AN: Hey everyone, just one chapter today, but it's a long one so I hope you can forgive me :)
Some housekeeping things: if you're still working on fan art for the cover, please let me know, because i cant remember who is and who isn't :) Also, if you're the guest reviewer that posted a link to your art in the comments, I couldn't make it work for the life of me, so either send me a PM, or hit me up at askdomesticundertale on tumblr. I really appreciate that you made it for me and I'd really love to see it :)
Other than that, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it :)
Chapter Eleven - Some Poor Planning
"So I thinking of wearing an ugly reindeer sweater to the Gyftmas Celebration this year." Frisk suggested to her parents as they ate supper together. Her parents put it on every year in the great banquet hall of the monster embassy (that most of the monster population referred to as the palace), and her friends always attended in the most ridiculous sweaters they could find.
"I thought we agreed upon a candy striped hoop skirt for you this year, my child." Her parents, of course, dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus for most of the event, and as their 'elf', they had dressed her in increasingly embarrassing outfits. Last year had been a red and green dress in the heaviest fabric she had ever seen, and it had been time to celebrate the spring equinox before Sans had let her live it down.
"I never agreed on that, Momma." She sliced the head off of a dinosaur shaped chicken nugget with her fork. She had burnt what she had tried to make for supper - the lasagna pan would never be the same again - so dino nuggets and tator tots shaped like smiling faces it was. As well as a salad, but that was her mother's contribution.
"You'll be so cute though, look at this." Her mother pulled up a photo on her phone and showed it to her. It was worse than she had imagined.
"I don't even think I can walk in skirts that big." She mushed a tot through ketchup so it looked like its eyes were bleeding.
"You are very coordinated, dear. Isn't she?" Her mother turned to her father for assistance.
"Well.." Her father said delicately, poking at a rogue crouton.
"Momma. I once sprained my arm trying to get out of bed. And I almost passed out in the outfit you picked out last year."
"That was more the fault of the corset than anything. This one has a much more forgiving bodice."
"That's good, because the way I've been gaining weight I probably can't wear one anymore." College food had not been forgiving, and being pregnant didn't help, not that she really was built for a corset before.
"Well dear, you don't exactly have the best eating habits. Why don't you have some of this salad, it's very good." Her mother offered the bowl to her.
She took some to appease her mother. "I'm pregnant. I'm going to gain weight."
"I know, dear, but that doesn't mean - how do you manage to take a scoop of salad with no spinach in it?"
"Well Mom, I'd tell you, but you'd keep trying to feed me spinach and we all know how that is going to work out." She grabbed the bottle of ranch and proceeded to drench the offending greenery in it. Not even the croutons were spared.
"Frisk."
"Mom."
Her mother sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Let me wear an ugly sweater with my friends?"
"It is a cute tradition that they have going on." Her father said delicately, but was silenced by her mother.
"I'll make you a deal, Mom. Let me wear a sweater and jeans this year, and next year you can dress me and the baby in whatever ridiculous get-up that you want." Her kid was never going to forgive her, but it was for the greater good.
"And Sans?"
"When did he get dragged into this?"
"I assumed you two would be married by then."
"Mom!" Having a kid was one thing, but that was too far. "We haven't even been on a date yet."
"You are having a child together." Monsters were weird about marriage, in the fact that they only got married if they wanted to have children. There was probably some historical reason, but Frisk couldn't remember.
"This isn't the traditional monster pregnancy, you know." Frisk was still having trouble deciding if she could call it his or not.
"I know dear, but it is a bit easier to explain if you're getting married. Or at least announce an engagement. You can wait as long as you want to actually get married."
"Are you ashamed of me?"
"Of course not. But you do have to admit that it is hard to explain."
"It's hard to explain either way. Monsters and humans aren't exactly compatible, ya know? I got knocked up the old fashioned way and there isn't a kind of magic out there that can leave well enough alone."
"Frisk." Her mother said sternly, before shooting a glare to Frisk's father, who was chuckling. "What in the world could you be laughing at?"
Her father tried her best to compose himself before speaking, but there was still a grin on his face. "She has a point, you know."
Her mother heaved the most long-suffering of sighs. "You two are really impossible, you know that."
"You're the one trying to shotgun wed me to someone who isn't even the one who knocked me up."
"I thought college was supposed to improve your style of speaking, my child, not butcher it."
Where had she learned to speak like that? From her roommate's friends, probably. It still surprised her that she was the one that had gotten pregnant. "College was supposed to do a lot of things that it didn't."
"Obviously."
"Admit it, Mom. You are embarrassed of me."
"Not embarrassed, my child, but I did want things to go differently for you."
"Haven't we already had this conversation?"
"In part, yes. It's just hard for me, sometimes, to let you make your own mistakes."
Her father put a hand on her mother's arm. "Didn't you have plans at seven, dear? It's a quarter till."
Her dad was the best. "I do, actually. Um, can I be excused?"
Her mother looked like she was about to say something, but her father let her go with a wink. She all but jumped out of her chair, gave her father a quick hug and her mother a peck on the cheek, and was out the door with a "Love you!" before they could stop her.
It wasn't until Frisk was trekking down the street from her car to the gas station - she had guessed wrong that she could make it on an empty tank- that Frisk wished she had grabbed her coat. It was rather windy and the hoodie she had gotten for free at some spirit event was doing little to keep her any sort of warm or dry.
Her teeth chattered as she stomped the snow off her shoes upon entering the store. After filling a cup with cappuccino, she shuffled her way to the back of the store on her search for gas cans, as the one she usually kept in the trunk of her car for emergencies was missing. All she found was booze. Great.
Honestly, though it wasn't what she needed, she could really go for a drink. It was easy to forget that she was underage when no one in college cared. Though maybe she could get Sans or Alphys to -
Wait. She was pregnant. Drinking was off the agenda. As it should be anyway.
However, there was a small red gas can hanging out by the bottled water, so that was nice. She had grabbed it and was making her way up to the counter when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.
She sniffled a little before answering it, glad that her teeth had stopped chattering. "Hey Paps, what do you need?"
"YOU ARE FIVE MINUTES LATE, AND I WAS CHECKING ON YOU."
"I'm okay, just at the gas station. I'll be there in fifteen." She tried to sniffle quietly, but her nose was running like a sieve.
"HAVE YOU FALLEN ILL?"
Dammit. "Just a little cold, my car ran out of gas down the street."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ONE OF US TO COME GET YOU?"
"It's maybe four blocks, I have working feet." Maybe she should have called though, her feet were soaked and the walk back didn't sound like any sort of fun.
"YOU ARE IN A VERY DELICATE CONDITION, YOU SHOULDN'T BE OUT IN THIS WEATHER."
It was a good thing that he couldn't see that she wasn't wearing a coat. "I'm stronger than I look."
"SANS! GO WARM UP THE CAR, WE'RE GOING ON A RESCUE MISSION!"
"You really don't need t-t - achoo! - Pap, I'm fine."
"AS THE BEST UNCLE EVER, I CANNOT ACCEPT NO FOR AN ANSWER. WHICH GAS STATION ARE YOU AT?"
"Since when are you my uncle, Papyrus?" That could get weird fast.
"NOT YOURS, SILLY HUMAN, THE BABY'S!"
Right. Sans had said he had taken the news well.. "I'm at the new Conch Station on East Froggit Drive. Uh. Wear a coat, it's a bit chilly."
"WE WILL BE THERE SOON! DON'T GO ANYWHERE." Click.
Frisk paid for her drink and gas can - she'd buy gas when they arrived - and shuffled over to the little table in the back to sip at it while she waited to be rescued, shivering a little as the dampness of her clothes continued to chill her. She blew her nose on one a napkin, praying to any deity that would listen that she wouldn't get sick.
The warmth of the coffee made her tummy feel warmer at least, and she hoped her little one was doing okay. She really needed to start thinking about more than herself. Would it really have killed her to grab her coat, or to have filled up her car the other day?
She heard the jingle of the door opening and Papyrus crash in. "HUMAN! I AM HERE TO RESCUE YOU!" He was carrying a large fluffy blanket.
"I'm right here." She called, and Pap rushed over to her.
"HUMAN! WHERE IS YOUR COAT? YOU'RE SOAKING WET! I DON'T THINK IT IS GOOD FOR YOU TO BE WET AND COLD!"
"It's not recommended, but I think I'll make it. Thanks for coming to get me."
"YOU ARE MOST WELCOME! YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
She held back another sneeze. "You're the best, Pap."
"OF COURSE I AM! NOW LET'S GET YOU SOMEPLACE WARM."
She stood up. "Great plan. I want to rescue my car though."
"ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF! WE PUT GAS IN IT AND SANS IS DRIVING IT BACK."
"How- oh wait. You guys have the spare keys." Sans never gave them back after he borrowed it last summer.
"YOU GAVE US QUITE THE SCARE YOU KNOW - WAIT. ARE YOU DRINKING COFFEE? YOU SHOULDN'T BE HAVING CAFFEINE RIGHT NOW."
Frisk really hoped her pregnancy was going to be short, because if this was any indication of how it was going to be, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. "It's just hot cocoa."
"BUT YOU HATE GAS STATION COCOA."
She sighed. "I'll be okay, Papyrus, it's just a cappuccino."
"I'M SORRY, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CONFISCATE IT, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD."
She tossed it in the trash begrudgingly. It was really going to be a long couple of months.
Papyrus insisted upon carrying her from his car to the house, as the wind had filled the driveway with snow, and she didn't have the energy to argue.
She was really not prepared, however, for how concerned Sans was. "Frisk, you're cold to the touch. Where's your coat?"
"At home. I'm fine." He was pulling her shoes and socks off for her, and while it was nice to get them off, she could do it herself.
"Papyrus, go get a bath started for her." Sans instructed, while he tried to rub some feeling back into her toes. She could barely feel his fingers. "If I had known you were-"
She pulled away from him. "Sans. I'm okay. I got cold, I'll survive."
"You can't be getting sick right now, it's not-"
"I'm not going to get -" A coughing fit overtook her. She had been feeling a little sniffley that morning, it wasn't because of getting cold, she told herself. She could have handled the situation. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.
He sighed. "Come on, a hot bath will do you good."
"I don't have anything to change into."
"You have what you left here the other day, I even washed them for you."
Frisk suddenly remembered leaving her clothes on the bathroom floor after her shower - she had meant to grab them but had gone to the emergency room instead. That meant Sans had totally seen her really embarrassing panties with cats on them and she could not deal with that at the moment. "You didn't have to do that. And you don't need to take care of me right now, really. I'm okay."
"I know, but just humor me, okay? A bath and then we can curl up on the couch."
That didn't sound too bad. "If you insist." She got up. "Hey, aren't Undyne and Alphys supposed to be here?"
"Alphys is finishing up an experiment, and they'll head over."
Alphys would probably be late to her own funeral because she had been finishing up an experiment, so Frisk didn't expect them to arrive anytime soon.
However, as Frisk was just slipping into the tub, having chased her concerned rescuers out of the bathroom so she could undress, she heard Undyne's extremely loud voice. She was worse than Papyrus sometimes.
Sans did have a point, the warm water helped a lot. She could feel the chill that had seeped into her bones begin to dissipate, and she allowed herself to close her eyes and relax for a few moments.
The water was starting to cool off a bit when she heard a quiet knock on the door. "HUMAN, I PUT A TOWEL IN THE DRYER FOR YOU, ARE YOU READY TO GET OUT?"
"I am, have Alphy's bring it- Hey!" She grabbed the curtain and pulled it as closed as Papyrus opened the door a crack, set the towel on the counter, and closed it again.
He had some tact. A thimbleful, maybe, but she loved him anyway.
She pulled the plug and grabbed the towel, reveling in its warmth. Maybe she liked being taken care of - just a little - but it still bothered her. She could definitely take care of herself, even if it didn't always seem like it. She had been doing fine by herself, and just because her kid had magic now didn't mean anything.
She just couldn't maintain it's magic levels by herself or sense anything from it at all. But that was okay. Or at least, she was pretending it didn't upset her.
She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to see if she could notice any sort of baby bump, but other than her usual layer of pudge - albeit she had definetly gained the freshman fifteen - she was found lacking.
Finally, enticed by the delicious smells that permeated the house and feeling quite ravenous after all her adventures, she slipped into her comfy pajamas (and nice, dry cat themed underwear) and went to meet her friends in the kitchen, where she could hear them having a heated debate about something.
She wasn't even surprised to see Sans and Undyne at each other's throats - blasters whining and spears shimmering in midair. Alphys and Papyrus were elsewhere, and Frisk wished she had gone looking for them first.
"Now this feels familiar." Frisk said, and they both turned to look at her, weapons dissipating immediately. That was a first.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Sans asked, as though he hadn't just been in the middle of a battle.
"Better. What were you two fighting about this time?"
He paused, pensively, before turning to Undyne. "Do you remember?"
Undyne shrugged. "Doesn't matter, dweeb." Of course.
Sans rolled the lights in his eyes. "Are you hungry, Frisk? Pap's made a little of everything."
"Starving, actually." She admitted.
"You are eating for two now." Undyne teased.
"Does that mean I get first dibs on the cocktail weenies?"
"Unless you mean Sans, absolutely not."
She had walked into that one.
After filling a plate up with more food than she could eat, and then a little more because Papyrus insisted, Frisk curled up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket to watch Rudolph with her friends, feeling a bit sniffly still, but otherwise better.
Shamelessly, she lay her head on Sans' shoulder, and he offered her a chip coated in cheese dip, which she accepted. While she had gotten upset with him earlier, it was nice to know that he had her back. And while it bothered her a little that it had only happened because the kid was his, she really couldn't blame him.
She also wasn't sure how to describe what they were now, but this state of being between lovers and friends seemed to work for her. She might even try to kiss him later, assuming Papyrus didn't call and interrupt. The kiss he had pressed to her forehead had been more than enough to fill her with butterflies, and she was excited for more.
She stole a glance at him, he was humming along to the song about being more than a misfit that Alphys and Papyrus were currently belting, a genuine smile on his face. She felt her heart swell with happiness.
Sans put his plate and hers - somehow she had managed to eat everything - on the floor in front of them. "Hey Frisk, I've got a question for you."
"Yeah?"
"If you were a pirate, would you want your parrot on this shoulder -" He put his hand on the shoulder closest to him, "Or this one?" He put his arm around her, resting his hand on her other shoulder.
Did he just - "Your pickup lines are worse than your puns." She replied, nuzzling her head into his neck. Nerd.
Of course, she was the one that fell for him.
"When's the wedding, you two?" Undyne snickered.
"Didn't you get your invitation?" Sans replied with a rude gesture.
"I don't think I got it, want to send it again?" Undyne challenged.
"Here you go, Undyne." Frisk replied with the middle fingers of both hands. "Try not to lose these ones."
"That's some way to thank one of the people that finally brought you two together." Alphys teased.
"When's your wedding, guys?." Frisk replied, pleased when Alphys' cheeks darkened.
Undyne, however, was oblivious to her girlfriend's blush, and shrugged. "We've got all the time in the world."
Sans' expression fell, and Frisk couldn't help but feel bad. She had no idea how it felt, being human, but this kid changed a lot of things about how his magic worked and his life expectancy.
"I CAN'T HEAR THE MOVIE."
"Sorry, Papyrus." Frisk said softly to the disgruntled skeleton that was splayed out on the floor, before nuzzling the quiet one beside her. She couldn't fix things, but she could be there for him, like he always was for her.
They were all quiet for some time, and Frisk felt herself getting sleepy around the part about the island of misfit toys - which was a shame because it was her favorite part. Sans' arm had fallen to her side, and he was drawing lazy circles on her hip with one finger.
She had always been afraid of getting into a relationship with him because she worried that it would be awkward, but this she could live with. Things weren't quite defined, but she didn't really see either of them considering anyone else anytime soon, and that worked for her.
She nestled in closer to Sans, happy to steal his body heat as he was always so much warmer than her, before deciding to wrap her blanket around the both of them.
"Good to see you two getting comfy over there." Alphys giggled. Didn't they have anything better to do than tease them?
"Remember now Frisk, good girls wait until at least the third date." Undyne cackled, and Frisk couldn't help but get irritated.
"WAIT UNTIL THE THIRD DATE FOR WHAT?"
"For uh, kisses, Papyrus." Alphys said quickly.
"UNLESS MISTLETOE IS INVOLVED, OF COURSE."
"Exactly." Undyne winked. Frisk suddenly remembered seeing some hanging in the doorway to the kitchen. They weren't getting her that easily.
Well, knowing her friends, they were very likely to get her that way, but at least she knew what to watch out for. Frisk just really, really wished they'd stop meddling. Glancing over at the offending plant, she decided to take matters into her own hands, rather than risk whatever her friends could be planning.
While her friends were distracted by the movie once again, Frisk removed herself from Sans' embrace - that was the hard part, and slipped into the kitchen. A pair of tongs and an unsteady moment on her tiptoes later, and she had a pocket full of mistletoe, as well as another plate of chips and cheese, to celebrate her victory.
She wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, but at least there would be no awkward mistletoe kisses for her.
I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think! :)
Purrs,
TigerLily
