Sci stood nervously in the hall, assessing the room before him. Everyone was back in the living room. Any bedding that wasn't packed away was shoved into a corner. They'd moved the furniture around a bit. The sofa was now in the middle of the room, facing the TV on the far wall. It was occupied by the three Papyruses, who were playing Mario Kart. The third player, Toad, was beating the others with ease. He was a full lap ahead. Given Underfell's frustrated vulgarities, Sci figured he was probably second player, dry bones. First player, who Sci assumed was Classic Pap, played as Mario. He was driving with flawless speed and dexterity. The only problem was he was driving the wrong way. Nobody corrected him.
The Sanses were gathered behind the couch around a coffee table, engrossed in a game of Uno. Blue was at the end of the table, sitting in a recliner as if it were a throne. Some of the others had pulled up chairs, but most of them didn't bother.
Sci caught Blue's eye just as he was about to lay a card down.
"Oh! Hey Sci! You're back!" He cheered, bounding up to him.
"Uh, Hey, Blue. Look, I'm sorry we freaked out earlier. We haven't really been handling the situation well. But I've done a little thinking, and- well- I trust you. As long as we don't do anything stupid, it'll remain locked up, right?" Sci asked, keeping his voice just above a whisper.
Blue nodded.
"Yep! That's the deal!"
"Okay, good. My only request is that you keep good track of it. Your phone, I mean. Even with the password protection, I'm afraid it's going to fall into the wrong hands. And no offense to Fresh, but I don't really trust him not to leave it in the chip bowl or something like that. Do you have it, or…?"
"Yes, indeed! You have nothing to worry about. It's right here in my pocket, safe and sound!"
Blue patted his pocket with a smile. Sci took mental note.
'Target acquired…'
"Phew! Thank you. That's a relief."
"I'm glad to see you're coming around! And how's Edge? Is he doing okay?"
"I think so. He's mostly calmed down, but he still might be a little aggravated. He'll be down in a bit. If you could be patient with him for me, it would mean a lot."
"Sure! Not a problem! It'll be nice to have the friend club all together again," Blue said as he started back towards his fluffy throne.
'Sure. Right. Whatever,' Sci thought, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
He followed along. A few of them looked up as they approached. Classic raised an eyebrow. Fresh leapt from his seat.
"HEY, It's Scidawg!"
"Hi," Sci replied curtly.
"MA MAN!" He yelled excitedly.
Sci was suddenly hit by an attack hug. He stood stiff with his arms straight down. The smell of fruitloops assaulted his senses.
"Yes. I'm back. You can get off me now."
"It's okay, Brosiff. You can be honest. We both know ya dig a good cuddle."
"Blue...BLUE," Sci called. Anxiety was starting to kick in.
"Let him go, Fresh! He probably wants to play, too."
Fresh let go and flopped back down in a chair at the end facing Blue. Sci sat at the opposite end, as far from Fresh as he could. Even if that meant sitting at Blue's feet. Geno dealt him in. His hand looked like Christmas- all reds and greens. He looked up from his cards. Sure enough, Fresh was staring at him with that stupid grin of his. Sci wondered if enjoyed making him uncomfortable. He glanced anxiously towards the hall for any sign of Edge. He was beginning to regret suggesting that they went down separate.
To his relief, Edge appeared a few moments later, a scowl etched into his face. He stalked towards the table.
"YO! Edgebro's here!"
"Yeah, what about it?" Edge snapped.
"That's everyone! Do you funky fresh friendizzles KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!" Fresh asked.
He jumped up on the table, narrowly missing the stacks of cards at its center. Edge rolled his eyes as he sat in the chair Fresh had abandoned.
"Fresh, no," said Geno.
"Fresh, yes," Fresh replied, rubbing his hands together, "IT'S TIME FOR-"
"NO!"
"SPIN THE BOTTLE!"
An uproar erupted around the table. Error and Edge barked vulgarities while Sans Classic just slumped further into his seat. Death shot Geno a wink. Geno threw a pillow at his face in return. If Sci had a heart, it would have seized. Blue put his hands on his hips in disapproval.
"Fresh! Get down from there!" He scolded.
"I know! We should all sit in a circle over hizzle!" Fresh ran over to a clear spot in the floor.
"Nope. I'm fine here, thanks," Sans said as he drew a card.
"Just forget it, Fresh! There will be NO teeth clinking at this party!" Geno declared, slamming a fist down on the table.
"Shame," Death responded with a smirk.
"Besides, we don't even have a bottle," Sans noted.
"Oh! My b. Stay rad, brahs! I'll be back!"
Fresh disappeared in a puff of eye-strainingly bright colors. He reappeared seconds later with a bottle of strawberry Crush. It hissed as popped the cap. He then downed the entire thing without even stopping to breath. As soon as he was finished he plopped down on the ground and watched the others expectantly.
"Gather round, brahs! All Sanses invited!"
"Funk off, you neon piece of- HEY! What did I say about censoring me?!" Edge yelled.
"I let ya off da hook for a bit, Edgebro, but I think you've filled the cursin' quota for the day."
Edge turned to the others.
"Are you hearin' this sh-?!"
"Shhhhhhh Edge-Edge-Edge, take a chill pill! I think a clink 'r two could really help a dude like you unwind. Maybe then you wouldn't but a-spewin' such unrad lingo."
Edge was about to get up when Sans gestured for him to stay put.
"Just ignore him," Sans said with a sigh "The last thing we need is another fight. We've had enough pillow casualties as it is."
The game continued. With a little observation, Sci noticed that they didn't play by the official rules. When someone didn't have any cards they could lay down, they had to draw cards until they got one they could play. This served to make the game far longer, and twice as frustrating. But Sci didn't mind in the slightest. Even as he drew upwards of twenty cards without seeing a single yellow or six, he was thankful. If playing this menial card game offered any sort of distraction from the situation, he was more than happy to play along.
Finally, he found a yellow and laid it down. Sorting his cards seemed to help calm him down. He really dodged a bullet there. If everyone had joined Fresh, it could have been disastrous. Could he have escaped?
"Alright, dawgs. I get it," Fresh said after a while.
Sci breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was dropping it.
"I know Uno, mah bros. It's addicting! Like pixie sticks or potato chips. Don't worry! This is no problemo, yo. Y'all can stay where you're at. I've got a plan!"
Fresh disappeared again and came back with a stack or solo cups and a sharpie. He scribble each of their names on a cup and began setting them in a circle.
"NO," Sci yelled, unable to hide the panic in his voice "Nonono, bad idea! Stop what you're doing!"
Fresh ignored him, completing the circle and setting the bottle in the middle.
"STOP! What do you even aim to accomplish?!"
"It's just a game, brah."
"Why are you doing this?!"
"Because YOLOOOO!"
Fresh span the bottle. Sci breathing quickened. With every rotation, his soul felt a little colder. What if it landed on him and Edge?! What would he say?! What would he do?! Sci didn't think he could handle seeing his face contort in disgust. Being rejected would be hard enough without it being harsh. And public.
He furiously calculated the odds in his head. With eight Sanses in the circle, there was a 12.5% chance it would land on him. Too high. He was about to calculate the theoretical probability of it landing on Edge after landing on him, but Sans stopped him.
"Hey, kid. Don't sweat it. Just ignore him. He'll tire himself out eventually," He reassured.
Sci took a deep breath and gave him a nod. Maybe he was right. Maybe this will mean nothing. He looked down at his cards to see that his hands were shaking.
'Real subtle, Sci,' He thought to himself.
"Classic!" Fresh called out, "Annnd…"
Sci briefly wondered how bright his face was. It felt hot, so must've been pretty bad. That's one of the things he hated about his body. He blushed so deeply, so obviously, that it was impossible to keep his emotions to himself. Any other skeleton wouldn't have this problem. But he was a monster- made of magic, with a mind and soul.
'Lucky me,' The voice in his head remarked dryly.
"Geno!" Fresh called.
Geno flinched at his own name. He shot Sans an uneasy glance.
"Like I said."
Geno nodded, looking relieved.
Fresh waited for a bit. When nobody made any moves, he spun the bottle again.
"Coolio, next pair! … Death!"
The reaper laughed softly, still not looking up from his phone.
"Uno!" Blue cheered.
"What?! Are you kidding me?!" Error asked, glaring up at him from the floor.
"Nope! Lookie here!" Blue held up his single card and beamed.
"Cheater!"
"WAH?! Am not!"
"Are too!"
The bickering continued. Sci hoped it would drown out Fresh's voice. But sure enough…
"Geno, again! Dude's gettin' all da clinks!" Fresh shouted, loud as ever.
He didn't even have to make an effort to be heard. He was just naturally the loudest one there. It was absurd.
"You have GOT to be kidding me," Geno exclaimed.
Death turned to face him.
"Hey babe."
"Not in a thousand years," Geno spurned.
Death smiled.
"I can wait," He replied with a wink.
Sci looked over at Edge. To his surprise, he looked almost as anxious as Sci did, only he seemed to be handling it a bit differently. His glare was so harsh that Sci thought it might burn a hole through his cards. Sci looked back down before he could catch him staring.
"Blueberry, you're up mah man!"
'It's going to be fine. Just play the game. No one is taking him seriously, so there's no point in getting stressed out, right?' Sci told himself.
His chest still felt tight. Fresh's game felt less like a slumber party classic and more like game of Russian roulette. Actually, Russian roulette didn't sound like such a bad idea…
"And Sci!"
Sci jolted. Cards flew everywhere. For some reason, Edge flinched along with him. His fist closed tightly around his cards, crumpling them beyond repair.
Before Sci could react further, he felt a light tap on the top of his head. His eye sockets widened. He turned back to see Blue giggling. He stared at Edge, waiting for a reaction.
Sci followed his gaze. Edge looked livid. His red eye flared, like someone had poured gasoline onto a fire. His eyes locked with Blue's. Just as he was about to lose it, he seemed to catch on to what Blue was up to. It was all a test. Or perhaps a show of power. Blue was messing with his nerd right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Not without revealing anything. Edge's face flushed hard as he realized how much he had given away. He slumped in his seat and hid his face behind his cards. Sci swore he could hear that same possessive growl he had the night before. It was audible with each exhale, but just barely.
Sci's head rushed. A wave of electricity washed through him. For a second, it felt like he was falling. There was an ache, coupled with a warmth in his chest.
Sci stared in disbelief. It took him a while to process what had just happened. The entire interaction only lasted a matter of seconds. Half of the people there didn't even notice. But to Sci, it was monumental. Everything began clicking into place. Edge's unusual cuddliness in his sleep… His protectiveness, from Blue earlier that morning, and then from potentially all of Underfell… What Fresh had said about the pheromones... Maybe he wasn't lying after all. Maybe Edge did have feelings for him. Normally Sci would've scoffed at himself for even entertaining the possibility, but that expression of jealousy was undeniable.
Satisfied with his successful taunt, Blue turned to Fresh and called off the game. As to be expected, Fresh was reluctant. He had just started, and he hadn't even been able to clink anyone yet. But Blue was adamant, so he cleaned up and rejoined their seemingly eternal game of Uno.
The game carried on. Soon Sci was surrounded by budding rivalries and hijinks, but he could hardly pay any attention. A pillow-soft fog filled his head. He just drifted through time, feeling light and giddy.
