For the LOVE

Chapter 3: When all the love songs seem to make sense

[The Next Saturday]

May had been running it's course pretty smoothly and we hadn't had any freak weather yet but I still held out hope. Tonight was the big Diplomatic dinner party and I had been working my ass off making sure that all our plans had been solidified. Asgore's suit had been picked up and delivered this morning and now I just had to get Liz to drive me to his humble abode with all of our paperwork and my dress. Asgore had made me take a lunch break that week to go shopping in the city with Mettaton for the perfect dress and I had to admit, the robot had a sense of style.

Liz whistled from my door frame as I finished zipping the dress into a garment bag.

"That kind of dinner, huh?" she leaned against my doorjamb as I rushed around packing all my accessories into a small duffel.

"Well, it will be mostly diplomats and their wives. Toriel can't handle being on her feet for too long so Asgore's plus one is supposed to be a guard. He figured if it was Undyne, one of us would have to look appealing so…." I grabbed a bag of makeup and shoved it into the tiny bag before throwing it over my head and grabbing the dress from the front of my closet door.

"Well, you shouldn't be late and I honestly want to meet this 'King' before I totally commit to moving. I mean Toriel sounds great over the phone but…." I could tell she was just nervous about meeting her potential boss before an actual interview when she started using air quotes.

"You'll love them, I promise!" I said as I followed her out the door to her car.

[The Dreemurr Residence]

Toriel answered the door, leaning backward when her belly seemed to get in the way.

"Hello Lauren! It's lovely to see you again!" her smiling face made me feel more comfortable every second I stood there. I didn't even question walking into her arms for a hug, letting all of my bags fall to the floor. I must have spooked her as it took her a second before she wrapped her arms around me.

"Sorry Mrs. Toriel…." I mumbled pulling out of the hug. "This is my best friend Liz," I gestured behind me.

Toriel smiled, wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye. "Hello Liz!"

"Hello Mrs. Toriel!" Liz bubbled.

As I collected my bags from the hall, we moved into a small sitting room I had seen from the front windows. Gauzy drapes covered the cathedral size windows, letting in the mid-day light to illuminate a few white couches and armchairs on a floral printed rug all facing a large TV hung on the wall. A small flower pot sat on a low cabinet below the TV and as we moved into the room, it seemed to turn towards us.

"Woah! What the…." Liz muttered as we rounded the corner.

"Oh don't mind him. That's Flowey. He's a rather nice flower…. When he wants to be…." said Toriel, the last bit feeling more like a threat to the flower.

We moved round the room, to a small hallway to the right of the couches, the flower's face flowing us with a shocked expression the entire time.

I could smell baked goods before we even entered the homey kitchen.

Asgore sat on a stool, leaning against the counter, careful to not hit his horns on the pot rack hanging over the island as he munched on a muffin and read the newspaper. I had expected the slumber pants, even this late in the afternoon but the Hawaiian shirt pulled around his muscular frame was a sight to see.

"Good Afternoon Asgore!" I giggled from behind Toriel as she returned to her baking and mixing.

"Hey! Lauren! Greetings!" He lifted his coffee in acknowledgement as he set down the paper. "Are you ready?"

"Not in the slightest but I'll manage. Is Undyne joining us soon?" I asked as Liz and I leaned against the counter. "Oh! King Asgore, this is my best friend slash sister Liz!" I bumped shoulders with Liz as she continued to gaze at the warm kitchen.

"Greeting Liz! And no, Undyne is apparently indisposed this evening so I asked another member to join us tonight, if that is alright?" he smiled a bit bashfully as he leaned on the counter.

"Sure! It was just a plus one without a name so…. Who is joining us?"

"yo," a voice said behind me causing me to jump.

This time I had the forethought to look at least a little peeved as I turned around.

"You have got to stop doing that!" I said as I looked up into his eye sockets.

He was smirking, I could tell.

"Sans! How many times have I told you to use the front door?" fumed Toriel turning from her mixing to scold him with a wooden spoon.

"sorry tori…" he scratched the back of his head, one arm still sling in the pocket of his blue hoodie. This close to him I could see the faintest of blue tint spread across his cheeks and nasal cavity.

"Sans. I hope you brought proper attire this evening?" Asgore stated glaring at the skeleton's attire.

"got it covered g-man," he unzipped his hoodie to show a black tee, printed to look like a suit.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing when Asgore slammed his open palm into his face and tried to wipe away his own annoyance from his face.

Before we knew it Liz and I were in a fit of giggles on the floor of the Dreemurr kitchen, fighting to catch our breath, with Sans standing to the side, beaming.

[Two hours till the Dinner]

"Ok…. Ok…." I gasped from the floor. "We need to get ready. Henry will be here any minute and I still have to do something with my hair," I wiped away a stray tear as I gathered my things from the floor of the kitchen.

"I'll help with your hair dear," said Toriel, placing her bowl down and washing her hands in the large farm sink under the window.

I followed Toriel back towards the sitting room and up a set of steps as Liz bid her goodbyes and headed back to our apartment to pack. Apparently we were going to move after all! WooHoo!

She led me to a small bedroom, and sat me before a vintage white vanity. I could tell the room had been set up with a young girl in mind but I hadn't seen or heard of a child. Toriel caught my bewildered expression as she began to comb my hair out of the quick bun I had thrown it in that morning.

"We had a child with us the Underground. I had this room made for them when we moved to Above but…." I could see Toriel's sad smile in the mirror.

"Oh that must have been terrible… I'm sorry Mrs. Toriel…" I murmured.

"Just call me Toriel," this time her smile was sweet.

"Sure thing…" I blushed as she began to tame my hair into a French twist.

It only took twenty minutes and an entire can of hairspray for her to complete the up do and I had to admit, it looked REALLY good. It only took a few more minutes and I was able to look at the full ensemble in the floor length mirror behind the door. For as much shit as I had given Mettaton about the dress, I looked damn good.

The sleeveless sweetheart neckline accentuated what little breasts I had, and flowed into a cinched waist that hung off my wide hips and the daring front slit showed just a hint of leg every time I moved. The fabric was a bright cyan that accented my eyes and my slightly perma-tanned skin to the point where I couldn't look in the mirror anymore. I turned to Toriel, standing behind me with glassy eyes full of unshed tears.

"How do I look?" I blushed.

"Breathtaking…" she sighed. "One last thing!" She turned toward the antique white dresser to a small jewelry box on the top. She carefully pulled a small silver chain out and began to place it around my neck. When she finished the clasp, I turned to inspect the jewelry. A small silver chain held a tiny shield medallion with symbols carved on its surface with a diamond inlaid in the center. On either side of the diamond, pressed into the metal, were tiny wings with three small diamond chips shaped like triangles below that.

"This is the symbol of the Monsters! It's beautiful Toriel! Are you sure you want me to have this?" I turned back toward her.

"I would be honored. Please," she smiled as she moved toward the door. "We need to head downstairs. The men are waiting!" She started back down the stairs as I followed.

[The Drive]

Sans waited in the living room, trying to squash the burning feeling to end the stupid yellow flower. It had done nothing but shoot him dirty looks when he had entered the room, following a quick wardrobe change in the hall bathroom. He had changed into a black tux and it had taken him a few minutes to remember how to tie the bowtie. Soon he had other worries; the women were coming back downstairs. He stood up from the couch and turned as Lauren descended the stairs behind Tori.

Immediately he could feel his soul burning in his chest. She was beautiful; her long brown hair had been pulled back and secured behind her head with small curled wisps in front of her ears. Her makeup was light, accenting her cheekbones and bringing out those blue eyes he had been dreaming about since their breakfast last week. She was small but he could see every bit of her where the dress hugged her curves. With the heels she was able to look him directly in the eye sockets and he couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. He whistled under his breath when he finally caught it. Even Asgore had to pause as he came out of the bathroom in his own penguin suit.

"Lauren, you look amazing!" he breathed.

"Thank you. Actually, you'll have to thank Mettaton, he convinced me to get this one," she twirled as she came down the stairs. As she turned, Sans saw a small tattoo of a yellow flower on the back of her neck. At the foot of the stairs pulled a small silver clutch open to check her phone. "Well, our ride is here!" she sang.

"One second! I want a picture!" called Toriel. Sans stood next to Lauren's left by the door, even with the camera snapping, he couldn't help but look at her out of the corner of his eye. The tattoo was the size of a half-dollar coin and bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain murderous flower he knew.

"We will be home soon dear!" Asgore kissed his wife as the group walked out the door to the waiting limo.

"Be safe!" she called.

In the limo, Sans had Asgore get in first, followed by the human, and lastly himself. Part of him wanted to blame it on safety protocols but he had wanted to watch her behind as she climbed into the vehicle. The ride seemed smooth enough but Sans kept an eye on the road as he leaned on the door.

"I hope we aren't keeping you from someone tonight Lauren," Asgore said as he lounged in the middle of the Limo.

"Oh? Oh, no. I'm single," Lauren blushed as she tapped a few keys on her phone.

"your choice?" Sans couldn't help it. He was curious.

"Kind of? I tried the whole dating thing a few years ago and found a bad egg so I've just been… working on myself," she shrugged.

"bad egg?"

"I had been with this guy for a few years, we had even been engaged but even if it wasn't physical, it was still abuse. He had a way or making you feel like absolute dirt, unworthy of licking his boot heel. I broke it off with him soon after the engagement," she sank into the leather bench in the corner. "What about you Sans? Are we keeping you from someone tonight?"

"heh, if you can call a bottle of heinz and comedy shows a date then sure," sans mumbled.

"Ketchup?" she looked to Asgore for explanation.

"Humans would equate it to beer. The thicker and sweeter the liquid, the harder it is for some of us," Asgore explained.

"What kind of comedy shows?" she asked.

Sans had been too busy watching the fabric slip off her left leg when she asked and it took a minute for him to regain the conversation.

"mostly old stand-up stuff… personal favorite is 'whose line is it anyway?'. the old stuff, the newer is kind of crap," he joked.

"I think my favorite is Robin Williams' stand up. It's kinda old but it always makes me laugh," she giggled.

'good god, if you keep that up i might not get through the damn dinner' he thought.

"never seen it…"he said.

"Oh my god. We will HAVE to watch that one night after Liz and I have moved in. T-that's still available right?" she blushed.

'hell fucking yes'

"yeah. my brother moved out the other day so i just have to clean up a few things and everything should be ready," he made a mental note to clean the whole damn house before they moved in. It wouldn't help his chances if she knew he was a lazy slob. While it had been pretty lonely without Pap the last few nights but he knew that Metta was taking good care of his brother and he kind of looked forward to having the women move in.

With a happy smile she seemed to sink into the bench as Asgore hummed an old forgotten tune and the ride went on.

[The Dinner]

The food had been excellent and after a glass of wine, I felt like I was prepared to rub elbows with some of these people. Classical music floated from the live string band in the corner of the ballroom and slowly people were taking to the dance floor in the front of the room. Asgore had suggested I walk to the floor and see who might have been interested in dancing. He figured they couldn't resist the lure of dancing with his secretary if she was human.

After three dances with a Russian diplomat, I made my way back to our table. The entire time I had felt eyes on me and it had been really hard not to excuse myself earlier. Sans lounged in his chair, seemingly uninterested in the party but turned when I finally sat down again.

"how's the crowd kid?" he asked leaning close enough I could hear him over the music. This close I could smell the cologne he must have put on while I had been upstairs.

"No more blood thirsty than usual and it seems like this had been the best thing we could do under the current circumstances. Everyone wants to make deals and meetings, when earlier this week I couldn't even get their secretaries to answer the damn phone," I leaned back onto the chair and stretched. I debated taking off my shoes, knowing that I had stored flats in my bag when Asgore came back to the table and stood between us.

"You two should go dance together. Put on a show for them…" he gestured low towards the dance floor and placed a hand on Sans' shoulder. I could see the silent debate going on between the two men when Sans picked up his head and met Asgore's eyes.

"….alright…" Sans sighed and stood, holding his hand out to me.

Unsure, I placed my hand in his bony one. He could dance?

The music slowed to a waltz as we took the floor. The entire room seemed to be holding it's breath, including myself as we began to move to the music. Soon we were swaying and twirling with the rest of the dancers, the pain in my feet forgotten. When I was unsure, he guided me. When I seemed to falter, he caught me. I began to feel that warm glow in my chest that I knew meant everything would be alright. As soon as I caught his half-lidded gaze the feeling doubled. As the number came to a close, he dipped me so close to the floor I could swear I was upside down. He winked as he helped me back up to the thunderous applause of the other guests. We bowed and made our way back to our table, laughing the entire way.

The evening began to wind down, the guests filing out the door, shaking hands with the host. As we neared the door ourselves, Sans motioned for us to wait inside while he checked the exterior of the building. It wasn't a very long walk but he wasn't taking any chances.

He motioned for us to get in the car, standing by the open limo door as it idled. Asgore and I ducked into the waiting vehicle and slid into our seats as the first bit of rain began to fall. So much for the nice weather…

[The Ride Home]

The minute the car had started moving, she had fallen asleep leaning on the other window. Sans noted she had even kicked off her shoes but hadn't gotten far enough to put the small flats on that she had pulled out of her purse. He figured it couldn't hurt to help her.

He kneeled down in the limo, taking the flats from her sleepy grip, slowly placing them on each of her feet. As he slipped on the small shoes he glanced at her leg, catching the sight of another tattoo on her right leg. A small compass with the words 'Follow your heart" below it seemed so simple but a powerful reminder. Careful to not wake her, he moved back to his seat next to the door.

"What do you think?" Asgore said in a low voice.

"what do you mean?" Sans questioned him.

"Don't play dumb Sans. I know better than that," Asgore sat forward placing his elbows in his knees. "I saw it when you danced. Did you see a symbol?"

Sans sighed. He knew all of his friends had put their love life's on hold after his episode. "yeah. i saw it. it's right under her left collarbone," if he was daring enough he would touch the invisible symbol and make it flare to life but he didn't dare touch her. She seemed to need the sleep after all the work she had done dancing.

The rolling of the privacy wall disrupted anything else Asgore would have said.

"Gentlemen, there seems to be some type of issue up ahead. I see a police barricade. Would you like me to turn around?" came the voice of the driver from the front.

'shit…'

"yeah henry. turn around if you can. we'll come in the back way," Sans moved toward the screen and looked out the front windshield.

As Henry began to turn the wheel the windshield cracked and a bullet embedded itself in his chest. He slumped forward, pushing his weight on the gas pedal and throwing the car into a haphazard turn into the ditch along the roadside.

Sans wasn't fast enough to change the course of the car as it careened off the road.

"hold on!" he yelled behind him.

The car seemed to flip with its momentum into the ditch and for a few seconds everything went black.

He awoke rather violently, rain hitting his face and running into his eye sockets. He was lying on the asphalt facing the turbulent sky, as he took stock of his body. Nothing seemed to feel broken as he began to sit up, but soon two small hands pushed him back to the ground.

"Hold-hold still Sans… I think I'm almost finished healing your leg," He could hear Lauren's voice from the direction he assumed was his feet. Warmth wrapped around his left leg and he could feel the sudden burning of healing magic in the offending appendage. Soon the soft green light died down and he sat up to look at her.

Most of her hair had fallen out of it's cage, sticking to her face as it got wet. She was kneeling on his left side, panic evident in her eyes as the storm picked up in intensity.

"how did you…?" he mumbled in his confused state.

She shook her head, more of her hair falling out of the twist.

"I have NO idea. I just knew it would work," she practically yelled over the rain. "I woke up and the limo was upside down. I pulled you both out of the wreck on to the road. The cops saw the whole thing. They shot the guy. He had been sitting on top of his car all night so they had made a blockade but they hadn't seen the gun. They called an ambulance and another car. I tried to pull Henry out but…." Her voice broke. "He was already gone…. Asgore just seems to be unconscious but I have no idea." Sans could see the tears rolling down her face, combining with the rain.

He pushed himself to his feet as best he could, testing his left leg as he did so.

'still sore but in one piece…' the magic thing he would deal with later.

Kneeling next to his friend he checked his breathing, finding it regular and steady. Using his left eye he lit Asgore's body in a faint blue glow as he checked for injuries.

'nothing…. thank god….'

Turning to Lauren he inspected her for any injuries he could see. A slice on her left arm was bleeding pretty badly but she would live. Still, he pulled her down to him and he wrapped her in a hug, feeling her shaking with every breath. She seemed to collapse on him as she shook and Sans realized that she must be soaking wet and cold in that dress. He quickly stripped off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, being careful of the wound on her left arm. He pulled her into his lap as he angled them better to watch Asgore and wrapped his left hand around her wound under the jacket. He wasn't as good as his brother but he used his healing magic the best he could as he kept his glowing eye on the surroundings. As they waited for the police to come back he swore her could hear her muttering about never getting in a car again.

The police were able to give them all a lift back to the Dreemurr residence once Asgore had regained consciousness. Lauren had waved off the ambulance, promising to get fully checked by a doctor in the next few days. A young officer named Fritz had made sure they had filled out paperwork on the incident before he left in the wee hours of the morning to inform Henry's family of his death.

Once they were in clean, dry clothes, Toriel hugged them all and cried until she passed out. Asgore took his wife upstairs soon after and Sans was left alone with Lauren in the living room. Flowey had kept his mouth shut but the look he had been giving Lauren the entire time they sat there sent shivers up Sans' vertebrae.

"i can take you back to your place or something," he mumbled from his spot on the couch.

"What? No… I…. Liz is out and I don't want….." she broke out of her thousand-yard stare with the windows and looked at him. "I CAN'T be alone right now…." Toriel had found an old sweater for her and a pair of sweatpants three sizes too big but she still looked radiant. The only problem was her eyes were as big as saucers as she hugged her gym bag to her chest and he could tell she was fighting sleep.

"well… the house isn't clean but fuck it…" he stood and offered her his hand. "i've got plenty of room or a couch to sleep on till the morning…"

"Thank you…" she whispered. Her hand slipped into his as she stood from the armchair. He could feel his magic jump out and touch her in comfort as their hands connected. "But I didn't see a car outside so how are we going to get there in this weather? And to be honest, I'm not sure I could take more driving…"

"oh, I know a shortcut…" he opened the front door and opened a shortcut to his living room in the doorframe, pulling her inside before she could protest.

[Sans' House]

The interior was dark when we stopped moving. I had felt the crackle of electricity when we had walked through the doorway of the house but I had never imagined he could teleport. It kind of explained his knack at appearing behind me. Sans dragged me across the room to a wall and I could hear an audible switch as the room lit up. It was a small two story house; the majority of the room we were in was taken up by a large green couch, bean bag, and a TV on the opposite wall above a small table. I could see a small galley kitchen off to the right with a small hallway leading straight ahead to a back door and a set of stairs on the left side of the room.

"not much to look at but it's home," Sans said as he let go of my hand and made his way to the kitchen.

As he rustled around in the fridge I sat myself on the couch. I was still wearing a large knit sweater Toriel had given me and a pair of sweats but I kicked off my small flats as I walked to the couch. I dropped my small duffel on the floor in front of me as I sagged into the overstuffed monstrosity.

Sans returned with a bottle of ketchup, two hot dogs, and a bottle of water, tossing the later at me as he moved to the opposite end of the couch and turned on the TV. He popped the top of the bottle of ketchup as a few reruns of 'Whose Line' played softly in the background. I chugged the bottle of water, not realizing how thirsty I had been.

"better?' he asked from his end if the couch.

"Uh-huh," I nodded.

After a few minutes I couldn't take it anymore.

"What the hell happened?" I turned to the skeleton pulling my feet up and laid them in the middle cushion between us.

"some wack-job, who doesn't like monsters, tried to take us out…" He shrugged from his side of the couch. He finished his bottle of ketchup and placed it on the floor as he stretched out to mirror me.

I could feel his bones through the track pants he had on and even the huge socks he had on showed the individual phalanges of his toes.

"Not that….. That I weirdly understand. I meant afterwards," I slumped down farther in the couch. "How did I heal you? I did heal you right? I mean…. It was so weird…."

"i got nothing for ya there kid…" He smirked and shrugged.

I could tell he knew more than he was telling me as the lights in his eye sockets dimmed to nothing but honestly, the couch had begun to eat me and poor sleep, dancing, and the adrenaline rush of the crash was finally starting to catch up with me.

"we'll talk more in the morning…." He flipped off the TV as my eyes slid closed. I could swear he even turned off the lights but I never felt him leave the couch.