Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

Iterations

Together

Sans was sure she was peeking out of his pockets as they walked through the tunnels of the Outskirts. Waves of distress not his own poured through him and she was practically vibrating. He could feel sweat bead on the top of his skull as he lifted the barrel of water under his left arm into the air with his magic. Between the fight earlier and transporting all three of them and the supplies simultaneously he had very little magic to draw upon. Left hand now free, he reached into his pocket and stoked the trembling soul with a thumb. She pressed herself firmly against his palm. Beside him, Papyrus looked down at him in concern. Unlike humans, monsters could feel the each other's magic while in close proximity. He had obviously felt his magic waver. He grinned up at his brother gratefully as he felt familiar magic wrap around the barrel. He loosened his grip and let his brother carry it for him. Papyrus smiled back proudly. He kept his hand wrapped around Frisk. After a quick stop at the tunnels where Waterfall's former residents clustered to drop off the water, they went directly home. Sans slipped in first, Papyrus directly behind.

"WELCOME HOME FRISK!" Sans immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, glancing at curtain that served as their door worriedly.

Papyrus was contrite. His whisper-yell was muffled beneath Sans' hand. "SORRY."

When nobody came to knock questioningly on their wall, he relaxed, uncovering his brother's mouth. "'s alright. just be careful, okay?"

"OKAY."

Careful extracting Frisk from his pocket, he pushed her into Papyrus' hands. "i need you to watch after the kid for a bit. i gotta go update undyne." While he trusted his brother, he hoped to limit Papyrus' interaction with Undyne, not wanting to risk him letting anything slip.

His brother eagerly agreed, happy to spend quality time with his new friend.

San experimentally reached out for his magic, wincing as it tugged painfully on his soul. It looked like he would have to walk there. He walked through the tunnels, head angled carefully down to avoid conversation. Since they had all learned he was the only one who could get supplies, he had been inundated with pleas for help. He ignored the guilt that rose as he tugged his arm out of the grasp of a monster who undoubtedly needed assistance. It was important that he got to Undyne soon. Before he reached Alphys' tent, the only place he knew Undyne frequented, he had actually been forced to run from a crowd of begging monsters. It was a cold reminder of why he preferred his shortcuts, especially nowadays. He called out the scientist's name, a verbal knock since, like almost all other homes now, she had no door, before ducking in.

Both Alphys and Undyne were there. "Sans!" They exclaimed in unison.

Undyne continued. "Where's Papyrus?"

"he's fine. a little wobbly since it was his first time teleporting. i thought it best to let him rest at home."

He appreciated the relief that flooded both girls' eyes. "either way, i was able to bring twice as much water as usual with his help. we already delivered it to the water monsters."

"Great work! You can tell Papyrus that too," She said with a wide smile. Then her grin turned slightly malicious. "I'll let him off for a bit since he's not at his best but let him know that once he's feeling better I'm going to noogie him for disobeying me!"

He chuckled. "will do. i'm gonna hit the hay now."

She straightened and nodded. "You deserve it."

He wondered when she had started speaking to him like one of her soldiers. Waving lazily towards Alphys he stepped out. He booked it home. He took a moment to catch his breath before he stepped in.

Papyrus was fast asleep. Frisk, on the other hand, could not be seen as she hovered over him with a blanket covering her. She shot upward, the blanket following her movement, before dodging out from underneath it. It landed directly on top of the slumbering skeleton. He watched as her soul landed, tucking him in carefully. As a tiny floating heart the action took a long time, but in the end she had him wrapped up in her signature burrito style. She had not noticed him yet. She went on to tidy up the rest of their small home. She nudged condiments into order by color in that overly-organized way she had. She wiggled beneath action figures to push them up straight before aligning them neatly. Sans decided to interfere as she attempted to fold the clean pile of clothes in the corner. He honestly could not see how she could do it without magic or limbs of any sort.

He reached into the sweatpants she had been swallowed by and pulled her out, feeling her surprise. He winked and smiled cheekily. "hey kid. trying to get into my pants?"

Her soul grew warm and he could imagine the blush she would have on her face. A wave of embarrassed chastisement hit him as she struggled out of his hand. He tucked his hand back into his pocket, grin widening. It was just as satisfying embarrassing disembodied soul Frisk as right proper human Frisk. Her soul twirled around, the equivalent of shaking her head to dispel humiliation. A single pulse of tentative questioning was enough to shift the subject to more serious topics. He sat heavily on the floor and held out his palm. She settled down onto it. He brought her close to his face. Even as a soul she radiated warmth.

Eye-socket to floating red heart, he asked softly. "how you holding up, kid?"

A strong throb went through him, determination in its purest form.

"glad to hear it."

Her soul nodded towards the curtain out of their home. A wave of worry.

"heh, yeah. the outskirts aren't too pretty. but we're all holding up okay."

Her glow seemed to dim and she grew heavier in his hand.

He tapped her with a finger. "what's wrong?"

A thickness in the air around him. An apology.

"what do you got to be sorry about? i felt you wake up remember? you can't help if you aren't around."

She grew heavier in his hand. A stinging in his eye-sockets that felt like tears.

"what? the resets? we both know you can't just force them like that thing out there does. we'll be able to eventually."

The weight on his palm lessened.

"besides, with my memories being incomplete each time around, we gotta take each iteration as far as we can."

She seemed to be feeling better.

He patted her affectionately.

She used her whole soul to nod. A second later the heart swelled slightly in his hand before returning back to normal.

He blinked in surprise. "did you just... yawn?"

She settled even deeper into his hand in response.

"yeah, i'm tuckered out too. bed?"

The soul began glowing and fading alternately. She was already asleep. He shuffled over to the nest of blankets, settling in next to his brother. He pulled off his hoodie, folding it into a second, smaller blanket nest. He fit Frisk into it carefully. Then, he snuggled into the blankets himself and went to sleep.

A/N: Aww. They're a family again. It feels oh so good having them all settled in together again, even if Frisk can't talk normally right now. I like to think that Frisk would be just as determined to help as a soul than as a human being. Soul Frisk is so cute to me.

Thanks for reading.

KEAlvarez and anyone else interested in the fanart I've gotten. I've recently made a tumblr under the same name as here. I also got some in the comments of ao3 (archiveofourown) which I also post this story on. It also uses the same pen name as here. If you have trouble finding them, please pm me.

Until next time friendlies,

Dfsemina