The couple alternated between rooms for the next few days before ultimately settling on Calliope's; her bed was larger and more comfortable that Sam's.
One morning, as they lay in bed together in the sunlight that cascaded in through the open windows, Russ had knocked lightly on their door. Calliope had nervously shuffled further down into her sheets so as to hide her nakedness from the younger sibling, but he had chosen to remain on the other side of the door when he called to them.
"I'm heading out to attend an interview. I don't expect to be back til later this evening."
Sam yawned quietly next to her as she called back.
"Okay! Sam and I will make dinner!"
When the front door to their apartment closed, leaving Calliope and Sam alone, they immediately began their usual routine of arguing over who would go make the coffee.
"I made it yesterday!" Sam groaned, playfully pushing Calliope towards the edge of the bed.
Laughing, she rolled back into him and took his face between her hands. But he anticipated her little trick and quickly shut his eyes tight.
"Nu uh. I'm not falling for that." He grinned, as Calliope attempted to use her quirk on him. She moaned in mock disappointment when her fingers failed to open his eyes.
Sitting up, she swung a slender leg over him and straddled his hips. The sheets slipped from her bare shoulders as she lent into him.
"Sam..." she crooned, forcing a layer of seductive charm to her voice, "why won't you look at your girlfriend?"
She grinned mischievously down at him as he bit his lower lip and gave a lustful growl, his hands gracing her smooth thighs. Though his eyes remained shut, his roaming hands drank in her figure. He ran his tongue along his teeth as she lowered her face to nibble at his ear lobe.
"Because she refuses to make coffee for the third morning in a row," he smirked, his hands squeezing, his hips rising; grinding, suggesting.
And once their lips met, coffee was no longer their concern.
And thankfully, what with Russ being gone, neither was being quiet.
Their routine developed naturally over the course of the next few weeks. Russ continued to attend interviews while Sam and Calliope handled any paper work and emails from home.
Thanks to his impeccable ability to handle any media attention, Papyrus' popularity rose considerably. This in turn increased his billboard ranking week by week. Though the Skelebros, and now Calli, worked as a team, their rankings were listed individually. Papyrus was slowly climbing the chart while his older brother remained at his spot in the top 20. It seemed that, despite Sans' rebellious and flippant attitude towards the media, the public still loved him. Perhaps his disregard for the Press was part of what made him so appealing. After all, it was only the mainstream media that he shunned, for anytime he was approached by a fan in the street, he would smile and oblige their requests for photos or autographs.
Calliope's rank was far lower than her two teammates but it seemed her comeback was gradually bolstering her popularity too.
Once they'd finally settled back into the life in America, the team resumed their hero work. They patrolled the city streets together, mainly during the night as their quirks worked best with less people around. However, on the rare occasion a fellow hero was in need of back-up, they would don their hero costumes (well, Calli and Papyrus would) and head out.
The first time they'd been called in to assist in the pursuit of a group of armed robbers, Calliope had been rattled with nerves. Though she'd taken down many small-time criminals during her nightly patrols, she hadn't yet encountered much of a challenge. But when Undyne the Undying, Papyrus' old mentor and 9th ranking hero, had requested them as back-up, Calliope knew that they were about to face some top tier villains.
"Don't be nervous, Calli." Papyrus had called as they sped along the deserted highway towards the location Undyne had given them.
The Skelebros sat in the front of Russ' prized red sports car while Calliope had had to squeeze herself into its cramped back seats. His gentle eyes glanced at her in his rear view mirror.
"We'll be fine."
As usual, the Great Papyrus was right. As soon as they leapt from the car and headed towards the shootout, her instincts and training had kicked in. They soon took the villains down with the combined use of Calliope's paralysing stare and Sam's pinpoint accuracy; he had pinned down all the villains with his rapier sharp bones leaving Calliope to stealthily disarm them in turn. Russ had assisted his old mentor at protecting the civilians from the battle then hauling the villains away after knocking them out cold.
Sans left the battle without a scratch, but Papyrus had received a badly cut lip from where one of the villains had clawed at him while he and Undyne bundled them into the armoured prison truck. Upon returning home, Calliope had tended to the injury.
Despite all his bravery on the battle field, Russ had whimpered like a child when she dabbed antiseptic at the wound. And when he continued to squirm, she threatened to use her quirk on him to keep him still.
The injury ended up leaving a small scar across his lips that Sam had had to convince his brother made him look even cooler.
"If it bothers you that much, we can always trade," Sam joked, tilting his chin down at his own, enormously scarred upper body. He had just got out of the shower and had entered the lounge to see his younger sibling fussing with his mouth in the mirror. Unlike his older brother, Russ took far more pride in his appearance. Calliope laughed quietly into her teacup as they bickered. In truth, both the brothers' scars suited them well. It would take a lot more than a few battle blemishes to render the Skelebros unattractive.
Calliope would often spend nights tracing her fingers along the uneven skin at Sam's chest, laughing softly at the way it made him shiver. He'd get her back by similarly gliding his deft hands over the smooth scales at her spine whilst dancing his lips across those by her eyes. Those kind of nights would often end in a heated tangle of limbs accompanied by dirty whispers.
When they weren't doing Hero work, the brothers would show Calliope around town. She soon got used to the layout of the city, but not the prowling paparazzi that came with it. They were continuously on the search for a juicy story. And it seemed they eventually struck gold when images of Sans and the hero Medusa holding hands along the beach surfaced all over the internet and the front pages of the tabloids.
News of their relationship soon spread. To quell the Press' thirst for details and to attempt to put a stop to their relentless pursuit, Sam had swallowed his pride and finally given them a statement.
"We're dating. Yeah." Was all they got.
This news made their popularity sky rocket. Calliope's ranking jumped from the 30s, to 23rd position. Sans' rocketed back to 12th place. It seemed being romantically involved with a fellow hero and teammate had caused his already high approval ratings to soar.
Soon enough, it seemed everyone was talking about the return of the Skelebros and their living arrangements with the hero Medusa.
Then one day, as Calliope prepped dinner with Russ, a knock at the door sounded. The two exchanged a puzzled glance; they hadn't been expecting anyone to visit.
"I'll get it," Calliope offered, setting down her knife next to her finely diced onions and wiping her hands on a cloth.
She turned into the hallway, her soft footfalls padding lightly on the fluffy carpet as she passed the bathroom. Sam was still in the shower, the cherry pie he'd baked for dessert was already out the oven. The door knocked again, this time a little louder.
"Coming!" She called. And when she pulled open the door, her mouth fell agape with surprise. The bespectacled man that stood before her was tall, even taller than Russ but, though his shoulders were broad, he was far skinnier. He was dressed in a sharp black suit and crisp white shirt. He hunched slightly, supporting himself on a sleek cane. When he peered down at Calliope with eyes as dark and as dull as coal, she felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Miss Chloros, I assume?" He asked in a low and rasping voice.
As she stood and stared with her mouth still hung open, she noticed how lopsided his face was; one side was heavily scarred. When the only response Calliope gave was a strained croak, the man leant his ghoulish face closer.
"Miss Calliope Chloros?"
From behind her, the sound of the bathroom door opening caused both she and the stranger to divert their attention down the hallway.
Sam stood blinking, hair wet and with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Heya, dad."