#thwbd

[imtrashraccoon]

Hello everyone!

Next Day

A month ago I saw a post by @scrambledmeggys (I hope you don't mind me tagging you!) for a month's worth of prompts for Self Shipping with UF! Papyrus. I originally wanted to try my hand at art but I am much better at writing imo, so here is what I've come up with so far!

I missed Day 1 so now I'm uploading that and Day 2 at the same time. I'm planning on continuing to write a continuous storyline with these prompts but I am pretty much making things up as I go lol.

Edit: I actually drew something for this chapter here if you want to check it out!

Day 1: First Meeting

You walked carefully through the snow, cringing slightly from the loud crunching sound it made, interrupting the otherwise quiet winter morning.

You were in a tough spot to say the least.

The fall had been an accident. One moment, your little friend was innocently kicking stones down the sink hole, and the next, they'd slipped and fell in. Of course, you'd tried your hardest to catch them but then you lost your balance and plunged in after them.

Against all odds, you'd both survived the fall. While your friend had thankfully only sustained a few small cuts, especially because you managed to shield them from the impact, you on the other hand had hit your head pretty hard. The bleeding had stopped by now but you still felt weak and rather lightheaded.

Still, you had to keep going. You had to find a way to get Frisk back to the surface. They were still a child, barely six, and had their whole life ahead of them afterall.

Speaking of, Frisk lightly tapped your shoulder and you paused so they could tell you what was on their mind. Shifting them from your back around your body until you were facing them, you flashed them a small smile.

"What happened?" you asked quietly.

Frisk's face reflexively screwed up. "You died again..." they signed slowly.

Your smile fell. "I'm sorry..." you murmured and let out a sigh.

You didn't understand how or why, but ever since falling down here, Frisk had seemingly developed an amazing power that allowed them to reset time to previous safe points. They didn't really know how to explain it but they claimed it was sort of like reloading a video game.

You didn't know how many times you'd apparently died so far, as Frisk hadn't been keeping track. You were instead focusing on doing your best to keep moving forward. Still, you were pretty concerned for them.

While you didn't remember any of your deaths up to this point, you knew Frisk did and while neither of you was discussing it, you knew this was something that would need to be dealt with. Once you got back to the surface, you would need to get therapy and figure out how to do the same for Frisk. They would definitely benefit from it at least.

Frisk patted your shoulder and you realized you'd zoned out. "It's alright, I'm getting used to it." They smiled but you knew it was a forced one.

"I promise I will keep you safe. No matter what happens, we will get through this together," you said.

Frisk nodded and their expression took on a more determined look.

You took a deep breath. "Let's do this again then," you muttered and started to shift Frisk back into a piggyback hold.

"Watch out for the skeleton up ahead," Frisk signed before wrapping their arms around your shoulders again.

You raised an eyebrow. Was that who'd killed you? Frisk hadn't elaborated further but you didn't blame them. You'd died a couple times to the traps in the Ruins and many times during your escape from Toriel. Many of those had apparently been pretty grisly if how shaken Frisk had been afterwards was any indication.

< ~ - . - ~ >

Someone was stalking you. While you were trying not to think about it, you were getting pretty anxious. Frisk hadn't said anything else so you just focused on continuing forwards.

Until you came to a narrow bridge with wooden bars across it that is. While you could still get through the gap between the bars with little effort, before you could do so, you heard footsteps approaching from behind you.

Frisk tightened their hold on your shoulders and you quickly turned around to put yourself between them and this new person.

It was a skeleton but not quite like what human skeletons looked like. He was only slightly taller than you were, but his bones seemed thicker and sturdier which gave him quite a bit of added bulk.

He was wearing a gray hoodie with a fur fringe, a red turtle neck sweater underneath, a pair of basketball shorts, and a pair of high tops. His smile was filled with sharp teeth, one of which was gold, and there was a pair of crimson pinpricks in his otherwise empty eye sockets that regarded you suspiciously.

"well, well, what have we here?" he drawled as his eyelights flickered over your body.

You narrowed your eyes in response, feeling a wave of disgust at the way he was eyeing you up. "My eyes are up here, thank you very much," you muttered through grit teeth.

The skeleton chuckled, "ah, my bad." He held out his right hand and added, "name's sans, sans the skeleton. and you are?"

Before you could actually shake his hand though, Frisk squeezed your shoulder. You assumed they were warning you not to, so you didn't.

"Rihanna," you said in response.

Sans raised a bonebrow when you left him hanging but seemed ultimately unbothered, which was a relief. "i'd say it's nice to meet ya, but that'd be a lie," he said and flashed a slightly menacing grin at you.

If you weren't holding Frisk, you would've crossed your arms, so instead you just gave him an unamused look.

Sans chuckled and started to walk around you, "ya know, i'm supposed to be on the look out for humans right now, but i don't really care about capturin' anyone."

You remained facing him as he walked until you'd essentially swapped places. You held Frisk a bit closer as well, just in case you'd have to run.

"now my brother, Papyrus, well, he's a human huntin' fanatic," Sans continued. He glanced through the wooden fence and added, "go on through, he made the bars too wide to stop anyone anyways." He turned and strode casually across the bridge as if to demonstrate.

You glanced at Frisk over your shoulder and they nodded. Well, at least he didn't seem like he wanted to immediately kill you like most monsters you'd met so far. So you followed him, although you maintained a safe distance just to be on the safe side.

Sans paused near a wooden booth up ahead and looked further down the path. As you walked over to him, he made a quiet "huh" sound. "ya know what, i think that's my brother comin' this way now..." There was a slightly amused tinge to the tone of his voice as he spoke which sent a wave of irritation through you.

You glanced over where he was looking and immediately spotted a tall skeleton wearing black armour with red accents approaching. Even from this distance, you could tell he was pissed and it sent a shiver down your spine.

Frisk squirmed in your grip to be let down and while you didn't want to let go of them, you relented and let go. They thankfully stayed behind you and clutched onto one of your pant legs.

You knelt down next to them and ruffled their fluffy hair a little. Flashing them a small smile, you whispered, "We doing this?"

Frisk got a familiar determined look and nodded. "I'll help you! I think we can talk him down if you say the right things."

You chuckled and stood up again, ready to face this new opponent. You could get through this, in fact, you would get through this...for Frisk's sake.

Papyrus certainly looked familiar and part of you wondered if he was actually the one who'd killed you last time. It would make sense, as he definitely looked more dangerous than Sans.

He was at least a foot taller than you were and looked quite a bit different from his brother. He still had sturdy bones but his frame was a lot more angular compared to Sans' more bulky look. He had sharp teeth as well, although his eyelights were a slightly different shade, maybe a scarlet? His left eye socket also had two long scars across it, presumably from a fight.

Besides his black chestplate, Papyrus also wore long red gloves, a red scarf that was more of a cape, and tall red boots with heels surprisingly. If you weren't battling to remain calm, you probably would've complimented his bold fashion sense. You didn't know of anyone else who could look so menacing and...hot at the same time.

"Sans! You Lazybones! You Have Not Reset Your Traps Yet Today! What If A Human Comes..." He paused mid rant when he took in your appearance.

Sans bristled and the corners of his smile fell slightly. He seemed like he was about to retort in kind but stopped himself.

Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets at you as if he was scrutinizing your appearance. He slowly strode forward, stopping a few feet away from you. "Why Does It Feel Like I Have Met You Before, Human?" he asked in a chillingly quiet tone.

You stared up at him unblinkingly and crossed your arms. "I could ask the same actually..." you answered.

Papyrus glanced at Sans, who merely shrugged. "don't ask me, bro," he hissed.

Frisk tugged at your pant leg to get your attention. When you glanced down, they quickly signed what was on their mind. "Flirt with him."

You had to bite your tongue to keep yourself from retorting and drawing too much attention. Why would they suggest such a thing? Where had this child even picked up the concept of flirting? If this worked, you were going to have a serious discussion with them at some point.

"So, Papyrus," you started to say, catching his attention once again. "Do you have more bones than the average human or would you like to find out?" You mentally kicked yourself for that one but tried to maintain face and batted your eyelashes at him.

Papyrus stared at you for a solid five seconds before the meaning of your question seemed to set it. A dusting of scarlet flickered across his cheekbones and he stepped back from you, covering his mouth as he did so.

You smiled and stepped slightly closer to him. Feeling slightly bolder, you called upon everything you had learned from sucking up to college professors and your boss.

"If I may be so bold, I think you also look very cool. Like seriously, humans dress so boring in comparison." You made a bit of a show of looking him up and down, nodding approvingly. "I'm actually jealous of how cool you are."

Papyrus opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it. The scarlet blush wasn't disappearing no matter how hard he probably wished it would. He stammered and stepped back again.

"You... Your Flattery Will Not Save You, Human." He scoffed and turned on his heal. As he stormed off, you heard him mutter something along the lines of, "Not Being Able To Talk Your Way Out Of My Traps."

You couldn't believe that had worked. You scooped Frisk into your arms and hugged them tightly. "You have some explaining to do later, kiddo..." you muttered but Frisk only grinned at you, clearly proud of themselves.

"wow, i can't tell if you're insane or just lucky. either way, i'll be keepin' an eye socket on ya, human..." Sans said quietly.

You chuckled and flashed him a triumphant grin, which caused him to huff and walk away in the direction you had come from. You'd survived just a little bit longer it seemed.

[imtreasureraccoon]

I've only written this concept once and I don't think I did that great all things considered. I focused more on the protection meaning of the collars with the idea being that if you messed with the collared person, you'd have hell to pay. The whole ownership thing feels a bit icky to me but I remember I did hint that it was a thing.

Fellverse Collars

Okay… here we go! This was one of the first rants I ever made that was actually useful somewhere along the way instead of just being what it was… a rant to my closest of close people who GET the fandom (AKA: the only person willing to listen to me and put up with my crap at that time in the morning and still talked to me the day after despite the previous 5+ hours I’d been asking at them. When they are still willing to respond to your messages 4h later- 9am -you KNOW they’re a keeper) So I figured here is as good a place and time to start as any…

[Especially considering I was TODAY years old when they let me know that discord chats have a SEARCH function… anyone else been spamming the ‘page up’ button for hours like your life depended on it? HANDS UP ✋]

SO without further ado~

I bring to you my explanation of the meanings of collars in the different fellverses! [This will be heavily based in the UTMV if you hadn’t guessed - focusing on underfell; Edge and Red, and fellswap; Black (or interchangeably Razz) and Mutt]

So CONTEXT- I was brought into this rant by a question from a friend asking me to explain fell universe collars to them (obviously), since they’re mentioned quite a bit throughout the fandom where the fellverses are concerned, but the variation between the meanings really confused them, and its not like they really had a solid definition to depend and lean on for info on it because the concept was mainly based in fannon. So they came to me. Because I apparently give off the vibe of knowing this. Good thing I ACTUALLY had an answer lol

BASICALLY~~~

In the simplest of terms, quickest way I could put it, and perhaps one of the most obvious of facts: The collars are a sign of ownership.

Think of underfell’s resident skele bros (Most commonly known as Edge and Red throughout the fandom), Edge literally OWNS red.

This could be interpreted in a whole bunch of different ways, but it all boils down to Red being practically either a pet or just straight up property to Edge.

It’s there to send a message. If someone were to hurt red it would be the equivalent of property damage… Or kicking his puppy… It lets people KNOW that if they mess with Red, Edge is going to get, understandably, pissed. It’s a protective measure.

When it comes to fellswap the underlying theme of ownership is the same, but it’s the context that differs. While Edge has his status, it is mainly his formidable battle and trapping prowess and infamy that makes the collar an effective safety measure. When it comes to fellswap the protection the collar offers is more of a proof of subjugation and the rising of said ‘owners’ status.

In fellswap Mutt was was viewed as a fierce foe, whom of which the majority of the underground were terrified of, knowing him and his brother Black by the name of ‘the queens guard dogs’. Having Black collar Mutt raises Blacks own infamy and labels him as some untouchable higher power, despite the lowness of his HP, which ordinarily would spell death for a monster of his world.

Their world is one in which family ties mean next to nothing in the grand scheme of things, they were merely a weak point to exploit. The chink in their armour. It was either that of a form of unsteady alliance with trust in which you’d trust the other to turn on you in a heart beat when push comes to shove.

The collaring is the closest they could come to showing they could care. The only form of tie that holds meaning and makes you stronger. Someone that people wouldn’t want to mess with.

Although that is mainly interpretation based off of the way the fandom flows, while underfell is a little more reliably set fellswap if most DEFINITELY more of a concept than a set idea.

If you needed this cleared up hope it did that for you!

If you didnt… hope you at least found it either entertaining or informative enough to be worth the time spent reading this!

[imtrashraccoon]

Bit of a vent, feel free to keep scrolling.

About two weeks ago, I came to the realization that I don't have the motivation to finish The Hand We've Been Dealt and I hate it. It's been a year since I wrote anything for it and the place where the story is, isn't something I'm happy with but I don't want to try fixing it. I put over a year of my life into it before attempting to post it online and at the time I thought it would be the first fanfiction I'd ever finished. I've learned a lot about structuring a story this year and I wish I had known this before.

I could restructure the story or completely rewrite it but I have so many other projects that I'd enjoy more. It's also a remnant of my old Undertale Multiverse I had created before I joined Tumblr. Most of this I've never posted anywhere and in my opinion it's too cringe to even bother doing. In a way, I'd like to retire it and move on to my new multiverse that I've been building.

Maybe one day I'll write a fic with a skeleton MC or rework the story like I am planning to do with my first ever Undertale fic. I know I'll feel better with it not being one other thing to complete but it's still sad. So, while I doubt any of you are following me because of it, this is me officially concluding that fic. I'll post the remaining chapters to my AO3 and write up a brief epilogue before marking it complete.

If you read this far, I applaud you. I'm only posting this because I needed to get it off my chest but also, I may have randomly gotten inspiration for a writing request one of you sent me. Is it weird that I'm debating "killing off" the main characters of The Hand We've Been Dealt and having their (eventual) daughter survive them? It feels edgy for no reason to me and I may end up changing my mind.

[imtrashraccoon]

First Day & Next Day

Day 2: Doomfanger

It had been difficult, but you'd somehow managed to convince both Sans and Papyrus not to kill either you or Frisk. You'd had to solve a lot of traps that were more like puzzles than anything too deadly, which Frisk had also been surprisingly helpful doing. You always knew they were especially clever but you'd never imagined they were this good a solving things.

After that, the brothers had decided to let you temporarily crash at their place. While you were hesitant to accept because you really didn't trust them, you didn't have much choice in the matter. It was too cold to even think about roughing it and neither of you were dressed for the weather.

So now you were relaxing on their couch with Frisk in your lap. Sans was sitting on the other side of the couch flicking through the television, purposely ignoring both of you, which was perfectly fine by you. Papyrus was somewhere in the house, but you hadn't really paid attention since it was becoming rather difficult to stay awake right now. Probably because of your head injury and then getting as cold as you had.

Frisk suddenly squirmed in your grip and scooted off your lap. Their attention was apparently grabbed by a particularly fluffy white feline that had plopped itself down in the entryway to the kitchen.

Papyrus emerged from the kitchen and glanced down at the cat by his feet. You didn't miss the way his eyelights seemed to glimmer as the feline rubbed up against his legs. Then his gaze flickered over to Frisk who merely smiled innocently up at him.

Papyrus bent down to be on the same level with them and he gathered the cat into his arms. "Would You Like To Pet Her?" he asked.

Frisk seemed elated and they quickly moved over to Papyrus.

You watched them for a moment before deciding to speak up. "Do you remember how to approach cats, Frisk?" you asked.

Frisk turned to you and signed, "Yes, slowly and let them come sniff your hand."

You nodded approvingly, "Exactly."

Frisk did exactly as you'd taught them to. They let the cat sniff their fingers before gently petting the top of her head and behind her ears. She seemed to love the attention and began actively rubbing her face against their hand.

You couldn't help but smile at the sight. You'd always loved cats but had always been too busy to justify having a pet. You just didn't feel good about leaving it alone for hours on end.

"Her Name Is Doomfanger," Papyrus said, which caused you to raise an eyebrow.

Frisk seemed to find it amusing as well, if the slight bouncing of their shoulders with silent laughter was anything to go by.

Papyrus was unfazed, if anything he didn't even seem to see the humour in the situation. He was apparently completely serious about the name, that or he had named her that ironically.

"Sooo, is there a story behind her name?" you asked carefully.

Sans snorted but didn't seem willing to share what was so funny to him.

Papyrus glared at his brother before he glanced back at you, his expression softening once again. "She Used To Be A Stray That I Rescued A Few Years Back Actually. While She May Not Look Scary, I Assure You That She Has Every Bit Earned The Name." As he explained, he absentmindedly ran his fingers through her lusciously thick coat.

You glanced at the purring furball in his arms and grinned. "I'm sure she's every bit the ferocious fighter that you are, Papyrus," you said teasingly.

Papyrus grinned as well and stood up, bringing Doomfanger over to you. "Would You Like To Hold Her?" he asked gently.

You looked up at him in surprise, "You think she wouldn't mind?"

"Hardly, You Seem To Have A Little Experience With Cats, So I Do Not See Why Not."

Papyrus gently passed the cat off to you and she immediately curled up in your lap, seemingly happy to receive attention from anyone. You gently stroked the sides of her face, admiring how soft and well taken care of her fur was.

Frisk came back over to the couch and gave Doomfanger more attention. They were being especially gentle which you were rather proud of. You carefully moved a few stray strands of hair out of their face and patted their head affectionately.

Feeling the familiar sensation of someone watching you, you glanced up to meet Papyrus' own gaze. Apparently, he'd been staring for a few minutes and he quickly looked away when he realized you'd caught him.

"Is something wrong?" you asked softly, your brows furrowing slightly as you spoke.

He shook his head. "No, Nothing Is Wrong," he quickly stated.

You were about to press him further, when Frisk rapidly tapped your arm. They pinched their thumb and pointer fingers together and drew them across their face like imaginary whiskers. "Cat..." They then made a fist with their right hand and held up one finger on their left hand, before moving the fist to conceal their left hand. "To deceive..."

Deceitful Cat?

You tilted your head and gave them an amused smile. It was annoying to constantly spell out the names of things so you didn't blame them for coming up with a nickname for her. That seemed like a slightly odd one though, even for Frisk.

"Maybe you should think up another nickname for her, okay, kiddo?" you chuckled.

(Edit: I platonically love you! @scrambledmeggys )

[imtrashraccoon]

Gah! You guys were so awesome on my previous two posts. It was a huge surprise to wake up to this morning! So here is the next one, enjoy!

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day

Day 3: Scarfs

Frisk seemed to really like Doomfanger. As the days went by, you often woke up to find the cat had somehow squished herself between you and Frisk on the couch. Her purring was what woke you up every time as a result of Frisk just drenching her with attention. It was a good thing you weren't allergic to cats but getting all of her fur off your clothes was nigh impossible.

Today had been no different and after breakfast, Frisk had gone hunting for her again. They'd found a piece of string somewhere and got her to chase it across the living room. You couldn't help but chuckle watching their combined antics. Deciding to leave them alone for a bit, you wandered into the kitchen to get a drink of water.

Papyrus was washing up the breakfast dishes and by the look of his uniform, he was probably heading out on patrol as soon as he was done. Rather than continue on your initial quest, you hesitated for a moment in the entryway of the kitchen, silently watching him work.

You had slightly mixed feelings about him, well, you felt that way about both brothers actually. While neither brother had been openly hostile towards you or Frisk, they had been rather passive or cold at best. This was pretty normal though, considering how rocky your first meeting had gone and how different their personalities were from your own.

Yet, you couldn't help but wonder if there was something between you and Papyrus. While it was hard to tell what he was thinking or feeling since he didn't exactly have conventional facial expressions like humans did, he had been much kinder than you expected. He checked to make sure both you and Frisk were doing alright, as well as acting like a good host, making you feel welcome in his home, even if he was still a bit distant.

Papyrus must've sensed you watching him because he suddenly turned halfway around and spotted you. "Is Everything Alright?" he asked quietly.

You felt your cheeks grow warm with embarrassment and glanced away. "Yeah, we're alright. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare at you like that..." You rubbed the back of your neck and chewed your lower lip slightly.

"Apology Accepted." Papyrus returned to his current task, apparently unbothered.

You entered the kitchen and got a glass out of the cupboard. Quickly filling it from the tap, you leaned up against the counter and sipped at it.

"I do really like your uniform by the way. It legitimately looks really cool on you, especially your scarf," you commented, focusing on the remaining water in your glass while you spoke.

Out of the corner of your eye, you thought Papyrus smiled slightly at that. He didn't say anything for a moment, but you hadn't really been looking for a conversation and had just wanted to clear the air.

"I Made It Myself," he finally said as he finished washing the last pan.

"Really? That's pretty impressive," you responded and glanced over at him again.

Papyrus dried his hands and pulled his long gloves back on. "Well, Mostly By Myself. I Bought The Materials And Then Put It All Together."

"Can I touch it?"

Papyrus studied you before nodding. "Go For It."

Setting your glass on the counter, you moved closer to him and lightly ran your fingers over the tattered edges of the end of his scarf. It was way softer than you'd expected, almost like cotton, but thicker than any similar garments you'd felt before.

"It's sort of like the texture of cotton, but not? What's it made from?" you asked curiously.

Papyrus tilted his skull thoughtfully. "I Am Not Familiar With Cotton, Since We Do Not Get A Lot Of Human Clothing Down Here. We Make Our Own Textiles From Various Materials Like Plant Fibers, Fur, Or Hair. There Is Also Spider Silk, Although It Is Rather Pricey So Most Are Not Able To Afford It."

He chuckled and added, "However, I Am Not Most People And As You Can See, I Spared No Expense. Besides The Obvious Softness, Cloth Made From Spider Silk Is Much More Durable Than Other Materials."

Your eyes widened with surprise and you examined his scarf slightly closer. "No way... That's so cool! I would love to have something made from spider silk, but it just isn't feasible on the surface."

Papyrus smiled at your enthusiasm. "I Imagine It Is Not, Considering There Are Only A Few Spiders That Supply Silk For The Entire Underground."

He left for work not long after the conversation ended, although the it seemed to have put him in a good mood which made you happy. You were genuinely impressed that spider silk could be that soft and a small part of you was really tempted to "temporarily borrow" his scarf at some point to try it out for yourself.

(Edit: Second last one I swear! @scrambledmeggys )

[imtrashraccoon]

I noticed that a certain person keeps liking the few posts I've made on here about my fic The Hand We've Been Dealt. If you're trying to get my attention, you certainly have it lol.

The Hand We've Been Dealt (150112 words) by imtrashraccoon Chapters: 48/? Fandom: Undertale (Video Game), Underfell (alternate universe) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader

I posted Chapter 48 earlier today and I have a couple more chapters sitting in drafts. I don't mind continuing this fic if you like it, even if I have kind of moved on, since it's been bugging me for a while.

[imtrashraccoon]

Been a long time coming but I was too busy with Bad Sansuary to finish this last one up. I had originally planned two more bonus chapters but I think the story ends nicely here. Besides, I'm ready to wrap up this project.

This chapter happens immediately after Chapter 30: Souls btw.

First Day & Previous Day.

Bonus 3: Respite

You let Papyrus go with Sans so they could talk with Gaster on their own. It just seemed fair to you somehow.

Instead, you turned your attention to Frisk who was still standing near the King and Queen. While you were still a bit lightheaded, you were able to stand up and walk so long as you were careful.

Frisk glanced over as soon as you approached and a bright grin immediately broke out over their face. They turned and practically went to tackle you, except you scooped them up into a fierce bear hug and embraced them.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." you whispered. Your voice trembled and you couldn't manage to hold everything together any longer. While you normally hated crying in front of strangers, you no longer cared if anyone thought badly of you.

It was finally over. Against all odds, you'd both survived. Surely, this was the best possible ending... You couldn't imagine how things could be any better at least.

Frisk loosened their hold on you and lightly patted your shoulder to get your attention. When you let go slightly and pulled back, you could see that they had been crying as well from the tear tracks running down their cheeks. They vigorously wiped their face on their sweater sleeves and smiled weakly.

"I tried so hard..." they signed slowly. "This is it now... We can't go back anymore."

Your eyes widened slightly at the realization of what they meant set it. This was permanent and there would be no more resets. Now it was your turn to get them through the days ahead and, while you were a little anxious, you were glad to put this whole difficult journey behind you.

"You did so good, Frisk. I couldn't have done any of this without you," you responded. "Thank you..."

They seemed relieved to hear that and smiled more genuinely. "I love you..." they signed.

With a slight chuckle, you ruffled their fluffy hair and pressed a quick kiss on the top of their head, much to their embarrassment. "I love you too, kiddo."

Your self awareness suddenly kicked in and you glanced up to find the three goat monsters just quietly watching you and Frisk's reunion. You swallowed nervously and out of habit pulled Frisk a bit closer again, except they resisted and pushed off your chest much to your surprise.

"This is Asriel, my best friend," they signed and motioned to the little goat monster you'd never seen before.

The goat child glanced at Toriel before approaching you apprehensively. He had similar scruffy white fur as his parents did, long floppy ears, and a pair of fangs that slightly poked out of his mouth. He also had a pair of sharp but stubby horns on the top of his head and his eyes were yellow with a red ring around the black sclera. You couldn't be sure of his age, but from his green and yellow striped sweater and black overalls, he seemed older than Frisk, maybe eight or nine?

"Um, hi... It's nice to meet you properly this time," he said. His voice was a bit gruffer than you'd initially expected and while he seemed rather shy right now, there was a bit of a teasing lilt in his tone.

"Sorry, we've met before?" Turning to Frisk, you asked, "And when did you make a best friend?"

Frisk grinned in a mischievous way before responding. "He was trapped in a flower until now. Remember Flowey?" When you nodded, they added, "Well, I gave him a small piece of my soul so he could return to his true form."

To say you were concerned was a bit of an understatement. While you still didn't know much about souls in general, even you knew that a person's soul was not something that could just be given away carelessly.

Glancing between both children, you couldn't help the slight frown that flickered across your face. "Frisk...how? Are you okay...?" You had no idea how to respond to this situation and your tongue couldn't seem to form any substantial sentences at the moment.

While Asriel couldn't maintain eye contact with you, Frisk seemed confident with their decision. They nodded vigorously and quickly tried to reassure you. "I had a lot of Determination, much more than most people do, so I gave Asriel some of it to form a soul for him. Which is why I can't do that...thing anymore. We'll be fine, okay?"

You didn't really understand what they meant but if Frisk was so sure that everything would be okay, then you would do your best to trust them. They had been responsible for freeing everyone after all, the least you could do was believe them, right?

"Alright then. While I don't fully understand all this, I'm glad you both seem to be fine." With a smile, you turned to Asriel again, "Nice to meet you then. I apologize but I had no idea you and Frisk were so close."

"It's alright..." The goat child smiled sheepishly and rubbed the fur on the back of his neck. "I'll be honest, I didn't know they thought of me that way either. They're really amazing, aren't they?"

You grinned and moved some stray hair strands out of Frisk's face. "They really are..." you murmured.

Toriel placed a furry paw on Asriel's shoulder and squeezed him in an affectionate way. "I... Or rather we, are so, so grateful to have our son back. Thank you, Frisk..."

Asgore had been very quiet after everything that had happened. If you were to guess, he seemed to be the strong and stoic type who rarely showed any emotion. Still, he had shed more than a few tears earlier when first reunited with his son, so he wasn't completely heartless at least. You still didn't like him though and that probably wouldn't change any time soon.

He knelt down in front of Frisk and bowed his head slightly, but he was still much taller than them even like this. "Thank you...Frisk, for bringing Asriel back. And thank you for breaking the barrier when we could not," he said solemnly.

Frisk smiled sweetly up at the now humbled king. They lightly patted his massive furry paw with their much smaller hand before answering. "You're welcome!"

The King turned his gaze to you, his yellow eyes still glistening with emotions, but that air of solemn duty he had been exuding earlier was back. "I want to do what is best for my people and I believe right now peace with your kind is the right thing to do. Forgive me, but would you be willing to help with the negotiations with the human government? Like an ambassador of sorts?" he asked.

Frisk nodded excitedly but you frowned and put your hand on their shoulder, which got their attention. Squaring your shoulders, you addressed the King of Monsters for the second time today.

"I am going to have to decline your offer on the basis that neither of us have any experience with politics and Frisk isn't even seven." You held up a finger before he could interject, "However, I am willing to help for the sake of all the friends I've made and to make a better world for everyone."

While he seemed a little disappointed, Asgore seemed to take your rejection pretty well. He stood up again and gave you a firm nod. "Very well... I suppose it was presumptuous of me to ask, especially after everything you've both been through."

He pressed his furry paw against his gold plated chestplate before adding, "I will make a decree that no monster is to harm a human. If there is to be true peace, we must prove to your kind that we are willing to put aside our past grievances."

"For the sake of our son and our people, I will assist in negotiating with the humans," Toriel stated. Her tone of voice had turned cold as she turned to address Asgore but there was still a spark of hope in her eyes, despite the obvious tension between them.

The King seemed momentarily taken aback and he started to say something, but stopped himself. "We should sit down and discuss how things will be going forward," he mentioned with a bit of an awkward cough.

Toriel only let out a low hum in agreement and narrowed her yellow eyes at him.

You felt incredibly awkward all of the sudden, wanting to be anywhere but next to the bitter former couple. You didn't want to just walk away, although you didn't know what or if you should say anything.

Fortunately, you were saved from making a fool of yourself when Undyne scooped both Frisk and Asriel up in each arm. The goat child let out a startled bleat and flailed his arms for a bit until he realized he wasn't going to fall. Undyne then shifted both children so they were sitting on each of her shoulders and chuckled, flashing a sharp toothed grin at you as she did so.

"I don't know how you did it, but congrats! The barrier is gone!" she exclaimed. Her grin faltered a little and in a quieter voice she added, "I wasn't so sure I'd ever get to see it for myself and if I did, never like this."

Frisk attempted to give the fish lady a hug but could only wrap their arms around her head. They ended up just leaning down and resting their upper body and head on top of hers, earning a quiet chuckle from her.

You couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight. "I don't understand it myself but I suppose it doesn't really matter. We're here and we managed to do so without much bloodshed. I'm just so happy..."

You trailed off as you felt your throat start to close up again and the familiar sting of tears at the corners of your eyes. Taking a deep breath, you managed to blink away your tears before they could flow down your cheeks. Alphys then appeared next you and placed one of her clawed hands on your arm in a reassuring manner.

"I don't know how to begin to thank either of you for being willing to support us. The chances of our plan even working were slim and if we'd failed, I know it would have cost both of you greatly," you finally said, doing your best to keep your voice even, although it was a bit difficult.

Undyne carefully set the kids back onto the ground and scratched the back of her neck. "Ah, well, of course we'd help. Friends stick by each other..." she murmured in a much quieter voice than she usually did. Her gills and cheekbones seemed to become a deeper blue and she was having a hard time actually looking at you all of the sudden.

For once, Alphys didn't seem like the more shy one of the two women and she gave you a gentle smile. "I'd been working on finding a way to break the barrier for my whole tenure as Royal Scientist. I'm just very glad it's all over and that we can finally have peace." She grew thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Even if this hadn't worked, it was worth a try I think. I'm just glad we could help you and put an end to the violence."

"Me too," you hummed.

When the skeletons eventually rejoined the group, you began to sense a sort of anticipation in the air. You felt a similar sense of excitement as it had been months since you'd seen the sun and had all but given up on seeing it again. You thought the monsters actually seemed a little hesitant though, as if they were afraid to take the first step outside in possibly a millenia or more.

Frisk tugged at your sleeve and motioned to the opening in the cave. You gave them a gentle nod and they instantly grabbed one of Asriel's paws, beginning to pull him towards the fading sunlight. That seemed to be the push the others needed and they began to follow the children to the surface. The older monsters followed at a slower pace and you noticed how solemn their expressions had become.

Papyrus glanced back at you and tilted his skull. When you realized he was waiting, you darted over and gave him a hug. He smiled and pressed a skeleton kiss against the top of your head, before wrapping an arm around you and guiding you towards the sunlight.

The sun had sunk halfway below the horizon, colouring the sky with a canvas of reds, oranges, and yellows. You took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air but instead of focusing on the sunset, you turned to see the reactions of your friends instead.

Asgore and Toriel still seemed solemn and you could see their eyes once again glistening with tears of joy. You couldn't help but wonder what the world had been like back before the war that had trapped them Underground. Hopefully, things would be better now.

Asriel had a small frown on his face and you noticed he seemed a little sad. At least Frisk was quick to comfort them but your heart went out to the poor goat child. No one deserved to be sad, let alone children, and you hoped he would be okay.

Undyne was completely silent for once but you swore you could see her good eye sparkling with unbridled excitement. There was a wide grin plastered across her face and while her body was tense, it was as if she was trying to desperately contain herself while everyone took in the view.

Alphys seemed awestruck as well and her jaw dropped which she quickly covered with her hands. The glow of the last few rays of sunshine reflected off her round glasses and you couldn't look directly at her for very long. She caught your eye and you saw her cheeks flush a bright pink, although she quickly looked up at Undyne rather than try to duck away from embarrassment.

Gaster's expression seemed rather clinical and he had propped up his chin with one hand in silent contemplation. You couldn't imagine what was going through his skull right now and you weren't about to ask either. Maybe he was thinking about the future? You would have to sit down and have a proper conversation to get to know him at some point.

Sans wore the widest grin you'd ever seen on his face. His hands were stuffed into his gray hoodie's pockets as he slowly rocked back and forth on his heels. You realized he'd noticed you staring at him when he turned his skull slightly to look at you out of the corner of his eye sockets. His crimson eyelights seemed to glitter with an almost childlike wonder and you couldn't help but smile back at him.

Papyrus' scarlet pinpricks were similarly sparkling but the expression he wore was more serious than that of his brother. He couldn't seem to tear his eye sockets away from the sky or the sunset even for a moment. His arm was still wrapped around your waist but his grip on you had slackened as he took in as much of the beautiful sight as he could.

"Sans..." he finally murmured. "Is That...?"

His brother hummed quietly in agreement. "yep, that's the sun..."

"I Never Thought I Would Actually See It..."

You slid one of your hands up his back and leaned against his chestplate in an attempt to get even closer together. "You can see the real stars too if we wait long enough," you remarked softly, although your voice was still loud enough for the others to hear.

There were quiet murmurs of agreement, although some were more enthusiastic than others, and you couldn't help but smile to yourself.

It didn't take long for the sun to finally dip below the horizon and the last of the brilliant colours to give way to twilight. By then, everyone had gotten settled into various groups on the mountainside to wait for the first star to make its presence known.

You took this moment to have a bit of a silent reflection. So much had changed over the last several months, you'd made several new friends, learned a ton about an entirely new culture, helped set a civilization free to rejoin humanity, found out you actually had magic, and now you were technically engaged with a monster. Your life had definitely taken a turn for the better and while the reintegration of Monsters into Human society likely wouldn't be easy, you were ultimately hopeful for what the future held.

At some point, Frisk made their way back to you and Papyrus trailed behind them. You smiled and made room so they could sit in the soft grass next to you. Frisk was all to happy to sit in your lap and sprawl out on top of you, which you didn't mind in the slightest. Papyrus on the other hand seemed content to just hold you close and rest his clavicle on the top of your head.

You could hear quiet gasps of surprise from the other monsters when the first stars appeared. It didn't take long for the sky to be dotted with hundreds of little twinkling lights and even you found yourself in awe at the sight. The light pollution in the city had never allowed you to see nearly this many, even on clearer nights like this one.

Frisk suddenly patted your arm to get your attention and when you glanced down at them, they grinned up at you. "Thank you for being there and always encouraging me...Mom..."

For a second, you wondered if they'd made a mistake and used the wrong sign or if you'd misinterpreted them. But no, they had tapped their thumb to their chin with an open hand and by the way their cheeks had flushed a light pink, you realized it wasn't that kind of mistake.

You didn't know what to say for several long seconds. Once you'd managed to find your voice, you gave their fluffy hair a gentle pat. "Do you see me like that, kiddo? As a parent...?" you asked quietly.

They looked surprised for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Do you want me to be?"

"Yes! I would!" they signed excitedly as a wide grin broke across their face. "I love you so much!"

You smiled and moved some stray locks of their hair out of their face. "Alright then, I'll try looking into seeing if your parents will allow me to become your guardian, okay?"

Papyrus let out a soft chuckle and pulled away from you a little bit. "I Told You So, Precious," he teased.

You huffed and gave him a bit of a playful swat. "Yeah, you did, multiple times in fact! I didn't want to promise something I couldn't make good on, okay?" You sighed and looked away from both of them before adding, "I'm not even sure if your parents will agree to this, but I'm going to try my hardest. I guess...after everything, I've come to see you as my own... I love you so much, Frisk."

Frisk wrapped their arms around your waist and buried their face in your sweater. You gave them a gentle hug back as best you could in this position.

Glancing back at Papyrus, you furrowed your brows slightly as a realization occured to you. "Are you okay with this? I know in the past you expressed that you don't like kids very much..."

He shook his skull and gave Frisk an affectionate pat on their back. "I Like Frisk And I Would Be Willing To Try Being In Their Life. Whether That Means Being An Actual Father Figure Or Just Continuing Supporting Both Of You Like I Have Already," he said.

You smiled and put your hand on top of his. This seemed like a great arrangement and you couldn't help feeling a little excited at the idea of having a family.

Things would turn out okay.

[imtrashraccoon]

Whew! This one was a bit tricky to write and I couldn't find a way to wrap it up, so it turned out double the length of the others! I hope you enjoy lol.

@scrambledmeggys

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Day 16: Competition

"Humans... Prepare to die!"

A monster you'd never seen before stood in the doorway brandishing a glowing red spear. She was almost as tall as Papyrus and appeared to be some sort of aquatic monster if the gills along her neck, frilled ears, and webbed fingers were anything to go by. Her skin was a deep blue and seemed to be made up of scales with a couple of red stripes along her more aquatic features. She had firey red hair that was tied up in a high ponytail, and her one good eye was a piercing yellow that reminded you of a cat's, while her left eye was covered with an eye patch. She also had sharp teeth and her nails were rather pointy, having also been painted a dark red.

She was wearing a black parka, a pair of thick gloves, and fluffy earmuffs. You couldn't see what she was all wearing underneath the winter gear, but her black ripped jeans and red boots almost seemed similar to Papyrus' guard uniform. Was she another member of the Royal Guard then?

There wasn't any time to question this situation further though, because she legitimately wanted you and Frisk dead. You weren't entirely sure how she'd gotten inside anyways as the brothers usually kept the door locked.

While you knew that Frisk could just reset if this situation turned out badly, you still weren't willing to rely on that power. So, you went to put yourself between them and the intruder but Frisk stopped you.

They tugged on your sleeve before touching their thumb and pinky finger together. "Six."

Your eyes widened as the realization that this had happened several times already dawned on you. Slowly, you edged away from the fish lady as your mind scrambled to come up with some way to get out of this situation.

Frisk stayed behind you and their eyes were narrowed as they scanned the intruder, looking for any weakness that could be exploited. So far, they seemed just as stumped as you were but they were also stubbornly refusing to give up. There had to be a way to defuse this situation like you had all the other ones before now.

The angry fish monster advanced on you and slowly raised her spear but before she could throw her weapon, Sans teleported into the living room. His eye sockets were blank, something you didn't even know he could do, and he looked pretty shaken up.

That quickly changed though when he saw what was going on. His gaze flicked from you and Frisk to the fish lady, who seemed surprised to see him. Sans didn't hesitate further and his crimson magic blazed to life as his left eyelight returned to it's socket.

"undyne," he growled under his breath. You got the impression he'd gone from worry to being enraged in less than a split second.

"Sans," she snarled and the corners of her sadistic smile fell slightly. "What is the meaning of this? Why are these humans still alive?!"

"that's none of your concern, i have my reasons."

Undyne lowered her spear and fixed Sans with a critical look. "Really? Them?" She pointed at both you and Frisk as she spoke. "You picked now of all times to do your job?"

Sans slipped his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, which was slightly perplexing to you. While his tense posture spoke otherwise, was he really so confident that he could win this encounter? Or was he just attempting to assert his dominance in this situation?

"you wouldn't get it but all you need to know is that i have judged them. there's nothin' you can do to change my decision," he answered.

Undyne ran a hand over her face before pinching the bridge of her nose. "I don't believe this...." she groaned. "Just because you happened to...take pity on the enemy, doesn't mean you can just use your position to deliberately disregard Royal Decree. I ought to arrest both of you for treason and take these human's souls to Asgore."

Sans stiffened slightly at the reference to his brother and his magic seemed to burn brighter for a moment. "then you'll die tryin'..." he growled but made no immediate move to attack.

"You Are Completely Outmatched Against Both Of Us."

Your heart skipped a beat when you heard Papyrus' voice. Glancing up, you spotted him at the top of the stairs, although he certainly looked angrier than you'd ever seen him. He wasn't wearing his armour right now but frankly, he didn't need it to cut an intimidating figure that would put the fear of death in anyone.

Undyne snarled and raised her spear again, although she pointed it in his direction this time. "You! I should've known this was why you'd been acting like a complete pansy these past few weeks. Protecting the enemy...what do you have to say for yourself, huh Papyrus?"

Papyrus glared at her and despite the way she was threatening him with her weapon, he deliberately descended the steps while maintaining eye contact. "I Have Nothing To Say To You About This," he stated.

Seeing as Undyne's attention was on the brothers rather than you or Frisk, you silently moved into the kitchen. While you were confident things would be okay, now that both brothers were involved, you really hoped there was a way to peacefully resolve this situation.

Frisk tugged at your sleeve, drawing your attention back to them. "I don't know what changed yet but neither of them showed up all the other times," they signed.

You frowned but didn't have an answer to that. To remain quiet, you signed back rather than speak like you usually did. "I don't want them to fight if we can help it. Did you have any ideas yet?"

Frisk frowned and tapped their chin thoughtfully. "I'm not certain yet but she seems like a competitive person; like even more than Papyrus or Sans are."

You hummed softly, "That could be worth exploring. Maybe we can challenge her to a contest? I don't know anything about her though so it's a bit of a long shot."

Frisk nodded seriously. "Yes, and anything involving strength is a no go for you."

You let out a hiss of indignation and quickly shot back. "Watch your tongue, you rascal! I am plenty strong!"

Frisk laughed silently, "You said tongue!" They grew more serious though and added, "I wasn't really joking though. She seems really strong."

You sighed, "Sorry... You're right though, I definitely can't take her."

The argument in the living room hadn't let up yet and while part of you had hoped that Sans or Papyrus would be able to defuse things, you knew better. You wouldn't say it aloud, but they both had awful conflict resolution skills and it looked like Undyne was just as bad.

Turning to Frisk, you signed, "I'm going to try something, so apologies in advance if this becomes number seven."

Frisk nodded and a glimmer of Determination crossed their expression. "You got this! I believe in you!"

You grinned and shot them a pair of finger guns. Normally, you would've made a quip about only living once, but uh...that wasn't exactly true as it turns out. Turning your attention back to the living room, you stepped just over the threshold and took a moment to observe how things were going.

For the most part, both brothers were remaining calm and collected while Undyne was the one doing most of the yelling. You felt a small tinge of pride as you didn't think either Sans or Papyrus were capable of having a constructive argument, but they were keeping things from escalating into a full blown fight somehow.

Clearing your throat slightly to get their attention, which worked fair better than you anticipated as everyone immediately turned to look at you. Undyne's expression was still full of rage and while both brothers still looked rather cross, Papyrus seemed to become visibly concerned for a moment.

Steeling yourself for what would likely be yet another awkward encounter, you took a deep breath before speaking. "We never got properly acquainted, Undyne, was it? My name is Rihanna." You paused for a moment before adding, "I do wish we could've met under more pleasant circumstances, but maybe we could change that?"

Undyne grimaced, "Yeah no. I don't care who you are and I don't want to be your friend...or whatever these idiots are to you." She narrowed her eye at you in such a way that made you feel like she was looking through you.

You stared back at her, not being willing to let her have the satisfaction of intimidating you. "Fine, I wasn't expecting to be friends anyways. Any chance we can talk this out? Or come to some sort of agreement somehow?"

Papyrus sighed and ran a hand over his face. He made his way over to you and put a hand on your shoulder. "I Know You Are Trying But You Should Not Waste Your Time."

"Still, I want to try, is that so bad?" you asked and moved slightly closer to him. You didn't touch him though and mostly just wanted to stick closer for protection.

"What about some sort of contest? We could compete over something you're interested in?" you asked Undyne again.

"Hell no, stop asking because I don't care," Undyne hissed. She glanced at Sans then back to you and Papyrus. "I've seen enough. Come quietly and your sentencing will be easier. As for you," she pointed the tip of her spear in your direction, "I'm bringing both your souls to the King so Monsters can finally be free."

You noticed Papyrus' jaw clench slightly and caught Sans glancing at him in a questioning way. Because you were standing right next to him, you could feel his magic spike slightly, even as he let go of your shoulder and fully turned to face Undyne.

"Wait!" you cried, realizing they were planning to fight right now. Once again, everyone turned to look at you and it wasn't any less awkward the second time. "Don't fight each other! There's no point!"

You hesitated for a moment before deciding just to play what might as well be your trump card. You looked Undyne in the eye again and squared your shoulders.

"There's no point, because you can't kill either of us. We won't stay dead, no matter what, we have always come back. Think what you want, but both Sans and Papyrus have tried to kill us, multiple times even. They failed because we wouldn't stay dead, so even if you killed us, it wouldn't matter because we'll just come back."

The room was silent. You couldn't see Papyrus' expression, because he was facing away from you, but Sans seemed stunned. Undyne, on the other hand, looked like she didn't believe you and she narrowed her eye suspiciously.

"In fact, you've already killed us six times now, Undyne," you added. While you knew most of what you'd said was true, you were still lying by omission as only Frisk could reset, while you didn't seem able to do so. Still, you were hoping the futility of this situation would be enough to dissuade Undyne.

It seemed that Sans was the first to recover from the shock. He sighed and ran his hand over his face. "well then, if we're just comin' out with it..." he muttered. Turning to Undyne, he said, "there's the reason then, can't exactly take their souls if they mess with time, huh?"

Undyne still didn't seem convinced although she lowered the tip of her spear slightly. "That's impossible..." she muttered. "No human has ever been able to do that before you two. How do I know you're not lying, huh?"

"And how do you know if this is the first time we've had this conversation?" you pressed. "Doesn't this whole interaction feel...familiar? Like a sense of deja vu you can't explain?"

Undyne hesitated. The tension was thick in the air as she studied you critically. You could've heard a pin drop if it wasn't for the hammering of your heart.

"I don't like this..." Undyne took a step back, the spear dematerializing from her hand as she did so. "I'm going to have to consult Alphys about this whole time travel thing."

She moved towards the door but paused and pointed an accusatory finger at you. "This isn't over, human. All of you are on thin ice and if I find out you were lying, I'll report you all to King Asgore directly."

"good luck with that," Sans retorted. " 'sides, al isn't exactly an expert on time travel, that was more the previous guy's schtick."

Undyne huffed, "Don't think you're off the hook either. I'll be keeping a much closer eye on all of you from now on." With that, she turned and marched out the door.

No one said a thing for several minutes afterwards, just in case she came back. You suddenly felt rather lightheaded and sank down onto the couch as the adrenaline began to wear off. Frisk came out of the kitchen and curled up next to you. They rested their head in your lap and you absentmindedly stroked their scalp in a comforting way.

You broke the silence first with a soft chuckle. "I'm not a gambler, but right now I feel like I could win the lottery."

"How Much Of That Was True?" Papyrus asked quietly.

Sans nodded slowly and moved around the couch to stand in front of you. "i knew you were crazy before, but you are so lucky that worked..." he muttered. "you have quite a bit of explainin' to do."

"Yeah, of course." You paused for a moment, trying to figure out where would be best to begin. "Everything I said was true, however I may have left out or slightly exaggerated some things."

You glanced down at Frisk and asked, "Is it alright if I tell them the truth?"

Frisk shrugged and sat up. They glanced between the brothers before nodding, "I trust them."

"Well then, the truth is that only Frisk is able to time travel like that. They remember what happened in previous timelines and whenever one of us died, they would reset to a safe point so we could try again. I don't remember any of these previous resets and I just know what Frisk has told me."

"Then We Really Did Try To Kill You Before." Papyrus' expression was a mix of hurt and horror which nearly broke your heart.

"Yes, however neither of us kept track and besides, we aren't upset with either of you." You sighed, "I am sorry you both had to find out this way. I don't like the whole reset thing either but we wouldn't have made it out of the Ruins otherwise."

Sans sighed, "i guess this explains that deja vu i kept gettin'. i nearly thought i was going crazy..."

You grimaced at that. "Again, I'm really sorry about that...about all of this too. I didn't mean to hurt either of you..."

Papyrus caught you by surprise by pulling you into a fierce hug. His claws dug into your back slightly and your arms were basically pinned, but you didn't protest.

"It Is Alright, I Am Not Mad At Either Of You," he murmured quietly. "I Am Just Happy You Are Safe."

[imtrashraccoon]

Well here we are... The grand finale. Fair warning, this took me most of the day to write and is just under 4,000 words. It is rougher than I prefer but I am ultimately happy with it.

@scrambledmeggys Thank you so much for the prompt list! I had an absolute blast coming up with creative ways to spin them.

First Day, Previous Day, & Bonus One.

Day 30: Souls

Unfortunately, you had to travel through the MTT resort in order to get through the Core and then to the castle. You didn't think it would be so bad, so long as Mettaton himself wasn't there... Except, of course, he was waiting for you in the lobby.

The robot was rolling back in forth in front of the pair of double doors that lead into the Core. He had one set of his arms crossed while the other pair hung limply by his sides, giving off the picture of dejectedness but also impatience. There was no way past him without having a conversation, although notably there didn't seem to be anyone else in the rest of the lobby, not even the receptionist.

Both Papyrus and Sans seemed slightly irritated to see the robot but they didn't voice their annoyance out loud. They also understood that the only way past was to actually talk to the robot.

Mettaton looked up when you approached and you mentally prepared yourself to have to deal with his dramatics. It didn't help that your first meeting had gone just about as poorly as was possible. But, he didn't say anything at first and actually seemed...upset?

"So you made it past the ambush afterall," he commented. His voice was slightly quieter than usual but it still had that harsh, robotic quality to it.

When Papyrus merely crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath, Mettaton sighed and ran a hand over his LCD screen. "I suppose I should first apologize for how our previous encounter ended. I understand I was out of line and my questions were rather inconsiderate. So, I am sorry, to both you and Papyrus."

You nodded slowly, "I accept your apology but a simple sorry doesn't make us friends. I am not against being friends by any means, but you'll have to forgive me for not immediately forgetting all of what you said."

"And you shouldn't. What I did was completely selfish and I can see now that it had farther reaching consquences than I had ever intended..."

"What The Hell?!" Papyrus growled and took a step forward in a threatening manner. "You Were The One Who Told The King?!"

Mettaton held up his hands and backed away slightly. "It wasn't my original intention... All I did was briefly feature you two on my gossip show. I really didn't mean for the King himself to notice, especially with how well you'd been staying hidden."

Papyrus clenched his fists so tightly, you could audibly hear his leather gloves squeak in protest. "You Did Enough... Do Not Think I Was Bluffing Either, You Walking Piece Of Scrap!"

Mettaton seemed to hang his head, even if it was basically impossible with how his body was so rectangle shaped, and let out a robotic sigh. "Again, I am sorry..." he muttered. "If you'll let me try, I will do anything to make amends."

Your ears picked up at the sound of that and you moved to stand next to Papyrus. Putting a gentle hand on his arm, you smiled up at him sweetly before turning to address the robot again.

"Anything? What exactly can you do to make up for everything at this point?" you asked calmly.

Mettaton seemed to perk up slightly and he rolled forward again. "If you are to have any luck with convincing the King to make peace with the humans, your chances will be more likely to succeed if public opinion of you is positive. Alphys has already agreed to help me with finding the needed footage, but I am asking for your permission to address the rest of Monsterkind on your behalf."

"That's...actually really helpful of you. I'd appreciate it if you would as we could use all the help we can get right now."

Before either Papyrus or Sans could protest, Mettaton snapped his fingers and seemingly out of nowhere, at least a dozen monsters appeared. They all carried various pieces of sound or recording equipment and you realized Mettaton must have been serious if he had had an entire film crew already waiting.

"Thank you, darling. I won't let you down again." Turning to the crew, Mettaton's voice returned to his usual volume. "We're up next folks! Get ready for a special announcement, we go live in one minute!"

While the film crew began bustling around setting everything up, you and the brothers took the opportunity to leave while everyone was distracted. As soon as you'd gone through the double doors, the chatter from the monsters faded and was replaced by a consistent low humming sound. The air felt almost charged with energy and you now knew that this was the Core - the source of all power in the Underground.

You weren't here for sight seeing though, as much as you would've liked to tour the facility and see how it worked. That would have to be for another day, provided everything went well with the King and breaking the barrier anyways.

To say you were nervous was an understatement. You had only heard evil things about the King so far. He had been the ruler of Monsterkind before even the Great War that had sealed them away down here. While he'd always ruled with an iron fist, he'd apparently only grown crueler after both the loss of his children and then his wife leaving him. In his rage, he'd declared war on Humanity and mandated that all humans who entered the Underground were to be killed and their souls captured. His original intention had been to break the barrier and wage war until every last human was dead.

But, you were also hopeful. It had been several decades since the last human soul was captured and it seemed that many Monsters had grown tired of the one-sided conflict. With a little luck, you might be able to make a good case for why the war should end. You had your friends behind you as well, which helped ease your nerves a little.

You'd finally reached the Last Corridor and you felt ready to face the King. A bit of a somber mood had settled over the group by this point and rather than continuing onwards, Sans paused for a moment at the end of the hallway.

"Is something wrong?" you asked quietly.

He shook his skull and turned to look at you properly. "nah, i was just thinkin' is all. things could've turned out a lot different, but i'm glad we took the time to get to know you and the kid." His permanent smile widened and you smiled at him in return.

Papyrus nodded soberly, "Agreed, I Regret Nothing, Save That I Wish We Could Have Met Under Different Circumstances."

You couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Maybe, although I'm glad it turned out this way. I've learned so much this last year and I don't regret a thing."

"Me neither. It was scary at first but I can't remember ever having this much fun! I love all of you," Frisk signed. They smiled warmly at everyone and you nuzzled their head affectionately.

"I couldn't put it any better." Turning to the brothers, you smiled and asked, "Shall we go?"

They nodded and Papyrus put his arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to himself. You nearly lost your balance because you were still holding Frisk, but he held you steady. For a moment, he was silent and just gazed into your eyes like he was trying to remember this or maybe he was just debating whether he should kiss you or not.

You made the decision for him though and planted a quick kiss on his clavicle, even if you had to jump a little to do so. His zygomatic bones flushed a soft scarlet but he didn't seem embarrassed, just content. It was kind of reassuring to see actually, and you knew that no matter what happened next, you would make the right decision, together.

Just then, Undyne sprinted into the hallway and you were surprised to see that she was carrying Alphys under one arm. The fish lady jogged up to you before finally setting the poor scientist down.

"I told ya I'd catch up!" Undyne exclaimed. "Alphy wanted to come too, otherwise I would've met you at the resort, but, we're here now."

"I'm so glad you could make it!" You grinned and nearly went to hug her, but thought better of it as you were holding Frisk and didn't want to squish them.

Undyne cracked her neck and smacked her fist into her palm. "Alright, let's talk to this tyrant..." she growled.

< ~ - . - ~ >

When you all stepped into the throne room, King Asgore was sat on his throne and clearly had been waiting for your arrival. He certainly cut a very intimidating figure and at the same time looked exactly like what you'd pictured a Monster King to look like.

He had scruffy white fur, long black hair that cascaded over his neck, a matching well trimmed beard, and large pointy horns similar to bull's horns. His eyes were yellow but there was a ring of red around the black sclera. His overall appearance seemed similar to a goat, what with the long floppy ears and muzzle, although he did also have sharp fangs and claws. He wore a very intricate suit of gold plated armour with massive shoulder pauldrons and a long, flowing red cape. There was also a crown with numerous precious stones perched on his head.

He was quite evidently not happy to see you and his scowl deepened considerably. However, he didn't say anything at first and slowly rose to meet you.

"So, you've finally brought the human to me..."

His voice started low but carried a noticeable weight that demanded respect, almost like a distant rumble of thunder signalling an impending storm. You could see now for yourself why he was so feared and he'd only just started speaking.

He surveyed your group with a critical gaze, focusing on everyone individually before his eyes settled on you and Frisk. You refused to be intimidated and stared passively back, although you did hold Frisk a little closer. They leaned into you as well and wrapped their arms around your neck.

"What made you think I wouldn't notice your presence here?" he asked, although you were pretty sure the question was rhetorical and that he was basically mocking you. "Or that you could manipulate my own subjects into turning traitor?"

He finally took his eyes off of you and turned to address your friends again. "The leader of my army... My head scientist... You even managed to sink your disgusting talons into my executioner," he spat.

"Even now the public is being brainwashed by your pathetic lies... Freedom... True peace... Bah!" His sharp tone echoed throughout the vast room now. "Your kind lost the opportunity for peace the moment my own son turned to dust in my arms!" he thundered.

No one had said anything yet. Maybe it was because Asgore hadn't given them a chance to. Or maybe there simply was nothing to say. They had all become traitors, consequences be damned, because they all had come to care for you and Frisk.

Slow but steady footfalls sounded from behind and the King's scowl faltered for brief moment when he saw who it was.

"And that has become your downfall," a familiar voice hissed. "You became set in the past and refused to change. Violence won't bring you peace and it certainly won't bring our son back."

"Tori..." Asgore murmured and went to take a step forward, only to stop himself. He slowly turned to you again and leveled you with a look that could kill. "You even turned my own wife against me."

"No, you did this to yourself." Toriel moved to stand in between you and the King. While she was smaller than he was, she cut her own brand of intimidation and if you didn't know better, you'd say it was very effective.

You really should've realized she was the ex-queen once you learned she was missing, but with everything that had happened, you'd nearly forgotten meeting her. It made complete sense though and while you were definitely surprised to see her again, you were also incredibly grateful that she'd cared enough to help you.

She continued her statement, fully flexing her authority in this situation. "This is a coup, Asgore. We won't put up with your tyranny anymore. You can either continue to stand in our way or you can die like the pathetic coward that you are," she snarled.

You finally tore your eyes away from the King and looked over at your friends. He'd spoken like you were some sick mastermind who had planned all of this from the start. Truthfully, you hadn't meant to befriend several of the most important monsters in the Underground, it had just happened.

Seeing that your friends were willing to stand up against the most powerful monster in the entire Underground just for two humans, filled you with Determination.

You cleared your throat and took a small step forward to get Asgore's attention. "Your Highness, I must object to your previous statements about me. We never wanted to hurt any Monsters, in fact, they willingly chose to stand here today with us. Frisk and I want peace, for both humans and monsters. And to do that, we want to break the barrier so that your people can be free once again."

You sighed and glanced down at your feet before adding one more thing. "I am truly sorry about your son but he can't come back. You're allowed to grieve, but that doesn't mean you should make your people suffer the same as you. Please, let this cycle end..."

Papyrus put his hand on your shoulder and when you looked up at him, he smiled warmly down at you. There was clear pride in his scarlet eyelights and your soul swelled in response. You meant every word you'd said and even just the small act of doing so, well, it felt like everything had come full circle.

Asgore hung his head in silent defeat. After a tense moment, he let out a long sigh and turned away. "I can see when I'm outmatched..." he muttered. "Come, I will show you the barrier if that's what you really want."

You shared quiet glances with everyone before following the King through the castle. While everyone stayed close, Papyrus was especially so with you and his hand never left your shoulder. You really appreciated the tender gesture, even if you didn't say so out loud, but you had a feeling that there was no need. He definitely knew how you felt by now.

You hadn't known what to expect, but a white wall that seemed to stretch on forever, wasn't at all what you'd pictured the barrier to look like. It seemed to emit a low rumble that permeated your entire being or maybe that was just the sheer amount of magic coming off of it. This thing was clearly ancient and you couldn't help but feel a sense of morbid awe that humans had once been capable of something like this.

Seven glass cylinders rose out of an indent in the floor and your eyes widened at what they contained. Five multicolored small hearts floated passively in the tanks and for a moment, you almost forgot that these were human souls. They were so pretty and at times seemed to pulse with a strange energy. There was a light blue soul, an orange soul, a dark blue soul, a yellow soul, and a green soul in all, with the remaining two cylinders being empty.

Flowey popped out of the ground not far away from the souls and Frisk immediately scrambled to get down. You just about dropped them in their haste but thankfully didn't.

There was a shattering of glass and then the whole world went black.

< ~ - . - ~ >

Where am I?

Everywhere you could see was dark.

If you stared out into the darkness for too long, it only seemed to grow darker.

Yet darker.

Where is everyone?

You looked around for anything other than darkness and at first, you saw nothing. Rather, you heard something instead.

Someone was behind you and you could hear their breathing they were so close.

You whirled and came face to face with the last person you had expected.

It was the skeleton with the cracked face.

"You..."

His crooked smile widened slightly and he brought his hands up in front of his chest. "We meet again it seems..." he signed slowly.

"Yes... Where are we exactly?" you asked, glancing around again.

He waited until you looked back at him before answering. "This is the Void... How did you get here anyways?"

You shrugged, "I'm not sure actually. We were trying to break the barrier, but as soon as Flowey absorbed the human souls, everything went dark."

"Fascinating..." He scanned your body for a moment thoughtfully. "It seems your soul has been separated from your body... Not to worry, you are still very much alive..."

It was pretty awkward for a moment as you tried to process this and neither of you had anything to say.

"Wait..." You turned to the skeleton sharply which seemed to actually startle him. "Where's everyone else? Where's Frisk?"

He blinked before turning to look out into the Void. After concentrating for a few moments, he slowly signed, "They are safe... Your child is truely impressive... They are Determined to make sure everyone gets their happy ending..."

"That sounds like them..." You frowned slightly and added, "Wait, they're not..."

He turned sharply and cut you off. "Am I wrong? You certainly seem close...and they seem to regard you as their parent..." You didn't like the way he was smiling right now, as if he'd just discovered a juicy secret.

You were stunned and couldn't seem to respond. He seemed to take this as confirmation and chuckled, although it sounded incredibly rough like his voice had been damaged somehow.

"You humans are so interesting... You would rather live in denial than be honest with each other..."

You huffed and crossed your arms. "And who are you to judge?"

He still seemed rather amused if the twinkle in his vermillion eyelights was anything to go by. "My apologies... I forgot we hadn't been properly introduced..." Placing a hand on his chest, he bowed slightly. "I am Dr. W. D. Gaster, the first Royal Scientist... It is truely a pleasure to meet you sixth human..."

"Actually, you can just call me Rihanna, everyone else does," you corrected gently.

"Very well..." Gaster looked around at the Void for a moment. "I suspect we won't have much time to talk so I'd like to ask a favour of you..."

"What kind of favour?" you asked.

Gaster made eye contact with you again and signed, "Please, I am trapped in this place... If you could remember me and try to find someone who can help me get out of here... I would forever be in your debt..."

You nodded, "I will try my best."

Gaster was right and it happened without warning. One moment you were talking with him and the next, the Void began to splinter, similarly to what had happened in your nightmare. You had a feeling you were about to wake up and in desperation, you grabbed onto him.

He seemed surprised but didn't resist. "Frisk isn't the only one who wants everyone to have a happy ending!" you exclaimed. "Forgive me, but I have to try to help you too!"

The last thing you saw before everything went dark once again was a flash of multicolored light and then there was a deafening crack.

Very interesting...

< ~ - . - ~ >

You woke with a start.

The first thing you noticed was how weary you felt, like you'd been on your feet all day, and your head was pounding like you were about to get a migraine. The second thing you noticed was how bright everything was, although it was a warmer colour than the sheer white of the barrier.

Sunlight. That was sunlight!

Did that mean Flowey had succeeded?

You went to sit up but were stopped by Papyrus when he gently pressed against your chest with his hand. "Easy Precious, Everyone Is Safe," he whispered.

"Where's Frisk?" you asked hoarsely.

Papyrus pointed to Toriel, who was currently embracing a small child with similarly white fur, with Asgore standing nearby, both monsters noticeably had tears running down their cheeks. Frisk was standing close to the goat child, rubbing their back in a reassuring way.

You were still concerned but they seemed okay which you were glad to see. You could hold off on being a mama bear until later on...

Turning to Papyrus, you gave him a weak smile. "Are you okay?"

He chuckled and stroked your cheek affectionately. "I Have Felt Better But I Am Alright. There Is Nothing To Worry About," he assured you.

You held out your arms in a silent plea for a hug, which he granted without hesitation, pulling you into one of the fiercest hugs you'd had to date.

"I Was So Worried About You..." he murmured against your neck. "We Have A Lot To Talk About, Rihanna... And I Do Not Just Mean About What Comes Next."

"Did something happen?" you asked quietly.

He hesitated to answer at first. "Again, A Lot Of Things Happened, But Remember When I Asked If You Would Soul Bond With Me Before?"

You nodded against his collarbone, "I do..."

"During That Fight Earlier, I Am Pretty Sure Your Soul Tried To Initiate A Partial Bond With Mine..." Before you could freak out, he quickly added, "Do Not Worry, It Is A Good Sign That We Are More Compatible Than I Predicted. You Wanted To Protect Me And Your Soul Simply Acted."

"I'm sorry... This is a whole lot to take in right now. Can we come back to this, soon?"

"Of Course We Can," he hummed softly.

You sat there for several minutes longer, just holding each other and enjoying the closeness. Eventually though, the others began to group up again and you both decided to separate, for now anyways.

Sans approached you first but he hesitated and awkwardly rubbed the back of his skull. "so, uh, there's really no good way to put this..." he started to say. "but there's someone you should meet, paps." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and when your gaze followed the direction he'd indicated, you were shocked by who you saw.

Gaster had made it afterall. He was currently holding a conversation with Alphys, who seemed rather excited by how animated she was, while Undyne stood nearby watching him closely.

Papyrus frowned and shook his head. "Who Is He And What Is He Doing Here?"he grumbled. You hissed quietly when his grip tightened around you, almost painfully so. He quickly realized though and loosened his hold, shooting you an apologetic smile.

"I don't know him very well yet, but he was in the Void and we talked a little. So I guess I brought him back here? I don't know what really happened..." You tried to explain but the more you talked, the more confused even you became.

"We Apparently Have Much More To Discuss Than I Thought..." Papyrus mused thoughtfully.

Heya, Coon here!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this and come along on this month long journey with me. I appreciate it so much, whether you just liked it and moved on or reblogged and left comments. I've never had this many people enjoy my writing before and your support definitely encouraged me to keep going, even when I got stuck.

As you may have already guessed, I am not nearly done with this challenge fic. I will be making a couple of follow up bonus chapters based on ideas and prompts I didn't have time to explore fully. While the plot is mostly wrapped up, expect more from me in the next little while. Probably won't be every day though...this was mentally exhausting and I'll be taking things easier for a bit.

At least until whether I know if Owl_bones made a prompt list for Nightmare in January or not lol

Feel free to shoot me an ask about anything and everything. As my sister can testify, I love to info dump about my fics!

See you soon lovelies! (⁠つ⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)⁠つ

[imtrashraccoon]

Mettaton totally would have a cheesy 80's exercise show and you can't tell me otherwise.

@scrambledmeggys

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Day 9: Work Out

You were flipping through a recipe book for something to do and humming along to a surprisingly catchy theme song from whatever Frisk was watching in the living room. Normally, you were pretty strict about what they watched, but now that you were in the Underground, it became a lot easier to keep track of what they were watching, because there was much less selection down here.

The sound of familiar footsteps drew your attention away from your book to see Frisk scamper into the kitchen. They zeroed in on your position and darted over excitedly. You could still hear the catchy theme song playing on the tv.

They signed so quickly that you had a hard time understanding what they were trying to say. Thankfully, they repeated themselves a few times until you finally realized what they were saying. "Come Exercise With Me!"

You frowned slightly, "Pardon? Why are you so excited about exercising?" Needless to say, you were rather confused as you'd never seen Frisk this excited over something so dull.

"Cause it's fun!" They seized your hand and started yanking as hard as they could, trying to get you to come with them into the living room. When you were hesitant to budge, they let go for a second to sign again. "Come on! Please? Please? Please?!"

Letting out a soft sigh, you let them half drag you into the living room.

The television was blaring what you now realized was some sort of children's exercise show plastered with vibrant colours and bold style choices. For a moment you stood there stunned and feeling a bit overwhelmed from all the stimulation. It was like you'd stepped back in time forty years to a bygone era.

Then, the title card flashed across the screen and you realized this show was being broadcast live. It was called Mettaerobics and every part of the set was coated in bright reds and yellows. There was quite a few other colours, but they seemed to be various shades of the previous two or at least colours that complimented them nicely.

"Hello there darlings! You all know who I am by now, so may I welcome you to my newest show: Mettaerobics!" A rectangular shaped robot dramatically rolled into frame looking like one of those cliché 80's fashion models, neon yellow leotard and all.

You stared open-mouthed at Frisk for a moment before gaining the courage to ask the first question on your mind. "Who is that?!" you hissed as if he could somehow hear you through the screen.

"That's Mettaton! He's the most famous celebrity in the Underground." They paused for a moment before adding, "He's also the only celebrity..."

"Does he always dress that ridiculous?"

"No, but sometimes it's even worse!"

You shook your head, as you couldn't picture anything sillier than what was currently on the tv. "Okay, fine, so what else does he do?" you asked.

Frisk thought for a moment. "All sorts of things I guess. Music videos, movies, cooking shows, drama talk shows, he even hosts a news broadcast. Sans doesn't like him though, so I haven't seen most of those." They seemed to grow slightly more serious as they signed.

"Maybe we should watch them together then so we can see if they're any good, okay?" You were starting to wonder if there was something else to the robot or if Sans simply didn't like him.

Frisk nodded and turned their attention back to the screen. As the show got underway, you watched as their enthusiasm seemed to return but you weren't allowed to sit still for long. Frisk quickly noticed you weren't participating and gave you a stern look. Frankly, it was rather adorable to see them so annoyed but you figured it couldn't hurt to try a little bit.

Now, you weren't in the best shape, especially because it had been years since you did anything remotely athletic besides going for a walk. You'd played a handful of sports as a kid but never was amazing at any of them. Once you'd graduated high school though, you gone directly into college and from there, right into an internship with a pretty big corporation. You really hadn't had time to think about exercising but if Frisk wanted to spend time with you, you could humour them a little.

So you tried to mimic the movements of the robot on screen and while at first you felt rather self conscious, you quickly got into it. Frisk was having fun and as a result, you started to have fun as well. Some of the poses were a bit difficult to hold for long, but you found that the overall mood of the show seemed to be rather encouraging, which certainly helped boost your self esteem.

You were in the zone. Sure, you were starting to feel the burn, but now that the adrenaline was flowing, you felt you could do anything. Well, not literally, your body wasn't strong enough to do that, even if your brain was this psyched up.

Click

The distinct sound of a phone camera going off instantly tore you from the haze your brain had settled into. Your gaze snapped up to the balcony, only to catch Papyrus in the act of trying to subtly put his phone back into his jeans pocket. He was smiling from ear to figurative ear and it didn't take a genius to realize that he'd been spying on you for a while.

Feeling your cheeks grow bright red, you couldn't help the wave of embarrassment and annoyance sweep over you. That stupid smug look in his scarlet eyelights only serving to make you more irritated.

Without really thinking, you stormed up the stairs, taking two at a time until you were stood chest to chest with him. Fixing him your most annoyed look, you reached for his phone, but he was faster and moved his hand out of your reach.

"Give it," you demanded and tried again to swipe the device from him.

Papyrus laughed, actually laughed, and dangled his phone over your head, just slightly out of your reach. "Oh No, You Are Not Deleting That Picture..." he teased and wrapped his other arm around your waist. Pulling you closer, his eyelights flickered and he spoke in a lower tone, "Especially When You Looked So Adorable In It, Precious..."

After a few more futile attempts to grab his phone, you eventually gave up and crossed your arms, glaring at him. How dare he be so freakishly tall? You weren't even that short, only average height, for crying out loud!

Papyrus grinned and shifted you closer in his grasp. "You Know What?" he asked softly.

"What?" you grumbled.

"I Think You Are Even Cuter When You Are Mad..." Before you even had time to retort, he leaned in and pressed a quick skeleton kiss to your forehead.

You felt like you were burning up. The anger you'd been feeling was rapidly replaced by a fresh wave of embarrassment. You wanted nothing more than to disappear off the face of the earth right now.

At some point, Papyrus had let go and left you alone on the balcony while your brain rebooted. As soon as you realized though, he had already disappeared to...who knows where. So much for trying to preserve your dignity. There was no way he'd ever let you live this down either.

With a sigh, you ran your hands down the sides of your face and returned to the living room. Frisk was sitting on the couch, *Mettaerobics* apparently forgotten, and as soon as you made eye contact, they smiled much too innocently.

"He likes you."

You physically balked as the realization that they'd witnessed all of that dawned on you. "No, no... Stop thinking whatever it is that you're thinking right this moment."

Frisk's grin grew wider and their signing grew more deliberate. "You. Like. Him." They practically looked like a little gremlin who'd discovered an empire toppling secret.

"Frisk..." You trailed off, knowing that any attempt to dissuade them was now futile. With a sigh, you decided you should at least try to salvage what you could rather than outright deny it any longer.

"Fine, yes, we like each other," you muttered while pinching the bridge of your nose. Frisk started to sign and you quickly interrupted them to try and clarify what you'd admitted. "But! That's all it is right now. I get that you have an, admittedly odd for your age, fascination with romance, but I don't need you to play matchmaker or whatever it is you're already scheming."

Their smile fell slightly but after a brief moment, they had brightened up once again. "Alright, I won't..." they signed with some slight reluctance.

"Good."

"I think you two are cute together..."

You groaned and buried your face in your hands. "You little rascal... You're lucky if I don't retaliate and find something you're embarrassed by to tease you about."

Frisk seemed to feign a look of horror but their smile proved they weren't taking your threat seriously. This could get dicey if you weren't careful.

[imtrashraccoon]

What's this? A little bit of spice? Oh yeah.

@scrambledmeggys

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Day 7: First Kiss

Today was turning out to be a good day. You were in a good mood, as was Frisk, who was currently set up at the kitchen table with some crayons and a couple pieces of paper. No doubt they were focused on making a masterpiece and who were you to disrupt their creative process?

Right now, you were making one of their favorites - grilled cheese. They'd specifically requested it earlier when you asked if they wanted a snack. It was a simple comfort food but one you enjoyed making every now and then.

You were just finishing cooking the second side of the sandwich when you were startled by Papyrus' arms snaking around your waist from behind. Although, you quickly realized he was giving you a hug and so you relaxed again, only sparing him a small glance over your shoulder.

Then, you felt him nuzzle against the back of your head. You froze up, as what had at first been a sweet gesture, had suddenly become more intimate. You didn't know how you should react to this. Did it mean something else in Monster culture and you were just misinterpreting his actions?

"I Love Coming Into A Room And Seeing You Already There, Precious..." he whispered softly into your hair.

You felt your cheeks grow warm and it was all you could do to keep from covering your face in embarrassment. In any other context, you would've taken it as a genuine compliment but now, you didn't know what to do with yourself. So rather than causing a scene in front of Frisk, you tried to remain calm.

Taking a deep breath, you focused on transferring the grilled cheese from the pan to a plate. After turning off the element, you turned and went to give it to Frisk. Thankfully, Papyrus let go but you could practically feel his smug gaze on your back as you walked away.

You set the plate down next to Frisk and gave them an affectionate pat on the head. They turned and grinned at you before touching their chin with the tips of their fingers, palm in, and bringing it down in a swinging motion.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome, kiddo." You grinned, feeling slightly relieved that they hadn't seemed to have witnessed what just happened. There was no way you were in the mood to try and attempt to explain romance to them...despite that they apparently knew a little bit already.

You then turned and narrowed your eyes at Papyrus. He grinned and his eyelights seemed to smolder with how pleased he was.

Rolling your eyes, you strode over to him and grabbed his arm, before tugging him to follow you into the living room. Surprisingly, he didn't put up a fight and seemed willing to go along with it.

As soon as you were out of immediate eavesdropping range, you turned on Papyrus and crossed your arms, fixing him with your most stern look. "Why would you act like that when Frisk was right there?" you hissed. "They're still a child and they won't understand what we're doing..."

While you scolded him, Papyrus only watched you silently, a slight grin playing on his skull the whole time. When you trailed off, he placed a hand under your chin and tilted it up slightly to meet his own gaze.

"I Know, Rihanna," he whispered softly. "Did You Not Like It?"

Stunned, you stared up at him before responding in a quiet whisper. "I... I did like it..."

His other arm wrapped around your waist and he gently pulled you closer. Moving closer, he whispered in your ear, "Would You Like To Do It For Real Then?"

"Yes..."

No sooner had you answered, Papyrus closed the distance between you. His sharp teeth lightly pressed against your much softer lips for a brief but magical moment. It was completely different from any kiss you'd experienced, and yet, your heart was thrilled like it hadn't been before.

When you finally separated, you gazed into each other's eyes for a moment longer. You weren't sure what Papyrus was thinking right now, but his scarlet eyelights spoke only of admiration for you. It made you feel warm and so happy at the same time.

"Did You Like That Then, Precious?" he murmured softly.

You nodded, feeling your cheeks grow familiarly warm once again.

Papyrus chuckled, "Maybe Next Time I Will Show You What Else I Can Do..." Before you could ask what he meant by that, his eyelights seemed to burn brighter and his teeth parted slightly to reveil a glowing red tongue.

Your eyes widened and you quickly pulled away. Papyrus only chuckled as you futilely swatted at him, clearly proud of how flustered he'd managed to make you.

That jerk...

[imtrashraccoon]

I was looking forward to this prompt for so long but I couldn't pick between them so I had to do both!

@scrambledmeggys

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Day 12: Pillow Fort & Pillow Talk

You were helping clean up the kitchen when Frisk tugged on your sleeve to get your attention. "What's up, kiddo?" you asked and glanced down at them.

They smiled and signed, "Can we have a sleepover? With everyone?"

You chuckled and ruffled their hair. "What, am I not enough? We have a sleepover together every night, don't we?" you asked teasingly.

"It's not the same..." they pouted and crossed their arms.

"Ask Papyrus and Sans. If they agree, then it's alright by me."

Frisk grinned and you watched them scamper over to the sink where Papyrus had just finished washing the dinner dishes. Frisk practically threw themselves at him and hugged his legs tightly.

Papyrus smiled and after drying his hands, gave Frisk an affectionate pat on the head. "What Do You Want, Sunshine?" he asked gently.

You couldn't help but smile at the cute nickname. It kind of made you wish you'd come up with a better one for Frisk rather than just 'kiddo'. Still, they'd never complained and so it had just become your thing.

After Frisk had explained their idea, Papyrus nodded. "I Suppose We Could Have A 'Sleepover' If You Want One So Badly. You Can Ask Sans If You Want But I Doubt He Would Turn Down Any Excuse To Sleep."

Frisk beamed and darted off, undoubtedly to go find Sans. Papyrus chuckled and shook his skull slightly. There was a brief moment of silence before he asked you a question. "I Have Never Had A Sleepover Before, Could You Explain It To Me?"

You nodded, "Of course, Frisk and I used to have them a lot. We usually made a pillow fort and watched a movie, sometimes we even played games and had snacks."

He hummed thoughtfully, "I Suppose That Sounds Fun."

"It is, just give it a chance and I think you'll enjoy it," you said with a smile.

Unsurprisingly, Sans had agreed to participate as Papyrus had predicted he would. So under Frisk's supervision, the living room was transformed into by far the largest pillow fort you'd ever seen. The brothers had quite a few extra pillows and blankets, which when combined with having extra help, made the actual construction of the fort much easier than it ever had been on your own.

Sans plopped down in the nest of blankets and cushions that had been arranged on the floor. To your surprise, Frisk chose to settle down next to him which you found rather sweet. This left the couch to you and Papyrus, which was just fine with you.

You watched some sort crappy action movie together and while Sans seemed to fall asleep fairly quickly, Frisk persisted and managed to stay awake for half of the movie's run time. While the movie itself wasn't anything special to write home about, Papyrus held you close and once the others were asleep, you'd snuggled up closer to him as well.

When the movie was over, you reached for the remote and flicked off the tv. Rather than get up to put the disk back in its case though, you elected to do that later as you were pretty comfortable right now.

Papyrus seemed to silently agree and wrapped his arms around you in a gentle embrace. "You Were Right," he murmured as he gently nuzzled against your head. "This Was Fun."

"Right? I never did this sort of thing much as a kid but I started doing it with Frisk to give them something to look forward to," you said thoughtfully. "It's just nice to spend time with people I think."

Papyrus hummed quietly. "You Know What Would Make This Moment Even Better, Precious?"

"What?"

Instead of responding, Papyrus shifted his body to the side and tugged you with him. You went along with it since you were admittedly curious where this was going. He maneuvered your body in such a way so you were both laying down and facing each other on the couch.

For a moment, you both just laid there, gazing into each other's eyes. You found yourself admiring what a pretty shade of red his eyelights were and how they especially stood out in the now darkened living room. Part of you wondered if he could see any better than you could or if his eyelights just glowed for looks. That was something you should ask at some point.

"I Am Happy To Have Met You, Rihanna," Papyrus finally whispered. "Even Though We Are So Different, I Would Do Anything To Keep You And Frisk Safe."

You nearly let out an audible "aw" but restrained yourself for now. His words had touched you and you couldn't help but make a confession of your own.

"You want to know something? Of all the people I've met in life, you're the only one I've connected with this closely with before."

He smiled warmly and moved a few locks of hair out of your face. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something but then he didn't. You weren't sure why but the longer you two stayed there just gazing into each other's eyes, you had a realization.

You might actually love him.

Maybe he felt the same but you wouldn't know unless you asked. Yet, you couldn't bring yourself to admit it, not right now at least.

It wasn't meant to be. The King had ordered all humans to be killed and you were pretty sure he intended to wage war on humanity once the barrier was destroyed. Ever since you'd fallen down here, your death was inevitable, it was only a matter of time but you were going to die one day. Still, you could live in denial for a little bit longer.

"I guess I never told you much about myself, did I?" you asked quietly.

"No, But I Never Asked Either."

"I didn't think things would turn out like this, but there's some things I want you to know about me..."

You told Papyrus a little about what your life had been like on the surface. You told him about your parents and how growing up with an older brother had been. How you'd moved away from your small coastal town for college and met your best friend, Terence. You told him how you'd gotten a pretty good internship at a big corporate office but had been nearly working yourself to death. How Terence had passed away after a tragic climbing accident a few weeks before falling down into the Underground which nearly broke you. Then, you told him about your relationship with Frisk, how they had quickly become your world and you thought of them sort of like a younger sibling.

Papyrus listened rather intently as you spoke, absentmindedly tracing patterns across your back with his claws. He only asked a few questions to clarify some things but he was a bit surprised by what you'd said about Frisk. Apparently, he'd been under the impression that they were your biological kid, which while you could understand with how you'd been treating them, was a little embarrassing.

In return, Papyrus told you a little bit about himself, although you could tell he was a little hesitant at first. He told you how he'd grown up with only his brother and neither of them remembered who their parents were. How they'd had to be mean and scary in order to survive because of the "Kill or Be Killed" rule. He told you how it'd always been his dream to join the Royal Guard and one day become the Captain. Finally, he told you how he'd always wanted to have true friends, rather than having to make people afraid of him all the time, and how he'd always dreamed of seeing the surface one day.

It seemed like hours had passed while you'd both talked and when you'd finally laid everything out, you had the feeling that Papyrus was seeing you in a new light. In fact, you could see that he had more depth to him than you'd thought. Sure, he was still a powerful monster who had killed countless other people, but you felt empathy for how he'd struggled just to survive this long.

You didn't remember falling asleep but the last thing you did remember, was Papyrus pulling you slightly closer and pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. You wouldn't know how much more he admired you now either nor how his opinion of you had changed a bit. Where before he'd assumed you'd had an easy life on the surface, he now could see that you were also a strong person; maybe not physically but emotionally.

He so desperately wanted to say that he loved you...

[imtrashraccoon]

I've only ever seen the whole collar thing done in Swapfell so I'm curious what your opinions are on that sort of thing?

@scrambledmeggys

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Day 10: Dress Up

You exited the bathroom and were about to go downstairs when you encountered Papyrus on the balcony. He was leaning against the railing and while he appeared to be just hanging around, you got the feeling he had been waiting for you because he wasn't the type to do nothing.

He straightened up and smiled when you noticed him. "I Have A Question For You, " he said casually.

You quirked an eyebrow at his slightly odd behavior but you were curious where this was going. "Um, sure. What's your question?"

"Were You Ever The Type To Dress Up Back On The Surface? Such As For Special Occasions?" he asked.

Now that was a bit of an odd question, but you didn't see the harm in answering. "Well yeah, but it wasn't ever really a spontaneous decision. Most of the time it was just for specific events like picture day at school, weddings I went to, graduation from both high school and then college, and of course, all the job interviews I had to go to."

Papyrus seemed thoughtful but didn't respond right away.

"As you can see," you added, gesturing to your current 'Just Woke Up Like This Outfit' - Sweater and Leggings Addition. "I don't usually make it a daily habit to wear fancy things.

He nodded and a slight smile flickered across his face. "Then I Hope You Do Not Mind, But I Got You Something." He pulled a small white box from his pocket and held it out to you.

Curious, you accepted, but quickly realized that it felt very similar to the kind of box that jewelry comes in. Papyrus was waiting for you to open it though, so with some trepidation, you carefully lifted the lid off of the box.

Inside was an admittedly gorgeous choker necklace. The main band was made from black velvet and there was a separate smaller band made from a delicate gold chain, which was secured to the clasps and at both sides of the centerpiece. Set into the center of the velvet band was a brilliant diamond shaped red gem, although you couldn't be certain what kind.

To say you were stunned was an understatement. This was clearly a pretty expensive piece of jewelry and felt rather personal. It took you a moment to even find the words to say, because while you certainly loved it, you were unsure if you should accept something like this from him.

"Papyrus..." you started to say as you tore your gaze away from it and back to him. "This is...beautiful. But are you sure?"

He smiled warmly and stepped slightly closer. "I Am Sure, Precious. I Have Come To Really Care About You And It Is Tradition To Give A Collar To Loved Ones. So, I Want You To Have This." He gently took one of your hands in his own as he spoke.

You glanced down at the necklace again, your brow furrowing slightly. "Could you explain your tradition to me then?" you asked quietly.

"Of Course I Can."

Apparently, this necklace, or collar as Papyrus had called it, was as much a symbol of commitment as it was a statement piece. While the concept was slightly similar to a promise ring, with how intrinsically dangerous Monster society was, it also served as a way to protect prospective partners from harm. It was complicated, but you thought you understood the basics at least.

This was Papyrus' way of asking to become more serious. He wanted to protect you and he was willing to stand up to anyone who might object to your presence, despite the fact that humans had been condemned to death so long ago. He didn't care that you weren't a monster. He'd fallen for who you really were inside.

You were quite touched. You'd never had anyone care for you like this before. So how could you not accept? A part of you wasn't sure about becoming attached, as you really didn't belong here and still intended to try to leave one day. Still though, why shouldn't you indulge a little bit? You deserved to be happy and being with him definitely made you feel happy.

After Papyrus finished his explanation, you both stood there silently. While he was waiting for your response, you were trying to figure out how you actually should respond.

Finally, you looked up at him again and smiled slightly. "I can tell how important this is for you. While I'm a bit worried about what this could mean in the future, I can't deny that I feel the same way. I care a lot about you, Papyrus."

He seemed rather relieved to hear that, although his relief was quickly replaced with joy. He smiled so genuinely that any doubt you'd had in the moment, seemed to vanish completely.

"May I?" he asked and reached for the box.

You nodded and let him fasten the collar around your neck. It fit snugly, but not uncomfortably so, and the velvet felt much softer than you'd thought it would.

Papyrus embraced you warmly and rocked you back and forth in his arms. "There Is One Thing I Need You To Promise Me, Precious," he said quietly.

"What's that?" you asked.

"If You Ever Go Outside, Promise Me You Will Never Take This Off. I Cannot Guarantee Your Safety If You Do And I Cannot Bear The Thought Of Something Happening To You. Do You Understand?"

You nodded, "I understand."

Truthfully, you weren't currently interested in just exploring the Underground. You needed to be there for Frisk afterall and you knew that staying with the brothers was the safest place to be. So, you were content to stay indoors for the time being at least.

"If You Are Alright With It, I Would Enjoy Surprising You With Similar Gifts In The Future."

You chuckled but shook your head. "That's fine, but don't go overboard, okay? We've just started getting to know each other and there's nothing wrong with taking our time."

Papyrus laughed and gently nuzzled against the top of your head. "I Make No Promises, Rihanna..."

[imtrashraccoon]

Welp, this is officially the last post before the grand finale. We've come so far and it's been awesome.

CW: Implied sex and sexual content. No smut though.

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Day 28: Secret Surprise

You drummed your fingers on the edge of the table impatiently while waiting for the person on the other end of the phone to pick up. You had a very narrow window of opportunity right now before Papyrus realized his phone was missing and you wanted this to be a surprise.

After a few rings, the call was picked up, much to your relief.

"Hey Paps, what's shaking?" the distinct growly tone of Undyne's voice echoed from the speaker.

Keeping your voice low to minimize Papyrus overhearing, you answered quickly. "Hey, sorry it's Rihanna, not Paps."

Undyne's tone of voice immediately grew more serious. "Oh. Why are you calling? Did something happen?" she asked with a distinct calmness that spoke of years of experience with this kind of thing.

"No, no, everything is fine. I just... I need a favour if you don't mind me asking."

The fish lady fell silent for a solid five seconds. "What kind of favour?" she finally asked again.

"Well, you see, I want to plan a surprise for Papyrus and I was wondering if you'd be willing to let Frisk hang out with you for a few hours?" Your voice grew slightly more high pitched at the end of your question and you crossed your fingers.

"...Really? You trust me that much?" Undyne definitely seemed shocked you'd actually asked the question in the first place.

"Yeah, besides, Alphys' Lab probably isn't the best place for a mischievous six year old."

Undyne let out a quick bark of laughter. "Well, you got at least some common sense it seems. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on the kid for you."

You breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much! I'm sorry this is so short notice but I couldn't exactly contact you before now."

"Don't sweat it. I'll come pick them up after work, sound good?"

"Sounds perfect! I can't exactly pay you for your time though..."

Undyne chuckled quietly, "Eh, we can work something out later. Watching kids is a piece of cake anyways and I doubt Frisk will be any different."

You chuckled as well, deciding against mentioning that Frisk was probably much different than any other kid she'd met before. "Well, alright then. I'll see you soon."

"Totally, see ya, punk!"

The line went dead with a click and you quickly set Papyrus' phone back where he'd left it, as if nothing had happened at all. Now, you just had to convince Sans to either not come home immediately after work or to leave you and Papyrus alone for a little bit. That would probably be much easier, considering he generally preferred to spend time at Grillby's anyways.

< ~ - . - ~ >

True to her word, Undyne came to pick up Frisk and she was even a bit earlier than you expected. You thanked her profusely for going out of her way to help you but she merely waved you off. While Frisk seemed a bit confused at first, they ultimately seemed happy to go with Undyne, which you were relieved by.

You started on dinner as soon as they were gone. There weren't many recipes you knew how to make from scratch, but you remembered a couple that your mom used to make all the time when you were a kid. You decided to keep it simple though and decided on pasta with alfredo sauce. You dressed it up a bit with some grilled meat that you thought was similar to chicken and steamed some vegetables as a side dish.

You finished in record time and actually felt quite proud of yourself. It had been a while since you'd actually cooked a meal for anyone else and it seemed like you still had it.

You set everything in the oven to try and keep it warm. You'd already arranged a couple of candles on the kitchen table and set up two place settings. Now all there was to do was wait for Papyrus to return home.

You turned off the kitchen lights to hide what you'd set up and quickly hurried to the bathroom to change. Normally, you wore incredibly casual clothes around the house like a sweater and leggings, but recently, Papyrus had gifted you something a bit fancier, although you hadn't found a good time to wear it.

It was an off the shoulder black dress with a ruffle across the chest where the sleeves were and a few ruffles on the skirt part that went halfway down your calves. It wasn't that fancy but you actually preferred that, as you had never been comfortable enough to wear cocktail dresses and expose that much skin in the past. However, now that you were in a relationship, you didn't mind showing off your assets a little bit, at least in private anyways.

You brushed your hair and did it up in a quick side braid to keep it out of the way. While you wanted to do something with makeup, you hadn't been able to find many products similar to the ones you preferred on the surface yet. Still, you had managed to find some basics like foundation that was fairly close to your natural skin tone, some blush, and a rather nice red lipstick that you actually preferred over any you'd tried in the past.

You had just barely finished getting ready when you heard the front door open, signalling that Papyrus had returned home at last. Peeking out the bathroom door, you called out to get his attention. "Welcome home, Sweetie!"

He glanced up at you and smiled warmly, although you noticed he seemed curious about what was going on. He always had been pretty observant and even though he couldn't see that you were dressed up yet, he had immediately zeroed in on the fact that you were wearing makeup.

You almost never wore makeup anymore, let alone dress up unless there was a reason to. So this was already a step above the norm for you.

"I hope you don't mind, but I made dinner already. If you want to get into something more comfortable or maybe dress up, we can eat afterwards."

His smile seemed to grow slightly at the thought. "That Sounds Wonderful, Precious," he responded.

You waited until he entered his room before going downstairs to the kitchen again. After making sure that everything was still hot, you portioned out the food and lit the candles.

Papyrus entered the kitchen just then and you turned to smile at him. He had put on a black collared shirt, but had left the top two buttons undone and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.

You felt your heart do summersaults in your chest and bit your lower lip. From the beginning, you'd kind of liked how he looked but now, well you definitely liked what you saw. Never in your wildest dreams had you imagined you'd be attracted to a skeleton and yet here you were.

He embraced you warmly before pulling you closer for a tender kiss. After separating again, he flashed you a genuinely happy smile. "Is This For A Special Occasion?" he inquired.

You shook your head and chuckled. "Not specifically, I just wanted to set up a surprise for you, especially because you usually do most of the cooking anyways."

"I Love It And I Cannot Wait To See What You Made Tonight."

You grinned and motioned to the table before taking a seat. Papyrus sat across from you and so you explained each part of the dinner, including the preparation you'd had to do to make it. He listened with rapt attention and to your delight, seemed to really enjoy eating it.

Afterwards, you spent a while just talking with each other. You couldn't help but notice how close Papyrus was and how he kept trying to move closer to you. Not only that, but he made a point of touching you, like holding your hands or practically playing footsie at points. Unsurprisingly, you liked this and responded in kind, which only escalated the situation further, not that either of you minded.

< ~ - . - ~ >

This had been fun.

You let out a soft sigh of contentment and pulled the covers a bit more over your bare shoulders. Papyrus hummed quietly and pulled you closer to his ribcage. A slight shiver ran down your spine as his claws pressed into your curves but you didn't mind in the slightest.

You definitely loved this skeleton.

If course this quiet moment was ruined when his phone vibrated from the bedside table. You only protested a little bit when he had to untangle himself from you to check the message.

He made a quiet "Huh" sound and glanced down at you. "I Had Wondered Where Frisk Was... Did You Seriously Ask Undyne To Look After Them?" he asked with a tinge of amusement in his tone.

You grinned, "Maybe... It was either her or Alphys and I think she's a better choice. Not that I have anything against Alphys, she just doesn't strike me as the type to enjoy entertaining kids, you know?"

Papyrus nodded in agreement. "You Have A Good Point There," he commented thoughtfully as he shifted and moved to get up.

When you shot him a questioning look, he smiled and stroked your cheek affectionately. "She Is Coming To Drop Frisk Off Before It Gets Too Much Later In The Evening. I Do Not Know About You, But I Would Rather Be Presentable When She Gets Here. She Will Never Let Me Hear The End Of It If She Finds Out What Happened..." he explained.

You blushed at the thought and moved to get up as well. "Yeah... It was bad enough that the stuck up robot tried to pry into our private life, but I can't imagine how much worse it will be if she finds out."

You could feel Papyrus watching you carefully as you got dressed again but thought nothing of it. Once you were back in your usual attire, you turned to find that he was still watching you and that he looked slightly concerned.

"Do You Feel Alright?" he finally asked.

You snickered and waved him off dismissively. "I'll be fine, okay? A little soreness never killed anyone and it's not so bad that I can't at least fake feeling fine."

Your attempts to reassure him weren't as effective as you'd hoped but he chose not to push the issue further. "Just Tell Me If You Need Anything, Alright?"

"Of course I will."

Not long after that, Undyne showed up with Frisk riding on her shoulders. They both seemed in high spirits which you were glad to see.

As soon as they saw you, Frisk wiggled to get down and as soon as Undyne did so, they charged at you full force and nearly tackled you, although you were nimble enough to step to the side and catch them. You scooped them up and gave them a great big hug, which they returned, before turning to Undyne again.

"Thanks again for your help."

Undyne flashed you a sharp grin and nodded. "No problem, we had an absolute blast, right kid?"

Frisk nodded vigorously and pulled away from you just enough so they could sign. "She showed me how to make spaghetti!"

You chuckled and wiped a small spatter of tomato sauce off their chin. "So I can see. I'm glad you had fun, kiddo."

"Hey, if you ever need help again, just let me know," Undyne called before she took her leave.

You smiled and waved goodbye. "I'll keep you in mind then!"

As soon as the door closed, Frisk patted your shoulder to get your attention again. "It's a good thing you showed me what to do if a fire starts while cooking..."

[imtrashraccoon]

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day

Day 5: Showing Off

Something smelled really good, like a comfortable, warm blanket for your nostrils kind of good. It slowly stirred you from the depths of sleep and for a moment, you were reminded of a cartoon character floating along the wonderful vapours.

Your eyes finally flickered open and while it took a moment to adjust to the light, you suddenly realized Frisk was gone. Ever since the first night you'd spent at the brother's home, you'd slept in such a way to basically shield them with your body. You laid on the couch with your back to the room, having Frisk situated between yourself and the back of the couch.

While Frisk wasn't always a cuddler, ever since you'd both fallen down here, they'd started practically clinging to you like a koala, especially while sleeping. Although, in the short time you two had been staying with the brothers, Frisk had grown more comfortable in general and you noticed they weren't sticking as close to you lately. Still, if they wanted to stop sleeping so close to you, they hadn't expressed as much, which was perfectly fine by you.

You hadn't told the brothers yet as you hadn't seen a reason to, but Frisk wasn't actually your kid. Sure, you had been looking after them on and off for the better part of a year by this point, but they still technically lived with their parents. Although, it had started to feel like they spent more time at your place instead, which only compounded further now that you hadn't been apart for a few weeks.

You'd always treated them more like a younger sibling than your own child. In fact, you'd barely ever given having children of your own much thought. You weren't blind though, you knew that Frisk's real parents barely acknowledged them back when you first met them, which only got worse the more time they spent with you instead.

You were the one who learned sign language to communicate with them, something their parents couldn't seem to be bothered to do. You were the one who comforted them when the neighborhood kids picked on them for being different. You were the one who made sure they ate right and made it to after school activities they were interested in.

You'd been distant at first but Frisk wormed their way into your heart until you couldn't afford not to care about them. Sure, you'd spoken with their parents many times about your concerns, but they never listened to you. The responsible thing after that probably would've been to report them to CPS but you couldn't bear the thought of Frisk being put into the foster system.

So that was how they'd become your friend. You took time out of your busy schedule to do fun things together like watch movies, play board games, and go to the local park to name a few. While you acknowledged that you could never fill the parental role for them, you knew you could at least make a small difference in their life.

So naturally, you'd become rather protective of them. You didn't think you were overbearing, but anyone would understandably be if they suddenly found themselves in a world where everyone wanted to kill them and their kid. The fact that Frisk had disappeared was enough to strike fear in your soul that the worst had finally happened.

You got up quickly, although the sudden motion caused you to feel rather lightheaded, but once you'd recovered, you scanned the living room for Frisk. Your ears then picked up the sound of Papyrus' voice in the kitchen and the familiar clatter of cooking utensils. Upon checking though, relief flooded over you, smothering the initial panic you'd felt.

Of course, Papyrus was there, but sitting on the counter close by was Frisk. They seemed to be holding a pleasant conversation, although Frisk was communicating solely through sign language but Papyrus seemed to have no issues understanding them, which was slightly surprising. They hadn't interacted much before now so you hadn't realized Papyrus knew sign language.

You smiled at the sight and walked into the kitchen as casually as you could. "Good morning," you said when they noticed you. Well, you hoped it was still morning and you hadn't overslept at least.

Frisk waved at you as soon as they spotted you. "I'm helping make breakfast!" they signed excitedly.

"Oh? It seems like you're being a big help then," you responded teasingly.

Papyrus chuckled and turned the element down slightly. "They Are Actually." He looked over at you again and added, "I Do Not Usually Cook With Anyone But They Know More Than I Expected."

"I remembered how to make scrambled eggs, just like you showed me." Frisk grinned and planted their hands on their hips proudly.

You felt your heart melt and you moved over to the counter, giving them a big hug. Frisk struggled in your grip until they could free their arms and hug you back. You were very proud of them that was for sure.

Hearing Papyrus chuckle again, you released your grip on Frisk and looked over at him. You made eye contact briefly before he turned his attention back to the frying pan with the eggs. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was rather pleased right now.

"I Did Not Mind Letting Them Help By The Way," he said. "They Said They Wanted To Do Something Nice For You, So I Mostly Supervised So They Would Not Hurt Themselves."

"I appreciate it, thank you. I've taught them how to do a few things but they're still a little young to use the stove in my opinion."

Frisk grumbled and lightly bumped their head against your collarbone. When you glanced at them, they signed, "I wouldn't start a fire!"

"Maybe not, but you could burn yourself by accident," you gently chided and ruffled their fluffy hair.

They crossed their arms and pouted, although they couldn't stay annoyed for longer than ten seconds. With a small sigh, they finally nodded, "I know..."

"Thank you for thinking of me though. I feel so special," you said with a smile and gave them another hug for good measure.

(Edit: Just tagging @scrambledmeggys since I didn't earlier. Apologies, but you might get a couple more of these today...) (⁠づ⁠｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡⁠)⁠づ

[imtrashraccoon]

This one went a completely different direction than I had originally pictured, but I love how it turned out. Unfortunately, there's only so much lore/headcanons I can naturally implement without it feeling like pure exposition. If you have questions, feel free to send me an ask for clarification!

@scrambledmeggys

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Day 14: Scars

You were helping Papyrus with dinner prep by cutting up some vegetables for him. It had been a long time since you helped anyone cook like this; maybe back before you left for college at your parent's house? Sometimes Frisk had helped you but they were still learning and could only do so much.

Things had seemingly returned to normal after the fight you'd had with Papyrus a few days prior. Well, mostly normal, other than some lingering awkwardness, you were trying your best to stick to what you'd suggested doing. If your relationship was to have any chance of working, you both would need to practice proper communication rather than jumping to conclusions.

"Hey, Precious?" Papyrus asked all of the sudden.

You hummed quietly in acknowledgement and briefly glanced over at him.

Papyrus was focused on searing some beef in a pan but he continued. "Have You Ever Wanted To Be A Parent?"

His question threw you off your rhythm and the knife you'd been using suddenly slipped. With a sharp gasp, you quickly pulled your hand away and dropped the blade on the cutting board.

Papyrus was instantly by your side. "Did You Hurt Yourself?" he asked quickly, although there was a heavy layer of concern in his tone.

Rather than immediately answer him, you moved to the sink and turned the cold water on. After letting your finger sit in the running water for a few seconds, you carefully examined the small cut.

"It's not very deep," you finally concluded. "I'll be alright, I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Are You Sure?" Papyrus slowly moved to stand next to you again and you could feel him studying you.

You chuckled as you put your finger underneath the cold water again. "I'm positive, besides, this is basically just a paper cut. It probably won't even scar."

"You Can Get Scars?"

At first you weren't sure if Papyrus was being serious, but a quick glance at his face, proved that he was still quite concerned which made you feel pretty bad.

"Yes, I can. If anything, I'm more likely to scar than you might be because of how soft human skin is."

Getting an idea, you rolled up your right sleeve until it was up to your elbow, exposing a small but noticeably paler patch of slightly raised skin on your forearm. "See? This is actually the worst one I have but it's not too big."

Papyrus seemed slightly more intrigued and he studied the scar for a moment. "How Did You Get This One?" he asked quietly.

"Ah, well, it's a bit embarrassing actually. I was helping my mom do some canning when I was eleven and found out the hard way how hot steam is. I actually had to go to the hospital since it was so severe, but the scar ended up a lot smaller than it could've been because my mom acted quickly."

Papyrus cautiously ran a finger over the area and glanced up at you. "Does It Hurt Anymore?"

You shook your head, "Nah, but I'll tell you it hurt like hell for a while before it fully healed."

"Skeletons Do Not Experience Burns Like This," he murmured thoughtfully. "We Quite Literally Do Not Have The Skin For It."

"That makes sense. I always wondered how much different you are because you don't have fleshy armour like humans do."

Papyrus grimaced at the thought of flesh armour. "Please Do Not Refer To It Like That..." he muttered.

You laughed and turned off the faucet as the bleeding from your cut had pretty much stopped by now. "Okay, okay, I won't. It isn't inaccurate though, our skin is basically like armour to protect our bodies from germs and the rest of our flesh serves to cushion our bones and internal organs from damage."

"It Is Still Weird. Monsters Do Not Have Nearly As Much Physical Matter As Humans Do," Papyrus said. When you gave him a confused look, he added, "We Are Mostly Made Of Magic And As A Result, Our Bodies React Differently When Harmed."

He took your hand in both of his own and before you could protest, a soft green glow flickered to life in his palms. The minor stinging from the cut was quickly replaced by a warm but tingly sensation. It only lasted a few seconds but when he released his magic again, you discovered that the cut had completely disappeared.

"Woah..." you murmured and tentatively flexed your once injured finger. It was as if you hadn't cut yourself to begin with.

"You can heal injuries?" When Papyrus nodded, you grinned, "That's so cool! I bet it comes in handy with all the fights you and Sans get into."

"It Does, Although I Am One Of Only A Few Monsters Who Are Able To Use Healing Magic. Most Monsters Who Can, Become Doctors So They Can Help Others." He sighed and added, "I Do Not Want To Get Into All The Reasons Why Right Now, Maybe Another Time..."

You nodded and decided to ask a different question instead. "So if you can heal injuries like that so easily, how come you still have scars?"

"Ah, That Is A Slightly Complicated Question To Answer." Papyrus returned to the pan he'd been cooking the beef in earlier while he tried to collect his thoughts.

"Minor Injuries Are Quite Easy To Heal, But I Only Have A Certain Amount Of Magic That I Can Use At A Time Before I Have To Rest. The Scars I Have Are Reminders That I Used To Be Weaker Than I Am Now."

Papyrus motioned to the four inch long scar that went through his right eye socket, "This One Nearly Killed Me."

"That's pretty hardcore," you commented. "My scars aren't nearly that cool. In fact, they're pretty much all from little mistakes I made as a kid."

Papyrus chuckled and gently nuzzled your cheek. "Well Regardless, I Love How Soft You Are, Precious..."

You smiled although you could feel a familiar warmth colour your cheeks as you returned to preparing the vegetables again, his original question apparently forgotten...