Chapter Text
“YOU WANT ME TO CONJURE WINGBONES? WHY? AND WHY SUCH A SPECIFIC SIZE TOO?”
Alphys fidgeted next to you, her claws and wings nervously twitching. A sad mental smile wormed its way into your mind. She really was a bad liar, but she had worn her nervousness like a shield for so long that nobody questioned it.
“It's a surprise,” you told Papyrus with a little bounce.
“A SURPRISE? WOWIE! I’M SURE WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU’RE WORKING ON WILL BE TRULY MAGNIFICENT!”
You have no idea , you thought. This last week would be the assembly of the wings, the completion of the final product. You were filled with excitement.
“HERE WE GO!”
The skeleton narrowed his eyes, and with a concentrated look on his face, his hands began to glow slightly.
“IT TAKES A LITTLE LONGER AND A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFORT BECAUSE I HAVEN’T DONE THIS BEFORE,” he explained. “GIVE ME A FEW MOMENTS.”
Bones began to slowly appear around him, forming as they hung in the air. You watched, fascinated, as they materialized with a faint orange glow. When they finally finished, they floated through the air and straight into Alphys’ arms. She stumbled a little under their weight and let out a grunt. Her wings flared open to help her keep her balance and you giggled a little. You reached up to take a couple from her, relieving her from some of her load.
“Thank you!” you chirped.
You tucked the bones underneath one arm rather unsteadily and gave him a quick one armed hug.
“NYEH HEH HEH! YOU’RE WELCOME FRISK!”
You grinned at him and hefted the bones over your shoulders. With a wave, he sent you off with Alphys, and the two of you strode inside her house and into the elevator. You were silent on the way down, content to stand by her side. You couldn’t help the little bounce that you did every few moments, happiness coursing through you. Alphys shot you an amused glance at a particularly wild one that nearly sent you stumbling into the wall.
With a ding! the doors opened, and you stepped out, walking as fast as you could with your load down the hallways and into your workroom. You pushed the door open with your foot and set down the bones on the table by the feathers. Alphys followed quickly after, arranging the materials as she set them down.
“There!” she said triumphantly. “You ready?”
You nodded and clapped your hands. A wide grin was splitting your face and you eagerly grabbed the first bone and fibers and got to work. Alphys had had a “glue gun”, but in actuality, it used a certain kind of magic to seal things together, leaving behind a seamless creation.
With deft fingers you began to attach the first feathers, working slowly and carefully in order to ensure precision. Opposite of you, Alphys’ hands were flying as she worked, and you envied her for a moment. She truly was a force when she was working in her element.
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“O-okay Frisk,” Alphys commanded. “I need you to hold the wings steady as I press the dust into the bones. We have to be extremely careful - can’t waste any of the crushed crystal. It’s gonna be a long process. Ready?”
You nodded. You carefully laid your hands down on the wing bones - a little tingle of happiness ran through you as you touched your creation, the gift that had taken weeks to complete - and watched as the scientist placed weights gently on the ends of feathers. She pulled a vial out of her lab coat, and your breath caught as you stared at the glinting, shimmering dust. It was iridescent, sparkling with a rainbow of colors, not unlike the way Asriel’s had. You saw what she meant when she had told you that you couldn’t waste any of the dust. The crystal itself had been surprisingly small, and seeing it reduced to dust only served to motivate you to be exceedingly careful. With baited breath, you watched as she measured out just a few grains, and began.
When the first granule touched the wingbone a soft golden light spread from the impact point. Alphys pressed it in gently, and the light spread, making its way down the fibers of the feathers. Each of Sans’ feathers was placed in the very center of each wing, and when the glow touched one, the blue spread up the spidery threads of light and across the rest of the wing, zigzagging its way through the feathers. You watched, entranced, as she measured out another couple grains and pressed them in, further along the bone.
The process took hours - each wing had to be done carefully and precisely so the magic would spread evenly across. Your legs began to cramp and you shifted slightly, careful not to move the wings as you did so. Alphys let out a small noise at the movement, but sighed in relief when she noticed the wings had stayed put. She offered you a weary grin and flexed her claws.
“Almost done,” she said.
You smiled at her.
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On the surface, a skeleton felt a ghostly tingle over the stubs that were now his wings. His breathing ceased for a moment as he felt a wind rustle through feathers that were no longer there. With a sigh, he continued his walk.
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Christmas day dawned bright and early, the sun sliding in through your window to bathe your face in a warm golden light. You lay there for a moment, basking in it, before your eyes snapped open. It was Christmas. It was Christmas !
You threw off the covers and raced to the bathroom, feet pattering against the floor. Hurriedly, you splashed water on your face and brushed your teeth, before running back to your room to throw on clothes. You found that Toriel had laid out an outfit for you while you were in the bathroom. A warm feeling spread across your chest - love - and you smiled brightly.
In the living room, you found her waiting for you, dressed and ready to go. A covered pie was held in one hand, two large bags in the other.
“Are you ready, my child?” she asked.
You grinned in response and made to hug her tightly. When you pulled back, her wings had half-opened, the purple feathers taking on a golden tint near the edges from the sunlight streaming in through the window. She laughed, a bright, carefree laugh, and suddenly she seemed so much younger, and you wondered why you had never really seen that side of her before.
“Would you open the door please, Frisk?”
Cold air drifted inside as you did so, breezing across your face and causing a little shiver. You were brimming with excitement, practically dragging your mother along with you as you skipped to Alphys’. You had decided ahead of time with her that the celebration would be hosted there, for convenience. It was an added bonus that she had a massive tv room somewhere downstairs, and that it also branched off into a lower kitchen. It was almost like a second house below their main one.
Monsters of all kinds called out to you as you passed them on the streets. You waved back, flashing all of them a wide smile. The few humans that had wandered into town for the holiday gave you some strange, but friendly looks. There was one girl that you recognized, a fifteen year old from the high school you would be attending in a few years. Her name was Alyona. She strode over to you and leaned down to hug you.
“Heya Frisk!” she chirped brightly. “Happy holidays!”
You returned the sentiment and reached into one of Toriel’s bags. You had hoped that you would run into her over the holidays, and you withdrew a small package, the same one you had been carrying the day you had had Sans make the promise. You knew that she loved science with a passion, and wanted to go into the field when she graduated. You’d worked hard on this project for her, and your face was lit up with excitement and anticipation as she took it.
“For me?” she asked.
You nodded emphatically.
“Oh, thank you!”
She hugged you again and you patted her back with a grin.
“I have to be off - I got an internship at a local observatory - but it was nice to see you!”
She waved at you as she walked away and rounded the corner. With a small bounce and a bright expression, you turned back to the route and waved your mother onwards. She chuckled, and followed as you made your way quickly through the crowd, ducking beneath limbs and sliding between people.
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“ALRIGHT SO WHO WANTS ANOTHER GO?!” Undyne roared. It was many hours into the celebration, and by now everyone was exhausted and ready to open their presents. Toriel had insisted they wait until at least evening to tear into the packages and that they all should spend time together first. You obliged, albeit with slight disappointment at having to wait to show Sans what you had created for him. Alphys’ expression had mirrored yours across the room as she nodded resignedly.
Of course, everyone who had already been beaten by Undyne at the various party games (at this point in time pin-the-tail, an old classic that she had adored as she grew up) was eying her dubiously, and Asgore stepped in.
“While I would love to play another round against you Undyne, I feel it is time to stop,” he said gently. “There are still presents to open, after all.”
At that, she managed to become even more energetic, and you and the rest of your family watched in horror as she lifted the rather heavy, rather large board that she had been using, and began to bend backwards, ready to suplex it.
“YEAH! PRESENTS!!”
Asgore hurriedly placed his paw on her shoulder with a mildly panicked expression.
“Uh, yes, but please do not suplex the board…”
She stopped in her motions instantly and seemed to register what she was doing.
“Oh. Heh, yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” she laughed a little abashedly. “Anyways, let’s get opening!”
You had expected the presents to be opened one by one, in a circle, as most of the human families you had seen do. Instead, each member was given a present and told to open it on the count of three. It took quite a large amount of shuffling as people mistakenly handed out presents, but soon enough, everyone had their own package.
“We like to get things for people in groups,” Alphys had explained to you earlier. “Usually two or three monsters will get together for one gift, and all put in effort to make it the best that they can. So in this case, you’ll probably have two or three gifts, maybe four.”
You shifted impatiently in your seat as you waited for everyone to settle.
“Okay!” called Toriel. “Are we all ready?”
There was a chorus of grumblings and affirmations. She smiled at them all, a little bit of a mischievous quirk to the edges of it as she listened.
“Well, maybe not yet,” she said.
Undyne gave a loud groan. Sans was chuckling into Papyrus’ side, pulled into a tight cuddle by his brother.
“Alright, alright,” she said, laughing. “One, two, three!”
The next minute was an absolute whirlwind of chaos. Wrapping paper went flying everywhere as people quite literally tore into their presents. For all your enthusiasm and impatience for this occasion, you took your time with your gift, carefully peeling the paper back to keep it intact. When it revealed a box, you shook the box, and were surprised to hear nothing. It felt heavy in your hands, so you kept going. You set the paper aside, folded neatly, and grabbed the nearest pair of scissors and began to cut along the tape. When you opened the box...another box was revealed, also wrapped in paper. A thought began to blossom in your mind and you checked the first layer of wrapping paper suspiciously. There was no note, only a small sticker with the words “To Frisk” printed on it in Arial font. You narrowed your eyes at Sans, who sat across the room from you. He was too busy poking fun at Papyrus and his model car that Asgore had gotten him. You turned your gaze onto your mother. She was laughing her head off at a book of teacher jokes and witty lines to use in class that Undyne and Alphys had put together for her.
You narrowed your eyes even further and got to work. Soon, you perfected the art of taking off the wrapping paper in just a few smooth strokes with your deft fingers as you worked through layer after layer, box after box. Finally, you reached a small box, about the size of your palm. There was no wrapping paper over it; the box itself was decorated with golden swirls and little red hearts. You opened it carefully, expecting some sort of prank, but gasped once you saw what was inside. It was a beautiful white gold locket in the shape of a heart, with little wings on either side of it. Small, delicate blue engravings were blooming across the surface in an intricate pattern. The locket itself was half the size of your palm, a small chain curled around it.
Toriel leaned over to look at it. Movement around the room stopped as everyone watched you, waiting for you to reveal what you had received. You were speechless. Granted, you were speechless most of the time, but it was voluntary. Now, you simply had no idea how to react. Who had given it to you? And why? You slowly pulled it away from yourself so that Toriel could see.
“Oh Frisk!” she exclaimed. “That is beautiful! Who gave it to you?”
You shook your head and continued to stare at it.
“What is it?!” Undyne called from her left.
Asgore, who was seated to your right, also leaned over. Toriel shot him a cool glance, and then seemed to dismiss him, no longer bothering to pay attention to him. You hesitantly turned the box around so its contents were open for all to see. Alphys let out a gasp similar to yours. Papyrus was gaping at it. Sans had his usual grin, although he seemed to be blinking quite often. You couldn’t tell if it was in shock or not. His pupils were glowing much more brightly than usual, although it could have been for any number of reasons.
“O-open it,” Alphys suggested. “Maybe there’s a note inside.”
You turned the box so it faced you again. With slightly trembling fingers, you opened the locket. The metal felt cold and smooth, the engravings hardly making any impact on its surface. With a small click, the clasp pulled apart. Inside was a tiny ruby heart dangling from a chain attached to the top of the bottom cover. There was a small slip of paper folded up. You opened it.
We can’t fly, but you’re the wind beneath our wings.
The words were printed onto the paper in curling script. It was unsigned.
“Sans, did you give this to them?” Toriel asked.
The skeleton shrugged and pointed.
“my gift is right there tori,” he said as he gestured to the tree.
She frowned.
“It was not me,” Asgore murmured.
Everyone began shooting confused looks at each other. You saw that Sans was the only one who seemed unconcerned, but he was watching you almost exclusively, his eyes on flickering around to look at everyone else once in awhile.
When the muttering and speculation died down, another round of gifts was handed out. You received a suit and a formal dress, a matching set that also went rather nicely with the dresses that Toriel had given Undyne and Alphys. The dress was cute, with a fluffy skirt that would fly outwards when you twirled. She winked at you when you looked at her questioningly.
“Papyrus helped me pick them out,” she said in a low tone.
You giggled, and imagined the tall, boisterous skeleton in a clothing store with your mother.
“Mettaton was there too,” she added.
It only served to make the image even funnier.
Sans had, rather comically, been given a Jenga set. You had been confused at first when his eyes lit up so brightly, but he looked over at Toriel and Alphys and grinned like the cheshire cat.
“oh finally!” he said. “i’ve had my eye on this for a while.”
The tone he used was one that indicated he didn’t mean to play with it, and you tipped your head at him questioningly. He winked at you.
From Undyne and Alphys, you had been given a large journal, sketching pencils, a small pen set, a rather large collection of anime stickers, and scrapbooking supplies. Undyne gave you a big smile, and Alphys leaned over to wrap a wing around you.
“There are friendship bracelet kits inside the journal,” she said. “I - I thought we should try them together.”
You offered her a bright grin and wrapped your arm around her as best you could. You felt Toriel’s wings settle over the both of you, and suddenly an impromptu group hug had been started. Sans and Papyrus made their way over, and within moments, you were surrounded by fur, scales, bones, and feathers. It felt nice, and a warmth bloomed throughout you. This was what family was like. You loved it. You loved them.
With some difficulty, everyone detached themselves from the tangle of limbs, and Alphys had “accidentally” ended up in Undyne’s lap.
Asgore had given you a small pendant in the shape of a quill. The symbolism in the feather was not lost on you; you gave him a big hug and felt a little tear pricking at the corner of one eye. Not many knew that you liked to write, and most would assume it was a symbol of the monster’s wings. You remembered how he had stumbled on you scribbling in your journal one day.
Your last gift was from Sans, and your breath caught as you unwrapped it. It was a photo album that looked as though it had been through many hardships. The cover was worn and the leather was torn in some places, but it had a ruggedly beautiful look to it. It featured a photograph of you and your family when you had just reached the surface. The seven of you were silhouetted against the sun in the background, a golden glow spreading over everything. You wondered how he had taken it. A note was taped just below it.
look at this when you’re at home, kiddo.
You glanced up at him. His signature grin was there, but beneath it you could see a kind of softness that he rarely displayed. Sometimes you felt as though it was reserved for Papyrus, and only Papyrus. You tucked it back into the box and carefully closed it. Just as you had done with everyone else, you reached over to him with your arms outstretched. He chuckled, and pulled you into a hug.
“Outside,” you whispered into his ear.
When he pulled back, he gave you a barely perceptible nod, before prompting Papyrus about the food. The ensuing chaos that resulted as he attempted to rush to the kitchen allowed you to make your way to Alphys. With a little nod and smile, you pointed to the door. She seemed to understand, and took your hand to lead you to the workroom, even though you knew the place by heart after spending so much time there.
“R-ready?” she asked.
You squeezed her hand in answer and she chuckled.
“Do you - do you want me there?”
You shook your head. You didn’t feel that it would go very well if she was present. From what you had gathered, only you knew the circumstances behind his missing wings. It would be one thing for him to know that she had helped with something so private. It would be entirely something else if she was there when he accepted it. You assured her that she would be able to see them in action some time later. She smiled at that, and patted your back as you carefully took the wrapped wings in your arms. They were quite large for you, and you stumbled slightly as you tried to balance yourself. When they had settled into a heavy weight, you flashed her a grateful look and marched out the door.
Alphys followed you to the elevator. She waved as the doors shut with a ding! , and then you were by yourself. You felt yourself quivering with excitement at what was to come. You had slipped the locket on amongst all the commotion and it settled against your chest exactly where your soul emerged when it was called out. With all of your movements, it shifted slightly, and you could feel the wings occasionally touch your chest.
The doors opened, and you stepped out. Two hallways and a door later, which you struggled with for a few minutes as you carried the wings, you were standing outside. It didn’t surprise you to see a certain skeleton already there, staring up at the stars. He had the same strange expression that he had worn when you had spoken to him just after reaching the surface. You stopped where you were and watched him. He didn’t acknowledge you for a moment, still staring, his hands in his pockets and his hood around his neck. When he finally turned around, it was with a layer of seriousness beneath his grin. You set down your load on a patch of clear ground, taking care to keep it wrapped and safe from the wet snow surrounding it.
“heya,” he said. “what’chu got there kiddo?”
You beckoned him closer. He was standing over you now, hands still in his pockets. With the same gentle care as you had last time, you removed them and opened his jacket.
“what?” he asked. “you want a hug? y’know, i’m gonna have to start charging for those kid. it takes a lotta work to wrap my arms around you; plus, you get the warmth and comfort of this old jacket here.”
You shook your head and tugged at one side of it, pulling it off of his shoulder.
“you want me to take this off? why?”
But he obliged, and the jacket came off. You walked around him until you were facing his back. He turned his head to glance at you with a questioning expression. You saw that his shirt was still cut in two places, made specifically that way for wings that were no longer there. You took a deep breath.
“hey, frisk. if you could, yanno, hurry up...see, i don’t like not having this on. feels weird on my shoulders, yeah?”
You walked back to the package. All of a sudden, it was hard for you to breathe. Tears began to fill your eyes and you bit your lip, hard. You couldn’t tell which emotion was causing this - all you knew was that you were suddenly overcome with feeling , and you couldn’t stop. Your hands were shaking as you bent down to unwrap it. Fear began to dominate. What if he didn’t like it? What if he took it the wrong way? What if he didn’t want a replacement? What if he hated you after this, for trying to pull such a massive stunt on him, and on such an important holiday too?
The first layer came off. You could see a very faint blue glow emanating from the wings now. Second layer. Third layer was open so that they rested on cloth that separated them from the ground. Behind you, you heard a strangled breath, and your hands shook even more. The wings were revealed, black feathers grading to a vibrant blue. They rustled gently in the wind, magic radiating from them so strongly that you could feel it. You didn’t dare look behind you.
“frisk…”
You felt the tears began to fall. Furiously, you swiped at your eyes, a nail catching your cheek and scratching it. You bit your lip harder. He hated it. He hated you now.
“buddy. how…?”
You felt a hand rest on your shoulder and you flinched.
“woah, kiddo, you okay?”
You nodded minutely, one hand pressed to your eyes. Stupid. Why were you crying over this? Why had you even done this in the first place?
Why had you done this in the first place?
“‘S for you,” you said quietly, your voice wavering. “I thought you might want…”
You cursed yourself for not keeping your voice steady.
“wait, are you crying? kid, why are you-”
You turned around and threw yourself at him, diving into his jacket and burying your face in his chest.
“You’re sad without them,” you muttered. “Don’t wanna replace but - but - but thought you would like having...having another. Again.”
Your sobs were silent as you clung to him. He wrapped an arm around you hesitantly.
“why are you crying though?” he asked.
He sounded genuinely confused, and you lifted your head to look at him.
“I don’t wanna replace them,” you repeated, trying to slow the tears.
Understanding dawned on his face and he chuckled. It was your turn to be confused, and to have a little spark of hope appear.
“i don’t wanna replace them either,” he said. “but this...this isn’t really replacing them, is it? you just brought them back to me.”
“Can’t feel with them though,” you sniffled. “Magic only lets them connect to you. Can’t really connect with feelings.”
“so?” he said. “i mean, yeah, these aren’t gonna stop me from feeling sad, but i think if i had my wings back, i’d be sad anyway. ‘s not something you can just make go away. everyone has bad days, right? sometimes people just have them really often. sometimes people can have bad weeks, or even bad months, or maybe even bad years. i think it’s enough that i get ‘em back.”
“You - you really mean that?” you said with a small hiccup.
“i really mean it,” he said.
He patted your back and let you go. You stumbled a little, then steadied yourself. A little smile was situated on your face. Silly. There was no reason to worry. He meant it. Sans wouldn’t say something if he didn’t mean it.
“now uh, can we maybe get it started? i’m startin’ to be chilled to the bone here out in this cold.”
You couldn’t help but laugh at that, the negativity fading almost instantly from you. With much steadier hands, you lifted one wing and walked to his back. Carefully, slowly, with extreme caution, you righted it and took a deep breath. The wing flared half open, startling you as the feathers parted to reveal the exact place where it would connect. You saw blue magic pulling open the slits, and glanced up momentarily. There was a blue glow around the left side of Sans’ head, indicating that he was using his magic. You placed the wing against the stub, wincing inwardly as you saw how it had healed. When bone met bone, there was a soft glow that quickly grew into a burst of brilliant blue light, too bright for you to look at. You closed your eyes.
When you opened them at the sound of Sans’ gasp, you saw the same gold light from when you had placed the crystal into the wings spreading across them, intertwined with cyan and ultramarine. The feathers stirred, and you watched with wonder as the wing opened and closed, flexing as Sans tested it.
“can you do the other one?” he said in a rush.
You went over to it instantly and repeated the process. The same blue light appeared and you shut your eyes for another second. When it cleared, Sans had turned around to face you with a wide smile. He opened his arms and you fell into them, wrapping your own around his middle. You felt feathers settle around your shoulders and happiness filled you until you were overflowing with it. Everything was a sea of blue, black, and white. Your vision went blurry with more tears, but you understood that it was the amount of joy you had at this moment. You couldn’t hold it all inside of you. Sans seemed to understand as well, because a moment later, a glowing cyan tears splashed onto the top of your head. You stood on your tiptoes and leaned your head against his shoulder, sighing in contentment.
An eternity later, his wings opened and you stepped away reluctantly. He was smiling at you, the softness all there in the open. You were smiling back, and as you walked inside, your hand was in his and a spring lifted your step. You felt as though you could touch the stars.