#sansgore is really cute

[multiverse-of-souls]

@megalobonia​ - 28 12 11 (sfw!)

28. would you play a “bitter exes” relationship?

Hell yeah i would! Really the chances to play some exes in general even if they are on good terms would be lovely, i’ve had this one idea for a while with my version of the thought sans since he renounces dating of any kind after absorbing the souls so say he was in a relationship before then? Aaah the potential.

-

12. do you ship any rarepair?

I guess you could call Sanster (At least in the tumblr roleplay scene and not in the general fandom) a rarepair?, I’ve never followed the dadster HC and while i’ve partook once or twice for friends who wanted to play that specifically and i do have one AU gaster (Handplates/mercyplates) who is a dad by default, but beyond those exceptions. It’s been sanster all the way for me! There’s also the fun concept of Sansterby??? i think it’s called (sans/grillby/gaster) but that’s in the same sanster category so!

I’m also super fond of Sansgoriel (Sans x Asgore x Toriel), like i didn’t realize this was a ship until i saw a picture floating around and i was like !!!! and now i think it’s super cute and i’d love the chance to RP with it someday but that’s probably a pipe dream

-

11. do you have any popular ships?

I collect ships like i breathe oxygen so yes, i pretty much ship everything and everyone in the right context, Sansby, Soriel, Sansgore, theres uh. there’s a lot of sans ships but i also like kingdings (gaster x asgore), Grillster, Alphyne, Papyton, i’m not even going to begin to name all the multiverse ships out there, i’d be here all day and this ask would never get posted

[utdrblog]

I think I’ll draw some Soriel... I don’t really ship them but they’re so cute together! I’m imagining Toriel teaching Sans how to cook... it’s so nice....

Or maybe I’ll draw Sansgore, like, Sans and Asgore just chatting, hugging, you know, being gay in general. Maybe them dancing...

I’ll do both next year.

If you have any ideas for either, please tell me! Especially Soriel since I have difficulty with it. But don’t send anything that portrays Asgore as abusive or bad. I really don’t like Soriel works that do that.

[serfuzzypushover]

OMG Storyswap Soriel is so cute!!! I already love them a lot. Would a similar thing happen with Storyswap Sansgore or would they just meet up after the barrier is broken?

They meet afterwards! uwu Sans doesnt really talk to anyone other than Toriel through the letters, Asriel when he comes to take and deliver them and Undyne sometimes to make some puns to annoy her lmao

I doubt star would need to talk to the royal guard leader hmmm... Maybe one time Azzy couldn’t come to pick up a letter and Asgore had to go and they ended up talking for a bit. Sans would have known that thon was Toriels husband cause snai would have told star. Maybe star would ask about snail qwqq

[papytonpropaganda]

What do you think of other ships besides pappyton? (Personally I absolutely love goatbun)

God tier: Alphyne, Goatbun, Suselle

Like a lot: Sansby, Bratcat, Royal Gays, Nicepants, Napstaren (or whatever the Napstablook/Shyren ship is called)

Don’t actively think about it much but will reblog it when I see it: Napstasans

Cute enough, but largely indifferent about it: Kingdings, Asgorudy, Madmuffet, Friskid

Don’t really get the appeal of it, but it’s harmless so I support those who ship it: Mettasans

Technically there’s nothing inherently wrong with these but they make me uncomfortable for personal reasons: Sanster, Papster

Make me uncomfortable, but they’re not quite NOTP level: Torphys, Tordyne, Mettasgore, Papgore, Sansgore, Salphys

Fuck you I fucking hate you: anything incestuous, pedophilic, or otherwise abusive; Asgoriel; Undyrus

[messedupessy]

If you’re still doing the character opinions thing: Asgore 👀👀

Heck yeah but just this one tho aye UwU ❤

favorite thing about them

God there is so many things I love about this poor goat man, like first that he is like such a fucking dad, he is just such a frikking dad gnjegkjgkje, his whole appearance is just something I love so much his design like yes, that he is a good ruler even though he is still a pushover, that he don’t let his sorrow take over anymore for what he knows he needs to do, that he loves gardening, he is a bit dumb but still like smart he is a good man who I srs love who have put himself in one big bad situation that he can’t really get out of so all he can do is push forward and go along with it even though its fucking him up inside rkjegkekjferkjge he is like just too fucking kind but he will do what he thinks is best and stick with it and he so big and fluffy grekjgekjr

least favorite thing about them

That he is in fact such a fucking pushover, like if he just stood up for himself properly things could probably turn out a bit better, and the fact he let his anger take over him at the loss of his kids, like I get that he was filled with anger and grief which is completely understandable, but the fact he still went through with it even though he quickly regretted his words like it sucks, sucks so much because he is srs such a kind man but he just can’t find an alternative to the mess he have gotten himself into because he is such a pushover and got no other idea and just fuck but its so in his character and just yeah I both hate and love it because it makes him so complex and it makes me sad that ppl way too often just writes him off as this bad guy but like what else could he do his kids got killed his wife left him and he had a kingdom he had to make sure held onto hope or else they would end up falling down and die the whole lot of them so he made a sacrifice of his own well being and the death of 6 kids for the sake of his ppl and i hate and love it gnkjgekjge 

favorite line

There are several but this one: “Oh… I see! In that case, I’m not sorry, Frisk.” like that whole dialogue is so frikking good rnjkegkjegkje  like srs Asgore no xD not sure if I got the correct text tho but yeah he says a bunch of funny and good stuff ye

brOTP

Him and Undyne like srs I love their relationship they are such father and daughter and I adore it af yes, and also him and Gerson they old bros yus

OTP

I really like having Asgore paired up with Sans, Sansgore, its a really cute ship which there should rly be more of bc its good like really good yes

I also will always lowkey still ship him with Toriel even tho they will prolly never end up together in such a way again and also bc it would be pretty unhealthy if they did, but hey still ship it its sad af ye xD

And this is not really a ship but more that I love Alphys crush on him bc hey who can’t help but crush on good old fluffy buns aye 

Also him with a fellow Asgore would be really cute have barely ever even seen any of that but darn it would be real cute man grengekjkj

nOTP

Asgore and Undyne romantically like just nah nah nope nope

Also Asgore with Papyrus I dunno why but I am hella meh about it, tho it might change if I find a story etc I like with them but until then its a nah 

random headcanon

WARNING TRIGGER WARNING DOWN BELOW 

Mhhh that he is very good at pretending he is fine, that he is not extremely depressed and grieving af and the fact he just hates himself so much and is prolly pretty damn suicidal, bc hey killing kids and losing your kids and also your wife who was the only one who could prolly come up with a different way of handling it all really fucking takes one big toll on a guy aye, and i feel like if he was left with like no proper help on the surface after some years of knowing his ppl would be all right without him, he would prolly end up taking his own life or just simply fall down bc he will keep on blaming himself for everything and just yeah the weight of 6 kids deaths on his shoulders is one heavy burden which he have carried for many, many years and even though he tried to persuade himself that what he did was right bc his ppl got all hopeful etc so did he still know it was wrong but what could he do it was working and he just hates himself etc and i feel i am just rambling right now but yeah gkjegkjgekj 

unpopular opinion

He is not the fucking villain stop making him into a frikking villain all the time like pls??? especially when it comes to like soriel stuff which i don’t really look at much but when i have found it etc Asgore almost always ends up as the villain and his personality gets all frikking twisted and not him and I hate it, because he is so fucking kind and one big af push over like yes he could totally become a bit jelly over the fact someone else is dating Toriel but he wouldn’t do anything about it bc he is a god damn pushover and would also be happy for her in finding someone else after the first sting, and that he sees himself as the scum of the earth and she deserves someone else than him and so on like srs he wouldn’t do shit as it wouldn’t be his business anyway and just ugh hate it 

Like Asgore is not evil, yes he have done bad shit but he did not really have any other choice especially since the only one who could had made him change his mind run off and hid in the fucking ruins when she easily could had made him change his mind but nope even tho I don’t blame her bc she was so upset and disgusted by his actions bc who wouldn’t be but still gnjekgkje 

Because both Asgore and Toriel are to blame for what happened bc if they had just done things differently things would had turned out so much better but alas they let their grief and anger take over them both and here we are and like stop making toriel into this paragon of awesome when she is just as much to fucking blame stop pushing all the blame and hate on asgore he is already busy blaming himself jkrengkjgkejr 

song i associate with them

This sad bouquet by The Ark, it has been his song for me for like frikking ages now, bc like srs just look at the lyrics:

It took time, took time to develop a conceptA new mebased upon the traits from which I could not fleeIt took time, took time to embrace the natureof my dreamsAll this time just turned into a sad long wait

This sad long tale of moments pass’must come to an end before it is too lateWasn’t born to hate, I was made to lovebut I never knew it was so hard

It took time, took time to accept the factthat one must loseeverything except what you do not choose

It’s taken time, long time and yet more timeit will takebefore my heart is free and brave enough to break

This sad long tale of moments pass’must come to an end before it is too lateWasn’t born to hate, I was made to lovebut I never knew it was so hard

This sad bouquet of forget-me-notthat I threw away is growing scars and dotsIn this weary heart where there’s a bird, so shybut one of these days that bird will learn to fly 

Srs it always makes me think of him so much and also been wanting to draw a pic based on the song of him but just never gotten around to it gnjenkgkjge

favorite picture of them

There are way too many good pics that I love I can’t choose gekjgjne

Don’t think I will take more of these but here’s a link to it ye

[starlight662]

— The Perfect Dress —

Fandom: Undertale

Ship: Sansgore

Word Count: ill edit this later

Summary: Asgore takes a femmine Sans out to buy him a new dress.

——————————————

The mountain king thought it was the perfect day to take his boyfriend- were they dating? He sure thought so. Regardless, he decided to take Sans out shopping.

.

The duo chatted along the way, exchanging jokes.

“Hey, Gore. Knock Knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Tense and dramatic musical background.”

“Tense and dramatic musical background who?”

“...DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!”

Asgore let out a hearty laugh, and Sans smiled brightly at him.

He always seemed to laugh at his jokes, no matter how corny or lame they were. This made Sans feel warm and fuzzy inside.

.

When they neared the shop, Sans ran up and held the door open for Asgore.

“After you, my king.” He said with a bow.

This action was met with a chuckle from the goat man, who ended up accidentally letting out a snort. Sans would have hidden himself in the oversized sweater he was wearing, if Asgore hadn’t grabbed his hand and dragged him into the shop.

.

The shop had a large selection of dresses in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Asgore leaned against the wall as he watched the skeleton go through rack upon rack, occasionally pulling out one or two dresses to try on later.

Asgore smiled, but quickly formed a frown when he noticed two monsters a few rows back.

They were laughing.

.

It didn’t seem like Sans had even noticed, but Asgore pushed himself off the wall and made his way over to the girls anyway. With curiosity, Sans followed him with his eyes.

.

“Bratty, there is like, no way he isn’t a faggot or something, y’know?”

“Oh my gaaaawd, Catty, I know!! Do you see that skirt? Holy shit, is that ugly.”

.

Sans looked down and tugged at the bottom of his sweater self consciously.

Asgore, clearly unamused, walked up behind the girls and cleared his throat.

.

“Ahhh! Omfg, like, Asgore! You can’t just sneak up on people!!!”

“Like, yeah.”

Asgore just glared at them, and shivers ran down their spines as they felt the room of the entire store drop suddenly.

“Can you stop looking at us like that?”

“Yeah, it’s totes uncomfortable.”

Asgore laughed sharply, and it wasn’t the same laugh Sans heard in response to his jokes.

No, this was a laugh someone holding back anger would have.

“What’s... so funny?” The girls say at the same time.”

The atmosphere deceitfully lightened up again.

“I just thought up a joke. Would you girls like to hear it?” Asgore smiled, and continued before they could answer. “Knock knock.”

Bratty and Catty shared a confused glance, before Bratty answered: “Who’s, like, there and stuff?”

“Pizzas”

Catty: “Pizzas who?”

Asgore let an uncomfortable silence linger, watching the girls fidget uncomfortably before answering. “You two are pizzas of shit.” There was anger in his voice, and everyone was shocked. Even Burgerpants over at the cash register.

Asgore ignored the people who started to look over. “Sans. Is allowed. To wear what he wants. When he wants. And if he wants to be a little feminine?” His voice lowered dramatically, and his eyes momentarily flickered orange and blue. “You sons of bitches better let him be feminine.”

Bratty and Catty nodded frantically, muttering words of agreement.

“And goddamnit, he looks fucking adorable in that skirt!”

Sans immediately squeaked and pulled his sweater up to cover his face, dropping a few dresses in the process.

“Y-yep, so- so cute.”

“Yeah, he- he could win an award, he’s so c-cute. Right- Right, Bratty?”

“Y-yeah, Cat- Catty!”

The two quickly grabbed their things, before rushing to the cash register, where Burgerpants was enjoying some popcorn. (How did he get popcorn without leaving his station? I dunno, this is a fanfiction, it doesn’t need logic.)

.

Asgore sighed, turning around and going over to pick up the dresses Sans had dropped.

“Do you want to go try these on?” Asgore and the atmosphere had returned to normal again. Sans was still stunned, so he simply nodded.

.

In the dressing rooms, Sans tried on the different dresses and showed Asgore.

Asgore absolutely adored seeing the skeleton in each and every dress, but Sans always found some flaw in each one.

That is, until Asgore had handed him a pastel blue dress he had been hiding.

When he walked out wearing it, Asgore could swear on his life that Sans had a halo around him.

“Does... do you think it looks good?”

“You’re perfect.”

“Ah-“

“I mean- you look perfect. It looks really good on you, Sans.”

As Sans covered his face, flustered, Asgore chuckled and smiled greatly as he fell even more in love with the skeleton.

The goat man picked up and put the rejected dresses on the rack for a clerk to put away later. (There was a lot of dresses.) (Poor Burgerpants.)

.

After Sans changed back into his normal clothes and Asgore paid for the dress, the two began their walk to their spot for afternoon tea.

The comedian had been uncharacteristically silent since they left the shop, which worried Asgore. He didn’t want to pry, so he started humming to himself as a distraction.

.

After a while, Sans spoke up.

“...Asgore?”

“Hm?”

“You didn’t... have to do that, y’know.”

“Nonsense! After all you’ve done, the least I can do is buy you a dress.”

“Ah, that’s not-“ Sans stopped walking, and looked away from him, sheepishly. (Or, Goatishly, heheheh.) (...I should leave the jokes to Sans and Asgore.)

“Sans?”

“Stand up for me. Ya didn’t have’ta stand up for me.”

Asgore stopped and blinked, before placing his hands gently on the others’ shoulders, and lowering to be at eye level with him.

“I stood up for you because I wanted to. You’re important to me, Sans. I don’t want anyone to make fun of you for who you are, because who you are is amazing.”

Sans’ face became a bright sapphire as Asgore spoke those words.

“Ya shouldn’t lie, just ta make me feel better.”

“Look at me.” Asgores voice was stern, but much less than it was earlier. “Sans. Look at me.”

Sans obeyed, finally turning his head and making eye contact. “What?”

Asgore stared into his eyes, as if he was trying to read them. Sans’ face turned an even brighter shade of blue.

“I’m not lying, Sans. No matter what you think of yourself- you’re worth caring about.” The king was starting to blush a little himself, as his words seemed to flow out on their own accord. “Golly, you mean so much to me, and seeing them laugh at you... I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. I wanted to make it stop. I had to make it stop. You’re perfect the way you are, and no one has the right to say otherwise, alright? I mean it, Sans. I mean everything I just said.”

Sans just stood there, so stunned by Asgores words that he had no idea how to react.

Asgore blinked, taking his hands off of Sans’ shoulders. He chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head as his blush darkened.

He wondered if it was too much at once, and was presently surprised when he was pulled into a tight, silent hug.

[asgore-protection-squad]

What do you think of Sansgore? I honestly think that Sans has more in common with Asgore then Toriel if you really think about it? XD

I personally like it! I feel like there’s a lot of dynamics between the two that could work that was never in canon. Mainly about stuff that involves Frisk’s resets because they both have an understanding of that sort of stuff.

Though I would say my own favorite is Sansgoriel. Partly because I don’t have to pick a side and partly because I think that it’s a cute ship.

~ Mod Asgore

[nikikeya]

My TOP Fav Undertale Pairings

From most to least

Asgore x Sans x Toriel (Sansgoriel/Soriel/Sansgore- My top OT3/OTP I love the Goats giving all the snuggles to the tiny skelly~  My name for Sansgoriel pairing is FluffyBones Such a rare pairing tho ; _ ; 

Underfell Skelebros x Undertale Sans (Spicy Kustard/Kedgup/Kustard)- my next fav another threesome/twosomes. I love how overprotective the Fell Bros are of UT! Sans.

Underswap Papyrus x Undertale Sans (HoneyKetchup/Stoner Bros)- My Personal name for this pairing is SWEET POTATOES Cause they’re both lazy couch potatoes and are just so sweet together~ This is another rare pair.  Undertale Grillby x Undertale Sans (Sansby/Grins)- These two I do like a lot, lot more mature less drama filled pairing... most times. I like this both as a legit pairing or a platonic bromance. 

UT!Undyne x UT!Papyrus- My personal name for this pairing is FISHBONES and it is the most adorable thing ever~ Be it sexual or Platonic I love these two loudmouthed dorks!! (Sorry Alphys and Mettaton)   (I also like US! Undyne x US!Papyrus cause they’re adorkable.) 

Undertale Frisk x Undertale Papyrus (PLATONIC ONLY)- Is there anything cuter than Frisk trying to flirt with Papyrus on the game? Its adorable, and I was giggling when Papyrus had to let them down at the end. Obviously I NEVER would want this to be sexual. But the puppy love factor is just too adorable. This is one of those purely innocent, feel good pairings I delight in.  Pair Name Suggestion: PUFFY

Underfell Papyrus x Underswap Sans (PLATONIC ONLY) (Edgeberry) I love the whole Piccolo/Gohan redeeming dynamic of this big scary guy falling for this cute little blueberry muffin who makes him see the light. <3 

I sadly have trouble with seeing US!Sans in sexual relationships (Regardless of my stalking Butters blog,) Blueberry is written AND DRAWN as too childish for me to feel comfortable with him being placed in a sexual relation. Kissing and cuddling is one thing, but full on sex makes me squeamish.) Another point against this pairing is the overwhelming ABUSE that can occur. Which is no. No blueberry jam! 

Underfell Papyrus x Undertale Papyrus (EdgePuff/Hot Sauce)- is a very rare pair but has potential to be adorable, especially if Edge is anywhere near as protective of the Creampuff as he is of Ketchup. 

GUILTY PLEASURES 

Chara x Sans (Chans)- Yandere Yandere Yandere chan, you went through the whole genocide run just to get to Sans. Even killed his brother because he spent way too much time paying attention to the idiot cinnamon roll instead of focusing on you. Killed all the others to gain his attention. And if he won’t accept your love? Well then you’ll settle for a jar of his dust to keep you company~ <3

Obviously I NEVER wanna see these two have sex. This is more of a horror/torture trope. Its not a legitimate healthy pairing. Its more of a black humored joke.  PAIRINGS I HATE WITH A PASSION  #5 OC x OC Centric Fanfics. I know that people make Original characters and wanna write about them, but for godsake FANFICTION Is about a canon work and characters. So it urks me when someone calls it an undertale fic and then writes about their OC with only vague referencing to canon characters. I don’t mind OC x OC side pairings. (I love Deacon x Bo from  OnaDracora’s Would That Make You Happy.) But spending a whole fic hearing about two oc characters when you wanted to read about the canon ones is very annoying.  #4 Pairings with underage characters where said characters have sex (and like it.) Nope. Nope. Noping the f*ck right out of here. 

#3 Frisk x Sans (Frans)- In which Frisk instantly becomes a weepy abused teenage girl who desperately wants the the suddenly potentially abusive bone-man as her lifemate. Its basically every poorly written Reader x Sans fic EVER. I have read several versions of this. Honestly there Has been a few Platonic affection pics I liked, like of Frisk stalking a very reluctant Sans badgering him for a date which I found hilarious. I dont mind the puppy love angle, but the full on trying-to-be-a-serious-pairing pairing just annoys the heck outta me. 

#2 Underswap Papyrus x Underswap Sans- Can you say RAPE? Papy, wonderful, awesome, Dad-er-Brother-of-the-Year Papy suddenly becomes a horrible creepy abusive pedophile who wants to tie his far-too-innocent baby brother up and f*ck him senseless against the nearest hard surface. And if its not Papyrus being creepy af its SANS whose Yandere or slutty af. As stated before: I see Blueberry as a child. Thus he should act like a child. Not be some murderous little demon (Thats Frisk/Chara’s job.)  Now I don’t mind the co-dependency cannot be away from one another snuggling and cuddling what not Platonic Bromance. But somehow whenever these two try to be intimate it makes me cringe. (Mostly do to PedoBear!Papy) Seriously you look up pics of Edgeberry you get happy smiles and cute blushies. You look up HoneyBerry and 9 times out of 10 you get Papy with raepface holding a very frightened/uncomfortable Sans or a Yandere Bloodberry or Slutberry Shortcake. I don’t like this pairing. 

AND THE #1 PAIRING I HATE IN UNDERTALE:  ABUSIVE UT!SANS x ANYONE- Okay this is a really big petpeeve of mine. WHERE does anyone get the idea that Sans is physically or verbally abusive in any sense of the word? (Cause if you say in game canon I am gonna whack you upside the head with my laptop!) NO WHERE IN UNDERTALE CANON does it show Sans as being anything more than Passive Aggressive at  most. The ONLY TIME he physically attacks anyone is in GR when the player HAS KILLED EVERYONE HE KNEW AND LOVED. And even then you can tell he really doesn’t want to fight or hurt Frisk/Chara/whoever but is forced to. So why is it that people like to portray him as some abusive asshole? Its not in his character. Even the standoffish insulting attitude he sports towards in most Reader x Sans fics is exaggerated in many cases. Now granted most of the physically abusive fics are probably mislabeled Underfell. But there’s nothing that turns me off to a fic quicker than Sans being portrayed as some colossal asswipe. Yandere!UT!Sans is out entirely, Sans would sooner kill himself than ever hurt Papyrus, so seeing any Yan-San fics is insulting to my senses.  

Welp this is it for now, nice talkin to ya. Lemme know what your faves are or thoughts on mine. Ja~

[yastaghr]

Our Skeleton: Chapter 7

Our Skeleton

Characters: Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Danny the music store owner (minor human)

Pairings: Sans/Toriel/Asgore, Sansgoriel, Toriel/Asgore, Togore, Asgore/Sans, Sansgore, Sans/Toriel, Soriel

Warnings:  If you see something you want a warning for, let me know.

Story Summary: The people who love him come to realise Sans may be hiding something from them. (not the best of summaries, sorry)

<–Previous || First || Next–>

Ao3

“uh...what’s all this, tori?”

She turned her face from the sink and giggled at the stunned expression on Sans’ face. His gaze washed over the bowls of spices scattered around the kitchen. Garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, celery salt, pepper, cloves, vinegar and sugar; all laid out and ready to be mixed.

The skeleton rubbed his eye sockets. He blinked, then tilted his skull at her, no doubt trying to figure out what recipe all these ingredients had in common...or, knowing him, wondering when the food would be ready. Sans was not known for his abilities as a chef.

She nodded at the apron hanging off the dining room chair and turned back to her work. Peeling tomatoes, while not the most arduous task, certainly involved a lot of squish.

“Gorey got called into work unexpectedly, and since it seemed we would have the day all to ourselves, I thought it would be an excellent time to try out this recipe. One of Roger’s fathers from the PTA recommended it to me. He said it was the greatest homemade ketchup sauce he’d ever had the honor to taste.”

“terrance said that?”

She nodded, hearing the rustling of cloth as he wrestled with the apron, “Indeed. Such high praise comes once in a thousand years.”

“yup. don’t think i’ve ever met anyone, monster or human, with such a powder-ful sense of taste.”

She chortled, “I rather think you have hit the nose on the onion.”

Dead silence. The monster behind her radiated confusion. She was beginning to pick up on his magic more and more of the time. The way he hid it almost reminded her of something...she would have to think about that later.

Without looking back, she gestured at the bowl of onion powder. A few seconds later, Sans’ sneezed.

It was an adorable sneeze. It was a cute sneeze. It was a small sneeze trapped in a large skull. It was a high-pitched, diminutive little button of a sneeze. It made her want to coo.

Toriel set the last, peeled tomato down into the tureen with the slightest splat. She rinsed her hands in the icy water, switched it off, and dried them on the hand towel. Then she spun, leapt, and hugged.

Sans’ right arm, lifted to wipe at his nasal cavity, was trapped between his skull and her bosom. She nuzzled into him, cooing and rumbling and generally making herself look like a fool. But honestly, who could resist a sneeze like that?

Asgore sat at his desk in the embassy. The rhythmic clack clack clack of typing melded nicely with the bubbling of the coffee machine. Monsters and humans of all sizes and descriptions chatted merrily. Their last big bill had come through on Friday, so today was a little bit of a celebration. At the very least, none of the paperwork on his desk was needed signed immediately.

In fact, the notebook in front of him had nothing to do with Monster-Human relations. It was brand new, a little blue spiral-bound with daisies in the margins. Undyne had gotten it for him to plan his gardens in. Instead, it was being used to plan an investigation. The investigation into the childhood of a certain small skeleton.

He had started out with the basic facts. He knew Sans’ brother was Papyrus. As far as family members went, that was all he could remember. He knew there were quite a few skeleton families who’d been living in the Capitol, so perhaps calling some of them would be a good way to start? Then again, he needed a better description of the two if he was going to be asking questions.

Let’s see; he knew Sans had graduated from the high school in Snowdin. That meant they probably had relatives or family friends they’d stayed with out there. He’d have to ask Grillby. The old flame had been living and working their for as long as the town had existed. Asgore recalled Sans’ fondness for the new Grillby’s, and made that phone call a top priority.

Sans’ birthday was...he flipped through the calender with growing confusion. He sent a text to Tori, and she came up with the same result - nothing. Neither of them had any idea when Sans’ birthday could be. Or Papyrus’, for that matter. He made a note to ask Sans why they hadn’t celebrated the skeleton brothers’ birthdays since they had come to the Surface. Of course, it had not been a full year, so perhaps their birthdays had not arrived yet. That seemed more likely.

How old were they? Papyrus had been trying to be in the Royal Guard in the Underground. Skeletons aged at a rate of about 15 years to every human one, so the youngest age he would have been able to join was - Asgore opened a drawer and retrieved a calculator - 270. Sans seemed quite a bit older than his brother, so logically he was more than 330.

Logically only got him so far when faced with the real possibility that one or both of them had been neglected emotionally, if not in other ways. If not worse.

He shook his head and turned to a new page. Thinking about what could be would get him nowhere. What he needed was a place to start. He wrote down a list of names, people who might have a few more leads than he did. It read as follows:

Grillby (Snowdin?) Undyne (Sentries - age, birthdays, and medical history?) Skeleton Families (Parents? Lost/orphaned/runaways?) Gerson (had to get to snowdin somehow - memories?)

Well, he knew where he was going to start. Gerson was standing not ten feet away, chatting with one of Aaron’s cousins and no thirsty enough for a nice cup of tea.

Toriel helped Sans settle in the back seat, securing his seat belt before closing the door and settling into the front seat. It was a mild nuisance, these weight laws. Sans was a fully grown adult, and with only the two of them in the car, why should he not sit up front where he could see? But rules were rules, and they must follow them, or where would they be?

She finished adjusting the rearview mirror and reached for the radio. She went to turn the dial., then reconsidered.

“Sans, I do not believe I have ever enquired as to your favorite music. What shall it be?”

“oh, you know me, tori. anything’s good.”

She turned and gave him The Look. His eye lights shrunk to pinpricks, and his right hand dug up a ragged thread from the bandage on his left.

“Sans the Skeleton, I would be remiss in my duties as a datefriend if I could not name your favorite music off the top of my head. So please, tell me.”

He sighed, “really, tori. i’m okay with anything, as long as it has a beat,” The look didn’t quell, and he reluctantly added, “i ain’t that driven when it comes to music while you drive. druther hear it live, or at least be able to play. don’t treble about me, i can listen to bass-ically anything and be okay.”

She cocked her head, “What do you play?”

He shrugged, snapping the thread, “trom-bone.”

She snorted, “I should have expected that, should I note? You shall have to play for us sometime.”

His eye lights shifted beneath hers.

“no.”

Her brow furrowed, “I am sorry?”

“no, tori. i can’t.”

She reached for her seatbelt, ready to cuddle him again. He waved his hand.

“it’s not that i think i’m bad or anything! i just...i didn’t realise how much that car of pap’s was gonna cost. it was an old thing, carved ‘special for some human and everything. they offered a lot, and it’s not like i got much use outta the thing, anyway, so…”

His voice trailed away. She searched his skull, and saw the emotion there. No musician was happy to part with their instrument. Despite what he said, Sans missed being able to play. She scrapped her plans of taking him to a comedy skit and readied her GPS for a new course.

“Which shop is it in?”

He looked up at her with dejection, “tori, i sold it months ago. there’s no way it’s still there.”

She grinned at him, “Then we shall have to track it down, will we not?”

In the depths of his eyes, she saw the glimmer of starlight, “really?”

She nodded vigorously, “Really.”

“Skeleton kids? Funny you should mention that. I was just talking to Aarvy over there about one of the more water locked rooms in Waterfall. He’s got a friend back in the Underground who thought it looked like a nice place to move in. She found an odd message in the echo flower there, something about too much responsibility. And some kind of pastry thing tucked under the seat, too.”

Asgore poured his longtime friend and former Captain another cup of tea. He knew Gerson could go on in one of his stories for ages, but sooner or later he always reached the core of the things. All Asgore had to do was be patient and keep the turtles cup filled with tea.

“It made me think of a pair of younguns, oh, more than a hundred, hundred fifty years ago now. Thought they were twins, but I could be wrong. One of them was having a hard time walking. Kept trying to lead the other away, even if they kept tripping over their own feet. Thought about asking them to let me call their families, but the healthier of the two picked up the other and scurried away before I could get out my front door. Didn’t see them again, so I figured they’d found a home somewhere, wah ha ha!”

Asgore set his own cup down thoughtfully.

“And you believe these two could have been skeletons?”

Gerson winked, “Had to be. Had some ratty cloaks on, of course, but I remember seeing bone, and there’s nothing quite as white as a skeleton’s bones. Rattling, too, now I come to think of it. Scared little things, to be rattling like that. Wonder what made them fret that way? Speaking of fret, old Mettaclunk or whatever his name is hired this new human to back up his songs. I’ve got to say...”

Asgore let the conversation drift onto other things, letting the image Gerson had just set in his mind simmer to be worried over another day.

Toriel ducked under the lintel of the thirteenth musical instrument store they had visited that day. Sans had been right that his trombone would not longer be in the same store.

Unfortunately, instead of being sold to a new owner who could possibly be persuaded to part with it, the store itself had gone out of business. Its stock had be auctioned off to every other music store in the area.

The auction house in question had lost their records in a fire, so all the pair had been able to learn was that the instrument was probably in another store, unless it had been sold off from there.

So far, none of the stores they had visited had seen the trombone, or any trombone in the last three months. Apparently trombones were not as much of a high-turnover instrument in this city as the violin or guitar.

“Danny’s Music Supply, what can I do ya for?”

The longest haired human she had ever seen ambled up from behind a standing bass. The smell of brass polish hit her in a wave. She blinked back tears and fought back the urge to gag.

Sans stepped up from behind her, weariness in his gait but a glint in his sockets.

“hey, you wouldn’t have seen a trombone in here lately, would you? bach 42b, orange tint, worn out engraving on the bell and slide? would have come from pearson and lash.”

The cashier whistled. They weren’t the first. Sans hadn’t known, but the trombone he’d picked up out of a battered case in the Garbage Dump was rather expensive in the human’s market. The shop he’d sold it to had undercut the lowest going price by half.

“That piece be a thing of beauty, no doubt about it. got me mighty curious how old pearson and lash got their mits on it. them boys had the lowest end market of the entire beat. take it they swindled you out of the true cash?”

Sans pulled his right hand out his pocket and passed over the receipt. The man whistled again.

“Yep, that what it be. Hate to tell you, but you got fleeced. That darling’s going for a thousand, easy. Not that I’d put a price tag on a glory like that. Come on back, I was just given her a shine. Bet she’ll be happy as can be to see a familiar face.”

Her eyes bulged, and she felt the stir of Sans’ magic do the same.

“she’s actually here?”

The man had a smile to rival Sans’ own.

“Yes indeedy. Got a feeling the minute I saw her. I said to me, ‘That be a thing of beauty. Ain’t no way she went to them boys under an honest word. Her owner’ll be coming back, right as rain,’ and you know what? There’s nothing I like more to see than an instrument and their musician back in proper arms. Not much money in it, but the smiles I get are worth more than the Crown Jewels. I said, ‘I’m gonna take this lady and keep her safe, ‘cause I know t’won’t be long till that smile’ll be shining in front of me,’ And look at that - here you be.”

She let the tears fall freely now. Here was a SOUL as kind as any she had ever seen. If there were any music shop in the world she would want an instrument to make a stay in, this was it.

Sans, in front of her, sniffed. She felt his magic fight to hold back tears. It made her pause. Humans, it seemed, had something of a stigma against open weeping. Monsterkind had no such idea, and so the practiced way in which the small skeleton hid away his emotions felt...weird. It was not out of keeping with the quietness of presence she had come to know, but it was entirely out of keeping with their culture as a whole.

As Sans followed the shopkeeper back behind the counter, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to Asgore. Yet another piece in the puzzle of their skeleton’s past.

[serfuzzypushover]

Give me your thoughts on Soriel, Asgoriel, Sansgore and Sansgoriel in all your AUs. Not necessarily headcanons, just the relationship between these characters or thoughts on ships.

Oh oof i got 6 main aus so this is gonna be kinda long-

Underswap: 

Soriel: they are,,, so cute,,,,,,, us Toriel is really lonely so having Sans to talk to snail everyday is just :] It makes snail happy qwqq

Asgoriel: since its my canon and i can do whatever i want, both Toriel and Asgore realize they’ve made mistakes and completely forgive each other in the end of a pacifist run so yea they are great uwu

Sansgore: what’s better than one ray of sunshine with hidden mental issues? two of them :]

Sangoriel: Three broken people helping each other,,,, perfection,,,,,,,

Underfell:

Soriel: They’re cute in their own way- Still just two people who have been hurt and need support but also have no clue on how relationships work. It’s amusing to watch.

Asgoriel: I bet they were better off when they were together at first but after the fact,,,,, no i dont think there’s a chance they’d be happy together :( 

Sansgore: Could work, could work... A bit of therapy and they’d be good to go uwu

Sansgoriel: Hmmm maybe? I dont think anything can fix Tori’s and Gorey’s marriage but perhaps Sans could help out a bit?

Swapfell: 

Soriel: no,,,,,, they arent at all good for each other,,,,,, 

Asgoriel: They can have cute moments! They definitely love the other but eh,,, they are just,,,,,,, bad people ya know?

Sansgore: HHhhggggg no nope not in a million years. Sans could never be with someone that makes stars brother so uncomfortable,,,

Sangoriel: Hhg yea no I dont see it working out :( 

Storyswap:

Soriel: okay i’ve actually been dying to talk about these two but imma save that for later :3c Just know that they are adorable uwu

Asgoriel: !!!!! They!!!!!!!!! They are perfect for each other!!!!!! 

Sansgore: man just,,,,, just cuteness everywhere,,,,,,,

Sangoriel: ya can imagine what I think of them :]

Horrortale:

Soriel: jhsgdhsbfhnnt- hhggg,,,, angst babies,,,,,,,, omg,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i love,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Asgoriel: They are like normal asgoriel with less pda but they are still great uwu

Sansgore: Lots,,,,,,, of angst,,,,,,,,,,,,,, in this au,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sansgoriel: I literally brought asgore back to life just so they can all be together what do you think

Outertale: 

Soriel: Like ut soriel but more cuddles cause now they both fluffy :0

Sansgore: I imagine they gash about their favorite constellations to each other :]

Asgoriel: Asgore tried to do the same with Toriel but snai has a hard time remembering any of them

Sansgoriel: hhgg,,, perfection,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[serfuzzypushover]

Sansgore is so cute! Do you have any idea how their relationship would start and progress on a romantic one?

I’m thinking that they would get together on the surface after a while qwqq Sans already had a crush on Asgore from when star worked with Alphys as a scientist. Star really liked how kind and nice Asgore is and started really liking thon,, When they actually talked for the first time, it was cause they were both picking Frisk from school. They chatted for a while and started hanging out. Sans definitely still liked Gorey a bit- and it didnt help that Frisk would call them both their dads :] One day star picked up the courage and asked Asgore out by giving thon a flower. Asgore was actually confused cause he thought they were already dating since their hang outs were very- romantic you could say-  hjgdhfbts- Needless to say, they gay and happy now :]

[papytonpropaganda]

Sorigori for the ship thing? (It's a rare ship, SansxTorielxAsgore)

ooooh that is a rare one. haven’t really thought about it before. probably because I don’t like Toriel/Asgore. so this ship would get a dislike from me, too.

Sansgore is decent, Soriel is cute, but the three of them together? not my thing tbh

[yastaghr]

Our Skeleton: Chapter 5

Our Skeleton

Characters: Sans, Toriel, Asgore, Papyrus, Frisk, Random Human

Pairings: Sans/Toriel/Asgore, Sansgoriel, Toriel/Asgore, Togore, Asgore/Sans, Sansgore, Sans/Toriel, Soriel

Warnings:  If you see something you want a warning for, let me know.

Story Summary: The people who love him come to realise Sans may be hiding something from them. (not the best of summaries, sorry)

<–Previous || First || Next–>

Ao3

“so...got any plans for today?”

Toriel felt the slow shaking of the table as Sans’ foot bounced to a steady beat. She smiled at him. His face was relaxed and curious, the only tension in his magic revolving around his hand. Perhaps a trace of anxiety, but no more. She followed the trace of his clavicles under his t-shirt, the broad curve uneven, but somehow stronger for that.

She frowned as her eyes lit upon a stain in the fabric, crusty red trailing down from trim to the bottom of his joint. She made a note to ask him to change shirts before they left the house, and to start a load of laundry with…

“Oh dear. I did not realise - Sans, we two brought you out of your house without a single change of clothing, did we not?”

The skeleton shrugged, “this is pretty much it, tor. i got a few dozen socks, and maybe another t-shirt back home, but that’s about it. pant say i ever saw the need for more.”

She stared at him. Asgore stared at him. Sans blinked back at them, starting to sweat. Asgore’s mouth worked silently. Her own mind had ground to a halt as she tried to comprehend how one could go about living without at least two changes of clothes. She was failing miserably.

Sans’ phalanges worried at a loose thread on the table cloth, “heh. is that...a problem?” His voice rose with worry.

Toriel pushed back her chair, rising to her feet abruptly, “No. Well, perhaps it is, but it is a problem that is quite simple to solve.”

Her eyes met Asgore’s, and he grinned, “Oh yes. That will be perfect, Tori.”

“um...what would be perfect?” Sans looked a little nonplussed.

Asgore turned to him with a grin that bore quite a bit of friendly fang, “Why, shopping! It has been quite a while since I have had someone to shop for, and I must say I find it fun!”

Sans gulped, his blue blush breaking out as his eye lights fixed on Asgore’s smile. She stored that expression away as something to be explored later, when Sans was more...at home.

She moved around the table, pulling Sans up, out of his chair, and into her arms. One of her hands was hooked under his arm, wrapping around his small chest and cupping the other humerus, thumb stroking the clavicle. The other arm brushed the top of his head. His magic hiccuped, then eased back down as his body relaxed into the strokes. She smiled.

Across the table, Asgore watched hungrily. She gave him a look. He blushed, then stood, “I shall go start the car, shall I?”

“Yes, Gorey. Please, do. I shall just get Sans cleaned up, and we will be with you shortly.”

Asgore gave her a hurt look, but she smiled back, bringing her hand down from its task to cup Sans’ left arm. Asgore followed the movement, gulped, and scurried out the door. Poor dear, he really could not handle the sight of wounds of any sort.

In her arms, Sans squirmed, trying to hop down, “uh, tor, you know i can handle getting changed by myself, right?”

She chuckled, “Of course, dearest skeleton. On the other hand , you could use some help bandaging this injury of yours, could you not?”

He stiffened, then loosened, “oh, yeah. thanks.”

His tone made her pause, “Sans, something about that bothers you, does it not?”

His energy dimmed, “it’s nothing, tor. don’t wanna be a nuisance.”

“Sans.”

He sighed, “...being doctored scares me. dunno why. i just...i feel like once i let it start it’s never gonna stop, y’know? i’ll be stuck in some stuffy room and no one will visit me except for the doctors, and then it’ll hurt, and i’ll get worse and the room gets stuffier and lonelier and-”

“Sans,” Her hand returned to the dome of his skull, pads tracing shapes on the smooth bone. Her heart ached as he shook, “It is fine to be afraid. It is fine to worry. It is fine for some tasks to be harder than others. What is not fine is leaving us out of the loop.”

She sent a hum through her own magic, reassuring and comforting, “I promise you that I will never leave you alone like that. I am certain that Asgore will feel the same. We will not let that happen to you, do you understand? If something I am about to do is going to hurt, I will let you know. I only want to put an ointment on your hand to keep your magic flowing freely, healthily, and pain-free through the joint until it heals.”

His magic and body tried to curl up and hide away. She nuzzled his forehead, “I promise, Sans. If you wish, I can go and retrieve my kit, and we can take a closer look outside, in the sun. Does that sound acceptable?”

“...don’t wanna be a bother...”

She kissed the bone. Blue spread out like liquid over glass, “You never will be. Come along, dearest skeleton. I am sure Asgore will enjoy having someone to keep him company while I look.”

The contrast between the inside and outside of this human mall had always surprised her. If one did not know what one was looking at, one might think it were another office building. Inside, colors, shapes, sounds, smells, and hundreds upon hundreds of people assaulted the mind. It seemed as though anything and everything a person could possibly imagine might be hiding within that dull brown exterior...including friends, it would seem.

Toriel giggled as she caught sight of a familiar towering skull peering out from behind a pop-up stand. It might have been a very pale human, of course. However, the confused rambling of the human running the cart seemed to confirm it. They were attempting to explain that, as much as they would like to help this customer, they did not think their hair-braiding stall could do much for someone who did not have hair.

Poor Papyrus. It was not the first time he had followed someone like this, and every time had turned out much the same. Frisk had been amused during that first field trip. Their chaperones less so. Still, the dear monster continued to believe he was good at stealth, and who was she to contradict?

Toriel sat to one side of the changing booth neither she nor Asgore could fit in, smiling politely at the awestruck children walking past. Across her lap was a mountain of fabric, some neon bright, others calm and collected, all of it a rejected, crumpled pile of firm nope’s. Asgore was out on what was at the very least their twentieth trip in search of correctly sized clothing.

The first few shirts she had assumed were a fluke. The next dozen, she had suspected Sans was lying when he said none of them fit in an effort to spare her feelings. Then had come the turning point, a hilarious science pun she was sure he would find humorous. The subsequent laughter did not prove her wrong.

It was the sudden cursing and bumping at the walls that clued her in. She had asked if he was okay, and he had responded with a pun. She had been reassured, until the banging resumed. After two minutes back and forth, Asgore had returned, and eventually the two of them had been forced to barge in anyway.

It seemed Sans, in his excitement and desperation, had gotten his skull trapped halfway through the hole of the shirt. It did not want to come down. It did not want to come back up. Sans had been too embarrassed to accept her help, and more than a little frustrated that everything they found either did not fit over his head or hung off him and exposed far too much ribcage. He wanted the shirts to work. He wanted this to be fun. He liked the shirts, and was annoyed that none of them seemed to like him back.

So Sans had pulled and he pushed at that one stubborn shirt until the creak of protesting bone had forced Asgore to lift the door off its hinges. Very nicely, and with full intent to put them back, which he had done after they had gotten their silly skeleton out of the shirt. They had been forced to cut the shirt off, since, despite all logic, it had only grown smaller as they stretched it. Toriel feared Sans might wake up with some very strange bruising tomorrow.

Still, the skeleton had been convinced to give up trying if he had to force a shirt onto his head, and let them see just how bad the others hung off him. She supposed that was a plus. It was rather cute watching him try to keep the collars from sliding down on his favorites. It was even harder to resist when that grip slipped. He really did have the most adorable bones.

Asgore patiently waited against one of the pylons for his wife to finish checking the map. Beside him, Sans tapped at his phone with his newest sci fi inspired stylus. Asgore had noticed Sans drooling after the quirky little device in the window of one of the shops earlier, and insisted they stop and buy it. Sans had tried to protest, but the look on his face when he held it in his hands betrayed him.

They would have to work on that with Sans, it seemed. Splurging too often was bad, of course, but neither of them were hurting for funds. Sans put altogether too much effort into denying his own interests. It wasn’t healthy, and Asgore did not intend to stand for it. If that also meant spoiling Sans rotten, he would enjoy it all the more.

Asgore blinked. Was that Papyrus’ head he had seen, towering over the crowd? Of course it wasn’t. What would Papyrus be doing here? Then the familiar head emerged once more, and Asgore sighed.

Yes, that was Papyrus, bobbing up and down among the shorter humans, following someone. It would not be the first time. He really should convince Undyne to give the tall monster a few tips on trailing someone in a crowd of people shorter than you. It was something of a knack. He wondered who Sans’ brother was following now?

The skeleton’s skull swiveled. His eye sockets fixed on something. His entire frame stiffened, and his gaze darted back and forth, looking for a way out, passing right over Asgore and Sans. They landed on something, and the depths positively bulged. Asgore deftly scooped Sans out of the way of the rushing skeleton as Papyrus made a beeline for the wedding store they were resting by. Oh, was that what that was?

Sans blinked up at him, “hey gor. what’s the rush?”

Asgore smiled adoringly down, planting a kiss on Sans’ forehead. The skeleton squeaked, and he chuckled, “Nothing. Or perhaps I should say, nothing for me. I was not aware Papyrus had reentered the dating game.”

Sans smile dipped, “yeah. a couple of people have been taking him out lately. none of them clicked, but...well, you know. most of the monsters get it, but the humans have been all over the place.”

Asgore was confused. If that were so, then why had Papyrus...oh well. He supposed it did not matter. Perhaps Papyrus was shopping for a friend? He had heard that two of the former members of the Hotland Royal Guard were planning their marriage for the coming spring. It would not surprise him if Sans’ brother had volunteered to help. He was quite the enthusiastic young monster.

“Oh, there you two are! I did not keep you waiting too long, did I? The map was far more complicated than I had anticipated.”

Both their heads swiveled towards her, “nah, tor, we’re good. gave me just enough time to finish off a new sketch. i think this one’s a real show stopper , heh heh heh. gotta be worthy of a five minute slot. at least, i think it is. at least...probably...”

Asgore dove into the silence before Sans could slip too far into the pit of self-doubt that his reception on the Surface always seemed to conjure up. He’d been trying to get bumped up to a regular slot at one of the clubs ever since they’d made it up here, and every time his acts had been rejected without any explanation whatsoever. It was hurting the short skeleton, and everyone knew it. He only wished he knew how to help.

“You shall have to give us a sneak peak. I used to love going to see your shows in Hotland.”

Sans stared at him in disbelief, “you actually came? burgerpants told me the tickets i sent you never got used.”

Asgore looked sheepish, “I did try to use them. The monster at the doors would never let me finish. He insisted I could go in for free, on the house. Then during your visits, it never seemed quite the right time to bring them up. I believe I still have them, somewhere.”

Toriel took one look at their faces and guffawed, “Oh, my. You poor things. I- Goodness, I am sorry. It is just so amusing. You two- you two-”

She dissolved into another fit of laughter. He and Sans shared a confused look. Sans shrugged, “whatever floats yer goat , tori.”

“okay guys. really? clothes i get, but this really doesn’t suit me.”

Sans gestured at the unhemmed black material draped over him, pulling the pins at the shoulder joint out for the third time. Asgore snorted at the human’s thinly disguised annoyance. Tori only sighed.

Asgore looked at her and saw her patience for Sans’ puns, normally so high, was reaching its end. He remembered the many times Toriel had taken him to be measured for a suit. She’d never seemed to grasp that while she could stand for hours at a time being poked and prodded and encircled, undressed and redressed, hemmed, matched, and captured in a net of fabric and sharp pins, not everyone else could do the same. He decided that, as much as he enjoyed watching Toriel in action, Sans was neither deserving of nor prepared for one of her rants. Time to intervene.

“Sans!” He let a look of startlement cross his face, “I just realised - I know Papyrus has mentioned a collection of socks lying about the house. In fact, he’s seemed rather peeved about it.”

Sans chuckled, earning another glare from the tailor, “yup. don’t tell him this, but every month i rotate which sock gets to stay on the livingroom floor. can’t be favoring one piece over another, right?”

Asgore was not surprised. He had known of Sans almost unbreakable yearning for fairness and equality ever since the letter he had received from a young graduate, all those years ago. Sans had a way of seeing biases, injustices, and other problems clearly when no one else could. It had only grown stronger since, and was one of the things he admired most about the adorable skeleton.

He coughed politely, “Well, I do not know if you had noticed, but there is quite the array of dress socks here on display. I know you will need at least one pair to wear along with these suits, but perhaps we can find a set or two to add to your collection?”

Sans eyes lit up like stars - no, like the crystals in the caverns of Waterfall. The hint of blue was calming; it drew Asgore in like the smell of snail pie on a rainy day. Silver and purple made their appearances too, a kaleidoscope of colors like stoney mountains fading into dusk, always and forever comforting to him. They spoke of deep happiness and home...and if all that was inspired by the idea of socks, well, who was he to judge?

Asgore jolted out of his hypnotism as he remembered the plan. He set his paws on the arms of his chair, making as if he intended to stand, “Well, then, I shall just go and find a few, shall I?”

He did not even manage to draw a breath before Toriel was on her feet and moving, “No, Gorey. Let me do it, you never manage to find the right size, even for your own feet.”

“Is that so? Oh, dear. I suppose you should go, then. I shall wait here while this nice young human finishes measuring Sans.”

He smiled at Sans as Toriel’s footsteps faded into the front of the store. The skeleton’s expression of joy had hardly faded at all, although his head did have an inquiring tilt.

Asgore chuckled, “She has a greater patience for appointments like this than I, and I would be reaching my limit by now, just as you are. I thought you might appreciate not having her give you her disappointed frown.”

Sans expression faded. Asgore felt the slump in his magic, and hastily tried to rephrase, “You are doing an amazing job, Sans! These appointments do not normally last this long. Is that not so, human?”

The attendant looked up from their work to give a silent nod, pins sticking out of the corners of their mouth.

“You see? You are doing quite well. It is only that Toriel spent much of her childhood being measured for official robes and gowns, and she forgets that not every monster had the practice at that she did as a diplomat’s daughter.”

The look in Sans eye sockets did not return to it’s happy glimmer, nor to its usual amiable grin. Still, he was not tearing at himself like he had before, and that was what mattered. Perhaps he could do something more?

The human grabbed the bottom folds of the back of Sans’ jacket, and Asgore remembered his own first experience with the tailor’s arts, “Have I ever told you the story of the first time I got measured for a suit?”

Sans shook his head, and Asgore noticed the gleam of curiosity in the skeleton’s eye lights...and in the human’s brown orbs. With that kind of encouragement, who was he to deny?

“Well, as a child I was always too busy helping my father around the palace to join my mother at official events. I never needed a suit until I was thirty years old - perhaps twelve of your years, human. One of the human kingdoms was having a coronation, and we were close enough allies that we were invited. My father had a bit of a cold, and so my mother was in charge of the staff for the week. She never could organize them like he did. The servant she had sent to measure me was new, a young Whimsum girl who had never worked with someone who had a tail before. She kept forgetting it was there and pinning it to the coat…”

“Toriel, I do not know how to explain this…”

She looked up from her phone. Gorey’s face was a mixture of confusion, pleading, suspicion, apology, reluctance, and amusement. His eyes kept shifting over her shoulder, then back to her, then back to the scene behind her.

She smiled, “You have noticed him then, have you not?”

Asgore’s mouth turned up at the corners in a sheepish grin, “Then I am not imagining it? I noticed him earlier today, too. I thought perhaps he was picking up a gift for someone. This, however-”

“Yes,” she chuckled, “Papyrus is a dear, isn’t he? I take it you or Sans mentioned to him we would be here today while I was getting the kit earlier?”

Asgore frowned, then laughed, “Ah, yes. Sans did send off more than a few messages. It would not surprise me if one went to his brother...Still, why this?”

Her claws tapped out a rhythm on the plastic table. The sounds of laughing children, gossiping teenagers, and hurried lunchers circled around the food court.

Finally, her tapping stopped, “I am not certain, but I believe it is something like an urge to protect. Or perhaps it is curiosity? I do not believe Sans has gone on many dates, if any. Nor has Papyrus.”

Asgore coughed, “Oh. I am sorry, but there you are wrong. Papyrus has been on quite a few dates. He even dated Frisk, if I am not mistaken. Never for long. I think he wants to be in love, but does not know how.”

She frowned, “I see,” Slowly the smile crept back, “Ah, yes. That is much more likely.”

Asgore tilted his head, and she explained, “He is both curious and protective, I believe. Curious to know how his brother acts on a date, and how his brother feels, because perhaps that might explain how he might feel love. Protective because as much as Papyrus wanted this to happen, he and his brother have not had anyone else for a very long time. He wants his brother to be happy, I am afraid. It can be quite the double-edged sword.”

Asgore’s worry eased, “Ah. I am glad our skeleton has someone out there who cares about him in that way...still, the holes he has cut into that newspaper are beginning to annoy me. They are not in the right places for him to see out. Do you think we should mention it?”

A thought occurred to her, and her brows drew together, “Yes. While we are there, perhaps we can inquire who it is who is watching Frisk while he is here.”

Asgore nodded, “They are resourceful, but the surface authorities do not seem to approve of children their age playing all alone.”

The two stood up, and made their way over to Papyrus’ table. The rustling of newsprint grew more and more pronounced the closer they came. It sunk back behind the table, and were she not so anxious about Frisk, Toriel would have felt rather sorry for the poor monster.

“Howdy, Papyrus. The mall is quite popular today, isn’t it?”

Papyrus’ skull rose from behind the paper like a Moldbygg out of a crouch, “GREETINGS, YOUR MAJESTIES. WHAT A SURPRISE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DID NOT SEE YOU APPROACH. I WAS FAR TOO ENGROSSED IN...SOLVING THIS WEEK’S JUNIOR JUMBLE! YES! QUITE INGENIOUS, ISN’T IT?”

“It is indeed Papyrus,” She noted the flash of panic as his sockets fixed on something just beyond her shoulder. Ah. Sans must be returning with their food, must he not?

Asgore picked up the thread of conversation, “It is quite a coincidence, isn’t it, us running into each other here. Do you often drive out to the mall to solve these jumbles of yours?”

Toriel caught sight of him now, ambling through the crowd with five hot dogs tucked under his arm. Why five?

“YES, INDEED! I FIND IT...INVIGORATING! YES! THE CHALLENGE OF SOLVING THESE PUZZLES IN SUCH A BUSY, LOUD, DIRTY PLACE...IT IS ONLY FITTING OF A MONSTER AS GREAT AS ME TO TAKE ON SUCH A HANDICAP.”

Sans did not seem to be heading for their old table, nor towards them. His aim seemed to be further to the right of them, where one of the many potted plants in the room sat, staring.

“That is very sporting of you, Papyrus.”

Sans had stopped just beside the short, dense plant. His smile widened, and his eyelights slid between the plant and them. He shrugged. It almost looked as though he were having a conversation with it.

“ISN’T IT? IT ONLY SEEMS- HUMAN! NO, WHY DID YOU BETRAY YOURSELF LIKE THIS?”

Toriel stared in confusion and awe as Sans stacked all five hot dogs on top of the plant. He turned to face them, eye sockets twinkling, “now, bro. you wouldn’t deny them this bit of nostalgia on a day like today, now, would you?”

From behind the plant, hot dogs remaining in a perfect stack, Frisk emerged. Toriel stared in distrust at the plant. How had she failed to notice the human behind it? Admittedly, its shape was rather conveniently similar to Frisk’s, but still. What kind of a mother was she?

Papyrus sighed theatrically, “I SUPPOSE I MUST. YOU TWO AND YOUR SHENANIGANS WILL FOREVER BE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!”

Asgore looked between Papyrus, Frisk, the plant, Sans, the hot dogs, and her. His mouth moved silently. His brow furrowed in that earnest look of his, one of her favorites. Whenever he failed to follow a joke, or understand a subplot, or remember a name, there it was.

“sorry, bro. maybe next time someone asks you not to come snooping, don’t bring the kid. i must have spotted them, what, a dozen times today? i thought you were better at this stuff, kid.”

Frisk turned to face him, deadpan. He grinned back, “seriously, kid. we gotta work on your stealth. can’t have the legendary fartmaster getting caught spying around, now, can we? maybe pap can help me bone ya up on a few new tricks.”

They smiled and nodded. The hot dog stack collapsed, somehow scattering in exactly the right way so that every dog ended up neatly in front of a place at the table.

Papyrus’ eyeballs bulged, “SANS!”

Their skeleton shrugged, “what can i say bro, i’m a punny guy. you could say-”

“SANS.”

The smile grew wider, “that i’ve-”

“SANS!”

She, Gorey, and Frisk all covered their ears, “got it in my bones .”

“SAAAAANNNSSS!!!!!”

Asgore slipped the string of yet another bag over his hand. Both he and Toriel had ignored Sans insistence that he carry some of their purchases. Not out of rudeness, mind you, but Sans had been bumping and banging his hand all day. Giving him a bag seemed like asking for him to hurt himself more, and that was something neither of them wanted. This was why Asgore was now holding 17 separate bags while Toriel finished checking out.

The bright-eyed cashier behind the desk, wearing a blue cabled sweater and khaki slacks, pulled off the next item to be scanned and gleamed, “Oh, you found our sweater vest collection! My son absolutely loved this year’s models. The colors match perfectly, the stitching is neat but still stretchy, and the wool blend isn’t nearly as itchy as the ones we had two years ago. Is this for your child?”

Asgore saw Sans’ smile tense, and drew in a breath to correct the mistake. He knew Sans had heard quite a lot of that on the surface. Apparently, the striped-shirt phenomena did not extend to their human neighbors. While Sans never seemed to take offence, Asgore had noted he never tried to correct the mistakes, either. No matter how common it was, something like that was bound to hurt. Asgore had determined that if he was around to defend the short skeleton, then he would, since Sans did not seem ready to do it himself.

His amazing wife beat him to it, “Oh, no. My child is still in stripes, after all. Moreover, Frisk is quite adamant that they will not wear clothing without sleeves, even in layers. No, this is for our boyfriend, Sans.”

Empty sockets flickered between Toriel and the cashier. Asgore could feel the dread rolling off Sans, and moved a few steps closer to the skeleton, not entirely certain what the problem was, but ready to intervene.

The human glanced over at the two of them and waved, “Are those your boyfriends over there? I’m guessing the shorter one is the one these vest are for, although both of them look like a handful to fit. Don’t take this the wrong way, but the skeleton is such a cutie!”

Sans eye lights returned, uncertain...or perhaps stunned? Toriel noticed, and jumped on the chance to gush.

“He is, is he not? It is amazing how hard it has been to find decent clothing in his sizes, but he has been amazingly patient with us silly old goats today. He is the most thoughtful, kind, adorable monster you could imagine.”

Every adjective drove Sans’ shoulders an inch closer to his ears, until something snapped. His phalanges wrapped around the edges of his hood and threw it over his skull, pulling it down and huddling up.

“I am so sorry to hear that it’s been such a hassle! Clothes shopping can be tricky, I know, but it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. You haven’t been just looking in here, have you? We should have a better array of sizes than that. I’ll have to let the supplier know…”

Asgore smiled at the adorable display of shyness and resisting the urge to drop their purchases and scoop the monster up into a kiss.

“Oh no, the selection your store had in stock was wonderful. You not only had the correct sizes, but the colors are absolutely perfect. These blues match the shade of his blush exactly, and the grey of these slacks makes the white of his bones positively sparkle. It would not be too much of a bother to ask you to pass on my compliments to the designer, would it not? I do wish...”

Asgore’s smile flipped when Sans’ skull impacted with his ribs. His breath was ragged, his bones were shaking almost to the point of rattling, and the hold Sans’ right hand had on his shirt had quite a bit of fur mixed in.

Asgore pitched his voice low, down to the monster huddled against him, quiet enough to go unheard by Toriel and the clerk, “Sans, what is wrong?”

The only response was a tighter grip. Asgore winced at the sting of tearing fur. The barest fraction of an HP ticked away.

He sighed, and carefully leaned down until his muzzle could reach Sans’ head. He nuzzled in, comfort and affection radiating out. He’d never noticed, but Sans’ hoodie smelled wonderful, pine and typha and ketchup and cold dew on a starry night, so many scents mixed into one.

He heard Toriel’s conversation winding to a close in the same moment he realised the growing damp patch on his shirt was probably skeleton tears. Why would Sans be crying, though? Everything Tori had said was true a hundred times over. Was it embarrassment that she was telling these things to a stranger? A human? But none of them were that intimate. Was it the aftermath of being mistaken for a child? No, he’d never seen Sans react like this. Was it…

“Oh dear. Was that too much Sans?” Toriel’s hand cradled Sans against her. He shook his head, then nodded. The shaking intensified, and Asgore gave Tori a helpless look. Her face eased, “Ah. I think I understand. Today has been quite the day, has it not? We have wrought quite a bit of change around you, and you are still healing, and then so many people and colors and clothes...the mall can be overwhelming, even at the best of times, can it not? And then my conversation with the cashier...I think it is time to head home, Gorey. Anything else can wait for another day. Our skeleton has reached the limit of how much input he can take in. Let us take him home to process in peace.”