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topazshadowwolf · 7 years ago

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The Other Side

This is Halloween related, right? I think so. Besides, it is the last day of my “Gaster Blastober” month. I ought to post something!

Make sure you have read the others first:

A Breakfast Surprise I’m At Soup Papyrus! Go Long! Hidden Distrust

An Undertale Fanfic by: Topaz Shadowwolf Undertale is owned by: Toby Fox Set in the Gaster Blaster AU Relationships: Soriel Rating: Teen Heads up: This is what some of what I’ve seen called “body horror” in this one. Best way to explain this AU is if Sans and Papyrus as a werewolf. Consider this before reading.

AO3 version

The Other Side

If she ever had a chance to spend time with Sans alone, really alone, now was it. It was summer, school was out, and Frisk was on a trip with Asgore, Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus. It was good for the child to have a vacation, and she almost joined. She later decided not to when she learned Asgore was going to be coming along. While she might say she forgave Asgore, a part of her had not yet fully forgiven him. The most she can do is spend one, maybe two, days with him; provided she had opportunities to step away. After that, his general sweetness and, especially, his tendency to act sorry for killing the humans, got on her nerves. It was her problem, and she knew it. She wanted to yell at him, tell him that that if he was sorry for what he did, he never should have done it once, let alone 6 times.

So, being in the same car for hours, and seeing him for several days in a row was a little much. It seemed to be a common belief that she hated him, which was not true. Sans understood that from all their talks that, even when she was still in the Ruins, she didn't hate Asgore. It's just what has happened between them is too much to fix. At least, too much for so soon. No matter how hard the other boss monster may try, the love was gone; looking at him only reminded her of the children. The sight of him, alone, can sometimes cause her to remember her nightmares of human children calling to her...

Besides, once she heard that Sans was planning on staying behind, she knew she would have the company she really wanted. The younger brother, Papyrus, was hesitant to leave his brother; he didn't believe it would be best to leave Sans alone.

Toriel knew how important Papyrus was to Sans. Also, she knew that Sans would not want to go on any long trips, even if he should have another week before a possible change. Though, it had been made clear to her, Sans didn't like Papyrus missing out on things like this. It took some convincing, but she managed to get the younger skeleton to let her watch Sans while he was gone. It wouldn’t be easy for them to be separated for so long. But Papyrus had friends around to help him, which he thrives on. Sans, with his hot dog stand and empty house, was going to need the extra attention which she was willing to provide.

And, one night before the trip, Toriel invited Papyrus over to talk it all over.

Before this talk, Toriel had been learning more about what the brothers go through. About what causes the change, and where the two usually go to change. During these lessons, Toriel couldn't help but find that jovial Papyrus would make a marvelous teacher. What she learned, from teacher Papyrus, that night was an in-depth explanation of the process of the change Sans goes through.

Papyrus explained it as a three-part process. The first being the "isolation" stage. In this stage Sans suspects the change is going to possibly happen, and seeks isolation to try getting a hold of the feeling and hopefully avoid the change. The second stage occurs if he can't get control of the feeling, and Papyrus called it the "starting" stage. This one Papyrus split into more parts. There was the "jumpy" part, in which Sans is nervous, wanting to hide, and starting to show signs of pain. The next part is the "cracked" part, where some changing occurs while Sans looks for where he is going to change, and his bones start looking all cracked. Then the last stage is the "active" stage, which is when Sans actively changes. And that... is marked with thrashing about... screaming... and bystanders needing to be careful standing near him, because you don't want to accidentally get hurt.

Since stress could cause the change to happen, it had crossed her mind to invite Sans to stay in her guest room. Being out of an empty house and with company might be more relaxing for him. Though that might be a little forward, especially for the first day of this. For now, she will start simple. After all, once she learned his secret, while their relationship seemed to have flourished in some ways in others it withered.

With the additional information and a plan, she decided for the first night she would pack a simple dinner of soup, sandwiches, and a pie to share with him. One thing she knew about her friend, he was not the type to make himself a nice dinner. Knowing this, she figured it would be a pleasant treat. Something homemade that wasn’t spaghetti.

It was late afternoon when she arrived at the house Sans shares with his brother. To her surprise, she saw Sans leaving, the hood of his jacket pulled up over his head. With a wave, she called out to him to catch his attention. He startled, before he slowly turned to look over at her. With his hood over his head, Toriel couldn't see his face well, but the eye lights, focused on her, shined out. They looked smaller than normal, which was odd to Toriel.

“t-tori… heya, i, uh… didn’t expect you… didn’t you go with the others?” Sans asked as Toriel approached. There was a tense, or nervous, sound in his voice.

Was he...?

Toriel started to suspect something was going on, but she didn't want to jump to a conclusion right away. Though she thought he didn’t look well, the setting sun was not a reliable source of lighting to really examine him.

“I figured I’d enjoy being home alone for a while. That, and when I heard you weren’t going, I thought you might like some company,” she said in a relaxed tone, hoping to keep him calm.

“oh…,” his voice was hesitant and, if she would hazard to guess, scared.

“Sans, are you alright?” She asked, bending down a little to get a better look at his face.

To Toriel’s annoyance, he seemed to know what she was doing and turned slightly to continue hiding. “yea, fine…,” he then glanced at the basket of food, “that smells good.”

That surprised her. Personally, she could not smell the food once she put it in the containers. Her sense of smell was always better than his, thanks to the biological benefits of having a long, wide snout. That is, unless he is half changed. She looked at her friend, sure that she knew what was going on. This did end up being too much stress for him after all.

“How about we just relax and have a picnic then?” Toriel offered.

She touched his right arm and he flinched while he took a step back, “yeah, sorry, not tonight, so… tomorrow, ok?” Her friend then turned sharply and started to walk away before she could respond.

“Sans, please don't cut me out of this,” She followed him.

“tori,” He stopped walking but didn't look back at her, “really tori…, you've been helpin' me so much. you don't need to be a part of... this”

"Is it really something you want to be alone for?" Toriel asked

Sans was silent and looked down. 'No,' she thought to herself, 'he doesn't want to be alone, he just thinks it's the only way.' She then asked softly, “Then where are you going?”

He shook his head, as if trying to chase away a thought, “just going for a walk, please, tori… i’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Sans started to walk again, Toriel reached out and grabbed his right arm to stop him. She was surprised as he yelped out in pain then proceeded to cover his mouth with his left hand. That hand showed signs of being different. The fingers were longer, and the start of talons could be seen at the end of each of them.

Looking back at his face, Toriel could see the panic in his pin prick sized eye lights. He quickly pulled free before he hid the hand in his jacket pocket. Without a word he turned again and started to walk. She feared that he would disappear with a shortcut and grabbed for his shoulder.

Sure enough, he did try to flee but ended up taking her with. Looking around, she could see they were now deep in the forest. It sounded like where Papyrus said the two would go to undergo this transformation. It was pleasant, and peaceful, though the dying sunlight and thick tree coverage did make it eerily dark.

She wasn't going to lie to herself. As much as she wanted to be here for him, she couldn't shake the fear of the unknown. It was unknown how he would react to someone other than his brother here. But she had to try, for his sake.

“tori, please, i,” his sentence was cut short as he drew his shoulders up and arms in. She could hear him suck in air quickly through his teeth, and as he breathed out she could hear a slight quiver. “not… tonight… please go back.”

“Please, let me help you,” Toriel pushed.

“i… i never wanted you to be part of this,” Sans said quietly, as he turned and looked at her she could see tears forming in his eye sockets.

“You’re important to me, Sans, if there is something you are struggling through I want to help you. I like to think you would do the same if it were the other way around,” She offered a smile, but he didn't look, or sound, convinced by it.

“but, this is something you don’t… shouldn’t...,” he then hugged himself and whimpered slightly.

Helping to support him, Toriel hugged him lightly and let him lean on her. Slowly pulling the hood back, she revealed his misshapen skull. There were lumps forming on the back, laced with small fractures. His face was slowly becoming elongated as well, looking more like the muzzle she was starting to get used to seeing.

Closing her eyes, she stayed calm, she had to for him. Inside she felt the fear building, but she couldn't let that show. Not now. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself, and let the ruler she once was take control of the situation. “Sans, what can I do?”

His voice was a painful plea at this point, “tori, please, you don’t need to deal with this… i… i’ll be fine…” Nothing about the way he was acting, or sounding, allowed her to believe his last statement.

She felt over his spine and recognized the feel of the larger, and sharper, spinal processes of his partial changed form. He flinched away from her, and she eased up on how much she touched him. Hurting him was not her goal. What she needed to do is get him to relax, maybe even talk to her if possible. Being so tense and scared could not possibly help in the process. In a calm tone, she asked, “Sans, if you saw me in pain like you are now, would you leave me?”

“but…,” He said quietly, shivering.

"Would you?" She asked again, not letting her point be dropped.

"... no," he replied softly.

"Then I'm not leaving you," she said, while very softly petting his skull. Her own bones ached in sympathy as she looked over the spider web like micro fractures lining every inch of him. Healing magic would only prolong his pain as the fractures would heal only to reappear again. The only thing she knew to do was provide support.

Under her light hold, she could feel him tremble as he started to curl in on himself, “tori… i don’t… i’m… not in my right mind after I turn into… this thing… i don't want to hurt you.”

“Is that what you’re worried about? Hurting me?”

“yes… part of it…,” he admitted, "i just... i don't know what it does or thinks."

“I can handle myself, Sans,” she said in a strong tone, then added softly, “besides, I know you won’t hurt me. Now, what can I do to help you?”

As she figured, he didn’t have the energy to argue anymore with her. He struggled to get his jacket off, and Toriel helped without being asked. Once it is off, he offered it to her, “if you could keep an eye on this…”

Carefully, she folded the jacket and placed it in the basket. Glancing back at Sans, she noticed his clothes were no longer fitting properly, “What about the rest? You seem to be growing and they can’t be comfortable.”

With a bashful look he nodded slightly, and she helped him free himself from the rest of his clothing. Not that there was anything for him to worry about her seeing. He was, after all, a skeleton. But still, she understood his desire for modesty, and respected it by not staring.

Wrapped around his legs was the tail she had grown attached to. It was clear he hated the limb, but she had found the thing cute in its own right. The tail also was a good indicator on how he was feeling. The fact it was wrapping around him, as he crouched down, showed how insecure he was feeling. That was obvious right now. It is at other times, such as when he gives off his cool and collected act, she finds it useful.

Offering comfort, she knelt by him, placing an arm lightly around him, allowing him to lean on her. His arms he wrapped around himself in a hug, as he kept his growing claws to himself. To help him she continued to keep him talking, “I guess you know Papyrus has been talking to me about all of this." He nodded slightly in response, "But there are a few things we haven't discussed, yet. How long do you stay changed?”

“uh, t-till i don’t have the energy to m-maintain it. just being it takes energy, but, uh, ya know, moving around expends more,” he said before he started to curl in on himself in pain with a soft whimper. He was trembling, and she could hear a sickening creaking sound.

“Is there anything I can do for the pain?” She asked.

Sans shook his head and she gently pulled him closer to herself. Accepting Toriel’s gesture of comfort, he leaned his head on her. He was warmer than normal, and sweat was forming on him. She tried asking him a few more questions, but he didn't respond more than with a slight nod or shake of the head.

Desperate to offer him something, she spoke to him quietly. She told him small stories of her past few weeks, riddling in as many puns as she could. Now and then Toriel would hear a series of pops, which resulted in Sans uttering a pain filled sound while trying to bury his continually elongating face into her. All the while, she knew he was growing, but had not thought much on it until he was leaning his head on the top of her own. It was then she heard him start to rattle as he shivered fearfully. Every breath was quivering with worry of what is to come.

She continued talking to him, giving him an anchor to hold to through the pain. It appeared that the changing stopped, but he didn't relax, and there were more thin fractures all over. This must have been the end of what Papyrus had called the second stage. Soon the last stage would start.

He was becoming tenser, and when he tried to speak all that came out was an odd growling, whining sound. She only lightly touched him, and he pulled away, his bones seemed even more sensitive than before. Softly she hummed to him, hoping it provided some comfort, anything that could possibly help him.

When his whines seemed to match up with her humming, she felt a small amount of relief. There he was, her Sans. He wasn't as lost in the pain and fear as he had been. He opened his eye sockets and looked down at her, pain and worry still marked his expression, but there was some amount of peace there.

That quickly ended as he lurched away from her. Huddled on the ground, Sans howled out in pain. Toriel quickly stood and moved back to give his long tail ample space to thrash about. His hands, which resembled front paws, covered his eye sockets while his feet kicked out blindly, tearing up the earth around him.

He was growing and changing rapidly now. What had started as a slow process had sped up, and resulted in far more pain. With how much he was thrashing and kicking, it would be dangerous for her to get any closer. Instead, Toriel tried offering reassuring words to Sans, though what more could she say then, "Hold on" and "It won’t be much longer."

It tore at her soul to see him like this, and be powerless to do anything about it. The past few months of dealing with him half changed now came back to her. No wonder he was so miserable about all of this, and why he hated his tail, too. Not only does it have a mind of its own, but it was just a reminder of all of this.

It wasn't until his actions started to slow that she saw that his claws were digging into his skull. Carefully she moved around to his head. It was massive compared to normal, and she felt like she was near one of the great dragons of old, verses her friend. She also noticed his bottom jaw was no longer one piece of bone but two, which clacked as he started to tremble again. It seemed odd to her that it would be able to part like that, and wondered if there was a reason. It will have to be something to ask Papyrus about later.

Every exhalation Sans made was accented by a plaintive whimper, which pulled her from her marveling at his shape to dealing with the aftermath. The transformation seemed done, but that didn’t mean the pain or fear would be gone. At this time, Sans was no longer the friendly, short and stout skeleton she knew. What Toriel now saw was a skeletal beast, and one that was far larger and looked deadlier than his half-changed form. His words of warning about his mental state echoed in her head. Yet, she had to try.

“Sans?” She said and the creature, Sans, froze. Terror gripped her, and her voice caught in the back of her throat. Fighting that down, she finally managed to weakly say, “it's me, Toriel.”

The large skull raised from the ground, oversized claws digging into the earth as he started to stand. His bones rattled from the strain, yet he continued his effort until he, as the great bone beast he was, stood before her. Looking right at Toriel, with narrowed, tear stained, eye sockets, Sans emitted a bone chilling growl.

She wanted to run, hide. Her paws clasped together before her, as she felt herself shiver. The eye lights in the large eye sockets looked her over as the creature sniffed the air. His bottom jaw clacked a few times, as he continued to growl. Toriel took this as a possible good sign; he was being curious but defensive, not outright aggressive.

Clinging to the hope he will recognize her, she tried again, “it's okay, Sans.”

His jaws started to open, the bifurcated mandible parting ever so slightly. She felt herself step backwards as his head continued to move towards her. Sans’s face was inches from hers and she could feel her magic stirring, ready to defend.

At the height of her fear she heard a sound. It was a low, sad, plaintive mix of a whine and trill. Confused at first, she didn't know it came from him until he made it again. When she looked into Sans’ eye sockets, she could see the gaze matched the sound he uttered.

Slowly, she reached her arms out to the skull, which moved into them and pressed into her. Her arms didn’t even reach around his snout, and his attempt to nuzzle her nearly pushed her over. When she giggled in response, she didn’t mean for it to sound nervous, but he clearly picked up on it. Becoming self-conscious, he started to back up and hunkered down to make himself as small as possible.

“Oh, Sans, that’s not…,” Toriel was at first frowning at this. But watching this great beast try to make himself small was rather adorable, and she raised a paw to hide her face. “That is not necessary my friend, but thank you.”

Already, something else caught his attention, as Sans lifted his head and his skull bobbed slightly as he sniffed the air. Toriel watched as he turned his head towards the basket of food. As he started to stand she moved quickly to intercept him.

“Not like this, dear. You said you needed to use up energy to change back, eating will give you more energy.”

Sans huffed and looked away. Like a rebellious child, he sat back down, his back to her, and, from what she could tell, pouted. Toriel felt herself put her hands on her hips as she tried not to laugh. “Sans! You're being silly. You'll get the food eventually, you just have to wait," she tried to reason.

The large bone creature replied with a grumbling whine and flopping over to his side. This caused Toriel to shake as she struggled to hold back her laughing. Walking over be in front of his head, she looked down at him, "Come on, you're one of the most patient people I know. Waiting till you're back to normal won’t be that long for you."

Two round eye lights stared at her for a moment then the beast grunted and rolled over, turning his back to her again. As much as he seemed to be upset, his tail hinted he was now playing as it softly wagged, thumping on the forest floor. This made her wonder how much he was understanding verses how much he was getting from her behavior and tone of voice. Papyrus did mention Sans was more... well, in his words, Sans is more "blaster beast than brother when changed."

Putting her hands behind her back, Toriel walked in front of Sans again and leaned over his head. "Sans?" she gave him a mock glare. Again, he rolled over, with a whining grumble, and he moved his front leg over his eyes. His tail continued to wag in the process. With a shrug she turned around, so her own back was towards him. "Alright, two can play that game," She said, wondering how long he would pretend to ignore her.

Almost right away, she heard him make a questioning noise before he moved. This made her smile to herself, as she waited for his head to appear before her. Sans, though, had other plans, as she felt something grab the back of her dress between her shoulders. The most she could do is let out a sound of surprise, before the ground disappeared from under her feet. "S-Sans!" she exclaimed, trying to look back at him.

There was a huffing sound as if he was laughing to himself, which caused Toriel to start laughing. Though it was a mix of nervousness, shock, and actual humor. "You! What are you doing?" Toriel asked before Sans moved his head more, setting her on his back near his front shoulders. She tried not to look down, not that she was afraid of heights, but that doesn't mean she enjoys them. "What is this about?"

Sans made a trilling noise and then, with care, nuzzled her. Toriel smiled and pet his muzzle while she listened to him as he made soft sounds in his attempt to talk to her. His head didn't stay there long, as he pulled away he also started to move. To stay on his back, Toriel wrapped an arm around one of the long spinal processes, and shifted closer to it. He started to pick up his pace as she secured her hold and got in place.

"Where are we going?" Toriel asked, and heard Sans trill back at her in response. With a smile, she leaned her head against the spinal process and patted the vertebra it was attached to, "Alright, that sounds like a good idea."

They slowed as they reached a cliff. It caused Sans to come to a stop as he looked up at the top, and Toriel looked as well, "Guess we'll have to find a way around, wont we."

To help, Toriel looked around, and she noticed the cliff was not as high further to the left. To get his attention, she tapped on his ribs. But that didn't seem to be the answer Sans had. His hind quarters lowered, and his tail thrashed from side to side. This action reminded her of a cat about to jump up on something.

“San-“ she started but ended up hugging the spinal process while shutting her eyes tight. Sans had sprung forward and, as if it took no effort at all, jumped up onto the top of the cliff.

There was a soft whine that sounded like a question. Opening her eyes, Toriel looked at Sans, a weak smile was the best she could give. “I’m alright,” she said, but received a skeptical look. Sans then huffed and started moving again.

As they exited the forest, she saw a wide and open field. Upon entering it, Sans trilled and started to build up speed. Toriel noticed that he kept looking back at her, and she could figure why. After her reaction to him jumping up the cliff, he is now worried about scaring her. She was nervous, that was definite. And Sans was not as easy to sit on as a horse or a creature that could offer her more mass than bones. At the same time, though, she had started to feel a thrill as he moved faster. So, she patted the spinal process she was holding to, and said, "Go ahead, I've got a good hold."

With that, he started to shift from a fast walk to a jog, and from the jog into a run. The world flew past them, and the fear she felt melted into a feeling of exhilaration. Ears flying back, she couldn't help but let out a small whoop of joy. Sans made a quick howl in response, clearly enjoying himself too.

They arrived at an area with a stream and a small hill on the other side. Fireflies were rising from the long grass near the stream, dancing in the darkness and providing a beautiful show. Sans slowed to a stop and Toriel could feel his rib cage expand and contract a few times, as he settled down from the run. Approaching the water, he crouched down, like a cat and lowered his head down to the water to drink.

Toriel took this opportunity to lower herself down from his back carefully, and stood beside him. As a firefly flew close to her, she caught it in her paws and watched it climb through her fur, flashing a light now and then. At some point, Sans had stopped drinking and was watching too, skull tilted slightly in question. With some encouragement, she got the small bug to walk down one of her fingers and she lead it over to his snout. This surprised Sans and he took a half step back as he saw the small bug light up near where his nasal cavity was. His head tilted the other way then back again, tail swishing in amusement as he watched it crawl around before flying off.

He made a howling whine as he watched the bug fly off and walked through the stream, as he followed it to the other side. "Let it be Sans, it is far too small," Toriel advised and her dear one stopped and looked back at her.

He must have noticed she was still on the other side, and that she would get wet crossing, as he hunkered down again and stretched his head across for her to use as a bridge. "Oh, that's so kind, are you sure?" she asked, hesitant at the idea of stepping on him like that. But he trilled happily, and she couldn't turn down his offer. With care, so not to step on anywhere that might be sensitive, she walked across and dropped down on the other side. She could have jumped over the stream, it wasn't that wide, by any means, but, his offer was not something she felt she should ignore.

"Thank you, so much, Sans," Toriel smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

He trilled happily at her and his tail swished. Then he made a whine before he stood and turned to walk up the hill. Toriel walked beside him as they climbed up. Once they reached the top he waited for her to sit down before reclining next to her. He nuzzled Toriel, and she lightly petted his skull and muzzle in return. She ran a hand around the bottom of his mandible, which caused him to raise his head to make it easier for her to reach.

From Sans came a rumbling sound, which surprised Toriel at first. It was like a deeper, and slightly hissing, cats purr. "Oh, I... I didn't know you could do that," Toriel was amused by this and found the sound very relaxing. She leaned against his shoulder and continued to pet his head and jawline as she closed her eyes. The sound engulfed her, and she could feel the vibration of it travel through her in the most calming way.

It wasn't until she woke up, did she notice that she had fallen asleep. It couldn't have been for too long, but long enough for the magical presence of Sans to decrease. She shook him lightly and the great bone beast groaned out his displeasure in being woken up. "Sans, come on now," she said, trying again to wake him. Finally, he relented and yawned before opening an eye socket to look at her. "It's been a while now, you might be ready to turn back soon. Shouldn't we start heading back before that happens?"

To that, he grumbled out a mix of whine and growls, as he stretched and looked about ready to sleep again. "We left the picnic basket with the food back in the woods. The same food I promised to give you when you changed back. Would be hard to do that without the basket," she said, accenting the word food. Sans looked at her again, this time with a look that seemed to say, 'how dare you use food against me.'

As he started to stand, Toriel grabbed hold of his shoulder and climbed up. Again, Sans stretched, though he seemed mindful to not do anything that would be difficult for Toriel to stay on. Once ready, he started back, moving at a slower pace than before. And when he jumped down from the cliff, it lacked any of the grace from earlier. Toriel nearly fell off, and he must have noticed as he turned to look at her, whining out an apology. The rest of the way, it was clear he was tired and just ready to lay down anywhere. When they made it back to the spot he had changed in, Toriel slid off his back to get the basket.

Sans, though, kept walking, his feet and tail dragging along as he moved. "You don't have to keep going, dear, I can carry you back," Toriel said, walking beside him. But Sans sighed and kept moving.

He whined in response, and looked down at her with blurry, eye lights. He then continued walking for a while longer before he finally collapsed and curled up. Toriel walked over and pet his skull as she watched him tense up. There was some soft whimpering as, for the second time that night, his body started to drastically change. Mostly he shrunk in size, looking like a smaller version of the creature he just was, with some more bipedal features. Over all, he seemed in less pain, and the process appeared easier. Though, that could be because of the fact he was just too tired to really react.

Once done, and he was his partial form, he stayed curled up. At this point, there as little she could do to wake him, and she didn't blame him. Quietly, she scooped him up and balanced him on one hip, so she could carry the basket in the other hand. It was still very early in the morning, and they were on the edge of the forest. She could already see his house, to which she had a spare key. Looking down at him, she felt he should be cleaned up of all the dirt, mud, and bits of plant life he had on himself. But, perhaps she should just let him focus on sleep first.

... One thing for sure, she was convinced the beast and Sans were indeed the same being.

End thoughts: And, thus, this concludes my Gaster Blastober. I hope to add more to this series down the road, and I have plans for it. But, as you all know, I have many other stories to work on that have priority. There will be more though, after all, this is one of my favorite AUs.

#Gaster Blaster AU #Fanfiction #Soriel #Sans #Toriel #body horror

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diamondsareapearlsbestfriend · 8 years ago

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Sans/Toriel 30 Day OTP Challenge: Day Four

On AO3 | Day One | Day Two | Day Three

day four: first date

prompt: “Your OTP’s first date. Where’d they go? Did the date go well or go horribly?"

"Papyrus, you shouldn't have."

"No need to thank me, brother! The great Papyrus is always happy to share –"

"No – you really, really shouldn't have."

"But, Sans!" Papyrus' face fell as he waved the monstrosity at Sans – if he'd had eyes, they'd probably have been blinded by sequins by now. "Don't you want to increase your dateability by up to 670%?"

Sans didn't even know where to start – the fact that those figures were highly debatable, the fact that it was Papyrus' size and would have come way down to the floor on him, or just the fact that it was an MTT-brand hot pink sparkly tuxedo.

"Where'd you even get that, anyway?" he asked, sidestepping the obvious – he didn't want to hurt his brother's feelings, since he was obviously trying, but there was no way Sans was showing up to his first real date with Toriel in that. Just looking at it was giving him bone rash. "Didn't those things use to cost, like, 50000G?"

"Oh! An, um, friend gave it to me. Anyway!" Papyrus seemed suspiciously eager to change the subject as he sat down on Sans' bed and glanced around the assorted piles of junk with a look of distaste. "We'll come back to your wardrobe later. More importantly, where are you going to take her?"

"Huh." That...was a good question actually. Sans hadn't really given it much thought, since he kept getting stuck on the part where he was going on a date with Toriel. "I dunno? Guess I'll ask Tori what she wants to do. Probably just take it easy, go for a walk, maybe go to..."

"Don't say Grillby's."

"...why not?

"Oh my god, Sans!" Papyrus threw up his hands in despair, as if Sans had just suggested a romantic trip to the dump – which, if they were back in the Underground, might actually have been one of the better options. "You can't take the queen to that greasehole!"

Sans lifted a questioning brow bone. "But we go there all the time. We went there yesterday."

"I know, but...but! This is your first date! It has to be special! You're supposed to sweep Toriel off her feet – metaphorically. I think." Papyrus shook his skull and pulled out a book from his improbably tiny shorts. "Fortunately for you, brother, the Great Papyrus is an expert in all things romance!"

"That is lucky," Sans agreed, partly to humour him, but also because doubt was starting to swirl around his mind – what if Toriel was expecting some grand romantic gesture? Maybe there was some kind of royal procedure he had to follow – slay a dragon, battle her seven evil exes, something like that. "Okay, Pap, you're the expert – where do you think we should go?"

"Hmmm." Papyrus tapped a gloved finger thoughtfully against his chin for a moment, before his sockets lit up. "I know! You should take her...dancing!"

"Dancing," Sans repeated flatly.

"Obviously!" Papyrus clasped his hands together, gazing up at the ceiling with a dreamy twinkle in his sockets. "Just imagine – the music, the moonlight, at least one of you in a beautiful, flowing ball gown...Probably her," he conceded, catching Sans' dubious expression. "And then Met – I mean Toriel can dip you low and twirl you around with a rose between her teeth!"

Sans grinned. "Never knew you were such an old romantic, bro." It wasn't an unappealing image, he had to admit, even if he usually had to have a few glasses of something stronger than ketchup in him to consider dancing, and had no idea where he was supposed to find a ballroom on the surface, or if those were even a thing any more. "Okay, that's, uh, definitely one for the maybe pile. Got any more hot date ideas?"

Papyrus flicked through the pages of Lovely Bones: The Suave Skeleton's Guide to Romance. "How about: 'Take him, her or slimeself to a scary movie, so they can cuddle up to you when they get scared. Or try the classic "pretending to yawn and putting your arm around them" trick.' You might need to bring a stepladder for that one," he noted. "'Romantic walk on the beach'? 'Romantic home-cooked meal'? 'Doing your taxes – romantically'...?" He glanced up, his sockets creasing with concern as they met Sans'. "Sans – are you okay? You're looking...paler than usual, and I didn't even know that was possible."

"Me? Psssh, yeah, I'm great – why wouldn't I be?" Sans was pretty sure his brother wasn't buying it, but he kept smiling a little more manically than usual anyway. "Totally go on dates with the queen all the time – but I mean, it's just Tori, right? We hang out all the time, this is no different...I'm sure there's no way I can screw this up and make her hate me forever."

As usual, sarcasm didn't stand a chance against Papyrus' relentless optimism, because he just beamed back, clapping Sans on the back encouragingly. "That's the spirit, Sans! Just like it says right here: 'be yourself! But not too much yourself. Try to cut out the jerky bits that no one likes.'" He hesitated, brow bone furrowing. "But this is Toriel, and we know she has little to no standards for royalty – she somehow already thinks you're cool and funny and apparently dateworthy, so you'll do fine. I, the Great Papyrus, believe in you! You're a trash CAN, not a trash can't! Sorry," he added at a slightly less stapes-shattering volume, offering a sheepish smile. "That's what I used to say to Alphys. I was reliving my brief but memorable time as a motivational coach for a moment there."

Sans chuckled, the corners of his mouth tugging into a genuine smile – it was impossible not to, looking into his little brother's eager face. "Catchy. Thanks, Pap – you know, I femur better already."

Papyrus let out a strangled groan, collapsing his head into his hands dramatically. "Why, Sans? Why do you always have to ruin it?"

"I dunno," he replied with a shrug, warming up. "Guess I'm just...bad to the bone."

"I'm leaving."

"Tibia honest, bro..." Sans called after him, sprawling comfortably back on his bed just as Papyrus got off of it.

"– oh my god – "

"...you're smiling."

"I am not!" Papyrus insisted as he flounced out of the door and back to his own room. "It's just my bone structure!"

He still closed the door carefully so as not to incite another incident with the self-sustaining trash hurricane, and Sans' laughter petered out into a sigh as he looked around his room at the mountains of dirty socks and dog hairs.

Sans was sure he had an actual pair of pants somewhere in one of these timelines.

"Frisk, dear, are you sure this dress looks okay? It is quite appropriate attire for the season, yes?"

"Mom, it looks great. You look pretty – you always look pretty," Frisk assured her, as Toriel examined her reflection critically in the mirror, as she had been doing for longer than she'd care to admit. It had been so long, she found herself unaccustomed to the sight of her bare arms in her light summer dress, which clung a little more closely to the contours of her body than her royal robes or respectable school clothes. They looked so...large, and sturdy from her many, many years of hard work. She wanted to wear something nice, but what if Sans found the sight unattractive? He was a skeleton – it would only be natural if he were inclined towards a thinner frame. Oh, she was being ridiculous, fretting like this – this was Sans, after all, he probably wouldn't even notice what she was wearing. She fluffed up her ears, then smoothed them down again as two familiar knocks sounded at the door.

"Knock knock."

"Do you guys really have to do this every time?" Frisk groaned, but Toriel ignored them, savouring the moment.

"Who is there?" she called back.

"Boo."

"Boo who?"

"Crying already? Wow, this date really isn't going well."

Toriel snorted with laughter, some of her initial tension beginning to melt away as Frisk opened the door.

"Sans, that was terrible," they told him, although they were smiling nonetheless as they glanced back at her expectantly, "even for you."

"Thanks, kiddo. Thought I'd better bring my A game." In the mirror, Sans' sockets caught Toriel's eyes, and a tingle of electricity ran down her spine as his smile widened, the barest hint of blue on his cheekbones as she turned around. "Heya, Tori. You look, uh...wow. Good. Great," he amended quickly, as though worried she would somehow misinterpret him.

"Oh!" Toriel let out a shrill giggle, pressing a self-conscious hand to her cheek as she flushed with pleasure. "Why, thank you, Sans – how sweet of you to say. You are looking rather wow yourself," she added with a wink.

"Heh – thanks." He scratched the back of his skull as Toriel noted with surprise that he was wearing actual pants and a simple white shirt – a little rumpled and rolled up at the sleeves, but nonetheless a world away from his usual attire, and she decided that she liked it, very much, as he held out his hand. "So, uh, shall we...?"

"We shall indeed." Toriel accepted it with a smile, turning back to Frisk as they approached the door. "Frisk, do not wait up for me! Get to bed at a reasonable time, and do not think I won't be able to tell if you have not. Dinner is in the fridge – you do remember how I showed you to heat it up, yes? And you have both of our numbers if there is anything at all you –"

"Mom, I'll be fine," her child interrupted, but they could not keep the excited – and just a touch smug – grin from their face, waving their hands as shooing away a pair of troublesome mice. "Undyne's coming over, remember? You guys go and have fun! And don't do anything I wouldn't!"

"Yes, that is reassuring," Toriel said dryly after they closed the door. She knew that Frisk was more than capable of looking after themselves, of course, but she still could not help but worry. She never could, although the way Sans grinned and squeezed her hand as they set off towards the beach did at least help to take her mind off it.

They strolled along the promenade for a while at a leisurely pace, neither saying much; Toriel was content to enjoy the thrill of their interlinked hands, the light sea breeze through her fur. The setting sun cast a warming glow over the beach, and she admired the sight of the few children still playing there. Theirs was a predominantly monster community, of course, but she had noticed the number of humans steadily growing, and few things made her happier than to see the two happily playing together, as though the last few thousand years of conflict had never happened – as though, for the first time in all her years, things really were changing. Sans noted that he was getting much more custom selling hot dogs and cats here than he used to in the Underground, especially now Frisk had brought their human friends along to show off their “mad 'dog-balancing skills”.

"I think some are still scared of me, though," he said, as they paused to take a break on a nearby bench.

Toriel looked at him sympathetically. "Because you are a monster?"

"Yeah. Well, that plus the whole appearing-disappearing thing I think freaks them out a little. What?" Sans widened his sockets faux-innocently when she tutted at him. "C'mon, Tori, you didn't think I was gonna walk all the way along here every day, did you?"

Toriel was about to point out that he had, in fact, done just that, but before she could open her mouth her stomach spoke for her, letting out a loud, insistent gurgle at all the talk of food.

"Oh goodness – excuse me! I think it must be Frisk and my usual dinner time," she explained, flashing Sans an apologetic smile as she clasped her hands over her stomach in an attempt to quiet it. He was already smirking in the way she knew meant he was trying not to laugh, and most likely about to fail.

"I hear ya, buddy," he said, leaning over to address Toriel's stomach directly, almost as though there were a baby in there. "Hang in there."

"Oh you, shush!" Toriel playfully pushed him away, laughing too much to sound in any way threatening as she felt a blush blooming across her cheeks. "Do not mock me – we cannot all be so fortunate as not to possess any internal organs, can we not?"

"You're right, sorry – that was pretty heartless of me." Sans tugged at the collar of his shirt, and as she giggled Toriel unexpectedly caught herself wondering what he looked like under there; whether she would be able to see his soul, even, beating under his ribcage. But such a thing would be far too intimate at this stage, she reminded herself sharply, hoping Sans would assume her deepening blush was still a result of her stomach rumblings. "But your friend there makes a good point," he continued, stretching his arms out across the back of the bench. "Food seems like a good plan right about now. So...where'd you wanna go? I think there's some fancy places over that end."

He did not sound particularly enthused, and Toriel was not herself, she had to admit, in the mood for a classy establishment at that moment – they were usually reserved for humans, and she did not feel like putting up with the murmurs and raised eyebrows they would inevitably face, as though a goat and a skeleton enjoying some dinner together were not the most natural thing in the world.

Toriel and Sans looked at each other.

"Grillby's?"

"Grillby's."

Toriel had grown fond of the unpretentious, welcoming warmth of Grillby's, now that she came in often enough that no one gaped at her because they did not expect their queen to frequent such a place. It was reassuringly familiar, walking in to see all of the regulars occupying their usual places, hollering their usual greetings mixed in with some expressions of surprise at the sight of Sans wearing "shoes?! Damn, look who's gone all fancy on us soon as he got to the surface!"

Yet there was undeniably something else in the air, too, as they tucked themselves away in a corner table, sitting just a little closer together than strictly necessary as they talked about everything and nothing over a plate of deliciously guilty cheese fries. Sans' breath tickled Toriel's ear as he leaned in to tell her about Bun's disastrous 'Humans Night', and she placed her hand lightly on his forearm as she recalled when her class accidentally fed the goldfish Temmie Flakes, feeling a frisson of excitement at the sensation of fur on bone – surprisingly smooth to the touch, but with its own unique texture, intricate little lines and creases spelling out Sans' story. She could have traced them all day, but did not want to make Sans uncomfortable, although he did not seem to mind her hand lingering there for a moment. Content and full, they fell into a comfortable silence until Grillby wandered over to enquire if they were planning on paying tonight.

"C'mon now, Grillbz," Sans replied, a mischievous twinkle in his socket Toriel recognised all too well, "don't go getting jealous just 'cause I've finally got a hotter date than you."

Toriel nudged his foot with hers under the table. "Now, Sans, do not be so impolite," she reprimanded, trying to stay stern while biting her lip to conceal the laughter that threatened to burst forth at any moment. "Grillby works very hard here to provide all of us with exceptional food and service, and might I add he does a wonderful job. You cannot blame him for needing to...blow off some steam."

Sans snorted with laughter and high-fived her. "Tori, you're on fire."

Grillby just shook his head wearily, crackling something under his breath as he scribbled on what was presumably Sans' rather impressive tab. As he walked off, the bird at the end of the bar leaned over and informed them: "He said you're both banned."

Toriel was certain he did not mean it, though, because that was what he said last time. Still, she supposed, she ought to be getting back to Frisk, so they said their goodbyes and began the long walk home, though were unable to resist the temptation of Nice Creams from a passing vendor.

"'Well done!'" Toriel read out the text on the stick. "'You got out of bed today.' Hmm, I think this one might be for you."

"'Your hair looks nice today,'" Sans read, before sticking the remainder of the Nice Cream between his teeth – she still wasn't quite sure how he did that – and running a hand over the top of his skull. "How'd they know?"

Toriel chuckled softly. "Perhaps it refers to the rather fetching green moustache you have just grown," she teased, resisting the temptation to reach out and rub it away with her thumb.

"It ain't easy being green, Tori,” he deadpanned, before scrubbing a hand across his mouth and casually wiping it on his shirt. “Heh – good job I wasn't wearing a ball gown tonight, then.”

Toriel spluttered, almost choking on her Nice Cream at that unexpectedly arresting image. “Pardon me? A ball gown?”

“Right – 'cause of how you're, y'know, the queen, you're probably used to dates a little more special than this, right? More special than me, even.” Sans let out another dry 'heh', looking down at the floor and scuffing his shoes. “Sorry – I, uh, don't really date much, if you haven't figured it out. Lots of reasons, but – there's never really been anyone special. Before now, obviously."

Sans glanced up at her, a rare glimmer of vulnerability in his sockets despite his usual carefree smile, and Toriel was overcome by the urge to scoop him up in her arms right there and then. (She managed to restrain herself – that might have been a little too forward)

"Well, I may not have dated in...many decades," she began, thinking it wisest not to mention Asgore, "but I thought tonight was very special indeed. And, truthfully, I never really was one for the fancy parties – as sansational as I'm sure you would look in a ball gown."

Sans laughed, warm and genuine as he pulled her into a half-hug, one arm circling around her waist. "Hate to disappoint you, Tori, but I think I'm gonna have to pass on that one. Thanks, though. It's good to know neither of us has any idea what we're doing here."

"Oh, absolutely no idea," Toriel agreed gleefully, her heart starting to race as Sans' hand settled on her waist and she covered it with her own with a meaningful squeeze. “But I hope that – if we keep trying – perhaps we will one day figure it out.”

"Yeah? You know, I think I could work with that."

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Toriel leaned down to close the short distance between them and before she lost her nerve, pressed a swift but tender kiss to the top of Sans' skull. She could not help but giggle as he flushed almost as blue as the ocean that stretched out before them, but did not move away as they looked out over the waves at a world of endless, tantalising possibilities.

"I think so, too."

"Well?! How did it go? Where did you take her?!"

“Wha...?” Sans startled awake as his covers were unceremoniously yanked from his bed to find himself staring into a pair of eager sockets. “Pap, what the hell? It's...” He glanced blearily at the time on his phone. “4am? What're you even doing up?”

"What? No, of course I haven't just got in! That's not the point!" Papyrus bounced impatiently up and down on the end of Sans' bed, reminding him a lot of that dog he hated so much. "I couldn't wait all day for you to get up – so where did you go?"

"Okay, okay, bro, inside voice," Sans grumbled, rubbing at his sockets – but he couldn't stay irritated for long, a giant grin stretching his face as he remembered. "We just went to Grillby's."

Instead of the exasperated "oh my god" he was expecting, Papyrus looked oddly pleased at that. "I knew you would!" he declared, "especially if I advised you not to! What did I tell you – the queen is super cool, but she has highly questionable taste. Just like you!"

Sometimes, Sans thought he'd never figure his brother out. "You're right," he agreed, grabbing his covers back and burying his head back in the comfort of his pillow, "she really does. Terrible, terrible taste. Now lemme sleep and I'll tell you about it tomorrow."

But even after his brother had reluctantly retreated back to his own room, for what had to be the first time ever, Sans was actually too happy to sleep.

#30 day otp challenge #soriel #fanfiction #undertale fanfiction #someone pls draw sans in a ball gown #it probably exists somewhere tbh #this is really just pointless floof aka the only thing I can write #my fic

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