Dating...but Not
Frisk eyed Player wearily, clutching her limp hand while Papyrus fumbled to unlock the door. He adjusted his grip on the girl, then turned the key until it clicked. "I've been meaning to ask this, but I was not sure if I should," he began as they entered. "Why do you two always do that?"
It took them a while to understand that the skeleton meant the hand-holding. "Oh...It's so we don't get lost. That's what Player told me."
A little groan from said human caught their attention. "But, if taken out of context, it could be seen as a sign of dating," her voice came out groggily. She swung her arm playfully, moving Frisk's as well.
"Dating?" Papyrus repeated.
"Ah! That's not what I-! No, we're not...How could we?" Player panicked, careful not to hit him as she scrambled about. Her smile faltered.
"Well, if you both are dating me, then you must be dating each other!" She wished he had not smiled saying that.
Placed on her feet, Player stared up at Papyrus with disbelief. What kind of logic does he work with? She heaved a sigh, totally at a loss for words. Shrugging it off, she settled on snooping through everything she could.
The child followed her into the kitchen. They found her staring wide-eyed at the sink. Seeing as she just stood there, they pointed at the sink with a dazed expression.
"Impressed?" Papyrus poked his head in. "I have increased the height of my sink! Now I can fit more bones under it! Take a looksy!" He smiled reassuringly.
Frisk opened the cabinet, expecting a pile of bones to crush both them and Player. However, that did not happen. Instead, a white dog munched on a singular bone. It became alert after hearing Papyrus share his own surprise, dashing out. Still processing the situation, Frisk watched as Player dove face first into the door. She was probably really close to catching the dog - she seemed mad enough.
So did Papyrus, especially after Sans played the sad tune of failure on the trombone. "Sans! Stop plaguing my life with incidental music!"
Rubbing her injured nose, Player sniffed in a peeved manner. She continued her searching, which Frisk did not understand. They worried her antics might bother their host, so they decided to distract him with a little conversation. All the while, they could hear their friend mess around in the kitchen before heading upstairs. They think they were telling Papyrus a story about Peter Cottontail when the creaking of stairs interrupted. Player was knocking on Sans's door, an odd fiery glow washing her blue then orange.
From down there, Frisk could not make perfect sense of what she was saying. They saw her blink into a surprised expression before seeing her giggle. She knocked again, this time with a purpose. They could hear a muffled mumble from the other side. Player's lips moved with an eager smile. Another mumble. Now, she said something with excitement. It sounded like she had said: "That's right, owls hoo!" Frisk heard Sans chuckle in response.
"Are they telling knock knock jokes up there?" The skeleton beside them sighed.
Player mumbled something to the door before walking over towards the door covered in signs. She had a goofy grin on her face, beaming at the two looking back at her. Someone looks like they had a good time. Glancing around, she came back down to investigate some more. Her movements were faster, making Papyrus jog to keep up.
Frisk was impressed - energy burned within Player. They pondered over this, already used to her more emotionless snooping. Maybe it was pride that moved her. Yes, her being proud of a successful joke must be it. The orphan frowned. If that were true, then had she failed before? They shook off the thought. No, she must be happy because she's nervous.
Blinking, Frisk found themself upstairs, being pulled by an anxious hand. Player was giggling like she knew a secret. Papyrus had rushed into his room, they followed slowly after. What happened? Did they miss out on something? They wanted to ask Player, but took a moment to take in how neat the room appeared. Everything had a place, and everything was in its place. This made Frisk want to touch every single item.
They admired the pirate flag, listening to Papyrus explain his thoughts. Hearing one piece that felt off, they thought they heard Player mutter "It's just a symbol of death, honey." There was a certain way she said "honey" that kept them paused in confusion. It was said so casually, but felt it was wrapped in a sort of pity. The sweet kind, sweet like the word itself.
The next few minutes passed swiftly with the enthusiastic cheer of Papyrus mingled with Player's droning responses. It turns out the two were informing each other as well as Frisk on several things about the Internet and...books apparently. Now, they had unnecessary knowledge on how to become popular, what was popular, and the do's and don'ts. In fact, they had become so bored of their friends' talk, they moved to examine a table covered with action figures. Their bone friend got these from Santa.
Everything went dark, startling Frisk, who bumped into Player's side. Papyrus stood in front of them with a wide grin. "Here we are - on our date!" What the heck? When did they actually engage him? Frisk looked to the girl for an answer, but she was reading a rulebook with the skeleton. A virtual keyboard appeared for a brief moment beside her, vanishing with a single press of a key. Various doodads flew in from nowhere around the trio. Frisk inched closer just as Papyrus peered awkwardly over the book at the children. "Humans! I, the Great Papyrus will go on a date with you!"
Player chuckled. "Yes, and we'll go on a date with you." Even Frisk's mouth uttered the same words.
Well, it certainly made Papyrus happy...to the point of blushing. What? Skeletons can blush?
Part three was where things went downhill. It completely broke the confident facade Player wore, revealing her true feelings. The humans were tasked with finding the secret to the special clothes the Great Papyrus had changed into. Player covered her mouth, making odd noises as her cheeks flushed. Her eyes wandered, but they always came back to one point. Frisk followed her line of sight and cleared their throat to hide their scolding of "No, Player." Even still, her finger flicked towards that point, moving Frisk's soul to it.
"There's no secret to my legs. Just hard work and perseverance!"
Sighing, Frisk moved Player's finger to point to Papyrus's hat. They gave her a nudge, only getting an innocent giggle.
At the end of it all with the lingering taste of bad spaghetti, Frisk held onto a blushing girl as their captive. Receiving a new phone-number, and being friend-zoned left her staring at the ground. Yet, she had a trap lying in wait. She looked up at the skeleton with the classic childish move of puppy eyes. "Wait, Paps!" Her arms reached up, and she started to hop.
It was at this moment Frisk wondered just how old Player was. Was it just them, or did she get younger? No, it was the trap. They don't know how she managed to suddenly appear so, but it took the child for a loopy loop. She was a teenager, but no matter how Frisk looked at her...she felt like a little girl - the kind to wear nice starched dresses and ribbons.
The trap was set! With the spell of utter cuteness cast, Player was lifted into a hug. She smiled deviously, planting a kiss randomly on Papyrus. He may not have lips, but she did! Frisk stared, mouth agape. They knew it was bound to happen, but...now? Did she not realize she just kissed his teeth? That's the equivalent to, say, if she had kissed them on the lips. In other words...
A true kiss!
Papyrus was speechless. He set Player down gently, his arms trembling. Then, he exited hastily, sweat daring to break out.
Looking at the girl, Frisk saw that even the horror on her face did nothing to wash away the bright red. She had a hand over her mouth, barely touching it as if she were scared to. "Oops...I...can't move..." was what left her shaky profile.
...
Frisk must have dragged Player about twenty times now. Whether it was if she was tired, embarrassed to the point of immobilization, cold, or just distracted, it was their job to pull her away. They were glad she barely weighed anything - it made their life easier. Just now felt like maybe the twenty-second time.
The two were chatting with the customers at Grillby's when a certain girl was about to do something stupid. She really seemed attached to the owner of the establishment, sitting in the seat he happened to be standing in front of. Her crooked smile, as Frisk learned to recognize by now, meant she was having trouble finding what she really wanted to say. They overheard her stuttering as she fumbled with her words. It sounded like she was trying to compliment Grillby without being offensive.
What struck Frisk's, they guessed, "bros for life" cord had been Player's hand. Her hand was twitching again, slowly making its way towards Grillby. Having seen this movement with her reaction to skeletons and dogs, they knew she wanted to touch his flaming skin. Even though they knew she would not get burned badly, Frisk could not risk it. They quickly held Player's wandering hand down.
"You okay there?" They asked her.
Caught off guard, Player paused as she assessed the situation. Her eyebrows raised at the answer, eyes glancing between their hands and the distance from them to Grillby. "Ah! Yeah...Do I not look okay?" She asked it calmly so as not to raise questions.
The child grinned almost knowingly. "I don't think we should keep bothering the citizens here," they whispered sadly. "I also don't want to see you freeze to death."
Reluctantly, Player allowed herself to be pulled from Snowdin. Frisk did have a point: she could not stay here, it was too cold for her. She had never liked the cold, it always got to her even if the temperature dropped just the tiniest bit. Now that she thought about it, she really was sensitive to change. It was people like Frisk who amazed her - people who did not let even the slightest chill get to them. Maybe they were the lucky type with a naturally hot core to them. After all, Frisk had warm hands.
The air felt heavy. It pressed on Player's chest, moist on her face. She shook away the remaining cloudiness of her thoughts to wonder why it suddenly got dark. There was no crunching of snow beneath her feet either. At least she felt pleasantly warm within the humidity. She squeezed Frisk's hand to make sure they were still there.
A faint bluish light trickled like water from somewhere ahead. The duo wanted to find the source, but stopped. Right beside them was a ledge with water flowing off its side. An armless, spiny monster child glanced in every direction. He settled his gaze on them, smiling brightly.
"Did you guys sneak out to see her, too?"
"Who...?" The humans asked timidly.
"Undyne! Who else?" Giggling, the little creature hopped. "She lives here in Waterfall, and if we make it, we might see her do something awesome!" Without waiting for any response, he jogged farther into the darkness.
Confused, the humans looked at each other. Unable to understand what just happened, they took a few more steps. They came across a large blue flower that seemed to move like it was talking. At Player's touch, it whispered to the children: "This is an Echo Flower. It repeats the last thing it heard over and over..."
Chuckling, she leaned closer to the round petals. "All hail the Great Papyrus!"
"All hail the Great Papyrus!"
Both children laughed, causing the Echo Flower to mimic them.
"Well...you guys look like you're having fun," a voice mumbled. Turning to find the source led to Sans sitting at a sentry station. He waved at them and they came running over. "So...what brings you to Waterfall? I thought for sure Papyrus caught ya."
"He did..." Frisk answered.
"Ah, so you escaped." He glanced at Player, who was staring at him again. It was an analytical gaze rather than the fascinated one she had before. "What? You never seen a guy with two jobs before?" Oh, she's about to say something! "Well, it means twice as many legally required breaks. I'm going to Grillby's. Wanna come?"
When she smiled, Sans wondered if he did something wrong. "Sans..." she purred. "Are you asking us out on a date?"
"It's not a date!" He hastily replied, nearly falling out of his seat. "H-how could it be? There are three of us! One is a pity party, two is a date, and three's a hangout."
The kid beside her snorted, trapping their laugh inside. "That sounds like an excuse."
Nodding her agreement, Player fiddled with her fingers. "A date, my dear," she began slowly, locking eyes with him. "-is spending quality time with someone you care about. It doesn't matter if it's platonic or romantic, a date is a date. Even if you have multiple people. Sure, it's more accepted to call that a hangout, but that's just the shyness talking."
Sans eyed her warily. This...Was this the same Player that panicked at the mere mention of romance? He remembered asking her about the hand-holding after the tile color maze. She had tried making excuses as to why she held his hand when they met. "Sorry, I just...I really like bones! They're so cool and you're a skeleton, so I wanted to see the real deal!" That's what he remembered her blubbering. Even when he teased her, she had denied being romantically interested. Yet, now was different.
Not believing that Player had suddenly become accustomed to the idea, Sans leaned forward. Two could play at this game. "Okay, so what I'm getting from this is that you really want to turn this into some kind of romantic outing."
Ah, here comes the surprised expression. She blinked at first, but was laughing the next second. "No, I was just stating a fact! I'm telling you not to be so shy about admitting that you like m-" she paused. "-us!" Her feline smile wavered.
Smiling as much as his bony face would allow, Sans leaned in more. This made the girl flinch, her companion's eyes going wide with deep interest. "Sure I like you - you both have kind souls...Sweetheart."
Player's bravado cracked. She brushed her bangs in an attempt to hide her blush. "Wh-who are you referring to...exactly?"
He chuckled, pulling her hand away. "You." Checkmate.
With an odd cry similar to as if she got punched in the gut, she glanced at Frisk for help. "I...You...you said...Me? Me, a sweetheart? Ah...But...but...I'm...But they," she gestured to the kid. "-they're the sweetheart, not me!"
Feigning hurt, the skeleton intertwined his fingers with hers. That's when she finally noticed the lack of mittens. "See? Wish granted, we're going out!"
Speechless, Player gestured for Frisk to say something.
"What about me? We're going as a group, right?" They finally said, voice full of giggles.
"Of course, kiddo!" Releasing Player's hand, Sans flung out of his chair, and headed towards the watery light. "This way, I know a shortcut," he grinned.
It had happened in an instant. One moment Frisk was walking with their seemingly flirty friends, then next thing they knew, they landed inside of Grillby's. Yes, landed. The sensation of landing from, say, a hop puzzled them. They did not jump nor do they remember jumping. Apparently, Player was also in the same boat - having no idea how they got there. However, she was clutching her chest as if to hold it together. Frisk noticed they were too. A pressure lifted from them as quickly as it had been placed.
"Fast shortcut, huh?" Sans smirked over his shoulder. "Hey, everyone," he waved.
The Dogi greeted him with impatient eyes, the drunk rabbit winked, the strange creature with the biggest mouth bobbed his head in acknowledgement, and the others waved back. The homely old fish then said "Hey, Sans, weren't you just here for breakfast a few minutes ago?"
"Nah, I haven't had breakfast in at least half an hour. You must be thinking of brunch."
And the whole room laughed. Except Frisk, and Grillby. Player gave a polite snicker, but she wasn't really enjoying herself. The child tugged on her sleeve. "What's everyone laughing at?" They whispered. Their answer was that brunch is what you eat in between breakfast and lunch. So, the joke was that Sans came in to eat both breakfast and brunch. Also part of the joke is that he's here for lunch. Finally understanding this made Frisk frown. "Doesn't Sans ever eat at home," they tried to ask her, but she furrowed her brow in disapproval. It was the kind of look a mother gives to child being rude at a friend's house. How old was Player, again?
Once the laughter died, Sans whistled at the children while gesturing to some open seats. "Here, get comfy." He waited with that plastered grin. Said grin got bigger when Frisk sat down, a floppy wheeze sputtering out. "Whoops, watch where ya sit - sometimes weirdos put whoopee cushions on the seats."
Player raised a brow. "Uh-huh..." She sat on the right of him, grimacing. Frisk thought that was bad when she did that because she made sure not to make such mean faces. They thought it meant she was starting to think less of their big-boned friend.
Perhaps feeling the disgust radiating from her scowl, Sans looked away. "Anyway...let's order. Whaddya want...?" He faced the orphan, probably because they weren't the one silently judging him.
Not the one in charge, Frisk glanced over to the girl. They knew she would be full from all the eating she already did, so a burger was out of the question. "Fries," they smiled. Player totally looked like a fry girl - she was close to being one herself anyway! "Ah! But maybe you and I should switch. I'll share with Player!"
The skeleton gave a look that almost asked "Share? What do you mean 'share'?" Regardless, he turned to Grillby, requested the double order, then slid off his stool. After exchanging seats, he turned to face the duo. "Uh...So, what do you think of my brother?"
"He's so cool!" Frisk cheered.
"Of course he's cool." Yay, he looks happy again. "You'd be cool too if you wore that outfit every day. He'd only take that thing off if he absolutely had to." Chuckles, those are a good sign! "Oh well. At least he washes it," he began snickering. "-and by that I mean he wears it in the shower."
A bark of laughter escaped Player, who clamped a hand onto her mouth. With eyes on her, her cheeks turned pink. "Sorry..." she mumbled.
Grillby came back to set down two baskets of fries. Frisk really wished they hadn't noticed their partner's attempt at getting the bartender's attention. It not only made them feel guilty for looking, but also upset that she had no interest in talking to Sans. So, they nudged her. Before she could understand why, a bottle of ketchup was being offered.
"Want some?" A bony hand shook the plastic thing into her view.
Eying it like it insulted her, Player gently pushed it away. "No, thank you..." Oh no, she did not even see that their hands touched. It would have been hilarious.
Sans shrugged. "More for me then," and he chugged the whole bottle.
Both children took fries to munch on, every now and then bumping their hands into each other. The contact was nothing new, so it really was no big deal. Yet, Frisk couldn't help but think it was. They listened to their friends talk, but didn't focus on the words. It sounded like Sans was telling a story, and Player reacted with little commentary. Either way, they paid more attention to the fact that their hand could touch hers without her being upset. Sure, her hand would curl its fingers, but it refused to move or smack theirs. How peculiar.
It was dead quiet. Frisk perked, turning this way and that. All around seemed like time had stopped. They looked at Player, her eyes were wide, staring at Sans. She had both hands clutching her chest where her soul would appear if it ever decided to. Following her gaze made Frisk confused. Sans remained smiling, though it felt...off. He was saying something to both of them. His voice echoed. "Have you ever heard of a talking flower?"
They jumped. "Y-yes..." Player's voice came out faintly with Frisk's. The reason they both were quivering was because of Flowey. Or, rather, the thought of this comedian knowing the scheming buttercup.
"So you know all about it. The Echo Flower." His mumbling brought relief to the duo. "They're all over the marsh. Say something to them and they repeat it over and over," he glanced at them. "What about it? Well, Papyrus told me something interesting the other day." The fear came back. "Sometimes, when no one else is around, a flower appears and whispers things to him: Flattery...advice...encouragement..." his smile drooped with each word. "Predictions."
Player tugged at her turtleneck, mouth twisting as she tried to hold back whatever wanted to come out.
"Weird, right? Someone must be using an Echo Flower to play a trick on him. Keep an eye out, okay?" Sans stared right at them both. "Thanks."
Noise filled the room again as time regained its flow. Knocking on the wooden counter, the skeleton leaped off his seat. "Welp, that could've gone better. I can't believe I let you pull me away from work for that long," he chuckled. "Oh...and I'm flat broke. Can ya foot the bill? It's just ten thousand gold," but he was already starting to walk away.
"Sure..." Player grumbled. No, she's making mean faces again. Frisk wanted to chew their nails - they were so worried.
Sans turned around, walking backwards with his usual humor about him. "Just kidding. Grillby, put it on my tab." As he swung around, the children wanted to call him back, but he stopped in front of the door. "Oh, yeah...Y'know you could've at least tried to make small talk, Player. If you're gonna go the extra mile to make a date happen, ya need to try stepping up your game. Let's see some real wooing next time!" And he was gone.
She could only groan.
