Chapter Text
You stared at Blackberry as he fiddled around at his desk. There were all of three books sitting there, and all three were neatly stacked up with neutral toned bookmarks between the crisp white pages.
“YOU CAN TAKE A SEAT.”
You glanced around the near barren room, before deciding it was best to just sit on the floor. When Blackberry turned around again it was with a package of cigarettes and a lighter. He plopped down next to you, and thumped the packet on his knee.
“SO.”
“So…?”
He brought one of the cigs to his teeth and carefully snagged it. “HOW DID I DIE? IF IT WASN’T WITH ALL THE FURY AND EXCELLENCE OF A HARDENED WARRIOR I WILL RIOT.”
You shook your head. “I actually have no clue how you died. I think… I died? And then... “ You looked away, gaze centered on the door. “I don’t know. I guess you came back to life after slurping up my blood or something.”
He stared at you a long time, before his eye sockets relaxed and his manic smile became a thin line. You had known Blackberry as a very emotional sort of Monster since you moved here. Anger, excitement, and neurotic glee was something that was almost always present on his skull in some form or another. You were almost certain this was the first time you’d seen his with such a neutral expression.
A shaking hand gently reached out to Blackberry and tapped his shoulder. “Hey, Blackberry? Are you okay?”
“...”
“Blackberry?”
A hand curled around your own and carefully extracted you from his person, before setting it down on your own lap. “Human, can I be honest with you?”
“I think that’d be the best thing to do here.”
His eye lights stared at you with an unwavering intensity that made you wriggle in your spot. “I have died many, many, many times. I can’t remember those deaths at all, but I can feel the carve of the knife against my sternum and my marrow oozing through my clothes like it’s molasses. I can’t even sleep on my front these days without worrying my ribs will just cave in. It’s horrible.”
You don’t say anything, and you think it’s for the best when Blackberry gives a soft sigh and shakes his head. “SO, I DIED AGAIN AND YOU CAN’T TELL ME. I WOULD ASK MY BROTHER, BUT I’M SURE IT WOULD BE AS USELESS AS HIS DRUG HABIT. SO I AM, FOR A LACK OF A BETTER WORD, COMPLETELY SCREWED OVER. WONDERFUL AND DIVINE!”
“But you’re still alive. Isn’t that a good thing?”
His grin comes back full force here, and you almost felt a wave of dizzying relief. “I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE PERSON WHO WAS AVOIDING ME LIKE THE PLAGUE TO WANT ME DEAD. ARE YOU GOING ROMANTIC FOR ME?”
You’re almost certain he’s saying a turn of phrase that’s wrong, but you let it slide. “That’s not why I was avoiding you. Out of all the people in this place I think you’re one of the few people I think of as a real friend.”
“AWE. HOW CUTE.”
You ignore him. “But, Sans and I… We weren’t getting along, and I think I was letting myself get pushed around and stressed out for no reason. I didn’t want talking to you remind me of that, and I didn’t want you to make me feel guilty even if that wasn’t what you were trying to do. I guess it was all to protect myself, but a lot of good that did me, huh?”
He’s silent for a long moment. His manic grin was still in place, and yet it almost felt like it was buzzing. Just underneath the surface, merely hidden away by his fangs and the darkness in his maw, was something horrible just waiting to rip you to shreds.
You swallowed heavily and shot a hand out, your fingers curling around cold bone and giving a light squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Blackberry. It was selfish. I shouldn’t have left you behind.”
“I’M SURE YOU ARE.” His hand remains still. “I HOPE YOUR LITTLE SIDE QUEST HAS RELAXED YOU A BIT AND YOU’LL STAY HERE WITH US.”
“Until I get this job done.”
He’s silent a moment, before he leans forward. You can smell something warm on him, and you had to wonder if he had messed around with a coffee maker. “I hope I can inspire you to stay with us longer than that.”
Romance with Blackberry? You knew he was one part flirtatious and several parts genuine. Why Blackberry of all skeletons was obsessed with you enough to view you as a potential partner was beyond you. There was nothing about the either of you that gelled or clicked, it was just two people who were forced to cohabitate the same space with few options otherwise.
He was basically a Monster starved of love and affection.
You pulled your hand back and lumbered onto your feet. “So, um, is that everything you wanted to know?”
“YES. FOR NOW.” He waved his hand. “YOU CAN GO.”
You do as he asked, being sure to shut the door behind you. You didn’t linger as you went down to the basement where your bedroom was the same, as if this day had never passed on and you had never died. The game systems were on the entertainment center, your clothes were strewn all over the bed, and there was a bowl of half eaten oatmeal on the floor. You gave a soft sigh and flopped on the bed, a controller digging into your ribs.
You shut your eyes, and you feel yourself drift in and out of consciousness every few minutes. Sometimes you could hear stamping feet and screaming, other times the house was as silent as a grave. It wasn’t until you felt a cold hand on your shoulder, and the controller digging into your abdomen that you felt a bit more stable.
With a soft groan, you flipped onto your back and squinted into the pitch black. An engorged red and green eye light stared at you from above. You blink slowly a few times, half expecting the light to fade back into the shadows.
Of course, you’re not that lucky.
You dig your elbows into the mattress and sit up. You can feel a chill close to your face now, and the buzz of something dark and angry. You kick a leg out blindly, and the light shifts to your left. “really? pretty rude of you, human.”
A tone so close to Sans’s it almost made you shudder, but just enough malice that it was clearly a different person. “Addict?”
“the one and not only.”
“Ha. Ha.” You let yourself flop back on the bed, the controller digging into your ribs. “What are you doing in here? What time is it?”
“midnight. reasons.”
You point in the general direction of your door. “If you can’t be honest with me, then please let me sleep a little more.”
He stayed put, but you could hear something harsh and cold scraping against metal. “so you got a backbone. ‘m proud.”
“Please let me sleep.”
“nah.” You felt the stare on your face even as you squeezed your eyes shut. “hey, you saw that guy didn’t you?”
“...”
“don’t tell me, i can tell thanks to your soul and all. i don’t know what that guy told you about us, your situation, or anything about this world at large… but thanks.” Your eyes opened now, and you could see Addict’s slouched form on your bed, his eye light’s glow bouncing off your wall. “if you didn’t come back then this world would’ve dried up.”
“You guys were horrible to me.”
“yeah.”
“I hated it here so much.”
“we’re aware.”
You balled your fists up. “So, if this happens again I’ll take his offer next time. I won’t come back to you all. I won’t be sorry.”
“can’t control what that drug addict does, but i get it. i guess.” He sighed and a glowing hand waved in front of your face. “i’ll help keep you alive, and you don’t go running off to that psychotic bastard the first time he whistles in your direction.”
You stared at the mossy glow emanating from his hand, and back up to his face. It’s that same blank expression he always seemed to wear when he was around you. The edges of his grin drooping, the eye light a bit too bright to be natural…
“Can I ask why you of all skeletons are offering to help keep me safe?”
“don’t you humans have a saying about looking into mouths or something? out of everyone here i’m probably the only one who can keep you safe without expending too much energy and fucking up this timeline even further.”
His fingers flex and you could see the light pulse with the movement. “You promise nothing will happen to me?”
“think of it like a new start from now on.”
"A new start huh?" You licked your lips, and slowly your fingers curled around Addict’s hand, that light extinguishing in a hiss of sulfur. New starts were something you were almost addicted to at this point. “Deal.”
End of Part I