Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sans woke up feeling foggy - falling asleep after an intense bout of crying always did that to him. He sniffled to try and clear his clogged nose, a gross wet sound that was barely effective, and got up from their cozy nest. He shuffled over to his hoodie dejectedly but stopped when he heard a quiet rustling sound under his foot. Sans had memorized every inch of that cave and Red knew never to move anything without telling him, so whatever was there shouldn't be. So he lifted his foot then knelt down to pick it up. It was soft like velvet as he ran his fingers over it and he held it up to his nose to smell it - it reminded him of his brother, who loved to read to him. "parchment," he murmured to himself.

Red was snoring on the bed, a bit of drool running down his face.

"red?" Sans called, standing back up. He brought it back to the nest hopefully. "i found something."

"no, tori we didn't eat it …" Red mumbled in his sleep. Then let out a big snore. “the snails ate... your pie."

Sans shook Red's shoulder. "love?" Red snored loudly again so Sans shook him a little harder.

"but i like the crunch - huh?" Red said waking up confused. "wh-what's wrong?" He said rubbing his sockets.

"is this a note?" Sans asked carefully. He was running his fingers over it, pretty sure it had letters on it - he could feel subtle indents as if someone had pressed a pen into it to write on it. He really hoped he wasn't just feeling that because he really, really wanted to.

"what's a note?" Red asked.

"oh. do you know what writing is?" Sans asked.

"no." He took the paper. “but there are markings all over this."

"ya, that's writing!" Sans said. "not like pictures of things, right? just symbols?"

"ya, there’re lines and curves and dots," Red said. "what does it mean?”

"i think someone left us a message!" Sans said, spirits lifting. "it could be about the egg - maybe someone found it and tried to bring it back but we weren't here, so they left this. we have to find someone who can read it!"

"but the townsfolks'r asses," Red said. “who else around here can read?"

Sans's elation faltered when he realized the truth of that - they would NEVER help him. He hadn't even been back there since Red stoned Aaron in the forest. He was sure he'd be blamed for that. Toriel could probably read, but he didn't know how to contact her - he'd have to ask her the next time she chose to visit them. "um ..." he racked his brain desperately before he remembered one creature they had met before who was known for being clever. "what about the sphinx?" He said carefully, knowing that Red wouldn't like that option.

"that guy in the portal?" Red said, cleaning his ear hole with his pinky. "the one who talks in riddles?"

"ya, i think he might be our best bet," Sans said. "or we could try the werewolves, but we'd have to wait for the next full moon unless you want to ask h-humans?"

"nah, we can try the riddle guy. we can tell him some puns," Red said.

"ok ya!" Sans said, getting up again and grabbing his hoodie. He swung it over his shoulders and held out his hand for Red before he remembered ... "wait, didn't you say the portal to his realm disappeared? how will we find him?"

"there are portals all over the place - they keep popping up," Red said getting up.

Sans patted his pockets gently, making sure Scout was where she usually was (she was in his pocket but in the opposite one as usual for some reason - he let her be) and he was ready to go. They didn't even eat breakfast before the two were on the move again.

Red did have a dried fish hin his inventory and he offered to Sans as they walked. "ya need to keep yer strength up, sansy. eat."

Sans bit the head off (the best part) and crunched it up easily.

"good boy." Red patted Sans head as they wandered the older area of the forest. It only took about an hour before Red called out: "hey look, a portal!"

"let's go!" Sans said eagerly, turning in a random direction.

Red steered him the right way to the portal and after making sure Sans was tightly wrapped in his tail, went through the magic gate.

Upon their appearance, the sphinx immediately became aware of the presence of two others in his realm and smiled - he knew exactly who it was (he remembered them clearly). He would love to be able to tease the medusa and make him wander around for a while before greeting them, but he recalled his skeleton mate was sensitive to the heat and he didn't want the mortal to die. So he vanished from reality and re-appeared before the skeleton couple.

The familiar form of a large blue lion with a skeleton head (much like Sans's) and a knowing grin floated before them, though it's wings never flapped (too much work). "hello," he said with a purr.

"knock knock" Red said.

"oh! who's there?" The sphinx asked happily - he loved jokes and riddles but it was very rare that anyone ever told any to him. It was usually the other way around.

"paper," Red replied.

"paper who?" The cat-like creature asked.

"we're ripping to know who, too." Red held up the paper. "sans says this has words on it."

“it does,” the sphinx said before cocking his head. The note disappeared from Red's grasp before reappearing in the sphinx's paw. He took a moment to read it. "well, that’s interesting," he said and the parchment vanished in a flash of fire and smoke (just for effect). "i have a riddle for you," the sphinx said.

"ah come on, we have had a bad few days. just tell us," Red whined.

"can you read it?" Sans said, getting antsy.

"all about, i can be felt. i can be heard and even smelt. i whisper and scream, beneath the wings, but you will never see me. what is it?" The sphinx said as if they hadn’t said anything.

"tch, come on. at least make it punny," Red complained. "is it air? wind?"

"wind, yes!" The sphinx said, pleased. "do you know what they say about someone who has suddenly disappeared?"

Sans perked up. "what? what do they say?!" He asked.

"that they were taken by 'the wind'," the sphinx said, making little quotation gestures with his paws. "i’d say more the personification of the wind. storm wind, maybe? that's a little fun fact for you."

Sans frowned - it sounded like the sphinx knew something, but he always spoke in riddles so maybe he didn't and was just messing with them.

"don't worry, parents - i'm your friend," he assured them with a grin - like the cat that got the cream. "how about another?"

Red felt proud he solved the riddle, but the feeling didn't last. "what does any of this have to do with the reading?" Red said grumpily. "we lost our egg. we just want to go look for it. we’re hoping the reading paper says where it is. now do the reading!" Red hissed.

“you know, just a little while ago something fell from the sky and hit me on the head,” the sphinx told them. “strangest thing. here it is: i can take you to places unseen, yet i remain where i have always been … until i don’t. what is it?”

“the portal!” Sans cried out. “it’s here, red!”

"It is?!" Red started looking around. "where is it. where is our egg?!"

“such fun. time for another riddle!” The sphinx began.

“sphinx, no more,” Sans implored. “if you know where the egg is, please tell us. it’s really close to hatching now and we don’t want to miss it.”

“just one more - as you know, the best things come in threes!” The sphinx said.

Sans nodded, he’ll do anything at this point.

“guarded by a fortress, but not of stone. inside a treasure three times has grown. not of gold, but just as precious,” the sphinx recited, his tone more serious than before.

"come on! give us our egg!" Red yelled.

The sphinx’s ears flicked in joy! “yes, it’s your egg!” He held it up for Red to see.

Red's sockets felt with tears of relief. "oh fucking stars!"

The egg shook in the sphinx’s grip, then tumbled out. “oops,” he said as it fell into the sand.

CRACK!

“r-red, what was that sound?” Sans asked fearfully.

"he dropped it!" Red's eye-lights were flashing with magic that didn't work on the powerful mythical monster. Red's tail wrapped around the egg protectively.

"that's what the note said to do: drop in sand," the sphinx said innocently. "you said you wanted to know."

The shell of the egg crumbled away into dust, revealing a little snake ball. There were several tails winding around a confusing jumble of bones.

"it hatched!" Red stopped his magic and pulled the snake ball to himself. "there are 3 babies," he said, carefully untangling them. "here is a blue one." He put it in Sam's arms.

Sans’s hands shook as he gently held his goop-covered baby. He touched the scrunched up face, much to the hatchlings dismay. Sans felt his own features in miniature and knew this one took after him. The baby started to cry.

"oh shit, don't cry." Red said. Then the other two did the same.

“can i feel the others?” Sans asked, reaching out one hand and holding the blue baby close to himself with the other. He didn’t care about the noise - it meant the babies were alive.

"yah, these two have sharp teeth like me. this one is red." He put the squirmy baby in Sans’s arms. "let me take the other so ya can feel him proper.”

Sans’s first instinct was to hold the baby closer and never let anyone else have it, but he could trust Red - he was their mother after all. Sans chuckled after the exchange. “this one is bigger than the other,” he said, stroking his hand down the pudgier tail. When he cupped the small head it felt different than the other one. “red, this one has … are these little snakes on his head?” The little squirmy things nudged his finger tips. They must be hungry.

"yes! he is the only one that has snakes," Red said proudly.

This baby quieted and fell asleep while Sans explored his features with his fingers. “oh red,” Sans said, tearing up with joy. “he looks just like you! he’s beautiful!” He delicately felt the points of the baby's needle-sharp teeth.

"yah, poor kid," Red said, holding blue and purple ones under his arms like sacks. "do ya want to hold the purple one?" Red asked, the two babies still crying. "the blue one keeps sucking on my fingers."

“yes!” Sans said, giving the red baby a hug and offering him to Red. “we gotta feed them. what do baby medusas eat?” Sans asked.

"mice, bugs, frogs. oooh I loved slugs as a kid," Red said as he handed the purple baby to Sans and scooped up the sleeping medusa. The little purple baby slithered all over Sans's lap.

Sans fumbled a little bit trying to get his hands on the hatchling while it refused to stay still. “this one is so tiny! he doesn’t really look like either of us, does he?” Sans asked when he was able to touch the baby’s face. It felt a little slimmer and his eye sockets were more almond-shaped.

"he looks more like a blend of ya and me than the others," Red said.

The purple baby bit down on the finger in his face, shaving off 0.01 of Sans’s HP. He started to suck the magic happily.

“ouch!” Sans yelped then laughed. “okay, we need to go hunt some mice or something for these little angels before i get eaten for lunch.”

"hey, only i get to suck on sans," Red said and lightly tapped the purple baby on the head. It hissed at Red. Red laughed and tapped the baby again on the head. "he reminds me of my baby brother,” he said fondly.

Sans laughed again.

"you two seem to be new at this, so i'll help you out. no riddles," the sphinx said, breaking up the family moment. "the little medusa can be raised as any medusa can. the other two are lamias, they do not exist in your dimension at this time, but they exist here. so they will be new to your forest - won't that be fun? little purple can eat bugs and slugs like his big brother, but little blue-boy is going to need to suckle."

"suckle? suckle what?" Red asked.

"skeleton mothers make constructs that produce magic milk for their babies to drink," Sans explained, remembering when his brother was a babybones. "c-can you do that?"

"i don't think so." Red said not sure how he would.

"why don't you try, sans?" The sphinx suggested.

"oh, uh ok," he agreed, holding the purple baby out to Red when he sought out another finger, preparing to bite again. Sans was very good at forming his ecto-body, and he was particularly proud of his ecto-cock (he felt like a genius that he could make something that Red enjoyed without having any reference. Possibly nothing else in nature looked quite like it, but it made Red happy and that's all Sans cared about). But he hadn't tried to form anything new since he was a teenager.

His ecto-body formed, filling out his shirt and shorts. "um .... i don't know what they should look like. no one's ever let me feel theirs," he said awkwardly.

"let me help you." The sphinx tapped Sans forehead with its tail and suddenly he knew what they should feel like and how they worked.

It only took a moment for Sans to figure out how to reconfigure his magic. He put his hands on his chest, feeling the new lumps. They were like two pillows that perfectly fit in his cupped hands and felt a little sensitive. For some reason, he blushed unsurely. "are they ok?" He asked his mate, seeking reassurance.

Red reached out and touched them. "they are soft."

"they are food for the baby. it will suckle them," the sphinx said.

"let's see if he likes them," Sans said.

The purple and red babies were sleeping. Red gave Sans the blue baby. He watched closely.

Sans took the wiggly bundle. "heh, lil squirmy-wormy," he said quietly and held his baby against his body with one arm while he worked his shirt up. He expected it to feel weird to do this, but when he brought the tiny head close to his new constructs it just felt natural. But would he be able to make milk if he wasn't the one who give birth to the egg? He really hoped so.

The baby latched on and sucked. It was a little painful at first but the milk came and it then it was fine.

"i want to try that!" Red said.

"and with that, the you two can go home," the sphinx told them.

Sans felt a gush of wind and it was suddenly several degrees cooler. He also felt hard stone under his bottom instead of sand. "are we home?"

"yes." Red put the two sleeping noodles in the playpen Sans had him make a while ago. He came back over to Sans and settled down beside him. "i'm so happy we all got home."

Sans hummed quietly for a few minutes, gently stroking his finger down the baby's face. "red?" He finally said.

"ya sweetheart?"

"can our babies see?" He asked quietly.

"i don't know. medusa’s eyes are hazy until we can eat and travel on our own, then they clear up and the mother sends us out. i chose to stay with my brother and we came here. it will be a few months until we know for sure." Red paused, looking at his children one by one. "the red one has light behind the haze but the other two.... i didn't see anythin' but fog."

Sans heard Red say he wasn't sure, but Sans has had such bad luck he really didn't know how to be optimistic. He supposed he should be grateful that maybe the red one will be able to see when he gets a little bigger (thanks to Red). But as for the other two ... "i'm sorry."

"for what?" Red asked, confused.

"it's my fault," Sans said bitterly. "you gave me such wonderful children and i cursed them."

"hold it now, sweetheart," Red said, pulling Sans into his lap. "if anything, i cursed the red one. yer strong and clever and i'm so happy two of our babies are like ya."

Sans could hear the love in Red's voice, and feel it in his soul. It made his own soul squeeze in his chest. "you aren't cursed, reddy," he said. "these children are blessed to have you as a mother."

Red leaned his head on Sanns shoulders. "and they’re blessed to have ya as a father. "

Sans was quiet for a moment then, enjoying the moment with his family. He chuckled softly. "i didn't expect to have three," he said. "we need to think of so many names now. how about sans junior, red junior and .... purple junior?" he joked.

"nah, their colors look like the berries ya found in the thicket. how about, razzberry, blueberry and cherry?" Red suggested.

"i assume this one is blueberry," Sans said. "what color are raspberries and cherries?" He asked curiously.

"cherries'r red and raspberries'r purple,” Red replied.

"i think razzberry is gonna be a handful," Sans predicted. Blueberry had stopped suckling and was now breathing peacefully and evenly. Sans gently patted his back until he heard a tiny, snakey burp.

"cherry and razz are sleeping but they will need to eat soon, too." Red kissed Sans’s cheek. "but before that, i want to try these!" Red cupped Sans boobies and laughed.