Hot Cats (and Skeletons)
The rest of the week went without a hitch. You had started practicing a new dance that you'd teach a class next week, you finished moving in, and you bought a few things to spruce up your apartment. And of course, you texted the skelebros regularly. You didn't see them quite as often now that you were working, but you had managed to have supper with them again. You had shown Papyrus the glories of having garlic bread that night. By now, you knew that the brothers actually shared the apartment. You had thought that papyrus must have owned the one on the right side of the hall, but it was clear that he didn't when Sans went to read him a bedtime story. It was also pretty clear it didn't belong to Papyrus when you caught a monster with a bright purple tail slinking into the apartment one morning. You made a mental note to get to know your other neighbors, too.
But now it was the Fourth of July. Saying you were excited would be an understatement. It had been so long since you had seen the city's firework show. You must have been 5 or 6, but you still remembered it in vivid detail. Your best memories were always in the city. You spent most of the day dancing around your new home to music that was probably too loud. No one came to tell you to turn it down, so you kept playing it while you baked cookies. They wouldn't be quite as good when they weren't fresh, but you still had to get ready afterwards, and then the brothers were coming over for supper, before you all headed off.
Once the cookies were all done, you still had a good 2 hours left until dinner. You decided to hop into the shower, bringing your speakers into the bathroom with you. Fall Out Boy blasted through your home, along with your voice. When you stepped out of your shower, you rushed quickly to your room to get changed. You put on one of your million band shirts, a stereotypical Nirvana tee, and a pair of leggings. Man, was your style simple or what.
Just when you were about to sit down and do your makeup, your phone died, cutting off your music. Why hadn't you thought to charge it? You sighed and got up to go plug it into the charger. When you walked into the living room to do so, you saw Sans leaning against your door. You jumped, letting out a small squeak.
"heh, sorry kid. didn't mean to make you jump out of your skin."
You quickly nodded, fumbling for your charger. "It's all good. Just didn't expect to- wait, how are you even in here?"
His grin seemed a bit more sheepish than usual, you noticed when you glared at him. "unlocked. came to eat all the cookies."
Rolling your eyes at him, you plugged in your phone. "You know, if you keep talking like that I'm going to start believing you." You walked into your kitchen, picking up a cookie for yourself.
"nah, i was gonna ask why your music was so loud. i'm starting to learn the words to some of those songs." Sans grabbed a cookie for himself, eating it quickly. "why did you make these so early, anyways?"
"You know I have a great taste in music. And I needed time to get ready." You pulled yourself up to sit on the kitchen counter, swinging your legs. "It takes time to look this good." you said jokingly.
Sans shrugged, already grabbing another cookie. "you always look good."
Your face turned a bright shade of pink, and you quickly hopped off of the counter to go to your room. "Oh, whatever. You're so full of it." He followed you, hovering in your doorway. Was it okay for him to come in? You looked up to him and grinned, still trying to stop your cheeks from flaring up. "Sans, really? You can walk into my apartment without warning, but now you hesitate?"
The skeleton took that as an invitation to come in, plopping himself down on your bed. "just didn't know if you'd want me in here, s'all."
You shrugged at him, sitting in front of your mirror and spilling out the contents of your makeup bag, starting on your foundation. "You're one of my best friends, why would I not be okay with it?" You raised an eyebrow, looking at him in your mirror.
Sans shifted on the mattress, studying you. "so we're best friends now?"
"Well, yeah, I guess." You bit your lip, trying not to think about how he was staring at you. "Oh! Hey, I didn't really know what you guys eat, besides spaghetti, so I bought so of those hot cat things for supper." You hoped that this would change the conversation, just as much as you hoped that hot cats were the same as hot dogs.
Sans looked surprised, leaning over to put his elbows on his knees. "really?" When you nodded, he let out a deep laugh. God, you loved that sound.
You smiled back at him, shuffling through your supplies before picking out your mascara. "I'm flattered, really."
Your cru- erm, friend, your friend jumped when you went to apply your mascara. You laughed at him, shaking your head. "Relax, I'll be fine as long as I don't jump." You didn't notice him stand up as you went back you your makeup.
"how can you do that? it looks painful, if you ask me."
"Practice?" You offered, looking up at him. He had that look on his face- the one he always had when he wanted to ask a million questions. "You get used to it, really." He reminded you of a scientist sometimes, the way he observed things and always had questions. Or maybe he was like a little kid.
You finished your makeup, and only had to answer an occasional question from Sans. At one point, he had left the room for another cookie. He hadn't come back yet, so you exited your room to find him. The skeleton was sat on your couch, watching the news. You looked up at the screen- there was a reporter, talking about how most everyone was denying fireworks to monsters. It wasn't really that big of a deal, you thought, but the look on Sans' face told you otherwise.
"It's kind of cruel, yknow?" You said to him, walking into the room. Sans' skull whipped around to face you. "You guys are only trying to participate, to join us in our celebrations." You sat next to him, and he scooted closer.
"why are there so few of you?" He asked, his browbone furrowed.
"What do you mean?" You asked, turning to face him.
The skeleton met your gaze, but the whites of his eyes were much darker than usual, almost nonexistent. His eyes quickly lowered, seeming to stare through you. His eyes lit up a bit more, but his smiled seemed so forced. "humans like you, ones that care. ones that don't just scoff and turn us away."
There's was a moment of silence between you. You weren't sure what to say to that. Was it really that bad for him? For Papyrus? For all monsters? You almost felt pulled towards him, like something inside of you just wanted to reach out and help. You couldn't help but wrap him up in a big, warm hug. He slowly wrapped his boney arms around you, and buried his skull in your neck. All you wanted to do was make him feel better, but a hug was the best you could think to do.
You let out a small huff of air before giving him one last squeeze and pulling away. "Hey, why don't we get supper started?"
Sans nodded, seeming much more relaxed. He shut off the tv and stood up. "can't wait to see you eat your first hot cat."
You followed after him, but made it to the cookies before he could. "Seriously, Sans. Save some for later!" You laughed, but it came out sounding very half-hearted.
"i'm gonna go get paps, be right back." Before you could turn around, he was already gone. Eventually you'd figure out how he did that, right?
You put what cookies Sans hadn't eaten yet into a Ziplock Baggie, and hid them in a drawer.
Of course, as soon as he was in your apartment, Papyrus immediately greeted you with a huge hug, spinning you around like always. You'd nearly grown accustomed to the dizziness that always ensued.
"HUMAN! ARE YOU READY TO GO AND VIEW THE FIREWORKS?" Papyrus was even louder than normal, and was practically shaking with excitement.
"After supper, okay?" You laughed when he pouted, and you could hear Sans laughing with you.
The three of you made a simple dinner of hot cats and french fries, though Sans complained that they weren't near as good as Grillby's. There were a lot of laughs (and groans on Papyrus' part,) exchanged. The most laughs must have been when you heard the meowing in your mouth. You had nearly spat out the hot cat, terrified. Sans explained why it happened, though very scientifically, and you started to enjoy them more.
By the time everyone finished eating, you felt that Papyrus was going to explode like one of the fireworks. You grabbed the cookies, and at the last second, you thought to grab I few blankets from your closet before the three of you left for the park.
You opted to drive everyone there, and found a parking spot fairly easy. You knew the walk would take a while, but you also knew that it would be totally worth it. Sans didn't seem to be as close to you as he normally would be, but he also seemed to be trudging behind you and Papyrus. The taller of the skeletons kept complaining about the lack of spaghetti In human meals.
"BUT HUMAN! YOU NEED THREE PLATES OF SPAGHETTI A DAY!"
You looked at him, bewildered. "Wait, Paps, do you really eat that much spaghetti?" The skeleton nodded, and you quickly shook your head, "No, oh my god. You know there's more than just spaghetti, right?" You turned to Sans, "Why does he only know how to make spaghetti?"
Sans shrugged, but he took his chance to fall into step with you. "he always liked it. so he learned to make it himself."
"And, what about you?" You eyed him, trying to look suspicious, but you were bursting with questions. Could he cook? If so, what could he make? Does he always drink ketchup because he can't cook?
"paps never really enjoyed my cooking, so I stopped. 'sides, paps' spaghetti is the best."
Papyrus "NYEH HEH HEH"d triumphantly, and began walking in front of you and Sans. You didn't think he was doing it on purpose, his legs were just so much longer than yours.
On your way up the hill, that you had begun to think of more as a mountain, you stole a few glances at Sans. You had hours to spend with him, you could look at him whenever you wanted. But still, you always quickly looked away, hoping that he wasn't on to you. At one point, you looked at him again, but you were surprised to see him already looking at you. His skull turned a bright shade of blue, and your cheeks quickly turned pink. You both looked away, too sheepish to say anything.
You were so focused on the grass that you didn't notice Papyrus stop in front of you. Well, you noticed, but only as you ran face-first into him. You lost your balance, and begin to quickly fall backwards. At the last second, a boney arm grabbed your waist, pulling you upright.
"jeez kid, i know you're falling for me, but i didn't think id have to catch you."
You looked up at Sans, your face turning an even darker shade of pink, probably red at this point.
Papyrus looked between you too, but didn't seem to mind. "AS I WAS SAYING, HUMAN. I BELIEVE WE ARE FINALLY AT OUR DESTINATION!" The skeleton seemed so happy, and you almost wondered what it was like to be so optimistic all of the time. However, you were preoccupied with thoughts of a certain neighbor's arm, still around your waist.
"Um, yeah, right." You slipped out of Sans' grasp, which you were very reluctant to do. Finding a fairly flat place on the ground, you layer out two of the blankets. You sat down, and Papyrus sat on the blanket to the right of you. Sans chose sit on your left, which surprised both you and Paps. The younger skeleton seemed to know something you didn't, but before you could ask, the fireworks started.