"I'm scared." I muttered to both Papyrus and Sans, once the former rang the doorbell.
Papyrus and Sans were invited to a Christmas party by someone named Toriel, a monster I had never met before. I did not enjoy parties very much, not wanting to leave the comfort of home, but Papyrus convinced me to come along.
"NOT TO WORRY! MRS. ASGORE IS VERY NICE! SHE GIVES ME PETS ON THE HEAD AND PIE SOMETIMES!" Papyrus said, trying to reassure me in his special way.
"yeah, chill out kiddo. everything will be alright." Sans smiled. Normally, the smaller skeleton would have a mischievous grin, but this one was…quite sweet. It caught me off guard every time he smiled that way.
Suddenly, the door opened, warmth from the fireplace reaching us from the inside. I could also smell cinnamon and pine needles, and saw holiday decorations on the wall.
A large, goat-like monster with a maternal aura gave us a welcoming smile. Though she did not seem threatening, I instinctively hid behind Papyrus, my teeth chattering and my body shaking.
"Oh, welcome you two! I am delighted that you could make it to our celebration!" The goat woman said, clasping her hands together.
Wait…her voice sounded very familiar. In fact, I remember seeing a younger goat monster just like her in a dream. Sans was staring at me as I curiously poked out from behind Papyrus, getting a good look at the goat moth-oops! Did…I just almost call her mother? I should watch myself, before I end up calling her "mother" aloud. Without even looking at Sans, I still felt his intense gaze upon my me. I was already quite used to his staring by now, that it began bothering me less.
"GREETINGS, MRS. ASGORE! WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR INVITATION!" Papyrus bowed down to Toriel, as if she were a queen.
"Please call me Toriel, my dear." She responded, petting the skeleton on top of his head. Papyrus giggled with glee; a slight blush dusted his cheekbones.
"Come on in and make yourselves comfortable! Frisk was waiting patiently for your arrival!"
The two skeletons walked right in, though I stood on the porch, my knees feeling like they were about to collapse. Toriel noticed me, standing there looking like the awkward fool I was. Inside my mind, though it might have been irrational, I hoped she was not judging me.
"Oh, I did not see you there! You must be the skeleton brothers' friend. Do not be shy, my child, please come in."
Something about the way she smiled made me feel at ease as I walked through the doorway.
It did not take long for that calm feeling to vanish once I saw the other guests. I did not recognize anyone but Undyne and Alphys, who were sitting on the blue couch, enjoying some kind of beverage in snowmen mugs. There was a fabulous robot talking to a meek ghost wearing reindeer antlers and a red nose. The ghost was quite adorable, but something about the robot made me feel intimidated. Actually, now when I thought about it, there were only three monsters I did not know very well. At least this was just a small celebration, because dealing with a lot of people or monsters made me anxious.
"METTATON!" Papyrus shouted, waving while making his way towards the alluring robot. That was an adjective I never thought I would be using to describe a fancy, humanoid-shape piece of metal.
…Wait…THAT'S METTATON? I thought he was just a box rolling around on a wheel…
"Oh, hello Papyrus darling! How have you been?" The robot responds, flicking his hair out of his face. He had an egotistical air about him, which only made me more uncomfortable in his proximity.
As they were talking, I noticed the ghost peeking out from behind Mettaton, staring at me with curious, blinking eyes. We were both standing behind our personal guardians, having a small staring contest. I managed to give him a small smile, and though he did not give me one in return, something told me that we mutually understood each other. We both did not want to be at this party, that was for sure. It was nice having someone that sympathized with me.
"You two are standing under the mistletoe." When I tuned myself back into Papyrus and Mettaton's conversation, that was the first thing I heard, causing my heart to nearly hit the floor.
"HUH?! REALLY?!" Papyrus tries to look for the mistletoe, all in the wrong directions.
"Look behind you, sugar skull."
Papyrus looks behind him, and I look above. Surely enough, there was the mistletoe, hanging there like it was teasing us. Wait a minute, how the heck did that get there?! I was literally behind him the whole time! Did someone decide to pull a prank on us? Speaking of pranks, a certain skeleton was missing from the scene.
Sans, you cheeky little prankster!
"Better get those lips puckering you two. People have been dying to see some romantic action." Mettaton pointed at us with his leg, waving his foot at us.
Papyrus and I were staring at each other, jaws agape and eyes wide open. We both began to blush brightly as we shifted our gazes from the mistletoe, then back to each other. My palms were shaking, along with Papyrus's. I was not going to be making the first move, and it seemed that he did not want to step up either. We just stared at each other, eye-to-eye socket; my heart pounding so loudly, that it could be heard echoing throughout the cosmos, even though space was a vacuum. I could see orange perspiration forming on Papyrus's forehead, as he began to slowly lean in. Since I did not want to disappoint him, I leaned forward as well, bracing myself.
My soft lips touch against something hard, sending an electric shock down my spine. Did…I just have my first kiss with a skeleton? I did not imagine something like this to ever happen in my entire life, but here I was, lip-to-teeth with Papyrus. It was impossible to explain the complex feelings swarming in the pit of my stomach, but I could not keep my eyes closed forever. I slowly opened my eyelids. What I saw was completely unexpected; there was Sans's head right in between my lips and Papyrus's teeth. He was standing on a stool, right in the middle of us, shielding me from Papyrus's skeleton kiss.
"'sup guys. did you miss me that much?"
Both Papyrus and I simultaneously jumped back. Sans snickered at us, his eye sockets smiling.
I knew he was responsible for this!
"S-S-SANNNNSSSS! OH MY GOD!" Papyrus's face flushed an even deeper shade of orange. We both cover our faces with our hands in embarrassment, refusing to look in each other's eyes.
"I knew you nerds had a thing for each other!" Undyne's laughter boomed throughout the room.
I felt myself beginning to shrink like Alice from Alice in Wonderland. My shoulders began curling inward; the muscles in my body became tight and tense.
"It was written in the stars that you two were destined to be sweethearts. I could see sparks flying when your eyes locked, darlings! How adorably romantic!"
Could things possibly become even more embarrassing than they are now? I felt like hiding in a closet and never coming out. Why was everything happening to me?
From the stairway, I could hear hurried foot steps making their way downstairs, catching the attention of Papyrus and Sans. A young, middle-school aged child, wearing a red and green striped Christmas sweater came our way, his arms extended.
"Uncles!" The child said, smiling at the skeleton brothers.
"Frisk!" Both Papyrus and Sans exclaimed. Papyrus bent over to hug the child, and Sans stepped off the stool to join them.
I observed the child, the blood from my face beginning to drain. I had to resist the urge to clutch my head; a headache had struck me hard, making me feel dizzy and sick to my stomach. Before I knew it, everything around the room began fading…
….
….
….
"Call for help, I dare you!"
"Cry into the darkness!"
….
….
….
"See what good it does you!"
….
….
….
"Help…"
….
….
….
"…But nobody came…"
….
….
….
"FRISK, THIS IS OUR NEW FRIEND, [PROTAG]!
I snapped back into reality upon hearing Papyrus mention my name. Sans must have noticed what had just happened, since he stared at me, his signature smile turning into a frown for a brief moment. These visions were only beginning to double in intensity.
It felt like I knew the young ambassador of monsters, though I could not remember when I first met them. According to the intense expression they gave to me, we had to be on the same page. Sans's eye sockets focused on me, then the child, and then back on me. Papyrus was oblivious to what was going on, but Sans, Frisk, and I were functioning on a similar wavelength.
"Nice to see you again." Frisk said, giving me a cheerful smile. They were behaving like I was a distant friend of theirs.
Even the name Frisk sounded familiar. It was not the most common human name, so I knew that I could not be thinking of another Frisk. In my chest, I felt something tingling and squirming. Looking at the child, I noticed something in the middle of their chest glowing red.
"[PROTAG], YOUR CHEST…" Papyrus's touched his finger right on my heart.
A gasp escaped my mouth when I noticed my chest glowing as well. My soul was pulsating, giving off a colored light. In a synchronized rhythm, my soul would pulsate along with Frisk's red soul. That was when I remembered reading a book in the library about human souls. Though it was not a very common phenomenon, when a human feels some intense emotion, or when two human souls connect with each other, the soul or souls might begin to glow. I stared at both Sans and Papyrus, not knowing how to react. Papyrus was both surprised and amused by the sight, while Sans had a blank, emotionless gaze fixated my glowing soul. Alphys and Undyne had gotten up from the couch to see what everyone else was looking at, making me anxious.
"Whoa, that's so COOL! How're they doing that?!" Undyne practically yelled, not having an indoor voice as per usual.
"I-I'm not q-quite sure…" Alphys whispered. "M-maybe their souls are…c-communicating s-somehow?"
"No way! Why can't monsters do that?!" Undyne scowled, crossing her arms.
"WOWIE, HUMANS SURE HAVE A LOT OF SECRETS!" Papyrus was joyful and giddy as always, clapping his hands in amusement.
"Here we are, witnessing the dancing between two souls! What a marvelous scene!" Mettaton made some dramatic poses.
Eventually our souls stopped glowing, leaving all the monsters (except Toriel, since she was in the kitchen, and Sans) in a state of bewilderment. I stared at Sans anxiously, looking for an explanation, but none was given. He only blankly stared back at me and the child, just as I had expected.
"Alright, everyone! Dinner is ready! Come sit at the table when you are ready!"
Toriel came out of the kitchen, holding on to a pie with purple oven mitts.
"Why is everyone standing around in a circle? Did I miss anything?" She asked, canting her head to the side.
"YOUR MAJESTY! SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED BETWEEN THE HUMANS! THEY WERE ALL GLOWY AND…AND…!"
Papyrus was speaking so fast, that it was difficult for everyone else to make out what he was saying. All the attention I was receiving was beginning to worsen my anxiety, to the point where I snuck out of the circle and went out to the porch. The monsters were focused on telling Toriel what had happened, so it was a good chance for me to go outside and calm down. Knowing Papyrus though, he would wonder where I am, though he probably would not be able to find me.
I sat down on the steps, trying to grasp what had happened back there. My whole body was shaking from having everyone's eyes on me. I hated being in the spotlight, and that incident was enough to pump my anxiety into overdrive.
Letting out a small sigh, I focused on the scene around me. There were monster kids playing outside in the snow across the street, building snowmen and snow forts. Winter dust fell from the sky, bringing Christmas Eve's blessings with it. I stuck my tongue out, catching a snowflake, and letting it melt on my tongue. That made me remember the time Papyrus, Sans, and I went skating on the large pond. While we danced together, Papyrus caught a snowflake on his orange plasma tongue. The thought made me smile. That was one of the best moments in my life, to be honest.
"hey, pal, you feeling okay?"
I was startled by San's deep voice. Looking to my right, I saw the short skeleton, having a smoke while casually leaning against the porch railing.
"I…could be a lot better…" I told him honestly, letting out another sigh.
There was a brief silence between us as he exhaled, smoke seeping through his teeth, then vanishing in the air.
"you're really wanting answers, i know you are. listen kid, i'm not gonna hide it from you anymore."
"Y-you said that many times before, Sans…give it a rest."
I was not in the mood for any more mind games, especially with the way I was feeling at the moment. The skeleton sighed, then snapped his fingers, making the cigarette vanish in blue magic. He took a seat next to me on the step. I stared down at the other steps, not wanting to make eye contact with his void sockets.
"i know i've been hiding things from you, but i'm being serious. do you want to know the truth, or not?"
I looked at him with a pleading expression.
"actually, i think it'll be best if i just showed you."
I was expecting him to tell me something, not show me something. I was going to brush it off as another one of his mind tricks, but he seemed dead serious this time around.
"Show me? What do you mean by that?"
"i'm gonna take you to the underground so you can see for yourself."
I did not quite understand what he was getting at, but if showing me would get the truth out of him, then I would do it.
"let's just enjoy the rest of the holiday for now, alright? keep your chin up." Sans winked, giving me a smile.
I responded with a nod and slight smile. With that, we got up from the step, joining the other monsters for dinner. It was hilarious watching Toriel and Sans crack puns with each other, making Papyrus lose his mind. My mood greatly improved after that.
Hours later, Papyrus and I were in the kitchen, baking cookies for "Santa Clause". Papyrus enjoyed being with me every time I cooked, and was also quite the helper too. He would help me add the ingredients to the mixing bowl, or measure things for me. We both made an excellent culinary team.
"ARE THEY READY YET?!" Papyrus asked, eagerly bouncing.
"No, Papyrus. I haven't even put them in the oven." I giggled, opening the oven with one hand, then pushing the tray in.
"WILL THEY BE DONE SOON?!"
"In a few minutes, Papy! You can help me decorate them when they cool, okay?"
"OKAY!"
Papyrus had already started to clean, wiping down the areas that were covered in flour and egg. Baking was a messy affair, but Papyrus was able to make anything spotless. Once the cookies were finished baking and cooking, he set up the table, putting different candies in separate bowls and some wax paper down.
We frosted the sugar cookies, careful not to overflow them with royal icing. After that, we added the sprinkles and candies. Papyrus would watch every move I made, then mimicked exactly what I did. Once we finished decorating our delicious treats, we both proudly admired our hard work. "Santa", or should I say, "Sansa", would absolutely love these.
"Okay, now we're ready for Santa, right Pap-" I notice candy and icing on the tall skeleton's teeth. His eye sockets were turned away from me, and his hands were behind his back. Though he was desperately trying to behave calmly, his shifting sockets gave it away.
"You stole a cookie, didn't you?" I asked, chuckling at his antics. I put my hands on my hips, pretending to seem angry, but my smile gave it away. He flinches, then takes a nearby napkin, wiping away the evidence.
"U-UMM, (AHEM), N-NO, WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?! ONLY SANS WOULD ATTEMPT SOMETHING SO…SO SINFUL!" Papyrus nervously laughed, sweat forming on his cheeks and forehead. Tangerine blush spread across his entire ivory face.
Cookie thief confirmed!
This was often something that happened when we cooked together. Something would end up going missing, and it would either be because of Papyrus, Sans, or sometimes both brothers. Sans would not even attempt to hide it one bit though, unlike Papyrus, who would deny it until the very end. They seemed to enjoy whatever I baked or cooked. Culinary class payed off.
"You're a silly skeleton." I said, reaching out to pinch his cheekbone, making him blush even harder. He began twiddling his fingers, looking at me with a sheepish grin.
I looked at the clock on the stove, realizing that it was almost eleven at night! We were so into our cookie making, that time just flew by!
"Oh, would you look at the time! It's time for a certain someboney to go to bed!" I said, pointing at the stove's clock. Papyrus's shoulders slumped, his bottom jaw quivering.
"B-BUT WE WERE HAVING SO MUCH FUN! I DON'T WANT IT TO END, MY VERY SPECIAL HUMAN FRIEND!" He whined, staring at me with puppy dog…eye sockets?
"Good verteboys have to go to bed, so Santa can come!" I said, petting him on the shoulder. This seemed to make him happier.
"yeah bro, and it's time for me to read you 'Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny'."
Sans was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, holding on to the book. I hoped that he was able to stay awake long enough to read it, since I still had a few more presents to wrap.
"OH GOODIE! I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY BEDTIME STORY!" Papyrus runs up to Sans, picking him up and slinging him on his shoulder like a ragdoll.
"LET'S GO, SANS!"
Papyrus bolts out of the kitchen with Sans, leaving me alone to clean up and put the extra cookies away. They would all most likely be gone in the middle of the night, because of a certain sleepwalker, but still, they could not be left out. I put three cookies on a plate, then poured a glass of milk, putting it on a table next to the spaghetti Christmas tree (yes, there were spaghetti noodles hanging off the branches).
After straightening up the kitchen, I quickly ran upstairs to get some wrapping paper, scissors, tape, and the presents. I wrapped up the gifts, then set them under the tree with the rest.
That was when something caught my eye. Under the tree were presents mostly for Papyrus, but amongst his presents was one, labelled:
To: [Protag]
From: Papyrus & Sans
Note: WE LOVE YOU, HUMAN! :DDDDD
A THOUSAND PAPYRUS HUGS FOR YOU!
-FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!
merry christmas, pal. never stop being yourself. ;)
-from, you snow who. ;)
-SAAAANNNSSSS! :0000 ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
-c'mon, bro, throw me a bone here.
-OH MY GOD, SANS! YOU'RE RUINING THE SENTIMENTAL VALUE OF THIS NOTE!
-chill out, pap, no need to lose your cool. ;)
-SANS WOULD YOU JU-
(Due to the lack of room, the note ends there.)
I could feel my soul twirling in my chest, sending butterflies throughout my whole entire body.
I loved these two marshmarrows so much.
"HUMAN! HUMAN! WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!"
The first thing I woke up to was an eager Papyrus shaking me.
"Ah, Papyrus! I'm awake!" I exclaimed.
He stopped shaking me, but before my head could stop spinning, he uncovered me, slid his hands under me, then lifted me up, running down the stairs while carrying me like a princess. He sat me down in front of the tree, next to Sans. Papyrus sat right next to me with his legs crossed, wrapping a boney arm around my shoulder.
"ALRIGHT SANS! BRING OUT THE PRESENTS!" Papyrus raised his free arm up into the air.
"you got it, bro." Sans gets up from the floor, then starts taking out the presents: six for Papyrus, two for Sans, and one for me. Sans and I let Papyrus start on his presents first, though he already started opening them anyway. The utter joy he had when he opened each present was heartwarming. Tears were flowing from his eye sockets as he held his new figurines.
"OH MY GOD! I-I LOVE MY PRESENTS! THANK YOU SANTA!" He said, weeping joyfully.
After he took a moment to compose himself, he opened the present from Sans. It was a giant plushie of Mettaton in box form. Papyrus's tears started back up again, as he clutched the plushie in a death hug. Sans and I both smiled, exchanging glances with each other.
"SANS! THOUGH YOU'RE A LAZY BONES AND WON'T PICK UP YOUR SOCK WHEN I TELL YOU TO, THIS IS AMAZING! THANK YOU, SANS!" He yelled, and when I say yell, I meant that the natural volume of his voice doubled.
"heh, no problem br-OOF!"
Papyrus suddenly picks up Sans, twirling him around, then giving him a giant embrace. After a few moments of the brothers hugging, he puts Sans down.
Now it was time for the last present…mine. He rips the wrapping paper, then opens the box, revealing the creation I had diligently worked on all last week. Though I was bedridden, I wanted to make Papyrus a gift, so I worked through it. I could not take all the credit though, since Sans helped me gather supplies and carve it when I was in too much pain. What was a better gift than a handmade figurine of The Great Papyrus himself?
"H-HUMAN?! Y-YOU TOOK THE TIME TO MAKE THIS FOR ME?!" Papyrus carefully took out the carved figurine, observing it from all sides, touching a finger on each detail.
Before a word could escape my mouth, I was pulled into a giant hug, and was smothered in skeleton nuzzles.
"YOU'RE THE BEST SPECIAL HUMAN FRIEND I COULD EVER ASK FOR!" He exclaimed, still nuzzling me.
"Ahaha, P-Papyrus! T-t-that tickles!" I was crying from laughter as the skeleton continued nuzzling, "nyeh heh heh"ing as he did so. After nuzzling me for some time, he gave me a skeleton kiss on the forehead, lingering there for a few minutes. Papyrus had been in a very affectionate mood lately, though I did not mind one bit.
It was now Sans's turn to open his presents. He opened both mine and Papyrus's in one shot, then clutched them both, the perpetual grin on his face widening. It seemed that he was in his glory, which was rare for him.
"heh, you guys know me so well. thanks a whole bunch." Sans said. He puts his large ketchup bottle and socks down to join us in one, large group hug. Being hugged by these two at once made my soul tingle.
"ARE YOU GOING TO OPEN YOUR PRESENTS!?"
"Ah, yes! Of course I am!" I excitedly pulled the present from Papyrus and Sans closer to me. They both watched in anticipation as I tore apart the wrapping paper. When I opened the box, my mouth dropped: inside was a long, green scarf with my name embroidered on it. Words could not accurately describe how happy I felt. The scarf felt silky in my hands, reminding me of a soft little kitten.
"T-this is beautiful you guys…but why?"
"what do you mean by why? you're a great pal to us."
"SANS AND I MADE IT FOR YOU OURSELVES, BECAUSE YOU MEAN A LOT TO US!"
I found myself choking on tears. If it were possibly, I would have been crying rainbows. The two brothers laughed, both hugging me as I cried tears of joy. Papyrus and Sans took the scarf from my hands, wrapping it around my neck. For some reason, the scarf smelled just like Papyrus, or more accurately, spaghetti sauce. Now I had a piece of the brothers everywhere I went. The comforting security of the scarf around my neck filled me with love.
"T-this…is the best Christmas I ever had."
Once again, I was tightly squeezed by the two boney brothers.
