just a couple of months and Valentine’s has never been your kind of celebration, spending it with the kids is probably the best for your anxiety with relationships.
Your son, however, it’s not so thrilled with the idea of spending the day painting hearts and interacting with other kids.
“I could be sleeping…”
“me too, but your mom has to be here and were gonna make her company” Sometimes you’re still surprised by Sans behavior, between all the laziness and jokes he never fails to actually act like some kind of fatherly figure to Max “didn’t we came ‘cause you wanted to do that?” Max pouts, hiding his face in Sans’ head, hands tightly hugging the crown of his skull. The little kid’s complains are muffled by his arms “if you don’t want to be here we can go back home, i’m sure red here wouldn’t mind”
You nod when Max turns to look at you “You’re free to go cuddle with Sans until noon, don’t worry” You smile reassuringly, no one is going to die because he’s missing Valentine’s day.
Max hides again, mumbling something no one gets to understand.
“what’s it, buddy?” Sans asks, trying to look at the kid from below without making him fall.
“I said” Max blushes deep red, his ears burning “That is no fun if mom’s not there”
“thought so” Sans smiled at you, winking, and you couldn’t help giggling.
Immediately after that Frisk appeared with Toriel through the door carrying a little box, Papyrus and Undyne were coming behind them, both carrying at least four child-sized boxes in each arm. You took Max and watched as your son ran to cling from the fish woman’s arm, laughing and giggling. His grumpiness had already disappeared.
You heard the sound of something shuffling by your side, before Sans’ arms snaked their way around your waist and his skull tickling your cheek (he needs to stay on his tip-toes to do that, just how far does he plan on going to tease you?) “i don’t want to brag” his voice rumbles in his chest, making yours jump, a warm feeling curling in your belly. You bite your lip when one of his hands lifts your shirt just enough to caress your skin leaving blue sparkles there where he touches, calling your own magic to come and play outside (to outsiders it doesn’t look like more than a hug, but you know your melting inside while slowly walking the way of insanity. That blue magic of his is going to be your demise) “but, told ya”
He goes as fast as he came, leaving you embarrassed of how hot and bothered a simple contact like that left you (but not as embarrassed as you are from feeling hot and bothered in the middle of an activity with your students). You snarl, showing him your tongue in a childish way before fixing your clothes.
“Alright, you won the bet” You turn to look at him, eyes shining mischievously “What do I own you, hun?”
You thought your face was back to normal, until Sans did that thing of scanning you with his eyes, stopping in the right spots and humming softly while remembering how you looked without clothes, how your skin felt against his bones, your hair in his hand, how you felt when he-
“i’m sure we can figure out something” His smile is bigger than ever, the smile of someone who knows what they did and has no problems with doing it again.
You need to swallow to overcome your dry mouth “I’m sure you already did that”
Surprisingly, his smile widens a little more.
“We’ll be starting the activity now!” One of your co-workers calls from the center of the room “Everyone with a star go with Miss Toriel! Kids with a moon follow with Miss Elena! And those who have a sun come with me!” She makes a stop to catch her breath, some of the kids were already walking out of the classroom “Remember, everyone, this year’s theme is ‘what do you think love is’!”
“Well, duty calls” You say, giving Sans a quick peck in the forehead “Be right back, don’t cause trouble” He pulls you back before you’re able to even take a step, carefully holding your arm just to keep you at the perfect height for him to nuzzle against your cheek. You giggle, pushing him away “I just said ‘don’t cause trouble’!”
“sorry” His hand trails a ghostly path down your arm, before holding your tightly “love you”
Something jumps in your chest, and you’re still surprised it isn’t fear. “Love” has always been a big word for you, it can mean so many different things, and even when you’ve never had problem saying it to friends or family, saying “I love you” to someone you were dating without the word getting stuck in your throat has always been a feat.
“Love you too”
With Sans that doesn’t happen, with Sans saying that you love him, that you love being with him, feels just like the natural thing to do.
And seeing his face light every time you say it just makes you want to repeat it over and over again.
You just stay there, holding hands and smiling at each other like middle-schoolers in love, when Max appears out of the blue, pulling your jacket.
“Toriel says you two look cute and all, but she can’t handle twenty kids alone”
First you blink a couple of times, then you react “Right! Right! I-!” You turn to look at Sans, face red and nervous giggling included. You clear your throat, wishing that clearing your mind was just as easy “Wait here, be right back”
Your son pulls your embarrassed being all the way to Toriel, who just smiles knowingly and pretends to be too busy with the kids.
“Enjoying heaven?” She asks when you get by her side, immediately making you turn red again.
“Oh, shut up” You mumble angrily, she just snickers at you before going back to helping a little boy with a yellow heart.
A petition of Frisk and Max, the normally red and pink hearts had been replaced with the same color gamma of the human Souls including white for monster Souls. Due to this, kids are allowed to choose up to three hearts to mix them however they want and create their own kind of Soul.
Frisk is, of course, using a white heart and painting a rainbow inside, drawing their mother and family as best they can. On the other side of the room, Papyrus and Undyne are helping distribute the paper hearts, ever so often stopping to play with a kid. Sans is calmly chatting with Asgore and Alphys in the “Parents’ corner”, winking at you whener your eyes meet.
There’s no sight of Max anywhere.
“He’s under the table”
You turn to look at Frisk, quietly coloring their heart.
“Who?” You ask disoriented, were they talking about something and you didn’t hear.
“Max” Oooooh… what? “He said he didn’t wanted you to spy on his heart until it was ready, and then hide under the table” The kid put their empty hand under the table and after a second it they suddenly had a little paper scissor on it.
It actually sounded a lot like Max to do something like that.
The hour flew by between helping the kids, cleaning and trying not to laugh with Sans occasional cheesy pick-up lines (“are you a witch? 'cause this feels like magic” “Sans, no” “sans, yes”). The three times you tried getting near Max to get a glimpse of his heart Frisk covered him and gave you a disappointed stare with disheartened sigh included.
By the time Max pinned his heart to the wall next to the others you already were occupied with the next activity of the day: The gift exchange.
“Okay, everyone!” You raise your voice, the room isn’t that big, so it’s easy for everyone to hear you “When I call your name, please step to the front with your family to the gift exchange!” You take a quick peek around just to find Max sitting in Sans’ lap like he was there from the beginning, before getting started on the list “Jareth and Sam Evans!”
Family after family all the kids step to the front. The gifts aren’t anything from the other world, obviously, some bake cookies, some drew a picture, most of the parents answered with some kind of sweet and tons of hugs and kisses. Some cry, some take absurd amounts of photos, some just laugh a lot, but everyone seems happy while they’re hugging their children, and family love is the best way to warm a cold February day.
Max’s name’s the last one, like always, and Frisk’s name is right next to it, like always.
“Max and Frisk!”
Frisk comes running, quickly clinging to Toriel’s sleeve while she tries to open the little bag of presents. Max calmly jumps from Sans’ lap and takes a couple of steps to the front before stopping in the middle of the room, you raise an eyebrow, wondering what’s wrong, until he turns to look back at Sans. They look at each other for a long while, the skeleton patiently smiling.
“you should go, kid, your mom’s waiting” Sans makes a motion with his hand like he was shoving the kid to your side. Max doesn’t move an inch.
“Mom said we have to go with our families” He walks back to the skeleton, pulling the sleeve of his trademark blue hoodie “You have to come too”
It takes a moment for Sans to process it, and Max takes the opportunity to push him all the way to your side, before turning to go pull Papyrus and Undyne to the center while Frisk does the same with the not-less-confused Asgore and Alphys. By the time your brains are working again, you and the monsters are staying in the middle of a classroom, everyone looking curiously at the scene.
If front of you, Frisk and Max hold each a little bag.
‘You said the presents were for our families’ Frisk signed ‘But the thing is, you’re all our family’
They start from the right, giving Alphys a little carved stone with a yellow feather hanging. Charms, the kids made charms as presents; you can’t help feeling absurdly proud of them, those two trouble makers…
Undyne receives a green one, and Papyrus’ is orange, Toriel and Asgore’s are white with purple (the feathers are identical but with invert colors). When it comes to you and Sans, Frisk takes a step back, leaving Max on the front. Your son stares at you, a huge smile on his face when he hands your presents.
You almost laugh.
Yours is blue, and Sans’ is red.
Looks like you’re not running away from this cheesy romance anytime soon.
Not like you’re trying, though.
‘I can’t believe you really wrote that…’
“It’s the only thing I could think of!”
You ignore how Frisk teases your son, smiling while reading Max’s blue, red and purple heart.
— Love is stargazing and a warm cup of tea, is reading a bedtime story and cuddling together until noon. Love is mom, and Sans, and me, and our little family that doesn’t end with blood.
Sans’ hand is holding yours, fingers intertwined, your cheek resting on top of his head, while behind you Undyne and Papyrus make the kids laugh, you her Alphys voice calling her girlfriend and Toriel worriedly tending the children, Asgore’s voice offers somewhere to make some tea.
You take a deep breath, enjoying the moment.
“I love you, Sans”
With your eyes closed you can’t notice Sans’ pupils morphing into a pair of tiny blue hearts when he nuzzles against your cheek.
“and I love you too, astrid”