[[ Alrighty, next installment! This takes place a few months after the last chapter, and we're gonna start getting into some more plot. Hopefully. Let's keep our fingers crossed just in case. Hope you all enjoy! ]]
It all started with the knock of a door.
Lena was in the kitchen making dinner when she heard it, hastily moving the pan of frying bacon to a cool burner and shutting off the stove. (She never left anything unattended, too fearful of it burning.) "Coming!" she called, hearing what sounded like an impatient foot tapping from the other side. As soon as she got to the door and managed to get it open she looked out...but saw no one.
"Yo!" She startled gently, directing her eyes further downward and seeing Monster Kid jogging in place. 'That would explain the tapping noise...' Smiling, she knelt down a bit to be at eye-level with him. He looked a little strange, holding an envelope in his mouth.
"Hello, MK. How're you doing-" He made gentle urging noises and thrust his chin upward, pressing the envelope forward. Raising a brow, she slowly and carefully took it from him, and he sent her a pointy-toothed grin.
"Thanks! Hard to talk with that thing in my mouth, heheh!" Nodding his head toward the envelope now in her hands, he continued. "That's for you. Someone asked me to give it to you."
"Oh, well, thank-" Her apology was cut off as a group of monster children began shouting for Monster Kid from a ways off, and he ran for the stairs, pausing just at the top to turn back to glance at her.
"Later!" Then he was gone, running with such speeds down the steps that she briefly worried that he would fall down them. The child did seem to lose his balance frequently enough... She breathed a small sigh of relief when he got to the bottom safely, and she stood and closed the door, turning back toward the kitchen with the envelope still in hand. It was incredibly light, without much thickness, and the envelope had small spots of saliva where Monster Kid's fangs had held onto it. She thought it strange that it wasn't addressed in any way, not even with just an informal of her 'nickname'.
"HUMAN, I HAVE RETURNED FROM WORK!" Papyrus burst in through the front door with his usual energy, and Lena was so focused on the object in her hand that she only jumped a little bit, turning to him with a smile.
"Welcome home, Pappy!" She padded back into the kitchen and set the envelope on the counter so she could resume cooking. The tall skeleton followed after her just as she pulled the frying pan back onto the still hot burner. "I hope you don't mind breakfast for dinner."
"WORRY NOT, HUMAN, I AM NOT ONE WHO IS OVERLY SENSITIVE TO HAVING BREAKFAST AT THE WRONG TIME!" he said reassuringly, causing her to snort.
"There's never a wrong time for breakfast." Long, bony arms wrapped around her shoulders tightly in a brief hug before pulling away again, not wanting to get in the way of her cooking. "How was work today?"
"IT WAS GREAT! MUFFET HAD ME PASS OUT SAMPLES TO PEOPLE ON THE SIDEWALK, AND A HUMAN CHILD RAN UP AND HUGGED ME!" He seemed so genuinely thrilled that she couldn't help but smile wider, humming slightly to let him know she was listening. "YES! THEY WERE VERY TINY, AND THEIR MOTHER CAME UP AND APOLOGIZED TO ME, BUT I TOLD HER IT WAS NO TROUBLE! AFTER ALL, WHO COULD POSSIBLY REFUSE THE DESIRE TO HUG A GREAT AND POWERFUL SKELETON SUCH AS MYSELF?" He struck a small pose, his scarf billowing slightly behind him as though there were a breeze, even though he was indoors.
"That's awesome! I bet Sans will be happy to hear about that once he gets home."
"THAT REMINDS ME, WHERE ON EARTH IS THAT LAZYBONES? HE IS NOT USUALLY HOME SO LATE..." Papyrus raised a gloved hand to tap at his chin thoughtfully. Seeing that the bacon was done, he jumped to grab a plate, covering it with paper towels before holding it out for Lena to deposit the meat onto. She said a quick thank you and turned the heat down for the burner, stepping over to pull the eggs out of the fridge.
"He's helping to cover a co-worker's shift. He should be home here any minute, though," she said, pausing as she glanced at the clock to double check. The eggs were cracked into the pan, and the sound of the eggs sizzling away in the bacon grease filled the room. "Hey, Pappy, could you get the toaster down for me and make some toast? I'm gonna go wash up real quick."
"BUT OF COURSE!" He reached easily into one of the tallest cabinets and pulled down the device he sought after, to which she only gave a small huff of envy. (If she were to have gotten it down, it would have involved climbing onto the counter. She cursed her shortness.)
The two of them chatted idly while they finished making dinner, and once everything was done, the food was divided up evenly onto three plates. She cast a slightly worried glance toward the front door. Sans still wasn't home yet, and he hadn't responded to her text message, either... 'Don't assume the worst.'
"PERHAPS HE IS STOPPING TO GET US CINNAMON BUNNIES TO MAKE UP FOR BEING LATE?" As if he'd read her mind, Papyrus reached over and placed a large, gloved hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile that she couldn't help but return.
"Mmm, let's hope! Cinnamon bunnies would be the only way to make this better."
"WHAT ABOUT SPAGHETTI?"
She chuckled, "Or spaghetti." She walked into the dining room with two plates while Papyrus followed after her with the third, and she couldn't help but glance at the door again. Try as she might, she just couldn't keep her mind off of it. "Should we go ahead and eat while it's still hot...?" she asked, glancing down at the plates on the dining room table.
"NYEH, I SUPPOSE. SANS WILL BE AWFULLY SORRY THAT HE MISSED OUT!"
"Missed out on what?" Lena was thankful that the taller skeleton had put the plate down beforehand, otherwise the food would have been tossed off with how badly he jumped. He turned with a small glare, hands on his bony hips as he stared down at his brother who appeared supposedly out of nowhere.
"SANS! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I ASK YOU NOT TO DO THAT? YOU STARTLED ME!" He stopped his foot childishly, and the human momentarily felt bad for those who lived in the apartment beneath hers. "AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!"
"Sorry bro, work kept me held up," the shorter skeleton said with a shrug, stepping around his brother to slide an arm around Lena's waist, pulling her in for a hug. "Hey, babe." She relaxed visibly and allowed her arms to drape around his neck, leaning down to rest her forehead against the top of his skull. "Sorry for worryin' ya." She shook her head and pressed a kiss to his skull, pulling away with a smile.
"Welcome home. We made breakfast!" He raised a browbone, no doubt preparing for a pun, but she shushed him and pushed him into a chair. He chuckled and gave another shrug of his shoulders, and the three of them sat down to eat. "Soooo..." she paused, taking a bite of bacon and swallowing. "How was work?" Papyrus quickly downed one of his eggs and set his hands on the table top, gloves muffling the impact to a dull 'thunk'.
"I GOT A HUG FROM A TINY HUMAN TODAY!" She had already heard the story, but Lena couldn't help but smile at the way Papyrus' face brightened at the memory. Sans raised a browbone curiously and paused in his eating, giving a simple 'oh yeah?' before continuing. "YES! THEY SAID THAT I LOOKED VERY COOL, AND EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE MERELY STATING THE OBVIOUS, IT WAS QUITE FLATTERING THAT THEY WANTED A HUG FROM ME! THEIR MOTHER WAS VERY APOLOGETIC, BUT I REASSURED HER THAT IT WAS QUITE ALRIGHT!" Sans' grin looked a bit relieved at that.
"That's cool, bro. See, even strangers can tell how awesome you are."
"NYEH-HEH-HEH! IT IS TRUE! HUMAN, HOW WAS YOUR DAY? HAS VEN BEEN ANY BETTER?" She hummed thoughtfully, pausing mid-chew to try and think back.
"Well...he didn't hiss at me when I handed out papers today, and he hasn't called me any insults lately." Sans gave a small unamused snort, which the taller skeleton shot a look toward before turning back to the human with a bright smile.
"THAT IS WONDERFUL! NO DOUBT YOUR FRIENDLINESS AND KINDNESS IS WORKING! I AM SURE YOU WILL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS IN NO TIME!" She laughed and, try as she might, she couldn't even be sarcastic in her mind. How could she possibly doubt it when Papyrus believed in her so much?
They ate in a comfortable silence, only broken every so often by a comment or story from Papyrus or a joke from Sans (and, immediately following, a groan of protest from his brother). Once their plates were all cleaned, Lena stood and quickly gathered the dishes, stacking the plates together. She was just about to carry them into the kitchen when gloved hands shot in, far quicker than her own, and Papyrus held them up with a small "nyeh". She reached for them, only for them to be held over her head, just out of reach, and Papyrus giggled as the human's cheeks puffed out and her face flushed pink. Despite her protests that she wanted to do the dishes, the skeleton was hearing none of it, and she was left standing in the dining room watching Papyrus' scarf disappear around the corner.
"Told ya he wouldn't let ya do everything, babe," a voice drawled from beside her suddenly, and she glanced down at her boyfriend with a look of mild annoyance. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning forward to nuzzle his forehead against her collarbone. "Hey, 's alright. Why don't ya go take your shower? We can watch a movie before bed." She hummed in thought softly and, after a moment, sighed.
"Yeah, sure. That actually sounds really good." She headed toward the bathroom, stopping half-way and turning to give Sans a pointed look. "No horror!" He was already on the couch, remote in hand, and had a slightly guilty expression on his face, though his shit-eating grin quickly overcame it. With a roll of her eyes she turned back around, only to nearly face-plant into Papyrus' battle body. "Oof! S-sorry..."
"HUMAN, I APOLOGIZE! I DID NOT SEE YOU DOWN THERE!" Lena narrowed her eyes as Sans called from the couch.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH SHIIIIIIIII-"
"It's fine, Pappy," she said with a smile, and Sans snickered at the way her fingers twitched in irritation. 'He's one to talk. He's even shorter than me!'
"YOU FORGOT ABOUT THIS DURING ALL OF OUR DINNER-MAKING CONVERSATION! HERE YOU GO!" He eagerly held out the letter that Monster Kid had brought and, with a small smile, she accepted it, stepping around him to get to her room.
"Thanks! I'll be just a bit!" She closed her bedroom door and locked it, setting the envelope on her bedside table as she stripped off her clothing. Reaching for a towel, her hand stopped in the middle of the action, the envelope catching her eye. Biting her lip, she glanced between it and her bathroom door, then, with a small sigh, sat on the edge of her bed and picked it up. It was poorly sealed from what she could tell at a glance, so it was easy to slide her finger underneath the gap in the seal and tear it open. Inside was a single, tri-folded piece of paper. 'Maybe it's from the students!' Her heart felt warm as she thought back to all of the loving gifts she'd received from the children from the classes she'd helped teach in the past. Drawings with 'We love Miss Lena' on them, a messily drawn and colored heart, with a big, smiley-faced sun shining down on them. She had plenty of them in the top of her closet, carefully stored for safe keeping, but the thought of adding another to her collection brought a bright smile to her face. She pulled out and unfolded the paper, but was slightly disappointed to see only lines of black text. As she scanned over the words, she flinched slightly, then read it over again...and again...and again. Surely she must be seeing things.
"Miss Leannán O'Brennike:
It has come to attention that you have been associating with lesser creatures. While it was originally excusable as part of your 'kind' nature, the extent of association has become unforgivable, and we are unable to overlook it. You are setting a bad example for our children, and you working for that filthy excuse of a 'school' has made it clear that you are turning your back on your own race. By continuing to live in close proximity to monsters, you are becoming tainted by their beliefs. It seems you need to be reminded that necrophilia is disgusting, immoral, and wrong, and your relationship with the skeleton who has brainwashed you needs to be corrected.
We are giving you the opportunity to do so. You will quit your job working for the backwards-teaching institution the queen of beasts has called a 'school'. You will move back to your friend's house in Tristin and live among your own kind. You will end your fraternizing with the demon who has captivated you. Failure to do these simple things and to return to the path of HUMANITY will cause you to force our hand.
We'll be in touch."
A cold feeling fell over her, heavy and weighted like a wet blanket, and she shuddered lightly as her eyes flitted over the last two lines. The letter was worded in such a polite way at first that, were it not for the blatant racism, she wouldn't have so quickly realized it for what it was: a threat. Crumpling up the paper between her trembling hands, she glanced at her bedroom door where she could hear Sans and Papyrus chatting lightheartedly just on the other side. 'What should I do...?' She had no intention of doing what the letter had 'requested' of her. Leaving Taobh, leaving Sans, was not something she planned on doing any time soon, if at all...but the thought of bringing this up left her feeling anxious. Her mind raced as she tried to think of who could have possibly learned so much about her, who could have possibly sent her the letter. Pushing the thoughts aside, she got up and stepped into the shower, hoping that the rush of warm water over her skin could ease her mind a bit.
"HAVEN'T YOU AND YOUR HUMAN WATCHED THIS MOVIE ALREADY?" If there was a day where Sans didn't feel a rush of warmth and, dare he say, pride whenever she was referred to as his, then it was probably because he was dead. A lazy grin spread across his face as he set down the remote, his decision on a movie already made. Sure, it might've been a movie that they've already seen together a dozen times, but it was a movie that always made her laugh. And if there was one thing that Sans enjoyed most, it was seeing his human laugh.
"Yeah, but it's a classic," was all he said, and Papyrus gave him a confused look before sighing. That was obviously the only answer he was going to be getting.
"VERY WELL, THEN. I WILL LEAVE YOU TWO TO YOUR CANOODLING AND "MOVIE WATCHING"," he said, raising a browbone and even raising his hands to give the 'airquotes'. Sans snorted loudly and raised a hand to cover his mouth, watching as his brother hopped up from the couch and headed toward his room with a flourish. "I SHALL BE WORKING ON MY BATTLE STRATEGIES! NYEH!" His scarf fluttered valiantly behind him as he skipped out of the room, his door closing behind him quietly. 'Heh, my bro's the coolest...' He gave a small yawn, stretching his arms over his head and sagging back into the cushions of the couch, eyesockets closing. This. This was the sort of life he'd always wanted for his brother, for everyone...for himself. His smile pulled even wider at the corners of his mouth, easy and relaxed, and even though the anxious thoughts of resets and whatnot came to mind, he pushed them aside easily, for once.
A sudden swell of cold and darkness washed over his soul and his bones rattled slightly as he shuddered, eyes flying open. The lights in his eyes were mere pinpricks, darting about in the dark emptiness of his sockets as he struggled to figure out where the feeling came from. Papyrus was fine, he reassured himself, glancing toward the skeleton's bedroom and seeing his soul's happy aura, bright and cheerful even through the barrier of walls. Papyrus was fine, and Lena was-
...Oh.
He couldn't even see it clearly and he knew he didn't like what he saw. Something was wrong...but what? She was fine while they were eating, smiles and kind as usual. Frowning, he tried to think of what may have happened, but there was a limited amount of time between the last time she was fine and when he noticed the darkened aura. '...that letter? It's worth a shot.' Closing his eyes, he opened a doorway underneath him where he sat, and he fell through the void, bathed in inky blackness for all but a few seconds before he landed neatly on his feet in Lena's bedroom. The sound of running water still came from behind the closed bathroom door, and he stepped over to the bed. His slipper caught for a moment on something and he glanced down, face flaring a light blue as he hastily kicked the pale pink bra under the bed. The letter was sitting crumpled on her pillow, the envelope discarded on the floor, and he only felt slightly guilty as he reached forward and snatched it up in his hands, flattening it out to read it.
The first thing he felt was confusion, a very brief moment where he questioned it. Surely this couldn't be real. There couldn't honestly be someone who was this hateful, this spiteful, right? 'I know the answer to that already...' How was it that, in such a short amount of time, he could have already had his standards for humans changed? Lena and Frisk made him see humans in a brighter light than the majority, and the cynic in him was berating himself for it. Then the rush of heat from anger scalded his bones and made the magical-saturated marrow boil deep beneath, and he felt a strong desire to seek. To seek out the person who would dare to threaten his human and show them the worst of times, to make it to where they wouldn't even look in her direction ever again. The soft grating sound of his teeth grinding together filled the room and he drew in a sharp breath through his nose. Getting worked up like this wouldn't be helpful, he knew that, but the longer he stared at the letter in his hands, the more he felt his anger rise. 'Necrophilia? What the fuck, are these assholes serious?! ...We'll be in touch, huh?' The thought of whoever had dared to write out these very words trying to do anything to Lena made his soul seize fearfully in his chest.
The water shut off and Sans gripped at the paper so tightly that his bony fingertips ripped through, and he was left with two tightly clenched fists full of shredded paper.
There was something about the way the air turned into a damp haze of steam whenever you turned the shower temperature up high enough that was comforting. The glass clouded with condensation and everything became shrouded, making it feel like it were suddenly somewhere else. Auburn hair hung heavily around her shoulders, sticking to her reddened and water-scoured skin. She was clean a while ago, deciding to sit on the floor of the shower with her legs curled up to her chest, arms wrapping around them protectively. The water still fell over her, and she had to keep her eyes closed to keep the water from getting in them. 'Should I talk to Toriel about this...?' Biting her lip, she pulled her forehead away from its resting place against her kneecaps and leaned her head back until it gently knocked the tile wall behind her, the coolness of it seeping through the warm water soaking her hair. It brought a small amount of clarity with it, and she gave a small sigh.
Deciding not to tell anyone would be foolish.
She reached out blindly and felt around until, eventually, her hand caught the knob controlling the water, and she turned it until the water shut off. The small dripping sound of a few final water droplets falling and hitting the drain sounded infinitely louder, but she used the sounds to ground her. Walking around like someone waiting to be attacked wouldn't do any good. After all, nothing had really happened yet, and making Papyrus or Sans worry unnecessarily wasn't something she had any intention of doing.
'Come on, Lena. One foot at a time...' Huffing a breath, she grabbed onto the rail inside the shower and pulled herself to her feet. She slid the door open and shivered as the cold air hit her wet skin, and she reached out to quickly grab her towel and throw it around herself. Maybe she could lay in bed for a little bit before getting dressed...she felt tired, for some reason. With the fabric wrapped around her body and tucked into itself so it stayed in place, she opened the bathroom door and stepped into her bedroom, only to freeze the instant she felt carpet on the bottoms of her feet. Her heart hammered heavily against her sternum as she tried to pull down the towel a little further, suddenly very aware of her lack of dress with someone else in the room. She opened her mouth to apologize, to shoo him out, something...but the sight of him made her voice die in her throat.
The skeleton's browbones were furrowed, knit tightly together while the corners of his usual smile turned down into a grimace. His eyesockets were deep pits of darkness without the usual pinpricks of light present in them. His fists were tightly clenched, so much so that she could hear the soft grinding sounds they emitted. There were torn bits of paper sticking out between his fingers and she felt her breath catch. He'd seen it. She stepped past him, hesitating when the corner of his mouth twitched downward further. 'He's upset. I don't blame him, but what do I say...?' Swallowing, she walked across the room to her closet, pulling out a simple long-sleeved shirt and jeans and tossing them onto her bed. She glanced around for a moment looking for her bra, but, after she'd turned her back, she suddenly turned to find it sitting on top of her clothing, and she fought back a blush as she hurriedly put it on. Sans didn't turn to look at her, giving her privacy, but not wanting to leave the room. After she was dressed she carefully moved to sit on the edge of the bed next to him, unsure of what to say or do. A silence stretched between them, far from comfortable, and, before she could open her mouth, Sans broke it.
"How'd ya find this?" She sighed a quiet breath out through her nose, drumming her fingertips lightly against the tops of her thighs. Though it was phrased as a question, she had the feeling that it wasn't optional for her to answer.
"Monster Kid brought it by...said that someone gave it to him to give to me." She didn't miss the faint click as his jaw clenched. "I...don't know who it's from, but you should know that I'm not going to do it." He glanced over at her, lights still gone from his eyes, and she pressed on, her expression stern. "I'm not going to do what they tell me to. So...you shouldn't even bother with it." He huffed a hollow laugh and ducked his head for a moment, as if he were glaring at the remnants of the letter still clutched tightly in his hands.
"Humans are supposed ta be about self-preservation-"
"Sans..." She cut him off quickly, her tone warning, despite how gentle it was still. He sighed heavily and spread out his fingers, allowing the scraps of paper to float to the floor gently, as if it were unaffected by the weight of the words written on them.
"Sorry. Guess I'm just...surprised. Dunno why. Bein' around you's made me forget how awful humans can be." He shrugged his shoulders slightly and reached a hand out to grab her own, intertwining their fingers and giving it a squeeze. She frowned and, after a second, turned and raised her free hand to cup his cheek, turning him to face her. Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to his teeth, a quick peck, and she felt relieved and comforted to see the small lights flicker back to life in his eyesockets.
"I'm okay..." she mumbled quietly, and he sagged against her side, nuzzling against her palm.
"I know, babe, I know." His nasal ridge rubbed gently against the palm of her hand as he pressed his teeth to her wrist in a kiss, eyesockets slipping closed. "...'s just that-"
"HUMAN!" The suddenness of the louder voice just outside her door made both of them jump slightly, and Sans breathed out a short sigh against her hand. "I HAVE JUST REMEMBERED THAT SHARK WEEK IS VERY NEARLY UPON US, AND I HAVE YET TO GO TO THE STORE TO STOCK UP ON THE NECESSARY THINGS!" he said, sounding far too apologetic for someone who'd done nothing wrong. Bless Papyrus. He was sweet, but sometimes he was just outright embarrassing. Lena's cheeks burned slightly, but she couldn't even be upset about it, chuckling and calling out to him from the other side of the door.
"It's okay, Pappy. I'll go to the store tonight and pick it up!" She felt the skeleton's hand holding hers tighten slightly, but she ignored it, standing up and heading to her bedroom door to open it. It was still locked, she noted, and she cast Sans a look over her shoulder as she unlocked it and stepped out into the hallway. Papyrus was standing just outside, looking down at her worriedly.
"YOU ARE SURE? I DO NOT WANT YOU TO EXHAUST YOURSELF, HUMAN."
"I'm sure. I was wanting to get out of the apartment for a little bit anyway." This seemed to satisfy the towering skeleton monster, who smiled down at her and reached out to pat her on the head affectionately. She brushed her still damp hair back into some semblance of order and padded across the living room carpet to the front door. Sans was right on her heels and, even without looking, she could tell that he was frowning at her.
"'m not sure that's such a good idea," he muttered, and she gave a small hum as she slipped on her shoes. He sighed and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket, slippers scuffing against the carpet. "Guess I'm goin' with ya then." Frowning softly, she turned to look at him.
"You don't have to-"
"Nope." He shook his skull, not even giving her the opportunity to say what she was going to. "I'm goin' and that's that. We're takin' a shortcut." She sighed quietly and nodded, her eyes widening as she felt his arms wrap tightly around her waist, nuzzling against her chest. "Hold on tight, babe." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned until her forehead rested against the top of his skull, eyes closing tightly. There was a feeling of falling, her stomach fluttering oddly, and then suddenly they were standing outside the closest grocery store. It didn't matter how many times she took one of his 'shortcuts', she could never really get fully used to the odd sensation of falling through space. When the butterflies in her tummy and the faint spinning in her head finally ceased she pulled herself away, only to be pulled back in closely. Sans' eyelights were bright points in the voids of his sockets, focused on her closely. "Stay close to me." It was said as a demand, but it was a request, and she nodded. "Good...c'mon." He released one of his arms from around her waist and gestured toward the wide glass front doors, his other arm still securely around her, holding her close.
He snagged a basket as they walked in and immediately let her take over, leading them despite his hold on her. She tossed the necessities into the basket then, after a moment's pause, took them down the snack foods aisle. A bag of chocolate kisses few into the basket, despite her not having even touched them, and she shot Sans a glance, which he returned with an innocent expression. "What? I thought you loved my kisses..." His phalanges squeezed at her hip slightly and she felt her cheeks get warmer, and despite the fact that she rolled her eyes at him, she was smiling.
"Yeah, yeah..." she mumbled, bumping her hip against him when she caught the look he was giving her (had he eyebrows, she would have told him to put them back down). Even though it had been a few months since their first movie-session-turned-makeout-session, it never failed to fluster her whenever he'd talk about doing those sorts of things. Kissing was different with him (not that she kissed that many people before), but it was still about as perfect as she could ever hope for, dating a skeleton and all. 'Apparently I'm a necrophiliac now...' The bitter snort of laughter she gave didn't help her feel any better about the words, but the comforting arm around her waist did, and it was hard to focus on something so negative when he was around.
...Even if he was acting so strangely.
Any time anyone happened to get too close to her Sans would pull her away, eyesockets narrowed in a suspicious glare, and though the closeness did feel good, she was starting to get a little concerned when he actually growled at a couple that nearly bumped into her. They'd been looking at their phones and chatting loudly, not paying any attention at all to where they were headed, but the growl brought them back to the present moment fairly quickly. They were both monsters, one of them an alligator with a mess of blonde hair and too much lip gloss, and the other was a pastel-colored cat with a shock of blue hair and eyeshadow two shades too dark. They seemed to recognize Sans and, when he realized who they were, he sighed.
"Oh my god, like, sorry about that," the reptilian said shortly, her voice far rougher sounding for being a female, like there was a small hiss underlying every word. "Catty and I were, like, totally too busy watching a MTT stream on our phones!" The other monster, 'Catty', nodded eagerly, practically purring as she held her phone up to her chubby face, nuzzling against it much like a pet cat would rub against someone's leg.
"Yeah! We, like, toootally didn't see you there Sans!" Her golden-colored cats eyes flickered over to the human in the skeleton's grip and she gasped loudly, raising a paw to cover her mouth. "Oh. My. Gawd! Bratty, look! He's, like, really got a grip on her, huh?"
"Woah, Catty, you're right! Wow Sans. We, like, didn't peg you as having a human fetish." The human's eyes widened, her face flushing a bright red, and Sans let out an even heavier sigh. "Not judging! Like, it's just..."
"...not what we expected!" Catty leaned forward and peered more closely at the human's face, squinting her eyes and wrinkling her nose thoughtfully. "Hmm... He, like, has pretty good taste, don't you think, Bratty?" The alligator nodded, raising a claw to her snout as she laughed. "Yeah! Good job, Sans! She looks, like, totally-"
"-delicious." A silence fell over the little group as the monster womens' eyes widened, glancing at eachother before bursting into a fit of giggles.
"Oh my Gawd, Bratty!"
"What? You were thinking it!"
"Yeah, but you said it!"
Sans huffed out a short, growling breath and lead himself and Lena further down the aisle, past the two laughing monsters until, finally, they were out of hearing range. "I swear to god, those two give me the biggest headache..." Giving a small, nervous chuckle, the human reached out and grabbed a bag of potato chips and dropped them into the basket.
"I-I'm sure that they mean well... Nice to see that other monsters approve of me being with you," she said quietly, lips spreading into a small, genuine smile. Sans snorted. Leave it to her to find the positive statement in that mess of a 'conversation' they were unfortunate enough to be a part of.
"Yeah, well, they were right." He stood up on his toes and leaned up to press a toothy kiss to her cheek, nuzzling his nasal ridge against her freckled skin as his voice dropped an octave. "You do look delicious." He delighted in the way that she stiffened, her skin flushing a vibrant red as she sputtered slightly in embarrassment. "C'mon, sweet cheeks, let's hurry up and get home. We've got a movie to watch."
[[ Annnnd there we have it. Sorry if Bratty and Catty's interaction and dialogue made you want to claw your eyes out. Honestly haven't ever written them before, soooo...yeah. That's my excuse. Hopefully I'll get better as I write them more. ;w; Hope you all enjoyed, and again, be sure to check this fic out on tumblr! (life-sans-sin) And leave me comments! Your comments give me life! Love you guys! ]]