Flower-me-not.

by B3_l

Summary:

[Honestly..

After everything you've been through you didn't expect to find yourself here, in the middle of a fight between two men you recognized too much to be normal, with your unconscious husband in your arms having a near death grip on both newborns while you could at least stand without feeling your legs numb.

You lost hope of being able to hide when both turned to look at you and your dear still sleep in your arms, whom you quickly hid from sight with your cloak, covering him as much as you could.

"Fuck.."]

Or; After years of being responsible for making the impossible possible in a crumbling world, your people receives an unexpected but not less welcome peace. You don't plan on freeing your claws from this chance.

Notes:

• Inspired by Ghost Hunting With Skeletons by oblivionseight
• Inspired by [Restricted Work] by OolongTeacup (Log in to access.)

Chapter 1: prologue, part 1; Celandine

The void could never be what Gaster imagined.

 

All the years of research that had taken him gone overboard as soon as he failed all those weeks ago. 

 

Although 'Failed' was a wrong way to explain the monumental way in which he had screwed up.

 

Because magic was not something that could be studied, something that the scientist discovered the hard way, seeing his efforts become useless after weeks of research, every step forward was four steps back. 

 

He couldn't understand something that was constantly changing, it drove him mad.

 

Trying to investigate what he had been curious about at one point in his youth became frustrating with each week, unlike when he was younger, his research brought him more and more discomfort. Seeing monster magic in action years ago made him feel hopeful, knowing that the shitty situation the entire race was going through could be overcome, he hoped it would be, he wished it. 

 

Gaster could remember murmuring his wishes in the dark caves, accompanied only by the silent waterfalls, a young one in mid-adolescence looking hopefully at the shining gems on the stone ceiling, wishing so strongly that the flowers echoed his murmurs.

 

But hope was a flame that was destined to hurt for the knowing monsters.

 

All the senior monsters were charred torches, monsters who lived for years in flames until the fire consumed them, leaving behind charred wood that suffered at the slightest spark of hope, igniting into anger and flaming sadness. At least that's how he remembers the elders of the royal families, the heirs were still young ones who wanted to be hopeful.

 

He could still remember how hard the titled monsters among the colonies that went deeper underground strove to keep that flame of hope burning, but far from themselves. Thinking about how difficult it was to create laws and rules in the midst of the community's panic, what a great effort it was to keep the monsters fed, satisfying infinite needs with finite materials, thinking about all that made him grimace because of the knowledge of politics that he remembers having studied but was not kept in his skull.

 

Although he was sure that a grimace was barely possible with his current situation.

 

Being everywhere and nowhere was strange, like derealization, he could pretend to see and hear, but not feel, It was like being trapped looking at one point in the darkness everytime. Things that don't feel real even though he knew they were, he could see it was there even if he knew it wasn't real, making him think it was real.

 

It was strange and impressive, although not in a good way.

 

 

 

It was fucking terrifying.

 

 

Like being in a dark room, not being able to see anything clearly was disconcerting, Gaster felt lost, like entering a forest at night without a flashlight, he couldn't tell what was in front of him, behind him or below him, everything was dark and cold. 

 

The cold was the most noticeable, eating away at his bones every time he moved forward into the dark void, feeling like he was stepping on a thousand needles when his shoes touched whatever was beneath him again.

 

The ground was too wet and his feet sank every time he took a step, like stepping into a puddle that wouldn't end, At this point in the darkness the moisture had penetrated the material of his shoes, dampening his socks and his pants almost to his knees, the dark trench coat he was wearing was also damp from quite a bit of time taking short naps on the floor making it painful to wear, but it was better than nothing.

 

Gaster unconsciously tightened his arms around himself with what little strength he still had, lowering his head again and narrowing his sockets as the vapor of his breath, hotter than the cold surroundings, momentarily warmed his frozen and melted face.

 

He was turning into silicone, his body and his clothes seemed to melt more and more, or at least that's what he thought, he could barely move and the cold, which was the only thing he felt from his surroundings, numbed and pricked with needles every little sense that could exist in him.

 

 

 

 

Maybe he was dying.

 

 

 

 

Maybe the void was slowly killing him with each passing second in the darkness.

 

 

He didn't know, and it terrified him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was driving him crazy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A soft murmur made him look up.

 

 

 

 

The void, very similar to space, sound did not travel through the darkness, dying in the throat of whoever tried to speak, He remembered.

 

 

 

 

It was imposible that was something making sound.

 

 

He couldn't even hear his own voice as he asked who was there, wanting to get an answer from who or what the sound came from.

 

 

 

But nobody responded.

 

 

 

 

His gaze dropped to his hands, feeling shattered when the small spark of hope that grown in him died as quickly as it started, leaving him empty and cold, accompanied only by darkness and silence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I found you".

 

 

 

 

 

To his surprise, the liquid up to his knees slowly receded until it was barely on his shoes, leaving a trail of blooming punctures until all that was left was the cold, and the light.

 

 

 

Beneath his shoes a shining ring shone beneath the ink that trembled and shuddered but did not move.

 

 

The previously overwhelming cold was slowly replaced by an embracing warmth and a soft light that forced him to cover his face as black spots appeared in his vision from the sudden light. 

 

 

He fell to his knees quickly as a tremor caused him to lose his balance, panicking at the thought that the thick liquid would swallow him, to his surprise, the thickness seeped through the sides of a new hardness beneath him, leaving only a hard warmth that almost lulled him.

 

 

A chuckle made him rise his head, looking to where the soft sound was coming from, something that didn't take him long, a different kind of darkness meeting his gaze. 

 

 

Gaster was certainly surprised by the two pairs of eyes coming from the same person that did not leave his figure, although the size of the new company left him speechless. She was gigantic, beyond enormous as she held him close to her carefully, as if he were something fragile, as if he were not already broken, somewhat surprising considering he wasn't even the size of her palm. 

 

 

 

 

"here you were."

 

 

 

 

A soft crimson stared back at him warmly, a melodious voice that seemed to bounce off the void, overlapping what he could recognize as an familiar voice despite turning into a soft, eerie hum. A soft tone and way of speaking that he knew well, that had accompanied him for a long time, earning him a special position that would never leave him, one that never left his mind despite the mental toll that being trapped away from anything else in existence brought.

 

 

A young woman surrounded by golden flowers momentarily appeared in his mind, causing his sockets to widen in surprise, the whisper of his own trembling voice finally audible to himself as her name came back to him.

 

 

 

"Ariel.."

 

 

 

The permanent smile on his face trembled as his eyes remained on the giant woman that he remembered differently, time passed for the sheep unlike him, whom the void had been responsible for breaking in a different way than the passage of years could do. She changed, looking more adult, mature, than the young woman he fall in love with. 

 

And the one he was still in love with, falling deeper everytime.

 

Seeing her after so long was like falling in love again, despite the circumstances in which he found himself.

 

He smiled, although he was sure his smile looked more like a grimace because of how deformed his face was after his time in the void.

 

 

"You found me.."

 

 

Her gaze softened as he ran his hands over the giant palm he was sitting on, being held as if he were made of glass, pieces that threatened to shatter.

 

She smiled softly as his voice reached her, despite how distorted and broken he sounded to himself, a whisper barely audible, she hear him.

 

 

She always hear him.

 

 

Just a few more moments of looking at each other made him realize that although his soul sang with deep and pure joy to see her again, she shouldn't be there, trapped in the middle of nowhere. 

 

 

"Dear, you don't belong here.." 

 

 

Gaster said, trying to get closer to her unconsciously because of the heat she gave off, something he did not have while the freezing cold that had accompanied him for so long still made his bones ache.

 

He could tell that the sadness that seeing her trapped with him brought him did not reach her when her smile grew on her lips.

 

 

"You do?"

 

 

Gaster pressed his hands tighter into his partner's large palm, giving her a serious look that after a few moments was reciprocated with one coming from her.

 

She shook her head, clasping her hands together a little, as if trying to protect him as she curled in on herself with him protected close to her chest, he unconsciously tried to move away so as not to dirty her white fur more than he already had, but she didn't let him. Snuggling him comfortably in her hands so that he was attached to her, surrounded by the warmth that his beloved gave off and the smell of lavender and rosemary that clung to her skin.

 

 

 

"I came to get you out..

I promised you that".

 

 

 

She whisper her words so softly that he felt the purr of her voice all around him.

 

 

 

He believed her more than he believed in himself.

 

 

 

He knew her promises would be kept.

 

 

 

She promised he would be hers after all.

 

 

 

 

He snorted, somewhat embarrassed as the sound was more like a sob. 

 

"...I'm broken into pieces, trapped here".

 

 

 

She didn't seem to care as she caressed his skull with her thumb gently, knowing that he was fragile with his current corrupted body from being in the void, she knew well that he was much smaller than her right now, so she remained careful.

 

 

A hum made him look up from where he was comfortably in her hands, which had risen to her face without him noticing, holding him in front of her eyes.

 

 

 

"I'll not leave you".

 

 

 

There was not a hint of doubt in her voice.

 

 

 

"I'll stay,

and glue your pieces together."

 

 

 

It was a fact what she was telling him.

 

 

 

 

The sky is blue, ice is cold..

 

 

 

And she would never leave him. 

 

 

 

 

The thumb that caressed his skull moved gently down his spine, making him straighten as a shiver ran through him, feeling how his breath left him thanks to the loving touch that stopped on his lower back.

 

 

The unspoken words that had not left her lips for a long time left him trembling as he understood, with his feelings blooming as he felt comfortable knowing what she was referring to, knowing that this time, even if he wanted forever, she would not leave him, accompanying him as he rebuilt himself.

 

 

 

"I'll take you home."

 

 

 

 

You heard him snort, slowly falling unconscious, muttering:

 

 

"You're here now.."

 

 

 

 

The light that your new gigantic body gave off slowly became brighter, until you were sure you shone brighter than the sun and were hotter than a star.

 

 

 

 

"...I'm at home".

 

 

 

 

You watched as his consciousness slowly slipped through his fingers, trying and failing to hold on, to be with you as you slowly warmed up.

 

 

You ignored the heat and pain, taking care to enclose the curled body in your hands as if you were cradling a firefly between your fingers, bringing him so close that you swore you felt the small, slow heartbeat of the body in your hands, four eyes fixed on the darkness that slowly escaped and stained the pure whitish of your hands, claws growing so slowly.

 

 

You watched that empty liquid, yet so full that it darkened, slowly fall from the cracks between your claws.

 

 

All that was left was to wait.

 

 

 

And pay the price that was left.

 

Notes:

Welcome! I got a little tired of the undertale anti-harems where the protagonists were always human, so I decided to do something for myself and remove this from my old dusty fanfics that I never publish, haha

It's quite usual for me to use flowers in chapters and titles, so I'll be leaving their meanings in the notes, I hope you like it and excuse my way of writing! I haven't written for a while and English is not my first language!

Flowers:
Celandine; Joys to come; deceptive hopes

Chapter 2: Prologue part 2; Astragalus

The feeling of fever was always horrible.

 

Gaster thought the cold had been horrible, but he was surprised to feel his body burning when his head stopped ringing and he felt again.

 

He would have been on the verge of crying if he didn't feel like his bones were burning from the inside out, as if lava or water at the boiling point had been injected directly into his bones.

 

A soft coo made him blink to try to see who was with him, although his partner's soft voice let him know and reminded him affectionately that he was safe, same voice that he heard repeat that it was not necessary to wake up, that he should rest.

 

 

He couldn't fight the exhaustion, so he gave up when sleep and the persistent, stabbing pain he felt throughout his body made him pass out.

 

 

He felt that the time he was in that state was weeks, he drifted in and out of consciousness, it wasn't like he could really notice how time passed, suffering from the high fever and the way that everything he ingested seemed to want to come back out. 

 

 

Even if he knew he was accompanied at all moment it was difficult to know who when his throbbing head seemed to want to explode every time a light was pointed in his direction.

 

 

However, after what he thought had been weeks, screams were what woke him up.

 

 

 

"Don-.. dare ent- ..yne!"

 

 

The words were slipping through his fingers like water as he blinked, trying to process what was happening.

 

 

His arms shook under his effort as he slowly rose from where he was lying. The soft fabrics under and on top of his body was the first thing he felt, which almost made him cry, finally noticing that he had finally come out of the void.

 

A simple, almost bare room stared back at him. There were very few things visible and there were not many furniture or things occupying the room, he could only see the bed in which he had woken up, next to which a nightstand with a glass of water and a small simple pastry on it, a few meters away, an almost completely empty closet barely had clothes that he visibly knew were feminine, a few steps away there was also a messy desk full of papers, some on the verge of falling, and some plates with remains of food no longer edible due to the time they had rested there, it was the only messy part of the room.

 

 

Besides the shouts of course.

 

 

Behind the door screams echoed in the room, loud footsteps and the sound of metal against metal reached him as he tried to quickly compose himself, his bones trembled from his lack of strength and the weakness that being sick for a time had left him.

 

He tried to stand up for fear of not recognizing anything but his legs gave out after a few steps, falling to his knees noisily. The screams outside the room stopped momentarily, however the sound of the door slamming against the wall as it opened made him look up.

 

Without realizing it, Gaster was suddenly dragged into a hug that left him breathless, although he was able to recognize who hugged him, so he simply let himself be hugged, hiding his head in his lover's neck.

 

 

You had been terrified of losing him.

 

 

You were a little embarrassed knowing that your acquaintances could surely tell that Gaster was back just because of how your image and grooming improved.

 

 

 

Just like undyne did.

 

 

 

"So this is where you had them, I can't believe you!" 

 

 

Her voice reminded you that she followed you, now standing under the threshold of the door watching as you held Gaster close to you, hiding him from her anger.

 

You huffed, examining your partner for any injuries. “It’s none of your business,” your response only seemed to make her angrier.

 

 

“It’s none of your business”, she scoffed, copying your voice. 

"You're the fucking heir! What do you think the king will thinks about you falling in love with a damn nobody that you got from who knows where!? It's illegal, you're giving your soul to the cause, to our people!"

 

 

You let go Gaster to turn around after sit him on the bed, slapping away undyne's hand that was reaching out to try and grab your shoulder, standing up and pushing her away from Gaster in the middle of it.

 

 

"Look who's saying it, Miss Criminal Lover!" 

 

Undyne took a step back at your words, with her face darkening as the blush rose to darken her skin and her expression changing from angry to annoyed and surprised as you tapped one of your fingers on the middle of her chest.

 

"At least I didn't fall in love with a criminal! I haven't broken any rules or laws, so leave the matters of the royal family out of your mouth, do us a favor and mind your own business, Captain of the Royal guard!"

 

 

You slowly pushed undyne out of your room, letting her complaints fall on deaf ears before you closed the door in her face, leaning your back against the wooden door as you pinched the bridge of your nose, a snort from Gaster made you look up as the noisy steps behind the door slowly faded away.

 

 

You gave him a playful angry look, walking closer to him before sitting with him.

 

 

"It's good to see you finally awake", you murmured, almost afraid to break the silence that had settled between the two of you as you leaned down to place a soft kiss on his temple, hearing him hum in response as he settled into your arms, pulling him closer to you carefully, still worried after seeing him barely conscious for weeks.

 

"It's good to be back home..", He answered you.

 

The sadness of remembering hit you after a few minutes of just accompanying Gaster in silence, happy to hear him.

 

Even if you didn't want to, it was part of your obligation to explain what had happened while he was still trapped in the void. You walked away from Gaster with a heavy sigh, already feeling exhaustion pushing at the back of your eyes as you walked away to look for some things, feeling Gaster's worried gaze on you as you searched the closet for something.

 

"What's going on?", He asked worriedly.

 

You approached him moments later, sitting down with a box on your lap, "it's just about having to explain what you've missed, it's not that I don't want to, it'll be hard for you to swallow", his hands took one of yours as he looked at the box, letting you take your time even if curiosity was eating away at him.

 

"You could explain to me later if it makes you feel better," he tried, but you shook your head in return.

 

 

Your soul weighed on your chest, as if it were trying to grow bigger than it should, trying to break your ribs.

 

 

You let it go like always.

 

 

You knew it was probably due to the experiments.

 

 

You shook your head again, softer, "It's necessary", you began wistfully, raising your eyes from the ground to meet his gaze. "The world changed while you were gone, Dear, not in a way I would like, even if monsters can see the sky now."

 

 

Gaster was surprised by your words, he couldn't believe it.

 

 

 

He didn't want to believe that his efforts had been for nothing.

 

 

Unsteady legs barely helped him reach the closed window hidden by cream curtains, his breath caught in his throat as he gaped at the night sky. The darkness of the night bathing everything that the moon's brightness offered where they were.

 

 

His voice stuck in his throat just as his knees gave out, he would have fallen to his knees if it weren't for your arms suddenly on his body that kept him upright and standing.

 

 

Your breath hit the back of his neck, making him shiver at the feeling of hot air against the cold ivory of his bones. 

 

 

 

 

"All of that for nothing.."

 

 

 

It hurt you to hear him so defeated.

 

 

 

"Don't blame yourself for what you can't control", you rubbed your forehead against the back of his neck, tightening your grip around him as silent support before slowly leading him to the bed, sitting him down again as you began to explain, seeking to calm him down at least a little.

 

You let the silence of the crickets hiding among the grass and trees outside be what grounded him, your touch too, as you made sure to keep him standing, connecting his mind so that he would not return to that derealization that had always lurked in the back of his sockets, threatening to drag him from his place next to you, to make him get lost in the darkness of the corners of your room.

 

"Your experiments were a step towards all this, even if the war has not let anyone celebrate".

 

You sought comfort, murmuring your words against his temple, your hand resting on the back of his neck, stroking with your thumb where his skull and body connected.

 

 

 

It really didn't work considering the bomb you inadvertently dropped.

 

 

 

In your defense, it was quite normal at this point to talk about what started a while ago.

 

 

 

The human souls the monsters possessed were at least useful for more than experiments after opening the barrier.

 

 

Monsters learned that if well human souls were extremely dangerous, they were also perfect for making the most powerful warriors.

 

 

After too long a time with conflicts that fortunately the monsters did not lose, all stopped being a taboo topic, or something strange to talk about daily.

 

 

You could still remember the children who threw stones at the last humans who were captured and publicly shamed for the many losses they caused to monster kind after human authorities offered them to maintain a time of peace to recover. If the offered ones were not useful, Undyne always gagged and tied them to leave them in the square of the small city that monsters begun to make time ago at the foot of Mount Ebott.

 

 

"A fair punishment, the fury of the victims", is what she always answered when you asked why.

 

 

Not that you really cared, you were almost always too busy on the front line or organizing for attacks, ambushes or searching for resources.

 

 

It become a normal topic of speaking.

 

 

 

"..War!?"

 

 

 

Although not for Gaster.

 

 

You cursed yourself for forgetting how new Gaster still was, you hadn't slept well in months and the insomnia was making you more distracted outside of high-risk situations.

 

You sighed heavily, feeling even more exhausted by now having to explain the entire current situation to your partner, you had planned to explain it to him tomorrow, when the remains of the fever weren't hitting him or his flu could get worse with the stress.

 

 

But you couldn't stop Gaster's endless curiosity and desire for knowledge.

 

 

Under his anxious gaze you began to explain, stopping at some moments because of how strange it was to remember events that had happened a long time ago.

 

 

You started with what had happened after his disappearance in time and space.

 

 

Everyone forgotten about your partner after his disappearance, or at least that's how it seemed, you hadn't seen his brothers in a long time, who didn't seem to want to be around you most of the time. It's not like you could, after the disappearance of the royal scientist and his assistants a new one arrived and chaos broke loose.

 

 

Alphys was a good scientist with terrible ideas. The idea of keeping monsters alive on the verge of dusting themselves off with determination was her first mistake.

 

 

The idea of breaking the barrier with the soul of a human and a monster fused was the next one that failed.

 

 

 

Mostly.

 

 

 

Driving a group of monsters out of the barrier was the king's idea, "prevention is the best we can do", was what Asgore said before forcing you to agree to be part of the experiment.

 

 

 

You never thought how painful it could be to warp a soul.

 

 

 

Gaster watched with a mix of horror, surprise, and delight as you bared your soul to him. 

 

 

He felt delighted to know that you had enough love and trust in him to see you so vulnerable before him like that, but he was horrified by how different your soul was from a normal monster's soul.

 

 

The small heart floating a few centimeters from your palm still remained in the shape of a monster soul, but the color was what disturbed him. It reminded him of reflective fabric, there were many different colors that changed with every small movement you made.

 

 

 

You wasted time talking to Gaster until the morning light pierced the creamy fabric of your curtains.

 

 

 

With your mind somewhat asleep you were grateful that your room was soundproof as you unconsciously brought your husband's unconscious body closer to you, not wanting to lose the heat that had accumulated under the sheets while the morning cold arrived with the first rays of sun.

 

 

You wondered what would come next.

 

 

At least you weren't alone in this world destined to it's doom.

Notes:

Flowers:
Astragalus; “Your presence softens my pain”

And here is the second part of the prologue, I hope you're ready for chapter 1, which I'll make longer! I'll post it when it's ready

Chapter 3: 1) Goldenrod

Numbness embraced you more and more with each step

 

A feeling so familiar but so old that it was almost comforting, something you had long left behind that welcomed you with open arms and a soft lullaby, the stress and nerves on fire only fueled the heavy feeling more, the sound that followed you forced yourself to ignore everything. You felt like you were dying.

 

Footsteps seemed to echo as they fell to the ground, strident against your throbbing ears, your breath hissing and gaze blurred with unshed tears, silent panic was nothing new.

 

Slowing down little by little until you finally stopped, only for a few moments, looking around before running again, leaves eclipsing the moon in the sky. 

The dark hour almost made you remember why you had escaped from your room, why you had slipped into the darkness, passing behind the backs of faces and names you knew well to bring back someone who was yours.

 

If only your body hadn't interrupted you..

 

Your breathing was rapid, loud and hissing, a perfect copy of the body in your arms, the cold touch of bone on the little skin exposed under your disheveled clothing, a familiar touch that at this moment hurt you, despite feeling weak you did not stop, straining until your legs went numb, leaving nothing but static in your limbs.

 

It had been a long time since you had run like that, since you had traveled so far that your legs trembled, until you no longer felt your muscles and your flesh felt feverish, as if you were cooking, burning from the inside out.

 

 

It was your mistake.

 

 

Your old squad found you.

 

 

Then humans did.

 

 

No mercy was shown, not when dust filled the air, when fire devoured everything within reach, the sounds of gunshots still buzzed in your ears as the footsteps receded, you still could hear your dear old Lieutenant leading the survivors away, leaving the rest of her squad separating to flee, following you with her gaze until she had to leave, leaving you to escape due to the arrival of the humans, worried but unable to follow you.

 

You could still hear the song of the fire, the crackle as it swallowed dry, dead vegetation, and the smell of smoke choking you, filling your lungs with the smell of burnt wood, a sickly metallic smell.

 

The whimpers and howls drowning each other out behind you, barely silenced by the rumble in your ears, the damp sound of violence as you walked away, hearing the gunshots in the distance, barely audible, though you could still see the glow of the fire and the smoke rising into the sky.

 

 

All because you wasn't healthy enough to fight.

 

 

But who could blame you?

 

 

Your husband was deeply affected, lack of sleep and hunger eating away at his bones like insects on rotting flesh what was only worse thanks to the many wounds hidden by his dear old turtleneck, despite everything, he did not dare to let go of a bundle wrapped in cloth from his arms. Your body was still weak, having fought too short a time ago to be healthy for you to be running with old wounds threatening to open, the pain in your muscles and your vision blurred. Exhaustion and pain tingling in your body, stinging, it made you wonder if the way the ground shook was the pain tingling in your senses or the explosions you could feel on your skin.

 

You ran, not paying attention to the smell of dust staining almost every part of you, even the interior of your armor, dark metal hugging almost every part of your body, helping you hide in the shadow of the night, but burning your flesh, overused muscles burning you and your own hot breath warming your face.

 

Barely audible footsteps that followed a few meters away make you grunt as you forced yourself to speed up, zigzagging between leafy trees with inhuman precision, looking to lose the group that was chasing you, you chanted in between your thoughts the most colorful curses you could remember, upset at not being able to heal your husband.

 

The moonlight seemed to be the only light for the humans, you noticed, taking advantage of a moment in which they did not see you to change direction hastily, running to a group of trees, jumping a high height to reach one of the branches, you ignored the sting of pain in your body, grateful for the dull creak of the wood as the humans momentarily passed by, leaving with curses and shots to the night air when they noticed you disappeared in the middle of the chase, deciding to let you go to escape whatever had attacked the group in the first place.

 

You came down from the heights shortly after, leaning against the trunk of the tree in which branches you had hidden, a large, leafy weeping willow, as you gently squeezed your husband in your arms with a grip that made your knuckles tingle.

 

A wet sob rose in your throat as your exhausted and barely conscious husband rubbed your shoulder with one of his hands, the other one still with a strong grip that made his arm tremble, yet still, he did not dare to relax his arms while embracing the new treasure of both, hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

 

 

"rest.. I'll heal you.."

You whispered, stroking your hand down his back until you reached his side, cradling him in your arms.

 

Shortly after your legs finally gave up, even with the pain, you slowly went down the trunk until you were sitting at the base of the tree, moving your husband in your arms, being careful not to lay him against your painful body. You sighed heavily as you spread your knees a little wider from where you were kneeling, immediately feeling the slight relief when your muscles stopped cramping.

 

You lowered Gaster slightly, sitting him in the middle of your legs while you kept him sitting with one hand on his back, careful not to touch the section of his ribs where a long, open gash had stain the fabric of his turtleneck, with your free hand that was previously holding his legs you gently rested your claws around the cut, having pulled up his turtleneck to see the gaping crack-like wound on his abdomen, you heard his breathing hitch in his chest as the green magic began to make effect, hissing as the feeling of healing made him remember the pain, a sound you softly missed as you cradled his head in your neck.

 

"I'll be okay, we'll get through this..", his voice muffled with exhaustion as he lifted one of his hands, caressing your neck carefully, even if you could only feel the pressure through the thick suit covering your entire body as you tried to relax. "I just.. need to... rest a bit", His sockets closed as you felt his soul calm down, finally falling to fatigue and the wound you were healing.

 

You watched intently as the green magic did its work, watching the crack in his body slowly close, hiding from your eyes the darkness inside his body, more like a porcelain doll than a skeleton, even though you could feel the roughness of his bones, even though you could easily make out the edges where the human-shaped bones had stretched together, as if pristine white bone had replaced where flesh and fat should have been, a full-body exoskeleton for a creature hollow inside.

 

You gently traced the edge of the slowly closing wound, looking up at your husband's face as he hissed, lifting your fingers from the cut as it closed, waiting a few moments before adjusting his turtleneck, hugging him against you gently.

 

You sighed through your nose, pressing your back further against the trunk as you leaned back, letting him rest on top of you.

 

Unconsciously your gaze fell on the wrapped bundle that your husband was carefully hugging, you knew what it was, you had felt it, but it affected you no less now that the danger was gone, not now that the feelings were growing on the surface, blossoming in you like a desert flower in the rain.

 

 

Shaking, your fingers gently grasped the unusually clean fabric, slowly lifting it up, almost feeling hurt, sad at the purity slowly appearing before your eyes.

 

 

 

And to your non-existent surprise...

 

 

 

Two children appeared before your eyes.

 

 

 

 

You didn't know how to feel looking at the two little monster finally in front of your eyes after long months of waiting, twins not alike at all asleep in your husband's arms, both without having left their little bubbles, they thought they were still in the womb, you were sure that was why they hadn't started crying yet. That took a weight off your shoulders, you would not have been able to maintain your control over the situation with the wordless cries and begs of your newborns, no more than you barely had.

 

 

So much happened so fast, you still couldn't process it.

 

 

You probably couldn't do it for a whil-

 

 

 

You heard branches snapping, you stood up as quickly as you could.

 

 

 

The sound of air being cut and a damp, unnatural roar.

 

 

 

A flash passed before your eyes.

 

 

 

 

You felt like falling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sans wasn't really surprised when a new fight started, considering how many times he'd seen fights in the last week. Although he was a little surprised that it happened between Comic and Aero of all the people in the house.

 

 

It's not like fighting is something new to his eyes.

 

They were pretty normal considering how many people were in the same house.

 

How many in the same mountain..

 

 

And versions of themselves from everything that could exist.

 

 

 

At this point of being in the house sans really doubt his decision not to have gone with all other versions, different versions of the entire race, both known and unknown, he honestly thought it would have been better than witnessing so many fights and disputes between the members of the house.

 

 

The reason why they were fighting became even more stupid.

 

 

 

A human.

 

 

 

 

Or well, two, although the one he used to see most a day was not usually the one affected by everything.

 

 

He finally approached to intervene in the shouting match between Comic and his more Blue copy that was only a few meters away from the machine, he really didn't wanted the machine to turn back on because of the stupidity of both, the skeletons had already begun to be many months ago after the farmer brothers arrived, with the ones in gold they were too much in the house.

 

 

 

A skele-ton, heh..

 

 

 

"Really, you can't let her keep doing this shit, Comic!" 

 

 

Aero was actually very angry if he was insulting even if he remained calm, he was even using his inner voice. 

 

 

"This time it was my bike what was damaged, fixing it where the paint was chipped is going to be a headache, yes, but what will you do if papyrus's car is next? Or Crimson's? He is going to be mad, You can't let her keep doing whatever she wants just because she's cherry's friend!"

 

 

Comic seemed nervous, although the visible anger was much more than the nerves. Sans was sure Comic had gone almost a week without sleep well at this point if he could read the darkness under his sockets properly. 

 

"Well it's not like I can just throw her out the house! Cherry always threatens to leave with her if I try", Comic replied, rubbing his skull hard enough to leave small, barely visible lines on the pristine bone, sans grimacing at the sight. "What idea do you have otherwise, smart ass?" Comic grunted, returning to his notes to trying to continue repairing the machine. 

 

 

Work had gotten worse since the last pair.

 

 

Aero only seemed to get angrier at his lazy self's response, snorting at the nickname that he should surely take as an insult. "I don't know, and I don't care, because it is not my job to watch and control everyone in this house!" 

 

His hands, bare of his deared gloves, took the clipboard where Comic held his notes, pushing the papers away angrily, insisting until the tired skeleton looked back at him. Sans almost stepped to intervene, but he knew Aero had a point, Comic spent as much time as he could in the basement, sometimes accompanied, sometimes not, continuing to screw up more and more that pile of junk that had dragged so many towards an unknown future.

 

"You insisted that all of us to stay in this house, You were the one who insisted for us to not go with the other monsters, so now you have to find a way to solve this, I've had enough of my and the others stuff getting lose or break, just make up something to get her out.."

 

His gaze lowered to the ground momentarily, seeming to hesitate before speaking again with a somewhat more bitter expression, as if his own words hurt him.

 

 

 

Sans didn't expect it either.

 

 

At least not from someone from such peaceful universe.

 

 

 

 

"..Or make her exchange room with my brother, near that pair."

 

 

 

Sans felt pity, really.

 

 

Because they were trying to throw the poor one to the wolves.

 

 

The human had been annoying enough that the daily routine they had gotten used to the last few years became even more difficult, slowly making the whole house begin to become more tense, upset, as if everyone felt that something bad was going to happen. But no one knew what, it was just an unpleasant feeling that crawled through the bones, even sans could feel that tension, but he didn't know where it came from.

 

The human's presence only made it worse.

 

He had surely seen the human take various things that did not belong to her, surely deceive and lie to the group of skeletons she was close in the house.

 

 

Although he was sure of one thing above all else.

 

 

 

It was certain that he was not referring to the same human as Aero was.

 

 

 

 

 

"Girls, Girls, yah're both pretty, stop fightin' before someon' breaks a bone."

 

 

 

The two shorter skeletons that were fighting turned to see where Sans had been looking until now, Sans looked over his shoulder, watching Red walk down some of the steps until he ended up next to him.

 

"Were yah plannin' to have a hoe meetin'? Bitch's finally here", Red said in greeting, receiving angry looks from Aero and Comic, who last pinched his nose bone, giving only an angry look at the others present before continuing with his work, taking the clipboard out of Aero's hands, Sans snorted, watching the last one give Comic one last look before leaving the basement, saying goodbye with a small nod to Red and him.

 

"Bad time to arrive bud, they were talking about the human", he explained, letting out a low chuckle as he heard Comic sigh heavily when he brought the topic up again.

 

Red looked at him before turning to look at Comic, raising an brow-bone curiously before rolling his lights, walking away from the threshold to get closer to the machine.

 

Thus it was that the three continued in silence for a while, with Comic and Red talking some things about the machine while Sans was busy cleaning up the mess that the group in charge of the machine already had. 

 

He was sure they only let him come down and help with the basic and simplest things like organizing because he had introduced himself as a Sans when he arrived. But he knew that Comic didn't let him help or talk to him about the machine so much because of how similar he was to the person he was trying to bring back with it.

 

 

And still...

 

 

He still remember his arrival perhaps half year ago, something difficult to forget after a long time trapped in a corrupt underground with only one person for company.

 

 

He thought he was dreaming when he saw the sky.

 

 

It was when barely begun to dawn, he still greatly appreciated Mutt's gesture, who dragged him to the roof of the place just to see the sky. He was on that roof until he had to return to talk to the other skeletons, without taking his gaze off the sky as they dragged him into the house.

 

The sound of a hit brought him back to reality, he watched out of the corner of his eye as Comic pushed Red who had apparently hit him for some reason that sans hadn't heard.

 

"And only now you think to tell me about it!?", Red's voice reached him as he approached.

 

"What happen?"

 

Red turned to look, staring for a few moments before speaking.

 

"Apparently the machin' has been turnin' on for a few seconds since yesterda', but since a new pair didn't appear this idiot didn't thin' to tell us!" Red was obviously scolding Comic in the middle of explaining, Comic at least look somewhat embarrassed while hiding his face from them.

 

 

Sans rubbed a hand heavily over his face before starting leaving the basement, "I'll go find the others, and yes, Red, I'll stay up there." He made sure to say before said skeleton could remind him.

 

 

Before leaving he was sure he heard Red continue scolding Comic, the last thing he heard was Comic biting back before the door to the basement closed behind him.

 

 

 

No one noticed how the machine buzzed softly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nebula staring back at you made you dizzy enough to at least slightly ignore the feeling of being crushed.

 

 

 

You were on your knees before you could notice that there was no ground to fall to.

 

 

 

Your arms felt heavy, but different from the heavy feeling that was crushing you, busy.

 

 

 

What are you holding?

 

 

 

You couldn't remember.

 

 

 

You felt your mind return slowly to its place, as if you were slowly appearing, slowly rebuilding yourself from nothing.

 

 

Maybe dust.

 

 

You looked down at your arms with difficulty, feeling your entire body tense, being slowly torn apart.

 

 

Some of the tension faded as a sleeping skeleton and two small bundles wrapped in cloth filled your vision.

 

 

The skeleton seemed familiar to you, a man with soft features, elegant but not feminine, not hard either. Despite being a skeleton, he reminded you of a white dove. He was beautiful in your eyes, and small in your grasp. Relaxed, so helpless but seemingly confident.

 

 

He seemed comfortable in your arms, trusting enough to not need to hold on to you, keeping his arms over those two small bundles of embroidered fabric that you could see. When you brought your face closer to see you could see that they were little people, babies, your mind still recovering remembered.

 

 

They were two small children, about the size of your hands, or maybe a little more, you couldn't really tell from how they were wrapped. They were both snuggled up in a baby blanket that seemed to have been separated in two to wrap each child perfectly.

 

 

The fabric that wrapped the little goat, Aster, was yellow with orange gradient and white flowers. The one that wrapped the little skeleton, Callisto, was dark blue with a purple gradient and white stars, it reminded you of space.

 

 

They were mesmerizing, beautiful. So pure and innocent that without noticing it your grip tightened on your husband.

 

 

Husband? 

 

Right, Gaster is your husband.

 

 

Starting to remember, you tried to stand up to see where you ended up. 

 

After that chase, being separated of the royal guard and ambushed by humans, and something else, you didn't remember fainting, waking up in the middle of the extravagant lights that reminded you of the sun was not normal.

 

You tried to take a step forward only to end up on your knees again, you fell on your butt shortly after on purpose, you didn't have much balance with Gaster and both children in your arms, nor did you want to accidentally crush your husband if you fell forward. Your suit also added weight, although very little thanks to the habit that grown in you.

 

You huffed in discomfort, feeling so much weight on top of you had started to make you dizzy. As if you were in a boat with a strong tide. It was uncomfortable, painful to a point, you were glad that Gaster and your newborns were still unconscious.

 

 

But everything changed after a blink.

 

 

The nebula that previously surrounded you disappeared, changing to a almost absolute darkness that momentarily left you blind, black dots appearing before your eyes that disappeared after blinking, an incessant dizziness and pressure in your head that you guessed was just the beginning of a terrible migraine.

 

You rushed to stand up quickly at voices too close that you didn't noticed, an incessant ringing in your ears, your steps squeaking softly against the ground as you stand up, two short figures were fighting on the ground, without even noticing you as they turned around each other with anger, but no hurting intention, you noticed.

 

You looked with surprise and some annoyance at that little fight slightly blurred by how fogged up your vision was, how hood of your cloak covered your vision and the mask warmed up your face, although you refused to take it off as you slowly walked backwards. You stopped when you heard a soft, barely perceptible buzzing.

Glancing over your shoulder at a messy machine, you decided to walk away from the old metal, keeping your eyes on the two men on the ground as you walked backwards towards an empty corner.

 

To your chagrin the soft squeak of the ground under your hooves caught the attention of one of the guys, of course the floor of the ugly laboratory had to be made of old wood, the one wearing too much red for your taste immediately stopped grappling with the one in blue when he noticed you out of the corner of his socket, turning to look at you with expressionless eyes, eyes that the one in blue copied, following the look of his almost exact copy dressed in red.

 

Honestly..

 

After everything you've been through you didn't expect to find yourself here, in the middle of a fight between two men you recognized too much to be normal, with your unconscious husband in your arms having a near death grip on both newborns while you could at least stand without feeling your legs numb.

 

You lost hope of being able to hide when both turned to look at you and your dear still sleep in your arms, whom you quickly hid from sight with your cloak, covering him as much as you could.

 

 

"Fuck.."

 

 

You thought the place was a laboratory, although it was more like a gloomy and dark basement rather than a lab.

 

There were two tables present accompanied by the machine in poor condition behind you. Both tables with different containers, test tubes and a lot of messy papers full of babbling written on the paper that you couldn't see because of the distance you were at.

 

The one in red and blue that looked too familiar seemed frozen in place, with the one in red frozen about to hit the one in blue again while they both looked at you with their eyelights disappeared in their sockets.

 

That didn't calm you down one bit, you couldn't fight properly against strangers with your two children in your arms and your husband unconscious..

 

 

But you would manage.

 

 

"Now that thing is bringin' other people!", the one in red said in a low, raspy voice while scratching his skull.

 

 

You felt your husband flinch in your arms.

 

 

"that's Gaster?!"

 

 

"What".

 

 

Angry as you feel your husband surprised at the sound an almost metallic growl escaped your mask as you moved a hand under gaster to keep him safe in your arms, changing the position he were in until you were holding him with only one of your arms, his legs around your hips and your arm passing through his lower back until your hand ended on his thigh, leaving little space between your body and his to keep your children hidden, it wasn't good for them to start waking up now.

 

You noticed that moving was not the best option as you saw the skeletons tensed as you moved, maybe thinking that you had some weapon or were going to attack, bone attacks that were now pointed at you as a warning appeared, some closer than others.

 

Both skeletons quickly stood up, staying alert as the door you noticed before opened, letting in a new group of skeletons who seemed surprised to see you, pausing at the door for a few moments before moving to join the others when you didn't move from where you were standing.

 

 

"a woman?", a tall skeleton wearing an orange hoodie muttered, staring at you.

 

 

"..How the hell can ya' tell that's a woman?"

 

 

 

You tighten your grip on Gaster when one of the sharp bone attacks with a carmine glow came a little too close to his back for your liking.

 

 

You weren't going to let it go. 

 

 

You heard one of the tall skeletons let out a surprised sound as you moved, slowly lowering your knees before pushing yourself forward, that attack disappearing moments after sticking into the wall it veered towards, and to the surprise of the skeletons, you kicked the bones near you.

 

You saw the spears embedded in some walls, also in the ground, one even nearly went through the ribcage of a tall, leather-clad skeleton and the one in that hideously bright orange hoodie, both dodged just in time.

 

 

You ignored that thought wondering how easy it would be to crush the skull under your claws. 

 

 

A red light fixed on you, trembling and blurring at the edges as you moved in front of him, a clawed hand lifting his entire body as you held his head with one hand, sharp claws threatening to dig into the ivory of the bone as one of his hands rose to your wrist, stoping before touching you.

 

 

The sound of the wind cutting through made you take a short movement to the side, dodging a sharp spike that stopped just inches from the ribs of the skeleton in your hand, where you knew his soul rested, right where your back had once been.

 

 

"Wouldn't do that if I were you".

 

 

Out of the corner of your eye you saw the tall leather-clad one hesitate, looking at the man in your hands before stepping back, sweating and looking undecided, perhaps worried, as his gaze flickers between you and the short one hanging off the ground by your hand.

 

Your claws tightened on your hostage's skull, who let out a muffled sound of discomfort, maybe pain, you didn't care. That seemed to be enough for the tall man, who quickly walked away knowing that the closer he had gotten to you, the tighter your grip on the shorter man's skull was, murmuring a name and a request that didn't reach your ringing ears but did reach the short one in your grip, who growled uncomfortably, lifting one of his hands to your wrist, trying without any words to make you soften your strong grip on his head, his face behind your hand.

 

That murmur made you realize who they were, what was happening.

 

 

 

 

After all, you knew pretty well that sans and papyrus weren't like that.

 

 

 

 

Or that there were more of them.

 

 

 

 

An old theory immediately came to your mind, the memory of years ago when Gaster would ramble on about his experiments was not something you would easily forget. Even though you were still curious, what brought you here?

 

 

A puff of steam from the piece of metal close to you was a pretty accurate response.

 

 

A growl left your throat, you felt the skeleton in your grip tremble as his feet finally touched the ground, only for you to force him to look at you this time, roughly lifting his face, making him look where your face was behind the helmet.

 

 

"..Who turned on that thing?"

 

 

You saw the others frozen shudder, the short one dressed in a blue jacket beginning to sweat as the others gave him sidelong glances.

 

You had to give the red one in your grip a point for being reliable. 

 

Because he remained silent even though you could see him sweating, hesitating heavily but not thinking of telling you. 

 

 

 

Which was such a stupid decision.

 

 

 

You pressed your hoove slightly harder against the ground, the sound of air cutting and a soft crack made the man in your grip freeze, his light disappearing from his socket when the tip of a black spike growing from the ground pressed against his sternum.

 

 

 

"I don't like to repeat myself..", you insisted.

 

 

 

You heard a soft screech, someone muttering, as you felt the man in your grip flinch as the bone crunched against the tip of the spike, threatening to give up.

 

 

 

"Who turned on that thing".

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Nobody here knows".

 

 

 

Your gaze fell upon a short, elegantly dressed one wearing a black uniform, red high-heeled boots reaching mid-thigh, Red leather gloves almost reaching his shoulders and a cape-length scarf, a small rune on the left side of his chest caught your attention. You recognized that little detail easily, a rule you knew well.

 

 

 

You ignored the way he stopped a tall skeleton dressed in black leather from moving, looking at you with what you guessed was.. 

 

Fear.

 

Maybe hate.

 

 

But you couldn't care less.

 

 

 

"an occurrence unknown to us happened in this universe, since then the machine has been bringing different versions of the underground, It is unusual that those who appeared in front of the machine were not another Sans and Papyrus".

 

 

"I see".

 

 

Your grip softened on the skeleton in your hands, who groaned and coughed, though still not moving away for fear that you would try to impale him if he took a step back.

 

 

"T-think it would be better to lowet the spikes, we can perfectly talk without them!"

 

The skeleton wearing red said, raising his hands and showing his palms at you, sweat on his skull as he waits for you to at least think about his request. You did though about it for a few moments before doing as he asked, letting the ebony spikes fade into the air, finally letting go of his skull, seeing him taking a few steps back, you felt momentarily dizzy as the magic you used returned to you.

 

You took a few steps back, unsure now that you had no direct way to persuade those present not to attack.

 

Not for your own safety of course..

 

 

But how much of a mess you'll cause if they hit whats yours.

 

 

In front of you and a few steps away you watched as the man you had previously held hostage was forcefully pulled away from you by that tall skeleton that the elegant one held in place, and, even if no one noticed, you look away when the tall man hugged the other tightly against himself, without stopping to look at you.

 

 

 

Though, to your chagrin, a soft start of a cry echoed in the walls.

 

 

More alert, you tightened your grip on your husband, supporting the nape of his neck by moving his skull away from your shoulder, muttering a curse as you looked down only to be met with one pair of small eyes filled with tears staring back at you, the low whimper turning to crying as the sound was answered with absolute silence.

 

 

With your unoccupied hand you gently lifted the soft cloth that wrapped your little boy, whose cry softened at the sight of you, pulling the blanket down to his tiny head you moved your hand to cradle his small body, barely the size of your hand as you lifted him up a littl-

 

 

 

"..a child?"

 

 

 

You swore you felt your neck crack as you lifted your head, but you couldn't find it in you to care as you finally looked up, causing the copy of your husband's brother to flinch, freezing mid-step.

 

You reached out your hand before touching your still crying newborn hidden with his sister between your and your husband's bodies to press your husband's upper back closer to you, taking a step back to get away from the man you hadn't noticed approaching.

 

Feeling the body in your arms shudder make you curse under your breath, of course your husband would wake up now.

 

When his legs unfolded of your waist to stand up, you took the opportunity to take another step back, moving your husband further away by letting him regain his balance against you, gently pushing him behind you, watching him hesitate whether to look at you or continue to look at the crying bundle wrapped in his arms.

 

 

"don't come closer".

 

 

Looking at you he seemed to think about it, hesitating for a few moments before nodding softly, raising his empty hands slightly as he take a step back.

 

Gaster's head pressed against your side lightly more, after a few moments of seeing no one move to come closer or do anything else, you quickly turned to focus on him.

 

"You're alright?..", You murmured, thankfully low enough that only Gaster now relaxing in your arms could hear.

 

You cradled his face, gently moving his head to see if he had any wounds or bruises, even though you knew you had been holding him carefully for quite some time.

 

"..I'm alright", He replied, looking down at both bundles as he heard Aster continue crying, gently rocking both children in his arms, trying to calm the awake newborn.

 

Hearing the skeletons muttering amongst themselves now that you weren't looking, you kept your attention on your husband and Aster, hoping the little one would stop. 

 

When your little sheep stopped crying, one of the skeletons caught the attention of both.

 

"W-WHY DON'T WE... GO TO THE LIVING ROOM? ...I THINK IT'S A BETTER PLACE TO TALK THAN THE BASEMENT".

 

A tall skeleton spoke, Papyrus, wearing a white shirt with a red scarf on top, black pants and red boots almost to his knees with golden edges similar to his gloves, being visibly uncomfortable about everything, he was nervously playing with his scarf between his gloved phalanges.

 

The sharp looking papyrus, you guessed, the brother of the sans you had previously held hostage, stared at you with an expressionless face, still shocked if you weren't wrong.

 

No one answered the red-gloved papyrus so after a few seconds of thinking about it and looking at your still tired husband, you nodded.

 

"Lead the way", your voice soft, tired.

 

Gaster seemed to want to ask why until he remembered that you were already awake by the time he woke up, you were still awake after all that, not to mention having to take care of him and both newborns.

 

With a silent sigh he nodded and began walking with you placing a hand gently on his lower back, a small smile grew on your face as the nice papyrus, who you thought of nicknamed, led you both out of the basement.

 

Even if you could feel everyone's gaze wander between you and your husband you still walked up the stairs, going behind Gaster, turning your back on the looks, not caring as long as your husband was in front of you, both following papyrus to a tidy living room where he offered you a seat, the arrival of you and Gaster to the room seemed to interrupt a conversation between three more people.

 

There were two sofas, one medium and one large L-shaped, soft gray, clean and visibly comfortable, close to a coffee table and a television on the wall, there were no paintings but there were some homely decorations and some home plants.

 

The three other new monsters looked immediately as you enter with Gaster at your side, two sans and one papyrus, the first sans you saw was wearing a gray shirt with a blue jacket and black striped shorts with flower patterns on them, he had a straw hat and was wearing pink slippers.

 

Next to him was a papyrus wearing a black tank shirt under a purple jacket, black shorts with stripes and black sandals with white socks. With yellowish bones, which you guessed were like that by the cigarette he had between his teeth, he also had his right eye socket covered by a dark purple patch, a gold chain barely visible on his neck and three rings on his thumb, index and pinky that you could see were on both hands.

 

The other was wearing a black hooded coat with white trim over a white turtleneck, there were designs on the sleeves of the coat, he had gray jeans with a black belt and black winter boots. He didn't seem to be a Papyrus despite being tall, his face was more similar to Sans with Gaster' marks on his face, he also had holes in his palms, just like your husband.

 

With Papyrus's permission, you both sat in the other sofa, the conversation between the three of them stopped as they noticed that you had entered with Gaster, the tall sans starting a silent staring battle with your husband while the other two looked between the two of you with some interest.

 

You almost fall when sat down because of the pain in your legs, you almost didn't notice Gaster, watching him lay both newborns down, one on each of your laps, your little sheep on your lap and your little girl on Gaster's, before yanking the cloak off you, worried that you had been injured and not wanting you to continue wearing the suit.

 

You heard a surprised shout as more people entered the room just as the cloak left your head, causing your hair to fall as the hood took away the hair tie that had been holding the white hair.

 

 

You heard someone gasp.

 

 

You turned towards the sound, your gaze falling into empty sockets, a skeleton dressed in black and dark purple staring back at you in what you assumed was surprise, maybe suspect.

 

 

"You're a royal guard?"

 

 

You felt your husband bristle beside you, as annoyed as you were at hearing this, more willing to show it openly though.

 

 

"She's-"

 

 

"I'm not".

 

 

Your touch silenced him in mid-word, your fingers covered by that dark second skin thick and resistant leaving a soft dull sensation where you gently squeezed the hand you had on his lower back, that sensation passing through the multiple layers of clothing until settling in his being, a sensation without equal but always appearing at the right moments. Before threatening to stand up Gaster looked at you for just a few moments before relaxing in his seat, looking down at his still sleeping daughter warmly wrapped.

 

Blinking momentarily at the other skeletons that slowly began to fill the room you unconsciously moved a hand to where your collarbone would be under the suit, a mark most knew well, shiny gold to everyone's eyes.

 

"'I'm not".

 

The one with triangular pupils lower his brow, shaking his head, almost denying your own words as if they weren't real just because he didn't believe you, his lights wandering between your eyes and the mark on your chest, knowing what he was thinking you gave him a smile that only made him sweat.

 

 

"That can't be, you're wearing that rune".

 

 

You unconsciously chuckled, amused by his words despite seeing a few new skeletons flinch out of the corner of your eye, you already knew what they was thinking, it was no surprise, there had already been many who had confused you.

 

And technically it was no less, it was not always seen a random monster wearing that old rune, because in contrast to those you already knew, you were a sheep. Taller and larger, though well built for your specialty unlike an older woman you had sadly come to know well.

 

Wearing the delta rune had become an unspoken tradition.

 

Only high-ranking Royal Guards or members of the royal family were allowed to wear it, It's not like it was illegal for average citizens to do so, but it was usually frowned upon, only monsters who made and served for monsterkind used to wear it.

 

You always disliked wearing it, wearing such a mark on your chest, so close to your soul as if that were its place.

 

Because those who wore it were believers who preferred to place their faith in a creature that did not exist.

 

But it was something that set you apart from the rest, something that by nature and duty you had to do, even if you never disliked it any less.

 

"I am.."

 

The thick material didn't stop you from feeling the slight relief of the metal embedded, gold in the shape of wings, small details recreating feathers, you hated having prepared yourself when escaping, having to put on the thick, elegant suit pretending to be a second skin that you hated, at least you had something to change into afterwards.

 

Although the fact that the clothes you had stored away were nothing more than what you needed for a few moments, those in which your title was more than you, more important than you, more important than the ground beneath your soles. It was annoying to know that the little you had was nothing more than obscenely expensive, more than elegant clothes, and jewelry, shiny, heavy gold, jewelry that only you could wear.

 

You raised your eyes from the ground to the triangular lights.

 

 

"Any problem on that?"

 

 

That skeleton with the rune on his chest took a step forward, placing his hand on the shoulder of the one in purple. You saw him lightly pull his partner back, forcing him to take a step back, where the other skeletons kept their distance from you, feeling the gaze of everyone, even those who pretended not to look. You almost felt flattered by the reminder of your power. 

 

 

Almost.

 

 

"No problem, no problem at all, we deeply apologize for that..."

 

 

 

Their lights flickered between your eyes, the rune on your chest, and the ground, deciding to stay on the ground in the end, a shiver visibly running through the one in purple and several behind them when your title echoed in the deadly silence.

 

 

 

You felt no sympathy.

 

 

 

 

That part of you had gone to sleep long enough to not wake up often.

 

 

 

 

The only thing left was...

 

 

 

 

"..Your Majesty".

 

 

You heard a drop fall, the sound making a soft echo before surprised whispers turned into a lullaby, as always, you had already grown accustomed to the initial surprise, you had already expected it.

 

But it never became less annoyi-

 

 

 

"What are you guys all doing here?"

Notes:

Flowers:
Goldenrod; Encouragement; be cautious

Whooho, time skip! :D
Also, there are a lot of scenes here but that's because I didn't wanted to cut it into two parts, the episode may feel a bit rushed for my taste.. tho I hope you all like It!

Chapter 4: 2) Nightshade

"What are you guys all doing here?"

 

 

You easily found yourself with the new addition, green eyes meeting yours halfway, a surprised and confused expression blooming on her face as the smile she had when she entered withered.

 

 

"...Guests?"

 

 

As quick as a blink the smile was back on his face, and though his eyes seemed to light up, you knew it wasn't from excitement, not genuine at least.

 

Knowing that the interaction was going to be strange because of how the large group had tensed up, you sighed invisibly under the mask, being as expressive as you could for the few moments you had before untying the laces tied at the back of your head to calmly remove the mask, putting on a neutral expression on face as you lowered the black velvet-lined metal.

 

She looked at you, the green of her eyes lighting up for a moment as her gaze dropped from you to Gaster, her gaze darkening as she noticed both childs, your soft grip tightened slightly on Aster, who looked at you with that childish cloudiness in his eyes that made you want to coo at him for being so cute. Definitely Gaster's eyes, you thought as you looked down for a few moments, not daring to look away from someone new whose behavior you were unfamiliar with.

 

The skeletons seemed tense, several looking between you and the new person in the room, you almost felt offended, did they think you were going to jump up and attack the poor one? You weren't that lost, you knew well that political situations between two races would never be the same in other universes, even if you had seen quite a few in less than ideal situations. 

 

Feeling the sans in a suit stand next to your seat with the one in purple you didn't bother to look at them, nor to notice the majority pretending to be relaxed, you remained calm and expressionless.

 

"I deeply apologize for the sudden visit", Gaster took his gaze from the girl to look towards a window, hiding a grimace as you already knew well, displeased to hear an apology escape between your lips, you never really understood why, "I thought the boys here were the only ones at home."

 

She chuckled, the skeleton in the suit standing tensely beside you stared at her for a few moments before looking at a tall one dressed in red and black with two scars in one eye socket for a few moments, looking down at the one dressed in purple next to him, making a slight movement with his skull that his cold-colored counterpart understood. 

 

"I think there are still some missing, they are probably scattered around the house..", Her eyes roamed over the tense crowd of skeletons, her brow furrowing just slightly before her gaze fell on your chest momentarily, "What could a monster of your kind be doing outside of its district?"

 

 

You felt Gaster's magic flood the room, his sharp gaze on her.

 

 

"Cherry."

 

 

Confused, the human looked up from you to the Sans with a blue hoodie, who you guessed was the original from this universe.

 

"Watch your tone" 

 

He said sharply with the lights gone in his sockets, he shook his head addressing his words to the human, the so-called cherry, though he was turned towards you, his expressionless face staring at you as you looked back at him.

 

Your smile made him sweat.

 

"I don't think it's any of your business", Gaster at your side replied, looking at the simpler version of his brother before turning slightly, smiling at the human. She let out an annoyed growl, pouting as she walked over to stand next to a tall skeleton also dressed in purple with a patch over one of his sockets, although he ignored her, his only light fixed on the other skeleton in purple, who you guessed was his brother, it didn't take a genius to notice.

 

You had to stop yourself from snorting at the sight, watching the original Sans sweat even more as he noticed that she had no plans to walk away. You almost wanted to tease him further, it was incredibly tempting to see him so tense, you'd almost say scared, with his shoulders high and his skull low, glistening with bright beads of sweat, something not only in him, you noticed, although the others could dissimulate better, enough for the human to only seem confused by the nervousness of the one in blue and the one dressed in red that you had held hostage before, who was standing next to his brother, sweating and looking at you. The reddish drops rolled down his skull when you smiled at him.

 

"HUMAN, GO CHANGE", You were caught by the voice of Papyrus next to the one with the red turtleneck, looking at you, but addressing the human. 

 

He just stopped looking at you when she didn't move, leaving no room for discussion, she didn't look back at him, stubborn as hell, staring at you without trying to hide that she was doing it, which only made the non-existent hairs of Gaster and the skeletons near you stand on end. It amused you like no one present had any idea, it had been years since you had seen someone be so disrespectful in your presence, it was fun to see something like that again.

 

Even though you knew you weren't going to take a liking to a human like that.

 

Maybe she would be an interesting acquaintance, stubborn, perhaps perseverance or brave, you liked to a certain extent the people who knew what they were looking for, those who set their sights on something and did the impossible until they achieved it, maybe they reminded you of yourself, for everything you had done to get what you wanted, sinking your claws into something impossible and going against the universe itself until you achieved it. Persevering people were people who seemed interesting to you, to a certain extent, that hardness to reach their own limits and still push further, shaping themselves and their surroundings according to their desires.

 

Returning the gaze to the human, you did not lower your eyes as you lifted and placed Aster in your arms, his head smaller than your fist in the crook of your elbow and his covered legs barely reaching your wrist, you cuddled him carefully anyway, clinging to your chest, seeming happy to be lying so close to where your soul rested, surrounded by your magic. 

 

Cherry's eyes lowered from yours to the sleepy little boy in your arms, the fur on the back of your neck bristling as you watched a slow smile make its way onto her lips.

 

Thinking about it carefully...

 

 

"What a cute little lamb!"

 

 

You took back everything of before.

 

 

To your unpleasant surprise, before you knew it, you saw freshly groomed almond-tipped nails approaching the fine, silky fur of your little one. Your little one of just a few hours old, maybe a day old.

 

 

Your little one still imprinting.

 

 

Gaster at your side bristled like you had rarely seen, the smell of ink and bitter rosemary reached your nose, showing even more his surprise and anger that his face already showed, lifting and extending his empty hand of yours and his other still sleeping newborn. You glanced at the skeletons, mainly the ones you had heard talking, approaching in surprise, extending gloved hands towards the human, maybe trying to push her away, maybe trying to stop her..

 

Although it was not necessary.

 

Out of sight to the still half-asleep face, ignoring her goan as your fingers tightened on the smooth skin, the fingers just in your vision twitching as you squeezed slightly harder, the joint of her thumb tensed and said finger bent towards her palm to the point that you heard her stutter over your head, the sound of discomfort, not pain.

 

 

Not pain.

 

 

Your once relaxed fingers barely grazing the covered hooves of your little lamb trembled invisibly, not noticeable to others, but you could feel it.

 

 

Who does she think she is?

 

 

Your eyes rose from your little boy to the girl, seeing her looking between her imprisoned hand looking small between your fingers and your gaze now on her face contorted in discomfort.

 

Discomfort.

 

She didn't understand it.

 

Of course she didn't.

 

Imprinting was a natural process. 

 

Not only in monster newborns from what you had read, in which the newborns became accustomed to and recognized their parents to remember them as such. It was different for everykind; smell, sight, hear, touch. 

 

You knew that skeleton monsters imprinted on their parents by sight, which is why Callisto was still covered, the soft fabric comfortably covering her skull like a hood as Gaster held her comfortably in his grip, her only line of sight being towards him and you if she woke up, although of course it was different for your subrace.

 

Sheep monsters recognized their parents by touch.

 

 

The only ones who had to have physical contact with a newborn lamb were its parents.

 

And no one else.

 

 

The confusion in her eyes made you clench your jaw, feeling your teeth gnash slightly from the pressure, you tightened your grip on her hand, wondering if he even understood that what he had just tried to do was the ultimate form of disrespect to a parent.

 

Trying to get the attention of a still imprinting baby was making the newborn focus on you and not on its parents.

 

 

It was trying to take a child away from their parent.

 

 

"I don't think my son has a sign that says 'pet me' on him".

 

You gave a gentle tug, just a small movement, but enough to feel her tug, trying to free herself from your grip, but her attempts were futile, she even put some of her weight into trying to free her hand. You could feel her pulse beneath your fingers, the soft rumble of her heart slowly accelerating, panic appearing on her face when none of the skeletons came to free her from your grip, looking at those closest to her out of the corner of her eye, even looking at your husband, who returned an angry look to her.

 

The audacity..

 

You lowered your hand further, hearing her let out an annoyed grunt as you dragged her lightly.

 

You were tempted to squeeze harder, hearing that peculiar sound the bones made when they were pushed closer together than they should, you wondered if she would whimper in pain or cry silently, if she would perhaps remain a weak little brat or give up when her fingers finally stopped moving from lack of circulation, you wondered if that would make her learn her damn plac-

 

 

You heard the air cut, your fingers losing that hardness as they cradled Aster's face, claws covered in charcoal-colored cloth covering his eyes, hiding from the innocent square pupils the bone with a sharp point that stuck in the ground, near Gaster's shoes.

 

The human was dragged back by a strong tug on her clothes, almost falling with a high-pitched squeal as that orange-hooded papyrus pulled her away from you, you knew he was also the one who tried to put that bone through your wrist.

 

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," he whispered, weakly hiding the human with his body as he spoke to you. 

 

 

"She was just curious".

 

 

An angry expression settled on his face as the smoke reached your nose, removing the ash that landed on your knees, watching with disgust the fabric take on a slight grey tone where the ash stubbornly clung to your elegant suit. Although the dirt sprinkled on the bottom of your pants and the invisible stains you could feel on your sleeves didn't help much.

 

 

"you don't understand". 

 

 

The slight lift of your eyelids was what deepened your smile, the angry expression on the skeleton only deepened further, although you saw him hide a grimace. You raised your eyes from his face to the girl's, whose fear-bathed face peered out from behind the skeleton's shoulder.

 

"Learn some manners and don't try to touch a newborn", You snorted, looking down at your still sleeping lamb, Aster had his eyes fixed on your fingers, the only thing close enough for his newly accustomed eyes to focus on.

 

"Not all monsters are as patient as I am."

 

 

You heard her snort, face scrunching as she stepped back with the skeleton, making a living barrier between you and her.

 

 

"..Many would do worse things", Gaster added, his lights meeting her eyes as she looked up at him, you watched as he gently stroked his thumb across Callisto's temple, gently holding the sleeping little girl, the warmth in his hold missing from his tone.

 

"I would".

 

You saw the human open her mouth to speak when other interrupted her, a Papyrus, the brother of your hostage from the basement, who said bag of bones was standing next to him, arms crossed.

 

"WE SHOULD CONTINUE WITH OUR.. CONVERSATION".

 

His voice was somewhat raspy, although with a certain touch that it was difficult for you to ignore, his gaze on you and Gaster was certainly not angry, neutral you would say. His eyes on you and your husband soon ended on the human, his voice changed as he spoke, a harsher tone, barely noticeable. 

 

"HUMAN, LEAVE", he said and apparently it was enough for the human, though not for the orange hoodie skeleton, who glared at him angrily, though he didn't bother to look back. You found it amusing.

 

She moved away from the orange papyrus, trying to hug one of the tall red-dressed man's arms, although he didn't let her, moving just when she was about to touch him. She said goodbye looking a little sad, the yellow of her dress more dull than before. It was difficult for you to find within yourself any shred of sympathy.

 

The one in orange followed her with his gaze until she left, giving the one in red an angry look that he only ignored to speak again while the one in orange moved until he ended up next to one in blue, Surely his brother, you thought.

 

"NOW," he start, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHY YOU APPEARED HERE AND NOT OTHER VERSIONS OF US? PERHAPS THEY..?" He asked after seeing that the human left the room, his eyelights wandering between the two of you, lingering a little longer on you.

 

Sans tensed, his lights disappearing for a few moments, you actually understood. To think that in an infinite number of worlds, in several of them you had done things that had changed the course of everything, including your own life and survival, was not something easy to swallow, It was a lump that left your throat dry and the words on the tip of your tongue, a poisonous root with an appetizing appearance that at the slightest opportunity reminded you that you should have been more careful. It was terrifying to think that in another world something you had quietly passed through had taken your life.

 

Gaster went ahead to respond sharply, not letting you speak knowing that you would be too polite and respectful for his liking after the recent, "They don't, although we have no idea why it wasn't other versions of you who appeared in front of the machine".

 

You noticed that Gaster's gaze dropped to the ground so you gently placed a hand on his shoulder before speaking, Gaster was still looking at Callisto with a sweet fatherly affection as Aster began rubbing one of his hands on his face, delighted with the new sensations.

 

After clearing your throat to get the skeletons' attention, you spoke.

 

"the machine is not really a surprise either, we knew about it and the alternate universes, even if we did not plan to act further upon them", some skeletons looked confused at your words.

 

"You guys knew? How did you knew that shit?"

 

 

"I fixed my machine."

 

 

They fell into a stunned silence, the babbling of Aster and the newly awakened Callisto was the only sound in the deathly silence.

 

With a mocking grin on his face, Gaster broke the silence again, "Why don't you introduce yourselves? We know your names, but calling everyone Sans and Papyrus would surely be confusing." he said.

 

Several seemed to notice it too, so the presentations began again, the original Sans and Papyrus were the first.

 

"Right.. just call me Sans", he said with a somewhat strained smile, his brother next.

 

"I'M THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW... YOU CAN GIVE ME A NICKNAME IF IT'S MORE CONFORTABLE", Papyrus said with a smile, although he still seemed a little nervous, if his scarf between his phalanxes wasn't a sign.

 

"YOU CAN CALL ME AERO, IT'S A PLEASURE" a Sans wearing blue said with a smile more calm than Papyrus's.

 

Your gaze falls towards the one in the orange, who look at you and Gaster as he uttered a simple, "Cyrus".

 

The one with the gold tooth copied Stretch, without the engry look though, casting a glance at you and your husband as he grumbled, "Name's Red."

 

His brother, however.. 

 

"MY NICKNAME IS CRIMSON", said the sharp looking papyrus, making a slight bow with his head, his good manners seemed to surprise most of the skeletons, his brother looked at him as if he had grown a second and third head in a row, Crimson didn't seem happy to have so many eyes on him.

 

"Black, Miss sheep." said the sans of the slash in his left eye, he was standing with his arms crossed looking at you with an analytical look, his moderately respectful attitude also seemed to be a surprise to the present.

 

"Mutt", the Papyrus with the purple patch spoke, lowering his head slightly in greeting, his gaze flickering towards Black a few times.

 

Next was the straw hat sans, "my name is Copper and my brother's quartz, welcome to the place", He gave a softer and somewhat carefree smile towards you and Gaster, his brother accompanied him, "GREETINGS!" He said with a slight smile, he was an exact copy of Papyrus but he seemed more carefree and energetic somehow.

 

The next one let out a soft and elegant chuckle before speaking, "I'm Merlot and this is my brother, Citrine, it's a pleasure, majesty", he said with a slight bow after pointing to the papyrus with braces, who also bowed slightly, Merlot had a similar attitude to your Undyne, in the formal sphere at least. 

 

"Right, Majesty..", you heard from someone you didn't pay attention to, you decided to ignore that.

 

Citrine looked nervous as he stood up straight and waved with a small wave of his hand, which you returned with a smile, action that seemed to be the right one because a small ash yellow blush appeared on his cheekbones while a small smile grew on Merlot's face.

 

The last one spoke with a smile, "call me Thyme, Uhm.. it's a pleasure.." The copy of your husband gave you a wink at the end that made you snort as you watched Gaster stare at him for that. You clung closer to his side to calm him down.

 

"It's a pleasure," you said again with a slight bow while still sitting, you placed Aster on your lap so that he wouldn't fall when you slightly lowered your body.

 

When you sat properly again you saw that most of the skeletons were still tense, except for those who bowed like crimson, you could tell that your husband had a proud smile on his face as he saw again how much a simple action from his powerful wife could affect people.

 

Sans was about to speak when the sound of a door opening caught everyone's attention.

 

 

A few meters away and under the frame of the entrance door was a human, another girl, quite different this time.

 

 

"Oh! I'm.. sorry to interrupt.."

 

 

You heard the girl say in a low, soft, embarrassed tone, like a child walking into the middle of an important meeting. Although wasn't that what this was? You saw with slight curiosity of her appearance, you remained silent, cautious, not answering or speaking as you continued to look sideways.

 

The place became quiet, the air became tense and you swore weeds began to sprout from the heaviness of the room.

 

The new gorlwas tall enough to pass the tallest Sans in the room, not counting the rare copy of your husband, her skin was a little darker, visibly soft, her hair was brown with purple tips and somewhat long.

 

However, she looked terrible..

 

Her hair tied in a messy ponytail that ended at her upper back looked unkempt, beneath her half-lidded eyes long dark circles decorated her pale cheeks, Her dry and brittle lips looked painful and some dried blood barely visible under her nose told you what the reason for her appearance was despite the early hour.

 

Her clothes were in disarray, blue jeans whose fabric near the ankles seemed deflated, a white shirt and a dark jacket with the design of a cat biting a candy, her shoes were a dirty and the knees of her pants were stained.

 

You really wanted to listen to your new instincts and get closer to her, Gaster seemed to want something similar if the concern visible on his face was anything to go by, but you knew how annoying it was to be infantilized by unknown people, the two of you just shared a look, knowing that it wasn't appropriate to get so close to strangers.

 

Despite everything, that human seems interesting to you, something that was different in some way, you couldn't help but frown slightly, thinking.

 

You didn't bother to ask, knowing she wouldn't really understand what you wanted to do, but you did anyway, watching her gaze dip to the ground as a shiver ran through her back

 

You'd seen human colors before, all kinds; stained, bright, dull.

 

It's been a long time since you have seen cracks.

 

In perseverance at least.

 

 

      *One day of peace and quiet is the only thing she wants

*She prays that you won't be the same.

 

 

Your face bathed in concern, hearing the soft whisper of a hopeless soul, almost a soft whimper, a child whispering their worries to the chilly night air of the forest, knowing that they would receive no answer.

 

You hoped that it was not what you thought.

 

You looked up from the young human girl to the skeletons, expecting to see concern or pity, any sign of concern would have been normal, but the reaction of the skeletons wasn't what you hoped.

 

 

Hate.

 

 

You were hoping you hadn't get to see frowns, glares, and scathing words in their magic.

 

Sans looked at her the way someone would look at a piece of gum stuck to the sole of their shoe; disgusted.

 

Many looked away from her after a few seconds of looking at her with what you guessed was disgust. Crimson, Merlot, Citrine and Thyme seemed more interested in continuing to see you, spying on your reaction, you could tell. You didn't know what they were looking for but it sure wouldn't be what they expected. Copper and Quartz looked worried but they stayed quiet and looked away.

 

You frowned as you watched the young woman try to make herself smaller under the gaze of the skeletons, who looked at the human with hatred, a good-souled human.

 

You didn't understand.

 

You had come to witness bad humans, human souls so corrupted that even the most beautiful color turned into a disgusting tone like essence, it was obvious that something was wrong if they showed such a level of disgust and aggression towards a defenseless person.

 

Because it was easy to notice that she was helpless, you had seen all kinds of people, something normal with the years you had already lived, your peak of youth had long passed, leaving the experience and trauma of surviving that the life you chose brought with it. 

 

That made you angry, with your frown some skeletons that were watching you tensed, Gaster looked at you for a few seconds before also starting to get angry when analyzing the situation, you were the only one of the two who had the capabilities of a judge. Something wasn't right, but he didn't understand what.

 

You could easily feel the heaviness of the air in the quiet room, silent as a graveyard.

 

 

This is not what you had thought.

 

 

When starting a new life you expected battles, fighting loudly and at full volume for the good of your family. 

 

You had given everything of yourself for years, an entire life pleasing an entire country, an entire race placed, safe and fed in exchange for every little piece of your flesh, in exchange for sleepless nights, pain that would accompany you until your last days, your faith broken, a family destroyed, deaths, dust and stains that would never leave your skin.

 

 

A new life of silent pain was not what you expected.

 

 

It wasn't what you wanted to witness, not in nobody.

 

 

You won't allow something like that.

 

 

Not anymore.

 

 

 

Your magic slowly became present in the room, you saw the skeletons tense, moving to see you with sweat on their skulls, however, gaster and your children seemed more comfortable with your presence filling the room, especially both little ones who didn't understand the silent warning towards the skeletons.

 

The human looked a little confused but certainly more comfortable without having the skeletons' gaze on her, the young woman sent you a grateful look before slipping down a hallway and leaving silently.

 

That made a slight smile appear on your face as you heard the other human yell a cheerful 'breakfast's ready!' from a distance, which unconsciously made some skeletons jump, hoping that your fuse would finally run out of thread to burn, you chuckled as you saw that you still hadn't lost your touch, intimidating was too easy at this point.

 

He raised you for it after all.

 

Gaster seemed proud to see the power that his wife created in the monsters in front of him, his children did not seem to understand the situation but seemed happy to be surrounded by the strong presence. 

 

After huffing you settled Aster in your arms, looking at Gaster for a few seconds before standing up with a smile on your face.

 

"You should go, you don't want to keep a lady waiting, right?" You asked, your voice somewhat harsh and out of place compared to your soft attitude towards Gaster and both children.

 

Merlot, who seemed less intimidated than most, nodded and spoke in a soft and elegant tone, "follow me", He said before moving to guide you and Gaster into the dining room.

 

You snorted at such elegance and display of confidence before following him alongside Gaster and Citrine, who walked behind his brother with his head down.

 

Callisto now seemed more interested in exploring her father's clothes, especially the feel of the fabric that had patterns on it, Aster, on the other hand, found it more entertaining to see the place with curious eyes and a smile under the hand that he had raised to his mouth.

 

The baby monsters were rapidly developing creatures thanks to the circumstances to which the monsters had become accustomed, mainly yours, a large, very numerous family of sheep whose evolution helped the very rapid development of the infants. You still had to talk to Gaster about how you would raise both children and the ways to do it as correctly as possible, staying as informed as possible was the best thing you both could do now with two children.

 

You were excited to meet your new babies.

 

The dining room and the kitchen were in a different room, separated by a few meters, it was clean, you could notice that some of them seemed to be lovers of cleanliness, the table and shelves seemed to shine because of how clean they were.

 

The kitchen was also large, the dining room table was spacious, where a large group of people could fit.

 

You must have been too aware of the skeletons to not notice where you were, although you probably wouldn't have noticed because you were used to big places considering your years of upbringing in the king's castle.

 

The human seemed to have already started eating what looked like breakfast, but her gaze seemed somewhat displeased, you found yourself wishing the food tasted like dust on her tongue.

 

Merlot gestured to two chairs together which he pulled up, offering you and your husband a seat. Gaster glanced at you before moving to sit down, knowing that otherwise you would take care of making him comfortable before getting comfortable yourself. You rolled your eyes before sitting down next to him, forcing your legs not to shake despite feeling the abused muscles burning your skin.

 

You settled next to Gaster as you watched the others begin to enter the dining room and sit in their respective places, some like Quartz and Aero seemed to be a little excited, shooting glances at you and gaster sometimes, others like Crimson, Merlot and Citrine acted elegantly and politely, something unusual for them if the stares on them were any indication.

 

It would be a lie to say that you were nervous, the first impression of them and the two of you was not the best, starting to fight as soon as you arrived at the place was not appropriate, but you didn't really regret that.

 

You sought to hold hands with these skeletons if it meant having peace, but you would be harsh if necessary.

 

Aster returned to sleep, ahora recostado contra his father's chest as he handed Callisto to you, you lifted your little girl in front of you carefully, gently holding her head, staring at her, a look that she returned to you, that drew a snort from you as you watched her yawn. 

 

Her anatomy was already somewhat strange to your gaze, not a bad kind of strange, Although the skeleton monsters had been called that because of the way they looked, evolution had even reached them. You were sure that the only skeleton monsters really similar to the originals were Sans and Papyrus, because Gaster's body, although made with the same material, had a different structure, like a jointed doll. You could already notice how similar Callisto was to those dolls, your little dolly.

 

You huffed as you watched the skeletons eat, settling Callisto against your chest, you could feel multiple glances directed at you and your husband for a few seconds before disappearing, the ones you noticed the most was Sans and the human's.

 

Gaster grimaced bitterly at how uncomfortable he felt with all that not entirely direct attention on him as he gently rocked his sleeping son in his arms, you were too but you could hide it more easily than him.

 

You heard several compliments for the human in the background while you were hesitating about something.

 

You had checked the human from before, should you do it with this one too? It would be best to be sure who you would be with constantly if Sans planned for you and your husband to stay.

 

You did not hesitate before you began to check the majority of them sitting, starting from the closest ones, you noticed that many shuddered when they noticed the sensation of being naked to your eyes, you didn't care about that.

 

Nothing surprising, some had high lv but you didn't really care. You had already seen that they wouldn't dare go against you, you knew it.

 

Until you reached the human.

 

 

 

 

      *A little blue daisy rotted to the roots.

*She wonders how weak those small children are.

 

 

 

 

You found it interesting at first, but you had no doubts.

 

 

She won't go near your children.

 

 

You came down from your cloud when you heard her speak to you, apparently wanting to get your attention when she noticed your gaze on her, you quickly put a smile on your face that Gaster noticed easily. You didn't really care much, since cherry was the only one who couldn't hear, feel, how strong your intention was.

 

"I don't think we've introduced ourselves! It's nice to meet you, I'm Cherry!" She said, a radiant smile on her lips.

 

"W.D Gaster".

 

"It's a pleasure!", She replied, happily, a soft pink dusted on her cheeks despite your husband's sharp tone.

 

you were not one bit happy to meet her, something that did not go unnoticed by some.

 

"Ariel Dremurr".

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

Crimson, as everyone had nicknamed him, was excited, it was obvious that the arrival of Gaster, his wife and his offsprings had been something that would lead to an interesting change.

 

 

He couldn't decide if his excitement was greater than his fear of what was to come.

 

 

Instead of what many thought about him, he was not an idiot, he could be loud and too violent at times, but he was not stupid, none of the ones the human had thought were stupid.

 

Aero was neither innocent nor a bright ray of sunshine, Black was not a loud egocentric, Merlot was not peaceful or calm but just patient, Creampuff wasn't an innocent who didn't understand things and Crimson wasn't a idiot who relied on his strength and abused his former position as second in command of his royal guard. 

 

Not anymore.

 

He didn't have many expectations about returning to his universe, and honestly, Crimson didn't wanted to go back, he hadn't completely relaxed yet but he certainly wouldn't miss having to be on guard all the time, he would miss being able to see the sky day and night if he had to go back to his universe..

 

He would miss his brother.

 

This version of his brother who he lost in the underground.

 

He would miss seeing him, he would miss hearing his laughter in the same room, seeing his older brother relaxed, smiling.

 

Free.

 

And yet the copy of his brother still wanted to return each and every one of them to their previous worlds and act as if nothing had happened. It was a stupid thing that he would never agree with, he didn't understand why his brother was helping him.

 

Finally he came back to earth when he heard that voice over the silence that seemed to reign in the dining room, "Dremurr", he heard, unconsciously made a shiver run slightly down the spine of some skeletons closest to their highnesses, including himself.

 

Crimson himself could not deny that he had great respect and some fear for the great power of his own king, asgore had been his first inspiration to become a royal guard, but at the same time he was his reason for not wanting to go against the laws. 

 

Seeing Ariel, being uncomfortably similar to his king, it didn't make him feel any less terrified of her despite the sweet and soft attitude she showed very different from his king, it made an annoying and painful tickling run through the scars in his socket anyway. 

 

But he knew it, he could feel it in her intention, her voice, her look.

 

She was worse than his king could ever be.

 

Cherry laughed softly, not noticing that Ariel obviously didn't like her, who was still looking at the human with an almost expressionless face if it weren't for the slight smile on her mouth.

 

The little babybones in the arms of the... princess, queen? ..continued seeing whoever was closest, her parents.

 

"You're not talkative, huh?" Cherry said, having finished her own meal, seeming more interested in chatting with the other woman in the place, "One would think that you would talk more considering that attitude"

 

Crimson's fingers tightened on his fork, resisting interrupting just like his brother, hadn't the girl learned anything from the scene earlier?

 

Ariel just showed her a soft closed-eyed smile, "Oh no, I like to talk, is just that I have no intention of talking with someone like you."

 

Crimson saw Cherry gape, he himself thought she was making a similar expression, the others probably did too, although he heard in the background a snort from someone he couldn't recognize.

 

"S-Someone like me?" 

 

"Someone like you."

 

It wasn't really an answer, but rather a statement, which seemed to annoy Cherry even more, who clenched her jaw and looked down at her nearly empty plate, obviously not hungry. She should be thankful that neither Coron nor Lupin were present.

 

"At least you finally visited the family! It's good, don't let your thoughts of me ruin that for you", She said now speaking to both new monsters, although seeming to focus more on Gaster, covering her smile with one of her hands while her other hand rested on her chest, on her soul, Crimson noticed, she looked a little more at Gaster, who looked somewhat uncomfortable by her eyes, sitting next to his wife.

 

Crimson made a disgusted face like some other skeletons and turned to look at the sheep monster, wanting to know her answer. 

 

"I guess so, it's been a while since I've seen my husband's family", Ariel rested her hand on her own chest and smiled sweetly, the little girl in her arms seemed to want to have her mother's full attention again because she stretched out her little arms to hug Ariel's arm again.

 

The other baby, a small goat with silky fur, was still peacefully asleep in the arms of the original version of his older brother.

 

"Well, at least you finally got out of that big old cave and visited them, I hope you like the place!" Cherry said as she clasped her hands and rested her elbows on the table.

 

Sans seemed relieved that you were continuing with the lie that Razz had told, said skeleton was a little limp in his seat after being tense for a while that Crimson didn't notice.

 

"We appreciate it", this time Gaster spoke, with a courteous smile towards Cherry, who went back to talking to the other skeletons, as Crimson watched Ariel gently lean against Gaster's side again, Maybe tired? The thought grew small in his mind as the memory of her words came back to him, Ariel had recently given birth, being in something like that was not healthy after giving birth, even Crimson knew at least the basics of suffering after giving birth.

 

Crimson watched calmly as Ariel took Gaster's hand in hers even though her eyes were still on the little girl who was staring back at her, Gaster's face did not change its calm expression but his smile became slightly larger while his cheekbones were dusted with a soft ash gray, visible only to the skeletons still looking at them was the way gaster's pupils blurred slightly for a few seconds as he looked at his wife and daughter together.

 

The little skeleton was babbling, a pleasant background noise as the chatter around Crimson seemed to repeatedly revolve around simple, unimportant things that were only of interest to the human, anything that included any interest from the different versions of him or his brother were discarded in a falsely sweet way only to be occupied by a shopping trip, some interesting purchase, a new thing she saw on the internet, some jewelry of interest or some expensive place she wanted to visit.

 

All of this made his stomach turn, Thyme seemed displeased by all of Cherry's talk but ignored it still as he, like a few others, sent brief glances at Ariel and Gaster with hope and a discouraging desire to find something like that, a love so sincere and soft that words were not necessary.

 

The farmer brothers only ate the bad breakfast that was still on their plates, more interested in talking quietly among themselves about the small crop they had started. Classic, Black, Aero, Cyrus and Papyrus were chatting a little with Cherry, the last three did not seem very enthusiastic about hearing about the human's interests.

 

Mutt and Citrine were quiet as always, the two of them had developed a friendly silent friendship between them, Citrine seemed to be talking to Mutt by writing in his notebook. Crimson preferred to stay silent and analyze Ariel and Gaster, he could come from a bad universe, but that didn't mean that he didn't want a relationship or closeness with someone to the point of feeling comfortable with their mere presence.

 

He only returned to the real world when he noticed that the human's bustle had disappeared after hearing from sans that the other human, Stella, who returned early. Becoming a nuisance again Cherry caught the attention of Ariel and Gaster, who immediately looked at her.

 

"I just wanted to warn you... about the other human, candy..." she said with a somewhat hurt and worried tone.

 

"You're sure?" Black asked, Mutt barely grimacing at the adoration and concern in his voice.

 

Cherry nodded with a soft smile towards Black, a way of saying that she was fine and there was no need to worry before looking back at the married couple with concern.

 

"Warn us?", one of Gaster's socket raised slightly in curiosity while Ariel raised her eyes from her daughter, staring at the human with an expressionless face.

 

Cherry nodded again, "she's not the.. best with monsters," She looked down at her empty plate with a pained expression and slightly glazed eyes that blinked at the ceiling momentarily. "She still thinks monsters deserve to be underground, she's just so rude, sometimes I'm a little embarrassed by how much she's changed since we were little.. But I still think she can change, I know she can leave that way of thinking behind!" Cherry finished with a sweet smile despite the tears on her eyelids and her furrowed eyebrows raised.

 

Crimson, like the others, grimaced and barely visibly rolled his eyes at the victim act he had witnessed many times before and all those times he didn't believe. To be honest, that way of acting had only made him fall at the beginning, when he was still very new and confused by everything about humans.

 

After finishing speaking, the other skeletons who did not seem upset by the human immediately began to comfort her with soft words and sweet touches.

 

Crimson was losing his expectations for the sheep a little when he saw her smile sweetly at the human before speaking, but her words surprised him.

 

"I'll judge that for myself," she said before giggling softly into Gaster's shoulder as she moved closer to him, who only cooperated with a nod to confirm that he had the same opinion.

 

Hearing the biting words said so softly surprised everyone in different ways, some got angry, others got nervous, but quite a few hid their surprise under confusion.

 

On the other hand, cherry seemed to want to get closer to you and maybe pull your hair from the roots to tear out some strands, and she would have done it if she didn't have to continue, so she spoke again.

 

She smiled softly, "I understand, I just want to make sure she didn't hurt any of your children... thanks for listening anyway."

 

Ariel shook her head gently against Gaster's shoulder, "That won't happen, don't underestimate me."

 

Crimson tensed as he felt the menacing gaze hover over each of those present, a clear threat and warning to everyone at the table that everyone understood, but Cherry did not seem to understand, she wrinkled her nose for a few moments as she tried not to frown and obviously control her anger, it was obvious that she didn't understand that Ariel was an enemy they couldn't win against.

 

Papyrus, Red, Sans, Cyrus, and Black cringed a little in their seats, unable to properly defend themselves from the obvious threat directed at everyone in the room.

 

Ariel's gaze only softened as she looked down at the baby in her arms, who was now rubbing her small hand into the fur on her hand.

 

Annoyed with the married woman present, Cherry excused herself from going to change to leave the dining room, being watched by the gaze of the sheep woman until her footsteps could no longer be heard.

 

Ariel looked back at the skeletons, "now, we should continue with our conversation," she said with an elegant tone as she sat properly back in her place, Gaster also seemed to become more alert, knowing that the talk from earlier was not over.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Vanilla coughed into his hand to take some of the attention that was on you, "There are some things I still wonder..” Sweat poured down his skull as his eyes wandered between looking at you or the table.

 

Gaster looked stressed, "be direct."

 

You laughed softly as you gently caressed one of his sides, over time you learned that this calmed him down.

 

"Right.. you really fix your machine?" He asked Gaster, soon many eyelights were back him.

 

Gaster nodded, "it took a while because of all the changes my brother made to it but I finish it years ago."

 

Sans seemed to cheer up greatly, you guessed that this was thanks to finally being able to return the other versions of himself and his brother to their universes.

 

Sans began to speak with a smile, "so you can help bring everyone back–"

 

"That will not happen".

 

The skeleton's smile fell and frowns appeared as their gazes moved up to you.

 

"You refuse to help us?" Red growled from his seat, threatening to stand up and approach.

 

You glared back at him from your seat, a threat to act against you, beads of sweat appearing on his skull as he hesitated to get up, he huffed before slumping back into the chair.

 

Crimson seemed upset with his brother's actions, as did others.

 

Gaster continued after seeing Red slump in his seat, "I can easily tell that you have nothing figured out and if that piece of junk I saw is my old machine, there is no way to repair it, or reason." 

 

"What do you mean no reason?" Merlot asked from his seat, he had his hands clasped together with his elbows on the table and a confused frown on his face.

 

"The machine was not made to travel between universes, there is no way for you or us to return; because it is not what the machine was made for", Gaster said with a frown, head lowered and the obvious lack of his usual smile.

 

Dead silence reigned in the dining room when the pupils disappeared and the skeletons froze, the rare copy of your husband was the one who broke the silence.

 

"there's really no way to go back?.." You grimaced at the wistful, hopeful tone in his voice.

 

Gaster was going to start talking but you pressed your hand slightly harder on his side, he looked at you and smiled when he noticed that you were offering to explain, you smiled at him before starting to talk to the skeletons.

 

"Not without its risks", Thyme flinched at the refusal, you ignored it in favor of not giving a half-hearted answer, "there is no way to take you all back to your universes without putting you in different ones or ending up in the void", you explained calmly, gaster shivered hearing you mention the void in unison with everyone else.

 

"like trying to put a puzzle together correctly without being able to see the pieces."

 

The tip of your gloved finger gently touched Callisto's cheekbone, watching her clench her small hands.

 

"Is unpredictable, uterly dangerous."

 

Resignation seemed to appear on the faces of some skeletons, others seemed somewhat happy, Thyme looked melancholy, Sans looked defeated, and Papyrus looked excited.

 

You let them think about everything you had talked about while you gently caressed Calisto's back, who yawned, blinking slowly as sleep returned to her. 

 

A new question made you look up from your daughter. It didn't look like it would stop anytime soon.

 

"How did you become a Dremurr?", Cyrus' voice took you out of your moment with little Aster.

 

Some seemed interested in that question, you understood.

 

Unlike the large family of goats you knew, you were a sheep, someone from a large family whose home was not in the ruins or in corridors full of flowers the color of gold but on the cold winter roads, the sound of wood creaking under hooves and the squeaking of wood against the freezing wind.

 

"I suppose there are differences even between population and aristocrats between universes as well," You sighed looking at the floor, not knowing exactly how to start, Gaster rubbed your back as silent support.

 

"I won't go into details anyway", you began, "I was from an aristocratic family, I wouldn't say very close to the dreemurr, we were well known for helping monster-kind after the war and helping the colonies that settled in different parts of the underground. About being a dreemurr.." You hesitated before speaking, that was a new part of your past, a wound that had not yet closed completely, remembering it was like rubbing salt into an open gash.

 

"I became queen, not exactly by choice, there were no heirs to the throne so I had no choice but to take responsibility after the king retired and the barrier was broken", You left your words there, it was the fair and necessary thing they should know, the rest was information that you would take with you.

 

Merlot thanked you for answering him while the others processed the information, Red shuddered slightly beside his brother, his hands clenching barely perceptibly.

 

 

"How long ago your barrier broke?"

 

 

Black frowned upon hearing him, grimacing slightly as he crossed his arms, clicking his tongue, "What the hell do you mean by how long ago, it's obvious tha–"

 

 

"Ten years."

 

 

You heard the sink dripping, the birdsong outside lulling your ears, a soft melody that you hadn't heard again in years, that your soul missed and longed to hear again, the soft sound of nature.

 

 

The soft sound that death had taken from your world.

 

 

"You have.."

 

You heard a soft chirping outside the window, in the distance, where nestlings were learning about the beauty of the summer morning.

 

"...You have been on the surface for ten years."

 

They were just empty words, a hard shell to hide inside what it would not be right to feel. Jealousy? Envy? 

 

 

It was pointless.

 

 

"Not peacefully."

 

 

Callisto yawned in that way that only little ones could do, pressing soft, tight hands against her chin, without bothering to open her eyes again, deciding that replenishing her energy after the exhaustion of existing now was more important.

 

"I have to assume that our Underground was also brought, when will we be able to return to them?"

 

A drop of sweat ran down his temple as he thought, getting the looks of some who had already come out of the shock of the moment.

 

He sighed before speaking, "You'll stay for now, I have to talk to the royal families about the new arrivals, we can't just let you leave and that's it.." 

 

His lights dimmed down to Gaster, looking at the sleeping face of your little lamb in his father's arms. 

 

"Especially you two."

 

It took a big part of you not growl.

 

Gaster looked down at the ground, some skeletons seemed to understand, knowing that people and most monsters would begin to suspect something if a sheep dreemurr appeared considering the family being monster goats only.

 

After a few seconds you looked up from the ground, looking at Sans as you spoke.

 

"There are some things we still need to talk about."

Notes:

Flowers:
Nightshade; Silence, falsehood; dark thoughts, scepticism

Daisy(blue); Long-term loyalty and trust

 

Sorry for the long wait, I went through some things and a strong artist's block plus now with the return to school I'm not sure when I'll update, although I'll try to at least upload one chapter a month if I have time, hope you like it! ^u^

Chapter 5: 3) Ba(yberry)lm of Gilead

You always liked the night.

 

The way everything seemed to rest, take a break from the sunlight and the hustle and bustle of the day, it was your favorite part of coming out of the underground. 

 

The sky.

 

You had grown up in darkness, but no darkness was the same as the night, the way the stars and the moon were always there when you looked up, felt accompanied, not feeling alone despite not having anyone around was a feeling that you sometimes missed.

 

The darkness of the void was different.

 

Very different from the darkness of night or the infinite darkness that space could be. It was lonely and cold, freezing in such a way that it froze the small flame that you had worked so hard to light.

 

That was the way the void made you surrender to it.

 

 

As if there was nothing left after the night.

 

 

A small place of eternal darkness that assured you that daylight would never come again.

 

 

But you weren't a flame, you were a flare.

 

A small fire that had an entire forest to burn. 

 

You were burning inside, your spark was not something that the void was going to take away from you.

 

Never again.

 

 

You let your breathing calm down, barely lifting your chest but still moving the water around you, you avoided moving anyway, your gaze trapped on your two sleeping children. 

 

The bathroom was bathed in steam although the water soaking your fur was not really hot, but just in case you didn't let any part of Callisto or Aster touch the water, they both seemed comfortable enough with your body heat anyway.

 

"You're sure they're okay? They've been asleep for soo long.." you murmured, your voice loud enough in the quiet bathroom.

 

Gaster snorted, sitting outside the tub, stroking Callisto's back, "They're fine, it's normal for newborns to sleep a lot the first few days after they're born", he replied to you, chuckling before lifting Aster off your chest.

 

He looked with bright eyes at the little boy, carefully holding his sleeping body before placing him on a small group of towels he had prepared to get both kids out off the water first, placing him between the soft fabrics before taking Callisto.

 

You saw your husband carefully take his little girl, carefully placing one hand behind her head, supporting the weight that the little girl could not yet support herself, the image warmed your soul.

 

You stared at Callisto, perhaps more intently than Gaster. You still couldn't believe you were they mother of both little creatures, you still couldn't believe you had been gestating only to then give birth to such little angels.

 

Because you weren't a good person.

 

And you knew it.

 

The stains on your body were the sins you could never erase, the sins you had made, each one of them like a touch of the darkness, each one like stains and cracks in your flesh.

 

You had accepted it a long time ago.

 

But with your husband by your side you couldn't care less.

 

Gaster's gentle touch brought you out of your reverie, you smiled at him and hummed to let him know you were paying attention, or at least, most of it, relaxed by the water wetting the white fur of your body, gently reddening the hidden skin, you were more focused on your husband's touch. 

 

You watched carefully as his fingers rested on your belly, as they went up to where your buttock was hidden in the fur, just the tips of his fingers drawing invisible patterns leaving goosebumps and bristled fur until they stopped right at the edge of your ribs, where both children inside bulged your abdomen just a few hours ago, now flatter than before but still not normal, it would be maybe a week before the changes were noticeable in your body.

 

His laugh made you look up from his hand, both of your gazes meeting, you almost thought his eyes had turned into hearts for a moment as you felt his hand come up to cup your cheek, leaving a barely visible wet path in the valley between your breasts.

 

You closed your eyes when you saw his face approaching, feeling with a smile on your lips a kiss that didn't last much more than a few seconds, he pulled away from your mouth, though it only lasted a few seconds before sweet butterfly kisses filled your cheeks. You gently pushed him away shortly after with a hand on his chin.

 

Gaster kissed your fingers before doing the same with your knuckles, you felt your cheeks burn as a laugh bubbled in your chest, you shook your head softly before gently pushing Gaster with one hand on his chest, making him move slightly away from the tub.

 

"Go and dry the children", you said, moving in the barely filled bathtub, the water only covered your back and barely your sides but due to the movement the water accumulated on your lower back before falling down your thighs, the water was evenly distributed as you crossed your legs, making the space you used smaller as you rested your elbow on the edge of the tub and your cheek on your hand.

 

He snorted and you swore you saw him pout, though he quickly walked away now with both kids in his arms out of the bathroom, you unconsciously shivered when, upon opening the door, a cold breeze entered the place still full of warm steam.

 

You sighed as the door closed again, breathing deeply as you settled in as the temperature returned to normal.

 

You couldn't help but relax until fatigue began to set in, hearing only the faint sound of moving water and the echo of movement outside the bathroom.

 

The tranquility was new, although a very good kind of new. 

 

You hadn't felt calm like this in years, longer than you would have liked, longer than you could remember.

 

In the end you had always been alert.

 

It was normal, something you had learned and had permanently cut in your flesh, something that had stuck and that you remembered more than anything.

 

Although your memories had always tried to calm you down, return you to that place that made you feel complete, happy.

 

Alive.

 

A small group of cabins on the edge of the deep snowy forest had been your family's home, a barely silent home. Loud voices, children running and laughing, and conversations lost in the ever-present fog were everyday life.

 

But you lost it.

 

You had lost everything, maybe that was your destiny, you had even lost yourself, but you had won in the end, you had gained people to love, to protect.

 

You couldn't ask for anything more than a life with them.

 

With a sigh you hurried to get up from the water that was slowly turning cold, feeling your hair and the part of your already dry fur too fluffy and somewhat dry from the water that dried itself, you were sure that detangling your hair would be the most difficult, although you thanked your past self for keeping your hair short within what you considered appropriate for your status and gender. You could faintly remind some relatives whose hair was really long. You really appreciated how your family's traditions had remained in your memory despite time.

 

You grabbed a towel without thinking, drying the ends of your hair first before everything else, leaving the cloth slightly damp when you felt dry enough, although you stared at the clothes on the toilet seat that you still didn't know where Gaster had gotten them from, you didn't think they belonged to Cherry, it wasn't her style at all.

 

With your gaze glued to the pastel color of the fabric you lifted the dress by the shoulders, viscose was not exactly your favorite fabric, you much preferred velvet or satin by how they felt against your fur, but you could easily tell that the fabric under your fingers was of good quality. It was an ankle-length dress that also had long sleeves even though it was below the shoulders, the entire fabric was pastel blue, aka baby blue.

 

Definitely not from cherry, where the hell did he get this from? You asked yourself.

 

You sighed before letting that thought fade, moving the fabric in your hands before putting the dress on, fixing the shoulders and sleeves when everything was finally in place. 

 

With one of your hands you wiped away the steam fogging up the mirror to see yourself, you were surprised by how good the clothes looked and how good they felt. It reminded you of years ago, when you had just become an heiress, always dressed in clothes that made you stand out, shine apart from other monsters, even from the king, the memory made you chuckle before leaving the bathroom.

 

The sight outside warmed the heart, finding Gaster lying on his side in bed with both children now dry wrapped in towels lying in front of him. You gently closed the bathroom door behind you after turning off the light, approaching the bed.

 

"You're going to sleep?" You asked, sitting on your knees next to the bed, leaning against the edge of the mattress as you looked at both babies, Aster had gone back to sleep while Callisto seemed to be fighting the need to sleep, a lively one huh? You thought.

 

You saw him shake his head and hum no, seeming to struggle getting up, "Comic told me that we'll go shopping because we don't have anything for ourselves or the kids right now and we won't be able to get them from the underground, someone has to stay with Callisto and Aster, so I'll go", he said, his voice a little heavy but completely determined as he pushed you to stand up and then lie down next to the children. You let him move you as he pleased, leaving you lying on your side with Aster and Callisto in front of you, both curled up together in front of your belly.

 

You didn't think it was a bad idea so you curled up slightly to make the position more comfortable, knowing that you had no intention of moving anytime soon, Gaster waited until you were comfortably lying down before nodding, seeming happy to not see you resist resting.

 

"You'll go now?", you asked as you saw him approach the door, nodding in response; "The more I hurry, the more you'll rest later."

 

You watched him blow you a kiss before leaving and closing the door behind him, you stifled a giggle as you snuggled closer, Callisto now looking at you as you stared back at her, losing yourself in the silence and slight warmth of the room.

 

Honestly it wasn't a really big room, it was simple too, it reminded you of the rooms in one of the buildings that the monsters had taken over in the middle of the war, you still believed that you had been given the biggest room just because you were the heiress at the time. You were a little sad to have left, a few more weeks and you would have resolved everything, you are sure that Undyne had already found all the information and evidence that you had collected.

 

You just hoped everything would work out.

 

You had put blood, sweat and tears into reigning and re-forming the state that had dissolved at the start of the war, you didn't want some little prick who knew nothing about everything you had worked hard for win just because.

 

At least you had made sure to keep Gaster's family safe before disappearing.

 

Without much to do you let the blue-gray walls slowly lull you to sleep, the afternoon light bathing the simple room in the warmth of the sun. Although you appreciated the simplicity of the medium-sized space you had been given as a room, you didn't wanted to spend time choosing something that you would look at for too long because you knew you would get bored. 

 

The room was simple, although still very nice and comfortable, not like a guest room but like the room of someone who had gone out for a while, it was somewhat stylized with blues and greens there, the walls, the bedspreads on the bed attached to one of the walls, some cushions and a sitting cushion on the desk seat in the corner were shades of muted blues, very pleasing to the eye, which accompanying color was reflected in some small plants scattered around the room and on the window seat there was a medium-sized leaf-shaped pillow. There were some touches of yellow, some small glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the walls and the door of a large closet that seemed to be charged with sunlight, the brown clay pots of small plants had yellow patterns and there was a small painting of two rubber ducks on the bathroom door, one bigger than the other while the little one followed the big one, you found it adorable.

 

You looked down from your surroundings as you heard a soft sound, finding Aster's small tongue sticking out after yawning, with a chuckle you lightly pressed your finger against the small pink muscle, watching with amusement as Aster grimaced slightly at the sensation, although it didn't seem to bother him anything else because you were sure that you had no taste from having washed away all the sweat with the bath.

 

You always had a lot of respect for mothers, knowing how to take care of such small creatures was not easy by definition, even if naturally many mothers developed the instincts to do it properly, and of course you were no exception, although you had talked a lot with Gaster and some acquaintances about motherhood, you had also read a lot, easily accepting that you had no one else to ask for motherhood advice and books other than a woman you had long since distanced yourself from.

 

You paid attention again as you felt Calisto yawn and Aster shift slightly uncomfortably, deciding that it was enough you moved them both away from your chest, laying them momentarily on your lap while you fixed your clothes before picking them up one by one to lay them down properly. 

 

Newborn monsters were different than what most thought, perhaps against nature itself, It was incoherent that a living creature would not need to eat until a certain age but monsters were creatures detached from nature. Unlike animals or newborn humans, monsters only needed to be near their parents, the so-called soul ties were what kept newborns healthy until they were able to ingest magical food so as not to take magic from their parents until they reached a certain age.

 

It was a little different with both kids but overall you knew how to take care of both of them properly, the biological differences between the two and their souls were still things you had to talk about with Gaster.

 

Their souls were what worried you the most.

 

You knew that they were not normal, but you did not dare to see, you could judge them, you knew it, but you didn't want to find out news this important without your husband, even if you already knew that they were not normal.

 

Others may call it intuition.

 

You knew it was karma.

 

A soft tapping bounced off the walls of the room, barely reaching your ears because of how soft the sound was, behind the door you could hear the young soul who was nervously waiting, you could hear the knuckles moving away from the wood accompanied by the slight creak of shoes as they shifted their weight from one foot to the other. It didn't seem to be from any of the skeletons, you were sure, the only ones who could do that would be Citrine, but you highly doubted that he would approach without his brother.

 

Curious, you stood up after settling both children into bed, not wanting to leave someone you easily recognized who was waiting.

 

Your fingers barely touched the handle when a new touch emerged, this time stronger than the previous one, although not insistent, still nervous, hesitant. You felt the corners of your mouth rise at how adorable it seemed to you.

 

 

The wood creaked and purple tips were the first thing you saw.

 

 

The smell of chamomile tea filled your nose, although it was very welcome.

 

"I don't think we know yet", That touch in your tone was not hidden at all while the young girl who had her back turned to look at you slowly. The thought of Stella being afraid of you for some reason made you feel bad.

 

"Pretty sure that, 'm sorry.."

 

You shook your head gently, knowing that it wasn't her fault that you and her couldn't talk, you were pretty sure that Stella knew it too from how her cheeks reddened when her voice stuttered, you gave a slight giggle, which seemed to make her redder even more.

 

She seemed to return herself moments later, making a soft noise as if she had remembered something when she brought what she was carrying too close to you, it surprised you a little, making your ears twitch in surprise. You noticed that she looked at your ears when she had noticed them, although she quickly spoke again, still offering you the cup from which steam was slowly rising.

 

She gave a soft nervous laugh, regretting suddenly offering you the cup.

 

"I.. I wanted to bring you some tea and snacks, standing after giving birth so recently must be exhausting.. I also wanted to welcome you both to the house and introduce myself, it was disrespectful not to do it in the morning, I'm sorry.."

 

You were surprised that she was approaching you to make sure you were healthy just because she had noticed the children the short time she saw you at the beginning of the day, although you were grateful, knowing that Gaster wouldn't arrive for a while and you didn't want to wake up or get away from your children, not even to eat.

 

"I see", your somewhat low tone seemed to make her more nervous so you made sure to smile at her as you took the cup, moving away from the door as an invitation to enter. “I want to talk”, you asked.

 

She seemed hesitant, although a few moments later a smile and a soft nod before she entered, you closed the door when she was inside, not wanting the cold to enter the room. You knew that aster and callisto were going to be very receptive to their surroundings until they were a year old, so you wanted to make sure everything was okay.

 

You watched with amusement and some concern as Stella went really still upon entering, standing in her spot as if you hadn't invited her in. You thought it was curious but you chose not to press her because of her discomfort, instead you moved to sit back on the bed, making sure to keep Aster and Callisto lying down nicely as you pat the place next to you, offering to sit next to you.

 

You saw her hesitate, taking just a few steps in your direction, although your fingers patting the bed next to you again made her move quickly.

 

How uncomfortable she looked made you chuckle, "So.. Stella, rigth?" You began, taking a sip of the warm and somewhat sweet tea, you were grateful for that, you always preferred sweet tea to bitter or tasteless tea.

 

She nodded, "That's me, it's a pleasure," she giggled nervously, offering a hand to shake, although she seemed hesitant when she saw that you were still holding the cup and the small plate of cookies that she had brought.

 

You saw her hesitate whether to raise her hand and offer it to you completely or lower it because your hands were full, it made you laugh, although you didn't let it show as you left the plate of cookies on your lap, calmly squeezing her hand. "Ariel, it's good to meet you," you responded.

 

"I see," she murmured, blinking at the ground before looking at Callisto and Aster, her question reaching your ears as you took another sip of the tea. "What are the little ones' names?", you saw her point at both sleeping children with one of her fingers.

 

You chuckled, taking care to take one last sip before setting the nearly empty cup and plate of cookies on the nightstand before answering.

 

"Little skeleton is Callisto," you carefully rested your hand on your little girl's body before doing the same with your boy, "Little lamb is Aster."

 

She nodded after finally knowing the little boys' names, smiling unconsciously at how adorable they looked snuggled together on the soft surface of the sheets, with a pillow separating them from the wall and another on the edge so that if they moved they wouldn't get close to the edge of the bed. She felt her soul warm at the sight, your voice alone was what brought her back to her feet.

 

"How long have you been living here? If I may ask," she watched you speak, looking perhaps too heavily at a cookie between your fingers before taking a bite, your eyes meeting hers. 

 

Stella wondered if that was how lambs felt when they were face to face with a wolf.

 

For some reason she felt scared.

 

But the calm expression you gave her made her feel warm.

 

Stella couldn't understand those contradictory feelings. 

 

She felt warm inside, you were a flower she dared to taste which poison feels like an old, too-familiar meal.

 

"Three months," she was finally able to respond, not daring to take her eyes off the blue that reminded her of the summer sky. "I've been living here for three months..", she repeated, feeling the inexplicable need to.

 

"Yeah? Why did you move here? Wouldn't it have been better to choose a place that was less crowded and closer to the city?"

 

"I..." she began, sweating from the feeling of having multiple eyes on her, but something interrupted it, you looked down momentarily at your little children when you heard a slight movement of the fabric, although you only found Callisto stretching as she yawned from sleep.

 

But something wasn't right.

 

"I don't see how that's any of your business.."

 

You heard and saw out of the corner of your eye Stella sighing heavily, deflating as if your gaze on her had not let her breathe.

 

Although you could understand it, of course, it was something you had perfected, a skill that only you had been able to develop.

 

Stella clutched her jacket between her fingers, blinking to try to get rid of the feeling that wasn't there, it was strange, as strange as having a chill from the feeling of the sun's rays touching the skin at the end of winter.

 

"Pardon me if I asked too much," She saw you look down embarrassed, although having a small smile on your lips as you picked up one of the small children, snuggling the crying baby in your arms.

 

Something wasn't right.

 

It was a small sensation that gnawed at her back, feeling that feeling sink into her flesh. 

 

She didn't know what it was.

 

But she knew it wasn't something she wanted to delve deeply into.

 

Her eyes dropped to the little girl in your arms, a small porcelain doll who squirmed before she began to cry silently, her small hands reaching out to scratch her cheek, she watched as your pupils became sharp for a few moments, changing from horizontal, rectangular pupils to feline for just a few seconds before you began to coo at the little creature.

 

"What are all the questions for?" Her eyes followed the movement of your hands, your left easily holding the little baby while your right rose to gently catch callisto's hands in your grip, looking for her to stop squirming and trying to scratch her face. 

 

"that is any of your business."

 

 

For some reason she couldn't feel angry.

 

But she was disappointed.

 

 

She really thought you wouldn't be the same as them.

 

 

She had hope.

 

 

Only now could he realize how big you were, how noticeable the difference in size was between the two of you, thanks to seeing how you held Callisto's head and back easily with one hand, and there was still room in your palm, Stella would probably have to use both her hands to hold the little newborn, Callisto looked tiny in your hand.

 

She didn't understand how he didn't notice the tall woman who now seemed threatening, more powerful than was comfortable.

 

And she thought the Dremurrs were tall.

 

 

It did not make sense.

 

 

"The other human, Cherry, warned me and my husband about you."

 

 

She waited.

 

 

"I didn't believe her."

 

 

But the blow didn't come.

 

 

"I know what you are."

 

 

It hurt her anyway.

 

 

Stella could feel her gaze trembling on the cute face of the little crying baby, surprised, doubting if her ears were deceiving her or if she had encountered another person who was lying on her face.

 

She couldn't handle it, not again, hopefully never again.

 

"I can't believe you", You heard how her voice trembled, it really hurt you to see her frozen, terribly expression still in her place, you saw her eyes still fixed on Callisto become glassy as she clenched her hands into fists until her knuckles turned white.

 

You momentarily doubted whether objecting and defending yourself, being clear and direct about your intentions was not something the people around you responded well to, you didn't have much time for explanations and your little daughter's crying was already making a migraine grow, which for now was a small throb in the back of your head.

 

"I do not know how to explain to you.."

 

You were not careless, you had lived and grown up planning, measuring each big step that marked a before and after. You knew how much a bad decision could hurt, break, even if it wasn't something direct.

 

You didn't want to risk it, it was dangerous to try to take a step towards a puddle without knowing if it was just water hiding the ground or a well hidden by the surface of the murky water.

 

Not knowing which example to start with, you decided to explain it vaguely, knowing that the questions would come anyway.

 

There was nothing better to explain than magic.

 

Although not the one that every being knew, no. It was something more personal, little known.

 

Something that only as a queen you found out.

 

"Do you know how the jury works?"

 

You saw her get confused, that feeling making her uncomfortable dim slightly in her as she looked up, meeting your eyes. You really hoped that how calm your gaze was could transfer to her, she really seemed to need it.

 

She hesitated before speaking. "The jury decides whether someone is guilty or innocent, in addition to deciding the sentence..", Stella could remember an old pleasure with some old police series that she used to watch with her mother, they were good stories to get lost in while studying or having dinner with her family, an old memory that she treasured with love. "I don't understand why you're asking."

 

You let out a small laugh, not looking up from your little daughter as you snuggled her quietly. Gently holding her head in one hand and her body in the other as you turned her away, laying her against your chest, next to where your soul sang a soft lullaby.

 

Callisto finally seemed to understand that you were reassuring her, that you were holding her close to you, assuring her that you were there for her as a small fist rested against your collarbone, she gave small hiccups after crying, eyes closed, stopping her tears while her small face hid in the fabric of your clothes. Your reward for calming her was a soft babble what sounded divine to you. You adjusted her head more, your thumb gently rubbing the pristine, pearly bone beneath your fingers.

 

If you hadn't had an audience you were sure you would have burst into tears.

 

"Just like us, our justice can also be perceived with magic," Your voice trembled, a barely audible sound, that somehow melted Stella's heart, a memory of watching an old video from when she was a child. 

 

"Few are born as a jury,"

 

She had cried for weeks over that video, seeing her mother crying broke her every time she dared to watch that old recording. 

 

Seeing her mother looking at her so lovingly, as if she were an angel, as if the red, crying little baby she was holding had hung the stars for her.

 

It hurt her to see you like this.

 

"monsters with those titles can recognize souls without the need to be judged."

 

It pained stella to see that tearful look again in an adult woman, adoring such a small creature as if the infant who had barely tasted life had saved her world.

 

Those bright eyes met hers as she heard how a taut thread began to creak.

 

"I'm sorry for everything you had to go through, stella."

 

She burst into tears.

 

You were there to accompany her pain.

 

Holding her with the same tenderness with which you snuggled your newborn against you.

 

In the end you could never deny that you were always weak for the innocent, your feelings had always gotten the best of you.

 

And the worst of you.

 

"I'm sorry".

 

The response you got was a wet sob, barely audible as you pulled Stella closer to you, her face hiding against the side of your chest as she hugged your waist. You tightened your grip on her, devastated to see how she hid against you.

 

No one should feel that way.

 

Not to seek safety in the arms of a stranger.

 

"Stella.."

 

It broke your heart.

Notes:

Lil short chapter for now!

Flowers:

Balm of Gilead; Cure, relief; sympathetic feeling
Bayberry; "I respect thy tears"
Chamomile; Energy in adversity; mercy

And, as I said I would, the names of the Aus (and their meanings because I have an unusual fixation with meanings..):

Undertale;
Sans: Vainilla (The word "vanilla" is used as slang to describe something as plain, boring, or conventional) / Papyrus: Cinnamon ("Cinnamon roll" is a slang term used in romance novels to describe a male character who is a good guy, supportive, and caring)

Underfell;
Sans: Red (Color red symbolize a variety of emotions, including love, anger, danger, and passion.) / Papyrus: Crimson (Crimson is a deep, rich shade of red that symbolize passion, love, power, and danger. Can also be associated with nobility, religion, and royalty.)

Underswap;
Sans: Aero (Aero is a shade of blue that is similar to the color of the sky on a clear day, symbolizing freedom) / Papyrus: Cyrus (can mean Sun: The name Cyrus may come from the Persian word khor, which means "sun".)

Swapfell;
Sans: milord/Black[thorn] (a flower: Blackthorn: Fate, protection, hope against adversity, good fortune; difficulty) / Papyrus: Mutt (In the late 1800s, mutt was a derogatory term meaning either "stupid person" or "stupid dog.")

Fellswap(gold);
Sans: merlot (merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines; The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird.) / Papyrus: Citrine (Citrine is the yellow variety of quartz, and its name comes from the Old French word for lemon; Its warm colour is said to be a gift from the sun, making this golden gemstone the perfect option for brightening up.)

Farmtale;
Sans: Copper (Copper is a metallic chemical element, It is ductile and malleable, and one of the best conductors of heat and electricity; the name comes from the Middle English words copere or copper, which mean "cooper maker" ) / Papyrus: Quartz (Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica; it is said to purify, harmonize and amplify good energy.)

Gtale/echotale:
Sans: thyme (In Greek times thyme was a symbol of graceful elegance and emblematic of human activity: “To smell of Thyme was an expression of praise.” The Romans associated Thyme with the goddess Venus.)

(These are just the characters that have already appeared!)

Chapter 6: 4) DipH(ellebore)ylleia

Hearing through the door Gaster felt himself fascinated by the sweet cooing that barely reached him, he felt terrible to walk away and leave you alone with both children.

 

He knew you were safe, he knew you knew how to take care of yourself.

 

But it hurt him not to be there with you after the birth of the children..

 

Months ago he remember planning those moments, hoping, that you both had not been found so that he could take care of you in these moments of vulnerability. He had always waited for this moment, to have you close, to take complete care of you while meting his new little reasons for living.

 

Ending up in a new universe had been something he hadn't planned on, or wanted.

 

And even less so that the entire Underground was dragged in as well, knowing all the problems that remained to be solved. 

 

With a sigh he began to walk, away from the simple door that led to the room where inside his life rested from the tension he could feel in the air, letting him know that those who would accompany him shopping would already be downstairs, or some, knowing what the behavior of his lazy brother was like, he hoped that his copies would not be completely like him.

 

The soft echo of his shoes against the floor being barely a click thanks to the very good quality of the leather and the sole that, despite being old, had endured a lot, he was sure that he would soon have to say goodbye to his old shoes. 

 

Just looking around Gaster couldn't say that the house was exactly nice, it certainly wasn't the rustic style he was used to and the way they tried to mix things together was strange, uncomfortable to a certain extent because it changed from a comfortable room only to leave and go down the stairs to find a simple room whose amounts of white and gray damaged his eyesight.

 

He sighed, knowing that as a guest he had no voice in the design of the alternate versions of his siblings' home anyway.

 

He didn't care much also, he would take care of his own decoration, since after all..

 

 

He wasn't planning on you two and the kids staying.

 

 

A few more steps and soon the almost sterile room came into his vision again, few people he expected to see again in the silent place.

 

Although he ignored that scent of chamomile, having confirmed for you that the purple tips that caught his attention going up the stairs were not to be feared.

 

A soft feminine squeal caught his attention as he entered, and he swore that keeping his expression simple took away some of his hope as his expectations for the day plummeted even further.

 

Luck really wasn't on his side.

 

Approaching calmly, he received a small gesture from that human, Cherry, she greeted him while he quickly looked at those present. Cyrus, Red, Thyme, Merlot, and Crimson were present in addition to the young girl who was trying to get his attention by approaching.

 

"It's interesting to see that you also need to make purchases", He said as he approached, visibly ignoring Cherry, who seemed to notice it by frowning when he didn't wave in response. Gaster didn't bother pretending he didn't do it on purpose, a disrespectful person doesn't deserve respect.

 

Merlot chuckled, hiding his laughter behind his hand. "I wouldn't say 'need', they're mostly things we just want, like the new fabrics I want for my projects", he responded.

 

Gaster couldn't help but respond with a chuckle of his own, "I see, I thank you for taking me as fast as you could then." Unconsciously one of his hands rose up to his chest, where his soul rested, a habit he had copied from you, his wife raised with a silver spoon in mouth. He loved reminding himself every time that you had somehow made him grow the manners of high-born monster.

 

He had no idea how you had managed to get that into him.

 

But he assumed that more than ten years of marriage certainly changed someone.

 

A snort from Red reached Gaster as the mentioned crossed his arms, a smirk on his face as he said, "I thought mommy was going to be the one buyin' things for the kids."

 

Behind his back Gaster swore he heard his strong grip on his hand making his wrist crack as his gaze fell on the edgy version of his brother, the words sounding more like a growl in his throat as he spoke.

 

"Please," he began, keeping his cool, "Refrain from calling my wife that", the drip of annoyance was noticeable in his voice anyway.

 

Gaster ignore the way Cherry grimaced to look directly at Red, who sweatdropped as he held his gaze against his, a small staring battle that Gaster won, Red huffed as he looked away with a low snort, red sweat beading his skull thanks to the way Crimson was looking at him.

 

"Enough chat, let's go," Cyrus said, causing everyone to look back at him as he turned and began walking outside muttering; "The faster we hurry, the more I'll sleep..", hearing this made Gaster and Merlot laugh, who made a sign for him to follow.

 

As they walked out of the house, Gaster unconsciously let himself be carried away by seeing the house from the outside, something he hadn't had time for because a few hours had passed so quickly. Unconsciously he mentally slapped himself, knowing how in his universe that delay would have cost him sooner or later considering who he was and what reputation he had with you at the moment.

 

Honestly, he felt mildly disappointed.

 

In his eyes, the house was uncomfortable even from the outside, although not ugly, not to his taste, however.

 

The modern style was not exactly his taste, even if his younger self from several years ago would not have bothered. However, the way the greys and whites looked to him wasn't really comfortable, too sterile even in his eyes, unfamiliar. 

 

Empty.

 

At least the plants he could see were pretty, as was the nice path to what he assumed was the backyard of the mansion that was home to the alternate versions of his siblings.

 

A snap brought him back, seeing Merlot, who snapped his high-quality latex-gloved fingers next to Gaster's head, which made him unconsciously give a blank look to the man who barely reached his temple, who seemed amused by his reaction.

 

"I'll take you in my car with the others," one of his hands points to a car parked on the sidewalk, black with details and wheel covers in gold color, it was certainly a nice car, Merlot seemed to glance out of the corner of his socket before continuing. 

 

"Cyrus is going to take the human on his bike."

 

Gaster could clearly hear that drip in his voice, the way the mention stiffened him, his shoulders tensing in a way Gaster could recognize.

 

"I see".

 

He looked away, seeing Red and G talking as they climbed into the passenger seats of the car, with Crimson following them.

 

He heard Merlot clap, more than to get his attention to return to himself, Gaster saw him get back to his feet and recompose his calm image as they headed to the car.

 

Gaster quickly separated, entering shortly before Merlot to the seat next to the driver, which Merlot himself occupied, with Thyme in the seat behind him, Red behind Gaster and Crimson in between the two.

 

Everyone saw how Cyrus drove, passing by the car, with Cherry hugging him, giving a playful wave to the car before hugging the orange one again. Gaster saw Red shaking his head in the rearview mirror.

 

Moments later he could feel the roar of the engine near his feet, watching out of the corner of his eye as they moved, he paid some attention to the road, taking the trouble to remember until a question made him look in the rearview mirror, finding scars matching his own.

 

"What are you plannin' on buying?" Thyme asked, receiving glances from the brothers in red before their attention turned back to him..

 

Althouth he wasn't too interested in talking. "Mainly clothes and stuff for my children," he hoped it was obvious he had no intention of chatting as he looked out the window again.

 

Thyme ignore that.

 

"What you plan to buy for her?"

 

He was able to meet his gaze as he glanced back in the rearview mirror, seeing Crimson look away and Red glance at Thyme before looking back out the window. Wine looked momentarily out of the corner of his socket, seeming interested but ready to interrupt if they got uncomfortable in his car.

 

Thyme knew he had hit Pandora's box by the way Gaster looked at him, but he couldn't care less.

 

"Turtlenecks and jeans would look good on her, flared jeans would also suit, or are you thinking of looking for dresses for her? Summery floral ones would make her fur pop," It was obvious he was trying to pick something up, maybe a fight, or maybe just a weird topic to chat about, but he played along anyway.

 

A chuckle was Gaster's response before he spoke, Merlot looked amused, the taller one dressed in red looked interested, Red looked like he wanted to open the door and jump out if they continued.

 

Gaster happily ignored that last one.

 

"My wife likes satin dresses the most, they are more comfortable and make her fur less fluffy, she also tends to wear cotton," he replied, hearing Thyme hum to show he was listening, he heard Red groan in exasperation. "cotton is not that flexible but she often says it is comfortable."

 

A memory came to mind, and though he hesitated, he spoke as a smile crept across his face.

 

"I remember she wore a cotton dress at her coronation," the mention seemed to catch their attention.

 

"CORONATION?" Crimson spoke.

 

Gaster watched as they slowly arrived at the city, more and more humans slowly making their presence felt. 

 

He decided that it wouldn't be bad to share, they would find out in time after all, even years later the Underground still remembered that ceremony.

 

"Many years ago she rised when the king finally retired, it was a big celebration, very bright too."

 

He could vividly remember the reflection of the gold, the shine and the light that when dressed in gold made you stand out in the middle of the celebration. Seeing you so pure, yet simple, and resplendent. 

 

That was the day he fell in love with white and gold.

 

'The rise of Monsterkind Sun' was the title that he saw for weeks to announce the news of the coronation of the new sovereign of the kingdom, the event photos, while gorgeous, never did justice to the sparkle and beauty of the gold on you.

 

"There you two got married?" Red asked this time.

 

Gaster shook his head, a smile on his face anyway.

 

"We couldn't, for.. political reasons."

 

Despite that, his smile prevailed, his hands moving up to his neck to unfasten something under the collar of his turtleneck.

 

"Two years later we celebrated our wedding, barely a ceremony it's safe to say.."

 

He raised his hand, barely moving his fingers but leaving a chain hanging in his hand, a chain on which a silver ring hung by the necklace, still shining after what must have been years.

 

"How it was?"

 

Gaster could hear that softness in Crimson's voice, who looked directly at the ring that was far away but in front of his face.

 

"simple.."

 

Gaster felt almost melancholy, but all his soul carried was pure love for the memory.

 

"It was just me and her, I still remember her dress, the suit I wore, the beautiful field in Ebott where we said our vows.."

 

The ring hanging from his fingers shone in a ray of light that entered through the car window, there he could see the inside of the engagement ring shine, adoration and longing returning to him like a flower blooming in the gentle rain.

 

“You really love her", Red said, without bite or annoyance. Just a remark that almost felt like longing.

 

Because he too wanted to long, to love so deeply.

 

But love wasn't what Gaster knew filled his soul, love wasn't strong enough to describe his feelings.

 

No, love was not deep enough to call forth his longing feelings, or a label to put upon all you.

 

Yet lovingly the glow of the word home sealed inside the ring stared back at him.

 

"I adore her", he replied, lowering his hand to his chest, where the ring and silver chain glistened as they reflected just a small portion of the sun's heat.

 

Because that was what you deserved, he knew it.

 

And it was the least he could give you, loving you was the easiest thing he could do for you, to accommodate you, to keep you with him.

 

 

Cause' you were...

 

 

A soft chuckle from Gaster filled the silent car.

 

 

"Because she is my world."

 

 

Watching Gaster blossom made Thyme almost felt jealous, because he wasn't as open, because maybe he would never be like Gaster, one of the parts that made up his entire being.

 

 

 

But despite knowing how unlikely it was.

 

 

 

Thyme could only long.

 

 

 

Longing with his soul to find again his own home.

 

 

 

 

Because it was the last thing he had left.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

You weren't going to be someone easy.

 

It was something that Cherry easily noticed, as soon as she saw you she already knew that you were going to be difficult, the best option was to ignore you, she knew it, but you made her blood boil.

 

Not only because of how you spoke, but also your behavior. After all those years working Cherry was confident in her ability to spot a rich girl when she saw one, you were no exception to the rule, even if she wouldn't have noticed it at first glance because you were a monster.

 

It was only at breakfast that she noticed a few signs that she had overlooked at first, mainly how you behaved around him.

 

Your husband.

 

Unconsciously her fingers tightened in Cyrus's hoodie, momentarily drawing the skeleton's attention, although she quickly told him that she was feeling a little loose in her seat through the microphones in the biker helmets. 

 

Cyrus took the trouble to stop and help Cherry get more comfortable behind him when a traffic light on the road turned red, his gloved hands on her thighs as he pulled her closer to him.

 

She was annoyed, adjusting herself before the traffic light changed color.

 

"I can do it myself, bee", She complained, a soft tone in her voice as she poked his ribs with her finger, hearing a snort in response as she watched the mall come into view as they got closer.

 

Without waiting for the car, both of them were able to easily find a parking spot in the area, Cherry exhaling almost in relief as she took off her helmet, which inside stank of chamomile and rosemary. Which meant that damn mutt had let the rat wear her helmet again.

 

She was going to make sure that rat didn't touch her things.

 

"What do you think of them?"

 

She looked up from the custom helmet to the skeleton beside her, meeting sockets staring back at her as he stood close to her, still sitting on the bike.

 

"Them?", She asked curiously, although she knew who he was already referring to.

 

Cyrus always seemed to be this curious, mostly building his opinion based on seeing a person and what those close to him think of them. He was observant, she knew that, so he always tried to stay neutral if she was angry with someone, unless he had never seen the person. If it was someone unknown, she knew he would always be on her side, or if he was just curious about that person. 

 

Cherry guessed she was just lucky that he was always there with her during his curious moments.

 

 

He was stupidly easy to manipulate.

 

 

She saw a drop of sweat fall down his temple, gently chewing a honey-flavored lollipop that crunched in his mouth, "nilla's brother and his wife.."

 

She had to mentally prepare herself not to spit out something that would make her look bad in front of one of her boyfriends. Which was annoying considering how used she was to slandering that rat as much as she wanted.

 

 

It's not like that little rat could leave anyway.

 

 

Cherry always knew how to get what she wanted.

 

 

"I can't say I really like them..."

 

 

What prevented her from doing it again?

 

 

Offering her soul to the performance as always, she tightened her grip on the helmet in her lap until she felt a slight buzz in her nails, curling her legs up slightly more and hunching over slightly, frowning slightly as she pretended to think for a few moments.

 

 

After all, it had been almost two years of this fun game.

 

 

She easily noticed out of the corner of her eye how he seemed to slowly fall as he analyzed her image, she almost wanted to laugh, him and his stupid obsession with body language.

 

"She was a bit harsh just seeing me, and her husband simply took her side without seeing that I am not what she thinks...", She was almost momentarily annoyed at not having a mark on her wrist to caress to further victimize herself, but honestly, the sting under her skin from that strong grip already hurt enough.

 

She didn't want to think how much force it would have taken to leave a mark on her skin.

 

She wanted you out of her house.

 

She wasn't going to let you destroy what she had taken time to build.

 

She had to suppress her smile as she watched Cyrus lower his head, staring at the ground with a neutral, almost expressionless face, but she knew him well enough to notice the small wrinkle on the bony bridge that was his nose. She still wondered how they could make facial expressions if they were just bones, or even stay together, but magic always seemed to be the answer to her questions.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she had to resist stroking the hair growing out of her neck from neglecting the low cut that helped her not have so much hair to take care of, Cherry almost wanted to pull out one or two of her freshly done nails out of frustration at seeing Cyrus overthinking, doubting her words.

 

Annoyed, she knew that getting emotional was a better option than trying to make him hate you, even if she hated looking sad, she didn't need their pity.

 

She always hated that in one way or another they tried to cheer her up with some outing and gift, cheap ones however, so she never tried to use that technique, always annoyed with their attempts to cheer her up.

 

"My wrist still hurts too, at least it won't leave a bruise.."

 

Cherry hid her smile when Cyrus' gaze fell on her wrist, barely bruised whose skin had reddened slightly even though she had taken a warm shower, at least the redness was sure to last until the morning, though she almost wished that you had hurt her just to use the bruises against you.

 

"Yea', at least..", was his response as he reached out a hand to gently hold her wrist, the coldness of the bone on warm skin was welcome, even if she had to restrain herself from making him let go.

 

Luckily for her, he had to let go of her shortly after when his cell phone rang, having to answer because he had to give the place they had found for the car to park. 

 

She had to stop herself from sighing as the group finally entered the mall and the cold air welcomed the place which was surprisingly quite crowded for a Wednesday afternoon, although she supposed it was pretty normal anyway, there were plenty of good stores and affordable prices for incredibly good quality things, most of the ones she got to see around the crowd were monsters anyway.

 

To her surprise when everyone separated Thyme immediately left with Gaster, who seemed to ignore him while Cherry looked at those two and the duo of Merlot and Crimson who were walking away together, chatting quietly between the two of them, while Cyrus and Red accompanied her.

 

At least her day was going to get better now with some shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

You watched calmly as outside the window the treetops danced to the rhythm of the wind, the sun's rays bathing the place in a golden glow.

 

The memory was almost painful.

 

Like a lucid dream you felt when you woke up, you swore you could see the golden sun bathe the dark wood from your husband's cabin, you swore you could remember the creaking of the wood under the rocking chair in the living room.

 

You swore you could hear your husband's soft humming in the distance like he always did while working, leaving you alone to rest under the warmth of the sun and the dance of the breeze all the free time you had.

 

But you knew it wasn't true.

 

Looking back down at the brown fibers beneath your fingers, you reminded yourself to keep humming as you felt the young girl's sobs against you, one of her arms hugging your waist while the other clenched the fabric of your clothes in a fist under your chest, where her face was hidden.

 

"It's okay, sweetie..", Your fingers calmly combed through her hair, from where her hairline ended to where her neck joined her head, your other hand cradling the fist that was in your clothes, just above the edge of the end of your ribs.

 

"I'm here".

 

What you received in response was a hurt sob that shook your soul even more.

 

You resigned yourself to humming, gently rocking in place to reassure her, to show her at all time that you were there even if she had spent quite a bit of time composing herself before she started crying again for the last two hours, you just kept holding her, holding her close and rocking her even though it also seemed to break her, you reminded her every time that you were still there for her, that you were present and listening to her throat become hoarse after each panting sob.

 

You glanced over to make sure both children were still asleep, finding Aster still asleep and Callisto now calm after having cried, now quietly unconscious under the soft light coming through the window after having tired herself out crying for the first time since being born.

 

At least that way you could rule out some of the things you had been thinking.

 

"I don't even know you.."

 

Your fingers paused on the brown fibers beneath your claws, letting the face hidden against you drift away, but despite moving away she kept her hands on you, squeezing you so tightly that you almost thought she would try to drag you with her as she sat up straight, instead, red eyes locked onto yours, even though you knew she could barely see straight through the tears still dripping down her cheeks.

 

You'd think it would have disgusted you to see her like that, with her eyes red and watery, a strong blush on the poorly cared skin that spread all over her face, a runny nose and above all the humidity that made her look sticky, both her tears making a path down her chin or her blood.

 

You just noticed that her nose starting to bleed, a small trickle that was just beginning to reach her chin.

 

 

"Why.."

 

 

Instead..

 

 

 

You thought she was perfect.

 

 

 

"Why would you be here for me?"

 

 

 

Because there was nothing purer than breaking after carrying so much weight.

 

 

"Because no one was there for me".

 

 

Your gaze lowered to the ground, not wanting to match the sadness on her sticky face as you moved to grab some tissues nearby, not meeting her eyes as you lifted her head and wiped away the blood staining her skin.

 

The fabric between your fingers barely absorbed the crimson liquid, leaving a reddish stain as you urged her to cover the nosebleed so it would end soon.

 

You gently cradled her face, finally returning her gaze sweetly, caressing her cheeks with your thumbs, being careful with your claws, knowing that leaving a scratch on her face would not be something you would like.

 

"Let's clean you up, sweetie, your face is all messed up", You said, louder than a whisper but not enough to be your normal voice, you were sure she noticed but she didn't say anything as she stood up with you, following you into the bathroom.

 

You left the door open, offering your hand and giving her a smile when the red stained fabric ended up in your hand, you left the stained cloth in the sink, gesturing for her to come closer while you wet the edge of a towel.

 

Stopping before touching her face, you let it be known that you were hesitant to wipe her face by keeping your hands still near her face, she cleared your doubts by resting her face on your hand. You smiled sweetly at her before beginning to wipe her face, almost cooing when you felt her relax against you.

 

"I.. I'm sorry about the interrogation of before," you said shortly after, not wanting the two of you to remain silent in the still warm bathroom, trying to show her that even if it seemed strange, you had no other reasons than trying to help.

 

Or at least help in whatever way you could.

 

Things like this really weren't your thing.

 

Your thumb caressed her cheekbone as you wiped away the reddish stain on her chin, watching her shudder at the sensation. "I judged your soul and the other human's as soon as I saw you and her..", you expected to see anger in her, maybe disgust, but you didn't regret it, you would never regret being cautious with who your family approached, "I'm not.. confident with everybody here.."

 

Stella followed your gaze to where the two sleeping offspring rested, comfortably unconscious as the orange sunlight gently bathed them.

 

So she didn't blame you.

 

She knew that in your place she would have been worse considering how common it usually was to encounter people who didn't have a good opinion of monsters. 

 

She remembered seen some kids where she studied bothering a cartoon demon-like monster just because he joined their class to study.

 

 

The rumor that the janitor found their dust spread two days after.

 

 

"I don't expect you to trust me", made her look at you again, finding blossoming feelings and an almost melancholic look in a beautiful face, "But I want you to know that I won't let them hurt you, and even if you don't want to talk to me, I beg you to tell me if something happens."

 

She couldn't understand how you didn't understand that you were her first light in that dark house.

 

"Thank you".

 

Was all she could say.

 

Months of living as if anyone was going to jump on her made her feel strange now that she felt the careful touch of claws that she somehow knew would never harm her.

 

"Thank you.."

 

She repeated, a goofy smile spreading across her face, flushed from crying and finally able to stop the tears in her eyes that the siphon that had been closed for months had finally been open. Seeing her, you opened your arms to her, a silent offer that she didn't wait to accept, almost with need, throwing herself into your arms and squeezing your waist tightly between her arms, hiding her face against your chest.

 

A few minutes passed before you heard noise in the room, looking up only to find Aster stretching, you saw how by accident, while stretching, he moved his sister, who however remained asleep.

 

You patted Stella's back twice gently, she understood and walked away from you easily, her tearful gaze following you as she wiped her face of all the wetness. You watched intently as Aster stretched, smiling as he opened his eyes and looked at you, soft baby sounds filling the quiet room as he looked up at you.

 

You cooed as you approached, laying on your side next to them as you gently placed a kiss on both of their temples. Stella came over, sitting close but still leaving room for you and the children, not wanting to interrupt the moments of a mother and her newborns.

 

"They're both adorable, really cute", You heard Stella murmur, not wanting to break the soft little atmosphere that had formed, you were grateful for that.

 

You chuckled, "They took it from mom and dad", You replied playfully, moving one of your fingers near Aster's face, the little one seemed to want to be able to move and grab your finger.

 

You were honestly surprised at how relaxed you felt despite everything, you had always been sensitive, aware of others and always too emotional for your liking, yet you still found it strange how soft that annoying static was in your mind. Almost like an intrusive thought, even if it only lasted a few moments before disappearing, you found it curious but you let it pass because of how soft you felt. 

 

"It is because of the increase in relaxin and other hormones after childbirth in your body", You swore you heard your husband's voice explaining, his words still in your mind even if he had told you a few hours ago after you complained that you felt numb and very tired even hours after giving birth.

 

"I'm going to get something to eat", Stella said, drawing your attention as she stood up, stretching and sniffling from a still wet nose from crying, she lowered her gaze to you. "you're going to wait for him up here?"

 

"I thought about going down, but I don't want to leave my children alone.." You glanced sideways at both children, almost feeling tired remembering how funny it was to adjust a baby sling alone, the practice had been weird but you knew that with practice it would become more comfortable to put it on. "Would you help me put the baby sling on?".

 

She seemed to think about it but you gratefully thanks her when she accepted, you were actually surprised at how good she was with the fabric in her hands. 

 

Shortly after you made sure to see if the fabric hugging your twins against your body was okay, thanking Stella as she helped you so that the excess fabric of the sling wouldn't make you uncomfortable and so that Callisto and Aster was comfortably curled up against your chest, Aster awake and energetic unlike Callisto, who seemed very comfortable curled up like a cocoon against one side of your chest, you found it very funny how small she looked. You check if both were okay before going down with Stella.

 

You unconsciously stared as the light of the soon-to-be-gone sunlight passed through the hallway windows, your room had to be one of the last ones in a corner of the large house, you thought, following Stella as she walked, following her without noticing until the sunlight no longer reached you through the windows, finally lowering your gaze to the ground, watching carefully as you calmly walk down the stairs.

 

It was halfway up the stairs that the sound began to reach your ears, voices that you easily recognized by tone rather than by sight, although your unconscious gaze still went towards the noise when you reached the end of the stairs. You easily found two skeletons resting on the sofa and two more, somewhat loud, voices coming from the kitchen.

 

You took a step, though you froze momentarily, a chill running down your spine.

 

 

Pushing that feeling aside you moved forward, letting the static slowly fade away as you heard the front door open.

 

 

The door creaked and soon a female voice again made you shudder.

 

 

Something wasn't right.

Notes:

Flowers;

Hellebore: Calumny
Diphylleia: "I will show my true self to you"; clarity, honesty

I have to say I have one or two more chapters half finished, although I don't know when I'll post them... anyway, I hope you like this one!

Chapter 7: 5) Dogwood

You always thought that the sun would be the only red ball that would somehow surprise you.

 

 

You never thought that would change. 

 

 

It was unparalleled mass and dust that burned passionately, slowly consuming itself until the mass became energy due to the strength of the heat and brightness.

 

 

You thought the Sun was the only red you never thought to look directly at because of the strength of the red, red that reminded you of lava, the power that the underground core used as fuel.

 

 

This new universe liked to show you that you were wrong.

 

 

Now looking into that big red eye you never thought that a look so similar to the short, rough-looking skeleton you had recently met could disturb you, but just as the beginning of the day had shown you, the peaceful life you had planned was crumbling in your hands without you being able to do anything about it.

 

 

The eyes fixed on yours somehow made you feel like you were looking in a mirror, a look you knew all too well for your liking.

 

"Aliza!"

 

You heard Stella say beside you, in a soft yet excited tone as a young girl, the voice that had alerted you, ran up to her arms.

 

You were surprised to see the little girl grab Stella's hand and pull, trying to pull her away from you, quiet and wordless but visibly insistent as she tried to take the taller one with her to a new pair of siblings.

 

You noticed out of the corner of your eye the two on the couch, Citrine and Mutt, who now seemed completely alert, both looking between you, the humans, and the new pair, sharing a look between the two before disappearing into the air in what you guessed was a shortcut. To your surprise, Citrine appeared at your side, looking nervous and not looking directly at you but at the awake child curled up in your chest who seemed curious about the new skeletons.

 

You heard the sound of a shortcut nearby, but you didn't see anything so you guessed that Mutt must have cut into the kitchen, where you noticed the sound cease, while a soft tap or your arm made you look to your side, where Citrine held a note in front of you for only you to see.

 

'They're Lupine and Coron, they were not present in the morning. Aliza is their human.

 

You smiled at Citrine, thanking him for the context, as he pocketed the note, balling it up messily before stuffing it into his pocket carelessly.

 

Your gaze left the skeleton beside you to focus again on the two new boys, not looking at the little girl who had moved away from Stella to cling to the side of who you guessed was Coron, a Papyrus, he looking at you with a terrified familiarity. You swore you heard her murmur a name you knew well, something not audible to many but the sound reached your ears, it also reached both brothers stretched out considering the grimaces upon hearing it.

 

"like her," you guessed that was why her gaze was fixed on your face, she was scared of you.

 

 

"Toriel?", Stella murmured beside you, echoing what she had heard from the girl.

 

 

You almost felt offended to be compared to that old goat.

 

 

"My name is Ariel".

 

You felt good to have been able to erase that angry tone that made a lump in your throat, sweetly responding to the little girl's fixed gaze before looking at both brothers, "I don't look like a ghost, do I?"

 

Lupin, a Sans taller than the original with a wound that seemed already old on his skull, he snorted, looking at you with what you guessed was curiosity mixed with disgust, though you ignored that and Coron's show of discomfort as he noticed the skeletons in the kitchen finally approaching.

 

The new arrivals, Black, Mutt, and the farmer brothers, looked between you and the two new guests, not seeming to want to interrupt or take the attention of the tense skeletons. You heard mutt's brother sigh, looking almost as tense as you felt, glancing at you from the corner of his eye before seeming to start speaking.

 

"Name's Lupin, It's a pleasure to meat you", Razz was interrupted by Lupin, who glared at him but didn't stop as he walked until he was a few steps ahead of you, raising one of his hands and offering it to you.

 

He didn't really bother to hide his intention.

 

And as fun as it would be to see your husband's expression, you weren't getting marks like his on your hands anytime soon.

 

The brothers dressed in purple and black standing under the threshold of the door looked terrifyingly shocked, somewhere between horrified and surprised you would say, after noticing the rather rusty metal spike in Lupin's hand as he shrugged, turning on the winter boots he was wearing, you heard Coron let out what you guessed was a snort, almost a chuckle.

 

"It's Good To See Someone Other Than Just Skeletons Around Here!", Coron approached, offering you an empty hand this time which you respectfully accepted, keeping your expression calm as the handshake made your hand creak from his strong grip.

 

You swore you saw the small group of skeletons near the kitchen grimace at the sound, as did both humans, which little one seemed about to interrupt, maybe push him away from you, but he freeze when his gaze fell on the sling wrapped around your body, where only one awake small pairs of eyes stared back at him.

 

"Children?"

 

You internally scolded yourself for not noticing that Aster was still awake, making a mental note that you'd have to pay a lot more attention to him with how quiet and silent he seemed to be.

 

"My children", You nodded at his silent question, slightly moving the fabric that wrapped them both against your chest, leaving both of them more visible to those who you knew were still watching, who you knew were many.

 

To your surprise, the small human and Lupin appeared on either side of Coron, Aliza standing on tiptoe to see Aster and Lupin staring at Callisto.

 

You looked up from the three people in front of you staring at your chest when you heard Copper clear his throat, just with that you realized that Stella was now behind Mutt next to the group of skeletons, you guessed that he was ready to get her out of there considering how tense everyone looked.

 

"You.. haven't eaten anything yet, have you?", You flinched as you heard the whiplash Lupin gave himself as he turned his head, his eye fixed on Copper, who you saw startled but not stop talking, his gaze flickering over Lupin for a moment before returning to you seeing you shake your head. 

 

"You.. um.."

 

You felt a little sorry for Copper, considering that soon Coron and the little human joined in staring at the skeleton, causing him to stumble over his words and look at Razz and his brother to see if they could continue speaking instead of him, you grimaced and almost turned around and went back up to hide in what would soon be a blanket cave thanks to your husband. 

 

Seeing that both of those he was looking for help looked away, Copper sighed before continuing: "...You did't eat in the morning, you haven't come down all day and.. I'm not sure you ate before coming here considering how bad you and Gaster looked".

 

 

"Gaster?" Aliza asked, you calmly replied: "My husband and the children' father", in low voice, hearing Lupin snort before speaking.

 

 

"I don't think you're in a place to criticize how someone looks, farmer".

 

 

. . .

 

 

You swore you were going to off like a light as soon as you could lay down because of how loud the dripping of the poorly closed faucet sounded in your ears.

 

 

 

"..How Bad?"

 

 

You saw Black squint, his eyelight falling to the ground for a few moments as Mutt grimaced behind him, and you almost wanted to complain but you knew you didn't really look well when you arrived, but in your defense you were still beautiful and you both had held up well despite everything you and Gaster had been through, but you understood the bad face because of how you appeared.

 

At least now you knew you were back to looking like yourself.

 

 

"Almost you bad."

 

 

Somehow that didn't offend you any less.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You hate her?"

 

 

Suddenly the long wool coat Gaster was running his fingers through become too rough for his liking, looking over his shoulder with that poker face expression that had been on his face for the two hours they had been shopping, looking at the smiling skeleton whose marks he seemed to have copied from Gaster.

 

 

"Her?"

 

Gaster knew anyway that he wasn't referring to his wife, not as he had spoken of her.

 

 

Or how Gaster threatened him to shut his mouth after some dirty joke he preferred not to remember.

 

 

Only the human who had also come shopping remained by definition, considering that Gaster did not know the other human he had seen, although he would have loved it, chamomile was a favorite of both, yours and his, if he didn't drink as much caffeine as he could in his free time.

 

 

Which wasn't much considering the poor free time he usually had.

 

 

"You mean the her who tried to touch my son, my newborn imprinting son, in his mother's arms without any shame? I think you already know my answer", He said, receiving no further response than a chuckle from Thyme, who continued to look around the store, though not moving from his side as he looked at some jackets.

 

Gaster continued to gently touch some long jackets, noticeably dissatisfied that he hadn't found anything of his standards in the nearly half hour they had already been in the store, Thyme snorted as he looked at some coats next to him, slowly getting stressed out from the wait as he held several full shopping bags, as did Gaster, who didn't seem to care at all.

 

Thyme internally thanked Crimson and Merlot for passing by them as they walked back to the car, so they both didn't have to continue with the things Gaster had already bought for his kids such as the twin stroller or the crib.

 

A more lively murmur made Thyme look up from the winter jackets he had ended up wandering around in, looking at Gaster, who looked with more satisfaction at a white fur-collared pea coat. Thyme swore he saw stars on Gaster's face as he grabbed a copy of that coat but in black and some sizes larger before leaving to pay for them, he growled complainingly before following him, shuffling his feet.

 

Fortunately everything went pretty quickly after that considering Gaster bought a few pairs of shoes just for himself, Thyme almost felt stupid asking why he wasn't buying for you, but stopped mid-talk when he remembered that you did, in fact, have hooves.

 

He deigned to silently follow Gaster as they both made their way back to the car, embarrassed by his small mistake as he climbed in and sat in the backseat with Gaster and Crimson, Red in front and Merlot doing the same moments later, sitting in the driver's seat. Just like before, Gaster felt, now more subtly, how the engine roared under his feet, making him shudder unconsciously because of how much it reminded him of his own creations.

 

Machines defiled for something that was not their main reason for existing, broken and remade, stripped of their original innocence to serve in war.

 

He had always wanted to be a man of the progress, focused on making the world an entire race lived in more comfortable for everyday life, stained with dust and filled with that smell of copper and rust whose stains came off as they dried on the metal. At one time, almost all of humanity came to call the underground that Gaster knew a lost city, testimonies of a civilization that had been lost over time, the environmental change that the passing of the years, pollution and evolution brought with it. 

 

 

But the underground in which Gaster lived could never be an Atlantis, no. 

 

 

The underground that Gaster had lived in was a dungeon.

 

 

Ruins that ranged from catacombs to tight, narrow, claustrophobic passages. A lot of monsters died until the present times, Gaster could remember the research and the collected data that he had to study, the reality was harsh.

 

Many believed that monsters could survive almost anything, but that was just a bad joke that evolution played on an entire race.

 

Gaster was always horrified to remember the images of those monsters trapped between the cracks of the caves, starving and unable to move because of the tight cracks in the cave that humanity called the home of monsters.

 

Gaster never thought that a humanoid body could deform so much while still alive and conscious, the heat of the lava in the layer of the earth where a part of the underground was located was hellish, reaching the tragedy of having almost wiped out a quarter of the monster population when the community arrived at the now called Hotland.

 

And he knew that there was information, research even more grotesque and crude that had not fallen into his hands only thanks to you, considering the fact that he had a higher specialization in mechanics, physics and Chemistry was thanks to the fact that you had gotten involved in choosing the subjects in which scientists would specialize as soon as you were given a title and control in the royal family.

 

 

He wished not to remember how many scientists were saved from going mad by information that did not fall into their hands.

 

And how many did not.

 

 

His thoughts slowly fell silent, replaced by the conversation the other versions of his siblings were having, something about a celebration or so, he let the conversation fade into background noise because he didn't really care, his gaze unconsciously looking at the road by which the car returned to the mansion, with the sky now painted with oranges and slight shades of purple barely noticeable where the sunlight left the sky.

 

Enraptured, he was almost disappointed to see the mansion again, the simple exterior now orange like the sky and the light that softly illuminated everything he could see nearby, turning the color of the trees darker, changing for the new season in this universe, turning brown, despite the displeasure that momentarily invaded him for returning to an unknown and unfamiliar place, calm quickly touched his soul knowing that he had returned to where his family was, where he knew you were safe.

 

 

Although this was definitely not what he expected...

 

Sitting on the living room sofa, and accompanied by several skeletons and two humans, many of whom he didn't recognize, he found you as soon as he entered the place.

 

Gaster was surprised and momentarily froze in place when he found you sitting between a pair of brothers he hadn't seen before, noticeably larger and changed in personality considering how both skeletons for some reason looked at you out of the corner of their eyes while eating, pretending to watch the TV on and currently playing the news.

 

The other skeletons he had seen earlier were also present, sitting on the other couch and a couple pretending to be watching tv, the farmer brothers, he noticed, were the ones avoiding looking at what he knew was a tense scene, considering how he also noticed that you were trying not to pay much attention to anyone while eating, staring straight ahead, not even really watching TV.

 

He was almost disgusted looking at leftovers in your hands, some meatballs somewhat undone in spaghetti in one of your hands while you ate with the other, he felt a little relieved that at least he saw some steam coming off the food, it wouldn't be good for your health to eat something cold.

 

"We are back.."

 

Gaster heard Red break the ice, sweating when most of their gazes fell on him, causing him to try to half-hide his face in the fluff of his jacket, standing next to the box of the baby stroller he brought inside, a twin stroller Gaster found at a good price.

 

He watched you look up from your food, setting your plate down on the coffee table despite the soft grunt Gaster could hear from the new version of his brother, the guy had his skull broken, an old wound, it was easy to see. 

 

You placed a hand in front of your lips, hiding your mouth as you chewed and swallowed before speaking, still covering your lips as your empty hand unconsciously rested against Aster's back, both babies awake, and somewhat excited as Callisto's eyes fell on him and Aster became excited seeing his sister's expression.

 

...Both little ones had already been able to recognize him?

 

He momentarily put aside his emotion upon hearing you.

 

"They are Lupin and Coron, and Aliza, their human", You nodded to each of them slightly to show who was who, though Gaster easily got the idea, 'Lupine' was not a name anyone would voluntarily give themselves without old scars, or a rather dark sense of humor.

 

He could feel the marked magic, everything could change the magic of a monster, but the trauma was not only physical but also psychological, it was a bright red cross on the body of a monster, neither of them was really subtle either.

 

The feeling blossoming in his chest almost withered when he saw the look Lupin was giving him, a red eye with a dead pupil that looked at him with what Gaster guessed was recognition, Gaster must have missed the direct gaze at him because of how quiet the room still was despite how full it was. Stars, he really needed a nap..

 

"There's no need to say my name when you already know it, by the way you look at me..", Gaster said, looking directly at Lupin as he spoke, though his gaze shifted to your eyes moments later, gesturing for you to continue eating as he turned to grab the other shopping bags, his hands becoming heavy as he turned towards the stairs.

 

You were surprised to see him simply grab everything before leaving to go up to the room you both shared, immediately moving to stand up, though a light grab made you stop. The gentle tug on the excess fabric of the sling stopped you, making you look over your shoulder only to find small fingers tugging at the black fabric, Aliza gently shook her head before nodding softly at Lupin, dead eye resting on the hand you had on Aster's back, snuggled comfortably in your chest, Aliza gave two gentle tugs to the remaining fabric of the sling, with a defeated sigh you let yourself fall back onto the sofa, despite the annoying feeling of letting your husband carry all those things upstairs.

 

You stared at the stairs, saddened that they wouldn't let you help your husband, keeping your gaze despite feeling your plate being placed in your hands again, hearing the dead-pupiled skeleton to your right sigh when you didn't eat again, seeing him get up.

 

"I don't trust him not to trip and split his skull", He mumbled standing up, his eye moving between you and your half full plate before moving to head up the stairs, you watched him go up with a smile making its way onto your face, seeing Coron roll his eyes out of the corner of your eye.

 

And, despite the slight bitterness of the onset of fever stuck in a tight lump in your throat, you forced yourself to take another bite, slowly eating each bite that your body silently begged for, only now feeling the pain of hunger, now that your stomach was no longer empty, twisting on itself.

 

"You Are Stubborn", Coron murmured beside you, despite looking at the stairs, where Lupine had taken upstairs what Gaster hadn't had room to take, you heard someone choke and cough at his comment but you didn't bother to see who it was.

 

You didn't look up from your plate, also seeing Aster and Callisto thanks to their position in your field of vision, you smiled, "Runs in the family", you laughed quietly, continuing to eat what was left on your plate, not wanting to upset Lupin or Coron by not eating everything.

 

To your surprise the next hour was pretty quiet, Coron gave you more food than you could honestly eat in such a short time, by the time he stopped feeding you, you felt full and annoyingly sleepy, tiredness scratching at your tired muscles, It was interesting to watch the news, being different from what you were used to see, more peaceful it was safe to say.

 

You sat quietly in the living room until the sun was no longer peeking through the windows and the sky had taken on a dark purple hue, chatting with the skeletons present who wanted to talk. At some point Stella apologized saying she had to finish some things and go to sleep early before leaving, although you guessed it was an excuse when the other human appeared shortly after, screaming that she was back, which woke Callisto up making her cry again, you were irritable the whole time she was present, which wasn't much, as she took her shopping bags to her room shortly after, saying that Callisto's whimpering was giving her a headache. 

 

You heard Crimson snort behind you, standing behind the couch with his arms crossed where he had just been watching the news, you could hear Aliza talking about some things while sitting comfortably on Coron's lap and half leaning against him, resting her head and cheek against the skeleton's shoulder, limits, if you listened well. Black, Merlot, Thyme and Mutt were talking quietly on the other sofa while you slightly adjusted Aster, who was slowly falling asleep now alone in the sling as you hummed and softly cooed to Callisto in your arms, whose crying had softened to soft hiccups.

 

You were momentarily distracted when the previously empty space on the sofa to your right was suddenly occupied, looking at Red, who had plopped down next to you with a glass of water raised in the space between you and him, you could feel Crimson's gaze on both of you.

 

"knock knock", Red joked, making you giggle, watching him gently swing the glass in his hand until you it, holding the now calm Callisto with one arm.

 

"RED.."

 

"Who's there?", You replied calmly despite Crimson's tone when calling his brother, looking down as you heard Callisto hiccup once more.

 

"Tank".

 

"Tank who?" You raised an eyebrow, knowing that whatever his answer was would be stupid.

 

His smile grew, "Well, you're welcome!"

 

You snorted, though you laughed when you heard Crimson grunt behind you both, almost sounding disgusted, which was simply wonderful to hear and improved your mood considerably, that bittersweet taste disappearing from your mouth as you sipped the water before leaving the empty glass on the coffee table.

 

"It's late already, we should go home soon". You looked up, finding Lupin, who was leaning on the edge of the wall that led to a corridor, his gloved hands now hidden in the pockets of his winter jacket, seeing your curious gaze toward the stairs, he took one of his hands out of his pockets and gently shook it in front of him, almost as if he was trying to make your concern vanish like smoke. "He passed out in the bed after putting together the crib, I left the bags by the door", he gently lift his shoulders before pushing away from the wall and walking over to the coffee table, placing the glass on the plate before lifting them in one hand.

 

You winced, moving to stand up and take the things from him, but he raised his other hand, palm facing you. You stopped at that, watching him point at Callisto and you before pointing at the couch. Resignedly, you dropped back into your seat.

 

"He even started snoring, can't imagine how tired you must be if he's like that", You saw him walk to the kitchen, you thought he was just going to leave the plate there but to your surprise he took off his gloves to wash the plate and the glass, Red sitting next to you grimaced at the thought of his Gaster snoring, he really couldn't imagine it.

 

You chuckled, watching Aliza get up from Coron's lap just to stretch, she almost reminded you of a cat, not the monsters, you hadn't seen one in a while, if not to the small domestic pets that you have rarely seen. 

 

"Honestly, Gaster is not an athletic man, he is still a wonderful scientist, but the life of a consort is quite simple in the capital, you don't need to have great stamina for that", you thought out loud, not bothering to hide titles or anything, It wasn't something really important and considering the new situation you found yourself in, it didn't make sense to hide public things from people who were technically now family.

 

That thought made you grimace, now you not only had two brothers-in-law, but now you had more than eight, it was strange to think about that, you had a good relationship with Gaster's brothers, even if you weren't really close to them because of the situation the Underground had been in for the past few years, Everyone was just so busy that family time away from your husband was hard to come by with all your work, Gaster's work, and his brothers' work. It was only after the news of your pregnancy with twins that they both decided to take a few days off from their busy work with the community and get to know you better, considering that you were married to Gaster and that they would become Uncles thanks to you, Papyrus almost burst into tears of joy upon learning from Gaster that Callisto was a babybones, not out of favoritism, he assured you, If not because the skeleton subrace was not extensive at all considering that there were only three skeleton monsters and all of them were close family.

 

"Gaster is legally a consort? What's his title?", You heard Merlot ask, his face surprised, an expression that Black mirrored, both of them had stopped chatting with Thyme and Mutt upon hearing that, which last skeleton also seemed curious.

 

You snorted, watching Thyme scratch the back of his neck as he spoke, looking confused, "What's so surprising about being a consort?"

 

Black turned sharply, looking at Thyme as if he were dumb, "Gaster could be a king consort."

 

"What."

 

You had to forcefully stop yourself from laughing, which caused you to momentarily choke, worrying Coron, who gently patted you on the back as you saw, despite being half-choked, that both children were still asleep, Coron's little taps helped a little as you heard Aliza laughing at you, what didn't help was Lupin silently coming up behind you just to dry his wet hands on your face. You complained angrily, slapping his hands away from your face as you heard Aliza wheesing in the background and Lupin himself laughing at you with Red next to you trying hard not to laugh, just like Mutt who had pulled his jacket up to his nose bone, although the annoyance made you stop coughing, you still looked at Lupin in annoyance.

 

You wiped the moisture from your face, glancing at Lupin as he dried the rest of the water on his jacket, walking over to Aliza only to pick her up when he saw her still laughing, "As I was going to say... Gaster's title isn't king, but prince", you replied to Merlot, who nodded upon hearing.

 

"But.. you're a Queen? Shouldn't he be king?", Red asked, raising an browbone in confusion.

 

To your surprise, Merlot explained, "No one in our family was born with a title, given it by merit or was raised with royalty so it is not possible for a common monster to obtain the title of king or queen unless it is by riot or inheritance, as happened with the King Aasim and the Queen Camellia", pointing at you before pointing at Crimson standing behind you, It is true that no one without knowledge or ability could enter and be part of the royal family, even though everyone could bid for other positions in the kingdom as royal guards, sentinels, or Gaster's profession; the royal scientist, a position that was occupied by one or two at a time, not counting the royal scientist's assistants.

 

You snorted, "How many other kingdoms were brought?" You glanced at Red, who you noticed grimaced slightly at the mention of that queen, though not out of disgust, you noticed.

 

"without counting yours, four more", Black said, "Most of us are here because they don't have kingdoms to return to or because they don't want to return because of the situation some kingdoms are in right now."

 

"Like us", Lupin said, shifting gently in his place, rocking Aliza, who was slowly giving in to her tiredness, "We were a rare case, along with the farmers and the ugly-faced weirdo–"

 

"Hey!", You heard Thyme complain.

 

"We haven't been to any kingdom since we arrived so I don't know exactly what the situation is like there.. although it must be a disaster with so many Dremurrs there", He shrugged, ignoring Thyme as he continued to gently rock Aliza in his arms, being careful with the lack of her right arm, as if he were rocking a baby, you were surprised it was working with the preteen girl.

 

You heard Crimson sigh, "IT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN.. BUSY, ALTHOUGH AT LEAST THE FELLS HAVE IMPROVED CONSIDERABLY UNDER QUEEN CAMELLIA'S REIGN", The faint sound of bone against bone gave you the idea that he had pinched his septum bone, touching where a stress headache had recently stopped pounding in his skull.

 

You chuckled, feeling sympathy, you yourself had filled yourself with stress years ago, when in the middle of the war all responsibility was left on you when it was decided that the king was no longer seeking the best for monsterkind, barely having come of age and yet already charged with carrying the good of an entire race in the face of the adversity of a world that did not want them free for fear of being left defenseless, in the face of the fear of facing and knowing the unknown. It was only thanks to your studies and more willing monsters that you yourself trained that the council was formed, creating a state that not only helped you but also took responsibilities off your shoulders that you couldn't carry alone, a reliable state that surely, despite your disappearance, had already calmed the kingdom and made sure it remained protected.

 

You didn't know for sure, Sans had said he would give you updates after you asked him not to make sudden contact with your people, knowing that it would make the monsters suspicious and on alert without you there to make sure everything stayed calm, giving the state time to prepare and relax from the alertness that war had caused to grow in your people. You were sure that a state of emergency had already been announced, but apart from knowing the protocol that had to be implemented in case of emergencies in the underground, you couldn't really be sure since Sans had been missing all day.

 

You were downstairs chatting with the skeletons until the sky outside darkened and Coron and Lupin said their goodbyes, returning to their home with Aliza asleep in Lupin's arms, who had not seemed uncomfortable at any time with holding the sleeping girl, even though she was almost his height. You gently tightened your grip on Aster and Callisto as the door opened and Coron and Lupin said their goodbyes, a chill running down your spine as the cold air rushed in.

 

You only spent a little while further downstairs, sipping tea in silence with, to your surprise, Crimson, Red, Merlot and Citrine, the latter of whom had at some point come down silently and sat next to his brother, who did not hesitate to give him a cup of tea with plenty of sugar. It was after finishing your cup that you said goodbye and goodnight to those present, who responded in the same way, you didn't bother to show that you felt a gaze glued to your back as you went up to the room, where, and as Lupin had said, you found Gaster lying on his stomach with his jacket and shoes still on.

 

You snorted at the sight, though it turned into a chuckle when you heard him snoring against the sheets, and you shook your head as you made your way over to the crib. It was quite cute, dark in color with little dots that reminded you of stars, although the crib itself reminded you a lot of a small cage, it was adorable. You reached out and touched the mattress, feeling it soft but not enough for Callisto or Aster to hurt themselves, the crib even had a cute mobile with some clouds, stars and a moon in the middle.

 

Taking your time you placed both of them in the crib one by one, positioning them correctly before taking off the sling, stretching your back and rubbing lightly where you knew your skin had turned red under the fur from the fabric. You walked over to the bed and with a smile on your lips, you took off your husband's shoes and jacket, settling him under the sheets before joining you, not bothering to change your clothes. You snorted when your husband barely had the chance, despite being asleep, immediately hugged you, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face in the space between your neck and chest, you hugged him back, holding him closer to you.

 

You weren't awake for long really, hearing the phone faintly moving in a soft warm breeze, branches outside gently scratching against the window and occasional quiet footsteps behind the door, knowing that the others in the house were slowly going to their rooms. You sighed softly, stroking Gaster's head with your chin, squeezing a little tighter when you heard some slightly heated chatter outside, barely audible to your sensitive ear, yet you did not stand up to leave, feeling completely exhausted now that you were lying comfortably, warm, and knowing your husband was resting too.

 

The sound kept you awake for a while, though everything went silent as the voices slowly faded away until you couldn't hear them anymore, probably having gone downstairs to avoid arguing in the hallway.

 

You closed your eyes just as the rain began, the gentle dripping against the window following you until you fell into the warm arms of a dreamless sleep.

Notes:

Flower/plant:
Dogwood; Durability; honesty, true nobility.

And the new characters!

Horrortale;
Sans: Lupin[e] (Lupine flowers symbolize strength, protection, transformation, and renewal. They can also represent imagination, admiration, happiness, and more, even thought their meaning is "Voraciousness") / Coron[illa] (The name coronilla means "small crown" and refers to the flower clusters of the coronilla plant; plant what meaning is "Success crown your wishes") / Aliza (The name Aliza, which is of Hebrew origin, literally means “joy.”)

I went through a block that didn't give me any ideas on how to continue this halfway through the chapter, that's why it's short, sorry, I hope you like it anyways!

Chapter 8: 6) Bouncing b(C)et(inquefoil)

Notes:

TW; Blood mention, animal corpse mention.

To no one's surprise, Gaster forced you to rest in bed for a few days after hearing you complain of some back pain and the obvious physical pain that came with, and despite their small size, give birth to two beautiful creatures. He didn't let you go out much either, although you understood well because you had done the same thing when he existed again, letting him rest in your room from those times, worried that he might relapse and get sick from what he had been before. Although both situations were different, you knew that not even the Void would take away your husband's eternal concern and overprotection when he thought you were defenseless.

 

You had to say it wasn't very fun, you almost wondered if Gaster had stuck a "No Trespassing" sign on the door since no one had contacted you, although you were sure that whenever they asked, your husband would probably tell them you were sleeping or something like that. Which, in fact, wasn't a lie.

 

You knew better than to stress your body after giving birth, so without complaining you did what Gaster asked you considering that he is the one with the deepest knowledge in terms of monster biology, spending much of the time lying down and resting, usually sleeping and taking naps intermittently, always accompanied by both newborns, you thought it was a joke when Gaster told you that newborns slept a lot, but you were surprised to realize that they both actually slept most of the day, you didn't blame them, surely realizing you were alive now was a surprise, not feeling your body stretching was surely better than being awake to do it. Surely they would soon start to cry, babble and be more vocal when the slight discomfort of starting to grow will begin, which you knew would be sooner rather than later, knowing that your family was fast-growing, Gaster had explained to you that he wasn't sure about that with Callisto considering that he was the only one, and last, of his kind.

 

You sighed, leaning against the icy glass that the sun barely peeking through the clouds couldn't warm, sitting on the windowsill covered with a warm blanket, watching with a blank mind the drops hitting before rolling down the glass, seeing the slight wet paths they left on the window. You lowered your head, rubbing your cheek against Aster's head, who had moved gently in your arms, by this point the weight of both of them in your arms had become normal, comforting even, as you hummed and murmured sweet lullabies that you remembered.

 

You rubbed your chin gently over Aster and Callisto's heads, hearing both sleeping babies let out small sounds that melted your soul, without taking your eyes off the window, seeing the trees bathed in the quiet torrential rain, seeing the mountain barely visible between the clouds that had come down to weep over the green forest, biting your cheek as you looked down at the pillows on the windowsill, staring at the cute leaf-shaped pillow when you heard a knock on the door.

 

You stared out the window for a few moments, stopping your humming, knowing it wasn't Gaster, who would have simply opened the door and walked right in.

 

You didn't raise your voice as you allowed the person outside to pass, turning back to look out the window, but you knew it was a skeleton when you felt the outside air coming in when the door softly creaked and saw a small red light in the reflection of the wet and slightly fogged glass.

 

You looked out of the corner of your eye, finding Red, who was dressed a little differently although you still guessed his style when you saw the black pants, surely pajamas, the red turtleneck with the barely hidden gold chain and a black leather jacket with fur that you hadn't noticed, although it looked good on him. You barely looked down, seeing that he was carrying a black plastic bag and a small companion that meowed when your eyes met theirs.

 

"Knock knock".

 

His smile spread even wider when he heard you chuckle at the strange greeting, a small smile making its way to your face as he walked calmly to the empty space on the windowsill, responding despite feeling like you were encouraging him to keep telling you jokes from the one a few days ago.

 

"Who's there?", You murmured against Aster's still adorably fine fur, making him look quite pink, soon to become a white ball of fur, like fluff, like a dandelion.

 

"Accordion".

 

You were tempted to tell him that you'd heard that one before, that your husband's lazy brother was also a comedian who prided himself on telling the worst jokes at the most inopportune moments.

 

Instead, you just smiled, murmuring, "accordion who?"

 

"Accordion to the weatherman, it's goin' to rain for a long time".

 

You giggled, turning back to look at the trees taking a gentle, well-deserved shower as Red sat next to you on the windowsill, moving that leaf-shaped pillow until it was between the two of you, the fabric barely touching the cold window, you let out a soft snort, watching how your breath, warmer than the outside, momentarily fogged up the glass, blurring your reflection.

 

You heard a soft purr in the distance, looking up only to find the cause of that meow; a pretty and neat tortoiseshell cat with dilated pupils and orange eyes looking at you, her little ears perked up and she let out a soft meow mixed with her purr when you looked at her. You let out a small, curious sound, still staring at the small, fluffy animal that had made itself comfortable on your bed.

 

"Whose is she?", you asked, knowing from Gaster's old pointless tidbits that most tortoiseshell cats were female, this one being no exception when Red didn't correct you.

 

Red, also looking at her, gave a soft chuckle, "Crimson's", as he watched the cat jump out of bed, walk to the windowsill and jump onto that cute green pillow after hearing you make soft sounds for her to come closer.

 

"Crimson's?", You repeated, surprised as the cat calmly leaned down to sniff the fabric covering your lap before getting comfortable and climbing onto your legs, turning around twice before laying down and continuing to purr quietly, "didn't think an Edge lord like Crimson would have a cat like that", you said, watching her do all that.

 

"You'd be surprised".

 

You snorted, looking away, tense despite the quietness of the room. It was a second nature, you would never be at peace while you were alive, poisonous flowers like roots had grown in your flesh, deadly liquid that had joined your dust and kept you together, alive despite having hurt the one who had also tried to keep together.

 

The tips of your claws burned under the sheet, still holding your children against you, itching that extended just before your wrists, where the previously pristine white fur and soft skin had been charred. You glanced at your gloves, where you'd left them on the pillow in bed. You looked up at the door.

 

"And Gaster?"

 

Noticing you were staring at the door, he too let his light rest on the wood, thinking for a few moments before lifting the plastic bag into the space between you and him. You looked up at him, seeing him still staring at the door.

 

"Classic stopped him to chat in the middle of the stairs, I don't even remember what for, probably about the machine or somethin' like that", His lights met your eyes, gently bouncing the bag in his hand, you heard very things in there, "I was just the one sending packages", He chuckled.

 

"What is it?", You asked, adjusting your arms to hold both children with one arm, reaching out with the other to grab the bag that Red quietly dropped into your hand, shrugging gently, staring directly at your bare hands for a few moments longer than you were used to, with an expression you couldn't recognize.

 

Now with his hand free he put both gloved hands in his pockets looking outside at the grey clouds that obscured everything despite it being quite early still, "They're just some strong monster candies, a couple of oatmeal cookies, I think.. a little box of raspberries and some honey mints", You could smell those things, what mixed smells really was.. peculiar, you opened the bag and easily saw the small list he named.

 

"Did you open the bag to steal some candy?", You joked, chuckling, carefully opening the clear plastic box filled with ripe raspberries, bringing one up to your nose as you noticed the sweet smell before eating the small fruit, It's been a while since you ate red fruits.

 

"Me? What do you mint? I would never", He shrugged and took his hands out of his pockets, raising them as if he didn't know, with his fingers crossed, pretending to notice before hiding his hands behind his back with a playful, "Oops".

 

You laughed at that, knowing that he had done it on purpose and that while he hadn't taken any mints, he had in fact taken out some oatmeal cookies, upon finding the open bag of cookies with a few crumbs spilling out. You rolled your eyes. If he'd wanted cookies, he could have asked you for them.

 

"How do you feel?"

 

The question took you by surprise.

 

You looked up, finding that his gaze was not on you, but on Aster and Callisto, who were still warmly snuggled together, unaware of the cold, probably the beginning or middle of autumn, you couldn't say exactly, the seasons in your universe had become unstable to a point where living underground was more comfortable during certain times, safer too, no human was able to sneak in without getting hurt, which was what made the underground a safe kingdom.

 

You didn't know what to answer.

 

You looked down at the depressing scenery outside, having no idea what to say. Of course you knew how you felt, you hadn't spent years in silence alone with your own thoughts so as not to understand the soft song of your soul in your chest, It almost felt like an offense to think that, you knew yourself, you had to, because it was the simplest thing you had aside from the thought-about responsibility on your shoulders which was being a Queen. Sure you had the council, yes, but in the end all the responsibility still fell on you, you were the face to the public and the signature on every paper reviewed to keep so many monsters stable, safe, and feed.

 

But you couldn't say that stressed was the answer, after a anything but normal life like yours, a situation like this wasn't the craziest thing you had ever faced, not even close. 

 

Sad or angry were not appropriate responses either, because although you felt them like pinpricks in your sides, it was not exactly for this situation, It wasn't because of the way giving birth made you weak or how you couldn't go to your people and help even when you were resting, not exactly, but those feelings came together, almost like climbing plants, so close together that they joined together and you could no longer distinguish where one began and the other ended.

 

Instead, the closest word to describe it would be..

 

"Tired".

 

You sighed, hearing Red let out a soft hum of acknowledgement, encouraging you to continue. Still thinking that they would now be a new family if they wanted, you softened, leaving the bag aside, against the window so as not to leave it on the still purring cat in your lap, sinking your other arm back under the sheets on your shoulders to draw soft circles on Aster's back, hearing him let out a soft sleepy sound.

 

"It's a confusing feeling", Your eyes flickered to Aster as you heard him murmur in his sleep before returning to stare blankly at the rain, "Until four days ago I had a lot to do all day, now all I do all day is rest".

 

Although you didn't blame anyone for it.

 

It was inevitable that you would be resting for a long time, getting pregnant and giving birth were not the same for monsters as for most other beings, it was more tiring, dangerous you would say, because getting pregnant directly involved the use of magic, not like with humans who used nutrients to create their offspring, monsters used magic.

 

Still, you felt off.

 

Like an always-on machine that had been put on pause.

 

You let out an almost sarcastic laugh, "I saved lives, I took care of an entire country, and yet now just standing up too fast makes me dizzy", You lowered your head to leave a soft kiss on Callisto's little head, hearing her and Aster purr, "ironic, isn't it?".

 

"I understan', tho not personally".

 

You watched almost lazily as he reached out to pull another oatmeal cookie from the bag, popping it into his mouth in one bite, you hit the other hand that came to take out another cookie, at least you wanted to eat the four cookies that the golden-toothed glutton hadn't inhaled.

 

He chuckled, sticking his tongue out to lick some crumbs that had stuck to his glove, you just rolled your eyes, "You shoul' find hobbies, or you'll be bored this two months".

 

You had forgotten that too..

 

Apparently you would stay with them for the time it took to verify and identify all the monsters in the new underground, yours, which would take approximately some month since you knew that your kingdom was quite large. No monsters from the new underground would be able to leave and be outside with humans soon, which, despite not being in the underground, also included you and Gaster.

 

"Yeah.."

 

Maybe you should start looking for a hobby..

 

You grabbed Red's wrist, whose hand went straight to the box of raspberries.

 

At least a hobby who didn't have to do with skeletons.

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Soon after you ended up in the kitchen, cooking peacefully with Callisto snuggled up comfortably against your chest, and Aster in Gaster's arms as he watched apart, chuckling as he listened to you complain about Red stealing your cookies. Which skeleton mentioned pretended not to know anything from where he was sitting in the living room, playing video games with Mutt, Citrine and Thyme while Copper and Quartz just watched, unable to continue with their backyard garden because of the rain. Or well, unable wasn't exactly the word, Crimson had kicked them inside when he saw that they were still outside despite the rain, you had to hold back a lot to keep from laughing at that moment.

 

It was Crimson who silently accompanied you while you cooked, both focused on different things but calm, without disturbing each other.

 

You saw that they had ingredients that you knew well, that's what led you to bake a Strawberry Pie, while Crimson continued with what looked like spaghetti and meatballs, sometimes you got to see him watching while you were making the vainilla mixture to fill the pie, you were in the middle of decorating the already cooked pie, with the golden exterior already cooked and the vanilla-flavored cream already resting inside the sweet exterior while you put the strawberries, being generous in putting a lot and then brushing with strawberry jam, wanting the sweetness of the strawberries to stand out from the vanilla of the filling and the golden exterior, as a finishing touch, you made a crown of Chantilly cream around the edges before letting the pie rest in the refrigerator, knowing it would be served as dessert after dinner.

 

The idea of having dinner downstairs still made you cringe, but you weren't going to act like a spoiled brat in a house where you were a guest; you'd been taught manners, despite the annoyance that human caused you.

 

Washing your hands, still annoyingly bare for your liking, though you were thankful Crimson wouldn't be staring, you looked up when you heard the front door open, said skeleton offering you a cloth while also looking at who had arrived.

 

"Ah.. little star, welcome home".

 

You almost regretted saying hello when you saw Stella flinch at the greeting, clumsily removing her headphones from her ears while balancing her backpack and soaked umbrella with her other hand, from where you were coming out of the kitchen you could see her shoes were soaked, hearing that wet squelch as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

 

"Yeah..", She murmured back, which made you feel better when you saw her smiling softly at you, although it bothered you that she looked so tired, "It's good to see you well rested".

 

You looked at Gaster with your eyes lowered, suspecting what things he had said while you were resting, he shrugged when he saw you looking at him, still sweetly cradling his son in his arms, "It's not that it wasn't true", he murmured, knowing what you were thinking.

 

You sighed playfully before walking over to Stella, calmly placing a hand on her shoulder as you took the umbrella from her and left it by the door, offering a hand to hold her backpack which to your surprise she readily accepted. You smiled despite seeing her look down at the ground, gently leading her to where Gaster was sitting, you saw both of them greet each other in silence, you spoke only when you saw her sit down.

 

"I'm going to leave this", you raised the hand that was holding the backpack, "and I'll bring you a dry towel and slippers, okay?"

 

You saw her nod, though you hesitated to walk away, she still had her gaze down, intentionally not looking towards where the others were relaxing in the living room, when you looked over you found Mutt looking towards the kitchen, although he looked back at how Citrine and Thyme played when they met your gaze, you looked at Red, who returned it when he felt you looking at him, although he only shrugged before turning back to the TV.

 

You almost felt like a light bulb had light up over your head, a playful smile spread across your face as you lowered the backpack to the ground while gently lifting Callisto from the cloth that kept her asleep against your chest, Gaster looked at you the whole time when he noticed that, your eyes flickered between him and the human, he relaxed when he noticed your intention.

 

"Little Star".

 

Stella jumped when you held out your hands with the tiny baby in them, freezing at having the little girl so close, you smiled warmly at her when her eyes went up to your face, "Could you watch her for me for a moment?".

 

She hesitated, touched to see such a thing before she nodded slightly, stuttering a soft; "S-Sure.." before reaching out to replace your hands, gently holding Callisto's head with one hand and her body with the other, watching your little daughter with the brightest eyes you had ever seen on her, flushed cheeks as she pulled her close and gently cradled her in her arms.

 

You heard Gaster chuckle, you smiled at him and he smiled back before you bent down to pick up her backpack on the floor, walking up the stairs with a soft, "I'll be right back".

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Gaster followed you with his eyes until you disappeared up the stairs, only then did his gaze drop to the busy living room shining with the light from the tv, fortunately for him, he had also noticed that look, before you in fact. It would have been no surprise if some of the skeletons in the house didn't have the best opinion of humans, that was remarkable and visible, although it deeply disturbed him to find that this was not really the case. 

 

Not at all, whatever was happening in the house was not something based on the past and racial opinions of each of these alternate versions sheathed by their undergrounds, upbringing, and social development, but no. It was something deeper, personal.

 

And he was beginning to get fed up with it.

 

The worst thing is that Gaster in the few days that he had forced you to rest had encountered too much of all that to be something minor, every day that this human, Stella, arrived after the recent rains, at least one of his brothers' alternates looked at her badly, scolding her for entering with wet shoes, and forced her to clean the wet floor without first changing into something warmer. It was harsh to see all of that hidden, and worse was seeing the human take it all and not defend herself at all despite seeing her stumble and drag her feet numbed by the cold.

 

A soft sound caught his attention, and he looked up from the room, knowing someone in particular had noticed when they stopped looking at him. Gaster couldn't help but chuckle as he found the human staring at Callisto with stars in her eyes. He had previously thought that Aster and Callisto were similar in size to human babies, but it was obvious he was wrong with how big the smile on Stella's face was, who held the still sleeping baby with both hands close to her, but did not cuddle the baby completely against her. He found it curious, but let it pass, grateful to know that the human wasn't intentionally putting his little daughter so close to her soul. Though he wondered how she knew..

 

"I-I'm holding her right?.."

 

The question brought him out of his reverie, looking at her more openly now as her eyes flickered between him and the baby, slowly looking more and more nervous.

 

"You're holding her well, don't worry", He reassured her, watching with curiosity as she did not hold the little girl against her chest, but against her abdomen, closer to her belly than her chest and without having her hands in the air, gently resting her wrists on her stomach to hide or maybe not let her hands shake, although Gaster could still see her fingers, flushed by the cold, tremble gently.

 

She nodded, staring at Callisto, murmuring a soft, "Okay..".

 

Behind them both Crimson snorted, gently tapping the wooden spoon he used to stir the sauce on the edge of the pot before lifting it to taste, grimacing, although Gaster guessed it wasn't because of the taste, because it smelled incredible and it probably tasted like that too.

 

Crimson clicked his tongue, not looking at anyone, "YOU SERIOUSLY LET A HUMAN HOLD YOUR BABYBONES FIRST AFTER THEY'VE IMPRINTED? HOW DISRESPECTFUL TO THE MOTHE-"

 

"You want to hold her too, don't you?"

 

Crimson fell silent at Gaster's response, his cheekbones slowly reddening to the color of his name, whispering moments later in a tone that Gaster had rarely seen from his own brother;

 

"no.."

 

Gaster just smiled, amused to see this rude version of his younger brother wanting to hold the little babybones too.

 

Although he understood it quite well, the skeleton subspecies wasn't really known to be extensive, the birth rate of some monsters was really different, some subspecies could easily have children, even quite a few at the same time, however there were others whose numbers were few, almost none. Some of those cases for natural reasons, others...

 

He knew your family used to be extended, as a scientist at one point years ago, a memory that had been lost with others, he had come to hold medical papers in his hands, your name on it along with quite a few more with your previous surname repeated.

 

So many names with the word "Deceased" next to them.

 

The skeletons were very few, they even became less and less numerous over the years, Gaster knew that he himself was not a subspecies of skeleton either, no, not anymore. Maybe a doll, but skeleton was no longer the right term for him, just as it probably wouldn't be for his little daughter.

 

Sans and Papyrus were still classified as skeletons, despite being relatives they didn't really look that much alike with Gaster, it was easy to say that those two were polar opposites, Sans was the one who looked most like Gaster, Papyrus was the one who looked most like the original skeleton monsters, while Gaster bore little resemblance to any of that. Since he was a child he had already lost some skeletal features, but after the void his body had not returned to what it was before, almost like scars but closer to body modifications. A body that, in order to sustain itself, stretched and melted to protect a hollow interior.

 

A soft muffled sound brought him back to earth, seeing Stella and Crimson, as it seemed the human was offering the still sleeping little girl to the skeleton, which in surprise made the spoon in his hands threaten to fall from between his fingers.

 

Gaster just looked amused, watching as Stella offered the sleeping little girl to the skeleton, watching as Crimson complained and denied, obviously resisting accepting to hold the little baby. Those in the livingroom were also paying attention, Thyme and Red were openly watching along with Copper and Quartz, all amused by the scene, Citrine was looking sideways, although Gaster was sure he was smiling under the hem of his jacket. Instead, Mutt was the only one who didn't seem amused, staring directly at the human with a blank, icy stare, though Stella obviously didn't notice, playfully offering the baby to Crimson.

 

However, the fun was short.

 

He was the first to notice you had come back downstairs, curious as to why you had chosen to be silent when you always tried not to scare anyone. However, what was hanging from your hands made him freeze with his mouth open, torn fabric in your hands that he recognized well, and something else..

 

 

Hanging from your hand and dripping to the ground.

 

A Rat.

 

With its tail between your fingers and dripping metallic-smelling red onto the ground was the body of a rat.

 

With its eyes still bright and its head... torn apart, pink bathed in red between the cracks of its small head, the poor animal was tiny compared to your hand, but that didn't faze him, no.

 

The fabric between your fingers was stained with the same sickly red. 

 

Aster's blanket.

 

His fingers unconsciously tightened around his sleeping son.

 

"CREAM!"

 

He heard, hearing someone gargling in the background before seeing Stella escape down the hallway next to the stairs, covering her mouth with both hands despite already seeing the tears running down her cheeks, from where Gaster looked he could see how the sight affected the skeletons in the room, most of them as expressionless as he knew his own brothers would react.

 

"Apparently we had guests without knowing it".

 

"So it seems".

 

His fingers tingled as he stared at the 'RAT' written in blood on the blanket.

 

"Red, The cat?.."

 

Said skeleton shuddered, red smoke unconsciously escaping from between his teeth, he quickly raised a hand to clear the smoke.

 

"Doom doesn't hunt, I left her locked in Crim's room.."

 

Their lights flickered at the words that were noticeable on both sides of the fabric, which obviously wasn't going to come off with just one wash.

 

"And she can't write".

 

You let out a soft hum, almost thoughtful, yet, as if someone had said it's name three times..

 

 

"why is everything so quiet?"

 

 

You didn't even turn around to look at Cherry, who walked quietly down the stairs, the sound of creaking wood making your ears twitch softly, first seeing the shit-eating grin on her face when she appeared next to you. She had the nerve to look with scared eyes at the little body in your hand, taking two steps back with a hand over her mouth.

 

 

"..Oh god", She murmured, before turning to look at the skeleton in the kitchen, who was now carefully holding your daughter, gaping.

 

 

"Crimson, I told you to be careful with that cat! Poor Candy.."

 

 

It was Stella's pet.

 

 

Your fingers trembled, you choked back the discomfort of feeling your teeth grind from the pressure.

 

 

The little smile on your face disappeared as her eyes fell on the stained blanket, a faint glint of amusement in her eyes.

 

 

"Oh my god, that thing even left the body in your room? What a beast.."

 

 

You only heard her breathless squeal as her back hit the steps.

Notes:

Flowers/Plants;

Bouncing bet; Intrusion
Cinquefoil; Beloved daughter/child; maternal affection

 

(Short chapter, sorry, I've been a bit stressed, so I stepped back, I don't want to get upset about writing the story if I write out of obligation and not because I want to.)