Shadowed

What? "Ah? Duhhh, hhhhhhhh." Comes the very eloquent reply of the smaller skeleton, his cheekbones lighting up in a blue hue. 

Fascinated by the colors, you involuntarily dip your head a bit closer. You snort out a silent chuckle. He's adorable. 

A wave of annoyance washes over you. You really did plan on flirting with everyone, did you?

You restrain another laugh. 'Are you judging me or are you just being jealous?'

Definitely judging you. He scoffs. 

'Aww, don't worry. You know you're my favorite skeleton, right?' You smirk coyly beind your mask. 

I- He grumbles. Do not forget the task at hand. 

'Sure~.'

"Geez." The blue coat monster takes a few sip. "Don't catch a guy off like that. I swear I could've dusted right there... "

You chuckle once more, fully laying on the charm as you twist to lean on the bar and closer to him. He looks you up almost nervously. 

"Been a while since you been flirted with?"

I cannot believe you're making me sign this for you.

'Oh hush.'

The smaller man takes a long last swing before answering, some sweat dripping from his brow. 

"Not necessarily." He shrugs, doing his best to regain his usual behavior. 

You nod. 

"So... I'm just a special case then?" You make sure to accentuate the word 'special' then gesture to yourself from head to hips. 

He gives another glance at you, his eyes slidding down your form slowly before comming back to your face. "Something like that, yeah."

You nod again. "Been a while since you've had a skeleton, huh?"

He spits his drink everywhere on the counter, narrowly missing your sleve and snaps his eyes onto you. You hear Gaster nearly screeching your name indignantly. 

Pervese!

You think you hear an immediate sigh out of the fire monster further down the bar and you wheeze out a laugh, clutching your sides and trying your best to stay silent. "I didn't mean it that way, thought, I'm surprised you went there."

His face nearly turns blue, Gaster's current emotions perfectly plastered on the other skeleton's face. This is just too good, you can't stop it now! 

You lean closer to him, smirk evident yet hidden away under the mask. He almost leans away in responce, seemingly stuck to his seat. What are you gonna do. How in Asgore did it come to this? 

"Been a while since you've had someone else's bones to pick?" You reach up to clean the little dribble on the side of his jawbone all the way back up to the corner of his mouth. 

A nervous chuckle escapes the confines of the monster's non-existent throat as he finally flinches away. Did you joke and flirt with him simultaneously? With a pun out of all things?

Man, you're dangerous. He can't keep his magic in check. 

You sit back comfortably on your stool, back to the bar. So part of you feels thoroughly embarassed and you roll your eyes at Gaster. 

Are you done? He nearly begs. 

'Almost G, just a bit more and he'll be putty in my hands.'

You are not sensing the room and it shows... 

The poor blushing mess before you tries to stutter out something, anything, but you cut him off. 

"I like that shade on you." You laugh warmly. 

The only answer he can manage is a breathy exhale as he goes from clear blue to lapis lazuli. 

"DA-YUM MA'AM!" The monster on your other side elbows you while laughing. "It ain't a joke when they said you people could take down armies! Let the poor guy breathe, by Asgore!"

The bar erupts into another bout of laughter, much to your target's embarassment. 

"Hey, Grillby! Her drink's on me!" The bird-fish monster shouts before turning to you, patting you on the shoulder. "You're a fun gal. Come back around, will ya?"

You smile, nodding. "Of course, but only if the company's as 'fin' as you."

Taken by surprise, the man laughs once more before turning away with a shake of his head. "And I thought puns where a Sans thing."

A 'Sans thing'? Who's Sans? 

A deep chuckle reaches your ear. You turn to the smaller skeleton sipping on his bottle once more, an pleased grin plastered on his face. 

"Happy to see you have taste." He tips his head, apparently having regained his composure in record time. 

'A hard case to crack, I see.'

He's much smarter than he looks. Be careful around him. 

'Noted.'

It takes you a moment to make the connection. Ah, this might be why Frisk seems to gravitate around him. Good to know. 

"Sans, I presume?" You lift your hand to him. 

"In the bones." He takes your hand with a quick wink. His grip is strong. 

'He's stronger than he looks too?'

In a way, absolutely. His pride flows into you, immediately confusing you.

Confused. He seems to be ignoring it, avoiding it. 

'In what way?'

Magic. And with that word, Sans almost flinches away from your hand. He's been trying to probe you through that handshake, trying to figure out our energy. 

You stare down the smaller skeleton. 'Thanks.'

You're giving off an intimidating aura my dear.

'I know.'

"That wasn't very polite." You chide the monster. 

"I'm sorry, I should've known better." He apologize, now looking a bit nervous again.

"Do you make a habit out of looking under skirts?" You question. 

He's giving off submissive energies. 

"N-No, of course not! It's not like that." Flustered, he waves his hands apologeticaly. "It's just... you're a skeleton" He moves a hand to rub the side of his skull as he leans back on the now cleaned up counter. "To be honest, I can hardly believe it. You being right here. Alone."

This immediately calms you down and you take your forgotten drink back into your hands, mainly to play with the rim. You feel heavy with understanding you don't possess and know to stay silent. Gaster probably needs this. 

"How did you do it? Make it out by yourself?" He sighs. "Are you okay?"

Your heart twists. Not only do you remember all too well the pain, the screams and the losses of war, but you know this must pierce the scientist straight through. You feel the misery, you understand the loss of words, the need for someone, even just a touch. You clench your hands, feeling his form curl around you tightly. You could swear Sans locks eye with you through the mask. 

"It's be been hard, only my brother and I left." He finally puts his bottle down, twirling it slowly. "I don't understand." His brow bone wrinkles, his eyes showing a pain much more gut-wrenching than what you could've expected. 

Him and his brother. They're the only ones left. They have no one else. Gaster has lost everyone. 

It gripps at you, then full on blows through your chest. You fist your hand into the fabric of your shirt, clenching your eyes shut. Sorrow turns to mild panic as Sans brings his hands up to you only for you to snap your empty eyesockets back on him. Your breath grows shorter and shorter as the sorrow grows. With it spreads the trauma, it's ugly limbs crawling on your mind.

'Gaster!' You flinch as the hovering hands of the other skeleton lighty touch you. 

I-... I know! 

Flashes of fire, burning the sky and searing the floor back. You groan, shaking your head as memories cluster in. The scientist's own emotions dig too deep into your own psyche and your reaction weighs too heavy on his thoughts. Your shared souls cry in ugly unison, your pains feeding off of eachother and merging.

I'm sorry... His tone is weak and severly on the edge. I-I'm trying. With me... 

You remember the feeling of rubble under your body as you are tossed by the blows of destruction. You remember the warmth of a pool of blood so big you know it's not just your own. You hear screams as they suddenly turn quiet. 

You shake your head aggressively, slapping your other hand onto it and clawing at your hood. You stumble up, searching for an escape. Sans kivks away his chair, knocking it down and silencing the whole bar. 

"Woah there, hey-hey!" He carefully approaches you.

You remember the stuffy air, so dry, burning, as it is crushed out of you. You cough and wheeze, effectively hyperventilating. 

You turns, barely pushing your prosthetic foot out before your crash under your weight.

"Woah! HEY!" The smaller skeleton kneels to your side. "Can ya hear me?" Your aura is asphyxiating, literally killing every breath he takes. You're falling and falling fast and he doesn't know what to do. "Listen, I'm here. I am here, okay?!" 

Love... Please, c-calm-

'I know!' You sob. 'I'm t-tryi-ng, I s-see-!' You can't think coherently. 

The other tenants stand up and near you slowly with worry. 

On your hands and knees, you can barely keep yourself up. You hear the squilsh of thorn meat and you suddenly remember the cracking of crushed bones. You feel nauseated, hacking and couching violently. 

Sans finally lays a hand on top of you. "I'm here, you are safe!  Remember!? I'm right here!"

You remember being paralyzed. Empty of magic and filled with hopelessness. You remember praying, then giving up, hoping for death to finally reach you. You remember being alone, thinking 'this is it, that's all that's left.'

Your panic almost stutters to a halt. Except the tremors and your choked-out sobs, you seem to be regaining control. It almost reassures Sans but then you begin exuding this possitively dreadful aura. The horror it speaks is enough to push a few monsters out of the building. Grillby suddenly kneels by your other side, also putting his hand on your back and nodding encouragingly to the lazy skeleton. 

The warmth effectively soothes you, slowling you down to a sorrow that feels everlasting. You choke out. 

"Grh-ll... bh."

G-Grillby.

You shudder painfully, not a sound can find its way out of your throat, the muscles still practically to tense to breathe. 

'Wing Ding, we are okay! We're okay.' You hiccup and croak out nothing. 'Right!?'

We... 

"W-Wng-d-thh!" You stutter hopelessly, still incapable of speech. 

'Wings, tell me we are okay! Tell me you're okay!' You beg. 

I-I'm- You feel a weight, nearly taking you to the floor. It envelopes you in a weak, but full embrace. I'm here. You're fine love. We... We are fine. 

As Grillby begins to rub small circles into your back, Sans tries to decipher what you're attempting to articulate. He breaks his brain over it, felling so close to the answer yet he still can't figure it out. What do you need? 

"We're here, you're fine." The blue-clad monster chokes out, nearly being taken by his own worry and simultaneous relief. This is too much in just one day... Too much for such few resets. 

Gaster hushes your name grievously. I am here, with you. Forever... I promise. 

You force big gulfs of breath back into your lungs. The memory of the deaths brought forth are raw and heavy, leaving you feeling so frail and empty. 

The embrace of your other half strengthens. You will never be alone again. He states like an unbreakable vow. 

You shiver, trying your best to quiet you cries. 

"What does she need?" A random tenant whispers softly. The first noise you hear as you slip back into reality. 

Looking at them, Sans finds himself at a loss. He should be used to this, he's seen it before, but again you stun him. Turning to Grillby for hope he can offer something. The monster takes a calm breath in. 

He then signs to him. "I think she deserves to have some space. Somewhere safe and homey, where she can relax." He then nods. 

It couldn't be clearer. Sans nods back and slides his arm around your shoulders. 

He leans in close to you. "Don't worry, I gotchu."

And with that he blips away, taking you with him.