#bwehebueehueh

[aka-indulgence]

Growing on Him

Thank you @cams4 for commissioning! This was really cute to write! /w\

(UT!Sans x Original Female Character, UT!Papyrus & OC Her name is Calypso, she’s a green mage with plant magic :D)

Sans thought he wouldn’t fall in love. Thought he’d be too lazy for it.

And then she came into his life and made his soul bloom with affection.

——————

Distant laughter. A lone skeleton sits in the kitchen.

Sans is alone. He feels as if the clouds are grey and the rain is pouring, but it isn’t. The sun was about to set. He watches the two of them- Papyrus and Calypso on their regular gardening.

“WOWIE! I LOVE PLANT MAGES!” He heard his brother cry, voice muffled through the window. “YOU FIXED MY OREGANOS SO QUICKLY! YOU KNOW I’M QUITE ATTACHED TO IT- YOU GOT THEM FOR ME, AFTER ALL!”

“Aww, thanks Papyrus!” Calypso smiles.

“OF COURSE! AND IF YOU’RE NOT TOO DRAINED RIGHT NOW CALYPSO, CAN YOU SHOW ME THAT… MAGIC TRICK AGAIN?”

“Again?” She sounded humorously taken aback. “You’ve seen it already!”

“I’LL NEVER GET TIRED OF IT, THAT’S A PROMISE!”

Sans’ brows furrows. She waves her hands, green light encompassing them. Her magic, sparkling and swirling, flows into the ground. Out of it sprouts a plant, from a hidden seed, and it grows and grows, climbing into the air, before a sunflower buds and blooms. Yes, both of them have seen it before, and Papyrus’ eyes bulge out of his sockets still.

And Sans still can’t hide the smile of wonder whenever he sees her magic. But that bittersweetness lingers in his ribcage.

He feels… lonely. Of course that should be easy to solve, with the merry air outside. He should go, Papyrus and Calypso had asked him to come in the first place, and yet here he was. In the kitchen. Alone. He feels distant, like he can’t really.

He lets out a long sigh and slides a hand down his face, frowning deeply.

god… i’m stupid.

He just had to go and fall in love with her, didn’t he? It was easy to love her, of course, but Sans had never had feelings for anyone, and now he’s excited, confused, and he doesn’t know what to do with himself. For some reason something’s stopping him from just… going up to her and telling her how he feels.

… No, Sans knows why.

Being with Calypso… just the idea makes him feel like he could burst with joy, but he doesn’t know if she’d feel the same way about him.

It’s been about a year since Papyrus introduced her to him, when he brought a human stranger to the house. They’d apparently met during a city-wide gardening event. Papyrus had always mentioned wanting to do some gardening once he found out that was a thing humans do, but just like cooking, he was passionate but clueless, leading to the front of the house looking… untamed, to say the least. As soon as he spotted Calypso, demonstrating her magic, he’d immediately become fascinated. One mention of both overgrowing and dying plants followed by a multitude of questions led to them hitting it off, and after a few more meetings he decided to show her the garden- now much more disciplined and tame.

That’s when Sans met her.

Papyrus had told him that he was bringing his “plant friend” home. Sans was fine with that, Papyrus brings friends home all the time. (He’s so cool.) He’d spent most of the time in his room napping, watching his trashnado, scrolling on his phone. He thinks he heard the door open at one point, chalking up to Paps coming home. At one point he found himself thirsty and teleported into the middle of the kitchen- where Calypso and Papyrus were.

It was funny how surprised she was, crying out loud and almost throwing her fork clear into the air, which Papyrus catches instinctively.

“SANS! I TOLD YOU I HAD COMPANY OVER! YOU CAN’T JUST TELEPORT ALL OVER THE PLACE!”

The tap water ran.

“sounds like your problem, bro.”

As Papyrus starts (comically) chastising him, Sans chuckles, only to catch a glimpse of her.

For a moment it feels like the world slowed down. The water flowed slowly, sloshing in his cup. Papyrus was in the middle of opening his mouth, and Calypso looked… a little lost.

Even when he first saw her, Sans knew she was pretty. Her long wavy hair looked like golden waterfalls over her shoulders. Her emerald green eyes were soft and sparkled in the light, shining with kindness. She was smaller than Sans expected, shorter than him. She looked slender and delicate. Her smile was crooked with confusion, looking up at Papyrus before glancing at Sans.

Her expression shrank back as she timidly keeps the eye contact.

“... hey.”

“Oh! Um… hello!”

“the name’s sans.”

“Calypso! Nice to meet you.”

Sans nodded. “so, you here for a while? or are you going to leaf soon?”

“Um?? No I’ll be here for a while longer now,”

“SANS…” Papyrus squints at him. Sans ignores him.

“what? i asked her a valid question.” Sans insists, “just wanted to tree what she was doing is all.”

Sans smiled when she starts giggling, not expecting the pun, while Papyrus boiled.

“DON’T PLANT IDEAS IN HER HEAD- NOT PLANT! DON’T RUIN HER WITH YOUR BAD JOKES! ALSO YOUR CUP IS OVERFLOWING.”

“oh shit-” Sans frowned, water dripping down his phalanges as he hurriedly closes the tap. His cheeks turned blue from embarrassment, and he chuckled hesitantly, glancing at Calypso.

what’s wrong with him? why’s he stumbling?

“AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION-” Sans’ attention was brought back to Papyrus, “WE’RE GOING TO PLAY A BOARDGAME! DO YOU WANT TO JOIN?”

Calypso stayed a bit longer than they expected, after. Despite her not knowing Sans all that well yet, a little shy around him, after enough puns she seemed to warm up to him. Having Papyrus there certainly helped.

She became a regular in Sans’ life, her visitings becoming more often as time went on. Sans… tried to keep her at arm’s length. The way she made him feel was strange to him. It scared him. It helped him keep his cool around her, at least, if he was distant.

A green mage, specializing in plants. Her soul trait was practically worn on her sleeve, with how empathetic and kind she was- too much, in Sans’ opinion. She was a timid creature at times, but Sans admired her magical prowess and her capacity for compassion.

Sans would usually only meet her when she visited. The other times were when he and Papyrus bumped into her on accident.

Sans didn’t want to admit that the idea of meeting her gave him the motivation to walk.

She was interesting, sweet, and being a mage helped, but despite the confusing feelings rising up in his chest, Sans tried his best not to get too attached. As long as she was nice and made Papyrus happy, he was alright with having her around.

Then one day, she came alone. He was watching TV when he heard the knock. His first thought was that Papyrus was home but… Papyrus’ knocks were loud and aggressive. (Even though Sans tells him he doesn’t have to knock when he comes home, he does anyway.) As he walked towards the door he thought it might’ve been one of the neighbours, but when he opened the door he found…

“Um… hi!”

calyp…so pretty,

“Excuse me?”

He said that out loud.

“i meant- calypso! pretty sure there wasn’t a schedule for some gardening today.”

If she noticed his slip up, she didn’t mention it.

“Oh! Actually, we aren’t gardening today! Papyrus asked me to teach him some ‘human cooking’ today.”

Cooking?

“Is he here?”

“ah… no, papyrus isn’t home yet.”

“Oh ok… should I wait somewhere else-”

“no.”

… Sans said that too fast.

“you… you can just stay here.”

He really should’ve known, then. Even while his soul stammered when she walked in the door, his denial pushed the feeling down.

It took a while to adjust out of the awkward silence, without Papyrus acting as the buffer. But after a couple of puns, Sans managed to get a conversation going.

“so, you an expert cook?”

“Not really… but Papyrus invited me to meet Undyne the other day,”

undyne? uh oh.

“She had one of her ‘classic’ cooking lessons? And uh… well I thought I could teach him how to make human food.”

Sans barked out a laugh, covering his mouth.

“sorry, i’m not laughing at you, just… stars, i’m so sorry you had to see my bro cook with undyne.”

“Yeah… I had to hand wash the tomato sauce off my jacket for hours,” Calypso scratched the back of her neck, “But Papyrus thought it was an honor that he’s going to learn how to cook human food from a real human!”

They were laughing together when Papyrus opened the door, almost silently. When they finally noticed he was there, he was smiling at them.

Then there was that other day, when it was just Sans and Calypso, out of the house.

It was the first time Papyrus finally mentioned that Sans should start teleporting her home. Calypso declined, insisting to Papyrus that she didn’t need to be sent home. Sans doesn’t think she knew he was sitting on the sofa then, because she seemed speechless when he stood up and told her “i’ll go.”

Papyrus was supposed to come with, but a sudden phone call had sent him on an emergency dash to Undyne’s. Something about a watchalong?

“SHE SAID SHE WAS GOING TO REWATCH THE ‘HUMAN HISTORY’ VIDEOS! IF I DON’T SAY YES NOW SHE’S GOING TO LOSE ALL MOTIVATION, I MUST SAVE HER!”

By this point, Sans and her were close enough that they could be in each other’s company in silence without feeling like he was going to melt in sweat. Sometimes it was Sans that called her over, even.

They took the bus.

“yeah… i could teleport there based off coordinates from maps, but… i’d rather not risk the both of us clipping through the wall if i get my maths wrong.”

They were having a fun conversation filled with plant puns- she’d started to get into the habit of learning his puns and throwing them back at him, something he was proud of- when a buzz rudely interrupted their conversation. When Calypso fished her phone out and saw the screen, she made a face.

“what’s up?”

“Uh… I think my neighbour wants me to landscape her garden?”

“huh. that your side gig huh?” Sans smirked at her playfully, but frowns when she doesn’t respond, looking like she just ate a lemon.

“No… she asks me to do it for her sometimes…”

Sans narrowed his eyes. “does she pay you?”

Calypso looked guilty, her eyes shifting everywhere but Sans.

“It’s not like… it’s a lot. She’s nice, she’s not making me do anything, I just…”

“do you like doing it for her?”

Calypso opened her mouth, and the way she searches and loses her words is enough explanation for Sans.

“tell her no.”

Calypso stared at Sans like he just grew a second head. He shrugs and repeats his words.

“tell her no,”

“I can’t do that!”

“why not?”

Sans does feel a little guilty about distressing her, squeezing the bus pole harder than she needed to, but Sans doesn’t like that people would use her magic like that. He knows what it’s like to expend magic when you don’t want to, and… Calypso is nice. Too nice. It’s a testament to her green soul.

Sans sighed.

“... i can talk to her for you.”

The relief on her face betrayed her true feelings.

“R-really? I mean, you don’t… have to…”

“i’m coming over, aren’t i? it’s going to be fine. also, might as well throw you a bone.”

The pun surprised a laugh out of her, and Sans relaxed.

Just like he thought, nothing bad happened. Apparently the neighbour in question lived right next to her, and has regularly asked Calypso to help fix her garden once she found out she was a plant mage. She was a lovely old lady, actually, and all it took to convince her to stop was Sans explaining how draining it was to use magic so much, so regularly.

“hey,” Sans piped, as they stood in her doorway. “it’s ok to say no, you know. you gotta stand up for yourself more.”

She fidgeted (Sans really wanted to pinch her, then…), but nodded.

“heh, at least now you’ve got a quick-travel option for you,” Sans chuckled, pointing to himself as he turns around. “see ya ‘round, callie.”

Sans was moments from teleporting when he heard her asking him to wait.

When he turned around, she looked… bashful.

“Sans,” her eyes seemed to sparkle, “... thank you.”

Warmth flooded his ribcage, and magic rose to his cheekbones. His soul thumped.

“n… no problem.”

Sans felt like he was flying- and like his world was crashing around him when he got home.

shit.

i like her.

She was precious. Sans wanted to protect her. He wanted to be closer to her.

And he was clueless.

Which brings him to today. Sans feels stupid- feeling like he’s having a crisis because he has a crush? (On a lovely… pretty… wonderful human…) How did he never notice it? How did he not see it coming? When he thinks back to it, he remembers how the feelings festered in his soul- he was just stupid, or too deep in denial to acknowledge it.

Every time he’s around her… Sans felt like a stumbling baby just learning its first steps. He isn’t… cool. He’s a skeleton that smells like ketchup and makes puns. He doesn’t know how many people are in Calypso’s life, but he doesn't have to, to know that he’s probably not high on her list of suitors. Especially with the way he was absent and kept their conversations rare in the beginning, he didn’t go off to a good start.

Calypso is Papyrus’ friend. Sans didn’t want to cause a rift between the two of them because he had his first love crush. Their friendship was precious and Sans didn’t want to be the one that messes things up.

He wonders what’d happen if he confessed. What if she had trouble saying no to him? Would Sans lose her trust? Would he scare her? Just the thought made Sans recoil from the idea. And… what if she liked Papyrus? That’d make sense. Papyrus was cooler. They were close.

They’d walked in by this point, a piping hot plate of spaghetti set on the table. Sans doesn’t remember when they started cooking, staying quiet for most of it. Papyrus’ cooking was not only edible, but delicious too. Calypso had been a wonderful teacher.

She was amazing. Sans can’t stop looking- she was radiant, as always. He keeps his mouth shut while they talked, adding a “mm?” “yeah.” and “ok.” when prompted. His soul thumped whenever she was around and he hoped it wasn’t glowing past his shirt.

He felt embarrassed. And a little pathetic.

Sans doesn’t know what it is about today that has him in a funk like this. When Calypso said her goodbyes and turned to leave, he should’ve let her go home, as usual. That’s what he always does. But today, when the door closes, something in Sans reacts.

Before he knew it, he’d walked out the door. The sun had gone and the stars had started to peek out of the veil.

“cal?” He breathed, “calypso, wait. there’s something i need to tell you.”

She turns around, and Sans could feel his voice fading already.

why does she look at me like that? it makes me want to…

He swallows.

“i’m sorry, this is sudden, but i don’t think i can hold it back anymore, i just…”

The face Calypso was making makes Sans trip over his words.

“i like you, calypso.” Sans says, earnestly. “i like you… a lot. it’s ok, if you don’t like me back. i’ve felt this way for a while, and i feel like if i didn’t tell you, i’d… i don’t know. i want to let you know that when i’m quiet i’m not upset with you, that’s me trying to stop myself from looking like an idiot around you.”

Calypso is speechless.

“... please stay friends with papyrus.” Sans adds, trying to physically shrink into his hoodie. “if you don’t want me around anymore i-”

Hihihi!

Sans stops. Calypso… Calypso was giggling.

“You thought… I wouldn’t want you to like me?” she says, in between chortles.

“i… i guess…”

She’s covering her mouth and her cheeks have turned pink. “I thought I was being so obvious.”

“about what?”

She shakes her head at him, disbelieving.

“I like you too, Sans.”

The ringing in his head stops.

“you… you do?”

“I’ve liked you since… oh, I don’t know, maybe since we met? I thought you could read souls! Have you not noticed how excited I get when you’re around?

Sans smiles. His cheeks hurt.

“no, i never noticed.”

His feet move on his own, slippers flopping over the pavement, and he hugs her. Her muffled giggling in his hoodie was wonderful.

“i feel stupid,”

“Don’t be!”

Sans pulls his skull back to look at her.

“i… haha… i can’t wait to bring you on dates… we’re going to have a punderful time…”

“Oh no!” she squeaks, as Sans picks her off the floor and spins her around. “I guess I’ll have tibia really good at puns to catch up with you!”

Sans laughs, and doesn’t stop. She does too, bracing her hands on his shoulders, cheeks red.

Sans loves her laugh. He hopes he’ll get to hear more of it.

He hopes he’ll be the source of her laughter.