You awoke without the assistance of your alarm.
You're not sure what woke you, but you are more than happy to be up; Sleeping without a blanket in January was actually ass.
The house was old, and the furnace had to be ancient.
Shivering, you made your way over to the closet. You didn't have much - but you had enough to warm you up.
Goosebumps cover your skin as you strip down to change into on an old green turtleneck and your baggy jeans. They weren't baggy jeans in the fashionable sense, just a few sizes too big. Fashion and food were two things you had regularly neglected. At first because your parents stopped providing it. Once you began working, you felt like spending money on clothes was a waste. Any amount you spent would push freedom that much farther away.
Besides, you usually just pulled a string through the belt loops, and it was manageable. You weren't sure where exactly you had left the string you had used yesterday.
Still - here you were! In Ebott city, in your new home, ready to start a new day.
You try to keep the grin off your face at the risk of looking like a lunatic, but the joy bubbles up to your lips anyway. With one hand gripping your belt loop to keep your pants up you made your way to the hallway.
You hadn't had a house tour with Papyrus yesterday, so no time like the present to explore around a little.
The new room is upstairs. The stairs were the kind that turned at the second flight so you couldn't see what was at the bottom until you turned the corner.
You remembered a bit of the layout from the pictures you had seen of the place and quickly found the kitchen. Not that you were going to cook anything in there right now - none of the items in the fridge were yours, that would be super rude.
Still, hope rose in your chest at the clean, well-kept kitchen. You could only imagine the good memories and good meals that would be made here.
Peeking into the cabinets, you're a little surprised by the amount of pasta, like an unreasonable amount of pasta… and glitter? Like, craft glitter. That's concerning. Honestly, you're surprised to find anything in the pantry at all considering your roomie is a skeleton. Does he even need to eat?
Shutting the cabinet, you make your way into the living room.
There's really only a couch and a T.V, no decorations or rugs, just plain hardwood floors- the original floors based on the scratches and spots where the finish had rubbed off a little. You could practically envision a game night with friends here, a cute rug in front of the leather couch, maybe even a Nintendo Wii?
You had a feeling Papyrus would be the kind of guy to appreciate some friendly competition in Just Dance.
Hope swelled in your chest as you made your way towards the main door to the porch.
You really hadn't paid any attention to the outside of the house on your way in. Too absorbed in the actual talking skeleton telling you all about the other talking skeleton while lifting 60 lbs. of boxes like it was air.
You stepped onto the porch and were immediately hit with the cold winter air.
There was only a dusting of snow on the ground, but in an area like this you knew you would be seeing more snow than grass soon enough.
The backyard had a few large trees with bare branches. Birds chittered songs crisp in the quiet of the morning. A smattering of some pink flower bloomed along the back fence line. On days like these, you wanted nothing more than to-
A creak in floorboards to your right is the only warning you get before the breath is knocked out of your lungs.
Your eyes screw closed as your body slams into the side of the house. Pain spears sharp and aching in the back of your head. Your vision goes white at the impact, and you feel something tight and smooth clasp around your throat like a vice.
You try to gasp as the air is cut off but only manage a wheezing croak. Thrashing hard against your attacker you are distantly aware of the icy air snapping at your legs. You scratch at your attacker, but your nails scrape against… bone?
With a sudden realization, your eyes flash open.
You're face to face with one of the most intimidating skeletons you have ever seen. This must be Papyrus' brother.
He looks like an inverse of him-Menacing red eye lights glare at you, three straight fissures run over his left eye and you see nothing but black through them. His eyes are filled with crimson and he looks at you with pure hatred. The grip against your throat gets tighter. Was this why they lived in different parts of the house?!
Black ebbs at your vision. You feel your throat nearly collapsing under the pressure.
"What the f- Boss! Let 'em go!"
You can't see who called out, but the skeleton in front of you relaxes his grip slightly, irritation clouding over his features.
You greedily gulp in air. Even just the pressure of air in your lungs against the steel grip on your throat stings.
"The hell bro? I come outside, and you got some human against the wall with 'er pants down? Look I ain't judging, but ya' know Classic will kick both our asses."
The skeleton looks confused, and then glances down. In an instant he releases you. You slam knees first to the icy porch floor.
You scramble to gather both your pants and your bearings - You'd had to let go of your belt loop when you tried to fight back, and your jeans had fallen around your ankles.
Coughing and hacking, neck already aching, you take in the sight of the two standing on the porch with you.
Edgier Papyrus is already walking away, red cape billowing against the cold wind.
A slightly smaller but somehow thicker skeleton stands just a few feet away from you.
He's grinning at you dangerously; the morning sun glints off a gold tooth from a smile that seems anything but friendly. Only one of his eye lights are red, but you feel it judging you.
"Here's some friendly advice sweetheart. If you say anything about what just happened..."
He nonchalantly brushes at the fur cuffs of his jacket. His gold rings contrast violently against the cool white of his hand.
"You're gonna have a bad time." You shivered violently as both of the monster's eyes went dark.
And then he was gone. Just absolutely gone. Vanished into thin air. What in the actual fuck?
You hobble back into the house, knees aching and your throat throbbing and irritated.
Jesus Christ, what the hell was that about? Was all that stuff you heard about monsters being kind and friendly creatures just fake news?
You feel a sense of trepidation at what you've signed up for living in this house. Sure, anything was better than where you came from -but you'd rather live to see another day if that was alright.
There's a mirror on the wall of the front hall and you tug at your turtleneck to get a good look at the damage.
Your neck was already dark red. Deeper and darker in spots. This would bruise, badly.
Good thing it was winter. It looked like you'd be wearing turtlenecks for the next two weeks. You let out a frustrated sigh and fix your turtleneck. Giving yourself one more glance over in the mirror. You could really use a shower.
Movement behind you catches your eye, and you meet another set of eyes reflected in the mirror. You shriek. Whipping around you find yourself face to face with another skeleton.
He looks like the smaller skeleton from outside, but even shorter, closer to your height. His thick blue jacket looks worn, but very warm.
Upon taking in your appearance his grin tightens and the white pinpricks of light in his eye sockets dim.
"Didja meet a neck-romancer kid? You look like you've seen a ghost." He puts he hands in his pockets and glances you over.
"Name's Sans. I'm Papyrus' bro." He reaches a hand out of his pocket and holds it out to you.
Though you'd just had very similar phalanges wrapped around your neck, you are curious what they feel like when they're not killing you.
You clasp a hold of his hand and PFFFFT.
Sans lets out a whooping laugh at your expression.
"Ah the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick- gets 'em every time!"
You grimace, retracting your hand like you'd been burned. You suppose you had been, metaphorically.
"Right, well, nice to meet you? I'll be going to my room now."
You quickly beeline towards the stairs, leaving the skeleton in the front hall.
You're just going to go up to your room, breathe for a second, and then you absolutely need to go to a store and grab some new clothes.
You decide to take a quick shower and come out feeling brand new. You find your makeshift belt string under the bed and rig it up to keep your pants from falling.
Ready to head out, you make your way outside and to your jeep.
You hear a door shut and look up to see the gold toothed skeleton making his way from the porch towards you. Great.
"Heya doll, Sans filled us in that you'll be living with Papyrus from now on. Sorry for earlier, ya' know, my bro just gets a little territorial." If the predatory leer he was aiming at you was anything to go by, he wasn't too apologetic.
He holds out his hand for you to shake, a relaxed but dangerous glint in his eyes.
"The name's Red." You think you've learned your lesson from Skeleton's offering you their hand.
Grimacing, you attempt to ignore him. You turn to face the jeep, but he's already in front of your jeep before you can even turn around. How is that possible?
"Nice to meet you." You grit out as you quickly try and sidestep him to reach the car.
Like lightning, Sans grabs your hand, gripping it tight and squeezing. You try to jerk your hand back at the unexpected pain, but his hold is firm. A cold, menacing look flashes across his face.
"Y/N, right? That's your name, s'only right that you introduce yourself after someone gives their name." His grip on your hand is only getting tighter.
Nah, you think, fuck this cocky bastard. You'd had enough of people like him to last a lifetime.
With your free hand you reel back and slam your first as hard as you can into his skull.
The burning pain in your knuckles must be less than what he is feeling right now because he releases you immediately to grasp at his head. He's breathing heavy and sweat drops form on his skull. He obviously didn't expect that.
Jerking forward, fueled by adrenaline, you poke a finger hard into his chest. It feels surprising solid despite having to be just bones underneath his red sweater.
"I don't know where the FUCK you think you are, but you are most certainly not living under a rock in the underground anymore buddy." You shout venomously. His eyes sockets are wide and inside of them tiny pinpricks of red stare at you incredulously.
"Don't fuck with me." You warn. You did not escape one hell to trade it for another.
You're right up against him, breathing heavy. Even standing on your tip toes brings your forehead to just above his chin.
He looks you dead in the eyes - searching for…something. Slowly, his eyes wander down to your chest.
You cannot believe the gall of this guy! is he trying to check you out?
Crossing an arm over your chest you turn back with a hrmph and jerk the door of the jeep open.
Throwing the engine on and reversing as quickly as you can you miss the look of absolute confusion and worry on Red's face as he brings his hand up to rest where you had poked.
Speeding off down the street you very quickly realize you have no idea where you're going.
You knew main street was right around the corner. There were bound to be clothing shops there. You quickly find that assumption correct and pull off to a street parking spot next to a shop that most definitely sold clothes. Maybe if you were lucky, they had some sheets and blankets too.
You had a bit of money set aside for a new wardrobe, something you'd scarcely dared to dream about before.
You grab a little bit of everything you think you'll need clothing wise. You also make sure to a set of sheets, a blanket, and while they didn't have regular pillows, they did have a nice throw pillow like for a couch, so you grabbed that too- it's better than nothing.
You changed into a set of your new clothes and made sure to throw your old jeans and sweater in the trash on the way out.
It'd been a long time since you actually thought you looked attractive, but these new jeans were most definitely doing you some favors.
Leaving the store with several bags in hand you toss them into the back of your jeep and are about to leave when you spot a cafe across the street - Muffett's bakery. You were starving - your stomach gave a rumble for good measure.
You were most definitely going in there.
The cafe was quiet, no music played, but the atmosphere was still very inviting.
At the counter was a large spider monster. You shivered involuntarily but made your way towards her. Her many eyes blinked at you, but all at different times.
"We don't get many humans here. What brings you to this part of town?"
You didn't know too much about Ebbott besides the university. Was there a big divide between the monsters and humans? The news made it out like everyone integrated very well.
The news also said that the monsters were all very kind and friendly, your mind whispered conspiratorially.
"Dearie?" Ah, right, the spider lady was talking to you.
"I actually just moved in down the street." If the spider had eyebrows they would have been raised.
Whatever thoughts she had on that, she kept to herself.
"Welcome to my cafe then. What can I get for you?"
You order sea tea and a muffin.
You absolutely ignore the sign over the counter that says, "By spiders, for spiders, of spiders ." and you absolutely do not see the several spiders that bring your muffin to the counter, nope, not at all.
You decide to take your meal to-go.
In the car you take your first sip of the hot drink, and as it slides down your throat you swear it makes your neck feel loads better.
You look up the nearest grocery store and get your shopping out of the way before heading back home.
You hadn't been grocery shopping in years and just the freedom to make your own choice in food made you feel so much lighter. You were in a great mood when you returned back to the house. Except…
Edgy Papyrus was waiting outside the door when you rounded the side of the porch.
He seemed to sense the second you came into view and glanced over at you. His face was much more neutral than before, but still intimidating.
He didn't smile like Papyrus did, or at all actually. His mouth was closed in a firm grimace.
You weren't sure if you should just continue past him with your groceries or acknowledge him.
You'd definitely had enough confrontation for one day, so you decide on the former. After a quick glance at the skeleton, you try and walk past him.
Out of the corner of your eye you see him reach his arm out to grab your shoulder, and you can't control the violent flinch that shutters through you.
His hand stops mid-air.
You try and calm your racing heart. Your eyes flicker up to meet. His gaze is so intense it stops you in your tracks.
"HUMAN, DO NOT EXPECT ANY TYPE OF WARM WELCOME FROM ME. I MERELY WANTED TO TO…APOLOGIZE FOR EARLIER. I MEANT TO KILL YOU" The grave could only hope to be as cold as the look he was giving you.
You balk. What the hell kind of apology was this?
"I MEANT TO KILL YOU, NOT TO STRIP YOU OF YOUR DIGNITY. IT WAS NOT MY INTENTION TO… UNCLOTHE YOU."
You genuinely do not know who is more uncomfortable right now in this conversation.
"Thank you?"
You're really not sure what he's wanting from this conversation.
The tall skeleton's eye light's shift around, nervous, before becoming steely again.
He turns to leave, looking over his shoulder at you one last time,
"YOU SHOULD AVOID DOING ANYTHING TO PERTURB ME. MY BROTHER MAY NOT BE THERE TO SAVE YOU NEXT TIME." With that, he left just as quickly as he did that morning.
"Thanks for the whiplash, I guess?" You mumble once you're sure that he is long gone.
You feel the circulation cutting off your wrists because you decided you could bring all the grocery bags inside in one trip. Shrugging off the weird as hell interaction you enter the house.
Papyrus is in the kitchen when you walk in and turns, surprised to see you.
"HUMAN! I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU ARE BACK. AFTER WHAT SANS TOLD ME I WAS UNSURE YOU WOULD RETURN…" Papyrus' smile seems duller than yesterday, and you feel something cold grip your chest at the sight. You drop your grocery bags on the floor next to the counter and smile at him. It comes off as more of a grimace.
"Don't worry about me…" You want to tell him that it'll take more than that to scare you off, but will it? You reach up and touch your throat in thought, noticing that it is not nearly as tender as it should be.
Papyrus stares at you, at your covered throat.
"I THINK, PERHAPS, I WILL WORRY ABOUT YOU…" He looks nearly startled at the words coming out of his mouth and quickly pours the dry pasta on the counter into the pot of boiling water.
"YOU ARE MY NEWEST FRIEND, AFTER ALL!"
Yeah, that is right - Papyrus is your new roommate, and you really need this housing situation to work out.
"Here, let me put these groceries up, and maybe I can help you finish up with the pasta?"
You eyeball the bottle of craft sprinkles he has sitting out next to a simmering pot of sauce and hope he hasn't already done what you think he's done with them.