It still seemed all so surreal, but when her hand clasped his, he knew. It wasn’t one of those lies his longings injected into a dream, not some illusion of a disillusioned mind. He felt as though he were meeting an old friend for the very first time.
* name’s sans.
He renewed his grip on her paw, giving it a shake.
The handshake felt strange. It was as if in that moment the intangible became tangible, the distant became near. Toriel could not exactly describe how it felt to finally know, to finally meet, the one behind the door but if anything the feeling was a positive one, excitement and awe intermingling in the few seconds the handshake lasted.
And it was she who broke their contact. She who drew back because she needed her hand to cover her laughs. The pun combined with his, well, being a skeleton made the joke even better. And so the laughter rang out, happily and clearly without the muffle of stone or wood.
“T-Tibia...” The word was interrupted by a few chuckles that had lagged behind the others but Toriel breathed and steeled herself to deliver the rest. “Tibia-nest, Sans, I wish I had opened that door sooner. You had been knocking on it for quite a while.” She tilted her head, a question popping into mind. “Do you knock on all the school doors? I was not aware the principal had told anyone else I was here.”
He affectionately nuzzled into her paw, squeezing her a little tighter while also listening to her. He gazed up at her, eyes clearly full of love to give and stars to shine. He glowed, both in personality and in his literal pale complexion against the sun looking up to her, happily tapping her once she made her jokes. You could hear that same, airy laugh leave his mouth as his thin frame shook with joy. He only brought himself in closer to her, if it were even possible at this point; he may have just basically crawled into her lap by now. He pushed his bush of hair out of the way, only to hold her paw to keep it resting at his cheek–he clearly appreciated the affection very much.
Toriel was unaccustomed to all the affection she was receiving but she took it as a mother would her kid. Absentmindedly, she rubbed Elkie’s cheek with her thumb as her mind wandered back to her own lost child but the thought was forcibly made to fade away as Toriel chuckled amicably at Elkie. “Well, dear, I do not know much about ghosts. Although I was acquainted with one back in my home world, they are quite different from you. Perhaps, that is due to them being a monster as well.” Toriel mused aloud. “Still, I hope I can prove to be enjoyable company being the old lady that I am.”
“Koi really is unique. It’s the same, yet different from where I’m from. It’s the same because they’re both city-like, but different because Koi has a lot more variety than my home place.” A small smile appeared on the girl as she looks up at the other.
At the other’s sudden pun, the girl can only laugh at it. It was funny because it came out of nowhere, surprising her. “I didn’t think you would be the kind to make puns, Toriel-san.” She covered her mouth as she giggled until her stomach began to her“That’s alright.” She played along, “We will be the ice picks ourselves.”
To elicit such a response from the young one, Toriel hummed in happiness as the other laughed. It was her firm belief that those that enjoyed such puns and jokes were most likely good people but Toriel already knew that fact since the other had so kindly agreed to help her find her way. “Well, I punder every now and again if punssible.” The boss monster giggled, covering her mouth with the paw she had previously laid on her cheek.
Toriel looked out at the passing scenery. People moved slowly down the water, riding boats at a leisurely pace. She was reminded of the river person back in the Underground but the water here was much more expansive, the area so huge and elaborate. “Likewise, my home did not have as much choice as this place offers. I have not seen so many boats and waterways as well! It is certainly exciting.”
“R-really? Yay! Thank you!” Ricken’s positively beaming there - if there’s anything he really likes more than anything else, it’s making new pals! He really wants to be friends with all the nice animals out there, too, so seeing the talking bunny lady say yes really does mean a lot, as evidenced by the little happy jump up and down he does on the spot for a moment or two. Seriously, the small mage was really just a kid at heart still, despite his want to be so serious majority of the time.
“Bhoss…monster? I’ve never heard of that, just like you’ve never heard of a Manakete and a Taguel. I’m happy to listen and learn, though: that way I cna answer your own question better. Golly, this is neato. We’re learning stuff about each-other’s worlds and each-other this way…which is super fun. Also, I don’t think it’s rude phrasing. You’re just putting it in a term that’s easier for you, right?”
Sensible words aside, the wind mage’s brown eyes widened in evident surprise at the admission from bunny - no, waaaait, goat lady. “Oh…oopsie. You have paws, like a bunny, soo I guess that’s why I thought that. Well I guess everyone makes little mistakes sometimes. I’m sorry if it was offensive or anything!”
A polite little bow of apology from the noble mage, there.
Watching Ricken react so happily to her acceptance of friendship, Toriel could not help but giggle. She could not remember the last time someone had been so overjoyed at making a new friend. After years of being avoided, such a reaction was refreshing and heart-warming. She smiled down at him not unlike how a mother would her child and nodded. “Of course, dear. Being friends with you would make me quite happy.”
“Do not worry, my child. It is not common knowledge, is it? There was no way for you to be sure.” Toriel reassured him gently, reaching out to pat his shoulder. “There is no need for you to apologize. I corrected you only to prevent future confusion. I was not offended.” Unlike when the other monsters had called her a cow, Ricken had an excuse for his assumption. She supposed she could look a bit like a bunny since their ears were a bit similar. Toriel wondered if that was supposed to be a compliment or if she were to take insult at being compared to a bunny, however. Narrowing her eyes at the thought, she pushed it away with a frown before continuing with the conversation at hand.
“Boss monster, dear,” Toriel kindly corrected as she began. “Well, to understand boss monsters perhaps you will need to learn of souls first. Are souls of common knowledge in your world?” She inquired.
[ This was a lot longer than it needed to be but here you go. Slay me. ]
Monsters chattered, their murmurous voices mingling with the music that meandered through and around the plaza. Low lanterns cast a soft blue blanket of light among those below: the dancers, the chatterers, the monsters. Toriel watched from her seat below the blue, lips angled in a small smile that was not quite joyful or sorrowful but wistful. It had been a long road but one year had passed and monsters and humans were on terms well enough to commemorate the anniversary of their arrival, of their freedom, of the realization of their hopes and dreams.
“Hey, Tori.” Though her gaze had been cast elsewhere, watching the ball gowns twirl and flutter, she knew who had called out to her and who had taken a seat casually next to her without needing to turn her head. His existence in her memories had once been finely affixed to just his mere voice. Now still, though the skeleton had become a familiar and recognizable sight and friend, Toriel could pick him out by his voice faster than she could anything else.
“Hello, Sans.” The boss monster turned her head to smile at her companion but the grin quickly turned into a giggle, an indicator of a joke about to be told. “Heehee. Your apparel certainly suits you.”
And she was right, it did. Because Sans had not donned a full suit, he had worn the top half of a suit and then darker shorts paired with black sneakers. Though his choice of dress didn’t suit the party, it certainly suited him. He chuckled. “Thanks, Tori. Pap told me this was semi-formal so…” He gestured to himself and grinned when the other’s giggles turned to barely concealed laughs.
Sans looks down, his hands gripping the edges of the cushioned chairs. “So, uh,” Though he kept his stare trained on the geometric patterns of the plaza’s floor, Sans could feel Toriel’s curious gaze on his profile. A smile he hoped was casual was directed her way. He winked. “I, uh, thought you could use some company. You were looking a little blue.”
He was rewarded with more laughter, bubbly and warm and close. Toriel leaned forward, her head bent down as she tried to grasp for breath. The pun had been more effective since it had been so surprising. Toriel looked at him, her smile like her laughter causing him to wonder again how it could be that his heart had missed a beat if it wasn’t even there to begin with. Then she looked down at her folded hands and the dark blue fabric of her dress. The laughter cooled.
“To be truthful, Sans, though I was Queen I do not know what I should be doing here.” Toriel began, one hand absentmindedly caressing the other as she spoke. “Asgore…” The name was spoken a bit more softly, hesitance holding her tongue. Though time had passed and her pain and anger had begun to ease it was still present, smoldering ashes waiting to be rekindled. Toriel’s eyebrows knitted together. “He was there to talk to people. He was their voice. I…I am more accustomed to the duties a Queen must complete, to gently question and concisely answer, but here I have nothing. No questions to answer, no people to greet, no dance to do, no ceremony.”
Sans watched as Toriel slipped into silence, knowing from the way she continued to brush her thumb over her knuckle that she was still in thought. Toriel gazed upwards at the stars in the sky, at the vastness of night. “But I am not ungrateful, Sans.”
“I know.”
There was a breath, a sigh. “It is so beautiful.” She leaned back in her chair, taking in the twinkling lights of the stars, and they settled into silence once more. “Everyone is enjoying themselves.” Toriel smiled, watching the dancers spin again, but it was a small, observant smile.
With an easy push off his chair, Sans stepped in front of her and held out his hand. The light of the lanterns hid the warmth that tinted his cheekbones with color. Sans looked away, rubbing his neck sheepishly with his other hand. “How about we join in with everyone?” He faced her then, defaulting to the easy smile and casual wink. “Care to dance?”
“I’d love to.” Taking his hand in hers, Toriel followed her companion into the circle of dancers, of spinning gowns and tailcoats and tails.
Duty faded with the first step. The crowd disappeared with the first joke. Music became laughter and the lanterns became stars as the two danced and dipped, sometimes stumbling but catching one another by hand or by waist.
The song slowed to match their pace, the night having gone from spirited to sentimental, and Toriel affectionately bumped her forehead against his just long enough for a whisper.
"If they come at me one more time they will find out just how heavy this scepter is."
At the Royal Ball. X
Toriel glanced down at the child she had looked after, the royal she served, and smiled sadly. There was no joy in the arch of her lips but a compassionate understanding. The night had not been easy for him. Delegates from neighboring kingdoms had been quick to spot him in the crowd and had been even quicker to strike up conversations dripping heavy with false praises to add weight to their requests. There was always something that Akaashi could do to help them when he would become King, always something that he was obligated to do once he was King.
Placing her paw on his shoulder, Toriel gave him a comforting pat. “I would love to have you release your frustrations, my child,” She paused, covering her mouth with her other paw. “ex-scept this is not the event for it.” Folding her paws in front of her, she looked on at the crowd. Even now, she could still see the curious and the discerning looks. Looking down at Akaashi, she sighed. “Perhaps you should step out for some air.” Toriel winked as she added, “Do not worry about them. If they come to me to try and find you, I will tell them where to staff it.”
“Hello, dear, would you like to hear an interesting snail fact from this book I am reading? Well...do you know how snails fight? They slug it out. That is only a joke but it is funny, is it not? I found it very amusing.”
A click sounded the deadbolt’s shift, and the door swung away from the threshold. Something eased that oddly placed weight, the tension it wrought with it seemed to ebb away with the leave of that final obstacle.
There she stood– loomed, actually, dwarfing him by at least a few feet– the focus of his blind promise all that time ago. A monster, like him, though there was no surprise there, and a smile befitting of the warm personality he’d come to know. Sans withdrew a hand from his pocket then and backed by his usual grin, he offered it to her.
The smile she wore widened with the slight tilting of her head as sight finally set on the friend whose voice had become a repeated comfort. Toriel towered over him but this was to be expected. Although she had not predicted that he would be more similar to Chara’s stature than hers, she was one of the taller monsters among the Underground. It felt surreal to finally be able to meet after so long, to finally know who was beyond the door.
“I am glad to have finally met you. My name is Toriel.” She giggled. “Thank you. You’ve been a skele-ton of pun.” Toriel joked before she reached down to shake his hand.
tangentwithtanner
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