#fylb

-----

Frisk's backyard was absolutely gigantic, it made Susie feel incredibly tiny in comparison. The huge dogs bouncing happily around her did nothing to dispel her feelings of apprehension. While she had been excited to meet Frisk's pets, they were intimidating in their own hapless kind of way. Still, she took quickly to throwing around the ball that Frisk had tossed towards her, making the dogs jump and leap up to try and catch it.

They continued this game, trying their hardest to keep the tennis ball away from the slobbering hounds, until the largest, a Mastiff as Frisk would explain to her later, snatched it into his jaws. He leaned down onto his front paws, his tail high and wagging in the air. He was almost challenging Susie with his excited eyes to try and retrieve it from him. Your sister, completely wrapped up in the fun, obliged.

She dove after the dog as it hopped away. In a fit of giggles, Frisk and Susie pursued him around the yard, taking sharp turns and almost slipping in the grass. In its playful state, the dog eventually accidentally dropped the ball from his flapping jowls. It bounced away with Susie and Frisk hot on its trail. Unexpectedly, another dog, a German Shepard, swooped in from the side and snatched it up, right as Susie had reached out to grab it. The movement was so sudden that when she tried to overcompensate to regain her balance, turning on her heel, she instead toppled over. Her foot caught in a dip in the ground, twisting her ankle at an awkward angle.

The pain was immediate. Susie collapsed onto her side, clinging to her leg as tears welled up in her eyes. She had broken her arm roller skating before and the pain she felt now was not as serious as she vaguely remembered from then, but it still hurt more than a regular twisted ankle. Frisk quickly knelt down beside her, hands faltering as they decided not to touch her for fear of injuring her further. Instead, they let out a sharp noise, almost like a shout. In response, the back door was flung open.

“Frisk! What is the matter?!” Papyrus stopped short as he saw Susie laying on the ground, sniffling, but quickly collected himself and rushed over. “Susie! Have you been injured?! T-T-Tell me where it hurts!”

Susie could not speak over her hiccuping sobs, instead pointing a trembling finger at her ankle. With a gentle touch, Papyrus reached out to feel at her ankle. It sent a stab of pain through her leg and she flinched away, Frisk smacking Papyrus's shoulder in retaliation.

“S-Sorry! Human, it does not feel like you broke anything, but I do still think we ought to take you to the hospital,” Papyrus explained softly. He ran a thumb under Susie's eye and grinned widely. “It was a good thing I was here because I, the Great Papyrus, can carry you there!”

Before Susie could protest, Papyrus had lifted her into his arms with a triumphant “nyeh heh heh!” He had jostled her a little, but had done no harm to her ankle. She clung to him as he started jogging away, presumably towards the hospital, with Frisk running at his heels.

-----

The nurse had been startled at the sudden appearance of the tall lanky skeleton in the ER, but her attention was soon diverted when she saw that he had a child in his arms. Papyrus explained that he was babysitting Susie when she had hurt her ankle while she was playing, Frisk nodding, a little out of breath from the run. The nurse seemed apprehensive, but she admitted Susie anyway. However, when she asked that Papyrus put her into a wheelchair, the skeleton declined.

“I can carry her! For, you see, I am very strong!” he boomed. In no mood to argue with a glorified Halloween decoration, the nurse simply instructed him to carry Susie to where she needed her to go.

Papyrus did that the entire time, through x-rays and the physical examination. He held Susie's hand and squeezed her fingers reassuringly whenever she would whimper in fear or pain. The doctors came to the same conclusion that Papyrus had, that she had not broken anything. It was just a bad sprain and she would need to keep her ankle wrapped for awhile.

When the doctors left, Papyrus beamed down at Susie while Frisk fretted beside him.

“See, human? You are tough! Almost as tough as me! And look at how brave you were in the face of all those scary things!” Susie absorbed his words before returning his grin with her own meek one. Papyrus had acted just like a knight would and now he was telling her that she was just like him? For some reason, she felt a warmth spread inside her chest. She wanted to be a strong knight, too.

The door to the room swung open and you were standing there, chest heaving and face ruddy from exertion. Catching sight of your sister's leg propped up and bandaged, you flew to her side, practically bowling Papyrus over.

“Oh god! Are you okay?! How did this happen?!” you yelped, hands flying to her face to brush her hair out of her eyes.

Susie sheepishly told you the story, explaining her fall and how Frisk and Papyrus had brought her to the hospital. She explained that it was just a sprain, but she finally managed to grin big.

“But it's okay! P-Papyrus really helped me and Frisk out! He's so cool!” she giggled, making Papyrus flush and puff up with pride. You almost thought you saw his red scarf flutter, as if a phantom breeze had swept it up superhero-style.

“No denying, my bro is pretty cool,” Sans said, stepping in from behind you. He tucked his hands into his pockets and he eyed your disheveled expression. “I told you he had it handled.”

You were reluctant to agree. From the way it sounded, it seemed that Papyrus had not been outside during the accident. Still, you were glad it was not serious and that he had enough of his wits about him to think about bringing Susie to the hospital. You thanked Papyrus, but quickly tacked on that you would probably stick around whenever Susie came to visit them from then on. Frisk and Papyrus seemed to light up regardless of your tired tone.

“She can still come over?! Splendid!” Papyrus exclaimed before turning to Susie in her bed. “Human! Next time you come over you must try my amazing cooking! Maybe you can help me make it?!”

Sans suddenly chimed in, “Maybe you two can come over on Sunday before the meeting. Y'know, to make some snacks to bring?”

You were suddenly bombarded with these plans and you could do little else but agree. How could you refuse Sans's easy tone and the pleading eyes of Papyrus, Frisk, and Susie?

The doctor finally stepped in, clearing her throat to break up the sudden din of excitement. She asked about your relationship to Susie, raising her brow when you explained your situation. You tried to hide the squeeze of anger that always came when people gave you that look. Sans was watching your exchange intently, pupils fixed upon your expression. You ignored him as best you could as the doctor taught you and Susie how to properly use crutches. Then came the dreaded talk about payment and your insurance. The doctor told you the exorbitant fee that you would have to pay because, somehow, your insurance would not cover everything for it. It was nothing too extreme, it was just unexpected. As you reached for your wallet, Sans felt the need to interject again.

“I can take care of this.”

“You really don't have to,” you argued feebly, a wash of heat rising up into your face. Did he think you could not afford it? Sans shook his head.

“No, I don't, but this happened under our watch. It's the least I could do for you, pal.”

Any further arguments died in your throat as he fixed you with a firm look. Nothing stern or harsh, you just knew he had made up his mind. You were quickly figuring out that he was a stubborn guy despite his goofy mannerisms. A little while later, you ragtag band of friends were shuffling out of the main doors, Susie hobbling along as best she could. You turned and thanked Sans for the fourth time while he waved his hand dismissively.

“I would hope you'd take care of my bro just like he took care of your sis, after all,” he said with a smile. You nodded sheepishly, trying to imagine you carrying Papyrus in your arms. The imagery was just all kinds of awkward limbs so you just shrugged it away. Susie tapped at your ankle with her crutch.

“Um...how are we getting home?” she said softly. You did not know what to say. There had not been any bus stops you had seen as you were running up and you did not drive.

“I can take you home, kiddo,” Sans said quickly. You quirked your brow at him as Frisk and Papyrus nodded in agreement. Obviously you were missing something.

“How're you planning on doing that? You hiding a car in one of your pockets?” you chuckled. Sans's grin widened.

“I can take you home faster than any car could, pal,” he said mysteriously. It was hard to take him seriously, but you just sighed, resigning yourself to your fate. It was not like you had much choice.

“Alright, you can take us home. But I owe you big time for this, I promise I'll repay you!” you said hurriedly. The short skeleton just shrugged.

“Fine by me. Paps,” Sans said, suddenly addressing his brother. “Take Frisk home, okay? I'll catch up with you guys later.”

Papyrus nodded as Frisk gave Susie a hug goodbye. The lanky skeleton leaned down to wrap her in a gentle embrace as well, patting her head as he stood. From the way your sister beamed up at him, you could tell that Papyrus had earned himself a new fan. The pair waved at you before walking in the direction of their house.

“Now,” Sans said, lacing his fingers together to pop his knuckles. He leaned down to wink at Susie. “Let's leg it outta here and get you home, Suze.” Offering out his hand, Susie took it without hesitation, still clutching at her crutches. Shyly, you took his other hand.

“You didn't tell me how, um...how this is going to work?” you mumbled.

“Simple.”

Sans closed his eyes before opening them again. Inside of his left socket, a swirling blue and yellow iris began to form. It swam and shifted colors like it was made of some sort of bright viscous fluid. In a flash, you felt your whole body squeeze tight to your core. It felt like the air was whipping around you and that your entire body was being pushed through something. You shut your eyes against the pressure. It did not hurt, it had just been sudden and unexpected. Your feet suddenly touched against something solid and you wobbled, reaching out to steady Susie, too. You opened your eyes to see that you were in front of the school.

“H-H-How-?”

Sans tapped the side of his skull.

“Magic, pal. Now-” He winked at you. “Mind telling me which direction to go? I've walked all over this town, just give me a street and I can get you there.”

Guiding him along, it only took two more trips to get you in front of your apartment complex. You and your sister were very disoriented, so Sans helped you up the stairs to your apartment. With a slight tinge of embarrassment, you opened the door to let the three of you in.

It was not messy or anything, but, compared to his and Papyrus's house, it was terribly small. You flicked on the light to reveal your small living room and weathered, secondhand couch. The television perched in front of it had been your father's that he left to you after he passed. It was beat up and only a handful of the stations worked, but it was free and it had sentimental value to it.

It was only when you propped Susie up onto the couch and fetched her some water that you remembered she had left her backpack at Frisk's house. You asked him to take you back there to get it, but Sans just shrugged.

“I can just bring it tomorrow for you. You both need some rest.” This surprised you.

“Tomorrow? What're you going to be doing here tomorrow?”

“Well, the kid isn't going to be in any shape to be walking to and from school on their leg. Considering she got hurt while she was at our house, I might as well give her a ride to class.”

“Oh no, y-you can't do that! It's really okay-”

Sans put up a hand.

The next few days were spent in complete and utter disbelief. Had that skeleton asked you out right after you met him? You could not believe it, that kind of thing never happened to you. Maybe a few times, but those other guys were being total creeps. Also, burgers? Wow. Usually you were invited to get drinks or a fancier kind of dinner for a first date, but you were not complaining. You guess you understood his mindset, less pressure to impress each other at a good burger joint.

Still, as much as you thought about it, you were incredibly shy about the whole thing. After all, you barely knew the guy. Sure he was a funny guy, you had spent the rest of the night at the PTA meeting joking and laughing, but could you date him? Did you have the time to date him? God, he was so cute, too. You do not know how a literal skeleton managed to be a cute guy, but he did it with ease. Still, being realistic, you honestly did not have time in your life right now to be dating anyone, skeleton or not. You decided to let him down easy.

It was in the middle of the week that your phone buzzed. You had finished up your breakfast shift at the fast food place and were at home, waiting for the time when you would go to pick Susie up from school. Your phone had be sitting beside you and startled you from TV. Were you being called in last minute again? You hated when they did that to you. Instead, to your surprise, you found a text from Sans.

wanna bring the kiddo over to my house so we can grab that burger?

You blushed brightly at that, unsure of what to say. Sans had given you his number at the meeting so the two of you could text each other, but you had not had the courage to say anything to him, especially since you knew now that you would not be able to pursue anything with him right then. Now you were put on the spot.

...

One burger could not hurt. Besides, it is not like you had any plans for the evening anyway. You quickly tapped out a reply.

Sure! Wanna give me directions to your place?

It was awhile longer before your reply came, interrupting you getting ready to go.

you walk the suze home after school, right? just have frisk bring you over they walk home too

You raised an eyebrow at that, rereading it to try and make sense of the first part. “The Suze”? Did he mean Susie? That...was kind of cute actually. Damn it, you were trying to not find this ridiculous skeleton attractive, he needed to stop with all of...whatever he was doing!

Tugging on a hoodie and your beaten up sneakers, you rushed out the door, being mindful to lock it. The neighborhood you had found an apartment in was not bad or anything, you just wanted to be sure. Pulling the hood up against your neck to protect it from the sharp breeze, you jogged towards the school.

Buses were pulling away and cars were lining the street on your way to the front. It was always busy like this, everyone was in a mad dash to get home. You saw Linda pull up to the curb and honk, two quick beeps, startling her son. He had been sitting on a bench, writing away in a notebook, but he hurriedly shoved it into his book bag to rush to the car. Once again, you felt a pang of pity for the poor kid. Anyone that had to deal with Linda on a daily basis must have it rough.

You saw Frisk and Susie sitting on the steps leading up to the school's doors, where they usually waited for you. When you usually picked up your sister, Frisk would leave and walk home on their own.

As you got closer, you could see that Frisk was signing and Susie was trying to emulate them, slowly moving her hands to match theirs. She had been trying to pick up some basic ASL from Frisk because she was curious, but she did not know how to say much yet. As a result, though, you were learning a little secondhand from her. Frisk saw you coming first, waving animatedly at you. You waved back as Susie stood up and bounced over to you excitedly.

“Did Sans tell you?! We're going to Frisk's house today!” she squealed. She was so excited, she almost tripped over herself, the weight of her backpack putting her off balance. Frisk gave you a wide grin and thumbs up, making you laugh.

“Yeah, he did tell me. How did the two of you find out about it already?”

Susie shrugged.

“He texted Frisk in class today about it.”

“Jeez, way to go, having him spoil the surprise. Also, you guys shouldn't be texting in class,” you chuckled, half-serious in your tone. Susie just giggled. You patted at your pockets until you found the notebook that you now carried around and a pen, scrawling out a note for Frisk.

Lead the way, bud. Also, quit texting in class! >:P

Frisk's response was just to laugh silently and then beckon the two of you to follow them. They took your hand and then Susie's on their opposite side, leading the way towards their home. It was in the opposite direction of yours and Susie's apartment, but if they walked, it could not be far.

Susie spent the walk regaling you with stories of various events that had happened during the day. She and Frisk spent most of the school day together, only parting ways for two classes. They even had the same lunch period. As a result, they had stuck to one another pretty firmly. You were relieved that your sister was enjoying school and, despite the bad habit of texting during class, Frisk was a good kid. A part of you had been concerned that the move over to another district would have had a much larger negative impact on her, you were glad her friendship with Frisk had softened the blow of such a tremendous change.

Abruptly, Frisk turned and stopped, releasing your hand to grin at your sister, pointing up at the house in front of you. You stood, mouth open in surprise. It was a lovely light blue two-story house with a huge, well-maintained front yard. It even had a front porch complete with porch swing.

As Frisk opened the picket gate to lead the two of you up the walkway, you heard a frenzy of barking coming closer. Three large dogs came bounding around the side of the house, happy to come greet Frisk. Your sister shrank back nervously though, drawing Frisk's attention. She was not afraid of dogs or anything, she just was nervous about how excited they were. Frisk rushed ahead of the pair of you, putting their hands up to try and calm the dogs. The dogs circled them excitedly before quieting down, letting Frisk beckon the two of you closer.

You took Susie's hand and stepped up, reaching out with the other to gently pat the nearest dog. Frisk once again took hold of your sister by, now slipping it out of your grip, and slowly laid her hand onto another dog. After a moment's hesitation, she happily scratched behind its ears, earning a delighted yip.

“They're a little ruff and tumble sometimes, but they're good dogs,” came a familiar voice from the porch. Your assumptions were confirmed as you spotted Sans leaning against a pillar, grinning as always. You waved sheepishly at him, the skeleton returning it with a lazy salute, while Susie and Frisk bounded up to him, dogs right at their heels.

“Hey there, Sans! Gotta knock-knock joke for me?” Susie asked. Sans's smile softened, putting a hand to his chin in mock concentration.

“Hmmm...Do I gotta knock-knock joke for the Suze? Lemme see...” After a pause, enjoying the stifled giggles that Susie was holding back, he tapped at his skull.

“Knock knock!”

“Who's there?”

“Boo.”

“Boo who?”

“No need to cry, kiddo, the joke wasn't that bad!”

Your sister's small laugh in response was absolutely precious as she mumbled past her fingers covering her mouth.

“Th-That was pretty bad.” Sans winked at her.

“Hey, you asked for it!” He stepped past her, ruffling her hair as he went. “Anyway, your big sister and I have gotta go grab some burgs. Papyrus is here so if you need anything, just call him.”

He walked past you and you shouted a quick “be good!” at Susie, rushing to catch up to him. Turning your head, you watched her and Frisk run around to the back of the house, all the dogs following them. You knew that Papyrus and Frisk would take care of her, but you still hoped she would be careful.

“Nice hoodie,” Sans said, interrupting your fretting.

Looking down at yourself, you saw that it was the same shade of blue as his own hoodie. You blushed deeply, offering only a silent shrug. You hoped he would not think it was intentional on your part. That would have been weird.

The walk was silent, the sound of your feet crunching in the leaves and the occasional car passing by the only noise filling the space between you. You had no idea where the two of you were going and you were also still unsure of what you were going to say to him when you got there, so you felt a little awkward. Still, you tried to be subtle and check him out.

He was shorter than you were, incredibly so. Was he only four feet tall? He was not much taller than Frisk and Susie so you supposed so. Despite being a skeleton, the movements in his face were actually fairly fluid, almost like someone was massaging a giant ball of clay and pushing expressions into it with their fingers. His eye sockets were empty save for the two floating pinpricks of bright blue light. As if on cue, they quickly flashed over to look at you, his grin widening as you forced out a cough and looked away in a rush.

“We're here, pal.”

Looking up, you found that he had brought you to a restaurant called Grillby's. You were thankful that you had thrown out the idea of getting really gussied up for the date, feeling like you would have been overdressed at a bar and burger place. Sans held open the door for you, beckoning you inside.

The interior was wide and inviting, booths pushed up to the sides and a bar facing the door. You could see that it was mostly monsters in the place, some of them looking at you with mild surprise. Sans came out from behind you and raised his hand.

“Hey everybody!”

There was a small clamoring of voices, most of the monsters calling out their greetings to Sans by name. He stepped further inside, headed to the bar, and you quickly followed. While they had greeted Sans just fine, you still felt like they were looking at you, wondering what you were doing with him. Hopping up on the bar stool beside Sans's, you were greeted by a man that was on fire. He pushed up his glasses and silently gestured towards the menu in front of you. Quietly, you pointed out a burger and milkshake and Sans ordered the same. The flaming man nodded and slid into the kitchen, leaving you and Sans alone at the bar.

The silence seemed to swallow you up, setting your nerves on edge. You were there with him on a date. You were terrible at dating. Especially since this could not be a date since you two could not date. How were you going to let him know? How were you going to break his heart?

“Hey.”

“H-Hey!” you barked back, embarrassed of yourself. Sans chuckled softly.

“You can relax, pal, I don't bite.” This did little to soothe you. He turned to stare absentmindedly at the wall of drinks behind the bar, his chin resting on his hand lazily. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Oh god, here it comes. The make or break moment. You steeled yourself.

“You really showed Linda up at the meeting on Sunday. We should hang out more, talk about how we can mess with her,” Sans said. “She's been running the PTA into the ground and I'm pretty sick of her, uh, tyranny, basically. I feel like, with you and me working together, we can get her to finally step down. Maybe let someone who actually gives a damn run the thing, y'know?”

You drank it all in, confusion hitting you pretty hard over the head.

“Um, I'm not quite sure what you mean,” you questioned, an anxious laugh interrupting you partway through your sentence. You had no idea what was going on. Sans turned to you, his smile turning sly.

“What I mean, buddy, is that you and me should join forces. Make an alliance, get it?”

You blinked at him silently for a moment before you laughed, relief flooding you. He blinked in surprise, his pupils flickering and his smile turning uncertain. A bead of sweat popped up on his forehead.

“Uhhh...you could just say no, you don't gotta laugh,” he said, a little offended. You shook your head, wiping at your teary eyes.

“No, no! I totally want to be in an alliance with you! I just...I thought that this was a date,” you confessed. “Let's be in an alliance together. I'll help you overthrow Linda.”

The food arrived, but Sans was silent, his eyes on you. He watched you squirt ketchup all over your fries with an appreciative hum. Your cheeks were red from laughing, but you were so happy that the night did not have to end on an awkward or sour note. It was easy to understand why you had misunderstood the nature of the meeting especially because of the way he had worded it. It sounded so much like he was asking you out. You were glad you had been wrong because Sans seemed like a nice guy. Said skeleton finally turned to his plate, picking up the ketchup bottle to bring it up to his mouth.

“Thanks, buddy, I owe ya.” After a chug of ketchup, he winked at you. “And if I was asking you out, you'd know about it, heh.”

-----

The first week of school for Susie had apparently gone over smoothly. She told you about her new best friend, Frisk, in detail. In particular, she was insistent that you never refer to them as a boy or a girl because it seemed to upset them. You did not mind, it was just nice to see how accepting your sister was of Frisk's identity. After all, they were both right, it should not matter.

Work was especially excruciating during the week. You worked part time at a call center and the rest of the time at the local fast food place. The call center was not so bad. People were rude and you even had some creep try to hit on you over the phone once, but at least the hours were steady and predictable. The fast food job, on the other hand, had you running around at all hours. Still, you made it a point to request time that worked around walking Susie home from school.

As Saturday rolled around and you were trying to figure out what sort of snack you would bring to the first PTA meeting, you got a call from your boss at the fast food place. Apparently someone had called out sick last minute and you were needed on Sunday. You managed to convince her to let you off early so you could make the meeting, but you were still pissed off. The first meeting was always the most important one to you, it was where you would try to make a good impression. It had taken a lot of work for the parents at the last PTA to take you seriously, you could not afford to be late to the first meeting at this one. Especially since Susie was going to be spending two more years at the school.

Sunday came and you frantically tried to figure out what to bring with you, having forgotten all about it the night before in your frustration. It was too late to make anything intricate and you did not have the ingredients to bake something. Feeling self-conscious, you begrudgingly decided to just grab a fruit and caramel tray from the store on your way from work.

You were buttoning up your uniform shirt when Susie barged into your shared bedroom.

“The meeting is tonight, right? Can I come?” she asked excitedly. You thought about it for a moment. The first meeting was where everyone made their first impressions on each other, introduced themselves. You had seen other parents bring their kids along, why couldn't you bring your sister? You nodded in affirmation.

“Sure, just wear something nice. Hurry though!”

Susie bounced happily to the closet, rummaging around.

“Thank you! Frisk is going to be there with their uncles! I want to meet them! Maybe they'll let me come over to their house sometime!” She pulled out a fluffy green sweater and her striped black and white tights. Holding them out for you to look at and approve of, her grin widened even more. “I hope you like Frisk! They're so nice!”

You plopped down onto your bed and patted the space beside you, digging out Susie's hairbrush. She sat beside you and looked at the both of you in the reflection of the mirror. You took to gently brushing out her wavy hair, prepping it to be braided.

“I'm sure I'll like them if you like them.” You were more concerned about Frisk's uncles liking you, hoping that the meeting would go well.

Getting your sister ready took longer than you hoped it would. Not only that, but the bus that was supposed to take the two of you to the burger place was late as well. So, when you stepped in, under the frustrated gaze of your boss, she told you she needed you to stay awhile longer to make up for it. You could not argue, she was a tough egg to crack when she got pissed off, so you tried to work your hardest to make up for it.

While you were working, Susie sat at a table in the corner, working on her homework. This was not the first time she had accompanied you to work, but you still felt guilty about it. You wished that you had more time to spend with her.

The shift seemed to drag on. As usual, there was a large group of kids that would give you a hard time at the register, leaving a huge mess when they finally bailed to do whatever high school kids do. Maybe smoke or kiss or something. Whatever, you were glad they were gone. Still, the mess was absolutely humongous.

Grumbling under your breath, you were not paying attention to where you were stepping. In your haste, you slipped on some spilled soda, falling face forward onto a couple fallen ketchup packets, splattering them across your chest. Nothing but your pride was hurt, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. Your manager took pity on you and said you could change into a spare uniform from the back, but checking the supply closet, you found that there was no more shirts. She shrugged and you had to stand there, looking like you got on the wrong end of a fight with a burger, a hot wash of shame curling its way through your body. The shift seemed to drag on and on with you watching the clock, praying that time would both move faster and slow down somehow. You wanted your shift to end, but you did not want to be late at the same time. Time sucked. You would give anything to have the power to mess with time, it would solve about ninety percent of your problems.

Finally, after 4 hours of hardship, you boss pulled you aside and said she would let you go an hour early because of your messy uniform. You were so thankful. Susie hopped up when you approached her table, hurriedly packing her things.

“What happened to your shirt?”

“Spilled some stuff,” you quickly lied, glad she had missed your embarrassing fall. “It's no big deal. Give me my spare shirt out of your bag.”

Susie just blinked up at you.

“Uh...”

“...I did remember to put my nice shirt in your backpack...right?”

“...”

-----

You were twenty minutes late.

The bus was late once again and you were so stressed about the meeting that you could not decide which fruit tray to get. Should you get a small one? A large one? What could you afford? All your second-guessing almost made you miss your bus to the school, making you and Susie have to run half a block to catch the only bus that was on time that day.

Now you were there staring at the door into the conference room where the meeting had already begun, holding your fruit tray. Carefully peeling away the price tag, you sucked in a breath, bracing yourself for impact. With one final silent prayer, you nodded at Susie to open the door for you.

The silence you were faced with was deafening. All eyes had turned to the door and you froze. Even Susie could feel the discomfort, clinging to your shirt. That was until she locked eyes with Frisk sitting at the table. She quickly disengaged to go greet them, leaving you to fend for yourself. You envied her as you shuffled over to place your fruit tray on the snack table. Thankfully you were not the only one to buy a tray, spotting at least two other trays exactly the same as yours.

“Well, hello there, Ms. Tardy! How are you this evening?” a voice called out, obviously addressing you. Could you just evaporate? That would be magnificent. Instead of vanishing in a puff of smoke, you were forced to turn and reply.

“I'm doing alright. Sorry I'm so late, work kept me held up. I'm Susie's guardian.”

You alternated between gesturing at your soiled uniform and your sister standing next to Frisk. The woman who had called out to you simply sniffed, checking off something on her clipboard. You recognized her as the mother from the first day of school, the one who had greeted Mr. Loox after you were done talking with him. You waited to see if she wanted to say anything else to you, but she barreled ahead with the meeting, so you glanced around for a seat.

Susie waved a hand at you to silently call you over while you took in everyone else who was at the meeting. The room was filled with monsters and humans, guardians of the different students at the school. You knew from past experience that the number of people who went to the meetings would dwindle so you hoped things would smooth out as the weeks went by. Seeing the chair that your sister had pulled out for you beside her, you noticed that Frisk was sitting next to a pair of skeletons.

Taking your seat, Susie was quickly writing a note and passing it to Frisk who read it before looking up at you and smiling. You remembered that Susie had mentioned that they were deaf so you grinned and waved, guessing that the notes were how Susie and Frisk communicated since you knew that she did not know sign language. It was your turn to read as Frisk pushed a piece of paper in your hands.

It's really nice to meet you! These are my uncles, Papyrus and Sans!

Underneath the names were little stick figures, one very tall and thin, the other short and grinning. You looked up to see their skeletal counterparts regarding you quietly. Papyrus, the thin skeleton, was dressed very nicely, wearing a button up and a tiny bow tie. His brother, you assumed, was peering at you through sleepy eyes, dressed comfortably in a baggy blue sweatshirt and basketball shorts. Were those slippers? You were almost impressed with how little he seemed to care about what the other parents thought of him, you wished you had the same confidence. Papyrus pushed his hand into yours over the crumpled paper, shaking your arm vigorously.

“Hello, human! Frisk has told us all about your little sister! It is wonderful to meet you, too! Hopefully we can be as good of friends as our children!!”

He was very loud, even as he tried to whisper to you. Excitable and sweet, you were filled with silent relief. At least you could be sure that he would be kind to you. Sans watched the exchange, but instead of shaking your hand, he put his fingers up to his forehead in a mock salute of greeting.

“I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton. Nice to meetcha, pal.”

And that was that. Just like that, he disengaged as quickly as he spoke, leaving you wondering if maybe he was just unfriendly. You could not be sure. The loud sound of someone clearing their throat drew your attention back up to the head of the table where the woman with the clipboard was glaring at you sternly.

“Am I interrupting something?” she snapped. You shrank back, shaking your head. “I should hope not. You disturbed our meeting once already with your lateness, please be respectful of the other parents here who actually want to participate.”

Part of you was irked by the pointed way she had said “parent”, like you had any less of a right to be there because you were a guardian, but you said nothing. Instead, you actually listened in to the conversation at hand.

“So we've decided that the Fall Dance's theme will be 'Under the Sea', so all that's left to decide is the dress code. Naturally, the boys will be wearing nice shoes, dress pants, and a dress shirt. Girls will be in skirts and dresses, no bare shoulders, dress shoes-”

“Wait a minute.” It was Sans. All eyes turned to him, but, this time, the stares were more in anticipation or was it...fear? “Why are we separating it out? The way I see it, can't the girls wear dress pants if they want to? And what about the boys? What if they want to wear skirts and dresses? Doesn't seem fair to me if you ask me.”

The woman at the head of the table bristled.

“Absolutely not. Girls should wear dresses and skirts!”

“Oh? And why's that, Linda?”

“It's a proper formal event! Any respectable young lady should be-”

You could not help the scoff that escaped your lips. The words came tumbling out of you before you could stop them.

“What is this, the '40s?”

Everyone else looked astonished at your interjection. Linda looked positively livid while Sans seemed to be seeing you with new eyes. You felt the bright flush of color in your cheeks, but you pressed on.

“Dress pants are okay for a dance. And I don't see why boys can't wear dresses and skirts if you're making the girls do it. Our old school's PTA-”

“This isn't your old school's PTA,” Linda hissed. “We have rules and regulations about these sorts of things for a reason! I find it incredibly rude that, not only do you come in here tardy, absolutely filthy, and disrupting our meeting with your chit-chat, but you suddenly step in like you have any right to-”

Your chair squeaked as you stood up and slammed your hands on the table.

“I am Susie's guardian and I belong here like anyone else in this room!”

Linda had jumped back. Susie was watching you, an unreadable expression on her face.

“W-Well, I never!”

“Do you have something against guardians, Linda?” You turned to see Sans was glaring down the table at her, his smile never changing. “Do you think we're any less than parents or something? Is that what you're saying?”

Once again, you found that that was the end of it. It seemed that Sans had a way of ending conversations quickly like that. The meeting continued on without a hitch. The dress code was decided to be unisex, anyone could wear anything as long as it was not jeans or sneakers. You could see that Linda was still fuming, her gaze going between you and Sans. The meeting could not end any sooner.

Everyone stood and went over to the snack table, breaking off into groups to chat and mingle. You hung back while Susie and Frisk took to scampering between the adults to fetch some food for themselves.

“You, uh, really upset her with the whole pants thing,” Sans said, scooting over to take the chair beside yours. He patted your shoulder. “You really socked it to her.”

You snorted, recognizing his emphasize meaning that he was making a pun, albeit a very corny one. Shrugging, you watched Susie and Frisk mill about, trying not to bump into anyone with their plates laden with snacks. Sans pointed at your shirt.

“Is that ketchup?”

Embarrassed, but glad to have at least made a good impression, you pressed your palm to the stain, smudging some of the dry bit of it onto your skin. You held it up for him to look at in confusion.

“You caught me red handed.”

There was a pause where the lights in Sans's eyesockets flickered, like he was blinking in surprise. The silence stretched on for a few seconds long enough that you almost were going to apologize before he spoke up again.

-----

It had taken a lot of work, but you were finally there. Staring up at the looming building in front of you, you had to swallow back your nerves. The little hand you held firmly in yours wriggled.

“How can you be nervous right now?” said the tiny voice attached to it. With wide eyes and a toothy grin, your sister beamed up at you. “We're super late, we need to hurry!” You gulped before allowing her to lead you inside by the hand.

Somehow, the inside seemed even more daunting than the outside had been. There was loud click as the entrance door slammed behind you, almost with a sense of finality. Before you could think about it for too long, your sister was dragging you along again. The hallways echoed with your combined footfalls as you followed the signs pointing to the auditorium.

“Sure is empty, huh?” you said softly, afraid to break the silence, but needing to calm your nerves.

“That's only because we're late. C'mon, c'mon! I can hear the principal talking!” she said. You, too, could hear muffled speaking through the double doors the two of you approached.

You had been feeling thankful that the two of you had been late, you did not have to deal with a crowd at registration, but that all vanished as every eye in the room seemed to watch you come in. That was probably an exaggeration, but with the way you were feeling, it seemed the case. It was made no better when your sister continued to pull you up the middle aisle to try and find a seat closer to the front.

You wanted to sink into the ground. The principal kept speaking, she had paid your entrance no mind, but you still felt like you were the center of attention. Thankfully, you finally spotted a pair of empty chairs to take. As you both sat, you were able to catch the tail end of the principal's spiel. You heard your sister sigh softly beside you.

“She's so pretty!” You had to agree. You knew that she was a monster when you had brought your sister to start her fourth grade year, you knew that she was apparently the ex-queen of the Underground, and she had been the one to found the first monster/human elementary school.

She was finishing up welcoming all the parents and children. You watched her speak and motion with her hands at the same time. Was that sign language? You had learned the basics, but not nearly enough to communicate properly in just sign language. You felt like there was a reason for her knowing to sign, but you were impressed regardless. What you did remember was that her name was Toriel Dreemurr, although, apparently, she preferred to be called Ms. Toriel.

From what you understood, after the monsters had been freed from the Underground by a human child, they all had tried to integrate into human society. Ms. Toriel's dream had been to run a school and, now, there she was, talking to everyone at the podium. You admired her spirit.

Hearing applause around you, you were startled out of your train of thought, clumsily clapping along. Wow, you were really out of it today.

Everyone was standing up and dispersing, no doubt escorting their children to their first classes. Your sister was bouncing in her seat, digging her class schedule out of her backpack. You smiled at her, feeling a surge of affection. She was too cute. You could deal with your nervousness as long as you knew she was happy.

Hopping to her feet, you felt her begin to lead you by the hand again towards the exit with everyone else. You waded with her through the crowd, finding yourself in the now bustling halls, while she furrowed her brow at her class schedule.

“Room 109 for...Math.” Her face soured a bit. “I don't want to have math first thing in the morning. I can't do it normally, I don't want to do it when I'm still waking up.” You ruffled her hair, pulling out the school map to look at.

“I'll try to help you out the best I can with homework, bubs, don't worry,” you reassure her.

You both knew that you were busy with work a lot of the time, but you always made time for her. She smiled at you happily, standing up on the tips of her toes so she could see the map, too.

Having located the room she needed, it was your turn to lead. You looked around the halls some more.

While the school had been around for only a year, you could see that it had quite a few accolades hung up on the walls. Everywhere you looked you saw something, whether it be awards for sports and music, trophies, newspaper clippings, or ribbons. The school, in the short time it had been there, had made a name for itself. Not only that, since it was the first human/monster school to exist, it was incredibly impressive to think about the sorts of obstacles they overcame to become so successful. Even though the war between monsters and humans had been years ago, the prejudice was still there. Looking around the halls at humans and monster alike, however, you hoped that would not be the case there.

You approached a door labeled 109 to find a short cyclops waiting in the door frame holding a clipboard. They waved feebly at the pair of you.

“Hello there, I'm Mr. Loox! What is your name?” they asked, looking at your sister who was about the same height as them. She grinned.

“I'm Susie! O-Oh, but you probably have 'Susanna' on the paper,” she said, quick to correct herself. Mr. Loox shifted his enormous pupil to examine his paper before checking off something and adding a note.

“Yes, you are! Do you prefer to be called Susie?” he asked and she nodded emphatically. “Alright, Susie it is then. You can pick a seat anywhere.”

Susie turned to give you a hug and she backed away quickly, excited to go join her class.

“I'll see you at 3, okay?” you said, feeling a sudden protectiveness wash over you. You hoped her first day would go smoothly. She just nodded before bouncing away to take a seat. Mr. Loox continued to watch you though.

“So you're Susie's guardian?” You gulped. You recognized that tone.

“Yes, I am.”

“Oh I see. You look rather young to have someone her age.”

“She's my little sister.” Because our dad is dead and our mom is a deadbeat, you wanted to tack on, but you felt that might come off as you sounding rude. Mr. Loox, thankfully, did not press the issue.

“That's really brave of you.” You winced. You hated when people made it sound like your sister was a burden to you. You loved her, you were doing what you had to because you wanted her to be safe.

Speaking of that...

“Mr. Loox, Susie is really outgoing, but she also has a very...um...'tender heart' I guess? Please let me know if anyone is giving her a hard time. She had some bullies at her last school and I don't want that happening again,” you asked. Mr. Loox nodded, his face somehow managing to look severe.

“Yes, bullies will not be tolerated, I can assure you. She'll be perfectly fine. Thank you for letting me know.”

With that, Mr. Loox turned to greet another parent and their child. She looked to be in her mid-40s, but you could not be sure, you were a terrible judge of age. Her hair was cut into a bob and was obviously a fake blonde. Her son seemed nervous, constantly rubbing his fingers through his dark brown hair only to have her flatten it back into place. You wanted to give him a reassuring smile, you knew how bad controlling mothers could be, but you did not want to overstep your bounds.

Instead, you peeked inside the door behind Mr. Loox to see where Susie had sat. She had take a place near the front next to another child. You could not tell if they were a girl or a boy, but they seemed nice, smiling at your sister. You hoped things would work out as you walked away.

...only to bump into Ms. Toriel.

“Oh! I beg your pardon!” She said while you stammered over your own apology. As you waved your hands, trying your best to look as remorseful as possible, she studied your face. “Am I correct in thinking that you are Susie's older sister?”

Oh jeez, the principal knew you. Well, of course, you had met her once before when you had tried to move Susie to a different school. When you took custody of her, you had to move house and your apartment was not in the old school's district. Not that you minded, that place was seedy and the teachers did not give a shit about the students. You realized you had been quiet for a moment when she cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Y-Yes! I am!” You remembered yourself and added on, “Thank you for letting Susie attend this school, it really means a lot to both of us.” Ms. Toriel gave you a warm smile and put a hand to you shoulder, suddenly leading you down the hallway before you could protest.

“It warms my heart to see how much you care for your sister. I am sure you take an active role in her life.”

You shrugged, unsure of what to say. You worked two jobs to pay the bills and were dead on your feet most days, but you tried to be present in your sister's life. She had been in your care for over a year now and you had never missed a single recital, parade, or PTA meeting to try and encourage her to keep striving for her best. You hoped you were a better role model than your drunk mother.

“Well, I am looking forward to having Susie learning here. You know, she is in the same grade as my own child, Frisk,” Toriel said. She waved behind her in the direction you had come from. “They are actually in the same Math class as her. Do not worry, Mr. Loox is incredibly skilled.”

Now you remembered why Toriel knew sign language, Frisk was nonverbal. Come to think of it, the image you had in your head of the child that freed the monsters from Underground looked strikingly like the child sitting beside your sister. You hoped Susie was being polite to them.

Before you could realize, you found yourself with Toriel in front of another registration booth. Looking up at the banner, you saw that it read “PTA”. The principal coughed beside you, gauging your reaction to the sign. You beamed at her in response.

“Oh, you have a PTA? I was part of the one at Susie's last school,” you explained to her. She seemed to happy to hear that. You plucked up a pen and wrote your contact information onto the notepad. You were excited to participate in your sister's school life. “How often do you all meet?”

“Every Sunday evening. Our first meeting is actually this upcoming Sunday. Will you be able to go?” Toriel seemed eager. You understood, you were eager, too.

“Of course. I'll be there.”

-----

Susie looked around Mr. Loox's classroom. It was fairly typical looking, colorful posters on the wall, numbers stuck to the windows, and desks arranged to watch the front. She saw that the middle most front seat was occupied so she took the one beside it, looking at the person at the desk.

Their brown hair was cut short, like a bob, with the bangs almost over their eyes. They wore a striped shirt and nice dark jeans. Susie was excited to introduce herself, ready and raring to go.

“Hi! I'm Susie! What's your name?” she asked. The child beside her did not respond. Her smile faltered. Were they shy? She thought back to her old school and wilted slightly. Were they being mean? She shook off the thought. She was determined to make her first day a good one. Instead of asking again, she tapped them on the shoulder, making them jump. The child recovered and smiled at her shyly, encouraging her.

“Hi, I'm Susie. What's your name?” she repeated. The child was watching her mouth move before nodding and rummaging around in their desk. They pulled out a pen and paper and hastily scrawled out a note before handing it to her.

Hi, Susie, I'm Frisk.

They had written something else and pushed it into her hands.

Sorry, I can read lips, but I can't hear anything. I'm deaf. Do you know sign language?

Susie shook her head at the last part, but looked up at Frisk in wonder. Feeling a bit more brave, she bit her lip before asking another question.

“I like your name...Are you a boy or a girl?”

Frisk seemed to think that question was funny as they scratched out another note. Susie peeked over their shoulder to see that they were a drawing a doodle of themselves shrugging. She thought that was funny, too. Underneath, they wrote out Does it matter? Susie thought for a bit before shaking her head.

“I don't think so,” she said quietly. Frisk beamed, writing again.