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Chapter Text

Another morning. Classes didn't start until noon, so she had time to go out and get some tea and study up for a quiz later on before heading to the college where she went. Percy had already brewed it, and was pouring herself a mug when the news blaired louder behind her.

"BREAKING NEWS: MONSTERS EMERGING FROM MT. EBOTT. LED BY A 14-YEAR-OLD NAMED FRISK."

The mug dropped from her trembling hands. Her heart thumped in her ears, and she ignored the shattered mug or spilled tea. She sprinted toward the TV, knowing she would need to see the images for herself to know if it was true.

And it was.

She let hot tears, ones that rarely sprouted, flood down her cheeks. There were many feelings behind these tears, most indescribable with words. She didn't care about the monsters - they seemed friendly from how they reacted. Sure, she was kinda stunned. I mean, monsters. But she was more intrigued by the human leading them. She smiled at the fuzzy picture on her trashy TV.

Within a month, she would be flying to Ebott City with all her belongings.

She stared out the plane's windows. Music danced in her ears, varying from techno, to instrumental, to Indie Pop, to alternative rock, and some folk. Her favorites. She smiled, her hands tightening on the armrests. A few more hours. She was restless, she wanted to get out and dance. Well, not..dance. No. She didn't dance. She was awkward when dancing with others, and it was uncomfortable.

No, instead, she just rested her head against the glass, staring up. She focused on the stars, breaching the pinks and purples with their midnight blue and brightness. She smiled, tapping her hands to the beat of Sleepyhead by Passion Pit. No wonder she fell asleep a few minutes later, deep sleep void of any dreams and only music haunting her realm of broken peace, the only thing holding it together.

She raised her fist to the door in the apartment complex. It faltered slightly, before she let her balled hand hit the door. In the seconds of silence, the pounding of her heart grew louder in her ears. Her hand flung into her pocket, grasping tightly on her earbuds. She really wanted to put them in and run off. But she held herself there, especially when she heard a lock turning and watched the door open.

A goat-like monster stood in the doorway, wearing a soft purple shirt and jeans. Her feet were bare, and her expression was soft and kind. "Hello, can I help you?" she questioned, and Percy could feel the kindness in her voice.

Her words hitched in her throat as she tried choking them out. Instead she resorted to her hands, which signed quickly, Can I see Frisk? Signing was familiar. A secret way of communicating she rarely used unless she knew someone understood it. But she was unsure if Toriel did.

The woman's eyes fell to Percy's hands, and cast a glance behind her. Understanding flickered in her kind eyes, but so did suspicion. "For what..?" There was slight suspicion in her voice, suspicion that stung.

"P-please?" she choked out, but her voice seemed enough. The goat-lady was pulled away and Percy felt herself enveloped in a tight hug.

"Frisk! Don't go hugging strangers! Sure you did it Underground but don't you remember, its rude up here," the woman said urgently.

But both Percy and Frisk broke down. Percy hugged the shorter of the two, ruffling their cropped brunette hair, smiling. Her silver blue eyes locked onto their brown ones when they looked up. Turning, but still having an arm locked onto Percy's shoulder, they signed, Not stranger. Sister.

Toriel looked in shock, and Percy could understand why. They looked completely different, Percy with pale skin, Frisk tanned. Percy was short, Frisk tall for their age. Polar opposites, but siblings all the like. And there were some similarities. Both were a bit lanky, and appeared to have similar tastes. Percy had a neat little mint sweater on beneath a white vest, Frisk in their signature blue and violet. That definitely ruled out blood relations

"Y-ya.. Uh. Hi, I'm Percy. Adopted big sister to Frisk here.. Uh. Toriel, right? Ya. Uh, yea.. I - uh. You know what, Frisk, you're better at this." She sheepishly tugged her vest closer. "Oh, and, ugh, can I come in please? I have an extra passenger and its a bit too cold for them," she said, pulling back some hair to reveal a parakeet that had strategically curled into her warmth beneath her hair. "Pipe hates being in a cage for so long so I can't put her back just yet after a twelve hour flight so.. Ya."

Toriel quickly stebbed aside, letting Percy slip in, her suitcase in tow. "Thanks."

"My pleasure to help family - if adopted - of Frisk.. Are there any more of you..? I mean, family, of any kind?" Toriel questioned, seeming anxious and nervous.

"No. I've been orphaned since I was five, and Frisk appeared on the doorstep of the orphanage I was in when they were three. Wanted to protect them, couldn't help myself, I guess. I made sure that we were never separated. Although, kinda messed up and, heh, we were separated, uh, four years ago? Ya.. Guess the organization figure out that I was hacking into the system and making sure Frisk and I stayed together, and put us on opposite ends of the country. We had no one but each other, what else could I do but try and keep my pretty-much-younger sibling safe?" she chuckled, tucking her head down.

Frisk nodded, still staying by their adopted sister's side. The almost 20-year-old scratched the back of her neck, earning a few angry chirps of protest and small nips from the parakeet nestled happily in the fluff of her vest's hood.

"Mm. Would you like to stay the night? You appear to have..brought everything," Toriel said, murmuring the last bit.

"Y-yes, please, thank you! I sold my apartment and everything, packing only the essentials. Guess you could say, along with my savings, that I'm kinda loaded. I just.. Wanna rent someplace I saw here. Cheap, nice, right near Mt. Ebott.. Nearby. But while going through paperwork I need a place to hang. I already got most of it done, except some. Thank you, again. I just guess I'm a bit protective over Frisk.. Even if they are only fourteen. Or, rather, happy-very-late-belated-by-four-years birthday ya nerd. Even if I am a couple months late, oops," she said, ruffling their hair.

They giggled. They weren't mute, no, just preferred not talking. Percy never minded, simply understanding. She had been close friends with a deaf child before they had been adopted about a year after meeting. She took a bow from her carry-on messenger bag, slapping it on her head. "You got the trashiest present ever, me," she chuckled, hugging them again before looking at Toriel

"The couch is a pullout. And feel free to put your uh..animal's-"

"Parakeet."

"Yes.. Parakeet's cage anywhere but the counters. I'm glad to have you, and I guess you can have some leftover cinnamon butterscotch pie leftover from earlier."

"Cool! Thank you, Miss Toriel. But, uh, do you mind if I keep Frisk up a little late? Just one movie, please," Percy begged, pleading a puppy-dog smile.

"Mm. Well, they do have school tomorrow.. Just, not past 11:00. They have a math test," she said firmly, voice motherly. Percy grinned.

Within an hour, the two were bundled in blankets and pajamas chowing down on popcorn and watching Wall-E. And for once in Percy's life, it wasn't that bad as before.

Chapter Text

In the months that followed, Percy moved into her new home in the suburb's fringes, got a job at the local radio station, and regularly visited or got visited by Frisk. Frisk taught her the culture of monsters and what dancing meant to them, and Percy found herself wishing to see it in action. Eventually, she worked up the guts one say to ask Frisk to dance with a monster, and so they arrived the next day wearing a tutu, with Toriel close behind. Usually Toriel had errands.

Percy's silvery blue gaze was dazzled by the two as they dancwd, Frisk with their delicate ballet and Toriel with her graceful waltz. Wonder met her when their souls resonated. She hummed to the music that played. She wanted to do it, but her awkwardness when asking for certain things butted in. She simply watched, hands twitching in her laps as she swayed, only slightly.

Toriel noted this, offering her paw. "Would you like to try?" she asked, smiling.

Percy snapped her hands away, waken from her small trance that she had fallen into. "No, no. I'm so clumsy. I may be older, but trust me, Frisk is more talented than me."

Toriel was unoffended, and complied. The two danced for minutes more, before Frisk finally stopped it. Toriel offered to make drinks, and Frisk settled next to Percy.

"That's super cool. Wish I could do it, too bad I've got no rhythm, two left feet, and all the wrong moves," she chuckled, giving a teasing smile.

You're super good, shut it. I saw you once! Honestly, lock your door. Anyway, you should meet the others, I've told them a ton about you, and they would like you, Frisk signed quickly, to which Percy flushed.

"Y-you saw me dance once? Ch-cheezits and rice, Frisk! I mean I wanna meet your friends, totally, but just, no dancing for me, alright?" Percy said softly, shrugging. "Besides, you know I have problems with dancing in front of others. That's when I really..put myself out there. Too personal."

Frisk signed, resigning to at least knowing their sister would meet their friends. And hopefully, hopefully she would hop out of the rut Frisk knew she was in.

A few days later, a fish woman, dinosaur, skeleton, and goat-woman were on the back patio of Percy's quaint little home.. After introductions, the dancing began to Percy's wide grin. She watched it all, wonder in her silvery blue gaze, and sometimes she kept from her seat for a standing ovation.

Percy smiled when Frisk and Papyrus - the cool skeledude, adorably hyper - had finished dancing. When the tall skeleton walked over and offered a hand, she shook it happily.

"That was so frickin' cool," she said, some of her Easterner's accent slipping through in her excitement. Eh, different places, different ways of speaking. And sometimes she just didn't pronounce a whole word. Oh well.

"Thank you, Percy! It was my pleasure to show you, really," he said happily, voice bright.

"My pleasure to watch," she replied, before the fish-woman - Undyne, she had learned - came up behind, followed by the dinosaur - Alphys, she had also learned.

"Better of been! But I wanna dance with you!" she said, looking coolly at Percy with her good eye.

"M-me? No, no. I don't dance!" she said, rubbing the back of her neck as her face flushed.

"What?" Undyne whined, "But Frisk said you were really good!"

Behind Undyne, Frisk gave a devious grin. Percy shot them a glare, to which they squeaked and jumped behind Toriel. Her attention was snapped again quickly back to Undyne.

"I guess, maybe.. I just.. Don't dance. Heh.." she said awkwardly. "But I love music. It's been my passion for years. That's why I find you all amazing! I can just see how the music is so fitting, how amazing you all are! Its undeniable, you guys are super cool and I'm really glad Frisk freed you all! This is a way of dancing people need to see, because I've never seen anyone dance quite like you all do, with so much passion and you put your whole selves into it! I love it!"

"Mm, just like Sans," Papyrus murmured observantly when she mentioned her unwillingness to dance.. Percy had heard of the other skeleton brother, having been informed by Frisk that he had work and could not attend. Oh well.

"You seem pretty passionate, too. Too bad we won't be able to see you put all that passion into dancing," Undyne said, and Percy could tell she was trying to subtly persuade her.

"No, no, no! Nope! I am not dancing!" she stated, before dashing to the other side of the wide yard to a gate in the fence, and flinging herself up a tree just beyond, weaving her way through the limbs with reserved grace.

"How'd you do that so fast!? I wanna do it faster!" Undyne challenged, before trying to to do the same maneuvers as Percy had done. She was too jerky pulling herself through tangled limbs of the tree

"Undyne! Wait up!" Papyrus called, trying to catch up and only getting his gangly limbs tangled, getting caught with Undyne in the mess as well. They struggled against each other, Undyne releasing frustrated fish noises.

Several branches above, Percy giggled. "You guys seem a bit tied up, y'know," she chimed. Her mint-dyed hair framed her face, and the light shown through the branches behind her. She climbed lower, studying the situation before grabbing a skeletal arm. "I'm gonna pull in tree, two, one!" When it didn't work, she tried a few more times, before stopping to catch her breath. "Man, this is sapling all my energy away. One last try."

Papyrus grew red in the face, yelling, "So much like Sans! Gahhh!" And then him and Undyne tumbled from their knot on top of Percy, who yelped in surprise at the two monsters falling atop her.

Chapter Text

"See ya'll in a bit!" she said into the mic, assigning a few alternative rock songs to play until her shift was over. She smiled, leaning back into the chair and setting the headphones on the desk. She picked up her messenger bag and waved to Max, her coworker. "Yo I'm going to go on lunch, be back in an hour," she said to him, before he nodded and she walked out.

She got into her car and driving to a nearby nearby strip mall. Somewhere quick, so she could be in and out and get back to the station in half the time she had been given so she could get back. The station played in her own car, and she sang along to a few songs. However, it stopped when she turned off the old car and entered the mall, directing herself at the food court.

She stopped a few times, talking to some friends, examining items in stores. She was buzzing with happiness by the time she was in the food court and ordering her food at the Italian place. She smiled, walking through the crowd with a soda in her left hand, and a tray in her right, with her book balancing precariously on her head since she had no space in her bag for it.

She set down her soda, reaching up to grab her book when she spotted a familiar skeleton waving and calling "Percy! Percy!" She looked at Papyrus with a smile, setting down her tray but still not getting her book down as the tall skeleton weaved through the crowd, with a smaller skeleton about 3/4 his size following behind deftly.

She waved, keeping her hand out a moment longer as she tipped her head and the book fell from its perch to her awaiting hand, and she set it near the tray and soda. She waited, leaning against the table and observing Papyrus and the shorter skeleton following behind him. She smiled at the blue-hooded skeleton, who she could feel was watching her beneath the shadow of their hood. Her smile faltered for a moment, her core happiness twitching. However, she quickly regained composure and smiled when Papyrus came toward her.

"Hey Paps. Didn't expect to see you here," she chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Hello Percy! I was just getting ready to shop with my older brother, Sans!" he said, gesturing to the skeleton that now stood at his side. Percy offered a hand, smiling brightly.

"So this is the infamous Sans, eh? Frisk says you're pretty punny," she said, smile never faltering. His hand lashed out and gripped hers tightly, and a fart-like snow was exuded from the spot between them. Her face flushed red, standing out strongly against her pale skin. She snatched her hand back, losing all composure as she laughed it away, snorting grossly, but she didn't mind. Oh well. "A prankster! Guess I'm gonna have to get you back for that, because I happen to be one myself," she voiced proudly, once her laughter had died to mere giggles.

Papyrus stared wide-eyed at his brother, before throwing his arms up. "Oh my god, Sans! You can't just do that! In public!" The hooded skeleton merely shrugged, tugging it down to reveal the shadowed part of his face. She smiled, giggling still.

"Don't worry 'bout it Paps, it's fine," she said, shrugging at the skeleton before slipping into her seat, the two skeletons sitting across from her when she gestured for them to sit.

"And you're the wacky Percy. The Frisk's older sister who showed up on Toriel's doorstep with a bird in her hair, doesn't dance, loves music, and has a fiery attitude. Or, at least, that's what Undyne and Papyrus say. Nice to meat you, finally," the skeleton responded to her earlier words. To Percy's wonder, his permanent grin barely moved when he spoke, and she didn't bother asking. She knew the response, as Frisk had often told her, magic~.

"Mhm, that's me. Although they seemed to forget the part that I have green hair and I work at the radio station. In fact, I'm on break," she said, grinning lightly fter having pointed at her mint-dyed hair.

"So that's why your voice is familiar. Ya, I listen sometimes," he said, nodding. Percy cocked a brow.

"Mhm, that's me," she said happily, smiling.

"Wowie! You guys are hitting it off! I'll go get some food, be right back! Also, I know what you want Sans," he said, stopping his brother from requesting food. Percy chuckled.

Looking back at the skeleton, she smiled. "Mhm, so, you've certainly gotten pretty close to everyone really quickly.. That's cool. No doubt Frisk's been helping you."

"What? No. Sure, I'm not a natural social butterfly, and ya they had to actually force me to let them all actually kinda sort of know me but.. After first encounters, it was all on their own and my accord. Undyne and I were both fiery and competitive. Papyrus gets along with anyone, and is so amazingly likeable. I'm a total science geek and I love anime, so Alphys is like, my best friend. And I think that.. Well, I think Toriel is the only one who likes me because of Frisk. But that's all. Frisk was always the one making new friends. Besides, I think when I was younger, and a bit now, that I am just a tad bipolar. Heh. One day I would be being wacky as ever - which is normal, mind you - the next I would hve my nose in a book. But now.. it's mostly a mix if I'm not sleeping through my free days," she said, somewhat defensive at first, but her voice grew fond when she spoke of her semi-new friends.

"Mm. Well, I have a small warning for ya, Perc," he said, shrugging. The world seemed to grow cold around her, colder than the mall's air conditioning. She froze, sucking in a breath at the sudden changes. She could already tell this would not be a very nice warning.

Chapter Text

"Hurt my brother or any of my friends, and you better be ready to have a bad time."

"Fite me."

He seemed completely taken aback by her words, shock on his pale, skeletal features as the world around them seemed to resume.

"What?" he asked, the Percy's gaze steady and unnverving.

"I said: Fite me. You can't keep that cinnamon roll all to your self, y'know. And they're my friends, too," she said, gesturing to Sans' younger brother, who waited in line to get some food, patient but excited.

He gave a light chuckle. "Uhh.. Fight you? Percy, I think we know the winner. Frisk surely should have warned you about what I can do," he said, giving a careless shrug.

"But you haven't been warned about what I can do. Fite me, Sans, or I earn rights to tease you for the next month. 5:00, on Mt. Ebott after work. Don't chicken out!" And with that, the girl in stressed shorts, black converses, a white tee beneath a mint jacket, turned and walked off, dyed-mint hair shifting with her quick movements.

However, she quickly stopped and hurried back over, throwing away the trash from her meal and grabbing her bag, book, and soda. "Pretend that I didn't just forget my stuff," she said quickly, before scurrying away to the doors leading to the parking lot.

Sans merely chuckled softly at her when Papyrus returned, curious. "What were you talking to Percy about, brother?" he questioned, setting down the fries and several packets of ketchup.

"Uh. She wants to fight me for you, apparently," he said lightly, glancing at his younger, but taller, brother.

"Hm. Sounds like Percy," Papyrus voiced, unsurprised. Percy had entered Papyrus and his friend's lives, boisterous and open. And like with all those people that got close to them, Sans had sat her down for a talk. A talk that usually scared those new people off. But.. Then there was Percy. Goodness. She was someone he hadn't exactly expected.

Sans arrived at the designated place Percy awaited. She had gathered quite a crowd. The wacky human girl had fit in well with the monsters, as if she didn't fit in well enough with her own species. Undyne, Alphys, Frisk, and even toriel. Percy must of slipped something to Undyne in the four hours since her challenge to Sans, and the overly-enthusiastic-about-violence fish-woman had eagerly spread it among her circle of friends.

Percy turned at the arrival of Sans and Papyrus, a grin on her features.

"Fite me, Sans!"

He snorted at her accusing stance, finger poised at him with a determined look on her face. Nothing had changed about her appearance. Still a mint jacket, white tee, shorts, and black converses. Except now mint earbuds were swinging in the hand at her side. He quirked the bone where an eyebrow should have been. Mostly people stopped to stare for a moment when he did so, but Percy was unfazed.

"Alright, Percy. But I'm warning ya, I'm fighting for Papyrus and the others. Tibia honest, Percy, I won't go easy," he said, shrugging as a bone sprung up near Percy. She seemed unfazed, and didn't even seem to notice, too intent on staring at Sans.

"Cut the shit, boneboy. Now fite me, ya lil' bitch," she sneered, hands now on her hips.

Undyne wooped at the insults, cackling. Toriel sighed heavily, coming only to supervise, and covered Frisk's ears, even if they were fourteen.

"Mm. Alright," he mumbled, blinking and opening his eyesockets to reveal a glowing left eyesocket and a pitch black right.

Immediately several bones were sent flying at Percy, but she simply put in her earbusd, set a playlist, and artfully dodged them all, not one even coming close to clipping her. Sans seemed shocked for a moment, before waiting for her to do whatever. She inched a little closer toward him, silvery blue eyes closed.

So he just simply sent a barrage of attacks at her, several waves upon waves and blast upon blast. But she dodged it all. With her eyes closed, with liquid movements as if she knew each attack like she were sending them out. She side-stepped to the side from an oncoming bone, jumping back to place when another came from behind. And she had earbuds in, so there was no way she could possibly hear it. No, she just felt it.

There was a subtle hint of organized movements between the two, reminiscent of dancing. The way Percy side-stepped or the way Sans moved his hands. Until Sans' will to not lose, but growing tire, urged him to break from the norm, and a small bone peeked from the ground behind Percy as she jumped away from another bone surging from the ground beneath her feet.

And she fell.

She fell hard on her back, the wind knocked from her. She was flat, hair spread around her face on the dusty ground, earbuds wires displaced from hanging near her side and trailing to her pocket. Her eyes were still shut, and one couldn't tell why she hadn't gotten back up yet. She remained like that for a few moments.

Sans feared if he had hurt her too much. Inching closer, he offered a hand out to her. He knew she wouldn't actually hurt him. He already approved of her, from the moment she challenged him. She would fight for them willingly, enthusiastically. Her fire burned beneath her silver-blue eyes, a fire that burned even brighter than Frisk's. She was..something. Indescribable, he decided. Everyone was frozen in the moment, worry in their eyes, but something holding them in their places and keeping them from interfering.

"P-Perc-"

He was cut off when she grew suddenly alert, and grabbed his bony hand in hers, tight. He heaved her up, and she stared at him. They were nearly the same height, Percy a hair shorter. He felt himself falter just a bit at her startling silver-blue gaze, whcih was focused entirely on him.

Then placed a kiss on the top of his skull.

He flushed blue, pulling his hood over his head and tugging the drawstrings to their limit, sinking to the ground. He obviously didn't expect Percy to do such a thing, and in such a way. God, now he knew where Frisk got their flirtatious attitude. Undyne and a few others howled with laughter behind Percy, and the victorious human shrugged. She seemed pretty neutral, almost unaware that she had just won a battle by kissing a skeleton. Eh, she had done weirder things.

"Mm. You are so easily flustered.. Adorable. Thanks Frisk~" she chimed in that light voice, before walking over to high-five her younger sibling. The two chuckled, before Papyrus rattled with laughter and bounced over to Percy.

"Percy! You won, by making my brother adorably flustered! You definitely earned rights to hang out with The Great Papyrus!" he said happily, bouncing on his heels.

Percy shrugged. "I enjoyed it. But honestly, he should have known better. I am Frisk's older sister, so what can you expect? It feels natural, just- Er, never mind, I don't wanna ramble," she said, ruffling Frisk's cropped brown hair, before turning to Undyne, who was giggling with Alphys. Two cuties.

"Good job, Percy! You really did the unexpected, but that's nothing new!" the fish-woman laughed, Alphys nodding happily in agreement.

"O-oh yes. Reminds m-me o-o-of a moment i-in an anime," she said smiling, readjusting her glasses.

Percy smiled, face framed in mint-dyed hair. She turned her head to the still-flustered Sans, smiling. Walking over, she remained quiet as she sneaked up before quickly slipping his hood down and crouching to face him. "Sup, loser."

"Nnngh," he grumbled, trying to grab at his hood and instead burying his face in his pants. Percy giggled.

"C'mon, Sans. You haven't known me for a whole day yet. Can't ignore me just like that," she said, before standing up and shrugging. "Oh well, bonebutt. Catch ya later when I'm hangin' with Paps and the others," she said, pruposefully rubbing her victory in, before starting to walk over to the others. It was movie night, and they were all going to Toriel's and crowd into her living room to watch anime.

Finally the skeleton got up, catching up to fall into step next to her. She smiled, but it was on the side of her face he couldn't see. "So, ya like me?"

"Did before."

"Mm, too bad. Ya tolerate me?"

"Gonna be hard to."

"Good enough. Besides, that's payback for earlier."

Chapter Text

Sans sat on a park bench, having just gotten off work and was just taking in the sunset peacefully before he would drive home to Papyrus.

He didn't expect someone to sit next to him, with headphones in and a remix of Trojans by Atlas Genius just barely audible. When that someone tugged them out, he knew it as so. Hm, that was odd. Hadn't that just played on the radio a few minutes ago..? Not the remix but the original? He turned his skull, jumping when he met vibrant silver-blue eyes.

"Holy fuck, Percy!!" he nearly screamed at her, jolting to the edge of the bench.

"Sup Sans. What are ya doin'?" she said, as if she hadn't just scared him our of his metaphorical skin. The skeleton stared at the girl, before shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Just watchin' the sunset.. And what are you doing...?" he questioned cautiously, unsure of what her answer would be.

"Got off work a little early. Traffic was thick, so I turned in here. Didn't quite expect to see you, though. But I guess it just confirms what I wanted to do," she said simply, shrugging.

"Um. What's that..?" he asked, putting down his feet tensely, ready to run if need be.

"Can't run from fate," she pointed out, and a soft click near his right hand made his skeletal wrist, which had one part of a pair of handcuffs on it, the other around her wrist.

"Oh my god, Percy what are you doing!?" he nearly screamed, tugging and pulling at the handcuffs, but she held him to his spot.

"Rubbing in my victory," she said simply, grinning as she turned to look at him. "Because I won and you lost fair and square. And as any other normal human being, I fully intent to rub it in your face and tease you about it. The handcuffs are just to make sure you don't run. And no, this is not weird kinky bullshit if that's what you're thinking because nooooo."

"I never did think that.. But why handcuffs? Why do you even have these!?" he nearly screamed, shaking his wrist around with her's following suit.

"A, it was all I had. B, I had gotten away from some cops after painting a building wall and it just so happened my accomplice made a daring distraction, and the one holding me was stupid enough to leave the keys behind and the door unlocked," she explained, as if that was normal.

"Uh-huh.. Must of been a real numbskull," he chuckled, still staring at the handcuffs.

"Well, he was. But now it's my time to shine! You looked adorable when you were blushin' by the way," she chimed. His face grew a light shade of blue, purple thanks to the light. One point for Percy. "And it was too cute when you went to help me," she added on, grinning. The blue grew just a bit deeper. Another point for Percy. "And lookin' at you was like lookin' at an angel," she said finally, and he flushed completely blue, pulling his hood over his face and pulling the drawstrings taught. She grinned. "K.O. Round one and round two, to Percy~!"

He mumbled incoherently of his embarrassment, tugging his handcuffed hand uselessly.

"Don't worry, I won't end the match just yet. Besides, I have dinner to make when O get home. Meaning ordering a pizza," she said, before fishing around her bag. After a few long minutes, she stopped, face somehow paler than before. "Uhh. Sans.. I, uh.. I lost the key," she said quietly, silver-blue eyes wide.

"What!?" he cried out, pulling his hood down and coming to fish through her bag as well. After several minutes of him rifling through it all, he stopped as well. He looked pale, and appeared to be having an internally silent freak-out.

Then she broke down laughing, reaching into her pockets and pulling out the key as she fell back on the bench howling with laughter. "That look was..priceless!" she wheezed out, as Sans fumed.

"Oh my.. Alright, I admit, that was good. But I am out, before Paps worries," he said, snatching the key and freeing himself, before hurrying off.

She smiled, sitting up and watching him for a moment, before scrambling to catch up and walk to the parking lot with him before they parted ways to go to their own homes. What an eventful evening.

Chapter Text

She didn't have two left feet. She did have rhythm. And she did have all the right moves. She just..didn't dance, at least not in front of others.

No, she didn't dance because she poured her heart and soul into her movements. Undyne hadn't been wrong when they had first met, describing Percy as passionate. However, when she danced, you could see her real emotions. The ones she bottled up and hid away, the ones that drove people away. The ones that she had spilled onto Frisk, who had supported her more than she ever could have supported them. She had never lived the best life, never had the best social groups, never had the best anything. But she felt different when she danced.

Usually, she knew she was broken. She knew that she was two-faced, one depressed and often hidden, the other perky and open. She used to joke about it to her friends, and that's what they thought it was - a joke. So she played it as a joke. She laughed when she cried, she made stupid jokes. And..for a while, it worked. But then it didn't. Every breakdown that occured grew worse and worse, and she just fell into a hole she couldn't climb out of. She never did self-harm, no, she knew she had to take care of Frisk and would never really go forward with things physically. It would be emotionally and mentally. She would take papers and write down all her hurtful thoughts, hiding them under her pillow every night and letting them taint her dreams. But it never got physical. She never allowed it.

However, it really went downhill when she and Frisk were separated. The younger had been her closest thing to a best friend, supporting every idea, cheering on every dance. She had no one to help, no one to vent to because she trusted no one else. So..she turned to music. She let the music take her, she drew, she wrote, she poured herself into the beat, the words, the sounds. And one night, when no one was looking, she just..danced. She liked the person who fostered her, because they trusted her, and they let her out that night when she claimed to be sleeping at a friend's house. But she didn't. She took her stuff to the most secluded place (which happened to be a closed off area that required lots of climbing to get to) she knew, and she put on her headphones, and danced. It felt amazing, feeling the cool night air and no judging eyes.

Although, no matter how much she loved dancing, she never partook in any dances her schools held. She never went on any dates. She never went "clubbing" in the year that followed her graduating high school. She got a job and saved up her money, she sold what valuable items (other than her phone and headphones and/or earbuds) she had and moved from the system of foster homes into a small apartment. And then she lived out her life. She was going to wait a bit for college, to pay for it, and she knew that within time, she would be able to. And then she would live out her life. No more Frisk, as she had already been heartbreakingly informed that they had disappeared and there was no way she could help. That would be it.

But no, Frisk had returned, and she had flocked to Ebott City. And she liked it. She liked having those friends. She liked having work at the radio station. She liked watching them dance. But she never danced herself. Despite knowing that she needed it, as heaviness still plagued her, didn't. She did some subtle movements sometimes, but never full-blown dancing like she had that one night. She never danced when no one was looking. She just..stopped. However, after "battling" Sans, she felt..something. She felt something telling her, straight from deep within her core, that she wanted to danced. She couldn't describe it as anything other than what Frisk told her they felt when they had been in the Underground for a bit.

Then, one day when she was sure no one was coming over, when the stars were out and fireflies quietly blinked and flew around, she went into her yard and put on her rarely-used radio and waited. Then when the music was swallowing her up, when it had pulled her wholly together, she danced. Her movements were graceful, organized and always with the beat. Her eyes were closed the whole time, as she dare not open them and feel the pressure from even the fireflies seeing her. She let the moon be her spotlight, and for several minutes, she flowed right with the night. She let the beat carry her steps, let them guide her safely around her well-known yard.

When she was heaving for air and her legs and arms ached with the energy spent, she opened her eyes and stopped. She didn't know what to think when she opened them to see the monster gang and Frisk, staring wide-eyed right at her. She simply let her eyes mirror theirs, and terror seized her, rooting her to her spot. "I must've been bad for you all to stare at me like that," she murmured. Her gaze dropped to the ground, and she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket, which had the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. She couldn't put them in the pockets of her shorts, mainly because her shorts didn't have them. She didn't expect what happened next.

They cheered. She gaped, silver-blue eyes bright as she looked at them. Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, Frisk, Papyrus, and..Sans. Sans didn't relly cheer, and insted kept staring. His eyesockets were wide with an unidentifiable emotion, and she avoided looking at him, instead looking at the others. Frisk was jumping up and down, pointing and signing quickly, I told you, I told you, I told you, I. Told. You! Percy sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, before Undyne burst forward from the small group.

"I'm dancing with you!" she stated, vibrant red hair practically on fire. Percy flushed, messing with her hair out of the nerves of having people watch her dance. Dance like she hadn't done in five years. Dance with everything put forth and right there. However, she quickly snapped from her nerves and looked at them.

"Uh, okay.. But, uh, why are you guys here, anyway?" Percy questioned, eyes falling on Toriel, who appeared to be holding a pie. "Especially at eight.."

"OH! Yes, well, Frisk here said this is your 3 month anniversary being here in Ebott City! That means one fouth of a year here, with us! So, Toriel wanted to bake you a pie and Frisk wanted to surprise you! When we came and heard music, Frisk kind of..freaked out really excitedly and told us to go around back where we heard it coming from. And we..uh, saw you! You're very good by the way, and to reward you for such amazing talents, I will allow you to dance with I, the Great Papyrus! Of course, I would have let you danced with me even if you hadn't been very good, either way," Papyrus said, last statement a small add-on.

"Sounds like Frisk. Well, thanks, sorta. For the celebration, I mean. Not really for watching me dance.. Heh.. Ya." Oh, sue me. I'm telling them I'm not thankful for them congratulating and celebrating my mere presence! Ugh, I'm terrible. "You know what? Never mind. Let's dance!!"

Chapter Text

Each dance really did something to her.

Dancing with Undyne really fueled her fire. She had altered her own way of dancing so that the two were very similar, but still had distinct differences. You could tell the different between them, Undyne more fiery and warrior-like, Percy smooth and a bit calmer. However, it still put on the effect of fireworks in Percy's head, at which she laughed and swung more excitedly. She enjoyed dancing with Alphys, because she definitely had a lot of beat to go along with, and she enjoyed that, but still threw in some of her own moves. Papyrus definitely was fun, and she enjoyed it. A bit more fast-paced and exotic than she was used to, but she liked it. And each time their souls reverbarated, she felt exhilerated. However, by the time she had finished everyone, she was exhausted.

But she didn't turn in just then.

Her eyes fell on the skeleton who had simply watched, hood up and upper face shadowed. She waved off the others when they went inside to watch some TV, unwilling to follow. Instead, she walked over and sat on bench beside him, looking at him. "Ya seem..spaced out," she chuckled, pointing up at the stars above.

He seemed tugged from whatever trance he was in, rubbing the back of his..neck? Honestly, Percy didn't know what to call it. "Oh..yeah. Sorry, guess my mind was up in the clouds. By the way, uh, you dance..really well. Everyone seemed to enjoy it," he said, chuckling at the last bit. She shrugged.

"I don't know, honestly. I just..kept my eyes closed the whole time. I think the only time I've ever danced with my eyes open was a long, long time ago, and only when Frisk dared me. It was a disaster. I could see more with my eyes closed than open, or at least, feel it. And, I mean.. if they enjoyed it so much.. Uh, I'm not too tired if you wanna dance..? Ugh, I feel awkward. Never went to any dances or anything, so y'know, never actually asked someone to dance. And..Papyrus and the others told me how you don't dance much anymore, but..please? It feels amazing when I dance with somebody else, especially a monster. I feel..lighter. Airy. Indescribable, really. And they told me how good you were at it and-" she started, but Sans held up a skeletal hand for her to stop.

"Listen to what they said. I don't dance anymore. Things happened, and well.. Eh, nevermind. I'm bone-tired anyway from a long day at work," he said, and Percy could see right through his pitiful excuse of tire.

"I just danced with four monsters and my adopted sibling, along with a whole day of work, and I still want to dance. If you wanna say you don't wanna dance, just say it," she said simply, getting up and brushing herself off.

"It's not that. Just..complicated," he responded, pulling his hood forward so that she couldn't see much of his face.

"Mm, sure. Well I'm going in, and I can only assume the others will be leaving soon. And I also don't want to see you an hour from now still on this bench, or I'll throw a fit and it won't be a pleasant one," she said simply, tugging her hoodie close and pulling the pushed-up sleeves down her forearms when the cool night air finally got to her. She walked toward the door, lingering for just a moment to mutter a quick "Good night" before closing it behind her.

Sans simply shrugged, remaining on the bench for a few more minutes. He appeared deep in thought, were anyone to come out and bother him. A minute or two after Percy entered the house with the others, he laid out on the it, staring up at the stars above. He hadn't danced in a real long time. In fact, it had been years. Ever since he found out about the resets. He just..stopped. Sighing heavily, he looked up when he saw a head peek out of the door, noting that it was Frisk.

"Hey kiddo," he said, sitting up once again.

Hey Sans, they signed to him, sitting on the grass a few feet away. Uh. I may or may not have been eavesdropping your conversation with Percy.

"Oh really. Why is that..?" he questioned, crossing his arms slightly. He had little idea as to why Frisk may have been eavesdropping a conversation between him and Percy. The two were just friends, nothin' special, no secrets, no weird stuff. Nothin'. So why would Frisk be interested? Because Percy was so close to them?

And I.. I wanna promise you something. They signed, letting their hands fall on their tutu, which they had put on when Percy had been willing to dance with the others, instead of alone. Sans quirked the bone where his brow would have been, curious. But you have to promise something back.

"And what might said promises be?" he asked cautiously. He wasn't sure if he would be able to promise anything, not after.. Not after the no-mercy run that seemed far away, at the back of his mind. He sighed. "Can't be anything too big."

I promise..no more resets. Not unless.. Not unless someone dies before their time. That's the only exception. But you have to promise to dance again. Dancing reflects the state of your soul, Sans. You know that. You've only at least some what danced once in the time I've known you, and that was when you had been "battling" Percy. Dancing is good for you, Sans. They signed quickly, hands shaking only slightly.

"No resets if I dance. What makes you wanna make this promise, Frisk?" he asked, curious about the cause of this. Frisk had never made the proposition before, and he wondered what could possibly drive them to make it now. Now, of all places, with their adopted sister talking to their monster friends just on the other side of the door.

Because.. Because I worry a lot about Percy. She's usually so sad, I can see it. She can't hide it from me, I've known her too long. But tonight.. Everytime I've seen her dancing.. She doesn't know it, but she's smiling. She's happy. And I want to see her happy a lot more. And.. I remember the first time I met you. You were so happy when you danced. I want that for both of you. So.. If I promise no resets, you promise to dance. It will make her smile, I just know it. Deep down, she just wants to see everyone she knows smile at least once. Other than your shit-eating grin or stupid smirks, she's never seen a legitimate smile from you, they explained, before once again resting their hands on their tutu, but now their hands were tight fists.

"Mm. No resets? You promise from the center of your soul?" he questioned, staring at them intently with his orbs of light in pitch-black eyesockets. They nodded almost immediately, leaning forward slightly. "Alright, kid. You've got a deal."

Not a deal. A promise, they said, before offering a hand.

"A promise," he agreed, before grabbing their hand in his skeletal one and squeezing, before getting up with them close behind and entering the house as if nothing happened seconds ago.

Chapter Text

Frisk grinned when Percy peeked around the door of her little home on the fringes of the suburbs in Ebott City. They waved off Toriel, who drove off. Toriel had things (a.k.a. a teacher conference thingy that was in a neighboring city three hours away) to do that Saturday, and had asked Percy to to watch them so they wouldn't be home the whole day. She knew she could have asked anyone, but Frisk had insisted upon it. And despite having work that Saturday, Percy simply agreed, saying it would be cool to have someoe other than her coworkers in the radio station for a change. So now, at 5 in the morning, Percy was welcoming Frisk in and getting her things together for work. The reason Percy was working at the radio station on the weekend was only because the coworker who ran the show on the weekends (and at night on weekdays) was on vacation with their family, and Percy had been happy to fill in.

"Now I'm going to ask for like, a half hour longer lunch break so we can go somewhere semi-nice and get nice cream afterwards because I got a coupon from the interwebs," she said, shoving her headphones into her bag. Those were her personal pair, as she had insisted upon using those instead of the work-provided ones, saying they were more comfortable. Which they were. And yes, Percy did call the internet the interwebs simply for the hell of it. Because she was Percy. Frisk simply grinned at her words.

Cool! I'm excited to see the radio station, because I pass it on the way to school with Mom all the time, they signed happily, before following Percy out the door once she had grabbed her keys and was heading toward her white car.

"Well, then you've seen it, you've just never been in it," Percy pointed out, slipping into the driver's seat when Frisk took the passenger's seat. The engine hummed to life when she put the keys in, before putting it in reverse and backing out of her driveway, before turning and putting it in drive, to which she drove down the sloped road leading down from her home. The road had been quite the fun sledding spot when she had first come to Ebott City five months ago in the winte,r and had cut and manipulated some of the extra boxes and slid down the almost perfect snow that blanketed the side of Mt. Ebott.

After about a half hour of driving, she pulled into her normal parking spot. They both got out, before walking in. Percy quickly explained Frisk's presence to her boss, having forgot to tell them of it, but they allowed it on the condition that Frisk didn't touch any of their expensive equipment. That's why Percy liked them, they were a pretty cool boss to have, even if sometimes when Percy was late they were a bit sour the rest of the day. But, she had been doing extra work lately, so they happily gave her the extra half hour onto her lunch break, and Percy was grateful. She new that extra work, no matter how tedious and boring, would pay off at some point, and indeed it did.

Lunch was.. Hilarious. And very painful. They had eaten at McDonald's because Percy was too lazy to eat at someplace nicer. Oh well. besides, otherwise she ate reasonably healthy, and most of the time after work she could be found jogging, she could be found eating fruit as her snack when she had a short break between songs on the air, so that was cool. Another plus to McDonald's was that it was within walking distance of the Nice Cream Shop.

That was another cool thing about the Monsters moving to the surface. Recently, a variety of new shops had frequently started popping up all around, including the Nice Cream stand from Snowdin evolving into a fullblown shop. A shop that flourished with the sudden heatwave, despite it only being late spring. Percy could only imagine how much their business would bloom when the schools let out for summer vacation in a month, as it was already quite busy that Saturday noon.

Percy bought a bisicle (because it was cheaper than two unisicles) and split it in half, giving the other half to Frisk. And here comes the painful part.

"Bet'cha I can eat my unisicle quicker than you!" Percy challenged when they were sitting on a brick wall just outside of the Nice Cream Shop, which guarded a flowerbed and a small sapling.

You're on! They signed, before both went chowing down on their unisicles, taking chunks at a time as they tried to quickly devour them. In the heat of the moment, they felt nothing. It was in the next second after both had finished at the same time that they really felt it, and they regret it.

Brainfreezes.

Percy gasped, holding her hands to the sides of her face in pain. "That was so stupid!" she cried out, before letting herself fall from her perch on the brick wall and lay on the sidewalk, groaning and rubbing the sides of her head. "We are sooo dumb!" she chastised her and Frisk, as they fell from their perch on the brick wall and roll beside her, but once the pain had subsided, they broke into silly, semi-pained giggles.

We are really dumb, they signed, chuckling and rubbing the right side of their head as the two leaned against the brick wall now, sitting up after about two minutes of rolling around groaning and creating a scene that struck laughter into all who witnessed it.

"Stop me any time I suggest that, unless I really deserve the pain," she chuckled, reaching up and grabbing her messenger bag before standing up. She then beckoned toward the car, fishing the keys from her pocket and walking towards it. Frisk got up, hurrying over and falling into step as they still laughed. They were still laughing by the time Percy had pulled into her parking stop and they had entered the radio station the minute Percy's lunch break ended at 1:15 in the afternoon, and Percy struggled to keep her voice steady when going on air.

The rest of the work day was uneventful, except for when a caller had told a hilarious story of a time when they and their friends had been trying to figure out what was making their deer decoy rattle, only to find a squirrel had burrowed in through a hind leg and had hidden it's acorns in it, and they had joked about how the fake buck had "nuts." Yet another thing to keep her from laughing at, and to cover Frisk's mouth whenever they tried to burst out into laughing fits at random times when they thought of it. Each break that the two took was filled with laughter and jokes.

By the time Percy's shift was over, she decided to do a little work as thanks to the boss, while Frisk did some weekend homework their teachers had given them. Frisk would ask ask Percy about some math problems that needed explaining since Toriel wasn't around, and since they knew Percy had been quite the whiz kid, having only brought home a B only once on her interim, and that was only because she was missing a project she hadn't been able to turn in since she had gotten pneumonia for a week (and that had been a lot of "fun"). In return, Percy would ask Frisk what songs they would want to see played, and use them to help her with some long tedious cost calculations, cutting some of them in half so it was much quicker. By the time Percy had blown through it (with Frisk finishing long before her), it was 11:00.

She knew she worked a pretty long day, but she insisted, mainly since she didn't work a whole week, and slightly because she loved her job, as it was basically her dream job. She got to listen to music and talk to nice people all day, and she got paid for it. Sure there was usually a lot of boring stuff to equalize it, but otherwise, she liked it all the same. It was fun and put food on the table and bird pellets in Piper's food dish, so Percy loved it.

The two gathered their things, shoving it all into Percy's bag before they left her office (a.k.a. a corner of one of the rooms, which included a two-drawered filing cabinet. Small, sure, but it worked, somehow). As they walked through the door, a flicker of light only visible to Frisk drew them in, and they saved. It was natural habit, and it was just as a precaution they probably didn't need, but still they did it.

Percy slipped into the driver's seat of her car, turning it on and letting it heat up, since it was a little cool out and she had goosebumps along her pale forearms. Turning her head to the right as she waited, she said simply, "Toriel's gonna have my head for keeping you out so late, y'know? And what I'm gonna do is say that it was your fault."

Cocking a brow, Frisk looked at her. Oh, really? What's your excuse?

"Still working on that," she said as she grabbed her seatbelt, pulling it over her chest and clicking it into place. Frisk chuckled as they did the same, before turning on the radio and lowering the volume just a tad so they could hear Percy talk.

"Although, I think it will be along the lines that you wanted food and not her excellent cooking. A compliment just to butter her up, too. I'm quite clever," she said, as she drove out of the parking lot of the radio station. She took a left instead of a right, since she had to take Frisk back to Toriel's apartment. The goat-woman would have been home for an hour or so by then, so Percy would drop her off and head home, then probably heat up some leftover pizza to eat before crashing on the couch listening to calming instrumental. Because that's pretty much what she did every night she worked late, but sometimes she would make meals or have a movie night or something if the next day was free.

About ten minutes into the drive, she had to stop at an interstate as the light flashed to red as soon as she drove up. She silently cursed, as she knew Toriel was blasting Frisk's (and her) phone with worried text messages, to which Frisk would respond calmly with a We'll be home soon! or Almost there, don't worry. Toriel knew Percy wouldn't let any harm fall upon Frisk if she could, but still, motherly instincts kicked in and she was worried still. When the light turned green, Percy smiled slightly, pushing down on the gas and driving.

*

Arthur had been out partying for the past three hours and was driving home after having five drinks within the last two. Two of his friends were passed out in the back, but he still was up, although little black dots plagued the edges of his vision. They were getting annoying, so he did his best to ignore them as he drove. His hands trembled slightly on the leather steering wheel of his navy blue pick-up truck, and his car never stayed totally straight for longer than a few seconds as he drove toward the interstate.

The light was yellow, but he sped up just a tad, sure he could make it. His foot pressed just a little bit harder on the gas pedal, and he narrowed his eyes, determined to get across before the light changed. But it did, right before he made it across, and a small white car drove right out in front of his pick-up. His eyes widened, and his foot slammed against the brake. But it was too late.

He wouldn't be getting home that night.

*

Percy gasped when she felt the light of an oncoming car to her left burn her eyesight, and she looked quickly at Frisk. "Frisk!!" she screeched, and in the split second before the pick-up made contact with her car, she unlocked her seatbelt and covered Frisk with her body.

Frisk looked up, surprised at what she was doing. They had no idea what was happening or why Percy had just let go of the wheel, but then it happened. A great collision that sent their little car flying over the pavement. However, Frisk wasn't conscious to see any of it, as with the first impact the back of their head hit the side of the car too hard, and they blacked out, unable to see what happened next. And they were lucky.

When Frisk awoke about a minute later, their world a blurry mess and a ringing in their ears, they didn't expect what they saw.

They saw Percy, bruised and bloody, using her body to shield them. A great piece of metal impaled her backside, and blood dripped from her back and from her chest, along withs some past her lips, all falling onto Frisk. They screamed, voice unused and hoarse. The world around them, the muted sound of sirens and yelling, the blinding, flashing lights.. It all seemed far away. All that mattered was Percy, who was dead. Who had died, saving them. They didn't know what to think, they didn't know what to do. Their own small cuts and bruises or the nulled pain of a concussion and broken arm didn't matter at all. They didn't know anything.

They didn't know their good hand found the RESET button.

The world faded out and in around them, and they found they were once again passing through the door of the radio station, heading out into the parking lot, with Percy just ahead. Their whole body ached slightly, but Percy seemed unaffected. As if their car getting T-Boned while driving to Toriel's hadn't happened. But with the RESET... It hadn't. Percy was still alive, they were both still okay. But Frisk felt like crying.

They grabbed Percy's shoulder, turning her. The older woman looked at them, narrowing her eyes. "What's the matter, Frisk? You look..pale, and shaken up," she murmured. They signed that they just needed to go to the bathroom real quick, and without a response. "Alright, just be quick, I wanna get you to Toriel's real quick. Don't want to become goat dinner anytime soon, of course."

Then she went to the car, as Frisk shakily walked back into the radio station and locked themself in a small closet. They fumbled with their pocket, taking out their phone and sliding through the contacts, before tapping one and waiting patiently through each ring until it was picked up.

"S-Sans.."

He was reading a story to Papyrus, who had stayed up late watching a Disney movie. The younger skeleton was on the brink of sleep, and when Papyrus had slipped into rest he closed the storybook, putting it on the nightstand and standing gently as to not disturb him. He stretched for a moment, even though he didn't need to since he had no muscles, before walking over to the door and flicking off the light. He exited his brother's room and walked down the hall past a dresser toward his own room, passing by the kitchen and living room of their apartment.

Slipping into his own room of organized chaos, he sat in the chair that paired his desk, which had his computer on it. He browsed through the forums, looking at comments and posts, some of the more racist and monster-hating humans, and some of the nicer. There was some anger when he clicked through, but after a moment of readingmcuh kinder and nicer comments, he would be back to his normal, passive self. After about ten minutes of that, he decided he would turn in.

He had just been about to jump into bed when the RESET occured.

He kept his cool while reading Papyrus his story, but when he slipped into the hall, he let his anger flare. Sure, it wasn't a TRUE RESET, but it was a RESET all the same, and he was not happy. What he didn't expect was for the phone to ring, which he grabbed quickly and took into his room. When he answered, he was surprised to hear Frisk's voice. Yes, he knew what they sounded like, as on the rare occasion they had talked in the Underground. He was just..unused to it.

"What's the matter?" he asked, worry pricking his voice, along with his anger.

Their voice shook as they explained what happened, and so did they. They sniffled and they sobbed at random intervals. They were a mess once they had finished, but Sans had understood. He said that he understood why they RESET now, and that they were forgiven for it. They had done what needed to be done, and he said he would have done the same had it been Papyrus and himself in the situation, and not Percy and Frisk.

They had ended the call with a shaky goodbye, before wiping their tears away and exitting the radio station to slip into the car where Percy waited, jamming out to music that Frisk couldn't hear, since she was wearing earbuds. She took them out when Frisk got in the car, eyes widening at their state.

"You're staying at my house tonight. Even if Tori has my head for it," she said simply, before driving out of the parking lot and taking a right. She plagued Frisk with questioned they waved off, before finally accepting that they wouldn't tell her and resigning herself to just comforting them in any way she could.

That way ended up being a movie and popcorn and staying up most of the night watching them from her chair as they slept on her couch. But all ended alright, and there were no more RESETs that night.

Chapter Text

It was a week after the RESET, and after a few days of suspicion from Percy and Toriel, they allowed Frisk's horrible excuse of sickness to slide. Very reluctantly. However, Percy had noticed that the fourteen-year-old seemed a bit..down. So, she had taken it upon herself to make her feel better. And that meant conspiring with the others for a fun night at Percy's, meaning lots of stupid truth or dare stuff.

It was Percy's turn, right after Undyne had been dared by Frisk to drink a whole bottle of hot as fuck hot sauce. And she did. And she did it one more. She chugged it. And regret it, as well. Mainly because her face grew tomato red (somehow) through the blue scales, and she was screaming for water iwthin seconds of chugging it down. And that didn't help, nothing helped, and Undyne was still sweating to her left. Percy couldn't help barely stifling her giggles, in fear of the fish-woman getting mad at her and chase her down the street with blue spears flying from her webbed hands like she had already two times Percy had laughed at her.

"Truth or dare?" the still-sweating fish asked, staring intently at Percy from across the makeshift circle (more or less an oval) the seven of them (Frisk, Percy, Toriel, Alphys, Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus) had formed in her backyard on the cool Friday evening.

"Dare," she responded confidently, silver-blue gaze ablaze. Undyne grinned, and reached behind her to grab something before tossing it at Percy without any warning. It hit her head, since her reflexes were sometimes good, sometimes not. She shot a glare at the grinning fish-woman, before looking to her left, where a bag of candy sat. Oh, but it was not just any candy. Fucking Warheads.

"Eat five black Warheads. At the same time," the former Captain of the Royal Guard challenged, grin widening and full of pointy shark teeth. Percy looked dumbfounded. She heard a few snorts of laughter from Sans' and Frisk's directions, probably at her face, which she was sure was just hilarious. So they had figured out about warheads in the half a year they had spent up here? Surely Frisk must have told them the candy (made of pure sadness and pain, Percy was sure) was an excellent human torture device disguised as harmless sweets.

"No. Nononononononononononono," she said simply, shaking her head rapidly so her mint hair constantly flew in her face and hit Toriel to her right and Frisk to her left. She elbowed Frisk when they giggled.

"You said dare, human!! You have to do it!!" Papyrus proclaimed. "That is a rule of this game!!"

"Ugh.... Still no," she said simply, shaking her head again.

"You've gotta do it, or I come up with an even worse dare.. Like.. Kissing Sans!! On the li- Er, teeth," Undyne threatened, and Percy somehow paled, and so did Sans.

"Don't drag me into this!!" he exclaimed, shaking his bony hands and head so fast he might get whiplash.

"Fiiiiiinnnnneeeee," she said, dragging it out childishly before snatching the bag from the place she had put it on the ground. She fished through until she had five black Warheads sitting in her hand. "If I die, I'm leaving everything to Piper. Yes, the bird," she said simply, before shoving them in her mouth before she could even thinking of protesting.

A few gasps sounded around the circle, and Percy immediately regret shoving them all in her mouth. The pain she felt was immense, burning, horrible, indescribable. Her eyes squeezed shut, and she sucked breath in through her nose. Her eyes got a little bit wet, it was so bad.

And finally, finally, after a minute of horrible, horrible torture, Undyne exclaimed, "God, you humans are puny!!"

And Percy, being as stupid as she was, took that as a challenge. And this is Percy. Percy was someone who would do any challenge, no matter how stupid. And even if it wasn't specific. Like this one. So, Percy decided that she would put another five Warheads in her mouth. And goodness did she regret it. She regret filling her mouth to bursting with the horribly fucking painful balls of hurt, pain, and sadness. But she held on, somehow.

After two more minutes of so much almost unbearable pain she let the ten Warheads fall from her mouth, and opened ehr eyes to realize she had shed a few tears in her onslaught of pain.

She stood up wordlessly and walked into her house, returning less than a minute later with an icecube in her mouth muttering a constant mantra of "I hate Undyne. I hate Undyne. I hate Undyne. I hate Undyne. I hate Undyne. I hate Undyne." To which the blue fish-woman cackled in amusement.

The round passed full of dares like prank calling a random number and doing a handstand for the rest of the round, and a truth or two like "What was your most embarrassing experience?"

Then the turn was passed to Percy, and once again, like the stupid person she was, she chose Dare. Papyrus had quirked a nonexistent brow at Percy's confident answer, since he would be the one dishing out the dare to her. What was said dare, you might ask?

Balance four piles of books on her head, hands, and her foot (with no help, of course) for ten seconds.

So, Undyne and Papyrus went into the home and took six books from her bookshelves. Thick ones, too. Percy sighed, dragging a hand down her face. "You all must hate me," she muttered.

"We obviously love you, Percy. That's why we're doing this," Sans explained, permanent grin a little bit more reminiscent of a shit-eating one.

"Oh fuck off, Sans," she snapped, before staring down the now-separated stacks of books in front of her.

The first stack went on her head, before she put out her left leg and tipped the upper half of her body toward the ground with her arms outstretched on either side. Man, being obsessed with fixing my balance in middle school is actually going to pay off, she thought, as Frisk slowly began to put the books on her foot and in her hands. Then Papyrus began to count.

"One.. Two.. Three.."

All was still alright, she still balanced pretty well.

"Four.. Five.. Six.."

Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her leg was starting to ache.

"Seven.."

Her leg was trembling, and her neck started to hurt.

"Eight.."

Her arms were trembling right along with her leg, the muscles screaming, and the books shook precariously. Come on, Percy! Two more seconds!

"Nine.."

And down she went, falling in a heap of books and aching limbs a fucking second short, hissing. She cursed several times, to Toriel's disdain, before finally getting up and brushing herself off with a glare at the others, who were laughing at her failure.

"I'd like to see you try," she snapped at Sans, who was laughing the hardest.

He paused, quirking the bone (somehow??) where the brow would have been. "Oh really?" he said, not at all surprised at how fiery she was.

"Ya!! It's hard!!" she said defensively, glaring at him.

He pulled one of her outdoor tables over before sitting on it and crossing his left leg over his right, and spreading his hands just a little bit away from him. Then Papyrus came over and put the books on the designated places. After a minute, Percy glared at his smug grin.

"That's cheating!" she exclaimed, to which he shrugged, still balancing the books.

"No. Paps said balance them on your foot, hands, and head. Never said how," he pointed out, to which she took the top book from on his head and semi-gently semi-viciously whacked him across the back of his skull, to which he grumbled as the books fell from their perches.

"And that's how you put an ass in his place," she said pointedly, before sitting where she had been with several grumbles.

Everyone returned to their spots, and the game went on with not-as-exciting-but-still-stupid dares until Toriel pointed out it was late, and everyone returned to their own homes leaving Percy at home with a bag of Warheads. Let's just say her mouth was very sore the next day and she didn't talk too much.

Chapter Text

As a kid, she got sick a whole lot. She still did, actually. Lately, she just happened to be lucky. Or maybe monster magic..? Eh, who knew. She honestly didn't care, more intent on enjoying not getting sick. Mainly because it was like she was drunk off her ass when she was sick, especially  when she had a fever. Her friends told her it was hilarious, and she was sure it was. She got angry too quickly (it was a wonder that was possible, with her salty short temper), constantly cursed, couldn't stand, and more. So let me tell you, Reader, you are in for a treat, because Percy just happens to be sick today.

"You can go fuck yourself, sickness!" she screamed into the silence of her room, throwing her hands up into the air and glaring at bucket of half-digested food at her bedside. She had been up since three in the morning consistently puking hourly, and she was not having a very good time, since it was just after her most recent puke for the hour. She was lucky that whenever she was feeling sick, she would wake up two minutes beforehand and walk to the bathroom, sitting on the floor cursing her toilet before it happened and her body trembled for fifteen minutes.

She unceremoniously stood from her bed, hair a rat's nest as she grabbed the trash can and took it to her kitchen, where she took the bag from the can and put it in the larger one that already had another bag in it. She was puked out, surely. Now it was all dry heaves and saliva, lucky her. Grumbling, she opened the fridge and took out her eleventh Ginger Ale, absentmindedly taking her cup (which she had taken from her room as well) and filling it with more ice cubes from the ice tray in the freezer before peeling back the tab on the can, opening it and pouring it in before tossing the can in the recycling and walking to the living room. Piper chirped in recognition of the person that had owned her for the past year, trilling and bobbing her head as Percy set her cup on the wooden coffee table and laying on the couch with a grumble.

Reaching onto the little table beside the couch, she grabbed her laptop and flipped from her laying on her stomach to sitting on the couch, her back leaning on the armrest with a cushion in between. She opened up Skype to the group chat she had with Frisk and the monsters, opening to be met with a conversation between them about where she was. Mostly the indicator was that she hadn't been on the radio since it was a Wednesday, and she had been fine the day before. It had been kind of old, and she could tell it was when everyone was getting ready for work (or school in Frisk's case) and listening to her (she was curious why they would, she thought she was the biggest trash around).

"How sweet, they care if I'm dead or not," she hummed drearily, putting her mouse on the couch and clicking on the chat box. She typed quickly, not dead, just sick today. Then the emoji with the green sick face, and she sent it into the "cloud." She was surprised to get an answer a couple minutes later, even more surprised at who sent it, and downright dumbstruck at what it said.

Sans: i've got work off, do you want me to come over???

She quirked a brow, humming to herself. Taking a sip from her cup, she put it back on the coaster and typed in, nah, it's fine. don't wanna plague you with my sick ass. A few minutes later, after she had turned on the TV and was flicking through DVR, she got an answer back from him.

Sans: can't be too bad, i mean, i've dealt with paps being sick at least fifty times

She snorted, and after pushing play for Pacific Rim, she responded with: yes it can be that bad, and worse. Turning on her side, she watched the movie for a little bit. Not too long, just long enough for her to get a reply on Skype, and this time it wasn't from Sans. Well, there were two, and the followup of the first was from Sans.

Frisk: it's true, she's a nightmare when she's sick

Sans: oh really? i'm sure i can handle her, besides, maybe i can get on her good side. besides, i'm sick of being bored here

She rolled her eyes at Frisk's comment on the matter, before looking at Sans' comment. She was even less sensible (was that possible?) when she was sick, and she, as usual, handled it as a challenge. That wasn't surprising. So she eagerly typed a reply, but first a question that plagued her and would bug her if she didn't get the answer: frisk, aren't you in school?  She was curious, after all. Then, she added another comment, mmm, maybeeee.

Without thinking of what that comment would get her, she closed her laptop and put it off to the side, pausing her movie and standing shakily. She dragged her feet over the cool carpet of her living room, before walking down the short hallway that branched into four different rooms. She turned into the first doorway on the left, turning into the bathroom. Flicking on the light, she looked at the horror that was her reflection.

"Hm, I could go crackin' mirrors like this," she said, rubbing her eyes at the sudden lighting change. It made her headache worse, and she grumbled. She had the blinds shut everywhere so that her house was dim, for the sake of her eyesight and headache, honestly. Even her devices had the screen brightness at half. Dragging her feet toward the sink, she grabbed her toothbrush and literal brush. She brushed her teeth quickly, before looking at her mint-dyed hair. She grumbled, whipping out the brush and starting to drag it through the knots.

After a long half hour of pain, she set the brush down, looking at a semi-normal her. Her face was still pale, her eyes a bit dim, and she still looked like she had a neon sign hanging around her neck screaming that she was sick, but she looked kinda better with her hair brushed. Meh, now the outside of her head hurt too, and that was an overall pain. Looking at her clothing-wise appearance, she wasn't as disgusting. She had taken a shower within the last hours of waking (that had been the bane of her hair, making the knots worse). Exactly when, she wouldn't have been able to answer except the fact that it had been just before dawn. Her clothes were the normal ones she wore to bed, meaning a tanktop (sometimes an oversized shirt, but that was in fall and winter) and shorts, with bare feet. Her posture was slouched, unlike her usual semi-straightness. She just didn't look good, but it did no service to how she actually felt.

Then the lack of sleep, fever, and spinning head really kicked in. She just walked around the small home screaming "Fite me!" at everything. Everything. Including her reflection. When she had used up her vocal chords, she chugged down another cup of ginger ale, before glaring at the remaining package she did not  feel lke opening. Then she screamed "Fite me!" at that, too. Grumbling, since she had finally worn herself out, she grabbed herself a quilt from the closet and a pillow from her room and resumed her position on the couch, grabbing the remote and hitting play.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"For fuck's sake!" she cried out, throwing her arms up again. Taking the quilt and draping it around her shoulders, she shuffled toward the door. Remembering her heightened sensitivity to light, she grabbed the sunglasses that sat on the small table near the door and put them on her face. Grabbing the doorknob, she awkwardly pulled and opened the door enough for her to fit her head through, before pulling the side of the door near it so the door and door frame were basically holding it up. She snorted when she saw it was Sans blinking in surprise at her head poking through the small space.

"Uh.. Hey, Percy," he said, observing what he could of her sickly features. He was kinda unsure what to think of the sunglasses, and merely stared at them for a few moments as if he was making eyecontact. Which he wasn't.

Percy's eyes flicked up and down, taking in what he was wearing. His usual shorts and sweatshirt, she observed, before quirking a brow. She also observed that he seemed to have driven nor ridden anything up her sloping driveway, or even around Ebott City to get to her driveway. "Sup, boneboy. What are you doing here..? And where's your car?" sje asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing beneath the darkened glass of the sunglasses.

"Uh, took a shortcut. And, I, uh, said I would take care of you.. Remember? On Skype?" he questioned, shoving his bony hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt a bit awkwardly as the sick young woman stared at him with dull silver-blue eyes.

"Ya, sure. A shortcut from your fucking apartment complex on the other side of the city to here. Uh-huh," she said sarcastically, widening the door so that he could see the rest of her, and not the sliver from the door. "Well, whatever. Come in to my hellish sick nightmare," she said, stepping away from the doorway so that he could walk in. He did so, closing and locking the door behind him as he followed her into the dark living room.

"Uh, why's it so dark..?" he questioned, hands still in his pockets.

"Sensitive to light," she said simply, taking off her glasses and setting them on the small table where they had sat a minute before she had worn them. Sans nodded absentmindedly, now understanding why she had worn the sunglasses when opening the door as well. He observed her dark home, with it's few dimmed lights and shut blinds. He watched Percy amble over to the couch and turn Pacific Rim  back on and slump onto the left half, a bit tilted to the right.

"You should, uh, eat something," he suggested, speaking over the characters as they spoke very seriously.

"For the past nine hours I've been throwing up and dry heaving. Sorry but no thanks," she said saltily, not even looking back at him standing awkwardly behind the couch and near the connected kitchen, lingering near the wall.

"Alright, then.. Are you just gonna watch TV?" he asked, hands still in his pockets. She turned her head, quirking a brow.

"Yea. Are you just gonna stand there like a fucking creep, bonehead?" she asked, voice still pretty salty. He shrugged, walking over and sitting beside her, not really watching the movie and instead watching her, if only slightly.

Within minutes she had fallen into a light sleep, snoring slightly. He sighed, relaxing slightly from what he realized to be a somewhat tense sitting position. Kicking off his sneakers, he left his socks on, which magically didn't fall of. He glanced at the sleeping Percy to his left, who was still angled slightly to the right. She was sweating, but was shivering more often than not beneath the thin quilt over her legs and just above her waist. He paused, before getting up and searching through the drawers in her kitchen for a piece of paper and a pencil. When he found them, he scribbled quickly, Going out to get some medicine. Be back soon if you've waken up to read this. Then he dropped it onto the spot he had been sitting in and exitted her home.

Percy's fever dreams were..weird.

She remembered hot and cold, weird and normal, flying zuccinis and dancing pigs. She remembered her eyes fluttering slightly on her bridge of awake and asleep, and for the first bit of her sleep she saw Sans, who appeared to be "watching" the movie but obviously watching her from the corner of his eyesocket. However, after a bit she saw nothing, and what appeared to be a small slip of paper. Then her dreams grew a little bit more mellow, instead consisting of lots of dancing and music as she slipped deeper into sleep.

When Sans quietly slipped through the door an hour later with a box of medicine in a small bag hanging at his sides, he snorted at the sight of Percy sprawled out on the couch with half of her limbs flung over the side of the couch and the quilt only covering her right leg. Crouching near her face, he pushed her shoulders slightly in an attempt to wake her up. To which earned him a slurred "Fuck off..." Sighing, he sat her up and shook her a little harder.

This time, Percy responded slightly more aware of what was going on. "Ugh.. My head hurts," she grumbled, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palm with a groan. Sans broke open the box, staring at the small bottle curiously. Monster medicine was usually different, but he didn't really feel like investigating said differences at the moment when he only had a short time before Percy realized what he had.

Pouring the little cup to the desired amount, he shoved it at her quickly. "Drink this," he said simply, and she complied without question. A few seconds later, she was hissing with distaste.

"The fuck, Sans!?" she said accusingly, a bit more awake and glaring at him.

"Medicine," he said, as it did explain everything. She grumbled, reaching for her cup of ginger ale and downing a good amount of it. Looking at the screen, which rolled the credits of Pacific Rim, she grabbed the remote and went through her DVR once again. Narrowing her eyes at a certain title, she hit play with a smirk on her lips. "Here, have a taste of real  human culture," she said simply. What had she played, one might ask? Pitch Perfect, of course.

Forty-five minutes in, she was fast asleep once again, except a bit deeper. She looked just a tad better, and his permanent grin curled a little more than usual. He checked the side-effects of the medicine he had given her, nodding lightly when he recognized Drowsiness and Tire on the list. Casting another look at Percy, he felt himself grow a little drowsy himself, before a few minutes later he, too, was sleeping.

When he woke up, he woke up to Percy. The TV played nonsense cable, but he was startled when he found that she was laying on him, and he had an arm around her. And she was awake. It looked like she had just woken up, maybe a few seconds earlier than him, and it took both a few more seconds to register the positions they were in. And when they did register it? Both paled, if that was even possible for a skeleton and pale girl anyway.

"U-uh.." Percy mumbled, looking up at him with wide silver-blue eyes. This was definitely all her, as Sans definitely had his arm around her as she laid between his arm and body. He immediately took his arm away and she shot up, scooting to the opposite end of the couch as he straightened up and did the same.

"Awkward," he muttered simply, and she gave a nod. She looked a lot better, he would admit, but definitely embarrassed. A flush worked onto her features, and a shade of blue coated his skeletal features.

"Whelp, it's late," she said, pointing out the time on the electric clock near the TV, which read 8:24, "and you should get going."

"Uh, yeah, yeah I should," he said quickly, standing up and walking towards the door and opening it. He paused, before saying a quick, "Bye Percy."

She managed a mumbled "Bye Sans" before he left, both flushed pink and light blue.

AND SOME EXTRA...

Sans entered the door to his shared apartment with Papyrus still flushed a shade of blue, spotting his younger brother sitting and watching the TV. The tall skeleton looked up at the sound of the door, features lighting up at the sight of his brother.

"Hello Sans!! How is Percy? And why are you blue?" he questioned, standing up and walking up. "Surely you didn't catch Percy's disease, right? I don't think that's even possible, though... For a monster to catch a human disease-"

"I'm going to bed," Sans blurted out immediately walking towards his door.

"What? But Sans, you haven't eaten anything!! And you're sweating!!" he exclaimed in protest, but it was all lost when Sans entered his room and locked the door. And this left Papyrus alone with his wild imagination of what possibly could have gone on at Percy's house.

Chapter Text

Percy stared at the digital clock near the TV on it's stand. In glowing green that radiated in the darkness of her small living room, it read 8:43. She dragged a hand over her face, pausing over her eyes for a few moments and sighing deeply. It had been nineteen minutes since Sans had awkwardly departed after the..accident? Mix-up? She didn't know what to call it. And her memory of before the dreamless sleep was blurry.

She remembered Sans giving her something with a wretched taste, medicine most likely, and she had fallen asleep blearily thanks to it. She had been sitting up then, she knew. Sans must have dozed off after her, and she must of tilted too far and fallen. Sans, in discomfort of the new weight, must of shifted to accommodate it. That explained it, surely. Nothing else had gone on between them. She was pretty sure..? Yeah, nothing. Except maybe her being salty beforehand.

Rubbing her forehead, she stood and grabbed her somewhat empty (the remainder of ice had melted) cup and walked towards the fridge to refill it. She wasn't tired, just..sluggish. She would probably have to take tomorrow off, as well, if this kept off. Her boss would surely reprimand her on Friday, but whatever, she always made up for it, and they knew it. However, still, she would feel bad about it.

Grumbling, she returned to the couch and sat where Sans had sat. Shifting almost uncomfortably, it took her several moments to get in a comfortable position. Only to get up when her stomach rumbled like a monstrous lion who had not been feed for weeks. Realizing she hadn't eaten at all the whole day.

Turning on a recording of Fact or Faked for the hell of it (and because she was a nerd), she went to her cabinets and stood on her tip toes, reaching toward an orange package and pulling out a plastic-wrapped chunk of Top Ramen, chicken flavor. Nodding approvingly, she set it on the counter and dug through the drawers below her electric stove to pull out a medium-sized pot and fill it with water from the tap.

About a minute later it was boiling, and Percy broke the chunk of raw ramen noodles apart, before dropping them in and watching it bubble a bit more. Grabbing some scissors, she cut the packet of flavoring before setting it down and returning the scissors to their home in a drawer. Her silver-blue eyes never left the boiling water.

Grabbing a fork, she used it to break apart the noodles and let them boil for a bit more. Turning the stove off, she took the hot water with the noodles and gently poured it, careful as to not lose a single noodle but still strain much of the water except for a small amount to keep the ramen moist. She smiled, grabbing a bowl before pouring in the powder flavoring into the noodles and stirring furiously with the fork.

Then her arm brushed the side of the blazingly hot pot.

She yelped in pain, snatching her forearm away just before a real burn could be caused. Pain coursed through her, and she let the ramen cool as she ran freezing cold water over the tomato-red skin. Pain still writhed from it, nulled only slightly. She grumbled, knowing it wasn't serious enough to cause problems and simply leaving it be as she cleaned up the leftovers of preparations and taking her bowl of steaming ramen to the couch.

She ate tenderly as not to upset her stomach in its current pickiness, but still quick enough to satisfy the angry and wolfish grumbles. It was 9:12 when she looked at the clock, and by the time she had finished it was 9:37. Deciding that she wouldn't be able to sleep, she took to having a quick marathon of the twelve episodes of Fact or Faked she had dug up on Syfy. Sure she had seen them all, but she liked them all the same.

Sometimes she would run water over the burn again if it got angry and buzzed with pain, but otherwise she was sort of fine, still a bit warm outside and frozen inside, but otherwise alright. The ramen did her good, not upsetting her to the point of throwing up. She decided she would come in late to work and do some of the boss's more tedious paperwork to make up for her off time.

By the time she had blazed through half the forty-five minute long episodes (counting commercials, which she skipped through with the glorious power of fast-forward), it was 1:56. She quirked a brow, still not tired. She knew she had Insomnia, but still, she slumped down further onto the couch cushions and grabbed her phone. Putting in her earbuds, she put on a playlist she usually used when going to sleep or reading, one compiled of certain instrumentals and lots of Sleeping at Last  music.

Her eyes closed, and she let the music lull her iinto a dozing state, but she could still process thoughts easily. She let her head sink into the pillow, shifted the quilt so her legs (which were hot) were exposed and as were her arms, but her torso remained covered. That was how she usually slept on warm nights in her home. She hummed gently, before letting her mind wander into the deep recesses of secrecy beneath her thick layers.

She encountered her pessimistic nature. Her assumptions, how unsure she was, and..everything. She was so negative., wasn't she? Her mind's eye gazed out across some of her most pessimistic moments of her life.. Which was most of her life, wasn't it? She sighed, looking at memories of her feigned optimism. She was an amazing liar, wasn't she?

Dragging herself on, she came to despair. So..common. She shrugged. One of her strongest moments of despair..? Frisk disappearing. She had been so..depressed. For weeks, for months. She would go days on end with little food or interaction, and her stare would be blank, as if she were a zombie that still operated like a normal human, minus eating the right amount of food and interaction, which she..sort of was.

Hell, she had still been depressed before Frisk had emerged from Mt. Ebott in the year 201X, and she hurried over like a dog to a treat to greet the teen. Pure, untamed joy. Until her pessimism settled in again. There was little she did to help herself. Wasn't she a masochist?

She chuckled lightly in the waking world.

Curling into herself slightly, she continued deeper into herself. She wanted to confront her problems. Know what her inner demons were. Determined, she returned to her deep state of mind and continued on.

Later in the night (or later in the morning?) she met up with her anxiety, her guilt, and at her core, depression. Depression was the constrictor. The chains holding her down, keeping her under in the cold waters and drowning her slowly, constricting her. She shivered outwardly. She knew she fell asleep around four in the morning. She felt despair cling to her the whole way through her drowning and suffocating nightmares.

When she awoke, if was six, and she felt..empty. Well, that had done her no good. In fact, it put her off worse. She sat on the couch for a long while that morning, knees to her chest with her face touching the skin on them lightly as tears slid down her cheeks. She answered no phone calls or texts, no Skype messages or anything.

When she finally got up and readied herself to arrive late to work, it was almost twelve, and she sighed. Once she was heading toward the door, she rested her hand on the cool doorknob. She muttered three words before putting her earbuds in and walking out with her hands in her pockets before driving to work.

Those three words were simple, but were heavy with meaning. Those words were: "I feel numb."

Chapter Text

It was Friday. Yesterday had been paperwork and all that once she had arrived. After being chastened lightly by her boss, she worked. Last night had, too, been sleepless, so she had spent it redying her hair to it's more common color of navy blue. A few compliments when she first arrived, a few playful flirts from her single male coworkers. And now a new day had passed the same as all her other work days, with her feigning energy while on air.

She closed the door to the room gently, leaving her work behind. She swung her keys on her fingers, earbuds in her ears as she stared ahead blankly. Her hand reached up to grab the handle and pull it open to the cool night air, but a hand on her shoulder made her turn in surprise.

It was Cassady.

Cassady Williams, to be exact. One of her coworkers at the station who was your classic blond, with some twists. Lightly tanned skin, baby blue eyes, and big boobs. However, she was clever and never failed to get a real smile on Percy's lips. She was flawless at first glance, but she had a tendency to over party and was quite the slut. But Percy didn't care, she didn't discriminate just because of that.

Percy tugged a headphone from her ears, the beat fluttering from the small speaker into the open ear. "What's up, Cass?" she asked flatly, quirking a brow.

"Come party with me, tonight! Er- well, I mean, you look so..dull, today? Not usual 'Perky Percy' as usual, and you need a night out. I've never seen you in the clubs, and I've been to all of them. Please? For me?" she said, batting her eyelashes with puppy dog eyes.

The edge of Percy's mouth twitched at the nickname, and her silver-blue eyes brightened slightly. "So, go to a club, get drunk off my ass, and have a hangover tomorrow?" Percy asked, swinging the hanging earbuds. She lightly shook her head, dark hair swinging. "Cassady, you know I don't party."

"Please? One night is all! Maybe we can make sure you don't go home lonely~" she said playfully, nudging Percy's side. Percy blushed profusely, her usually ghostly pale face flushed pink.

"C-Cassady! You know I'm asexual!" she said, flustered. Cassady laughed her perfect party girl laugh. It was true, and Percy was happily open with her lack of sexual desire or attraction. Sure she did jokes about it and referenced it, she felt awkward and embarrassed when somebody specifically brought her into those situations. No thanks.

"I'm kidding, Perc. But seriously, you need someone in your life, asexual or not. Besides, I never heard aromantic," she said teasingly, and Percy reddened, if that were even possible. Okay, so maybe she was panromantic.

"Ugh, fine, I'm not aromantic. And maybe I'll go. Maybe! Don't go grinning like that!" she said defensively at Cassady's wolfish grin, which only widened. And that meant yes, since Percy wasn't very assertive and honestly, it was hard to say no to Cassady.

"Yes! Now come with me! We're going to my place to get you some party clothes instead of those shorts and jackets. And I know that's all your closet has!" she saihr cackling, before dragging a blushing Percy out the door.

"Wait! I need to drop my car off at home!"

An hour later, at 9:32, Percy was staring at a mirror with an astonished look. Her midnight blue hair was as usual, and as usual, she wore no make-up. It was her choice, as she never liked the feel of material on her face. It was what she wore that got to her, that made her silver-blue eyes widen.

She was glad she wore the same size as Cassady, or else she wouldn't be able to wear the short jumpsuit. It was sleeveless, held up from a string around her neck that held the top high. It was dark blue to a lighter blue ombre just at the bottom, with a silver belt wrapping around just above her waste. Her shoulders felt cold and bare, lacking the usual weight of a sweatshirt. Except her left had a silver purse with a long strap holding a small purse near her hips. She wore navy Roman sandals, but oddly felt comfortable in them despite all the straps and her usual foot sensitivity.

"Can I come in now?" Cassady called from outside the door, banging lightly. Percy snapped from her trance, adjusting the purse's strap before walking over and unlocking it. Cassady burst in, dressed in a short red dress that Percy wouldn't be caught dead in. Cassady squealed in delight at the sight of Percy, bouncing in her red heels. "No backing out now!" she squealed, grabbing Percy's hand and dragging her from the room and out the apartment door.

They burst into the night, and the lights temporarily blinded Percy before she adjusted quickly, grinning truthfully. Cassady lived in the heart of the lively Ebott City, and everything was in walking distance. The blond grinned, dragging a wary Percy through the streets to the club she wanted to hang out at. Everyone knew her, and wouldn't question her with a plus one.

Cassady led Percy to a lively club that blasted music into the night with open doors. Percy looked at the flashy words of Neon, and she had no doubt that the club lived and surpassed it's name just at first glance. Cassady gave a smile to the burly bouncer, and a nod from him allowed her through.

Percy followed Cassady meekly, before the other pulled her forward next to her. She bounced lightly, clinging to the walls and trying helplessly to stay inconspicuous. There went all her confidence. She laughed when she saw Cassady slap a young man for getting a bit handsy, before he looked dazed with a red mark on his face.

However, her eyes were drawn to someone in the center of the crowds. Quirking a brow, she tried to get a better vantage point, standing on her tip toes. Her eyes caught on a blur of pink, black, and metal, along with a well-known face. Mettaton, the robot monster who had quickly exploded with fame the moment he left Mt. Ebott. Made sense, considering he danced a lot of pop and beinin clubs like these in his free time seemed like something he would do, considering what Frisk and the others told her, since they seemed to be friends.

She watched him dance from her little corner, but gawked slightly when she noticed he had a partner. A very familiar partner, at that. It was Papyrus! She watched the skeleton and robot dance together, a mix of the two's dance that was quite lively and demanded much of the vibrant floor, with people clapping and cheering as they watched.

She laughed, clapping when the two were finished. Mettaton and Papyrus wandered off to a place where she was sure they would talk, but a thought pierced her mind. Where Papyrus was, Sans was sure to be near. Her eyes widened at the thought of them being here, all awkward. She really did not want that.

Weaving her way through the reforming crowd, she found that Cassady was talking to Mettaton and Papyrus. She saw no Sans nearby, and wondered deftly it he had come with Papyrus. This didn't seem like his sort of setting, but knowing him, he was here for Papyrus. No doubt being protective. A smile worked it's way onto her lips, and she slipped out of the wave of bodies next to Cassady.

The tall blond turned, grinning and putting an arm around her shoulder and squeezing her close. Papyrus's face lit with recognition and excitement, but before he could speak Cassady was talking, "Mettaton! This is Percy, the girl who runs the day show, a.k.a. the music nerd, the one I was telling you about," she grinned, perfect teeth shining.

Mettaton rose from his seat, offering a hand to Percy. "Hello, darling! I'm Mettaton~! Both Cassady and Papyrus were just telling me about you, when Cass mentioned how you were here!" he said. His voice was just how you expected a robot to sound, but was that a seductive note she heard? She giggled slightly, accepting his hand in hers and shaking it vigorously.

"Percy, as you know! Nice to meet you, Mettaton. And cool to see you here, Papyrus," she beamed, momentarily forgetting her thoughts about Sans. The tall skeleton was still sitting in his chair, before smiling somehow. Percy smiled at both, but was unexpectedly dragged into the fray of the crowd when a popular new song came on.

A few minutes later she found herself sitting at the bar, somehow. She didn't know what happened in the surging crowds, but was glad to be spat out as quickly as she was taken in.

Ordering a light drink, she turned and looked at her phone after pulling it from her small purse. The clock read 11:03. Wow, they must of been here a little under an hour, consider they had burst in a little after ten. She put her phone away, she turned to find a drink next to her. Smiling, she offered the money to the patient bartender, who accepted it quickly so she could get on with the night.

She sat there for a while, ignoring the flirts and asses who came by her, waving them off. Sometimes Cassady would note and barge over, snippy and sharp. Other times Cassady would come over for a drink, which Percy would deftly supply before the bashful blonde disappeared into the crowd again to dance.

She sipped from it, glad she had eaten something before coming. She smiled, spotting Cassady among the crowd. She fit in so well, not awkward or anything. She was just so..perfect! Percy envied her confidence, but deep down she knew Cassady also had her flaws. Everyone did, even the "perfect" people.

"Heya there."

She spun to her left, startled from her thoughts. Her eyes wide as she was startled by the baritone, but her surprise faded when she recognized a certain skeleton. Nervousness surged through her when she realized it was still quite awkward between them, and she flushed. She was glad the lights would hide most of it. "H-hey there, Sans."

His permanent grin seemed forced, and Percy knew her smile didn't look genuine. "Hey, Percy. Surprised to see you here, doesn't seem like your natural environment," he chuckled, pinpricks of light as pupils flickering to where she could see Papyrus on the fringes of her peripheral vision dancing with Mettaton again.

She chuckled awkwardly, sweat beading on her face not just from the hot air from all the humans, and some monsters, she now noticed. "Ya.. My friend Cassady dragged me here. Y'know, the big-boobed blond in red," she pointed the other young woman with a sigh. He snickered at her description. "She means well, just.. Eh. But, really, I should ask the same of you, Sans," she said, pointedly pinning him with her startling eyes.

"Mettaton invited Paps. Couldn't let him go alone, especially with Mettaton around. I don't trust that robot," he said, casting a suspicious glare the robot's way. She nodded understandably.

"Mm. Yea, makes sense," she said absentmindedly, noticing that Sans had a ketchup bottle clasped in his skeletal hand. She choked on her sip of her drink when he brought it to his lips. Coughing, she was more focused on the bottle. "Wh- What the fuck!? Frisk said you had an affinity for ketchup but goodness!" she exclaimed, shock evident on her face.

His eyesockets widened at her coughing, but he soon chuckled. "Ketchup and get with the program, Percy," he said, before she broke down in laughter.

"Oh gosh. That's so bad," she chuckled, noticing Cassady seemed to subtly watching them, and she flushed profusely.

"Guess you could say I'm bad the the bone," he chuckled. Sans followed her sideways gaze, quirking a brow bone. "Why's she lookin' at us?" he asked.

"No idea. Don't wanna find out, knowing her," she said, before attention snapping back to him. The awkwardness returned to her, and she sipped at her drink, swallowing thickly. She really didn't want to have a small episode in the crowded club.

"Understandable," he said, turning his gaze back to the nervous Percy. He seemed awkward as well, and she soon knew why when he began, "So, uh.. About the other night-"

"Stop. It was an accident, I'm sure. Right?" she asked with a waving gesture from her hands.

"O-of course! I would never sleep next to you!" he said quickly, not thinking of his words. "I mean, I would! Wait- no. I mean, yes! Just..not then..? I mean if I had romantic feelings for you, which I don't- I mean-" he said, growing flustered and setting his ketchup bottle on the bar, skeletal hands resting there as he turned away.

She put a warm hand over his nearest cool one, giving a light squeeze to the bone with a reassuring smile "That's a friendly comfort. Not romantic. And it's fine, don't worry about it," she said, waving it off simply again, before releasing his hand from his. Her eyes found Cassady, who she was starting to notice seemed a bit..tipsy.

"Cool. By the way, you look nice tonight despite not wanting to come," he said, flushing slightly.

Looking at her outfit, she shrugged. "I don't do this stuff usually, and its not even mine. All of this is Cassady's," she said, chuckling. However, it was lost when she noted Cassady stumble slightly, now obviously drunk. She quirked a dark brow, putting a hand up to stop Sans before he spoke. "Uh.. Cass looks drunk off her ass. I'm gonna..take her home. She's gonna need someone to be with her for the hangover, after all," she said softly, voice just audible over the music.

Sans looked mildly disappointed and relieved at the same time. He paused, looking at the time before giving an absent nod. "Yea.. I should be taking Paps home soon.." he murmured, waving as she stood up and maneuvered through the crowd to grab Cassady.

She grabbed the blonde's hand, quickly dragging her from the dancers before the drunken woman could recognize what Percy was doing. In under two minutes, they were out and hurrying from the club, Percy leading a stumbling and bubbly Cassady.

"Aw, why'd we leave~?" Cassady sang like a sweet little bird, regaining her posture but still letting Percy tug her along.

"You're drunk, Cass. Trust me," she said, rounding a corner. She knew who prowled the streets at night, and honestly did not want to deal with..people like that.

But she hadn't been having the best of luck recently, had she?

Percy slammed straight into a sturdy chest, making her jolt back in surprise to see a light-haired man and his brunette buddy standing in their way. She tugged Cassady back, tightening her grip on the other.

"Would you be so polite to move your wallface," she said snappily, trying to tug Cassady around the first man, only to be stopped by the second.

"Aw, come on, sweetie. You know we just want to help you unwind a little more after a night out," the second said, grinning slightly crooked, white teeth.

"We've done enough unwinding," Percy said curtly, spinning Cassady and shoving her the opposite way behind her before turning herself. The blonde stumbled forehead, catching the gist before hurrying, even if drunk. Percy was just about to catch up and leave the men in the dust, when the first grabbed her wrist.

She froze, eyes wide and shocked. The man grinned behind her, saying sweetly, "That's right, hun." When he tried to tug her close, she reacted. And burned in her silver-blue eyes, and she twisted her arm, switching who grasped who before shifting her hand quick and hard and bringing his arm on her knee, which rose to meet it. A resounding crack made the man yelp with shock, before Percy twisted her arm so her elbow connected with his stomach, and when he doubled over in pain she pressed him a bit lower and smashed her knee to his chin and her foot to his groin.

He crumpled to the ground, whining in pain. But she brought more, and reached into her bag, only to turn his head so she could coat his face in stinging pepper spray. He cried in pain, and she let him roll against the building's wall before glaring at his buddy, who had watched with wide eyes. When he noticed that Percy's attention on him, he turned and ran.

"Percy!!"

She sweat, wiping her forehead before turning to look behind her. Cassady was running up, somewhat sensible, with Sans and Papyrus in tow. She noted it was Sans who had called out. Cassady rushed up, throwing her arms around Percy without a glance at the groaning man at her feet. Sans and Papyrus soon followed, except for Sans being much more light and not as compressing as Papyrus and Cassady.

"Are you alright? Did they touch you? Where's the other one?" Cassady said quickly, the skeleton brothers silent.

"I'm fine. The guy on the ground tried to grab my wrist, but I think I may of broken his, busted his jaw, bruised his babymaker, pepper-sprayed him quite thoroughly, and hurt his pride," she said simply, nudging him with a sandalled foot, to which he responded with a groan.

Sans gave a nod, "I'll take him to the police. Pap, make sure they get home alright." Papyrus nodded, before releasing Percy and Cassady before gesturing with his hand as Sans heaved the man to his feet.

Percy nodded absently, more focused on something else as Cass led her ahead. But Percy stopped once they had taken a few steps. She looked back, "Thanks S- Sans?" she said, noting both the skeleton monster and man gone. Looking to Papyrus, she quirked a brow, "Where'd they go?"

"Sans has shortcuts," he said, before urging them forward briskly. Soon they were home, and Papyrus left when Sans knocked. Soon it was just Cassady and Percy. But..something was wrong with Percy. Minutes after the skeleton brothers left, she grabbed a few bottles a beer from Cass's fridge and drinking until she passed out.

Cassady had watched in utter silence. What was going on in Percy's mind to drive her to drink more than Cassady had ever seen her drink the whole time she had known her?

Chapter Text

Saturday, just after a morning hangover (meaning it was one in the afternoon and she was still just a teeny bit out of it) with Cassady before Percy had made the overly-worried (in her opinion) blonde drop her off at home. Now she was getting into her car, drenched already in the short few seconds it took her to cross the few meters separating her home from her Nissan Altima. Having her hood up over her head did no good anyway, considering all her hoods were thin fabric ones with the warming weather.

Grumbling, she slammed the door and started the car, immediately turning the heat on and tossing her jacket over one of the vents so that it dried. Her hair and other clothing were..not so lucky. She grumbled, glad she never wore make-up, before flicking on the radio and putting the vehicle in drive. She accelled down the drive way, and after a few minutes was back in town and maneuvering down familiar roads toward the grocery store. Why did it have to rain today, of all days, when she usually went to get groceries? Sighing at the stoplight, she made a left and spotted the store. It wasn't exactly hard, considering Ebott City was more or less a town of like, three shopping plazas and a park and stuff like that. The place just called it a city. Why? Percy could never guess.

Singing to some of the music despite her dull mood, she scanned the road through the blurred droplets on the window. She turned down the music, leaning forward to peer through the windshield. The windshield wipers worked fervently to keep it clean and clear of the pouring rain, but it did little as the rain pounded down it (seemingly) deadly torrents and showers. And it didn't stop. The wipers just swept away another onset of rain, clearing her vision. Just in time to see a small russet blur rush across the flooding streets. Percy yelped, steering the car away into the turn just in the nick of time to not run over the russet blur, and get into the parking lot.

Immediately, she pulled into a spot, heavily breathing. Then she got straight out of the car, slipping through the rain without her jacket and darting toward the bushes where she knew the russet blur had scurried to. She wasn't stupid. She knew what she saw, and no way in hell was she going to let this go. Marching across the road with a poised middle finger at the beeping vehicles she was blocking, she crossed to the sidewalk and onward into an alleyway, fists now clenched on her side. She was drenched, absolutely, but beneath the soaked midnight blob of hair on her head, she was DETERMINED. Frisk had to get it from somewhere, didn't they?

A scuffle and whimper drew her attention to a dumpster, and she rounded it to face the whimpering face of a black and russet puppy, blinking with big brown eyes. Their adorably fluffy fur was soaked and matted to their thin and mangy frame, and Percy made no haste to latch onto their scruff. They gave a yelp of surprise, trying to helplessly nip at her, but it had small, round teeth incapable to do any real damage. Percy tucked the heavy - as she had discovered uncomfortably - pup under her arm and marched to her Nissan, slipping into the warmth of the still-running car.

The pup whined in her grip, before she dropped it gently into the passenger's seat, draping her warm, cozy, and dry jacket over them. With a quick rub behind the neck and a cautious look from the young canine, she shrugged. "Okay, ya little bastard. Ya hopped in front of my car and you're gonna accept what's comin' at ya, all right? That means sit in this car and I swear to the stars above if you even think about shitting in here I will throw a fit!" she said, grinning beneath her sternness. Touch love, that really made her up, didn't it? She chuckled, rubbing them before leaving the car running (screw it) and dashing into the store, still shivering and wet and a total mess except for the broad grin on her face.

Fifteen minutes later she had thrown bags into the back seat hastily, popping open a bag of dog bones and humming lightly before giving one to the dog who had been patiently sitting in the passenger seat. Well. They had stood with their forepaws on the dashboard, mouth wide open and trying to catch the flowing, warm air of the fans as they dried them and made their fluffy fur sing with softness. She had laughed thoroughly in the rain, She would have sworn she had seen a few people in coats and under umbrellas give the soaking girl in sport shorts and a thin grey tank top laughing uncontrollably in the pouring rain looks of disgruntlement. She shrugged it off, seemingly.

They really dug into her core, drilling cracks into her facade like every other stare or murmured comment.

But she "brushed it off," soul warmed by the now dry and quite adorable pup in her car. It was one in the afternoon, and she got on her phone once she was sitting in the car, listening to the patter of rain as they sat in the parking lot, the puppy now settled and gnawing quietly on the bone in the passenger's seat. Her eyes reflected the website she was thoroughly reading, before she set her phone down and drove through the town, her mind deadset on one place: the Animal Hospital.

When she pulled into the parking lot of the neat little building, she bundled the puppy in the jacket and grabbing a handful of small milk bone treats to coax the little one if it came to such things. She shoved her wallet, a nice little black leather for one men she won at a quarter auction, into her back pocket, walking calmly through the lightening rain into the sterile environment. It was empty, all but for the bubbling fish tank and the receptionist at the desk, who gently rubbed a tabby cat sitting on the counter.

"Excuse me?" Percy said gently, setting down her semi-dry (since she had hunched over them the whole walk over) heap of fur and jacket on the tiled floor. The little russet and black pup scurried out, barking happily and skittering. They were very energetic and happy, despite just being in the horrid storm that resumed it's rage outside and being cold to their bone despite it being mid-spring. The woman startled, sending the cat into a fit as they scurried under the desk to be away from the puppy's yipping and the shock of the receptionist.

"O-oh! Uh, m-may I help y-you?" she stuttered gently, adjusting her old-lady glasses on her slightly-wrinkled face.

The disheveled Percy offered a bright smile, brushing aside a wet lock of hair and grinning. "Yes, you may. Here to get that rambunctious ball of fur their shots and to adopt them," she said simply, hands tucked innocently behind her back.

"Of course! Our schedule is clear - oddly - so I'll just.. Take you to a room after you fill out some paper work and, uh, get Dr. Michalski.." she said, grabbing a file of papers and handing it to Percy. Within the next five minutes, she had finished and after going through three treats, she hummed and put it back on the desk. The woman looked it over, before nodding and leading the still-dripping Percy, who scooped up the energetic bundle in her arms, who paraded into the room behind the withdrawn receptionist. They scurried off as soon as Percy had settled into a sitting position in the corner with the pup, who was tuckered out, in their lap. She now took in how big they were, obviously older than a couple months. They took up her lap and beyond, fluffy and very German Shepherd-like in appearance.

A few moments later, a man in his late forties entered quietly, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose as he scanned over the not-very-informing papers. "Well.." he murmured, before looking up from the paper to the dripping Percy and the tired pooch. "Uh, Ms. Teller.. I hear that you're in here with that lovely canine to adopt them and get their shots done, right?" he asked. She nodded gladly, still scratching the ears of the dog blanketing her lap. "Well, fill out these and I'll get the shots done.. Get them registered and all that," he said, a bit awkward at how disheveled she looked.

She grabbed a pen and the papers after heaving the stray onto the table with a grin on her face. After a moment of slight panting (That dog was heavy for a puppy!), she sat on the bench nearby and began filling out the papers.

"So, uh, how'd you find her?" he asked, trying to make small talk as the sleepy dog didn't seem to register the shots except for a small whimper or grumble.

"Her? Mm. Driving to the grocery store an hour ago and that little scrap nearly made me crash," she said, voice a tad sour. "So I went back after parking and took her to my car. She obviously wouldn't do too well out on the streets. Intend to straighten her out with some of my signature tough love and have a nice companion for the next couple o' years."

"Hm. Any name ideas?" he asked, gently pushing the remaining liquid of the last syringe into the leg of the now-sleeping canine.

"Something..flowery. Loved 'em since I was a kid, a passion, but for music and stars. Would of been a botanist or an astronomer had a position in the radio station not opened up," she said, signing off the bottom of a paper before moving onto the next.

"No wonder you're so familiar! I listen to you all the time," he said, looking up with a grin after finishing the last shot and turning to input the information iinto the computer humming behind him.

She looked up, blinking with surprise. "Cool. I didn't think I was that popular.." she said, voice fading to a slight murmur.

He looked up, incredulous. "Not popular? Ms. Teller, you've been the leading show on the radio in the state since you went on air!" he said while typing away mercilessly at the computer, spindly fingers coming down hard on the little, stiff keys.

She simply gaped, before words formed on her lips. "R-really? Wow! That's so cool! Guess I never really paid attention," she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Like I need more to fill my overbursting ego." What a big fat lie. She had the worst self-esteem and the most infinitesimal ego of them all.

He laughed, a deep, kind laugh that had been worn frequently in his decades of life. "Well, I'd like to announce the lovely pooch sleeping on my lab table is your's once I get those papers. And that she's healthy, the only exception being how thin she is. She's quite lucky you found her," he said, grinning as he stood from his seat and gladly accepted the papers Percy eagerly held out to him.

"She's probably a Belgian Tervuren mix, at first glance. Kind of rare, pretty cool. Looks like she'll get huge and she'll need to be active," he said, quirking a brow. "But she seems a bit..lazy. Especially now with her being fed extensively in the last hour," he hummed, casting a glance at the snoring heap of black and russet. "Well, get her tagged in the next few days, Ms. Teller. And I'll be sure to listen in later in the week," he said, grinning. With that, she swept the unnamed pooch in her arms and proudly strode from the veterinary hospital into the rain and into her car, now soaked.

She couldn't stop grinning the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

It was now Sunday, Percy having come home the day before and feeding the newly named Alstroemeria (Ria for short) and then flopping on the couch, only to pass out moments later from tire. Grumbling, she awoke to a heavy weight upon her chest. Struggling to breathe, she jerked, throwing the weight off her with a yelp of surprise from it.

Opening her eyes, she found the crushing weight to be the one and only Alstroemeria. "Ria! Holy guacomole shove it in a cannoli! Wait- that wouldn't taste good. Never mind. But still! You haven't even had a bath!" she crowed, leaping to her feet and scurrying to her room after dropping a cup of food into the food bowl for Ria. It would be a fifteen minute shower and five minutes of getting ready before she burst out her room into the small hall. She wore her usual plain shirt, comfortable black shorts, and sweatshirt, but today the thin black jacket was tied around her waste, and her hair was briskly dried before being pulled into a messy bun. She was glad she had decided to grow it past her usual just beyond shoulder length.

Ria looked up from her wolfing (pun) down the food, seeing Percy open the patio door and fling her arm out. Hot, early May air blasted her, and she chimed, "Hot. Perfect." Walking over to her laptop, she clicked open Skype and selected the text box of the group chat. whoever isn't busy get over to my house in old clothes! prepare to get wet. Grinning, she opened the cabinet under the sink, pulling out the sponges and bucket, along with the dish soap. She opened the patio door once again, instead leaving it open. Checking to make sure the gate to her fence was firmly locket, she beckoned for Ria to come out. The dog happily obliged, bounding into the open air.

While the dog bounced around outside, happy to be out again, Percy went back into her home, gathering an old brush she never used and a few old towels that were a bit frayed on the edges. She returned outside, setting the supplies on the outdoor table and looking at Alstroemeria, who was happily chasing a butterfly with her charcoal maw snapping at it. A knock at her door behind her made her turn and hurry back, slamming the patio door shut and bounding across the house before nearly slamming into the door. She wrenched it open, silver eyes landing on the faces of Frisk and the Skelebros.

"Sup guys," she said with a wave of her hand.

"Hello, Human Percy! It is I, the Great Papyrus! Along with the human, Frisk, and my lazybones brother! Undyne, Alphys, and Toriel were busy today, so we came over! What could we possibly do for you?" Papyrus said enthusiastically.

"Sup, Perc," Sans said, grin widening in acknowledgement of her presence. Frisk bounced, bobbed brown hair frizzy from the heat.

A bark from behind the house made all three curiously turn to her, and she grinned, bouncing toward the patio door. Pulling it open worldlessly, leaving the others just staring at her, she slipped out the wide open door. Despite not being asked to, Frisk ran after her, curious to know what the barking was and why the heck they had been asked to come over. Papyrus bounded after Frisk, calling for them to wait up as Sans warily followed.

Once everyone was out of the house, Percy called Alstroemeria over, grinning. "This stray almost got hit by my car!" she said rather enthusiastically. "So I took her home, and her name is Alstroemeria! But I just call her Ria~" she sang, walking toward where a coiled hose sat, "and you all are helping me clean 'er!" She grinned, yanking the nozzle free of the coils.

"And we might as well this over with," she said, before spraying herself and them briskly before anyone could even think of what she was doing. "We would get wet anyway~"

Frisk squealed, curling over themself when the chilling water hit them. Papyrus yelped, running backwards toward the other end of the yard. Sans merely stood in shock, dripping. Percy laughed, heavily amused. With that, she turned her attention to Ria, still standing patiently at her side. Percy smiled, letting the eager dog chase after Papyrus.

"Human! Help the dog is chasing me!" he cried out, easily staying out of her reach with his long strides. Frisk was cackling, long since fallen on the ground nearby.

"You're made of bones, Papyrus! Of course she will!" Percy laughed, knowing Ria would do little more than gnaw on his femur if she caught him. In response to her response, a bone flew from seemingly nowhere into the side of Ria's vision. The dog was easily distracted, and Pap took the moment to recuperate.

Percy seemed shocked for a moment and out of the corner of her peripheral vision she saw Sans with a hand out of his pockets. Never once in the time she had known the monsters had anyone other than Undyne use their magic, except for dancing. She looked wide-eyed upon the bone, then at Ria who happily chased it, then at Sans. He seemed to not notice her gaze, and she quickly averted it, uncharacteristically growing quiet and submissive as she dutifully filled the bucket with soap and water.

Once it was full, she spotted Sans leaning against the house as Papyrus and Frisk eagerly engaged with Ria, who had long since grown accustomed to Pap being a skeleton. She smiled, hands on the edges of the bucket as the nozzle of the hose leaked gently onto the bench she was leaning over. "Okay guys, bring Ria over!" she called.

Frisk and Papyrus easily led the canine over, and Percy smiled. When Sans made no movements to help, she narrowed her eyes. "Sans," she called, voice suddenly stony and sharp. An eyesocket flickered open, and she put a damp hand on her hip. "Get your pelvis over here!" she said when he made no further movements, and she was sure she saw his shoulders tremble with soft laughter.

"Alright, if you want to be a bastard, you can hold Ria down," she said simply, walking over with some sass in her steps. He cocked a nonexistent brow, only to be met with surprise when she grabbed his arm and yanked him toward the others.

"H-hey!" he cried out, before crumbling in her tight grip. In shock, she looked down on him.

"So it's gotta be that way, huh?" she asked. She bent down and heaved him into her arms. He frantically scrambled, much to her amused delight. "You're just bones, Sans. Plus I go to the gym before work, usually," she said, shrugging as she walked along and dumped him near Papyrus and Frisk, who laughed in delight.

"Wow Percy, that was some dogged perserverance there," he chuckled from the ground as he caught up. She cocked her brow, otherwise silent. When he dipped a skeletal hand in the bucket of cold water and flicked the moisture of it at her, he said, "Aw, don't give me the cold shoulder."

Papyrus let out a frustrated cry of, "Oh, Sans!" Frisk merely giggled.

"Definitely holding the dog," Percy said in return, gesturing to Ria, who curiously sniffed at Sans. "Just hold her collar and make sure she doesn't run off," was all she said before she set the nozzle to a lighter setting and sprayed Ria gently.

Sans, who had just grabbed her collar with two phalanges, was hit with surprise when the dog made almost purely of muscle tried to leap away, only to have him heave just in time to keep her in relatively the same place. The dog whined as Frisk and Papyrus got to work with the soapy water and the sponges Percy had brought out.

Percy would gently spray away the suds from her fur, rubbing her hands through the dog's fur to get any lingering grime or feel for ticks. Occasionally she would "accidentally" spray Sans, saying it had merely bounced off the dog's coat. He didn't buy it. Frisk and Papyrus would happily help with the "accidents" by letting their sponges slip and get him just as clean as the dog.

Frisk and Papyrus backed off to start refilling the bucket with more soap and some warm water, taking their quest inside. This would leave Percy and Sans alone, and she would turn away to grab a sponge for a moment, recognizing that the absence of Papyrus and Frisk's chatter made their silence awkward and suffocating despite being outside on the nice day. When she turned back she simply got back to work, ignoring the questions tugging at her mind. Finally she let one slip.

"Was that magic?" her voice whispered, causing him to look up from the panting Ria. "I mean the bone.. I mean, I've seen Undyne's spears a ton when she chases me but.. I've never seen your magic. Or Pap's, or Toriel's, or.. Everyone else," she said, not daring enough to meet his gaze as he looked at the crown of her head and not her downcast silver eyes.

"Uh, yea. Why ya askin'?" he said, a tad awkward.

"I was just.. Just asking," she said, waving it off before getting back to work. Not once did she meet his gaze, and they worked on in silence. Only the occasional whimper from Ria or squish from the sponge would intercept it, as the sounds of nature had gone silent. The suffocating awkwardness was drowned when Papyrus and Frisk returned, jostling a bucket of warm water.

"You better not have spilled any in my house!" Percy exclaimed, and the two shared a mischevious look. "Oh goodness!" she cried out, throwing her arms around. In her right hand the hose squirted water in all directions, showering the two as Percy gave a satisfied half-grin before going back to work.

Ria escaped Sans grasp when he dosed off occasionally, earning a spray from Percy before Papyrus, her, and Frisk when chasing after the dog as Ria ran around the yard. Otherwise it was relatively smooth-going after, with no more awkward moments between Percy and Sans.

Once they were nearly done, Percy called them over for a break. "I'll get some snacks," she said, walking toward the door and tucking it open when icy bullets hit her back. She whipped around, finding Sans with the hose in his grip with Frisk and Papyrus struggling not to explode with giggles. The loose cloth of her shirt clung to her, and she narrowed her eyes at Sans.

Frisk, recognizing the look Percy was giving, elbowed Sans sharply. Run. Run right now, they signed, and almost immediately Percy sprinted at Sans. His eyesockets widened, and before he could do anything Percy had lunged had his midsection, ramming him into the ground as Papyrus grabbed Frisk and jumped away. She rolled off him, standing up and brushing herself off as if she hadn't just tackled him.

"Ow. That hurt me. Your ribs hurt like fuck," she muttered, rubbing her head before sauntering towards Pap and Frisk, both on the ground laughing. "HEY! You two are guilty too, so ya better start running. Three second headstart!" she called out, standing over them with her hands on her hips.

Frisk jumped up almost immediately, tugging Papyrus up and running toward the fence, climbing over it quickly as Percy counted. 3.. The two were vaulting through the wilds. 2.. She was completely unaware of Sans creeping up behind her.

"1!" she cried out, setting her feet in preparation to spring forward, but a force scooped her from behind and held her bridal style. She turned, silver eyes alighting upon Sans, who was grinning all too proudly. She gasped, struggling in his firm grip. "Sans, let me go! They asked for it!" she cried out, and she could hear the two snickering from the trees, hidden from sight.

"Now you know I can't do that, Perc," he said, eyelights flicking to the trees before looking back at her.

"You asshole," she muttered venomously, eyes sharp as she glared at him. She struggled a bit more before resigning herself to being held up, glaring at Sans from beneath the tendrils of wet, blue hair around her face.

"Ouch, you're really getting under my skin," he said with a low chuckle that she could feel through his shirt, but decided to ignore. Nope. She could tell it was infectious, he was a parasite, and would not get in.

"Don't do that," she said sharply.

"What?" he asked, genuinely a bit confused.

"Laugh," she said simply, crossly looking away from him.

He chuckled, and she had to forcefully push herself out of his grasp to be away from him. This made her fall onto the grass at his feet, and she looked up at him with the widest grin, struggling to not burst out laughing.

"Don't- Sans, I swear if you laugh at me-!" she threatened, but he had already broken out laughing. She curled into a ball, putting her hood over her head as she covered her ears. She glared at his sneakers rather than his face. She wasn't looking at his face. She could even hear Papyrus and Frisk laughing. Gosh dammit, her face was probably a tomato. Lovely. She hated this. She hated Sans. She hated Papyrus. She hated Frisk. She hated everything.

But staring at his sneakers gave her an idea, oddly enough. (Seriously, who gets an idea while staring at a skeleton's sneakers? Percy has to be fucking mental.)

She reached out a hand, letting some of his dying laughter slip in before she gripped his bony ankle, yanking so it slipped out from beneath him and he crumbled beside her. It was her turn to laugh, bursting out in her own laughter. She put a hand over her mouth, trying hard to hide what was already so obvious. Sans looked over at her, silent with shock etched into his skull. But then he laughed too. They both laughed each other to tears in a mere minute, Percy a little ball and Sans sprawled out in the grass.

Papyrus and Frisk were the ones to intercept, each sibling (adopted or not) grabbing theirs and heaving them to their feet. For a moment, Percy had to lean against Frisk, especially when Papyrus threw the still-laughing Sans over his shoulder. It was only until a few minutes of calming was Percy sober enough from laughing to realize something she hadn't in her enjoyment of the moment. The reason for this whole mess. Alstroemeria was missing. Gone. Zip. Notta. Nope. Disappeared. And she had a fenced in yard! And the gate was locked!

"Guys.. Guysssssssssss," she said, tugging Frisk's torn shirt and drawing out the 's' in guys as she looked around frantically. "WHERE THE HELL IS MY DOG!?" Percy, tone it the fuck down.

Everyone sobered up immediately, eyes wide and frantic. Yup, that dog was gone.

"She's doggone!" Sans cried out, and Papyrus smacked a had over his face.

The taller skeleton groaned softly, "Saaaans, this is not the appropriate time for puns!"

But Percy was already racing toward her home, stumbling slightly. She nearly wrenched the semi-open door of her house off it's hinges in her frantic state, rushing through the threshold. She slid (literally, like over the wood) into the livingroom, only to find a damp dog on her couch and on the clothes she had recently washed. "No! Even worse!" she cried out overdramatically, relief hinted in her voice. "My clothes, and the couch!" her voice lamented as the others followed, only to sag with relief when they saw Ria comfortable on the clean garments.

"Whelp, I'm dog tired from all of that," Sans said, shrugging as he vaulted over the back of the couch to take up the space Ria hadn't taken up. Frisk followed, purposefully flopping over both Alstroemeria and Sans.

Percy, viewing her opportunity, cried "Dog pile!" before she jumped onto all three of them. Papyrus, seeing the trend, grew giddy. When he backed up and came running to jump onto the four of them crowded on the couch, Percy looked wide-eyed upon him.

"BAD IDEA!!! PAPYRUS BAD!!! IDEA!!!! BAD IDEA!!!!!" 

Chapter Text

Her feet were propped lazily on the cushion to her left, the others waiting patiently the bar for food. It was just her, Sans, and Frisk today. She quirked a brow at them curiously, watching as they stepped up to the bar of the small little place Sans had taken them to called Grillby's. Frisk knew the place, Sans obviously did, considering the chorus of hello's they had received when walking in. She would admit she shrunk away from it. Never really had been popular, she wasn't used to it. She didn't think she ever would be.

When they came back, Percy looked at the owner of the establishment, then at Sans. "He's fucking hot." This earned a snicker from Frisk and Sans' grin growing genuinely a bit larger. She smiled, adjusting her position of pure laziness and disconcern for proper manners to one of usual proper sitting-in-public-places etiquette. You know what? Fuck etiquette. She replaced her feet before they were even halfway to the floor, setting them in Frisk's lap without a word as she looked at the food. Burgers and fries. A bit plain if you asked Perc, but whatever, food was food and food was life, love, and everything in between.

Snatching up some food for herself, she immediately dove in, completely unaware of Sans drowning his own food in ketchup. Frisk narrowed their eyes at him and he shrugged, gesturing to Percy. She was simply and when their silent converstion fell upon her, she narrowed her eyes. What the hell?

"What?" she asked sharply. She didn't like this. This was different. Something was off. Something was wrong. The way they exchanged glances, how Frisk looked a little nervous.. She had a bad feeling. Whatever was going on wasn't good, not good at all. She set down her half eaten burger on her plate, focusing on Frisk kand Sans as they locked gazes.

I.. I have something to tell.. Frisk signed shakily, their hands coming above the table. Sans gave a small nod of approval. Percy's heart leaped to her throat. What the hell was going on!? What were they not telling her?

The questions buzzed in her mind as she felt the urge to leap to her feet. Her hands fell from the table to her sides, clenching into fists. She could feel her nails dig into the skin of her palm, knowing her knuckles were probabbly horribly white. What was Frisk about to sign? What secret could they possibly be keeping from her? Why would they keep secrets from her? Her silver eyes darted between them, sweat beading slighlty on her forehead. Not even two seconds and she was a millimeter from a freakout.

They raised their hands once again, and Percy could tell they were fighting a facial expression they didn't want her to see. They closed their eyes, forming the words as they signed. Percy.. Percy's real name is-

"WAIT A MINUTE!!" Percy roared, catching on quite quickly. Her eyes flared as she struggled over the cushions and launched herself at Frisk, sending both of them out of the booth and onto the floor. Percy wrestled the taller fourteen-year-old down to the ground, holding their hands tightly together. "Frisk I swear to goodness you are not telling Sans my real name!"

Frisk grinned despite having no of communication. Oh wait. They opened their mouth as Percy focused on keeping their hands together and unmoving. Sans simply turned, grinning at the struggling two as Frisk smiled. The whole place was staring at the adopted siblings now, Percy pinning Frisk and Frisk looking all too smug and pleased at what was happening. "It's Percilla!" they shouted, and Percy immediately fell over, immobile and frozen.

"I thought humans name their children Priscilla, not Percilla," Sans said between the bouts of laughter.

"Why... Why that Frisk..?" Percy moaned, curling into herself. "Of all things you had to tell Sans, you tell him my name." She groaned, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Frisk standing, grinning broadly as they started signing.

And she's really ticklish on her sides! She does poetry, too. She's never had a first kiss! She's never been on a legitimate date, either! they signed quickly before she could register, only making the laughter raise. Sure, this embarrassment would wear off within minutes but still. Percy grumbled incoherently into her knees, still curled up on the floor.

"Oh great. Now you're signing about my love life. Heh, that went to shit a long time ago," she mumbled into herself, chuckling quietly. She didn't quite mind those secrets but.. Really, the poetry one? And how she was really, really, really ticklish. Oh great, now she had to keep Sans away from her personal space at all times. She sighed, pushing herself off the ground a moment later and glaring at all of them. "Haha, very funny. Percilla does poetry and is really ticklish! Well, fuck all of you and goodbye!" she said, turning for the door after a quick flipping off. Hey, there weren't any children! Okay maybe one but he was like thirteen, okay?

"Wait, I'm your ride!" Sans called, wiping small blue tears from the corners of his eyesockets. He still shook slightly with silent laughter, meanwhilst Frisk rolled upon the floor in amusement and satisfaction.

"I'll walk!" she shouted, pushing out the door and into the bright world.

...

Once they had all calmmed down and both were eating, Frisk paused before taking a bite from their burger, dropping it on the plate. They looked at Sans, raising their hands and signing, Doesn't she live ten miles from here?

Sans paused a moment, nodding slightly before going back to eating his own burger.. Somehow without opening his mouth at all.

Frisk, after a moment of consideration, shrugged and then they too went back to eating without a second thought about how long it would take Percy to walk home.

Chapter Text

Percy and Frisk skipped around each other, both rather excited. The gang was walking down the sidewalk with Percy and Frisk leading the way, Frisk incoherently signing things that nobody could catch on to. Toriel seemed overly amused by the two, maroon eyes twinkling. Undyne and Alphys were chatting quietly -- well, Alphys was quiet -- about anime. Papyrus bounded around Frisk and Percy, sharing their excitement, but a rung or two lower on the ladder of energy, surprisingly. Sans was.. being Sans, cracking puns occasionally (to the annoyance of Papyrus) and earning heavy bursts of laughter from Toriel.

"This movie is kind of violent, animated, based off a game, and has plenty of places to make bird, egg, or pig puns," Percy said as she bounced around Frisk, having calmed just a tad to form words out of her excited squealing. "And it's called Angry Birds," she said, dark hair waving wildly with her movemetns and somehow not landing in her mouth. "The commercials have been pretty funny," she said, earning nods of agreement from Frisk.

"VIOLENCE!!" Undyne crowed, and Percy snickered softly, hiding it behind her hand.

"Animated violence," Percy corrected, voice muffled through her hand.

"L-like a-a-an anime!" Alphys cheered, earning a peck from Undyne and turning a bright rosy hue.

"Not exactly," Percy said softly, but her words never made it to them through Undyne's cooing and Alphys's giggling, plus Frisk and Pap still bouncing around and Toriel laughing at a pun Sans said.

She let herself laugh softly at the small group, walking backwards deftly. Without a look back she would sidestep to avoid people coming the other way that didn't move themselves, earning a curious glance from Sans. She didn't notice, too enraptured by Papyrus going off about a Mettaton movie poster they had past. He would ask her how she dodged so well, as from her backround (that he knew of, which was very little) she had little to no practice. Hm, weird. That was a question for later, though, so he urged the thoughts to the back of his mind.

Soon they were in the theater, Percy and Toriel mulling over the tickets as everyone step forward into the smell of candy, popcorn, and something else. Best not question it. A moment later they realized they were a half hour early, and this led Percy to suggest the arcade nearby. Everyone seemed interested, holding off on anything else as she led them toward it.

"I'm managing the coins," Toriel announced once they had cashed in who-knows-how-much.

"that's probably for the best," Sans chuckled, earning a few nods of agreement.

Percy wasn't surprised when the first game to be noticed was Dance Dance Revolution. She grinned, watching in amusement as Undyne straightaway challenged Papyrus.

"PAPYRUS, COME ON!" she announced, spanning half the arcade in one leap toward the game. Papyrus followed suit, instead traversing the room in three long bounds.

Percy gained an amused glint in her eyes before Frisk gestured to an air hockey table, and her eyes glimmered. "You are so on!" she announced, scurrying after the younger (but taller) eagerly. A few coins later and Frisk was manning the red side, with Percy on the blue. Both grinned as the puck hovered near the center, drifting slightly. Neither moved.

Then Percy did, darting forward and slamming her blue mallet against the puck, right for Frisk's goal. It went flying for the goal, but Frisk was right there, batting the puck away before sending it at Percy with a second hit. It went on for a couple more exchanges, and little did they know some of their friends were watching a couple feet away. Both were to engrossed in the game. Frisk sent a hard hit toward Percy, and the navy-haired girl grinned, darting her mallet to the side and sending the puck once again at Frisk's goal. The other did a side-hit, sending it ricocheting like a pin ball around the air hockey table. Percy watched it, anticipating the next few bounces. Soon it was aimed right for her goal, and her mallet was on the other side. Frisk was smiling smugly, waiting for the table to announce her point. But Percy slid the mallet from one hand to the other, movements quick as her mallet swept forward to meet the puck, sending it blazing back down the table toward Frisk's goal.

Percy grinned, closing her eyes and waiting for the ding of her point being earned and the game being won.

But it never came.

After a few seconds she cocked an eye open, gawking to see Sans had stepped in with the other mallet, blocking her shot. Frisk was as awe-struck as her, and Sans paid little attention. The puck floated gently across the table on their side, drifting toward Percy's side. She was too busy catching flies to note that Sans twisted his skeletal hand and sent the mallet against the puck, sending it right into toward Percy's goal. However, her awe didn't last long as she snapped to attention, bringing her mallet to guard and sending the puck back. This time it was much easier for Frisk to defend with Sans help, with him manning offense and Frisk defense.

"Ya'll are so cheating," Percy muttered under her breath as she watched the puck hit the side of the table, bouncing toward her. She brought her mallet to meet it, but the unthinkable happened. It fucking swerved. She watched as it swerved, somehow, around her mallet and right into her goal, earning a triumphant cry from Frisk at the other side of the table.

"How the hell..?" Percy said breathlessly, staring at the table. Toriel shot a glare at her, but she didn't notice. She was too busy staring at the puck, which she had taken from the goal and was staring at.

"heh, you got pucked over, perc," Sans chuckled as he came around the table toward her as she studied the puck intently.

"No kidding. How'd you do that?" she asked, turning her attention from the puck to Sans as she dropped it onto the dead table, following him as he walked over to watch Undyne and Frisk go against each other in DDR.

"why should i tell you my secrets?" he asked amusedly, pupils of light glued on Undyne.

"Good point," Percy muttered absently, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone to look at the time. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned, looking up as the game between Frisk and Undyne was cooling down, Frisk above Undyne by a margin. "Guys!! 'Bout ten minutes 'til movie time," she sang, guiding them to the lines to get popcorn and such.

Fifteen minutes, a spilled soda, three buttered popcorn tubs, and ten boxes of various candies later they were ready, heading toward the theater. Percy was idly chatting with Frisk until they entered the dimly lit theater, watching people mill around the maze of seats and sit down in groups or pairs or whatever. Toriel led them to their own seats, spanning two sections, with the order (from left to right) being Undyne, Alphys, Toriel, Frisk, Percy, Papyrus, and then Sans. Or well, that's what the order would have been had a man and his date (a date to Angry Birds??) had already claimed them, clearly not obeying the seat and row indications on their tickets.

Percy narrowed her eyes, but Toriel beat her to addressing them. "Excuse me, but you have seemingly mistaken where your seats are, as ours are here," the large goat woman said softly, but loud enough for them to hear.

The man looked up from chatting with the woman, and Percy -- from his face -- could tell he was in his early thirties, most likely, with russet hair and eyes that looked dimly gray in the low lighting. "Excuse me, but I'm not giving my seat up to demons like you," he said sharply, immediately turning his attention back to the woman.

Percy narrowed her eyes, gently stepping past Toriel and snapping her fingers sharply for his attention, which she quickly grabbed. "Give up the seats, Tori said so, and that's the dang queen of monsters right there, sunny boy," she said simply, gesturing at Toriel.

He snorted. "She ain't no queen o' me. Besides, why would two perfectly good girls like you and that young lady be hanging out with monsters?" he asked with a distasteful look at Undyne, who was only being restrained from pummeling the guy by her little resolve and Alphys.

Immediately Percy sharpened like a knife, leaning toward him and snapping his full attention on her, silver eyes taking on a keen shine as she glared at him. "Don't misgender my sibling. Frisk is a they or a them. Not a she, or a he, or a him or a her or a flaming fucking cheeto. And don't talk about my friends like that," she said sharply, earning a look of admiration from Frisk. The man responded by standing up, and Percy saw she was picking a fight she didn't know if she could win. He was a foot taller than her with thick, beefy arms that made her as a whole look puny.

"And why shouldn't I?" he questioned sarcastically as other groups had their attention swallowed up by his raised voice. He shoved her backward "gently," which ended up making Percy stumble. The fire in her eyes blazed unquestioningly. Frisk surged forward, trying to stop Percy from doing what they knew she was going to. But Percy was no pacifist, and nothing could hold her back from her next actions.

"Because-" she started, and before she knew it her fist had connected with his right cheek, the other coming for his nose. She seemed a bit fond about busting noses, didn't she? The man looked sharply at her, touching two fingers to the blood gently dripping from his nose. Anger illuminated upon his features, and Percy felt a firm, rough hand collide with her own cheek before the man grabbed his date and dragged her somewhere else, dropping it there before anyone could catch up. No human made a move as Percy stumbled backward from the impact into the waiting arms of someone, and they guided her to her seat. She looked to her left, eyes alighting on Sans instead of Frisk. Hm, he must of been the one to catch her. He paid her no mind as the movie began.

She sniffled slightly, trembling slightly. Her arms rested on the armrests, and she felt his hand find hers and try to tug it into holding position, but she immediately drew it back without looking at him. She weaved her fingers together and rested them in her lap, watching the movie but not really watching it.

She was glad the lights were so dim so that no one could see the tears streaming down her aching cheeks.

Chapter Text

She groaned, peering blearily at the alarm clock on her hideous bedside table. Dammit, she couldn't see it. She pushed the cans and sweatshirt and whatever else collected on the bedside table onto the floor to look at the numbers. Just before four in the morning.. She mumbled a short stream of profanic lines before shoving her blanket back over her head and curling back into the odd position she had fallen asleep in. But a thought niggled at the back of her sleep-drowned mind. It took a moment for it to shove forth through other blurry thoughts, yelling and screaming brightly for her immediate attention. She had work today!

She shot up, earning a startled yelp from Ria as the big canine leaped from her place crushing Percy's legs. The still sleep-drunk woman stumbled out of bed, carefully dancing over the cans, strewn about clothing, and other such articles. Man, she was a slob. She scurried over to the window, throwing open the blinds. The light didn't change much. She blinked up at the sky, and sighed greatly. Just what her massive as fuck headache confirmed, a storm was brewing. Fucking lovely, just like she needed the pressure to go and fuck with her head.

Rubbing her temples she broke into the hall with a fling of her door on its hinges and stumbled groggily into the bathroom, throwing open the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. She grabbed the Ibruprofen eagerly, but didn't open the bottle just yet. She reached up into the cabinet to the top shelf, standing on her toes and feeling around with her hand for the item she was trying to find. Her hands found the handle, pulling it down and smiling to herself. The brush.

Looking into the mirror, she blinked away the last bits of sleep and brought the brush carefully to her head, setting it perfectly before giving it a hard yank. Before it had time to protest, it was pulled hastily through the knots. She sucked in a breath at the spikes of pain, doing that several times to different sections of her hair before settling on gentler strokes once the bigger tangles had calmed their cause to ruin her midnight blue hair. Once she was done with that she brushed her teeth thoroughly and flossed, before returning to her room.

She grumbled at her headache, walking to her bedside table and throwing open the top drawer. She dug through the drawer, digging out her phone and wallet, which somehow ended up on the bottom. Looking at the clock, she saw it was a little after 4:07. "Heh, an hour fifteen of sleep, new record," she chuckled half-heartedly to herself after recognizing the time she had flopped into bed and passed out to when her alarm had finally burrowed its way into her attention. Her insomnia deserved to go to hell. Putting everything on her table she returned to the bathroom, stripping down and turning on the shower before slipping in for a quick one, just to wash the grime from her and the smell of dog. When she got out her blue hair clung to her neck as she slipped on a towel and re-entered her room.

Walking to her closet she tugged open the stubborn sliding door, but paused mid-pull. She looked at her hands, narrowing her silver eyes. She hadn't exactly been paying attention to them, too groggy to notice. "That just won't do," she murmured, pulling open the door the rest of the way and slipping through the opening she created, but not without first turning on the light. She grabbed a thicker sweatshirt several sizes too big. She smiled when her hands found it, buried deep. She mustered her strength, tugging it from the great tangle of disorganization of her closet. It freed with little protest, flying into her face from the energy at which she had pulled.

While freeing it from herself, she caught another glimpse of her hands. She sighed. The knuckles were the worst, shades of blue, black, and a deep purple. She rubbed the aching skin, hissing slightly. Her face hadn't exactly been hit hard when she fell backward, she just did that so he wouldn't keep going. She had made her mark, she didn't want a full-on brawl breaking out. She learned a long time ago that not all police were as dumb as the one at the "Paint Incident" as her friend had so dubbed it.

She chuckled at the thought of the "Paint Incident." God, that had been years ago. And, hey, she still kept in touch with Melanie. In fact, the other had texted her she would be calling today.. Guess Percy might as well keep a phone on hand. Sure the two lived rather far apart now, but they still kept in touch. Plus Melanie had moved a while back for college to a nearby city, so that was even better. In fact, shouldn't she have been graduating this year, considering she was a couple years older than Perc? A thought jolted through her sleep-ridden mind. Had she missed her closest friend's college graduation!? Wait, she went to that.. God, Percy, get your mind under control.

Shrugging gently, she pushed out of her thoughts and back into the real world, sling it over her semi-dry shoulder and walkig . The smell of burning maple clung to the fabric and she hummed an old tune, one that made her heart ache gently as she put on old and stressed denim shorts after she had put on her undergarments. She chuckled at some of the shirts she dug through, a bit tempted to put on a few that caught her eye and made her chuckle. However after a minute of digging, she eventually decided on throwing on  a shirt that read "I didn't trip, I was just checking gravity" on the front. She slipped the jacket on over it, touching the zipper with the little pull thing (damn her for not knowing the name) missing.

Slipping on her normal worn, black converses, lacing up and checking the time. She was surprised to find it at 4:20. That also meant she had to grab a quick breakfast and rush out before her boss, Clara, got mad. So she rushed to the kitchen, grabbing her phone and wallet and shoving them in her deep pockets. She filled Ria's bowls, checked Piper's food and water as well before popping the bird a slice of the orange she snatched from the kitchen. Then she fished her keys from between the couch cushions and broke out the door, locking it behind her before sitting in her car and driving into Ebott.

She chuckled to herself, releasing her common sign off before spinning into a different song and then spinning out of her chair, leaping to her feet and waving to one of her coworkers. Then she was out, grabbing her bag from the corner and leaving the radio station in a fleeting minute. It was late, she was tired, she would wake up at one a.m. after going to sleep when she got home and she just wanted to get it over with. However a call interrupted her thougths as she entered the cool late spring air of the darkening evening.

She took out her phone, checking the contact. Melanie. Smiling, she answered, putting the speaker to her ear with her wide grin. "Yo, Mel, what up?" she asked excitedly, walking to her car and leaning against it.

"Hey Percy!! Just wanted to tell you something," a familiar voice answered, and somehow Percy's grin widened. How the hell was that possible?

"Oh really? Ya sound happy 'bout it," Perc chuckled, waving off her boss.

"Okay, first off, love your radio show, second off, I'm getting married, third, it's in eight days, fourth, you're invited, fifth, you need a date, and sixth, I hooked up with Mark from that party we crashed after my graduation!" Melanie's voice sang so quickly Percy almost didn't quite catch it.

But she did.

"Cool, awesome, wow, and WHAT THE FUCK MEL!? EIGHT DAYS AND YOU JUST NOW FUCKING TELL ME!?" she screamed into the phone, completely losing her usual cool. Goddammit, she really did not need more anxiety than usual. Cool on the outside, total anxious, flustered, horrible mess on the inside. That was how Percy rolled. She was glad no one was in the parking lot.

"I forgot!! In the heat of planning it all I just kinda..woops'd. As always. But please, please, please with ice and whip cream with one of those strawberry hard candies you like on top please come! You're one of my best friends! We even got arrested together and escaped together! And I know you can get a date by then, you were always super smooth with guys and stuff like that.. Even though you.. never actually went on a date. But still!!" Melanie pleaded and cried through the phone. Percy closed her eyes, carefully mulling over her decisions.

If she said yes, she would have to find a date in eight days, find a dress in eight days, get work off for three days or so, drive two hours to the city Mel lived in, and even fucking more that she did not even want to mull through with her tired mind.

If she denied, she would lose Melanie as a friend. And that was not happening.

"Guess I'm going then, but you pay for the dress and damn you to being wed to a horrible cook if you don't bring me a big bag of those strawberry hard candies," Percy said through the phone, earning an excited squeal from Melanie.

"Okay, work out the details with ya tomorrow!" Mel cried before hanging up with a click. Percy pulled open the door of her car, slumping into the seat and repeatedly beating her head into the steering wheel semi-gently.

"I have to find a fucking date.."

Chapter Text

It was Monday.

So, the day Mel had asked her to go to the wedding was a Thurday. That meant the wedding was on a Saturday, cute. But that didn't ease her stress, and she was constantly shaking. She didn't know why, but whenever stressed she shook like a leaf in a hurricane. But she had a list to follow.

One, get work off on Friday. Two, find a dress and stuff. Three, don't forget to fucking pack, Percy. Four, find someone to petsit Piper and Alstroemeria. Five, find a date. Six, drive to the wedding's location on Friday with them. Step six note: Percy, don't be cringy. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT GET DRUNK.

She sighed as she looked at the piece of paper tacked to her frame of her mirror with a bunch of other important notes she needed to remember daily or something. She sighed before looking at her reflection, remembering what day it was: Monday. She sighed. Three days until she left. She had taken the weekend to work out details with Melanie like where the wedding fucking was. Who doesn't tell peopls important stuff like that!? No, she couldn't blame Mel like that. She was busy, Percy was willing to forgive her. This time.

She looked at her knuckles. Already the bruises were already starting to fade and she hoped they would be unnoticeable by the wedding.

She awkwardly stood in front of her boss's door, wringing her hands together like whenever she was nervous. Get your nerves under control, Percy! Calm down! a little voice yelled, and she dropped her hands forcefully behind her back, using her right to knock. A muffled voice said 'come in.' She obliged, tugging it open a tad and sliding in before shutting it gently. When she took her hand away it shook, and she brought her other to hold it. It didn't help, in fact, it made it worse, as both shook even more.

"Uh.. You know what before I fuck up I'm just gonna say it. My best friend since who knows how fucking long is getting married and just now told me the wedding is Saturday and she only told me Thursday and I'm really stressed so can I just get this over with and can I have Friday and Monday, Friday to drive to the wedding place and Monday for recuperation, please?" she said, spilling it all very quickly. God, she rarely (lie) talked that fast. She was glad she did it before her voice could shake like her hands, though..

"Yea, sure. You've been working hard Perc, ya deserve it," they said with a kind smile, and Percy whooped before running out of their office, down the halls of the Radio Station, and was still whooping when she closed the door of her car and drove to the mall.

The whole time Percy was walking among stores, calling up old friends and such. Her first call was Toriel and Frisk. She needed someone to petsit Pipe and Ria, after all.

"Hello?" Toriel's soft voice asked.

"Hey Tori.." Percy said as she looked through some dresses, shoulder holding her phone to her ear.

"What is it, Percy?"

"Can I ask a favor?"

"Of course, you are Frisk's adopted sister."

"Can you petsit for me from Thursday til Sunday? I have a friend's wedding to go to they just told me about last Thursday on Saturday.. Oh, and if yes, I'll drop Ria and Pipe off Thursday night and pick 'em up Sunday afternoon."

"Oh, but isn't Sunday your- Ow! Frisk, what was that for?" A pause as Percy quirked a brow, sighing gently and moving on to another rack. "Oh, alright," Toriel's muffled voice said gently. Then it was clear once again, "Yes, we can do that! We'll be ready."

"Thanks so much, Tori! Tell Frisk thanks for me, too," Percy said, smiling.

"Your welcome. Call me on Thursday when you're coming," Tori said gently.

"Thanks again, and see you then," Percy said, hand finding a hanger particularly deep.

"No problem at all," Toriel responded with an audible smile, and as soon as the call ended Percy snickered gently. She finally got out the hanger she had been insistently pulling at, drawing it from the storm of dresses and feeling her mouth unhinge and hang.

It was perfect.

A navy empire skirt dress with a silver and black layer over the base navy. She almost immediately found a matching pair of flats that would hopefully not kill her feet by the end of the wedding. She spied something out of the corner of her eye, quriking a brow. Oh my goodness, it was perfect. A navy fedora with a silver band and little golden feather.

In Junior High and beyond when her hair was still dirty blonde with golden streaks, the constant joke was that she was the best-looking kid in the whole school if she wore a fedora. There had even been a petition for a new superlative to be added to the yearbooks just for Percy, to which she immediately shut down with her cheeks stained pink for a whole week.

It must have been a matching set strewn about the store, Percy mused. Or pure luck. Or maybe even magic. She laughed to herself at the thought. She looked at the garments curiously. Any more accessories..? Probably not, she wasn't very flashy. Although she did want to make one change.. She would dye her hair to its relatively original colors. She remembered the day she had dyed her hair mint, the day she had tried to escape her past. She figured a 'why not?' She felt, oddly, more comfortable with brown hair with it's natural highlights than in the dyed hair. It was weird, but she didn't mind.

After checking out the garments, she smiled subconsciously as she bought the correct hair dye and went home, dying it as quick as she could (which ended up being half way into the night after a shower and blowing it dry). It fell in very subtle waves naturally, unlike when she straightened it usually. She grinned at herself in the mirror, despite it being two in the morning. She slipped into the dress and shoes, even putting on the fedora for the hell of it. She set her phone up on a dresser, taking a quick video of her doing a twirl or two, strutting her stuff. Then she sent it to Alphys and Undyne, asking their opinions. They would answer tomorrow, she knew.

It was rare for her to care about how others thought of her appearance. She was such an uncaring person when it came to her appearance. She dressed for comfort. Sure, some of the comfortable things she wore were actually a bit appealing.. Otherwise, no. Sure she was subconsciously aware of it and sometimes even tore herself up over it for a day or two, but other than that there was little care. After changing into her night clothes she actually felt tired for once, slipping into her bed after expertly maneuvering her mess of a room. Moments later Ria was laying atop her, and she fell into a comfortable sleep.

It was Tuesday.

After getting dressed and such she looked at her phone, an amused smile on her features.

Alphys, 5:07 a.m.

Percy oh my gosh you look amazing! Is that what you're wearing to the wedding?

Undyne, 5:09 a.m.

IT BETTER BE, PUNK! YOU LOOK GREAT ;D

She laughed at Undyne and Alphys, sending her affirmation that she was wearing the outfit to the wedding. She went to her bathroom, taking out the back-up pen she kept in the cabinet and scratching off Steps 1, 2, and 4. That left her tomorrow and today to find a date and pack. She decided after she got off work she would pack, then call up one or two people and hope for the best. Then crash and have Wednesday to do whatever after work. Maybe spend some time with Piper before the parakeet got cranky for her not giving the little bird much attention as of late with the sudden influx of stress-inducing busying things.

After her morning routine, now including super good-looking hair, she was off to work.

When she got home she immediately got to work despite her exhaustion, throwing sleeping wear, undergarments, her spare vacation toiletries ("Brush, check. Toothbrush, check. Deodorant..? RIA DID YOU STEAL MY DEODORANT!?"), and other necessary items (headphones/earbuds included). All the while she was calling old friends, meaning three before she fell asleep or was busied too much from the packing.

Call one was with an old high school friend, Jillian "Jellybean" Michalski. Tall, pansexual redhead stringbean that Percy had been pretty close to.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Percy!"

"Oh, hello Percy. What's up?"

"Are you busy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday? Mel's wedding is then and I need a date."

"Sorry, already going with my boyfriend, Alfred," she said softly.

"It's fine, thanks anyway!" Percy responed cheerfully, despite the soft underlying tone of disappointment.

Call two was with a coworker. Jacob Callahan, cool dude who ran the show after her departure.

"Hey Percy, what up?"

"'Sup Jake! Ya busy Friday through Saturday?"

"Is this about your friend's wedding that you were talking about during lunch yesterday?" he asked questioningly.

"Yea! That one! I need a date," she said pleadingly.

"Percy.."

"Yea..?"

"Did you forget I'm married?"

Oh yeah.

"Oops! Sorry, totally forgot there! Tell Primrose I said 'hi,' for me though!" she said, quickly hanging up to stop the awkwardness.

Call three. Third time's the charm, right? This one was with a kid she had known since Middle School by the name of Markus Thompson. A sporty idiot, but tolerable enough for a little bit.

"Hey Mark, it's Percy from Middle School and High School!"

"Who?"

She immediately hung up, then flopped into bed after setting her duffle bag of items on the floor.

It was Wednesday.

She crossed off step 3, but not without a glare at 5.

The rest of the day, whenever she got the chance, she called people to possibly get a date. All of the answers were the same polite "No, sorry." Gosh dammit, she wasn't going dateless! She couldn't!

By the time she got off at three, since she had gotten an 'O.K.' from her boss, she went straight to get food. But not without first sending a text to her last possible option: Sans. Meet me in the mall foodcourt where we first met. Need to ask ya a favor. She didn't look at any response.

When she got there she immediately saw him in a uniform to one of the fast food restraunts. Ooh. She trotted over, sliding into place. She chuckled, looking him over one more time before realizing he was looking at her expectantly.

She opened her mouth to confidently ask him to help her out before feeling all that confidence drain from her. "I- I n-need y-y-you t-to d-d-do m-me a s-solid.." she said meekly, face flushing pink. Oh, she was not confident at all. Sure, in certain situations.. But this? Gosh, she was an absolute fuckin' mess.

"'kay, what?" he asked, not at all bothered.

"C-can y-y-you g-go o-o-on a-a date w-with m-m-me t-to a f-friend's w-wedding?" she choked out, face beet red.

"uh- why me?" he asked.

"I've tried everyone else, even Paps. You aren't exactly my first choice," she said, falling into step almost immediately. A look of what she assumed was mock hurt flashed across his face, but she was unaware it was real. She was blind to things like that..

"mm, fine. when?"

"Tomorrow, friday, and sunday," she responded. He choked on air that he didn't even need to breathe, and she sputtered with laughter.

"eh, fine. but i'm dumping frisk on you tonight while tori does stuff. suppose to 'babysit' her but i guess i need to pack now," he chuckled.

"Alright, cool!" she said, leaping to her feet. "Thanks, Sans! 'Preciate it," she said, waving goodbye before running off to do more preparations. Meaning call Melanie and screaming she had a date so she didn't have to go alone. Thank goodness.

Chapter Text

Percy and Frisk leisurely sat on the back porch of Percy's humble home, Ria sleeping peacefully on Percy's feet as the young woman drew flowers over her pages of notepad instead of her taxes. Frisk was reading up on the culture of some foreign place they would be going to for their next ambassadorial meeting. Didn't want to do something wrong and offend an important world leader, now did they? Stress was heavy on both, before an old memory flickered in Frisk's mind and they grabbed Percy's attention.

Do the thing, Frisk urged silently.

"No," Percy said lightly, vigorously erasing the previous drawings from the page and pausing to think up another idea. "Gimme a flower name," she added.

Please, they pleaded, flashing the puppy dog eyes. And..carnation.

"Frisk, I'm immune by now, so, no. And thanks," she said simply, flipping the pencil and pressing the graphite tip to the page, making light lines.

Why not? they signed, curiosity on their features.

"That's old magic. Don't even know if she's near enough," Percy said, lying quite easily with the pencil moving fluently over the page, the soft friction of the tip on the page causing a small sound that bothered her little. "Besides, someone might see. Not even monsters understand Old Magic too well," she said gently, before her face contorted into a look of frustration and she brought her eraser back to the page again.

No one's around! And Sans not coming by for another half hour, they said, eyes still pleading. Percy gave them a look, releasing and exasperated sigh and setting her pencil on the pad of paper and scotting her chair from the patio table.

"Alright, just this once. But you owe me a whole week of not calling me by Percilla," she said, leaning against the table for a minute, as if sensing for something that couldn't be sensed by those not previously exposed to it.

What!? ... Oh, fine. They signed, pouting for a moment before standing up and walking behind her once she had moved to the center of her lawn.

"Dog inside? Don't want her to be eaten by Ria," Percy said with a grim chuckle.

Frisk nodded an affirmative as they urd the dog inside and closed the door. In response, Percy nervously wrung her hands together, thoughts flying a mile a minute. Should she really do this? She only ever did it for whenever Frisk was feeling down.. Like the other kids had teased them about their selective muteness. Or yet another adopting couple or family or whatever saw them playing and their eyes lit up, only for disappointment to swallow their features when they were informed of the child's silence. Now.. Now Frisk just wanted to see her again, see the being of the sky that had once been (and quite still was) a dear thing in Percy's heart. She swallowed her shakiness. She needed this, too. With all the stress before the wedding.. she was drained, she needed this.

A deep tug from somewhere in her soul, a silent call that so few could hear. Magic swept through the air, its sound following suite. It was not the low static of monster magic, but like a soft song of a bird, the rustle of leaves, a breeze through a meadow. Old Magic. She hummed herself, focusing on one among several, the white in the black. She was the one she wanted, not the others. Frisk had yet to meet them, and probably never would. Percy liked to keep some of her secrets, she liked the feeling of knowing something no one else could dare to imagine up nor believe was real. A smile graced her lips.

The flap of wings from far away. Wind through feathers. Dark eyes that knew more than they told. The foggy memories of a life once lived, and the bright memories of the life now lived. Percy couldn't help but let her smile widen. The sensation, like a comforting warmth at the back of her mind, grew closer until she had to shut her mind away from the magic and away from the avian making its way toward her and Frisk. Her silver eyes blinked open, finding the small shape soaring through the blue high above. She smiled even more as the bird neared close enough for her to recognize familiar features of this life and the previous.

"Hey Gran," Percy said softly, offering her hand as a perch for the light brown songbird. It perched happily, careful not to allow it's claws to press too much against Percy's paper-like skin. It chirped in sequences, angry trills mixed among them occasionally. She smiled just a bit more, somehow, and stroked it's head. "Yes, I know, I moved so far from that forest you liked so much. And from home. But you're stuck with me, spells and witches and all that," Percy said with a benevolent underlying tone. She was obviously happy about that. "Frisk wanted to see you, by the way," Percy said, gesturing to the brunette. The bird sang a short few notes before trading Percy's hand for Frisk's, and the two, albeit Frisk not understanding her, had a nice little conversation trade of chirps and hums.

Percy listened absently, catching the meaning of her grandmother's chirps, trills, and other birdy noises Percy had no interest in naming. She leaned against her home, catching onto the other souls among the seas, smiling to herself. Familiar souls. Souls she knew quite well. Those that roamed the ground, then those that roamed the skies. She laughed to herself, earning an odd look from Frisk that she shrugged off. It was a joke only she would likely ever understand. How amusing it was all her family had taken to the skies and the undergrowth, not one wish to travel the seas. Oh well, it was their wish..

Before she even knew it half an hour had passed with her in her own thoughts of her past, the good parts at least. Her early days of being so mature for such a youth. The barks of Ria alerted you of someone's presence. She would have remained silent with all the old magic in the air, otherwise. Percy's eyes widened as she looked at Frisk and her spelled grandmother. "Away with you, now! Get, Gran!" she said, voice soft but urgent as she started making a shooing motion. Fuck respecting her elders, in that state Percy had a good fourteen years on the old crone.

Turning to Frisk, she swept up her notepad and pencil, setting it near her fence before helping the younger gather up their stuff and gesturing to the patio door. They walked along with their drawstring bag slung over their shoulder, slipping in the cool house. Percy ruffled their wavy, cropped dark hair much to their dismay and groans of the display. They knew it was Percy's way of saying she loved them.

Percy opened the door to see Sans just about to knock, fist raised. His other hand was stuffing something folded into his pocket, and Percy dismissed it without a second thought. "Hey, Sans." She smiled brightly, the same, familiar smile that he had been so accustomed to, now framed in brilliant brown hair that suited her rather well, almost natural. But there was a twinge of something genuine behind the smile, in her silver eyes. And then it was gone. He remained silently staring too long, trying to find that little spark of genuinity again. Now her eyes twinkled with amusement.

"See something you like, boneboy? Save your compliments for the date, though," she sang lightly, grinning. A light dusting of blue coated his skull just below his eye sockets. "Oh! You're also helping me get Piper and Ria to Tori's," she said, winking as she dragged him into the house.

"what..?"

"Well, Frisk and Tori are petsittin' for me. With you made of bones it will be easy to get her in the car," she said, winking as she gestured for Frisk to start grabbing Piper's already-packed supplies and carry them out to the car. She tossed the keys to their awaiting hands with a grin, looking at Sans with a small smile on her lips.

Ria stepped around the couch, eyeing Sans with an expectant look at Percy. The woman grinned, giving a thumbs up to the dog. The canine immediately started a running leap at Sans, but Percy knew it was in playful manner. But.. Sans didn't. As soon as the dog was in midair, a good two feet off the ground, Ria was caught in midair. Percy stiffened, sensing the magic. She had her eyes closed during her battle with Sans.. She hadn't seen his magic. And every lesson she had ever been told came to the front of her mind. She ran forward, sliding below Ria. Mid-slide, somehow, Sans' magic flickered out, like snuffing a candle. The dog tumbled from the air, right onto the still-sliding Percy.

Sans narrowed his eye sockets. How the hell..? His pupils dimmed slightly as Percy rolled the startled Ria off of her, dragging the dog to the car without any help. His magic had never been like that. Never. Not once in his life. Was something wrong? His eye sockets narrowed even further. Nothing felt wrong. To test, he tried lifting up a vase of flowers on Percy's counter. They floated around at his whim, magic flowing at ease. Then why had his magic flickered out when he had been using it on Alstroemeria? And how had Percy known when to slide under and catch the canine?

Suspicion making him tense, he slapped on his relaxed demeanor and "helped" ("supervising," he chuckled, earning a glare from Percy) Percy and Frisk without any more mishaps. But his suspicion, his distrust, his paranoia, made his hand raise just a bit. Percy was walking back to the house to grab a toy for Ria, and sitting on the car was Frisk on the hood and a little bird -- a songbird. Recognition of the bird Percy had been speaking to earlier when he had been spying. He had sensed the odd magic in the air, stealthily finding it's source being Percy with Frisk and a small bird -- the songbird on the car.

A bone flew from nowhere, materialized by his magic. It was small, it would do no damage to Frisk if it hit them -- which it wouldn't. It was directed to skewer the little bird, a test. Percy seemed to pick up the pace as the bone flew, and just before it was about to plung into skin and feathers, it fell, and as it fell it broke apart into dust, whisked away by an unexpected wind. He narrowed his eye sockets even more. Even if the bone had been left on it's course, it wouldn't of hit the bird. The little avian had hopped to the side. But it was obviously enthralled by Frisk, who was giving it bird seed.

When Percy reached the car she shooed it off, gesturing for Frisk to slip in the backseat with Ria and Piper. There was a short protest, quickly silenced by a look from Percy Sans couldn't see. She walked over to the driver's side, but not after opening the passenger door.

"Get in," she said as she looked at him expectantly, and he closed the door and hurried to the passenger door beneath her gaze, which was colder than before. He slid in, entering a contained world of dog noises, bird chirping, soft music, and Percy talking to Frisk. Sans was silent the whole time, gazing out his window with his chin resting in his hand.

They arrived, quickly unloading everything. After Tori and Frisk got a long list of the pets' care needs, the nice apartment door was shut pn Percy and Sans, leaving them alone in the cool evening air. Then she turned to him, eyes narrowed.

"We'll talk about that later. Get some rest, we leave at 5 tomorrow morning. I expect you at my house at 4:30," she said simply before turning and walking off, leaving him to his own devices to get home. This was no problem.. But he was sure she was doing something.

And he was right. After dinner he teleported to her house, keeping his distance now that he knew she had a heightened awareness of magic than most humans. And maybe some herself. He shoved that to the back of his mind, quiet as he looked through a bush to Percy sitting in her yard, talking words to forest animals that seemed engrossed in her voice.

"..don't know what I should do. Telling him will make it hard. Hmph, probably put me on the run again, and just after you all settled down. Mm. Father will never forgive me," she murmured. There were chirps, barks, and other noises in response, and Percy sighed in resignation. He could sense the influx of foreign magic in the air, magic only present around Percy and these animals.

"Alright, alright. But away with all of you. You may be family, animal or human or whatever else, but.. I need to be alone with him," she said, voice lowering. Sans crept a little closer, careful on what he stepped on. He had to see or hear whatever was happening.

A wave of magic slammed into him, but it was not offensive despite forcing him back a step. It was a call. One he didn't understand, it was cryptic in layers. The animals scurried, flew, and ran off in different directions. It was several minutes of silence.

And then a shape emerged from the undergrowth of the forest that surrounded Percy's humble home.

It was a canid, as far as Sans could tell. But much..larger. More feral. But as far as he knew.. wild canines were few in the area, limited to the occasional coyote. But this.. was something wolf-like. Larger, with thick fur and large ears. Big paws carried the lumbering shape as it fluently leaped over the fence of Percy's yard, approaching her. Sans wanted so badly to intervene when the growl remenated from deep inside the beast's chest, only to be silenced by Percy.

She hugged the creature.

Out of all the stupid things Sans had seen her do, she fucking hugged that thing. That was a big dog for Asgore! That thing could fight Undyne and possibly win! Panic flared deep within his soul, awakening his magic. But he silenced it quickly when he saw that the canid beast didn't attack. Amber eyes were soft and friendly with age and knowledge, but still sharp with hidden rage and sorrow.

"I'm going to be going off for a bit.." she murmured softly into it's fur, so soft that Sans could barely hear. "And before I do.. I have something to tell you.."

Her voice was shaking. She was shaking subtly. And she was like that for what must have been minutes, but was actually hours. Shaking and whispering in the massive canid's fur.

"You won't find her. She.. she died too quickly. The curse - spell, spell - didn't act quick enough. You won't find her among the trees, among the undergrowth, the ground, nor the sky. You took this form for nothing. And I was there.. I could have helped. Dad, I'm so sorry," she whispered, and by her voice, Sans knew she was crying. But Percy never cried, did she?

And then it hit him. She just called that thing 'Dad.' She mentioned a curse! This creature, her, the animals, they were spelled! Old Magic was what he was sensing, what set him off when he first met her. Why he was so uneasy in her presence, wary of her odd attitude. He couldn't help it any longer, his magic flared to life deep within him.

And that was a mistake.

Immediately Percy shot to her feet, the beast rising to it's full height. Silver and amber eyes had fury in them, rage.. Bare, uncontained, unmasked rage. Directed at him. But then there was softness from Percy, but still anger from the beast. She nodded to his silent question, and when the beast started to run for the fence, he immediately teleported away.

They were having a long talk tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Knock knock.

She looked up from her notepad, legs kicked up on the coffee table and her notepad on her knees, duffle bag of things beneath her legs. She swung over, but not before setting her notepad on the cushion to her right. Then she walked to the door, standing by it. "Who's there?" she called.

"doris," Sans replied back, voice heavy with tire. So he hadn't slept at all. Just like Percy.

"Doris who?" she countered, hand on the knob.

"doris locked, so can ya open it for me so we can get on the road?" he asked, and she did just that.

"Hey Sans," she said simply, as if he hadn't seen her hours before with her spelled relatives.

"look, per-"

"We talk in the car, once we're on the road. Now, do you want something to eat before we go on the road?" she asked, cutting him off as she neared the fridge.

"no, i'm fine," he answered as she opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle and an apple. She then turned and tossed the keys at him, which he sidestepped to avoid instinctively, catching them when before they clattered to the ground.

"Can ya take my stuff out, gotta put out some bird seed," she said, and he obliged after a moment of procrastination.

Moments later she was driving down her driveway toward the town, and then beyond. Then they would be driving out on the open road, no obstructions in their way. But that wasn't now. Now, Percy knew she had to talk, and she hated it. She hated it. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as she grit her teeth and muttered, "Ask away, I'll answer."

"does it hurt?" he asked, gesturing tp her bruised knuckles, which were still slightly purple. Shock fluttered on her features before smapping away.

"Not unless they hit something, and even then not as much as before," she said softly, shifting under his gaze and pulling the collar of her oversized sweatshirt.

"why are you wearing that sweatshirt?" he probed.

"Used to be my dad's. Frisk's favorite sweater used to be my mom's.. I.. Wasn't always an orphan, and the sweatshirt, when the animals can't reach me, reminds me that I'm not an orphan, either way," she said, subconsciously humming.

"why is your family..animals?" he asked, and she stiffened.

"I.. Used to live in a place where natural magic - Old Magic - was rather common. Even some gifted with unnatural abilities. And the magic there was also..twisted. Upon nearing death, anyone born within the boundaries.. If death wasn't immediate.. They would turn to an animal and earn a second chance.. Animal of their choice, too. But if they were dying quickly.. If they died immediately they stayed dead. For example.. My mother died in a car accident, and, well, she's gone gone," Percy explained, seeming to shrink into herself and into the following quiet, filled only by early morning sounds and the car.

"why was your dad..that?" he asked, He was curious as to why.. Why he had taken to such a shape when he could have any animal in the world, why that?

"He died a year before my mom. Unidentified sickness. He wanted to be able to find my mom after her Change. That was all we wanted, to live out his animal life with his one and only. But.. A year later she got in an accident. And when she didn't Change I ran, I didn't tell him. He didn't know. I didn't want him to know. I didn't want to break him like that, tell him the love of his life died in a car accident protecting a no-good piece of shit like me," she said. "Last night I told him. Lettin' him cool while I'm gone."

"huh. didn't have the best childhood, either," he responded, to which she shrugged.

"Eh. Not as bad as you would think, I would say Frisk was my worst decision ever. It took forever for them to learn sign language. So for like, two years, I fuckin' guessed. I can tell ya there were plenty of mistakes on my part. One time I accidentally blurted out there crush and I sat outside our room for a week asking for an apology," she said, chuckling to herself. "They didn't deserve Frisk, anyway. Lil bastard," she muttered under her breath, staring ahead into the predawn world and not at Sans.

"you're pretty patient," he said softly, to which she shrugged.

"Thanks. Guess I can't help it. Gran says I get it from my mom, and that I may be a little bit more patient for my own good," she said. "Guess she's right, I'm being far too patient with you." She released a bark of laughter, and he startled slightly.

"yeah. yeah you are," he confirmed softly, and she cast a glance at him.

"Any more questions. We still have like, two more hours of driving," she said. "Oh, I also have a bottle of ketchup for ya in the cooler," she added, hiding her growing grin.

"huh? oh, cool, thanks," he said, twisting and leaning back to find the cooler. "what magic can you do?" he asked, voice muffled.

"Sense souls and magic, heightened awareness.. Stopping attacks is pretty easy, especially yours. Changing soul colors back to normal is kinda hard, but not too tasking. And in some places with strong magic, I can see what happened there. Kinda cool, kinda overwhelming.. Back home I had a lot of attacks and stuff.. The past of my home is twisted and bloody. Oh! And some other things I haven't figured out. Nothing monster-like.. Nothing on those proportions. But I'm also very, very merciless," she said, showing a wide grin once Sans took a long swig of the "ketchup."

"very merciless? what the hell is that suppose to- OH MY ASGORE!" he burst out, skull sweating (what?) bullets as the effect of the disguised hot sauce caught up to him. Percy laughed boisterously, eyes shining. Within moments she was wheezing. Then she was hoarsely coughing. Then heaving as she strugged to calm herself and lean back into her seat.

Meanwhile, Sans received the full effect of the hot sauce. "hot damn, percy! i never thought your burning passion for pranks would scorch me!" he wheezed, looking at her water pleadingly. She gave a nod, and he chugged it down within seconds. Within moments, there were blue tears streaming down his face. The water only made it worse.

"It means that if you prank me I rain all of prank hell upon you," she said with a wink, turning for just a moment to flash her wide grin. "Told ya I was merciless."

For several minutes he was wheezing in his seat, sweating thoroughly. Percy's amusement was endless, shoulders shaking with held laughter as she struggled to keep her attention on the road. It was just around five in the morning, and the sun would be rising soon. Cool.

Once he was not sweating, Sans looked at Percy. "merciless.. no kidding. okay.. next question: why'd you kiss me way back on the day we met?"

She flushed rosy colors. "W-what? Why did I kiss you? Uh. Hehe, I was talking to Frisk before and they said my best chance at getting you to Mercy me was flustering you. Guess in the heat of the moment I k-kissed you. But I can most surely affirm the lack of feeling behind it. Hell, I could kiss you on the teeth and there would be no feeling at a-all," she said, voice raising in confidence before faltering at the last statement.

"sure," he said with a wink.

"Oh goodness," she muttered, sinking into her sweatshirt and seat.

"just kiddin'. can't say i'd be interested anyway."

Mistake one.

"What?"

"w-wait, that's not what i meant! i just don't want to kiss you!"

Mistake two.

"Oh! Am I not good enough?" she asked venomously.

"n-no! you're too good for me! percy you are fucking amazing, no matter how much you belittle yourself! and if it you ever have anyone - or anything - mess with you i'll be right there if you need me," he said, earning a grin from Percy.

Mistake three.

"Think its a little too late to promise that, Sansy, but its the thought that counts," she hummed, and a light dusting of blue found its way onto his features.

He did manage to hide his worry. What did Percy mean that it was too late to promise that? What could possibly be bothering her..? She lived a good life, had friends, family.. He didn't understand. So he looked out the window at the passing land, not exactly looking but instead thinking about what Percy could have possibly meant.

Then she turned on the radio.

Or, well, she hooked up her phone and had her own music. He could hear her singing under her breath, soft on purpose. When he looked over at her curiously, she sank deeper into her seat and jacket, cheeks rosy. He could see her ears just barely, and they too were flushed. Hm, she must not sing much. Or, at least, not in public, because she obviously knew the words and was singing pretty well. Not amazing, but pretty good. The kind of good that if you were at karaoke, you would specifically come to hear her.

The music, the car, and Percy's soft singing.. it was like a quiet lullaby. He didn't resist it, and fell asleep with his chin in his hand looking out the window to a rosy horizon, just before the sun began to climb the skies.

Percy looked over at him when she stopped at a light. He was turned from her, but obviously sleeping. Her eyes softened, and she turned off her phone. "Perhaps.. one day," she whispered below her breath, returning to her attention to the road.

They were almost there, anyway, and she drove on comfortable silence.

Chapter Text

"Nerd, get up!"

A voice, distant. It was like talking through inches of glass, muffled. He blinked sleepily, seeing a figure framed in rosy hues with their hands on his shoulders, leaning across something too blurry to make out.

"I've been trying to wake you up for the past half hour and all you've done is mumble about how much you love me!"

He immediately shot up, conking foreheads with Percy. She fell backward, rubbing her forehead and grumbling annoyed profanity.

"wh-what!?" he supttered, earning a chuckle from Percy.

"Nah, just kidding. Most of it was incoherent. But seriously get the fuck out of the car. I've been shaking you for a literal half hour and we're at the hotel," she said, adjusting herself so she could swing the door open at such a force that Sans thought the door would fly off it's hinges. But it didn't, because Percy wasn't Undyne. He watched her get out and open the backseat door, grabbing her bag and his.

When he did nothing but close the doors, she rolled her eyes. "Wow, so kind," she said, rolling her eyes.

"why thank you," Sans said, walking to her side as she got the stuff out.

"You can be a real asshole, ya know?" she asked, reaching deeper into the car and grabbing some papers before shoving them into his hands.

"don't have an ass, perc," he chuckled, adjusting his grip on the papers now in his grasp.

"Well, pelvis just doesn't seem to fit, now does it?"

"good point."

"Oh, I know," she said smugly, standing straight with the bags and walking off with no warning, leaving Sans to close the door and follow before she locked the car.

The next minutes were spent straightening out details and getting room keys, along with a few minutes spent beating up a snack machine and freaking out-

"why isn't it working?"

"I don't know."

"but gravity is suppose to bring the chips down."

"No shit sherlock! And Sans, its floating."

"how the hell is this happening?"

"I said I don't know!"

"well, what do we do?"

"No fucking idea."

Then it just blinked out of existence with a 'pop!' only they appeared to hear and not the person working at the desk, who was engrossed in their game of Candy Crush.

"What the fuck!?"

"agree to walk away and never talk about this again?"

"Yep," she responded, accenting the 'p' with a little pop of her lips. They both turned as if they hadn't just been interacting with the weirdest thing ever, even though they had both encountered far worse.

Looking over at Percy, Sans gestured to the elevator like the Chip Incident hadn't happened. "Shall we, m'lady?" he said, chuckling as he offered an arm.

"We shall, my knight in shining bones," she said, looping her arm through his with a small laugh. It was more or less she who tugged him along, souls of her shoes silent on the carpet of the hotel. In the moments following the pressing of the button that would call the elevator down, she had retracted bashfully, shifting to switch her duffle with his bag and swaying to accommodate the new adjustments.

The elevator dinged, and Perc and Sans were the only two to shuffle in. She took on corner and he took the one across, and they were just staring at each other.

"well that was a long knight," Sans said as the elevator started its ascent to their floor.

"Ah, there's the medieval pun. I shouldn't have gone dragon you on this trip in the first place and I know it," she responded with a chuckle.

And then they were on their floor, Pwrcy shoving his bag at him as she unlocked the door with the key card, kicking it open since neither hand was free. Then she flew right in, tossing her bag in the corner before flicking on the light.

"Send me to heeeeelllll," she groaned, and he quickly followed.

"i don't think thats one hell of a good ide- oooooh. i know what you mean now."

There was one bed. One. Melanie was fucking Satan. The bitch! She had this planned, didn't she? Percy let out a frustrated cry, gently knocking her head against the wall to her left.

Then she walked to the bed, removing two of the four pillows, then she went to the closet and grabbed a spare blanket, spreading it on the ground and flopping onto it with little word. She brought one of the two pillows to her left, oddly. He didn't question it.

"I haven't slept for 42 hours, so.. turn that fucking light off and sleep in that bed," she commanded, and he did the latter first, throwing off his jacket in trade for curling into the blanket and then flicking the light off with his magic.

Then there was only slumber.

Dark. It was dark, so dark it was suffocatingly so. Percy felt around blindly, finding nothing but a soft space she eagerly clutched close to her as she walked along. She just walked. And walked. And walked. For what seems like hours, she walked. That was all she did, walk blindly with the soft thing clutched to her.

And then the feeling of being watched. Being judged. So many eyes, so many unheard whispers, unspoken judgements being made. She sucked in a breath. Crushing weight on her shoulders, the feeling of eyes from every damn uncomfortable angle. She hated it. She wanted to melt, to disappear into the darkness where no one could find her.

They could see through it all. See through the cool façade, see through the intricately spun web of lies Percy had long tangled herself up in. She was being restricted by herself and her expectations. She closed her eyes, trying to hope that somehow that would hide her from the eyes, the whispers, the judgements.

When she opened them, she was small. Weak, innocent, youthful. The low hum of a car surrounded her, and a women with shining locks of light brown was talking as they drove along the rodad. The shadows flew by, and she shifted comfortably into her seat. So those fifteen years were just a nightmare. How her small mind could imagine up such things, she didn't want to know.

Out of the corner of her eye, there was a flicker of movement. She twisted in her seat, spotting a galloping buck with a rack of antlers fit for hanging above the grandest king's throne. Beady black eyes caught her own, absorbing her in them. She looked at her mother as the buck veered, trying to escape whatever chased it.

She wanted to scream, scream at her mother to look out. But she never found her voice, she failed herself. The buck burst from the foliage, and her mother spun off course after violently jerking the wheel to avoid the hoofed creature running behind them, still in pursuit from whatever doggedly chased it.

Percy and her mother, too, followed their course. Straight into a strong oak that shook at the impact, showering the vehicle in a cascade of golds, crimsons, and other colors. Percy gasped, struggling free of the straps that manacled her. And then the impact. Everything was smacked out of her grasp. Including her conscious mind.

She was once again in the empty darkness, filled only by her, the soft thing still held against her, and the staring. They were picking her apart. Probing sensitive memories. Twisting raw scars yet to fully heal. They grasped at a nerve, pinching it tight. She gasped in pain, doubling over in the darkness, but not once letting go of the soft object. Her only tether, keeping her sane.

Pins and needles covered her limbs, making them buzz in protest to every movement. She wanted to fall down, never to get back up. She wanted tp wallow in the darkness for the rest of eternity if it meant getting rid of it all.

And then she was back in the car. The pins and needles were still there, and she thrashed ijn her seat despite the pain she was inflicting on herself. She struggled from the straps, throwing herself from them when they were loose. They fell from her, and she heaved with all her strength to open the door. It wedged open enough for her to slip out. She did just that, only then stopping to survey the car and her mother once she had weaselled her way from it.

Within moments she was running. She wanted away from the wreck. Away from it. Away from the thing she had caused. She could have warned her mother, could have screamed that the deer was coming, gotten her to stop in time. But no, her mother suffered for her. Blood trickled from her wounds as she ran. Not much, not enough to have lasting effects.

Yet.

She stumbled through the bracken and thorny bushes, clothes growing ragged. She just kept running. And running. Running. Away from the accident, away from the growing noise of sirens, from her mother. Her dead mother. And the blame settled heavily around her, like she was underwater.

And then she was no longer running. She was in the darkness again, but this time she felt the pressure of being submerged far deeper than anyone should go, even with the needed equipment. The water around her was thick and freezing, but the cold numbness her body was succumbing didn't scare her.

The pressure was squeezing her. Squeezing the air from her lungs, feeling from her limbs, confidence from her mind. Her mouth, throat, and lungs itched. Badly. Badly so she would drink the whole ocean just to get rid of it. And that's what she did.

She widened her mouth in her desperation, swallowing mouthfuls of water into her, filling every empty crevice of her body. And the itch didn't end. It only grew more severe, and along with it came the screaming of her lungs. But death would not be so merciful to end her suffering.

She could feel the eyes again. The judgements. The whispers. She struggled helplessly under their gazes, clawing at herself for her suffering to end. But then her limbs were pinned to her sides by an unseen force, one that somehow made her even more cold. She thrashed against it, throwing herself free of the invisible bindings only worsening her suffering.

Now free, she swung her arms around, and they found a solid something that she clung to desperately, hoping that it would stop all that was happening. She heard her name being called in as much desperation as she wanted for the suffering to stop.

"perc.. percy!"

She jolted awake. Well, sort of. More like she shook (more) violently with awakening. She was clutching something like a fucking koala, and damn this was not the pillow she had laid out for herself, knowing the nightmares would siege her like any other time she wasn't in a dreamless sleep. She was wrapped around something..someone. Almost immediately she undid her knotted limbs and fell onto her back, staring up at a worried Sans.

"uh.."

"Nightmares," she said, despite her body trembling and sweat covering her, creating a glistening curtain to hide the tear streaks.

"you wanna t-"

"No," she said, far too quickly. She was lying. She did want to talk, she did. She did, she did, she did. She wanted so badly to dump all the weight on her shoulders and fucking feel like she wasn't suffocating for once. But she couldn't. Not here, not now. She wouldn't let herself.

"percilla, you look like you nee-"

"You don't know what I need. And don't use that name, I'm Percy," she said, standing up and straightening her clothes. The blinds on the balcony doors were drawn shut, and she couldn't see the clock.

"then what happened to her?"

"She died."

"when?"

"Almost fifteen years ago in a car accident with her mother."

"is that what the nightmare was about?"

She wrung her fingers together, continuously drawing her sleeves over her face in an attempt to wipe away the moisture. "Yes..? And no."

"then what was it about?"

"It usually happens whenever I sleep. Otherwise I'm dreamlses. But.. I.. I was in this darkness. And these eyes. These things. They were constantly judging me. They were saying things I couldn't hear. Bad things. Horrible things. I could feel it. Not a benevolent thought out there. And then I was reliving the crash. And then I was there again, except it got worse. They blamed me. I blamed myself. Because goddammit it was my fault! I could have warned her, could have saved her. And then.. Then I was underwater. So deep.. I was suffocating. Drowning. Everything burned, itched.. I wanted to claw myself to pieces! Like that's any new.. Then something pinned me, guessing it was your magic, and the cold of the water only got worse.. I broke the binds, I guess, and starting searching in the darkness. Then I found you, I guess. Didn't know it was you, I just wanted something to keep me from suffering, to save me. A buoy. Or.. something. I dunno. Then I woke up. And here I am saying I wasn't going to tell you but in this state I'm a big puddle of mushy feels," she said, sitting cross-legged on the ground for a moment before flopping back. It was like she melded with her jacket and did indeed become a mushy puddle, but one of flesh.

"huh. wanna get some lunch?" he asked, as if she hadn't just confessed her nightly torments to it.

"Yes. Absolutely starving. Also.. was I.."

"..clinging to me like a koala? yes, yes you were. it was fucking adorable and i took pictures," he affirmed, earning a hard elbow that knocked the wind from him. Despite the lack of lungs, but haha there was magic for that~

".. I hate you," she said.

"oh i know," he said, opening the door once both had their things.

"Where ya wanna go?" she asked, shrugging on her jacket and walking out after grabbing a room key.

"dunno, see anything good on the way here?" he asked, following her after closing the door and making sure it was shut.

"Was kinda trying not to fall asleep. Maybe I can text Mel and meet her down in the lobby or something. She'll know what's good here," Percy responded, taking out her phone as they neared the elevator.

"cool," he responded, pressing the button.

It dinged, Percy shuffling in without a look up as Sans followed her. Three other people were already in there, and they immediately took to the other side of the elevator once Sans got on.

The tallest one, a guy with brunette hair going all different ways, murmured something to the dusty-brown haired girl next to him, something Sans didn't quite catch. But Percy did.

She took one hand from her phone, raising it and flipping him off. "Shut the fuck up, Brad. No one wants to hear your bullshit about me or my date," she said sharply, earning a stricken look. "Yes, I did hear. Not fucking deaf."

And then the elevator dinged again, and Percy grabbed Sans phalanges and drew him away and out the door without a second look back.

Chapter Text

After lunch, Percy and Sans returned to the hotel to find Melanie in the lobby.

"I swear if you make a dog joke, Sans," Percy warned as they walked in.

"i don't give a shit about what you say," he countered with a smug grin.

"SANS YOU SON OF A BITCH THAT WAS A DOG POOP JO-"

"PERCY!" Melanie screamed, immediately running at the brown-haired girl. Percy stiffened immediately at the call of her name, halting her conversation with Sans to look at Melanie, who basically tackled Percy into a big hug that lifted her off the ground. "Just like basketball!"

"Mel, no, no, no, don't, please Sans won't stop teasing me if he knew about that," Percy begged breathlessly, still lifted from the ground by the taller. God, Percy was so small, wasn't she? Now she clung to Melanie's arm like her damn life depended on it.

Melanie was tall with tanned skin and olive eyes. She had some muscle and wasn't too lanky, and her hair fell in thick, black curls halfway down her back. She looked like the kind of person who couldn't stop smiling, even if she wanted to. Someone who was a pure optimist. And that was upon initial meeting.

"ooh, now i'm interested," he chuckled, prodding Percy in the side. She nearly fell because of the small giggle that left her.

"Ooh, monster boyfriend? Percy, how scandalous," Melanie teased, setting Percy down. Mel had an easy foot and a half on Percy, and utilized it by resting her elbow on the shorter's head, which Percy immediately ducked away from.

"Mel," Percy grumbled, stuffing her now flushed face into the sleeves of her jacket.

"nah, i'm just a friend. sans, sans the skeleton," he said with a lazy shrug, offering his hand to the woman.

Melanie went to grab it when Percy called out, "Wait! Sans is a sneaky bastard and I don't trust him." She detached herself from Melanie's side, coming over to take his hand in her own very carefully and examine it with the palm facing the light. "Aha! A woopie cushion," she said, shooting an accusing glare at Sans as she slid it from his hand, tossing it at him. On instinct he caught it with his free hand, chuckling when the usual fart imitation was released.

Melanie struggled to hide unelegant laughs and snorts. "If I wasn't already engaged to the love of my life I would be marrying you. Percy, ya got a good one. Oh, and do tell what horrible payback she dealt upon you for using that whoopie cushion on her, which you obviously did," Melanie prodded, and Percy took the stage.

"Sans drinks ketchup for one odd as fuck reason, so on the road here I gave him hot sauce. The kind that we used to do for Never Have I Ever back in highschool," Percy chimed.

"You didn't," Melanie gasped, looking at Sans in concern.

"she did," Sans affirmed, and he swore her jaw would have dropped right to the floor if it could have.

"How are you not dead!? And a whole bottle!? Gosh, Percy, you really like this guy, don't you?" Melanie said, worry lacing her voice before amused teasing directed at Percy.

"No, no I do not. As he said he is my friend," she said, shaking her head.

"ouch, percy. you've locked me in handcuffs on a park bench and you don't even like me?" he asked, feigning hurt.

"Handcuffs? Park bench? Damn, Percy, I thought you were asexual-"

"I AM. IT WAS NOT LIKE THAT AND I SPECIFICALLY SAID THAT IN THE SITUATION," Percy said loudly, interrupting Melanie's words.

"nah, it wasn't. but she has kissed me," he chuckled.

"Meanwhile you threatened me," Percy added, elbowing him slightly.

"Oh this is too cute," Melanie cooed.

"Shut up," Percy snapped.

"Don't order the bride around, honey," Melanie chimed back. "Now, back to basketball. Well, ya see in highschool Perc and I were on the basketball team. And she was the shortest person on it, I'll have ya know. So, one game in the second half Percy had the ball and was on the ground. She was curled around the ball because she was surrounded. So what does the girl behind her do? Pick her up. And to add salt to the wound we got pictures and the ref called her for a travel."

Percy was quietly trying to strangle herself behind Melanie.

"oh, that must have been priceless," Sans said, bursting out in laughter.

"Next thing I know you tell him about the time you made me collapse while talking to the teacher," Percy grumbled quietly.

"Ooh, I should tell him that," Mel teased, much to Sans' delight and Percy's disdain.

"Noo," she mumbled quietly.

"There was also this one time in middle school where she constantly called her crush out as a bitch everyday. Priceless. She also beat the shit out of everyone in middle school, too. She's like..the worst tsundere ever," Melanie laughed teasingly.

"I am not! And I didn't like him. He was annoying as fuck and thought he could beat me at Pokémon, so I beat the shit out of him in a battle and made him my bitch," Percy said matter-of-factly, rising from her position of crouhing on the floor. Almost immediately, Melanie whipped around and brought her hands to Percy's sides, tickling her lightly. This was enough to send the shorter to the ground, wheezing and giggling in fetal position.

"I- f-fucking h-... hate y-you!" Percy gasped, holding her sides.

Sans watched from his vantage point from behind Melanie, trying as hard as he could not to join Percy on the ground laughing his nonexistent guts out. "wow, i have to do that, sometime," he laughed, and Melanie watched them both approvingly.

"Yeah, I snuck up behind her once while she was talking to a teacher just before the school day ended and did that to her. The teacher - Ms. Bracey, I believe - knew we were rather..mildly insane and that we did stuff like that to each other, and dismissed it as some of our antics a minute later after she coaxed a few words from Percy. It was great, especially when she tried to strangle me afterward. She couldn't reach, so she climbed onto a desk. But Ms. Bracey called her off before she could kill me," Melanie chuckled, helping Percy to her feet.

"Don't give him ideas to torture me!" Percy cried out, waving her hands frantically.

"too late," Sans hummed, and Melanie watched with smiling eyes.

"I totally ship it. Percy and Sans my OTP! You'll end up together soon enough!" Mel cried before dashing off to who she had been conversing with before Percy and Sans' arrival. The two stared after her, Percy still clutching her sides from wheezing.

"so, the bride?" Sans chuckled.

"Yeah. I give that marriage six years at best, two if she cooks," Percy chuckled, obviously joking. "And, no, no we will not ever be a thing. Now, I'm going to the room to change. Stay down here 'til I text you," she said, walking towards the elevator and getting on with the next group, leaving Sans alone in the lobby. Only for the groom to walk over.

"So, you're Sans, right?" he asked, and for a moment Sans just observed him. Tall, like Melanie, but lanky. He had scruffy blond hair that fell just a little past his ears, and had cheerful brown eyes with flecks of gold.

"mhm. mark?" Sans countered, and the man nodded. "sup."

"So, you're Percy's date? You seem to get along pretty well," he chuckled, and Sans tilted his skull. "Even though I haven't known her for as long as Mel, I've heard and known her for a bit. She's got a thing for you, no matter how much she denies it. I know she may seem like a bit of work.. Well, a lot of work, but she's worth it. Well, if you're willing to. She's asexual, and that's what chases people off the most. Plus she's a little distrusting, considering what happened to her in her high school years."

"hmm? what happened?" Sans questioned, suddenly curious.

"Well, I dunno.. But I guess since you do seem a bit interested yourself. She went on two disaster dates. Well, less than dates-"

"i thought it was three."

"Huh? Oh, the third was an attempted date between her and Mel, but a half hour they decided it was best they stay just friends. Good thing, too, 'else I wouldn't be marrying her probably. But, the other two.. Didn't work out. The first date was with a popular guy, just out of a relationship with the most popular girl of the school. Within the first hour she had been tarred and feathered. The second date.. I don't know the clear details, but something happened and everyone just stared at her. She had an anxiety attack," Mark said lowly so only Sans could hear. "Mel had to rush over and take her away before things got any worse."

"huh. dunno if i like her or not, yet," he chuckled. He honestly didn't. Percy was prewtty cool, but she was..a mystery, an enigma he wanted to figure out. Then a buzz from his pocket told him he could head up to the hotel room. He waved goodbye to Mark, thanking him for the advice before hurrying to the room. There, Percy was in fresh clothing and had damp hair while watching T.V. on the edge of the bed with a plain expression on her face, acknowledging him only with a small wave as he settled at the headboard.

Chapter Text

Percy looked at the clock when Sans stepped into their shared hotel room. She was sitting on the bed, with the comforter still in its mess from Sans sleeping only an hour and a half before. Mark's words still played in the back of his mind, and he remained standing by the door until Percy looked up, patting the open space next to her. He obliged, looking at the T.V. Some ghost show was playing.

"Hey Sans."

"yea?"

"I bet I can make you cry."

He paused, surprised. This was new. Hmm. He would play along. "ten gold."

"That's ten thousand dollars!"

"chickening out of your own bet, that's so sad i might cry," he teased, and she cast a sideways glance at him.

"Alright then. Ten gold that I can make you cry," she said, offering a hand, which he accepted. They shook on it, before Percy grinned. "Watch this whole show," she said simply, lying back and flipping so she was on her stomach.

"really? i've only seen a few ghost-y shows and they aren't tear inducing. especially for someone like me," he chuckled lowly, and she gave him an amused smile.

"It's not the show, Sans. It's the story and the thought," she hummed, directing his attention once again at the screen and the show.

It was some crew he recognized from when he was watching Frisk and they settled on a different episode. This settled on a small home in the rural parts of some place he didn't bother to remember the name of, where a murder-suicide occured, along with other deeds and such.

The beginning was with the synopsis of the crew's game plan, splitting into small groups and scouring the grounds. There was activity over the nearby land that the home occupied, and it was surprisingly old for the condition. It was also where Civil War soldiers had camped and been ambushed, all of them slaughtered by their enemies.

It had been mainly the ghosts of the soldiers the first night, considering they didn't do much in the home. Gunfire that didn't happen, whispers, they even got a name. The second night was far, far more eventful. Screams, whispers, orders to leave, shadows.. One of the team members got a bruise on their arm.

But the worst part was when just before dawn.. They heard a practical reenactment of the horrific deed performed. Behind the bathroom door, which was oddly locked considering they had left it unlocked and no one had neared, screams, the sound of water, drowning, laughter, and then the sickening sound of a metal and flesh. It send tingles down his spine.

Somewhere during the episode, Percy began quietly talking, "I could never go somewhere like that. Two seconds in and I would have a bad headache and be a bit absent, a whole minute and then I'll be having a seizure with no cure but getting me away. Like I said, I'm sensitive to places like those. I would feel every intense feeling from important memories of that place. It would only add to it with my own. If I wasn't away within a few minutes.. Who knows what could possibly happen."

She spoke no more until the end of the episode, and then she turned to Sans. "mm, so how was that suppose to make me cry?" he asked, skeptical.

"Oh, that was only the beginning. I'm about to drop the bomb. Close your eyesockets," she commanded.

"why?"

"So you can picture this, now do it!" she hissed, bringing her hands up and covering his sight before he obliged. "Okay, first the Civil War soldiers. Noble men, there to fight for the rights of people they didn't know. To fight for the rights of their friends, family, and others. Souls of bravery, justice, determination, perserverance. Doctors on hand of kindness, patience, integrity to heal them so that they keep fighting. The day has died down to night.

"A young man stands guard. He comes from a poor family, but he came to fight willingly, for the love of his life. She's waiting in another state, anxious and nervous. Just like everyone else that all the other hundred men are close to. But then, he's been on guard the past few nights, too. He's tired. His eyelids are dropping. Then? He's asleep.

"Men are hidden in the shadows, waiting for the right moment. When the young man is asleep, they have it. They rush forward under the cover of night, killing the young man and silently slipping into every tent, killing each and every man before his comrades can wake up. Blood stains every sheet, every cloth, every uniform.

"Finally, they are upon high-ranking officers. They drag them from their tents, forcing each one to see their dead comrades, murdered in their sleep. And they could do nothing. Nothing at all to save them, they're already dead. They are lined up, and upon the breach of the sun over the horizon, with fog coating the land and ravens in the bare branches of the winter trees, shots ring out. The ravens startle, cawing angrily. The men crumble to the ground, dead.

"It's a month later. Letters bearin horrible news are dispersed. Each day one is delivered, and each day a child loses a father, a sister loses a brother, a mother loses a son, a wife loses her husband. They are stricken, some even take their own lives. And the bloodshed is still not over, there is much, much more pain awaiting those still alive ahead. The suffering doesn't end fast enough.

"Now, the little girl. It's a bleak day. A man has just pledged his love to a woman, but she has already chosen a man. He is devastated, hurt. He doesn't want to live, he feels useless. It's a miracle he finds the determination to keep going. But he knows he can get conciliation.

"Years later. A girl with golden locks is gallavanting through fields of wildflowers. Her mother, the woman, is watching carefully from nearby, husband doing the same. But it is lighthearted. They are not worried too much, only going about what every parent does when they're child is romping about outside.

"The girl is a jewel. She's kind, innocent. She's bright, clever. She wants to defy the standards and become a doctor, determined at the age of only four. She is perfect. She is not guilty. She is innocent. It is her parents' fault for what is going to happen to her. But now? She is unbeknownst to the fate awaiting her.

"It's later that day. Fireflies buzz in the warm night air. Everyone is sleeping quite peaceful ly. A shadow is working its way to the house, then inside, then to the little girl's room. They waste no time, whisking her to the bathroom where water waits for her. She is plunged in, but not without a scream.

"The house is alerted. But they cannot save her. The door is locked, and the girl's father is trying desperately to get in. But by the time he does, it is too late. The girl has drowned, the man has plunged a knife into his heart.

"And it is all the mother's fault, simply because she had not made amends. She could have prevented this so easily. But now she must live with her grief. It is all. Her. Fault. Her daughter is dead, her husband rightfully blames her. Her life is in shambles and the blame rests on her.

"But that is not the end. The soldiers, the little girl, and the man must relive the torture they endured every single night. The girl must eternally pay for her mother's misgivings, her killer must forever feel the pain, the soldiers must forever be killed, the officers forever watching them die. And there is no relief. There is no peace. There is only pain until the end of time."

She removed her hand from over his eyesockets, smiling deviously when she saw shining blue tears starting to stream down the sides of his round face. She had no idea why he was really crying. Why her words had invoked such a reaction.

Because it was so fucking relatable. Just like the resets, the lack of mercy, the suffering he endured. He never knew when there would be no-mercy. He never knew where there would be neutrality. He never knew. But always, always he suffered. And it was all his fault.

He had no idea he was literally breaking down in front of Percy.

"Sans..? Sans, why are you still crying? Sans, what's bothering you?" She sounded distant. Like speaking across a field, and she just wasn't loud enough. He felt a hand, small and cold. It was not comforting. He jerked away, and felt the bed fall out beneath him. Something caught his fall. It wasn't the chilled hand. A small push back up from some force, and then the hand grabbed on and pulled him close.

He was unaware that Percy had turned everything off, and was sweating considerably. He could feel her trembling, mumbling words he didn't understand over and over again, as if assuring herself of something. There were a few small coughs that somehow shook her entire frame, and when her shaking grew, he looked up. She looked like a mess, and he returned her embrace in an attempt to steady her. Who was comforting who?

She gave a shaky smile, peeling away quite quickly and smoothing her jostled hair. "S-Sorry. Using magic on such a scale really takes a lot out of me, but.. I just couldn't let you fall. It felt wrong. Eh. But then again, magic.. For humans, it has consequences." The last part was a mumble he didn't quite catch.

"what?"

"Nothing, just me rambling," she said softly, adjusting so she was on her knees with her hands in her lap. "Okay, what's bothering you?"

"something you can't begin to understand," he said softly, flopping back onto the bed and its disarray of sheets.

"Uh-huh. Well, I'll have you know I understand a lot. So much so that I speak seven languages long forgotten, understand Old Magic a hella lot better than you, and considering that I have a scholarship for a nearby college so I can major in Physics, and minor in Chemistry. I think I understand quite a lot, Sans," she hummed happily, standing up to grab something from her bag.

"that's pretty cool, and, well, what i'm bothered by is not one of those. i think..?" It was, more or less, a question.

"Ooh, so I just might understand it," she hummed, out of sight of Sans.

"you won't, trust me."

"Fite me, Sans. I told you my problem, you tell me yours."

"well-"

"Tonight you're perfect

I wanna fall in love with the stars in your eyes

Tonight you're perfect

I wanna fall in love but only for the night~"

"Aw, shit," Percy muttered, hopping off the bed and going to answer her phone. Hm, Sans didn't know that ring tone. Percy nodded, murmuring a few words Sans could never quite catch. And then she was off the phone and looking at him, "Mm. Hey, Sans, Mel needs help with something. She called me from a friend's phone, if you're wondering why it's not 'Count On Me.' Be back in a bit."

"wait- why was it a song like that? kinda curious," he called as she was slipping her shoes into place on her feet.

"Huh? Oh, 'Tonight You're Perfect.' Uh, the person's phone she used kinda.. Always belittled me, made me feel like shit, y'know, things I usually do to myself? Kinda used that song as preparation. Y'know, kinda. I dunno. Just helps me out. Well, before this gets anymore awkward I'm gonna leave."

He relaxed significantly into the blankets. He was safe for a little bit longer.

Chapter Text

The night before the wedding, Percy's sleep was devoid of any dreams, nor nightmares. She had stood from her position on the floor upon awakening and rubbed her aching neck, rolling her narrow shoulders. "So I did fall asleep.. Wonder when," she hummed lowly to herself. Then she went over to Sans, shaking him awake rather violently.

"Sans.. Sans, wake the fuck up! How many times do I have to wake you up like this!?" she said, voice exasperated.

"wh.." he muttered sleepily, and she finally resorted to yanking him from the bed and dumping him on the ground in a heap of bones and blankets, accomplished smile bright on her features. "hey! i was sleeping!" he yelled through the blankets, trying to find his way out from the mound.

"And the wedding is in two hours, so, once again, get the fuck up," she said simply, hands on her narrow hips. He groaned in response before disentangling himself so he could stand up, glaring down the inch he was taller than her. She glared right back.

"You go shower, because you are stinky. Like seriously, how the hell? You're a skeleton," she muttered incredulously, putting emphasis on each syllable of 'skeleton.'

"mmmmagic," he said, his usual half-assed explanation with the addition of jazz hands.

"Holy shit, you are tacky," she muttered, shoving him toward the bathroom. "Now take a shower, and I already took one last night to save us the awkwardness. Meanwhile, I'm going to go in the closet and I better come out to a skeleton in a suit and not some shitty bowtie shirt or someone's gonna get his pelvis kicked to hell and back," she said, before grabbing her bag and fleeing to the closet.

An hour later and Percy had traded closet for bathroom, Sans catching a glimpse of only her long hair as she swept into the door, shutting it immediately after. A half hour later and Sans was sitting on the bed in front of the television, wearing a crisp black suit and navy tie that.. wasn't tied. He had nice, black dress shoes and was fiddling with his cufflinks while the show played when Percy came out.

"hey perc- holy shit," he began, before cutting off.

Percy looked good in the dress. By the way, that's a complete understatement. The dark colors complimented her pale skin quite nicely, and the silver made her oddly-colored eyes - with their deep silver color and hazel burst in the center - stand out more. Her hair looked good with the navy, falling in natural waves down her back to just below her shoulder blades, which Sans noted were a bit larger than the average person's. That was odd. And she wore makeup! Nothing big, just a little on her eyes and some lipstick, but it irritated her just enough to be a constant in the back of her mind. The skirt of her dress fell to her knees, and her shoes were the same, simple navy flats. She wore no jewelry except a silver charm bracelet with only three charms, but he couldn't tell what they were.

Percy's many freckles disappeared with the furious blush that accompanied Sans' staring. "D-do you think th-this is g-good?" she asked quietly, voice bridging on a whisper.

"totally! you look great, perc! but, uh, can ya help me?" he said sheepishly, and she then noted his untied tie.

"Uh, maybe? Let mme look up how to do that, because I have legit, no idea at all," she said simply, retrieving her phone from some discreet pocket on her dress and searching up, before instructing him to hold it while she worked.

"If I get tied up in this, I'm fully blaming you," she said, halfway through, and he shrugged.

"can't blame me if you were the one being knotty," he shrugged, and she chuckled as she tightened it just enough, before backing off. She nodded approval, before taking her phone from him since he was ng it up for her to look at.

"Well, we've got fifteen minutes to get there," she said simply, before walking to the door and pulling it open. "You take the other card, just in case," she suggested, and he nodded. Then he was walking out the room door, before Percy grabbed his shoulder. He looked over, noting the charms were a little circle with some engraving he couldn't make out, an owl, and a dream catcher.

"You clean up good. Thanks for doing this, too, it means a lot," she said with a warm smile, before both continued on their way.

The wedding was held in a local garden, of which Percy forgot the name of, and afterward everything else would be at the hotel. It was overflowing with blooming plants, and almost immediately upon entering it, Percy sneezed. And sneezed. And sneezed.

"Oh shit," she muttered, sneezing into her arm.

"you alright?" Sans asked, curious as to what was wrong. He didn't know what human allergies were.

"Allergies," she muttered, distaste in her tone.

"what?"

"Oh, forgot you don't know what those are. They make me sneeze, get stuffy, overall just make me miserable. Lucky enough, I prepared! ... And haha, funny thing, I fucking left my medicine at the hotel," she groaned, shoving her head into a nearby plant, only making her allergies worse. She grumbled.

"i can take a shortcut and get it for you," Sans suggested.

"No way you'll make it there and back here in time," she said simply, shaking her head.

"nah, i can do it. no skin off my nose," he offered, chuckling a bit after.

"You shithead. And fine, but you be back here quick. It's a little bottle called Cleratin in my bag, now go quickly before everything starts," she said urgently, before she went to their seats. For five minutes she sat nervously, before she saw Sans' skull bobbing toward her. Flushed blue. She raised a brow in suspicion of the blue and how he did that so quickly. Because, what the hell? Then he slipped into the seat next to her, shoving the bottle of little pills at her and sweating proficiently. It was then she crumbled into quiet laughter upon realization.

"You touched a bra by accident, didn't you?" she choked out through her quiet laughs.

"y-yes.."

"Was it used?"

"y-y-yes..." He was a blueberry, and Percy was loving it.

"Ah, don't worry 'bout it. Unless ya fuckin' did something with it, then I'll kick your pelvis," she said, before sliding comfortably back into her seat. He took on his normal ivory white, breathing a sigh of relief despite the lack of lungs. And needing to breathe. She popped a Cleratin, and then pointed out it was empty and had only one left before tossing it away.

Minutes later Melanie was making her way down the aisle, led by a man that appeared to be in his fifties. He was beaming, and Percy recognized him as Mel's father, to which she gave a small wave, and he cast her a warm glance. Man, he had been like a father to her when her own was off killing deer for food. It made her heart swell with warmth.

Mark was beaming, and quickly after, both were going down rather lengthy lists of vows. That was when Percy nudged Sans.

"I'm glad we're in the shade, or else I would be sweating. Mel must be hella baking unless that dress has air conditioning. Like, seriously? Sorry Mel, but are you trying to turn everyone to bacon? If I was getting married - which will likely never happen, mind you - I would have it in the fall. and not just because that's my favorite season. The oranges and reds go great with white, making the bride look hella good, especially if she has gold and such on her. If she puts her bridesmaids in light golds they'll look good. And hold in on the right day in the right place and everyone will be happy. Things look good, good food is in season, not too hot, not too cold. Perfect. Or as perfect as it can get. But then again.. you always have to pay attention to Murphy's Law," she said quietly as Mark went over his vows.

"what's murphy's law?" Sans asked quietly, and Percy grinned. She wasn't even looking at him when he glanced over.

"I'll tell you later," she chuckled lowly, and then the ceremony went on with nothing else spoken.

After Melanie and Mark were officially married (Percy called out to them and yelled, “You two are the M n’ M couple!”), they were off to the hotel. Luckily enough, it was in walking distance, so that was good. And that meant Percy was walking along with Sans, a pleasant smile on her features. Then a figure drove through the crowds next to her, and she struggled to hold her composure.

"Hey, Percy," he said. Goddammit, it was Brad. Sans cast a glance over at Percy, and she looked highly irritated. But that was a feeling only in her eyes, the rest of her face had her usual poker face.

"Hey, Brad. Here to call me a chicken again?" Percy retorted, her voice very subtlety toxic. Under her breath, he could hear her mutter, "Was making me a fool not enough in High School?"

Was that the guy who made her so distrusting on dates..?

"C'mon Percy, that date was in Junior year, aren't you over it?" he responded light-heartedly.

Yep, definitely the guy.

"Uh, no. You tarred and feathered me, then shoved me in a lake. Did you even see me get out?" she said icily, voice sharp. Sans could tell she wasn't happy. At all.

"Nnnnno, but you're here now! And it was just a prank," he said, shrugging.

"Just a prank. Okay, okay. It was just a prank where I almost died. But, because I'm a good person, I..forgive you," she said simply.

how can you forgive him? forgive someone who made a fool of you, almost killed you..? Sans thought, giving her a side-glance. He rested a hand on her shoulder in reassurance and what he hoped to be encouragement.

"Oh, good. Then I can talk about how everyone from high school will be here and watching you, just you. Because, y'know, we just want to make sure you're good. We'll be judging you. For high school, your monster date, everything," Brad said, a grin peeking on his lips.

Sans expected Percy to all out tell him to fight her, to slap him, to do something for what he said. But she did nothing. In fact, she seemed to..start shaking? Was there sweat beading slightly on her forehead. Sans gave her shoulder a light squeeze. She looked panicked, her steps were slowing, and Sans kept her pace until they were left behind from everyone else. Then he looked over at her, and he saw her lips moving.

There was no sound.

He shook her shoulder slightly, and she snapped from her trance. Slightly, she was still trembling beneath his hand, and he didn't know what to think. What had Brad done?

"you alright?" he asked, unsure of how to help. He didn't even know what was wrong.

"U-uh. Fine. Let's just..keep walking," she murmured, and then she was walking faster, and his hand slipped from her shoulder before he followed.

He didn't even notice how cold her shoulder was in the heat of the sun.

Then they were at the hotel again, and an hour and a half or so in, everyone was idly going about their business. Percy had calmed down significantly, and Sans was sitting at their table while she was in the bathroom.

There wasn't live music, and instead a DJ. Who appeared to be... Well, wouldn't you believe it? It was Napstablook running it all, and he appeared, as far as Sans could tell, fairly enjoying himself. Sans looked towards the direction had wandered off to. Well, she had said he could do whatever considering she had people to catch up with..

He was out of his seat in seconds, making his way towards the ghost through the maze of tables and people dancing. Then he was next to Napstablook, grin slightly genuine to see a familiar face of ectoplasm and other ghost-y things.

"sup, napsta," he said, causing the ghost to look up from what he was tending to.

"oh... hey sans... i didn't expect to see you here..." he said softly, and the skeleton shrugged.

"here for a friend," he said, as if it were really that simply. Which it..kinda was.

"that's nice... well, you can stay if you want... you don't have to.." the ghost responded, before returning his attention back to the setup.

Out of the corner of his eye socket, he saw a flicker of navy on the edge of the crowd. He turned his attention fully to it, recognizing a smiling Percy. She was making her way to their table. And then someone brushed past her, their face turned toward her. Their lips moved, and then they were gone, but Percy continued on with that smile. Then another person, same as the last. But her smile faltered, and when it returned it was almost unnoticeably smaller from across the sea of people. Then a third, and Percy's smile was small and thin. A fourth, and the smile was gone. A fifth, and as far as Sans could tell, Percy didn't look too good.

Sans was swimming through the people in seconds, trying to make his way to a drowning Percy. In moments he had gotten through, and was pulling her aside. She was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane, and seemed to shrink beneath the fedora on her head. Once they were away and around a corner, time seemed to stop. Seemed. It got significantly colder, but she didn't seem to notice. Only when he grasped her other hand in his did he realize what was going on, what was wrong.

Percy had social anxiety. Bad social anxiety. Her nightmares, or most, made so much sense. That she.. Hated the judgement, hated the gazes, hated it all. But what he couldn't understand was..how she survived. Her friends spoke so largely of her, of all the daring things she had done in straight up public. How she was the bravest of them all. It was all so confusing, he didn't want to think about it.

He snapped from his thoughts, realizing he was the only thing holding Percy up. Her legs had given out beneath her, and she was whispering things he didn't understand, words he wasn't familiar with. He caught the name 'Finner' and 'fire' somewhere in it all. He looked at her, looked at her with her head hung low, so.. withered, broken. He didn't know this Percy. He felt distaste towards this Percy. And he needed to find a way to get the Percy he knew well back.

"how do you do it..?" he grumbled under his breath, mentally cursing himself.

"..don't-.. don't...think," she whispered, before succumbing to weak silence. Sans looked up, surprise blatantly evident on his features. Don't think. What the hell did that mean!? He didn't fucking get it. Don't think. Oh yeah, yeah, that would totally help.

And then it clicked.

The only way she survived her anxiety was to not think. Not think about the people, not think at all. He didn't understand it all the way, but he knew he needed to distract her. He needed to keep her mind away from everyone's eyes on her, and then, hopefully, she would be fine. Or at least semi-okay. And that was enough for him. The only problem was that he didn't know how.

He knew a lot of things that distracted Percy. Magic, music, Frisk, animals.. But he had none of that, or well, he did.. Sort of. He couldn't use magic yet. Percy said she was vulnerable to it, and he didn't want to teleport or anything potentially dangerous. The music.. It wasn't enough. Frisk wasn't here. There were no animals Percy could look at. He had nothing.

But he did.

He could dance. He knew how much it helped her, how much it helped him. But.. After the resets, he had lost all motives. Why put forth everything only to have it wiped away constantly? He still didn't trust Frisk. He still didn't dance, he didn't want to do it if it did nothing for anything. No motives, no reasons, no source of determination. Then there was Percy, and he found a small spark of determination set deep in his soul.

He slightly tightened his grip on her wrist, but still gentle. Then he was tugging her along, and she struggled to attention, absently following along. What else could she do? Everything was falling apart from her, and she could only follow. Her mind was shut down, it couldn't process. Percy was absent in herself.

Soon it was them, a duo, on the floor. Several people quickly fled upon their arrival, but he found their eyes were not on him, but on Percy. Melanie had noticed, and looked on in worry and concern on her features. Sans gave a small nod to Napstablook, who was watching oddly carefully, before recognizing the gesture. Within moments, familiar music was playing.

He was rusty. He hadn't danced in..years, not counting the resets. And with a partner..? God, and this time there was no hood. It was just him, just Percy, just the music. He realized just how effective her 'don't think' tactic was. Oddly enough, he couldn't feel the eyes, the judgements. And neither did Percy. Her silver eyes snapped to life, shedding their dimness in trade for a brightness unmatched.

There was no way to describe it in specifics when they danced. Percy was fluid, each movement in sync with Sans and the music. Sometimes they mirrored, sometimes they didn't. Sometimes they touched, sometimes they didn't. There were many, many sometimes. And one constant. Always, they were looking, focused on each other. And damn did it help a lot.

Percy couldn't tell time like this, and when the music was gone and she stopped, she could feel all eyes on her. All attention on her. But her focus, her gaze? It was on one person, the one she immediately dragged away from the scene by the arm. The one she pushed around a corner.

The only one who noticed she was smiling.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot. Thanks for noticing. Thanks for caring. Thanks for doing that. Thanks for helping. Thanks for saving me. Thanks, thanks, thanks," she said, voice far too quick for Sans to register anything other than 'thanks' being repeated over and over. He didn't even realize how much he was genuinely grinning.

"no problem. no problem at all. i did what i could to help," he said simply, shrugging lightly.

"God, you're dumb. You don't even notice that you wouldn't do that for anyone else, that you haven't danced in years and I got you to dance just by having an anxiety attack," she said. "Undyne, Alphys, Frisk, Papyrus.. They told me everything. Meaning I have to tell them everything, too." Good, she was Percy again. "But first, I am tired and-"

"Percy! Percy, oh my god, are you alright?" Melanie asked urgently, interrupting them with worry plain on her.

"Yeah. Fine. Uh, Sans helped me," she said softly, sheepishly. Melanie sagged with relief in her dress, before regaining her smile from earlier.

"Good, good. Also, a fedora, really? God, that joke was so old. Albeit, you look fucking amazing. Now, I know how much your..attacks get to you so.. You can go if you want, I don't mind. Because, Percy, I care about you. And I bet Sans does, too. So.. Get some rest, recuperate. And go ahead and stuff a doggy bag or two with food," she said carefully, adding the last part with a light hearted grin and a wink, before disappearing around the corner.

"she's right, y'know. 'bout the rest part," Sans said quietly after a moment of silence. She looked over at him, slinging an arm around his neck with a lazy smile.

"Alright. But first, let me get some cake, a'ight?" she said, and then she was slipping back into the large room.

"alright," Sans responded softly, following soon after with a similar smile on his features.

She disappeared through the crowds, gently pushing past people. She offered a smile to every face, every stare. It was natural. Then she was at the food, getting herself a sizeable piece of cake before slipping from view. It was only then that she sagged, setting her cake aside and taking off her hat, rubbing the back of her neck. Her icy hands were a comfort on the heated skin.

Her mind was in beat with her heart, going faster than ever before. Her breathing was quick, short. Her mind was on the attack. The words the people said. Everything. She remembered every word, every movement.

"Everyone's looking at you."

"Everyone's watching."

"Everyone's judging you, Percy."

"There's no escape."

"We're all judging you, Percy."

She swallowed thickly, rubbing a hand through her thin strands of hair. God, she hoped she didn't hear the words she said. About Finner. About her parents. About everything. She hoped, God, she hoped so badly he didn't notice her hands were icy. She rubbed them together, hoping, for goddamn once, she was hoping, the heat from the friction. A moment later, she sighed in frustration. No dice.

She looked over at her cake, eyeing it. Looked good. "Well, might as well drown my sorrows in hopefully good cake," she muttered, grabbing it almost immediately after and picking off a chunk with her fork, taking a tentative bite. Yup, worthy of drowning her problems in for now.

Chapter Text

After the wedding, Percy and Sans had returned to the hotel room exhausted. Percy was the first to disappear into the bathroom, taking a bundle of comfortable clothing she would sleep in and likely wear the next day with her. She had double-checked to make sure the door was locked before taking a shower, drying herself quickly before putting on the clothes she had brought, and then drying her hair. Then she came out to find Sans in the middle of changing. Luckily, oh thank goodness, his lower half was hidden by the bed.

As quick as she had opened the door, she closed it. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she found she was quite red. Extremely. Redder than a tomato, if that was possible. She took a moment to calm herself, shaking the red from her face before gathering her dress and other things up and calling "Are there no more naked skellies in the room?" She couldn't help but snort at herself.

"no," he replied, and she stepped out.

"Thank goodness, too humid in there for me," she muttered, avoiding his gaze as she went to her bag, dumping her clothes unceremoniously into it. When she looked up, he was sprawled on the bed. She narrowed her eyes, completely forgetting what had transpired minutes before. "I'm sleeping on the bed tonight," she declared.

"nuh," he responded, not moving an inch.

"Yeah. I slept on the floor the past two nights, and I am not sharing," she said simply, stepping forward.

"no," he muttered, loud enough for her to here. He wasn't even looking at her.

"I'm gonna jump on that bed, and you," she announced.

"i don't care," he said, not believing her one bit.

He should of believed her, and man did he when she backed up and came running at the bed, only to leap forward at the last second. She tumbled right into him, sending them both reeling into the headboard. In his stunned silence, she shoved him off the bed and sprawled out, somehow occupying the whole of comfy blankets and pillows.

"is that how it's gonna be?" he asked from the floor, standing up and glaring at her.

"Yes, yes it is how it's gonna be," she said smugly, purposefully snuggling deeper into the comforter to taunt him. And then she her vision was tinted blue, and she realized Sans was levitating her off the bed.

"HEY NOW! THAT'S CHEATING!" she announced, before pausing. She focused on the magic, and a moment later it flickered, then blinked out, and she tumbled. Unfortunately for her, she was already halfway floated from the bed, and bounced off the edge to the floor. She righted herself fairly quickly, peeking over the edge of the bed so only her eyes and top of her nose were visible. Her silver eyes narrowed significantly when she noted Sans very smugly looking at her. The TV was sadly ignored.

"Bastard, using your skelekinesis magic shit or whatever, even though it's just blue magic," she muttered, glaring at him. She then stood, fixing her clothes before walking around the edge of the bed, glaring at him the whole time. She shoved him to one side of the bed, before backing up and once again running and leaping, albeit this time she didn't go very far. He went over the edge, catapulted by Percy, and she grinned.

"Physics, bitch," she crowed, before bouncing over to the edge and looking at Sans. He was struggling against opaque bindings that took the form of thin strings, and she curiously gazed at him. "That's new," she chuckled, jumping down and picking him up, dumping him in the spot where she had slept previously before bouncing back to the bed and leaving the TV on.

Minutes later Sans was snoring peacefully, and she released her hold on her magic. She pulled out her phone, opening her shared text messages with Undyne and Alphys. Pulling up the keyboard, she started tapping away.

percy:  yoooo, back at the room from the wedding. it went pretty well, pretty cool. my allergies acted up a bit through, but sans got medicine. also, wtf r his shortcuts? the fuck, how did he go so damn fast? oh, and im gonna play this off as no big deal when i know its actually true but i got snas to dance ;)

She chuckled, tapping send. Near immediately she got a response.

Alphys: Sans' shortcuts? He teleports. You didn't know that? ALSO YOU GOT HIM TO DANCE HOLY GOODNESS. he totally likes you, percy (i totally ship it)

UNDYNE: WHOA PUNK, YOU GOT HIM TO DANCE!? THATS SO FUCKING COOL! (I ship it too)

She narrowed her eyes at the last bits, raising a brow.

percy: wtf r u talking about? the shit does that mean? we're friends ya dumbies. JUST friends

Alphys: You say that now, but just wait!

UNDYNE: Punk, he danced with you! He hasn't danced for so damn long and nothing could get him to but YOU, so its gotta mean SOMETHING!

Percy shook her head dismissively and closed out of the conversation, instead reaching out to the bedside table and grabbing her ear buds, putting them in and plugging in the end into her phone. She put on the shuffle on her Pandora for her twenty-something radios. She was glad she let her phone charge instead of taking it to the wedding. She opened one of her downloaded books, and began reading away.

She just couldn't sleep despite being quite tired.

For hours on she read, read far into the early hours. She read until she got a headache and her silver eyes ached, and the words danced on the screen, forcing her to blink several times to force them still. Only when her phone met 30% somewhere around 4 am in the morning did she turn everything off and plug it in, taking an odd position that was strangely comfortable. Strangely enough, she met a dreamless sleep quite quickly.

She was the first to wake up, soundlessly putting on the over sized jacket she always wore. She packed her things into her duffel bag, even cleaning up some of the few things of Sans littered around and shoving them into his bag. Opening the curtains to the room, she noted it was the time before dawn. The moon had set, but the sun had yet to rise. She hummed quietly as she moved, cleaning up soundlessly.

When she was done, she knelt down and shook Sans gently. He awoke fairly quickly, blinking open his eye sockets to see Percy with dark circles beneath her silver eyes, some of her hair (which was lazily done up in a terrible bun that left strands to frame her face, not counting her lengthy bangs) blocking slips of her face.

"this is the first time over this trip you haven't woken me up telling me to 'get the fuck up,'" he chuckled, sitting up as she moved aside quietly to the opposite side. Before he knew it, Percy had yanked the blankets from below and above him and tossed them on the bed, snatching the pillow from below his head so that it gently hit the carpet.

"Get the fuck up," she said smugly, offering a hand to him that he accepted as she pulled him to his feet. She then turned, grabbing his bag and jacket before tossing them at him without little warning, but he still (barely) caught.

"I already cleaned up everything, so we just gotta turn in our crap and go," she said, grabbing the keys before opening the door and holding it open with a gesture. He nodded, putting on his jacket and grabbing his bah before walking past her and listening without looking back as she closed the door and hurried to his side.

They walked wordlessly to the elevator, sitting in comfortable silence as they waited before boarding. Percy pressed the ground floor button as she entered, taking the corner parallel to the buttons and Sans the opposite to her.

On their descent, Percy looked up from the amazingly interesting ground, looking at Sans with a grin. "You're driving back," she said, chuckling. Sans shrugged in response, as then the elevator alerted them they had met their floor, to which they dismounted.

After a few minutes spent returning items to the worn and tired young woman working the desk, the two head out. At the car, after unlocking it, Percy tossed Sans the keys before opening the passenger door to get in.

Within moments they were out, and surprisingly it was Sans who initiated conversation.

"what did you say the other night about physics and all that?" he asked, casting a glance to Percy, who shrugged.

"Turns out my, uh, old teacher from high school had friends in Ebott University. They found out about me being down here and, since we were close, pulled some strings so I can get in without paying too much. Otherwise I can cover it. And about the physics part and all that? I was an excellent science student, sometimes even teaching the class if the teacher wasn't feeling up to it or was busy. Sure, my grades in Social Studies, foreign languages, and sometimes in English weren't A's, just B's that just scraped by. But otherwise I was good."

Sans nodded along, eye lights focused ahead. "why physics, though?"

"Mm. That's a bit deeper. As a kid, I had this endless desire, this unquenchable thirst, to know how everything worked. I already knew how a lot of magic worked.. I was a black hole for everything. I learned a lot just about how everything worked, understood every odd and end because I was curious. I grew pretty close to the librarian and each place, too. Heh. I had this thing for the oceans and space, too. When you have no friends but for your adopted sibling, you do..a lot. Foster homes often learned to trust me as a responsible person, and they let me wander with Frisk a lot.

"After I got separated with Frisk.. I made friends with Mel, and we spent a lot of time together. Her family kind of adopted me, too. I mean, officially, yeah. But I kept my name and all that, so it was really like.. Them letting me stay with them. I still had a lot of time on my hands when I wasn't helping teachers or just sucking up knowledge. So thats when I took up music. I got close to the owner of a local music store. I learned flute, piano, and did a lot of singing. I earned some extra cash really easily. I also play strings..kinda. I'll explain if you ask the right questions.

"Then I learned how instruments worked. Sound waves, vibrations, the whole wazoo. After that I.. Still kept up, kept on learning and understanding. Naturally I took up chemistry, too. And I may or may not have the periodic chart memorized," she said, chuckling at the last bit. Until she dimmed just before continuing. "But.. After I lost Frisk.. I had so, so much time. And.. I tried not to let myself think about them or..my past. It would hurt too much, I knew that all too well. So I kept finding more and more ways to occupy myself."

Sans nodded quietly, and the two sat in a stiff silence for longer than just a few minutes. However, Percy disliked it. Instead, she turned to Sans, lacing her fingers together in her lap and looking at him. "Sans, I know this is hella personal but I have the right since you invaded my privacy by spying on me, but do you have family other than Paps?"

Sans shrugged loosely. "don't worry 'bout it. and we do. our dad," he said, before glancing at Percy, "what 'bout you, perc?"

She stiffened, immediately looking to the right. She could feel Sans' gaze on her back, and she  pulled her sweatshirt close. "I do. But they're not an animal. Or..alive," she said quietly, voice a little mumble. "But they're not important, because they made bad decisions. It was their own fault for their demise," she said, voice louder and more firm as she turned and sat in her seat correctly.

"mm. hey, what did you mean last night when you saw the weird magic strings and said 'that's new'?" he asked curiously, and she shrugged.

"As previously stated, I can reverse certain soul colors. 'Course, I forgot to mention if the soul was the same color and I tried to reverse it I may kill the soul's owner," she nervously chuckled, "but that's nothing big. I also can stop small attacks as long as they don't exceed my defense or attack. And if in a place of significant emotions like hospitals and such, I experience headaches, seizures, emotional and/or mental breakdowns, and possibly death, along with other not-exactly pleasant things. 

"Now, I was perfectly aware of my strings, but never had I manifested them. Usually my magic just kinda sorta possesses pre-existing strings, manipulating them at my will. That's why I pick up string instruments easily. Leave me alone on a music store and the music'll never stop!" She winked at him.

"Or at least until I pass out from exhaustion. Mm. Well, I'm gonna put on some music," she said simply. Hooking up Pandora, she sat back and talked as she awaited the music. "Another reason I don't dance often. Sometimes my magic, when I dance.. Goes a bit off the rocks. It will possess the threads of people's clothing, and basically unravel it. I.. Learned that the hard way." She chuckled, allowing silence as the music began. What she heard made Sans snicker and her eyes shoot open. She had forgotten to change the piano station she had been listening to the night (and early morning) previously.

"you like music like that? i thought you were fast and upbeat!" he snorted, to which her face flushed furious rosy hues.

"Shut up!! Its good music and fun to play and listen to when I'm reading," she said sharply, switching the radio quickly to something far more her style. She turned, crossing her arms and shifting in her seat. "Asshole."

"my, perc, must i, once again, point out that i lack an ass?"

"Fuck you."

"i'm sure you'd love to do that, but i'm a skeleton," he said smugly.

"OH MY STARS, I'M ASEXUAL, SANS YOU ASS!" she hollered, blush somehow intensifying. Such lovely colors, they mimicked the sunrise.

"no ass to be, perc."

"FRUSTRATION!" she suddenly shouted, before burrowing into her jacket.

Chapter Text

You were tired. But fucking insomnia loved to make you it's bitch. It only affected you until early morning, when you gain a horrid headache and submit to sleep, insomnia leaving you to the wolves of sleep limbo. On the weekends and summers, you remembered, you had slept well into the afternoon, rarely leaving your bed. And everyone knew trying to get you out was a futile effort.

You remember some of the fosters and people at the orphanages saying that you were often energetic lying effortlessly about you. They wanted you out of their hair, as your thirst for knowledge drove you to stealing books to quench it. And you had been energetic, you still wore. But it came less and less.

They simply thought you were being tired because of growth. And you went with that thought, playing your constant tire away. Insomnia would not have you sleep as long as you did. No, you slept to be away from your problems. Even as a child of only six, you slept days away, reading in the times of wake. 

And then when you were eight, Frisk was slapped into your life, not even a month old. That damn kid. As soon as they could, they dragged you from your bed. Your den, as one orphanage-worker proclaimed. The place where you hid from the world and your problems. Eventually they invaded your sleep in the form of nightmares, but with Frisk's appearance, you woke up sweating with your breathing labored less and less.

They helped you sleep when you couldn't, and you did the same for them. You forgot about your mother, Finner, Jaseville. They did linger at the back of your mind, but their presence was often disregarded. At night when Frisk was fast asleep, you would sneak to your more animalistic family. Otherwise, your past was forgotten.

Occasionally you could hear the more gossiping women who worked at the orphanage talking of your mysterious appearance. A dainty little girl of five battered and bloodied, with seemingly no recollection of her past but for her name, "Percy." You lied so easily after that, features flat and voice deadpan. They never questioned, it made things easy.

At the moment, you were just staring out the window at the scenery flying past. Your right hand cradled your chin, silver eyes flicking to follow. It was when the familiar and intense ache of your wrist caused you to shift, trading position in for just simply sitting plainly. You cast a glimpse to your left, to Sans.

He was sweating, and leaning as far left as he could manage. Turning in your seat, you looked at him with a puzzled expression. And then you saw a sign fly by, with a name of a small rural town that is far from your home. Your jaw went slack, hanging open. And then your voice pierced the air,

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

So that was why he was leaning left. To avoid your more-than-likely-to-occur rage. Damn was he in for a surprise.

You groaned after a moment, closing your eyes and once again slacking into the seat. "Sans, pull over," you said calmly, and a moment later he obeyed.

Wordlessly you traded places, and before he even buckled you slammed down the gas, switching gears and hauling ass down the empty road that Sans had driven you both down. He was suddenly sweating profusely yet again, and while doubling the speed limit you cast a glance at him.

"why are you driving so fast!? how do you know how to drive this fast!?" he huffed out, borderlining hyperventilating. His left eye was flickering cyan and a pale yellow. You remembered feeling familiar, powerful magic when you two had "fought." And such powerful magic made the constant throbbing in the back of your head all the more intense, not even counting how your lungs were tightening.

"I told you I wasn't the most clean kid, right? Got into trouble a lot, Mel's parents weren't having shit. So I learned how to get out of those situations. Not in the most desirable way. 'Course, when you guys came up I dumped the crew I was in and left. I totally didn't street race and you are never telling Undyne or she'll arrest my ass," you said coolly.

For a few moments he was silent, but you could see his eye slowly but surely calming. So you just kept talking despite most focus being on the road ahead. "Yup. Ever since I was eighteen, so that's about three years. That was also the reason I could come here so quick. My house was cheap, furnished too. Sold my street racing car and bought this to fit in, used my money to get out of there without a trace. Albeit, I have a knack for doing that anyway. Getting out of places without a trace, I mean."

You sighed, seeing an oncoming car in the distance. Immediately everything about you laxed, headache and lungs included, and the car slowed to just below the speed limit. To your right Sans practically melted into the seat. A nearby sign glided by, and your eyes caught the text just before it passed. You nodded in silent approval, as you had correctly rerouted yourself through the unused roads before taking once again to the main roads.

"I'm never letting you drive again, Sans," you said simply, pulling into a gas station to refuel. Through the windows you could see an employee with heavy bags, only awake because their shift was ending soon. God, you were glad you weren't them. Street racing wasn't the best choice, but it kept you out of the torture that was jobs like those.

They reminded you of the person you had talked about to Sans, but never named. You refused to say their name, even think it. They were dead. Nine or so years ago, the building went up in flames. At the time you had seen the news broadcast, they had yet to find any survivors, either in the carnage of the charred building or that could have possibly gotten out. But, judging by how quick the house had gone up in flames and come down, it was near impossible.

And then the woman watching clicked off the TV and announced it was time for bed.

You had never liked that bitch.

You turned on the radio, unwilling to reveal anything about yourself further. No. You had revealed so little of yourself, unintentionally revealed as well, and Sans, as far as you've learned, was a nosy little shit. One day he'll see your soul flicker, and try and see past what he initially saw. Then your game is over. But for now, masking your soul is easy enough.

Unintentionally, you thought back to it. You shook your head. Thinking about it made your near-constant headache worse. And Sans would likely be able to feel the drastic change. You were actually sort of proud of yourself that you hid it so well. Or that you maintained it for six months, even with the sudden more-frequented use of magic.

To your right, Sans was snoring away quite peacefully. You sighed, before the next song came on. You recognized the beat, and suddenly you were beating lightly on the cheap leather wheel and loudly singing the lyrics of Daylight by Matt & Kim.

Completely unbeknownst Sans was grinning a bit more widely at your sudden mood lighten, or even that he wasn't asleep.

Several hours later, you were in front of the apartment building the brothers had chosen to take up residence in. Sans had finally fallen truly asleep, so know you were violently shaking his shoulder. When all attempts were futile, you growled quietly. Until an idea strut into your mind like Mettaton into a club.

You  over the center, maneuvering your hand to find where his seat belt was clicked into place. Undoing it, you let it slide to its respective state, Sans now lightly sagging against the door, still deep in slumber. Then you reached across his lap and to the door handle, making sure it was unlocked before opening it, but still kept it so he was alright. Then you shoved it away from you as hard as you could, and Sans tumbled out of the car.

"h-hey!" he erupted with. He sat up, shaking gravel from his hoodie and shirt before looking at your snickering form, forehead against the top of your steering wheel. Narrowing his eye sockets, he used blue magic to slam your head semi-lightly against the steering wheel, to which you whined.

"Asshole! Now get your stuff and go see Paps, he probably misses you," you said simply, unlocking the back door.

Speak of the devil, the tall, innocent skeleton came bounding out of the building, tears leaking out of shining eye sockets as he rushed up behind Sans and hoisted him into a tight hug. You smiled at the show of brotherly affection, but felt your soul ache slightly with regret, grief, and other feelings of melancholy. For a moment, it rolled off your soul, but soon your magic muted it.

Papyrus was going off about his adventures and how he had missed Sans so. You didn't bother to pay attention, too busy  with your own thoughts. Then suddenly you heard your name- or nickname, more or less. You looked up, blinking in confusion and puzzlement. Sans was still in Papyrus's grasp, but now Papyrus had Sams' bag.

They were saying goodbye. You smiled. "Bye guys. See ya whenever Frisk drags my ass to do..whatever with y'all," you said, before gesturing for them to close the doors. The brothers did so, and you heard a murmur.

You paused, unaware Sans had whispered something just before the door closed. But then you shrged it off. Hearing things wasn't entirely uncommon for you, and that was the last thing on your mind as you finally drove home.

Only to realize you forgot Ria and Piper at Toriel's, quickly getting them before returning home and sleeping for the rest of the day.

Because fuck that.

Chapter Text

It was several days after the trip with Sans. Percy had just come home from work early, dumping her messenger bag of work near the door and kicking off her shoes. She ran a hair through her hair for a moment, before taking a deep breath and checking the thermostat. It was at its usual temperature, one that was good for the parakeet and canine who inhabited her home with her. She didn't want to freeze them with the temperatures she would prefer the room be at.

Walking to the fridge, she reached in and pulled out a sandwich she had made the other day but never eaten. Taking the plastic off the wheat bread, she was just about to take a bite when the landline burst to life, ringing loudly in announcement of an incoming call. She grumbled slightly, setting down the food before walking over and picking up.

"Yoooooo, Percy speaking. But I mean I live alone so who else would pick up? Anyway, what's up Alph?" she drawled, knowing it was Alphys thanks to the glorious invention of Caller ID. Thank goodness for that.

"H-hey P-Percy! U-Undyne and I w-w-wanted t-to see i-if y-y-you, um, w-wanted t-to, um, h-have an Anime Night to talk about your trip and your dance with Sans!" she said. The sooner that Alphys had reached the end, the faster and more confident she had gotten. Percy stalled her answer for a moment.

Percy wasn't an all-out fan for anime. Sure, she would watch it sometimes, but it wasn't her first choice. That was usually something in the comedy spectrum. Or sci-fi. She was also aware that Undyne and Alphys were serious shippers. And that even extended further into actual life and people. They went insane over their ships. Even Alphys. But, Percy knew she couldn't deny them.

"Uh.. I don't think I have anything planned. I'm just surprised you came to me. Usually you go to.. Frisk or Pap first, or something," she said, actually curious.

Percy paused, attention grabbed by Ria, who was pawing the back door and whining. Before the canine could advance into barking Percy opened the door and the dog slipped into her fenced backyard.

"Hmm? Oh! Frisk is on a date!! Toriel doesn't watch anime. Plus, Sans and Mettaton don't like anime. Papyrus only allowed if Toriel or Sans is there!" Alphys explained enthusiastically.

"Mm. Okay- WAIT FRISK IS ON A DATE!?" she suddenly exploded, feeling the magic constantly buzzing around her thicken. She could feel her strings grow taut, the magic that formed them reaching out and possessing the nearest thread, then spreading to those around it. Which happened to be her hair, which now floated around her head as if she were submerged in liquid, blindingly white. She batted it from her face whenever it got to close, too engrossed with the call to fix it.

"Yeah! Some girl named Feris - weird name, I know! - asked them out! She's really short - but still taller than you-"

"What a good thing to know." Sarcasm.

"-but only by like an inch or two! And she acts a bit like you! Its weird. But Frisk really likes her, and they're already on their second date!"

"SECOND DATE!?" Percy roared into the receiver of the phone, "THEY'RE ON THEIR SECOND DATE!?"

"Mhm!"

"WHEN DID THEY GO ON THEIR FIRST!?!"

"Friday night! I'm pretty sure Feris took Frisk to get ice cream first, and then they went on a walk in the park. I met Feris early Sunday. She was dropping off Frisk's jacket, which they left, and I was there with Undyne. Undyne was giving Frisk training lessons!" Alphys explained giddily. "They're very cute together! Both act a little shy when someone's around and it's just so cute!!"

"Fucking great. Well, I'm gonna have to talk to Frisk then, eh? And this 'Feris' girl. Who the hell names their daughter 'Feris?' Mm. And what makes it even weirder is that's my friend's last name. What the fuck? Anyway, when do you guys plan on coming over. After six, though. I have a feeling you guys might stay over, and I know how you two get once the hentai breaks out. I wanna soundproof my room. Plus clean up." Percy walked out of the kitchen, peeking in her room. What a mess.

"Oh my god, P-Percy! Y-you're so c-cruel for s-s-someone wh-who claims t-t-to b-be a-asexual!" she stuttered, and Percy could tell she was blushing furiously on the other side of the line.

"I am asexual. And I'm honest. And maybe, maaaybe, just a teency eency weency bit cruel," she said flatly.

"L-liar. A-about th-the c-cruel p-p-part," Alphys whined, before calming. "A-alright! C-call wh-when w-we can c-c-come over," the dinosaur on the opposite end of the call said happily.

"Alrighty. Bye," Percy drawled, eyeing her sandwich hungrily. She was starving. Sure she had gotten off early, but work had been tiring. But the kind of tiring that made you hungry. Plus she had a small breakfast.

"B-bye!"

And then the call hung up with a click, and Percy set the phone back in its place. She then turned to the sandwich. She licked her lips, grabbing a bottle of water before taking the food and drink to her couch, where she set the water on the small nearby table and the plate in her lap. With a Cheshire grin she raised the sandwich to her mouth, just about to take a bite-

Oh come on.

There was loud barking. And whining. Percy dropped the sandwich with a grimace, setting the plate on the opposing cushion before standing. She let her senses wander, catching onto the souls of nearby beings. There was only one in her background. Confused, she shrugged it off quickly and slipped on sandals, wandering to the back door of her home and opening the door.

"Ria, I swear to the stars if y-" she froze, hand still on the knob. Her silver eyes were wide. Ria took no chances, shoving past Percy and into the house, tail between her legs. Percy just looked blankly at the canine's assailant.

A flower.

With a face.

"You!" it called loudly. Oh great, it talked. Percy didn't move, rooted to her spot. So, the flower just kept talking. "You! Oh, you! Percy! The girl Frisk would never shut up about! They said you had magic. Maybe, maybe you can help me!" And then the flower ducked into the earth, reappearing near her foot. Then he reached a leaf to her exposed ankle, and as soon as it came into contact, Percy collapsed.

The flower gasped, twisting away from her fallen form. "WHAT THE HELL!?" The woman was writhing, hands immediately grasping at the sides of her head. Angry, festering, bubbling magic shattered into the air, writhing and crackling like lightning, hot like boiling plasma. The flower hissed, panic fluttering over its features.

The flower had come seeking help. Help from its last chance. It had debated and hid for so long, it was done with such a lifestyle. After Frisk.. And the barrier... He was so done with being a flower. But now that last chance had fallen to the ground, clutching her skull with magic raging in the air. She was in pure, terrible agony.

There was no way out without the answer.

Chapter Text

Youth. Valuable, joyous, precious, irreplaceable youth. She had lost it oh, oh so long ago. She had to grow up so fast. Too soon, too fast. It wasn't meant to be that way. Never. But some forces of the world had plans differing from the original ones, changing courses for what they claimed to be "greater good." So wrong were they.

But that is for another time far from now. Now she was relishing in blissful, innocent youth. She was oblivious to who she truly was. Oblivious to the pain waiting ahead, prowling in the inky shadows she knew naturally to avoid at all costs. She didn't know why, she just knew to stay away. That whatever lurked there would not be as kind to her as she would truly like.

Her thoughts were interrupted with blinding light. It filled her vision, not faltering at all. She felt the need to hiss in distaste, but soon discovered the light did not curse her optic nerves with an acidic burning as she had expected. And then the light adjusted. Like curtains slowly parting, the light faded to colors, shapes, and other things.

Her other senses soon caught on to this newfound thing she had opened her eyes to. Her sensitive nostrils flared, taking in the fresh, comforting scents surrounding her. Her hearing absorbed the soft breaths and quiet murmurs soaking the air around her thickly, along with the soft crackle of something somewhat near but somewhat far. She felt her ivory white fur tickle something soft and silky around her that she curled into, clutching at it.

Her vision had long since focused, greeted with masses of ivory white and comforting violets with hints of bright golden yellows like that of bright daffodils. But it's not like she would know, she had never seen them. Maternal eyes of the crimson spectrum gazed fondly down at her, along with a similar pair, but those far more paternal.

"Hello, Asriel," the owner of the maternal eyes spoke softly, voice feminine. So gentle and patient, loving beyond common boundaries. A love that only a mother could ever possibly possess for her dear child, whether it be by blood or no. It didn't matter. It was a mother's love. Nothing could possibly change such a thing.

"Our son seems to at last be awake." This time, the words were uttered by the holder of the paternal eyes. It was deep. But loving, caring. Soft and careful just for her. It made her giddy, because she was perfectly aware by some force that the voice could be so much louder, so much colder. But no, it was warm, soft, and gentle. She felt the urge to call them "Mom" and "Dad." Because they were like this. Just for her.

But it wasn't for her, was it? No, it was for someone long since gone. She was bitter towards those thoughts, that knowledge. But she blatantly ignored this. She was hungry for this, deprived truthfully of it for so long. This parental love for a child. She let herself believe this was who she was, that she was the child of these two loving people.

She stands near her father, eyes narrowed in frustration, snout scrunched. "Dad! I just can't get it!" she whine to her father, pulling at his violet cape. She's been trying for days to get her magic to work when she dances. She's danced with all the monsters of the Royal Court, and even most of the Capital! None had worked for her. None at all.

Frustration was gnawing at her nerves like a starving dog. Rage hovered nearby like a vulture that had found its next victim of brutal mutilation as it feasted. She wanted to dig her ivory claws into something, throw it against the wall. Anything to relieve the building emotions. She was mere inches from throwing a chair against one of the violet walls and watching it splinter and tear.

So she decided on the next best thing. "Dad, I'm going on a walk. And don't worry, I know the puzzles all too well," she says confidently, before waving a milky white paw at her father. She doesn't hear his response or warning as she trudges down the familiar floors far quicker than she should. She mutters beneath her breath as she walks through the halls, passing traps with ease and waving hello to some of the servants and other workers of the Royal Family.

She's heading for the hole that gives one a small glimpse to the sky of the surface. Of the most beautiful blues and lights. Mom and Dad tell her of the surface all the time. Of the sights they had scene, of the friends they once knew, the family she once had. She was aware they missed it dearly. One day, she hoped to one day give the surface back to them.

Before she realizes it, she's at the door. She collides with it, falling back on her bum and getting imaginary dust all over her green and yellow sweater, along with her chocolate brown pants. She rubs her snout for a moment, before pushing herself to her feet and looking around. She's not even suppose to be here, near the door. But she is.

Quietly, she shoves it open. She grunts slightly at the heavy weight and the soft grinding noise that is amplified greatly by the empty violet halls. Her nerves sing at the sudden anxiety influx of being caught. She would be in great trouble if she was, and she certainly didn't want that. Then she wouldn't be able to practice magic, and then where would she be!

What she sees stuns her in place. A human. A human with russet hair. They wear ratty clothing that reeks of a horrible stench. Sobbing noises emanate from them. She tentatively steps toward tem. Her steps are wary, and she clutches her hands near her chest. Near her soul.

The human grunts, and her flickering courage is snuffed out like a candle. She backs off for a moment, before steeling her nerves and walking over, adjusting them so that they are hunched over, but sitting. Blood seeps from wounds the fall must have caused and it stains their ruby hair, which is dull and messy.

She can tell they are in a bad state, so she talks. She asks their name. It's Chara. Odd, but she doesn't mind. She still supports them as they stumble to their feet, and she still supports them as she guides them to Home, where Mom drops the pie tin, the pie spilling to the ground as the Queen dropped and hugged both small children to her. She still supports them, though, even as her father walks in, wondering about the commotion. She still supports them, she won't ever stop supporting them.

And thus, it all began and ended at the same time.