Sans awakened in the morning to the smell of cooking, a faint hum of voices from downstairs, and an otherwise empty bed. He yawned and stretched. Frisk's shoes and jacket were both gone; from here he couldn't tell if they were downstairs with Papyrus, or if someone else was- or if his brother was watching TV, getting over-excited about anything with Mettaton in it. He glanced around. His hoodie wasn't where he'd dropped it either. He put his slippers on and opened the door. The voices answered his question- Frisk was with Papyrus. Cooking?

"I know, but-" Frisk was saying. There was a sound of things clattering. "Look, just- the more you know, the more you can make it unique and special to you, right? M-maybe knowing how I do it will help with that!"
"Oh! That is true. Hmm, yes. But I'm going to chop- with passion! That is what cooking is about!"
"Oh, of course." Sans could hear the amusement in Frisk's voice. "But passion isn't always about a flame that burns Undyne's house down. Sometimes it can be a... A small, focused flame. That doesn't burn any houses down at all but makes really good food."
There was a pause. "It's... It's an analogy! I'm tired."
"Well! Then I should take over and let my good friend rest!"
"But I said I was going to cook for everyone! You're already helping. That's enough."

Sans looked around the kitchen door to see Frisk, wearing his hoodie, teaching Papyrus how to... chop vegetables. They were in front of him, guiding his bony hands while he watched, his chin resting on their head. His grin widened and he watched the pair of them slowly slicing a tomato to join a previously chopped pile, Frisk letting Papyrus do more and more by himself until they took their hands off his entirely.
"Hmm... I am not convinced, human. The pieces are still all wonky!"
"You're doing great, Papyrus! It'll get better as you practice but you're already doing really well at it," Frisk encouraged him. Seeing the way the kid managed to work with Papyrus made Sans happy.

"Okay, that's enough tomato I think. We should- oh!" Frisk finally noticed Sans leaning against the door frame, watching them, and jumped. "I- We didn't wake you up did we?"
"Nah, it's okay kid. Didn't know you could cook, though."
"They're teaching me new things so I can make my wonderful cooking even more personal!" Papyrus gushed.
"Well, that's something to look forward to," Sans said, yawning. "But are you sure Frisk's cooking is... hot?"
Papyrus either missed or ignored Sans' pun. "I believe in their cooking abilities!"
"Yeah? Where'd you learn, Frisk?"
"Oh... I stayed with an old woman, um, for the last couple of winters. She said if I cooked then I could have some of the food, and sleep in the garage."

"She made you sleep in the garage?!" Papyrus said, outrage thick in his voice. Then, "What is a garage?"
"It's... Kind of like a big shed? Usually connected to a house. And she didn't make me, she let me. I was homeless, Papyrus." The human fixed him with a look of someone much older. "Why'd you think I stayed with Toriel?"
"I thought it was because you have lots of great friends here!"
"I tried that line," Sans commented. The other two ignored him.
"I do, Papyrus! You know that. But... If I had somewhere else to go, and I didn't go back, then... I'd get in trouble, and so would the monsters. I only get to stay with Toriel because nobody on the surface wanted me." Frisk shrugged, grabbing the pan and finally moving to put the chopped tomato into it. They didn't see Papyrus tearing up until he grabbed them in a big hug.
"There are lots of people who want you now! And we all get to be on the surface together!"
Frisk managed to get the pan on the counter without dropping it and turned around to hug Papyrus back. "Thanks. You're a good friend, Papyrus."
"I am the best friend! But you have lots of other friends who are also very very good friends! So you have to be happy!"
Frisk let out a giggle. "As you command! Come on, Mr Chef, we gotta get this finished. We can't hug all day."

Sans left them to it- after managing to convince Frisk to give his hoodie back- and, no longer having to worry about waking him, things got... Louder. At one point Frisk was "supervising" from a vantage point on Papyrus' shoulders; another time saw Papyrus chasing Frisk around for the box of spaghetti when they told him he was "putting them in the pan wrong". But eventually, together, they had finished. The sauce was simmering in a large saucepan; Frisk drained the spaghetti while sat on Papyrus' shoulders.

"In the new house, maybe you should have the sink lower... So I can cook with you more often!" Frisk dropped the strainer in the sink and passed the heavy saucepan to Papyrus.
"Hmm. Well, that might be a good idea. You need the cooking lessons! There was not enough passion in your cooking!"

Frisk laughed and carefully climbed from Papyrus' shoulders onto the counter, then jumped to the floor. "Maybe you should wait until you taste it! But... You need more spices. I'll have to buy you some!" They grinned up at the skeleton's dubious expression.
"What are 'spices'?"
"They're... Um, well, they're used for adding warmth and flavour?"
"I told you to cook it at a hotter temperature! There was no burning at all!"
"N-not... that kind of heat. Um, let me cook you something once I get spices. B-but this shouldn't be too bad without!"

"You wanted to share this with everyone? I doubt they will be able to appreciate it as well as Papyrus can, but we shall share!" Papyrus flopped some spaghetti onto two plates as he spoke, before topping it with some sauce. He passed a plate and fork to Frisk, and followed them to the table.
"'Bone' appetit, Papyrus!"
"No! You need to spend less time with my brother! He is becoming a bad influence!" Frisk collapsed into giggles at his horrified expression.
"Come on, try it- I want to see you try it first, but I'm so hungryyy!"
"Very well, Frisk! I shall try it!" He swirled some sauce-smothered spaghetti onto his fork. "I am trying it now!"

Frisk watched as he put it in his mouth. He chewed. He... swallowed, although where the food went after that was a mystery. He stared at Frisk.
"Um, is it-" Frisk's words were cut short as Papyrus started shovelling the rest of his food into his mouth like a man half-starved. "...I guess so." Frisk took a cautious mouthful.
It was hot- too hot to eat the way Papyrus was- but it wasn't too bad. The mushrooms had been cooked almost to perfection and the few herbs they'd been able to find added a little flavour. They ate it as fast as they could- although they weren't half-way through when Papyrus finished his.

"Human! Are you having trouble?!"
"It's just... A bit hot. But it's good!" Frisk gave Papyrus a grin, sauce flecked around their mouth. "Tastes like friendship!"
"...Is that what friendship tastes like? Spaghetti?"
Frisk swallowed their next mouthful half-chewed. "Uh, I think it tastes like... Like having a good time with a good friend. And that's what this was!"
"Oh. Yes, that makes sense! I like the taste of friendship!"

Frisk smiled as they finished their food, and Papyrus returned to the kitchen to put some of the spaghetti in tubs. Frisk was going to take one back for Toriel- although whether or not she would touch it once she learned of Papyrus' involvement was another matter. Frisk also took another two tubs, leaving more than enough for Sans, Undyne and Alphys.

After that, it was time for Frisk to go- past time, actually. Sans, in his uncanny way, arrived just as Frisk was about to leave and took them home via "a shortcut", which meant that they weren't late for their lessons when they got back.
Toriel, however, was already home from overseeing the rebuilding, where she went every morning. She was in the kitchen, cooking, when Frisk came in; and sighed at their entrance, putting everything to one side.

"Frisk-" she started, but was startled as she turned to see her child holding a container out to her.
"I, um. I made breakfast." They looked up at her, penitence written across their expression. She smiled despite herself. "It's not great, but... Once we get some good ingredients I can do better!"
Toriel took the container from Frisk's hands. "Thank you, but-"
"I- I know. I'm sorry. I should have told you I was going out."

"You should have asked me if you could go out and stay out," Toriel corrected gently. "Not left it to Sans to call me on your behalf."
"I- I didn't plan to stay out! I just..." Frisk remembered why they'd gone over there and flushed. They didn't want to tell Toriel about eavesdropping on the bedtime story. "I just wanted to say goodnight to Sans and Papyrus," they finished weakly.
"You could have called them for that!" Toriel sighed. "Just... Please try and remember how much I worry, okay?"

Satisfied that Frisk felt bad, she ruffled their hair, hoping the message would sink in this time. She pulled out a plate, before stopping to look at the human. "You said... you made this?"
"W-well, Papyrus helped a little. But, uh, I was telling him what to do and watching him! It's not bad, I promise."
Reluctantly, she poured a little onto the plate. "I can see that you have already had some, Frisk."
"Huh?"
"It's all around your mouth. And you slept in your clothes, didn't you? Go and shower, my child."
She heaved a sigh as Frisk ran off, picked up a fork, and loaded it up. Grimacing, she took a tiny bite.

When Frisk came back in from their shower, Toriel was just getting up from the table. Her plate and the tub were both empty, and Frisk beamed.

"You liked it?" Toriel chuckled.
"Yes, my dear, I did." She planted a kiss on top of Frisk's head, and their eyes widened before they giggled shyly. "Do not think you are getting off lightly with your schoolwork, though!"

Toriel didn't ask why Frisk stayed out, in the end. She didn't need to. But given how well they focused on their work, she decided that whatever happened, whatever was said, was something the child had needed.