Chapter 3
As insistent as Frisk was about returning to Snowdin Lane and again meeting Papyrus, she wasn't sure what she would do or say upon arrival. She wasn't really sure how she planned to find Papyrus. There was no guarantee he was going to be home. Those in the town may capture her if not attack her on sight. Besides, Frisk could not forget the royal guard.
Now that Frisk stopped to think about it, this was a terrible idea.
Not that she was going to admit it to Chara.
After all, he remembered something he chose to hide from her.
If Chara wasn't going to tell Frisk the truth, she would find it on her own. This journey was no longer about Frisk, but about every single monster who resided in Ebott Forest. Frisk wanted to learn all she could about the curse so that perhaps she could find some way to break it.
What Frisk and Chara initially agreed to was simple. She help him remember who he was, and he help her leave. Now things were no longer so simple.
It appeared that Frisk wanted a lot more while Chara possibly no longer wanted for what he had asked. The terms and conditions of their agreement had changed. The problem was neither of them seemed to agree what was changing, and they were not helping their situation by refusing to discuss what it was that was changing and why.
When the ferry arrived at Snowdin Lane, Frisk thanked the riverman was stepped onto the dock. She hugged herself and shivered. Her warm clothes had long since been discarded, so now Frisk was forced to find someplace warm to stay and find it quickly.
Frisk was starting to truly realize just how poorly she thought ahead.
"You will freeze to death if you do not find some warm clothing or someplace warm to stay," Chara pointed out, not helping her situation.
"I know," Frisk muttered, hugging herself tighter. The bitter air bit her exposed skin. The cold began to sink into her body and chill her very bones.
"What is your plan?"
"I . . . um . . . Well, you see—"
"You do not have a plan, do you?"
Not wanting to tell Chara that he was right, Frisk chose to not respond at all. Chara, at least, did not say anything else. As Frisk walked towards the town, she anticipated someone charging after her the chattering of her teeth felt so loud.
Her legs began to stiffen. Her joints did not want to bend. Her blood was becoming ice inside her veins. Her visible breaths were the only sign she was still living and not a walking corpse. It was a good thing it was still daylight. Once the sun set for the night, Frisk would not make it to morning light if she did not find someplace warm to stay.
Frisk, wanting to remain unseen as long as possible, did not enter into the town directly. Instead, she remained in the woods as she drew closer to Sans and Papyrus's house. Sneaking in their back yard, Frisk walked up to the window and peered inside.
The brothers were home. Before Frisk allowed herself a sigh of relief, she tried to determine that they were home alone. Seeing nobody else or evidence of any guest, Frisk steeled her nerves, curled her hand into a fist, and tapped her knuckles against the window.
At first, neither brother responded, so Frisk tapped harder. This time, both brothers looked up in reaction to the sound. Taking a shaky breath as her heart pounded in her chest, Frisk rapped her knuckles against the glass more rapidly until they looked her way and saw her through the window.
For a moment, they stood there as if stunned. Papyrus was the first to recover. Wasting no time, Papyrus rushed to the back door, threw it open, and softly ordered, "Quick, get inside before you freeze to death in the snow!"
Frisk didn't wait to be told twice.
Once she was inside, Frisk felt her body immediately thaw. She hadn't realized how cold she had gotten until she was in the warm home. When Sans draped a heavy, wool blanket over her trembling shoulders, Frisk wanted to drop to the floor and curl into a ball in an attempt to warm herself faster.
"Here, sit down," Papyrus said as he guided Frisk to the couch. "Let us make you something warm to drink. Are you allergic to chocolate?"
When Frisk shook her head, Sans said, "That's good, because other than boiled water, we have nothing else hot to offer. That hot chocolate will be ready in about five minutes."
As she waited for the hot chocolate, Frisk dropped her head down and looked towards the floor. The coffee table in the middle of the living room was made of glass. Frisk imagined that if she took off her mask and observed her natural face, her lips would be a ghostly blue.
"Here," Papyrus said, handing Frisk a warm mug. "Drink this."
Although the hot chocolate burned her tongue, Frisk did not wait for it to cool as she got as much of the hot liquid into her system as possible. Clutching the hot mug to warm her hands, Frisk held the steaming cup close. Soon, she started to warm from the inside out. Her teeth finally ceased their chattering. After a few minutes, Frisk felt her muscles begin to relax as if the cold had now thawed out of them.
"Now that you look like you're not going to freeze to death anymore," Sans, who had been sitting in a chair he pulled from the kitchen, said, "do you mind telling us what this suicide mission coming back here dressed like that is about?"
Wordlessly, Frisk turned her attention to Papyrus. He too pulled out a chair from the kitchen, but he had spent the past fifteen minutes after giving Frisk the hot chocolate adding logs to the fire and throwing in old newspapers to get it burning hotter. If he heard Sans's question, he didn't turn around to watch as Frisk gave her answer.
Finally, Frisk said, "I wanted to know . . . Papyrus, why did you lie to Undyne? Why not turn me in to her?"
For a moment, Papyrus did not answer. Frisk thought he was too focused on the fire to hear her, yet as she opened her mouth to repeat her question, Papyrus replied, "You had a chance to remove my mask, and you didn't. I, the Great Papyrus, was only returning the favor."
"Is that really it," Frisk frowned, "or . . . I don't know, maybe you don't want anything bad to happen to me?"
When Papyrus didn't respond, Frisk bit her tongue as to not push the matter. Whatever Papyrus's reasons were, there was no guarantee that they still applied. If Papyrus truly was returning the favor, then there was no reason he wouldn't turn Frisk in to Undyne if the captain just so happened to stop by tonight.
"Never mind," Frisk muttered, feeling foolish. "I shouldn't have come. I . . . Thanks for the hot chocolate. I should be on my way."
Frisk stood up, but Sans place a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down. Speaking sternly, he said, "No way, kid. You nearly froze alive walking here. Now that the sun has set, you won't make it half a mile before you become a human popsicle. Stay the night. You can be on your way again in the morning."
"I don't want to impose," Frisk tried to argue.
"You already have, so just impose a little longer so we won't have to worry about you when we go to bed tonight." Sans waved a hand in the air. "Besides, you came all this way, didn't you? I would hate for you to come visit just for us to show you out the door not even an hour later. Just stay the night. You still trust us, don't you?"
Nodding, Frisk said, "Of course I trust you."
"Then it's settled." Sans looked at Papyrus, who still kept his attention strictly on the flames as if he wanted nothing to do with the conversation. Shrugging, Sans added, "You can sleep in my room."
"I'm sorry, what did he say?" Chara, who was silent up until now, questioned.
"I beg your pardon?" Frisk said, voicing the confusion she and Chara felt.
"Well, I'm not going to be the kind of host that makes you sleep on the couch. I can do that – I'm pretty well practiced from all the times I nap there. I'll start making dinner soon. You can stay bundled up to keep warm."
Frisk opened her mouth to argue, but Sans cut her off with, "No arguments. You are staying the night, and you are sleeping in my room. That's the end of this conversation, kid."
Cheeks growing hot, Frisk argued, "I'm not a kid. I'm almost thirteen."
"Oh, really?" Sans leaned so close to Frisk, their faces were only inches apart. It was a good thing her mask hid her face, because Frisk knew she was blushing heavily. As if unphased, Sans said, "Then I suppose that makes you almost an adult."
Swallowing and then struggling to keep her voice steady, Frisk confirmed, "Practically an adult."
Sans chuckled. "Well, I suppose we shall see what an almost adult can do."
Before Frisk could question what Sans meant, the monster stood straight and said, "I'm making dinner." Yet instead of walking to the kitchen, Sans approached the front door.
"Getting food from Grillby's is not making dinner, Sans," Papyrus said, his back still turned to the two.
"Of course it is," Sans stated before walking outside and closing the door behind him.
Frisk stared at the door for a moment before turning back to Papyrus. The tall man had since risen to his feet and looked at Frisk for the first time since she began to warm. As if having an internal debate, Papyrus finally said, "I didn't want to admit it with Sans within earshot, but now that it's just you and me . . . I suppose I thought we could be . . . friends?"
"I don't see why we can't be," Frisk replied, speaking so softly even she barely heard what she said.
She wasn't sure if Papyrus heard her, because all he did was nod before announcing that he was going to the kitchen to cook real food before leaving Frisk in the living room by herself.