Sans patiently let Papyrus fuss over him as he was settled on his bed, a nest of pillows piled around him. "i'm telling you, papyrus, it's fine. i'm fine."
"BUT ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE READY TO TALK TO FIERI AND THE OTHERS? YOU CAN TAKE TIME TO REST, YOU MUST BE TIRED."
"is the world ending? my bro advocating laziness!"
Papyrus huffed and planted his fists on his hips as he glared down at Sans.
"i'm fine, papyrus. i'm all rested, got plenty of sleep in the eternal flame. actually, it was the best night's sleep i've had since… since… uh… since i can remember, honestly. that stone bowl thing is surprisingly comfy."
"THAT'S… GOOD?"
"yeah, so between a good night's sleep, breakfast, and your pampering i'm feeling pretty good. and i figure the sooner we get this over with the better."
"ALRIGHT, IF YOU'RE SURE… I'LL JUST GO GET THEM, THEN." Papyrus hesitate, half turned for the door.
"you'll stick around though, right? for moral support?"
Papyrus looked around the room skeptically. "WILL THERE BE ENOUGH ROOM FOR ALL OF US IN HERE?"
"sure, you can sit up here with me, and they can fight over the chair. whoever is left standing can just… stand around."
Papyrus gave the room one more look over, then nodded before leaning down to give one of the pillows one last fluff. "ALRIGHT, I'LL BE BACK SHORTLY WITH THE OTHERS."
"i'll be here." Sans gave a little wave as Papyrus left the room. He stretched, then winced. Pretty good was a pretty relative state of being, every joint in and around his pelvis ached, his lumbar spine too. The bed wasn't helping matters, it had no support at all. He shifted, rolling from his back to his side to his back again. Nothing helped. Sans sighed wearily, then rolled off the bed and moved to sit in the armchair by the fire. He sighed as he eased into it. It was firmer than the bed despite being overstuffed, enough that he didn't constantly feel like he was sinking further and further into a bottomless pit.
He fidgeted a bit to find the most comfortable position, then let himself relax. Without thinking about it one hand ended up resting over his belly, once Sans realized what he was doing he just stared down at the hand against the bright yellow sash tied snugly (but not too snugly) around his middle. He still felt a bit overwhelmed and shocked and maybe a bit weird about this whole thing. Is weird the right word? He's pretty sure it's the word you use for something you're not used to, and the kids were less than a day old. All three of them.
Sans pressed his palms against his brows. Don't think about it, not yet. He would see GrillbyFiersome again and talk about it with him. He just had to wait for tonight.
Right?
Oh god, what if he doesn't see FiersomeGrillby for another moth again?
The door swung open, pulling Sans out of his spiraling thoughts. Papyrus stood in the entrance, staring down at the now empty bed. Sans sighed in relief and waved, "hey bro, over here."
"OH, THERE YOU ARE. WHY AREN'T YOU IN BED?" He left the very obvious "WHERE I LEFT YOU" implied, though he did come over to start fussing again.
Sans shrugged, "it's pretty uncomfortable. too soft."
"IS THAT WHY YOU KEEP ENDING UP NAPPING IN WEIRD PLACES?"
"yeah, usually."
There was an annoyed huff from behind Papyrus.
"why don't you take a seat, though? we gotta get this cart rolling."
Papyrus moved over to the bed and gingerly sat down, sinking into it. Fieri came into the room, the other four head priests crowding in behind him. Without preamble Bonnie sat herself next to Papyrus on the bed, Terry claimed the chest at the foot of it for his own seat, leaving Fieri, Geoli, and Ignis to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room.
"so, i expect you got a lot of questions."
"Yes," Fieri said curtly, then moved to stand with his back to the fireplace, his hands clasped behind him, shoulders back, head held high. "Mostly we just want to confirm what happened, several people said you were asleep in the Eternal Flame this morning?"
"yeah, that uh… that sure happened."
"And you're pregnant?" Ignis blurted out.
"yeah, triplets according to uh…" Sans turned to Papyrus, "what was the midwife's name again?"
"SPOOKINS. THEY SAID THEY'D BE BACK LATER TO GIVE YOU INSTRUCTIONS."
"right, right, so you'll have to talk to them whenever they show back up."
"That wasn't what we were supposed to talk about next," Fieri said with a scowl sent Ignis's way before turning it back on Sans. "You were supposed to stand watch until sunrise."
"fiersome had other ideas."
The priests all perked up from their various places around the room. "So you did talk with Lord Fiersome?" Geoli asked in awe.
"uh… yeah? where did you think the kids came from?" Sans looked around at the other priests with a raised brow.
"That was supposed to be one of the things we talked about later, but apparently we're going completely out of order." Fieri huffed, a puff of smoke escaping his mouth.
"you guys don't think they're fiersome's." Sans slumped in his chair.
"We just need to be sure, hun," Bonnie offered apologetically.
"alright, what kind of proof do you want?" Sans had no idea where to even start.
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS! YOU WOULD THINK THE FACT HE DEFINITELY WASN'T PREGNANT YESTERDAY WOULD BE PROOF ENOUGH, BUT THEY'RE TRIPLETS FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! TRIPLETS DON'T JUST HAPPEN." Papyrus crossed his arms and pouted at the priests.
"He is right about Sans not being pregnant yesterday, or at least he couldn't have known yesterday," Geoli said, their words muffled as they looked down where they were fiddling with the knot of their sash.
"What do you mean?"
"Skeletons are a type of earth elemental, right?"
"we are?"
"ARE WE REALLY?"
"You're made of calcium," Geoli said slowly, like they were talking to someone particularly thick headed, "a kind of mineral, riiiiiiiiight?"
Sans and Papyrus both looked at each other, Sans shrugged. "sure, sounds about right."
"The way a lot of earth elementals work is having a cavity where most monsters have just soft, squishy flesh." As they spoke, Geoli's robe came off to show a tunic and trousers underneath. They held out their robe to Ignis, "Be a dear and hold this for a minute please, thank you." Now with their hands free, they lifted their tunic to show off their body, smooth stone skin interrupted by an emptiness where it looked like part of their body had been carved away, leaving a smooth, curving column for their back. The hole started right below where their ribs would be, widened to eat away their sides, then closed up again right around where their trousers started. They waved a hand in the empty space, "See? Nothing there. Usually we can generate a weak field of magic to keep clothes out, it's kind of uncomfortable to have something inside your personal space even if it can fit."
"And Sans spent all yesterday with his robes tied up in there!"
"ugh, did I ever."
"Right," Geoli agreed cheerfully. They held their sash against the empty space, showing off it taking the form of a body that wasn't there. "This field can be relaxed and allow foreign things in," Geoli did just that, pulling the sash tight against their spine equivalent. "But when the space is occupied by someone, or in this case a few someones, it's not just a weak field anymore, but a durable construct of magic. If it were to be released like this the babies would die."
Sans winced, that wasn't something he wanted to even consider.
"So what did you mean by he couldn't have known?" Fieri crossed his arms and shifted his weight.
"The construct manifesting is the first sign of pregnancy. There might be a way to confirm before then, but if so Pa didn't tell us when he gave us The Talk." Geoli removed their sash and let their tunic fall back in place, then started redressing.
"Well, this has certainly been informative," Terry said cheerfully. "So I think it's time we moved on the. What do you think, Fieri?"
"Yes, please, we seem to have gotten way off track." He firmed his stance back up. "Now then, what haven't we covered yet? Ah yes, what exactly did you and Lord Fiersome discuss?"
"in all honesty, noooooooot a lot of talking last night."
The room burst into various snorts, giggles, and guffaws. Papyrus was laughing while also looking very guilty, probably for laughing. Sans grinned widely, even if there was a faint flush to his face.
Fieri's face was buried firmly in his hand, giving out a long, low, pained groan.
"Did you manage to talk to him at all?" Ignis eventually asked, barely holding back her laughter.
"of course."
There was a moment of expectant silence.
"Are you going to tell us?" Geoli prompted.
"nope."
"What? Why not?!" Fieri sounded as if her were at his wit's end.
"because it was all private stuff." Sans cocked an eyebrow at them. Honestly, he wasn't sure if FiersomeGrillby wanted him to share the fact he had a mortal disguise. They really hadn't talked about anything else either, it had been a long day and Sans had fallen asleep well before the sun rose. "you know, married stuff."
Geoli and Terry were both nodding along to that, Bonnie was smirking.
"So you would consider this a legitimate marriage?" Ignis asked with a smile.
"yeah, of course. i thought you guys did too?"
"Considering how reluctant you were, this is a complete turn around in attitude." Fieri narrowed his eyes at Sans, head cocked at an odd angle.
"well like i said, fiersome and i did talk a little and he changed my mind. no harm in changing your mind."
Papyrus was nodding along, a hand over his teeth though Sans could still see the wide smile behind it. Bonnie was eyeing him from her place next to him.
"Well, I think that about covered everything we wanted to ask," Ignis said cheerfully.
"Oh!" Terry's ears perked up, his tail started to gently swish back and forth. "That means it's my turn?" Terry looked around, getting nods form the other priests. Fieri made a "go on" motion. "Right! So while we were speaking earlier we discussed the significance not just of a union between a mortal and a god, but also the significance of the timing. This coming winter will mark the twentieth anniversary of the war ending."
Sans slumped down into the chair again, his good mood, both from being believed and from how sour Fieri was becoming, vanished with Terry's words.
"Isn't it exciting?" Ignis asked, her flames flickering wildly. "Lord Fiersome chose now of all times to revive a forgotten tradition, and on top of that shortly after the actual anniversary of the end of the war the first demigods in modern times will be born."
"If they're anything like twins they'll probably be born a bit early," Bonnie commented. "My sister had a set of twins, she said the midwife said twins always come early."
"Oh!" Ignis exclaimed. "How early? Do you think triplets come as early as twins? Earlier? Wouldn't it be amazing if they were born right on the anniversary?"
Sans leaned to one side of the chair, resting his head on a hand. The rest of Ignis's chatter and the others' responses faded into background noise. If he listened to any more he might get a headache, or scream at them. Probably both.
"I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH, YOU ASKED ALL YOUR QUESTIONS AND SAID EVERYTHING YOU HAD TO SAY. SOMEONE IN SANS'S CONDITION NEEDS REST, SO LET'S LEAVE HIM BE FOR A LITTLE WHILE."
Sans looked up to see Papyrus had stood and was shooing everyone out of the room. Ignis and Geoli, being next to the door, were the first to leave. Fieri followed suit, already saying something to the others about needing to scour the texts they had available again. Terry got up from the chest and came over, taking one of Sans's hands in his own.
"Don't worry, no matter what happens you and your children will be well cared for."
"thanks, that does actually help."
"Of course, a lot is happening all at once! Hopefully tonight you can speak with Lord Fiersome and lay all your worries to rest."
"heh, that obvious?"
Terry gave his hand a gentle squeeze, then paused. "Oh, you're not wearing gloves."
"nah, they uh… they got burned up with everything else last night."
"I don't think I've ever seen you without gloves on," Terry turned the hand in his grip. "Do both your hands have holes? Have they always been there?" He held up Sans's hand, showing off the hollow formed from the four bones making his hand connecting. It was shaped a bit like a four pointed star.
"yeah, papyrus has them too." Sans held up his other hand to show off the hole. "we make that field thing to keep clothes out, but sometimes small things just fall through. it's why we wear gloves, mostly." He hadn't been lying when he said bone didn't have much grip either, gloves just helped them do everything.
"YES, LUNCH WOULD BE VERY NICE, THANK YOU," Papyrus said as Bonnie walked out the door.
"Goodness," she said in reply, "it's only just past noon, what a busy morning we've had."
"VERY BUSY," Papyrus agreed. "A VERY BUSY, EXCITING, TIRING MORNING."
"It was a pleasure to speak with you," Terry added, giving Sans's hand a final squeeze. "I'll leave you be for now, rest well."
"sure, see you tomorrow."
"We should check the archives for the births of other demigods, see about the importance of notable dates…" Terry's voice trailed off as he nodded to Papyrus and he left.
The door clicked shut, the room finally blessedly quiet. Sans slumped somehow further into the chair, staring listlessly at his lap. There was the clink of Papyrus's armor, the shift of fabric, a soft footstep over the thick rug, then there was a skeletal hand caressing the crown of his skull.
"SANS, ARE YOU FEELING UNWELL? SHOULD I SEND FOR A DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE?"
Sans reached for Papyrus and pulled him into a hug. "grill- fiersome's not like that! he said he loves me and wanted to court me and couldn't and… and just… my kids aren't just some symbolic gesture thing!"
"NO, NO, OF COURSE NOT. I'M SURE HE LOVES THEM JUST AS MUCH AS YOU DO." He settled himself further into the hug, arms wrapped around Sans's back as he murmured comforting things and Sans slowly breathed his anxiety out.
AN: I mentioned earlier I'm working off the four classical Greek elements: earth, fire, wind, and water. What I didn't have a chance to talk about earlier is the divide between humans and monsters, and also the specifics of how exactly the four elements actually work in my setting. All physical creatures work off the elements the way they were intended: all four need to be present for a living creature to… well… live! Fish might be more water than a lizard or a bird, but they still have all four elements within them. Humans too: we breath (air), are warm to the touch (fire), need water (water), and the whole ashes to ashes dust to dust thing (earth). Thus those that put in the time and effort to study magic can use all four kinds of magic, though not as easily or as strongly as monsters can.
Monsters, on the other hand, can be any combination and any number of the elements. They can have all four or just be made of solely one, Grillby is a great example of just being all one element (unless he has an onyx or magma core under his flames we don't know about, fully possible but not in this story). But more importantly: the way I'm using the four elements here is not literally earth, fire, etc… but rather they represent the four (common) states of matter (I'm not dealing with plasma, no fifth element for me kthx). So while calcium is a mineral, the boys are actually classed under earth elemental because their bones are solid matter. So really it goes earth-solid, water-liquid, air-gas, and fire-energy. I could ramble on but I'm running out of room.
So the way I see it, earth elementals come in three categories: statuesque (one solid piece that moves through magic, think weeping angels), BJD (the joints don't have to be ball, but any combo of larger pieces that fit together to make a whole), and swarm (lots of tiny pieces, like sand). So long as the piece(s) are solid, it doesn't matter how they fit together, it's an earth elemental. So the boys are BJD with statuesque faces. But then you get some interesting overlap, like an elemental made of mud when one parent is an earth elemental and the other is a water elemental. Is Tsunderplane the result of an earth and air elemental having a child? Or is she a ghost possessing one of those really big RC airplanes? How about a living suit of armor? Ah! It's so fun to think about.