I'm not dead! I'm so sorry for the super long hiatus! I'm back with another story that I hope you guys will love!
For everyone who have read my stories before, I want to thank you. You probably thought I was gone for good, but I never left, I just wasn't posting anything for life got in the way for literally all these years. Again, I'm sorry for the super long wait.
Also I'm sorry in advance if any of the characters seemed a little OOC. I tried my best to match them to their personalities! The horizontal lines mean time skips.
This story was originally a Sans x Reader, but it has come to my attention that those stories are not allowed on this site, so any "Y/n" 's will be "Fate". So basically it will be changed to a normal story. I'm sorry for any inconvenience. It has stayed as a x reader on my Archive Of Our Own page, ID Koyukiy.
Please enjoy!
"...YOUR MAJESTY? YOUR MAJESTY!"
A sudden voice snapped Toriel out of a small trance she quietly slipped into. She was sitting on her throne, listening to Papyrus and reading over a couple of requests from civilian monsters about improving the underground, until she started thinking deeply and then...
"...should rest."
Ah, it happened again...
"I am sorry. Can you repeat that?" Toriel asked.
"i was saying that you keep spacing out and if you're not feeling well, maybe you should stop and rest." Sans sighed.
"Oh! No no, I am feeling just fine. I was merely thinking is all and I also just remembered that the golden flowers in the ruins have not been watered today, to my knowledge." she turned her focus to "Papyrus, dear?"
"YES, YOUR MAJESTY?"
"Young one, I told you, you do not need to refer to me as such. You may call me by name. Anyhow, will you be a dear and water those flowers for me? We do not want them to wither." Toriel finished slightly exasperated.
There was a silent agreement of 'We need those flowers to break their fall in case another human falls.'
"OF COURSE, YOUR MAJESTY! I, YOUR GREAT ROYAL GUARDSMAN, WILL MAKE HASTE!"
"Oh, the watering can is under the kitchen sink!" Toriel called after him as he rushed away and then giggled at his enthusiasm.
"Now then," Papyrus heard her say before he completely exited the room. "Will you accompany me, Sans? There are some requests I can do now—"
Papyrus didn't hear Sans' response.
"ALRIGHT!" Papyrus spoke to himself cheerfully as he filled up the watering can and proceeded to walk towards the flowers.
He hummed (nyeheh-ed) his own theme while he made his way to the room and promptly exclaimed when entering, "FEAR NOT, YOUNG FLOWERS! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE TO QUENCH YOUR THIRST!"
He could have sworn the flowers answered him with a small high-pitched whine, but he shrugged it off, thinking how silly that sounded. Flowers don't speak and Echo Flowers only mimic you, so it's not the same! Actually, there was that one flower...
He neared the flower bed and positioned the watering can over it, but stopped short when he spotted some out of place colors popping out of the mass of yellow.
"NYEH?"
He crouched down to try and get a better look and he gasped happily upon finally making out a tiny, curled up bundle in a faded purple shirt that looked to be baggy and light colored shorts. He picked up the small, unsuspecting human child with a happy, lit-up face; the child jumping out of it's skin with a startled gasp. There was a pause of motion as a sudden air of fear surrounded the child and a bemused expression plastered itself on Papyrus' face as the child's lip quivered.
What just happened—
Before he could fully finish his thought, the child let out a loud cry making Papyrus jump out of his skin.
Pun intended.
"OH NO!" Papyrus panicked. "PLEASE DON'T CRY TINY HUMAN! I'M NOT SCARY! UM...UH...OH! I KNOW!"
Papyrus threw the child up in the air and caught her. He continued to repeat this action until the child was squealing with laughter.
"THERE YOU ARE! YOU SEE, I'M NOT SO SCARY AT ALL!" Papyrus smiled.
The child reached up curiously and put her tiny hands on his teeth, wanting to know what it felt like, all the while making little cooing noises. Papyrus stayed silent for fear of accidentally biting her hand.
'I MUST TELL HER MAJESTY ABOUT THIS!' he thought. 'BUT IF I RECALL, SHE WON'T BE IN THE CASTLE...'
"SHE COULD BE ANYWHERE BY NOW!" Papyrus thought out loud now that the child stopped playing with his teeth in favor of playing with his scarf. "FEAR NOT, TINY HUMAN. I WILL DELIVER YOU TO HER MAJESTY AND SHE WILL TAKE GOOD CARE YOU! AWAY WE GO!"
Papyrus looped her under his arm and started running. The child squealed in delight at the sudden speed, having fun.
In the golden flower bed, Flowey hid in the center, secretly hoping Papyrus wouldn't notice him. When he was gone, he slowly rose carefully, making sure Papyrus was really gone.
"Ugh...Good riddance..." Flowey spoke to himself. "I was starting to wish I didn't catch the little brat with all that whining and crying. Now I can finally catch up on some sleep..."
The flower's leafs and petals drooped as he lowered himself a bit to get in a comfortable position and quickly slipped into slumber.
Papyrus ran about carrying the child with him, who was carefully wrapped in his scarf for warmth. He has searched a wide part of the underground, but he couldn't seem to catch up to Toriel. When he asked around, his fellow monsters would say things like, 'Oh, she was around here a while ago...". Finally he decided to try the castle in case she returned and bumped into his brother.
"OH, SANS!" he rushed over to him. "HAVE YOU SEEN HER MAJESTY?! IT IS VERY URGENT."
"she just laid down to get some rest, bro. what's up?"
"OH NO! I WAS TOO LATE! NOW WHAT DO WE DO?!"
"whoa, whoa, just take a breather...whatcha got there?"
"THAT'S JUST IT! I FOUND A HUMAN!"
Papyrus leaned down enough for Sans to see the sleeping bundle. She stirred a little bit, starting to feel uncomfortable in the heat of the scarf.
"crap..." Sans put a hand to his teeth trying to think. "she's sleeping pap. i don't wanna wake her up knowing how tired she is."
A thoughtful silence overcame the brothers, conflicted with the situation. Toriel would know exactly what to do, but if she's so tired she turned in early...Well, it wasn't that early, it was starting to get late, but still.
"SANS...WHAT DO YOU SAY WE TAKE CARE OF THE HUMAN UNTIL TOMORROW? THEN WE CAN HAND THE HUMAN OVER WHEN HER MAJESTY WAKES UP."
"...might have to. we'll let her know as soon as we get up."
"AGREED."
The child and Sans had a staring contest with each other when she woke up. The moment she heard the door to their house close, she woke up in Papyrus' arms, but the first monster she spotted was Sans. She was confused. Another skeleton? She leaned down slightly and reached out to Sans, with arms open.
"huh? you want me to hold ya, kid?" Sans took her and again they stared at each other.
She put her tiny hands on his face, feeling his teeth just as she did with Papyrus. She giggled as she felt the grooves.
"curious little guy, ain'tcha?"
"I AM SURE THIS HUMAN IS FEMALE, BROTHER."
"oh yeah?"
"SANS!"
Sans chuckled, a sound that said, 'Better safe than sorry'.
"THIS IS METTATON'S SHOW, TINY HUMAN!"
Papyrus watched T.V with the human, as she sat on Papyrus' lap, whom they still haven't learnt the name of.
"Ton!" the child exclaimed, pointing a chubby finger at the moving Mettaton in the T.V.
Papyrus froze momentarily in surprise.
"...YOU CAN SPEAK?!"
"she's a toddler, pap. she can probably say a couple of words if you teach 'em to her."
"OH. HUMAN, WHAT IS MY NAME?"
The child looked at Papyrus, the wheels in her head turning.
"I AM PAPYRUS! COME ON, SAY IT WITH ME! PA-PY-RUS!" he spoke slowly to help the child.
"Pa..."
"YES, THAT'S RIGHT! PAPYRUS!"
"Pa...rus. Parus!" she cheered, giggling while clapping her tiny hands together.
"AND THIS IS MY BROTHER, SANS!" he mentioned to the smaller skeleton who was also watching the T.V next to his brother. "REPEAT AFTER ME: SA-NS."
"...Sas..."
"SANS."
"Sas!"
"GOOD ENOUGH! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Papyrus chuckled.
Sans chuckled along with Papyrus, watching the cute scene. The child gave out a whine when a loud rumble came from her small body. The two skeletons paused and looked at each other before Papyrus stood up, taking the child with him.
"WHAT IN TORIEL'S NAME WAS THAT?"
"the kid's hungry."
"I SEE! I WILL GET THE SPAGHETTI!"
"if you don't mind, pap, i'll take the kid to grillby's." he stopped Papyrus.
Papyrus isn't quite done with his cooking training and Sans knew for sure that the kid is either going to spit it out, or get a stomachache...or both. It's best to save Papyrus' feelings and the child while he had the chance.
"kid's gonna be here for a long while, so it's best to introduce her now and get it out of the way." Sans took the child, putting a gloved hand on her back for extra security. "b'sides, i want her to try one of the best burgers and fries in all of underground."
"OH, ALRIGHT. BUT YOU BETTER COME BACK AS SOON AS YOU ARE DONE! I DO NOT WANT HER TO MISS METTATON'S NEXT SHOW!"
"alright." Sans chuckled and wrapped Papyrus' scarf around the kid again.
...
Not that she let it go to begin with.
The child had an appetite for a tiny one! Sans started to wonder when the last time she ate was. To say Grillby was surprised when he saw his best friend with a human baby was an understatement. He and Grillby had an informative conversation (for Sans) about human toddlers and what she can eat and had now moved on.
"so how old do you think she is?"
"...She seems to be about 2 years of age, maybe 3." Grillby fetched a napkin and reached over to wipe some ketchup off the child's face, who sat in a booster seat. She scrunched up her face slightly, closing one of her eyes to protect it while he wiped. The process didn't faze her otherwise. "...Do you think this is wise? Why not hand her to the lady Queen?"
"tori's swamped as it is. plus she's already gone to sleep. me n pap decided to give the kid over in the morning. 'til then, 's up to us."
Sans watched her eat a small plate of fries, starting to think. It took all her fingers to hold the oversized fork, or so it seemed compared to her tiny hand. She ate carefully, trying to make sure she didn't drop any food; occasionally she did just that, the food landing right back on the plate instead of her open mouth.
"...what i want to know is how this one ended up falling? she's way too small to be wandering around alone."
They noted earlier that she didn't seem to be malnourished or abused, although her clothes were a bit baggy on her and she had no shoes.
"...It is a mystery...Perhaps she was on a family trip to the mountain and they neglected to watch her?"
"wouldn't you think mom or dad would fall after her or at least come looking by now?"
"...Or perhaps she is an orphan?"
"...that actually strikes me as more of the truth."
"Ouchy?"
They turned their attention to the child who had an index finger in her mouth and was pointing another chubby finger at Grillby.
"don't worry kiddo, he's fine." Sans explained a more amused smile on his skull.
"Ouchy!" the child insisted.
The two chuckled as Grillby reached over and put a hand on the child's. The child squealed in terror for a brief moment, then put her other hand on top of Grillby's in wonder, rubbing his hand curiously.
"are ya done kiddo?"
She pushed the plate away as an answer. There were only a few stray fries left.
"in that case, we should be headin' back. don't want pap to get worried." he said standing up.
The child waited for Sans to pick her up and then waved to Grillby.
"Bye bye!" she said.
Grillby crackled softly as he smiled and waved back.
A slideshow of insanity flashed in Sans' mind's eye.
Dust like fog every where...
Papyrus' scarf lazily laying on top of a pile of dust...
Sans shuttered the thought away as he watched the child play with Papyrus' rubber ducky in the bathtub. For some reason, she stuck to Sans like glue and didn't want to go without him when Papyrus tried to take her for bath time. It wasn't like she didn't like Papyrus, if that were the case she wouldn't have ran up and hugged him as soon as her eyes landed on him.
Sans felt uneasy. Frisk was difficult, but in the end, they ended up favoring MERCY and didn't kill a soul. But, what if this one was a bad cookie? I mean, she's just a sweet baby now and couldn't kill a Whimsun even if she wanted to, but what if she thinks differently once she's grown a bit? And let's say she grows attached to Sans, Papyrus and even Toriel and Grillby. If she is what he fears she's going to be, she'll just dust the monsters she isn't attached to.
He couldn't take his thoughts anymore; they were going to drive him mad. Sans shakily put a hand on her chest and slowly and carefully pulled out her SOUL.
PATIENCE.
Well...That's not horrible. It's better than DETERMINATION. Wait, that's not it. Her SOUL also had a kind of green tint to it?
KINDNESS. So she's UNDERSTANDING?
Sans breathed a sigh of relief, all tension lifting from his bones as the child cooed happily at a sudden pretty shiny coming from her chest. What he found slightly curious was that she didn't reach out to touch it, like he noticed she usually does with other things. With those traits, she won't be killing anyone anytime soon. He also learned her name when he took a close look at her SOUL: Fate.
By the time Sans finished giving Fate a bath, it was time for bed. Sans read a bed time story to Papyrus and by extension, Fate. She seemed comfortable, so he tucked her in with Papyrus and went to bed himself.
crying...who's crying...?
G?!
Sans shot up in bed, startled and wide awake as his mind finally registered the sound. Fate. With a sigh, he let himself fall on his back and groaned, putting the heels of his palms on his eye sockets.
this is too much work...
He heard Papyrus' voice try to calm Fate down as her crying increased in volume a little. welp...He forced himself out of bed and made his way downstairs.
"OH, SANS!" Papyrus seemed panicked as he noticed Sans make his way downstairs. "I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE TINY HUMAN!"
Fate quieted down and whined at Sans, grabbing for him.
"'m pretty sure she's hungry." Sans replied as he made his way over to his brother. "give me a sec."
He promptly disappeared before Papyrus could even think about answering.
"hey, grillbz. i'm gonna have to be quick."
"...Of course." Grillby disappeared to the back and wasted almost no time returning with a warm bottle. "...She might be a bit too old for a bottle, but it'll do the trick. Good luck."
"i owe you one."
"Like always."
Sans promptly reappeared just as Fate was about to start wailing again.
"here kid. eat up."
"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" Papyrus asked as Fate quickly sucked on the nipple of the bottle.
"grillbz helped me prepare it. it's almost time. let's go."
"RIGHT."
They made their way over to the castle, Papyrus letting Fate borrow his scarf for warmth when she needed it. They gained many curious stares, but they ignored it, deciding to get to Toriel as soon as possible. At some point, Fate wanted Sans to carry her.
When they got there, Toriel was already sitting on her throne having a conversation with Alphys and Undyne.
"THERE YOU ARE, YOUR MAJESTY! WE HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU! OH, HELLO ALPHYS AND UNDYNE!" Papyrus enthused making his way over very quickly and waving at three.
"Hi, Papyrus!" the two greeted back, Alphys' greeting more timid than Undyne's.
"tada." Sans all but said as he presented the tiny toddler to the Queen.
Toriel gasped, quickly standing and taking Fate from him, giggling with glee. Fate gave a small 'Ah!', not prepared for the sudden transfer. She was about to cry and pull away, but Toriel started to cuddle the toddler and Fate instead started to giggle along with her.
"I FOUND HER WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO WATER THE FLOWERS! THE FLOWERS! I NEGLECTED TO WATER THEM!" Papyrus gasped and then saluted. "I SHALL TAKE CARE OF THAT IMMEDIATELY!"
He bolted away as soon as the words left his mouth, giving Toriel no chance to respond.
"he looked everywhere for you yesterday." Sans explained. "but when he found you, you already went to bed, so we took care of her for ya."
"Oh dear! For something this important, you should have woken me!"
Fate played with Toriel's ears as Sans shrugged.
"thought you deserved the rest."
"Sans." Toriel exasperated, but it sounded more like a whine, then she shook her head as if dismissing a thought. "What about her behavior? Does she wander away? Does she have fickle eating habits—"
"tori," Sans interrupted her slowly. "she's no problem at all. she's mostly quiet, if you put her down, she'll follow you like a lost duckling, she eats well, the works."
Toriel hummed in acknowledgement, letting Fate climb on her shoulders a bit, trying to reach her horns. She kept a paw on her at all times, just in case.
"It is nice to meet you, my child." Toriel spoke, when Fate came back down to her eye level. "My name is Toriel."
"To-ri...?" Fate recited the way Papyrus helped her pronounce names.
"Yes, that is right! Oh, you are such a smart child!"
Fate giggled at the praises.
"and in case you were wonderin'...her SOUL is UNDERSTANDING." Sans chimed in.
"UNDERSTANDING?" Undyne repeated, a bit confused.
"T-That's a c-combination of PATIENCE a-and KINDNESS." Alphys explained.
"How wonderful!" Toriel barely contained her joy. "She is a good child..." Toriel gave a disappointed scoff as she finally noticed Fate's attire. "Just look at these clothes. I have an outfit that will fit you much better."
"be good for tori, alright kid? see ya later."
Toriel started walking towards the spare children's room as Sans turned around. With his job done, he figured he'd go to Grillby's for breakfast, but as soon as Fate saw the small skeleton walking away...
"No, no!" she started crying, trying to reach for him. "Dada!"
"Oh dear!" Toriel exclaimed, stopping in her tracks.
Sans froze mid-step, eye lights shrinking to pinpricks and flickering in total surprise...did i hear her right?
"Dada!" as if hearing his thoughts, Fate repeated herself, continuing to cry.
"Sans." Toriel softly called him. "It seems she has grown attached to you."
Sans sighed, walking back to Toriel. He stood in front of her, staring at the sniffling toddler. Fate reached for him, trying to stretch down. Reluctantly, he took the child and held her just to calm her down.
"...i..." he looked up at Toriel with a cross between a lost and confused expression and sighed once more. "look, i can deal with taking care of her for one day but... this is more up your alley."
Sans tried to hand Fate back to Toriel, but this time she clung to him, holding fists full of his sweater with her small hands. Sans huffed.
"c'mon kid." he basically whined. "i'm no good at taking care of ya, let alone raising ya..."
"Da." Fate caringly snuggled his face, placing her hands on his cheek bones.
He knew. He knew she understood him perfectly. It's her SOUL trait, for crying out loud! Her gesture made his SOUL quiver in happiness, but it also confused him. He's only known the kid for a total of twenty-four hours. He doesn't bond to anyone that quickly! This kid is something special...Toriel giggled at the adorable scene.
"You two look lovely together." Toriel mused.
"tori, i really don't think this is a good idea..." Sans felt blue dust his cheek bones.
"It doesn't look like you have a choice, Sans!" Undyne observed. "Looks to me, the human's calling the shots!"
Sans sighed in resignation. why me...
He returned home, with Fate in his arms, muttering an, "'m home..." as he closed the door behind him. Fate copied his actions with her own greeting.
"Parus!" she called.
They heard a door upstairs open and Papyrus' footsteps. Sans put Fate down and she stood next to him until she saw Papyrus.
"WELCOME HOME!" Papyrus came down to ask Sans where he's been and why he heard Fate's voice, but was surprised to see the child with him.
She then immediately ran up to the boisterous brother and hugged one of his legs, her tiny body only managing that much.
"AND WELCOME TO YOU TOO, TINY HUMAN!" Papyrus continued, wobbled over to his brother with Fate still on his leg and spoke a little quieter. Fate giggled as Papyrus moved. "I Thought She Would Begin Her Stay With Her Majesty Today?"
"fate had different ideas..."
"FATE?"
"that's her name."
"OH. SHE DID NOT WANT TO STAY WITH HER MAJESTY?"
"nope. she started cryin' when i started leavin'. so," Sans breathed out the word 'so'. "guess we have a new house mate."
"OH, GOOD! I WANTED TO SHOW HER MORE METTATON SHOWS! SHE ALSO HASN'T TRIED MY SPAGHETTI YET!"
Sans let his permanent smile grow to a more genuine one. Since Papyrus was happy about it, he guessed that maybe this wouldn't be too bad.
The brother's took care of Fate the same way they took care of her on the first day. It became somewhat of a routine: wake up, feed Fate, let her play (inside of course, until she gets some shoes and winter wear), have a light meal for lunch, watch Mettaton on T.V, have dinner, give her a bath, read her and Papyrus a bed time story, and then bed time. That routine would detour ever-so-slightly when Toriel's weekly visit came to give Fate anything she needs, like extra clothes and of course, shoes.
Fate eventually got used to Toriel coming over and was confused when she noticed the Queen missed the week. She walked up to Sans with her funny little wobble she had when she walked with her shoes on. Sans deliberately put her in her shoes just to watch her walk. He thought it was adorable. Plus, she needs to break them in anyway.
It has been 2 months now since Fate fell.
"Dada?"
Sans doesn't think he will ever get used to that, but he learned to respond to it. He answered her with the same tone she used.
"princess?"
In one of her visits, Toriel brought over a princess dress she made herself, wishing to dress Fate up. The child absolutely adored it and squealed when she opened the box Toriel brought it in. She hugged the dress and then hugged Toriel with the dress. She was so eager to put it on, she held the dress up to Toriel, urging her to help her put it on. She wore it every day after that. The only reason she's not wearing it now is because Papyrus washed it since it was "FILTHY" and is now drying.
"Mama?"
Sans gave her a puzzled look. She had to have meant Toriel. He went to answer, but at that very moment Fate decided he was taking too long, turned tail and ran off. Maybe to grab something, he guessed. Immediately after thinking that, he was proven right as she held up her unfinished macaroni art Papyrus was helping her with of some kind of weirdly figured...figure. It seemed to be tall, have long ears, and a long outfit. Yup. Sounds like Toriel.
"Mama!" Fate insisted.
"she didn't visit this week, huh?" Sans realized. "tori's probably busy. she is the queen."
Sans paused, thinking a bit as he stared at his "daughter's" pleading face.
"alright. get ready to leave."
Fate rejoiced with a big, beaming smile and ran off once more to grab her favorite stuffed animal, another gift from Toriel, which was in Sans' room. On her way back to the stairs, she knocked on Papyrus' door, thinking he might want to come with.
"Parus!" Sans heard Fate call and he chuckled to himself.
He heard Papyrus open the door and the two started to converse while Sans picked up Fate's sweater in case she got cold. Fate made her way down the stairs carefully and met up with Sans once again.
"he didn't want to come?" he asked.
Fate shook her head.
"ok." He picked her up and she rested her weight on him. "ready?"
"Yay!" she exclaimed while raising a hand.
"hold on tight." he said as both hugged each other securely.
Curiously, Fate kept her eyes open as Sans teleported to the Castle's throne room. It happened in a span of a second. She felt movement, then saw and heard literally nothing while still in Sans' safe arms and then the throne room shifted into sight, facing Toriel's chair.
Sans noticed a confused expression on Fate's face when they pulled apart.
"shoot." he said, knowing she was about to ask a question.
"Grapa?"
"what?"
"Skelly grapa."
Sans stared at her face, his permanent smile drooping slightly as he tried to figure out what she was trying to say. He got pretty good at understanding what she's saying, including the nonsense she sometimes comes up with, but this time she got him good.
"My! What are you two doing here?"
"Mama!"
Sans set her down so she can greet her. Toriel picked up the child as Fate gave her a sloppy kiss on her cheek and Toriel giggled lovingly, giving the child a tight squeeze and a cheek nuzzle.
"you were late, so she came to you." Sans answered her previous question, his full smile now on his skull.
A look of recollection came to Fate's face as she remembered that Sans didn't understand her in their previous conversation.
"Dada." she pointed at him.
Sans watched her in slight confusion as he waited for her to continue.
"Mama." she put a tiny hand Toriel's cheek, then turned back to Sans, hunched her back, put her hands in front of her chest and folded her hand downwards, like as if mimicking someone's posture. It reminded Sans of a ghost. "Skelly grapa."
Ohh...Skeleton grandpa? That has to be one of her nonsense phrases she comes up with sometimes. It just doesn't make any—
Sans' face transformed into one of panicked realization, his eyelights shrinking to tiny pinpricks that flickered rapidly.
"...you saw him?"
"Sans?" Toriel called to him.
She had no idea what has just gotten into him. Did he see a ghost? Sans shook his head, making himself calm down after he saw Fate eyes starting to water. He's scaring her.
"ugh, sorry, sorry." he said, putting a hand in front of him and shaking his head again.
"Whatever is the matter?"
"no, it's nothing. i just had an unpleasant thought." he shoved his hands back into his sweater pockets.
"Why don't I take Fate for the day? I can bring her back before bed."
"not busy today, queen toriel?"
"I do not have much to do today and my tasks can be easily finished, so you do not need to be worried."
"...ok. that doesn't sound like a bad idea. don't worry about bringing her back, i'll pick her up."
Toriel nodded.
"be good for tori, alright? i'll be back later."
"Kiss!" Fate exclaimed, wiggling.
Toriel let Fate down and she hurried to Sans. He knelt down to let Fate give him a kiss on his cheek bone, then she gave him a hug for extra affection and hurried back to Toriel. Sans bid the two another short farewell styled with a pun, as he walked off only to teleport away while hearing Toriel's giggling fade away.
i'll go to grillby's.
"SANS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
When Papyrus came home, he found Sans laying on the couch upside down. The T.V. was on, but all that was on was a rainbow of stripes and words that said, "STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM - MTT."
"watching the show. want to join me, bro?"
While in the same position, he looked at his cellphone for the time, then put the phone back into his pocket. He couldn't fool Papyrus; he saw that hidden look of impatience.
"BROTHER, IF YOU NEED SOMETHING TO DO, WHY DON'T YOU FINALLY PUT AWAY YOUR SOCK?"
"because you told me not to bring it back to my room."
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT AND YOU KNOW IT!"
Sans chuckled as he checked his phone once more.
"welp, i'm gonna pick Fate up from tori's."
"OOH! WAIT FOR ME!"
"of course, pap."
Later, they arrived at the castle to find Fate full, bathed and exhausted. Toriel held her in her arms like an infant, seeing as she was basically ready to sleep.
What Fate said earlier still ran clearly in Sans' head, but he kept it in. It was an innocent observation. Somehow, she caught a glimpse of someone she wasn't supposed to see as they passed through the void when Sans teleported. Just a glimpse. There was no harm done. There is literally nothing he or anyone else could do about it. Even if she happens to see him again, nothing will change and he realizes he kind of over-reacted a little when she brought it up.
"GREETINGS, YOUR MAJESTY!" Papyrus said as he entered.
"hey tori. we're here."
"Greetings!" Toriel greeted them.
"Dada! Parus!" Fate said with less enthusiasm than normal due to sleepiness starting to set in.
"AH, TIRED, ARE WE?" Papyrus walked up to Toriel to take Fate. "THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS TAKING GOOD CARE OF HER." he said as he cradled Fate.
"You do not need to thank me, Papyrus. I am always overjoyed to do it."
With final thanks and goodbyes, they left. Halfway to the house, Papyrus thought of who she would decide to sleep with tonight since she likes to alternate regularly.
"SO, TINY FATE, WHO IS GOING TO HAVE TO SHARE THEIR BED WITH YOU TONIGHT?"
"Want Dada..."
Fate had started picking up more words from those regularly around her.
"IT SEEMS IT'S YOUR TURN AGAIN, BROTHER."
"lucky me." Sans wore a genuine smile.
"YOU SEEM VERY HAPPY."
"yeah. this taking-care-of-a-child business has it's perks."
"IT DEFINITELY DOES! AND SHE IS ADORABLE WHILE SHE SLEEPS!"
"she sure is."
"OOH, NOW I WISH SHE HAD PICKED ME!"
When they got home, Sans carefully laid down next to his daughter, delicately pulling her against his chest. He was content. Sure monsters weren't free, but this was good too. He listened to Fate's melodic breathing and let that lull him to sleep.
"Yes, that is rather odd, isn't it?"
Sans blinked as he sat at Grillby's bar, a burg in hand and a bottle of ketchup in perfect arm's reach.
He blinked again, confusion evident on his face as he stared at Grillby, mouth agape as if in the middle of a conversation. As realization hit him, the burger slipped from his gloved phalanges on the plate below.
He's done this before. He remembers he was having a conversation on how ridiculously expensive spider bake sales were. It can't be. Time has been reset? That means the kid's back.
Sans suddenly stood up from his stool in a panicked hurry. Something's missing.
"fate..."
"Pardon?" Grillby spoke, pulling Sans from thought.
"i left fate with pap, right?"
Sans spoke calmly, desperation threatening to explode out of him. He needs to hear his best friend say yes. please, dear asgore, just say yes!
"...Who is Fate, Sans?"
Sans' permanent smile disappeared. No no no, that can't be right. He fell asleep right next to her. He held her as he fell asleep! Sans slammed his hands on the counter in a fit of anger, drawing the attention of other customers in the bar.
"the b a b y, grillbz! my daughter, fate! i introduced you to her!"
"Sans, please, calm down. You don't have a baby, let alone a daughter. Although...I feel as though I have heard that name before..."
this can't be happening.
As he walked toward the exit of the building, Grillby's voice sounded distant as he called after him; an almost jumbled nonsense as the door closed behind him.
this can't be happening...
Sans teleported to the ruin's entrance, only to find it sealed shut, just like before. He put a shaking glove on the door, as if making sure it was really closed.
this can't be happening!
He teleported back to Snowdin, expression more grim and dark. He needed to lie down.
"BROTHER?"
Papyrus spotted his brother shambling toward him and Undyne, who were hanging out in front of the house. He panicked ever-so-slightly, noticing his brother's expression. He was having a BAD TIME. Whatever it was that made him this distraught, it was something big.
"SANS!" he flew over to him, closing the remaining gap between him and his brother immediately. "WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"Geez, Sans! What's gotten into you?!" Undyne was immediately by Papyrus' side, in case he needed help helping Sans.
"...fate's..." Sans muttered.
Papyrus and Undyne paused, waiting for him to continue.
"...inside...right?"
"OH YES!" Sans' eyelights flickered, HOPE building up in his SOUL.
he remembers her! she has to still be here!
"SHE'S IN..." Papyrus trailed off, confusion growing on his features.
paps, please don't do this to me...
"Who?" Undyne asked.
"I...COULD HAVE SWORN I HAVE HEARD THAT NAME SOMEWHERE BEFORE..."
Sans has to lie down. Before Papyrus and Undyne had another chance to speak to him again, he teleported to his room.
Sans woke up feeling disoriented, his mind waking up slowly. His hand subconsciously felt beside him, feeling for the tiny bundle of warmth who more than often slept beside him. His SOUL dropped when he couldn't feel fate, sitting up in a panicked hurry. His mind finally caught up and he remembered that time has been reset. That his precious child; his daughter has not fallen yet.
...
yet!
A wave of realization hit Sans. Fate fell a couple of months after Frisk disappeared. He's such a fool! Today is the day Frisk confronts Asgore and left the underground. Tomorrow it will take 3 months for Fate to fall. All he has to do is wait 3 months. He let himself fall back into bed, his whole body relaxed. He's been emotional lately, ever since he started taking care of little Fate. He felt another nap tug at him, so he decided to give in and let sleep take him away once more.
"SANS! WAKE UP, YOU LAZY BONES!"
His brother's voice never fails to wake him. He doesn't bother even sitting up and lifts an arm slightly to unlock the door with his magic, a soft click coming from the lock. Immediately, the door slammed open.
"'sup pap?"
"WHAT IS UP, BROTHER, IS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN NAPPING SINCE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON!"
holy asgore! seriously...?
"geez, pap, why didn't you wake me up sooner?"
"WELL...YOU SEEMED VERY DISTRAUGHT ABOUT SOMETHING, SO I THOUGHT I SHOULD GIVE YOU SOME SPACE."
The ever thoughtful Papyrus. man, is he cool...
"I WAS WONDERING IF I COULD HELP YOU WITH THAT?"
"it's ok. i already figured it out."
"YOU DID?"
"yup." Sans stretched, trying to not pop his bones. "it had me all tuckered out, so i slept on it." Sans grinned.
"UGH..." Sans definitely isn't distraught anymore. "SINCE YOU'RE FEELING BETTER, HURRY AND GET READY!"
"we goin' somewhere?"
"TO KING ASGORE! WE HAVE TO MEET UP WITH THE HUMAN!"
Sans rose a bone brow. Why did they have to do that exactly? He knows Papyrus has his reasons and he hasn't eaten since he left Grillby's yesterday afternoon. He figured he'll go back, apologize and get something to eat while he's at it.
"you can go ahead. i'm gonna grab some grub."
"VERY WELL!" Papyrus sighed. "I WILL MEET YOU THERE."
"yup." Guess he'll see what's up when he gets there.
Sans walked into Grillby's, slightly embarrassed about his previous behavior and almost didn't look Grillby in the eyes.
"...Sans." Grillby greeted.
"hey, grillbz. so, uhh, sorry about yesterday. i wasn't thinking straight."
"...It was rather sudden."
"i know. don't know what got over me...and i was wonderin' if i could get a burg with fries?"
"Very well." Grillby sighed and immediately went to the kitchen. He came back out rather quickly.
What Sans said was still running in Grillby's mind. He was pretty adamant about a baby...But he knows for a fact Sans doesn't have a daughter, so why was he so crestfallen when he refused to know about a human toddler? Wait...
"thanks, bud." Sans pulled Grillby out of thought. "hit the spot, now i have to meet up with pap."
"If anything were to bother you again, you know you can speak to me."
Sans gave him a weird look for a fraction of a second. Of course he knows that, he's his best friend. He must still be thinking about yesterday. He let his smile grow genuine.
"of course, grill. i'll see ya later."
"...Take this with you."
Sans chuckled when he passed him a bottle of ketchup. He knows him well.
Sans took a shortcut to the Judgment Hall and walked the rest of the way there. He guessed Papyrus was already with the human and Asgore. He heard voices the closer he got and finally he found his brother not only with Asgore and the human, but also with Undyne, Alphys and an unknown lady that looked strangely alike to the king, but her horns were smaller and she wasn't as big as him.
"OH! HELLO YOUR MAJESTY!"
right, the queen.
"PSST! HEY, HUMAN..." Papyrus lowered his voice, but he was still heard by everyone. "DID ASGORE SHAVE...?"
that's funny.
"AND...CLONE HIMSELF?"
Sans held back some laughter as he made his presence known.
"hey guys...what's up?"
"That voice...!" the Queen immediately went before Sans, to properly speak to him and Papyrus narrowed his eyes as he stepped back to give her space. "Hello, I think we may...know each other?"
"oh hey...i recognize your voice, too..."
The voice from beyond the door leading to the ruins. This is definitely a good day, since this reunion is happening sooner than it happened last time.
"I am Toriel." she said. "So nice to meet you."
"the name's sans." he winked. "and uh, same."
"Oh, wait, then...!" her face lit up and turned to face the other skeleton. "This must be your brother, Papyrus!" Papyrus smiled at her upon hearing his name. "Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you!" Papyrus' cheek bones lit up a soft pink color. "Your brother has told me so much about you."
"WOWIE...I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS Is THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
"Hey, Papyrus...What does a skeleton tile his roof with?"
oh, this is gonna be good...
"HMMM...SNOW-PROOF Roof TILES?"
"No silly! A skeleton tiles his roof with...SHIN-gles!" Toriel giggled at her own joke.
Papyrus' eye sockets widened in surprised horror. "I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
still the perfect woman i remembered she was.
Sans looked at Frisk to find them smiling, then they caught his eyelights and beamed. This is definitely a great day. Everyone bickered and rejoiced together for a little while before Toriel looked to the human, smiling. Everyone lined up to properly see Frisk, while Toriel told them that they might have to stay a little longer with their new friends. Then suddenly, thorns pop up out of nowhere and ensnared everyone in the room. A golden flower pops up smiling like a maniac, telling everyone that he's got the souls. He's got everyone trapped, including Frisk.
this flower again! are you serious?! when i get my hands on him—oh no you don't!
Sans conjure magical bones to block an attack Flowey launched on the human following with encouraging words. The others continued helping the human and eventually the room was filled with monsters who were in the human's corner. Even Muffet was there to support Frisk, but Flowey feigned defeat. Sans felt his soul being sucked from his body and then everything went black.
He felt like he was floating, surrounded in nothing but an inky black so dark he couldn't even see his hands in front of his face. He would've begun to believe he didn't have any if he didn't touch his face.
What happened? Where am I? What was I doing before this? He couldn't remember. All he could feel was crippling defeat. He couldn't help anyone. He couldn't save anyone. Even a toddler escaped him. Getting to the surface was a dream he knew couldn't and wouldn't be achieved. All was lost, including himself and he knew it. Nothing was worth it and so he continued to float. All the energy seemed to lift from his bones as every negative thought invaded his mind. All of a sudden, the negativity seemed to ebb away. A flash made everything blindingly white and suddenly, he was standing between Toriel and Papyrus. There was a certain light feeling in the air, the crackle of dense magic nowhere to be found.
The barrier has been broken?
Frisk lay on the ground and a wave of worry and panic surrounded the room as everyone rushed to the human to check for any injuries. Frisk stirred when Toriel rubbed their head.
"Frisk!"
When Frisk stood up, everyone collectively relaxed.
With the barrier broken, everyone decided to go up together after Frisk came back from their stroll. The sun was beautiful as it bathed everything in a breathtaking orange. The air was so crisp and fresh, everyone couldn't help but take in a hefty gulp. Everyone was overflowing with joy. Frisk agreed to be the ambassador for monsters and in a fit of glee, Papyrus ran off saying he was going to make a good first impression as the monster's new mascot.
By far, the best day of Sans' life.
"welp. someone's gotta keep him from getting into trouble. see you guys."
now would a good time to check that flower bed. just in case...
Sans teleported himself right in front of it and his eyelights carefully scanned through it. Nada. Shit, he's really got to wait 3 months? This is gonna suck...He teleported out of there, set on finding Papyrus before he scares someone to death.
It was a rough couple of months. With the sudden appearance of hundreds of monsters, the humans were in a state of fear and confusion. At the moment, a law was recently passed to prevent any problems from arising: No harm should come to monsters unless provoked and since all monsters were harmless, there weren't any worries of the new law being broken.
Compared to humans, monsters were the minority. Hundreds against billions. The monsters traveled and spread all around the world. Frisk was trying their best to be the best ambassador the monsters could have. A shaky start, in fact it's still shaky, but the passing of that law was a victory in their eyes.
Fortunately, the friends all found lodging and jobs to sustain themselves. Sans cashed in the rare currency they were using underground as soon as he found out just how valuable they were. In all of his lazy years, that was the fastest he ever moved. He was going to make damn sure he and his brother didn't have to worry about finances for a long time, especially with the big stash he had hidden away in case of an emergency. Sans deemed it emergency enough!
Papyrus bought his long awaited red convertible and Sans got himself a small motorcycle. Relatively cheap and effective. Sans was even working on a degree in Science. Things were more than he could ever dream of.
He's just missing one thing.
He's visited the flower bed a couple times a month, just in case. After all, the time for the face-to-face with Toriel shortened considerably, who knows if Fate's time to fall would shorten as well. He even looked for her when he found himself among other people. Nothing as of yet. Considering that Fate falls on the same day, only a week remains and to say that Sans is getting impatient is an understatement. He would begin pacing around their home without realizing, causing his brother to become concerned. He would always wave it off with or without a pun, but that didn't convince Papyrus in the slightest.
Sans had it all planned out. Fate was already there when Papyrus went to water the flowers. That was in the afternoon, which means she must have fallen somewhere closer to noon. According to what Papyrus had said before, she was asleep in the flower bed. Sans knows for a fact that unless she was all tuckered out, Fate does not fall asleep that easily which means she was there for at the very least an hour. There's no way he could know exactly how long the kid was there, but this seemed like a good start.
As soon as Sans figured that he should stop worrying, the week came by faster. He informed Papyrus the night before that there was something he had to pick up in the underground and when Papyrus asked what, he simply stated: "It's something I can't get anywhere else." That didn't exactly answer the question, but Papyrus took it nonetheless.
Sans teleported through the underground, determined to get there before the little toddler fell. He wanted to be the one to catch her. The closer he neared, the louder he heard a certain flower humming (his own theme) accompanied with whining noises that were dying down the longer he hummed.
No way. She fell already? If that flower laid an ill will to even one strand of hair on her precious head...Just thinking about it makes his non-existent blood boil. He stopped short of the room to make himself calm down. He shouldn't go in there eye-a-blazing blindingly. When he thought he was ready, he stepped through with a calm walk and continued until he clearly saw what the flower was doing. Flowey was doing a sort of weird rocking motion with a few clean vines.
He was rocking her to sleep?
"About time you got here, smiling trash bag." Flowey spoke softly. "I just got her to stop her annoying crying. Making me do all the work I see." he gave him a creepy smile, not appreciating how long Sans took to get there.
"well..." he closed his eyes, but when he opened them again his eyelights had gone out. "instead of going through all of that bullshit before, you could have let me know when she fell...ey, asriel?"
"...Just shut up and take her!" Flowey half-shouted, hissing. He really didn't want to make her cry again, it felt as if his non-existent ears were going to bleed.
Oops...Even with that, the toddler started to whine. Carefully, Sans picked her, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Slowly, she readjusted her head into the crook of his neck, and she breathed in a deep breath of a familiar scent in her sleep. Sans let out a silent contented sigh, relief washing over his bones like a tidal wave. He finally had her. His little girl...How long he waited for this. He held her against him a bit more protectively and turned, but before teleporting back, he paused.
"thank you for catching her."
Although Flowey was truly a pain in Sans' non-existent ass, he did save her. Not only once, but twice now. The flower visibly bristled at his sincere words. It grossed him out.
"Whatever! Go away already so I can sleep!"
proud idiot...
Teleporting was starting to wear him out, so he decided to take long teleport strides to finally just be home again with his final prize. By the time he did get home, he was exhausted and opted on landing on the couch and taking a nice nap, letting Fate continue her sleep on his chest.
Papyrus was perplexed.
He found his brother sleeping on the couch with a tiny human child. Where did this child come from, first of all and second...why was she so familiar...? Papyrus personally thought it would have been better if his brother took his naps in his room. Usually he would wake him up and Sans would waddle up the stairs and into his bed, but...the pair looked so peaceful, he didn't have the heart to disturb them. Mainly because he's a skeleton, but it's the sentiment that counts. So, Papyrus quietly covered them with an extra blanket he had neatly tucked away and went into the kitchen to start on a lasagna dish he had recently mastered—a specialty exclusive for guests...and maybe for special occasions as well.
Fate was later awoken by her hunger, waking with a slight start and whined. The sound and movement immediately woke up Sans, who sleepily looked down at her and let his perma-grin turn genuine.
"heya, princess." he greeted her and immediately got her attention.
She stared at him a moment and Sans could practically see the wheels in her head turning. Suddenly, she took his face with both of her tiny hands and nuzzled her face into his.
"Dada..." she said softly.
Dear Asgore, she remembers him! Sans suddenly shot up, hugging her tightly against him. His SOUL soared to the heavens and back. His little girl really remembers him!
"SANS, YOU AND THE TINY HUMAN SHOULD GET UP FOR—OH. IF YOU WERE ALREADY UP, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?"
"Parus!" Fate exclaimed, pointing a chubby finger at Papyrus.
"THE TINY HUMAN KNOWS MY NAME?!" Papyrus gasped, a sprinkle of orange crossing his cheek bones. "I HAVE GOTTEN SO POPULAR THAT EVEN TINY HUMANS REMEMBER MY NAME! BUT AN EASY FEAT FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYE-HEH-HEH-HEH!" he scooped Fate from Sans and held her up high, smiling. Fate giggled, having fun at the sudden height change.
Suddenly, Papyrus paused, remembering a small human toddler he came across on the golden flower bed before the entrance of the ruins and he gasped, hugging her as tightly as her tiny body can handle.
"OH TINY FATE, I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU BACK WITH US!"
"bro?"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME TINY FATE WAS BACK, BROTHER?!"
Sans paused for a fraction of a second, his eyelights growing in happiness. "heh. i didn't think you would have believed me."
"BUT OF COURSE I WOULD BELIEVE YOU!"
Papyrus was interrupted as Fate took his face with both her hands and nuzzled his face as well.
"AWW! I MISSED YOU TOO, TINY ONE!" Papyrus held her out for Sans to take. "WILL SHE BE STAYING WITH US AGAIN?"
"yes she is, pap. and she's here to stay for good."
"HOW WONDERFUL! I WAS RIGHT TO MAKE MY SPECIAL LASAGNA!"
"heh, makes total sauce." Sans said while standing, gently taking Fate from Papyrus.
"SANS!"
better tell tori about this. maybe after dinner. i'm sure fate would love to see her.
I'm thinking up a sequel to this story where it tells an extended story of an older reader. Thank you so much for reading!
I was also thinking of making this a kind of theme, where toddler Reader falls into the Underground or even meet up in the surface, but in different timelines. There are surely to be different reactions and different ways the skelebros raise the reader. Maybe I'll even do an extended older reader story to those as well! It's just a thought, but it sounds like fun! Let me know what you guys think!
Until next time~
