Ketchup

I wrote this a while ago on AO3 and decided to crosspost it here at the request of my awesome friend, J-Farraday. :) Just a bit of Chans fluff, set in an AU called Twist In Fate, where Asriel stopped Chara from going through her buttercup plan, and she got help to heal emotionally, and ended up meeting and becoming friends with Sans, who's her age here. With their shared love of puns and similar personalities and interests, they grew very close, and friendship slowly started to change into romantic love, though the two aren't a couple yet here.

I hope you guys enjoy!

...

"Chara, Sans is here!" Asriel called from downstairs.

"Thanks, Azzy!" Chara called back as she ran a brush through her hair quickly and then grabbed her jacket before running downstairs.

Sans was waiting for her by the steps with his usual smile, but Chara noticed something worrying. Her best friend looked absolutely exhausted. He was leaning on the railing, dark shadows under his eye sockets.

"Hey, Care." he greeted her, stifling a yawn.

"Hey, Sans. Are you okay? You look awful." she said in concern.

"Wow. What a way to greet your best friend." he joked, trying to brush off her worry.

"You know what I mean. You look exhausted."

"Relax, Care, I'm fine." he reassured her, then yawned again. "I just stayed up a bit late studying for exams."

"You look like you're about to fall asleep. Are you sure you're up to hanging out tonight?" she asked. "I can take a rain check. You need to get some rest."

"Heh, you can't take a rain check. It's not raining." Sans pointed out with a small laugh, but this made Chara worry even more. Whenever Sans's jokes got this ridiculous, it usually meant he was exhausted or upset about something. But she knew Sans was going to be stubborn about this, and it was proved by his next sentence. "C'mon, Chara, stop worrying. I want to hang out with you tonight. I haven't gotten to spend any time with you for almost three weeks because of exams." he pleaded slightly, giving her the puppy dog eye sockets.

Chara finally nodded. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Of course, Care. Don't get rattled. You know...rattled...like bones?"

Chara;s worry amped up even more. Totally ridiculous Sans babble was another sure sign of exhaustion. "Listen, why don't we just skip Grillby's and hang out here and watch a movie instead?" she suggested, hoping Sans would be able to get some sleep during the movie.

Sans shook his head stubbornly, probably knowing he would doze off before the opening credits stopped rolling if they did that, and it was clear he wanted to force himself to stay awake right now, and Chara had the feeling there was nothing she could say to stop him. "Nah, I'll be fine. I'm starving anyway. Plus, Grillby's serving those chocolate peanut butter shakes you love and I know you've been looking forward to that." he suggested, looking at her hopefully. "C'mon, I know a shortcut."

"Sans, you shouldn't shortcut when you're..." Chara started but Sans had already taken her hand and they teleported off.

...

Sans had meant to shortcut them directly into Grillbys, but in his exhaustion, he completely missed. They ended up in a snowpile a little ways away from the restaurant, getting half buried in the cold, powdery snow with Sans ending up on his back and Chara landing on his chest in a rather intimate position. Chara blushed deeply and Sans's cheeks turned bright blue as well. They were both stunned for a minute, then Chara got off him and held out a hand to help him up. Sans took it, still blushing, and Chara pulled him to his feet.

"See? I tried to tell you you shouldn't shortcut when you're tired. There's SNOW way that's good for your health." Chara told him with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's ICE to know that you care, but I'm fine. Just wanted to make some snow angels." Sans joked, then yawned.

"Seriously, Sans, you need some sleep." Chara told him.

"Nope, I'm full of energy. See?" Sans tried to run in place to prove this but almost fell on his ass again.

Chara rolled her eyes. "Right."

"I'll be fine, Care. Plus, we're already here. Might as well eat."

Chara was still unsure, but let it go for now. "All right."

...

"...So Undyne thought we were chopping the vegetables too slow, so she takes over and just pounds them into paste with her bare fists. Sauce goes flying all over the kitchen, and that's when Mom..." Chara stopped when she heard a thump and turned to see that Sans had face planted right into his ketchup covered fries and was snoring.

Chara rolled her eyes playfully. "Didn't realize my story was THAT boring." She gently lifted Sans's head out of his fries, supporting him while she cleaned his face off with a napkin. "Can't say I didn't see this coming." She gently picked him up bridal style. "Let's get you home."

Sans stirred when he was lifted and opened bleary eye sockets. "Was just resting my eye sockets..." he mumbled but ended up falling asleep again.

Chara rolled her eyes again at her overly stubborn friend. "Sure you were." she whispered so she didn't wake him. She quickly paid Grillby and left their food and shakes half eaten as she carried Sans out the door. Thankfully, Sans lived in Snowdin, so it wouldn't be a long walk to take him home.

The sleeping Sans snuggled into her chest as she carried him home. Chara couldn't help but smile with a slight blush. He was just too cute.

When they reached Sans's house, Chara struggled to shift Sans so that she could knock on the door, but thankfully Gaster must have already seen him coming as he quickly opened the door.

"Sans fell asleep when we were at Grillby's." Chara told him.

"Oh dear. I was worried that was going to happen." Gaster signed. "Come on in." He gently took Sans from Chara and moved aside to let her in.

Sans stirred when Gaster took him. " 'm awake." he mumbled.

"And you're stubborn." Chara sighed. "Sleep, Sans."

"Want to hang out w'th you..." he mumbled, fighting to keep his sockets open.

"If it's okay with your dad, I can stay here while you rest, at least until curfew." Chara offered, looking up at Gaster to see if it was okay. Gaster smiled to her and nodded before summoning his magical hands and sternly telling his oldest son to rest. Finally, Sans fell back asleep.

As Gaster took Sans to his bedroom, Papyrus came wandering in. 'OH! HELLO, CHARA!" He glanced over to Gaster and Sans. "IS MY BROTHER OKAY?"

"He's fine. Just really tired."

"HE'S TAKING A NAP THIS EARLY? WHILE YOU'RE HERE?"

"I think he was up all night studying." Chara explained to the seven year old.

"OH! WELL, NEVER FEAR, SANS'S GIRLFRIEND! I SHALL ENTERTAIN YOU!" Papyrus told her.

Chara blushed deeply. "I'm not Sans's girlfriend. I'm just his friend." she explained to the child.

"YES! YOU'RE A GIRL, AND YOU'RE HIS FRIEND! THEREFORE, YOU'RE HIS GIRLFRIEND!" Papyrus explained as if it was obvious.

Chara hid a giggle at Papyrus's reasoning. "A girl friend and a girlfriend are two different things." she tried to explain.

"HOW?" Papyrus asked, cocking his little skull.

And now she had gotten herself into explaining dating to a seven year old. "Well, a girl friend is a friend who's a girl, but the other kind is when you're dating."

"WHAT IS DATING?"

Hoo boy...How was she supposed to explain this? "Well, a girlfriend can also be a friend to their partner and they hang out together, but they also kiss."

Papyrus scrunched his little face. "EWW!"

Chara giggled. "You'll understand when you're older."

"DO YOU AND SANS KISS?"

And now Chara was blushing again. "No."

"DO YOU WANT TO?"

Gaster came out just in time to hear this. Chuckling, he decided to come to the rescue. "Papyrus, why don't you show Chara your new game?" he asked in Wingdings.

Papyrus's sockets lit up, forgetting the topic. "OH! THAT'S A GOOD IDEA, DADDY! YOU'LL LIKE THE AMAZING MAZE, CHARA!" He darted off to get his new puzzle game. Chara gave Gaster a grateful look and the older skeleton smiled and winked.

...

It was four rounds of The Amazing Maze and five minutes before Chara had to leave when Sans finally awoke. He rushed out to the living room.

Chara turned and smiled, moving her last piece to the only spot available as Papyrus had gotten her piece cornered, triggering Papyrus's pit trap. "Hey, Sans. Your brother's been kicking my butt at The Amazing Maze." She had ceased to be surprised with how freaking good Papyrus was with puzzles. He was a Gaster after all.

"Heh. He's really good." Sans agreed. "Sorry I was asleep so long."

"Hey, it's okay. You were exhausted." Chara reassured him.

"But I invited you to hang out and barely even spent any time with you...It's almost time for you to go home."

"We'll have plenty of time to spend together once you finish your exams. By next week, they'll all be done. And you needed the rest." Chara pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Chara." Sans told her, though he still looked disappointed.

She glared at him playfully. "You GUESS I'm right?"

He laughed. "All right, fine, Princess Chocolate. I know you're right." She stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh again.

The alarm on Chara's watch then beeped, telling her it was time to head home. They both sighed.

"C'mon, Care, I'll walk you home." Sans offered. She smiled and accepted.

They spent the way back talking, but Chara noticed that Sans still didn't seem like his old self.

When they arrived and Sans said goodbye and headed home, Chara headed up to her room and sat on her bed, deep in thought, trying to think of a way to cheer him up.

An idea came to her and she smiled.

...

The next day, Toriel was reading a book in her favorite comfy chair that she had nicknamed Chariel when Chara entered the living room. "Mom?" she asked.

Toriel looked up and smiled. "Yes, my child?"

Chara fidgeted, twisting her hands together. "Sans has been really stressed with his final exams. I want to do something nice for him to help him feel better. He really loves ketchup so I thought it might be nice to make him a homemade batch, but I...I kind of need your help. I really don't want to screw it up like I did with..." She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memories. "Can...Can you teach me how to make it?"

"Of course I would be happy to help, Chara. I am so glad to see you taking an interest in cooking again." Toriel stood up and placed an assuring paw on her daughter's shoulder. "And I know you will do wonderful."

And she was right.

Chara very carefully listened to Toriel's instructions as they cooked, finely chopping fresh tomatoes and onions and adding spices to taste. Though she at first continually checked the recipe to make sure she was doing right or looked to Toriel for reassurance, she slowly grew more comfortable.

They heated the mixture with Toriel's fire magic to infuse it with healing powers, blended it until it was smooth and strained it to make sure no seeds were left behind before heating it again.

Once it was finished, they let it cool. Chara took a taste, just to make sure it was okay, then smiled in satisfaction before pouring it carefully into a thermos. She then hugged Toriel tightly. "Thanks, mom."

Toriel smiled softly at seeing her daughter's happiness, at the new confidence Chara was feeling. She hugged her back happily. "You are welcome, my child."

...

Later that day, Chara walked over to Sans's house, knowing he would be out of school, holding the thermos of still warm ketchup. She knocked on the door.

Sans answered the door. He still looked exhausted but his sockets brightened when he saw her. "Hey, Care! I didn't know you were coming over!"

She grinned. "Surprise! I know you're having a rough week, so I brought you a present to help." She held out the thermos. "It's your favorite, ketchup. I made it myself...well, Mom helped."

He smiled happily and took a sip. It was smooth, tart and rich, warming him right down to his toes. He could feel a tingle of magic which gave him a boost of energy, perking him up and easing the exhaustion. "Wow, this is really good." he told her, then gave her a hug. "Thanks, Care. I really needed this."

She hugged back. "No problem. And...promise me you'll get some sleep tonight?"

"I will."

She smiled, happy to hear this. "And don't worry so much about your exams. I know you'll do awesome."

"I hope so. I really want this internship." he said softly.

"And you'll get it. Sans, you're the smartest person I know and you've been studying really hard. You're going to pass with flying colors; I know it. Just don't push yourself so hard, okay?"

"I'll try not to." he promised. "And Chara?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks so much for being there for me. It really means a lot." He gave her another hug, holding her close. "You're the best friend ever."

They talked for a little while, then Sans had to get back to doing his homework. Chara said goodbye, impulsively giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before she left.

He blushed, touching the spot she had kissed as he watched her leave, smiling and waving when she turned back to wave to him.

After she left, he closed the door softly, sitting down on the other side of the door and smiling down at the gift she had given him. She really was the best friend ever.

And maybe someday he'd have the courage to tell her how he felt.

...

I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think!