Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Another day of school...

Frisk loved school, but they were always so shy...

It was hard to make friends for them...

They were self-conscious about their high voice, so they didn't try to talk very much...

Luckily it was required as part of the curriculum at school to learn sign language...

And it wasn't one that was necessarily taught in other places...

It was a unique dialect to be able to speak with the ancient tribe in the mountain...

Because some of them didn't even have vocal cords capable of human languages...

Monsterkind lived in the mountain near their town...

They could leave but...

They refused to leave their ancestral homes despite at least Frisk's town accepting the monsters' existence...

Most of the time, especially when they got older, Frisk only signed...

When they got into homeroom that day there was muttering from their classmates...

And a new desk that hadn't been there the week before...

After only a minute of listening to others’ conversations while sitting at their desk Frisk knew exactly what was going on...

They were getting a new classmate today!

They had seen that moving truck this weekend but...

They only saw an older couple bringing things in...

Older than Frisk's parents...

They looked like they were in retirement!

If that was this new student's parents, damn!!!

They were old...

Outside of town things were quite beautiful so it wasn't unusual to see an older couple moving there for retirement...

With older parents like that...

They wondered how their new classmate would be...

Class started with attendance as always...

Everyone was here today; Frisk was proud of their classmates for all being on time for once...

While they had perfect attendance, not everyone did...

Frisk wanted everyone to have a good education and they could only do that if they got to school on time every day!

Ranting in their own head would do nothing to help today...

Frisky! Stop that!

An older teenager with almost blinding light blonde hair, super pale skin, one sapphire blue eye & one amber yellow eye...

What was it called again?

Heterochromia?

That's so cool.

He wore a brand new uniform as he stood next to Frisk's homeroom teacher.

"This is James, your new classmate.

James, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

What would you like us to know about you?"

He spoke in a pleasant baritone,

"Everyone who has ever known me thought of me as a chill guy...

I'm not particularly worried about making friends because most people know that I am easy to talk to... I especially love learning about science and such...

Mom's a culinary chemist and Dad's an astronomer...

Where can I sit, Teach?

Feet are still killin me from moving here..."

"We set up a seat for you right over there, James."

"Oh, forgot ta mention I prefer to be called Jay, if ya don't mind..."

James moved to sit down.

"Like the bird?"

"Yep, J-a-y."

James leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk casually.

The seat was to the direct right of Frisk's in the front row...

Frisk wanted to talk to him so badly, but they were so nervous they couldn't even sign...

Just stealing glances over at him whenever they got the chance...

At the end of Homeroom, they managed to get the courage to go up to James.

They tapped his desk so he would look up at them.

"Hey."

He was as chill as he said...

They started signing,

"Hello Jay, I'm Frisk."

"Frisk?

That's a unique name.

Are you deaf?"

Frisk signed their reply,

"No, this makes me happy."

"I'm sure your voice is as lovely as the woman who has it."

Frisk was uncomfortable now...

This was why they were so shy...

Fucking people assuming...

They were annoyed as they signed,

"Not a girl, but a high voice."

"Sorry to upset you, I didn't know!"

He sounded genuine like he had just made a mistake...

Frisk couldn't wear their binder all the time...

For safety and so... Today was one of those days when Frisk's full bosom was on display...

Some chest would have been okay...

But ones their size were ridiculous!

He got up to leave, 

"It's good to meet ya, Frisk. I hope we have more classes together so we can chat more..."

Frisk was blushing as James thankfully went in the opposite direction for his next class...

Frisk quickly developed a crush on James...

He was a really sweet guy...

Sometimes...

They wished they could be comfortable speaking out loud...

Because signing could only say so much...

It was nice being his friend though...

But...

As Frisk's love grew...

Something strange started happening...

It was spring and Frisk had gardening duty in the school garden, so they had thought they had just accidentally breathed in a few flower petals the first time it happened...

They were denying to themselves what was going on...

Until they coughed up a little bit of blood with more petals one day...

They knew exactly what was going on...

Why this?

Why now??

Why for him???

They needed to tell him as soon as possible...

They needed to be brave and speak for once so he would understand what they meant...

So...

In their room at home, they practiced exactly what they would say to him...

Clear and concise as possible...

They invited James to a picnic in a clearing in the forest near the summit of the mountain...

There was this really nice hiking trail up there and it wasn't too high where someone who hadn't done it before would get lost or anything...

And the two had gone up there for picnics before...

And they would talk for hours...

In their own ways, of course...

They were determined to tell him, tell him out loud how they felt.

So, after lunch...

They signed to him,

"I have something I want to tell you,” And they got up...

James following Frisk's lead.

Frisk spoke out loud in a single statement.

"Jay, I love you romantically."

James differently coloured eyes grew wide as Frisk blushed brightly.

"I'm sorry, Frisk...

I only see you as a friend..."

Frisk started coughing again...

Golden buttercup flower petals with blood smothered on them were in their hands...

They started crying as they ran off towards the summit with only a small backpack on their back...

There were rules about going to the summit itself...

It had been about a century...

Other than an incident about 2 years before...

No humans had ever seen a monster...

That one time Frisk had ever seen a monster they were peaceful but terrifying...

The fall from the summit into the cavern could easily be fatal...

Frisk hoped it would be for them...

If James didn't love them...

They'd rather die a quick death than a slow and painful Hanahaki disease related one instead...

"Frisk...

Don't jump...

You're my best friend...

Even though I don't love you in that way...

Let me still help you, please!

Frisk nooooo!"

There was nothing James could do...

Frisk had already jumped.

Chapter Text

As Frisk fell, they heard James' voice slowly get farther and farther away...

They heard wind in their ears as they started falling faster and faster...

And then they couldn't hear anything else and felt like they were cradled in something...

They couldn't feel anything anymore...

Until feeling came back...

They felt something soft under them...

Like they were laying on a plant-like bed...

They still couldn't hear anything...

But they chose to open their eyes...

They looked up into an enormous cavern...

They survived their fall!

Frisk slowly sat up; their ears were ringing...

They realized from the height they fell...

They must have hit terminal velocity...

Eventually they could hear the world around them...

The light wind from above...

And the swishing back and forth of something nearby...

It was like a... whip?

Frisk managed to get up and get their balance...

Promptly getting another coughing fit...

More blood and petals...

This is what they would have to deal with for the rest of their life...

Now that they managed to survive that damn fall...

There were buttercup flowers that they were laying on...

The patch flourished in the cavern’s sunlight from above...

Frisk cautiously walked towards the curious sound.

And a giant buttercup flower turned towards them...

"Thank goodness! You're awake!"

What a high-pitched voice they had...

Almost like a little boy...

The very first monster for Frisk to speak to...

In their way.

Frisk signed to them,

"I'm sorry to have caused a disturbance."

"Oh! You know MSL? Monster sign language?"

Frisk chose to just nod.

"I prefer it."

"What's your name anyways? I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"

"I'm Frisk. It's good to meet you."

"Frisk? You're my partner's younger sibling, they'll be happy to see you again!"

"You mean Chara? I thought they were dead..."

"They're not dead, Chara's just a monster like the rest of us now.

I can bring you to them if you'd like!"

"I don't want them to see me like this..."

Frisk was worried about what Chara would say...

Because Chara came down here for the same reason Frisk did...

They were also afflicted by Hanahaki a few years before Frisk had...

Because they had neglected theirs...

Chara was going to die either way...

Even if they had the surgery...

Their lungs were already so destroyed by the time they had left for the Underground...

Even if they had fallen in love with a monster...

They would have died...

Chara had...

Frisk saw their dead body held in the arms of a tall goat monster...

Menacing and intimidating but they acted like they were readying a burial...

"Were you that goat we saw two years ago?"

The monster flower somehow blushed,

"They were me and Chara at the same time...

What you saw was a soul fusion...

A monster and a human as one being...

The adults thought I killed the love of my life...

But in truth...

After Chara realized, I didn't want to hurt anyone...

I saved us both...

We are not the same that we were before, but Chara's no longer sick and that's all that matters to me."

They sounded like a kid but...

This Flowey...

The way he talked about Chara...

Frisk just knew...

That love...

Was more like a life partner than just a school child crush...

"They really miss you; you know? You are the only human they talk about with good memories..."

Frisk smiled and lamented...

"I do miss them...

Yeah, let's go see them..."

"They're at my mom's place at the end of the ruins...

After what happened to us...

My parents separated...

But they were already...

It was the straw that broke the camel's back...

Like Chara would say..."

Frisk giggled and coughed again...

Only one petal this time...

It was mostly blood...

"Do you have Hanahaki too?

I remember it being really rough on Chara at the beginning...

But after them and I shared mutual love...

The flowers that were killing them wilted and died...

Shame was...

That cough of theirs never went away...

They wanted me to carry them to see you one last time...

But we hadn't even gotten to town before their Soul separated from their withered body...

I managed to catch it before it shattered...

It fused with mine...

I could feel sadness and rage within us...

Chara was so angry that they were so hurt by that man..."

Frisk knew exactly who Flowey was talking about...

"And so sad that they didn't get to see you they ran straight into your town growling...

They had complete control of our body...

It took me using the breathing exercises I had taught them to calm them down....

So many humans saw us...

We could see their nervous faces...

It had been over two and a half years since they had last seen you...

With the way you look like now...

Even with that picture I saw of the two of you that they had with them...

I'm not surprised I couldn't recognize you either..."

"I'm happy to meet you despite the circumstances, Flowey."

Frisk tried to follow Flowey into the main part of the ruins but fell...

Flowey with a quick cradle of vines caught Frisk before they fell on the back of their head...

"Dizziness from blood loss is a normal symptom..."

He quickly looked around the room and found a long stick that he broke into a walking stick with a sharp end...

"Use this, not only to stabilize yourself but for protection too if you need it...

Monsters tend to be...

Very aggressive.

Even if you can spare someone, sometimes using a defensive force is necessary."

Frisk stood up with the stick...

They had done this with a training sword in the past for fun...

But now Flowey was right...

Frisk knew what this disease would eventually do to them...

Slowly weaken Frisk to the point of death...

At least now...

Frisk had their older sibling and...

Was Flowey their brother-in-law?

Something to ask later...

The two walked into the next room...

A group of buttons were on the ground and a sign at the end of the room written in monster script...

Before Frisk could even read it, Flowey pushed on the buttons to the left & the right with his vines and the door opened...

"This puzzle's really annoying to solve... So best to skip the pleasantries and just do it for you."

Frisk read the sign, The left has lava, the right has piranhas, only the cool stone is one's salvation.

Frisk was hoping that was just a metaphor as they followed Flowey into the next room...

"If I had pushed any of the buttons in the middle the walls would start collapsing on either side and water filled piranhas & lava would have poured from either side...

Both humans and monsters alike have died from that puzzle..."

It was taught in school that monsters set up puzzles to test each other's intelligence and right to live...

So, athletics and problem solving were really important in case humans ever came Underground.

It was a sign of disrespect if someone ignored someone else's puzzle Underground...

Monsters really liked games too...

Frisk was so lucky they were really good at logic puzzles...

"This room's actually a training room, and that is a training dummy."

A strangely shaped training dummy stood in front of Frisk and Flowey.

It had an even stranger aura that felt familiar to Frisk...

"Try entering a battle with it and I'll explain how to FIGHT."

Frisk was unsure of themselves, but stood in front of the training dummy in a defensive stance...

Flowey instructed,

"First thing you should try to do is check its stats.

It's a way to size up your opponent."

Somehow, Frisk saw something strange in the bottom of their vision....

And with instinct they knew they needed to ACT>CHECK...

Training dummy

Atk 60

Def 60

There is something suspicious and familiar about them

"Do you feel the difference in your soul right now? Dodge the white attacks they will use against you...

They will hurt your will to live.

A monster battle is all about willpower, your DETERMINATION."

A slow moving slash started moving towards Frisk who dodged out of the way...

Without another instruction, Frisk tried to plead with the dummy,

"I'm Frisk, I didn't mean to offend you...

I don't want to hurt you!"

A familiar voice came from the dummy,

"You can't be Frisk; you look nothing like them!"

Two quicker slashes that almost hit Frisk got thrown at them.

"You should bop them on the head, get some sense into them!"

Flowey frantically suggested.

Frisk didn't want to, but they were scared...

So, they weakly bopped the training dummy squarely on top of its head.

"Oww!"

A specter zipped out of the training dummy and rubbed their head...

After a moment they were confused...

"Huh? One damage?

Why would..."

They floated over to Frisk and took a better look at them...

And started bawling...

"You look so grown up!

I'm so sorry for attacking you, sib!"

That's what Chara always called them...

"Is that you, Chara?"

"It is!"

Chara gave Frisk a huge hug.

"I see you're using MSL, are you doing it full time now?"

Frisk nodded as they cried in Chara's spectral arms.

Frisk realized there was something different about Chara's voice... It was similar but not as deep...

Were monsters able to choose how they sound like?

After the siblings let go Flowey asked,

"What are you doing here, Chara?

Why aren't you with Mom?"

"Your Mom's fine!

She's just making a pie.

Do I have to have an excuse to go hang out with my husband?

Seeing my younger sibling is just a bonus!"

So, they are married...

They're an odd but adorable couple...

A ghost and a flower...

"If you think we're cute now, Frisk...

I should really show you our wedding photo, it's at the house in our room."

The three slowly traveled through the Ruins... Beautiful music winding through the cavern...

The couple mostly let Frisk solve the puzzles, especially after Chara told Flowey how capable they were...

Chara did see that their sibling was sick...

"Frisk, did I know who caused this?"

"No, he was a new student...

He was a laid back, really nice guy...

He just didn't like me in that way..."

Flowey was intrigued,

"Tell us more about him!"

"He has super light blonde hair...

It's almost white...

Pale skin that even in all the time I knew him never got a tan...

He constantly wore sunscreen so no sunburns either...

Then there were his eyes...

He has heterochromia...

His left eye is a sapphire blue, and his right eye is an amber yellow...

He was the type of guy that you could talk about anything with..."

Frisk started coughing and lost their MSL concentration...

The two looked at each other...

"There's someone you should meet...

He's a friend of Flowey's mom and he's your age, Frisk...

He also has a fascination for humans...

Who knows? He might actually like you."

"What do you mean Chara?"

Flowey explained instead,

"He's almost exactly how you describe, but he's a monster from here in the Underground...

As soon as we venture into Snowdin, probably tomorrow morning...

We'll likely meet him."

"Does he hang around the border?"

"He's on patrol to alert new arrivals to the Underground...

The king wants to know as soon as possible if there are new monsters or humans around..."

"The King?

Who's the King?"

"Flowey's father."

"Does that mean... Flowey's a prince?"

"He is but...

He's not the heir anymore...

Our kingdom's next monarch was the king's apprentice...

She's this fish humanoid monster named Undyne...

Technically when our souls separated again, our ages reset...

So, it makes sense that the King wanted an older heir...

But we kept all of our memories...

But we aren't the same as we were before and we're okay with that...

We both got training from Lady Toriel to get used to our new bodies...

Flowey's mom is an amazing person..."

"Hey Flowey...

If you're comfortable with it...

I have a strong feeling that wasn't your name before you were a flower...

What was your name when you were a goat?"

Flowey does an almost shrug with his leaves,

"I don't mind, it was Asriel...

It doesn't really suit me anymore, even though my soul is part of this flower, I'm not that boss monster anymore..."

Boss Monster...

A term for these incredibly powerful monsters who have souls that can survive outside their original body for a short time.

If killed in a certain way, human souls can eternally survive outside the body...

It is also the reason why a human can die from a broken heart...

Their soul literally shatters from the loss of a super close loved one...

"I have a question, what happens to a soul fusion after it's separated from its body?"

"Like a human, it can survive eternally, but also like a monster it has access to magic...

So, we were able to call out for help...

The king and queen at the time looked for us and were able to find our soul in a pile of dust...

Asriel's body...

Next to my original body's corpse...

They called for the royal scientist...

A lizard monster by the name of Alphys...

To help us...

It took some time, but she was able to separate out two normal monster souls...

One of them ended up being fused to a flower and the other became a ghost monster..."

"Why was Flowey fused to a flower, and you could just be a ghost monster?"

"My soul was incredibly unstable... The only way to save me was to connect me to a vessel...

The closest possible one was an experimental giant buttercup flower Alphys had at her desk...

Chara's soul was able to form its own body...

Both of us have grown to like our new existences...

I loved bringing buttercup flowers all over the Underground and planting them as a child...

And Chara always enjoyed hanging out with the ghost monsters..."

"Hey Flowey! Let's stop by the Ruins Spider Cafe! I want to get some Spider Cider to go with Mom's pie!"

"What Spider Cider?"

"You know how we had apple cider among humans, Frisk? It's that but made out of magical spiders...

It tastes really similar too!

Don't worry about eating spiders...

Due to it being monster food it will just absorb right into your body without having to feel the spiders in your throat or anything."

It made sense that monsters had unique cuisine...

They wanted to taste this Spider Cider...

"How many bottles should we buy?

You should just keep your money Frisk, who knows? It could be useful later..."

"Seven!

One bottle to have with dinner and then one bottle to keep for later just in case for the three of us..."

Chara asked for seven bottles of Spider Cider from the tiny spider vendor...

The three of them each held two bottles and Flowey had a third one in an extra vine for his mom.

Chara thanked the spiders, and they made the rest of their way to Toriel's house...

Frisk had solved a lot of puzzles and had fights with a good amount of monsters...

But they chose not to hurt a single one...

A little bit of kindness...

Could save their lives in the future...

Chara knocked on the front door.

"We're back Mom and we have a guest!"

A tall goat woman opened the door...

"I just pulled the pie out of the oven; it needs some time to cool off and who's this guest?"

Toriel saw Frisk behind her son and child-in-law...

"They are my younger sibling, Frisk...

We need to leave for Snowdin tomorrow morning...

They're sick like I was before...

I think I know a way to get them some help."

Both Flowey and Chara looked apprehensive at the old goat woman's reaction...

"Are you bringing them to Alphys?

She's been able to do amazing things with souls!"

"Chara wasn't talking about the soul fusion mom, think about the way Chara was when they originally got here..."

"Oh...

Oh, my Dear..."

Toriel gave Frisk a big hug...

"Having love that isn't returned can really break people...

I remember what it was like to break up with my husband...

It's not the same thing but...

Losing love isn't the end, Dear...

Start a new life...

And maybe a little love from someone new can help you..."

Frisk started coughing again...

This time a little bit of blood got onto the goat lady's dress...

"Let me get you a towel! 

You should sit down at the table..."

In the kitchen there was a table with three chairs and a large rustic boot.

Like it was a part of normal routine, Flowey moved his roots into the boot...

Toriel came back with a black towel... It had subtle stains all over it...

"That's the same towel I used when I was sick..."

Chara commented.

After wiping the blood off their face, Frisk watched as slices of snail pie were passed around the table...

They had never tried escargot before...

So, they were hesitant to try it...

"It tastes like boiled chicken, but a lot better Frisk!

Try it!"

The three monsters dug into their pieces...

Frisk cautiously took a bite...

It was like a meat pie!

Everyone enjoyed their pie with spider cider...

It was a filling and delicious meal...

"Thank you, Lady Toriel!

I wasn't expecting it but that was an amazing meat pie!"

Frisk bowed their head in respect...

The former queen smiled at them...

It looked like the little family of monsters had really rough lives...

Flowey's body had little rips all over it and it seemed like while he tried to stay optimistic, he faltered sometimes while they traveled through the Ruins...

Frisk already knew a lot of the shit that happened to Chara...

Then there was Toriel who had the slightest tent of red in her white fur, like she had been in enough battles where no matter how much she washed, not all the blood could completely go away...

Frisk felt like they fit right into this family...

They were their family...

Their older sibling and their in-laws...

"After you show me around, I would love to live with all of you...

If it's alright..."

"Of course, Dear! It sounds like a great idea! We will have to fix up the extra bedroom...

But we do have space!

I'll make sure to have it set up for you when you get back..."

The old goat lady looked a little bit sad everyone was leaving...

"We'll be back, Mom...

Chara and I will protect Frisk until we can get them treatment...

We'll find a way and we will all come back here safe..."

"All three of you should rest...

You have a long journey tomorrow!"

Toriel shooed the three off to bed...

They all ended up in the same bedroom that night...

"This is mine & Chara's room!"

On the bookshelf there were a photos side by side...

The one to the far left was of two adult goat monsters with a young goat monster between them...

The female adult monster was a younger version of Toriel...

Which meant the other adult goat monster must have been Flowey's father...

And the small goat monster was Flowey when he was a kid...

The photo right next to it was of Frisk and Chara when they were younger... Chara must have brought that from their old life...

Then next to it was a photo of Chara older than the last time they saw them alive with presumably Asriel... The two were in tuxedos...

They looked so happy...

Was that their wedding photo?

Lastly there was a recent photo of Chara, Flowey and Toriel...

Chara was giving Flowey bunny ears with their spectral fingers...

"Was that your wedding photo?"

Frisk pointed at the one with the couple in tuxs.

"Yep.

Literally less than 20 seconds after taking the photo Flowey's dad pulled me into a dance...

He used to be a good man...

But after...

He doesn't consider us family anymore...

It's easier for him to think of us as being dead than to accept what happened, happened!"

Chara's brown eyes started to glow red...

"Chara!

Calm down!

Use your breathing exercises...

In and out... In and out..."

Flowey looked relieved after Chara did as instructed...

"S-sorry about that, Frisk...

Whenever I get even a little bit upset my magic loses control and...

Flowey always has to move quickly to make sure I don't hurt myself or others...

I just despise Asgore.

He gets my magic boiling...

Flowey really misses him though...

No matter how crappy a parent is, if they raised you, they're still your parent... So even if they aren't healthy to be in your life, you'll still miss them..."

"We should sleep, Chara..."

They all ended up sleeping in the room...

Flowey under a sheet covered heat lamp, Chara curled up in a bean bag chair they couldn't phase through, and Frisk on the bed that hadn't been used in years...

It was a surprisingly big bed...

Frisk tried to not think about what it was probably used for...

But after getting that intrusive thought out of their head, they fell asleep...

Frisk woke up the next morning to Chara giggling in their sleep.

"Azzy..."

After a moment Flowey lifted up the blanket and admired his partner...

"Chara can be so cute sometimes..."

He muttered as he groggily woke up...

He quickly noticed Frisk was also awake...

"Morning Frisk, are you ready for more traveling today?"

Frisk nodded...

They were used to hikes, so they had a lot of endurance.

"After grabbing a few things, we will be leaving the Ruins via this house's basement.

I would highly recommend you grab one of the old sweaters from the closet..."

Flowey pointed a leaf at the closed wardrobe on one side of the room....

"It gets really cold where we're going...

You or Chara will need to carry the boot I'm currently in...

It's dangerous for me to be in the frozen soil there...

With my delicate body I can and have gotten frostbite before...

It's like getting hypothermia for humans...

I almost died again one time because I didn't prepare properly for Snowdin...

My old fur protected me from the cold, so it was never an issue before..."

Frisk never thought about the difficulties there could be for different types of monsters...

"Why are you so loud this morning?!"

Chara grumpily whined.

"Morning, my Sweet.

Are you ready for this?"

Frisk couldn't stop themselves from awing at the cute pet name.

"I'm worried Toriel won't let us go without a fight...

I have an idea that I'm pretty sure will work if I pull it off...

It will keep all three of you safe...

And will also mean Toriel won't kill herself from loneliness..."

"Do you mean staying here in the Ruins with her? I don't want to be away from you for that long..."

The ghost monster scooped up Flowey's boot in their arms and hugged him...

"As long as you promise to come back safe...

Even though I will miss you...

I will be okay."

It was weird to see the two kiss...

But also incredibly sweet...

Frisk opened the wardrobe door and there were outfits for all sorts of weather in there...

Both feminine and masculine...

They grabbed a red and black striped sweater and pulled it over their head...

Surprisingly in the mirror of the wardrobe Frisk couldn't see their breasts anymore?

Frisk asked Chara who was gently holding Flowey... 

"Is it just me or can you not see my boobs anymore?"

"Oh!

We have clothes here that are enchanted to make us appear as we wish we could be...

Monsters are even able to change how we sound or how we look...

Just by sheer will If we have enough magic...

That was my favourite sweater before...

With that one I wasn't flat chested as I always was before...

It seems for you to be the other way..."

Chara smiled at their sibling...

The three left the bedroom with Frisk throwing their backpack back on their back...

Flowey had grabbed a book of some sort as well...

"Good morning, my children! I have made breakfast for us!"

On the table there were four plates with mushroom scrambles...

They all sat down and ate...

Another amazing meal from the old goat lady.

"Are you sure you're leaving this morning?

Why not a little later?

I've barely gotten to know you Frisk..."

"Actually Mom...

It's only Frisk and I that are going...

Chara will be staying here with you..."

Flowey hoped that would stop his mom from trying her guilt trips...

A smile of pure glee crossed her face.

"I get to spend time with my child-in-law?!"

She turned to Chara.

"Well, my child, I would like you to help me renovate your younger sibling's new room while they and my son are gone...

Is that alright?"

"Yeah Toriel, it is."

After giving Flowey one more big hug and kiss Chara handed him to Frisk...

Toriel grabbed two bottles of spider cider, two leftover slices of snail pie, and one leftover slice of butterscotch cinnamon pie...

"Take these for your journey, only eat that second type of pie if you ever have to confront the King.

It will catch him off guard and make him easier to fight if you have to..."

"With the two of us together, I think we'll be alright Mom."

"Thank you for all of this, Lady Toriel!

We will return..."

Frisk coughed into the black towel again...

That was a lot of petals and blood...

Frisk put all the supplies into their bag and walked downstairs with Flowey's boot in their arms...

They didn't really talk as Frisk continued down the almost quiet hall...

Eventually, they got to a door...

Flowey pushed the door open with his vines and the traveling companions felt the cold wind of Snowdin Forest...

Chapter Text

Frisk walked deeper into Snowdin Forest.

"Don't look at me, watch the world around you!

If you think the Ruins were dangerous, this place is a lot worse!"

Flowey warned.

Frisk nodded as they kept walking.

They passed over a stick too big for them to pick up...

Then...

Crunch!

They turned around to see the stick had been broken...

Frisk started running as fast as they could with their walking stick and Flowey's boot in their arms.

They came upon a locked gate, with nowhere else to go, Frisk held their walking stick defensively as they looked to see who was following them.

Out of the darkness someone with a familiar shape and height appeared...

He wore a fluffy black and gold jacket with a red sweater underneath, black slacks, and black slippers.

His face...

He was a skeleton monster!

With sharp pointy teeth including a golden one...

With glowing sapphire blue and amber yellow eyes...

"good morning, princey!"

The skeleton monster teased in a smooth baritone voice.

Flowey hid his face inside the boot...

At the moment he hid, Frisk could see him blush.

"I told you to never call me that, Sans!"

Flowey yelled out of the boot.

He sounded more high-pitched than he normally did...

Poor guy.

Sans chuckled.

"who's this? they look like your partner."

A sheepish Flowey popped his petals back out of the boot, still blushing a little.

"This is Frisk, Chara's younger sibling."

Sans gave Frisk a long look.

"how old are they?"

A faint sapphire blue blush spread across Sans' face.

Flowey gave him a knowing look, "They're your age."

Sans somehow smiled.

"you're gorgeous by the way, frisk, has anyone ever told you that before~?"

Frisk blushed brightly, no one had ever told them that before while they wore a binder...

Which even though it didn't feel like it...

This magical sweater was.

Frisk looked down, with the sweater on...

They were B cups...

And Sans found them hot!

As long as he wasn't creepy about it...

This dude was a winner.

Frisk moved Flowey and the walking stick to their right hand so they could sign one-handed.

"No."

"msl? interesting."

This must have been the friend Flowey and Chara were talking about...

He was handsome...

But how could a skeleton be handsome?

Then again...

Chara fell for a goat man, so Frisk was a hypocrite.

If Frisk wasn't in pain, they would have laughed too...

Frisk started coughing...

Flowey collected the black towel from their pocket and handed it to them...

"whoa whoa! are you a'right?"

Frisk coughed into the towel...

Two flower petals covered in blood...

Damn, this was getting bad...

Tears formed in their eyes...

Sans thought for a moment, "hey... what do you get when you cross a chicken and a pile of garbage?"

Both Flowey and Frisk shrugged.

"a clucking mess!"

Frisk started laughing.

Sans was hysterical too!

"Funny!"

They doubled over laughing.

"i'm glad you're cherryed up!

i should properly introduce myself, i'm sans, sans the skeleton."

Sans offered his hand to shake.

Frisk cheerfully shook it, feeling a sting in their hand...

It hurt...

Frisk yelped as they let go of Sans' hand...

Tears filled their eyes...

"You see how upset they are! You idiot!"

Flowey scolded.

Sans looked at the joy buzzer in his hand...

"i need to turn the power down on this thing again...

it's not supposed to hurt like that..."

Sans looked into Frisk's eyes,

"i'm sorry, i didn't mean to hurt you..."

Frisk knew he was being genuine...

The worry in his voice...

James was never like this...

He never apologized for hurting them by accident...

He would just never mention it...

"you okay? do ya need a monster candy or somethin?"

Sans started digging around in his jacket.

Before Frisk could protest, Sans handed them a wrapped monster candy.

"have it, just in case."

He smiled at them.

Frisk popped it into their mouth...

This one tasted different than the ones they had in the ruins...

Those tasted like chocolate...

While this one... 

It was like peppermint.

The best peppermint candy they ever had!

They moaned in delight.

"that good, huh?"

Sans smirked at them.

"i believe they're made by the youngest of the holiday family, they're wild about things like giftmas..."

Frisk was confused.

"Giftmas is the Underground's winter holiday."

Flowey explained.

Frisk nodded in understanding.

"so, water you doin underground?"

Frisk revealed the black towel with the bloody flower petals on it.

"oh...

lovesick like chara used to be, huh?"

Frisk nodded.

"some people can be assholes, but i have a feelin you have come to the right place~"

Was Sans flirting with them?!?

Frisk wanted to hide themself in the snow.

"are you not used to flirtin? it's okay," Sans whispered, "i don't do it very often."

Back in his normal voice, "follow me to snowdin, we can go get somethin to eat."

With a wave of his hand, the gate glowed blue and opened...

He walked through, expectant for Frisk to follow him.