Chapter Text
When things are tough, you like to think of the little kindnesses of the world you experienced or saw. Big things or small ones. Like seeing a kid share their food with the stray animals, seeing younger people help the elderly across the street. Or like when you volunteer at the old folk's home or read to the young kids at the library. Seeing their happy faces always brings a smile to yours, even if you've had an extremely bad day.
Or even when that teacher in elementary school bought you a sketchbook for Christmas when she noticed you kept scribbling in the margins of your homework. When the kids would go sit with someone who always sat alone at lunch. And the kind family that, even if they weren't that financially stable to begin with, took in the poor kid they saw struggling. Showed them a kind of love they've never experienced or knew they needed.
Sometimes thinking of these things help, sometimes they don't. You sometimes wonder if others do the same when it gets tough. Think about the good things, little drops of kindness, when things just won't seem to change for the better. It gets hard, you can't deny. And sometimes those little acts just can't seem to bring your mood up. But, you continue on still, trying as hard as you can. There really isn't enough kindness in the world.
As a broke college student, there's a lot of rough times. At first, an old friend offering to let you stay with her and her.... friends?... boyfriends?... for just a small amount of rent was a dream come true. You could afford the price she gave, it was better than anywhere else you could find. But... you quickly found it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be....
You don't know why, but all of those skeletons you live with seem to despise you. Or just blatantly avoid you if nothing else. Even the ones who seem to want to be friends with everyone.
You had really high hopes when you first moved in. But you could tell from your first interactions that it wasn't going to go that well. When you first met the head of the household, Sans.
He was waiting in front of the door when you first pulled in. You hadn't been warned that Taylor's roommates were skeletons, so to see him was a little bit of a shock. You knew monsters were a thing of course, it'd been almost three years since they surfaced after all. But... skeletons were a first.
Despite that, you pulled yourself together, hopped out of the car and went up to greet him.
And he didn't seem all that happy to meet you. And despite his sour look, you gave him a friendly smile and your name.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." You held out your hand, but he just stared at you and after a few seconds, you dropped your hand back to your side.
"sure, kid. m'name's sans." He introduces. "a few ground rules, 1. clean up after yourself. don't be making us clean up after you and don't leave your stuff laying around. 2. buy your own stuff, don't use our things. kitchen's free to use but use your own stuff. same goes for bathrooms. 3. don't go into the other's rooms without permission. and if you steal anything from one of the others, you're gonna have a bad time."
You're shocked by his tone first of all, and second that he thinks he needs to tell you to clean up after yourself and not to steal from anyone. But, maybe they had bad roommates before?
"oh, and stay out of the basement."
"S-sure. I'll remember that." You nodded. Sans then showed you to the room you'd be staying in. It wasn't all that big, but still bigger than the room you shared with Syna back home and you were happy to call it your own.
And when you were finished moving in, happy with the way you have everything set up, you tried to greet your new roommates.
You had found Papyrus and Blue in the kitchen, arguing over whether spaghetti or tacos were a better meal for supper. Though they had quickly quieted when you entered and stared at you with wide eye sockets. You smiled awkwardly and introduced yourself.
"O-OH. YOU'RE TAYLOR'S FRIEND." Was Papyrus' response and you nodded. It was partially true after all, but you were more old friends that recently reconnected over social media. "I... I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS."
"I'M THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE... UH.. NICE TO MEET YOU HUMAN."
"Nice to meet you both as well." You smiled. "Thank you for allowing me to stay here. I really appreciate it."
"O-OF COURSE!" They're both sweating nervously, glancing every which way. You get the feeling they're uncomfortable and excuse yourself, having the feeling they wanted to say something but were holding back. But you just guessed they were nervous around humans and left it at that.
Most of the introductions were... cold or awkward like that. Papyrus and Blue's had most definitely been the nicest. Both Red and Stretch brushed you off with a glare and the only thing they said was to warn you to stay away from their brothers. Edge and Black straight up threatened to kill you if they caught you in their rooms or stealing something from them.
Mutt was definitely the outlier of the entire group. He hadn't been nervous, he hadn't threatened you in any way. He just... didn't seem to care. He gave you his name, then walked off after a few short words. And it was... fine.
And as the weeks went on, you found that Taylor seemed to have a strictly sexual relationship with Red and went out shopping with Edge and Black a lot. Papyrus and Blue cooked for her a lot and Stretch baked her sweets sometimes. Sans seemed to always be out of the house or in the basement. Which you didn't really care much about, until you slowly found out it appeared like the skeletons’ whole lives revolved around Taylor and what she wanted.
Then.... the curtain started to pull back more and more. You found out how Taylor treated them.... How she decided she was going to treat you and why she probably even let you stay here in the first place.
You really didn't like it.
There's not much you can do, unfortunately, no matter how much you want to. The skeletons won't listen to you or take your word over hers. So, you only do what you can and keep to your plan of staying for the year, then try to find a cheap apartment somewhere in the city. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped, after all.
So, you just carry on, thinking about the little acts of kindness throughout your life. Trying to get by through all this. You've suffered through years of abuse, you can get through this as well.
You're not alone anyway. One of those skeletons believes you, and became a close friend. Really the only one you have up here so far. You didn't hit it off immediately, but the two of you became close after a little heart to heart at the university you both attend. He's a little rough around the edges, but he's a good guy.
"you look like an ugly raccoon. why are you up so late?"
It's such a loving relationship, really.
"I have a paper due in five hours. What about you, Mr. Has No Grounds to Talk About MY Eyebags?" You counter, raising an eyebrow at the lanky skeleton laying on his bed. He's squinting at you from over his laptop, the said laptop the only light source in the room. Mutt grumbles about his own paper and smartasses who think they're funny. You just shake your head and walk over to his side.
You had a feeling he'd still be up, so you decided to come over and keep him company. So, you get comfy on his bed with him, Mutt shifting in place to accommodate you with little protest.
You half think Mutt befriended you just to spite Taylor, as she seems to hate you now for some reason. Even though she's the one who offered to let you stay here in the first place. Mutt doesn't like Taylor, never really did. He doesn't understand what the others find so attractive about her, which he lamented one night to you. He, frankly, finds it weird how everyone else in this house fawns over her. You, however, find it disturbing, and their relationships.... abusive.
You're glad Mutt didn't fall for her. He's such a good guy and you'd hate to see what would've happened to him when this whole thing falls apart. …. You're still worried about what's going to happen to the others, even if they treat you the way they do.
"It's just four in the morning," you yawn, stretching an arm across his ribcage. "I get up around this time for work sometimes anyway."
"shuttup," Mutt grumbles intelligently. You chuckle. "you should be trying to get more sleep. two hours of sleep ain't healthy."
"You should follow your own advice sometimes, Mutt," you shoot back. Mutt grumbles under his breath, glaring half-heartedly at you.
You chuckle at his reaction and ask him what he's even working on right now, a glance at his laptop looking like a sketch for some type of machine or something. You always half feel bad for him with the amount of projects he has due, then remember he did it all to himself and don't feel as bad for him. With his major in mechanical engineering, minors in other engineering, and then doing artsy stuff on the side for a bit of money, which isn't really as much of a need as it is just for something to do.
Even still, you're not sure if he really needs to even go to school for mechanical engineering. He already seems to know all that stuff even without the classes. But maybe he's just going to get a degree. Who knows?
You can't really say much about how much he works. With your schooling and work at the coffee shop, then volunteering at the library and old folk's home. And also doing various things around the house, that Taylor ultimately takes credit for. Yeah, you have a pretty full schedule too.
Eventually you're able to tear Mutt away from his work to get at least a little bit of sleep.
______
You gather your school things and shove them into your backpack, quickly heading downstairs to meet with Mutt. You ignore several glares and the other noise of the various skeletons and the other human girl going about their mornings as you hop down the last two steps, heading straight for the kitchen.
You plop down into the island chair next to Mutt, stealing one of his pieces of toast. Which is one that he makes for you anyway. He gives you a half-hearted glare that you stick your tongue out at.
After a few short minutes, Taylor heads down the stairs. You both can hear Taylor announcing her arrival by "singing" off-key to some pop song. For some reason, all the boys love her voice and claim she has the "voice of an angel". You don't think she has that good of a voice.
If she actually got some singing lessons, she probably wouldn't be so bad.
"ah shit. better hurry before she spots us," Mutt whispers.
"Spots you, you mean?" You ask, a bit of a smirk pulling your lips. Mutt glares at you.
Papyrus, Blue, Edge, and Black all jump to attention, spinning to watch for Taylor making her grand appearance in the kitchen.
You watch as Taylor makes her way inside the room, smiling at the skeletons around her. She heads towards Papyrus first.
"HELLO GORGEOUS! ARE YOU EXCITED FOR OUR DATE TONIGHT?" He picks her up and gives her a twirl, seeming very excited for this date himself.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Papy. I'm going to be so busy tonight," Taylor pouts. It's a fake pout and you know it. "We'll have to reschedule it for later next week, yeah?"
Yeah right. This is what? The sixth time she canceled a date with him. It's obvious she just.... doesn't care. She doesn't want to go out with Papyrus.
"OH...." Papyrus visibly droops, setting her onto the ground once more. But he smiles again, this smile not meeting his eyes. "OF COURSE! I'LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE IT EXTRA SPECIAL!"
Taylor hums with a bright smile, moving onto Blue. Blue who's smiling wide with hopeful excitement.
"GOOD MORNING, PRINCESS! HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT GOING TO MY WORK PARTY YET?" The poor skeleton's excitement is tangible, it's too bad she has no interest in going. Maybe she'd care a bit more if she knew it was between his coworkers at the bar?
"Oh Blue, you really should have asked sooner! And I'm sorry, but now I'm just too busy! With work and school and everything. You understand, don't you?" Taylor asks. Blue visibly droops as well. You glance over at Stretch. He's always so damn protective of his brother, why is it so different with her?
"YEAH, OKAY. I UNDERSTAND," Blue nods. "MAYBE ANOTHER TIME THEN!"
She's never going to do anything with Blue, sorry to say.
"Great! I knew you would," Taylor smiles, placing a peck onto his cheek bone.
Taylor then skips over to Edge, who greets her with a sharp toothed smirk.
"GOOD MORNING, MY DEAR."
"Hey Edge," Taylor hums. He leans down so she can wrap her arms around his neck and he can nuzzle her cheek, the equivalent of a kiss for a skeleton. "I heard they opened a new shop in the next town over. I wanted to go check it out, could you take me? We could make a day out of it. You always have the best taste and find the perfect fits."
"OF COURSE," Edge agrees quickly. You shake your head with a sigh. Taylor cheers in excitement.
Black then catches her around the waist, nearly dipping her as he does so. Taylor laughs and leans in to press a kiss to his cheekbone. Mutt growls at this, eyeing the way the two are interacting. You lean into Mutt, calming his irritation a bit.
"HELLO DEAREST, I HAVE A PRESENT FOR YOU LATER TONIGHT."
"You can't give it to me now?" Taylor pouts.
"I'M AFRAID NOT." Black shakes his head, shark toothed mouth grinning.
"Alright. But it better be good."
"IT WILL BE! AND I HAVE MADE YOU YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST."
"Yummy!"
"you almost done yet?" Mutt whispers to you.
You nod, trying to quickly clean up after yourself so you and Mutt can get out of here.
Stretch moseys over from in the living room, giving the girl a big smile as Black straightens out his uniform and heads for the door to leave for work.
"hey sweetie. i was wonderin' if you'd want to make some plans later this weekend? That restaurant that has the arcade is having a really good deal. It sounds fun."
Taylor pulls a grimace, but quickly covers it with a fake smile. You don't miss it, Mutt doesn't miss it, and you know Stretch doesn't either.
"Oh yeah. I don't think so. Maybe we could go somewhere nicer than some greasy restaurant," Taylor chirps.
"uh, sure," Stretch awkwardly smiles. Taylor hums happily at that.
You tug on Mutt's jacket, nodding towards the front door.
"Come on, we should hurry." Mutt agrees and you both try to hurry out the door.
"Mutt!" Taylor calls hums, practically trying to tackle him in a hug. He's quick to detach her from himself. "I was wondering if you'd maybe give me a ride to school today?"
"sorry," Mutt replies, giving her a bored look. "seat's already taken."
Yeah. The seat of the bike that used to be Black's. But Taylor decided she didn't like riding the bike and made Black get a car instead. And he did it, despite that bike being his baby. Mutt made sure to grab it before Black completely tossed it out though. He takes good care of it.
....She did the same damn thing to Blue too. But no one saved his bike for him.
"By who?" Taylor pouts. Mutt gestures to you, who is right in front of him. You don't miss the glare she gives you, but you could really care less about it.
But you also don't miss the glare Black gives you either.
"we're going to be late, better get going," Mutt says, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and leading you out the front door.
You just shake your head, willingly being led out of the house and over to the motorcycle waiting in the garage.
"you think seven of us would be enough for her." He asks as he tosses you his spare helmet.
"I'm telling you, Mutt, no matter what they do, no matter how much attention or money they give her, they will never be enough to her," you sigh, fitting the helmet to your head. Mutt sighs and you climb onto the back of the bike, wrapping your arms around his ribs. Mutt then takes off down the gravel road, heading to the school.