Steelcode, who owns Sage, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)

Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. I own nothing.

Never Hide Injuries From Someone Who Cares

Sage was worried as he waited for his father to come get him from school. He had really hoped that something like this wouldn't happen, but unfortunately, it had.

The teenager sat on the steps, head bowed as his mind replayed the incident.

Flashback...

"Hey! You're the kid that lives with that fire freak!" Came a voice.

Sighing, Sage turned to face the speaker. "My dad's name is Grillby," he said.

"Your dad?!" Another bully sneered. "He doesn't belong up here!"

The boy turned to walk away, but one bully grabbed him. "Don't walk away from us, loser!" The bully that grabbed him yelled.

"Yeah! Loser!" The first bully said.

"He's the son of a loser!" The second bully said.

That was the tipping point and Sage turned, hands clenched in fists as he punched the bully that had grabbed him right in the jaw, knocking him down before punching the other two hard enough to knock them out. He glared at them. "Don't you ever talk badly about my dad again," he growled before heading out.

Exiting the bathroom door, where the fight had taken place, he glanced around, but found no one around. Sighing, he left the room, but went upstairs to another bathroom and checked himself for injuries. There were none, but he still sighed, going to the principal's office to tell the principal that there were three boys injured in the bathroom downstairs.

It turned out he didn't need to say anything because someone had discovered the bullies and told the principal, who shook her head and sent the three to the nurse's office. She did look at Sage, who looked guilty and she nodded, going up to him as the bell rang and the students scattered to their classes.

The principal looked at Sage. "They were taunting you, weren't they?" She asked.

"Something like that," he admitted. "They kept saying hurting things about my dad."

She nodded. "Well, as a principal, I can't condone it, but as a friend, I say you did well, defending yourself and your father," she said, smiling gently. "I'll speak to the bullies and decide their punishment."

Sage looked at her. "I was at fault too, ma'am," he said.

"Perhaps, but considering they were speaking poorly of the person who took you in and that you call your father, I'll let your actions slide," she said kindly. "Because I would have done the same thing if they were speaking poorly of my father."

The boy gave her a grateful look before she gently shooed him to get to his classes. Thanking her, he headed off to his first class, arriving a few minutes before the teacher began the class.

Flashback end...

Sage knew that he shouldn't have punched the bullies, but he had wanted the bad-mouthing to stop. He sighed, deciding he couldn't tell Grillby, no matter how much it hurt him on the inside. Not only that, his knuckles were a bit bruised from punching the bullies. His hands didn't hurt, but he knew the bruises would catch his father's eye.

"No, I can't tell him," he said.

He had a couple reasons for not wanting to tell his father about the fight. One, he knew better than to get into a fight. Two, he was afraid Grillby would get angry. And three, he didn't want to disappoint his father.

He saw a car pull up and glanced up to see it was Papyrus, who waved to him. Grabbing his backpack, he headed over to the convertible the tall skeleton was driving. "Hello, Sage!" Papyrus said with a friendly smile.

The skeleton's enthusiasm was contagious and Sage smiled. "Hey, Papyrus," he said. "What's up?"

"Your father asked me to pick you up and bring you to the restaurant," the skeleton said. "He had quite a lunch rush."

Sage nodded. There were times the bar/restaurant would be busy, so Grillby would ask someone to pick Sage up from school. Hoping Papyrus wouldn't ask or notice his hands, the boy hopped in the passenger seat and buckled up.

The drive was a short one and after thanking the tall skeleton, Sage went in to find his father.

Grillby had just delivered the Royal Guard Dogs' order to their table and was about to clean up another table when he saw his son come in. Smiling, he went over to greet his son. "Hello, son," he said warmly.

Sage smiled. "Hey, Dad," he said, hugging the fire elemental, who returned the hug. "Papyrus brought me here."

Grillby nodded. "Sorry I couldn't come. We had a bit of a rush," he said.

The teenager smiled again. "It's okay, Dad," he said. "I understand. A restaurant can get busy sometimes."

The fire elemental nodded. "Do you have any homework?" He asked.

"Just some English and Math," the boy replied, glancing around for a spot to do his homework.

"It's a little noisy out here," Grillby said. "Why don't you go into my office? It's quieter in there."

"Okay," Sage said, hugging his father again before heading for the office in the back, politely greeting the two waitresses who worked for his dad when they said hello to him. Going into the office, the boy sighed and pulled out his homework, trying to put the fight out of his mind.

Grillby knew something had happened at school, because he noticed the bruises on his son's hands. Granted, they weren't immediately noticeable, but the fire elemental noticed his son seemed a little down too. He decided to find out after the rush had ended.

An hour later, the restaurant was mostly empty, save for a couple of early-dinner customers, and the other tables were cleaned and ready for more customers. Grillby felt this was a good time to go talk to Sage.

The boy had already finished up his homework and was sitting on the couch reading a book when Grillby entered the office. "Hey, Dad," Sage greeted.

The bartender nodded with a smile before sitting down beside his son. "Sage, did something happen at school today?" He asked.

The boy just barely stopped himself from tensing up. "Just the usual," he replied, which was true. "Why?"

Grillby could plainly see his son was nervous to tell him about the fight. "You have bruises on your hands," he said gently. "And you seemed a bit down when you came in."

Sage hid a wince, but his eyes gave him away, to which Grillby decided to reassure his son. "Sage, I know you wouldn't purposely get into a fight," he said. "So I know someone said something to you that made you upset."

The boy looked away, feeling warm hands take his hands and a moment later, his father's healing magic spread over the boy's hands, healing them. The teenager was still worried, to which the fire elemental pulled him into a hug. "Sage, please tell me what happened," he said. "I won't be angry."

One thing Sage knew was that his father never went back on his word. So, with a sigh, the boy told him.

"Some bullies came at me in the restroom and began bad-mouthing you," he admitted. "I tried to walk away, but one grabbed me and called you a loser and well...I lost it."

He hung his head. "I'm sorry, Dad. I know better than to get into a fight."

Grillby was quiet while Sage explained what had happened and he tightened his arms a little around his son to comfort him. "Sage, you didn't get into a fight just to fight," he said. "You were defending yourself and me."

"Yeah, but...I knocked the bullies out," Sage admitted.

The fire elemental chuckled a little. "According to your principal, they needed some sense knocked into them," he said.

The boy looked up at his father in surprise, to which Grillby chuckled again. "She called me to inform me about the fight, but told me you had fought back in self-defense."

It was quiet for a moment before Sage sighed. "I was afraid...you'd be angry and you'd be disappointed in me," he admitted.

Grillby shook his head. "I would never be angry at you, son," he said. "And I could never be disappointed in you."

The teenager looked up at the monster who had taken him in and was raising him and the fire elemental smiled at him. "Sage, can you promise me something?" He asked.

The boy nodded. "Never hide injuries from me," the bartender said. "I worry about you and care about you too much to let something like that not be taken care of or at least made aware of."

Seeing he was right, Sage nodded. "Okay, Dad," he said. "I'm sorry."

Grillby smiled at him. "I'm just glad you're alright," he said. "And I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and for me. Though, let's hope you're never put in that situation again."

The teenager nodded. "Ditto," he said before letting out a surprised laugh at feeling warm fingers tickling his sides. "DAHAHAHAHAHAD!" He protested.

His father chuckled in amusement as he tickled the boy playfully. "What are you laughing at, son?" He asked teasingly.

Sage laughed harder before managing to catch his father's hands to stop the tickle torture. Grillby chuckled again and let the boy up, ruffling his hair playfully. "Just reminding you that I love you, son," he said.

The boy nodded. "I know, Dad," he said. "Love you too."

With that, he hugged his father, who returned the hug. "Did you finish your homework?" The fire elemental asked.

"Yes, sir," Sage said.

"Well, what do you say we grab a pizza and go enjoy a movie?"

The boy nodded and grabbed his stuff as Grillby asked the waitresses if they'd be alright with closing. They nodded and he informed the cook that he was heading home. The cook, a tall rabbit monster that Mettaton had suggested to him, nodded and told him to go spend time with his son. "I think it'll be a quiet night with the games on," he said. "We'll handle things here."

"Thank you," Grillby said before he and his son headed for home, the fire elemental placing an arm around his son and the boy did the same, leaning into his father's side.

"Dad?" He said.

"Yes?" The fire elemental said.

"Thanks."

Grillby smiled and ruffled Sage's hair again. "Anytime, son."

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GoldGuardian2418