I keep saying I'll cut the lenght down... the chapters keep getting longer. °-°U
Everyone hates Sans... hopefully this will begin making up for it. I promise explanations are coming soon. In the meanwhile, do mind the "T" rating for this, swearing and mentions ahead!
Somehow, Frisk's employers seemed to all meet and decide to get the woman buried under work. Don't get her wrong, it was good for the bills, but it meant she hadn't been able to see any of the gang before the day set by Sans arrived. On the flip side, she hadn't gotten bullied by Undyne, but despite knowing a bit more about monsters than most she really could have used their insight, or, at least, their terrible lying skills.
'Go out with me' could have 2 very different meanings, and Frisk was unsure which one was the lesser evil. Would it be worse to act as if it was a friendly get-together and possibly hurt the skeleton or to take it as an overture and possibly make a fool out of herself? She may be single and not precisely a teenager, but she was far from desperate for a man, species non-withstanding, so she had been careful to keep her answering message as nonchalant as possible. If he was indeed asking to see if they could work, the timing made her a bit suspicious; his deciding to try just after she was caught by Asgore seemed too coincidental.
With the weather warming up, she could wear a dress. It was different enough from her usual jeans and baggy sweater combo (it had really been cold!) to make her seem more put together, yet casual enough for her to wave off as just the heat if necessary. Middle would be the name of her game today. Frisk certainly owed Sans nothing, especially after his disappearing act, but he was an integral part of the gang. If he was too offended it might put her new friends in an uncomfortable position and she truly enjoyed their presence. She was also admittedly curious. Why now? Why her?
She didn't usually pay such close attention and so only caught the strongest traits, but she could, strictly speaking, take advantage of her abnormal sensitivity to monitor a monster's emotions. With a boss monster such as Sans it would be like staring straight at a bright light and would eventually leave her with a huge migraine, but it would certainly let her gauge his moods and react accordingly. She might have felt guilty for the unfair advantage, but skeletons were sensitive to moods themselves and many monsters could get glimpses of Souls. It was just Sans' luck that she could even that playing field.
As she wrestled with her mane to try and get it into a ponytail, Frisk couldn't help but laugh slightly at herself. After so long avoiding it and several failed relationships with human men, here she was. Readying herself for a date with a monster. Oooh the irony. She could almost see her teenage self glaring daggers at her back. After so many promises, after all these years, after the passionate speech to her parents and their patient understanding… was this what the King meant about some things being undeniable?
Frisk shook her head to stop the almost philosophic thoughts. She was being ridiculous, it may not even be a date-date after all. If it was… well…she'd cross that bridge if they even got there.
It took effort, but if she ignored the problems beneath the simple offer, she found herself actually enjoying the proceedings. Frisk was pretty and interesting enough to draw attention from the opposite sex, but working from home wasn't conductive to meeting a potential partner. It had been a while since she'd last had a reason to dress up or get nervous about going out. She should probably make an effort again, try and meet someone nice.
The doorbell rang at just the agreed time, but it still startled Frisk into a tiny jump. The poor doorman sounded downright confused when asking if he should allow a Mr. Skeleton up, and she had to admit she was probably finding the old man's decidedly flabbergasted reaction much funnier than was polite. Frisk was still quick at giving the ok, and was soon opening the door to find Sans looking a bit uncomfortable in slacks and a button up.
Weird. She had always seen him in either a full 3-piece suit (seemingly his work attire) or shorts and hoodie. Finding him dressed in the middle was disconcerting, but made her feel better about her dress even as it fed her nerves into full blown butterflies. A friendly meal to patch up his absence was starting to look further and further from the plan. Sans himself looked better. The dark bruises under his sockets were gone and his clothes gave the impression of 'fitting' him again, though his magic still wasn't quite there yet. It seemed… restless beyond the natural movement of its almost wispy nature. Then again, she didn't need his energy to see how uncomfortable he was. It was clear in the rigid lines of his body and the way the hands in his pockets refused to stay still.
Truly worrying, however, was that she found it endearing.
'Hey Sans! Just let me get my keys and we can be off…' (she used the pause to both fetch the item and lean on tip-toe to kiss him hello. She had learned her lesson, and wasn't gonna set herself up again) 'How have you been?'
'Umm… yea, sure. No bones about it. (He leant down for the kiss) Been good, you? By the way, Paps sends his regards'
'I'm good too, thanks, but work was hectic. Kept me cooped in.'
'Worked ya to the bone, did they? Good thing you can finally unwind'
Frisk couldn't help the slight giggle at the pun while they made their way down from her apartment.
'Jijiji yea, guess you'd know a thing or two about that. So… what's the plan?'
'Do you have issues with bugs?'
Huh? That was a weird non-answer, even for someone as unpredictable as Sans. 'As long as they don't startle me and aren't poisonous, no, not particularly. Why?'
'I remember when we met you said that café had the best pastries. I know somewhere that might be better, but it's… a bit… different'
'Those are big words, mister. Let's take a look and then I'll tell you who keeps the title, hmm?'
If possible, Sans' grin seemed to widen.
The locale seemed girlier than Frisk expected. With some outside tables and cute, forged iron chairs it sure looked like a Paris coffee shop smack in the center of their city. It had been a bit of a walk from her apartment, but to be fair, Sans had asked if she preferred a cab and she declined. The walk had allowed them both to settle a bit, the old camaraderie they had begun months ago seeming to rekindle easily despite the months of no contact. On some sort of non-verbal agreement, neither spoke of that time, and the initial awkwardness began to settle. So far, Sans had made no strange moves, and his magic seemed calmer the more time they spent talking until it lost all signs of distress.
When they entered, Frisk started appreciating the skeleton's weird query. This was a clear monster business and the strongest monster here (other than the one beside her) was some sort of spider woman behind the counter. Her magic, though not as potent as Sans', positively saturated the place, but she could still sense a great number of tiny monsters similar to her running all around the restaurant. Family? Familiars? The link was too different from any she'd seen for Frisk to pinpoint, but it was clearly there.
They sat in a booth on a back corner and the spider monster herself came to give them the menus and was introduced as Muffet. She had several pairs of limbs and eyes, but wore an almost doll-like frilly dress and had a friendly demeanor. Frisk took a moment to wonder if the apparel was mere preference or an effort to make her less jarring to humans.
Sans kept silent while they pursued options until Frisk asked for his opinion. Since he had asked for hers when they met, she thought it fitting. Didn't stop her from lightly swatting his forearm when he chuckled at her startled yelp because a tiny black spider was suddenly level with her eyes. It seemed to have lowered itself from the lamp, and used a tiny cardboard to signal it came to take their order. So these were the 'tinies' she had felt earlier. If they were monsters, they had to be both the smallest and the closest to an actual mortal animal she'd ever seen.
Her childish sulking was interrupted by a shift in pressure; the weight of Sans' full attention. As her eyes drew to his and her spine subconsciously straightened he began unbuttoning the shirt's cuffs and first button. Then, he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. It seemed a casual move, and more in accordance with his usual relaxed appearance, but the way his eyes never left hers told a different story. Unsure, Frisk took a closer peek at his magic and noticed it was agitated again. Tendrils of the cold energy uncoiled and seemed to try and stretch before wavering and pulling back toward him. One tendril either got brave enough or escaped the skeleton's notice long enough to nearly touch her hand before retreating at a fast clip. Was he… trying to get to her? Get a glimpse at her Soul?
While she was distracted, Muffet came back, multiple arms laden with their order. Then, the woman winked all her right eyes at Frisk before adding in a fake whisper 'You are soooo pretty, my dear, and a new face too! Seemingly unattached yet despite having come with one of our own… the table near the window sends his regards….' And she left a tulip beside her drink.
Sans' magic seemed to freeze in place. 'Aren't you even gonna check out who the suitor is?' The windows were actually at her back, meaning Frisk would have to turn her head to look at whoever had sent the flower. She could sense no anger from her companion, but there was decidedly annoyance and a ton of curiosity.
'No. Who cares? Attached or not I came with you, alone. It is rude of whoever-it-is to assume and make a move, I am not interested.'
Outwardly, he only raised an eye Ridge and gave a slight incline of his skull, but Frisk could feel his magic vibrate with excitement. Even after it died down, the energy didn't try and reach for her again. Damn. He was interested if just a willingness to respect his place could incite such a strong response, and magic couldn't lie. Food gave her an excuse to stay silent with her thoughts, but now what?
What did she want? Did she want to try with him? Could she put her misgivings aside? Should she confront him straight up? She knew there would be no-
'Frisk? Think you have it in you to tackle a doughnut yet?'
'huh?' it took her a moment to process his question. 'Yea, sure. It is why you brought me here, after all.' She could have hit herself for her careless wording, but Sans seemed not to notice and waved the spider from before down.
A small army was needed to safely ferry their desserts and coffee, but the tiny bugs were sure dedicated and careful with what had to be have been heavy cargo.
'So… can I ask about you?'
'What about me, Sans?'
'Dunno. You have grown close to the others, but other than your work, I don't really know anything about you. Were you born here? Do you have any siblings? Hobbies?'
Frisk couldn't really help the chuckle. This wasn't too different from a first date with a human after all. She had grown used to being careful about giving information about herself, but with her closeness to Paps, Undyne and Alphys, why not?
So she told him as much as she could. That she had been born in this country, but a different state. That her parents were alive though living several hours away and she was an only child. How moving for college had been hard but had ended up landing her the job she now held. That she nonetheless missed her parents and made it a point to call them often. That she liked snow but disliked the cold, and was a veritable coffee addict.
In turn, he confessed it was only him and Paps, as their mother had been killed and their father eventually fell some years later. Being the elder, he had taken care of Paps since he was pretty much a teenager, but still managed to get a degree in quantum physics. Since she knew him to be a bodyguard, hearing there was quite the brain behind the brawn was a surprise. Her awe must have been a bit too evident, for he scratched the back of his neck while his face dusted a baby blue. He confessed to have no issue with cold… or heat or much of anything weather-wise since it went right through him, but that he loved space enough to consider going for a mayor in astrophysics. His vice? Ketchup.
'Ketchup. '
'Yea'
'Like… plain Ketchup?'
'Mhm'
'And here I was thinking it an elaborate joke when I caught you drinking it at your house…'
'No, no. I like spice-rich food in general, but if I had to guess? I'd say I like Ketchup in particular because it's close to a sauce made with tomatoes back underground.'
Back underground. This wasn't the first time she caught someone referencing those times, but it was always a bit bewildering. Monsters were generally long lived, though some more than others. It seemed to be tied to their magic levels. The more powerful their Soul, the longer of a lifespan they could aspire to. But it meant the friends she had made were in actuality older than her grandparents. It was common knowledge, but to run into it first-hand was a sobering thought.
'Are you really sure you even have a sense of taste? Cause… Ugh'
'Hey! I said this was a good place didn't I? Ye of little faith' His magic made it clear his affronted face was all play, but Frisk was having fun with the harmless banter. There was the looming shadow of whether his reasons were true but she has having an honestly good time. She was laughing and liking what she heard of him and the brief glimpses into his life he had allowed. Being perfectly honest with herself, had he been human, she'd grant him a second date.
Before they knew it, there were only crumbs left. Sans covered the receipt before the spiders could even bring it, never mind her trying to pay for her part. Perhaps he came here more often than she had originally thought. Just before they could leave, the skeleton's phone went off.
'Hmmmm. Sorry dear, have to get this. Would you mind too terribly?'
'No, no, go ahead. I'll be ok on my own.'
He rapidly slid from his booth and out the door as she barely caught a few hurried words of the monster royal tongue, a formal dialect so old only the scholars and Dreemurs used it anymore. Frisk had just decided to let the nickname slide and pulled her phone out to pass the time when someone sat in Sans' place. Startled, she regarded the uninvited guest with a distrustful look.
The man was at least five years her senior, and probably would have been considerably handsome despite the early gray hairs if not for the dark expression he wore. His blue eyes bore into hers beneath a scowl, and Frisk felt a shudder run down her spine.
'Ya know, a thank you would have been the polite thing to do.'
Since she kept staring at him blankly the man gestured at the flower, untouched at the edge of the table.
'Oh. It is lovely, but I am not interested. As you have undoubtedly noticed, I did not come alone.' The male suddenly unfurled to his full height and slammed both hands on the table. As he brought his face uncomfortably close to her the heavy stench of alcohol became evident. She realized too late this wasn't just an insistent suitor.
'It's not like those animals know about common courtesy do they? They sure had no qualms stealing my Susan from me!'
'My name is not Susan.' Frisk kept her words calm, but felt decidedly uncomfortable at the exchange.
'Yet you came here with one of them! Don't think you were unwatched here in your dark corner, all smiles and showing leg as you shamelessly flirted with that. Of course, maybe that is just what you want. Do the dead do it for you? Perhaps you are a necrophiliac after all.'
Enough was enough. Frisk had tried talking this madman down, but she had enough troubling thoughts without him talking shit. Sans may have been a skeleton, but he was certainly not dead. Plus, some things just couldn't be allowed to slide.
'Maybe he has just the bone I need. Cause let me tell you, if you were half as much of an animal, your Susan wouldn't have even thought about leaving.'
The male gave an inarticulate scream as he attempted to scrabble over the table to get to her, but alcohol is not the best thing for coordination. Getting stuck with silk and suddenly glowing blue sure doesn't help either. Frisk blinked hard to get rid of the white spots in her vision as both Sans and Muffet activated offensive magic so close to her.
Sans had been feeling off since they lost contact, first weaker and then sort of muffled, but right now, she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. With his fury, his magic was breathtaking. Anyone would see his left eye smoking an otherworldly cyan as his pupils seemed to be gone, and that was plenty scary enough, but Frisk could see much more. The usual tight coils of energy were unraveled, waving and arcing gracefully around Sans' body despite their smoke like consistency. Even unseen, the pressure of the magic's presence and intent made the air feel heavy, colder. Sometimes, two beams collided or brushed with each other, and black sparks flew before the strands simply evaporated and reformed on a different path.
Muffet made a spider call the police and began apologizing profusely, but Frisk was too dazed to pay much attention. If Sans had scared her upon first meeting him, he should have sent her fleeing in a panic right now. Instead his cold magic had her almost drugged with the intensity, making her feel slow and oddly disconnected from her own body. Ironically it was Sans placing his fury at the side to focus on her that let her recover some of her awareness. He rested his upper body on the back of Frisk's booth, which caused his skull to be parallel to hers and then made his pupils appear though the left remained much larger and a sharp blue color. He didn't face her, but gave her a sideways look, probably gauging her reaction and trying to avoid scaring her more. Heh, if he only knew.
'AREYOUALRIGHT?' His already low baritone had gone down an extra couple tones, probably a result of the aggressive growl thrumming deep in his ribcage. Frisk was quick to nod her affirmative.
'Yes, yes. I'm alright. I really should've known better than to taunt someone like him, but you guys got here just in time. Thanks.' Despite her assurances, a few tendrils of his magic slithered close. Despite the aggressive display, the energy coming for her held only worry and a deep seated protectiveness, so Frisk remained very still and let Sans do as he willed. She somehow got the impression his checking should've been undetectable, but her skin rose in goosebumps wherever the energy skimmed too close and made her feel pins and needles if touched by it. He must have found what he was seeking, for the growl finally tapered off and his energy began folding back on itself. The scowl and tight grip on the aggressor, however, remained.
'I am most sorry, I had no idea or I would have never dared send his stupid little token. I hope this won't keep you from our establishment, young one. I promise nothing like this will ever happen again.' Muffet turned to the skeleton. 'If you want to leave, you can. The authorities are on their way but I keep a good set of surveillance cameras and your waiter heard it all. I don't think they'll need any more evidence to charge this one.' He seemed indecisive, his eyes going from Frisk to the man still frozen in his magic.
'Oh no need to worry about him. My silk can hold prey much worthier than this pest.'
Finally, Sans moved to the opening of Frisk's booth and offered her a hand, palm up. She placed her own slightly trembling appendage in his, still feeling weird after the brush of his energy on her skin, but made sure to give him a smile. She wanted him assured that though shaken, she was not scared of him. The monster took full advantage of the offering and gently pulled to coax the woman to her feet, then kept pulling till she was standing as close as possible. He folded her into his arms, ensuring her front was to his ribs before bending to reach her ear
'Close your eyes…'
His voice was still a deep thrum, and Frisk didn't need to be told twice as his energy stuck at what seemed empty space and it actually ripped. Damn, that was new. She was very, very curious, but the still dazed feeling warned her against looking too closely. Frisk decided knowing just wasn't worth another drug-like spell and promptly burrowed as deep as she could into his chest. She could feel a great pressure, then slight vertigo, a flare of his magic and then nothing. She ventured a peek and was astonished to find herself in the lobby of her own building. It had been a long walk to get to the bistro, she knew. Yet here she suddenly was.
How unfair was it that Sans' magic included teleporting? Right. Sans. Who she was still clutching to. Frisk tried for casual as she disentangled one hand from his phalanges' tight grip… and the other from a rib, where she had seemingly managed to curl her fingers through the shirt. She was unsure if a direct grip on his ribcage was actually painful or not, but it sure made her feel as if she had been feeling him up of something. She was sure her blush was back, traitor.
Sans unwound his arms from around her but made no effort to step back from her. A quick peek showed his magic was back to its usual state, though still a bit weaker. He wasn't feeling any of the blind fury and almost animalistic intent from earlier, but he was feeling protective and a large dose of shame-shyness. A sudden bout of hot pain behind her eyes told Frisk in no uncertain terms that her Gift had had enough. No more magic for her.
Shy… shy… because of their previous embrace? Or maybe his going all ballistic before? He had kept any comments about her suddenly going all handsy to himself, which was highly suspicious. Even she could think of at least 3 related puns.
'Umm…. I am very sorry about what happened. Some luck to run into such a weirdo, but…. He sure helped make a point. Legally, there is no difference between you and me, but tibia honest, practice is another matter entirely. Even after all this years, monsters are a minority, and being a human running with a group of us can be dangerous… Never mind when it's one-and-one. I will understand if you'd rather be left a-bone, but I would like it if we went out again. You have my telebone.'
Frisk expected him to either give her the usual kiss or just plain leave, but the skeleton used their continued nearness to just bow down and put his teeth to her forehead. She swore she felt something like lips before she blinked and he was gone. Only the tingling leftover in her head proved he had even been there at all.
It would be at least a full hour of dissecting the date and trying to reach a decision before Frisk finally got the reason for Sans' sudden shyness in her lobby. In her zeal to challenge the bigot at Muffet's Frisk hadn't been precisely quiet. What's even worse, she had been so focused on what was in front of her she couldn't really pinpoint when Sans actually came in after the call, so it was very likely he heard her claims about his supposed prowess.
Her mother did always say that temper of hers would get her in trouble someday, but Frisk was fairly sure this sort of mortification wasn't what she had in mind.
