*I don't own Undertale or any of its characters; they all belong to Toby Fox, please support the original release*
Chapter 9: He isn't worth it, Frisk
The circle that had formed around where the argument was taking place had widened even more. An absolutely livid lady had gotten inside the "action place". If the viewers tried to stay away while Nick and Sans were arguing, now they wanted to be far, faaaar away. Nobody wanted to get involved with the tiny furious human.
In the centre of the circle Nick slowly drew his hand to his flaming cheek. He opened and closed his mouth few times, like he was checking that his lower jaw was still in place. Crap, it did hurt. How can someone with such tiny "girly" hands slap so hard? How could someone that looked so defenceless, so wimpy, be so fucking strong? Nick's eyes were still fixed on the so-called defenceless lady. He looked at her with disbelief, trying to catch up what had just happened.
"Ouch…"- He said it slowly, his hand still covering his aching cheek.
"Ouch? OUCH?! Is that all what you are going to say?!"- Nick tensed even more at her tone. Things weren't going as planned.
"Frisk, honey…"
"And you still dare to call me honey! You shameless asshole!"
"Hey, hey! Calm down, Frisk I can explain…"
"There´s nothing to explain!"- She angrily stomped closer, Nick recoiled- "There is no excuse to talking to Sans like that! Neither to say all that bullshit about monsters! And then the hell did you assume that I was your girl?! Huh?!"– She pointed fiercely at him- "Are you that selfish to think that you could possess me like I were some kind of object?!"
Mettaton's voices boomed with approval, as many of the people surrounding them.
"Of course not! That's not what I was trying to say! I-I meant that I wanted to help you to think more clearly and…"
"To think more clearly?! Oh you already help me, you truly did! I think a lot more clearly now!"
"See? – Nick uncovered his cheek and smiled triumphantly at her- "I knew that you would understand…."
"I understand that you are a stupid!"- Nick's smile faded, and some of Mettaton's voices roared "OOOOOOOH" as other claimed "Yeeh tell him! Tell him!"
"Frisk, listen to me, don't you understand that they could destroy us they wanted to? You know better than anyone that a war took place because of that!"
"Because of THAT? You know why that war took place in the first place?! Because people like you were too afraid to know that there are beings that could be stronger than tem!"- She gave another angry step forward, Nick recoiled again- "Because of people like you that can´t bear to share with others! That think that they are the best and nobody deserves there "Oh, so perfect presence!"
"Don't be so stubborn! It's obvious that we humans deserve to be on the surface more than anybody! What if another war begun and we lost?! Would you be happy if we were settled in the Underground forever?! You are a human too, Frisk! In which side are you?!"- Frisk closed her eyes slowly as she took a deep breath.
"In some moments like these, I feel ashamed to be a human"- Her voice was now calmer, but the anger in it was still palpable- " When I look at all the damage humanity can do, when I see how selfish humans can be, when I see so many…Floweys out there… "- She looked at Nick with cold eyes- "On the other hand, I know nearly every monster that was in the Underground, and nobody is like that… what you call "savage beasts" have way more "humanity" than many people out here."
"I want to make something clear, I don't think that all the humans are the same: I have met many humans that are bad, selfish, arrogant, but I have also met humans that are all the opposite…kind, friendly, selfless… But I haven't met a single monster that could be considered "bad". If would be very childish to talk about this as sides, there is something way deeper behind this, but if I had to take a side, it would be with the ones that had always be kind with me, the ones that had decided to be my family although they didn't had to, I would choose the side of the monsters"
Nick looked at the girl dumfounded, was she being serious? Mettaton's sound effects clapped vigorously and some sniffed because of the emotional talking. With her statements clear, Frisk turned to walk away… but Nick caught her hand to stop her.
"Frisk wait! You can't leave me like this!"
"Let me go"
"You know that we have something special! Frisk, I really enjoy spending time with you and I know you do too! We had a great time dancing today didn't we? We can't let that go to waste!"
"Let-me-go"- Nick quickly freed her hand, fearing another slap if he didn't.
"I may have said things I wasn't intending to… I mean… I… I got carried away by my anger… I don't want to lose you because of this…I'm sorry"- He looked at her with his deep blue eyes filled with "contrition"- "Can you, please forgive me?"
"Forgive you? You truly want me to forgive you?"
Nick nodded vigorously. Frisk stared at him. She still felt her anger boiling inside her. Forgive him? After all what he said? Her annoyance screamed "NO!"… but deep inside her, she felt that known warm feeling that characterized her…
"I'll forgive you…"
The teenager was about to launch himself to hug her, she was as naïve as he expected. She had indeed believed him! But the girl had outstretched her hand in front of herself when he got too close to her. She still looked as angry as before.
"But I have some conditions"- Nick smiled cockily, what kind of silly conditions had she thought about? - "I don't want to see you ever again"- Nick's smile vanished.
"Wh-what?!"
"What I have just said, I don't want to see you again, never. I don't want to be with someone that every time he gets angry would start talking badly about my family and friends. I don't want someone that makes my family and friends sad or uncomfortable. I'll forgive you for this, you don't have to feel guilty for what happened anymore, but I just don't want the possibility of it happening again"
"What kind of forgiveness is that?! Are you being serious!? You-you just cannot say that you prefer them over me! - His voice raised- "YOU JUST CANNOT!"- His pretended calmness was now replaced with fury again- "You can´t prefer that skeleton over ME!"
Frisk calmer expression vanished as it got tainted red with anger. She dropped her clenched hands by her sides. Everybody thought that she couldn't get more pissed than she had at the beginning, well, they were wrong. Nick had just pressed the Sans button…again.
"Of course I can and of course I DO! You can´t even compare to him!"
"I certainly can´t! He is just a filthy monster that doesn´t know to stay away from the things that don´t concern him!"
"To stay away?! Stay away from what?! From ME?! Don´t you understand that he would never leave me alone just because a stupid teenager like you said so?!"
"Don´t you understand that you deserve much more than something like him?! Frisk, you are beautiful, you are smart, you don´t deserve a worthless skeleton that doesn´t know how to make a lady like you happy! He is a coward! A goddamn sack of potatoes that can´t do anything right!"
Frisk gave Sans a quick but unwavering look over her shoulder, stopping him from making a pun just in time. That would have made the situation even worse. The fact that she had instantly knew what he was going to say, without even looking at him took him by surprise. Sans really wanted to tell Nick that he preferred to be called a sack of bones, but Frisk's stare had been enough to make him understand that he would better keep quiet.
"SANS, NO." was a very common phrase for him, he listened to it nearly every time he was going to say a pun, but he paid no heed. But this time, Frisk's tacit warning had done something that nobody had ever achieved. She managed to make Sans hold back a pun.
"If there´s someone who knows how to make me happy that is Sans! Even if you tried with all your might you would never make me as happy as he does!"-Mettaton's voices said "Aaaaaw" sweetly at her last words, and Sans fought back an upcoming blushing with all his strength. That had caught him off ward- "If you don´t know what you are talking about just shut the fuck up!"
"And do you really think he is a coward!? Why, because he didn´t fight you?! He didn´t because he knew that he could have beaten you in the blink of an eye, not even leaving a trice of your pitiful existence! If he didn´t fight you is because he knew you didn´t stand a chance! He isn´t despicable like you, that would take advantage of the ones you consider weaker! Furthermore, he would never make a scandal like this in the middle of a party! That´s something very low and he knows it, if you don´t that´s your problem!"
" He knew how much I wanted to come here today and he wouldn´t like to spoil if from me! Because he is a gentleman! Because he cares about others, not like YOU!"
Nick looked at the girl with boiling anger. Something in the way she had spoken made him realize that the skeleton could actually be stronger than he looked like, and the mere possibility that he didn't fight back because he had considered him too weak…And had she just called him a gentleman…?!
"A gentleman?! How can you say someone is a gentleman if he comes to a party with those filthy slippers and that dirty jacket?! He doesn't even know how to look remotely presentable! The same applies to his pathetic excuse of a brother! Where did they come from? The circus?! "
" Don't you dare to talk badly about Papurys!"- She approached Nick defiantly- "He is the most precious, innocent and pure hearted person you'll ever meet and you are no one to make him feel bad! His cloak is adorable! And so is his armour! All of him is adorable and you won't talk bullshit about him in front of me!"
"You are way too lucky that Sans hasn't beat the crap out of you because you fucking deserve it! Don't you see how superficial you are!? You think your clothes make you a gentleman?! You think that because he wears comfortable clothing…?"- She didn't finish her sentence, sudden realization striking her.
"You…"- her expression showed repugnance and fury- "You were the one that said to Sans that he wasn't dressed good enough to dance with me!"- Her fists were clenched fiercely as she stomped even closer. Nick unconsciously stepped back- "How long have you been bothering him with your stupidity?!"- She was now close enough to break his fucking nose. Nick was so terrified of receiving another slap that could ruin his beautiful face that he couldn't even move- "Who's the coward now? You don't even have the wits to look at my eyes!"
Frisk was going to give another step forward, she was going to put this bastard into place, she was going to assure that he would never talk shit about her friends, about her Sans, but… Frisk felt how someone softly placed a hand on her shoulder. She felt how her muscles relaxed a bit, the soothing warm of that touch made her recover a bit of her composure, but she kept her fists clutched. She knew exactly who was holding her shoulder; she knew exactly what that person wanted her to do. She let her arms fall loosely by her sides in defeat, just when the monster started to speak.
"he isn't worth it, frisk."
The girl took a deep breath and sighed, gently looking back at Sans. The skeleton's bony hand was resting on her shoulder as he calmly smiled at her. But, as it was expected, Nick kept bitching around.
"Nobody asked you to give out your opinion, monster! I don't deserve your worthless compassion!"
"You know what? This is the first time I agree with you, Nick"
"You do?"- The teenager turned to look at Frisk in disbelief.
"Of course I do! How could someone like you deserve his compassion? Deserve the pity of someone as simple, as selfless as Sans? We are talking about greatness, about strength, about morality!"
"Yes!"
"There's no way for him to hold a candle to you! He isn't at the same level!"
"Yes! Yes! That's what I was trying to say all this time…"
His words were cut short when Frisk turned around to look at the skeleton. She gently placed her hand over Sans', staring deeply into his eyes.
"I'm afraid you are too good for someone like him"- Mettaton's voice effects roared "OOOOOOHHH" and others yelled with approval as they mocked about Nick's stunned face.
"What?! Frisk you can't do this to me! What about the things we did together? What about the gift I gave you?!
"The gift!" - Frisk said, suddenly remembering- "This gift?"- She gently fished the pendant of the necklace from beneath her clothing, grabbing it between her thumb and point finger.
"Yes! You forgot about it? About what it means?!"
" Oh I had forgotten about it, thank you very much for making me remember"
Before Sans could stop her she closed her hand in a fist over the pendant and with a hard and resolute jerk she took it off. She decidedly stomped to where Nick was and hardly slammed it on his chest. She stared at his eyes coldly as she stated:
"I don't want to see you again, and I think you don't need me to tell you where exactly you can shove this up to, do you?"
Some of the voices gasped at the implication and others chuckled satisfied. Nick stared at Frisk angrily, it was the first time he had been rejected like this, humiliated, and the worst of all…beaten by a stupid monster.
"I thought you were smarter, Frisk! But after all you are just as stupid as everybody else! I don't even know why i bothered to share my precious time with someone like you! Why don't you go away with that filthy skeleton boyfriend of yours?! I bet you are dying to be alone with him!"
"Do you know what? That's exactly what I'm going to do"
"WHAT?!"- Nick was so pissed that it seemed the vein on his forehead was about to explode.
"I'm going to take my skeleton boyfriend away! I don't even know why he bothered to share some of his precious time with someone like you!"
Mettaton's voices shouted "Oooooooohhhh", Nick's words had been used against him. The teenager looked rabid, he was going to start yelling again, he was going to make Frisk swallow her own words, but before he could react the girl turned her back at him, her hair dramatically waving.
"Let's go, Sans"
The tiny human took the skeleton's hand and decidedly stomped away, dragging him behind her. Sans turned to look back, he watched with satisfaction at Nick's furious expression. He had surely wanted to keep bitching around, but Frisk had cut him short.
She could have not fought him physically, but she had destroyed his ego in front of loads of people, what was absolutely worse for someone as egocentric like Nick. Frisk was pulling him away quickly from where the argument took place. He allowed himself to give the bastard his most mischievous, triumphant and mocking smile.
For a moment he thought that his action had kind of broken him, because his face got fiercely red and he started trembling. But when he let out a ragged rabid scream and launched himself in their direction he understood that he had managed to make him even angrier than before. He was mad. His sudden outburst didn't last long, though. Undyne appeared of nowhere blending a spear like never before. She threw the teenager to the ground forcefully with a fierce wrestling hold.
"THAT'S ENOUGH YOU JERK! YOU COULD HAVE MESSED UP WITH MY FRIENDS! WITH THE MOSNTERS! EVEN WITH THE CINNAMON ROLL OF PAPYRUS! BUT IF YOU WANT TO MESS UP WITH MY OTP YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PASS OVER MY CORPSE! IF YOU DARE TO MESS UP WITH MY SHIP YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET IT, PUNK! SANSXFRISK SHIP WILL SAIL ACROSS THE OCEAN, OVER THE HORIZION AND TO THEIR OWN OASIS AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT FROM HAPPENING!"
Sans looked at how Undyne gestured widely and pointed a spare defiantly at Nick. He could have sworn that the tip of the blade was pointing directly between the teenager's eyes. Although he couldn't make a single word of what Undyne was saying, by her decided gestures and unquestionable conviction it seemed like she was defending the reason of her existence. There was no way she would let Nick escape from her grasp.
The wrestling monster and the terrified teenager quickly got out of his sight as he let Frisk drag him away to the exit of the ballroom. The tiny human strode in front of him, managing to slip out between the mass of people without letting go his hand. By her tiny frame she could walk with glide in the crowd, without even pushing anyone. Sans felt glad to be nearly as small as she was, if he hadn't he would have probably knocked down many people in their way out. They reached the exit door and Frisk yanked it open. They stepped out and the door got closed behind them, making the strong noises of the party distant. Sans thought that the girl would stop walking, but she didn't.
She kept walking away, without slowing down a bit. The skeleton had to hurry to keep up with her angry steps. By her still tense muscles and her squared shoulders Sans understood that she was still angry because of what had happened. But despite her full body language showed how pissed she was, she still held his hand very softly. He secretly enjoyed that sweet caress, her tiny warm fingers interlaced with his, the cozy contact of her soft skin against his bones.
The ballroom was now so far away that they couldn't listen to the music anymore. The silence of the night was only interrupted by the crunching of their feet on the snow. Frisk's footsteps sounded fast as she stomped on the snow. Sans' on the other hand, were slower and calmer. Due to his legs being longer than the girl's he could cover the same distance with fewer steps. By this time Frisk was starting to slow down gradually. Her muscles were more relaxed and her frown wasn't as deep as before. Time passed and they finally started to walk normally at their usual pace side by side. Sans stared at the girl for a few seconds before finally deciding to break the silence.
"you know… you made me remember of grillby back there"
"Really?"- She looked sideway at him, still frowning a bit- "Why?"
"you were on fire"
Frisk abruptly stopped walking and stared at the skeleton, her frown had deepened. Sans gulped, the girl had always enjoyed his puns, but it seemed that she wasn't in the mood for it now. But when he was going to apologise he saw a bright smile forming in Frisk's lips as her frown disappeared. The tiny human burst laughing heartily.
"I don't know how I didn't see that one coming!"
Her leaping laughter quickly made Sans laugh too. They resumed walking without stopping laughing, enjoying each other's as well known chuckles. A few minutes passed till their giggles finally stopped. As they walked the skeleton studied carefully Frisk's expression. After his pun she had been smiling widely, but that smile was slowly drifting away, that little frown appearing again between her eyebrows. Sans knew that would probably happen, knowing Frisk as much as he did he was expecting that reaction of her.
"are you regretting it?"- The girl gently lifted her head to look sideway at him.
"Yes…"-She grimaced lightly, Sans sighed at this.
"i knew that you would feel guilty after slapping him and…"- But his words were cut short by Frisk's.
"I regret not having slapped him one or two more times!"
Sans turned to look at her in surprise. Frisk was looking at him decidedly, with her cheeks puffed and blazing determination filling her eyes. Although he tried he couldn't hold back his amusement and he started laughing. When he saw the girl putting Nick into his goddamn place and finally realizing by her own ways how stupid he was… he could barely hide his glee. And what she had just said was enough for him to understand that she had fully find out how shitty he was.
"Don't laugh at this! You know that he deserved to be slapped more times, he was a dick!"
The skeleton clasped a hand over his mouth as his laughter intensified. Frisk was someone that never cursed, so when she did it showed how truly upset she was and the curses had a way more dramatic effect.
"You know I'm right that's why you are laughing!"- The girl sighed as she understood that she would have to wait some time to talk seriously to Sans.
"haha…ha..i…i wasn't expecting that for you kiddo'"- The skeleton took a deep breath, trying to recover his composure.
"Yeah…me neither…"- Her thoughtful tone made Sans turn to look at her- "But what could I do?! I mean, I couldn't just leave him bitching around like that!"
"by the way, where did you came from? i didn't see you in the mass of people, when did you find out that he was fussing around?"
"Since the beginning!"- Sans' eye-sockets widened at her answer- "I saw him when he arrived, when he started saying all that crap about monsters and all and I thought, well Sans surely is gonna make him shut the fuck up, but he kept yelling and sputtering and you didn't seem to be going to do anything else than answer him as calmly as you could."
"Then I thought that was the most civilized way of action and I felt very proud of you. After that Nick decided to start bitching about Papyrus, and I understood that if he kept doing that he would soon make you lose your temper. I knew that I had to do something to make him stop before he would truly regret it. Maybe if I told him to shut up he would listen to me? What if I stood in the middle of you two and told him to stop? But then he started pushing you…"- Frisk's eyes lit up with anger at the remembrance- "He started saying all that horrible things, calling you a coward, he started saying that he wanted to see you turned to dust…"- The girl's muscles were completely tense- "I knew that you weren't going to stop him, but I wasn't sure why. If someone deserved to be made shut his fucking mouth it was him! Then I understood… that you would probably think that could spoil the party for me"
She took a deep breath- "I had never feel so pissed. I wanted to make him shut up with my own hands! But deep inside me I felt that that wasn't correct…I had to be strong, like you. I had to control my temper. But then he decided he was going to punch you, to hurt you… I thought that at least you would dodge…but you didn't look as you were intending to. The next thing I remember is slapping Nick with all my strength and my blood boiling with fury... if you hadn't stopped me I would have probably broke his nose…"
Sans chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"but i stopped you, so don't worry about that. it's kind of true that i was trying to avoid spoiling the party for you… but at the same time i knew that he was just a stupid brat and i didn't want to start a fight with him, although he gave me many reasons to want to punch is face repeatedly with my fists…"- He sighed- "i don't know how i managed not to curse him when i found out that he had forgotten to pick you up…"
"He did what?!"- Sans jerked up slightly at her reaction- "He told me that his mother was ill!"- She stared at the skeleton in disbelief - "How could he lie about something like that?!"- She squeezed Sans' hand harder as she turned around and started to go back- "THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO SLAP HIM THREE OR FOUR MORE TIMES!"
"frisk, no!"- The skeleton dug his feet firmly in the snow refusing to move. The girl kept pulling him to walk with determination- "it isn't worth it and you know it!"- Frisk groaned and kept pulling, dragging him a few inches forward- "i know you want to do that just because you are angry!"- Her groaning intensified and the skeleton knew he was winning her over- "c'mon kiddo', he doesn't deserve someone like you to slap him! you are all heart! too kind for someone like him!"
The girl gave a last groan before desisting from slapping Nick and stopped pushing him. The skeleton smiled as he saw Frisk's slightly blushing cheeks. He knew that some compliments would be enough to make her blush and that would play the trick. Sans gently tugged her hand to make her walk in the same direction they had been before her outburst, she followed him silently. After a few steps Frisk appeared to remember something because she started to rummage in her pockets and purse. She finally found what she was looking for and handed his friend a bright red bottle of ketchup.
"Here, I got it for you"- Sans' eye- sockets twinkled with happiness as the sight of this.
"thanx kiddo'"- He grabbed the bottle thankfully and opened the lid with a single movement of his thumb- "do ya' want some?"- Frisk shook her head- "ok, more for me"
Sans usually drank a bottle of ketchup in a couple of seconds, but this time he wanted to savour it, so he sipped it slowly. It was exactly at the temperature he liked it, not too warm but not freezing either. Frisk knew how he preferred his beloved drink and she always handed it to him in this condition. That was one of the reasons he always savoured it like that, trying to make it last as much as possible…well that was till some time ago… now it felt like… There was no way he was doing this just because it was a gift from her especially for him, right?...right?
By the time the skeleton finished his bottle of ketchup they arrived at the limits of New Snowdin, where the town ended and forest started. After having rushed nearly all their way there Sans decided to take a rest and sat down, leaning his back on a tree. Frisk let herself drop by his side. The skeleton absently slipped his hand underneath his clothing and stored the empty bottle in his ribcage. The girl gazed at her friend thoughtfully.
"Do… do you always place your bottles of ketchup there?"
"yeah, it's handy"- He noticed how Frisk stared intently at his chest, she seemed to have understood something she had been wondering for a long time…her eyes were filled with deep gloom- "why do ya' ask?"- The girl blinked a few times, coming back to her senses, her eyes getting fixed in Sans' eye-sockets again.
"I was just…wondering"
The skeleton turned to look back at Frisk, that reaction had…worried him. Now her gloom had vanished, but that little frown between her eyebrows was back. Something was troubling her, that was a must, and Sans wasn't going to stay there with his arms crossed.
"are ya' gonna tell me what is making you worried or not?"
"I'm not worried!"- Her frown deepened even more.
"frisk, you always manage to know how i'm feeling because of my expressions, and i don't even have flesh or muscles! even worse, my mouth always stays more or less the same! but you… there's no way i couldn't know how you are feeling because of your facial expressions, that's the disadvantage of all that skin, muscles and who knows what else. it's very easy to know if you are angry, worried or sad"-The girl stared at him with a mix of anger and frustration.
"I know!"- She gave him a last mocking glance before hiding her face behind her hands- "Fixed it!"
"kiddo' you know that doesn't fix anything! you shouldn't hide or avoid your problems, you have to face them!"
"Oooooh, look who's talking"- The girl said ironically, her voice slightly muffled by her hands. Sans chuckled, the tiny human was clever.
"do what i say, not what i do!"- He made his tone as teasing as he could.
" Ha ha, you think is funny, right? I don't think so clever-bones!"- She suddenly understood Sans 'plan and stopped herself just in time before uncovering her face- "You were teasing me on purpose, you cheater! I won't fall this time!"
"oooooh, look who's talking about cheating now…"- Frisk laughed against her own will- " but you'll see, i'm so sansational that i'll manage to understand what happens to you without looking at your face"- The girl giggled.
"I want to see you try"
"mhh… i know this has something to do about what happened back there in the party, am i right?"- Frisk stayed silent- "ok, it seems that you are not helping me to figure out, i'll have to figure it out on my own, it seems"
"let´s see…at first i thought that you were still angry because of that stupid of nick, but after studying your expression more carefully i concluded that you weren't angry, you were worried"- The girl didn't spoke a word, but by her slightly tensing posture he concluded he was on the right track. Frisk wasn't expecting him to be so good- " i remember telling ya' that i wasn't expecting that kind of reaction of you, and you said that you neither. then i thought that you may be feeling guilty"
"being someone as calm and pacifist like you, you could be starting to regret it. but when i asked you, you said that you didn't"- Her muscles tensed more, the answer had to be there…just a little more-"you said you didn't regret it but… could it be…"- A sudden idea popped out in his head, if he knew the teen as much as he thought he did… he leaned a bit closer to her- "frisk… do you feel guilty because you don't regret slapping him?"
The girl remained silent, her face still hidden behind her tiny hands. Sans waited patiently for her response. A few seconds passed till Frisk nodded slowly. The skeleton sighed. He already knew what her answer would be right after he had finished his question.
"kiddo', there's no need to torture yourself with that"
"Yes it is"- She grumbled behind her hands.
" don't tell me that you are thinking you are a bad person because of that…"- The girl moaned slightly- "frisk"- Sans' voice was now serious- "frisk"- he called again. The girl moaned even more- "ok, that's it"
Sans grabbed Frisk's hands and tried to remove them from her face. Her moaning ascended to groans as she fought back to keep her hands in place. They kept tussling as the skeleton tried to uncover the girl's face and she struggled to keep it hidden.
"frisk c'mon!" -The tiny human had placed her arms in a position in which her elbows were pointing forwards and she shielded herself with them.
"Noooo" – She countered back.
With her eyes covered it was difficult to see where Sans was, but she was doing a great job so far. She had managed to free her hands from the skeleton's… but that didn't last long.
"welp, it was worth a shot, guess you like doing things it the hard way, huh? i'm sorry kiddo'"
Before she had time to react she heard the sound of snow crunching on her left and a second later Sans pushed her with enough strength to make her fall on the snow. She hadn't expected that he would make his move from the right, so she was taken completely off-guard. She suddenly realized that the crunching sound on her left had been just a trick to distract her from the real direction the" attack" would take. Sans grabbed her hands again, and by his position Frisk concluded that he had launched himself to throw her on the snow, which meant he had fallen down too. Taking advantage of this the girl kept struggling, using her legs and elbows to keep him away.
"frisk stop it!"
They kept wrestling and rolling on the snow, their clothing started to get wet and dirty, but they didn't seem to notice. It was difficult to say who was "winning". Sometimes Frisk curled up in a ball and it was very difficult for Sans to make her uncurl again, but other times the skeleton managed to grip Frisk's wrists and she had to use all her strength to keep them in place. After a couple of minutes the girl made a huge mistake, after making Sans lose his balance she had rolled on the snow… but as she couldn't see she accidentally hit the skeleton's ankles when she did so. Sans tripped and felled by her side.
He noticed Frisk hesitation as she tried to think of what to do now and understood that if he didn't hold her now, he would never will. With a quick movement he threw himself over the girl, using his own legs to keep hers still. That took the tiny human by surprise and she unconsciously loosened her hands for a moment… but that was enough to allow Sans to take her hands away from her face and secure them on the snow at both sides next to her head. Frisk struggled to get rid of him, but he was centring his weigh in his legs and arms on purpose. As he had his flexed legs over hers and his outstretched arms securing her hands there was nothing she could do to take him away. Refusing to lose their struggle like this, Frisk turned her face to her right, stubbornly avoiding to look at the skeleton's face. She stared intently at her right, where her hand was laying on the snow with Sans' hand holding it.
"i'm not going to let you think that you are a bad person"- Her friend stated seriously. The girl still refused to look at him. She heard how Sans took a deep breath- "frisk"
The tiny human felt a stabbing pain when he changed his tone of voice. He was pleading her to look at him. She tried to use all her strength not to turn around to face him.
"kiddo'"
Hearing her nickname being pronounced with such worry and caring concern made Frisk immediately turn to look at him, locking her eyes in his.
"i'm not letting you think that you are a bad person"- His voice was calm as he smiled soothingly at her, noticing that her eyes were filled with unshed tears.
"How can you say so?"- Her voice trembled and she looked away again.
"because i know it. i know you, and you're not a bad person"
"How can I know that you aren't saying that to make me feel better?" - She sniffed as a lonely tear started to roll down her cheek.
"frisk, look at me"- The girl sniffed again and shut her eyes closed- "friiiisk"- She hesitated and then slowly opened her eyes to stared into his eye-sockets again- "you're not a bad person"- By looking at his eyes Frisk always knew if he was lying to her, but he wasn't.
"B-but I slapped Nick! I hu-hurted him on purpose! That goes against my values! Y-you know that I have a-always hated violence! Th-then why? Why did I sl-slap him? Why d-did I use violence when I had n-never used it before?!"- She struggled to free her hands.
"no, i won't let you hide your face again, i need you to look at me. if you don't you'll think that i'm lying to you, i need you to listen to me and know that i'm telling you the truth"
Frisk struggles stopped, she knew that what he was saying was right, but… she was so scared of what he could tell her… Back on the Underground, before she could meet Asgore for the first time, she had entered a very luxurious and golden judgement hall. There she had found Sans, he had wanted to talk with her before she left. He told her many things, most of them were good. She loved helping others, being kind and friendly, and she could have sworn that she saw a tremendous relief tainting the skeleton's eyes as he had spoken with her.
But it was when he had explained her the acronyms that she felt a cold shiver run down her spine: "what's EXP? it's an acronym. it stands for "execution points." a way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others"…"when you have enough EXP, your LOVE increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym. it stands for "Level of Violence." a way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt". She had never done anything to make her LOVE increase, and she did never wanted to do something to change that... Now that she knew what the acronyms meant…it all made sense.
But at the same time, it was even more dreadful…she knew what could happen if someone raised their LOVE too much…and she feared it with every bit of her being. She had never used violence, with anybody, but now…
"thinking that your LOVE could have increased terrifies you, right?"- More tears rolled down her cheeks as she finally let her worries out.
"H-how did you know?"- Sans sighed again and smiled at her warmly.
" when i was telling you the meanings of the acronyms ya' got so pale that i thought that i had broken you, or you were going to kick the bucket"- A weak amused smile crossed Frisk's lips- "listen carefully to me, you have to do terrible things to increase your LOVE, slapping a yelling brat is nothing compared to it"- He felt how the girl took a deep breath and sighed in relief, closing her eyes as she did so.
"have you calmed down a bit now?"- She nodded slowly, half opening her eyes- "but i see that something is still bothering you, am i right?"- She nodded again- "vent your worries away kiddo', don't let them torture you anymore"
"It's…it's just… that I feel disappointed of myself…"- Tears started to shine in her eyes again.
"why do you say that?"
"I… I mean… I have always been calm, I have always been very patient… and I had always felt proud of being able to solve everything pacifically, it seemed that nobody seemed to be able to do so all the time… and I thought that I was different… I thought I was good at solving thing that way… that I would never want to solve things in other way than that, but…"
"everyone's patience has a limit"
"But I hurt him!"- She whined- "And if I could go back in time I would slap him again!"- Sans sighed patiently.
"look, let's change the situation a bit. imagine that you never slapped him…"
"But I did!"- The skeleton chuckled lightly.
" will you let me finish the idea?"- The girl stared at him for a few seconds, like she was considering it and finally nodded- "ok, as i was saying: imagine that you never slapped him, that you never lost your temper, that you just let him go on with his tantrum. he would have punched me, would you have been ok with that?"
"No…"
"that's what i thought"
"B-but maybe he would have listened if I had told him to stop!"- Sans raised his non-existent eyebrows at her- "I know, he wouldn't have listened"- She admitted with defeat.
"let's think of another possibility, imagine that instead of you, i had been the one who lost his temper. you said that you thought i was going to beat the crap out of him because he deserved it, and oh god he did.
"but as you may imagine if i had been the one who took action it would have been way more than sweet slap on the face, he did even made my brother feel bad, and you know what that means right?"- She nodded slowly- "would you have considered me a bad person if i had made him shut the fuck up?"
"Of course not!"- She exclaimed scandalized.
"then why do you consider yourself a bad person if you slap him, but you don't consider me a bad person if i make him have to remove bones of his rear till christmas eve?"- The girl squirmed and frowned at the idea.
"B- but it's different!"
"why?"
"Because he was saying a lot of horrible lies about monsters!"
" the same monsters you said you consider your family, yes"
"He messed up with Papyrus!"
"someone who your care deeply about, and consider too pure for this word"
" And then he started pushing you and saying he wanted you to die!"
"well, i'm your sans after all, right?"- His smile widened slightly as he winked teasingly at her.
Like he was expecting, Frisk's cheeks burned red as she started struggling again. The skeleton laughed amused at her reaction, which made it more difficult for him to keep the girl still. There was no place to hide her deep blushing, and having Sans' chuckling face just a few inches away from hers wasn't helping very much.
"I was pissed!"- She said, trying to excuse herself.
"oh really? i didn't notice"- An amused smile curled Frisk's lips at his comment- "listen kiddo', what i want you to notice is that you tend to be very strict with yourself, but when it comes to others you aren't that severe. frisk look at me"- The girl slightly turned her face to look at him sideways.
"you don't have to be perfect all the time. everybody makes mistakes, or acts in ways they wouldn't like to, and that doesn't mean they are bad or that their LOVE increases. it means they are living beings. that they do their best, but they don't succeed at everything they do all the time, and they learn from that. and that's perfectly fine! that's something normal, something necessary to make you understand things better, to help you to define and improve your character! that's why you don't have to be so hard with yourself all the time, just let yourself be… i know you'll do very well"
Frisk had listened to him very carefully, thoughtfully considering what he was saying, but it had been with his last words that her eyes finally recovered their shining determination. The girl smiled at Sans with deep endearment.
"Thank you… I really needed that…"
"yeah, i noticed kiddo', but you are a bit stubborn aren't ya?"- The girl giggled and a subtle blush tainted her cheeks as she remembered how much Sans had to struggle to speak with her- "well… now that i got to know that i'm your skeleton boyfriend i think it's the least i can do, right?"- Sans gave her a meaningful smile as he winked at her again.
""Th- that's not what I was referring to!"- A deep blush tinted her cheeks madly- "I mean… you-you are a boy, right? And you are my-my friend too! "- She noticed that Sans was trying to hold back his laughter, but he was failing terribly.
"you truly are prudish, aren't ya?"-The skeleton was now openly laughing. Frisk puffed her cheeks slightly and decided to return him the favour.
"You know that I wasn't intending that! But…on the other side… I guess I couldn't say the same about you…"- The skeleton's laughter stopped a little as he looked questioningly at her- "I dunno' what do you think?"
Frisk slowly viewed his frame from head to toes, making him conscious of his actual position. She then slowly raised her gaze again till she reached his face. The skeleton's eyes had widened at the implication and his cheeks were blushing like never before. Frisk stared deeply in his eye-sockets as she questioningly raised an eyebrow and to finish, she gave him one of her most mischievous smiles. The light-blue in Sans' cheekbones intensified even more as he stumbled to let her go. Frisk burst laughing with all her strength.
"Look at who is prudish now!"
"th-that's not fair!"- Sans desperately fought back the burning feeling of his cheeks. But just made the girl laugh even harder- "y-you knew that you didn't left m-me other choice! you d-didn't want to listen! by the way, y-you were the o-one who said that r-really needed t-to talk about that!"
"Oh my! I had never herd you stammer like that before!"- Frisk was still crackling with laughter as she gave him one of her "Aaaaaaaaaaww so cute!" looks.
"y-you were the one who gave me t-that perverted smile!"- Sans accused her. The girl held her belly because of the laughter at his words.
"You were the one who was making me blush on purpose! You asked for it!"- She managed to answer between laughers.
"you did it on purpose!"- He sounded betrayed- "ok, i guess i won't help ya' anymore"- He stood up feigning offence, but before he could start to walk away Frisk, that was still sitting on the snow, embraced his leg tightly like a little child as she shook her head at him and kept laughing.
Sans understood that what she was trying to say was that she did want his help, but she was laughing so much that she couldn't even speak. He let himself drop in defeat by her side, laying his back on a tree meanwhile Frisk laid chuckling on the snow. He sighed and waited patiently for her to stop laughing, but that was surely taking its time. When her laughter decreased to giggles he finally asked:
"have you finished with that?"- But that only made her laugh again and he had to wait even more. When she calmed down again he decided to try again: "have you…?"
"Don't!"- Frisk hurried to stop him as she giggled a bit- "Or you'll make me laugh again"
"ok, if you say so"
The girl took a deep breath, an amused smile still curling her lips. She sat down next to Sans and smiled sweetly at him.
"Sans?"
"are you gonna' prank me again kiddo'?"- He smiled amused at Frisk, he wouldn't be a good joker if he didn't got pranked from time to time…but the girl had took him completely off-guard with that one.
"Noo"- She giggled slightly.
"ok, then i'm all ears"- The girl chuckled again.
"I wanted to thank you, Sans"- She gently placed her hand over his- "Thank you for figuring out what was happening to me; for managing to make me listen, which is not easy at all; for talking to me so patiently… for telling me all those beautiful things…for being so prudish…"- The skeleton pushed her lightly at that comment- "Haha, sorry I couldn't help it…but seriously… I…t-thank you…"
"there's nothing to thank me, kiddo'"- He gently squeezed her hand- "you deserve that, and much more"
Frisk gently leaned by his side and hugged him; the skeleton hugged her back softly. They remained like that for a few seconds, without speaking. But then a sudden idea popped out in Sans' head.
"frisk…?"
"Mhhh?"
"where were tori and asgore when you nicely decorated nick's face with a beautiful red?"- She giggled slightly at the way he said it.
"They were outside; I saw them leaving the party a few minutes before"
"where do you think they went?"
"I don't know… I hope they had gone to a very beautiful and romantic place!"- Her eyes shone with enthusiasm- "Oh"-The shine disappeared when she suddenly realized…
"what is it?"
"Oooooohh"- She moaned as she sprawled on the snow- "That means that they didn't see what happened and by the time I arrive home mum will have had listened to hundreds of versions of what had happened at the party!"
"c'mon, that can't be so bad. you just slapped him because he was a stupid"- Frisk gave him a dreadful stare- "welp…it looks like it can be very bad"
"Everybody would tell her lots of exaggerated versions and she will get extremely worried! I'll have to tell her what truly happened as soon as I can… and she won't be happy to know that I slapped him either way…and that I cursed him…many times…maaany maaany times…"
"don't worry frisk, i'm sure she'll understand, and i don't think that they would tell her thaaat exaggerated versions of what happened"
"Sans"- She looked deadpanned at her friend- "When I have finally arrived home mum would be thinking that I flew over Nick and blasted a car with my laser vision"
"i see…do you have one of those?"
"Of what?"
"laser vision"
"Of course I don't! I was being sarcastic!"- She said standing up.
"ok,ok chill kiddo'"- He chuckled as he stood up too- "i was just curious"- The girl friendly bumped his shoulder after hearing her own words being repeated by the skeleton.
" Now that we are here…"- Frisk looked thoughtfully at their surroundings- "I would like to show you something"
"to me?"- Sans sounded surprised.
"No, to your grandma. Of course I want to show it to you, lazybones!"- He laughed heartily- "Now… let's see if there's a way to get there without dirtying our…"
At her silence the skeleton turned to look at her, to see that she was looking down horrified at her stained clothing. He looked down at his own clothing to see that they weren't much cleaner than hers. After struggling and lying on the snow they had got covered with dirt, snow and little fallen twigs. He didn't care much about dirtying his clothes, and he knew that Frisk neither, but then he finally noticed why she looked so helpless. Her stripped sweater had managed to keep the upper part of her dress mostly clean, but the skirt… it gave the word "dirty" a new meaning.
"Oooohh crap… Mettaton is going to torture me with hours of dramatic poses after this…"
Hello my darlings! I knew that many of you wanted Nick to get beaten up… but I felt that someone like him would suffer even more if what he got beaten up was his ego… furthermore our tiny human is more of the pacifist kind…right?
Special thanks to bluerainst0rm! We were talking by PM when she mentioned the "SansXFrisk ship sailing across the ocean, over the horizon and to their own oasis", and there was no way I couldn't include that in this story!
Updating soon!
