I am Soriel trash and I don't care who knows it! Here's a one shot that's been on my mind for a couple of days now. You might get more if I get more ideas.


Promise


Sans was no stranger to midnight snacks. Sure, Papyrus was likely to bellow at him if he woke him up in his insatiable quest for food at all hours, but that was at home. That was a long time ago.

The hotel was eerily quiet in the middle of the night; a few people were milling about, some only just showing up, others helping bellhops load their bags. None of them were people Sans knew and no one seemed perturbed that a five foot tall skeleton was moseying through the lobby looking for snacks.

A faint light shown through the glass window in the door to the hotel restaurant. Perhaps it was the late hour or just jitters but Sans felt himself drawn to it like a moth to a flame. He pushed open the door and found Grillby wiping down glasses at the bar. The bartender looked up and visibly brightened at the sight of an old friend.

"Hey," said Sans, sliding onto a bar stool. "Any chance you can make some tea? I don't want to put you out or anything but I can't sleep a wink."

Grillby nodded once and went directly to the back. The eerie glow he cast on the bar dimmed so that only the neon signs lit up the place. Sans usually loved the atmosphere but his nerves were far too shot right now. He glanced down at his watch. 3:37 am.

"Nine and a half hours," he mumbled.

Such a short time. And yet it felt like an eternity. Nine and a half hours as a bachelor. Nine and a half hours before his life changed forever. It was enough to make anyone nervous but Sans felt a strange tightness where his stomach would be.

"Sans?"

Startled, Sans jumped a bit and turned around. His fiancée stood at the doorway, a long dressing gown draped over her fur. She looked about as wide awake as him.

"Oh, hey Tori," said Sans, pulling out the stool next to him. "Can't sleep either?"

"I cannot get back to sleep." Toriel sat down on the stool and turned to face the bar, averting his eye.

"Grillby's making tea."

"All right."

Sans watched his fiancée with interest. Her hands were tightly clasped in front of her and her gaze was distant, like she was thinking about things that had happened miles away. Perhaps years ago.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sans asked, fishing a penny from the tip jar.

"Sans, that belongs to Grillby." Toriel chided, though her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"I know." Sans dropped the coin back into the jar. "What's on your mind, Tori?"

"Oh… a lot of things." Toriel put her chin in her paws. "Do not worry about me. I am fine."

"Hey," Sans put his hand on Toriel's arm, "we promised no secrets."

"It is not a secret. Not strictly speaking." Toriel finally looked her fiancé in the eye. "We have discussed this before."

"Well you know how much I like talking to you. And if you're still uneasy about something…"

"I suppose the word I am looking for is… apprehensive." Toriel turned slightly to face him more fully. "This is my second marriage. I do not want there to be a third."

"There won't be."

"You cannot promise such a thing." Toriel said, turning back to face the bar. "I once promised my life to honor and cherish Asgore. Until death do us part. And he broke so many of those promises. As did I, by leaving him. Our marriage ended so painfully. And…" Toriel's eyes flitted to Sans for a second. "I love you, Sans. I do not want to suffer the same way."

Sans thought about this for a moment. They had discussed this before, this being Toriel's second marriage and his first. He had never shared souls with another monster. And Toriel had had to take hers back. Naturally, both of them knew that there was a chance this wouldn't work. But still, Sans believed with all his heart, if he had one, that it would. It was why he had proposed after only ten months of dating. And Toriel must have known too, or she wouldn't have said yes.

Finally, he put his hand atop Toriel's. "Tori, listen… yeah, it didn't work out with Asgore. But that wasn't completely your fault. It's not like you married him expecting him to brutally harvest six human souls. No one has that kind of foresight." Toriel sighed deeply. "But… do you remember when I made you that promise from the other side of the door?" Toriel nodded. "I'd have kept it."

"You did keep it." Toriel took his hand and squeezed it. "If I thanked you a thousand times, it would not be enough. Your promise gave us our freedom, Sans."

"Yeah, it was easy. This time." Sans felt a tightening in his chest. "But Tori, I'd have kept it no matter what. Nothing short of Frisk committing genocide would have made me break it."

Toriel frowned. "What if they had killed Papyrus?"

"Tori, I take my promises seriously. That's why I don't like making them. I don't like to be bound to anything." Sans put his other hand on top of their clasped hands.

"Then…" Toriel looked down at their hands. "Why do you want to marry me? That is a big promise."

"I told you before: I'd do anything for you. It's a promise I'm happy to make because it means a lifetime with you." Sans chuckled. "'Sides, Papyrus is so excited to have a sister. Why rob him of that?"

"Oh, I was not suggesting we call off the wedding."

"I know." Sans said as Grillby put down a mug of hot tea before heading to the back again. "Actually… I won't lie and say I'm not uneasy about the whole thing either."

"Is it normal wedding jitters… or…"

Sans took a deep breath and gripped Toriel's hand tighter. "It's complicated."

"We did promise no secrets."

Sans grinned at his fiancée. He loved it when she turned his own words back on him.

"Well… okay. I told you about the resets." Toriel nodded. "Yeah… I guess… I'm not as chill about them as I thought."

"I do not understand."

"I think about it a lot." Sans dry swallowed. "That any moment, it's all going to be reset. And tomorrow's such an important day. What if the anomaly waits until that exact moment and then takes it away from us? What if this is our last night on the surface, the last night of us unless we fall in love again? What if-"

Toriel placed a finger on Sans's mouth with a gentle smile. "That is not going to happen."

"You don't know that."

"It has been nearly a year. Why would someone choose this day to reset the timeline? Perhaps they have forgotten about us. Perhaps they are happy we are together. I know Frisk is very happy about us."

"I just…" Sans shook his head. "I wish I could… I always sort of thought if we were married, maybe you'd remember too? Maybe I wouldn't have to date you all over again, maybe… ugh, that's a stupid thing to say. Of course I'd be the only one to remember. Our marriage would be null and void by a reset. But still, I dunno, maybe there's an angle I didn't think of."

Toriel furrowed her brow. "Do you think that getting married would allow me to remember more in a reset because of you?"

"Probably not." Sans let out a humorless chortle. "Stupid thing to think about."

"I am going to go fetch something," said Toriel, standing up and kissing him on the forehead. "I will be back."

And with that, she left the bar, her dressing gown flying out behind her in her hurry. Sans sipped his tea, now cool enough to drink. With a pang, a tiny part of him wondered whether he would see Toriel like this again. Stop it, he thought. What are the odds they'll reset while I'm waiting for her to get back?

Toriel returned a few minutes later, Mettaton at her heels. Sans narrowed his eyes, as if they were deceiving him. Of all things… why had Toriel gotten Mettaton up in the middle of the night?

"Ooh this is so romantic!" Mettaton nearly squealed with excitement. "A dead of night ceremony! It is a pity you won't let me film it."

"What's this?" Sans asked, trying not to sound too accusatory.

"Well, I thought… perhaps, since you are concerned about resets tomorrow, we could… oh, now that I say it, it sounds like such a ridiculous idea—"

"It's beautifully romantic, Toriel, don't sell yourself short." Mettaton interrupted. "She thought, since I'm ordained, you could get married tonight. Right here at the bar!"

"Yes," said Toriel, her face going slightly pink. "I thought that getting married now might put your mind at ease. But now that I think about it, it is crazy. We have a whole wedding tomorrow, what was I—"

Sans stood up, the bar stool making a loud scooting noise behind him. "I'm in."

"You… you want to marry me now? You are sure?" Toriel looked between Sans and Mettaton; the latter looked thoroughly delighted at the turn of events.

"Tori, even if the whole world got reset tomorrow, knowing that for just a couple of hours I was married to you… I think that would make it just a little more bearable. And I have to admit, you look gorgeous in your dressing gown."

Toriel laughed. "And you look simply ravishing in those nice striped pajamas."

"Never has there been a more beautiful bride and groom." Mettaton gushed. "Stand in front of me and join hands."

Sans noticed Grillby coming out of the back room and sitting down on the bar, watching the impromptu wedding and forgetting about his bartending duties. He looked back at Toriel and took her paws in his hands. Just as Mettaton was about to start, however, someone walked into the bar.

"There you are, Sans!" Papyrus shouted, looking thoroughly disgruntled about something. "I thought you would be here. What's going on?" he asked when he took in the full picture.

Sans's grin widened. "I guess it wouldn't be right without Papyrus here, would it?"

"What wouldn't be right?" Papyrus demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why are you standing in front of Mettaton holding hands in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? You've got a big… wedding… tomorrow." Realization dawned on the taller skeleton and his eyes bugged.

"Well we're making it official a tad early, Pap." Sans jerked his head to a space next to him. "You still want to be my best man?"

"Do I? Wowie!" Papyrus smiled and nearly skipped over. "A dead of night wedding, this is so exciting!" His face fell slightly. "But I don't have the ring."

"We'll exchange rings tomorrow at the actual ceremony." Sans told him, turning back to his bride. "For now, it's about making sure this actually happens no matter what."

"So are we ready to start the wedding?" Mettaton asked, looking between the bride and groom.

"Yes. I believe we are," said Toriel, looking down at her groom, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Dearly beloved, we are all gathered here today, a sparse but passionate group, to join this goat and this skeleton in holy matrimony." Mettaton said in a carrying voice.

Sans and Toriel stared at each other as Mettaton's voice began to blend into the background. It didn't matter that Toriel was wearing a floor length dressing down, Sans thought he had never seen her more beautiful.

His whole life, he had abhorred making promises. He didn't like giving others his word and being expected to follow through. It wasn't in his nature. But today, this was a promise he was happy to make. The best promise he ever made to the only one for whom promises came easy for him. Who would have been able to guess that the first promise he had made her all that time ago would be the one of many? To have and to hold, to honor and obey in sickness and in health until death do they part. The ultimate promise. Too easy when it was directed at Tori.

Suddenly, they heard a robotic cough. Sans and Toriel looked over at Mettaton.

"I said, I now pronounce you husband and wife." he repeated, looking very amused. "Now aren't you going to kiss the bride?"

"Heh, you bet I am!" Sans said eagerly.

"Don't hold back, darling." Mettaton winked at the two of them.

As Toriel picked Sans up to kiss him and Sans put his arms around her neck as he kissed her back, they knew for sure that this was what they wanted. That this was what their relationship had been building up to ever since that first joke from either sides of a door. Sans didn't believe in destiny but if he did, he knew that Toriel was his. And that he was hers.

Forever.


That enough Soriel fluff for you guys? I have one more idea that I might write into a one shot. But for now, I hope you enjoyed this Soriel fluff!

Don't forget to review!

~KateMarie999