Dropping the last box in the truck bed, you sigh with relief. Shoving it back enough that you can get the door shut, you turn around to give the driver the thumbs up.
"There you go Mini." You say to the monster airplane hovering behind you. The small plane blushes at your smile and quickly looks away.
"Wh-whatever." She says before flying off to the other group of Tsunderplanes in her family. She and the rest take off, following the truck with their things to their new apartment in town.
Today, just like Frisk wanted, and how it's been scheduled in your calendar, you and the kid were helping monsters move out. You'd done this multiple times over the last couple months, waiting until there was another house or another apartment complex built before the two of you would come back. Now, there were just a couple hundred left in the Underground. You admired their patience.
A herd of Vulkins surrounding a very happy Frisk come out of the mountain. All of them were trying to nuzzle at the child's legs without setting them on fire.
When the kid notices your snickering, they get the Vulkins attention and point to you. You blanche as their eyes zero in.
"Ahh! Big human!" You hear a few yip before the herd turns and makes their way to you.
"O-Oh hey guys!" You say, backing up to avoid their happy spouts of flames.
Your back hits something and you jump in surprise.
"NYEH HEHHEH. YOU'VE FALLEN INTO MY TRAP!" Papyrus wraps his arms around you and picks you up. "MY HUG TRAP!" You squeal and laugh as he lifts you out of the range of the Vulkins. He steps through them, carrying you as if you were a cat, back over to Frisk .The Vulkins start to follow but their attention is grabbed by another truck pulling in and Undyne bursting out the back.
"What up!" She rolls out and pops up into her feet, flexing. The Vulkins give a round of happy shouts, bumping into her and nuzzling her legs. She lavishes in the attention.
"UNDYNE, YOU'RE JUST IN TIME. I CAPTURED A HUMAN!" Papyrus swings around and Undyne takes one look at the way he's holding you and bursts into laughter.
"Eat it up." You say, grinning. "You're just jealous I'm getting Pap hugs and you're not." She snorts as she waltzes over. She looks your hanging form up and down before she shrugs with a shit eating grin.
"Kay. Sure kid." Undyne gestures to the mountain entrance. "I'll go ahead and grab the stuff for this family of Vulkins since you two are so busy." She mocks lightly. You try to give her a glare but it's laughed off since you were still in Paps arms like a hanging cat.
"You can set me down now." You say, patting Papyrus's arm. He squeezes you for a moment before finally setting you back on your feet. "Thanks."
"NO PROBLEM HUMAN." He looks between you and Frisk and then points at the clipboard in the kids hands. "HOW MANY MORE MONSTERS ARE WE SET TO HELP TODAY?"
Frisk reads over the papers and flips through a few. Most of them are lists of monsters, others are house deeds and paperwork to sign.
"Almost done." They sign after handing the clipboard to you to free up their hands. "The Vulkin's are the last ones, but I want to check on Blook." They spell out the ghost's name and you nod, passing the clipboard back.
Papyrus hums loudly and scratches the side of his jaw ."NAPSTABLOOK? I THOUGHT HE MOVED OUT." You frown and shake your head.
"He was supposed to, but he keeps putting it off to let others go before him." You cross your arms and watch Frisk as they start writing something down. "That and I think he's too nervous to move in with his cousin."
"COUSIN?" Papyrus asks, but you don't get the chance to answer him.
"Make way, nerds!" You hear Undyne scream just as you see a couch come flying towards you.
A bony hand grabs your elbow and pulls you back. The couch lands and skids through where you'd just been standing and comes to a stop in front of the excited Vulkins.
You let out a shaky breath.
"That's one way ta cushion the blow." You turn around to find a lazily grinning Sans re-pocketing his hands. You roll your eyes and nudge him.
"Afternoon Sans." You say. "Glad you could finally make it." You tease. He shrugs.
"I didn' wanna jus' drop in." He eyes the couch that the Vulkins are now jumping on.
"SANS! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Papyrus stomps his foot. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE HOURS AGO!"
"Calm down bro, I was jus' helpin' Grillbz move in." You give him a look, wondering if he had actually been helping or just sucking down ketchup as he watched Grillby work. You decide not to say anything. You were just happy Sans had eventually showed up.
Undyne comes bounding out of the mountain, towers of boxes on both shoulders. She gives a triumphant battle yell as she throws the boxes into the truck. Then, she power lifts the couch, still covered in Vulkins, also into the truck. She does this gently though, probably just to impress the ooing and heart eyed monsters. You snicker as you watch.
"That's the last load." You call out, giving Undyne a thumbs up. "Help em set up and then you and the rest of the guard can head off." Undyne smirks, giving two thumbs up, and then ushers the Vulkin's into the truck's back seats and takes the passenger. The human driving gives you a weary okay sign and then heads off.
"S'already done, huh?" Sans asks, looking ready to turn around and head right back down to Grillby's. Papyrus grabs the back of his hood before you do.
"NOT SO FAST, BROTHER."
"We're gonna head down and see if we can convince Napstablook to come up." You fill in.
Dumping their clipboard, Frisk excitedly runs off for the entrance.
"Wh- wait, Frisk! This isn't a…. Race." You finish just as they disappear. You shake your head. "C'mon." You say over to Paps and Sans.
"I don' need ta come." You stop, turning back to see Sans avoiding the looks of you and Papyrus.
"BROTHER, YOU'VE NOT DONE YOUR JOB ONCE TODAY!" He let's Sans go in favor of setting his hands on his hips. Sans gives a nervous look and then lowers his chin to tuck it into his collar. You frown, not used to Sans looking this way.
"Sans, you okay?" At your voice Sans's eye lights meet yours. He seems to remember you're there and forces his big smile back on.
"Yeah jus'... Bone tired from helpin' Grillbz." You know that's not the reason he doesn't want to go. You even see Papyrus hesitate to answer, so you're sure he notices Sans upset as well.
"YOU'RE SO LAZY, SANS." Papyrus scoops up his older brother, who yelps in surprise. He holds Sans under his arm like a sack of potatoes and then sets off towards the mountain. You grin ear to ear as you follow behind so you can see the way Sans's skull blushes blue. Though probably embarrassed, he happily sinks into Papyrus's hold.
You find Frisk waiting for you at the elevator. When they see Papyrus carrying Sans they can't help but laugh.
The four of you make your way through Hotland and out towards Waterfall.
The once loud, rumbling Underground is nearly silent as you travel through it. There were only a few citizens in a few neighborhoods that were left. The next apartment building to be built would have enough rooms for last of the monsters.
It felt weird seeing it so empty. You were happy for the monsters now that they could live peacefully on the surface, but… You also weren't sure how you felt about how quickly they uprooted their entire lives. The ones you'd talked to about it had been more than happy to move out. It was still too early to know if there were any negative consequences. For now, the monsters were still giddy and excited about integrating with humans on the surface.
For now, everything was okay.
You turn into the small dead end that cradled Blook's house. The blue wilted building had its lights on while the pink one that sat next to it looked dark and eerie. Frisk bounces on the balls of their feet at the front door, waiting for you as patiently as they can.
"I'VE BEEN HERE!" Papyrus says, looking up at the top window. "WHEN I TOOK THE WRONG TURN GETTING TO UNDYNES!" You go to comment but notice Paps still holding Sans.
"I think you can set him down, now." Papyrus looks to you and then to the bundle of Sans. He sets the smaller skeleton down who nearly falls over. He'd fallen asleep.
"SANS!" Papyrus groans. The skeletons shudders when he wakes up and tilts his head back to look up at his brother with a sleepy grin.
"Oh, 'sup bro." Papyrus bites down another groan and instead ignores his brother to look over to Frisk.
"LET US CONTINUE BEFORE SANS FALLS ASLEEP. AGAIN." Frisk nods eagerly, immediately spinning around to knock at the door.
The four of you wait in silence. Frisk knocks again but you step up to their side to stop them when they try a third time.
"Napstablook." You call out, glancing up at the window with the light in it. "It's me and Frisk. We wanted to come and talk."
There's another beat of silence and then the door creaks open.
No one's in the doorway but, having been there multiple times before, this is the normal way Napstablook lets you in. You usher the group inside.
In the main, familiar, part of the house you find Napstablook wearily floating back by his computer. He seems surprised when more than just you and Frisk enter, but he doesn't dematerialize, which was a good start. You wave sweetly at him.
"Hey Napstablook." You step up and give him an air hug. His little frown warbles into a small smile, which was a lot for him.
"Hey…. You didn't have to come…." You shake your head, trying to tell him it wasn't a big deal. Frisk opens their arms wide for the ghost, giving their biggest air hug possible. Napstablook seems to appreciate it.
"I wanted to see you!" Frisk signed happily.
"HELLO!" Napstablook jumps so bad at Papyrus's volume that you think he started to disappear. "I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! THE MONSTER MASCOT!" You side eye the taller skeleton. Ever since he'd gotten to the surface he seemed to drop wanting to be a part of the royal guard and focused entirely on being the mascot of the Underground. Him announcing it every time he met a human was cute and all but this was Napstablook. Not only a monster, but a monster that could barely form a sentence without being overwhelmed.
"M' Sans." Sans mumbled at his brothers side, looking ready to doze off again.
...Maybe you shouldn't have insisted on bringing the skeletons.
"H….Hello…." Napstablook murmured, unable to even look in the direction of the two other monsters. You sidestepped to get in his view.
"How've you been since last month?" You ask gently, softly. Matching Blooky's tone when you talked to him seemed to calm him down usually. His eyes flickered from between the floor, you, and Frisk.
"Good…." He mumbled. He then glanced at his computer. "...Made some….songs…..if you wanna-" Immediately Frisk bounces over to the computer to start fiddling with the mouse. "They're…. Not that good…."
"I'm sure they're amazing." You say.
"You always make good music!" Frisk interjects. They then pause and swivel around. "Have you packed your stuff yet?"
"Oh no….." His voice warbles and you can sense he wanted to ghost out. "Pack…..?"
"It's okay if you haven't!" You clear your voice, having gotten too loud. "We don't want to pressure you, Blooky." The ghost floats nervously closer to the ground. "But after the next building, all the monsters will be on the surface…" You trail off, hoping he understands what you're getting at.
"All….Of them….?" There's stress in his voice. More fear and more anxiety than normal. He's not quite looking at you, but through you, as if you were the ghost. "...All of…. them….." You can hear the panic building in his words, clogging his metaphorical throat.
You stare at Blooky for a quiet moment and then wave Frisk and the others over.
"Hey, why don't we lay down for a bit?" The ghost stares at you. "Just take a break. Forget about the surface and moving for a moment." He shifts and then, like how a piece of paper falls, floats to the ground and "lays" down.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?" You wave for Papyrus to come lay down, as Frisk had already thrown themself down on Blooks other side. Sans shrugs and shuffles over to you. He sits and then falls back with a soft 'poof'. Papyrus stares at the three of you before grumbling and laying down himself.
"It's…. A family tradition….." Napstablook murmurs. You can already hear the tension in his voice slipping out. He sighs, then, releasing more of it.
"A TRADITION? TO LAY ABOUT?" Paps asks, flabbergasted.
"And feel like garbage." Frisk signs, hands up above their face.
"I might jus' be a part of the fam then." Sans says, shifting about as if he could sink any further into his coat. You cast him a frown that he misses.
The five of you lay in a circle, staring up at the worn ceiling above your heads. All you can hear is the breathing of your friends and the soft creaking of the house.
"Why haven't you talked with your cousins?" You finally ask, breaking the silence. You wait patiently until Napstablook finds his voice.
"...They're busy…. I don't want to… bother them…." His voice is low and you're sure you'd miss it if you all weren't so quiet right now.
"They've been asking about you." You say and you tilt your head to look back at the ghost. "They're worried. Since you haven't come out yet."
"They didn't want to pressure you." Frisk signs. "They don't want to make you leave if you don't want to." Frisk rolls over onto their side to face Blooky directly. "They told me to tell you that they have a room for you if you want it."
"...For me….?... Oh…." You can hear tears in his small whimper of an "oh". "I'm just…..not worth that…." He whispered softly. Too softly.
"Of course you are." You snap. You think for a moment you should lower your voice again, but you can't help yourself. "Everyone is worth something, Napstablook. Just you existing is enough. I know it's hard to see it, but your friends, your family, they care for you. They want you in their lives. Even if you don't see the worth in you, they do. Because it's there, whether you believe it or not." The silence that follows makes your heart sink. You're about to sit up to see if Napstablook had been scared off, but a whimper stops you.
"...thank you….." He mumbles and you nod before you think better of yourself.
"Of course Blooky." You do sit up this time. "You don't have to move out. You don't have to do anything." You turn and lean over Napstablook, making sure to stay out of the stream of tears that was floating straight up. "But I think you should at least talk to your cousins. Tell them how you feel."
Napstablook sits up, a weird thing to see his body fold, and then turns to you and smiles. It's a small awkward smile, but it was a lot for him.
"Thank you….. I feel less….. Like garbage…." Frisk pops up to their feet and gives Napstablook another air hug.
"After you talk with your cousins, if you want to stay, we'll help you stay. If you want to move out we'll help you do that, too." The kid pats the ghost's head. "You come first."
"Having… friends is…. Nice…."
The four of you stay a little longer. Partly because you wanted to keep Blooky company as long as possible, knowing he was lonely. Another part was because Sans had fallen asleep on the ground. Instead of waking him this time Papyrus had let his brother sleep. You didn't ask why, but you're sure it's because Papa had noticed Sans wasn't entirely himself.
By the time the four of you leave the Underground, the sun was setting.
"I BELIEVE I WILL RUN HOME TODAY." Papyrus said, beginning to stretch. Stretch what, you weren't sure, since he had no muscles. "LAYING ABOUT HAD MADE ME STIFF."
"You can lay around for a couple of minutes without losing muscle mass." You point out.
"If he had muscle mass ta begin with." Sans joked. Frisk laughed.
"HA. HA." Paps retorted. "WOULD YOU LIKE THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO CARRY YOU HOME?"
"Nah. M' good. I'll get home my own way." Papyrus nodded and then, right before he ran off, gave you and Frisk each a hug.
"SEE YOU HUMANS!" He waves at the three of you and then sprints off down the mountain.
For a skeleton, he was into a lot of exercise.
A phone goes off and you turn just in time to see Frisk fishing out a cell from their pocket. They sign "mom" to you and then answer and run off for privacy. You assume Torial was calling to check in on the kid, since they were out a lot longer than you'd promised.
It hits you that when Frisk signed mom, you had assumed it was Toriel, and not your mother.
"Had fun today?" Sans asks, pocketing his hands.
"I had fun working." You shrug. "Did you have fun not working?" He chuckled.
"Ah c'mon kid, cut me some slack. S'not like I'm even a part of the royal guard anymore." You raise a brow but decide not to ask about it. Sans didn't seem like he was in an answering mood.
"You're lucky I'm not calling Grillby to ask how much work you actually helped him with. Other than depleting his ketchup supply." That gets a big laugh out of Sans and you feel yourself loosen up at hearing it. It seemed whenever Sans wasn't himself, it made you antsy and worried. You hadn't realized how tense you were until his laugh relaxed you.
His laughter peters off and the too of you watch the sunset for a quiet moment. You take a deep breath, closing your eyes, so that you can really relax.
For a moment, you let yourself forget about your packed schedule. You forget about work the next day and the extra shifts. You don't think about the meetings Frisk had tomorrow or the phone calls you needed to have with the mayor.
For a moment you're just a twenty something on a mountain with a close friend. Not a care in the world.
"Thanks, kid." You open your eyes and peek down at Sans. He's not looking at you, but at the sunset.
"For what, not calling Grillby?" He looks at you then, confused by how you didn't know. "Seriously, for what? For the Blooky thing?" Sans snorts and then starts laughing.
"Kid I-" He rattles out a breath and then nudges past you, brushing his arm with yours. "Yeah. Sure. For the Blooky thing." He waves at you over his shoulder and when he steps out of view around the corner, you know he's short-cutted away. You stay there for a moment more, racking your mind for what you could've done. You know he wasn't thanking you for how you handled Napstablook. But what else had you done today?
"Mom said she made pie- where's Sans?" Frisk comes back, phone tucked between their shoulder and head.
"He went to catch up with Papyrus." You step over to ruffle their head of hair. "C'mon, let's get you home, kid."
"You staying for dinner?"
"I wouldn't miss it."
Hey, little author note here, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for sticking with me!
That and I wanted to open up prompts! Comment some ideas or concepts you'd like to be explored, and if I like it and use it, I'll credit you for the chapter :)