Uneasy truce
The next morning Frisk got ready for the day while constantly battling back her nerves. She hadn’t gotten much sleep as she was worried about Joey, and also Sans. She had stayed in her room after she had left the two alone, not wanting to make Sans any more peeved with her then he already was, but not knowing how things had turned out was absolutely killing her. Once Frisk had gotten dressed, and had hurriedly sorted out her bedhead, she rushed over to the main apartment to learn what Sans verdict had been.
When she burst in through the front door she paused surprised to see Papyrus and Sans already in the kitchen with Joey also claiming a seat at the table. Frisk briefly glanced over to the couch where a familiar woolly blanket and goose feather pillows lay crumpled strewn across its cushions. So Sans had allowed Joey to stay the night that was a good sign.
“GOOD MORNING FRISK.” Papyrus greeted cheerily as perusal, drawing Frisks attention back to the present odd scene at hand.
“Uh, good morning.” Frisk answered while she moved to the kitchen table to claim the only empty seat left which was next to Joey.
She chanced a peek at him, looking over his appearance to see if she could try and piece together what exactly had happened the other night. To her surprise he looked relatively refreshed. His hair no longer held its oily sheen and was neatly styled. Frisk guessed that he had taken a shower, though he still wore his rumbled clothes and stubble still covered his chin which made sense since neither of the skeleton brothers probably had any use to keep a razor around.
Joey flicked a grey iris to her direction catching her staring at him. She reflexively looked away and blushed a little, embarrassed at being caught. Joey smirked to himself. Sans noticed and sneered before aggressively flipping over to the next page in his newspaper.
“Sleep well?” Joey asked Frisk, and she snapped her eyes back to him in surprise.
“Huh? Oh yeah fine, um you?” Frisk replied still a little confused at the casual atmosphere surrounding everybody. Had she missed something?
“Best I’ve had in a while.” Joey said.
“OH NONSENSE, THAT OLD COUCH CANT BE ALL THAT COMFORTABLE. NO NEED TO BE SO POLITE JOEY.” Papyrus then said while strutting over with an armload of plates filled with pasta. “FRISK I’M SO GLAD THAT YOU DECIDED TO INVITE JOEY OVER FOR A VISIT. IT’S ABOUT TIME THAT WE MET YOUR HUMAN FRIENDS!” Papyrus continued, clarifying Frisks confusion.
She immediately glanced over to Sans for further information, but he seemed to be pointedly ignoring her. She wasn’t all that surprised really, she had guessed that he was still mad at her. She felt herself frown lightly not liking the feeling.
Papyrus then placed a plate of fettucine alfredo proudly in front of Joey and then one in front of Frisk and Sans.
“BREAKFAST FIT FOR A KING!” He declared proudly. Joey raised an eyebrow at the dish in front of him.
“Pasta for breakfast eh?” He questioned and Sans folded up his newspaper before grabbing his fork and taking a prominent bite from his own plate.
“Wow Paps, this is delicious.” He said while fixing Joey with an expectant glare. Joey immediately got the hint and followed suit.
“Damn, this is really tasty, almost as good as my own mothers.” He said. Papyrus cocked his head in interest at Joey’s comment.
“Is your mother a chef also?” He asked him excitedly, and Joey chuckled a little at the taller skeletons enthusiasm.
“Well, in my experience, all Italian mothers are chefs, so yeah.” He said. Papyrus eye sockets sparkled at Joey’s answer.
“SANS DID YOU HEAR THAT? HIS MOTHER IS A CHEF AND HE LIKES MY FOOD!” He said happily.
“Yeah Paps, that’s great.” Sans replied a little begrudgingly. Though he was glad that Joey was playing nice with his brother, it made it harder to keep up his threatening edge around the mobster.
“Actually if you want I got a mean spaghetti sauce recipe I could show you. It’s been passed down through my family for generations, and to this day I’ve never tasted anything better.” Joey suggested. Papyrus clasped his hands to the side of his face in glee.
“REALLY? YOU WOULD SHARE YOUR MOTHERS SECRET SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH ME?!” He asked in disbelief.
“Sure why not?” Joey replied, taking another bite of his alfredo. “How about we make it tonight for dinner? It will be my way of saying thanks for putting me up with such short notice so I could see my dear, dear friend Frisk here.” Joey said as he stretched his arm out and placed a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. Sans straightened up in his seat, crumpling his paper in his knuckle white tight grip, his pinpricks darkening slightly at the sight, as Joey’s friendly nature was just a little too handsy for his liking.
“OH WOWIE, THAT WOULD BE A REAL TREAT!” Papyrus exclaimed excitedly. “I WILL BUY THE INGREDIENTS TODAY AFTER I FINISH WITH MY WORK. FRISK YOUR FRIEND IS SO KIND!” Frisk smirked as she rolled her shoulder out from under Joey’s grasp.
“Yeah, he’s a real charmer.” She said while sending Joey a warning look.
“WELL BROTHER WE SHOULD GET A MOVE ON. THE DAYS A WASTING AND WE HAVE WORK TO GET TO.” Papyrus then said after he finished placing all of the dishes in the sink to be cleaned.
“Yeah Paps, I’ll uh meet you down stairs, just going to grab a little more coffee first.” Sans said while walking over to the kettle to make himself another mug. Joey also sauntered up to the counter next to the sink.
“Hey I’ll handle the dishes Papyrus. My ma always said that whoever does the cooking shouldn’t also do the cleaning.” He said while he began to fill the sink with warm soapy water. Papyrus eyes lit up with delight at Joey’s offer.
“WOWIE WHAT A WELL MANNERED HOUSE GUEST!” He replied. “NOW IF ONLY SOMEONE ELSE I KNOW WOULD BE JUST AS CONSIDERATE.” Papyrus then narrowed his eyes briefly in Sans’ direction.
Sans grumbled under his breath as he rolled his sockets. Joey’s goody two shoes perfect house guest act was really starting to get under his skin, well it would if he had any that is, but Sans still saw an opportunity with Joey preoccupied with the dishes and his brother out of the apartment. He had a chance to check in one last time with Frisk before he left for work.
He had been planning on giving her a bit of a cold shoulder out of spite as he was still more then beyond frustrated with her for bringing home some random mobster and hiding him in her bedroom, but he suddenly felt the need to be closer to her for a minute, Just to make sure that she would be alright by herself. Then again, she wouldn’t really be by herself as Joey would be here too, with her, in the apartment, for the whole god damn day, alone. Sans felt an anxious itch start to form in his soul. Maybe that second cup of coffee hadn’t been the best idea after all. The caffeine was making him all sorts of jumpy.
When Joey had his back turned focused on the sink, Sans sauntered over to Frisk sipping at his coffee. He tossed her a look and Frisk straightened up, immediately catching on to his hint. She then slowly got up from her chair before grabbing her empty glass and walking over to the sink next to Joey.
“Sorry, just going to grab a drink for my plants.” She said as she filled the glass with water and then walked out of the main apartment, back toward her own tiny bedroom.
Sans stayed where he was until he had finished his beverage.
“You missed a spot.” He then said after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. Joey, who had been scrubbing a pan in the sink, looked to him confused for a second, before turning back to the pan, examining it more closely. Sans grin grew mischievous as he roughly chucked his mug into the sink, resulting in a splash of the dirty dishwater to hit Joey full in the face.
“Get dunked on chump.” Sans then said as Joey sputtered while attempting to wipe away the sudsy water off of his face.
“Dammit.” Joey grumbled under his breath. Sans only chuckled to himself as he left the apartment, following after Frisk discreetly.
He found her sitting on her bed. She looked at him apologetically as she prepared to try and make things right with him.
“So… are you still angry with me?” She asked him shyly, and Sans paused for a moment as he contemplated his answer.
“Well I’m not exactly happy with you.” He then said. Frisk nodded, expecting as much.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make you upset, but …. If I left him behind then he would have been…” She trialed of as a morose expression passed over her warm brown eyes, and sans let all of his previous feelings of contempt out in a huff. Frisk was just to kind for her own good. Sans realized then that this was just something that he was going to have to accept and learn how to deal with.
“Eh, I’ll get over it.” He said with a shrug. He then cleared his throat and scratched at the back of his neck. “So uh, are you gonna be ok staying here by yourself with Mr. flirty face over there?” He asked. Frisk let out a giggle at the nickname Sans had pegged Joey with and nodded.
“I’ll be fine. Joey may have a silver tongue, but it’s all talk. He’s harmless, I’ve worked with him enough to know how to deal with him.” She answered confidently.
Sans hummed in response, but in reality her answer did little to quell how nervous he still felt about leaving her with their new human tenant. He had even tried contacting a number of other Capos and team leaders to try and see if one of their underlings could take her out on a job with them, but it had been too short a notice and everyone was already booked. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Frisk’s judgment, she had already proven that she had a good eye for a person’s character, but even if she vouched for Joey, Sans still didn’t like him. He didn’t like how he looked at her, he didn’t like his flirty tongue, and he most definitely didn’t like those wandering hands of his.
“Well ok.” Sans then said with a forced smile. “I won’t be out to late tonight so try not to bring any more stray’s home. It was hard enough just dealing with one of you humans.” Frisk laughed again at his joke as she stood from her seat and walked over to him.
“I promise.” She said before she placed a small kiss to his teeth.
Sans felt a little of his uneasiness melt away from under her gentle touch, and for a moment he just wanted to stay right where he was and forget the rest of the world, but then Frisk pulled away from him again and the moment passed bringing him back to reality.
“Have a good day.” She said to him sweetly, and Sans reached forward and stroked her cheek affectionately with his thumb.
“Will do.” He replied before he turned to leave.
When he hit the streets of the Undercity Sans mood continued to spiral downward. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get his mind off of worrying about Frisk. It also didn’t help any that even though Sans now had the name of the monster that he was looking for, it still wasn’t proving to be any easier to find a lead on Gaster. Since Doctor W. D. Gaster had been presumed dead for years now, whenever Sans tried to get information out of any of his other contacts, most were completely clueless, and the majority also thought that Sans was trying to prank them, or was making some kind of a weird joke. It was frustrating beyond belief.
In his desperation, and for lack of knowing what else to do, he ended up wondering back to the ruins of the old laboratory. Sans kicked at the charred remains of the building. He didn’t really know why he had bothered to come back here, there was nothing left of the Pansies funded science facility, only some burnt beams and the stone foundation. If at one time there had been anything useful left behind then it surly would have already perished from being exposed to the elements for all these years.
Sans sighed to himself when again he came to a dead end. This place also wasn’t helping to brighten his spirits any. Coming back here was forcing him to relive some unpleasant memories. He winced when he almost could see in his mind’s eye the research center when it had been in its prime. Sure, the outside hadn’t been much to look at, being a gang funded facility meant that the exterior had to blend in with its slum like surroundings, but on the inside the old where house had held some of the top of the line equipment and technology available anywhere.
Sans briefly remembered the happier memories spent at this place, back when he was only a goofy lab assistant. He had been so naive and foolish back then, and not to mention a bit too cocky and also one hell of a smart mouth. He had been so proud of himself when W.D. Gaster himself had shown interest in taking him on as a protégée. He had been blinded by his own ambition back then. He hadn’t realized what he had really signed up for when he began working under the so called good doctor, and when he finally was able to see the truth of Gaster’s experiments, Gaster had been one step ahead of him and shut him away to join the already doomed amalgamations as another test subject.
Sans shivered, his eye reacting to his distress as it began to flare up. He winked it closed, ignoring it as he continued forward into what was left of the building. He searched briefly, already pretty much knowing that he wasn’t going to find anything, but he did it anyway. As he looked through the piles of rubble and abandoned corroded hallways he came across the entrance to the basement. It was well exposed to the outside world now, fire having burnt away the roof above it that used to hide the horrors that lay beneath. Sans tested the charred steps they immediately groaned in protest, ready to collapse as soon as he was to put his whole weight on them. He decided to take a short cut down instead. A narrow corridor lay spread before him, lined with rooms that use to house Gaster’s secret projects.
They had all been right there, all of the missing monsters, right under their very feet, and yet no one had even suspected a thing. Sans let out a pitiful chuckle at the irony of it all. As he wandered down the now exposed halls he swore he could almost hear the unearthly moaning and howling of the trapped monsters forced to endure such torture, or maybe it was just the wind ripping its way down the passageway. Sans shook his head fiercely, trying to rid himself of the phantoms that where haunting his mind, though It seemed that even fire couldn’t purge the evil out of this place.
He was about to turn back, having had enough of his frankly not so pleasant trip down memory lane, when something caught his eye, something that shouldn’t have been there. Sans turned back around to the far wall before sauntering up to it. He placed a hand up to the cold stone and immediately the wall shivered and warped under his touch. There was a cloaking spell placed on this wall and a powerful one at that if it had managed to last this long.
If it hadn’t been for the sunlight now allowed to penetrate into the dark bowels of the building, Sans wouldn’t even have noticed the slight shimmer that had first caught his attention. Sans focused his magic cracking through the disguise placed in front of the wall until he saw that it wasn’t a wall at all but a grey metal door. He paused when he was confronted with the hidden entrance way, his hand tensed not making any sort of move to open it. If Gaster had hidden something down here behind all of his other atrocities, then it surly was something that even the good doctor himself was ashamed of.
Sans wasn’t sure if he even wanted to see exactly what that something might be, but he pushed forward and clasped an unsteady hand around the knob, realizing that he didn’t have much of a choice. It was locked and sans almost exhaled in relief for the extra moment to gather his courage. He then backed up and kicked it open harshly. The lock itself had held but the hinges where badly corroded and didn’t put up much of a fight. Sans then took a cautious step into the dusty depths. Unlike the hallway, this room was still relatively intact. It still had its ceiling and it was dark. So very, very dark.
Sans felt a shudder work its way up his spine when he realized that even the flames hadn’t dared to disturb the evil that was locked away in this room. He took another step forward. The light from his panicked eye illuminated the space, coating everything in an eerie blue. At first the room looked to be like any other. There was an operating table in the center, fully fitted with leather straps. Sans grimaced at the sight. There was surgical equipment laid out everywhere, most of it rusted or corroded form neglect. Sans didn’t spare too much time going over the instruments present, he had had enough experience with them to know what they had most likely been used for.
As he made his way to the back of the room he froze. his soul having a wild fit from within his bones. Cages lined the back wall in the darkest part of the room, but it wasn’t the cages themselves that had caused his soul to panic. It was how small the cages were, they were nowhere near big enough to house full grown monsters or humans, and there were exactly eight of them.
Sans stumbled backward, almost tripping in the darkness in his desperation to leave this god forsaken room. When he made it out he braced himself against the hallway wall, breathing heavily with a hand placed firmly over his mouth. He knew what Gaster had done in that room. He could almost see the horrors play out in front of his now hollow eye sockets that he had read in the journal. He knew what had been hidden there. The children, the eight innocent souls kept locked away not even allowed to glimpse the sunlight.
Sans felt sick. He shakily began making his way back toward the exit. When he finally made it to the outside world again he let out a shaky breath, taking comfort in the daylight that surrounded him, grounding him back in his present reality. His eye was still buzzing with built up fear and panic so he kept it winked shut until the scorching blue flame would eventually burn itself out.
---------------------------------------------------
When Frisk made it back to the main apartment after Sans had left for work, she was surprised to see Joey vigorously dabbing at a large wet patch that soaked through his shirt.
“What did you fall in the sink?” She asked him teasingly. Joey shot a smirked back at her and rolled his eyes at her taunt.
“Something like that.” He replied. Frisk smiled before making herself comfortable on the couch, ready to try to struggle through another boring day, cooped up in the skeleton brother’s apartment. She let out a sigh. Joey blotted at his shirt for a moment longer, before he gave up and joined Frisk in the living room
“So…” He began clearing his throat. “What’s there to do for fun around here?” He then asked. Frisk shrugged.
“You’re pretty much looking at it.” She said as she placed her arms behind her head and settled more heavily into the couch. Joey cocked his head to the side before taking the seat next to her.
“Not all that exciting really.” He said, Frisk chuckled a little.
“Yeah well, no one said hiding from the Gambino’s was going to be fun.” She answered sarcastically.
“No ..well I meant ..um.” Joey started before he suddenly cut off.
“What?” Frisk probed now curious. Joey averted his gaze sheepishly.
“Well I just though, you know being among monsters and all might be … interesting.” He said. Frisk then raised a tautening eyebrow at him.
“Well what did you expect?” She asked, and Joey blushed a little in embarrassment.
“You know, just uh, different.” He replied. Frisk smirked, but decided to let him of the hook.
“They are actually a really fun crowed to party with, but most days are just normal, and some are actually pretty boring.” She said.
“Party animals huh? The bar downstairs does sound pretty inviting.” Joey then said, noticing the muffled murmurs and music wafting up from the tavern below. “Shame I can’t really make an appearance. I’d be interested in seeing how a monster lets loose for myself. See if they compare to how humans swing it.” Frisk giggled at his curiosity.
“Well if you play your cards right maybe Sans will take you down and introduce you to everyone.” She said. Joey chuckled.
“Don’t know about that doll. I don’t think your skeleton friend likes me very much.” He replied. Frisk raised an eyebrow.
“What makes you say that?” She asked him, and Joey merely shrugged.
“I’m pretty sure he’s been dropping some heavy hints.” He said. Frisk frowned lightly at this.
“Well don’t take it too personally, Sans doesn’t trust people very easily. When I first came to the Pansies he wasn’t very friendly to me either.” She then said.
“You two seem on pretty good terms now though.” Joey replied. Frisk nodded.
“It took a long time but I guess we became friends after being stuck with each other for so long. Which means there’s still hope for you too.” She said flashing joey an encouraging smile. He only huffed sarcastically.
“I think you’re being a little too optimistic there doll face.” Joey said as he shot her a smirk. Frisk’s smile turned into a frown at his tasteless nickname.
“Well you managed to get on to Papyrus’s good side which is half the battle anyway.” She said.
“Yeah that taller fella’s a real hoot.” Joey replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so enthusiastic before.”
“It was nice of you to offer to teach him how to make your tomato sauce. If there’s one thing Papyrus loves its spaghetti. I think it’s the quickest way to his heart.” Frisk added Joey laughed at her comment.
“Well how could I keep it to myself when I find someone that loves Italian cooking so much? I tell ya you are in for a real treat tonight sweet heart.” Joey said with a bright smile. Frisk tensed on the couch, however, as soon as the comment left his lips.
He had called her sweet heart. She really, really didn’t like that. Her distaste for it was even greater than his usual doll face comments. That was what Sans called her and when Joey said it, it felt tainted somehow. It was just plain wrong.
“Don’t- don’t call me that.” Frisk then said and Joey cocked his head in confusion at the sudden shift in atmosphere.
“What you like doll face better do you?” He teased, not truly catching on that frisk was being serious. She furrowed her brows in irritation at him.
“My name is Frisk.” She stated harshly, and Joey was taken aback a little at her snap.
“Oh, ok.” He then said, his tone taking on an apologetic note. “Sorry, I didn’t mean any offense.” Frisk then felt a trickle of guilt snuff out her anger.
“No… sorry, it’s just…. Its frustrating sometimes, when someone always tries to put you under their boot with those stupid pet names.” She then admitted, and Joey straightened up at her confession.
“You know I never meant it that way right?” He then said. “I mean at first I did it to maybe just tease you a little, but I never meant to put you down.” Joey continued, scratching the back of his neck guiltily. Frisk sighed, letting the rest of her irritation out in a huff.
“It’s fine. I know.” She said, offering up a small smile accepting his apology. There was a little bit of an awkward silence after that and Joey shifted a bit uncomfortably from next to her on the couch before clearing his throat.
“So uh….wanna play cards or something to pass the time?” He asked. Frisk perked up at his offer. It had been a while since she had last claimed a victim in poker.
“Good idea.” She said casually, not betraying her inner glee at the potential challenge, while she went to retrieve the deck of cards.
Joey had suggested old maid or go fish at first, and Frisk made a point to laugh in his face before she began dealing out a hand of poker.
“You sure about this do- uh Frisk.” Joey questioned, quickly correcting himself when his flirty tongue slipped up. “I play for keeps you know.” Frisk just grinned nonchalantly in return.
“So do I.” She said.