For the next week, the girl refused to talk to anyone. She just sat in her bed, half-lidded eyes staring ahead, unfocused. She barely even twitched at any noise: it was almost as if she was completely unaware of her surroundings. Deep in thought, she did not move a muscle for long hours.
Toriel was getting worried. Her heart stung for the poor child, and she could not help but beat herself up on the insides for insisting on a shopping trip. There had been so many others things they could have done together that would not have required them to set a foot out of their cosy home. But no, she had thought going out would do good for all of them. The goat-like monster, much like the poor soul she was so concerned for, would sometimes just stare into space as she sat in her large rocking chair, ignoring the world completely. She just had so much on her mind. Not only guilt, but a sick mixture of curiosity and confusion was brewing in the depths of her soul, too. Sans had appeared just at the right moment... how? He seemed to know an awful lot about the poor girl, yes, but to have the right timing too... it was a little suspicious, to say the least. Toriel was just worried that there was something the skeleton was keeping from her, from everyone else. There was a chance that the information was vital.
And yet, she was never courages enough to ask him. After all, to most, she was just a little old lady-monster taking care of a human child. She had long lost her glorious ways of when she had been a queen. Only in Asgore's eyes was she still one. It was nice being normal for once, yes, but at times, she wished that she was the same as she used to be. Something told her that whatever Sans knew was the key to know the girl and to help her...
Frisk trotted up to their mother with a pout on their lips, quickly climbing on her lap. Nuzzling into her neck, the child managed to tear Toriel out of her dark thoughts. This always worked: children had always had a calming effect on monsters. That's why they were treasured so much by some..
Just as she was about to ask if her little one wanted anything, Sans walked into the living room. Frisk tilted their head to the side in the most adorable way: it was obvious that the child had not even know that the skeleton had been there again.
"Make her pancakes with a lot of syrup and a bit of whipped cream on top." he said, voice low and soft but words close to a command. His usual grin was in place, but he looked worn, as if he had not rested in long years. Which was odd, because more than once or twice, Toriel had caught him snoring near the girl, holding her hand like a lifeline. Just the sweet gesture had been an obvious sign of how important the poor little one was to the skeleton.
"I will. Do you think it is going to help?" Toriel questioned as Frisk pumped their little fists in the air, clearly gleeful about the pancakes that would be made soon. The child, like most others, absolutely adored sweets. They could have lived off pie and candy if their mother had allowed them to. Of course, the ex-queen was a little smarter than that... (then again, Asgore oftentimes snuck in some candy for his favorite child, ruffling their hand and telling them not to tell anything). Toriel knew of this little habit but never really mentioned it. Only, whenever it was clear that it had happened, she did not make any dessert for dinner. She wondered when Asgore and Frisk would realize that she knew all of their silly little secrets. She was a mother after all.
"It should." Sans gave a somewhat exhausted sigh, clearly ready to just fall in bed and sleep for days."Look, she... she has been through a lot and there are little that we can do to help her. But she will love the pancakes, trust me. Just don't put any strawberry jam on it, not sure if that would go well with... everything."
Frisk nodded along with their mother as if they would be the one making the pancakes, a little grin on their face. Seeing that, Sans sniggered a bit and ruffled the child's hair."You will remember, too, right, kiddo?" Frisk nodded, grinning a little wider before yawning a bit. It was getting late.
Suddenly, the soft pitter-patters of dainty feet could be heard. Even Sans looked up in shock as the tiny girl rushed out of the room she had been in for quite long, tears running down her cheeks.
"B..bad dreams...n..no one there.." she choked out weakly, only to collapse into the skeleton's waiting arms. He rubbed her back gently, rocking her back and forth again, like that day in the mall. Yes, he was a little startled - this had never happened before and frankly it was a little scary for until then, everything had always been the same - but he knew that all he could do was comfort her. After all, he knew how nightmares could wreck someone silently without any others noticing it.
"I'll just go and make pancakes.." Toriel whispered and nearly ran off, followed by a wide-eyes Frisk. Sans let out a thankful sigh, leading the girl to the rocking chair with a small chuckle.
"Ever seen something like this, kiddo?" he asked gently, patting her back. As expected, his response was a shake of head and a curious look in reddened eyes.
"It's great for relaxing," Sans chuckled and lightly patted her bum. She was so easily distracted, even from the scariest of nightmares. It was quite adorable, the skeleton had to admit to himself as he sat down and tugged her on his lap."Plus this way none of us will get bonely." he nudged his head towards the set of wooden chairs that stood not so far from them. They were great for sitting, but not big enough to fit them both of them like this. Or at least, he guessed so. He was sure they would have collapsed under their joined weight. (he could swear he heard one creaking under Asgore a few weeks back)."So, kid, feeling better?"
"Yes." the reply was court but a weak smile came with it. It was a little shaky, too, but as genuine as it could be."C..can't... lie in room. forever."the girl added, biting down on her lower lip enough to draw just a droplet of blood. Sans flinched inwardly, staring at her as she made a face, licking it away clumsily. This had always been a silly habit of hers.
"H..H..humans. Scary." the girl spoke up a few minutes later again, voice trembling and hoarse."A..always cause pain. M..me. S..sisters... b..brothers..."
"I know doll, I know." Sans cooed into her ear. Of course he did: she had told him countless times before. Every time, the words dug into his soul with more and more power. It literally hurt him to know what she had been through...and to know that with any little mistake, he could be forced to stir the wheel of life backwards. Again. So he could try again and again, selfishly. He often thought it would have been better to let her die, to allow her soul to rest but.. he needed her too much already. Even now, holding her tight, he felt like she could slip out of his grasp any moment and he did not want that. Sans had never been possessive of anything before he had met her, nor have he showed much emotions to others (maybe to his brother and Frisk he did, but that was all). And then she came along for the first time, and he could literally feel his soul melt. She was beautiful, even if she was all scarred and panicky, inside and out. She was perfect in his eyes. If only he had a sure way of keeping her forever. Yes, he was confident this time, he had a feeling that finally, he would do everything the way he had to.. but something dark swirled in his mind often, telling him that no matter what he did, she would perish. That she was not a soul he could save, that he had to move on, forget her, maybe ignore her existense... But he never paid attention to that voice.
He just.. listened to it.
"S..sans." she called him by his name for the first time, if he recalled well. He had heard it before many times, of course, but not in the near past. It made him swallow hard: her voice was still as soft as ever whenever she referred to him. Maybe some things did not chance, not even as time resetted again and again."I.. I want.. I want.. know. How..monsters. I.. never heard of... then you here.." He patted her back lightly as she seemed to struggle with talking again, voice cracking and eyes on the ground. It was hard to listen to her like this. He had gotten so close to a happy ending the last time, he had been used to hearing her talk clearly and giggle and laugh and just express her glee..instead of fear and confusion.
"Well, we have been trapped underground for a while," the question had not been new, but her reaction was. Eyes wide, she suddenly started shaking her head, tears gathering in her eyes. It was clear that she did not want to hear the rest of the story for some time. But why?"Hon, are you alright?" the skeleton eyes, worry brewing in his chest.
"T..trapped..like me." she uttered the words, barely louder than whispers. She clung to him like a child, sniffing."N..never thought..g..get out. M..me?"
Even Sans wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he kept rubbing her back gently before pressing a toothy kiss to her cheek."We were like that, too, kiddo. But Frisk came and freed us. No one knows how or why, but they did. And we are all happy now, living here where we belong. Like you. Maybe you went through a lot of things before you ended up with us but know, know one would hurt you. All you need to do is live with us happily."
"Y..you don't..live here." she was a little more coherent again, turning her gaze away again. She seemed almost embarrassed, which was incredibly cute in Sans's view. He was already used to her being the most precious little thing he had after she learnt to open up, and because of that, he missed it badly. Sure, she was not supposed to be acting like this yet, but for a moment he just did not want to care. He just wanted to grasp the fact that she was back to her real self, the one he adored so much.
"No I don't, we live just around here with Papyrus though. You remember my brother, right?"
She nodded almost eagerly at that, eyes lightning up. Sans chuckled. At first, he had been jealous of the way she had acted around his brother, but soon he had come to realize that their friendship would never be more than just that. Friendship. At one time, she would end up befriending many others and well, the skeleton couldn't exactly be envious of the entire world (well, he could, and he may or may not have done it at one point, but it was not worth it for sure. He had learnt it the hard way). Shaking the thought off, he ruffled her hair with a smirk when she let out a little sound that resembled a squeal.
"Pancake's ready~" Toriel called from the kitchen and Sans grinned, standing her up with her still in his arms. He could not help grinning when she just snuggled closer to him, nose buried in the fur of his hoodie. He could recall clearly the first time she had done it. That moment, he had made a mental note to always wear something like that...
Pancake-time, as expected, went expectionally well. Sans ended up feeding the small girl who just giggled quietly as if she had not been locked up in her mind the past week. If anything, she was a lot more open now, which caused Sans to be happy and Toriel to worry a little. As a mother, she could just feel it when something was a little off, even when it was not with her chldren. And well, she already treated her guest as one of her own. It was hard not to turn fully mother-hen(or as Frisk sometimes cheekily called her, goat-mom) around her. It was clear that she needed all the care and attention.
Now, however, she just could not put a claw on what was off. All she knew that things were..different, from what they had been before.
"S..sans, food." the skeleton was torn out of his thoughts when a forkful of pancake was pressed against his teeth. Gleeming eyes stared at him and his cheeks flushed a deep hue of blue. Now this was unexpected.
"I..t..thanks, hon?" he muttered as he chewed on the small piece. He was not the biggest fan of sweets - unlike her who he knew could eat a bottle of nutella and still plead for more with puppy eyes - but this time, he did not care. The look on her face gave him enough strength to actually grin and ask for more.
Just as she was about to put another piece on her little fork, Asgore's rumbling voice broke the calming atmosphere.
"Everyone, I have a surprise!" The ex-king trampled into the kitchen like he already lived there, grinning so widely it was nearly absurd. He was holding an armful of bags that seemed to be from different clothes stores, each more expensive than the other. Just reading the brand names made Sans's head hurt."Since our little trip sort of failed, I decided to... suit myself and get clothes..." he seemed a little nervous then. almost as if he was wondering if his idea had been a bad thing. After all, he knew little about clothing. He had guessed Frisk's style by ease, and Toriel's, too, but he knew little about their guest.
"Well, thank you, Asgore," Toriel smiled at him gently, taking some of the bags before giving him a shy kiss on the cheek. Frisk clapped as the monster who used to be the frightening king blushed madly. What a cute sight."Children, I suppose it is time for us to turn on our new clothes. Sans, you can stay if you would like to..."
The skeleton just grinned as he nodded a bit. New clothes were always fun.
For multiple reasons.