What time is it? Update time! I just couldn't leave you lovelies hanging, not when this story just reached over 10K views! You guys are the best! Enjoy! Author out~

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Because you chose not to go to bed, Alphys, well on her way to drunk hood, suddenly blurted out something that threatened to pull apart your entire Christmas. "S-so (y/n), you're still not wearing the ring?"

Everyone in the room froze, cutting their conversations off short. "What ring?" Asgore asked, looking at you curiously. Oh no. You thought, locking up. They wouldn't naturally assume it was an engagement ring right? Would they? You resisted the urge to grab the chain of your necklace, knowing that that might give it away.

"Alphys! Darling! Remember how we weren't supposed to talk about that?" Mettaton said with an edge to his voice.

"B-but isn't she eng—" Alphys tried to start, but Mettaton clapped his hands over her mouth with a small and nervous laugh.

"Would you shush?!" He laughed loudly, and you internally groaned. Welp, the cat was really out of the bag now, eh? You wondered how Alphys had found out, but figured Mettaton must have accidentally told her or something. It seemed unlikely though. Mettaton and Toriel were the least likely of those to give away secrets, and they were the only ones that knew. Well, other than Alphys and everyone else now. But how had she found out? That was the real question.

"wait, are you engaged?" Sans asked, the first to put together the rest of Alphy's sentence. He sat up a little straighter, pulling his legs off your lap in the process. Yes, you'd been sitting like that for the last few hours and no, you hadn't minded. Actually now you missed the pressure of his legs a little. But swamping that was the extreme anxiety that clamored inside you.

Everyone watched you expectantly, and you knew no amount of lying would get you out of this now. You sighed, pulled the ring out of you collar and off the chain, then slipped it on your finger. "Yeah, I am." No point in hiding it anymore. The room erupted. Questions were flung, accusations were made, and the atmosphere turned from natural to a flurry of excitement in an instant.

"I can't BELIEVE you didn't tell us! You punk!" Undyne yelled, giving you a harsh noogie. You yelped and fended off her hands while the others gathered around you.

"WAIT WHO ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED TO? DO WE KNOW THEM?" Papyrus asked loudly.

"Aren't you a bit young to be married?" Asgore pitched in, sounding muddled.

"Can I be the flower girl?" Frisk asked rapidly. "Can I please???"

"How long have you BEEN engaged?" Undyne now resorted to shaking you back and forth by the shoulders. You didn't even try to fight her off this time.

"I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT TOO!" Papyrus exclaimed.

"Please calm down," Toriel tried to sooth, taking on both a calming and commanding tone at the same time. "I'm sure (y/n) will answer all of your questions, one at a time."

You didn't fail to notice how she emphasized will, and nodded your head in agreement. At this point, you almost felt like it was a relief to tell them about Mitchell, though you knew he wouldn't feel the same. The ring felt heavy on your finger, and you began twisting it over your skin absentmindedly. The others finally settled down, and ended up sitting in a semi-circle around you, waiting expectantly. "I guess I'll start with the easiest. My fiance's name is Mitchell, and we've been engaged for nearly two years."

"ISN'T THAT THE GUY WHO WAS GOING TO BE MAD AT YOUR FOR BEING LATE HOME THAT ONE TIME?" Papyrus connected the name first. You nodded.

"Yeah, he's pretty strict."

"But you love him anyway." Toriel said slowly, nodding. She already knew part of the story, and you once again nodded in agreement, a bright blush rising to your cheeks. Why did you feel so uncomfortable all of a sudden? You snuck a quick glance over to Sans, and found him staring at the opposite wall rather angrily.

"So when ARE you getting married?" Undyne prompted again, Frisk nodding along eagerly.

"Um, it's undetermined. Mitchell and me still have something to sort out before we decide on a date."

"WHAT IS IT?"

"Well, our relationship is by no means public, and I want to be before we get married. Mitchell wants to get married in private, then reveal the nature of our relationship."

"that's it? sounds like a stupid reason to me." Sans grumbled, sounding a little bitter in your opinion. What was wrong with him? You glanced over again, and found him still staring at the wall, arms now crossed over his chest and chin tucked into his jacket collar. Was he... pouting?

"Well..." You bit the inside of your cheek, wondering how much to reveal to the group. "Now I guess it's a little bit more than just that. Mitchell's always busy with work, which means he's always traveling, and I don't want to get married unless he can accept you guys."

"Why wouldn't he accept us?" Flowey snapped, joining the conversation for the first time.

"Yeah! We're awesome, if I do say so myself!" Frisk signed.

"I would say so too, but... well, Mitchell is one of those few humans who don't exactly like monsters."

"BUT WE'RE SO LOVABLE!" Papyrus gasped, sounding offended.

"I think we should just go over and show him how lovable we can BE!" Undyne yelled, jumping to her feet and pounding her fist into her palm. Her eyes flashed dangerously, but luckily before you had to intervene Asgore spoke up.

"I don't think that'll make him like us anymore. And, while I don't understand why he wouldn't like us, I understand if you feel he's the guy you'd like to marry. Again I'll say I think you're too young to make such a big commitment, but it's up to you, right? And no matter what I think we can speak for everyone when I say we're behind you no matter what you chose."

Undyne nodded with an angry huff, and sat down. You sighed and nodded as well, but in understanding. But why did everyone keep telling you that? Honestly, you were nineteen! You'd been thinking for yourself for the last three years! But now three people had directly told you that anyway, and you were pretty sure everyone else here agreed with them too.

"But you will invite us to the wedding right?" Frisk asked again after a moment. You smiled, nodding once more.

"I'm sure that once Mitchell meets you guys, he'll love you as much as I do." That seemed to appease her for now. No one said much else for a moment, all seeming lost in thought while trying to process the information, now that you had explained yourself a little. Mettaton was the first to break the somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"Well," he clapped. "Now that the elephant in the room has been addressed, why don't we get back to having fun?"

"Excellent idea, Mettaton." Toriel nodded in agreement.

"What should we do?" You inquired, glad to have the attention off of you again.

"KARAOKE IS ALWAYS FUN." Papyrus offered. Everyone seemed to agree with that suggestion, and got up to help set up. You were glad that they seemed generally okay with your engagement. It actually felt like a huge weight had been lifted from your shoulders no that they knew. You had grown rather tired of lying to the all the time, as it felt like you had been. Now you had no secrets left to share, and you could proudly wear your ring on your finger around them. But... honestly... it felt a little uncomfortable on your finger. Like it didn't belong there. You almost wanted to take it off. But you shrugged off the feeling and chalked it off to not being used to wearing it after such a long time.

You prepared to stand, and glanced over to Sans, who still looked rather angry. Actually, now that you looked closer, his glowing white eyes had all but disappeared. Odd, as his eyes weren't closed. You stood, and looked to push the couch back and out of the way. "You gonna help?" You suggested casually, really hoping he wasn't actually mad at you. But, why would he be?

Sans blinked, eyes becoming more solid again. He shook his head. "i think i'm gonna head out for a bit."

"Where to?"

He shrugged, standing and pulling his hood. Though his face was now partially covered, you had the feeling he was shooting you a dirty look for some reason. You tilted you head to the side and noticed that he was infact, giving your general direction a dirty look, but not you. No, instead his hard gaze was locked on your left hand. He noticed you watching, and ducked his head away. "nowhere special. just stay here, (y/n)." He huffed, before you could offer to join him, and with a blink, he was gone. Huh, you thought, wondering where he would have gone as a pang traveled through your heart. Had he sounded, you didn't know, angry? Kind of... You wondered why. Was... was it about your engagement? You mentally shook yourself. You were famous, sure, but not everything was about you.

"Don't worry about old sourpuss Sans, he'll come back eventually." Mettaton came over, flashing you a smile as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, startling you from your worries.

"Are you sure?" You asked nervously, twisting to look at him. Mettaton smiled at you knowingly, then flashed you a wink.

"Course. Now come, we have a competition to get too!"

You put on your best smile, and nodded. Mettaton bounced back over to the others, but you remained staring at the door. You were honestly a little worried about how Sans reacted, and you couldn't get the harsh glare he'd been giving your ring out of your head. Why had he looked like that? Why hadn't he said anything more? Wait, and had he called you by your name? He never did that. It was always kitten. How weird. And, besides that, what was that odd look Mettaton had given you? Lost in thought, it took some loud prompting from Undyne to bring you back. Shaking your head to knock the thoughts with no answers from you head, you spun and went to join the others in another impromptu competition.

A few hours later, Sans hadn't returned. Honestly you were growing a bit worried about him, but the others told you not to worry, and this wasn't out of character for him at all. But still...

By this point, it was close to midnight, and everyone was finally getting ready to turn in. Everyone was tuckered out, even yourself, from the singing competition that Undyne had once again initiated. This time you all sung solo, giving, in your opinion, Mettaton and you an unfair advantage. As predicted you had come in second, only falling 2 points behind Mettaton, much to the dismay of the others. After that it was into other video games (such as Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros Wii U,) and eggnog. You couldn't have Christmas without eggnog after all, as Undyne so eloquently put before almost taking your eye out when you mentioned it wasn't actually Christmas yet. Two days away was close enough she said, before chugging a whole glass just to prove her point.

Fun times.

You didn't argue though, and had a glass yourself before switching over to some of Toriel's hot chocolate.

Regardless, it turned into a very fun night. Until everyone decided it was time for bed. Then you started worrying about Sans again. Deciding that you could at least look around for him, you shrugged on your jacket and a warm tuke before turning to the door and unlocking it. "Going somewhere?" Mettaton asked, noticing you just before he was about to head upstairs.

"Just going to get some fresh air. I won't be long." You answered. Mettaton gave you a knowing smile you didn't care to interpret before waving and proceeding to push a sleepy Papyrus up the stairs. You headed out the door into the cold night, and glanced around. No, if you were a grumpy–pun loving skeleton where would you go? This is a stupid idea. You huffed, stomping your feet on the deck when you realized you had no idea where he'd be. A thump on the roof told you otherwise though. You glanced up, and thought you saw a flash of blue. Trotting over to where you climbed up onto the roof before, you repeated the motions until your head was poking up over the edge of the shingles. "Ah, there you are!" You noted, spying Sans sitting closer to the edge of the roof, hands tucked in his pockets and hood drawn over his face. When you spoke up, he turned his head towards you slightly. "Have you been up here the whole time? What are you doing? Aren't you cold?" You asked, unable to stop yourself from firing off the questions while clambering up onto the roof and sitting down beside him.

"yes, thinking, and no. skeleton, remember?" He answered all at once. You pursed your lips. There was something to his tone you couldn't quite identify. Through his voice sounded pretty neutral, there was definitely something coating the underside of it. Anger? Resentment? Annoyance? You couldn't tell. You wondered what was up.

"Are you okay?" You asked, angling your head to try to look at his face. He tilted his head to hid his face more. Huh. He didn't answer you either. You sighed and blew on your hands. Why hadn't you thought to bring gloves? Oh well.

"why'd you follow me up here?" He asked after a moment of somewhat tense silence.

"You've been gone for hours."

"so?"

"So? I was worried about you. You kind of left in a huff."

"shouldn't you be more worried about your fiancé?" He nearly spat, grinding his teeth together. You jumped a little, lips parting. Angry. Definitely bitter and angry. When I didn't say anything in response he glanced over at me, then seemed to realize how shocked my reaction was. "sorry."

"It's fine. I can understand if you were shocked to find out."

He snorted. "that's an understatement." Now he sounded more bitter than angry.

"I'm sorry I kept it a secret."

"whatever. it's your business, not mine."

Well that hurt. Your gaze fell to your lap, feeling dejected. Why did his words burn so much? Thinking about it now, you kind of wanted it to be his business. But his feelings were his own, so if he didn't want to know you, that was fine. Bottling up your feelings you closed your eyes, choosing to say nothing in response. He didn't say anything else, you didn't say anything. Maybe you should leave? Probably. You were about to slide forwards and off the roof when he finally spoke up again.

"so how long have you know the guy?"

"Mitchell? Pretty close to four years now." You answered, remembering the first day you met. You'd been crying on a park bench, upset because of some local bullies. Mitchell found you, comforted you, and soon became your friend.

"and you like the guy?"

You blinked at him. "Of course."

"can i ask why?"

You couldn't help but wonder why Sans sounded so hesitant asking this question. Since he asked he wanted to know, right? But the tone of his voice suggested otherwise. Biting the inside of you cheek, you wondered how much to tell him. You trusted Sans, of course, but something about the way he was asking told you he was afraid of the answer. But that didn't make sense, why would be be? "Well..." You started, running the story you knew by heart through your head and deciding what to mention, and what to omit. You decided to go with the whole story, but heavily abbreviated. "I met him a few months before my parents died. When they did, I was left without any relatives, and for a while I didn't know what to do with myself. I was lost, and afraid, but then Mitchell came in. He seemed to just sweep in and fill the gap my parents left so, naturally, almost perfectly. He took me in, cared for me, pushed me through high school, which I had been thinking of dropping, and supported me when no one else would. He didn't replace my parents by any means, but he just made the loss easier. I can't image what would have happened to me without him."

"i see." Sans said quietly, tonelessly. You leaned forwards to try to get a reading of his face, but he was sitting in a way that made it impossible to see under his hood without sliding off the roof. You pursed your lips, then decided not to add anything more. There wasn't really much left to add, other than the mushy emotional stuff you'd rather keep to yourself. Sans seemed to get lost in his thoughts, tensions marking his hunched shoulders, and you simply sat by silently. You didn't know what to say. Honestly you were getting a little nervous. What was he thinking about? What would he say? Would he say anything? You wanted him to say something at least, but you weren't exactly sure what. Puzzled, you weren't really aware of how much time passed until he spoke up again.

"does he make you happy?" He asked softly.

"Of course," you answered, tilting your head to the side.

Sans sighed deeply, seeming resigned about something. He then mumbled, "alright then, i guess i can't argue with that." Wait did he just say "i", as in he cares about my happiness? You couldn't help but think, warmth spreading through your system. Sans then shook his head, and you wondered if you were even supposed to hear that. He finally looked at you then, pushing his hood off his head with a small smile of his face. It looked a little... sad. "well congrats, (y/n)," Twinge. "just don't forget to invite us to the wedding." He winked, smile turning joyful again.

You pushed a smile on your face, laughing a little. "I won't!"

"and, if you ask me, he sounds like kind of a jerk." He added at a half mumble.

You lifted your eyebrows, then sighed. You'd been realizing this fact yourself as of late. Before Mitchell was pretty much the only person you thought to get close to, but now that you cared about so many others, you knew that he was in fact, a racist and a jerk. But you loved him anyway. "Maybe a little, but I'm sure he'll warm right up to you guys."

He humphed and his smile turned sad for a brief second, before resuming its normal carefree tone. "we should head back inside." Sans said after a moment, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, sure." You smiled, sliding to the edge of the roof. It wasn't too far of a drop. You slid off the shingles into the powdery snow, and a second later Sans plopped down beside you. You headed inside quietly, knowing the others were already in bed, and without saying anything went off to your respective rooms. Frisk was already asleep when you crept into the room, and soon enough you were lying down and trying to get to sleep yourself. Your brain had different ideas though. You kept running over the brief conversation, and as you did you couldn't help but feel sad. It wasn't like anything was going to change because of your getting married, right? Then why did it feel like something already had changed? You hoped you were just making things up. After about an hour of worrying, you were finally dragged off into the release of slumber.