It's Not Too Late (Male Reader Edition)

"Well let's take a look at you!" Undyne paces around you, studying you up and down. She pokes at your sides, makes you flex and generally ignores all rules of personal space.

"undyne teaches classes at the martial art school a few blocks down," Sans explains as Undyne leans in close, staring straight into your eyes. "this is how she assesses people."

"Ah...uh um." You can't do more than mumble as you try not to look away from her intense stare. You have a feeling you would fail whatever test she was doing if you did. Her bright yellow eye is clearly searching for something. You can only pray she likes what she sees. You shiver, partly from nerves but more from the rain still falling down. Your hair is more than a little damp now and water drips down your face. Goosebumps rise on your arms.

Sans must see this because he steps up and taps Undyne's arm; he's a good foot shorter than her. "hey, there's no point in standing out in the rain. let's go upstairs."

Undyne's eye narrows and she backs off with a loud laugh. "Ha! Good point. Humans are so fragile they can't even handle being out in the rain!" She throws an arm around you and starts pulling you to the stairs. "It's a good thing you've got me now punk! When I'm done you'll be a warrior good enough for the Royal Guard!"

What is even happening? You're in a bit of a daze as Undyne and the two skelebros follow you into your apartment. You show Papyrus where your room is so he can dump the mattress. When you come back to the living room, Sans (to no surprise) is in his usual spot on the beanbag. He's flipping through your space book again. Undyne is in your kitchen, examining your various pots and pans.

"You've got some pretty good gear here," she admits. "You cook?"

"Um, a bit," you say.

Undyne brandishes a spatula at you. "Alright then punk, let's see what you've got! Create your best dish!"

"Right now?" You sneeze and Sans looks up from his book.

"hey paps, why don't you and undyne go back over to our place and start dinner instead? you did promise that you'd be in charge tonight."

Dinner? You glance at the stove clock. It's barely three o'clock. "It's a bit early isn't it?"

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus proclaims. "THE BEST SPAGHETTI TAKES TIME AND LOTS OF WORK. WITH UNDYNE ASSISTING, THERE IS NO WAY I SHALL FAIL TO MAKE THE BEST SPAGHETTI YOU HAVE EVER TASTED AND MAKE UP FOR MY MISTAKE THIS MORNING!"

Undyne, despite not knowing exactly what is happening, raises immediately to the challenge. "Ha! As if any other outcome is possible!" She throws her arm around Papyrus' neck and the two of them head out, laughing wildly. The door slams shut and you immediately fall into a kitchen chair.

"Wow. She's uh...intense."

Sans pulls himself up and sets the book down. "now go dry off. i'd better keep an eye on them and make sure nothing catches fire again. i'll let you know when it's ready." He starts to shuffle out and stops when he reaches you. He hesitates for a second. "listen. what happened back at the store-"

"Sans," you say gently, standing up. "I told you. It doesn't bother me."

"but it should." His shoulders are tense, but he's staring at you with an unusual seriousness. "you need to be careful. people aren't always scared off with a few sharp words. there are worse things that can happen."

His words bring back a memory from last night, when he had in visibly upset about something. "Did someone do something to you at work?" you ask quietly. When he looks away, you add. "Please, you can tell me."

You don't think he's going to answer, but finally he starts speaking in a harsh whisper. "i uh, work at a hot dog place. y'know, the one by the library?"

You nod. You'd seen it a few times.

"well there are some regulars who weren't very happy to see a monster like me working the place. so i usually work in the back. s'not so bad and i don't really mind. long as i've got the job right? but yesterday we were short staffed so i was up front and uh...."

His words are starting to sound strained, so you reach out and take his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He smiles at you and takes a breath before continuing.

"after i met you for lunch i was back at the shop and a group of them came in. they saw me, did the usual grumble and walked out without buying anything. thought that was the end of it. but then later i saw a bunch of people outside the window. they were wearing all black, masks. the whole thing. they threw rocks at the windows. broke 'em all. no way to prove who it was but...ya'know."

You gasp softly, your grip tightening. What kind of complete jerks would do something like that? "I-I'm so sorry Sans," you say. It feels so pathetic that that's all you can say.

Sans shrugs. "tibia honest, thought i was gonna get fired." His mouth quirks upward at his own pun and you feel like your heart is going to rip apart. "but the boss, he's cool. said it wasn't my fault. he's not even gonna make me pay for it. even though it is cause of me it happened."

"No!" You shake your head furiously. "Sans that was not your fault. Those people are assholes and they're gonna get what's coming to them. But hey, your boss sounds like a good guy. See? There are more people like me out there. Not everyone hates monsters."

He doesn't really respond to your attempt to lighten the matter. You sigh. "Look I-," you're cut off by a massive sneeze and that brings a small smile back to Sans' face. He pulls his hand out of your grip and pushes you to your room.

"seriously pal. go change before you catch a cold."

"I'm not gonna get sick that easily!" You protest. You pause at the edge of the hallway. "I'm sorry that happened to you. But please just remember that you did nothing to deserve that. Okay?"

He doesn't answer and you hear the door click softly. You sigh and do what he says, changing into a hoodie and take off your wet socks. You're a little embarrassed about going into 'mom-lecture' mode. But it's horrible to see him so sad and accepting of the actions of a bunch of jerks, and the words had just spilled from you. You had no idea he had been holding on to it since yesterday. If he hadn't said anything about that, what else could he be holding onto? You want to know. You want to know everything about him. Slowly, you realize your heart is pounding wildly. Oh no. Are you actually starting to....

No! No thoughts like that! You clap your hands to your face and decide to work on the flyer for the festival until dinner was ready. You dive right in and work furiously, trying not to think about the confusing feelings rising in your heart.

You don't get the text from Sans until close to five-thirty, just when your stomach is beginning to rumble. Good timing though. You've completely finished the flyer and send the email off to Tod before heading over. You grab the space book on your way out. Sans was clearly using it more than you were anyway, right? Stepping out of your place, you're pleased to see that it's stopped raining. Maybe your evening run could happen after all! You'd hate to have to cancel it since Undyne had come all the way over. Though you had a sneaking suspicion that rain wouldn't stop her.

The door is cracked so you knock softly as you open the door. "Hey guys-"

The kitchen looks like a warzone. The walls are splattered with spaghetti sauce and noodles. An actual tomato is stuck on the ceiling, juice dripping to the kitchen tiles. Flour covers the ground and the resulting footprints track all over the living room. You gape at the scene as Papyrus waves to you cheerfully.

"WELCOME HUMAN! UNDYNE SUGGESTED WE INCLUDE GARLIC BREAD IN OUR DINNER TONIGHT! I HAVE NOT HAD THIS GARLIC BREAD BEFORE BUT SHE TELLS ME IT IS A TASTY COMPANION TO SPAGHETTI."

"That's right it is!" Undyne crows. She's wearing an apron and under the various stains you can see 'KISS THE COOK'. "You'd better prepare to have your taste buds explode!"

The tomato finally slips from the ceiling and falls heavily in front of you, hitting the ground with a thick plop. It takes every ounce of determination you have to not burst out laughing. Especially when you spy Sans on the couch, giving you a pleading look. There's a spot of sauce on his skull.

"Hold still, there's sauce on your head," you say, unable to stop a few giggles. You put your hand on his skull, making him lean forward a bit. The bone is smooth for the most part but you can feel a few nicks and rough patches. Huh, now that's interesting. You wipe at the mess, trying to be as gentle as you can. Is his skull sensitive? "You weren't kidding when you said you needed to keep an eye on them. At least nothing caught on fire."

"this time," he mumbles, straightening when you're finished. "usually they do the cooking lessons at undyne's. so if she wrecks her place it's her fault."

"PREPARE TO BE AMAZED! ASTOUNDED! AND COMPLETELY IN AWE OF MY TALENTS." Papyrus brings the steaming pot over, Undyne toting the garlic bread. It smells amazing and your stomach rumbles again. You prepare yourself as you take a bite...

It's actually...really good?

"Dang Papyrus! This tastes awesome!" you praise him as you shovel more spaghetti in your mouth.

"NYEH HEH HEH! DO NOT LET THIS MAGNIFICENT FEAST OVERWHELM YOU HUMAN. UNDYNE IS TO THANK AS WELL."

You have a feeling it's because of Undyne, despite the mess, that it tastes as good as it does. You swallow your bite. "Thank you Undyne. It's really good."

She gives you a sharp fanged smile. "Glad to see you can recognize talent."

"where's alphys tonight?" Sans asks, twirling as many noodles as he possibly can on his fork. "working at the lab again?"

"Yeah." Undyne sighs, but you notice an almost gentle look come over her face. "The geeks at the university are totally thrilled with her knowledge about all that sciencey crap. They've got her working on some alternative energy something or other. So she's got a lotta late nights."

"ALPHYS WAS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST UNDERGROUND," Papyrus explains to you. "SHE'S VERY SMART SO THE HUMANS LIKE HER. SHE'S ALSO THE ONE WHO MADE METTATON!"

Wow, that is really cool! The underground must have been a pretty tight knit community. You don't know how many monsters there are exactly, but it kinda seems like everyone knows everyone. "I'd like to meet her sometime," you say, gnawing on a piece of garlic bread. It's a little chewy but hey it's garlic bread.

Undyne laughs. "Sure. But she won't be running with us. She's more like this sack of bones."

Sans grins and shrugs. He's managed to produce another bottle of ketchup from somewhere. You frown at him disapprovingly and give him a pointed glance at his mostly untouched dinner.

"So tell me." Undyne leans forward towards you, all business. "What is your goal?"

"Huh?" Goal in what? "Like, in my life?"

"Do you want to get stronger? Is that why you go running?" She sweeps her hand dramatically and knocks over the pitcher of water on the table. Sans' hand shoots up and manages to snag it before it hits the ground.

"Nice reflexes," you say to him before looking back at Undyne. The running had started because of a recommendation from a doctor. She had told you to give yourself something to do, something to distract from the dark thoughts when they came creeping back. Also, you had been pleased to find that running wore you out enough that if you went straight to bed afterwards, the nightmares weren't as bad. It was better than what you had done before anyway. Staying up until ungodly hours of the night until pure exhaustion gave you a dreamless sleep. But explaining that could lead to more questions you aren't quite ready to answer.

"Yeah, I want to be a stronger person. I'm...I'm not as weak as I was before but it's not enough. I gotta do more. Be more than the person I am right now. That's why I moved here."

Undyne leans back in her chair, once again giving you that studying look again. You can feel Sans watching you too but you're too embarrassed to look at him. Geez, when you say it out loud like that you sound like some immature kid. You should've just said 'oh you know, to get in shape!' or something like that.

Undyne slams her hands on the table suddenly, making you jump. She starts laughing and stands up, putting her hands on her hips. You stare at her blankly, not sure what you said that was so funny.

"You know what, I think I like you kid! You wanna get stronger? I'll make you the strongest human in this city!"

"Oh, well I mean I don't need to be that strong-" you try to protest but she suddenly darts to you and pulls you to your feet and starts shoving you to the door.

"Change!" she orders. "The rain is gone and that means our training is on! Go go go!"

You're pretty sure you're supposed to wait a while before running since you just ate but telling Undyne no would be like smacking a brick wall. Considering you hadn't been able to eat much, you're sure it'll be fine. Still, you don't hurry to dress and Undyne is hopping from foot to foot outside your door with Papyrus when you go back outside.

"I'm not very good yet," you try to tell her as the three of you head down the stairs. She merely claps you on the back.

"That's the point of training you dummy! Now then!" You've reached the sidewalk. "Paps told me you did two circles last time so tonight we're gonna do three!"

Three?! "I don't know-"

"GO!"

Ah what the heck?! You're pulled along into running again. Papyrus makes long strides ahead of you and jogs in place until you catch up. Undyne however, matches your pace and constantly shouts encouragement at you. Oddly enough, having a tall, blue fish lady yelling at you does make you more determined and you can feel yourself speeding up slightly, walking less. It's at the start of the third lap, your lungs on fire, that a great boom sounds from above and the sky dumps a waterfall on you. It's pouring and within a few seconds you're completely soaked, for the second time that day.

Undyne looks up at the sky but before she can say anything you yell, "Let's finish! A-almost done!"

She lets out a whoop and the two of you carry on, struggling through the rain. Finally, you reach the apartment and duck under the awning for some cover. You can't breathe, you're soaked to the bone (heh) and you feel like your legs might give out at any moment. But the exhilaration! You're smiling and once you catch your breath you can't help but laugh. Having an actual coach is amazing!

"Not bad kid!" Undyne claps you on the back again and nearly sends you careening into the wall.

"T-thanks," you pant.

"YES YOU DID VERY WELL HUMAN!" Papyrus looks so proud of you. Neither he nor Undyne appear to be bothered by the fact that they're dripping water.

"Thanks Pap," you say as you straighten. "Whoo! That was intense." But you had handled it!

You all squish and squeak your way back upstairs. Papyrus insists on giving you some leftovers so you stop by his place. Sans is reading your book and looks up as the three of you trudge in.

"hey, i saw you brought this over and...." He trails off, taking in your soaked appearance as Undyne and Papyrus head to the still wrecked kitchen.

"Oh yeah, I figured it'd be nice for you to actually be able to read it when you'd like." You wrap your arms around yourself and sniff. It's cold in the apartment. "You can just give it back whenever."

Sans stands and quickly disappears down the hall. You can hear a cabinet squeak and he's back with a big fluffy towel. He comes to you and puts it over your head, covering your face. You can feel his hands on your head, gently rubbing the towel against your hair. "i know you said you don't get sick that easy, but getting soaked twice in one day probably isn't good for you."

You laugh. The towel smells nice. Like fresh detergent. Guess that means skeletons take showers. "Thanks Sans." You lift the towel so you can see only to find that his face is right in front of yours. Your eyes meet and you feel yourself blushing. Oh great, you probably look like a ragged kitten all soaked like this! And not one of the cute kinds of kittens either.

"so uh can you promise me something?" he says suddenly, taking you off guard.

"What?"

Very slowly, he reaches up to your face, gently booping you on the nose. "go take a hot shower and take it easy the rest of the night. ok?"

Well if you weren't blushing before...! You pull the towel back down over your face. "Yeah, sure," you mumble. "I promise, mom!"

He chuckles at you and lowers the towel to your shoulders, keeping his hands there for perhaps a few seconds longer than necessary. Your stomach is doing that stupid butterfly thing again.

"Well, I'd better hop to it then!" You say a little too cheerfully, stepping away from Sans. You take the plastic container of spaghetti from Papyrus, who has an odd grin on his face. "Thank you Pap, Undyne. I had fun tonight. Let's do it again soon!"

Undyne is leaning against the counter and she too is grinning widely. "You got it nerd," she says and you hear her whistle after you as you duck outside. It's not until you're back in your place that you realize you've still got the towel wrapped around your shoulders. Oh well, it's not like it's a long trip to return it. You toss it aside for now and do what Sans says. Peeling off your dripping clothes, you hop in the shower. You let the hot water pound against you, the steam easing up your shivers. What an insane day! Especially the last part. That had definitely been...something. The touch of his hand on your head, the gentle lights of his eyes, the genuine smile on his face. All of these send your heart into a crazy spiral.

You are in big trouble.

You enter your room and groan. Ah crap, you had forgotten to unwrap your new mattress. And then you'd have to put sheets on and your head is starting to pound and your legs are aching. Well, Sans had told you to take it easy. You decide to sleep on your beanbag for one more night. Grabbing your laptop and your fuzziest blanket, you snuggle into the bag and start researching local cafes. The festival isn't for another two weeks and you have until Thursday to find a place for sponsors but it's probably a good idea to get a head start on it. You scroll around on the internet until your eyes start to droop. You fall asleep with thoughts of blue in your head.