"And...done."

Together, she and Sans lifted the last piece of furniture into place - the final piece of the puzzle that, when completed, gave them an excellent picture of what their new life together Aboveground would look like. It had taken them two hours to get out of the tunnel, and an additional hour to actually make it into the monster settlement.

Once they reached the edge of the little town, all three of them had finally hit their limit. It wasn't hard to tell that Frisk had been on the brink a long time ago, but now, even Sans had admitted defeat. The trio decided that the load they had carried for so long would be deposited outside, put under tarps, and left alone while they all got some well-needed sleep. It was doubtful that anyone would bother their belongings.

What no one had expected was a barrage of monsters coming out of their homes in the dying light of day, every one of them asking what they could do to help. Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, Jimmy, countless friends that Frisk had made over the years. After such a long, grueling day with only the three of them managing all of their earthly possessions, it was such a relief that Frisk nearly burst into tears on the spot. (Papyrus actually did.)

With the help of amazing friends and family, short work was made of moving everyone's belongings to where they needed to be. The task force split into two teams; half to help Papyrus - entitled to most of the furniture, since Frisk's home was already furnished - and half to stay and assist Sans and Frisk. Toriel had made a spread of food for everyone working, and Frisk spent a good portion of her time at the kitchen table, chatting with her mom and wolfing down what was on her plate.

"I'm very proud of you, my child," Toriel told her, smoothing Frisk's dirty hair.

"Thanks, mom." She willingly leaned into the warm, familiar hand, feeling at last like she could relax.

"But you smell," Her mother wrinkled her nose playfully.

"Mom!"

"You do! Do you expect your own mother to lie to you about something like this?"

Thoroughly embarrassed and hoping that Sans was nowhere nearby to hear this, Frisk halfheartedly wished that she could disappear into her plate of tuna casserole. Parents had no shame, did they? Though Toriel was right; Frisk now had a second skin comprised entirely of dirt and sweat. She was so eager for everything to be done so that she could crawl into the shower, then straight into bed.

When her food had been polished off, Frisk got up to rejoin the fray of work, but was promptly pushed back down into her chair.

"Stay put, you," said the pusher with a wink.

"Dogamy! Hey." Frisk grinned at the familiar canine monster, reaching out at once to pet him. "Thanks so much for coming out to help. Where's 'Ressa?"

"Ah, she is helping your other skeleton friend. She says he is a better petter. She is mistaken." His tail was thumping furiously as he bent down so Frisk could reach behind his ears.

She laughed at that, a little flattered. Frisk had always loved the dog monsters. They had varying...attention spans, but any one of them could be appeased with a loving pat or scratch, and fetch was always something they were willing to play. After dozens of visits to Grillby's, the dog monsters always knew exactly when Frisk would walk in, and flooded her for attention at the door.

The gesture of support from the dog monsters was appreciated, but as for how much help they actually ended up doing...that was questionable. Greater Dog had been helping unload boxes, but as soon as he heard Frisk whistle for him, he spent the next two hours on the floor at her feet, flat on his back. Oops.

Frisk made several more attempts to get up and help with the rest of the unloading, but was denied every time. Instead, a friend would come and sit with her, or bring her more food or a glass of water. It was all too touching for her to bear - was there any little human as privileged and lucky as she?

In a fraction of the time it would have taken Sans and Frisk alone to do it, the house was almost complete. Minor details had been attended to - everything from the silverware to the shampoos. One by one, the monsters that had faithfully shown up to help left, until only Toriel remained.

"The last piece is up to you, lady." Toriel had gotten to her feet from the armchair she herself had chosen for her daughter's home, sighing. "Give this old goat a hug. I'm heading home."

Frisk glanced at the digital clock sitting on the kitchen counter; 11:13 P.M. What a day. The moving had been a work in progress for...what was it? She'd never been good at math, but fatigue muddled her thought process even further. Finally, she pieced it together - the moving had been going on for eighteen damn hours. Only six hours short of a full day, Frisk mused to herself. She had felt every second of those eighteen hours, plus a few extra born of pure exhaustion.

Clambering out of her own seat to hug her mother, Frisk put a lot more squeeze into the embrace than she normally would have. She really had no idea what her life would be like without her mom. What would have happened if Toriel hadn't been around to save her, on the very day that she had Fallen? Dead wouldn't be an inaccurate estimate. Dead, or at least a lot worse off than she was now.

"I'm so glad you finally decided to move up here, Frisk. So proud." In Frisk's ear, she could hear her mother's voice crack a little.

"I'm glad too, Ma."

Jeez. She loved her mother to the Underground and back, but she sincerely hoped that this wouldn't lead to crying. It had been too long of a day, and Frisk was too sleepy and grimy to be emotional at the moment.

Thankfully, no crying happened. Toriel had her moments, but she was a strong woman; she had endured far more than any monster...any mother, should have to. What Frisk herself had gone through hadn't exactly been a cakewalk, but Toriel had known horrors that were rarely talked about. Surely, though, they were often remembered. She admired her mom so much for all the hell she'd gone through. Despite everything, Toriel was still a wonderful woman, and a phenomenal Queen.

"Goodnight, dear. Get a good, long rest."

"I will. See you later, mom."

"Don't forget to shower! And scrub yourself!"

"MOM!"

The front door clicked shut, and Frisk could hear her mother chortling as she walked away. Toriel just couldn't resist one final embarrassing comment - it must have been a universal mom trait.

Sighing dramatically at her mom's final jab, Frisk spoke aloud to the seemingly empty house. "Sans, everyone's gone."

There was a scuffling from atop the fridge, followed by a crashing thump. "Cool," he remarked from behind her, clutching half of a cookie. A few hours ago, Frisk had spotted him napping up there, small bony feet barely hanging over the edge of the refrigerator. She would have rolled her eyes at his strange choice of napping location, but was far too used to the habit by now.

Instead, she and Sans had had a lot of fun silently pulling pranks on the others in the room via magic, cracking up every time they looked at each other. There were many times when Frisk had to immediately try and come up with an excuse for her sudden outburst of laughter. She wasn't sure whether it was how long they'd been up making them slap-happy, or just the simple thrill of moving in together, officially, at last.

Either way, she loved that they could mess around like kids, just laughing over stupid things. Along with the help of her friends from the Underground, it was a huge comfort to just be silly with the guy she loved. After he'd spoken, Sans wrapped his arms around her. Frisk couldn't help the grin that spread along her lips, allowing herself to be gently rocked to and fro.

"We did it," he murmured.

"I know."

"You excited?"

Frisk laughed once, unable to express just how eager she was to take this next step with him. "More than I've ever been for anything."

"Mmm." Sans gave her a long squeeze, humming his contentedness. "We're gonna love it up here, Friz. I can feel it. Whole house to ourselves, plenty of sunshine, fresh air…oh, and banging on every flat surface we can find."

"Tch. Thinking about sex again already?" Frisk's left hand snuck around to pinch the back of his ilium. "Naughty thing."

"Learned it from you, toots."

They smiled at each other, both weary. "Tell you what," Frisk started. "No more crazy sex today, 'kay? I desperately need a shower, and then we desperately need to crawl into our big bed and sleep for a few days."

He nodded, letting go of her. "Go on ahead. I'll be in bed waiting - take as long as ya want."

Frisk shuffled past him, longing for hot water and to be at last free of all the dirt and sweat she'd accumulated. Walking through the living room, the final piece of furniture caught her eye; a nightstand that Asgore had built for her when she'd graduated from homeschool. It was made to look like a stack of books, fashioned from largest to smallest - all were actually drawers, elaborately carved and painted to look like the spines and covers of her favorite reads.

When it was put in its proper place on her side of the bed, it would be official. Every single belonging that they had hauled up here had been placed; everything but this. Frisk intended on placing it herself, with her own hands...but not now. Now was the time to relax. The nightstand would be waiting for her there in the morning.

The shower had never felt more welcoming, and by the time Frisk crawled out, Sans was fast asleep on the bed - hadn't even bothered to get under the covers. He wore nothing but her ducky-patterned pajama pants. "You little shit," she whispered lovingly, kissing him on the side of the skull as she crawled under the blankets. The day might not have been perfect, but in her opinion, it was a great start to their new life.

The next morning dawned bright and beautiful, rays from an unfamiliar sun spilling into the quiet bedroom. It was so bright, so foreign, that Frisk blinked awake when its rise crested on the edge of their new little home. Sans was already awake, leaning on the windowsill to watch it. She couldn't help but smile at the rapt attention he was focusing on the event, how excited he was.

"How's the view?" she asked, sitting up groggily. He turned to her with a sort of amazed half smile on his face, the expression brightening once he realized that she was awake.

"Better now." Sans' tone was unusually soft as he smiled at her, making Frisk blush.

"You old sack of flatterin', no good bones." Encased in a warm blanket burrito, she too traveled to the window. "I love you to bits."

"Well, don't love me that hard, princess. Reattaching bones can hurt like a bitch."

"You know what I mean."

He tucked her under his arm, and they took a few quiet minutes to absorb the brand-new view they'd been gifted. The sun was a marvel to both; a fiery barrage of pinks and oranges bringing new tones to the sleepy sky. After so many years of not having anything above their heads but cave, it was a sight Frisk had a feeling they would both take in as often as they could. How could something that happened every day still be so amazing every time?

She wasn't sure how long they stood there, but the sun had started to creep slowly upward before she realized her feet were getting sore. That wasn't the only part of her body complaining - Frisk's stomach had some grievances to voice, too. Sans poked her in the belly, teasing.

"Sounds like the belly demands breakfast."

"You'd be right. What do you feel like; pancakes, or-"

Before her sentence could reach completion, Frisk found herself pushed backward roughly. With a gasp she couldn't help, the ceiling swapped place with the sky she'd just been looking at. Frisk felt the mattress catch her behind the knee so that she landed flat on her back, disoriented. What the-?

Sans loomed over her, positively villainous. "I feel like having you, pretty little thing." Eager hands reached for the bottom of her shirt, more than ready to yank it over her head. His eye was already glowing brightest blue, a faint smoke-like trail curling from the socket as he licked his lips.

"What's got you all hot and bothered before breakfast?" Frisk tried to keep her tone normal, but it just wasn't working. The surprise of being thrown backwards, the sudden, delicious invasion of her personal space...it made her breathing shaky. He was hungry for her. It might have been ridiculous to someone else, after the long day they'd had and the break they'd taken mid-day, but… Frisk was starting to want it badly. Thoughts of breakfast were placed far from her mind.

He leaned in to straddle her, rubbing his pelvis slyly into her stomach as he went. "Why shouldn't I be? It's our first day as official residents of the Surface. We're all alone. We can be as loud as we want." Sans spoke harshly, needily.

Well, he was right. Papyrus was no longer within earshot, and her little house had no close neighbors. She recovered easily from fatigue now that she had gotten a handle on her inherited magical ability. Frisk felt refreshed, bright-eyed, despite the less-than-wonderful amount of sleep she had managed to get.

Hell. Why not?

Letting her expression go seductive, Frisk relaxed against the mattress. "Guess that's true...sexy. I'm ready if you are."

Sans snorted. "I am literally always down to do this to you, sweets. Hold still...I wanna try something new." A sigh fell on her skin, charged with lust. "You'll like this, trust me."

Frisk could only nod, her speech stolen from her as his face got closer to hers. She wasn't sure what to expect, but had a feeling she'd love it.

Just as Sans had yanked off her shirt, beginning a trail of sensual kisses down to the meeting of her thighs, someone's phone rang loudly. Frisk jumped, jerking away from Sans' mouth at the bleating, unexpected noise.

Extracting himself with a very dramatic sigh, Sans grabbed for the offending device.

"Who is it?" Frisk inquired.

He didn't answer at first, choosing to instead look down at the cell phone with a mix of amusement and annoyance on his face. With a shake of his head, he finally gave her an answer. "It's Papyrus."

Papyrus is blue-balling them, and he doesn't even live with them anymore. Heh. He doesn't know any better. :P

This one ran a little longer than I wanted it to, and no one got around to the sex. Sorryyy. But thank you to everyone who offered me suggestions on Tumblr! I've got one in mind for Chapter 26, for sure.

First day back at college was yesterday...aaaand I have ten assignments due for ONE CLASS. Why did I miss college again? So if I suddenly disappear...my English homework consumed me.

Thank you all for being so nice and supportive, as always! :3 I can't believe it's been two months since I posted chapter one. You are all wonderful, wonderful people.

See you next week!

Ever scandalous,

WickedScribbles