Snowdin was very quiet today.

Snowdin had always been quiet since the Barrier was broken.

That was the thought that went through Frisks' mind as their brown shoes crunched in the white snow. It had been about seven hours since they had last seen the crestfallen face of Toriel, after a heated argument and a rushed decision to run away from home. Snowdin was the only place they could feel comfortable in after that… But Frisk was sure their decision was a good one.

After all, all you'll do is hurt her.

That was the most chilling thought that lay at the back of their minds as the familiar appearance of a friendly town awaited them, but not this time could it encourage them to lift their spirits. Instead, memories now clouded their vision as a sigh heaved from their lips. This was where they had fought and 'dated' Papyrus, along with various puzzles involving him and his brother Sans. Happy memories… Frisk missed their old life here, they had thought the barrier breaking would be a good thing but it didn't seem so anymore.

Nobody seemed to understand their need to go back to the Underground – though they couldn't blame anyone. The monsters had been waiting years to see the surface, and everyone seemed pretty happy to settle down and share the land with humans. But Frisk missed all the wonderful adventures they had with their friends here, and although the whole time they were aiming to go back home they didn't expect actually completing the quest to be so dull.

"hey, kiddo."

They froze up, the breath they held escaping their lips sharply as their eyes squeezed shut. Of course Toriel would reach out to someone to look for them, and that someone had to be him. It shouldn't have taken long for him to find them… After all, he seemed to have a knack for travelling quickly and finding out where others were. But somehow he managed to let seven hours slip by, unless.. Maybe Toriel hated them? Maybe he just happened to be looking for them, and she didn't do anything to contact someone...

The sound of crunching snow behind them was like listening to a murderer sharpening his knife, before a bony hand rested on their shoulder. They tensed up immediately – they weren't ready to share their problems to anyone, yet.

"what's bitin' at ya?"

Taking in a deep breath, Frisk turned their head sideways and opened an eye to stare into the pinpricks of white surrounded by an abyss of black. He didn't explain, he knew he didn't need to. That was the worst thing about this – he seemed to know what went through their mind no matter what the situation was. Too god damn relateable that skeleton was.

"Nothing, Sans..."

They bit their lip, it was a weak attempt to get him to leave and they knew he wouldn't. Well, maybe the universe would be on their side for this one.

"i can tell somethins' wrong, kid." He paused a moment, one eyesocket somehow closing. "but toriel is worried sick 'bout ya. we can talk about it there."

Frisk narrowed their eyes now, stubbornly shaking their head. "Not after what I said to her, Sans. I don't want to… I can't… See her. Right now." Their breath was shaky as they kept pausing between words, the rims of their eyes gathering tears already at the thought.

Sans opened his eyesocket again, attention now completely on the human child instead of his own words. "well," he began slowly. "what exactly did you say to her?" His voice was much more serious and firm now, which was out of character for him but not something they hadn't seen before.

Gently pushing the bony hand off their shoulder, they turned around properly to face him and took a deep breath. "I-I… Told her she shouldn't be telling me what to do, and that she wasn't my mother… That she's just a silly monster..." Maybe a minor insult to others, but seeing the hurt expression on Toriels' face and the realisation of what they had said hit hard. They felt awful, they truly did consider her their mother.

The skeleton seemed to now have his mind elsewhere, but his stare was still directed at Frisk. The soft thrum of their heart grew louder as they awaited a response, was he mad? But to their relief he now seemed to flick the lights on inside his head and now spoke, "I wouldn't worry 'bout it, kid. I think she'll be happier to see you." He knew better than to pry more information out of the child. "now enough arguing, we need to go before everyone else has a breakdown, I can practically hear papyrus crying already."

A sad giggle escaped their lips at the thought, their friend could be quite adorable despite his pride. They nodded their head slowly, reaching out a hand to slip their fingers through Sans', blinking back blue tears. The skeleton seemed a bit shocked but didn't pull away from the gesture, holding their hand tightly as they both turned around and began to walk back through the white snow.

"My child, are you awake yet?"

"O-oh! I'm sorry if I disturbed you're dreams! I made some breakfast for you."

They could practically feel fur placing over the skeletons' hand as memories flooded over their thoughts. The warm, white fur that provided reassurance and comfort like no other, the warm feeling they got on having a 'mother.'

"What's wrong, dear?"

"I know you miss that place, but -"

"It's for you're own safety, my child, please do not go back there."

It was a reasonable request, why had Frisk gotten so mad about it? Guilt built up in their throat.

"Of course you have control, I just-!"

"Oh..."

"I… I suppose… I am… But….!"

Reality flowed back into their and the furry hand was quickly replaced by a bony one that still gripped their own. They sniffled once and felt Sans' give them a reassuring squeeze, which was enough to remind them things were going to be okay. Unless he got mad at them too – No, no… Frisk, get a hold of yourself.

The pair stopped right in front of the familiar wooden door, which would have been a welcoming sight if that argument hadn't happened. Anxiety twisted a knot inside Frisks' stomach as they threw a dubious look, only to see the calm smile planted on the skeletons' face. It irritated them slightly… How was he so calm about this? Well, he wasn't the one who had fought with Toriel.

The grip they had immediately broke as the door opened. White fur and a purple dress greeted the child, and they nervously stared up at the monster, just waiting for the scolding words to be thrown at them like daggers.

"Frisk! Oh dear, are you alright?"

Shock hit them like a train as that warm and familiar embrace fell on them. Toriel wasn't still angry? Sans had implied she wouldn't be but they couldn't always trust him… Thoughts cleared and they wrapped their arms around their mother, tears gathering on the rims of their eyes – this time a few flowing down. "I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry!"

A soft but meaningful chuckle was the response they got, met with affectionate words. "Do not be silly, my child." A firm but loving hand gripped theirs. "Let us go inside – we have a few things to talk about." Toriels' attention now turned to the short skeleton. "Papyrus is inside on the couch, come with us if you wish."

That wasn't really a question, Sans didn't have much else to do unless he was with his brother. Offering a smile towards the female monster, he brushed past them and disappeared inside the building. The new house Toriel owned on the surface was almost exactly like her old one – but now had a four seater couch a small old-fashioned television for the sake of all their friends that kept visiting.

The grip Toriel had on their hand kept them from regretting their decision to come with Sans, if it even was a decision. Frisk kept their mouth completely shut as their mother led them to the room they stayed in – the same set-up as the old house yet again. Sans and Papyrus also had a house recreated as their one in Snowdin, but now Undyne lived with them until her house got finished being built. The last one has been burnt down… Again.

Before Frisk even had a chance to snap our of their daydream, they were sat down next to the goat monster on their bed, concerned eyes falling onto their face. Did they really have to explain the situation? It must seem pretty obvious to Toriel now…

"If you missed the Underground, you could have told me." A claw pushed their chin up so they stared directly up at the sympathetic face of their mother. "We could always visit, I just… Don't want you to go there by yourself, okay?"

So she didn't fully understand… It would only be fair to open up, after all the trouble they had caused earlier. "I'm sorry for insulting you… I just… It's not that I miss the Underground. I miss the life we had there. I know we have all our friends but it's just not the same – humans don't seem to like monsters, anyway." They kept themselves together. No need to cry! No..

Eyes flickering back and forth, Toriel seemed to think for a moment. "I… Do you want me to get Sans and Papyrus? I'm afraid I cannot help you here, I was not there with you for most of you're journey throughout the Underground. It would not be fair of me to say anything."

Frisk exhaled deeply, it would probably be better for the skeleton brothers to handle this. Much less stress of Toriels' part, she certainly did have a point. "Okay."

Giving them one last hug, Toriel lifted herself up from the bed and left to go get the two boneheads, leaving Frisk along with their thoughts. So, they hadn't seemed to offend their mother much, or at least that she had let on. That was good, but they still couldn't get this nagging feeling away from them… Something was pulling them towards the Underground, like an invisible force and they weren't sure what it was or why it was doing it. They missed home.

"Human? Are you okay?"

"tori told us to have a talk with you."

Shaking their head, Frisk picked up a pillow and wrapped their arms around it, holding it close to their chest for some support. It may not seem like a big deal, but something was stressing them out about all this attention – they were just a kid, after all. "Come in…?"

Two skeletons stepped in, Sans and Papyrus. The red cape wrapped around ones' neck was different to the dirty hoodie worn by the other, but Frisk couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. Even in silence, they just seemed to light up the room with their presence.

"Asgores' clone -" Papyrus shook his head, "I mean, Toriel, told us you were having some troubles with homesickness! Me and my brother are here to cheer you up." Positivity practically radiated off of him as he almost leapt over, sweeping up the kid in a strong but affectionate bear hug.

"yeah, kid, what he said." Sans winked lazily as his brother set Frisk down. "i did tell you it was better to talk at toris' place, so spill the beans." His voice wasn't pressuring but he had intent to get them to vent. Something was clearly wrong for them to run away over a simply argument, the kid was usually very determined and not so easily rattled.

They smiled guiltily at the shorter skeleton before walking over to the door and shutting it, lowering their voice. "I don't want to worry Toriel too much, so can we keep it quiet?" Frisk looked mostly towards Papyrus – his voice was extremely loud, even over a phone call everyone had made note to always put it on speaker and walk a few inches away.

The two skeletons nodded, now keeping quiet. All three sat down on the bed, and Papyrus gestured for Frisk to speak. They inhaled sharply before breathing out, ready to explain all their feelings.

"It's not a secret anymore, is it? I miss our old life in the Underground, and even though I'm grateful to have you guys I just can't get the thought out of my head that we're… Missing something. Something – someone – keeps pulling me towards the Underground like a force I can't explain. We have all the monsters here, but I feel like we've missed out on someone. Maybe even a something… I wish things could go back to the way they were, when we were all happy in Snowdin. When we had everyone."

"We are happy on the surface too?" Frisk was actually startled by the sudden maturity and lowness of Papyrus' voice. "At least most of us are," he glanced between them and Sans. "Why didn't you tell us sooner, Frisk? Do you not trust us?"

Sans looked unusually vacant.

"No, Pap, it's not like that! I just don't want to worry you guys," they pat the tall skeleton on the ulna comfortingly. "That's all that's bothering me, and I feel like we, I, need to go back to the Underground and find that thing."

Papyrus looked thoughtful for a few moments, before nodding his head. "I suppose that would be good. But please don't run away like that again," the genuinely sad face he made for a moment was heart-wrenching on it's own. "You worried us all."

Sans' eye twitched.

"I'm sorry, Papyrus." Frisk sighed, before furrowing their brow and squinting towards the shorter skeleton. "Sans?" They waved a hand in front of his face carefully, "Earth to Sans?" They exchanged worried looks with Papyrus before he carefully rested a gloved hand on his brothers' shoulder.

Blue and yellow flickered out of his left eye, and Sans suddenly doubled over with a cry, bony fingers gently touching the surface of his now pain-stricken chest – before sitting back up and acting like nothing happened. White pinpricks of pupils flickered between his brother and his friend, a bead of sweat gathering on his forehead.

"Looks like someone else has some explaining to do, Frisk."

So much for a talk, Toriel.

You can also find this story on Archive Of Our Own, just in case you see it lying around there!

I'm not usually motivated but I plan to write this story and complete it...
And oh boy do I have plans for this story huehue.

No smut tho like dude

Ciao.