Chapter Text
Sans took a shortcut to the cliffside outlook on the Surface. He could see the city in the distance. Somewhere out there was Papyrus, living his best life. Gaster too. He stepped closer to the edge, looking forward. Cumulus clouds drifted lazily overhead.
He wished he could be lazy right now. It sounded nice. Instead... he felt broken.
He was Fate, but that didn't give him everything he wanted. He had amazing mates, and Blue had a kid on the way, but the nightmares... the were still bad. The aching loneliness when the boys had to do their jobs, when Blue and Red and Horror had to go home to check on their AUs, when Epic and Cross went to the Omega Timeline to go on dates... it was hard. He wasn't near as bad as he'd been, but the bad thoughts were still there, even if he didn't act on them.
Sometimes he wanted to go home, too.
Sans missed Papyrus, wanted to reconnect with his father, but what would he say? They didn't even know he existed. And Frisk? The kid still terrified him, even if Fate no longer possessed their form. He... wasn't having a good time.
He closed his sockets, taking a deep breath of the fresh air to try and clear his head before he went back.
"well, isn't this a familiar sight?" Something grabbed Sans's shoulder, holding him in place.
Sans's sockets snapped open and looked at the tentacle on his shoulder before following it to its owner.
He couldn't help but break into a grin. "nightmare..."
One of the lights of his life.
"i thought i would find you here again... missing papyrus?" Nightmare asked softly.
Sans leaned into his Collector with a sigh. "yeah... everyday..."
"why don't you use those buttons gifted to you to exist again? i'm sure it's not beyond your understanding."
Sans wished it was that easy. It was that easy, technically, but... "it's not, but they wouldn't understand... what you do, what the boys do... pap wouldn't stand for that. for... me to be around guys like you... and my dad, he'd probably wanna pull you apart to see what your made of down to the last scientific detail. then there's me... literally their fate. how could i ever explain how that works? how it happened...? i'd have to explain the resets, my part in them, everything i've done..."
Nightmare's tendrils wrapped around him before giving him a firm squeeze. It snapped Sans out of his spiral before it could really begin.
"very well. your reasoning is not unjustified... shall we be getting back? blueberry has gone into labor."
"..."
"..."
"what?! why didn't you say anything sooner?!" Sans tried to pull away, but he was effectively trapped in the tendril hug.
"because i wasn't going to let you go all depressed." He lifted Sans up and walked him through the portal and back to the castle.
Skeleton pregnancies didn't actually last that long. While most monsters had to develop squishy organs to keep them alive, skeletons only needed their frame and their soul. So while the soul developed for three weeks, siphoning all the magic and nutrients it needed from the mother, the frame only took one. Within a month the child is fully formed and ready to come out.
The hall was shockingly quiet and Nightmare carried Classic to the delivery room. Not a mate in sight, no panic, no yelling, no excited chatter. Classic opened his mouth as Nightmare stopped at the door.
"they are being made to wait in the living room, as not to further stress blue." Nightmare answered as he opened the door and closed it behind him.
Blue was in the bed, panting softly while Epic applied some gel to his exposed stomach. Red was clinging to his hand while they both looked at the screen. Classic didn't understand what was going on, or why Blue was getting an ultrasound if he was in labor.
"is something wrong? the baby ok?" Nightmare let Classic down as he rushed over to check on Blue.
His mate smiled and shook his head as he reached for Classic's hand with his free one. "N-No... Just Checking... That She's Positioned..."
Classic took it and squeezed. "how ya feeling...?"
To this, Red answered for Blue as he groaned uncomfortably. "he's holdin' up. determined ta have this kid... he's not lookin' forward to the hurt that comes wit' havin' a baby though."
"yeah, i bet not-" Epic cleared his throat, regaining the two's attention.
"bruh's in the right position. we just gotta wait fer the epidural to kick in an' his cervix to open up a bit more." He explained as he set the equipment down. "might be another hour, so ya best buckle up, bruh's."
Classic glanced from Epic to Nightmare. "is he certified for this?"
"believe it or not, yes." Nightmare settled near the door. "i presume that was after you reset back to your original state?"
"oh definitely- there ain't no way i can help someone have a baby-"
"Sh-Shush... I-I Know Y-You.... You Could..." Blue panted out before whining uncomfortably.
"i've gotcha, yer ok blue, we gotcha..." Red nuzzled nervously into Blue's hand.
Classic switched his hands so he could take Red's too, confirming what Red was saying. "we have ya, blue. it's gonna be ok..."
If Classic hadn't known any better, he would've thought Blue was dying.
Blue's grip was so tight as he cried out in pain that he thought he might get fractures in his fingers. He tried not to focus on that and instead stared down at Epic in between Blue's propped up and spread legs. "how ya doing down there-?"
Epic grunted, his focus completely on Blue. He really could be serious if he needed to be. "head's crowning! we all good for now, bruh! keep 'im going!"
Classic turned to Red and Blue with a strained smile. Red looked like he was about to pass out, he was so pale and sweaty. "hear that? head's crowning! mean's it'll be over soon! you can do this, babe!" He was probably the only moral support Blue had, because even Nightmare looked deeply disturbed by what was going on.
Blue's chest heaved as he tried to breathe, giving the smallest of nods before another contraction tore through him. He cried out again as he pushed with the contraction and Sans skull snapped back over to Epic.
"the next one should be a little easier- ya got past the cranium!" Epic called without ever looking away.
Blue could only whimper back between more pants and Classic tried to help him through a breathing exercise to get more air into him. "y-you're doing good! just a little more!"
As the next contraction came, the rest of the skull was pushed out. Classic couldn't see it himself, but he could see Epic's posture shift so it had more support. "good, now the shoulders! after that, it'll be smooth sailing."
Classic turned to Blue, exited that it was almost over but it dropped as quickly as it had come.
Blue was shaking his head. "N-No, N-No More I-I C-Can't..." He cried, tears falling from his face, to the pillow.
"hey, hey... of course you can..! i know it hurts, but... it's so so close... then you can meet her..." Classic moved so he hovered over Blue, pressing his skull against his lover's. "we will meet her together... we just gotta finish this, ok? can you do that?"
Blue's flickering eyelights met Classic's. The next contraction came.
And while Blue certainly did whine and groan, it seemed that he was distracted enough to push without fuss.
"I-I Wa-Want T-To Meet My B-Baby..." He panted in a strained tone.
"you will... just a couple more times... now breathe with me and stay determined, yeah?"
Blue nodded and followed Classic through each exaggerated breath until the next contraction.
"alright! ya cleared the shoulders! one or two more an' you'll be done!" Epic sounded as relieved as Classic and Blue felt.
They cycled through the breaths and within two more contractions, Epic was stepping away from his prereferral vision.
Blue heaved, closing his sockets as his body went limp and Sans worried that it'd been too much.
Then she wailed.
A tiny little cry that had Blue opening his eyes again as he focused on his baby.
Classic turned to look. Epic was cleaning her up as she kicked and fussed, clearly unhappen.
Red laughed shakily. "wh-what a lil rebel... heheh..."
"M-My... Baby..." Blue let go of them, reaching for his child.
Classic took a step back to give the parents some space.
Nightmare's eyes were on him as he crossed the threshold into the hall.
He was happy for them.
Blue and Red found their way of moving on.
Why couldn't he?
Time to tell the others.