A Little Honey with that Money

by absurdmagewrites

Summary:

Stretch, and Money have been best friends from the moment they met. They just understood one another completely, but now are they something more? When a small twist is thrown into their lives, will they be able to cope, and end up happy together, or crash, and burn?

Notes:

Hey there everyone!

So, this will be a small side project I'll putter away at, but I really just love Stretch, and Money's little bromance I've created, and thought why not explore it being a romance instead? So, here it is! I won't have a set updating schedule, but I'll do my best to keep up with it! Thanks everyone, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: At First There was Fun

"you're drunk." 

Money snickers behind Stretch as he spoons him, burrowing his skull into the back of his neck,

"and? so are you." Money teases back, his words slurring slightly as his hands wander up Stretch's hoodie. Too bad for Money that he's wearing another shirt under the hoodie, as well as overalls. Stretch bats his hands away half-heartedly, 

"true." he admits, and it was true, he was drunk. 

Earlier that night a few of the others thought it would be fun to have a few drinks. Too bad a few drinks to Money, and Stretch meant getting drunk, which normally leads to the two of them passing out together in really random places. Tonight they'd gotten lucky, and managed to make it to Stretch's bed where the two currently laid. 

Somehow despite Stretch batting his hands away, Money has managed to find his way under his hoodie, and second shirt underneath, his hands now skimming over Stretch's ribs. A shiver runs through him at the soft touches, and he grabs one of Money's hands, 

"c'mon dude," he laughs, "that's-" he ends up cutting himself off when he squawks feeling Money's tongue on the back of his neck, "dude!" his voice high pitched, while Money laughs, 

"c'mon yourself." he whispers, "you think i don't see it?" 

"see what?" Stretch asks, confused. He has no idea what Money's talking about right now  

It all becomes clear when Money removes a hand from his ribs, and lowers it to cup Stretch through his pants. Unfortunately, it's only now that Stretch realizes that he's got a raging boner. What the fuck? How had he not felt that? His cheeks flush bright orange, 

"huh…well...just...get your hand off it!" he squeaks, and goes to chase Money's hand away. His friend hums, but moves his hand, 

"you sure?" his voice still soft, "i can help...just like you can help me."  

"how can i-" cut off again, this time by Money pressing his own erection into his pelvis, Stretch chokes on his words before stammering out, "w-whoa wait!" shrugging Money off with his friend giving a disgruntled groan, Stretch turns around to face him, "you're not...suggesting what i think you're suggesting?" he tries, and Money blinks,

"if you mean, am i suggesting we fuck, then yes, i am." 

Stretch gapes, and stares at him for a moment before blurting out, "but we're both papyrus?" 

Money laughs loudly, his good socket crinkling in his mirth, "yeah, that we are, and?" 

"isn't that weird?" 

"you sayin' you've never bashed the bishop before?" 

"what?" 

Money tsks, "masturbated. learn slang, stretch." he pats Stretch's cheek which is becoming more orange as time passes,

"well, yeah, but what's that got to do with us fucking?" 

Money gestures between the two of them, "both papyrus, so it's just like...overly complicated masturbation. right?" 

Somehow, Stretch is having trouble refuting this. Probably because he's drunk. A small part is telling him not to do it, and not because he thinks it's wrong. Money was right in his statement, but Stretch wonders if this will ruin their friendship if they do this. Money is the best friend he's ever had, and the thought of losing that terrified him. 

The other part of him though, the large part, was screaming at him to do it. Most likely the horny part that was currently reminding him that his overalls were feeling a bit tight. Money just keeps watching him as this internal debate goes on in his head, and as he thinks he suddenly feels a lot more sober, staring down at his friend. Is it crazy to want to do this? It's probably just a one time deal, right? There's nothing wrong with that, and no one had to know. It could be their dirty little secret.

Still a bit unsure, Stretch hesitantly leans forward. Money just watches him, and doesn't move as Stretch inches closer until finally their faces are less than an inch apart. Their breath mingled together, hot, and needy with Money still making no attempt to move. Whatever this was they were both feeling, Money was leaving it up to Stretch to decide if they proceed, or not. 

Taking a breath, Stretch closes the distance, capturing Money in a kiss that soon becomes heated as his friend wraps his arms around his neck, pulling him closer. A moan escaping his mouth as he does this. Their tongues somehow find each other, leaving Stretch panting at the way their magic collides. 

Money's hands find their way up Stretch's hoodie once again, fumbling with his straps, 

"fuckin'...why you gotta wear overalls man." he breaks the kiss to mumble against Stretch's mouth, who chuckles breathlessly,

"to be fair," he pants, "i never thought i'd be fucking my best friend." 

"you should always assume we'd be fucking." Money smirks, giving him a small kiss, and Stretch snickers again.  

Pulling away from Money who whines loudly, Stretch pulls his orange, and purple hoodie over his head, tossing it to the side. He reaches for Money, and starts pulling his friend's purple hoodie off. Money sits up to help, and the second it's off he's back to kissing Stretch with a needy moan, his hands back on the overalls to unbuckle the straps. 

Stretch can hear the click, and feel as the front of his overalls fall in the front, and the straps down the back. A thrill of excitement he wasn't expecting courses through him as Money yanks his overalls off, tossing them onto his dirty floor. Stretch panting into that kiss breaks it, although their tongues still slightly reach for each other, a small string of saliva connecting them until Stretch grabs the hem of Money's second hoodie. His friend, figuring out what he's doing, reaches down to take the hem himself, and yanks his orange hoodie off to go join Stretch's overalls on the floor. 

Money grins at him panting slightly, "just so you know…" he yanks Stretch over by his shirt, "i ain't wearing underwear, so when these come off, that's it." 

"course you're not wearing underwear." Stretch chuckles, his mouth barely ghosting against Money's as he feels the need to ask, "is this...a good idea?" 

Money blinks once, and reaches up to grab his eye patch, pulling it off, and tossing it onto Stretch's side table,

"no idea, all i know is, i trust you like I trust vi." he stares into Stretch's sockets, his bad eye still closed, "i want to do this." 

Stretch gazes into his friend's one good socket, panting, just mere centimeters from kissing him again, and whatever doubt he had melts. Money's right. They're best friends. They trust one another, and Stretch would be lying if he said there was nothing else there. Something was always there between them, but they ignored it. Covered it up with jokes, and laughs. Well, it's not so funny at the moment. Now it's real, and he's right in front of him. 

Taking a breath, Stretch leans forward, his mouth molding against Money's once more, but this one is a little different than the last. This one isn't all passion, and heat. It's gentle, sweet, the kind of kiss you'd give a lover, not a casual fuck. What this means for the two of them, Stretch has no idea, but right now he's just going to give in to whatever this is. 

Hands moving up, they pull Money's skull tighter against his own while his friend's hands toy around the hem of his underwear, Stretch's ecto having formed completely. He figures Money was going to just go for it, but instead goes a bit higher to grab his shirt, and breaks their kiss once more to yank it over his head. Stretch's breathing is heavy, as is Money's, the two of them just looking at each other. 

"how do you-" Money begins, but Stretch cuts him off by grabbing him, and falling onto his back on the bed with Money on top of him, 

"fuck me." 

Money smirks, "can do, sweetheart." his voice, ever so soft. 

Stretch's soul leaps at hearing Money call him sweetheart. He knows it shouldn't, that this is just them fooling around, but is it so bad to want more? He's broken from these thoughts by Money asking,

"where do you keep it?" 

"keep what?" 

Money just gives him this look, "by the answer to my question I'm going to say that you have none. bro, do you just go in dry? you that hard-core?" 

Stretch suddenly realizes what he means, and flushes, 

"i don't...i don't have sex enough to just have it lying about! do you?" 

Money snickers, and gives him a little kiss taking him by surprise,

"nah, but i know a certain someone who does. hold on, brb." 

Stretch feels the magic before Money suddenly disappears. Their teleportation magic always had a very specific feel to it. You could feel it spark in the air before, and after they were done teleporting. Like a mark left behind to prove they'd been there. So, Stretch can also feel when Money's coming back. The magic permeates the air slightly before his arrival. It's nearly undetectable. The only reason Stretch can sense it, is because he knows what he's looking for. He returns with an oomph, falling right on top of Stretch again, this time bottle in hand, and a smirk,

"courtesy of a certain on duty cop." 

Stretch blinks, and snorts, "dude, did you steal my brother’s lube?" 

"i certainly did, he won't mind." 

"yeah," Stretch begins, placing his hand on the back of Money's skull, pulling him towards him, "he won't." he breathes against Money's mouth just before kissing him again. 

Money moans softly into that kiss, deepening it easily with colliding tongues, breath, and promises of a good time. Stretch can tell Money's still got that tube in his hand, probably warming it. Either that, or he just feels he'll use it soon, and putting it down would be counterproductive. Both options have him shivering since he knows he's in for some fun. He can barely stand it, and feels the two of them are still way too clothed even though he's only in his underwear, and Money in his pants. Which, for him, is apparently like underwear since he's not wearing any.

It seems that Stretch wasn't the only one feeling overdressed since Money finally sets that lube onto his bedside table never breaking that kiss, and reaches down to start sliding his boxers off. Stretch sighs in relief as his cock is freed from the confines of his underwear. Even though they were loose fitting it still felt way too tight. He figured Money would just take his own pants off, but he surprises Stretch when he instead breaks that kiss they're in to slowly move downwards. He first kisses his jaw, then neck before making it to his chest where his ecto has already covered his ribs, giving a kiss to the middle of his sternum. A stray thought crosses his mind that perhaps he should've changed to his female ecto instead of his male. He's comfortable in either after all, but as Money travels down to kiss his stomach he knows he's happy with his choice. A tiny spark of hope sits in his soul that next time he can use female ecto, or Money can. They can explore all their forms together. That is, if Money wants to. It's a funny realization for Stretch to know that's what he wants.  

So deep in thought, Stretch barely registers that Money has moved away from his stomach. He's stopped to grasp Stretch's cock eliciting a gasp from the other Papyrus in this party, and for him to focus back on what Money's doing. He can see his best friend smirk, and stick that pretty purple tongue from his mouth to lick the precum dribbling down from his tip. Stretch moans at the sensation it leaves feeling Money do that, 

"a-ah damn dude. a little warning would be nice." he teases, and Money hums letting his inordinately long tapered tongue wrap around the tip of his cock. 

He has Stretch shivering as he takes his tongue back to poke it gently along his slit,

"where's the fun in that?" he purrs, and takes his tongue back to blow cool air against where he just licked, "let me know what you want sweetheart." he murmurs, "i can keep doing this, or I can start prepping you. your choice." 

Stretch really wants to say this, but in the long run he knows if he does, he'll be in a desperate state during the prep. So, instead he opts for the other option,

“while i’d really love to say keep doing this,” Money chuckles as he continues, “you should start, and you know you can take your pants off, right?”

Money smirks as he reaches for that lube again, "i know. think I'll save the grand reveal for when I'm about to trust into your ass though." 

"tease." 

With another chuckle, Money pours some of the lube into his hand, setting the bottle back down, and begins rubbing it over both his hands. Only when he's felt he's got it completely covered, and well slicked does he get ready to begin. Stretch sucks in a breath as he feels Money press one of his fingers against his entrance, shifting himself a bit so his friend has easier access. Money gives him one last look as he rubs his finger a little, and Stretch knows this is him giving him an out. If he doesn’t want to do this, if he’s changed his mind, tell him now, and they’ll forget this ever happened. 

He doesn’t want to forget. He wants Money. His best friend...no they’re more than that. They both know that. They’ve always been more. Ever since they’d first met here in this place so far away from their homes, they’d bonded instantly. The two of them just never acted on it. Stretch has no idea what kept Money from acting on it, but he figures it might be the same reason he never did which was he didn’t want to put more strain on their weird little budding family. Everyone was so high strung that first little while after everyone appeared from the machine, but now it was different. Everyone had settled into their new lives, and it was comfortable. They could take the time to think about it, and maybe be...something.

Stretch nods, and relaxes, a soft smile gracing his face at how right this feels. Money returns the smile with a gentle one of his own, and without needing any more prompting, Money pushes one of his fingers inside him, making Stretch moan softly, shaking at the feeling. It’s been a while since he’s had sex, which he sort of hates to admit, but he doesn’t think Money cares much as he starts to move that finger at a slow pace, stretching him just slightly. Shifting himself, he manages to pull Money down, whispering as he goes, his voice breathy, 

“kiss me.” 

“always.” Money whispers back, looking so gentle it makes his soul flip flop.

Mouths colliding, Stretch gasps at the intensity that Money brings, instinctively pulling him closer. He can feel as Money speeds up that finger, his hips starting to move almost as if without permission, and a chuckle emanates from his friend who pulls from the kiss just slightly, their mouths still so close, their breath mingling, 

“eager?” 

“very.” Stretch replies, panting a little, and Money chuckles again, 

“can’t leave ya high, and dry then, can i sweetheart?”

“no, you can’t.” he smirks as Money kisses him again while sliding in a second finger that has Stretch whimpering quietly at the slight stretch now having two fingers inside him creates. 

Stretch’s hands begin to wander, leaving heated little touches all over Money’s exposed ecto, and making him shiver. He wanted to remember this so badly, which he figured he would since he’s begun to start feeling more, and more sober as time went on. So now, he’s trying his best to commit the feeling of Money’s ecto to memory. How his body felt, how warm he is, and how much he's realized he wants this. Stars, he wants this so much, and he knows this will never be a one time thing, or he hopes so anyway. He wants more from Money, he wants him, and not just to fuck, but a true relationship. Stretch can't believe it took him this long to realize. 

He's in love with his best friend. 

A part of him feels scared that Money doesn't feel the same. That this is just a casual hook up for him, but as Money slides in that third finger all those thoughts fly away as he moans into his friend's mouth, little whimpers coming from his throat. His fingers move so easily despite only having just added the third one. Guess Stretch’s body wanted this just as much as his mind did.  

Reluctantly, Money begins breaking away from Stretch, who whines in response, and tries to follow after him a little, forgetting that they're not actually together. This is just casual right now, and doing that probably makes him look a little desperate. If Money noticed he says nothing, and instead, pants out,

"fuck, i don't think i can wait much longer, sweetheart." 

His free hand is moving down, and starts sliding down his sweatpants. A shiver of anticipation runs down Stretch's spine, 

"then don't," he murmurs, and Money glances at him, "don't wait." he spreads his legs even more to invite Money in, "i don't think i can wait any longer either, honey." 

Not waiting to be told twice, Money smirks, and removes his fingers from Stretch making the tall monster whimper at the empty sensation it leaves him. He almost tells Money to put them back in to get rid of that feeling, but he knows something better is coming to fill him as Money pulls down his pants. 

This is the first time Stretch is seeing Money completely naked with ecto formed. He's seen most of Money's skeleton as the monster didn't care much about others seeing it, and would walk throughout the house in all manners of undress despite many protests from certain others to stop. As such, this is his first time ever seeing his dick, and a teensy part of him wonders if they're similar since they're both Papyrus, but once Money's removed his pants, and tossed them, he can see the differences. Money is just slightly longer, and thicker, plus the shape differs from his, furthering proving that they're very different people. 

"look at that, i win." Money teases, referring to the fact that he's a bit bigger. Stretch snorts, 

"it's not about size, but how you use it." 

"oh ho, touché." Money chuckles with him, but as the laughter dies, his friend reaches up, and brushes his fingers along Stretch's cheek. 

Blinking in surprise, Stretch leans into the touch, closing his sockets, a small purr escaping his throat, and just barely hears when Money whispers, 

"you look so amazing, stretch."

Sockets opening, he looks up at Money who's gazing at him like he's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. Cheeks flushing, Stretch breathes out, his voice in slight awe, 

"money…" 

His friend leans down, and gives him the most tender light kiss that has Stretch melting. He wishes it wouldn't end as Money pulls back, 

"we'll talk afterwards." 

Stretch's soul leaps, "yeah, we will." 

Money smirks, "good, cause i'm really wanting to wreck this tight little ass of yours right now." he slaps the side of Stretch's upper thigh, hitting just the side of his ass. Jumping slightly, Stretch makes a noise of surprise which just furthers Money's amusement. 

"i don't have that tight of an ass." Stretch mutters, and Money hums in response, 

"sweetheart," he starts as he moves, and first grabs the stolen lube, putting more on his hands before he grasps his own cock. Stroking himself, he starts spreading the lube, his breathing noticeably increasing as he goes. Finally once he's covered, he moves to position himself so his cock is pressing up against Stretch's entrance. Shaking a little, his anticipation mounting, Stretch nearly misses what Money says, "your ass is tight." he lifts Stretch's hips a bit, giving his ass another slap, "nothing wrong with that though since…" he trails off as he begins to push himself inside with a groan, "it feels so fuckin' good."  

Money wasn't lying. Stretch is panting, and whimpering as Money slowly enters, both at the slight burn, and also explosive pleasure radiating throughout his body. 

"f-fuck…" Stretch moans out as Money hilts himself inside him, and stops letting him adjust. 

Taking a few deep breaths, Money moves just his arms, and with one hand grips Stretch’s leg just under the knee while the other clasps with one of Stretch’s hands, their fingers weaving together tightly. A look is passed between the two. A look of almost longing between them despite the fact that they’re connected in one of the most physical senses. Stretch almost doesn’t want it to end, but it does when Money starts to move, having deemed Stretch relaxing as his cue to go, which it was. He’s ready. He’s been ready for a while, but they’d needed that small moment. 

The pace is slow to start with Money moving leisurely, definitely worried about hurting Stretch if he goes too fast too early, and while his face feels like it’s on fire, Stretch squeezes Money’s hand in his, and moans out, 

“f-faster…”

He seriously doesn’t have to tell Money twice, and it’s as if his words break whatever had been holding his friend back since he stutters for a millisecond at his moan, but is then pushing on his leg so it’s nearly against his chest so he can hit even deeper. His thrusts speed up, and go from leisurely, to a quick slamming pace that has Stretch mewling underneath Money in a matter of seconds. 

“ooh, those are beautiful sounds you’re makin’ sweetheart.” Money groans out, “f-fuck, i’ve wanted to do this for so long.” 

If he didn’t have Money’s cock thrusting into his ass at the speed, and intensity it was, Stretch might have registered that last comment better. Unfortunately, he doesn’t, and instead just responds with a heated little moan of his own, his free hand gripping into his sheets tightly. The room is beginning to fill with the sounds of their ecto slapping together, along with their moans, mewls, and pants. They’re not being quiet at all, and neither are giving any thought to Papyrus’s room being in such close proximity, or to the fact that he might be able to hear what’s going on, too lost in each other. 

Suddenly, Money let’s go of Stretch’s leg, and unclasps their hands so he can wrap his arms around Stretch’s body, pulling him against him, his face buried into his chest. Stretch is quick to wrap his arms around Money’s skull, and his legs around his waist. He’s moving his hips with each thrust while his legs press Money in even more. Money’s fingers dig into the ecto of his back, making him let out a small whimper, and arch into the touch. He hadn’t expected to like that, but he’s finding he does.

He also doesn’t expect for Money to spontaneously flip them, but he does which has Stretch squeaking, and feeling slightly disoriented as he moves from being on the bottom to on top, now straddling Money. Who, by the way gives Stretch the cheekiest look, and has the orange flush deepening on Stretch’s face,

“warning next time, dude.” he breathes out, and Money hums, 

“dude? where’d honey go? one small position flip, and i’m not your honey anymore?”

His face feels like it’s the surface of the sun due to the magic pooling in his cheeks, and his sockets widen at Money’s words. He sputters,

“n-no, i didn’t say...that…” he trails off, and averts his gaze to rest his hands on Money’s chest, his friend bringing his own hands up to place over top of his, “you’re...my honey.”

Money smirks, “good.” he moves a hand to slap Stretch’s ass lightly, “now, i’ve got an intense need to see you bounce on my cock, sweetheart. think y’can make that happen?”

Still flushed, but managing a smile, Stretch nods, “think i can, yeah. although, now that you’ve done this we gotta get back into the flow. i was enjoying myself ya know.”

“apologies, but the need was intense.” both of Money’s hands have started rubbing up, and down his thighs, “got all this pretty in one place, and i just want to stare at it. what better way than getting you to ride me?”

Stretch chooses not to answer that, mainly because if he does it’s going to come out a stuttery incoherent mess. Money’s always known how to press his buttons, and knows exactly what to say to fluster him. It’s both maddening, and fun at the same time. Instead, he chooses to just start moving, lifting himself just off Money, before slamming back down with a groan that’s mirrored by Money who’s hands shoot to his waist, gripping it tightly. 

At first, he moves slowly to as he said earlier get into the flow, but after a moment he throws that out the window, and starts moving fast, and hard, letting himself really slam down onto Money’s cock. Each time he does, shocks of pleasure radiate up his spine, and leaves him moaning, and whimpering quite loudly. Money’s hands have moved to his ass, and are digging into the ecto there which would definitely leave tiny little bruises in the magic. He’s also moaning, and breathing heavily under Stretch, but still has that smile as he watches Stretch move. 

“should be illegal with how pretty ya look right now, sweetheart.” Money moans softly, “fuck stretch, look at ya…”

Cheeks darkening again, Stretch doesn’t answer, knowing if he did, he’d just fumble it. So, he just keeps moving feeling himself starting to get closer, focusing on the feeling. He had no idea where Money is, or if he’s even close, but that question is answered when Money starts thrusting up into him to meet him each time. Guess he’s getting a little close himself. 

He doesn’t know when, but at some point, Stretch starts saying Money’s name, over, and over like it’s a small little chant as he nears his climax. It’s apparently something Money enjoyed since his thrusts got harder, and despite saying he wanted to watch Stretch bounce on his cock, sits up with Stretch still in his lap, growling, 

“that’s right, say my name!” 

“m-money…” Stretch mewls out, their breath blending into one at how close the two were. Another growl comes from Money that has Stretch whimpering as they close that gap between them to kiss, Money’s arms wrapping around Stretch’s body to halt his movements. 

If Stretch thought Money had been moving fast before it was nothing compared to what he was doing now as he held Stretch in place to slam up into him fast, and hard, hilting with each movement. Their mouths still interlocked caused every cry Stretch made from each thrust to be muffled, and feeling his cock rub against Money’s stomach didn’t help with his volume at all. 

It’s not long before Stretch is sitting at the edge just about to fall, but a small worry sits in his mind that has him breaking the kiss, 

“i’m-i’m g-gonna...money a-ah, i’m g-gonna…” 

He’s having trouble getting it out since Money hasn’t stopped, and he’s having difficulty keeping his own saliva in his mouth, it now dribbling down his chin. Money leans in, and licks it with a smirk, 

“g-good, cause i am too. come for me sweetheart, let me hear ya sing, and feel your cum on my stomach.” 

That’s all he needs, and with the push from Money, Stretch falls over that edge that has him crying out as he climaxes, feeling himself clench so tightly around Money. This is also the apparent push that Money needs since in the next moment he’s also squeezing Stretch, and moaning as he comes inside him. Stretch whimpers at the warm sensation filling him, and how Money continues to thrust until the two of them are utterly spent. Stretch pants, and tries to catch his breath as Money lets him fully sit on his lap again, his cock still buried inside him, although he can feel as his friend’s cum drips out of him. The two just sit like that for a while, sort of embracing, and catching their breaths, enjoying the warmth each other emanated, although the feeling of Stretch’s cum between them sort of ruined it a little.  

Leaning back, Stretch looks down at Money, who looks up at him, and it’s as if everything they just did hit him at once. Apparently while they were fucking, it didn’t register to Stretch that they were indeed, fucking.

“o-oh...we just…”

Money snickers, and rubs his ass, “yeah, yeah we did.”

“money, we-” he starts, but is cut off by Money leaning up, and kissing him, efficiently shutting him up, 

“we figure it out tomorrow. right now, just relax.” he nuzzles into Stretch’s shoulder, making him blush a little, “just know sweetheart,” Stretch can see him making sure to look him in the eye, “we did nothin’ wrong by doing this, okay? i also don’t regret it for one fuckin’ second.”

That does settle him a little as an intensely warm feeling envelops his soul. He can feel himself wishing that they could be like this always. That something could tie them together in a way. Smiling, Stretch nods, and brings a hand to the back of Money’s skull, giving a slight scratch in the way he knows the skeleton monster likes. A purr begins to resonate throughout the room from this action as Money nuzzles himself even more into his shoulder, obviously pleased. 

Chuckling, Stretch finally moves to pull himself off Money, but that just has Money whining which furthers his chuckle as he slowly sits up, and off of Money’s cock. He can already tell the two of them are a mess, and his cum is literally all over Money’s stomach, however his friend doesn’t seem to care. He just hums, and with one finger scoops up some of the orange magic, sticking it in his mouth. Flushing, Stretch sputters, 

“d-dude!” 

Money chuckles, “there’s the dude again.” he murmurs once he’s cleaned his finger off. This doesn’t help ease Stretch’s flustered feelings,

“just...you can’t...c’mon money!”

“i did just come.” he points at Stretch with a smirk, “inside you, and everything.”

That has Stretch snorting, and laughing, moving to flop down onto his back, 

“okay, that was funny.”

“i know it was. i’m funny, imagine that.” Money snickers back, and before he flops back he get up to grab one of the rags Stretch keeps in his room for when he’s working with machinery, and oil. 

He wipes himself down, and gets back onto the bed to wipe off Stretch, but Money definitely got most of it on him. When he’s done, he chucks the cloth back into the darkness of Stretch’s room, to perhaps never be found again. Only once he’s done this does he lay himself down beside Stretch. The two snuggle up against one another, and Stretch reaches out to grab Money’s hand, intertwining their fingers. 

“money?”

“hmm?” his friend responds, obviously starting to fall asleep, 

He stops. Does he tell Money how he’s been feeling? Money said to leave it for tomorrow, so maybe he should actually just wait until the two of them are more coherent? Shaking his head, he snuggles into Money’s neck murmuring, 

“nothin’. it can wait for tomorrow.” he gets out, sounding pretty sleepy himself. 

Money just pulls him tighter, and Stretch can hear as he nods off, leaving Stretch with his thoughts as he slowly follows. He’s not sure where him, and Money go from here. Whether they’ll stay friends, or be more, but what Stretch does know is he won’t regret what they did here tonight either, and that he’ll remember it. How could he not? 

He’s in love with Money after all. 

Chapter 2: Then There was Panic

Summary:

The fun is over, and reality comes crashing down on the two monsters when they realize they've fucked up in a way they'd never expect.

 Money woke slowly the next morning, his head hurting slightly from the hangover he can now feel pounding in his skull. Stars, he hates being hungover, but it’s his own fault for drinking, so what can he do? Looking around, he can see he’s in Stretch’s room, and very much naked. At first he’s a bit confused until it all rushes back. 

He fucked Stretch last night. 

A wide smirk makes its way onto his skull, and he reaches up to rub his face with a quiet elated chuckle. Fucking finally! He’s been wanting to do that for so long, and he’s been hinting to Stretch for a while now that he’s interested in being more than just friends, but his friend isn’t the most socially adept, so everything he did just sort of missed its mark. Now though, now there’s no way Stretch can’t know he likes him. 

In his excitement, he turns to wake Stretch, but finds his friend isn’t in the bed with him. Confused, he sits up, and looks around. He doesn’t see Stretch anywhere in the room, so he gets up, grabbing his sweatpants nearby, shrugging them on. It’s not that he cares about being naked, or anything, but the others always bitch when he’s not wearing any pants. Well, others meaning Vi, and Edge. The two always get so twisted about it, it’s silly. All he’s showing off is his pelvis, and they’re acting like they don’t have one too. It’s unbelievable, but that’s not the problem at hand. The problem is finding Stretch so they can talk. He wants Stretch to know that last night wasn’t just some drunken fuck, and that he means a lot to him. 

Resolved, he goes to leave Stretch’s room, but is stopped when he hears sniffling coming from Stretch’s half bath. Freezing, he turns around, and looks towards the room in question to find that the door is slightly ajar, and that in fact he can now hear actual crying coming from the bathroom. Concerned, he hurries over, and pushes the door open fully to find Stretch sitting on his bathroom floor, looking downright miserable. Brow furrowed in concern, Money notices that Stretch’s ecto is still summoned for whatever reason, but even in his distress had managed to put on underwear. Crouching down to check on him, Money reaches out for Stretch which gets his friend’s attention who turns his teary eyed face towards him, 

“what’s wrong, sweetheart? why you cryin’, why you…” he trails off as Stretch’s scent hits him, and he suddenly understands. He understands that the two of them have fucked up in the worst way possible, “oh, stars…”

That was the worst thing he could’ve said because it sends Stretch panicking even more. He starts hyperventilating, and whimpering as he curls up into a sort of ball. Money’s not better off either, and he knows he’s the WORST person to be dealing with Stretch’s panic attack. He’s just going to make it worse, but he has to try. He knows how Stretch feels on this topic, and he’s not going calm any time soon. 

He can’t believe he got him pregnant.

Money reaches out to him again, placing his hand on his back, and rubs, “it’s okay, it’ll be okay, we can figure this out, we-”

“i’m fucking pregnant, it’s not okay, and it’s not going to be okay.” Stretch blubbers out, his breathing getting faster, “oh god, what do we do? what if there’s something wrong with it? we’re both papyrus, what if that hurts it somehow, i can’t do this, i can’t...there’s no freaking air in this bathroom!” he wails out, and Money knows he’s so out of his depth right now, 

“just slow down stretch, take a deep breath, and-”

“that’s easy for you to say, you’re the not the one pregnant!” he snaps, before his face crumbles, and he goes back to his panicked crying.  

Money doesn’t know what to do. He’s making this so much worse, and he knows it. He needs someone else to help. Wracking his mind, it suddenly clicks. Blue! He needs to go get Blue! 

“wait here sweetheart, i’ll be right back, okay?”

He gets up, and starts hurrying for the door again, this time hearing Stretch’s wails telling him to come back, don’t leave him. While normally that’d make him turn around, right now he just knows if he does he’s going to make Stretch feel even worse. So instead, he keeps going, and leaves the room. He gets about three steps before he bumps into someone, startling them, 

“OH, OOPS! SORRY, MONEY! GUESS WE LEFT THE ROOMS AT THE SAME TIME.” Papyrus apologizes for nearly bumping into him. Money was about to tell him it was fine when Papyrus keeps going, “YOU, AND STRETCH HAD FUN LAST NIGHT I TAKE IT? SO I HEARD ANYWAY.” 

He freezes mid step, his gaze turning to Papyrus looking so damn cheeky, and normally that’d make him so proud of his friend, but right now he doesn’t have time for it, 

“sorry paps, i don’t have time to gossip just right now, got a problem on my hands.”

Trying to leave again, he’s stopped again by the immediate look of worry that crosses Papyrus’s face, 

“WHAT’S WRONG? CAN I HELP?” 

He’s about to tell Papyrus no, but realizes that this is actually a good offer. Papyrus apparently already knows they fucked, figuring he heard them by the small comment he made, so he wouldn’t be as shocked as Blue would be, and ask a million questions. The cheery skeleton was also great at getting people to feel better, which makes him a good choice to help with Stretch. Nodding, he grabs Papyrus’s arm, 

“yeah, come with me.”

Papyrus doesn’t even question it. He just hurries along with Money not saying a word, or letting Money drag him more like. The two enter Stretch’s room, and Money shuts his friend’s door, unable to block out the sound of Stretch’s continued sobs coming from the bathroom. He’s barely gotten the door locked when he hears Papyrus, 

“STRETCH, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? ARE YOU HURT?” 

Turning, he can see that Papyrus is already at the bathroom, and rushes over to find a distressed Stretch who’s gaze whips to him from Papyrus, 

“why did you tell him?! why would you do that?!” Stretch’s voice is high pitched in his panic. 

“i didn’t, he already knew somehow what we did, so i figured he was the better option.” Money argues back, 

“the better option was telling no one!” Stretch wails, and before Money can even respond Papyrus holds up a hand stopping the two of them. 

Silencing, Money watches as Papyrus kneels down in front of Stretch, his voice getting soft, 

“STRETCH, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU’RE SCARED RIGHT NOW, AND I CAN SMELL WHY,” Stretch hiccoughs at Papyrus's words, “BUT GETTING ANGRY AT MONEY SOLVES NOTHING. HE’S TRYING TO HELP YOU BECAUSE HE OBVIOUSLY CARES ABOUT YOU.”

Stretch sniffles miserably, “i don’t want anyone to know, p-please don’t-”

Papyrus pulls Stretch into a hug, and Money’s stunned when Stretch eagerly reciprocates, holding onto Papyrus for dear life, 

“I WILL TELL NO ONE.” he reassures firmly, and rubs Stretch’s back in a soothing manner, or what Money is assuming is a soothing manner, “I’M UNSURE WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOU, AND MONEY, BUT RIGHT NOW STRETCH JUST FOCUS ON TAKING DEEP BREATHS OKAY? I’M NOT GONNA GO ANYWHERE, AND YOU HOLD ON AS LONG AS YOU WANT.” 

Stretch listens, and starts taking deep breaths, holding onto Papyrus until Money can finally see his grip loosening. After a few more moments, Stretch finally pulls back, wiping his cheeks of residual tears, and Papyrus smiles at him, 

“THERE WE ARE. YOU’RE ALRIGHT. NOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU’RE VERY SCARED STRETCH,” Stretch nods, sniffing, “AND I WANT TO HELP IF I CAN. WHAT DO YOU NEED?”

Stretch shifts a bit on the floor, “i don’t want anyone to know.” he mumbles, “not until i figure out what i want.” 

Papyrus nods, “THEN WE NEED TO MASK YOUR SCENT IN SOME WAY SINCE THE OTHERS WILL KNOW RIGHT AWAY IF THEY COME INTO CONTACT WITH YOU. GIVE ME A LITTLE TIME, OKAY? I’LL FIGURE THIS OUT FOR YOU, AND COME BACK. STAY HERE IN YOUR ROOM WITH MONEY, AND PRETEND TO DO WHATEVER IT IS IN HERE THAT HAS YOU TWO CACKLING UNTIL ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT.”

Stretch nods, “o-okay.” he hiccoughs out as Papyrus stands, and turns to Money, 

“STAY HERE WITH STRETCH. GET HIM SOME FOOD, WATER, AND FOR STARS SAKE GET HIM OFF THE BATHROOM FLOOR.” 

Money salutes Papyrus, “aye, aye.” 

Apparently satisfied with that, Papyrus heads off to help in some way, although Money has no idea how as he watches him leave. Once the door’s been shut, Money turns back to Stretch still on the floor, and holds his hand out to him, 

“c’mon sweetheart, your bed will be more comfortable.” 

Without a word, Stretch grabs Money’s hand, and allows him to hoist him to his feet. The two silently make their way back to the bed, and Stretch takes a seat in the middle of it, while Money grabs the clothes he lost last night, shrugging them on, then grabbing Stretch’s to give to him. 

His friend takes them, and quietly puts them on, still sniffing a bit from his earlier panic attack. Taking a seat beside him, he murmurs, 

“i’ll get some food when we hear most of the others leave, or figure they’re gone.”

Stretch just nods, and plays with his hands a bit. It’s quiet again for a good while as the two listen as most of the household heads out for the day. Only a few remain, and it would be unlikely that Money would run into them as he went to shower quickly to get rid of Stretch’s scent on him from the sex before grabbing food. Getting up, he motions to the door, 

“i’m just gonna go shower real quick then grab us something to eat, kay sweetheart?”

Turning, he fully intends to just leave, but is stopped by Stretch speaking, 

“you’re still calling me sweetheart…”

Returning his gaze back to Stretch, he finds him watching him carefully. He’s right. He has been calling him sweetheart because that’s what he is to him. Retaking his seat, he nods, 

“yeah, i am.”

“what’s that mean?” he asks, his voice so soft, “money, what’s that mean?”

“what do you want it to mean?” he finds himself responding, even though he just wants to say it’s because he loves him, and not in a friend way. 

Stretch just gives him this look, “don’t do that. don’t shove my question away dude, just please tell me.” he pleads. 

Money’s seriously tempted to be a shit here, but he knows now is really not the time, so instead he answers seriously, 

“it means…” he sighs, and rubs the back of his neck a little, “it means i don’t just want to be your friend anymore, stretch.” 

“what do you want then?” 

“more.” 

He only speaks one word, but it feels so heavy, and intense all the same. Stretch shifts a bit on the bed, 

“really?”

Money smiles at Stretch’s sort of hopeful little look, and just how damn cute that is. He laughs, 

“yeah, do i speak cause i like the sound of my own voice?”

Stretch finally smiles, “yeah, you do.”

“true, but not as much as wine, and black do.”

That pulls a laugh out of Stretch which has Money instantly relaxing, and feeling less awkward about everything that's happening. It seems to work for Stretch too since he seems much calmer than before. As his laughter dies, he just sort of gazes at Money. Waiting for him to decide what he needs, Money sits quietly, 

"i...don't know what to do." he finally admits, and Money hums,

"well, what do you want?" 

Stretch without hesitation answers with, "you." 

Soul racing, Money shuffles over a bit, getting himself a little closer to Stretch. His friend doesn't move, and just watches, still relaxed meaning he's not opposed to Money being close, 

"you have me." Money whispers, now so close to Stretch all he can smell, and see is him, "if you want me sweetheart, i'm yours." 

He waits. Just like last night, he lets this be Stretch’s decision as he's the more skittish of the two. He doesn’t want to push him past a boundary that makes him uncomfortable, and feel unable to tell Money so. Stretch, while not a pushover, can sometimes let others walk over him if they're important to him, and Money never wants to be one of those people. This leaves him open to be pretty surprised which is what happens. 

Without warning, Stretch leans in, and kisses him softly. It takes Money a few seconds to realize what's happening, and reciprocate, but once he does, he's pulling Stretch as close as he can. He doesn't make the kiss heated, but let's his love for Stretch instead take the lead, allowing the two of them to have the most tender little kiss. 

He doesn't want it to end, but he knows it has to as he pulls back to gaze at Stretch’s adorably flushed face. Stretch whispers,

"you got me too, honey," Money's soul does a little flip flop hearing the pet name, "but," He doesn't like the sound of this but, "i don't…" Stretch sighs, "i don't want anyone to know...for a while? can we just, not tell anyone?" he asks, hopefully. 

He hesitates. Money understands sort of why Stretch wants to hide that they're together, but he also doesn't like the prospect of having to lie to their housemates, especially lying to Vi. He's lied enough to his older brother, and the thought of doing it more kills him, but he also wants to respect what Stretch needs right now which leaves him in a hard place. Stretch can see his obvious hesitation, and fidgets a bit on the bed. Figuring he can't leave him hanging for long, Money hums,

"i don't like lying to vi." 

"i know." Stretch murmurs, "i just...need a little time to figure all this out." 

"figure out us? you got doubts?" 

Stretch shakes his head, "no, not us. i...i know how i feel about you, and that's not changing." Money smiles hearing that, "i meant...about…" he gestures towards his stomach, and Money understands instantly,

"you don't know if you wanna keep it, or not?" 

He watches Stretch nod, "i'm really scared." his voice is so soft it makes Money's soul ache, and for him to reach out to him to take his hand, 

"i know sweetheart, but wouldn't ya rather have blue around then?" 

He shakes his head, "no, he's the last person i want knowing." 

"why?" 

Stretch starts fidgeting again, "cause i'm embarrassed! he's always warned me to be careful, and just i always teased him about it. now it's actually happened, and he'll be so vindicated."

“do you really think blue would be that petty, sweetheart?” he asks, gently. Stretch thinks on it for a moment, and answers with a sigh, 

“no, but i also don’t want him fussing over me, and worrying so can we just,” he gives Money a pleading look, “please?” 

It’s obvious that this is very important to Stretch, and that fighting against it would lead to a lot of stress to the already stressed monster. So, even though the thought of lying to Vi makes him so uncomfortable, Money nods, 

“yeah, okay.” he gives Stretch’s hand a squeeze, “if that's what it takes for you to feel better than that's what we'll do." 

Stretch practically deflates here he's relaxed so much, and it has Money chuckling, "relieved?" 

"you have no idea." he sighs, and shakes Money's hand, "you gotta go shower though, and get food cause not gonna lie, i'm hungry." 

He smiles, "no worries, i got you." 

Getting up to head for the door, just as his hand slips from Stretch’s, he hears, 

"yeah, you do." Stopping, he turns to see Stretch startle. He definitely didn't think he'd hear that, "i mean...you...i-i just…!" 

He trails off as Money walks back, leans in, and gives him a sweet little kiss that has him sighing,

"yeah, you do." he murmurs against Stretch's mouth once he's pulled back, "now let me go shower." 

Stretch gives him the cutest little smile from the kiss, and nods, his cheeks flushed orange. Fuck, he has no idea how cute he is does he? Doing his best not to be distracted, Money leaves the room since if he lingered, he knows he'd never leave. 

Luckily, he doesn't run into anyone on his way to the bathroom all fourteen of them are forced to share when it came to bathing. It was the only one with a shower, and tub. Why Sans thought that was a good design, he’ll never know. Thankfully, since he waited though almost everyone had gone off to work, leaving him ample time to shower. He doesn't take as much time as he’d like since Stretch was waiting for food, and now that he's pregnant, he'll be needing a lot more of it.  

Hopping out of the shower, he dries himself, and just puts on the same clothes he'd had on before. They'd smell of Stretch sure, but not sex. Everyone was used to Money, and Stretch smelling like each other, so he's not worried about suspicions there. Leaving the bathroom, he goes to the kitchen to make something to eat, and is surprised by who is actually there,

"don't you work today?" 

His brother turns to look at him from the stove, 

"NO, I TOLD YOU THIS YESTERDAY, BUT APPARENTLY YOU WERE TOO INEBRIATED." Vi sighs, and continues with what he's cooking. 

Walking over, Money peers over his shoulder, "whatcha making?" 

Vi shoos him with the spatula, "JUST AN OMELET FOR MYSELF." 

"can you make two more?" he asks hopefully, since knowing Vi if he figures Money is here to cook, he'll just hover. He's so weird about the kitchen. It's the oddest thing.

Vi glances back at him, "TWO? ARE YOU THAT HUNGRY? THEY'RE QUITE LARGE." 

"no, one for me, and one for stretch." 

His brother doesn't look surprised, "I SHOULD'VE KNOWN. YES, I CAN MAKE YOU BREAKFAST, PAPYRUS." he sighs, and Money grins patting his head, 

"thanks, sans." 

Another shooing with the spatula, but he's smiling so Money knows he's not upset. Shuffling back, he takes a seat on one of the stools nearby, and watches Vi cook. It's not long before someone else joins them in the kitchen, but this person looks like they're on their way out the door, 

"WILL YOU BE LATE?" Vi calls after him, and the other skeleton stops after grabbing lunch from the fridge, 

"I DON'T BELIEVE SO." Wine responds, giving Vi a smile, "I'LL SEND A TEXT IF THAT CHANGES, HOWEVER." 

"THAT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. I'M MAKING DINNER TONIGHT SINCE EDGE IS WORKING." 

"SPLENDID. I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO IT." 

Wine moves to leave the kitchen, but stops just in front of Money who doesn't even let the shorter skeleton get a word out,

"keep walkin' two face, i don't need your goodbyes." 

Vi tsks loudly at his behaviour, but as always Wine takes it in stride which is so fucking annoying. He gives Money the fakest smile he's ever seen,

"HAVE A GOOD DAY, MONEY. TRY TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE." 

"only if you go fuck yourself." 

"LANGUAGE!" Vi scolds, and Wine chuckles, 

"CHARMING AS ALWAYS." Money just glares as Wine turns to Vi, “I HOPE YOU HAVE A LOVELY DAY AS WELL, VI”

Vi smiles at his friend, “YOU AS WELL.”

With a nod, Wine turns to leave, but he stops just at the edge of where the counters end to speak to Money once more, 

“TELL STRETCH TO HAVE A GOOD DAY AS WELL.” his voice soft. Money really doesn’t like the way he says it either. Not looking at him, and just acting like he knows something. It irks Money to no end. 

Not bothering to respond, he huffs, and turns away from Wine who just chuckles before leaving. Vi watches him go, and once he has, looks at Money,

“MUST YOU ANTAGONIZE HIM SO?”

“he’s a piece of shit.” 

“LANGUAGE.” Vi warns again, but Money’s so used to it that he barely registers it. 

The two brothers fall into silence once more until Vi finishes cooking the two omelets for him, and Stretch. He plates them up since Vi would hate to do something half-assed, and brings them over to Money, handing over the plates, 

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, PAPYRUS?” he asks softly. Money blinks in surprise, 

“yeah, why?”

“I DON’T KNOW. SOMETHING DOESN’T SEEM RIGHT, LIKE THERE’S A WEIGHT ON YOUR SHOULDERS.” his brow furrows a bit, “YOU KNOW YOU CAN TALK TO ME, YES?” 

“i know, i’m fine.” 

Vi doesn’t seem all that convinced, but doesn’t push the issue, and instead nods as Money takes the plates. Standing, he gives Vi a smile, 

“thanks for the food.”

“YOU’RE WELCOME.” 

He leaves the kitchen knowing his brother is watching him leave still worried. It’ll be fine. Once he’s had something to eat, he can blame whatever Vi saw on being hungover since he can’t exactly tell his brother the truth. Trying not to think about that, he heads straight for Stretch’s room, juggling the two plates to open the door, but manages, and finds Stretch where he left him. Stretch smiles at him, 

“was wondering where you went.”

“gettin’ food, remember?” he teases, and hands Stretch his plate, the other monster eagerly taking it. Without a word, Stretch begins eating as he sits beside him, and starts eating his own food. 

Money gets about five bites in when he stops, just staring at his plate. For some reason, Vi’s words are ringing in his skull of him looking like he’s not okay, and he doesn’t know why none of what’s happening has hit him yet at all. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Stretch was panicking, so he was so focused on that, he wasn’t focusing on his own inner turmoil of what’s going on, but now it’s slowly hitting him. 

He’s going to be a father.

An intense urge to vomit overtakes him, and he knows he’s not good at holding that kind of stuff in, so tossing his plate he rushes from the bed, hearing Stretch make a noise of surprise. He barely makes it to the toilet before he’s emptying his non-existent stomach, and fuck if he doesn’t hate throwing up. It’s so disgusting, and it burns his whole skull since it comes out both his sockets, and nose cavity too. Luckily he hadn’t put on his eye patch yet since that would’ve be a nightmare if he had it on. It always burned his empty socket the most too, probably still feeling the residual damage of having his eye light forcibly removed. 

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind to not think of again ever since that’s a memory he wishes he didn’t have, he finds himself sinking slowly to the floor, unable to hold himself up as he takes deep shuddering breaths. A cool cloth touches his face, making him jump, and look over at who came in. He doesn’t know why since it’s obviously Stretch, his friend cleaning his face of any vomit that might be lingering, being extra careful around his sockets, 

“you okay?” Stretch asks, looking worried, “you just hungover?”

Money shakes his head, “no, just…”

Stretch tilts his skull, “just?”

“we’re having a baby.”

Stretch hesitates for a moment, but continues with his cleaning, “yeah, did that just hit you?”

“kinda.” he murmurs, “i don’t know why it only hit now.”

“was wondering why you seemed to be taking this so well.” Stretch muses, now done cleaning, and tosses the rag into his hamper nearby before coming to sit beside Money on the floor of the bathroom, “probably doesn’t help that i’m panic city about it too.” 

“honestly, you panickin’ the way ya did probably stopped me from panickin’ in the beginning.” he admits, “funny how now you’re calm, and i’m freaking.”

Stretch laughs, “nah, i’m freaking out too, honey.” 

He feels as Stretch laces his fingers with his, and glances at him sitting beside him, 

“what do you want?” Stretch asks suddenly, “i’ve only been thinking of what i want, not what you want, and that’s real crap of me to do.”

“i mean, it’s your body stretch. i’m not going to try to sway your decision at all.” 

Stretch hums, “cop out. that’s a cop out answer. what do you really want?”

He’s turns away from Stretch to stare at the floor as he thinks. What does he want? 

“i don’t know.” he sighs, “just...fuck sweetheart, i’m not exactly a freaking prize for a boyfriend, let alone a dad.” using his free hand he rubs his skull, “recovering drug addict with a tendency to stir the pot, does that sound like a good dad to you? is that who you want as the other father to this little bun in the oven?” he ends up asking, “do you even want to keep them?”

“i don’t know.”

“do you want to get rid of them?”

“no.” Stretch answers quietly, “i’m freaking terrified, but i don’t want to do that, and i don’t know why. it’s why i wanted time to think.” he clarifies for Money who hums, 

“well, you got a little time. it’ll take the bun some time to fully manifest a body, so until then you can decide.”

“we.”

Surprised, Money’s gaze whips up to Stretch who gives him this firm look, 

“we, not me. when we decide. i’m not taking this decision from you, money.”

“sweetheart, i’m not gonna tell you what to do with your own body.” he protests, and Stretch squeezes his hand, 

“i’m not saying that. i’m saying we decide together...as boyfriends.” he adds very quietly near the end his gaze averting, and his cheeks flushing. Money’s sockets widen, and a grin forms on his skull, 

“you askin’ to be my datemate stretch?” he teases, and Stretch doesn’t hesitate, 

“yes.”

Money chuckles, “not gonna lie, kinda figured i already was from our earlier conversation.”

Stretch sputters, “well, just...we never...you...i...we never gave the titles!” he gets out finally, and his adorable sputtering has Money laughing loudly, beginning to feel a lot better. Leaning over, he nuzzles Stretch’s cheek with his teeth making his friend, no, his boyfriend squeak just before he began to purr, and lean into the touch. 

Once Money’s finished, Stretch leans in, and nuzzles his own teeth against Money’s cheek. When he’s finished, Money hears the sound of Stretch taking a breath to smell how his scent clings to his cheek. Grinning, Money rubs his thumb along Stretch’s hand still clasped in his own. 

The two of them sit quietly for a moment just enjoying one another’s warmth as they pressed their sides against each other. It’s a cute little thing just for the two of them that ends up being broken by Stretch making a noise of disgust. Glancing at him, Money finds Stretch rubbing his cheek, 

“oh, dude you totally threw up, and i let you scent mark my cheek!”

Cackling, Money grabs Stretch, and starts trying to mark his cheek again, “no rubbing it off!” 

“nooo, stop, you’re so gross!” Stretch cackles with him, but still let’s Money nuzzle against his cheek with a purr that barely makes it through his laughter. They’re so busy with each other doing this that they don’t even notice that they’re not alone.

“I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GET HIM OFF THE BATHROOM FLOOR, MONEY.” 

Stretch yelps in surprise, but Money just glances up to see Papyrus peeking his head into the bathroom, 

“hey paps, and technically i did, but we ended up back here so i could lose my lunch...or breakfast in this case.” Money explains, 

“OH DEAR, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“i’m fine now.” his eye light flickers to Stretch for a moment before going back to Papyrus, “so, where’d you go?”

Papyrus beams, “I HAVE SOLVED YOUR LITTLE PROBLEM! I FOUND A WAY TO MASK STRETCH’S SCENT SO THE OTHERS DON’T KNOW HE’S PREGNANT!” 

Stretch, and Money exchange a look as Papyrus sits down on the floor with them. Both monsters sit up, and eagerly lean in to listen to the solution that Papyrus has brought them. Hopefully, it’s a good one, and will give the two some time to think about what it is that they truly want.

Notes:

I SWEAR not all my fics will have a baby theme. I just find babybones so damn CUTE that I couldn't help myself, plus drama! :p

Chapter 3: Now there's Anxiety

Summary:

Stretch finds a way to mask his pregnancy, but his anxiety mounts as he fears the others may still find out.

“so, what’s the big plan?” Money asks, crossing his legs as they continue to sit on the bathroom floor. 

Stretch glances at him from the corner of his socket just briefly before refocusing on Papyrus. He’s going to be helping them after all. It was important to pay attention. Papyrus beams, and pulls out of his pocket what looks like a simple black bracelet. Stretch tilts his head,

"...a bracelet?" 

Papyrus nods, "YES! SEE, I WENT TO ALPHYS, AND-" 

"you told your alphys?!" Stretch immediately feels the panic beginning to well inside him. His breathing quickens, and he clutches onto his hoodie tightly. Money is quick to take his hand, and hold it tight. 

Papyrus shakes his head, "NO, NO! I JUST TOLD HER IT WAS A CO-WORKER WHO HAS A MONSTER MATE, AND WISHED TO SURPRISE THEM WITH THE NEWS OF A BABY, SO THEY NEEDED TO HIDE IT FOR A WHILE!" he explains, and Stretch soothes, 

"oh...that's...that's okay. sorry, paps." he apologizes for jumping to conclusions, and Papyrus shakes his head again, 

"IT'S ALRIGHT, STRETCH! YOU’RE UNDERSTANDABLY NERVOUS!” 

He nods in response to Papyrus, and holds tightly to Money’s hand, his boyfriend’s hand. A giddy feeling races through him at the thought. 

Papyrus taking this as his cue to continue, smiles, “AS I WAS SAYING, I WENT TO ALPHYS, AND EXPLAINED TO HER ABOUT MY CO-WORKER! ONCE SHE HEARD, SHE GAVE ME THIS!” he excitedly hands the bracelet to Stretch. Tentatively, he takes it, turning it over in his hands. 

It’s magical, he knows that. He can feel the magic coursing through the item. Tilting his head, he glances up at Papyrus, 

“what’s it do?”

“IT MANIPULATES YOUR SCENT.” 

He blinks, beginning to understand what Papyrus has brought him, “It’ll cancel out the pregnancy scent.”

Papyrus nods, “PRECISELY! IT’LL MAKE IT SEEM LIKE YOU SMELL AS YOU NORMALLY DO, ALTHOUGH ALPHYS SAID IT’S NOT FOOL PROOF. SHE SAID THAT THERE WILL BE TIMES THAT YOU’LL SMELL A LOT LIKE MONEY BECAUSE THE BABY IS TAKING MAGIC FROM HIM AS WELL, SO IT’S A SORT OF SIDE EFFECT. WELL, SHE SAID PARTNER, BUT THAT’S MONEY IN THIS CASE.” he chuckles, his laughter sounding light, “I FIGURED THAT WASN’T A PROBLEM IN THIS CASE SINCE YOU, AND MONEY SMELL LIKE EACH OTHER SO FREQUENTLY, THAT NO ONE WILL THINK TWICE ABOUT IT.”

“wine will notice.” Money jumps in, sounding pretty damn sour about it. Papyrus just gives him this look, 

“THEN I SUGGEST YOU MAKE NICE WITH HIM, PAPYRUS.” Papyrus using Money’s real name, gives him this deadpanned almost scolding look. Money just sheepishly looks off to the side. 

Stretch smirks. Only Papyrus can elicit this reaction from literally any of the others. He just has a way about him. It’s a great power he has, but he always uses it wisely. Although, Stretch has no doubts that Money has no intentions of making nice with Wine. The two are just too caustic with one another to ever get along. It’s not Wine’s fault really since Money constantly pokes the bear, but Stretch gave up ages ago in trying to get him to stop. 

Deciding to just let that conversation die, and give Money a break, Stretch instead slips on the bracelet. He’s stunned as he watches the black piece of jewellery suddenly shimmer, and change colours. A beautiful mix of oranges, and purples swirl inside the bracelet now. 

“it changed.” he informed them, and Money nods, 

“so did you. can’t smell that you’re pregnant anymore.”

Feeling relieved, he gives Papyrus a thankful glance, “thanks paps, this is great.” he spins it a bit on his wrist, “is the colouring supposed to represent mine, and money’s magic?”

“I THINK SO!” Papyrus agrees, “I DON’T SEE WHY ELSE IT WOULD BE THOSE TWO COLOURS.” 

“so, i don’t smell pregnant anymore?”

“NO, BUT I SHOULD ALSO WARN YOU THAT IT WON’T LAST FOREVER. ALPHYS SAID THIS WILL GIVE YOU A SMALL WINDOW TO HIDE IT. THAT ONCE THE BABY MANIFESTS ITSELF A PROPER BODY, AND YOUR ECTO EXPANDS THAT THE BRACELET WON’T BE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO HIDE THE SCENT ANY LONGER. EVERYONE WILL KNOW.”

“so we have about four months, give, or take to figure this out.” 

“YES, OR LESS SINCE BABIES CAN MANIFEST AS EARLY AS TWELVE WEEKS.” 

“ooh, paps knows his skeleton monster biology.” Money teases, and Papyrus tsks, but he’s smiling, 

“OF COURSE I DO. I’M THE SAME AGE AS YOU MONEY, I GOT THE SAME SCHOOLING.”

“technically you’re a couple months older than me paps since you’re the oldest papyrus, not countin’ sparrow.” Money points out to be a shit. Papyrus rolls his eye lights, but again, still smiling, 

“YES, YES, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, NOW YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR ROOM STRETCH. WE CAN GIVE IT A REAL TEST TONIGHT AT DINNER.”

Stretch still fiddling with the bracelet hums, “yeah, suppose we will.”

“ALTHOUGH, I’D SHOWER. YOU STILL STINK OF MONEY, AND SEX.”

Stretch chokes, and flails a little as Money bursts into laughter, 

“yeah, about that, how’d you know stretch, and i fucked last night?”

Papyrus’s grin turns into the cheekiest smirk, “STRETCH ISN’T VERY QUIET, AND I AM RIGHT NEXT DOOR, MONEY.”

“oh ho!” Money’s grin widens, “that means you made a joke earlier. the scandal!”

“PFFT, I CAN MAKE JOKES TOO YOU KNOW. I JUST TRY NOT TO MAKE THE SAME ONES FOR FIVE HUNDRED YEARS.”

“you raggin’ on sans’s joke skills paps?” Stretch laughs, and Papyrus gives him a wink, along with a chuckle. 

Stretch is grateful to Papyrus. He’s made his life a whole lot easier, and now he’ll get the time he needs to figure out what he wants to do with the baby. It will also allow Money, and him to fully begin their relationship without any sort of outside influences. He just wants the two of them to be able to find their way on their own, and he knows his brother. Blue means well, as does Vi, but the two really love to meddle, and even if he, and Money told them not to, they still would. This really is the best option, although he does feel bad for getting Money to lie to Vi. He knows how Money feels about lying, and he’s truly grateful that the other monster was willing to do so for him. That showed Stretch just how much he must mean to Money. 

Although sitting in the bathroom is a fun time, the three monsters don’t stay there for too much longer. Papyrus heads out to attempt to get Vi to let him help make dinner tonight. Money laughed at that since they all know how Vi can be when in the kitchen. Money heads off to get a little work done, while Stretch heads off to take a shower. 

It’s late in the afternoon now, so not a lot of them are home. He can hear Wolf, and Coffee in the latter monsters room playing some video game. The two had left the door open allowing him to hear as he headed into the bathroom. He knew Vi was home since he’d cooked them a meal earlier, and he’d only have done that if he had the day off. It’s a weekday so Sparrow, and Bear are probably at work as is Black, Edge, and his brother. He has no idea if Sans, or Red are home. He could probably go knock on their doors, but he doesn’t really have any need to do so. Maybe he’ll go check in with Wolf, and Coffee once he’s done showering. 

Closing the bathroom door, he locks it, and heads straight for the shower. He turns on the water so it’s nice, and hot before slipping out of his clothing to step into the shower. Before he does though, he stops and takes a moment to place his hands on his permanent ecto belly. His ribs are still showing, the ecto coming just above the last few, and went all the way down to his knees. It feels weird that he can’t unsummon it. That it will be there until, or if he gives birth. The ecto is warm, and he can feel the slight fluttering thump of the soul residing inside it. He knows the longer they’re in there, the more his soul will connect with the souling to feed it magic. It’ll be harder to get rid of the baby later, but right now he really just doesn’t know what to do. He’d be a terrible father. Stretch can barely walk down the street without stumbling, how can he raise a kid? Not to mention he still feels so young. He hasn't even cleared five hundred yet, and his book series has taken off recently as has Money’s meaning potential book tours, or signings. The two of them have careers, and a baby will throw everything out of whack, but at the same time he's having trouble with the thought of getting rid of it. Maybe it's the thought that it's only been him, and Blue most of his life, or that if his soul didn't really want this then he wouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first place. Who is he to argue with his soul? That doesn't make this any less scary though. 

Sighing, he finally steps into the shower, and begins cleaning himself, making sure to spend enough time in there to rid himself of the scent of sex. Money’s scent may linger as Papyrus mentioned earlier, but the others are used to that since the two of them frequently slept in each other’s beds, or just together somewhere random. Once he knows he's thoroughly cleaned himself, he gets out, dries himself, and redresses. 

Feeling infinitely better, he leaves the bathroom, and can still hear the gameplay coming from Coffee's room off to the left. At first, he thought maybe he could just go do some work, but realizes quickly he's really not in the right headspace for it. However, it would be a good idea to test the bracelet, and he knows if it doesn't work that he could trust Coffee, and Wolf to stay quiet if he's forced into that corner. Best case scenario is them not finding out, obviously, but he wants to be prepared for the worst. So, meandering over to Coffee's open door, he peeks his head in to find the two other Papyrus sitting on Coffee's little couch playing a video game. He knocks on the door frame to announce his presence to the two, and one of them pauses as both turn to look at him. He smiles at them, finding it slightly amusing that Wolf’s one golden tooth, and Coffee’s canine braces both glinted in the same way from the television’s glow. 

"hey, you mind one more?" 

Coffee immediately beams, and excitedly nods, scooting down to be closer to Wolf which would allow Stretch to sit down with the other two Papyrus. Grateful, realizing he actually really needs the company right now, Stretch hurries over to plop down beside Coffee, and take the controller from Wolf, who'd grabbed him one on his way over. The two restart the game to allow him to play, and he relaxes into this comfy little couch, although still on alert for whether they'll smell him, or not. 

He's tense for about an hour when finally he fully relaxes since neither monster has said anything. The two just make jabs at each other, and him for their playing skill. He even joins in, and the three end up having a good time until Coffee asks,

"w-where's...money?" 

It's not an unusual question. Coffee likes Money. He finds him very funny, and loves having him around, but for some reason it has Stretch answering nervously,

"dunno, why?" 

Wolf gives him a funny look, "cause th' two of ya are like attached at th' hip." 

"i don't always have to know where he is, and what he's doing though." Stretch points out, and Wolf just blinks,

"no, but y'smell like 'im, so we usually assume that means ya've been around 'im." 

"well...yeah, but i don't know what he's doing right this second, cause i'm with you guys." he tries, beginning to sweat a little. 

He's really making himself suspicious right now, and can feel his own panic start to set in. It doesn't help that he jumps a bit when Coffee places a hand on his shoulder. His gaze whips to the slightly smaller skeleton, who is gazing at him in concern,

"you o-okay?" he asks, his voice very soft as it usually is. Stretch nods,

"yeah, i just...have no idea what money is up to that's all." 

Wolf just nods, and seems fine, but honestly sometimes it's hard to tell when his facial expressions don't give off a lot. Coffee on the other hand looks concerned. He watches Stretch for a good minute, his eye lights flickering over his face before eventually just giving his shoulder a squeeze, and going back to the game. 

Stretch needs to calm down, or he’s going to give himself, and Money away. He knows this, but sitting here, and having to lie to two of his friends sucks. Lying has always been something he hated, and now he has to do it with people he cares about, but he needs this time. Stars, does he need this time. The thought of everyone finding out makes him feel sick, but the thought of getting rid of the baby makes him feel even sicker. 

Thankfully, Coffee, and Wolf ask no more questions, and instead the three just get back to the game. Once Stretch is able to relax again, it's an enjoyable afternoon. They honestly lose track of time since they don't even realize supper has been made until a knock comes from the doorway. Glancing at the door they find Black standing there already in his casual clothes, red bandana, and all, having changed from work, 

"THERE YOU ARE." he's obviously referring to Wolf, "I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU." 

Wolf tilts his head, "what's wrong?" 

Black crosses his arms, "NOTHING, IT'S DINNER TIME. WE'VE BEEN CALLING YOUR NAMES. EVEN THE OTHER IDIOT HEARD US, AND IS AT THE TABLE." 

The other idiot meaning Money. Black, and a few of the others frequently refer to Stretch, and Money as the Two Idiots. Mostly this was made by the more harsher skeletons, but Stretch didn't mind, and he knows Money didn't either. 

Wolf stands, "sorry, m'lord." he murmurs, and hurries over to Black who sighs. Stretch watches as Black fondly pats Wolf’s cheek,

"YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO STOP CALLING ME THAT ARE YOU?"

Wolf just gives a small smile, and shakes his head. Another sigh comes from Black as he pats Wolf’s cheek one more time, then turns his attention to him, and Coffee who has stood to follow Wolf,

"COME ALONG THEN COFFEE, AND IDIOT." 

Coffee hurries over to trot after Black, and Wolf while Stretch slowly goes to follow. He was a little less enthused about going to dinner with everyone. His anxiety had spiked again knowing it was very possible that one of his housemates might be able to smell his pregnancy. At least Money would be there, and maybe that’ll help him to not freak out at the dinner table. It’s a very small chance as he’s not the best under pressure. 

Following after the trio just a few steps behind, the small group heads for the dining room table near the kitchen. Stretch can already see that there’s a few people missing. It’s rare that all fourteen of them get to eat together as one, or two of them are usually working, or out of the house. Tonight, it seems they’re missing Edge, and his brother. A small pang of disappointment hits him seeing Blue not there. He knows his brother works odd hours due to only being a patrol officer, and he didn't want Blue to know about the pregnancy, or anything, but just seeing his older brother would've brought him a lot of comfort. Vi notices them approach first, 

"I SEE YOU'VE FOUND THEM." 

Black nods, "INDEED, THEY WERE HOLED UP IN THIS ONE'S BEDROOM." he motions to Coffee who has already hurried off to give Wine a hug who was standing in anticipation for it. 

The others are already sitting, and Stretch can see Money with an empty seat beside him looking a bit sour at Wine. He knows Money has his issues with Wine, but if he's right in that Wine will figure out what's happened then Stretch really hopes Money can play nice for once. 

Knowing it'd be weird if he didn't, Stretch goes for the empty seat beside Money, and sits down, giving Bear a smile who is on Money’s other side. The taller monster smiles back, but doesn’t say anything. Money on the other hand instantly perks up, the sour expression gone, and he sits straighter, 

“hey.” he smiles, “what’d you do this afternoon while i was busy?”

Stretch smiles back at him, “hung out with coffee, and wolf.”

Money’s smile tightens a bit, “how’d that go?” his voice lowering, so only he can hear,

“good, i don’t think-”

“secrets, secrets. th’ idiots are tellin’ secrets.”

Stretch startles at Red’s voice coming from beside him suddenly. He hadn’t even noticed that Red was the one on his other side. Frowning, he huffs,

“we’re not telling secrets.” 

Red just raises a brow, and takes the plate handed to him by Vi with his dinner, “uh huh, an’ i sit here talkin’ all quiet like with baby blue when he’s here.”

That frown turns into a scowl, “blue hates when he’s called that.”

“an’ i care because?” Red asks, circling his hand in a prompting manner. Stretch bristles. Stars, Red knows how to push buttons. He doesn’t understand how Blue is this guy’s friend. 

“he’s your friend, you should care.” 

“well, i don’t, an’ neither do baby blue. y’act like ya know yer brother, but maybe y’oughta spend more time with him than ya do with this moron.” Red motions to Money with his fork. 

Stretch nearly snaps back at him, but doesn’t get a chance when Vi whacks Red's skull with a spoon causing him to swear loudly. Vi with a plate of food in hand, gives Red a cold glance, his purple eye lights flashing, making the difference between the two sockets more obvious, 

“NOW, I KNOW YOU DIDN’T JUST REFER TO MY YOUNGER BROTHER AS A MORON, RED.”

Red rubbing his skull glares at Vi, “y’fuckin’ do it all th’ damn time ya brat.”

“LANGUAGE.” he chastises, and hands Stretch the plate of food, “I’M ALLOWED TO, YOU’RE NOT.”

“piss off.” Red growls, and Vi tsks, but gives Money a nod who’s just watching with amusement. 

Stretch knows Money really doesn’t care that Red refers to him as an idiot, or moron, but he can’t help enjoying the show Vi gives by defending him. In the small kerfuffle though, Red has forgotten he was pushing Stretch’s buttons, and gone back to eating which he’s honestly grateful for. He’s not really in the mood to get into it with Red, and just wants to eat his supper in peace, which seems like all the others intention as well since they also all just go back to eating. Stretch does wait for Money to get his food which doesn’t take long as Vi brings it to his brother before grabbing his own plate, and sitting to eat. 

With everyone served, they all begin to eat, and like always when Vi, or Edge cooks it’s delicious. However, with Bear, and Sparrow home tonight, and eating with everyone, it’s important to eat what’s been given. The two won’t get angry if he doesn’t eat everything, but Stretch can see it makes the two monsters uncomfortable when there’s any wasted food, so he always tries to finish what he’s given. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be a problem. The moment Stretch starts eating he finds it very hard to stop. He’s not a huge eater, never has been, but tonight he gulps down his food quickly, and when he’s done finds he’s still hungry. He doesn’t want to use the term starving since he knows what it means to some of the monsters at the table, but he really does feel that way. 

Gaze moving from his empty plate to the rest of the table, he can see no one is really paying attention to him, or what he’s doing. They’re all sort of just eating, and having their own little conversations with others. The only one to notice is Money who nudges his knee with his own. Turning his attention to his boyfriend, he finds him looking a bit concerned, 

“you okay?”

“yeah, just...still hungry.” he murmurs back, and Money motions to Stretch’s empty plate, 

“get more then.” 

Stretch shifts a bit. He should get more, he’s hungry, but he feels if he does it’ll draw attention to something being wrong. He never gets seconds unless it’s dessert, so him getting seconds of dinner would be very out of character for him. Maybe he’s overthinking, but he can’t help it. He feels like he’s under a microscope.

He shakes his head, “it’s...it’s fine.”

“it’s obviously not, just get more. no one cares.”

“that’s not...i just…” he leans in, and whispers, “i don’t ever get seconds. won’t it look weird?”

Money just raises a brow, “no?”

Stretch opens his mouth to say more, but startles when his plate is suddenly grabbed. Head whirling, he finds Bear moving towards the kitchen with it. He flounders, and without thinking gets up, hurrying after the taller monster. 

In the kitchen he finds Bear putting food onto the plate, and Stretch calls out, 

“what-”

“if you’re hungry then eat, stretch.” Bear murmurs, his raspy voice soft. 

Cheeks flaming, he rubs the back of his neck. “i just-”

He stops when Bear hands him another plate of food, and focuses that one big red eye light on him. When they’d first met, Stretch hated that eye light. It freaked him out, but now he’s so used to it that it doesn’t even make him blink at watching it dilate, or shrink to Bear’s emotions, 

“jus’ cause you normally don’t get seconds doesn’t mean you can’t, stretch.” Bear explains, 

“no, i know that.” he looks at the plate in his hands. Bear’s eye light shrinks a little, 

“are you...okay?” Bear asks, “did i...am i forgetting something? are you sick, and i forgot?” he begins pulling out his notes to check, and Stretch places his hand on his arm. Stretch gives him a reassuring smile, 

“nah, bear you didn’t forget. i’m fine.”

Relieved, Bear lets go of the notebook, “good. well, eat then. you don’t need money’s permission, or anyone’s.” he gives him a smile, “always nice to see others well fed, ya know?” 

“yeah, i getcha.” Stretch replies, and Bear nods, heading back for the table. Stretch stays in his spot for a moment. 

That’s his second fuck up when it comes to his new situation. He really needs to calm down, and stop being so suspicious. It’s obvious the bracelet is doing its job, or he’d be busted by now, but him trying not to act out of character is making him out of character. He doesn’t understand how Money does it, but than again, he’s not the one pregnant. Sighing, Stretch heads back to the table to retake his seat next to Money, and trying not to worry about the others starts eating his second helping which turns out is still not enough. Why is he so hungry all of a sudden, it’s maddening. The only explanation he can think of is because he’s pregnant. He knew he’d need to eat more, but this feels excessive, especially when he has to get a third plate of food. No one says a word, mostly since quite a few of the others have already finished eating by this point, and have left. The only one’s still at the table with him are Money, who has finished, but is sitting with him, and oddly enough Wine who seems to be taking his sweet time eating his meal. It could be that he’s really nursing that glass of wine he has, but Stretch feels he’s watching what he, and Money are doing. 

Thankfully, the third plate’s the charm, and Stretch is finally full. Relieved, he sighs quietly, but Money still hears, giving him a smile, 

“better?” he asks quietly, and Stretch nods, returning it, 

“yeah, much.” 

The two stand, grabbing their plates, but stop at Wine’s voice, 

“HOW RARE OF YOU TO EAT SO MUCH STRETCH. YOU MUST HAVE BEEN FAMISHED.”

Both Money, and Stretch’s gazes whirl to Wine who’s watching them with his wine glass in a hand. An almost knowing smile gracing his features. Money instantly snarls, 

“and that’s your business how?”

Wine chuckles, “THE SOONER YOU REALIZE MONEY THAT EVERYTHING IS MY BUSINESS, THE BETTER.”

“wow, pretentious much?”

“I KNOW YOU ARE MONEY, BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ME?” 

“you can just choke on my dick wine, go fuck yourself.”

“OH, I’M SURE STRETCH WILL DO THAT FOR YOU, LATER.” Wine whispers, his one eye light flashing slightly in the low lighting that’s now casting over the dining room. 

Stretch can feel himself go pale at Wine’s words. Money on the other hand, stays calm, 

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“NOTHING, JUST THAT THE TWO OF YOU ARE CLOSE.” Wine takes a sip of his drink, “IT WAS A SIMPLE JAB BACK.” his grin grows, “THAT’S ALL. WHY? SHOULD IT MEAN SOMETHING?”

Money growls, but just wanting to get away from this situation, Stretch grabs his arm, “c’mon money, let’s just go.”

He knows Money wants to say, and fight, but the moment his boyfriend sees the way he shifts, and pleads with his expression, he gives in. Money gives Wine one last glare which Stretch expected, and follows after him which he’s so thankful for. All but running to the kitchen, Stretch places his dirty plate into the dishwasher, and rounds on Money who is still right behind him, 

“you can’t do that!” he hisses, and Money blinks in surprise, 

“do what? defend you?”

“no, antagonize him!” he finds his own sockets are widening in his distress, and his voice taking on a higher quality, “he’s gonna find out at this rate! you’re just giving him a reason to figure it out by fighting with him because it’s obvious we’re hiding something!” 

“he’s being an asshole!” Money hisses back, placing his own dishes in the dishwasher, “why shouldn’t i call him out on it!”

“because it upsets me!” Stretch nearly wails fighting tears, and quiets again his breathing almost whimpering. If he gets any louder someone will come investigate, “this isn’t helping me money, it’s making it worse.” his breathing takes on an almost panicked quality, but he hasn’t reached there yet, “i don’t want him to find out.” he sniffles. 

Money having obviously seen that he’s messed up reaches out for Stretch, “sweetheart, i didn’t-”

“uhh...everything okay in here?”

Both Money, and Stretch startle looking towards the kitchen entrance to find Sans standing there. He’s glancing between both Money, and Stretch, 

“you okay, stretch?” he asks, having seen the distressed state his friend is in. 

“m’fine.” Stretch replies quietly, and without another word, hurries from the kitchen, breezing past Sans. 

Ignoring everyone in the living room, he just hurries to his own bedroom, and locks himself inside. Only once he’s secure in his own space does he let his tears fall. Today has been overwhelming, and Money getting into a fight with Wine just pushed him over the edge. Sniffing, he drags himself to his bed, where he flops into it, and curls himself into his blankets. He hates that he can hear the others in the living room, talking, laughing, and having a good time while he’s miserable. At first he tries covering his ears, but eventually gets up, and grabs his headphones. He shoves them onto his head, and attaches them to his phone. Not even caring, he just clicks on a random song, and let’s the melody fill his head, turning up the volume to drown out the rest of the house. 

Quietly, he gets back into bed, laying down, and letting the music wash over him. His hand moves under his hoodie, beneath his shirt, and rests on the warm ecto that’s still there. He feels the thump, thump, thump of the soul in there beating. Gritting his teeth, he curls into a ball, and as silently as he can, he cries. 

Chapter 4: Is He Telling?

Summary:

Money has to decide what to do about the "Wine Problem"

Money knew he fucked up as he watched Stretch hurry away. He shouldn't have pushed Wine the way he did, but that guy just gets under his skin...metaphorically, of course. It's obvious he knows more than he's saying, and until he does, Stretch was going to panic, unless Money begged Wine not to say anything. A sour taste appeared in his mouth just thinking about it. 

Sans gives him a dubious look, but doesn’t question him on what just happened. He probably figures that he, and Stretch are fighting. This is a rarity, but isn’t impossible. They don't agree all the time. However, that's not the problem at hand. The problem at hand is Wine, and it puts Money in quite the shitty position. Does he go speak to Wine about backing off, and learn what he knows, or does he leave it? Leaving it feels like the worse option. 

He's gone back to his own room to lay in bed, and think on what he should do. It's not as helpful as he thought it would be since not only can he hear the others, but he can hear the slight sniffling of Stretch crying in the room beside him. Their beds are pressed against the same wall in the same spot, so that's probably the only reason he can hear him, but it makes everything worse. Reaching up, Money presses his hand on the wall he shares with Stretch, wishing he could make this all better for him, and take all the anxiety away from him. Knowing he can't do that for Stretch, killed him. All he can do is hope he can try to help somehow. 

He knows what he should do, but he gets the feeling Stretch won't appreciate it, and it'll lead to more lying. He hates lying, but he can’t figure out what else to do to make the "Wine" problem go away. So, getting out of bed, he heads for his door, stepping over random crap lying on the floor, and leaves his room. He heads straight for Wine's room where he knows the monster will be residing, probably sewing, knowing him. He hesitates at the door. This was going to suck, and he knew it would. None of the others in the living room have even noticed him, thankfully. Grumbling under his breath, Money gives Wine’s door a quick knock, and waits. 

He's not left waiting long. Wine is a prompt monster, so he's not surprised when a moment later the door opens revealing the shorter skeleton. He gazes at Money with no surprise whatsoever written on his face. All he does is place his hands behind his back, and stand straight like he's at attention like he always does when he's sizing someone up, 

"HELLO MONEY, HOW CAN I ASSIST YOU?" 

Here goes. He can just feel the vomit rising in his throat at what he has to do, 

"i wanna talk." 

Wine grins that smarmy little grin that Money hates, and nods, moving aside to let the younger skeleton in. Money moves swiftly, since he doesn’t want the others to see after all. Wine is quick to shut his door, and strides back into his room to sit in his sewing chair. Walking after him, Money doesn’t bother sitting since doing so would make him antsy, and watches as Wine settles by crossing his legs like the pompous ass he is. Wine motions to him once comfortable,

"WHAT DO YOU NEED?" 

"what do you know?" he's just going to come out, and ask. Wine’s grin grows, 

"I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, MONEY. PERHAPS-" 

"cut the shit." Money interrupts him, too annoyed to let him get his jollies, "just tell me." 

Wine chuckles, "IMPATIENT ARE WE?" 

Money glares at him which has Wine chuckling again, but he doesn’t push it.

"I KNOW YOU, AND STRETCH ARE ENGAGING IN SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH ONE ANOTHER, OR IF YOU PREFER, FUCKING ONE ANOTHER." 

"how?" 

"I HAVE MY WAYS." he responds cryptically, and Money growls, 

"how, wine?" 

Wine sighs, "I OVERHEARD YOU, AND PAPYRUS THIS MORNING. I WAS IN THE LIVING ROOM NEARBY, AND BY PAPYRUS’S GREETING WITH YOU NOT REFUTING WHAT HE SAID, I TOOK A GUESS." 

Money tsks, and huffs. He desperately wants to give Wine a piece of his mind, but he came here for a reason. He was going to do his very best to see it through,

"look, just lay off okay? you're really stressing stretch out." 

Wine blinks, and observes him for a moment. He hums, and crosses his arms, tapping his fingers on his arm, 

"VERY WELL," it can't be that easy, "ON ONE CONDITION," there it is, "YOU TELL ME ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING." his eye light flashes, "HOWEVER, DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME PAPYRUS, BECAUSE I WILL FIND OUT, AND I WILL TELL ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE WHAT IT IS YOU'RE TRYING TO HIDE. NOW," he leans forward in his chair, extending a hand, "DO WE HAVE A DEAL?" 

Taking this deal means Wine finds out, and that's exactly the thing Stretch doesn’t want, but he feels pressed into a corner. If he doesn’t tell Wine, he's going to continue to pester him, and Stretch with a high possibility of his fuckery allowing the others to learn what's going on. Money is literally between a rock, and a hard place. He has no other option. Gritting his teeth, he takes Wine’s hand into his own, 

"deal, but you're not allowed to tell anyone, anything." he grips Wine’s gloved hand uncomfortably tight, "promise me, wine. promise me you're not going to say anything." 

"I KNOW WHAT A PROMISE MEANS TO COFFEE. I KNOW IT’S SOMETHING HE TAKES VERY SERIOUSLY, AND WOULD ONLY ASK FOR ONE IF HE HAD NO OTHER OPTION." Wine is looking at him seriously, his own grip tightening, "WHICH I ALSO KNOW IS THE SAME FOR YOU. SO, I KNOW FOR YOU TO ASK ME THIS NOW SOMETHING SERIOUS HAS HAPPENED." stunned, Money watches as Wine’s brow furrows, and he begins to look concerned, "I PROMISE, MONEY. I PROMISE I WON'T SAY ANYTHING. ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Wine takes his hand back, and Money takes his own. 

"we got it under control." he starts, though that feels a bit dubious even for him.

"TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON." 

Money sighs. He really doesn't want to tell him. He can just barely hide the contempt threatening to show on his face, knowing he has to tell Wine of all people what’s going on, and the thought of how Stretch would react is making it so much worse. There’s no way he’ll be okay with this. He’s not okay with this, but he really does feel he has no other option. If he doesn’t do this, Wine will keep badgering them, and not only that, but if he lies, Wine will tell everyone that he and Stretch are dating. He truly hates feeling this helpless. Not to mention how pathetic he’s being, like he’s begging, and weak which is the worst thing he could ever be coming from the Underground he did. He’s nearly shaking at how much he doesn’t want to tell Wine what’s going on, but he knows that doing this will get Wine to back off. So, swallowing his pride, and complicated feelings, he murmurs, 

"stretch is pregnant." 

Wine’s sockets widen, and he stands up, "WHAT?" his voice is soft, "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? I COULDN'T TELL BY HIS SCENT? HOW?" 

"last night when we...ya know." Money motions his hand in a circle, "we...got careless." 

"HOW IS STRETCH?" 

"panicked, and your little stunt at dinner didn't help." he growls, but he watches as his words have Wine softening, 

"I APOLOGIZE. I DID NOT REALIZE, I WOULD NEVER HAVE IF I DID." he takes a step forward, "MONEY, I SWEAR I NEVER WOULD HAVE IF I HAD KNOWN.”

Money pauses, and watches Wine for a bit. By his reaction, and facial expressions Money can tell he means that. Also, he didn’t set off Money’s lie detection ability, so that was helpful. Everything Wine just said was the truth for once. 

"fine, but just lay off him, okay? he doesn't need this right now."

"I WILL." Wine nods, "WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS?" 

Money hesitates. They have no plans, and have literally not even spoken about what to do next. Sighing, Money finds his hands going to his pocket, and pulling out his zippo lighter. He begins flipping it between his hands,

"dunno."

"YOU DON'T KNOW?" Wine asks, incredulously, "HAVE YOU SOUGHT A DOCTOR YET, OR EVEN TOLD BLUE, AND VI?" 

Money shakes his head, "stretch doesn't want anyone to know." 

Wine’s concern just keeps growing, and Money has no idea why he's so concerned for them. 

"MONEY, I THINK YOU NEED TO TELL YOUR BROTHERS." he murmurs, "IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T THINK YOU TWO CAN DO THIS ALONE, BUT IT WOULD BE BETTER WITH HELP." 

"i'm not gonna go against what stretch wants. i told him i wouldn't tell, so i'm not going to." he's still flipping his lighter, "besides, papyrus is helping." 

"AND THAT'S VERY KIND OF HIM, BUT NONE OF YOU HAVE RAISED A BABY." Wine points out, "VI, AND BLUE HAVE, AS HAVE I. IT'S NOT EASY, MONEY." 

Money raises a brow, "you offerin' to help?" 

"YES." Wine answers straight up, surprising Money. He chuckles, "LOOK, I UNDERSTAND I AM NOT YOUR FAVOURITE PERSON, AND WHY, BUT TO ME WE ARE FAMILY." he grins at Money, "I TAKE CARE OF MY FAMILY." 

"and you don't care that stretch, and i are fuckin', and that we're together as a couple?"

"SHOULD I?" he asks, shaking his head, "DESPITE SHARING A NAME MONEY, YOU, AND STRETCH ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. YOU ARE NOT THE SAME, AND IF HE MAKES YOU HAPPY THEN I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST." 

This talk is going much better than anticipated, and has Money relaxing enough to put his lighter away. He ruffles out his hoodie a bit, 

"thanks." he begrudgingly mutters, and Wine smirks, 

"YOU ARE QUITE WELCOME. NOW, HURRY OFF TO MAKE UP WITH HIM." Wine begins shooing him off, "I HAVE THINGS TO DO TOO. IF YOU NEED ME, YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME." 

Money without another word turns, and sees himself out of Wine’s room. His pride still hurt from having to have this talk, but at least Wine didn't rub it in his face like he'd thought he would. He also hates that he's right, and needs to go make up with Stretch. So, across the living room he goes, and when he gets to his boyfriend’s door, ignores the locked state of it to shortcut inside. 

Stretch still lying in bed, lifts his head to look at Money, probably having felt his magic, his cheeks stained with tear streaks. Overwhelming remorse fills him as he crosses the room towards his lover, and sits on the bed with him. Gently, he removes the headphones from Stretch’s head, who doesn’t protest this action, 

"i'm sorry." he murmurs, setting the headphones onto Stretch's bedside table, "i was an asshole." 

"yeah, you were." Stretch replies, his voice sounding hoarse. 

"will you forgive me?" 

Stretch sniffs, and nods. Relieved, Money moves, climbing up onto the bed to snuggle into Stretch who is more than happy to be the little spoon. Giving his neck a slow soft kiss, Money burrows his face into the back of it, holding him tight. 

"money?" 

He hums to show Stretch he's listening, 

"i'm sorry too." 

He nuzzles again, "why're you apologizing sweetheart?" Money asks. 

"for making you lie to vi, and everyone else." Money feels as Stretch squirms, and moves a bit, allowing him to turn around. Now facing Money, he continues, "i know how much you hate that." 

"i may hate it, but i love you." 

Stretch flushes bright orange, "i...i love you too." 

Grinning, Money leans in to steal a quick soft kiss, "good." 

He doesn't expect Stretch to reciprocate, and he certainly doesn't expect for him to suddenly lean forward, and capture him in another kiss. A kiss that is quick to deepen, as Stretch wraps his arms around his neck, pulling Money against him. However, as much as he wants to keep going, and kiss Stretch for hours, he does need to ruin it by telling his lover something he knows he won’t want to hear. Pulling back, he’s met with a confused Stretch giving him a look that just screams why? Why did he pull away? Money reaches up to brush Stretch’s cheek, 

“sorry sweetheart, it’s just-”

“are you still mad?” he asks cutting Money off, “i didn’t-”

Money knowing Stretch would never stop, he covers his mouth, and shushes him, “shh, no. i just had to tell you something, and you might not be so happy with me once i do.”

Stretch moves away, and sits up, giving him, his obvious full attention. Sitting up with him, Money scratches the back of his neck, and decides to just get it out there. Rip it off just like a bandaid, 

“wine knows.”

His words hang in the air between the two of them, and he really does expect Stretch to freak out, or panic again, but is surprised when he just looks at his hands, 

“how?

“i told him.” he admits, finding his hands going for that lighter again to flip it in his hands, 

“why?”

“because he wouldn’t leave us alone otherwise.” Money sighs, “he already knew we’d fucked each other, and was trying to be a shit. he said if he’d known from the beginning you were pregnant, he wouldn’t have said anything in front of anyone.”

“how’d he even find that out?”

“he overheard paps, and i this morning then put it together from there.”

Stretch just keeps nodding, and to Money’s surprise, keeps himself together. Maybe he’s just too tired, and defeated to get upset about this? That thought doesn’t sit very well with Money at all, but he’s pulled from his thoughts by Stretch mumbling, 

“he gonna tell?”

“no.” Money tries to reassure quickly, “he promised.” he looks at the lighter in his hands, “even offered to help. guy’s tryin’ to be nice, but he still feels like an asshole to me.”

“well, that’s not changing any time soon it seems.” Stretch sighs, and rubs his face with both his hands, “maybe it’s better he knows then.” he murmurs into his hands, and it hurts Money to hear how defeated he sounds, 

“i’m sorry, sweetheart.” 

Stretch finally glances at him, “why?”

“for telling wine, and papyrus, and…” he gestures towards him, “for getting you pregnant.” he finishes quietly. Stretch looks confused for a moment, before he reaches out, and stops Money’s hands from moving that lighter, 

“this isn’t your fault.” he’s making sure Money’s looking at him as he says this, “i said yes to the sex, i wanted it just as much as you did. you didn’t make this baby on your own, honey.”

Money wishes Stretch would let him move that lighter, “it feels like my fault.”

“why?” 

He shuts his sockets tight, “because you’re so upset, and i can’t make it better. all i’ve done is make it worse, and i can’t help at all no matter how badly i want to. you’re shouldering all these anxieties, and doubts, while i’m just fucking it up like i always do, and-”

Words stopping, Money realizes that Stretch has moved to hug him, and is holding him so snuggly, 

“i’m sorry.” he whispers, “please don’t cry.”

Startling, he reaches up, and touches his cheek to find the tears there. Money rarely cries. It’s a reaction usually to stress, anxiety or failure for him. The last time he cried was probably when he was finally able to walk out of rehab, feeling better than he had in years to find Vi there waiting. His brother had hugged him, and cried. Hearing his brother sniffle into his sweater after all they’d been through together had set Money off. This time, it was definitely feeling like he’d messed up again, that he’d fucked up someone else’s life again, and that he was just one big screw up again.

Money grips onto Stretch tightly, and buries his face into his neck, “i’m sorry! i fucked everything up!”

“no, you didn’t.” Stretch murmurs, and turns to kiss his wet cheek, “we’ve been so worried about me, we just keep forgetting about you, don’t we?”

“i got that moment earlier in the bathroom.” he murmurs with a slight watery chuckle. Stretch’s own breathy chuckle is his reply, 

“you can have more than one moment, dummy.”

Money closes his sockets again, “i just want vi.” he whispers, pathetically, 

“well, i understand that feeling.” Stretch scratches the back of his skull in a soothing manner, “all i want is blue, but i still...don’t want them to know…” he finishes quietly.

“i know. i’m not gonna say anything.” Money reassures. 

Stretch relaxes after that as does Money. The two of them sit, and begin talking about anything other than the baby. For just a small moment the two of them just want to be with each other, and not have to worry about all the things that weigh on their minds. To just for a short time, be boyfriends spending time together instead of having to be anxious over an unplanned pregnancy. 

After about an hour of the two of them avoiding their problems, a knock sounds from the door, startling them both. Stretch getting up, goes to answer it, and finds Blue standing there with a bright smile on his face, having just come home. He’d wanted to check on Stretch, and Money can see that his boyfriend appreciated this. 

Wanting to give them some space, so Stretch can chat with Blue, and feel better even though he’s not telling him about the baby yet, Money leaves the two of them alone. He gives Stretch one last look before he leaves his room, but once gone, he doesn’t head for his own bedroom. Instead, he crosses the house, passing multiple bedrooms until he finds the one he wants. Giving a quick knock to announce his presence, he enters the room without an invitation, knowing this is one of the few bedrooms he’s welcome to do this with. 

Peeking in, he finds Vi turning from his desk in his chair, glasses taped to his skull, and sort of looking over them at him, 

“CAN I HELP YOU, PAPYRUS?” he asks, turning back to his desk, and pushing his glasses up a bit, “IS THERE SOMETHING YOU-”

He stops when Money crosses the room, and without a word wraps his arms around Vi. He presses his face into his brother’s shoulder, and just stands there. His back is at the most awkward angle for this, but he doesn’t care. 

“PAPYRUS?” Vi’s voice is so soft as Money hears him take those glasses off, and place them on his desk, “WHAT’S WRONG?”

“nothin’.” he lies, feeling sick to his stomach to do so, “just missed you.”

“YOU SAW ME AT DINNER, YOU IDIOT.” 

“i still miss you.”

Vi reaches up, and pries Money’s hands off him, turning in his chair to face his brother. Concern is etched across his older brother’s face, 

“I’M RIGHT HERE.”

Without a word, Money sits on the floor at his brother’s feet. Crossing his arms, he lays them plus his head in Vi’s lap. Vi’s hand moves to pat his skull almost immediately, 

“can we just stay like this for a bit, and not talk...please.”

He knows Vi wants to talk. Wants to know what’s upsetting him so badly because he wants to make it better like he always does. Vi has always tried to make Money’s problems go away, and protect him even if it meant sacrificing his own health. That always bothered Money, and he would always wish Vi would let him shoulder some of the burden. Now, all he wants is for Vi to help him shoulder the burden, but he can’t. How the tables have turned. 

Vi says nothing, and instead, places his other hand on Money’s back, while the other continues to pet his skull in a soothing manner. The two of them may not say it often, but they do love one another, and Money leans on Vi probably a little more than he should, especially after all he put him through. Money always knew he could count on Vi when things were hard, or bad, and with everything going on he knew he needed him. 

“IF YOU...NEED ME, PAPY, I’M...HERE.” Vi gets out a bit slowly. Feelings are not always his forte, but hearing his old nickname, Money looks up at his brother, “I WANT TO HELP, IF I CAN.”

Placing his head back in his brother’s lap, Money murmurs, “i know.” his voice soft, feeling hurt knowing he can’t tell his brother just yet. 

No more words are passed between the two as Vi just continues to comfort Money until slowly, but surely, the younger brother drifted off to sleep, comforted in a way he can only receive from his older brother. 

Chapter 5: Off to the Doctor

Summary:

Stretch finally sees a doctor

Notes:

Thank you so much to my friend PsychedelicThomsterNugget for helping me look over this chapter for mistakes! ❤❤

A few days pass, allowing Stretch some time to settle into his new reality. Money was by his side, always supporting him as best he could, and both Papyrus, and Wine appear to be great allies in this. They keep everyone off his, and Money’s trail, Wine especially. The older monster seemed to genuinely want to help, and Stretch had to admit, it's nice having him cover for him when he blunders, which is often. It’s also a relief that the only two people with lie detecting abilities are the parents of the unborn souling. However, Wine keeps bringing up an uncomfortable subject, to first Money, then him.

Has Stretch seen a doctor yet?

The answer being no did not sit well with Wine, and he all, but begged for them to let him set up an appointment. To Stretch, it looked like a losing battle to try, and deter Wine from making that simple phone call, so he allowed it. Even despite the fact that he still has no idea if he even wants this baby, or not. He knows monster pregnancies aren’t like human ones where you can wait a bit before seeing the doctor. With monsters it was the sooner, the better so the souling’s beat can be checked, as well as the magical output by the carrying parent to make sure there’s no rejection of the new soul. The first week, or two after conception is very important in a monster pregnancy since it’s extremely rare a monster doesn’t immediately know they’re pregnant, and this is the highest known time for a soul rejection. It’s not like with humans where you can go a month, or a little longer without knowing you’re pregnant in the first place. 

Regardless, this is how both Money, and Stretch found themselves at a doctor's office, one late afternoon. Wine had managed to get them an appointment with a good doctor somehow, and this would be their first meeting with her. Hopefully, she doesn't ask a ton of questions on why he, and Money look so alike, and just passes it off as a funny quirk.

It was a bit awkward for the two of them just sitting there, waiting for the doctor to arrive, but neither of them really wanted to talk. So, in silence they wait. They know what's to come of this appointment even though they've never been through something like this before. She'll come in, introduce herself, maybe chat a bit, and then check on the souling's beat. That's what Stretch is worried about, the checking of the soul beat. Will he panic when he hears it, and it's confirmed that yes, he is pregnant by a professional? Is that why he waited so long to be seen? Most monsters would have called their doctor the next day, but he hesitated, he waited, and now he's once again left waiting, this time for the doctor. It's thankfully not a particularly long one as the doctor comes through the door about five, or six minutes after they've sat down. She gives the two of them a big smile, and introduces herself,

"Hi there, I'm Dr. B, it's nice to meet you." she holds out her hand to shake theirs, and they both in turn shake the female monster's hand. 

She was a short cat monster with tabby-like markings, and perky ears. Her bright eyes shone, and showed obvious youth. Despite that, she looked confident, and calm which was enough to relax Stretch a little. 

Dr. B takes a quick glance at his file, and not once loses her smile, 

"So, you're pregnant, um...Stretch!" she points to Stretch who nods. Her smile widens at her excellent guess, "Your friend who got you in to see me explained as much as he could, however he did leave out one little detail.” she seriously has the cheeriest smile, “How long since conception?" 

"few days." he replies softly. She nods, and writes this down, before patting the exam table, 

"Hop on up then sweetie, and we'll check the beat of that souling." 

Stretch hesitantly gets out of his seat. He hadn’t expected Dr. B to get right to the business like that, but it's not unwelcome. It's just unexpected. He knew she'd want to check, but not this quickly, and it's leaving him anxious as he makes the few steps to the exam table. He hops up easily, and prays this goes well. 

"Lay down, and lift your shirt for me please." she asks. 

Following her instructions, Stretch lays down, and lifts his hoodie up to just where his ribs start, exposing his persistent ecto. Money has stood, and moved over to take his hand. Stretch holds tightly to that hand, slightly comforted as Dr. B comes over with the equipment needed. She hums while she works, and starts up the machine. It's sort of like an ultrasound machine, and transducer like humans use when pregnant, but also different at the same time. This just picks up the souling's wavelengths, allowing them to map, and hear it. A picture can be provided, but at this early stage, the baby will just be a soul. 

Dr. B squeezes some cool gel onto Stretch's ecto, and gets to work. She slides the little transducer like wand over his ecto, and it doesn't take her long to find it. For the first time, Stretch hears it out loud. 

Thump, Thump, Thump

The sound of their baby's soul beat. Stretch finds himself accidentally crushing Money’s hand, but to his boyfriend's credit, he allows him to. He sits, and he listens to that rhythmic thumping. As he does, he tries to figure out how he feels, but comes up empty. He's not panicking, which is good, but he's not overcome with emotion either. A new worry forms that maybe he's just not attached to this baby at all, and if he goes through with this, he'll never be. What if he has this baby, but never loves them? What does he do then? Dr. B smiles,

"There they are! Ooh, good, and strong. They sound like a very healthy souling to me, but just to make sure, I'm going to map their wavelengths, as well as yours Stretch. So, if you could raise your shirt a little higher, I'm going to attach a small node to the middle of your sternum there." 

Doing as she asks, Stretch raises his hoodie until it's tucked under his chin. Dr. B, attaches the node with ease, and places two more on his ecto belly where they'd found the souling's beat. She clicks a few things on the monitor, and the machine starts up. At that point, it's just a waiting game as it spits out a long paper with the wavelengths. Dr. B picks up one, and takes a look,

"It's as I figured, very healthy souling. They're doing excellent! I'm very pleased with these results. If your next few appointments go this well, I'll probably be able to tell you an approximate time of when the baby will form their body." she smiles, and picks up the other paper, "Now, let's look at yours Stretch." 

She goes in looking so cheery, and humming, but as she reads his wavelength the humming slowly stops. Dr. B takes on a more serious expression, her eyes darting over the paper more than once. A new worry now pops into Stretch’s mind. Is there something wrong with him? Is he okay? Apparently, Money was thinking the same since he chimes in,

"everything alright? is stretch okay?" 

She glances up, and carefully turns the paper to the two of them. Pointing to the lines on the paper, she explains, "See how far between the beats are?" Stretch can see, and nods, "This shows that your soul beat is unhealthily low, Stretch. If I'm being honest, if you'd come in to see me before getting pregnant, I would've advised wholeheartedly against you ever getting pregnant until this was dealt with."

"what does that mean?" Money asks, his thumb smoothing over Stretch's metacarpals which is helping soothe the sick feeling he has, "could he die? is he dying?" 

Dr. B puts down the paper, and shuts off the machine. That serious expression never leaves, but it's gentle, and shows that she's trying to be delicate here, 

"He's not dying, but I won't lie, and say there isn't a possibility that he could die if he sees the pregnancy through. Pregnancy can be a strain on the soul, but one a healthy soul can very easily take on. Yours on the other hand Stretch, can't. If I was to take a guess, I would say your HP is dangerously low." Her guess is spot on. With 1HP, Stretch knows his HP is dangerously low.

"so you're saying...he should get rid of the baby?" Money asks, quietly. Stretch is extremely glad Money is here to ask all the questions he's too afraid to ask. Dr. B shakes her head, 

"Not at all. I'm just giving you the lay of the land." 

"what's gonna happen?" he finds himself finally asking his voice coming out a little strained. 

"Well, for starters, you're going to have some symptoms that don't normally come with monster pregnancies. Actually, they're funny enough more common with human pregnancies." she begins listing things off, "Nausea, vomiting, joint pain that I will probably guarantee you'll get being a skeleton monster, and it’ll most likely range between moderate to severe in intensity. You'll be extremely hungry, and be absolutely exhausted, needing to sleep a lot to let your soul rest. If you have a job, I'll need to write you a note of sick leave because from this moment forth Stretch, you're going to need to rest." she informs, before continuing, "Your ecto may also expand more than it needs to as your soul might miscalculate in its fatigue." she finishes, "It'll be difficult Stretch, but not impossible. If you want this baby, I will dedicate whatever resources I can to make sure you, and the little one come out on the other side healthy." 

Stretch stares at the little piece of paper in her hands. He doesn’t even know how to respond to all of this. A baby he doesn’t even know if he wants could kill him if he goes through with this, and from the sounds of it, he’ll be experiencing some unfortunate symptoms on the journey there. Now more than ever, Stretch wishes Blue was here to hold his hand, and take charge. He’s so used to it, and he never realized how comforting that was until now. Luckily, Money is here to take the reins instead.  

“we’re not entirely sure on that front just yet.” Money murmurs. 

She nods, “Understood. Well, for now let’s go along the lines of; you are keeping the baby just in case.” she first hands Stretch a few tissues so he can wipe off his ecto, and while he does that, she pulls out a prescription pad from her lab coat, “I’m going to prescribe you some medication that’ll bump up your magic production to take some of the burden off your soul, and these should also ease the symptoms I listed earlier, especially the joint pain, and nausea.”

“do the pills have any side effects though?” Money asks. Stretch is still unable to ask anything, and he’s feeling so utterly useless. He’s the pregnant one, shouldn’t he be asking these kinds of questions? Apparently, it doesn’t bother Dr. B since she smiles at Money, but it’s a sort of apologetic one, 

“Yes, they do. However, they’re minor, so they shouldn’t cause too many problems.” she finishes writing the prescription, and hands it to Money, who pockets it. By now, Stretch has readjusted his hoodie, and sat up on the table. He’s still holding Money’s hand though as Dr. B begins listing off symptoms, “Weepiness, irritability, increased appetite, sweating, and heightened sex drive.”

Both Stretch, and Money blink, then look at each other before back to Dr. B, 

“so...you’re putting him into heat?” Money raises a brow, and Dr. B chuckles a little, 

“In a sense, but not quite. Yours, and Stretch’s bodies can’t go into heat while he’s pregnant, however this is a sort of pseudo heat in a way. The symptoms sound the same, but they are definitely not as severe as they are when you’re in heat.”

“so he’ll just be horny a lot, got it.”

Stretch can feel his face flame as he shoots Money a look whose already got this shit eating grin. Wow, could he maybe not right now? This really isn’t the time right now, and Dr. B laughing doesn’t help Stretch’s feelings of overwhelming embarrassment. Stars, can they stop talking about this now. Evidently not, since once Dr. B has composed herself she chuckles out, 

“Yes, I’m afraid so, but it’s a good thing!” if she’s trying to be reassuring, Stretch doesn’t see it, “Sex is relaxing, and it’ll get your soul moving to produce more magic without straining it. In conclusion, sex is good, and if you get in the mood Stretch you should absolutely see Money here to relieve it.”

“done.” Money smirks, giving his hand a squeeze. Can he climb in a hole, and die now? This is not a conversation that’s actually happening is it? 

Unfortunately it was, and Stretch next got to listen as Dr. B, and Money talked about several sexual positions that would be best for him to be in, especially when his ecto expanded. Stretch stayed silent the whole damn time just wishing for this to end, and when it finally did, it wasn’t a moment too soon. It ends though with Dr. B turning to Stretch, and smiling, 

“Do you have any questions?” her voice softens. She’s definitely noticed his quietness, and is trying to make sure he’s not being shoved aside. It’s kind of her. 

“um…” he starts, his voice feeling foreign, like it’s not his own, “about the uh...sleep, and rest?” she nods, looking so eager that he’s asking a question, “it’s just i uh...i’ve got insomnia so, i just...don’t sleep well? is that a problem?” he rubs the back of his neck feeling so awkward. She hums, and pulls out her prescription pad again. 

Clicking that pen she’s got, she begins writing again, “I will prescribe you a low dose sleeping pill that works for monsters. Don’t worry, it won’t harm the souling at all. They shouldn’t even feel any effects from it whatsoever. Just follow the instructions I have listed here, and you should be able to sleep better.” she tears off the piece of paper, and this time hands it to Stretch. He takes it, giving it a glance before looking back to her, 

“thank you.” he murmurs, his voice soft. Her smile turns gentle, and she reaches out to place her hand on top of his, 

“I can also recommend someone you can talk to if you need it, Stretch. They can help you work through your feelings, and help you figure out what you want for this baby.” 

He thinks on that for a long moment, holding onto that paper tightly. It would be a really good idea to see someone, and she’s offered, but all he can think of is that he’s not from this Universe. What if he fucks up, and says something he’s not supposed to? That would be catastrophic for him, and his housemates. He doesn’t want to end up in some lab to be looked at, and prodded. He doesn’t want that for Blue, and certainly not for Money. So, despite agreeing with her, and knowing the right option would be to see someone, he just looks down at his hands, 

“i’ll think about it.”

Dr. B pats his hand, “Alright, sounds good. You’ve got my number, and you can call it any time if you decide you’d like to talk to someone. Okay?”

“okay.” he confirms with her. 

The appointment ends soon after that with Dr. B making sure that Stretch had her number in case of emergencies, or if he just needed to talk with her. It was obvious she cared, and it made Stretch feel just the tiniest bit better, although it didn’t make the choice he had to make in the next few weeks any easier. 

Money, and Stretch leave the exam room, now better equipped, or at least Stretch hopes they are to deal with the next little while. Before they leave, they make sure to stop at the pharmacy below the clinic, and get those prescriptions filled. He’ll have to hide them from Blue, and everyone else, but he’s got a few hidey holes that should do the trick. He has to hide his sweets somewhere after all, or Blue would toss them. Glancing at the bottle of magic supplements he can see he needs to take it three times a day, so before he leaves the pharmacy he buys a sugary fruit drink he likes, and takes one. Hopefully, taking them earlier on will help when those symptoms Dr. B mentioned start getting bad. 

They decide to just shortcut home after this with Money bearing the magical withdraw, since Dr. B had said Stretch needed to basically conserve his magic. The two of them appeared in Money’s bedroom since it’s the easiest shortcut for him to make since it’s one he does often. With a tired sigh, Stretch flops back onto Money’s soft bed. His boyfriend hums, 

“how’re you feeling, sweetheart?”

His soul flutters hearing Money call him sweetheart, but it’s still not enough to quell his raging anxiety. 

“anxious.” he murmurs. Money nods, and sits down beside him, 

“anything i can do to help?” he asks gently. Stretch glances up at him, the weight of the pills in his pocket feeling so heavy.

“just stay with me, kay?”

“i’m always here with you.” Money lays down beside him, and the two stare at the ceiling. They don’t take their eyes off of it even as they reach to clasp each other's hand.  

It doesn’t escape Stretch that they need to figure out what they’re doing, and fast. That they can’t just keep running away, and not talking about what they’re doing with this baby because like it, or not the souling will keep growing. They’ll get bigger, and bigger until Stretch can’t hide it anymore. Everyone will know then, and they’ll know what he, and Money did. Deep down, despite the fact that he loves Money more than he thought he ever could, he knows he still feels some shame from what they did. That it was wrong in some way. They’re both Papyrus, so doesn’t that mean this isn’t right? For them to love each other the way they do, is it wrong? How would they explain it to the baby? Is that something you can even explain? 

Too many questions are running through Stretch’s mind right now, and he has answers to none of them. Like he usually does though, Money can see right through Stretch, and knows when he’s in turmoil within his own mind. With a simple shake of their joined hands, Stretch glances at his boyfriend who asks, 

“what’s on your mind?”

Stretch rolls onto his side, and Money follows suit, the two of them now facing each other, 

“what are we doing, money?”

“meanin’?” 

“with the baby?” he decides not to mention the small shame he carries from their relationship. Money would just question it, and think that, that’s the reason why Stretch doesn’t want to tell anyone about their relationship when that’s the farthest thing from the truth. He seriously does just need time to settle into whatever his life has become now. 

“i dunno.” Money’s voice breaks through his thoughts, “i really don’t know, sweetheart.”

Stretch sighs, and shifts himself forward on the bed so he’s snuggled against Money who immediately wraps his arms around him in the most comforting manner. He feels as Money begins scratching the back of his skull, and Stretch can’t stop the purr that rises in his throat from the pleasant feeling that brings. 

“do you think it’s a boy, or girl?” Money suddenly asks. Stretch snorts at the suddenness of his question, 

“what?” he asks, a bit stunned. 

“the baby.” he clarifies, “you think it’s a boy, or girl?”

“uh...i dunno, why?”

Money is still scratching his skull. Scritch, scritch, scritch, “some websites say it’s sometimes easier to decide if we visualize our baby.”

He’s still purring. Purr, purr, purr, “really?”

“yeah, so what do you think they are?”

Stretch thinks long, and hard. He’s not the one who’s good at predicting. Blue is, but his brother doesn’t know about the baby yet, so he’ll have to take a shot in the dark since he wants to give Money’s idea a try. If it’ll help him figure out what he wants, he’ll try anything. 

“...boy?” he answers a little unsurely. 

“what’s he look like in your head?” 

Again, Stretch thinks long, and hard, but try as he might he can only come up with one answer, 

“like you.”

Those scratches stop, and with it the purring. Did he mess up? Was that the wrong thing to say?

“you...really?” asks Money sounding a bit shocked. Stretch pulls back to see Money’s flushed bright purple, and he smirks, 

“yeah. just like you.”

“shit sweetheart, why you wanna curse him like that?” 

Stretch tsks, and kisses Money’s chin gently causing the other monster to sigh, “money,” his boyfriend squeezes him in response, “you’re handsome.” 

“i think you mean you’re the handsome one sweetheart. takin’ my breath away everyday i see ya.” Money tries to turn it around on him. No way. Stretch shifts so he’s looking at Money again instead of being snuggled against him, 

“no, i mean you’re handsome.” he grins, and reaches out without thinking to boop Money’s little outer fangs, “especially these, they’re cute.”

That flush on Money’s face darkens a little, but he’s soon coming back to poke Stretch’s tooth gap, “and this is equally cute.” 

He can’t help when his smile widens hearing that, or what he says afterwards, “i love you, so much.”

Money smiles back at him, “i love you too.”

For once that shame he carries isn’t there as the two of them exchange words of love. It allows him to relax, and continue on with the earlier conversation the two of them had been having, 

“i hope he doesn’t have my freckles.”

“i fucking hope he does, are you kiddin’ me?” Money sounds so indignant as he grabs Stretch, and nuzzles against his freckled cheek, “these are the cutest ever, don’t you dare deny our son these beauties.”

Even the words “our son” don’t seem to make Stretch as nervous right now, although he’s sure when he thinks on them later he’ll panic. For now though, he’s calm, and laughing as Money smothers him with cheek nuzzles. 

“take it back!” Money demands, and Stretch snorts, 

“no way. no freckles!” 

“yes, freckles!” Money crows, and so began the great play fighting. 

They’re careful not to knock each other off the bed, but they do get a bit rowdy as they wrestle, and fight over whether their potential son should have freckles, or not. It’s all a bit silly seeing as they don’t even know the gender of the baby, let alone if they want to keep them. Although, maybe it’s a positive sign that the two of them can joke about it? That’s good, right? Eventually, the fight ends with Money straddling Stretch, and pinning his arms. Both of them are out of breath as Money grins smugly, 

“i win. freckles it is.” 

Stretch laughs, a wide grin of his own on his face. He gazes up at Money, and a sudden urge overtakes him, “fine, freckles it is, on one condition.”

“ooh, what’s that?” Money inquires, looking intrigued. 

“kiss me.” he whispers in reply. A squeeze to both of his wrists shows Stretch that Money indeed heard what he’d said. 

“fuckin’ any day, any time, sweetheart.” Money leans down, now so close to Stretch, “don’t think i’ll ever get tired of kissin’ you.”

Feeling his face flame in response, Stretch does his best to hide it by leaning up, and kissing Money himself. If his boyfriend saw that blush, he’d never hear the end of it, and this way he got to protect his pride while getting to kiss Money. Win, win. Money didn’t seem to have an issue with it, since he sighed into that kiss, and easily deepened it by working Stretch’s mouth open so their tongues can meet. A large part of him loves Money’s tongue on his, but he also hates how easily Money can pull a moan from him just with his tongue which is exactly what happens. 

Stretch can practically feel Money’s smirk against his mouth as they kiss. 

He also definitely doesn’t miss when Money forms his own ecto, and while he’s not bothered by this, it’s apparent his boyfriend is worried he might be. Pulling back, Money pants out, 

“sorry, sweetheart. i know we ain’t gonna do anythin’, but couldn’t help myself when you make a noise like that.”

Stretch’s brow furrows. Money doesn’t think he’d want to have sex with him again so soon? Okay, maybe he’s spot on for how he’s been acting the last little while, but Stretch didn’t put up the stop sign here. He wishes his hands were free. He wants to touch Money’s ecto, and it doesn’t help that he knows his own shirt has ridden up showing his persistent ecto body, making him want to feel Money’s on his, 

“you don’t gotta apologize honey.” Stretch reassures, and begins squirming so he can get his hands free. It appears that Money takes that as a sign of get off, and immediately does probably thinking Stretch is upset that his ecto formed. However, this creates an amazing opportunity for him as he is able to roll himself so now he’s the one on top of Money, startling his boyfriend, “you don’t gotta apologize cause if i didn’t want it, i’d say so.” he grins cheekily, feeling oddly triumphant for once. Normally he’s fumbling horribly, so this is a rare moment of confidence for him. 

“are you tryin’ to dom me, stretch?” Money asks, his hands moving to rub along Stretch’s sides, 

“well...yeah, or...kinda?” Ah, there’s the fumbling. Money laughs, and Stretch pouts, “you’re acting like i can’t.”

“didn’t say that sweetheart, just never saw ya try before.”

“we’ve only fucked one time!”

“what’s your point?” Money snickers. 

“i can take charge too!” 

“show me then.” 

He wants to be shown? Well, alright then. Stretch without a word grabs the hem of his shirt, and pulls it over his skull, tossing it into the room. The rest of his ecto has formed, giving him a full torso instead of only his belly being formed. He grabs Money’s sweater, and tugs, showing he wants to take it off. Money easily complies, and startles Stretch a little when it’s not male ecto he sees, but female. A smug grin takes over Money’s face, 

“never seen tits before stretch?”

“course i have!” Stretch replies quickly, “just…”

“just?” Money asks with a head tilt. 

“why are yours so much bigger?” he admits with a small whine. Money blinks, and stares at Stretch for a quick moment before guffawing loudly, 

“what?

Now he’s really whining, “don’t laugh!” he tries, but this just seems to just make Money laugh more, “it’s not funny, we’re both papyrus, why aren’t they the same?”

“our dicks weren’t the same size either sweetheart.” he points out, coughing to compose himself, “i bet it’s not even that bad. c’mon, show me.” 

“what? no!” Stretch protests, and backs away, now sort of just sitting on instead of leaning over Money, who sits up on his elbows. 

“yeah, c’mon. show me your tits.”

“dude!” he’s turning bright orange, 

“show me your tits!” Money begins chanting, apparently deciding to ignore the fact that Stretch called him dude. 

“no way.”

“please!” he begins saying over, and over. Does he actually think this will work? As he listens to Money constantly say please though, he realizes that yes, this will work. With a groan, he covers Money’s mouth with his hand, 

“if i show you, will you stop?”

Money nods since he can’t respond with Stretch covering his mouth. 

“you can’t laugh.” Stretch mutters, his cheeks feeling so warm, he can barely stand it. 

“wouldn’t dream of it.” Money lays back, now able to speak since Stretch moved his hand. 

Stars, he can’t believe he’s doing this. With a deep breath, Stretch easily changes his ecto from male to female, and averts his gaze. When Money makes no sound, not even to speak, Stretch begins to get very nervous. He’d told him they weren’t the same! His are definitely not as nice. Why did he show him in the first place? Stars, this was the worst idea, why-

“so fucking cute.” Money breathes in awe. Stretch blinks, and looks down at Money to see him nearly starry eyed as he looks at him, 

“w-what?” 

Money lifts his hands up, “can i?”

Stretch realizes he means can he touch, and he nods his permission. Money eagerly cups his much smaller breasts, 

“you’re so damn cute!” he’s practically squealing, “these are so pretty! i can’t believe you were envious of mine!” 

“well...just…” Stretch murmurs, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of Money’s hands on him, “yours are bigger.” he finishes softly. 

“so?”

“so...doesn’t that mean better?”

“to some people sure,” Money confirms, “but i like these right here, fuck they’re nice sweetheart.”

“i…” he wants to tell Money no he’s wrong, that he’s full of shit, but when he looks at his boyfriend’s face, and the unbridled joy that’s there, he knows he can’t. It’s obvious Money is being truthful, especially since he hasn’t set off Stretch’s lie detecting abilities at all which means he does love Stretch’s breasts. So, instead of a denial, or refuting, Stretch just gives him a small smile, “thanks, honey.”

Money meets his gaze, “i love your body stretch, no matter what it looks like, cause it’s yours.” one of his hands moves to Stretch’s belly, and he finds his own hand moving to lay on top of Money’s, “no matter what.” 

Why does hearing that make him want to cry a little? 

He doesn’t even get to think too heavily on this since in the next moment, the two of them feel the tell tale magical signature of someone shortcutting into the room. It permeates the air right before the someone appears. The two of them don’t even have enough time to grab anything to cover themselves, and a dose of fear runs through Stretch at the thought that they’re about to be discovered.  He’s getting ready to frantically explain when he hears, 

“OH MY, I APPEAR TO HAVE INTERRUPTED SOMETHING INTIMATE. SHALL I COME BACK LATER?”

Never did Stretch ever think he’d be this grateful to hear Wine’s voice. Although, he’s not even thinking about the fact that his breasts are out, as are his boyfriends. Luckily, Money did since he grabs a blanket, and covers Stretch with it while barking out, 

“knocking! ever heard of it?”

Glancing over, Stretch finds Wine has turned so his back is to them, “ABSOLUTELY, HOWEVER I THOUGHT IT BEST THAT THE OTHERS DON’T SEE ME ENTERING, AND EXITING YOUR ROOM FREQUENTLY MONEY SEEING AS YOU’RE NORMALLY SO ANTAGONISTIC TOWARDS ME.”

Moving himself off Money, Stretch searches for his shirt which he finds easily with Money’s thankfully nearby. He grabs both, and tosses Money his. The two of them quickly redress, which allows Wine to turn around, 

“EXCELLENT, NOW THAT YOU’RE BOTH CLOTHED, I WAS WONDERING HOW THE APPOINTMENT WENT.” he casually walks towards them like he didn’t just see both their breasts, or the fact that neither have dismissed their ecto. 

“it was...fine.” Stretch murmurs. Wine raises a brow, 

“JUST FINE?”

He nods, and delves into what happened at the doctor’s office. How his soul is unhealthy, how he needs to be careful, and all the side effects he’s going to experience. By the end of it, Wine looks as calm as ever, and hums, 

“INTERESTING. WE’LL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU THEN, WON’T WE? MAKE SURE YOU’RE TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF, AND KEEPING BABY HEALTHY.” 

“why?” Money interrupts, sounding annoyed, “this isn’t your baby. it ain’t even your niece, or nephew.”

“NO, BUT AS I SAID I’D LIKE TO HELP, AND BESIDES…” Wine trails off, and brings his hand around to cough, “I MAY HAVE ALREADY SEWN SOME BABY BOOTIES FOR YOU.”

Money just raises a brow at him, and scoffs, but Stretch finds himself laughing for some reason. Maybe it was just Wine being himself, and being so productive, or maybe it was the eagerness he was showing over the situation. It just felt so obscenely normal that it had him laughing, but honestly it’s something he needed right now, 

“thanks wine.” he smiles at him, and receives an immediate one in return, 

“YOU’RE WELCOME, STRETCH.”

A feeling of peace begins to descend on Stretch as he urges Wine to come sit down so they can talk. The older monster takes him up on it despite the glares he’s getting from Money. If Wine wants to help, he’s not going to turn him away. They can use all the help they can get. 

Besides, how can they refuse homemade baby booties?

Chapter 6: Party in the Closet

Summary:

They go to a party, and they find a closet.

They had a party to go to. Not something unusual when it came to this “family”. Sans had a lot of friends, and they all seemed to want to invite the entire skeleton household over, which was insane by Money’s standards, but he wasn’t going to argue. Particularly when there was free food, and alcohol, not that he was going to drink tonight. He, and Stretch are growing a babybones after all, and he’s contributing to the magic of said babybones. Money wouldn’t want to do anything to his magic that could harm the baby. He’s worried enough as it is with his own ratchet magic, and Stretch’s soul being unhealthy, that he doesn’t want to add to his anxiety. It was important, especially to him, that he remain a strength for Stretch to lean on.  

Tonight, the party was hosted by Undyne, and Alphys. A pair that always seemed to unnerve Money in a small way. It felt weird that Undyne was the boisterous one, while Alphys was so painfully shy. His Alphys was so freaking rowdy, and stars she had a way of getting Vi worked up, but she also held him accountable for his actions. It was something Vi needed, and when he stepped over a line, Alphys was always there to help him through it. Money knew how much his older brother missed her, and it hurt his soul a little to know there was a strong possibility he may never see her again. 

He on the other hand, wouldn’t be completely soul broken over never seeing his Undyne again. She was a bit of a pill. A strong minded woman who was in a few words, a bit of a mad scientist. She definitely took very strongly after their mentor, although she has no memories of them. No, only Money remembers them, and he’ll keep it that way. May they burn wherever they are. Money’s blind socket twitches painfully, making him rub it for a moment at the thought of River Person. Now they were the sanest mad scientist he’s ever met, but honestly, he’d really rather not think about them. 

No, Money would rather think about the fact that they’re on their way to Undyne, and Alphys’s place, but Stretch is acting like he’s got bees in his pants. His mate is twitchy, and so damn fidgety. Money’s asked him numerous times in the last few days what’s going on, but Stretch won’t say. Perhaps the side effects from the pills are starting to get to him? Money knows it can’t be fun throwing up every day which has is now starting to become the norm for poor Stretch. He’ll get wildly hungry, and basically eat like a mad man who hasn’t had a meal in four days, then promptly throw it all up. This has caused a few tears already, and Money made sure he was there to wipe his face, while giving some comfort. There was little he could do to stop the side effects from both the pills, and the pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean he couldn't make an attempt. He’d carry the baby if he could, but he can’t. All he can do is support Stretch, however he can. 

Money’s still keeping an eye on Stretch as they enter Undyne, and Alphys’s house. He’s being discreet, but his worry is mounting. His mate doesn’t look so good, and he worries he’s going to throw up at this party. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if that happened actually, but he knew Big Brother Blue would be all over that in a heartbeat. No one can out worry Blue. Well, maybe Vi, but it’d be pretty damn close. Plus, Stretch is still so damn fidgety. He’s surprised no one else has noticed yet.  

Their skeleton posse is greeted upon entering by none other than Undyne herself, coming, and head locking Papyrus which is absolutely nothing new. 

“UNDYNE, PERHAPS YOU COULD LET GO OF MY HEAD NOW?” Papyrus tries as he always does, but there’s no point. Undyne is riled up because she’s having a party. 

“You’re LATE!” she cackles, still holding his head.

“I BEG YOUR PARDON, WE ARE RIGHT ON TIME!” Papyrus argues, and he’s actually right. They are on time. 

Apparently, this means very little to Undyne, who just laughs, but does remove her arms from around Papyrus’s neck. The tall skeleton is allowed to straighten himself out, and she throws an arm around his shoulders, pulling him farther into the house. Money hazards a glance at Vi standing nearby him. He can see the tightness of his brother’s jaw from the act, and knows immediately he’s missing their Alphys. In a show of comfort, and support, Money places his hand on his brother’s skull. Rubbing gently, he’s met with those mismatched eye lights, and a relaxing expression from Vi. His older brother nods, and he removes his hand. Communication doesn’t always have to be words after all. 

Moving farther into the house, Money can see that quite a few monsters are already here, including Toriel, and Asgore which means Frisk is around somewhere. The royal couple’s son was a bit of a cheeky shit, so something tells Money he might be getting into some mischief somewhere. It’s actually slightly entertaining the moment Wine notices Toriel. The guy always gets so damn stiff, and overly proper it’s insane. He’d ask why Toriel elicits such a reaction, but he figures it’s the same reason why Vi has trouble relaxing around her. In their world, she was Queen, and she wasn’t always the nicest monster.

The group spreads out, and begins doing their own thing, but Money sticks very close to Stretch, his still overly twitchy mate. It wouldn’t be unusual for the two of them to do this, so Money takes comfort that he won’t be setting off any alarm bells. Stretch sort of meanders around, not really talking to anyone, like he’s out of it, and that sets off all his alarm bells. He goes to ask what’s wrong, but figures it out on his own when he catches Stretch looking at the food. Oh, he’s hungry again, maybe that’s what the twitchiness was about? Stretch being hungry was nothing unusual these last few days, and Money smirks, whispering, 

“you’re allowed to eat.”

Stretch startles, and looks at him, his face suddenly flushing. While that’s not new, he can tell his boyfriend is sweating which is, but if Money recalls correctly, that was a side effect of the pills. 

“i know, i just don’t wanna eat everything, cause it feels like i’m hungry enough to.” 

Money hums, “how about this, we’ll eat a little here, and then once we get home the two of us will shortcut out to go eat at a pub somewhere. you can get whatever you want, as much as you want, and i’ll buy.”

Stretch’s expression turns shocked, his mouth actually opening a little in surprise, “did you...did you just offer to pay?” 

He snickers, “yeah, i did.” leaning in, he whispers even quieter, “i wanna treat my boyfriend right, and spoil you a little. let me take you out, sweetheart.”

Stretch flushes an even darker orange, but smiles a bit shyly, “yeah...yeah okay. i’d like that. it’s like a d-date.”

Stars, he loved that little stutter on date, “you bet. now c’mon let’s go eat, and maybe actually get a cupcake before coffee eats them all.”

Money gestures with his skull to Coffee, who has already acquired a cupcake, and was eating it with the most content expression. Laughter bubbles from Stretch, and hearing that just melts all of his worries away. He’ll be alright. Giving Stretch a comforting rub on the back, the two head over to the food, and grab some plates of it. Seeing Stretch feeling more at ease makes Money feel pretty proud that he was able to get him that way. 

With plates of food in hand, the two go sit on the couch with Papyrus who gives them a knowing smile since they’d explained the side effects to him of the pregnancy, and pills. If anyone asked, they knew their friend would cover for them. Papyrus truly was an amazing ally. Also sitting nearby was Alphys, who smiles shyly at the two, before it’s like a light bulb goes off in her brain, and she excitedly turns to Papyrus, 

“D-did your co-worker l-like the bracelet?”

Money can hear Stretch nearly choke on his food, but manages not to. He does see his mate push down his hoodie sleeve to hide the bracelet better. Papyrus nods, 

“YES, IT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO THEM. THANK YOU!” 

“L-Let me know how it g-goes. I h-hope they can s-surprise their m-mate with it. I’ve n-never tested it before on someone actually p-pregnant. I’m g-glad it works!”

Oof, well they didn’t need to know that! Money thought this thing had been tested extensively, but apparently Stretch is the guinea pig? That thing could be dangerous! What if something goes wrong, what if-

“s’fine.” 

He jumps hearing Stretch whisper. Glancing over, he can see his boyfriend is just eating with a content expression, although he's still wildly fidgety. Why is he still so fidgety? Money thought it was because he was hungry, but maybe he’s wrong?  

His mate gives him a small smile, “even if i’d known all that i woulda still have used it anyway. s’fine.”

He wants to tell Stretch that no, it’s not okay, but he supposes he’s not the one carrying the baby, so he just keeps his mouth shut. Instead, he eats the food on his plate, but he barely tastes it. Even when they’re done eating, and have moved on, he feels like he’s the one in a daze now as he moves around with Stretch, his mind still preoccupied with the potentially dangerous piece of magic his mate is wearing. Why is Stretch fine with it, and he’s not? Is it because he feels useless in this? That Stretch bears all the burden, or maybe it’s...where are they going?

Money coming back to his senses, realizes that Stretch has meandered away from the rest of the crowd, and the two of them are somehow upstairs away from the party. Normally, people only come up here for the bathroom, but they’re skeletons, so a toilet is a bit redundant in most cases. However, maybe Stretch needs to throw up, but when they pass the bathroom, Money becomes really confused. 

“hey, where are-!”

He’s cut off when Stretch grabs him by the hoodie, and tosses him into a nearby closet. What the fuck? He’s about to get snappy with Stretch, but he follows him in, and shuts the door. Uh...what’s happening? The second that door is shut, his mate is pressing up against him, and breathes, 

“let me fuck you, please! i can’t stand it a second longer.” 

Hold the phone! What? Did he really just...? 

“uh...what?” Money asks, not so eloquently. 

Stretch whines, and starts fidgeting like he had been earlier, “don’t make me say it!” 

“are you...horny?” he blinks in surprise, “we’re at a party, sweetheart, we can’t just…” then it hits him all at once. A symptom of the pills he can’t believe he forgot, especially since he teased Stretch so unfairly at the doctor’s office for it, “the pills.” 

Another whine, “please? taking care of it myself only lasts so long.”

“are you sayin’ that instead of asking me for sex, you’ve just been masturbating this whole time?”

“...yeah.”

His soul aches in that moment. Stretch must be so uncomfortable, and thought he might upset Money by asking for something he needed, or maybe he wasn’t ready. Either option hurts his soul. Regardless, he’s already formed his ecto, and slide his hand down Stretch’s pants to find the prize inside, 

“we’ll have to be quick.” he whispers with a smirk, grasping Stretch’s painfully hard cock, stroking him, “cause after this we’ll have to shortcut home to shower.” 

The relief in Stretch’s face is insurmountable. He must really be horny, especially if the hand now going down his pants is any indication. Stretch’s fingers are quick to find their way to his folds, already slick with want. He rubs two of his fingers there for a moment, definitely feeling how wet he already is, and slowly slides one inside him. Money groans softly at the feeling, but kind of wishes Stretch had just shoved all of his fingers inside without warning. That thought alone has him shivering in arousal. However, he doesn’t know if Stretch is ready to give him that small bit of pain that he likes with his sex. That’s a conversation better left for before Stretch’s finger is knuckle deep inside him, and caressing him so nicely. On the other hand, they don’t really have time to be wasting on a prolonged foreplay. They’re fucking in a closet after all. 

“3 of them.” he whispers, and Stretch’s eye lights find his, 

“what?”

“put 3 of your fingers inside me.”

He expects Stretch to protest, expects him to say no, that he might hurt Money, but is surprised when he just does as he’s asked. Stretch, slides in two other fingers, the slight burn uncomfortable, but not intolerable. It has Money groaning again, but he knows he’ll stretch out quickly. He can already tell he’s getting wetter by the second, and maybe Stretch just figures he knows his own body's capabilities, which he does. Money’s a big boy, he knows what his body can handle. Besides, ecto is a lot easier to stretch out comfortably than human skin. 

His mate starts moving those fingers while Money is quick to undo Stretch’s pants with his one free hand, letting them fall to the ground with a slight flump, and pulls down his underwear slightly. His other hand is still busy, making sure to cover all of Stretch’s cock with all that precum he’s making. Money isn’t the only one slick right now which is easier to see now that Money’s pulled off his pants, and underwear. Always fun to see their slightly glowing ecto light up a dark closet. Hopefully, it can’t be seen under the door. 

Stretch is quick to do the same with Money, and yanks down his sweatpants. Like last time, Money has no underwear on since he’s a skeleton, and he doesn’t get the point of wearing them. Provides easier access for Stretch, who once those sweatpants hit the floor is capturing him in a heated kiss that has Money making a sharp inhale of air. This is their first time doing this since he’d gotten Stretch pregnant, and stars he wishes they could take their time, but they can’t. The longer they take, the more likely they are to be caught. 

So, with absolute reluctance since Money would love nothing more than for them to kiss, and touch each other for hours, he pulls away. Stretch whines a little when he does it, and that only gets louder when Money removes his hand from his cock to grab his hand between his legs, 

“we don’t got time for all this sweetheart. we gotta be quick, or we’ll get caught.”

While getting caught is not really a big deal to him, he knew it would be to Stretch which shows in the understanding on his mate’s face. He removes his fingers which had Money whimpering slightly at the lost feeling, but stops as he watches Stretch take those fingers, and stick them in his mouth. A slight purple flush flies across his cheekbones at the action, but his smirk remains strong, 

“ooh, how naughty sweetheart.” 

Stretch licks off all of Money’s slick from his fingers, a sort of smile poking at the edges of his mouth as he does. The moment those fingers are out of his mouth though, he’s spinning Money around, so he’s now facing the closet wall. He yanks one of Money’s legs out of his pooled pants, lifting it up, and bending him slightly so his ass juts out. 

“told you,” Stretch whispers, sounding pretty bold. He moves forward, and Money gasps quietly, feeling his cock begin rubbing against his folds, “i can be in charge too.”

Money doesn’t even get to refute, or respond since Stretch then begins to slowly push himself inside him. He’s not stretched enough, so it does create a slight burning sensation, that’s slightly dulled a bit by how wet, and aroused he is. Money revels in the ache created, and withholds his thoughts on how he wishes Stretch had just shoved himself inside. It all would end up the same which is Stretch hilted inside him, his breath on the back of his neck while one of his hands gripped his lifted leg tightly, and the other his hip.

He has to resist the urge to moan loudly as Stretch starts moving, his pace a little slow. Money normally can be pretty vocal when he’s on the receiving end, so it’ll be a bit of a challenge to not be. Although the thought of getting caught really does appeal to him, and his tendencies to be a bit of an exhibitionist. It’s the thrill of being found doing something you’re not supposed to, and he absolutely has zero issue with people watching him fuck, or be naked. Never has, and probably never will. 

Stretch grips onto his leg a little tighter, and starts picking up his pace, forcing Money to clench his teeth tightly. Stars, he wants to tell him to pound him, to just go wild, but he wants to give him a chance to take charge like he said he could. He believes in Stretch, and is rewarded not even a moment later when it seems his boyfriend snaps. Suddenly, he’s being pulled back into each thrust by the hand on his hip. It’s digging into his ecto, nearly breaking it as Stretch slams into him fast, and hard. The closet is now quickly filling with the rapid wet slapping sound of Stretch’s ecto smacking against his, and Money claws on the walls begin leaving little marks. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck, he wants to make noise so badly the pleasure radiating throughout his body feels so amazing. Instead, the sounds are coming out as little whimpers, and mewls as he continues to claw up the wall, his breathing rapid, and sharp. Stretch on the other hand is gasping out the same thing over, and over as he slams himself into Money, hilting each time, 

“fuck, yes!” 

Fuck yes is right.

Money hazards a glance over his shoulder at his boyfriend, and finds his face a little closer than he expected, but it’s not unwelcome. He’s always happy to see his boy, especially with that expression of relief, and bliss. Stretch groans, kissing Money’s shoulder, 

“you f-feel so good.” he whimpers out, “m-money…” 

A soft moan is pulled from Money at that. He can’t help it. Just hearing how obvious it was in Stretch’s voice, how much he needed this, and how marvelous he must feel sends a shiver down Money’s spine. No wonder he’d been fidgeting like he’d piled ants into his underwear! The guy was wildly pent up for days, and he knows they need to be quiet, but he just can’t stop the string of loud whimpers that leave him. Closing his good socket, he focuses instead on the feeling of Stretch against him, inside him, and how his breath feels so good against the back of his neck as he leaves a kiss there.

“i love you.” Stretch whispers, and Money’s socket flies open, “i love you…”

Yeah, no he can’t do this in this closet anymore. Not when he wants to scream out his love for this truly amazing skeleton that’s currently having his way with him. It’s too much, but he’s got a solution at least. Moving his hands, Money grabs Stretch’s hips along with a bit of his ass which he does squeeze a bit, and pulls him fully into him. Stretch whimpers, and Money holds him there, 

“hold on.” he whispers. 

He’s never done this in this type of position before, so he’s unsure what’ll happen when he does, but they can’t stay in this closet one second longer. He wants to be able to enjoy this with his boyfriend, not stifle it all because they’re trying to hide. So, he stirs up his magic which Stretch instantly feels, and grips onto him tighter. With little effort, Money in the blink of an eye, shortcuts them back to the house, and into the overly large standing shower the housemates own. 

He keens as they land, not expecting his magic to react with Stretch’s in the way it does. It might be because a large piece of his magic is inside him right now, but he doesn’t expect it to feel this fucking good. Like mind blowingly good. Everything is tingling, and it’s like he’s been shocked with an intense voltage, but it’s not leaving pain, but pleasure instead. It has him clenching around Stretch nearly shoving him right over the edge, small mewls leaving his throat as he tries to breathe through it. Apparently, Stretch was also feeling the same thing since he’s shaking, and groaning loudly along with Money, a soft curse leaving his teeth. 

Glancing around as he pants, beginning to come down from whatever magical fucker that was, he can see easily that the bathroom is dark along with the rest of the house. No one is home for once, except for the pets, and this is the most perfect opportunity for them. They can be as loud as they want, and make as much noise without worries of being caught. It was perfect, and they’re definitely going to take full advantage. At least that’s what he thought, but Stretch suddenly pulling out confuses him. He didn’t feel him finish, but did he because of the shortcut? That’s fine, he’s not mad, but he would’ve thought Stretch would say something about it, and not just pull out without a word. 

A slight squeal comes from him in his surprise as Stretch instead pulls him around so he’s facing him, his back pressing against the cool tile. That squeal intensifies as Stretch suddenly lifts him, his hands on his ass, and really presses him into the wall, 

“warnin’ would been nice sweetheart.” he breathes out, and Stretch snickers, 

“and miss that squeal? no way it was too cute.”

“yeah, yeah.” Money grins, “you gonna sit around, and tease me, or are you gonna fuck me?”

He can see that Stretch’s cheekbones have lit up a bit orange at that comment, but it doesn’t stop him from sliding his cock back into Money with complete ease. Stars, he didn’t realize he was that wet. 

“can’t i do both?” 

“you’re bold tonight.” Money comments breathily as Stretch slowly moves a few times making sure he’s in a good position, 

“i feel good. i’m with you.” 

Now, to most people that might seem like Stretch was totally giving him a line in an attempt to be smooth. However, Money knows his boyfriend well enough by now that lines like that are accidental. Right now, Stretch has no idea just how smooth that came off as, and was just being genuine. His soul warms, and shivers knowing when Stretch says these things, they’re always legitimately genuine because the guy can’t flirt for shit. He gets all stuttery, and embarrassed, so when something flirty happens, it’s normally a complete accident. It’s just something Money really loves about him. 

“i feel good when i’m with you too, sweetheart.” he whispers, and he can just barely see Stretch smile from the dull glow of their eye lights, 

“good.”

That’s all he says before he suddenly starts thrusting into Money again with no lead up, just full on pounding into him like he’s chasing a release, which he probably is. It has Money reaching up to grip the tile around his head, his sharp fingers digging in a little. He can hear as the tile creaks under his fingertips, but he doesn’t let them go. Each thrust has Money crying out like he’d wanted to do in that damned closet, and now finally can. The sounds of his cries, along with the once again rapid slapping of ecto from their love making, fills the bathroom. A much welcomed sound now that they’re free to enjoy it. Stretch has pressed his face into his neck, and begins biting at the ecto there. He can feel how his tongue licks across each bite afterwards, making him shiver.

“f-fuck stretch!” he moans out, but isn’t able to get out much more. 

His mouth hangs open as sound, after sound leaves his throat the result of doing so is a trail of drool running down his chin. Not even bothering to wipe it, he just grips the tile even tighter, the groan under his fingers getting louder as he strains the bathroom wall, but still he ignores it. He’s too busy chasing his own release as the pressure in his belly reaches an all time high probably a result from the magical whatsit that happened due to his shortcut. A large part of him figured that they wouldn’t last long after feeling all that. 

“i’m close...i’m s-so f-fucking close...i…” he stammers out, his hands finally moving to claw, and dig into Stretch’s sweater at his shoulders instead of the wall. 

Stretch appeared to be close too since all he replies with is a long drawn out moan that’s slightly muffled by Money’s neck. All of sudden, that moan is cut off by Stretch almost choking on it, and slamming himself deep inside him. A sharp cry leaves Money’s throat as he feels Stretch finish, tumbling him down over the edge with him. His walls clench, and squeezes every drop from his mate as the two of them shake, and whimper, pressed against the bathroom wall. Guess Stretch was even closer than he thought. 

The two stay that way for a moment, just listening as the other breathes heavily, Stretch still buried into Money’s neck. His mate groans, breaking the silence, 

“you smell so nice.” his voice softened, “i...i almost couldn’t stop myself.”

Money’s hand comes to pet his skull in a comforting manner, “stop yourself from what sweetheart?” he breathes out. 

“marking you.”

His hand stops, and he stares into the darkness. An intense heat radiates up onto his cheeks. 

“what?” Money asks, shocked. Stretch whines, 

“i know, i know...it’s stupid.”

“hey, i didn’t say that. hey!” Money pulls Stretch’s skull so he’s forced to look at him, “i didn’t say that, and besides,” he smiles, “someday you will be able to mark me, just not right now. it’s a bit early for that, sweetheart.” 

He nuzzles his cheek against Stretch’s who purrs in response, and whispers, “i’ll hold you to that.”

He chuckles, “good, but right now we gotta shower cause we definitely are taking too long, and are gonna be missed soon.”

“do we gotta?” Stretch pouts, a whimpering whine to his tone. Money pats his skull again, 

“unfortunately, but we got that date to look forward to, right?”

That seems to appease Stretch as he sighs a little, but does pull himself from Money, setting him down on shaky legs. He can feel as Stretch’s cum begins slightly running down his thighs, and while he’d love to not shower to keep the scent on him, he knows it’s the best thing to do. So, getting undressed, the two of them throw their clothes outside the shower, and turn on the warm water to get clean. 

However, even though they know they need to hurry, the two of them still take a moment to wrap their arms around one another. They let the now hot water cascade down their bodies pressed against each other, and find themselves unable to stop from kissing. It’s a heated kiss that could probably lead to more if they let it, but end up keeping it to what it is which is one damn good kiss. Money seriously feels like he can’t get enough of Stretch. Enough of his body, his kisses, just him. All of him. What did he do to get so lucky as to be able to find someone who he loves this way, and loves him in return. He pulls back from that kiss with a little sigh, and presses his forehead against Stretch’s. 

“i love you.” he whispers, realizing he never returned the sentiment earlier. He holds Stretch closer to him. 

“i love you too.” Stretch murmurs back. The two begin to sway a little almost as if there’s music playing, just letting the water flow over them as they hold one another, their foreheads pressed together. It made Money realize that dancing with Stretch like this would actually be pretty great. 

Unfortunately, they didn’t have the time to truly enjoy this moment as they did need to get back. So, with intense reluctance the two break apart, and actually get to cleaning themselves. The rest of the shower played out with them getting clean which they did rather quickly, before getting out, drying off, and getting redressed. They do all of this mostly in the dark, but when it came to getting dressed, Money walked over to flick the light on as finding clothes in the dark, sucks. 

Once properly dressed, Money holds his hand out to Stretch, “ready?”

He’s met with a sigh, but a nod, “yeah.” Stretch takes his hand, and plays with it a bit as he walks closer, “wish we could just stay here me, and you.” 

His soul swells with emotion at the wishful expression his mate has, and pulls him closer, “me too.” Giving his forehead a kiss, and hearing the hum doing so receives, Money steps back just slightly, “let’s boogie.”

A nod from Stretch shows he’s good to go, and Money kicks up his magic again, and easily teleports them back, but strategically does it so they’re outside the house in the backyard. The back door would definitely be open, as Undyne, and Alphys know a lot of the skeletons are smokers. Luckily, no one is outside when they shortcut in, but Money had still been smart enough to place them somewhere where no one would see them blip into existence. 

Letting go of Stretch’s hand albeit a bit unwillingly, Money digs into his hoodie, and pulls out his pack of cigarettes. Stretch raises a brow at him, 

“what are you doing?”

Money pulls one out of the pack, sticking it between his teeth, and lighting it with the zippo lighter he always carries in his hoodie pocket. He takes a drag of it, blowing the smoke away from Stretch. 

“if we go in, and they ask us where we’ve been, i was gonna say having a smoke.” he scratches his chin with the hand holding the cigarette, “probably best we smell like cigarettes if that happens.” 

“oh, smart.”

“i know. it’s like we’ve got a genius IQ, or somethin’.” Money snickers, and offers one of his cigarettes to Stretch who shakes his hand. Now Money’s raising his brow as he takes another drag from his cigarette, “quitting on me now?”

A bark of laughter leaves his boyfriend, “nah, just find they kinda make me feel sick now cause of the pills, and everything. besides, if we keep the baby, and i get all pregnant looking, humans’ll give me judgy looks.”

Money snickers, “if only they knew these aren’t human cigarettes, they’re monster ones.”

“to them i don’t think there’s a difference.”  

“fair enough, you okay to be here while i smoke this?” he asks, and Stretch nods.

“yeah, i don’t feel sick right now. actually, i feel pretty good.”

“just needed a quick fuck to feel better.” Money laughs.

“apparently.” 

The two chat quietly as Money quickly finishes his cigarette to help with their alibi of where they’ve been. It doesn’t take long for him to finish, and once he has they head inside. The warmth of the home greets them, along with the smell of many monsters, and food. Walking from the back door which is attached to the kitchen, they head for the living room, but hear voices as they approach, 

“WELL, WHERE DID THEY GO?” Blue asks, sounding puzzled, “MY BROTHER SEEMED BOTHERED BY SOMETHING ON THE WAY HERE, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE HE’S OKAY.”

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THEY’VE GONE, BUT I HAVEN’T SEEN THEM FOR A WHILE, YOU’RE RIGHT.” Vi answers, sounding like he’s looking around. 

Money, and Stretch give each other a glance as they move towards the sound of their brothers' voices. 

“Oh, I am sure they are around.” comes Toriel’s soothing voice, “Perhaps, they are with Frisk?”

“I’m right here though.” Frisk counter argues, and Toriel makes a startled noise, 

“Oh my, I did not see you there. I am so sorry my boy.” 

“No worries, but where are they? You said you haven’t seen them for a while, right Blue?” 

“YES, NOT SINCE THEY FINISHED EATING. THEY HAD BEEN WITH PAPYRUS THEN.”

“LIKE TORIEL SAID, I’M SURE THEY’RE AROUND!” Papyrus chimes in, probably ready to make an excuse for their absence. The two of them have almost reached the living room, but stop when they hear someone they don’t expect pipe up, 

“outside.” comes Coffee’s soft voice, “they said...they w-wanted a s-smoke.” 

“OH, DID THEY TELL YOU THAT COFFEE?” Blue asks.

“y-yes.”

Money can instantly tell that Coffee just lied. Not only because they certainly didn’t tell him they were going for a smoke, but because he just set off his lie detecting abilities. The nagging feeling in his mind that pulses strongly whenever someone lies thumps strongly in his mind. Stretch breathes out from behind him, having obviously just felt the same sensation, 

“coffee just lied for us. why?” 

Money doesn’t know, but he’s certainly going to find out. Without answering Stretch, he walks into the living room, and all eyes are instantly on him as well as Stretch who brings up the rear. He casually sticks his hands into his pockets, 

“what’s up?”

“WE WERE WONDERING WHERE YOU WERE.” Vi hums in response. 

Red who’s nearby grunts, “baby bird was righ’, they smell like an ashtray.”

“happens when you smoke, imagine that?” Money grins at Red who just rolls his eye lights. He turns his attention back to Vi, “didja miss me that badly?”

“NO, BUT BLUE WAS WORRIED.”

Stretch moves around Money towards his brother, who meets him, “i’m fine, just went out with money for a cigarette.”

Blue doesn’t look all that convinced, but still nods, “ALRIGHT, IF YOU SAY YOU’RE ALRIGHT THEN THAT’S THAT. SORRY FOR WORRYING.”

Stretch pats his head, “it’s okay.”

The party moves back to a more jovial tone following this, and Stretch goes off with Blue to probably assuage his brother’s fears. Money on the other hand has a different target in mind. Moving around people, he finds who he’s looking for easily. The guy sticks out in a crowd dressed all proper like he always was, and standing like he’s got a pole up his rear end. 

Grabbing Wine by the arm, he drags him out into the hallway near the front door. Wine protests very little, and just let’s Money drag him, almost as if he’s used to situations like this. It doesn’t help with Money’s annoyance as he reaches his destination. Rounding on Wine, he hisses, 

“why did he just cover for stretch, and i?”

Wine blinks in surprise, “YOU MEAN COFFEE? DID YOU NOT TELL HIM YOU WERE GOING OUTSIDE?”

“no, we didn’t cause we weren’t exactly...outside.” he decides on, and Wine raises a brow, 

“I SEE.” he hums, probably knowing they were up to some sort of hanky panky, but he’s not going to call anymore attention to it, “WHY DID HE DO THAT THEN?” he murmurs probably to himself, but it has Money growling, 

“that’s what i want to know! why would he lie to everyone?”

The two monsters look back into the living room towards Coffee who is having a small chat with Wolf. He looks pretty calm for someone that just lied to a roomful of people. However, Money can see as Wolf looks away for a moment how Coffee’s gaze immediately locks with his, and Wine’s. The tall monster blinks, and nods towards them in a sort of knowing way. Money feels his soul seize, and Wine breathes out exactly what he’s thinking, 

“HE KNOWS.”   

How?     

Chapter 7: Time for a Date

Summary:

Stretch and Money go on a date. Finally some time just for them to be with one another without the world weighing down on them.

Stretch knew that Money was bothered by what had happened at the party. Coffee defending them had been odd, but not out of character. Their friend frequently would help them out when they were getting into shenanigans, so he doesn't see reason to be upset that he helped again this time. Perhaps, he saw them slink off, and thought they were getting into mischief, so he covered for them. Stretch really doesn’t want to jump to conclusions, and he knows just thinking about it will cause him to overthink which will lead to him becoming anxious. He seriously can't handle that right now, so he's chosen to ignore what's happened. Money on the other hand seems fixated on it to the point where Stretch is a bit concerned. 

After the party had died down, and everyone went home, Money kept his word, and the two of them snuck out to get a very late dinner. They'd just gone to a pub that neither of them frequented regularly, and to their luck there's no one here that knew them. It allowed them to relax, and be together on an actual date. Now, if only Money would relax, it would be perfect. 

“if you get anymore tense, we’ll have to chisel you from the seat.” Stretch points out, hoping it’ll get him to stop clenching. It sadly doesn’t. Instead, Money just grumbles, 

“i don’t like what happened back there sweetheart.” he rubs his skull, and leans back in his seat, idly playing with his fork as they wait for their food, “wine probably said something, he had to.”

He sighs, “yeah, but you said your ability didn’t go off when you’d asked wine earlier, and he said he hadn’t told him. that means, he didn’t say anything honey.”

“he coulda found a way around it. you know our ability isn’t omnipotent.” 

Stretch is so tired of this. 

He’d been looking forward to this. To just spending some time with Money out of the house, and on an actual date, but now it’s being ruined by his boyfriend’s insistence on being annoyed. He’s tired of the lying, tired of the fear, and anxiety. He just wanted to have a little fun, was that so much to ask? 

“let’s just go home.” Stretch mutters, miserably. His tone must catch Money’s attention, since finally he’s gone from uptight clenched, to a more relaxed concern. 

“what? why? we just got here, are you alright?”

“no, i’m not alright!” he replies, fighting off tears, “all you want to do is be annoyed at wine, and worry about coffee defending us when maybe all he’s doing is just defending us cause he saw us sneak off. he’s done it for us a thousand times, but no, you want to sit here, and analyze every little negative thing.” he stands up, watching from the corner of his socket as Money reaches for him, “i just wanted to come, and have fun with my boyfriend. to sit, and joke with him, to have fun, but i guess that was stupid, huh?”

Without another word, Stretch steps away from the table, and shuffles his way through the pub towards the bathroom. It’s not as if he has to use it since hey, he doesn’t have those bodily functions, but he can still splash some water on his face to stop himself from crying, or get rid of the few tears he feels falling right now. This is stupid. Why is he crying? He has nothing to cry over. Yeah, Money was a bit of a jerk just then, but it was nothing to sob, and whine over. This must be those pills. One of the side effects was weepiness after all.

Hurrying into the bathroom, Stretch trudges to the sink once inside, and immediately flips the tap on to hear the rush of water leaving the spout. He turns it to cold, and watches as it flows. Wiping his cheeks, he sniffs, and glances up into the mirror to see his face. His dull eye lights follow the outline of his angular skull, before flickering over all the freckles that dot his cheeks, and land on his apparently very adorable tooth gap. Part of him has always felt like he looks like such a dork, but since his relationship started with Money, he’s begun feeling more handsome, more attractive. Like, all the things his boyfriend says to him are true, but as he looks in the mirror now, all he sees is a lost, scared skeleton. He wishes he could shatter this mirror to escape from himself, but it wouldn’t matter if he did since there will always be a mirror somewhere out there, ready to show him what he was. 

Scared.

Sniffing again, Stretch lowers his gaze to the tap again, and after gathering some water in his hands, he splashes it over his face. The feeling of the ice cold water hits him like a truck, waking him up, and cooling his heated skull. Blinking his sockets of the droplets that had gathered, he goes for another handful of water, and as he’s splashing it on his face, he hears the door swish, indicating another patron had entered the men’s room. When he’d arrived earlier there had blessedly been no one in here, but he guesses it couldn’t last forever. However, as he breathes in after the water has finished cascading along his face, he recognizes the scent of the person who’s entered. With still soaked bones, he angles his head to see Money standing beside him, looking incredibly apologetic. Turning his head back to the sink, he turns off the tap, and wipes the water from under his nose. 

“it’s fine.” he murmurs. 

“it’s not.” Money replies, just as soft, “i’m sorry, sweetheart. you’re right, and this was supposed to be fun. i want this to be fun, and i want to be with you.” Stretch stands up straight to give his boyfriend his full attention, “can we please just go back to the table, and just talk about literally anything else? anything, even if it’s just you wanting to geek out about robots, or something.”

Stretch tries really hard not to laugh, or find that funny since he’s trying to be mad at him, “don’t be funny.”

Money on the other hand, has no issues in smiling, “why not? i like being funny, and you like talking about robots.” he pokes Stretch’s forehead who whacks his hand away playfully. 

“as opposed to talking about what? horror games?”

Now Money’s laughing, “hey, horror games are fun, and i kinda make my living off my horror series you know.”

“yeah, and robots are cool.” Stretch argues back, his smile finding its home on his face finally, making his boyfriend’s grow. He sighs, but keeps his grin, “fine, back to the table then, but seriously do relax, at least for me.”

“i can’t believe you’re telling me to relax. stretch, the king of anxious fumblings is telling me, the cool cucumber to relax.”

“hey! i can be calm, and collected too ya know.” he pouts, but knows Money’s right. Usually he’s the one who’s high strung, and freaking out over menial things. 

With a snort, and a sort of knowing look from his boyfriend calling him out on his bullshit, his pouting intensifies. It’s only smothered by Money coming, and throwing his arm around his waist to pull him to his side. With a squeak, and a flushed face, Stretch finds himself being led from the bathroom, and back to their little booth out in the dining area. This time instead of sitting across from Money, once his datemate has slid into his seat, he chooses to sit beside him which the other tall skeleton has zero issue with. 

“there, now we’re back here, and we can talk about literally anything else.” Money offers with a grin, resting his arms on the table. 

“awesome. do you think if i built wings, we could attach them to doomfanger, and make her fly around the house?”

Money just watches him for a moment stunned into silence. Stretch’s own grin grows as he watches Money’s face scrunch up as he begins laughing boisterously in the little pub they’re in. The other skeleton obviously knew he was joking since they’d never endanger one of Edge’s cats as that would be dangerous to their own health, and they’re not assholes, but he’s glad it got him to laugh anyway. 

“fuck, you’re so perfect.” Money coughs out, choking a little on his laughter as he leans in, and presses a sweet kiss to Stretch’s cheek as he begins laughing.

This was much more like it, and it got even better since shortly after that their food arrived. As promised, Money let him order whatever he wanted, and he’s unsure if there’s anything on the menu he didn’t get, but he’s not going to fret over it. No one here knows them, and after tonight it’s not like they had to come back. Besides, their booth is pretty secluded, so it’s not like anyone can see the sheer amount of food they got besides their waitress. She didn’t seem the type to care either since she could hardly even be fucked to even smile for them, but the two of them didn’t care. As long as they got their food in a timely manner, it was warm, and properly cooked, they didn’t care if she scowled the whole time. 

Stretch wasted little time in digging in. He felt famished, like he hadn’t eaten all day when in fact he’d eaten so much food, they may have to get groceries again this week. He wonders if he could blame that on Red, and Wolf. The two of them did like to eat, and Wolf in particular was like a bottomless pit after all. That skeleton could eat. As they chow down, the two talk, and literally about anything other than the fact that Stretch was pregnant, or that Coffee may also know. It just wasn’t something that needed to be discussed right now as Stretch made abundantly clear earlier. They talked about their books, their deadlines, but didn’t mention that Stretch had yet to tell his editor Leslie that he may need to extend that deadline due to his more strenuous possible pregnancy ahead. They also talked about their housemates since Money is always down for some gossip. That skeleton lived for other people’s drama, and Stretch was happy to indulge him. 

Eventually, Stretch managed to eat his fill, and for the first time in a while, he was pleasantly full. There was still some food on the table, but not so much that it would be hard to take home, and hide. Someone would eat the leftovers, and if not then it was a nice midnight snack for Stretch, and Money. The two of them continued to sit, and eat while talking since they didn’t really want to go home. Going home meant facing their problems, and they really were having fun just being with one another. At some point in their quest to stay as long as they can, the two of them started getting a little silly. There had been some french fries leftover from one of the plates, and the two had been trying to see how many drinks they could toss them into without the other patrons knowing. No magic was allowed of course, so it really was a test of skill. 

“how are you winning?” Money snickers, trying to aim the fry in his hand at some human girl’s cocktail a few tables away. Stretch grins, feeling slightly triumphant, 

“skillz with a z.”

“more like lucky with a y.” 

“rude. i’ve dunked 5 more fries than you. that’s not luck, it’s skillz.”

“suuuure.” Money teases, and taunts as he finally flings the fry in his hand across the pub. 

To his boyfriend’s great pleasure, the fry landed with a wet plip, and Stretch can see Money doing his best not to whoop in success. It’s really cute to watch, and has him laughing quietly so as not to alert the young girl that they were the ones throwing deep fried potato sticks around. 

“now it’s only 4 more fries. you’re losing your skillz.” Money quietly cheers, and before Stretch can respond they hear, 

“Hey! Who threw a french fry in my drink?”

The two of them sort of hunker down a little in the booth to make themselves less visible, and snicker under their breath. The woman is seriously unhappy by this revelation, and starts getting very upset, but never once suspects it was Money who threw it. The bartender even gave her a fresh drink to replace the ruined one, so all's well that ends well. 

“see, perfect. she never knew.” Money taunts again, “think you can do that?”

“course. i got the skill, remember?” 

Stretch grabs two fries, one to eat, and the other to aim for the girl’s fresh drink. Is this mean? Probably. Are they having fun though, and don’t care? Absolutely. It’s harmless fun, and the bartender hadn’t even charged her for the refresher drink, although it is a bit of a waste of alcohol, but that’s not a huge loss. At least in Stretch’s book seeing as alcohol was what got him, and Money into their current predicament. Regardless of the ethics of what they’re doing, Stretch aims, and taking way less time than Money, chucks the food from his hand. With great glee, he watches it hit its mark just like all the other fries he’s thrown tonight. Success! Fries two, cocktail zero.

Stretch turns his overly pleased expression towards Money just as they hear the young girl growl out an annoyed, “Seriously?!”

“see, skillz.”

“yeah, yeah, you’re the fry flying master.” Money playfully rubs his skull, and pulls it towards him pressing a kiss to the side of his skull. Stretch feels his cheeks flame, and illuminate bright orange. He always gets so flustered when Money kisses him as he’s still not 100% used to it.

After that they decide to stop their fry flinging contest seeing as the young girl was now watching her third cocktail like a hawk, and the rest of the pub. There’s no way they’d be able to get past her now, and the thought of listening to her bitch was not one they wanted to deal with. Instead, Stretch, now a little hungry again, decides to eat a bit more which Money has no issues with which he supposes takes care of any leftovers, and listens to the music that’s started playing. A small dance floor had been cleared, and a few people had even gotten up to dance. It was endearing to see all these people out there, and having fun. Apparently, Money felt the same, since the second Stretch finished eating again, he was urging Stretch to leave the booth although he had no idea what his boyfriend was hinting at by doing that. Concerned, he exited the booth to allow Money out, but in doing that, he sealed his fate.  

Money grabs Stretch by the hand, and begins leading him to the dance floor. Stretch digs his heels in to stop himself from moving, 

“w-what are you doing?” Stretch stutters, his face heating up again. Money smirks at him, 

“i wanna dance with my boyfriend. c’mon sweetheart, let’s dance.”

“no way! I can’t...no i-i...i’m a terrible dancer!” he hisses back, his fluster only growing. Money doesn’t seem to mind, and just tugs on his arm again, 

“please?” Money pouts, giving this obviously fake downcast expression, but it still works. Dammit, why does it work? Stretch knows it’s fake, and that he’s not actually upset, but why does even the thought of Money being sad make him give in?

Easing up on his heels, he lets himself be moved forward a few minor steps, “just...i...okay.” he murmurs, his face now completely glowing. This was going to be something all right. 

Money seems pleased by his conceding, and pulls him over to the dance floor where Stretch proceeds to stand awkwardly. He told Money he can’t dance! Now, it feels like everyone is watching him, and wondering why he’s standing there-okay that’s Money’s hand on his waist! Startled from his panic, Stretch’s gaze shoots up to his boyfriend’s face to find him watching him gently, 

“you’re fine sweetheart, trust me. no one is looking at us.” 

They’re six foot three skeletons. Everyone is looking at them. He gives Money this sort of deadpan look that has him snorting, and realizing what he’s said.

“okay, everyone is looking, but they don’t care about the dancing, just that we’re skeletons, so let’s give them a show.”

“meaning?”

He’s yanked toward his datemate with a slight gasp now pressed against him, and Money’s hand on his tailbone. Stretch doesn’t think his face could be any hotter than it is at this moment. 

“meaning, get over here with that sexy body of yours, and dance with me.”

He could feel his soul speed up, like it was going a mile a second at just how hungry Money looked at him right then. It’s like Stretch was the buffet, and Money couldn’t wait to dig in. 

“i...okay.” Stretch whispers, leaning in meaning the other skeleton’s face was extremely close to his. 

He was stiff, and way too clenched as they started to move to the music together feeling so awkwardly out of place. Luckily, Money never once broke eye contact with him, allowing Stretch something to focus on as the two moved their bodies as one to the beat. Eventually, that stiffness and awkward apprehension melted away, letting him loosen up, and fully dance with his boyfriend. It certainly took a smidge longer to forget that everyone was watching them, but in time, he did, and it allowed him to finally enjoy himself. 

With a huge smile on his face, Stretch somehow found his forehead pressed against Money’s as the other moved his hands so one was resting on his back. The other grabbed his hand, and found itself being given a toothy kiss by Money as he gave Stretch this sultry little look. Damn, if that doesn’t just get his soul racing even more. 

“i love you.” he says just loud enough that Money could hear it, and he knows he does when he leans in to kiss him. 

“i love you too,” Money reciprocates after pulling away, “so much.”

The song changes to something a little more upbeat, so their position changes to match the tone, but they’re still as close as they can be. 

“remember when we first met?” Money suddenly asks, surprising Stretch who first blinks, and then sputters a bit in laughter, 

“how could i not? you were such an ass.”

“to be fair, i’d just been whisked across time, and space to find myself in some weirdos basement.”

“dunno if sans would appreciate being called a weirdo.” 

“he’ll live.” Money’s grin first grows, but slackens as he asks his next question, “do you remember the first thing i said to you?”

“course, you got right up in my face, and said, “well, ain’t you pretty? careful freckles, i might just eat you right up.” then nuzzled my cheek, and i shoved you away.” Stretch answers, recalling the memory. Of Sans bringing everyone into the living room of their at the time much smaller home. The lot of them could barely fit in there all together. Edge had been pissed that there was more of them here, and Vi who had just come through was so hostile. His eye lights flickered, and dilated at every movement. Black was outspoken, and growling while Wolf looked like he wished he could be anywhere else. Papyrus tried to mediate, but it of course ended in a shouting match. During the fighting, Money who’d been standing near him had done that to him, and after Stretch had shoved him, Vi snarled then attempted to attack him. Blue stepped in at that moment, all snarls back, and it ended up being such a mess, “i hated you.”

“i’d wanted you to hate me.”

That shocks him, “w-what? why?”

Money hums, and rubs his back gently, “cause you looked so damn pampered. all fresh faced, freckled, and bright eyed. it was like nothin’ bad had ever happened to ya, but everything bad had happened to me. i’d literally only been outta rehab for a week sweetheart when i got pulled here. i was pissed, and still struggling t’be in the real world again afterwards.” he explains, “we were both papyrus,” his voice lowering for that one comment before raising again, “similar ones at that, and i felt cheated.”

“i wasn’t trying to make you feel cheated!” Stretch is so dumbfounded. He never knew this! “i was just...being myself, i-”

Money cuts him off by raising their combined hands, and lifting a finger to bring it to Stretch’s mouth, successfully shushing him.

“course you weren’t tryin’ to make me feel cheated sweetheart. was just me bein’ a jerk.”

“where is this comin’ from honey?” Stretch asks in confusion. Money chuckles, 

“i’ll get to that.” he assures, “do you know the moment i decided i couldn’t hate you no matter what, and that we’d be friends for life?”

“no?” 

“we’d gone out to dinner, and we’d all been sat down, but this place was a kind of a cheaper one, so it had those straws in the paper. you took off one end of the paper, and promptly blew the paper from the straw right at edge, hitting him right between the sockets. which by the way was a fabulous shot.”

“skillz with a z.” Stretch’s grin grows, the memory of this dinner returning. Money’s own grin grows, 

“yeah, yeah, but after edge finished his freakout, and was calmed by papyrus, you’d set the straw down then began to drink your drink without it. i got confused, and casually asked you why you weren’t usin’ your straw, which you replied with, “oh, i hate straws”, and that’s when i knew.”

“seriously? from me blowing the straw’s paper covering in edge’s face?”

“no, from you bein’ a total shit.” Money’s laugh feels like the best sound in the world when his face is lit up like it is, “you’d literally only opened your straw to blow the paper in edge’s face because you knew you’d get a real good fuckin’ reaction. in that moment, i knew i’d been wrong about you, and i had t’be your friend.”

Now that he thinks about it, Money’s right. After that dinner, his attitude towards him took a complete 180. Before that, the two of them barely tolerated each other with Money making stupid comments, and annoying him with excessive and superfluous flirtations. It drove Stretch up the wall, and he’d do his best to avoid Money, but after the straw incident, Money started seeking him out. He’d share cigarettes, and his hidden sweets with him, then they’d discovered their mutual love of pranking as well as video games. The rest was history.

“that doesn’t explain where this came from.” Stretch murmurs, and Money nuzzles his forehead against his, 

“i told you to watch out, and that i might eat you up.” his smirk grows, “looks like i kept my word, and i’ve eaten you right up.” 

Baffled, Stretch gapes for a quick moment, his mouth opening, and shutting, “that was a long roundabout way to say that!” he blurts out, making Money laugh again, and despite his embarrassment, he’s still glad he could make him laugh. 

“it was on my mind.” he replies, “you’re always on my mind.”

There’s the blush again, “you...w-well…” he fumbles as he tends to do. Stars, he wishes he didn’t always do that. At least Money seems to enjoy when he does, since he shifts his skull so he can kiss his nasal ridge, “so…” he coughs, wanting to move away from his embarrassment after Money had pulled away, “when did you uh...realize you liked me?”

“ohhh, we’re asking tough questions now are we?” he teases, the music now having changed to something slower, allowing them to sort of sway a bit. 

“it’s tough is it?” he shoots back, and Money clicks his tongue looking a little smug, 

“nah, i know when.”

“you...really? when?” Stretch overly intrigued, shows his obvious eagerness to learn the answer to his question. Thankfully, Money doesn’t tease him for it, and instead just answers, 

“it’s gonna be a bit lame i’m afraid.”

“that doesn’t bother me.”

“this was a while back, like a long while cause we’d only been friends for a little while.” Money murmurs, “you’d pranked blue which in itself is impressive, but you drew dicks on all the pages of one of his favourite books then promptly forgot you’d done it. eventually, blue figured it out, and went on a rampage to find you. in your attempt to hide from him, you’d shortcut into my room, but hadn’t realized i’d been lying on my bed, and you ended up on top of me. your face was real close to mine, and i could see all those pretty freckles on your face, and those bright eye lights of yours flickering in your socket.” his grin grew, “then you blushed cause you realized you’d shortcutted on top of me, and began to fumble and panic. i’d never seen somethin’ so damn cute in my life.”

“that’s when you knew?”

“well, that’s when i knew i was attracted to you.”

“what’s the difference?”

“difference was i didn’t realize it was love, you just gave me a ragin’ boner.” Stretch sputters hearing that, “i just thought i wanted to fuck ya.”

“wait, did you actually get hard from that, or is this a figure of speech like...like you thought you wanted to fuck me so later it make you hard?”

“no, like you got off me, and i had an erection.”

“wha...i didn’t notice!” 

Money cackles, “course you didn’t. blue came breakin’ my door down to come drag you out, and punish you. made it hard to rub one out with my door broken, but i managed.” 

“dude!” 

More tongue clicking from Money as he bumps his forehead against his, “we gotta break this dude habit of yours.”

Stretch feels so flustered, and overheated at the thought of Money jerking off to him just from him simply falling on top of him years ago.

“i can’t believe...you’re nuts.” he breathes. 

“why thank you.” Money pulls back to bow, effectively ending their dance, but he doesn’t let go of Stretch’s hand, “though we should probably be getting back home now, before we’re missed again. i enjoyed this dance though sweetheart, and our date.” Money pulls Stretch in one more time to give him a gentle kiss. Although Stretch is saddened to hear this, he knows Money is right, although he wishes he wasn’t. A large part of him wishes this was easier. That he didn’t feel like they had to hide what they are from everyone else. With an internal sigh, he reassures himself that someday it would be like that, “what about you?” Money asks, pulling him from his melancholy. 

“what about me?” he tilts his head questioningly, following Money as he leads him back to the table, finding their plates gone, and a bill sitting there which his boyfriend picks up. 

“when did you realize you liked me as more than a friend?”

“i...don’t know?” he answers, truthfully. Thankfully, Money doesn’t seem upset, or saddened by that, and just kisses his cheek, 

“think about it, and let me know. i’m curious.” 

Money lets go of Stretch’s hand, although he seems reluctant, and walks over to pay their bill. Stretch waits patiently by their booth for his boyfriend to finish settling what they owed for their meal. Honestly, Stretch doesn’t even want to know how much dinner cost. He’d just feel terrible for the amount Money probably ended up spending. He knows it was a date, but is still resolved to return the favour someday. Maybe in a more intimate form? Money would like that, he knows he would. 

After paying the bill, Money returns to him, and the two walk out of the pub hand, in hand. It’s late now, very late. The sky has long since gone dark, and all the streetlights lit up the streets in a sea of golden yellow, and white. The air was crisp, and clear allowing Stretch to take a good full breath of the somewhat fresh air around them. It’s as fresh as you can get in a city full of people, so he’ll take it. 

The two walk a little ways down the street, hand in hand until they reach an empty alley. They turn, and meander down it, but they only make about ten steps before they find themselves back in Money’s room, the tall skeleton having shortcut them back home. Stretch feels bad that he can’t shortcut while being pregnant because he needs to reserve his magic, but he also knows that Money would be irritated if he told him that fact. He’d tell him that he’s happy to shortcut him around since it’s the least he can do. 

Money immediately upon entering his room, kicks off his sandals, and flops onto his bed with a tired sigh. Stretch is quick to follow suit, and pulls off his sneakers to get into bed with Money who purrs happily, pulling him close. 

“mind if i sleep here?” Stretch asks, and Money’s purring intensifies, 

“fuck no, i’d love t’have you here with me sweetheart. means i get to grope your pretty body in my sleep.” he sneaks his hand up Stretch’s sweater to knead his ecto to emphasize. 

“well, i’m off to my bed then.” he teases, but doesn’t move when Money whines, nuzzling into his neck, 

“no leave, only stay.” he pouts. Stretch shifts, and turns towards him so he can wrap his arms around Money to pull him against his chest which Money is all too happy to let happen.

The room soon grows quiet. He knows they should get up, change into pajamas, or lack of for Money since he more often than not sleeps naked. This isn’t something weird he just knows, the whole house knows Money frequently sleeps without clothes. He has no qualms about anyone seeing his body, and will just walk around naked. However, right now, the two of them just seem to be too tired, or perhaps they’re just enjoying this bit of cuddling they’re doing. Whatever it is, they don’t move, and it allows Stretch to figure out something important. 

“money?” he whispers. His boyfriend letting out an audible hmm to show he’s listening, “i realized i loved you, like truly loved you that night we first had sex.” Money’s head pops up to look him in the socket, “i think i’d always sorta felt something, but that’s when i really knew i was in love with you. before that, i’d get butterflies in my stomach, and want to be around you all the time. i started each day by wanting to talk to you, and i’m not sure when that started honey, but it’s been going on for a long time. years, in fact.”

“me too.” he whispers, “for years, i knew there was somethin’ between us that we sorta danced around, but never acted on. that night...fuck, i’m so glad we got drunk, and fucked. i know it had some unforeseen consequences, but i would never take it back. i wouldn’t trade that night for anything, and if i had a do over, i’d do it all the same.”

Stretch can feel his soul swell, “you know what...me too. everything is sorta messed up right now, but the one thing i ain’t ever gonna regret is you, honey.”  

He’s never seen Money make that sort of vulnerable emotional expression before. It almost seems like he’s going to cry, but instead he just raises his hands to cup Stretch’s skull, and pull him into a heated kiss. He doesn’t question it, and kisses Money back with pleasure. Eventually, the heat slowly begins to die, and it turns into something more along the lines of a gentle kissing session. Stretch keeps his sockets closed, and enjoys all the soft kisses. His soul warm and melts as he pretends for the sake of his beloved boyfriend that he doesn’t feel those tears as they patter onto his cheeks.  

Chapter 8: A Busy Night for Money

Summary:

Money has a busy night.

Notes:

Sorry for taking so long with an update! Thank you for your patience!

Why did he do that though? 

Money knows Stretch told him to leave it, but he just can't. It's going to bother the shit out of him to just sit by, and pretend that hadn't occurred. Coffee had covered for them for no reason, or no inkling that they were doing anything. It must mean he knows something. Wine swears he didn't tell him, but he had to have, right? 

...Right? Only one way to find out, which is how he found himself right outside Coffee’s room. 

Without knocking as is the usual, Money walks right on in. He knows there's a rule stating he needs to knock before entering people's rooms, but he just doesn't care much for it. Money's never been one for rules, and all of them have given up trying to get him to knock, so the moment Coffee sees that it's him entering his room, he settles. He even smiles at him. 

"h-hey...it's uh...it's a...bit...l-late." he greets, and he's right. It's two in the morning right now, but they're all night owls, and this couldn’t wait anymore. 

"yeah, i know." Money replies, throwing himself onto Coffee's little couch beside him, "but i knew you'd be awake." 

"o-oh?" 

"you're always awake at this time." he smirks, and grabs the second controller on the table in front of them, and tags in as the second player. Coffee never minds when he does this. He loves having them play with him.

"d-did…" Coffee starts as he switches the first person shooter he's playing to team mode, "y-you need...something...o-or…?" 

"perhaps, or maybe i just wanted the pleasure of your company coffee bean." 

Coffee gives him this look that screams bullshit. He's not buying that for a second, yet he's still letting Money play with him. Interesting, and very like Coffee. The gentle Papyrus was always being kind to the others, and was quick to try to involve everyone in activities. He was definitely too soft for the world he’d come from if the way Wine described it was any indication. Plus, even though it was obvious Money had come for a reason, Coffee didn’t push it, and instead says nothing more as they start getting into the game. Money knows he’s not bad at first person shooters, but he’s definitely better in a horror game, so he’s not the worst teammate Coffee could have. Luckily for him, Coffee is a god at these types of games, and it's not often he loses, which means it's not often Money loses since they're on the same team.

The conversation that does end up happening between the two as they play consists mostly of small talk depending on how each match is going, and whether they're winning, or not. Nothing is said about why Money is here in the first place until about a good hour later when the two of them start to wind down. Even Coffee has his limits when it comes to his curiosity, and it finally won out as he looks towards Money. 

"s-so…" Coffee starts, setting his controller in his lap, his legs criss-crossed in front of him, "w-why are you…actually here?" 

"straight to the point, eh?" he jokes, and Coffee smiles, but nods. Works for him. 

"why'd you cover for stretch, and i a few days ago?" he bluntly asks. If Coffee is willing to get right to the point, he should too. 

Coffee tilts his head, and looks a bit confused, "did...did you...not want...me to?" 

"nah, didn't bother me that you did, only your motives behind it."

"oh…" he nods, looking like he finally understood, "well...i just...wanted t-to help." 

"help?" 

"y-yeah...stretch...he's been...sad...lately." Coffee explains, "o-or he looks...sad. i t-thought you t-two...were off p-pranking." he gives a small smile, "i t-thought...you g-guys were...having fun, a-and that s-stretch...would finally n-not look...so sad." 

Money instantly softens at the explanation as relief floods him. Coffee doesn't know anything. Not a damned thing. He just wanted to help because he thought Stretch was depressed which he's not far off from. Again, this is very like Coffee. If he knows he can help, he’ll try his darndest to do so, even if it’s something he’s not quite sure he can do. It was one of the greatest things about the skeleton. Reaching out, Money pets Coffee's head gently. 

"you're a good one, coffee bean." 

He chuckles softly leaning into the head pats, "t-thanks…" he shifts a bit under Money’s hand, "um...money?" 

"yeah?" 

"c-can i...say...something w-without you...getting mad?"  

Money's brow furrows, "course you can." This should be good. It’s not often Coffee asks that. Usually if he’s worried about someone getting mad, he keeps things to himself, but here he’s actually putting himself in the line of fire. It’s fascinating. 

Coffee fidgets some more, playing with his fingers, "it's just...well...it...it's...you’re...in love w-with him...aren't you?"

Him obviously meaning Stretch. 

Money hesitates for a second. Coffee's not asking if they're dating, or having a baby, he's just mentioning that he thinks Money’s in love with Stretch, which is true. The bean has no idea what’s actually going on behind closed doors, and there’s no reason to let him in on it. However, there's also no harm in telling him the truth here either. It’s not like he can do anything with it. So, overcoming his hesitation, he nods. 

"yeah, i am." 

Coffee's brightens, probably thinking he wouldn't tell him, and sits up straighter, looking excited, "y-you...should t-tell...him!" 

"oh, why's that?" he finds himself smiling at Coffee’s enthusiasm.  

"c-cause...he definitely...loves you t-too." 

"well, i don't know about that coffee bean." he resists the urge to smirk. Oh, you have no idea sweet Coffee Bean, "but maybe i will, someday." 

He nods, "you s-should." he turns back to the game, "y-you'd l-look...cute together." 

"wouldn't it be weird?" 

Coffee stops, his fingers brushing against the controller in his lap, and quirks a brow, "why would it...be weird?"

"cause we're both papyrus." 

"a-and?" he shrugs, "y-you're not...the same...p-person, money. b-being...in love...isn’t...weird." 

This has Money faltering. Coffee's using some of his own words against him. He knows he and Stretch aren't the same person, and if he had it his way they would've already told everyone, but he can't. Doing that would stress Stretch out too much, and in turn stress him out. However, this hiding everything from everyone is really beginning to affect him, but he feels he can’t say, or do anything about it. He’s worried about how it’ll make Stretch feel. Basically, he’s stuck between a rock, and a hard place. Rubbing the top of his skull in a sort of nervous habit, Money fights down his urges to do something stupid. 

"i know, thanks coffee." is all he says before he stands up, "but i should go get some sleep, and you probably should too." he reaches out to pet Coffee’s skull again, who leans into it once more. 

"okay…" he murmurs, and watches as Money goes, "b-bye money...think about…w-what i said."  

Oh, he won't be able to think of anything else. It's all that's running through his mind right now as he leaves Coffee’s room, and enters the dark hallway. Well, what's normally a dark hallway, but Money can see light coming from the kitchen near the end of it. That’s kind of odd. There's always a light on above the stove at night, but it wasn't bright enough to illuminate the upper hallway, usually just the lower one near the dining room. Meaning someone has either left a light on in the kitchen which never happens, or someone is in there. His money (if he was allowed to bet) would be on someone being in there which is incredibly interesting.

Curious of who could be up this late, Money heads there instead of just shortcutting into his bedroom. Finding out who’s there is definitely more important than going to bed. What if it's someone he can mess with after all? However, he's left surprised when he finds out that it’s Blue who’s awake, and sitting there eating some cold leftovers out of a container. He's just sitting on one of the stools, with his head propped up by his hand, and half heartedly eating it. Money can't help, but think of how sad he looks, and how out of character this was for Blue. Something is bothering him. It's not often Blue would do something like this, and being the naturally curious guy he is, Money wants to know what's up even though he should just go back to his room. Where’s the fun in that anyway? So, he quietly goes over, and sits beside Blue who startles at his presence. 

"WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING UP?" he asks incredulously, and Money chuckles. 

"i'm always up this late." he picks up some of the food from Blue’s container with his fingers, and eats it, "better question is why are you up, and eating this food which is so not good cold." he makes a face as he chews, and swallows it. 

Blue hums, and turns his gaze towards the container, "JUST...GOT A LOT ON MY MIND." 

"like?" he asks. Blue pushes some of the food around for a moment before speaking again.

"MONEY?" his voice is the softest he's ever heard it. 

"yeah?" 

"...IS MY BROTHER OKAY?" He turns a pleading glance to Money, "I KNOW SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT, BUT HE WON'T TELL ME WHAT IT IS! NO MATTER WHAT I DO, OR SAY, HE WON'T TELL ME. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! PAPY HAS ALWAYS COME TO ME WHEN HE WAS IN TROUBLE." he sets the fork down, "WHAT'S GOING ON MONEY? PLEASE TELL ME." 

Fuck. 

Of course, Blue of all people would realize that Stretch is off. He just would never have expected Blue to ask him, but he guesses it makes sense. Stretch tells him everything after all. Even when they were only best friends, Stretch always told him everything, and Blue knows this. He’s not stupid, he’s seen them exchaning secrets before. 

"i don't know, blue." he lies, feeling like someone has punched him in the gut as he does, "if i did, i'd tell you." 

Blue's eye lights search his face, and he frowns a little, "MONEY, ARE YOU...LYING TO ME RIGHT NOW?"

Can't beat a cop's hunch, huh? Money shakes his head, feeling like a big bag of crap as he does. 

"nah, blue. i really don't know." he lies again, and watches as Blue just sighs, looking so emotionally tired. 

"YEAH...THAT'S WHAT PAPY DID TOO. JUST PRETENDED NOT TO KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT." he closes his sockets for a quick moment before opening them, looking sad, "MONEY, WHATEVER YOU, AND MY BROTHER HAVE GOTTEN INTO, IT’S OBVIOUSLY GOT YOU IN OVER YOUR HEADS. I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS NOTICED YOU TWO SNEAKING AROUND, VI IS REALLY WORRIED TOO, HE JUST HASN'T SAID ANYTHING." That sucker punched feeling is coming back with a vengeance in the form of wanting to puke, "HE'S BEEN COMING TO ME EVERY DAY ASKING ABOUT YOU. HE LOVES YOU, AND HE TRUSTS YOU, BUT…" 

Money thinks he knows what that "but" is about, and it has him panicking slightly.

"he thinks i'm using drugs again." he fills in for Blue, "i'm not." 

"I KNOW THAT, AND I KEEP TELLING HIM THAT, BUT IT'S NOT WORKING. HE'S A MESS, MONEY, AND JUST HIDING IT WELL. I'M SURPRISED IT WAS YOU WHO FOUND ME HERE TONIGHT, AND NOT HIM. HE HASN'T BEEN SLEEPING, ESPECIALLY NOT SINCE YOU TWO DISAPPEARED FROM THE PARTY." 

"i…" Money starts, and trails off. He never once thought of how this would upset Vi, or even thought his brother would think he was using again. Knowing what a nightmare that would be for Vi, and how he must be feeling, Money feels awful. The two of them went through hell, and barely made it out in regards to his addiction. If Vi thinks he’s going to have to go through all that again...he needs to go. He needs to see Vi, the feeling overwhelming him to the point where his own breathing has increased as panic sets in, "i need to go." he gets up from his seat. Blue nods, but says before he goes racing off. 

"WHATEVER IS BOTHERING YOU, AND PAPY, MONEY JUST TELL US. WE'RE YOUR BROTHERS, AND WE LOVE YOU." 

"good to know you love me blue." he teases half heartedly, trying to stop himself from panicking anymore by joking around, and gives the short skeleton’s shoulder a pat. 

"OF COURSE I DO." 

Money stops just a few steps from Blue, and turns to him to see he's finally got a smile. 

"YOU'RE LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER TO ME, MONEY. OUT OF ALL THE OTHER PAPYRUS IN THE HOUSE, YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE, I FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT. THE OTHERS ARE JUST MY FRIENDS." 

He finds a smile even though it’s weak, his intense anxiety forgotten just for a brief moment, "thanks blue." 

"YOU'RE WELCOME. NOW GO SEE VI, AND HOPEFULLY HELP HIM SLEEP." 

Nodding, Money hurries off towards his brother’s room, leaving Blue to his food. He knows he should stay, and help him feel better, but he can't. Vi comes first, he always will, especially when Vi is thinking something so scary is happening again. No, not just scary. Petrifying. Vi, and Money’s relationship almost died because of his addiction. They nearly lost each other, and now that they’re so close again, he can’t bear the thought of it going to shit again. He refuses to let that happen. Quickly, he reaches his brother’s room, and he of course finds the door locked, but a locked door has rarely stopped Money, who just instead shortcuts into the room.  

It's pitch black in there, since Vi always sleeps with his curtains drawn, but he knows where he's going, and carefully makes his way to Vi's bed where he finds his brother tossing, and turning. He’s apparently asleep, but whatever dream he's having, it isn't a good one. It would be best just to wake him, and face any crankiness than leave him to the horror his mind has cooked up. Besides he needs him right now, he needs to talk to him. Crouching down, he reaches out, and shakes his brother gently. 

"sans." he whispers, "sans, wake up, you're having a bad dream." 

Vi is quick to gasp awake, his brother having always been a light sleeper, his eye lights swiftly blinking into existence, one whole, and one broken. As he does this, he sits up suddenly, startling Money who jerks back in his surprise, especially when Vi gasps out, 

"PAPYRUS!" his hands frantically go for his bedside lamp which he eventually finds, but the moment it's on, all Money can see is how panicked his brother is, sweating pouring down his face, "WHAT'S WRONG? ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT'S HAPPENING?" 

Sudden flashbacks of when Money would wake Vi in the middle of the night race through his mind. Sometimes he'd be sobbing, or beaten up, other times he'd just be so incoherent it wasn't funny. The amount of times Vi had to sit by his bedside to make sure he didn't choke on his own vomit disgusts Money, and he knows that's all Vi is thinking of right now. If he’s thinking about it, then his brother definitely is.

"PAPYRUS?" Vi's voice brings him back, as do the hands cupping his face, "ARE YOU OKAY?" He looks so worried, it breaks Money’s soul. 

"i'm fine," he feels like such garbage for worrying his brother, and causing him such soulache, "i can't sleep, will you talk to me for a bit?" 

"I...YES, OF COURSE." 

He goes to get up, probably thinking he’d sit with Money, but that's not what he wants. Instead, he crawls right up onto Vi's bed with him, and staying above the covers, lays down beside his older brother. Not bothering to turn the light off, Vi rolls to face Money, and waits for what he needs to say. 

"i'm not using." he gets right to the point. He needs to assuage some of his brother’s fears, and he needs to do it right now, "i'd pee in a cup for you if i could, but since i can't, this is all i've got." 

"PAPYRUS, IF YOU ARE, WE CAN FIGURE THIS OUT." Vi murmurs, his hand coming to lay on his arm, a warm comfort to the tall skeleton, "WE...CAN FIND A REHAB FACILITY HERE TOO. I BET THE SAME ONE YOU WENT TO BEFORE EXISTS IN THIS WORLD, AND-" 

"sans, i'm not using." Money cuts him off, "i won't be that stupid ever again." 

"YOU WEREN'T STUPID, PAPYRUS. YOU HAVE AN ADDICTION, THAT'S DIFFERENT."

"i'm still the one that went, hey cocaine, that looks like a swell idea."

"EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES, THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU STUPID, BROTHER." 

Money hums, not really believing Vi on that one, especially after everything he’s done, but he knows better than to argue with his brother. He’s super stubborn, and would win in the end, so it’s better to just accept that. Neither end up saying anything for a bit after that until he whispers out without warning. 

"i never thanked you." 

"FOR?" 

"all the nights you stayed up with me, making sure i stayed alive. how you'd clean me up, and cover for me. how i'd only pay you back by...by…" he trails off, unable to say it. Money doesn't like thinking back on the times he'd hit Vi in a pique of rage caused by his use of drugs. It always sent him spiraling. His brother gets it though since that hand on his arm moves to reach out, and pats his skull. 

"YOU ARE MY LITTLE BROTHER. I RAISED YOU, AND I WANTED TO KEEP YOU SAFE." 

"i'm sorry for that." he chuckles, "i was the worst little brother ever." 

Vi chuckles as well, "NO, YOU WERE THE BEST. I WOULDN’T TRADE YOU FOR ANYONE, PAPYRUS."  

"sappy!" Money smirks, "you're getting sappy, call the police!"

"OH, SHUT UP." Vi says harshly, but is still smiling, even as he asks, "SO, YOU'RE NOT USING?" 

"no, i promise." 

Vi's sockets widen a little at his quick promise, knowing what that means to Money, but he can see it has him relaxing instantly. 

"I SEE, WELL I'M GLAD." he sighs, actually sounding relieved, "WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON THEN? I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH SOMETHING RECENTLY." 

"i can't tell you." 

"WHY NOT? THERE’S A CHANCE I COULD HELP YOU, PAPYRUS." he points out.

"i just can't. not yet. maybe someday." 

Vi sighs again, this time sadly, "ALRIGHT, KEEP YOUR SECRET, BUT JUST KNOW I'M HERE, OKAY?" 

"okay." 

"FEEL BETTER?" 

"yup." 

"GOOD. NOW, GET THE HECK OUT OF MY BED, SO I CAN SLEEP."

Snorting, Money rolls himself out of bed, but in doing so rolls himself over Vi who squawks out the best little, "PAPYRUS!" as he does. Rolling to his feet, he stands back up, and turns to his brother who is just glaring at him. Ah, this feels more like them. His anxiety has completely dissipated, and he can’t help but smile at this outcome. He loves Vi, and he loves their relationship. How they tease one another, but also how they’re able to tell each other stuff. It’s why him not being able to tell Vi that he’s maybe going to be a father kills him. 

"REALLY?" his brother huffs, just giving him the most unimpressed look that has Money calming even more. 

With a snicker, he cheekily coos out, "love you too!" 

With a wave, he shortcuts from his brother’s room, not letting him get another word in. It was better that way. If he stayed, he’d be in for a lecture, and who’s got the time for that? It’s getting close to four in the morning for Stars sake! He lets himself shortcut into his bedroom, right onto his bed. It’s something he does often, and never once imagined there'd be someone there. Falling on top of them, he startles as does the person he's shortcut onto who squeaks, and shoves him off. He ends up on the floor with a groan, and a sore skull. Perfect. Shoved off his own bed.  

"stars, i'm sorry, you scared me! are you okay?" 

Opening his good socket, he stares up at Stretch who is looking down at him worriedly. 

"what are you doing in my bed?" he asks, not angry, or annoyed, but a bit curious, and Stretch flushes. 

"i wanted to sleep with you, so i came in, but you weren't here yet, so i just waited." 

"what if i never came back tonight?" he asks with a smirk, sitting up to crawl back into bed a bit excited at the prospect of a cuddle session after the anxiety he just faced with his brother. 

"then i woulda slept here anyway. it smells like you, so that suffices." 

"ooh kinky." Money teases, quickly taking his clothes off for sleep. He hates sleeping in any clothing. 

"are you not gonna wear any clothes?" Stretch asks incredulously, "even while i'm here?" 

"especially while you're here sweetheart." Money leans in kissing his cheek as he flings his pants across the room, now completely naked, "besides, i don't own any underwear, you know that." he gets under his comforter as Stretch snorts. 

"of course! how could i forget?"

"honestly!" Money snickers, now under the covers with Stretch, and grabs onto his arm to pull him against him. 

Stretch allows the movement, and snuggles into Money, wrapping his arms around his thin body. Money can feel the warmth of Stretch’s ecto against his bones, and it settles him, but before they can allow sleep to overtake them, he needs to talk to his boyfriend. 

"i talked to coffee tonight, he doesn't know anything." 

Stretch groans, "i thought i said to just leave it alone!" 

"i don't follow rules, you know that sweetheart." 

"evidently." Stretch grumbles back. Money kisses his forehead to soothe him. 

"it went well. he doesn't know anything, he just covered for us cause he thinks you're sad." 

Stretch blinks in surprise, "wait...really?" 

He nods, "yeah, he thinks you've been really sad lately, and thought i was cheering you up with some pranking, so he covered for us when we were gone." 

"that's...huh." Stretch murmurs, "that's actually really kind."

"coffee's kind." Money points out, "he also asked if i loved you." 

"what did you say?" 

"told him i did." 

"what? why?" Stretch looks a little panicked, "now he might think something is up!" 

"figured what's the harm?" Money shrugs, "he didn't seem to care. told me i should tell you, and that he thought you loved me back which you do, but he doesn't know that." 

"money…" Stretch whines, looking so cute that Money could just eat him up. 

His smile growing, Money pulls Stretch even closer with a chuckle, peppering his face with kisses. Stretch squeals in protest, but it was futile. Nothing was going to stop this love bomb. 

"it's fine, sweetheart. I didn't say anything else." 

Stretch grumbles his discontent some more over what he's learned, but ends up laughing the moment Money nuzzles against his cheek. Stretch can’t resist a good cheek nuzzle, and Money knows this.  

"c'mon, where's that smile i love?" Money coos, "can't sleep without that gorgeous smile!" 

"shut up!" Stretch laughs, his smile bright, and filling Money with undeniable love. He loves getting to see Stretch smiling so widely, and obviously carefree. It feels like an age since he’s seen that smile, and it kills him knowing he needs to ruin this moment with a few more pieces of information he's learned tonight. 

"i also ran into blue in the kitchen." he gently informs his lover, once his laughter’s died down, and his attention becomes hyper focused on him, "he's really worried about you, sweetheart." 

"i know." Stretch responds softly, beginning to turtle in on himself a little, "i know he is." his tone conveys his misery over the situation, and Money knows it’s only going to get worse, and he hates that. 

"we need to tell them." Money urges again, "we need to figure out if we're having this baby, or not." he sighs, "we can't sit on our butts anymore about this." 

"i know." Stretch buries himself into Money more, hiding his face, and trembling. Money instantly feels bad for pushing. Maybe he should’ve left out that last part for another time when he hadn’t already dropped the bomb that Blue was worrying about him. With a soft sigh, he scratches the back of Stretch’s skull that’s buried into his chest, and rubs his back with his other hand. 

"sorry, sweetheart...it's just...vi thinks i'm using again cause of all the sneaking around." he mumbles out his explanation, "i don't want to scare him." 

The room goes silent, just Stretch’s rattling bones as the only noise while Money keeps rubbing his back, and scratching his skull. He didn't mean to upset him this badly, he knows this is hard for Stretch, but Money also knows he's not wrong. They need to figure this out, and sooner rather than later. He just wishes this was easier for his mate whom he loves. Not speaking again, he instead waits for Stretch to talk. This comes faster than anticipated. 

"money?" 

"yeah?" 

"do you want to use?" 

Money’s hands stop, and he stills completely. Even his breathing has halted.

It's rare Stretch ever asks him anything to do with his addiction. When he'd asked a while back, Stretch had said it was in the past, and why remind Money of old wounds. It was almost like he’d rather remain painfully ignorant of everything that had happened which has suited Money just fine. So, for him to bring this up, it means he's really worried, and for that, Money feels terrible. 

"i...yes." he whispers the truth, feeling as Stretch’s trembling increases, "i want to use every day. every damn day, sweetheart. i'd camp out all fuckin' week for a chance to experience another high without repercussions...but there would be repercussions. real terrible ones." he starts rubbing Stretch’s back again, "and i have people who need me, plus i really, really don't want to be that money ever again." he feels his mate's shaking subside a small amount, "i hated him...actually, i still hate him with every fibre of my being. he was the worst, just a greedy asshole with no filter who literally just didn't give a damn about anything, or anyone...even vi." 

The room once again goes quiet, and a part of him fears he may have really over shared just then, but his boyfriend once again soothes him in a way that he loves. Teasing him. 

"you're still kinda greedy now though." Stretch mumbles his voice muffled against Money's chest, making him chuckle. 

"well, yeah, but i also care now. i have more to offer the world than an asshole drug addict, and i have you, and vi. i want to be there for you guys. you'll always be more important than getting high."  

"i believe you." 

"thanks sweetheart." he smiles. Stretch moves back from his chest, his trembling having subsided, until he's able to give Money a soft kiss, making him hum happily. 

"i love you." Stretch whispers against his mouth just before kissing Money again, who gets out between the next kiss. 

"i love you too." 

A few more kisses, and the two are finally pulling back, but it's not long before they're wrapped up in each other’s arms again. However, this time their foreheads are pressed together instead of one of them being hidden. Their legs tangle, and they smile at each other. 

"you know that even if you did start using again, i'd be by your side, right?" Stretch whispers, stunning Money a little, "i wouldn't go anywhere. i'd stay by your side, and help you through it." 

"sweetheart, that's...that's real good of you, but i wouldn't put you through that. it's not pretty. detoxing for monsters it's..." he shudders at the memories, "it's ugly, and excruciating. i wouldn't want you to see me that way."

"i don't care." 

Money guffaws, his smile growing, "you can't just say you don't care." 

"well, i don't, so deal with it. if you ever detox again, i'll be right there beside you." 

"i'll try not to puke on you then." his laughter growing, "seriously though stretch, i have no intentions of using ever again. not when i've got more important, and exciting things to occupy me in my life." he nuzzles Stretch’s forehead, "like my boyfriend for example." 

"simp." 

"terribly so!" Money fake gasps, and looks scandalized, "how could you call me out on such a fact!" 

"you'll live." Stretch laughs, his sockets crinkling in his mirth. Money pretends to look offended. 

"i shall not! i shall perish knowing my boyfriend believes me a simp!" 

"stars, why do i love you?" Stretch pushes Money's face away. 

"cause you're a simp for me in return, baby." Money jokingly points out, but knew it was the truth. 

Stretch sputters, "i am not!" 

"are too. just admit it, it'll feel so good." He groans. 

"no." 

"admit it." 

"no!" 

This goes on for a stupid amount of time before finally, Money starts tickling Stretch in his attempt to get him to admit it. This led to loud shrieking laughter, and some tears as Stretch attempts to stop Money’s torture. It was his secret weapon against Stretch, and once his boyfriend has failed to get away from Money’s tricky hands, he wheezes out. 

"okay...okay!" Money stops his assault as Stretch coughs, "i admit it!" 

"you're a simp for me?" 

"yes." 

"every day, and night?" 

"yes." 

"good." Money smirks, and moving so he's leaning over Stretch with a hand on either side of his head as he looks down at him, "now we can sleep." 

Flopping down, he ends up on top of Stretch, purposefully trying to avoid his belly, meaning he's mostly on his chest, and pretends to fall asleep. 

"money!" Stretch squawks, trying to push him off, "i can't breathe!" 

"we don't need to breathe." 

"...that's besides the point!" 

With a chuckle, Money moves off of Stretch, and throws himself down beside him instead. Stretch takes a few deep breaths he doesn't actually need. Money wasn't lying, they didn't actually need to breathe. Stretch once he's able to take in air smoothly again, rolls onto his side again so he can face Money. 

"you suck." 

"you love it." 

"...don't call me out like that." 

"oh, i always will, trust me." 

Money can't help the laughter that bubbles from his chest at the adorable whine Stretch makes in response to that. Stars he loves this skeleton, and yeah maybe he's a bit of a simp, but honestly, Money wouldn't want it any other way. 

Chapter 9: Big Brother's Love

Summary:

Stretch is still trying to decide what he wants to do. After an appointment with his doctor, he decides to talk to Blue, hoping to find some insight.

Notes:

Sorry for the long long long wait! I thank you for your patience!

A lot can happen in a month. Blue and Vi can grow even more suspicious. Coffee can now be trying his damnedest to set Stretch up with Money, causing Wine to run interference which Stretch is grateful for. Unfortunately, over this month his symptoms did get a little worse. His sweating got worse, but thankfully not enough that the others noticed, and he was so damn horny it had to be criminal, but Money was always willing to help with that. It was now immediately puking after eating that became a challenge, but Money even eventually figured out something fun that helped with that. It even allowed them some snuggle time which Stretch was all for.

"we got an appointment tomorrow, remember?" Money points out, his hand splayed out on Stretch's stomach. He nods. 

"i remember." He reassures and sighs, "your hand is so warm."

Money chuckles and gently rubs that hand along his ecto, "should be, i'm pushing magic into your ecto womb." 

Stretch makes a face, "don’t say womb, it's...weird." 

"womb." 

"very mature." 

Money just snickers and continues with what he's doing which was soothing Stretch’s nausea by feeding the baby magic. They'd figured out this strategy completely by accident. Stretch had complained about being sick and Money had started rubbing his belly hoping to help while pushing magic to his hand to make it warmer. It was nearly immediate that his nausea began to settle and the longer Money pushed the magic, the better he felt. They've been doing this after big meals ever since.  

"do you think they're okay?" Stretch asks absent-mindedly, "i mean, i can feel the soul beat next to my own so i know they're alive, but…" He trails off. His boyfriend’s eye light trains on him, giving his belly another rub. 

"worried?" 

"well i just...kinda, yeah." 

"is that cause you want to keep the baby?" 

Stretch falters at Money’s statement, his own hand coming down to skim the ecto he's constantly sporting. Does he want the baby? He still doesn't know. Stretch can feel how their soul beats in time with his, and each day that passes, he's afraid of waking up to suddenly not feel that. What if his body is too weak? What if the baby dies? It would certainly solve all his problems, but at the same time it doesn't sit right with him. 

"i...don't know." He answers honestly.

Money’s thumb caresses just under his ribcage, and gives his shoulder a kiss. 

"s'okay. we got time." 

Stretch smiles gratefully at him, knowing he was right. They had oodles of time. Almost two months worth of time to figure this all out. He didn't have to think about this right now at all, right? 

Wrong. 

Turns out, they had less time than they thought. 

They'd easily made it to their appointment on time to see Dr. B, who had been very happy to see them. She'd given them both a big smile, and asked how they're doing. Stretch explained that his symptoms feel like they're getting worse, and she decided to check the souling's soul beat again. What she found astonished them both.  

The moment she placed the transducer in the right place they heard the beat, loud and strong. Nothing was deterring that souling as it chugged along like a freight train. Dr. B smiles. 

"Well, they sound very healthy! You've been doing a good job carrying them, Papa." 

She pats Stretch’s arm and he knows she's joking, but he can't stop the cold sweat from breaking out on his forehead at her choice of words. He's not ready to call himself Papa, or Dad just yet. Thankfully, Dr. B doesn't linger on it, and keeps going. 

"The souling's soul beat is incredibly strong, which might be why your symptoms feel so awful." She explains, "A stronger souling requires more magic, and you're strained as it is." 

Are they going to lose this baby no matter what? It feels like she's about to tell them it's futile and that regardless of what they do, Stretch will never physically be able to carry to term. That should be a relief. It should assuage his anxiety, and make everything better. 

So why does he suddenly feel so disappointed?

"i've been pushing magic into his belly after he eats." Money explains, holding his hand, "it helps the nausea. we okay to keep doing that?" 

"Absolutely! That is actually a terrific idea, gentleman. It'll certainly help as things progress, and it should ease more of the burden off Stretch." 

She…didn't tell them they had to abort. She's still trying to make this work. Why does he feel relieved over that?

"In fact," Dr. B pulls him from his thoughts as she digs out her script pad, and begins writing, "I'm going to also write you a prescription for those magical supplements Money and have you take them too." 

"is that safe even though i'm not carryin'?" 

"Perfectly, although you will get the same side effects from taking them."

"weepiness, increased appetite, being super horny, etcetera?" 

"That's them!" She smiles, handing Money the piece of paper, "This should boost your magic production and help you give Stretch that much needed support." 

Stretch watches as Money takes the prescription script with zero hesitation and looks at it. A small spark of anxiety settles into his soul knowing what this might mean to his boyfriend. He doesn’t like taking any pills or anything that might make others nervous in regards to his addiction. Stretch has seen Money crack his skull before and not take the pain meds prescribed by the doctor. He just suffered through it until his skull healed with thankfully no scars but now it seems he’s willing to take these pills, leaving him surprised and concerned Money might be doing something he doesn’t want to do. 

"so, i'll be able to help more with this?" His boyfriend asks, worrying the piece of paper just a bit. 

"That's the hope." Dr. B nods, still giving them both an encouraging smile but Stretch isn't particularly paying attention to her. He's focused on Money and the way he's gazing at that script. It almost seems as if his boyfriend is relaxing knowing he has that.  Worry continues to gnaw at his non-existent insides wondering if his boyfriend was that desperate to help in some way that he’d break a personal rule he’s held so dear for so long, "I should warn you though," Dr. B's voice pulls him back and he returns his attention to the monster who's now looking solely at him, "I may have underestimated this little souling." 

"Meaning?" He asks nervously, his concerns over Money flying from his mind as he’s already figured out what she's going to say. 

"Meaning, they'll probably form a body a lot sooner than I'd been anticipating. You're about eight weeks along now and by the strength of the soul beat, your little one should form within the next four to five weeks." 

"which means we only have a month left to decide what we want to do." Money summarizes a pit forming in Stretch’s stomach. He knew it. Somehow, Stretch just knew this was what she was going to say and it’s leaving him with this almost scrambling feeling like he has no time. 

Dr. B nods again to Money’s question, "Yes, I'm afraid so." 

Her answer instills little confidence in him, especially since he's still on the fence as to what he wants. Now he has even less time than he thought to figure this all out. He thought he’d have at least another eight weeks but that time just got cut in half. What’s he supposed to do? His anxiety continues to peak, sending him spiraling as he tries very hard not to shake on the table he’s sitting on. This must be written all over his face since Dr. B suddenly softens then murmurs gently to Money, "Could you give Stretch and I a moment please, Money? I promise, it's nothing bad." 

Stretch desperately wants to tell his boyfriend not to go. He's afraid of what she's about to tell him but he still doesn't stop his mate as he hesitantly nods and gives his hand a squeeze before shuffling from the room. Dr. B waits until the door shuts, the clicking of the knob settling reverberating around the room. Once it does, she moves so she's sitting closer to him and reaches over to pat his hand in a comforting manner which he allows. 

"Let me show you something." She says, turning and grabbing all of the equipment again to check the souling's beat. The only difference is this time, she also gathers the one needed for Stretch’s as well. He's a bit unsure of what she's doing but waits to see as she tells him to lay back then reattaches everything before sitting back and letting the machine pattern out the wavelengths. It takes a minute or two, the little scratching filling the room until she turns the machine off, detaches it from him while telling him he can sit up again and grabs both papers to line them up for him to see, "This is your baby's soul beat," she points to the top one, "and this is yours," she then points to the bottom one, "Can you see where your beat peaks?" 

His eye lights roam the paper as he sits up, pulling his shirt back down, easily able to see what she means, "yes?" He answers, not entirely sure where this is going. She smiles again and after making sure the papers are completely aligned with one another murmurs. 

"Compare it to your baby's." 

Brow furrowing in confusion, he does as he's told but doesn't understand what he's looking at. 

"i don't…understand." He mutters. What is she trying to prove? Dr. B moves her hand to point to one of his soul beats then in a straight line moves up to the souling's. 

He suddenly gets it, his sockets widening. She nods, seeing his clear shock. 

"The baby is completely synced to you, Stretch. Each time your soul beats, the baby's soul does too." 

"doesn't that always happen?" 

She shakes her head, "No. If the carrying parent is very firm in not wanting a bond or the baby themselves the beat won't sync at all. There will be no connection." Dr. B sets the papers down and reaches over to take his hand again, "Stretch, your baby's soul would only do this if it knew you loved them." His breath catches in his throat at the implications of her words, "And while there's no scientific proof of this, I'm in the firm belief that this would also only happen if your little one loved you in return." For some reason he can feel tears swimming in his sockets, forcing him to blink as he tries to sniff them away. 

Dr. B's hand begins to move away but it returns not even ten seconds later holding a tissue that Stretch gratefully takes with a barely audible thank you. 

"It's never my place to tell you what to do, Stretch." She continues, placing both her hands in her lap as he sniffs again, suddenly feeling so overwhelmed with emotions as those tears trickle down his cheekbones, "I know you're scared, especially since this was a big surprise for you and that’s okay. A lot of first time parents are." She chuckles, "I know I was petrified and I planned to get pregnant." 

He sniffs, wiping his cheek with his hand despite having a tissue, "you…have kids?"

"Yup, I have six!" She proudly proclaims, "One single, one set of twins and a set of triplets." She chuckles again, "They're my pride and joy." 

It's not uncommon for Dr. B's type of monster to have multiples, so Stretch isn't all that surprised that she's got that many kids. However, he is interested in one thing she mentioned. 

"how'd you stop being scared with your first?"

"I didn't." She tells him truthfully, "I was so worried I'd be this awful Mom but turns out I do alright." Dr. B pats his hand again, "Every parent worries about these things." 

He nods, wiping his cheeks again, "i just…don't know what to do." 

"If I may make a suggestion?" She starts, waiting for his approval. The moment she has it when Stretch nods again, she continues, "I think you should look inside to find what you want and then talk to Money." Her smile starts becoming wider, "He's a good one. It's obvious he loves you very much and wants to help." 

"he is," Stretch finds himself finally smiling even if it's small, his gaze going to his lap, "he's my best friend." 

"He'll make a good Dad." She agrees. 

He blinks in shock, his eye lights shooting up to look at Dr. B. For some reason it never really clicked in that way that Money would be a good father. That he was very much the other parent in this scenario. Stretch, of course, knew this fact but for some reason it never truly hit home the way it is now. If they kept this baby, Money would be a good Dad. Stretch has no doubts about that although he's pretty sure his boyfriend might think differently. 

He just wishes he could say the same about himself. 

Stretch knows he'd be a garbage parent. He's clumsy, awkward and he constantly messes up. There's no way he wouldn't mess this kid up and he doesn't know if he can handle the responsibility of this baby relying on him until the end of his life. People make jokes that you're responsible and will worry over your kids until they're eighteen or out of stripes. This is a misconception. You never stop worrying about your kids no matter how old they are. Blue proved that to him every day. Stretch knows he's technically not Blue’s son but his older brother is the closest thing to a parent he's ever had so the feeling must be similar.  

Giving Dr. B an extremely strained and quiet response saying he knew that, she gets that Stretch isn't all that comfortable with what was going on. Rather than push it she instead tells him he can get himself composed while she goes and lets Money in. A rush of relief fills him knowing his boyfriend would be back soon and the second he is, Stretch feels infinitely better, reaching out for his hand which Money is quick to provide. Dr. B then sits down and talks to Stretch about his diet and sleep, making sure he's eating enough and sleeping properly. He explains his habits as best as he can and she appears happy with his answers so he guesses he's doing okay. 

Once she's completed her assessment, she tells him that he's doing just fine and stands. She gives him one last pat on the shoulder before telling him when she'd like to see him next and to set up an appointment with the receptionist. Dr. B then makes her exit with the two skeletons following suit a moment later and they make their way to reception where Stretch makes another appointment. The receptionist is kind enough to write it on a reminder card and he takes it gratefully, putting it in his pocket.

Appointment in hand, they leave the office, first heading downstairs so Money can get his prescription filled before shortcutting home which once again Money is kind enough to provide. He takes them both to Stretch’s bedroom where his boyfriend flops onto the bed. Stretch follows a bit more slowly, sitting gently on the edge, his mind racing. What should he do? He’s out of time or he feels he’s out of time, the knowledge that he needs to decide what to do with this souling creeping up on him like a villain in the night. He tries thinking about the information his doctor gave him but it still feels oddly overwhelming and has him shutting his sockets tight until Money nudges him with his foot, startling him. 

Glancing over his shoulder, he looks at his boyfriend who’s pointing to his bedside table. 

“is that weird robot water or did you get thirsty in the night at some point.”

Stretch’s gaze turns to the glass of water he’s pointing at, “thirsty in the night. why? wait, what even is robot water?”  

“water you used to clean parts or somethin’ i dunno.” He snickers, “i just wanted to make sure it was clean before i drank it.”

“why are you going to drink it? that’s like days old.”

“since when does water go bad?” Money asks in feigned shock before motioning with his hand, “just pass it to me.”

Confused, Stretch leans over grabbing the drink and hands it off to his boyfriend who sits up, giving him a cheery little thank you. It’s then that Stretch suddenly remembers the pills as Money yanks them out of his pocket. Panicking, realizing Money might not actually want to take those pills, he flounders in a spectacularly clumsy way. In a particularly ungraceful moment, Stretch smacks the bottle out of Money’s hands, surprising his mate but also unfortunately causing them both to fall over, that glass of water in Money’s hand pouring all over the both of them. 

“uhh…” Money trails off, now on his back with Stretch’s face pressed into his chest. Both their hoodies are wet from the water but Stretch doesn’t move, just too embarrassed that he did that, “well, that happened.” Money chuckles out, beginning to laugh. It’s not funny! He whines into Money’s shirt, feeling as he starts rubbing his back, “aw, c’mon sweetheart it was funny.”

“was not.” He pouts, finally pulling away, his cheeks bright orange. Money pokes one with a smirk.

“it was but ‘m also a bit confused as to why it happened.” 

The two of them sit up again with the now empty glass going back to the bedside table and the two of them shrugging off the damp hoodies to toss onto his floor to find later. Both are now in a tank top but that’s no issue. Neither are particularly shy with each other at this point. However, Stretch doesn’t know how to bring up this topic, leaving him a bit timid. He shuffles on the bed, worrying his thumb until Money places his hand over his fidgeting one. 

“what’s wrong sweetheart?” He asks, the subtle clinking of pills in a bottle hitting his ears as Money who must’ve picked up said bottle puts it into his line of vision, “is it these?”

Stretch stares at them for a moment then up to Money’s face, “i just…i know how you feel about pills. i don’t want you to take them if you don’t want to.”

“i want to.” 

Stretch is shocked at how firm he sounds, turning more towards his mate who for once looks deadly serious. 

“but…but why?” He blurts out in astonishment, “your addiction…the pills they-”

Money holds up a hand silencing him, “it’s okay, stretch.” He reassures softly, “these aren’t narcotics nor anything addictive. i uh…i asked the pharmacist.” He admits actually turning a bit purple in the cheeks for once. 

“you…you did?”

Money nods, “yeah, course i did. i’m an addict, i gotta be careful but even then it’s still my choice, stretch.” He motions towards himself, “to take these,” he shakes the bottle, the pills clicking, “and i want to take them.”

“but they suck, why would you want to take them?”

“cause now i can finally help.” He says simply, “i can finally be useful to you in this.”

Stretch blinks as Money’s words register, his soul aching. He thinks he hasn’t been useful? Really? Not letting that stand, Stretch moves until he’s nestled in Money’s lap, his boyfriend’s arms going around him to hold him as he presses his face into the crook of his neck. 

“you’re always helpful honey, always. i don’t need you to take those pills if you don’t wanna.”

“i want to.” He assures, “i really want to.”

“i don’t want you to feel like you’ve been useless in this.” He shifts a bit to get as close as he can, “i couldn’t do this without you. we’re a team.”

“yeah we are.” He chuckles, “don’t worry sweetheart, i’m doing this because i want to not because i have to.”

“good, cause i’d be mad otherwise.” He jokes, finally smiling as Money gasps dramatically. 

“never! you could never be mad at me!”

“i could. i really could.” 

“nooo!” Money cries, falling back and pulling Stretch with him, pulling a squeak from the freckled skeleton who begins laughing loudly at suddenly finding himself lying on his bed, facing his boyfriend who is fake pouting, “can’t believe you’d be mad at me.”

“there there,” Stretch pats Money’s skull, “it’ll be okay papyrus.”

“damn, bustin’ out the real name. the guilt is eating at you.”

“terribly so.” He deadpans, watching Money’s smirk grow, “so, you’re really okay taking them?” He asks, seriously. Money nods. 

“i’m super okay with it.”

“you’re gonna be horny as all hell.” Stretch warns. 

“good thing i have you then!” 

He smiles, “guess so.”

The two of them sit there for a while before eventually Stretch shifts onto his back and the moment he does, Money’s hand goes to his belly. He pushes up his tank top and absent mindedly rubs his hand over the ecto there in a soothing manner. It’s comforting and nice. It has Stretch settling and feeling more relaxed as he shifts himself closer so he’s pressed against Money who continues to move his hand in the same manner as before. They stay like this for a while just enjoying each other’s presence until finally, his boyfriend asks the one question he was dreading. 

“what are we going to do about the baby?”

“i…don’t know.” He answers truthfully, “Dr. B she…she showed me something after you left.”

“oh?”

He nods, “the souling’s beat is completely matched to mine.” Stretch admits, “she said that’d only happen if i was attached to them, if i loved them but…i still don’t know.”

“what’s worrying you?”

“just everything. i feel too young and dumb to be a parent.”

“you’re hittin’ 500 Stretch.” Money chuckles, “it’s not unreasonable for our type of monster’s to have kids at this age.”

He knows that, he really does but that still doesn’t help. It’s not as if Stretch or Money have a good reference for what a parent is supposed to be or like. Their mothers died soon after they’d been born which he knows eats at Money sometimes and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t get to him every so often too. He wonders what they were like and if they’d be proud of him. Maybe if he’d grown up with both of his mother’s this wouldn’t be so scary. He’d know what to do or at least have them to fall back on. It’s tough to say.

“i know.” He responds to Money, “i just still feel really unready.”

“i think most first time parents do, love.” He murmurs, kissing his shoulder. 

“what about you?” Stretch turns his head to look at Money, “are you nervous?”

“sweetheart, there’s a baby i helped create growing inside you, yeah i’m nervous.” He chuckles, “and i’ll support whatever it is you wanna do. this is your body, not mine.”

“but it’s also your baby.” He reminds him, “that gives you a vote.

“so, if i wanted to keep them you'd, what? birth them then hand them over?” Money raises a brow, “that’s not very fair sweetheart. i’m not gonna make you do anything and it’s not like i’d never get another chance. like you pointed out, we’re young.” 

He sighs, returning his gaze to the ceiling, “i just don’t know.”

“we gotta decide soon and it doesn’t even gotta be that we’re keeping them.” Money reminds him, “just on whether we’re going through with the pregnancy. remember, adoption is a thing.”

That’s actually a lot more comforting that Stretch expected. It is true that just because he has the baby doesn’t mean he has to keep them. He’s sure they can find a nice monster couple to take the little one if they’re not up for it or feel too unready. Monsters here are like in his world, they’re always willing to help, especially if it’s a babybones in need. They could even make it an open adoption if they wanted so Stretch and Money could have visitations with the baby. It’s a completely valid option. 

So why doesn’t that sit well with him at all?

Maybe it comes from the fact that he never knew his mothers. He only ever had Blue and even with an open adoption it’s still not the same. It’s not as if he has anything against adoption. He firmly believes that your family is who you decide them to be, they don’t have to be blood. Your parents don’t have to be the one who created you to be your parents but at the same time it feels weird to Stretch. On some level he thinks he’d be scared that the little one might end up wondering where they came from or they wouldn’t have the relationship with him that he’d want. 

Stretch sighs again, utterly confused on what to do at this point but is also under no illusions that he needs to decide soon. 

“yeah, maybe.” He answers a little noncommittally, “i know i have to decide soon but…can i have one more day? Please?”

“course, sweetheart.” Money squeezes his belly playfully, “it’s not as if i gotta know right this second.”

“thanks honey.” He returns to his side so he can snuggle up to Money who coos and holds him tightly. 

One day. 

That’s all he’s got left to decide but how’s he going to figure it all out? Stretch hates to admit it but he needs an outside perspective that’s not his own and not Money’s. He needs someone who isn’t involved in all of this and has no idea of what’s going on.

He needs Blue. 

That thought pounds in his skull and refuses to leave until finally after parting ways with Money who needed to get some work done, he makes his way to his brother’s room. He’s petrified but what other choice does he have? Stretch will just have to make sure to be as vague as possible and ask questions that don't have his brother questioning why he’s asking them in the first place. That’s easier said than done. Blue is a cop and extremely shrewd. He could give Wine a run for his money but still he goes to see him. Stretch needs his big brother. He doesn’t think he’s ever needed him as much as he does right now and it leaves him sick knowing he just can’t reveal the truth to him yet. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, he’s seriously just not ready especially since he doesn’t know if he wants to keep the baby. If Blue knew, he’s scared his older brother might influence his decision and that’s the last thing he wants. 

Taking a deep breath, Stretch steels himself and knocks on his brother’s door. There’s no point continuing to stand here and theorize about things. He might as well get the advice he needs or he hopes he can get. 

Stretch waits until he hears his brother call out that he can come in and with some slight hesitation, he enters Blue’s room to find his older brother sitting on his bed, reading a book. The older skeleton glances at him as he enters, his teeth turning into a beaming smile seeing it’s him. Blue immediately puts a bookmark inside the book to save his place then sets it off to the side. It comforts Stretch to see his brother so excited to see him. 

“PAPY! WHAT’S UP?” Blue asks, using the nickname he’s used for Stretch since he was very tiny.  

“just wanted to come talk and hangout.” He tries, “feel like i haven’t seen you in forever.”

“THAT’S BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN AVOIDING ME.” Blue points out, tilting his head. Stretch flushes and rubs the back of his neck. That’s exactly the reason why he hasn’t seen Blue but he’d kind of hoped his brother wasn’t going to just blurt that out. No such luck apparently. 

“yeah…sorry.” He mumbles. Blue waves a hand dismissively. 

“IT’S OKAY PAPY. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE ALRIGHT. YOU ARE MY BROTHER AFTER ALL.” He chuckles and pats his bed, inviting Stretch to sit.

Not waiting for another prompt, Stretch moves and sits on the bed with his older brother. He picks at his phalanges a bit still feeling nervous but marches forward with what he needs. 

“hey sans?” He starts, his brother’s eye lights never once leaving him, “when mom and ma died, were you scared?”

Blue blinks, “YES, OF COURSE. MY MOTHERS JUST DIED. I WAS ELEVEN AND I WAS AT A LOSS ON WHAT TO DO.”

“why’d you keep me?”

Now his brow furrows, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

“i mean, what made you keep me? you could’ve given me to some adult to care for but you didn’t. why?”

“...YOU’RE MY BROTHER. MY LITTLE BROTHER.” He answers softly, “I LOVE YOU.”

“but it’s not as if you couldn’t still see me.” Stretch reminds Blue, “you coulda come and seen me every day but then had a childhood of your own.”

He shakes his head, “IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THE SAME. I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YOUR FIRST WORDS, I WOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN TO SEE YOU WALK OR BEEN THERE WHEN YOU FELL.” Blue answers, his smile familiar and comforting, “IT’S NOT THAT YOU NEEDED ME PAPY. I NEEDED YOU. PAPYRUS, YOU WERE THE ONLY FAMILY I HAD LEFT AND I WAS GOING TO MAKE SURE WE STAYED TOGETHER. THEY’D WOULD’VE HAD TO TAKE YOU FROM MY DUST TO REMOVE YOU FROM MY CARE.”

His sockets widened hearing this, “sans…”

“ARE YOU WORRIED I REGRET RAISING YOU, PAPY?” He asks, looking worried. Stretch shakes his head fervently. 

“no! i know you would never regret it. i was just wondering…was it an easy decision for you? to keep me?”

“NO, OF COURSE NOT. I THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT IT.” He admits, “I HAD OTHER MONSTER’S OF COURSE, COMING TO SAY THEY COULD TAKE YOU BUT I TURNED THEM DOWN EACH TIME. AFTER A WHILE I REALIZED I KEPT TURNING THEM DOWN BECAUSE I WANTED TO KEEP YOU. I WANTED TO TRY MY BEST TO KEEP US TOGETHER.” He chuckles, “YOU HELPED A BIT WITH THAT THOUGH.”

“how?” he asks, surprised. He’s never heard this before.

“I HAD BEEN UP ALL NIGHT WITH YOU, THEN DROPPED YOU OFF TO A SITTER BEFORE RUSHING OFF TO SCHOOL ON NO SLEEP. I WAS EXHAUSTED, OVERWHELMED AND SCARED. I BARELY KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING AND I WAS FEELING LIKE I WAS MESSING UP TO THE POINT WHERE I DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO GO HOME BUT KNEW I HAD TO. AS I WAS HEADING HOME, I STOPPED BY TO PICK YOU UP FROM THE MONSTER WHO WOULD WATCH YOU FOR FREE FOR ME. I WALKED INTO HER HOME AND SHE TOLD ME YOU’D BEEN FUSSY AND WAILING ALL DAY. SHE WASN’T WRONG.” Blue sighs as he smiles fondly, “I COULD HEAR YOUR CRIES ALL THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE AND I JUST REMEMBER WANTING TO CRY MYSELF THINKING YOU WERE GOING TO SCREAM FOR ANOTHER NIGHT STRAIGHT BUT THEN,” Stretch watches as his brother’s eye lights twinkle with a sort of affection that warms his soul, “SHE PUT YOU IN MY ARMS AND YOU SILENCED IMMEDIATELY. YOU LOOKED UP AT ME WITH THESE BIG TEARY SOCKETS AND HICCUPED ONCE BEFORE SETTLING COMPLETELY.”

“i did?” 

Blue nods again, “YUP AND IT’S THEN THAT I REALIZED, YOU WERE ONLY WAILING AT NIGHT BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE ALONE. I’D BEEN PUTTING YOU IN YOUR OWN ROOM AT NIGHT. IT WAS THE MOST EXCITING REVELATION AS I THANKED THE MONSTER THEN HURRIED HOME WITH YOU. I SPENT THE NEXT LITTLE WHILE MOVING YOUR CRIB INTO MY BEDROOM AND THAT NIGHT, YOU WERE SILENT.”

“how did this help you?”

“BECAUSE I REALIZED THAT I CAN DO THIS. IT WOULD JUST TAKE TIME AND I’D LEARN EVENTUALLY. I ALSO REALIZED IN THAT MOMENT THAT I LOVED KNOWING YOU WERE ALWAYS WAITING FOR ME TO GET HOME AND THAT I WASN’T ALONE. YOU WOULD ALWAYS BE THERE PAPY.” He explains, “SO, I WAS THE ONE WHO NEEDED YOU.” Blue then begins digging into his jeans pocket and pulls out something that has Stretch gaping as he reaches out to take it. 

“was this mine?” Stretch breathes, holding the pacifier in his palm. 

“YES. I KEEP IT WITH ME ALWAYS. IT BRINGS ME LUCK.”

“how’d you get to keep this? was it on you when we got dragged here?”

“YES! I DID SAY I KEPT IT WITH ME ALWAYS.” He gives Stretch a little smirk, taking the pacifier back from him and pocketing it, “YOU’RE SOMETHING I’D NEVER EVER REGRET PAPY. YOU’VE BROUGHT ME NOTHING BUT JOY.” 

“i…sans…” He stumbles, unsure what to say. Never in a million years did he expect this kind of answer from his brother, “i’m glad it was you.” He finally whispers, “i’m glad you were my big brother.”

Blue beams, “ME TOO!” He reaches out to pet Stretch’s skull, the taller brother leaning into it happily, “WHY DO YOU ASK? IS SOMETHING BOTHERING YOU PAPY?”

“no,” he lies, feeling like absolute trash for doing so, “i just got curious is all. although, now i’m wondering if you were given a baby again today would it be an easy decision to keep them?”

“OF COURSE NOT!” He answers immediately, “A BABY IS A HUGE RESPONSIBILITY. YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR IT!”

“would you be scared?” 

“I DON’T KNOW WHO WOULDN’T BE.” Blue answers with another chuckle, “YOU’D HAVE TO BE A LITTLE LOOSE UP HERE,” he taps his skull, “TO NOT BE NERVOUS ABOUT BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR A LITTLE ONE BUT,” he adds, his hand lowering, “I DO KNOW IT’S VERY REWARDING, SO THAT’S A POSITIVE.”

Stretch relaxes hearing that. Even if that doesn’t make his mind up for him, or answer all of his questions, it still helps him feel the tiniest bit better knowing he’s not alone or wrong for feeling as conflicted as he does. 

“thanks sans.” He gives his older brother a smile, “sorry if this was weird.”

“NOT WEIRD!” He reassures, “I’M A BIT CURIOUS AS TO WHY BUT I FIGURE YOU’LL TELL ME IN TIME. YOU ALWAYS DO.” 

“guess you’d know that from raising me huh?” Stretch jokes, making Blue snort. 

“YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN A BROTHER’S BOY, PAPY.”

“what’s that?” He asks, feeling laughter rising in his chest. Blue winks, 

“IT’S LIKE A MAMA’S BOY EXCEPT I’M NOT YOUR MAMA, SO YOU’RE A BROTHER’S BOY.”

Stretch bursts into laughter with Blue joining in not even a second later. It feels like it’s been so long since he’d been able to laugh with his older brother like this and it’s euphoric in feeling his chest suddenly becoming light, the anxiety floating away. Blue always had a way of comforting him and making him feel like it’ll all be okay. 

Still smiling even as the laughter dies, Stretch moves so he can lay his head in his brother’s lap while Blue pats his skull. 

“sorry i’ve been avoiding you.” He apologizes, knowing he needed to do so. It wasn’t right that he’d been staying away from Blue the way he had, his fear having taken over. 

“IT’S ALRIGHT.” Blue reassures and keeps patting his skull, “I’M PRETTY SURE I KNOW WHY.”

Well, there’s that sick feeling returning to his stomach like a lead weight dropping inside him without warning. Blue knows? He figured it out? How?!

“you do?” Stretch inquires, starting to feel like he’s gonna throw up. 

“WELL, AN INKLING BUT I’M NOT MAD OR UPSET NOR DO I THINK IT’S WEIRD.” 

Wait, what’s he talking about? Puzzled, Stretch moves his head to look at Blue more clearly, seeing his brother watching him intently. 

“...what are you talking about?”

“WELL JUST…I DON’T WANT YOU TO FEEL EMBARRASSED THAT’S ALL PAPY.” He starts, “I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU HID IT, THINKING WE MIGHT THINK YOU’RE WEIRD OR IT’S WRONG BUT I DON’T.”

“sans, seriously what are you talking about?”

“JUST…YOU’RE DATING MONEY, AREN’T YOU?”

He freezes, his sockets widening. Were they that obvious? He starts to panic which Blue can easily see so he starts talking quickly. 

“VI DOESN’T KNOW! HE HASN’T FIGURED IT OUT AND NEITHER HAS ANYONE ELSE TO MY KNOWLEDGE.” He reassures, allowing Stretch to relax more. 

“how’d you figure it out?” 

“I…EAVESDROPPED.” He admits, looking sheepish, “I’D GONE TO TRY TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN HOPING YOU’D TELL ME WHAT WAS WRONG, WHAT YOU WERE HIDING BUT MONEY WAS ALREADY IN YOUR ROOM. I HEARD YOU BOTH LAUGHING AND I FIGURED I SHOULDN’T INTERRUPT BUT AS I WAS LEAVING, I HEARD MONEY SAY HE LOVED YOU. IT MADE ME FREEZE AND THEN I HEARD YOU SAY IT BACK.” Blue explains, “IT DIDN’T SOUND HOW A FRIEND SAYS IT TO A FRIEND SO I…ASSUMED.”

“i…” Stretch fumbles. What does he say? 

“TO BE HONEST, I’M A BIT SURPRISED IT TOOK YOU TWO THIS LONG.” 

Stretch sputters in shock, “w-what? whaddya mean this long?”

Blue smirks, “IT WAS SUPER OBVIOUS YOU TWO LIKED ONE ANOTHER AS MORE THAN FRIENDS JUST AS IT’S OBVIOUS WOLF LIKES COFFEE AS MORE THAN A FRIEND.” Wait, what? “BUT WE LEAVE IT ALONE BECAUSE YOU’RE ADULTS AND YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES.”

He can’t believe everyone just knows this and accepts it. A weird sort of weight leaves his shoulders knowing the others don’t particularly care or if they do they’re keeping it to themselves. There was always some part of him that felt almost ashamed of his relationship with Money and it only added to his anxiety alongside the baby. Although, he’s not ready to tell his brother about that just yet. Right now he just needs to make sure of one thing. 

“well…just…can you still keep it a secret?” He tries, hopefully, “we’re not ready to tell everyone and you’re not allowed to meddle.” Stretch points at his brother sternly or as sternly as he can. 

“I CAN’T PROMISE NOT TO MEDDLE. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TALKING TO?”

“sans!” Stretch whines as his older brother cackles gleefully in his evil little way. 

“I’M BEING HONEST, PAPY! HOWEVER, I CAN PROMISE YOU I WON’T TELL ANYONE, NOT EVEN VI ALTHOUGH HE IS EXTREMELY WORRIED ABOUT MONEY.”

“yeah, i know.” He admits, feeling guilty. 

“IT’S ALRIGHT PAPY. VI WILL BE OKAY, IT’S JUST IN HIS NATURE TO WORRY LIKE IT IS IN MINE.”

“it’s a sans thing!” He chimes out, imitating his brother and earning an unimpressed look from Blue. Stretch snickers and smiles actually feeling comforted by this talk with his brother, “thanks for talking to me sans.”

“I AM ALWAYS HERE FOR YOU AND FOR MONEY AS WELL.” He nods, “AND IF SOMETHING IS STILL BOTHERING YOU PAPY, YOU CAN TELL ME. I WANT TO HELP.”

“i know, sans.” He nods, but once again feels sick that he just can’t tell his brother even though a large part of him wants to. Instead, he just reaches up to poke Blue’s forehead, “love you.”

Blue swats his hand away, “I LOVE YOU TOO.”

Well, that went better than he thought. Never in a million years did Stretch think that would go as well as it did and it allows him to go through the rest of the day in a pleasant sort of bliss that he hasn’t felt since he’d learned he was pregnant. That anxiety is of course still there but his talk with Blue did help. It did make thinking about it easier and it did help him realize one thing. 

He doesn’t want to get rid of the baby. 

While he’s not sure if he wants to keep them completely after they’re born, he wants to see this pregnancy through. This little souling inside him deserves a chance just like the chance he’d been given by his own mother who died to give birth to him. If he couldn’t be as brave as she was then he’d bring shame to her sacrifice. Not only that but hearing that Blue had also been scared and unsure brought more comfort than his older brother could ever know. Sure, Dr. B said the same thing but having it come from Blue hit on a level no one else could.

He doesn’t tell Money this right away. Stretch makes sure to take the night to truly think about it but by the next morning he was on his way to tell his boyfriend the choice he’s decided on. 

Going to his mate’s room, he doesn’t bother knocking and just walks inside to find Money at his computer, typing away. He’s most likely working on his next book. Stretch knew he had a deadline coming up which shows in his face when Money spins in his chair the dark circles under his sockets indicating that he’s been up all night. However, he still has a laid back smile for Stretch the second he sees it’s him. 

“hey there sweetheart. what’s up?”

Moment of truth. Stretch takes a deep breath. 

“i’m…gonna give birth to the baby. i wanna see it through, i don’t wanna terminate.”

Money blinks then stands up. He walks over and pulls Stretch into a hug who instantly returns it, probably almost crushing the other skeleton. 

“we’re havin’ a baby then.” Money whispers. 

“yeah…we are.” Stretch replies, “but…i don’t know if i wanna keep them like…be their dad.”

“that’s fine.” Money chuckles, pulling back, “you got time to figure that out. guess talking to blue helped, huh?”

“wha-how’d you know i talked to blue?” 

“i am all knowing!” Money wiggles his fingers at Stretch who deadpans making him snicker, “nah, saw ya leave his room. figured you went to talk to him and got some answers you needed.”

“i did yeah…he uh…also knows we’re dating.” Stretch admits, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“would be surprised if he didn’t.” Money replies sounding unbothered, “he’d be a shit cop otherwise. how’d he react?”

“he didn’t really care, he said that he was more surprised it took us this long.” He rubs the back of his beck again, “but…i did ask him to keep it secret for a little while longer. he said he would and that vi didn’t know.”

“vi probably has a hunch but i think he’s more concerned that i might once again like the way cocaine smells.”

“sorry…” He mumbles, feeling guilty. Money taps his chin. 

“no need for sorry, besides we’re gonna have to tell them eventually since we can’t exactly surprise them when you go into labour.”

He’s got a point. 

“we got time for that.” Stretch murmurs, “i just wanna breathe for a bit. i still feel…really overwhelmed and overloaded.”

“understandable.” Money nods, “take your time, love. i’ll be here.”

“i know you will.” Stretch smiles, moving in to steal another hug which Money is happy to give. 

He doesn’t know what’s going to happen. Things could go crazy from here or take a twist turn he doesn’t expect and while he’s still not entirely sure if he wants to raise this baby himself, he is comforted to know that whatever decision he makes, Money will be by his side. 

Always. 

 

Chapter 10: Take Me Away

Summary:

Stretch wants to get out of the house and Money's world comes crashing down around him.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW IF YOU’RE KEEPING THEM?” 

Money rolls his eye light for what must be the millionth time. Wine's insistence on not understanding why Stretch was going to give birth to the baby but was unsure if he’d be their father was annoying him. He doesn’t even know why they had to tell Wine and Papyrus in the first place. It was Stretch’s idea but he didn’t really see a need to have them know about this. Sure, they knew Stretch was pregnant but that doesn’t mean they need to be privy to every decision they make. He guesses his boyfriend wanted to keep them in the loop since they were in the know of his pregnancy. 

“it means i don’t wanna stop the pregnancy but i dunno if we’re gonna give them up for adoption or not.” Stretch calmly answers. 

Money had to give Stretch credit, he’s been pretty collected as he tells the other two monsters of their decision. They were currently outside in the backyard as Papyrus tended to the vegetable garden a few of the skeletons cared for. It was a lovely warm sunny day outside and even Money had to admit, it’s kind of nicer being outside than being in his bedroom right now. That thing seriously needs a clean and he begins to wonder when Vi is going to do his monthly clean of it. He should be doing it pretty soon. 

“I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND.”

Wine’s disbelieving tone draws him back to the conversation at hand as the shorter monster continues to look so confused. He’s had enough of this. 

“what don’t ya get?” He asks, barely withholding a snarl. He’s done accommodating Wine.

“WHY WOULDN’T YOU WANT YOUR BABY?” His eye light didn’t even look Money’s way and continued to remain trained solely on Stretch. 

“reasons.” Stretch murmurs, shifting awkwardly. 

“NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO BE A PARENT, WINE.” Papyrus pipes up, standing and clapping his hands together to get rid of what dirt he can, “PERHAPS MONEY AND STRETCH ARE SIMPLY NOT READY?”

“THEY’RE FIVE HUNDRED PAPYRUS, HOW MUCH LONGER WILL THEY NEED?” Wine points out, “AND FOR SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T KNOW THEIR MOTHERS, ARE YOU TRULY ALRIGHT LETTING THIS LITTLE ONE SIT AND WONDER AS YOU DID WHAT YOU’RE LIKE? IT WILL BE VERY OBVIOUS THAT THEIR PARENTS ARE NOT THEIR BIOLOGICAL ONES. THERE ARE VERY FEW OF US LEFT, GENTLEMEN.”

Stretch looks away. He’s beginning to feel pressured and Money isn’t appreciating Wine doing that to him. He’s trying his best to be okay and all Wine is doing is making him doubt. Stretch doesn’t need that right now, he needs support. 

“you’re not helping.” Money growls, Wine’s gaze snapping to him. 

“I’M MERELY POINTING OUT FACTS, MONEY. HAVE YOU EVEN TOLD BLUE AND VI? WHAT IF THEY WANT TO HELP? WHAT IF THEY’RE WILLING TO TAKE THE BABY IF YOU DON’T WISH TO CARE FOR THEM? WHAT THEN?”

“no.” Stretch jumps in, still not looking at anyone, “blue already had to raise one baby that wasn’t his. i’m not giving him another.”

“THAT DOESN’T MEAN HE WON’T WANT TO, STRETCH.” Wine tries again, “AND KNOWING YOUR BROTHER,” Money can tell that’s being directed at him, “HE’LL BE FURIOUS IF YOU GIVE THAT BABY AWAY WITHOUT GIVING HIM A CHANCE TO HELP.”

“ya don’t know shit about vi.” Money snaps, completely done with Wine’s attitude, “you don’t know what he wants, you’re just assuming.”

“SO, VI HAS NO WISH TO BE A FATHER? NONE AT ALL? IT’S NOT HIS BIGGEST DREAM?” Wine counters immediately causing Money to falter slightly because yes, that is his older brother’s dream but this isn’t the same. 

“he wants to be a father to his own kids, not his little brother’s.” Money argues back, “just drop it wine, why do you even care? this ain’t your baby, this ain’t even your niece or nephew.”

“JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT BLOOD-RELATED TO ME DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T CARE, MONEY.” Wine replies actually sounding fierce, “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS AFFECTS ME THE WAY IT DOES AND I WOULD NEVER EXPECT YOU TO.”

“why? is it cause you gotta control every teeny tiny little aspect of our lives or else yours is meaningless?” He barks back, knowing that he’s being a little unfair but doesn’t care. He’s just angry that Stretch is probably feeling like garbage now. 

“CAREFUL.” Wine’s tone gets low, a warning growl rumbling in his throat. 

“no, why should i be? you’re being a total asshole! it’s our baby, our choice and you’re acting like we’re ruining our lives.”

“THAT IS NOT WHAT I’M DOING. I JUST DO NOT WISH YOU TO REGRET YOUR CHOICE.”

“and that’s our choice to make!” Money points out, “why’re you even tryin’ to protect us so much? you-”

“BECAUSE YOU’RE PAPYRUS!” He snaps, finally looking frustrated. Money blinks in astonishment and even Stretch is back to looking at Wine in surprise, “YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT A SANS BUT WE OLDER BROTHERS WORRY ABOUT ALL OF YOU. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU’RE OUR LITTLE BROTHER OR NOT. YOU SHARE SIMILAR FACES AND WE CAN’T HELP BUT WORRY. WHEN I LOOK AT YOU, I SEE COFFEE AND MY SOUL CONSTRICTS IN FEAR FOR YOU! I AM MERELY TRYING TO HELP BECAUSE I DON’T WANT YOU TO BE SOUL BROKEN LATER WHEN YOU REALIZE YOU TRULY WANTED THAT BABY.”

Everyone goes silent as Wine pants from his outburst. They’re all just staring right at the shorter skeleton who after a couple of seconds huffs and storms off back into the house. It’s incredibly rare that Wine gets emotional like that or has an outburst of anger. Normally you have to push his buttons for quite a while to get him to react like that. Money barely had to prod and it’s left him dumbfounded that he managed to get that powerful of a reaction from the normally stoic skeleton. 

“did that just happen?” Stretch asks in bewilderment looking towards the house where Wine ran off to. 

“APPARENTLY.” Papyrus murmurs, “I DIDN’T REALIZE WINE FELT THAT WAY. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT MONEY BUT-” Money gives Papyrus a disgusted look earning him the stern eye from the cheerful skeleton, “DON’T ANTAGONIZE HIM. TRY TO EMPATHIZE, OKAY?”

Money clicks his tongue loudly. The last thing he wants to do is have another conversation with Wine about something that’s once again none of his business. However, he knows if he doesn’t that Papyrus will never leave him alone about it. His counterpart is incredibly clever and will find a way to force them into a room to talk. That’s the last thing Money wants to risk since that’s a nightmare in a handbasket right there. So, he sighs feeling slightly exasperated and tosses his hands up in defeat. 

“fine.” 

Papyrus nods, “GOOD.” His attention shifts to Stretch, “ARE YOU OKAY, STRETCH?”

“i’m alright.” He replies but he’s quieter than usual. Money picks up on that subtle change instantly. He’s been Stretch’s best friend for years, he knows his cues and him getting quiet like that means he’s feeling stressed. Rightfully so though, Wine did just go to town on him. 

“IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO ASK AND FOR THE RECORD,” Papyrus walks closer and pats Stretch on the shoulder, “I THINK YOU’D BE A GREAT DAD.” 

Stretch gives Papyrus a shaky smile and a nod. If Money had to hazard a guess, he’d assume that Stretch was attempting to withhold a wince. He’s not having a good time right now and he thinks that perhaps it’s time to remove his boyfriend from this equation. 

“i will paps,” Stretch replies still sounding quiet. 

“yeah, we’ll let ya know paps.” He jumps in then seeing his opening, “we gotta get goin’ though. thanks for listening papyrus, we’ll catch ya later?”

“OF COURSE! I’LL BE HERE!” He gives the both of them a beaming smile that follows them all the way into the house.

The moment they’re alone, just the two of them inside by the backdoor, they each let out a breath they’d evidently been holding. Money’s gaze moves to Stretch to find him looking so downtrodden it made his soul ache. He’s staring at the floor, his hands sitting loosely in his front hoodie pocket with not a smile to be found on his face, his sockets turned down in sorrow. Unable to stand him looking like that, Money gently lets his hand first travel along Stretch’s back until he’s able to draw his boyfriend in close to him. Stretch doesn’t fight it at all and just lets his head rest against Money’s shoulder, drawing all the comfort he can from him. 

“it’ll be okay.” Money reassures, “we’ll be okay.”

“i know…i just hate this decision we have to make.” He mumbles against Money’s shoulder, sounding miserable. He rubs Stretch’s back, hoping he’s able to bring some comfort to his mate. 

“what can i do to help, sweetheart?” He asks softly, nuzzling his cheek into his boyfriend’s. Stretch sighs. 

“i just…don’t want to be home. can you just…take me somewhere. anywhere? as long as it’s not here, it’s fine.”

“you got it.”

He can do this, especially now that he’s started taking those pills. Dr. B hadn’t been wrong, they do make him especially horny and each night Stretch crawls into his bed he rocks his boyfriend’s world, not quite able to hold back. His mate doesn’t seem to mind though since he’s initiating half the encounters and has only been encouraging Money for more. They’re both in the same boat now after all. 

Continuing to hold onto Stretch, Money shortcuts them into town easily, thankful they already had their shoes on. He makes sure to land them in an alleyway away from everyone and once back on solid ground, he releases his boyfriend who looks around to see that he’s brought them downtown. Stretch blinks then sighs, his shoulders growing slack as the tension leaves them. 

“thanks, i already feel better.”

Money smiles, “good, now c’mon, there’s an ice cream place nearby. i’ll buy ya a heap of it.”

Stretch lights up, his eye lights twinkling at the prospect of a sweet treat, “really?”

“yeah, i love buying you stuff.” He admits, reaching out to grab Stretch’s hand. His boyfriend is quick to take it and lace his fingers with his. 

“huh, you didn’t lie just then, you’re serious.” Stretch chuckles, already smiling and filling Money’s non-existent belly with butterflies.

“course. you’re my boyfriend and i love spoiling you. you’re probably the only person i love spoiling.”

Stretch comes closer, letting his arm bump against Money’s affectionately as a light blush creeps up onto his cheeks. The orange hue has Money smirking and leaning over to nuzzle his teeth against his mate’s cheek. Stretch full-on giggles at that and turns to actually kiss Money properly. He hums happily, the two stopping so he can make sure to give the best kiss possible and even jokingly dips Stretch at one point, earning more giggles from the freckled skeleton.

Pulling him back into a standing position Stretch is more orange than ever but looks happy. This is what Money had been aiming for. He’s been trying his best ever since they found out about the baby to get Stretch smiling. It’s his goal every single day even if he’s tired or not feeling up to joking. He’ll pull himself together and make sure to give Stretch a good day. Whether Stretch realizes this or not isn’t the point, it’s making sure that he has as anxiety-free pregnancy as he can, especially with the problems with his soul. 

Trying not to think too much about that as it never fails to make Money anxious, he kisses Stretch’s cheek again and takes his hand once more to begin the leisurely walk towards the ice cream parlour. Along the way they chat about simple things and eventually end up on the topic of the new machine Stretch has been tinkering with. He completely lights up as he talks about it which Money can’t help but think is precious as they wait in line to get some ice cream. When it gets to their turn, Stretch doesn’t even stop to order, so Money ends up doing it, making sure to get exactly what his boyfriend always gets which is a big helping of vanilla ice cream coated in as much honey as they’ll give him. He hands the large ice cream cup to Stretch who’s still going and waits for his own. Once it’s handed to him and he’s paid for the treat, he walks out of the shop with his boyfriend just so happy to see Stretch so animated. 

“and with a little luck, it should be able to do that!” He excitedly chirps, eating his ice cream as they walk down the street. They’ve been strolling aimlessly for a while now, just eating and chatting which Money has zero issues with. Stretch has probably needed this for a while, “i just need to get a few more parts for it. maybe i’ll grab those while we’re out. what fruit flavour did you get this time?” 

Money snorts at the sudden question of what flavour ice cream he got this time. He’s not surprised Stretch noticed that he’s always getting some kind of fruit-flavoured ice cream. They are his favourites. It was just funny how animated he is right now. It’s been a while since he’s seen him that way. 

“passionfruit mango.” He answers with a grin. Stretch hums in a way that shows his obvious interest. 

“can i try?” 

“yeah sure.” Money agrees, scooping up a bit and offering the mouthful to his boyfriend who’s quick to take the bite with enthusiasm. 

He watches as Stretch rolls it around on his tongue before swallowing, “that’s…actually really nice. i’ll have to try it next time.”

Money glances at the bowl in Stretch’s hands, noticing he’s already finished that giant serving of ice cream he’d gotten him. His smile softening, he holds the bowl in his own hand out to Stretch still half full. 

“here, try it now.”

Stretch blinks and glances at it, “no, that’s yours. it’s fine, really!”

“nah, it’s alright. i got too much, i’m not really hungry.”

He doesn’t know why he lied. Stretch picks it up instantly whose brow furrows and forces them to stop. 

“yeah you are, why’re you lying to me?”

The truth is that he’s starving. Money’s finding it hard to get the food his body is demanding of him in a day without someone noticing. He was never a huge eater before this and has taken to hiding non-perishable foods in his room like a little criminal but even that sometimes wasn’t enough. At times the hunger felt endless and he realized this was how Stretch has been feeling this whole time except when he’d eat, he’d throw it up half the time. Still, he shouldn’t have lied. He just wanted Stretch to feel a little more full is all and enjoy the treat. He rubs the back of his neck. 

“i…kinda forgot you can detect lies too like a doof. my bad.”

“but why lie? why not just eat the ice cream? why do you want me to have it?”

“because i figured you’re hungry and you’re carrying the baby so, i want you to have it.”

Stretch stares at him for a long time, the two of them standing awkwardly on the sidewalk as he does. Money is unsure what he’s doing or what he’s looking for but he must eventually find it since he murmurs. 

“you still feel guilty, don’t you?”

He hesitates which he shouldn’t have. It was extremely obvious and Stretch once again picked it up, his brows furrowing even further. 

“money, you don’t have to feel guilty, this isn’t your fault. it was never your fault, it was never my fault. it wasn’t anyone’s fault. you don’t have to go without just so i can feel better. ‘m a big boy, i can handle myself.”

“sorry sweetheart, that’s not what i meant to do i just…i just wanna make it easier for you. i wanna be supportive.” He tries to explain, “i’d carry the baby if i could but i can’t. all i can do is hold your hand and it feels like it’s not enough.”

“it is enough.” Stretch reaches out to grab his hand, holding it tightly, “like i said after our last appointment with dr. b, we’re a team. we’re in this together.” 

He finds himself smirking again, “yeah we are.” He repeats his answer from the last time Stretch said this. 

“good. now, finish your damned ice cream before it melts.” He huffs giving a stern look or what he probably meant to be a stern look. All it does is get Money cackling, his love for this skeleton swelling in his soul. 

“you’re amazing, you know that?”

Stretch shrugs, “i have my moments.” Once again his cheekbones have lit up a brilliant tangerine but he seems so happy that it has Money melting, “c’mon, i need to find a trash can for my cup.”

“let’s do it.”

Starting to walk again they do indeed end up finding a trash can for Stretch to dump his garbage but ultimately have to look for another one sometime later once Money had also finished his ice cream. When they finally find another it ends up being in front of an interesting shop that has Money’s eye light flickering over it with interest. When Stretch notices this, he also takes a look at the baby store. It was a small place but through the large display window, they could see clothing, cribs, changing tables and all kinds of things you’d need for a little one.

“did you wanna go in?” Stretch asks quietly. Money blinks and for some reason finds himself nodding. 

“yeah, kinda. think maybe it’ll help?”

Stretch nods and takes Money’s hand again, the two of them hesitantly striding into the store, the scent of baby powder hitting them instantly. There probably wasn’t even any spilt anywhere in the store, their sense of smell was just that powerful. It was picking up the baby powder in the bottles on the shelves near the door. 

Meandering a little further inside, Money instantly feels lost. There’s…a lot here. He didn’t realize babies needed this much stuff. Do they need this much stuff?

“Hi, there!” 

He startles at the cheery voice, glancing over to find a salesperson giving him a big customer service smile. 

“Are you here buying for a shower or for yourselves?”

“we’re just looking.” He explains, “we’re-”

“expecting.” Stretch finishes his sentence for him, surprising him, “it’s early days, we just wanted to look and see what we’d need.”

“That’s very smart!” They commend, looking impressed, “Well, don’t worry too much about the clothes because you’re going to get a lot during the baby shower, trust me!” They chuckle, “What I would suggest looking at are the modified bottles for monster infants. They come with a lot of tops that can fit most monster babies with differing mouths. I would also wholeheartedly recommend checking out the magical output monitors, those are fabulous!” They’re getting pretty enthused as they talk, “As you’re aware and as humans are learning, monster babies frequently have fluctuating magic as their body becomes accustomed to it! These little monitors can check how your baby is doing, and make sure everything is okay before they end up with a fever! It’s a must-have!”

“thanks.” Stretch nods, “we’ll take a look.”

“Excellent! Just let me know if you need anything!” They cheer before leaving the two of them to shop. Money gives Stretch a look of disbelief but his mate is already beginning to explain. 

“i just…didn’t wanna have to explain that we weren’t sure if we were keeping the baby yet or not.” He mumbles, fiddling with his hoodie strings. Ah, now it all makes sense. Money can certainly understand that as it’s no one’s business but theirs. 

“no worries sweetheart. c’mon, let’s go look around. i’m actually curious about these magical output monitors.”

“to be honest, so am i. who knew those were a thing?” He chuckles, the two of them walking farther into the store finally starting to feel less awkward. 

They browse a bunch of different items including the things the shop employee suggested. There really were monitors to check your baby’s magical outflow and they were pretty cool. You didn’t even need to attach anything to the baby or touch them in any way, you simply placed the monitor near where the baby was if you were concerned and it’ll give you a reading. The dang thing even told you what was a good reading and what was a bad reading. It was pretty neat. Stretch was endlessly fascinated with it and continued to speculate about what the internal mechanisms for it were. He even claimed he could probably recreate it himself and for cheaper than what the price was at this store. For some reason, that had Money’s soul thumping. It was a weird sensation almost as if he was thrilled by the prospect of Stretch maybe wanting to keep the baby. That him talking like this about making his own magical outflow monitor filled him with some sort of hope. 

Sadly, it’s dashed pretty quickly when Stretch mentions that this is all just him geeking out. That he actually has no intentions to make one. Money can feel his soul drop hearing that and he’s stunned by how disappointed this is making him. When did he start truly caring about these things? 

Confused over his own feelings on the matter, Money excuses himself to go wander about while Stretch continues to check out the electronic devices the store had meant for infants. He always wanted to know how machines worked, particularly if he had no idea how they functioned. It was a cute quality that Money loved and normally, he’d sit for hours to listen to Stretch geek out about robots or machines but today, he’s feeling oddly weird about it. He doesn’t know why he is. 

Leaving Stretch, he walks through the racks of clothing and eventually comes upon the onesies. It’s here he stops. He knows the salesperson told them that there’s no point in buying or looking at clothes until the baby shower since apparently, people like to buy clothing as a gift, he still wants to look if only for something to do. So, he begins looking at each onesie, seeing that the size on them was three to six months. Maybe he should be looking at the younger, who knows? Right now, he supposes it doesn’t matter since they don’t even know if they’re keeping the baby. 

Barely paying attention to what he’s actually looking at, Money tries his best not to think about these feelings he’s having. On feeling excited that Stretch wants to go through with the pregnancy but his feelings of disappointment that his boyfriend is unsure if he wants to be the little one’s father. Does he even want to be the baby’s father? Why is this such a hard question for him to answer? He’s usually not so indecisive but he knows the reason why and just doesn’t want to admit it. He’s too afraid of upsetting Stretch with what he wants so he’s keeping his mouth shut despite the fact that doing so is hurting him a little inside. 

Suddenly, something catches his eye as he absentmindedly flips through the clothing. Stopping, he blinks and looks down at what he’s found. It’s a purple and orange striped onesie with the lettering “sweet as honey” on it in cursive letters along with a little honey bee. Taking it off the rack, he thumbs the fabric and takes in just how tiny this article of clothing is but that someday the person wearing it could be just as big as him. They’d grow, learn and become their own person. There would be hard times and good times. Perhaps they’ll scrape their patella or have their metaphorical heartbroken but they’d always know they’d have their parents to turn to when that happened. Parents who loved them and supported them through it all. It's what parents are for right? 

Without warning, Money notices a teardrop landing on the onesie and with a start realizes he’s started crying. Panicked at the rising emotion inside him, he grips onto the onesie tightly and hurries to find a secluded spot in the store he can hide. Luckily, there are very few people in here so he’s able to duck behind some of the cribs to sit down. It’s here he breaks still holding onto that stupid onesie. 

Tears roll down his cheeks as he does his best to be quiet. The last thing he needs is for Stretch to find him like this. He knows this is partly because of the pills since weepiness is one of the side effects but it’s also knowing deep within his soul that he wants this baby. That this little being is a piece of him and Stretch that he wants to watch grow, learn, and love. He wants to be there for their birth, to see their sockets open and watch as they grasp his finger so tightly. He wants to watch them take their first steps and hear their first words. He wants to scare away the bad spirits from under their bed at night, to comfort them when they have a nightmare and to always be there when they need him. He can’t watch another person raise his baby nor can he just simply give them up. 

He wants to be their father. 

Sniffling miserably, Money places his face into his arms as they’re propped up on his knees. His emotions feel like a whirlwind and he's never felt like this before. It definitely is being amped up by the pills but he also knows that he truly is scared. He worries Stretch won't want this baby and he'll be left alone caring for them even if it's what he wants. He's terrified that wanting to keep this babybones will cause Stretch to dump him. Money doesn't want to lose him, not after they just found each other but he doesn't want to lose their baby either.

Trying to muffle himself, he continues to have a full-on cry right there in the store. He doesn’t even care if some random patron sees him like this. It only matters if Stretch does and he’d smell his boyfriend before he appeared. Thankfully, he never does and Money’s able to cry out his emotions all caused by this one little onesie. This perfect little piece of clothing completely encapsulated what their babybones was and would be. It takes him a while but eventually he cries it all out, the tears drying up and leaving a hollow feeling inside as he feels he's fucked regardless of what decision is made. He's never felt so trapped. 

Sniffing again, he first wipes his sockets of any lingering tears, making sure to rub his cheeks down of any magical trail left by his magic and wiped his nose on his sleeve then stands up. He can’t stay here crying all day even though he wants to. Stretch will eventually come looking for him and he can’t let him see him this way. Giving another sniff, he starts moving, that onesie still in his hand. He walks right up to the cash where the salesperson from before is. They greet him with that big smile and he places the onesie on the counter. 

“i know you said clothes are pointless but…” He trails off, knowing he sounds unsure of himself. To their credit, the salesperson just hums and their customer service smile suddenly turns soft as well as genuine. 

“If this item speaks to you, then it speaks to you. Something is telling you to buy it for your baby and I say follow that instinct. Maybe you’ve just found their first outfit.” They explain, “When you bring your baby home, you dress them in an outfit of your choosing. You bring it with you to the hospital, maybe this onesie is it.” 

He nods, liking how that sounds, “yeah, it is.”

“Would you like me to bag it so your partner can’t see?” They ask gently. He nods again, 

“yeah, that’d be nice.”

They begin enthusiastically ringing him through, making sure to bag it up in a way that Stretch wouldn’t be able to tell what was inside. He felt like he was in a daze as they chatted with him until they held the bag out to him. Startled, he takes it and murmurs. 

“i didn’t pay yet.”

“I know. It’s on the house.” They explain and he’s dumbfounded by this sudden generosity, “This is my store and I can see what this means to you. It’s written all over your face. I’m assuming this is your first baby and you’re terrified but also excited. I just wanted to do something nice to help you along on your journey.”

“are you sure?” He asks, hesitating. Normally when someone gives him free stuff, he takes it and runs, cackling all the while but this time it feels different. Maybe because this is something he shouldn’t have or perhaps it’s because he feels so vulnerable and they’re being so nice, who knows?

“Yes. I want you to have it.” They reassure, “I hope you and your partner have a very healthy baby.”

He can feel himself tearing up again and he curses those pills as he chokes back the tears. 

“thank you.” He whispers, giving them a shaky smile. 

“You’re welcome! Now, you better get back before you’re missed.” 

Realizing they’re right, he turns to head back into the store, shoving the bag into his hoodie pocket, the tiny onesie fitting inside just right. He walks down the aisles to find Stretch meandering about as if looking for something or someone he should say since the moment his boyfriend sees him, he lights up. 

“there you are. was wondering where you went!” 

Stretch hurries over with a big smile just for him, his worries increasing wondering if he was going to lose that smile someday soon but he shoves that all away to give his mate a cheek nuzzle and a kiss which he accepts happily. 

“sorry sweetheart sorta lost track of time.”

“it’s okay, i’m just glad you didn’t forget about me.” He jokes and Money tenderly brushes the back of his fingers against Stretch’s cheek in response. 

“as if i could forget about you, love.”

He listens as Stretch giggles once again today but this time it doesn’t fill him with the sense of accomplishment it usually does. Instead, he just feels sadness and dread. He doesn’t want to lose that giggle. 

“we should get back.” Stretch tells him, bringing his focus back, “we missed dinner.”

Taking out his phone, Money finds that Stretch is indeed right. They completely missed dinner, a cacophony of swears leaving him, especially when he sees the five missed calls and the twenty texts Vi had sent him. How had he missed those? Probably because he’s an idiot and put his phone on silent to take a nap the other day. Great, if his brother didn’t think he was on drugs before, he definitely does now.

“yeah, vi is freaking out. we gotta go.”

“lead the way.” 

Grabbing Stretch’s hand, he hurries from the store but not before returning the wave of the salesperson who when Stretch wasn’t looking gives him a thumbs up. Returning that with a nod, he rushes out the door and into the nearest alleyway with his boyfriend. The moment they’re there, he wraps his arm around Stretch’s waist and shortcuts them home, landing right in the front entryway in front of everyone. All eye lights are immediately on them. 

“WHERE WERE YOU!” Vi all but runs towards them, his sockets wide and fearful, “YOU DIDN’T ANSWER MY CALLS!”

“we were just hanging out.” Money tries, “we lost track of time, sorry bro.”

A few of the others are watching as this happens, probably not used to seeing Vi have a meltdown which is exactly what this is. Perhaps it might seem pretty tame but Money knows his older brother. He’s panicking right now as his anxious gaze flickers across his little brother’s face. 

“YOU ASKED ME TO TRUST YOU BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT WHEN YOU LIE TO ME, PAPYRUS?” He asks, sounding hurt and strained.

“i’m not lying.” He lies, hating himself in the process, “we really were just hanging out.”

“PAPYRUS, I RAISED YOU AND I WAS THERE THROUGH YOUR ENTIRE ADDICTION, I KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE WHEN YOU LIE!” Vi stresses, getting himself worked up, “YOU’RE LYING TO ME! YOU’VE BEEN LYING TO ME FOR ALMOST TWO MONTHS NOW! WHAT’S GOING ON? WHAT’S HAPPENING?” He reaches out to grab Money's arms but the taller skeleton shakes him off to walk away, telling Stretch in a hushed tone that he’d talk to him later and receiving a concerned nod in return. Unfortunately, Vi follows behind him, not yet giving up, “PAPYRUS, TALK TO ME!”

“there’s nothing to talk about sans!” He snaps, loathing every minuscule second of this. All he wants is to tell his brother the truth. To sit and cry as Vi comforts him while telling him it’ll all be okay. He wants his older brother so badly it makes his soul pang but all he can do is push him away. 

“PAPYRUS!” He exclaims in fear, finally grabbing Money successfully just before he walks into his bedroom. He whirls the taller brother around to face him, his eye lights trembling and his expression so full of anxious terror it makes Money want to vomit, “PLEASE…PLEASE PAPY,” he pulls out the nickname making him feel even worse, “PLEASE LET ME HELP YOU…PLEASE…I CAN’T GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS.” His voice is getting softer as he speaks, “I CAN’T DO IT AGAIN, I CAN’T. PLEASE…PLEASE, I CAN HELP, WE CAN DO THIS. I-IF YOU DON’T WANT TO DO REHAB AGAIN, WE CAN FIGURE SOMETHING ELSE OUT HERE JUST PL-”

“i’m not on drugs!” He yells, exasperated, “i’m not on any fuckin’ drugs, i told you that! i’ve been clean for five years and i’m staying that way!” 

“PAPY, IT’S OKAY!” He tries sounding reassuring, “RELAPSES HAPPEN, YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ASHAMED, YOU JUST NEED TO LET ME HELP YOU, PLEASE!” 

“there’s nothing you can help with sans, cause i’m not on drugs.” He mumbles this time watching his older brother’s expression fall now looking completely crushed.

Vi’s hands fall from his arms down to his sides, limp and weak. Money watches as his older brother begins to crumble from the inside out, his jaw quivering to his whole body shaking until finally, he whispers. 

“I WON’T DO IT AGAIN PAPYRUS. I CAN’T STAY UP WITH YOU ALL NIGHT WONDERING IF YOUR SOUL WILL SHATTER. I CAN’T STAND WATCHING YOU WHORE YOURSELF OUT FOR A FIX AND I MOST DEFINITELY CAN’T…” he chokes up here, “I CAN’T DO THE NIGHTS WHERE YOU NEVER CAME HOME AND I FEARED YOU WERE DEAD. I REFUSE TO WATCH YOU KILL YOURSELF AGAIN, PAPYRUS. IT HURTS TOO MUCH. SO, IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO THEN DO IT BUT JUST KNOW,” Money’s fists clench watching the tear fall down his brother’s cheek that slips past his socket, “I WON’T BE IN YOUR LIFE IF YOU DO.”

He instantly feels like he's been slapped. The entire reason he got sober in the first place was so he wouldn't lose his older brother. Now, he's going to lose him anyway and he's not even on drugs this time? Watching Vi wipe that tear, his older brother turns on his heel and hurries away, leaving Money standing in front of his door hating absolutely everything. He can’t even look at any of the others in the room, knowing they witnessed that entire thing, including Stretch. Instead, he walks into his room, shuts the door and clicks the lock. All the housemates know that if Money locks his door, it’s a serious sign of do not enter. He needs time to think or be alone and he hopes they respect that. 

Walking towards his bed, he falls into it, the downy mattress comforting him in an odd way. He lays on his side stretched out for a short while, just staring at his wall wondering just how things got this bad. Eventually, he does try to curl up but stops hearing the crinkling of the bag in his pocket. Taking it out, he pulls the onesie from the plastic bag, taking in its purple and orange stripes as he feels tears once again falling down his face.

Unable to contain it, a sob leaves his throat as he shuts his sockets tightly, pressing his face into that little onesie as if it’d stifle his wails as he begins to sob uncontrollably. It’s not often Money loses it like this but he was way past due for a breakdown, he just wishes it wasn’t due to such shitty circumstances. As he listens to the wailing sobs as they reverberate around his room, he makes no attempt to stifle himself and just lets go. He cries for this little babybones who has one father who wants them and another who can’t decide, he cries for his brother who’s so terrified he’s about to lose his little brother and he cries for himself. For all the fear, anxiety and responsibility he’s unfairly heaped upon himself over the last two months. 

He finally curls himself into as tight a ball as he can manage, clutching that little piece of clothing so tightly and slowly sobs himself to sleep.      
      

Chapter 11: I'm Sorry

Summary:

Stretch goes to talk to Vi.

Notes:

Double update!

He can’t believe what he just witnessed. To see Vi freak out like that scared even him and he’s not his little brother. Stretch hadn’t realized just how far past his wit's end Money’s older brother had become. He’d figured he was suspicious and a bit anxious but not to the point where he thought Money was actively using again or that he’d be so frightened of that being a possibility. While Money has told him a little of what it was like being around him during his addiction he knows his best friend hasn’t told him everything. He wonders if Vi is the reason why and not in a way that Vi wouldn’t want him to know but perhaps Money is ashamed of things he’d said to his older brother during that time. Regardless, he knows his boyfriend is hurting, especially after Vi flees looking devastated. If that’s the look Vi is making he can’t even imagine Money’s.

Waiting for Vi to fully leave, Stretch hurries to comfort Money. He knows he said he’d talk to him later but this was before all that happened and he wanted to make sure his boyfriend was okay. He hadn't meant for this to happen, he didn't want to ruin his boyfriend’s relationship with his older brother, this is absolutely the last thing he'd ever want. Rounding the small corner, he reaches Money’s bedroom just as he hears the obvious locking of the lock, making him stop. If Money locks his door like that it means he wants to be left alone completely. Not even Stretch gets a free pass with that no matter what their relationship is.  

His hand lowers as he had it reaching for the knob and he just stares right at the wooden barrier in front of him, barring him from comforting the one he loves. This is all his fault. Why did he make Money lie? He knows his mate hates it more than anything and still, he made him lie instead of just facing his fears over what’s happening. All of this could’ve been avoided if he’d just told everyone he was pregnant. Money has been so amazing in all of this and has been bending over backwards to help him feel more comfortable with what’s going on but all he’s done is hurt him. Is there some way he can make this better? Is there any way for him to help Money? The fact that his lover is hurting right now is more than he can handle, his soul aching unbearably. He wishes he could hug Money and tell him he’s sorry. That this is all his fault. His boyfriend has been nothing but supportive this entire time, he's loved and cared for him, held onto him as he cries. Money is the best mate he could ever ask for and all Stretch has done is make his life miserable. What can he do? He wants to make this right. 

"PAPY?" 

Startling at the sound of Blue’s voice pulling him from his melancholy, he glances behind him to find his older brother standing there looking concerned, his brows furrowed and his eye lights wide. 

"YOU OKAY?" 

Stretch nearly nods out of habit. Whenever they were Underground and Blue would ask that it was an automatic nod despite the fact that Stretch was anything but okay when they were down there. When they’d gotten to the surface, he’d begun trying to break that habit and actually tell Blue when he was upset but some habits are hard to break, he guesses. Barely managing to stop himself, he instead shakes his head and murmurs. 

"i fucked up…vi is so scared and it's all my fault cause money's keeping my secret." 

"THEN MAKE IT RIGHT." Blue urges not even asking what the secret could be. That’s just like Blue to respect his privacy even though he’s definitely curious as to what he’d meant. Blue motions towards where Vi had run off and urges again, "GO TALK TO VI. TELL HIM WHAT HE NEEDS TO HEAR BUT DON’T LIE TO HIM PAPY. HE’S NOT IN A PLACE FOR THAT RIGHT NOW."

"will that even work?" He asks skeptically. 

Vi and he have never been obscenely close. They get along alright and he catches Vi treating him like a little brother sometimes with the way he speaks to him or treats him but he actually doesn’t know how Vi feels about him at all. Maybe the older skeleton really dislikes him and is just pretending, how is he to know? This talk could go crazy bad if he’s not careful. Keeping his eye lights on Blue, he sees his older brother open his mouth to respond but stops when they both hear an extremely rare sound. It starts off small but soon becomes so loud that it's obvious exactly what they're hearing. 

Money’s crying and not just softly. He’s full-on sobbing in a way that Stretch has never heard from him before. His mate is always so composed, so careful when it comes to his tears. Yes, he’s seen him cry before but never like this. The heart-wrenching wails are more than Stretch can bear as he breathes out.  

"money…" 

He’s stunned and nearly speechless at just how devastated Money sounds. While a part of him is aware that the pills are definitely not helping in this matter, most of this is Money’s feelings. He’s finally breaking down and letting everything out that’s built up over the last two months. All the burden he’s heaped onto the eyepatch-wearing skeleton is pouring out of him and it leaves Stretch feeling more helpless than ever when all he wants to do is bust down that door so he can run over to hold Money while he cries. Sadly, that’s not what he needs right now. He doesn’t need Stretch. 

He needs Vi. 

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?" Blue chimes in, answering his previous question softly. Stretch glances back at him, realizing he’s right. He’s not going to get anywhere by just standing here wishing he could help. He needs to do something fast. Otherwise, Money’s relationship with Vi might be damaged beyond repair by a secret he never should’ve made his boyfriend keep. 

Reaching out, he pats Blue’s skull earning a smile from his older brother than with a quick thank you, hurries off. He practically runs through the house, having to dodge around Bear who seemed confused but blessedly didn’t chew him out on nearly running into him and after calling out a quick apology keeps going all the way to Vi’s room where he stops. Now standing outside the door, he takes a deep breath, ignoring the anxiety swirling inside him, telling him not to knock. That needs to shut up right now and he needs to just do it. Money needs his brother and Stretch is going to get him for him. Hand raising, he knocks firmly already anticipating the response he’d get from the upset monster.

"LEAVE ME BE!" Comes Vi’s response which is exactly what Stretch expected. He doesn’t leave instead, he knocks again, getting close to the door and calls out.   

"vi, it's stretch." He announces himself, "can i please come in? i wanna talk about money." 

The other side goes silent for a while and he wonders if Vi is just going to ignore him. That’s a bad sign if he does. Vi isn’t one to ignore someone even if he hates them. Does he knock again, he’s already done it twice? Does he insist it's important? He bets if he tells him it’s important he’ll open up but thankfully, he doesn't have to speculate on it too much since Vi opens the door. He's got tear tracks on his cheeks showing he's been crying and Stretch feels miserable knowing this is his fault. 

"GET IN." Vi mumbles, moving aside and Stretch not wanting to be told twice since the older skeleton is most definitely not in the mood, scurries inside allowing Vi to shut the door, "TO WHAT DO I OWE THE PLEASURE OF A VISIT FROM MY LITTLE BROTHER'S BOYFRIEND."

Stretch sputters and whirls on Vi gaping to find the smaller monster crossing his arms looking severely unimpressed. 

"DID YOU THINK I WAS STUPID? YOU TWO AREN'T SUBTLE AT ALL!" He snaps, "I FIGURED IT OUT RIGHT AWAY AND HERE'S A NEWSFLASH FOR YOU, NO ONE CARES!" 

"vi-" He tries to start but is cut off. 

"I WAS FINE WITH IT! I WAS LETTING IT GO UNTIL YOU TWO WERE READY TO COME OUT WITH IT OR MY BROTHER FINALLY JUST TOLD ME! I DIDN’T CARE YOU TWO WERE TOGETHER BUT NOW THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN MY BROTHER INTO SOMETHING AWFUL, I HAVE AN ISSUE!" He accuses, "HE WAS FINE UNTIL HE STARTED WHATEVER LITTLE DALLIANCE THIS IS WITH YOU! WHILE THIS MIGHT BE FUN AND GAMES TO YOU, IT IS LIFE AND DEATH FOR HIM!" His voice is getting louder, his windowpane starting to shake, "IF YOU GOT HIM PLAYING AROUND WITH SOME WEIRD NEW DRUG I SWEAR I-" 

"wha- i'm not giving money drugs!" Stretch cuts him off this time, so stunned that he just can’t help it. He can’t believe Vi thinks he’s giving Money drugs, "i'd never do that!"

"IS THAT SO?" Vi growls loudly, a warning whine reverberating deep in his chest telling Stretch to watch it, he’s not playing. Vi’s beginning to get hostile and this is the last thing Stretch expected when he came to talk to the other Sans.

"yes! i wouldn't do that, he means…vi he means a lot to me!" 

"THEN WHAT ARE THESE?" 

Vi reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bottle of pills. Stretch recognizes them immediately as the magical supplements and realizes Vi went through Money’s room when he sees the patient's name listed on the bottle as Money Serif. Was he that desperate and they didn't see it? Vi has always respected Money’s privacy but now he’s breaking it to go through his room? He’s gobsmacked by the sheer level of desperation Vi must’ve been in to go looking for those.  

"that’s…you went through money's stuff?" 

"OF COURSE I DID!” He snaps again, “HE'S BEEN LYING TO ME! HE'S ACTING EXACTLY THE SAME AS WHEN HE STARTED SNORTING COCAINE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!" Vi barks, "I REFUSE TO LET YOU DRAG MY BROTHER DOWN BECAUSE YOU THINK TAKING PILLS IS A FUN TIME! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF GAME YOU’RE PLAYING STRETCH AND I DON’T APPRECIATE YOU PULLING MY BROTHER INTO IT, NOT AFTER HE WORKED SO HARD!"

"those aren't even mine!" He argues and is baffled when Vi produces another bottle from his pocket. 

"NO, BUT THESE ARE." 

He feels his mouth go dry seeing the supplements prescribed to him, his name clearly etched onto the sticker covering the bottle. How did he find those? Stretch had them hidden away which means Vi had to have been looking extremely hard for them. 

"you…you went through my room? vi, what the hell?" 

"I DID YES AND I'M NOT SORRY I DID, ALTHOUGH I AM IMPRESSED BY THE LITTLE HIDEY-HOLE YOU STORED THESE IN." He growls, beginning to bare his teeth in a more threatening gesture, "WHAT ARE THESE?" He shakes the bottle at him, "SOME COOL NEW NARCOTIC YOU GOT THAT YOU THOUGHT MY BROTHER MIGHT BE INTO? YOU HID THEM WELL ENOUGH THAT THEY MUST BE!" 

"no! they're harmless!" He tries, doing his best not to panic but probably failing. 

"THEN WHY HIDE THEM?” He hums in an accusatory manner, “IF THEY WERE NOTHING, YOU WOULDN'T FEEL THE NEED TO HIDE THEM! TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE THIS INSTANT OR I'LL FLUSH THEM." He threatens, "IF THEY ARE WHAT I THINK THEY ARE YOU’LL THANK ME SOMEDAY." 

Now he's really panicking, "n-no, vi i need those! you don't understand!" 

"EVERY JUNKIE THINKS THEY NEED THEIR FIX. YOU DON'T, TRUST ME." 

Evidently already making his decision, he begins walking towards his half bathroom ready to flush those pills down the toilet, realizing Stretch wasn't answering him. 

"vi wait, please don't!" He's beginning to hyperventilate as he chases after the other Sans, "vi please, they're not a narcotic!" 

"YOU SOUND JUST LIKE MY BROTHER DID WHEN I FOUND HIS STASH FOR THE FIRST TIME DO YOU KNOW THAT?" He doesn't even look at Stretch, "HE BEGGED ME NOT TO GET RID OF IT, THAT THIS WAS THE LAST TIME AND THEN HE WAS DONE. HE SWORE TO ME…BUT HE LIED. I REFUSE TO DO THIS AGAIN WITH HIM AND CERTAINLY NOT WITH YOU! THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!" 

He hears the top pop on the pill bottle and knows he’s run out of options. Stretch can't go a day without those pills, the damage could kill him. He only has 1 HP meaning if the baby ever tried to siphon even a little too much magic from him, his soul would probably shatter. He needs those supplements and he hasn't even had his second one today which he actually desperately needs to take. This leaves him with a choice. The truth or possibly dying. Which does he pick? The obvious one of course. 

"they're supplements!" He cries out in the doorway to the bathroom, Vi instantly stops as he tilts the bottle to pour them out, "they're magical supplements used to boost my magic production!" 

"WHY IN THE HECK WOULD YOU NEED THOSE AND WHY WOULD MY BROTHER NEED THEM?" He asks curiously, replacing the top on the pills to bring them to safety at his side. 

Stretch shakes, his hands trembling as he grabs the hem of his hoodie and shirt to pull them up. He feels weak as he does this and knows he’s not ready but he has little choice, his whole body shaking like a leaf. Vi begins to look confused as to why Stretch was lifting his shirt until finally, he exposes his persistent ecto stomach. With the driest feeling in his mouth, Stretch then turns to the side, running his hand down the ecto to push his sweatpants down ever so slightly to show off the forming baby bump he's already gotten just from the souling getting bigger. Vi's sockets widen and he gasps the pill bottle falling from his hand as it comes up to nearly cover his mouth in his shock. The bottle hits the floor with what feels like a deafening clack as Vi stares at him, his eye lights huge. 

"YOU'RE…" He whispers in disbelief, his eye lights finally moving to Stretch’s face. 

"please don't tell anyone…" He asks miserably, already feeling like he might vomit from being forced to tell Vi, "please…please don't…" 

Vi suddenly hurries over, the pills forgotten on the floor as he helps Stretch lower his shirt with a gentle shushing sound. 

"I WON'T TELL ANYONE. IT’S ALRIGHT, I WILL KEEP IT TO MYSELF.” He reassures him with a tenderness Stretch never anticipated. Vi helps him get his shirt situated, his hand trailing down his clothed stomach before he pulls it back to ask curiously, “WHO'S THE OTHER PARENT?" 

Stretch sniffles, unable to hold it all back. Vi’s being so kind and gentle in a way he thinks he oddly needed. His tears begin to collect in his sockets and after a small hiccup, he’s crying.  

"we didn't mean for it to happen!" He blubbers, trying to continuously wipe his face, "it was an accident, i swear!" 

"WHO IS WE, STRETCH?" 

He hiccups again, "me and money. he's the other father.” He can’t even see Vi through his tears, “i'm sorry, we really didn't mean for it to happen! money's been keeping it secret for me and that's what he's been lying about. i just didn’t want anyone to know! i'm sorry vi, i didn't realize how anxious you'd gotten, i'm sorry." He weeps, trying to wipe his face again, "i'm so sorry." 

"SHH," Vi soothes, "IT'S ALRIGHT, YOU'RE FINE. EVERYTHING'S OKAY." 

"no, it's not." He mewls miserably, "money's so upset and he's been nothing but supportive. i can barely eat without throwing it up and i need those pills or my soul might shatter because my soul is so weak i can barely carry this baby. i've been lying to everyone, including blue." He takes in a shaky breath, "and i still don't even know if i wanna raise this baby, i don't know what to do." He looks at Vi, "i fucked everything up, vi." 

"NO, YOU DIDN'T." He urges Stretch to sit in his desk chair, "YOU DIDN’T MESS ANYTHING UP." Vi walks away for a few seconds to go into the bathroom and when he comes back he's got a wet cloth as well as the pills. He places them into Stretch’s hand then gently begins washing his face, Stretch sighing at how cool it feels against his warm bones, "AN ACCIDENT HAPPENED BUT IT'LL BE OKAY. I'M HERE, I'M GOING TO HELP."

"i'm sorry." He blubbers out again and Vi shushes him once more. 

"THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU DID NOTHING WRONG THAT REQUIRES APOLOGIZING FOR PAPYRUS. YOU FELL IN LOVE, YOU ACTED ON THAT LOVE AND IN THE PROCESS CREATED A NEW LIFE. THAT'S NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OR APOLOGETIC OVER." 

The cool cloth on his face and the gentleness Vi is showing him has Stretch leaning forward to hug the small monster. He's never hugged Vi before so this is new but Vi takes it in stride and hugs him tightly, his free hand rubbing his back. 

"money needs you," he sniffs, "he's scared just like me but he's just pretending not to be. he felt so awful for lying to you. i'd see it on his face every time he had to but he'd still do it for me." He draws in another shaky breath, "he's my best friend and the best boyfriend i could've ever asked for. i love him so much and it destroys me inside that i can't help him!" 

"HE NEEDS YOU TOO.” Vi counters, “MY BROTHER LOVES YOU, STRETCH. I'VE KNOWN THAT FOR A LONG TIME. YOU TWO ARE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER AND IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOU FOUND ONE ANOTHER OR THE CIRCUMSTANCES. IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT YOU'RE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SAME PERSON, YOU TWO ARE SOULMATES IN MY EYES."

Stretch pauses, sniffling again, "is…is that even possible?" 

Vi chuckles, the sound comforting, "PROBABLY NOT BUT I ALSO BELIEVE YOU CAN CHOOSE A SOULMATE IF IT'S WHAT YOU REALLY WANT. WHOEVER YOU BIND YOUR SOUL TO IN A RESONANCE IS YOUR SOULMATE IN MY BOOKS. YOU LOVE MY BROTHER AND HE LOVES YOU. THAT'S NOTHING TO HIDE. IT'S TO BE CELEBRATED."

"vi…i…" He trails off. 

"I AM HERE FOR WHATEVER YOU NEED. YOU ARE MY BROTHER’S MATE AND THAT MAKES YOU MY FAMILY. I WILL PROTECT YOU AND DO MY UTMOST TO HELP, STRETCH. YOU'RE ALSO CARRYING MY FUTURE NIECE OR NEPHEW AND I AM ALWAYS HERE TO GIVE ADVICE," he chuckles again, "OR BABYSIT. IT'LL BE OKAY." 

Stretch is finding himself calming as he pulls back from Vi. He wipes his cheeks on his sleeve making the older monster tsk and start wiping his cheeks again with the cloth. This actually has Stretch laughing very lightly himself as it’s such a Sans thing to do. 

"you're a good brother, vi." He murmurs, "i'm sorry we kept this from you." 

"WELL, IF I WAS IN YOUR SHOES I MIGHT'VE DONE THE SAME." He pats Stretch’s skull, "OR A FEW OF THE OTHERS," he snickers, "SEEING AS YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES WITH FEELINGS FOR ONE OF THE OTHERS." 

"you mean wolf being in love with coffee?" 

"AND BLACK BEING IN LOVE WITH WINE AS WELL AS EDGE PINING AFTER PAPYRUS AND," he looks so cheeky here, Stretch swears this is where Money got it, "BLUE AND RED DANCING AROUND ONE ANOTHER." 

Stretch gapes at him, completely stunned, "no way." 

"YES, WAY. THEY ARE QUITE INFATUATED WITH EACH OTHER THEY JUST DON'T SAY ANYTHING." 

He's baffled. How had he not noticed? Is he that unobservant? 

"so…does papyrus like edge?" He asks. Vi shrugs, 

"WHO KNOWS? I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW WE UNDERSTAND AND WE DON'T JUDGE YOU, STRETCH. YOU'RE LOVED AND WANTED." 

"i…thanks vi." He settles on, finally finding a smile even if it's just a tiny one, "can you come to talk to money with me?” He asks as it’s the true reason he came here after all, “i think he really needs you." 

"OF COURSE I CAN. BESIDES, I NEED TO CUFF HIM UPSIDE THE HEAD AS WELL. LET'S GO."

Vi tosses the cloth into the laundry hamper while Stretch chuckles at the mental image of Vi chastising Money then offers to help him up. While he's perfectly capable of standing on his own, Stretch still smirks and takes the help offered. He stands up, towering over Vi when he suddenly feels lightheaded. Brow furrowing, he stumbles a bit only to be steadied by Vi looking concerned.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" 

Stretch blinks and gives his skull a shake, feeling the random bout of dizziness leave him. That was weird and it’s never happened before. It was almost like a weird sort of rush that left him weak. Maybe it's a new side effect of his pregnancy or pills? He'll mention it to Dr. B when he sees her next seeing as it’s only happened this once and he’s already feeling better. He figures he must be fine. Nodding to Vi, he stands on his own.

"yeah, i'm okay, just stood too fast i think." 

"ALRIGHT WELL, BE CAREFUL. I WOULDN’T WISH TO TELL MY BROTHER YOU WERE INJURED ON MY WATCH." The older brother tuts as he starts for the door, keeping an eye light on Stretch as he does. 

Chuckling, he follows Vi from his room and makes his way towards his boyfriend’s room. There are not many of their housemates left in the living room as they pass by but they pay the two skeletons no mind as they knock on Money’s door. 

"PAPYRUS, IT'S ME. LET ME IN, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU." Vi calls out as he knocks. It’s probably better that he does it than Stretch otherwise, Money might not answer. 

At first, they hear silence but slowly begin to hear shuffling and the sound of bedsprings. Guess Money was lying down. They wait a minute or two until finally, the door opens with Money appearing, his cheeks stained with obvious tear tracks but he doesn't seem to care. He actually looks like he just woke up but maybe he cried himself to sleep. Both he and Vi enter quickly when Money stands aside to let them in and once the door is shut his boyfriend mumbles miserably.

"i'm not on drugs…i promise." 

"I KNOW YOU'RE NOT." Vi reassures, coming to rub Money’s arms comfortingly, "I'M SORRY I DOUBTED YOU PAPYRUS." 

Money looks confused at this sudden change in attitude, "what happened? you changed your mind?" 

"I LEARNED THE TRUTH. STRETCH TOLD ME, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T SEE HOW YOU WERE STRUGGLING. I'M SORRY PAPY." 

Money’s eye light flickers to Stretch, "he told you…what exactly?" 

"he knew we were dating." Stretch murmurs, "called me out the second i went to see him." 

"why'd you even go?" He asks. 

"...i heard you crying. i've never heard you cry so hard and i…i knew i'd messed up. i made you lie and it ruined everything.” He can feel himself getting worked up again, “i'm so sorry honey, i-" 

Suddenly, he finds himself wrapped in a warm hug as Money hurries to reassure him. 

"it's okay sweetheart. i'm always here for you and i don't want you to ever feel bad, okay? i coulda said no, i coulda just told vi anyway but i didn’t. it's not your fault and you didn’t ruin anything.” 

Stretch buries himself into Money’s shoulder, shutting his sockets tightly, "i love you." 

"i love you too." He murmurs quietly swaying side to side with his boyfriend for a quick, tender moment before kissing the side of Stretch’s skull and pulling away.

"i also…" Stretch takes a deep breath, looking at his feet, "vi…knows." 

"knows what?" Money tilts his head, puzzled. 

"THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE A FATHER." Vi fills in an undeniable excitement to his tone, stunning Money. 

"i…you told him?" He breathes looking shocked but relieved. Stretch nods, finally looking his boyfriend in the eye. 

"it was time. i…i shouldn't have made you keep it secret so long, honey." 

Money looks to Vi, his expression so emotional as tears well in his good socket again. He wipes them away with a frustrated huff.

"fucking, supplements." He growls, "they keep making me cry." 

"AH, YOU JUST REMINDED ME." Vi digs into his pocket and pulls out the pills. He offers them to Money, "THESE ARE YOURS." 

Money looks at them and tentatively reaches out to take them, "you…went through my stuff?" 

"YES…I THOUGHT YOU WERE DOING DRUGS AGAIN AND I WAS LOOKING FOR YOUR STASH.” Stretch doesn’t think he’s ever seen Vi look so sheepish, “…I'M SORRY." 

Stretch then gets to watch something both incredible and astonishing. Money takes one look at the pills in his hand then his brother and shrugs. 

"i don't care. i'm just glad you're here." 

Vi smiles, that nervous energy leaving him immediately, "ME TOO. I AM ALWAYS HERE FOR YOU, PAPYRUS." Vi reaches up in a stunning moment of softness to cup Money’s cheeks, "I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU'RE HAVING A BABY! THEY'RE GONNA LOOK JUST LIKE YOU, I KNOW IT!" 

Money chuckles, "nah, they're gonna look like stretch, he's the pretty one." 

Stretch flushes a bit, shuffling a little awkwardly, especially since he doesn't know if he wants to raise the baby or not. He doesn't bring that up though as this isn’t the place for it and instead lets Money have his moment which becomes obvious is something he needs as he starts to lean into his brother’s touch more. 

"i've been really scared," he admits, "i wanted to tell you so badly." 

"I KNOW PAPYRUS, IT'S OKAY. I'M HERE NOW." 

Stretch realizes he shouldn’t be here for this part of the conversation. Money needs to let everything out to Vi and he doesn't need his boyfriend hanging over his shoulder or being privy to it. If there’s something Money wants him to know, he’ll tell him but otherwise, he needs to let Money talk to his brother alone. Walking over, he places his hand on the small of his boyfriend’s back, gaining his attention.

"i'm gonna let you guys talk, okay?" 

"you can stay honey, i don't mind." He reassures but Stretch shakes his head.

"nah, you guys talk. i'll go get some leftover dinner, 'm pretty hungry." He admits. Money understands immediately and leans in to kiss his cheek. 

"go eat, i'll see you later." 

Nodding, he returns Money’s kiss with one of his own, nuzzling against his boyfriend’s cheek before heading out to get himself some food. Leaving the room, he begins to feel better knowing that Money would be alright. He’s got Vi with him there now and like Vi had been saying, it’ll be okay. Breathing a sigh of relief, he wanders through the living room, trying to ignore the sight of Blue and Red joking around and trying to stick their feet in each other’s faces. How had he missed this obvious flirting? He really is oblivious, it's official. 

Trying not to think about that, he meanders into the kitchen. He opens the fridge to pull out the leftovers from dinner and sticks them on a plate before shoving it into the microwave to heat it up. As he's doing this, Wine appears, placing an empty glass in the dishwasher. Stretch glances at him and he doesn't know why but perhaps it's because he's been so helpful this whole time and he wants to keep him informed or if it’s because of what happened this morning. Regardless, he whispers to the shorter monster. 

"i told vi." Wine’s gaze snaps to him and Stretch worries his thumb as he repeats himself, "i told vi…" he looks around, making sure they're alone, "i told him, i'm pregnant." 

Sudden understanding and relief wash over Wine as it all clicks for him. He shuts the dishwasher and strides closer, "GOOD. IT NEEDED TO BE DONE. DO YOU FEEL BETTER?" 

"kinda. i'm just glad money has that support now. i think he was struggling more than i realized." 

"HE WAS. IT'S WHY I INSISTED SO HARD TO TELL VI THIS AFTERNOON. I APOLOGIZE IF I SEEMED HARSH." 

"it's okay, i get you're worried." 

He nods, "I AM, ESPECIALLY AFTER ALL THE THINGS YOU'VE TOLD ME ABOUT YOUR SITUATION. HAVE YOU TOLD BLUE?" 

Stretch shakes his head, "no, not yet. maybe soon." He glances towards the living room hearing his brother laugh, "definitely not doing it in front of red." 

Wine chuckles, "HAVE YOU GIVEN ANYMORE THOUGHT ON WHETHER YOU'D LIKE TO RAISE THE BABY OR NOT?" 

Stretch hesitates, looking down at his feet, "i…don't know." 

"I SEE. WELL, PERHAPS TELLING BLUE WILL HELP." 

He hears the microwave beep indicating his food is done. 

"yeah, maybe?" He replies, turning to grab his dinner. 

That sudden wave of dizziness comes back the second he turns his head only this time it's so powerful he has to grab the counter to stabilize himself. He can barely think as that lightheaded feeling overpowers him and doesn't even register Wine has hurried to his side until he speaks.

"STRETCH? WHAT'S WRONG?" 

"i don't…" he trails off suddenly finding it hard to think or take in air an almost nauseous feeling welling inside him as his legs go weak, "i don't feel good…" He murmurs.

"OKAY, IT'S OKAY," Wine reassures, trying to hold him steady, "LET'S GET YOU SITTING DOWN AND GET YOU SOME WATER." 

"i can't…" He trails off, "i think…" Everything is going spotty and he feels suffocated, "i think…i need a doctor…" 

Wine’s sockets widen, "JUST SIT DOWN STRETCH. SIT-" 

He doesn't hear the rest as his vision goes black just as his legs give out. The last thing he hears is Wine calling his name.

----

"STRETCH!" Wine calls out in alarm as he watches the tall monster crumble. He's quick on his feet and manages to catch him, realizing with a start that he's fainted. He sinks them both to the floor and holds onto Stretch carefully, making sure to cradle his skull as he yells, "BLUE, GET IN HERE NOW!" 

Wine hears the telltale hurried footsteps of the shorter monster as he hurries from the living room and tears around the corner into the kitchen. The second he sees the unconscious Stretch, he's rushing over. 

"PAPY! WHAT HAPPENED?" He asks fearfully. Wine can see Red has hurried over as well, his gaze turning to him.

"GET MONEY AND VI, THEY'RE IN MONEY’S ROOM, TELL THEM STRETCH FAINTED." Red nods and hurries away to do as he's told, "BLUE, CALL AN AMBULANCE. HE NEEDS TO SEE A DOCTOR." 

"RIGHT!" Blue nods and with surprisingly steady hands pulls out his phone then dials 911. 

Wine continues to hold Stretch but he doesn't wake up at all, not even as Money comes barreling into the room looking petrified. 

"stretch! what happened? what's wrong with him?" 

"I DON'T KNOW MONEY, CALM DOWN." Wine gently reassures, "IT'LL BE ALRIGHT. BLUE IS CALLING AN AMBULANCE, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE HIM TO THE HOSPITAL." He explains, "YOU CAN GO WITH HIM BUT ISN'T THERE SOMEONE YOU SHOULD CALL FIRST?" He tries to hint and blessedly, Money gets it right away. 

"i'll call her." He whispers, standing up to call Stretch’s doctor. 

If anyone knew why this happened he'd assume she'd know as she's been caring for him since the start even if that was only two months ago. By now, Blue has returned and takes a hold of Stretch’s hand.

"THEY'RE COMING. EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE OKAY, PAPY. I PROMISE."

Stretch obviously doesn't answer but Wine knows it makes Blue feel better. Whatever happened, Wine knows it's due to Stretch’s pregnancy. If he had to hazard a guess, he'd say he didn't have enough magic to keep himself conscious. Hopefully, they can give him an infusion at the hospital to wake him up but he fears what will happen if there's nothing they can do. He glances at Money off to the side watching as he whispers urgently into his phone his body language oozing anxiety. It left a burning question in his mind that Wine isn't sure he wants answered. 

Would Money be able to handle losing Stretch or the baby if it came down to that?

Chapter 12: A Secret Gone Wrong

Summary:

It's time for Stretch and Money to come clean to Blue

Notes:

...Has it really been THREE years?? Holy moly! Feels good to post to this again!

Money sits in the waiting room of the emergency room, gnawing on the end of his thumb. They haven't let him see Stretch yet, but they also haven't let Blue, who's pacing up a storm. He knows he's anxious about his brother, and Money wishes he could assuage his fears, but he can't. Money can't even calm his own anxieties. Sometimes, he hates being right… okay, he actually loves it since he can rub it in people's faces. Right now, though? He hates it. 

Money knew that bracelet was probably a bad idea, but he let Stretch use it anyway. He let his boyfriend have his way to try and help him get rid of any lingering negative feelings. Money should've just convinced Stretch to come clean, that it wouldn't be so bad, but no, that's not what he did. Instead, he just sat there and let this happen. Money removed his thumb from his teeth and instead leaned forward to rest his arms on his legs, his skull hanging. 

Why didn't he say anything? Normally, Money would point out the logic since that's usually where his personality lies. Sure, he loves a prank and joking around, but underneath all that, Money is an incredibly logical person. Stretch was the emotions, the heart of the two of them, while Money was the logic. In this one decision, though, he went with his heart, and now he might pay the heaviest price. 

What would he do without Stretch?

A cold, sick feeling envelops him, starting in the pit of his stomach. He hates that feeling. The anxieties he keeps hidden away are shining through. Stomping them down as best he can, he leans back against the chair, glancing at Blue pacing once more. Stars, he could use a cigarette, but he also doesn't want to leave in case they're called for. He'll just have to deal with it for now. 

Eventually, Blue must get tired of pacing and comes to sit beside Money. The only issue is that he begins frantically bouncing his leg in his worry. This really isn't helping. Money tries to ignore it in the beginning since he really can't blame Blue for being so scared, but eventually, he can't take it anymore. Patience is not one of Money's strong suits. 

Hand reaching out, he places it on Blue's jumping leg, effectively halting the energetic skeleton in his place. Blue's worried gaze finds his, and he smiles weakly.

“SORRY.” He apologizes quietly, which is so out of place for Blue that it takes Money by surprise. Maybe he should've let him continue. Money shakes his head. 

“no, it's fine. i shoulda just left it.” He answers his annoyance, dying. 

“SOMETHING TELLS ME WE'RE BOTH ON EDGE.” Blue begins wringing his hands, “WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?” 

That's what Money wants to know. He wishes someone, anyone, would come tell him that Stretch is okay. He is okay… right? Money shakes his head and rubs his face. He really needs to stop thinking this way. Stretch will be just fine. He has to be!

Just as he's thinking this, he's blessed with the sight of Dr. B coming down the hallway. Money stands immediately, startling Blue, who would have no idea who this woman is. However, he clues in that she's here for them as she makes her way closer. Blue stands beside Money as the monster reaches them. 

“Hi, Money, how're you holding up?” She asks, and he shrugs as is his default in these types of situations. 

“i'm… fine. anxious.” He admits while she nods and Money gestures to Blue, “this is stretch's older brother, blue.” 

Dr. B smiles widely at Blue and offers her hand for him to shake, which he takes. “It's nice to meet you! I'm Dr. B, and I'm your brother's OBGYN.” 

Blue blinks in surprise, and Money closes his sockets, hoping Blue will take that news well. He hadn't expected Dr. B to just spill the beans, but he hopes she has a good reason for it. 

“HIS… OBGYN?” Blue responds in confusion, but Dr. B takes it in stride and nods again. 

“Yes, sir. Now, your brother is just fine,” Money can feel all the air rush from him and can sense how physically relieved Blue is hearing that. The shorter skeleton practically melts to the floor; he's so pleased to hear that, “he just had a magic shortage which caused him to pass out.” Dr. B continues to explain, “You can come see him now if you'd like. He's awake.” 

She gestures down the hall, and without hesitation, Money starts to follow her, as does Blue. All he wants is to see Stretch with his own eye lights. He needs to see that he's okay for himself. It's not that he doesn't trust Dr. B; he just struggles to fully trust anyone. As the three of them walk, Blue asks more questions. 

“BUT HOW DID HIS MAGIC GET SO LOW?” The older brother inquires, a puzzled expression clear on his face, “I KNOW HE HAS A LOW MAGIC COUNT TO BEGIN WITH, BUT THIS HASN'T HAPPENED BEFORE.”

“There are underlying circumstances, but I think it best that he tells you about those.” She answers gently but firmly. There's no way Blue will be able to weasel information out of Dr. B.

Thankfully for her, the journey to Stretch’s room isn't a long one, and before they know it, he's looking at his boyfriend sitting up in a hospital bed. He's fidgeting with his ID bracelet as they enter, but looks up, hearing them come in. Stretch smiles hesitantly at both him and Blue. 

“h-hey.” He calls out, but that's all he's able to say before Blue bursts into tears. 

The older brother hurries over and wraps his arms around the younger one, holding him so tightly that Money was worried he might accidentally hurt Stretch. However, as he tentatively makes his way to Stretch’s other side, he can see his boyfriend is holding his older brother just as tightly, his sockets shut to stop the tears from falling. Money can see as the orange droplets gather at the corner of his sockets and, thinking ahead for once, grabs some tissue, then hands it to Stretch as he pulls away from Blue. 

His boyfriend smiles softly at him and thanks him quietly before taking the tissue to wipe his face. If only Money had grabbed more for him, since in a minute, he was going to need it desperately. 

“WHAT HAPPENED, PAPY?” Blue asks both gently yet sternly. He wants to know what the hell is going on, and Money can't blame him one bit. Stretch fidgets with his bedding, and all he wishes he could do is take away the anxiety his boyfriend is feeling, but this is something Stretch needs to do. Money can’t tell Blue for him. 

Stretch takes a deep breath, “i-i…” He starts hesitantly, not looking at Blue at first, but the second he does, it seems he can’t hold back his tears any longer. He bursts into tears, beginning to quietly sob as he gets out, “we f-fucked up.”

Blue softens and takes Stretch’s hand, “DON’T CRY, PAPY! WHAT’S WRONG? HOW DID YOU MESS UP?”

“we d-didn’t mean for it t-to happen!” Stretch wails. Money’s begun digging his fingers into the palm of his hand to stop himself from crying as well. It’s true that they didn’t mean for this to happen, but the fact that it’s causing Stretch such heartache kills him. 

“I KNOW YOU DIDN’T PAPY.” Blue soothes and rubs his brother’s arm with a free hand, “JUST TELL ME, IT’LL BE ALRIGHT.”

Stretch first glancing at him, then Blue, finally whimpering, “i’m p-pregnant.”

Blue stares at Stretch, his sockets widening. Stars, Money hopes this’ll go well. Just because his brother took it well doesn’t mean Blue will, but that was a stupid thought. It takes less than a minute for Blue’s big eye-lights to turn to stars, his concerned expression becoming a beaming, joyful one. 

“YOU… YOU’RE SERIOUS?” He asks in awe. Stretch sniffles and nods, “OH PAPY, THAT’S SO EXCITING! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?”

“i… i didn’t know if i wanted to k-keep them.” Stretch admitted. That shocks Blue. 

“YOU DIDN’T… PAPY, IS THIS WHY YOU CAME TO ME THE OTHER DAY?” He asks, turning concerned again, “WHY YOU ASKED ME IF I REGRETTED RAISING YOU?”

Stretch nods, “y-yes.”

“OH PAPY…” Blue breathes and, without hesitation, pulls Stretch into a hug which his boyfriend is quick to reciprocate, small hiccoughs leaving him, “PAPY, YOU’RE NOT ALONE. I WOULD NEVER EVER LEAVE YOU TO RAISE A BABY ON YOUR OWN. I’M RIGHT HERE!”

“but what if i’m a t-terrible dad?”

Blue tsks and rubs his brother’s back, “PAPY, DO YOU THINK AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD IS A GOOD PARENT?” He chuckles lightly, “IF YOU THINK I DID A GOOD JOB, THEN YOU’LL BE JUST FINE, RIGHT?”

Money watches as his boyfriend wavers, a small hiccuping sigh leaving him as he buries his face into his brother’s shoulder. He gets it. He really does, since even now, he wishes that Vi were here with him. Maybe he should’ve gotten him to come, but Money had worried about overwhelming Stretch when he was already vulnerable. That numbness from before lingered inside him as he just watched the brothers communicate. What’s wrong with him? Honestly, he almost felt as if he was intruding upon this touching moment, but he couldn’t get his legs to work. Guess he’ll just get to be privy to all of this, not that he can process it emotionally right now. Is he okay?

“you’re not mad at me?” Stretch asks his brother. His voice is muffled and soft from his brother’s shirt. Blue chuckled. 

“I’M A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT YOU DIDN’T COME TO ME ABOUT THIS PAPY, BUT NO, I’M NOT MAD.” He reassures, and Money barely catches as Blue’s eye-lights drift to him. The twinkle, he finds, is there, warm and concerned, “I’M NOT MAD AT EITHER OF YOU.”

That had been unexpected. Money never thought he’d be addressed; he’s just furniture right now, after all. Obviously, not in a malicious way, but this moment was for them. He’s a bystander in all of this. Stretch pulls back from his older brother and sniffs before wiping his cheeks on his sleeve.

“either of us?”

Blue nods, “YOU AND MONEY. I ASSUMED HE WAS THE OTHER FATHER.”

“oh, um… yeah.” His boyfriend answers, his gaze flickering to Money briefly. Another nod comes from Blue before his full attention goes to him. 

“AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ALL OF THIS?” Blue asks, tilting his skull. How does he feel? Does that matter?

Money shrugs, “whatever stretch wants, i’m here.”

His reply sounds hollow, automatic, but he couldn’t seem to wrap his head around everything. The fear he felt earlier for his boyfriend, if he’d just spoken up, that maybe all of this could’ve been avoided. If he had just kept it in his pants that night, Stretch wouldn’t be here right now. Guilt ate at his soul, especially since he knows that he wants to keep the baby, but hasn’t revealed this to his boyfriend yet. How can he? Stretch has been so hesitant, and Money is afraid that he really doesn’t want to keep the baby. Could their relationship survive that? Blue’s brow furrows as does Stretch’s. 

“ARE YOU OKAY?” The older of the two asks gently. Money shrugs again. 

“i’ll be fine. just tired.”

Stretch’s hand reaches out to grab his, which he happily supplies, thinking he’d gotten away with his omission. An almost relief-like sensation fills Money the second Stretch’s hand is nestled safely in his. Holding his boyfriend’s hand always seemed to relax him. 

“no you’re not.” Stretch murmurs, putting Money on blast, but he probably deserved it. That tension from before resurfaces, but he tries not to show it: “you’re not lying, but you’re not saying everything.”

“what can i say?” He tries quietly, “we can find out how i feel later, you’re the one sitting in a hospital bed, not me.”

“why does that matter?” His boyfriend inquires, sounding more fierce than he expected, “you’re important too, this is your baby too.”

“HE’S RIGHT.” Blue adds, “YOUR OPINION DOES MATTER.”

“i don’t know what you want me to say.” Money admits and Stretch squeezes his hand. 

“tell me how you’re feeling.”

He shakes his head, “...a little numb.” He mutters, “i feel like this is all my fault. if i hadn’t convinced you that night, if i’d just done more to protect you, then this wouldn’t have happened.” Money sighs and rubs his skull with his free hand, “i just feel so guilty, i-”

“money, i wanted to do it too!” Stretch cuts him off, sounding strong, firm, “you didn’t do anything to me. it takes two to tango. i told you that already.”

But Money hasn’t told him how he wants to keep the baby. That’s where the real guilt is coming from. Sure, he feels horrible about all the stress that has been piled onto Stretch, but he feels most awful about wanting their baby. What will happen if Stretch feels differently? Could Money really be a single parent? How would that work when he lives in the same house as Stretch? Even just thinking about this has him overwhelmed. He has no idea how he’d explain all of this properly. This is why he’s chosen not to reveal this to his boyfriend. Not yet, anyway. 

“i know.” Money concedes, “it’s just hard to think that when you’re in a hospital bed, sweetheart.”

Stretch gives a small smile, making Money’s soul flip-flop. Stars, his partner always looks so damned handsome whenever he smiled like that. He loves that smile more than anything. Money would fight for it any day of the week. 

“i’m okay, i swear.” Stretch murmurs. 

Putting on a smile of his own, although it feels a little forced, Money leans down to kiss Stretch’s forehead lightly. 

“you better be.”

Blue chuckles at the display, drawing Money’s attention, “YOU TWO ARE SO SWEET THAT YOU’RE GOING TO GIVE ME CAVITIES!”

Gasping dramatically, to hopefully provide a sense that he’s alright, Money laments, “but your perfect teeth! what will you do?”

“SEND YOU MY DENTIST’S BILL.”

Stretch bursts into laughter, the sound light and carefree. Hearing his boyfriend joyfully chortle does actually help him feel better. For the first time since arriving, Money fully relaxes. He didn’t even realize just how high on alert he’d been until he was able to get even a minuscule amount of relief. Money loved listening to Stretch laugh, though, so it’s no wonder that this was the key to helping him. Finally, the smile that had felt forced before became genuine on his teeth just as Dr. B returned, looking pleased. 

“Well, there’s a sound we like to hear!” She cheers, coming to stand at the foot of Stretch’s bed, “I take it you’re feeling less distressed now, Stretch?” Dr. B asks gently. Stretch nods. 

“yeah, i feel good.”

“Excellent!” She beams, “I want you to stay overnight for observation, but everything looks good. However,” She adds, eyeing the bracelet on Stretch’s wrist, “I think it might be best if you stop wearing that.” Dr. B points to the offending piece of jewellery, “That seems to require you to pour magic into it, and right now, you need to save every little piece for your baby! Sound good?”

Money can see how his boyfriend hesitates. He really doesn’t want to get rid of the bracelet, but it seems like he doesn’t have much of a choice now. Dr. B thinks it would be dangerous to keep using, and even though he loves Stretch, he will have to smack some sense into him if he refuses. Thankfully, he doesn’t and instead nods, albeit reluctantly. 

“okay, i understand.”

“I know it’s tough, but I think it’ll help you feel better.” Her smile is bright as she watches Stretch hesitantly remove that piece of jewellery and hand it to Money. He takes it without an issue and pockets it. Taking a deep breath, he can already smell the change in Stretch’s scent. It’s sweeter, more fragrant, indicating he’s in the family way. Evidently, Blue can smell it as well, his smile widening. 

“YOU REALLY ARE PREGNANT.” He breathes in awe. Money snorts. 

“did ya think we were pranking you?”

Blue smirks, “YOU TWO DO LOVE A GOOD PRANK.”

“yeah, i fainted to prank you, bro. prank champions!” Stretch jokingly cheers, making Blue roll his eye-lights, but has Dr. B chuckling. 

“I would hope not!” She’s got a sparkle to her eye that shows she’s in on the joke and all for it, “I’ll come check on you soon, though, alright, Stretch?”

“okay, sounds good.” His boyfriend nods, looking much more comfortable than before. 

The kind doctor leaves the three of them to continue chatting. Money pulls up a chair to sit by Stretch’s bed while Blue continues to sit on the edge of it. They chit-chat and joke about all manner of things, none of which had to do with the baby, making Money grateful. He’s not quite ready to get back onto the topic of their impending fatherhood, especially when he hasn’t figured out how to break it to Stretch about his choice yet. Eventually, though, it starts to get late, and Blue volunteers to stay, telling Money to go get some sleep. Joke's on him, as if he’ll get any sleep. He tries to argue this point, wishing to stay, but when Stretch agrees that he should go try to rest and that he needed alone time with Blue, he finds he couldn’t argue. If the brothers needed some privacy, who was he to deny them that?

Giving Stretch another kiss on the forehead, he whispers a soft goodnight, which his boyfriend reciprocates. Waving to them both, he reluctantly shortcuts home, expecting to find an empty living room and a dark house. Boy, how wrong he is. Shortcutting into the living room, he startles to find himself amid a bunch of his housemates. Apparently, quite a few had stayed awake, awaiting news. The second they all register, he’s there, he’s immediately pounced upon, first by Coffee, who hugs him tightly. 

“i-is he o-okay?” Coffee asks, sniffling and clearly distraught. Money quickly hugs the other Papyrus, knowing that’s the best way to help calm him down and rubs his back soothingly. 

“DON’T CROWD HIM, PAPYRUS, LET HIM BREATHE.” Wine chuckles gently, but Money can sense the concern underneath his facade. He didn’t mind the hug. Actually, it felt pretty damn good to be hugged right now. He’s grateful to Coffee, who, upon hearing his brother, pulls back but stays close to him. 

“he’s fine.” Money assures, watching Coffee relax, “he’s being kept for observation tonight and will be discharged tomorrow.”

“SEE?” Papyrus beams, “I KNEW HE WOULD BE JUST FINE!”

“yeah, but what happened?” Sans inquires, but that’s just like him. Money’s known Sans for a while now, and he’s always been an incredibly curious person. “what made him faint?”

“OH, I’M SURE THERE ARE NUMEROUS REASONS WHY.” Vi shrugs dismissively, and Money tosses him a grateful look. His brother nods toward him, “I’M SURE IT WAS INSOMNIA RELATED.”

“yeah, but ‘e ain’t ever passed out before.” Wolf points out this time. Red chimes in unknowingly coming to Stretch and Money’s defense. 

“first time fer everythin’, doggy.”

Wolf growls back, “‘m not a dog.”

“sure.”

Just as Wolf goes to retort, Sparrow claps his hands loudly, halting the fight in its tracks. Classic Sparrow.

“I THINK WE SHOULD ALL TRY TO GET SOME SLEEP.”

Papyrus jumps in to agree, “YES, WE SHOULD ALL REST AND BE READY TO GREET STRETCH WHEN HE COMES HOME!”

Everyone seems to agree with that and starts to disperse. Vi stays behind, eyeing him carefully. Money was hoping he’d stay, but before he could talk to him, he was approached by Bear, who pats his shoulder gently.

“not real sure what you and stretch got into lately, but i’m glad you’re both okay. i know everyone is worried ‘bout stretch, but i wanted you to know that i’m glad you’re okay too.” 

He softens and smiles at the tall Sans. Bear was often more observant than the others gave him credit for. He probably saw how anxious both he and Stretch have been and wanted to let him know he noticed. That someone cares about his well-being, too. Money chuckles then coos to the gentle giant. 

“love you too bearie bear!”

Bear laughs lightly alongside him and shakes his head, before finally leaving Vi and Money alone. Thankful, he approaches his brother, sudden exhaustion enveloping him, and for the first time in forever, he doesn’t care how he’ll look. He doesn’t care if this makes him weak. Money is just too tired to care. So, when he reaches his brother, he whispers without hesitation. 

“can i stay with you tonight?”

Vi’s sockets widen, his mouth hanging open for a split second, before finally he nods firmly. 

“OF COURSE, YOU CAN PAPY.”

Relief floods him, knowing he didn’t need to be alone. Besides, he’s dying to talk things out with his brother. His feelings, everything. Vi always knew how to put things into perspective for him in a way that no one else could. It was his special brotherly skill, he swears. 

Parting from Vi briefly, he goes to change for bed and brush his teeth. Normally, he sleeps naked, but he obviously can’t do that with his brother. That might be a bit creepy. So, he changes into a tank top and some sweatpants before finally cleaning his teeth, then shortcutting to his brother’s room. Upon arrival, he finds the room empty, but he can hear water running in his brother’s half bathroom, so he figures he’s in there.

Not waiting for an invitation, he strides over to Vi’s bed and flops down on top of the covers where he splays himself out with a smirk. Obviously, he’s doing this on purpose to get a rise from Vi and gets the exact reaction he was hoping for when he suddenly hears the bathroom door open, followed by a sharp tsk from his brother. It’s too easy sometimes to get Vi scoffing and huffing. 

His brother says nothing until he reaches the bed, where he finally growls. 

“SCOOT.”

Money debated on messing with him, and pretending he didn’t hear, but he also doesn’t want to be kicked out. Plus, he really did want to talk to Vi. So, he instead chuckles then moves aside. This allows his brother to get into the bed properly and then shut off his bedside lamp to plunge them into darkness. By now, Money has gotten himself under the covers and turned to the side to face his brother, who, once settled, also turns toward him, his eye-lights faintly lighting up his face. 

“thanks.” Money whispers. Vi nods, his skull brushing against his pillow. 

“I’M ALWAYS HERE WHEN YOU NEED ME, BROTHER.” His older brother murmurs back, then adds, “HOW ARE YOU FEELING? WE DIDN’T GET TO TALK ABOUT THAT EARLIER.”

Money sighs and buries himself more into the covers. This is difficult to talk about, but he needed to. He needs Vi by his side. 

“lost.” He admits softly, his voice lightly muffled, but he knows Vi hears him by his expression, “we didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“I CAN BELIEVE THAT.”

“and i just…” He covers his sockets with one of his hands, trying to hide the forming tears, “i feel so guilty at how stressed he is. he never wanted kids, and now one is forced on him and i just…” Money trails off, and feels as Vi grabs his hand to remove it from his face. His brother’s furrowed brow and wide, concerned eye-lights fill his vision. He breaks, a quiet sob leaving his throat, “and i’m scared he’ll resent me if he knows i want to keep the baby.”

There. He did it! He finally said it out loud, and honestly, he thought he’d feel worse, but all he feels is relief. 

“OF COURSE YOU WANT THEM, THEY’RE YOUR BABY.” Vi whispers, reaching up and wiping a few tears that managed to escape from his cheek, “PAPY, YOU’RE NOT A BAD PERSON FOR WANTING TO BE THAT BABY’S FATHER.”

Money sniffs, feeling a bit pathetic, “but what if he hates me for it?”

Vi tsks, “I HIGHLY DOUBT HE COULD HATE YOU FOR LOVING YOUR BABY.”

“but will he leave me?” He asks, a sick feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Stars, he wishes he had his lighter to fidget with right now. 

“I DON’T KNOW, PAPY.” Vi admits, “BUT CAN YOU LIVE WITH WATCHING SOMEONE ELSE RAISE YOUR CHILD? CAN YOU LIVE WITH MISSING THEIR FIRSTS? FIRST WORD, FIRST STEP, FIRST SMILE AND LAUGH… COULD YOU HANDLE MISSING ALL OF THOSE?”

“...no.” He confesses miserably, “i want to be there for all of that. i want… i want to be dad, i want… but can i even do it alone though, sans?” He asks next, fear lacing his words, “i’m just a loser addict who loves to stir the pot. how can i be a dad?”

Vi scoffs, “AS IF I WOULD LET YOU RAISE A BABY ALONE!” He barks indignantly, “I DID THAT AND I WOULD NEVER LET YOU DO THAT! IT TAKES A VILLAGE PAPY AND I’M YOUR VILLAGE! DON’T FORGET THAT!”

Money will admit, this shocks him a little, his good socket widening. While he knew how his brother felt about family, he never thought he’d want to help him raise his child. Vi has always expressed his desire to have his own children, his own family someday. To hear he’s willing to be an involved uncle as much as he is touches Money deeply. 

“thanks, sans.” He whispers, a small amount of comfort settles inside him, “do you think i’d be a good dad?”

“I DON’T SEE WHY NOT? I’M SURE YOU HAVE SOME GOOD QUALITIES IN THERE SOMEWHERE.” Vi teases with a smile, causing Money to chuckle quietly at the familiarity of joshing around with his brother. Being near Vi always did make him feel normal. 

“heh, somewhere, huh?”

“IF YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT, I’M SURE YOU’LL FIND THEM.”

Oh, he’s just sure he will, “thanks for the vote of confidence.” He jests before adding, “but how do you feel about all of this? i doubt becoming an uncle was on your bingo card for this year.”

Vi snorts, “HARDLY, AND I’M FINE. A LITTLE CONCERNED FOR YOU AND YOUR MENTAL STATE, BUT I’LL MANAGE.

Money’s brow furrows. His mental state? What does that mean?

“what do you mean?”

He listens as his brother sighs softly and internally fights with himself before speaking. What does he need to say? Is this really bad, or…?

“IT’S JUST THAT HAVING A BABY CAN MAKE IT HARDER TO STAY SOBER.” He admits, realization washing over Money, “I KNOW THEY CAN ALSO BE A POWERFUL MOTIVATOR TO STAY SOBER AS WELL, BUT-”

“sans,” Money cuts him off, grabbing his brother’s arm, “if i ever thought i might use, i’d come straight to you.” Hopefully, this helps relieve his brother’s concerns, “i promised you that i wouldn’t put you through me on drugs again, and i take that seriously. if i ever thought i might even possibly slip, i’d come to you.” Time to pour his heart out, “i almost lost our relationship once. i won’t ever let that happen again. i love you too much for that.”

Vi observes him carefully, moving his arm until he can take Money’s hand again. 

“I LOVE YOU, TOO.” He replies softly, “AND I’M VERY PROUD OF YOU FOR STEPPING UP TO BE THE BABY’S FATHER EVEN IF YOU’LL HAVE TO DO IT ALONE.” 

“you are?”

Vi nods, “YES, AND I’LL BE HERE TO HELP. ALWAYS.”

Why this breaks the dam, Money will never know, but without warning, so many emotions just well up inside him, causing him to burst into tears. No, not just tears, full sobbing as he moves to hug his older brother. Vi doesn’t protest and just pulls him close, shushing him softly as he strokes the back of his skull. 

“i-i’ve needed you t-this whole time!” He cries, feeling Vi hold him tighter, “i’ve b-been so scared and f-feeling so g-guilty! i’m s-sorry, sans! i’m sorry!”

Vi says nothing, but instead chooses to just hold Money as he sobs out his fears, his guilt and doubts. He becomes a pillar of strength that Money has desperately needed this entire time. Without even realizing it, he had become the supporting character in his and Stretch’s relationship, and neglected his own self needs. Shame fills him, knowing how upset this would make his boyfriend. He knows he’ll have to tell Stretch everything eventually, especially about wanting the baby. Right now, though, all he wants is to be held by his brother and know that everything will be okay. Thankfully, like he always does, Vi delivers exactly what Money needs, even as he wails while hearing his brother’s voice so soft, he almost misses it. 

“I’M HERE, PAPY. I WILL ALWAYS BE RIGHT HERE. EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT.”

Notes:

If you have any questions in regards to any of my fics don't hesitate to ask me on Tumblr or Twitter!