Content warnings: I fucking curse a lot. Also, very minor depictions of blood. On with the show!
Sans teleported into the kitchen where he found Frisk and Chara worriedly looking down at a metal object on the floor. Frisk had their attention on the object, well Chara seemed to be stuffing something up their sleeves. Sans was by the door, and knew that the pair couldn't see him. He simply watched, not wanting to get involved until he understood what they were doing.
"Is it broken?" Chara asked.
Frisk shook their head lightly. "No." they said. The child took a knee, observing the fallen object. It looked fine enough, maybe just a little dented. "Poor toaster." Frisk muttered, picking it up the appliance and placing it on the counter before plugging it back in. Then Frisk turned, reaching for an empty spot on the counter. When their hand found only air, they blinked confusedly, "Pop tarts?" They inquired.
Chara tilted their head in response. "Huh?" They asked, batting their eyes innocently.
Frisk signed out 'Where are the pop tarts?'
"Oh, I don't know," Chara made a dramatic motion with their hands, "maybe right...here?!" With a flick of their wrist the young demon appeared to pull the sugary treats out of thin air. Sans saw, from his angle that the things were hidden in Chara's sleeves.
Frisk clapped their hands together delightedly, signing out the words 'you're getting good at that'.
"Thank you." Chara gave a low, animated bow, slipping the poptarts in the toaster as they did, and trying to hide the quick movement from Frisk.
Frisk giggled, blush coloring their face, they signed, 'Don't tell me you dropped the toaster as a distraction.' Frisk raised their eyebrow tauntingly.
Chara shrugged, standing up straight, hiding their empty hands behind their back, and giving their most charming smile, "A magician never reveals their secrets. Anyway, let's get these cooked quick before Sans shows up." They snapped their fingers and gestured towards the toaster.
Frisk saw the pop tarts, which seemed to magically appear in the machine, and giggled. They had heard Chara slip the treats into the toaster, but decided not to say anything about it. Chara loved it when they pulled off a trick, and Frisk didn't want to rain on that parade. Frisk turned the toaster on, and the pair waited.
Sans chose that moment to walk out of the shadows, with his hands in his pockets, and an easy going grin on his face, "now I know you both know, that toriel put a household ban on sugary snacks."
Frisk froze, guilt written on their features. They turned to Sans and tried for an apologetic smile.
Chara, on the other hand, turned on their heel, giving Sans a crooked grin. "Sans!" They said his name charmingly, like they were seeing an old friend for the first time in weeks, "I never took you for a fuddy duddy, buddy. They're just pop tarts." They shrugged, hopping up onto the counter and swinging their feet.
"mmm hmm," Sans studied the ex-demon, "well, i'd be a hypocrite if i told people to eat right. heh, do what you want, just don't break anything."
Frisk nodded, eyes cast down with shame.
Chara laughed, "We'll try our best." They said confidently.
A 'pop' sounded from behind the pair and Chara grabbed the treats in a single swoop, sliding off the counter in the same motion. They handed a pop tart to Frisk and took one for themself. The things smelled like chocolate. "Come on Frisk, let's go play outside." It was a little after noon now and the sun was up in the sky.
Sans watched the pair as they opened the back door and went out to play. When they were out of sight he took a steadying breath and walked to his room, beginning the search for some pajamas. He found a pair and hauled them back to the guest room.
When he opened the guest room door however, he found that his double was gone.
"Shit." He cursed.
He dumped the PJ's on the bed and began searching the house. His own room was clear, so was the kid's room, so were Tori's and Pappy's rooms. The bathrooms, no. The kitchen, no. Then finally he found himself, passed out drunk on the couch in the living room.
Sans stopped and observed the other, feeling as if he were looking into a twisted mirror, or perhaps a metaphor for the greater meaning of life. The day had been surreal to say the least.
He threw a blanket over his double and went to find an activity that could occupy his time, namely, sitting at the kitchen table and reading a book.
He was 3 hours into his new quantum mechanics book when the kids returned.
Chara was soaked, they had mud in their hair and clothes that hung about them, dripping and sloshing with water. They were supporting an injured Frisk who was bleeding from their palms and knees with branches and pine needles tangled in their bangs.
Sans looked up from his book as the duo stumbled into the kitchen. "you two are a mess." He observed conversationally.
Chara grunted at the statement, "Thank you captain obvious." They spat. The words had a nasty ring about them, but Sans thought he heard something in them, Vulnerability? Maybe. Fear? Absolutely. Not fear of something, but for something.
Frisk made the sign for 'band aid' and Chara nodded.
"Alright, sit down, don't hurt yourself. I'm gonna go put on some dry clothes, and get a first aid kit, I'll be right back. Promise." Chara assured, giving Frisk a quick kiss on the forehead and gesturing to the seat next to Sans.
Frisk took a seat and Chara went for the hall, slipping on their way and nearly face planting into the floor. Thankfully Sans caught them, using his magic to stop the kid from falling, and levitating them to stand on their feet. "Thanks." Chara muttered, blushing in embarrassment as they regained their balance and continued on their quest.
"so, what happened?" Sans asked Frisk when the other child had left the room.
'Truth or dare' Frisk signed, frowning a little as they flexed their scuffed palms. 'I dared Chara to jump in the lake, and then things got out of hand.'
"i'll say." Sans chuckled, returning to his book. "last time you two played that game, one of you ended up with purple hair."
Frisk giggled. "Pur-purple ev'thing." They corrected, attempting to speak.
"oh, that's right." Sans snorted, remembering Chara, who had in vain attempted to wash the hair dye out. It was the cheap type and they ended up dying the bathroom sink, their own face, and the floor a bright shade of purple. "which timeline was that again?" Sans asked, far too casually.
"Last one." Frisk said, brushing some dirt off their hands.
Chara returned soon with the first aid kit. They were in much dryer clothes now, wearing a striped tank top and a pair of shorts. Their hair was still damp with clumps of mud in it, but they didn't seem to care. "Alright Frisk let me see." They said softly, pulling up a chair and taking out an antiseptic towel. "This will sting."
"I can cl-ean...it." Frisk said slowly.
Chara only shook their head, "No, this is my fault." They said. "Let me."
Frisk showed Chara their bleeding palms and Chara wiped the blood away. Frisk didn't even flinch when the alcohol smelling rag made contact to the scratch.
"so, how'd ya get hurt exactly?" Sans asked again, aiming for quiet conversation.
Chara raised their brow, "Oh what, the pine needles and branches aren't enough clues to figure it out, Sherlock?" They huffed, putting a band aid over Frisk's scratch. "I dared them to climb a tree, and they fell. Duh." Chara said the words to Sans with a quick irritated tone, but despite this, they held Frisk's hand carefully like it was a wounded bird.
"alright, alright, I was just asking, jeeze." Sans defended.
It was just then that the trio heard footsteps. Frisk and Sans turned to look, Chara just moved on to cleaning Frisk's knee.
Geno walked into the kitchen, he no longer looked vengeful and angry but tired and withdrawn. The DETERMINATION had worn off, Sans noticed.
Geno didn't address anyone. He just went to the sink and grabbed a cup from the dish rack, getting himself some water before sitting at the opposite end of the table.
Sans felt a little tense at this, but he kept his cool. If a fight broke out he could stop it with relative ease. When DETERMINATION wears off, it leaves the user unstable physically for awhile. His double couldn't stay in a fight for long, but then again, neither could Frisk or Chara.
Chara put the last band aid on Frisk and stood, giving their friend a quick, protective hug. "Don't scare me like that again." They muttered, utter worry in their voice mixed with guilt and shame.
"Kay." Frisk responded.
Geno watched with wary eyes. He didn't trust either of the children as far as he could throw them. But maybe that was a bad measurement, he could throw them both pretty far.
Sans looked at the clock, it was only 3pm. "how bout you two get cleaned up." He suggested, "get the mud out of your hair, and we'll go out for burgers in a couple hours."
The two nodded and went to vacate the room, Chara heading for the right, to the bathroom attached to the hall, and Frisk going to the left, to the bathroom connected to Tori's room.
"don't forget to bring a towel!" Sans reminded as they left.
The two yelled back "Kay!"
Frisk disappeared into the hall, but Chara hung back when they reached the door. They turned and passed a glance to Geno, who had his back to them, then to the hall where Frisk had gone. A fierce emotion was radiating off the kid, Sans noted. They opened their mouth as if to say something to their new house guest.
Sans shook his head firmly, making eye contact with the kid.
Chara's red eyes narrowed, flaring with something like anger but not quite. They closed their mouth, turned on their heel, and disappeared beyond the kitchen door.
This left Sans with Geno once again. Sans returned his eye sockets to his book. "how'd you sleep?" He asked.
"like shit." Geno responded, "that couch hurt my bones." He took a sip of his water.
Sans shrugged, "you had the option to sleep in a bed." He reminded him.
"shut up." Geno huffed.
There was a brief stretch of silence only interrupted by the steady tick of the clock, the slurp of water, the rattle of bones, and the sound of a page turning.
Sans broke the silence, "ya wanna go out for burgers with me and the kiddos?" He asked.
"why the fuck not." Geno returned.
Alright, chapter 3 up and done. This chapter was sort of a quiet bit meant to show off the kids better and to take a break from the underlying drama of the last chapter. For anyone who's wondering, no, the focus of this story is not romantic, it's not a ship fic, but yes, I do low-key ship Frisk and Chara (I RPed for both of them, and shipping just sort of happened). I hope you guys are enjoying this so far. Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or comments or criticism leave me a review below!
Answering My Fan Mail
CrystalShards64: I'm glad you liked chapter 2! I hope this one was alright. Thank you so much for following, and I hope you're enjoying this!
ngrey651: Fantastic observations! I agree with you completely. The monsters are utterly hypocritical, and people always judge the kids too harshly, (especially the fandom). Some of the stuff Geno Sans said in the last chapter though was a result from drinking too much, he's kinda a nasty drunk. But as for him being judged, well, he's judging himself, literally. Thank you for reading this far! Hope you stay with me!