A cute, little one-shot coz this family are damn adorable.
"Chill, bro. You totally got this."
The three roommates had spent the best part of the morning crammed into the Skelebros room while Papyrus flustered around nervously.
"Oh, I don't know brother..." the younger sibling muttered back, tossing more clothes onto the bed beside him. A pair of tan slacks narrowly missed Charity's head as she stood and watched from her perch on the bedside table.
"This is my first proper date with a human!" Papyrus continued, pulling on a fourth pair of pants. Charity was so used to seeing him in briefs to not even flinch when he bent over anymore.
"No, remember you took Clara on a date once." Sans pointer out, stretching his arms out to place them behind his head as he lounged idly on the opposite bed.
Charity frowned deeply.
"You took my kid mother on a date?" She quipped, casting a look between brothers.
"Yeah, then he dumped her," Sans chuckled lightly as Papyrus continued to ignore the conversation as he checked his outfit in the mirror.
"Honestly, that's just weird on so many levels." Charity commented, scrunching up her nose at both the thought of her 7 year old mother on a date with a skeleton and said skeleton's combination of paisley with stripes.
"Guys, please!" Papyrus whined. "Help me pick which one!"
He held up two shirts against his chest.
Charity and Sans both pointed simultaneously; she chose the right while he chose the left. Papyrus groaned in response and tossed the shirts onto the ever-growing pile of clothing on the bed.
Ever since meeting Molly at Undyne and Alphys' wedding reception, Papyrus hadn't spent a day without talking to her or about her. At first, Sans and Charity had both found it cute, but after 3 solid weeks of Molly this and Molly that, the roommates decided it was time to move things along.
"If you like her that much, then why don't you ask her out on a date?" Charity had suggested one night over dinner.
The idea had taken both brothers by surprise. Sans was the first one to respond.
"You know what, she's right." He mused, adding enough ketchup to cover his entire piece of bruschetta making Charity wonder why she even bothered to make pesto from scratch.
"You should totally take her somewhere nice,"
Papyrus frowned over his glass of water. "Like where? She's visited this town ever since she was a kid to visit her grandma. There's no where left to take her."
Sans chuckled. He still found the fact that Molly was kookie Edith's granddaughter amusing.
"How about a picnic?" Charity suggested, crunching into her ketchup-free piece of bruschetta and immediately remembering why homemade pesto was worth the hassle.
Papyrus paused in thought. "Perhaps," he mused.
The rest of the meal consisted of the younger Skelebro peppering Charity with questions about how to go about the date.
When should I ask her?
How should I ask her?
What should I wear?
After a week of encouragement, they'd finally reached the last question. Yet they still seemed far from finding the answer. Honestly, she'd never met anyone so fussy over their clothes. She was pretty sure Sans only owned 2 pairs of everything. She made a mental note to buy the older sibling more outfits for Christmas.
"Honestly, the first thing you picked was the nicest." Charity stated, trying to remain chipper despite her mounting frustration. At this rate, he was going to be late to meet Molly in the park.
"I don't think I can do this..." Papyrus blurted suddenly as his head popped out from the 12th t-shirt he'd tried on in the past hour.
"Whaddya mean?" Sans retorted, still lounging on his bed on his side of the room. The side that was now the tidiest for a change thanks to Papyrus' frantic search for a suitable picnic outfit.
"Come with me!" Papyrus asked suddenly, taking a bewildered Charity by the shoulders and giving her a desperate shake.
She furrowed her brow as she peered into his anxious face.
"Come with you?" She repeated, "where?"
"On the date, of course!" He replied in an exasperated tone.
Sans chuckled beside them, tapping his slipper against his foot as he watched them.
"I don't think bringing another girl with you on a date is going to sit well with Molly." Sans smirked, picking breakfast out of his teeth.
"Sans' is right, Pap. Why don't you ju-"
"Then Sans should come to! We can make it a double date!" Papyrus interrupted, his voice an octave higher and a few decibels louder.
Both Sans and Charity froze.
"Erm..." the former began, blinking stupidly from one face to the other.
"Yes yes! Brilliant! I'll let Molly know right away! Be ready in 10 minutes you two!"
And before his two roommates could respond, Papyrus was out the door with his phone already pressed against his ear.
Charity shot a pained look over at Sans who merely shrugged.
"I guess I'll put my shoes on then," he sighed.
With a roll of her eyes, Charity slouched off to her room and quickly threw on a sundress and swiped on some lipstick.
After blasting her hair with some dry shampoo, she was good to go. Never had she gotten ready for a date so quickly. The fact that it would be with Sans and Papyrus being the reason why. Living together meant that, just like they could reveal their true selves to her, transforming back into monster forms whenever they wanted, Charity could also show a side to her that not many people got to see. That side being the animal-print-pyjama-wearing, messy-up-do rocking, no-make-up-sporting, haven't-showered-today-smelling, side.
And as she and Sans waited for Papyrus in the corridor as he fumbled with his hair in the mirror, Charity began to wonder what the future held for the monsters if more relationships like this started forming. Surely, if things ever got serious between Papyrus and Molly, he'd have to come clean about who and what he really was...
Then again, it was far too early to worry about such things. This was only their first date after all.
And it might even be their last if he didn't hurry up!
"Paps, c'mon! You look as handsome as ever! Now, let's go! Or else we'll be late!"
And thanks to her, he didn't forget to grab the picnic basket before leaving their apartment.
"You sure Molly is okay about us coming too?" Charity asked as they crossed the street towards the park entrance. Molly was waiting for them by the lake. Hopefully Onionsan didn't pop up and scare her away before they got there.
"Yeah! She seemed rather excited!" Papyrus replied.
Thankfully, the short walk in the fresh air had eased his nerves. That, and perhaps the fact he now had Charity and his older brother accompanying him. The sibling in question was already yawning, despite only having woken up 3 hours ago.
This was going to be interesting...
As they approached her, Molly turned her pretty, raven-haired head towards them. And when she flashed them all a smile, Charity didn't fail to miss the colour creep into Papyrus' face.
"Hey guys!" Molly called, waving her hand and bounding towards them. Her youthful energy was a delight. At 18 years old, she was a year younger that Papyrus who greeted her with a hug which she returned with a girlish giggle.
"It's cool you guys chose to come along!" She chimed to Sans and Charity who stood on the perimeter of the adorable scene. And the tone of her voice proved that her statement was a genuine one. Not that that made Charity feel any less awkward as she stood next to her roommate and temporary, pretend boyfriend.
And the awkwardness only grew as they made their way over to the picnic tables and Molly began to babble excitedly.
"So how long have you two been together? Grandma Edith says she's seen you both around a lot and always suspected you were dating!"
Charity stifled a groan as she began to respond.
"Oh, actually we're not-"
But Papyrus shot her a wide-eyed stare over Molly's shoulder making Charity catch herself.
"N-not sure now long. It just sort of happened I guess."
Why had she agreed to this again? But when she caught Papyrus gazing happily at Molly's glowing face, she remembered why.
"Ooh! How romantic!" She cooed.
Charity refrained from cringing. This was so awkward. When she chanced a look at Sans as they took a seat at the picnic tables, he seemed utterly amused by the situation. Not far from their spot was the bench she and Sans had playfully shared a kiss on. Charity questioned what on earth she had been thinking.
In the brief silence that followed as Papyrus and Molly slipped down next to each other with sheepish, fleeting glances, Charity took the opportunity to change the subject.
"You guys hungry?" She asked, but was already passing out the sandwiches; on homemade bread, of course. After a brief conversation about Charity's cooking skills, she internally groaned when the conversation returned to Sans' and Charity's 'relationship.' Since when did this supposed first date turn into an interrogation?
"So, if you never actually asked each other out, when did you know you two were officially an item?"
Charity was even more distraught when Molly directed the question at Sans who's face pulled into its usual grin.
"Eh. When you know, you know." He replied easily with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Right, sweetheart?" And when he snaked a hand around her waist she resisted the urge to swat at him while Papyrus fought back the urge to laugh.
Warm embraces, holding hands and sitting close together came easy to Sans and Charity when it happened naturally at home. After all, They'd grown undeniable close in the past year of living together. Unlike her relationship with Papyrus, who she regarded like a younger sibling, she and Sans seemed to have an extra layer to their friendship. Perhaps it was due to their closeness in age or maybe because he was her first real connection to the monster world and her new life that stemmed from it. But whatever the reason, the two of them shared a bond that was like no other she had ever experienced. However, even though they'd shared playful kisses on occasion, their feelings had always remained platonic. Or pretty much platonic? Ehh...
She didn't like to dwell on the thought too long. It was easier to just go with the flow.
"Oh, well you totes make an adorable couple!" Molly grinned back at Sans, who still had the nerve to keep his arm around Charity's waist.
"Don't you think so, Papyrus?"
The younger sibling simply nodded as he continued to fight back a mocking laugh.
Well at least the two brothers found the whole situation amusing...
Once the sandwiches and cupcakes were eaten and washed down with homemade lemonade, Charity decided it was time to actually leave the young teenagers to their date. Papyrus seemed to have relaxed completely now, and had been chatting away with pretty Molly for the past half an hour without even needing Charity or his brother to help keep the conversation going. Considering the young pair spoke to each other for hours a day, they still had a lot to talk about. It was quite adorable, really. Charity and Sans, however, were more orientated towards comfortably quiet moments broken only by the occasion bad joke. So, after telling Papyrus and Molly that they were going to take a walk around the lake, the older couple got to their feet and left the teens to continue their jovial exchange.
This time, it was Charity who slipped her arm through his as he pocketed his hands in his jacket.
"Well, she seems to be having a good time," Charity commented once they were out of earshot.
Sans nodded his head. It bobbed at her shoulder as they walked; she was once again wearing heels leaving him almost a foot shorter than her. A 'totes adorable' couple indeed...
"Yeah. It was a good call to leave them for a bit though..."
And the twitch of his dimpled cheeks forewarned her of an incoming pun.
"...we don't wanna Mollycoddle them, after all."
A grunt of a laugh and a bump of the shoulders. After a short silence, Sans teased her inability to think of another pun to follow with. But, with a smirking squint of her eyes, Charity eventually countered with a-
"But we did do a good job at Molly-fying Papyrus' nerves."
And then they were both snorting like idiots.
By the time they had completed their walk around the lake, they're shameless laughter had subsided and Papyrus and Molly were happy to greet them back. Charity spotted them holding hands over the table way before the young couple abruptly pulled away upon their arrival.
They group chatted away for another hour before Molly grumbled in disappointment at a message on her phone.
"Oh...grandma needs my help back at the house. I'll have to leave."
Papyrus looked equally deflated as they walked her back through the park towards the Main Street.
In his silence, Molly slipped away and fell into step next to Charity. She was grinning mischievously when she turned her head to face her.
"So, between us girls..." she began, casting a look behind her at the two brothers who had fallen behind.
"You and Sans aren't really dating, are you?"
Charity returned the smile with a gentle laugh.
"That obvious, huh?"
Another laugh.
"Kinda."
"Let me guess. Papyrus asked you both to come along?" Charity was glad to see Molly was still smiling when she said this.
She nodded in response before adding,"don't be mad at him, though! He was just super nervous and-"
Molly's girlish but pleasant laugh cut across her.
"He is just too adorable!" She giggled, casting another glance over her shoulder at the younger sibling.
Relief flooded through Charity. And in that moment, she decided she really liked kookie Edith's granddaughter.
"He's new to the whole dating thing," Charity whispered as they stepped out of the park and into the street.
"Well, we have plenty of time to change that," the raven-haired teen replied.
"So you'll go on a second date with him?"
"If he asks me!"
And as Charity and Sans left the younger couple to say their goodbyes in private, Charity heard said question timidly being asked, then excitedly being answered.
And when Papyrus's face flushed deeply under Molly's lips as she pressed them to his cheek, Charity returned the squeeze Sans gave her hand before accepting his request to head to Grillby's.