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topazshadowwolf · 5 years

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Calming Stress

A while back, my friend @goosygander came to me asking if I wanted to do an art trade. I agreed and my end of the trade was to write a fic that followed up on a short role play we did with Goosy’s Red, an Underfell/Gaster Blaster Sans, and an Underfell Torel. The way the request was worded I saw fit to add as much wonderful fluff in along with the angst you often see in those two AUs. The end results Goosy enjoyed greatly. So, here it is: AO3 version

Calming Stress

Underfell/Gaster Blaster AU Soriel fic By Topaz Shadowwolf

Even before the show they were watching together ended, the skeleton beside her had drifted off to sleep. Most days, she would be annoyed and would try to wake him up, but this time she couldn't bring herself to do so. Her poor skeleton friend had shown up in such rough shape, that she just had to let him rest. Besides, having him here, and beside her, was enough to help fend off the past that haunted her thoughts. She shouldn't, but Toriel couldn't help but wrap the skeleton up into a proper hug, pulling him onto her lap in the process. Finding a spot to rest her cheek was not as easy as it would have been if his skull was not semi-spiky. His usual smooth skull looked perfect for this simple act of affection, but her efforts paid off as she found a spot right on top, just before his horns and his skull connect. It felt perfect, like it was meant for her cheek to rest there. His tail, though, was another matter. She had to be careful with it. She knew, from past experiences, that if it curled or bent the wrong way it could cause him a lot of pain. With how long the extra limb was at the moment, it would be easy to wake him in discomfort or pain if she was not mindful. Still, even if some might consider the extra attention she had to pay to his tail annoying, she still loved that part of him when he was in this form. It was far more expressive than he liked to be. It did so many different acts to display his mood, though sadly it was mostly fearful and nervous reactions. But, around her, he did seem to relax enough to display happiness and even annoyance when she teased him. She held him until the cold, haunting memories of being in the Ruins faded and she no longer felt alone within her self-made isolation again. It was unfair to use him as a source of comfort like that, especially since he was sleep and unable to provide his feelings about being a tool for her sanity. But, at the same time, she couldn't help herself. All she could do was hope he didn’t wake and find himself like this. To have him angry at her for holding him like a stuffed toy would break her soul. Losing him in her life is something she could not afford and deeply feared. She was already so alone... She loved Frisk, she really did, but she needed someone else here, someone she could love in a different way. It was getting late, and she picked Sans up and carried him to the guest room. She would have loved to talk to him more, but that will have to wait until morning. Maybe then she could find out why he was had been wearing half the condiments from his hotdog stand. The poor dear looked so stressed and dejected when he showed up at her doorstep. At least she was able to give him a chance to clean up and a change of clothes.

She set the sleeping skeleton on the bed then left to tend his dirty clothes. She could still smell the grease and mix of relish, ketchup, and mustard on them. The mustard smell was one she had grown used to. It was just a part of Sans, as far as she was concerned. Smelling it brought him to mind, and she has found herself using the condiment more. She also kept more stashed away for him. But, as much as that smell was a part of him, mustard didn’t need to be all over his clothes. Some would say she has grown soft, that she is not the terror of the Ruins she once was. But she still had her temper, and she didn’t like strangers, especially around her child. Sans isn’t a stranger; so, she will wash his clothes as promised. She pretreated some areas, knowing if she didn't they would only turn to stains. Once ready, she placed them in the washing machine and started the wash. Toriel then considered her options for a moment before returning to her sofa and grabbed a book to read. She was feeling better just knowing someone else was in the house; but, she couldn’t stand the silence. She turned on the TV but kept the volume low, not wanting to risk waking up Sans. Not that it would. The dear has proven to her he had the ability to sleep through almost anything.

After a while, she heard the sound that signaled that the wash was done. Toriel placed a bookmark in her spot before she stood up to make her way back to the laundry room. She should have put them in the dryer in the morning and tried to get some sleep, but she just didn't sleep as easily as the skeleton in her guest room. Grabbing his clothes out of the machine, she placed them in the dryer. They can at least start drying, and if she decides to go to bed halfway through, she'll stop the load and restart it in the morning. On her way back she heard a noise at her front door and paused. No... no, she was hearing things, she was always hearing things. Her paws moved to her mouth as she tried to calm her breathing. There were no more fallen humans, no more need to venture out to make sure a child isn't killed before she could protect them. No more need to guard the children and keep them from her own people. Her eyes filled with tears, and she struggled to keep calm. She heard the noise again... There really was something there. She wasn't just hearing things. There really was someone or thing there making noise. As to who or what she didn't know, and her mind was already filled with thoughts of the Ruins which prepared her to go on the attack. … No, she needed to stay here, in the present. She doesn't need to dust a monster to protect a human. That isn't the way things are anymore. Not here on the surface. She padded her way to the front door, listening quietly. She then knew what she was hearing. Something was messing with her doorknob. Angry, she got ready to round the corner, open the door, and attack whomever it was. They had no right to break into her house, and she will not stand for it. But as she came around the corner she saw a red light in the dark. The monster in question was already in the house, and it was her skeleton friend. He turned his animalistic head towards her and she could see the panic in his eye lights. Between each joint of his bones, she could see a red light slowly pulsing with growing energy like a soul beat. She had never seen him shift when he lacked control of it before, only the end results of different forms and his testimonial of what it was like. While he has never mentioned the glow before, if she had to hazard a guess, that was what was happening. Her poor friend started to shake fearfully as he again fought to grip the doorknob. It was then she saw the problem. While she has paws, her paws were hand-like, with thumbs and fingers made for gripping. His boney paws no longer had a useable thumb and were covered in sweat, making what weak grasp slippery. To add to it, his panicked mind hadn't noticed the door was still locked. "Hold on, dear," She said as she walked over and unlocked the door. He finally got it open and hurried out, but he came to a stop and hugged himself before looking back at her. "You don't need to run, It's okay, let us walk to my backyard and you can change there, unseen." "y-you s-sure... i d-don't... i might- i will t-tear up your y-yard." He sounded so scared it hurt her soul to hear. Closing the door behind herself, she held her paw out to him. He looked at it for a moment, then up at her as if considering his options. Then he slowly reached out and took her offered paw.

They barely made it to her backyard before his condition worsened. She could tell, while holding his paw, that he was struggling to hold back the magic that was building up within him, but he did. She saw the red light between his joints growing brighter and as they reached the backyard small sparks emitted from him. He was shaking like a leaf, bones rattling as panic again set into him. She wanted to comfort him and reached forward to hug him, but he recoiled back. To her surprise, he actually growled at her. There was nothing really aggressive about it though. She had heard the dogs of Snowdin make a growl like that before, a warning to stay back. She soon saw why. The energy around him went from small sparks to far larger movements of magic between his joints like small bolts of lightly crawling over him. Sans whimpered and moved further away from her, and Toriel respected him. Even at her distance, she could feel the energy and it made her fur stand on end. It was strong, feral, and he couldn't restrain it any longer. His body shifted and grew, popping and cracking while the energy continued to dance around him like a miniature, red, lightning storm. He grew, far larger than she had ever remembered him growing before. His skull grew more horns and his body grew additional spikes that she was not used to seeing. His clothes seemed to tear as they were absorbed into him by his magic. By the time the change was over, he was a boned beast curled up before her, nearly the same size, if not larger, than her house. While he was huge, she couldn’t help but suspect he could grow even larger. Toriel looked at him and he stared back at her with small, red pinpricks for eye lights. She took a few steps closer to him, reaching a paw out carefully to touch him. She saw him look from her paw to back to her before shutting his sockets closed tight. Was he scared of her? Why? Oh, this poor skeleton. He always found things to be nervous about without reason. But, perhaps that is how he survived so long in the Underground with so little HP. Quietly, she began to hum a song she used to sing to her children as she knelt beside his skull. He opened his sockets again and looked at her as she softly ran a paw over his muzzle. She continued to hum, and she watched as he slowly relaxed his body, enjoying the soft petting and her voice. "There you go," she said before she looked him over, "I must say, this form of yours is rather impressive. And I can sense it is stronger. Though, I will thank you for making sure you were outside before taking it." In reply, he made a soft whine and she smiled at him. "You let your stress get the better of you, didn't you?" To her question, she saw him lift his skull enough to nod. "Well, why don't I help you relax, and we can see about getting you back to a more house friendly size."

She smiled a little then sighed as she shook her head. He needed to talk to her more about the things that stress him. Their time in the Underground had caused him to keep his emotions and fears to himself. Even though she had opened herself up to be a person to talk to, there had been too many reminders to him to keep anything that could be a weakness to himself. The best thing she could do for him was constantly remind him that she was here for him and hope he will believe her when she tells him that she would never cause him harm or take advantage of his weaknesses.

Or... well, not in a way he wouldn't find enjoyable, at least. Her paw continued to move over his muzzle and Sans sighed deeply, she could feel the tension he had held in left as he exhaled. "There you go, my dear friend," she said before she continued to hum. Toriel leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his skull, her unbroken horn made a soft tick as it touched bone. There was a sound of thumping as his tail started to wag in response to this contact. She smiled, enjoying that sound as it meant he was happy; it was such a beautiful sound. She remained, cuddled to his skull, offering sweet words and humming gentle tunes and as the saying goes, the music calms the beast. She could feel him tense his body again as she heard the popping and cracking of his bones. Once again his joints became alive with bright red magic, but the light show was muted, compared to before, by tiredness. His magic was too worn to make the change back as dramatic as it had been. It was sad to see him so tired during a time like this, but she understood and just tried to keep him calm with slow and gentle pets over his muzzle and talking softly.

The entire process was slower, most likely spurred on by his exhaustion and overall discomfort. While she has seen him change before in the past with little or no issues, this was a change he didn't mean to have occurred, it was more or less against his will and uncomfortable. So, she did what she could to ease the process. Once his skull was small enough, she lifted it and placed it on her lap, making far longer, gentle and slow sweeps of her paw from his snout to the end of the tallest horn on the back of his skull. He looked up at her with dim, red rings in his sockets, and she could see something in them, a soft look that warmed her soul and made her feel loved. That look, she had seen it before, but at the moment, it encouraged her to lean forward and place a kiss right over his left socket. He gave a soft whine as if to show displeasure at the act she did, but his tail showed otherwise as it began to wag showing he enjoyed her expression of love. Her dear friend continued to shrink, eventually becoming the same small size he was when he showed up at her house this evening and once again dressed in the clothes she provided him. Scooping him up, she pulled him onto her lap and he made the most adorable sound of a squeak in the process. But, even with that noise, he began to cling to her, his claws lightly pressing against her skin. "It is alright, dear. Let us go inside and see how much further you change back." "ok," Sans replied and she gently moved her paw under one of his sockets, wiping away a tear that had formed from the pain he was feeling. With his simple approval, Toriel stood and carried her small friend back into the house.

Toriel took Sans over to her couch and she held him again as he clung to her. She felt Sans nuzzle against her neck, finding comfort there. She continued to rub his back in slow, calm circles and in reply he softly purred to her. It was such a pleasant sound to her, that she couldn't help but hold him closer. The faint vibration his body made as he purred could be felt through him and she gave into her own instinct to purr in response. She could feel him flinch, startled by her making such a noise. If she were being honest, she had surprised herself as she had not purred in a very long time. Making such a sound just felt like the right thing to do at the moment, and the proper sound to make to him. So, they both cuddled together, purring to each other as Sans continued to slowly shrink.

Soon, his face was looking more like that of his usual skeleton self as the horns on the back of the skull continued to disappear. She could also feel the spinal processes on his backbone were no longer as pronounced as they had been when she first started rubbing his back. His tail was shrinking down to a far more manageable size and the claws no longer lightly dug into her as he held on. Still, she took the moment the lightly rub his cheekbone and pet over his skull as if admiring the difference.

"tori...," Sans started, but he lost his nerve and looked away. Toriel looked at him, seeing the monster who saved her from her boredom and loneliness that was caused by her isolation within the Ruins. The monster who brought her so much joy talking to, even though, at first, she was harsh and rude. She didn't know who he was or why he chose to keep her company, even though she invited him to. As she got to know him, this skeleton now in her arms, she had started to understand he was as lonely as she was. Not only that, but he had also been scared. His fear was made painfully clear when he backed away from her as she opened the Ruin doors to share a pie with him the first time. The pure look of terror in his eye lights would have amused her had she not grown to care about him. He was just so weak and small, even the pathetic monsters of the Ruin could easily dust him. The door between them gave him the opportunity to make a friend without the monster on the other side seeing how weak he was and choosing to be cruel.

They talked, laughed, joked, and share what they could. Toriel made sure to let him know she would protect him from threats. He had found a place to feel safe from others. And she learned to love again...

As much as she loved him, she never expected it back, but the way he looked at her challenged that. The way his eye lights still showed such care, compassion, and love for her, they made her think that maybe, just maybe, he did think about her that way. That maybe, just maybe, he loved her the way she loved him. And as his features finally returned to their usual skeleton self, a hand reached up and his phalanges slipped into her fur. Toriel purred again, feeling his fingers move and ruffle her fur in such an enjoyable way. For a moment, her eyes closed as she soaked in this feeling. His fingers slowly traced over her scar with such tender care, it was as if he were examining a fresh wound. She could feel his sympathy and concern radiating off his soul.

"tori...," Sans repeated and she looked at him again as she softly ran her paw over his skull. He closed his sockets and hummed contently as if he meant to purr. He seemed intent on saying something, though, as he opened his sockets and looked up at her a focus to get his words out. "tori, i...," he said, getting further this time but still falling short of getting his words out. From his soul, she could feel his fear and she wondered about why he was so afraid. It caused her to worry if perhaps she had done something wrong.

"It is alright, my dear... if you... if you need to say something, feel free to. You have no reason to fear me," she said, hoping that would give him the confidence to finally get his words out. Tori looked down at the skeleton in her arms, his cheekbones had a light dusting of red for a blush. It was amusing to see, but still, she couldn't help but shake her worry or fear that she was being too forward with him.

Her words did seem to have the needed effect as he took a deep breath and started again to try to talk. "tori, i lo... i love you." In response to those simple words, her eyes open wide with shock. She felt her face warm, knowing that with how hot her face felt, there would be a hint of blush through her fur on her nose and cheeks.

Did he really love her? This skeleton she adored loved her? He didn't just like her or think she was a good friend, but he actually loved her? The notion that this could be true was shocking to her and she couldn't help but stare down at him without a word. This was what she wanted, was it not? Was she not just considering this thought? So why was she so startled? She just wasn't expecting it, that's why. She also saw no reason for him to love her. All of the opinions Toriel had of herself were negative. She was stubborn and, according to many, selfish. Toriel was not a leader, a horrible mother, and could not be trusted as a wife, let alone a lover. The guilt she lived with for abandoning her ex-husband in the manner she did ate at her all these years. The two had nearly torn into each other during their argument over his policy. And yet, Toriel, a monster least deserving of love had somehow earned it from the skeleton friend she loved so dearly.

After thinking it over for a moment, Toriel held him close and nuzzled him on the skull. Again, Sans made the soft, nervous, squeak of a sound; which, as cute as it is, she hoped he will stop making as he got used to this. If Sans truly loved her as he said he did, then she was going to fill his life this sort of affection. In her mind, he deserved it for all that he had done for her. The skeleton will deny it, she knew he would, but she will not let that deter her from doting on him. She eased her grip on Sans only slightly so she could look at him better. His red eye lights were staring up at her, nervous but still ever so full of love.

"My dear, I love you as well. I have loved you for a long time now, but I have feared that you would never feel the same for an old woman like myself," Toriel's voice was jaded as she spoke those words. The weight of the world and all the reasons why this relationship had been avoided came to mind.

"you're not old, you're magic keeps you young," Sans corrected and then he snuggled closer to her. That act warmed her soul as it showed he was starting to get comfortable with this type of behavior. For the longest time, he would shy away from the slightest touch. Eventually, he allowed her to touch him, though he would sometimes flinch. She had always taken the initiative, but she never minded. So, for him to choose to cuddle closer without her encouraging him to was a big step.

"I suppose I am younger than I give myself credit for. Still, there is much here for one to dislike," Toriel said as she again gave him reason to take back his earlier statement of love.

Her protest was met with a stare as he again looked up at her, clearly unsure of what to make of her comment. Sans then shifted on her lap to look at her in a more serious way. For a moment, he just stared into her eyes as if searching for something before he finally sighed. "tori, no one's perfect. heh, i'm far from it. so ya did somethings some other folks say ya shouldn't have. i don't care. never did. all i see when i look at you is someone i love... my best friend and maybe more?"

Toriel felt tears fill her eyes at his words and she again held him close. “Yes,” Toriel replied before she continued, “you are my best friend as well, and so much more.” His arms then went around her as she continued to cuddle him. She still didn’t know what brought him here this evening, or the stresses that had caused him to change as he did. But, it was good to know that she could help him relax enough to change back. Though the best thing she learned was that he loved her the way she loved him.

#underfell #gaster blaster au #soriel #sans #toriel #gaster blaster sans

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