Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a dark unused lab deep under the earth there was a flash of light. In its wake the lab was no less dusty and unused However there was a child sitting on the floor. Their sockets were wide with confusion that quickly shifted to fear.

“Papy?’ Sans called out scared and alone.

“Paaaaaaapy?” Sans called out again, tears gathering in his eyes.

He knew this wasn’t right but they didn’t know why. Just a second ago the doctor had put them in the big metal box and shut the door. Then there was a flash of light and heat and now the room lights were off. He looked around only to see the doctor and the big box were gone.

“Papy!” Sans called out again, tears finally falling. “Paaaaapy!” His big brother was supposed to be waiting outside the door. So why wasn’t he coming in to get him?

“Who’s there?” A scary voice said from outside the closed door. That wasn’t Papy’s voice. They turned to see a light shining through the small glass window. The light was blocking their view of the monster holding it but that didn’t sound like Papy or The Doctor. That was a stranger. Papy told him never to go with strangers. Arms stiff with fear the toddler pushed himself off the ground and made his way to a conveniently placed trash can.

He heard the jingle of keys before the door clicked open. He crouched down and covered his sockets. It was going to be okay. The stranger would go away then they could go find Papy. Or at least that was the plan before a light shined on them from above.

“I saw you hide through the window you little shit.”

Still blinded by the light Sans did the only thing he could think to do, he ran.

^^^
The night shift was supposed to be easy.

Walk the halls. Take a nap. Check the cameras. Take a nap. It was an easy way to make money while the little gremlin slept. His boss even let Papyrus stay with him during the night. Sans had even pulled in a cot so Papyrus wouldn’t have to sleep on the ground. Look at him, Brother of the year over here.

Sans had worked in The Lab for a couple of years now. Sans was intimately familiar with all the annoying little noises that came with the place. That's why when he heard the whirring noise he almost went back to sleep. When he heard the clicking he groaned and looked over to make sure Papyrus was still asleep. The brats shark like teeth were pulled down into a frown but otherwise he looked normal. No nightmares or crying from him.

With a groan Sans pulled himself out of the shitty swivel chair and grabbed his flashlight. Some lab assistant probably left an experiment running again. They were lucky Sans was familiar with the tools of the trade.

“Where are you going?” Came his brother's voice from the cot. Papyrus barely slept these days. He was growing up so fast and that worried Sans to death.

“Heard a noise, gonna go check it out.”

“Want me to come with you?” Papyrus asked, sounding hopeful.

A sound like the air being let out of a balloon drifted in through the door, faint but still clear enough to rattle Sans a bit. “Nah, you stay here. Watch the cameras just in case I need back up.” and then Sans slipped out into the hallway. His little brother might still technically be in stripes but his magic had come in last year. One more year and he would lose the protection that stripes afforded him and that was another thing to add to his ever growing pile of ‘shit Sans needed to worry about… tomorrow’.

Working his way deeper into the facility Sans was shining his light into rooms to clear them before moving on. The noises had stopped and all the proper lights were off and everything that needed to be on was on. He was almost to the end of the hall when an explosion of pressure hit him. There was no sound, no light, nothing that said that this was an explosion. With a little gravity magic Sans kept his feet under him. He waited for the sound of an alarm but the hallway stayed silent. Then there was a cry.

The only room left in the hallway was an old office, it was one of the bigger rooms on this floor but the damn thing didn’t have plumbing so was useless for anything other than the occasional meeting. There was another cry a little louder this time and that got him moving. When he got to the room in question Sans shined his light in hesitantly. There were no fires so that was a start. He saw something moving though. White bone large sockets and a blue striped sweater. The light must have spooked them because quick as a whip they were gone. Hidden behind a small trash bin. The kid didn't do a good job of hiding considering his little butt was still visible.

Well were still no alarms blaring so he might as well deal with this situation.

Ignoring how odd it was to find a child in a closed room, Sans made his way to the cowering child. When he was right behind them Sans flicked his light on and said with a laugh in his voice “I saw you hide through the window you little shit.”

He was so used to Papyrus’ stoic nature Sans wasn’t sure how to react when the child in front of him started to sob.

“Uhhhh.” Sans had not been trained for this. Well, he hadn’t been trained at all but how was he supposed to huddle this crying toddler.

“ ‘ranger! ‘ranger!” They cried tears gathering in those large blank sockets.

Confused, Sans said “Uhhh I'm a guard actually. How’d you get in here kiddo?”

“Uh-uh ‘ranger!” the toddler said pointing at him “ ‘ad ‘ranger! Go! Go!” They made a shooting gesture and damned if it wasn’t adorable.

“Sorry kiddo no can do.” and oh god they were angry now! Their eyelight returned and one of them started flashing blue. It was a clear warning but they were so small there was no way they could use magic yet.

“Go! Go!” They pointed at the door stomping those little feet.

“Can't do that kiddo. You’re not supposed to be here. How about this? You tell me where your guardian is and I’ll call them to come get you.” Sans knew he was the only skeleton that worked in this building but maybe the kids' parents worked in a different department?

“Papy?” They said uncurling a bit “You? Find Papy?”

“Yeah I find Papy. I’m Sans by the way. What’s your name?”

The kid lit up when he said his name. “ Sans!” He cheered.

“Oh uh yeah that's my name. What about you?”

They shook their head and pointed at their chest “ Sans! Sans!”

Sans just smiled crookedly “You’re a Sans too huh?”

The kid nodded “Sans!” He said again, touching his chest. Then they smacked his slightly dirty work shirt “No Sans!” And oh yep they were mad again.

“No Sans?” He asked razing a brow.

“No Sans!” they demanded hitting his work shirt in the same place.

“Sorry buddy but that's my name.”

Maybe he should have just dropped the subject because cayan tears started to fall.

“Okay! Okay! No Sans!”

The child's tears didn’t slow. “ ‘ere’s Papy?”

“I’ll help you find you’re Papy okay kid?”

Little Sans nodded and held out his hand. Relieved Big Sans grabbed it and started to lead them back to the security station. When he opened the door to the room Papyrus was sitting in the swivel chair eyeing the child wearily.

“Who’s that?” Huh Papyrus must not have felt that weird pressure or he would be out trying to find the source. Must not have been important.

Big Sans looked down and introduced the new skeleton “Papyrus meet Little Sans, Little Sans meet Papyrus.”

“Oh God no, I can’t deal with two of you!”

Little Sans on the other hand was looking around the room confused “Papy?”

“Papyrus” The pre-teen corrected.

“Oh no.” Big Sans said. He recognized the look on the kid's face. Even though he had only known him a few minutes Big Sans was becoming familiar with that crying face. “Don’t cry kiddo, just my brother. His name is Papyrus.”

“No,Papy!” Little Sans’ voice started to wobble.

“Okay no Papy.” Big Sans agreed “No Papy.”

“What the heck?” Papyrus was clearly off-put by the crying child.

“Don’t know.” Sans admitted “He doesn't like my name and now it looks like he doesn't like your name either.”

Papyrus got up and made his way over to Little Sans. Deciding he didn't like the new stranger the little guy moved so he was behind Big Sans leg. Papyrus kneeled so he was on eye level with the small skeleton.

“Alright if you don’t like our names we can make up some nicknames. Just until we find your parents. Is that okay?” Papyrus was speaking so softly. More softly then Big Sans would have ever given his brawling, foul mouthed baby brother credit for. Little Sans reacted well to the soft voice and smiled. “‘Ick name!” they parotid happily.

“Okay.” Papyrus looked the other up and down. After a moment of intense deliberation he announced “Blueberry, Do you like that?”

Little Sans, or rather Blueberry nodded his head “ ‘Lue ‘erry!”

“Yes Blueberry.” Papyrus said with a smile. Papyrus who hadn’t smiled since he started puberty! Big Sans wished he had his phone in his hand so he could lord this over his baby brother for weeks. Ah who was he kidding? It would have been ammunition for years.

Sais skeleton eyed his big brother and ideally let his smile drop. As if he could feel Sans’ screaming. “Now give me a nickname.”

“What?” He asked, confused. Papyrus just let out a bone deep sigh like this thirteen year old was carrying the world on his shoulders. “Everyone knows it is pathetic to give yourself a nickname! So you do mine and I will do yours. Just until we find the Childs parents that is.”

Sans face must have given something away because Papyrus immediately cut in “No nope never mind. I have changed my mind.”

“No! No!” Blueberry chartered happily mimicking Papyrus some more.

“Too late bro. I have already thought of the perfect name for you.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“Come on. Who’s my little edgy baby!”

“No!” he said “Let it die! I’m an adult!”

“No! Die!” Blueberry cheered as he waddled over to the cot.

“Edgy Baby!” Sans sang “My little Edgy baby.~ Well more of my Edgy teen now.”

“I will end you.” Papyrus said Red magic flickering in his eyelights.

“Come on Edgy~”

“Edgy~! Edgy~!” Blueberry Sang from the nest he was making out of the discarded sheets.

“Fine! But just use Edge.”

Sans smiled gleefully, his smile lasted about .3 seconds before a sudden realization hit him. “Oh shit.”

“Yes brother dearest.~” Papyrus sang glee in his eyes “It is my turn. Now what should I call you-”

“Pap please.” Sans begged “Don’t do me like this.”

“Well why would I even have to think of a name? You already have a nickname don’t you Red~”

Red, The name his asshole of a boss called him. The Boss who was too lazy to learn the interns names so used the color of their magic instead.

“Come on bro you are more creative than that!” He tried to appeal to his brothers' need to be the best.

“Oh but why fix what is not broken?” and that smile? Papyrus looked like the cat who caught the canary and then took it’s eggs for good measure.

“ ‘Ed? Edgy?” A small voice called from the cot. They both turned to see the small skeleton child curled up in a mess of blankets and pillows. Their sockets were drifting shut and then flying open. The bright white eye-lights were fuzzy with exhaustion. “Kisses?” They asked.

Edge and Red eyed each other waiting to see who would break first. “Kisses?” The child called again in silent agreement they both went to the child. Edge leaned down first and planted his teeth on the child's forehead. Thinking that would be enough Red turned away but the kid cried out “ ‘ranger Too!”

Red leaned over and planted his teeth on the same spot his brother had kissed. The little Blueberry giggled before snuggling into the sheets and almost instantly fell asleep.

“I will kill for them.” Edge announced.

“Yeah, Yeah, Don’t get attached. We are going to find the kids parents first thing in the morning.” Red sat back in his seat leaving edge to stand.

“If we don’t find them can we keep them?”

Sans just turned back to monitors “We will find his parents.” After all, who could ever abandon an angel like that?

“But if not?”

Sans was so confident that the kids parroted had just forgotten them here after a long shift he said “Yeah, If we can’t find the kids parents we can keep him. But we are going to find them. In fact you can go grab the personnel files and start looking. They all list family members.”

Edge stomped the whole way to the filing cabinet. Red loved his little brother with all his heart but boy was that one a drama queen. He returned to watching the cameras. They would find the Blueberries parents or guardians. He would be giving them a talking to about leaving children unsupervised, Unless they had high LV then he’d get the big boss to do it. Gaster could be very scary when he wanted to be.

^^^

The morning shift was standing in the doorway with their morning cup of sludge. Red looked at them helplessly, Papers strewn around him on the linoleum. Edge was keeping Blueberry entertained with an old stuffed bear. Said toddler was tugging on an arm like a dog with it’s favorite chew toy.

“We found a kid.” Red stated as if the two monsters in front of him were blind.

“Yeah I can see that.” Char, A blue flame monster, said with a laugh. “You find the parents yet?”

“They probably haven't updated the files.” Red said as he huffed with an exhausted irritation “Fuckers must’ve slacked off on the paperwork again.”

“We’re always the last to get updated files.” Char agreed. He sauntered over to Edge and Blueberry “Who’s this little fella?”

“Blueberry.” Edge Saud “That's his nickname anyways. His name is Sans but he was being weird about names. He’s calling me Edge.”

Char’s fire split in a jack-o-lantern grin “Good names. I don’t thin the Underground could handle two Sans’. ”

Red tuned him out as Char continued to talk to them in hushed tones. That's why Red had gotten this job in the first place. All the monsters that worked in the capitol had to have a low enough LV. The core especially. The security team was like a little family. They were all living a shit life and none of them felt the need to make that worse.

Beary a small bear monster and the other guard came over to hand Red a cup of coffee. “Well he looks well taken care of. I’m sure his parents will pop up soon.”

“I sure as hell hope so. How long can we keep him before we gotta turn him over?”

Beary tapped her claws on the desk “Well usually it’s a 24 hour thing but I’m sure we could put it off a little because we are on the hunt for a guardian of some sort.”

Orphans went to the orphanage but Red wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemies. That’s the reason he lied about his age and got a job to support him and his brother. The only monsters to ever make it to adulthood in those places were either too traumatized to function or swept up into some kind of guard role. Never the good ones either. They were always shipped off to Waterfall or the unlucky ones Snowdin.

“That’d be a shame for such a cutie to end up there. They’d eat him alive.” Berry said with resigned acceptance. “ Well I’m gonna wander over to billing, see if they got any other Skeletons on payroll.”

“Good idea. I’ll keep an eye on the three musketeers over there.” Sans snorted. It was clear Char was just as smitten as Edge was. He had his own daughter to take care of and the lean flame monster never shut up about her.

Edge was looking at him so Red just waved. “I’ll be right back just gonna check out a few things.” His brother just nodded and went back to what he had been doing. Red was going to go ask the Big Boss about the stand. He wouldn’t know anything but it was worth a shot.

^^^

It was almost twenty-four hours later. Red was running on pure adrenaline. No other skeletons, no parents with a skeleton child. No missing child postings, nothing. It's like the little Blueberry showed up out of nowhere. Char had stayed after his shift to help and even a monster from second shift had pitched in. Still nothing.

“Well, looks like I’m going to have to give The Orphanage a call. Not how I wanted to end my day.” Barkany said, scratching behind an ear.

Red looked over to the cot where Edge and Blueberry were napping. dismayed.

“Unless we find his brother.” Char said.

“We looked!” Red snapped the hours without sleep were catching up to him “Nothing! We found nothing!”

Char just shook his head, flames dancing in a way Red recognized. It mean Char was happy with himself. When Char was happy with himself it always meant bed things for Red.

“Unless we find his brother’s.” Char said with more emphasis.

Shit, Red was picking up what the other was putting down, Now he just had to decide if he wanted to keep it or not. Red looked over to the sleeping children. He couldn’t afford to feed another mouth. There was no space in their tiny apartment. There were a hundred reasons he should cut his losses and let Blueberry go.

“Well, “ Red picked himself off of the floor “I guess I better head off then. Gotta get my brother’s home.”

Char nodded approvingly and the other monster just shrugged. Sans was so fucked but when he saw the way his brother was cuddling the smaller skeleton in his sleep… Well, staying mad was just to much effort for a lazy skeleton like himself.

Chapter Text

Edge had finally done it. He had made it into the guard. Red was proud, really he was, but did Edge really have to get assigned to one of the worst areas in the Underground? Blue was completely oblivious to Reds internal struggle.

“This is wonderful news! This is one step closer to being in the royal guard! I will have to make something special tonight! And we have to start packing, of course…” Blue chatter continued into their small kitchenette on the other side of the apartment. Edge stared after him, slack jawed. 

Red couldn’t help but laugh at his little brother's face. “What? You didn’t think we would let you go by yourself did you?” 

“What about your jobs??” 

Sans just waved him off “I’ve been working in the labs less and less since the Big Boss passed and they have sentry stations in Snowdin. Gotta keep the riff raff out and all. “

 He put a hand on Papyrus' shoulder “if you really want us to stay here I can talk to Blue but it’ll break his poor little  heart.” Red was putting all of the brotherly guilt he could into his voice. There was no way he was letting Edge go to one of the most dangerous towns in the underground alone. 

A crashing noise followed by Blue’s cry of ‘I’m fine’ shattered the mood. Their asshole neighbors would not not be happy about the noise, They were never happy about anything though so Red didn’t worry about it. “Let’s go make sure he didn’t break anything.”

Edge lead the way. As they entered the small space they saw Blue picking up some pans off the floor. Red sighed “I bought you that Dam step stool for a reason!” 

“You didn’t buy me a dam step stool you bought me a brown one!” Blue exclaimed clearly pleased with his joke. The joke was not funny. It was the least funny joke he had ever heard. Which of course meant he was now pissing himself with laughter. 

“Oh my- I am divorcing you both!” Edge exclaimed. Despite his words the tallest of the group stomped over to help Blue clean the mess up. 

Struggling to breath Red managed to wheeze out “That’s for people who are married bro.’ 

“Then I am doing a brotherly divorce, to the both of you. This very instant!”

Blue and Red just continued to laugh as Edge began complaining about respect and how he never gets any of it. After a few more laughs and a lot more ribbing  Edge helped Blue with dinner. Everything went quickly and soon Edge excused himself to return to his room. Probably to work on some papers. Thus Blue and Red were finally left alone. They retreated to the hall closet so they could scheme in peace. 

The closet was small, The two skeletons pulled all the coats and shoes out to make room.  Edge had good hearing and the apartment was small. Once they were safely inside they whispered to lessen the chances of being overheard. If edge came out of his room surly the mess of clothes on the floor would be a dead giveaway to their shenanigans. That was an issue for later though.

“So we are not letting him move to Snowdin alone right?” Blue started.

“Well yeah, We need to find a place to stay out there and we need to get a lay of the land. You feeling up to some recon?”  

Blues eye lights shone with interest “What do you have in mind?” 

“We need to figure out the situation in town. The big players, local gangs, stuff like that. I’ve got a contact that owns a bar there. Might be a good starting point.” 

Blue was nodding along in agreement. “Bars are good, I can work with that.”

 It always pays to be well informed and no one was more informed than Red. Sometimes though it payed even better to be anonymous. He knew his face was well known among the dark parts of The Capitol. Blue though? He made sure the smaller stayed off the radar. He was no less involved though.

Where Red was all sharp words and crude jokes Blue was soft spoken and a sympathetic ear. He was the perfect picture of a Capitol Pansy. Smart clothing, well spoken, relatively low LV.  No one ever considered that someone could keep their LV low if they had enough control over their magic. Red and Edge made sure Blue never had to make the killing blow.

 Blue was soft looking and so people talked to him. What was the old saying? Something about flies and honey?  Well Blue was that honey and Red was the big stick. 

Wait that didn’t sound right…. Not important. 

“The place is called Grillbys. Happy hour starts in 30 minutes.” He reached into his inventory and pulled out some Gold coins “Have a few drinks keep an ear to the ground. Tell the barkeep Red sent you but don’t be loud about it.” 

Blue took the money “Where will you be?”

“Around.” Grillby wasn’t his only contact after all. 

Blue just shook his head. “Your vague speech never ceases to bamboozle me. Let me get cleaned up and we can go.” 

As Blue made his way to the washroom Red realized that left him alone. Alone with the hallway strewn with discarded shoes and coats. That little shit was too clever for his own good.  Ruefully Red started to haphazardly refill the closet. Edge would get on his ass about it in the morning but that was a problem for future Red.

When he was done Red went to knock on Edges door. “Hey bro, Blue and I are going to run some errands.”

Clearly,  Edge's voice carried out of his room “Will there be any killing on these errands?”

“No?” Red replied glad Edge couldn’t see him through the door. He wasn’t planning on killing anyone but Edge would take his nervous sweat the wrong way. “Just gonna run to the shop.” 

“Then grab some more eggs. I saw we were running low.”  Blue came out of the bathroom. He was freshly showered and in his least tattered outfit. Red held a finger to his teeth so Blue would stay quiet. Blue just winked as Red said “Yeah, no problem Edge. See you in a bit.” 

Before Edge could respond he grabbed Blues arm. With a quick snap of magic him and Blue were standing in the alley behind Grillbys bar. It was dirty and smelled like slime. Blue made a face. “It smells.” 

“Well we are standing next to trash cans.” Red started walking. He had experience walking in the snow. Red took firm steps making sure not to slip. Blue on the other hand had only ever been as far as Garrison's shop in Waterfall. He was sliding all over the place and soon enough landed ass first in the snow. Red tried not to laugh. 

“How are you walking in the snow so easily?!” Blue demanded sitting in the snow. Red just smiled and raised his shoes. Small metal spikes gleamed in the low light. 

“Cheater.” Blue huffed out. 

“Guilty,” Red admitted as he held a hand out to his little brother. “You’ll be fine once you get inside. Avoid the compacted snow and ice and try to walk in the fresh fluffy stuff.”

With a disgruntled huff Blue followed his advice. He stuck close to the wall keeping to the new snow. He hadn't fallen again when they reached the mouth of the ally. “When we move I’ll have to find some boots with good tread  for the two of you.” Red said to himself louder he added “Have fun Blue I’ll be back in an hour.” 

^^^

Blue found himself standing in front of Grillbys with a pocket full of coin and a head full of bad ideas. He could see through the bay window the place was filled with a bunch of furry monsters. Dog, Bears, Rabbits It made sense but that would make Blue the smallest one there. Which was better for Blue in the long run. No one expected the little guy to start trouble. 

A little jaunty tune hit him as the door swung open. It was warm inside, that was probably thanks to the Purple flame monster standing behind the bar. Not every monster turned to look at him but it was a close thing. Blue put on his best oblivious simple and made his way to the Bar. 

As he took a seat a stumbling bird monster came up to him. 

“Heeeeeey there cutie, you new around town?” She was clearly three sheets to the wind already. As she tried to sit on the raised stool her clawed feet lost their precious on the wooden floor. Before she could fall and break something Blue shot an arm out and made sure she stayed somewhat upright. “Thanks cutie.” 

“Not a problem.” Blue replied flagging down the Bartender. “And yes I am new to town.”

“Don’t get many outsiders in town.” She slurred “name's Red.” 

“I know a Red.” Blue said, making eye contact with the Bartender. He must have gotten the hint because his charcoal eyes squinted suspiciously. To be fair he knew his brother and that was the right reaction. The bird chatted on obliviously. “So you gonna buy me a drink? That's the polite thing to do you know?”

“...You’ve been cut off.” The monster who he assumed was the eponymous Grillby, said firmly. 

She ignored him. “ I’d like a lemon drop and what do you want hun?” She turned to Blue expectantly. 

Blue eyed the bottles behind the bar humming as if he was thinking very hard. “Do you have grenadine?” 

Grillby nodded eyes sharp “...yes” 

“Great, can I get a Shirley Temple and a Grenadine Fizz for my new friend?” Blue said putting some coins on the counter winking. Grillby must have understood because he didn’t argue as he made their drinks. 

“You’re such a sweetheart.” The Red Bird said happily “You know this town is full of a bunch of assholes. You look nice though. Where you from?”

“Hotland..” Blue lied smoothly as Grillby put the drinks down. They were both bright red. The only thing different about them was the Cherry floating on top of the virgin drink. “My name's Blue by the way. This place is very different from Hotland.” 

At the mention of Hotland Red Bird stuck out her tongue “Hotand’s too hot. I’d lose all my feathers if I lived there.” A big bear monster walked behind Red Bird's chair. He must have done something wrong because she turned on him. 

“Get outta here you prick.” She snarled. The bear turned and flipped her off. It was all very impressive since he had paws. 

While she was distracted Blue took the glasses and switched them. He grabbed the berry out of the drink and popped it into his mouth before she could see. Grillby was watching him intently so Blue gave him the finger guns and winked. That must have been enough to reassure the older flame because he wandered to the other side of the bar.  

“Anyways!” Red Bird said as she turned back around “Hotland sucks.” 

“It does.” Blue agreed easily sipping at his Fizz happily “I agree it is much too hot. Snowdin seems much nicer. It reminds me of Giftmas.” 

The bird waved him off “I guess. The snow isn’t that great. Ice is worse. Monsters are worse..er?”

“They seem….” Blue eyed the table where a bunch of dogs were playing poker aggressively. “...nice” 

“You don’t have to lie hun. Those are Asgore guard dogs. They’re fine as far as Guards go but the best guard is still a bastard.”

Interesting, it looked like Edges new subordinates were a pack.  Red Bird took a large gulp of her virgin drink. “If you reaaaally want a good time you need to talk to the big bunny over there.” She pointed to a large purple Rabbit monster sitting in a booth with several smaller buns. “She runs the local market. She can get you anything you might want or need. And I mean anything .”

Blue nodded “Thank you I will keep that in mind.” He put another coin on the bar “Would you please give my new friend another one of those drinks?” He asked Grillby when he got close as he started mixing the drink Blue slipped Red Bird a coin as well “Thank you for being so kind.” 

Red Bird blushes and pockets the money “Awww you come back around and buy me another drink soon, you hear?” 

Blue gave her a pat on the back before making his way over to the table with the dogs. He could try and talk to the buns but if they were as much trouble as he suspected that probably wasn’t such a great idea. He’d leave that up to Red.

The dogs erupted into a loud series of Barks as Blue approached. “Mind if I buy in?”

The noise quickly quieted When Blue spoke. All eyes locked in on Blue’s face. The largest Dog started to growl lowly . Blue kept his eyes firmly in the middle distance. He wasn’t here to fight. “If I lose I’ll buy you all a round of shots.” 

A dog with black spots over his eyes just scoffed “If he wants to lose that bad I say let him.” 

One of the dogs who was in a large set of amour barked in agreement. 

“Well you heard them chew toy, grab a seat.” The largest female dog huffed as she began to deal the cards. 

The first hand he was dealt had three aces tucked besides a king and a queen. Regardless Blue set his cards on the table face down. “ I fold.” 

The dog began to cheer as Blue brought over the first round of shots. After four losing hands Blues luck changed. He was winning more than he lost but the Dogs were already drunk. It turned out they weren't that bad once they got a little social lubrication in them. 

^^^

Red was waiting impatiently by the door burning his third cigarette when Blue finally stumbled out into the snow.  Blue wasn’t drunk but he could recognize the other was definitely tipsy. Considering Blue’s tolerance was high, he definitely drank more than thirty G’s worth of booze. 

“Have fun ?” 

Blue turned to him eye lights hazy “Oh hi Red! I had lots of fun!” There was some dark bruising around one of Blue’s sockets and Red cursed under his breath. 

“What happened to your face?” Red asked as he lead Blue down the alley. 

“Doggo said I was cheaaating!” Blue exclaimed.

“Well were you?” Red asked with a smile. 

“Well yeah! But Doggo couldn’t tell, I was too smooth. Anyways Dogo has two black eyes! And I got him in the gut.” Blue started to laugh and Red knew he didn’t get the joke. That was okay though, if Blue was laughing he’d be fine.

Red just shook his head “Glad to hear you made a new friend. Hold on imma take us home.” 

One shortcut later and they were strolling out of the hall closet and right into Edge. He was sitting on the couch, eyes watching them coldly. Red noticed him first. Stopping dead in his tracks. Blue saw him second and ,completely misreading the situation, gave him a big wave. “Hiiii Edgy!”

“He’s drunk.” Edge observed.

“Nu-uh! I’m tipsy.” 

“Yeah!” Red agreed, grabbing on to the weak defense “He’s tipsy.” 

“Regardless,” Edge cut in “It doesn't look like you got the eggs.” 

Red and Blue looked at each other before turning back to Edge. “They were out.” Red lied.

“Yeah out.” Blue agreed. 

Edge just sighed, like he knew they were lying but he decided it was too much effort to deal with their shit. 

“Fine, Red go grab some water. Blue come over here before you fall over.” 

Red just grumbled as he went to do as he was told. When he got back Blue had thrown himself over Edges lap like an especially spoiled cat. Edge completed the illusion by stocking the smaller’s skull. 

Red went to hand over the water and Ehde pulled him in close. “I am going to kill you for this.” He whispered. 

That was probably a slight over exaggeration. Red still knew he was going to hear about how irresponsible he was, at length, in the morning. The information they had gathered was worth its weight in gold so Red just smiled his sharktooth grin and shoved Edge’s hand off. 

“Yeah yeah Tell me all about it later Big guy. It looks like you have a cat to tend to.” 

Blue meow’d from Edge’s lap before giggling like a schoolgirl. 

“Blue please, drink the water.” Red turned to leave as he heard Edge exclaim “Like a Skeleton Blue- Put your tongue away!”

Red just shook his head as he went to go add his and Blues information to his notes. There was a certain group of bunnies he needed to research as well. 

Chapter Text

Snowdin was… quaint. 

It was a lot smaller than the capitol. Hell, this place made Waterfall look large. One shop, a “librarby”,and a single Bar. That was the extent of the entertainment. Of course that wouldn’t stop his brothers from getting into trouble. They seamed to atract it by just existing. 

Edge eyed the two bickering Skeletons with suspicion. Even though they acted like this was their first time in town a few monsters still knew their names. Edge didn’t know when or how but those two had most definitely been snooping. 

“I think we should set it up in the living room, so everyone can use it.”

Red was already shaking his head “What? So the first asshole with a brick and a bad idea can steal it? I don’t think so.” 

“Well I am sorry Red but your sleeping situation is always a mess. I don’t want to have to smell old socks every time we play Space Invaders.”

Edge stopped in front of a two story house. It matched the photograph Red had shown him. Apparently housing was cheaper here since nobody wanted to live out in the boonies. Pooling their savings the three of them had been able to afford a house three times larger than their last home. 

“Is this the place?” Blue asked as he caught sight of the building Edge stood in front of. 

“Yep.” Red said from his side. 

“Well open the door then!” Blue exclaimed bouncing on his heels. 

Edge pulled the key out of his pocket and stuck it in the lock. The freshly cut key stuck a bit but with a little force it turned. The door swung open with a squeak. Clearly there was some maintenance needed on the door. He was sure Red had some oil hidden somewhere. 

As he stepped into the living room Edge started adding more things to his list of repairs. Old carpet with holes in it. Cracks in the plaster. The last owner had clearly trashed the few furniture pieces there were before leaving. It was all wooden from the look of it most of it seemed fixable, if not reusable. 

“Oh my gosh it so Big!”

Edge looked down to see Blue looking around stars in his eyes, literally. Red wasn’t far behind. He shoved his way Past his brothers and headed for the stairs. He sat on the lowest step and took in the view. 

“Not half bad. Needs some work but it’s nothing a little elbow grease can’t fix.” 

“And we can all have our own rooms now! Red doesn't have to sleep on the couch and we don’t have to share a room Edgy! This is going to be amazing!” Blue was eyeing the door that led to the basement. They had all agreed to turn it into a Bedroom. 

Edge was happy to see his brothers happy. He was worried they would be a bit bitter about having to uproot their lives for him but if that was the case they didn’t show it. 

Blue broke off from the group to investigate the basement he had been eyeing.

“Well, I guess I’ll check out the upstairs. See which room is better.” Red commented.

Edge realized he was already behind in the hunt for the best room. If he kept standing here slack jawed he would be left with the smallest, or the most drafty room. The basement door swung open.

“Dibs on the basement!” Blue said before slamming the door and disappearing again. That left two rooms. Red was already halfway up the stairs. So Edge used his height advantage and training to grab the ledge of the 2nd story landing. With a little creative use of gravity magic he was up and over the railing. 

“Seriously?” Red asked. 

“It is not my fault you have been skipping out on training. I will be investigating this room.” He put his hand on the door that sat at the top of the stairs. “To see if it is up to my incredibly high standards.” 

Red rolled his eyes at him “Sure bro, go for it.” 

With a triumphant gleam to his eyes Edge made his way into the first room. It was spacious, more so than his last room. Inspecting the window he found no cracks and an adequate seal. The closet was filled with spiderwebs and a few moldy boxes. Honestly there was no reason he would even need to see the other space. 

There was a knock on his door, he turned in time to see Blue burst through the door. “Do you have the sheets box?” 

“I have not unpacked my dimensional Boxes yet.” 

Red appeared behind Blue. “well you wanna see the other one Edge? I think it’s there the same size as this one.” 

“No that is fine. I think this room will work nicely.” 

Red just shrugged. “Cool imma go unpack.” 

Edge shook his head “And by unpack you mean throw your new mattress on the floor and take a nap.” 

“Hey” Red put a hand on his chest “That hurts. I don’t make fun of your action figure colocation.”

“They are collectibles.” edge scoffed.

Red went to leave and Blue followed. Edge heard him ask Red “Do you have the sheet box?”

***

It was time for dinner and they hadn’t brought any food. The kitchen was only half unpacked so even if they had cooking would have been out of the question. Red was setting up the TV and VCR in the living room as Blue and Edge fussed with Reds unlabeled boxes. 

Blue cut one open with a bone construct “Oh, I found the sheet box.” 

“About time.” Edge opened a smaller box that Red had so helpful labeled ‘Box 2: the Boxaning’ “Why I even let him help pack is a mystery.”

Blue decided Edge was getting hangry. Blue was getting there as well. If he had to open another box that didn’t have their plates in it he was going to scream.  Blue pushed the box he was working on out of his way. With a big stretch his bones gave a series of  satisfying pops.

“I’m going to the food place down the road to grab dinner. A salad for you?” Blue asked Edge. 

“If they don’t have any pasta yes please.” Edge gave Blue a look that would make a lesser monster cower in place .”Remember to take Red with you. We are using the buddy system until we are sure of this town's dangers.”

Blue, trained in the art of brotherly warfare, waved him off. “Of course, We will follow the rules.”  Edge did not seem reassured by the others' words but returned to his work regardless. 

Red was digging through their movie box making sure everything was in good shape. From what Blue could see it looked like none of the loose tapes had become unraveled. He was glad. Undamaged tapes were hard to find in the dump. Movie nights would get boring if their tapes became damaged. 

“Hey Red, What would you like from Grillbys?” Blue asked. He was already putting on his boots. Red had made sure they all had crampons but Edge had banned them from the house. 

“A burg, you know how I like ‘em.”  Red said “You want me to come with you?” 

“I think Edge would feel better if you did. I can go by myself if you are busy though,” 

“Nah give me a minuet and I’ll meetcha outside.” 

Blue shrugged and went to the porch to wait.  As he opened the door a blast of cold air hit him square in the face. That was still something he was going to have to get used to. He had never been so cold in his life. The Capitol could get chilly during the winter being close to the surface. But it was never the type of cold that sank into your bones and made your fingers feel numb.

It wasn’t bad, just different. 

Blue sat on the edge of the steps so he could sink his boots into the inch of unpacked snow leading up to their new home. In time it would become hard and packed from use but for now it was still soft enough to play with. With a smile he grabbed a handful and rolled the clump between his gloved hands. 

He was able to roughly shape it into something that kind of looked like a lopsided skull. He gave it a pair of eye sockets. A hole for the nose. He was just working on the teeth when he heard the shout. 

It might have just been the wind but when he listened closer he heard it again more clearly. A desperate cry for help rang out from the forest that edged the town. 

Without thinking Blue was on his feet and heading towards the sound. 

“Hello?” Blue called out. He manifested a sharp bone in his hand. Whoever was calling for help must be in trouble. It never hurt to be prepared.

“Help!” The voice called out again. Now he was closer Blue could hear that the monster sounded young. Probably a child. 

“Where are you?” 

“Over here!” They called to his left. Blue moved closer to where he had heard them staying just outside of the three line. “Are you in the woods?”

“Yes! Please I’m in a trap! Help me!” 

“Let me go get my brothers. We can help get you out of that trap in no time,” Blue said calmly. As he talked Blue pulled out a glow stick, with a crack it lit up a vibrant green. He threw it in the snow, forgetting where the child war wouldn’t help anyone. 

“My HP is low! I might not make it too much longer!” 

“My house is right here. You have lasted this long, you can last a few more minutes. I believe in you.”  Blue said calmly, turning his back on the trees. 

“Leaving a child out in the snow? So cruel if you,” 

Blue swung the hand with the sharp bone out. It might have hit if a large white paw hadn't completely encased his upper arm. The monster twisted hard casing Blue to throw his weight towards the strange monster to avoid a broken arm. He hit them with a solid thud, but they were much bigger then Blue and most definitely weighed more. 

“Look at that, this one's got moxie.” 

There several laughs as a handful of rabbit monsters appeared from the tree line. “First rule of Snowdin, always watch your back.” A deceptively warm voice whispered against the side of his face. Then a bag was placed over his skull and everything went back. 

***

Red finished wrangling his new sneakers, it was cold as balls when he stepped out into the night air. 

“Blue? Where you at?” 

There was no response. The kid said he’d wait. It wasn’t like him to wander off. Red looked over to the step. There was a smashed lump of snow sitting on the lowest step. Boot prints lead away from the house and went around back. 

“Blue?” Red tried again but the night was silent. 

“Well shit.” Red muttered to himself “Looks like the brat got himself in trouble again.” Or at least he better have. If Blue had wandered off and got himself stuck in a snowbank Red was gonna lose his shit. 

He turned to go grab Edge.