Freedom is a wonderful thing. Like many good things in life, no one really appreciates it until you lose it, such as being trapped in an unknown world with broken legs and left with restrained magic, for example.

Life without freedom is dull and tedious, every day seeming the same as the last, if not worse. Once stripped of your freedom, you lose the ability to function on your own, which is a vital part of everyone's personality.

Without it, you aren't you.

But then, when you finally are set free, your perspective changes. You appreciate every single moment of freedom you get, cherishing it, as you never know if or when it may be taken again.

This is how our glitched skeleton felt, now that he finally had his freedom back. Well, now that he had 25% of it back. It had taken a while to process just how much this meant, and now that the thought finally set in his mind, his spirits were lifted.

Oh, he really couldn't explain how wonderful it felt to finally be able to use his string again, having missed it. It reminded him of his home, which he missed dearly, and it helped with easing his homesickness just a tad bit more.

T'was early in the morning, the first beams of sunshine timidly peeking out from behind the clouds, slowly beginning to illuminate the landscape with its golden rays. Sunrises were beautiful, though mornings were still unpleasant.

Mornings mean waking up as opposed to sleeping in, after all.

Error groaned softly, waking up slowly, his mind and body feeling rather lethargic. He rolled onto his back, pulling the bedsheets up to his cheekbones as a quiet noise of displeasure escaped him.

"MoRniNgs. SUck." He grunted, closing his eye sockets, deciding that he didn't want to deal with the day to come. Sleeping in for an additional hour sounded lovely, he'd procrastinate getting up until then.

Right as he was about to drift back asleep, however, a rather energetic human burst through the door, before tripping and falling to the floor with a loud clatter.

Welp, there go his plans.

The skeleton sat up, looking down at you with slight annoyance, blatantly unamused. He tossed the sheets to the side, before gesturing in your direction, motioning towards your small figure on the ground.

"WhY." He demanded.

You smiled sheepishly, an intense sense of embarrassment washing over you, causing you to quickly get to your feet. You tugged at the long scarf that had wound itself around your legs, being the reason behind your fall, awkwardly tossing it to the side, wanting to act as if none of that ever happened.

"Oh, uhm, sorry about that. Scarves...they, uh. Get in the way.." You trailed off, glancing to the side.

"Or maYbe yOu'rE jUsT weArIng iT wRoNg." Error stated bluntly.

"That's besides the point! I came in here because I wanted to know if you'd be interested in having a little outing with me? I have some errands to run, and I figured that it'd be nice to get some air since you haven't been outside in a few months. But of course, you don't need to come if you don't want to, it's totally fine if you wanna stay here too!" You rambled, internally chiding yourself. Your social skills always seemed to fail you whenever you were around the skeleton.

Your guest seemed to think about your offer for a moment, before shrugging and nodding, indicating that he'd come along. After all, it had been so long since he snuck out, around six or seven weeks, to be more specific. This could be a good opportunity to scope the place out before his eventual escape.

He got up, beginning to walk towards the door, only for you to grab his underpinnings and rush after him.

"Hey, hey, hey!! Forgetting something?Like your crutches? You can't walk without them!" You stressed, trepidation laced into your voice as you held out the medical support for the male.

He waved you off, continuing to walk slowly, one of his hands resting on the wall to catch him, should he require assistance.

"I fEeL fIne." He stated.

You shook your head, racing in front of him, crossing your arms whilst still carrying the crutches. You couldn't tell if he was foolish or reckless, though you cared too much about his wellbeing to permit him to be either. 

"Nope! You're not going anywhere without these, I won't let you." You pouted, thrusting the crutches in his direction, though he still refused to accept them.

Crossing his arms, the skeleton gazed down at you, disbelief written all over his face.

"ThEn I'Ll mAke yoU moVe. bY fOrCe."

"No way! There's nothing you can do to make me!"

*          *           *

"Welp, he made me, alright." You muttered, your face heating up as you walked down the sidewalk, Error by your side.

The destroyer smirked, sticking one of his blue tongues at you in mockery, relishing in his victory.

"oBvIouSLy."

You turned a darker shade of pink, groaning to yourself, seeing as he was not helping the situation at all. You huffed, pointing at the black, oversized puffer jacket he wore, or more primarily, the hood.

"H-heyyyyy, you're not helping, you know! And pull your hood further down, we don't want people seeing you. They'd probably think you're wearing some Halloween costume during February." You pointed out, quick to change the subject.

The skeleton complied, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards in a slight grin as he pulled the hood low over his eyesockets, covering his face in a shadow.

"TrUe. ThEy'rE jUsT nOt reAdY tO sEe sUCh a hAnDsOmE DeViL yEt." He snickered, referring to himself, confidence evident in his tone.

You giggled, playfully rolling your eyes, shaking your head.

"Well, in a way, I guess they're not. And someone's narcissistic, huh?" You teased, causing the skeleton's face to heat up, glaring at you in embarrassment.

"S-sHuT uP, i'M nOt a nArcISsIst, juSt hOneSt. I'm nOt wRoNg, aM I? I kNoW i'M nOt tHe onLY oNe wHo lIkEs whAt tHeY seE, bEtWeEn tHe tWo oF uS." He retorted, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, his grin beginning to return.

You shook your head, red-faced, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I do not! You're average, and just because I actually look you in the face when we talk doesn't mean I necessary like it.." You defended, trailing off towards the end, hoping that didn't come off as offensive.

Error scoffed.

"PsH, yeAh riGHt. 'AvErAGe', saYs tHe oNe whO lIkEs cHecKIng mE oUt evErY nOw aNd tHen."

"Hey!! I-I don't check you out, never have, never will! Huh, someone suddenly has a lot to say, now that he's talking about himself. Seems pretty narcissistic~🎵"

"ShUt uP."

"You first!"

Despite the harsh phrasing and rude words, you felt comfortable speaking to him in such a manner, as neither of you seemed to mind. If anything, it was more amusing than hurtful, entertaining you both. Mini arguements over such trivial things was so childish, which was exactly why it was fun.

Your little 'arguement', if you could even call it that, had left both of you as blushing messes, you more so than the male, though his cheekbones were still visibly blue. The rest of the walk into town had been in comfortable silence, entering the busy marketplace to run your errands, neither of you saying another word for a long while after that.

*          *           *

"WhaT aN iDiOt." Error grumbled to himself, huffing softly as he wandered along one of the concrete pathways of the outdoor shopping mall, looking around in search of something to catch his eye.

You had just recently given him about a hundred dollars to spend on whatever he wanted, and even went so far as to let him go off on his own, having parted ways as you finished up some grocery shopping.

"PsH, wHat aN aBsOlUtE iDioT." He repeated, as the memory of what had happened darkened his mood even further, making him grit his teeth in anger.

"DoEsN't sHe reAlIze I coULd juSt ruN oFf, tAke thIs mOneY aNd leAve? DoEs sHe evEn caRe?!" He fumes, taking his rage out on a nearby trashcan, punching it so hard that the metal caves in on itself, crumpling like origami paper.

On the plus side, the trashcan was empty, and no waste had gotten on his hand in the process. On the downside, he was now being stared at by a mother and a young little boy, who gurgled happily at him in excitement, with the mother quickly escorted the child away.

Error grunted, rolling his eyelights and plopping himself down on a nearby bench, resting his legs as he mulled over his thoughts. He knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't help but feel upset, for reasons unknown to him.

Had he done something wrong to mke you uncomfortable around him? Did you want him to leave? Did he unknowingly say something to make you dislike him?

He wasn't sure.

In fact, he never seemed sure about much of anything, at this point. Whenever you were involved, he aways found himself overthinking things, or being overwhelmed by emotions he didn't know he could feel, or doing things against his will if it would please you. It didn't make much sense to him, but it always happened, and the mysterious feelings were getting stronger.

How irritating.

Now, what exactly was making him so upset? He needed to slow down a bit to process his emotions, taking some deep breaths as he rested his head in his hands, thinking to himself.

Well, for starters, it must have had something to do with being away from you, for that had been when his anger began presenting itself.

It had only seemed to get worse the longer he was away, and the poor, broken trashcan on the side of the trail had been evidence of this.

Perhaps it had something to do with the way it made him feel. Just a few months ago, he probably would've enjoyed his time away from you, seeing as he had a strong disliking for humankind in general. But now, all it did was make him feel more lonely than before, as if something were missing without you.

Before long, his cheekbones had turned a bright blue at the thought of you, his hand instinctively moving up to his face to hide his blush.

"PsH, oH whATeVer. DoEsn't mAtTer aNywaYs. C'moN, ErRor, geT bAcK oN traCk, whAt aRe yOu gOnNa dO foR haLf aN hOur?"

He shook his skull, attempting to clear his mind as best as he could before continuing to look around the mall, in search of a good store to visit. His eyelights locked in on a certain shop, as he quickly gets to his feet, almost instinctively.

"UgH, gUeSs i'M rEaLly goNna dO iT, theN. DoN't oVerthInk iT, mE, i'M oNly doInG thIs tO gEt soMe weLl-deSerVed aTtenTioN, tHaT's all." He muttered to himself, building up his confidence as he struts into the store.

*          *          *

"i'M bAcK. MiSs mE?" Error panted, looking like he just ran a marathon, breathing heavily as he jogs up to your side.

You smile softly, confusion in your eyes as you tilt your head slightly, not having expected the skeleton to come back looking like this.

"Well, of course I missed you, I consider you to be one of my best friends! And are you alright? You don't look too hot." You asked.

Friend, huh?

He offered you a sly smirk, catching his breath rather quickly as he grabbed a majority of the bags of food you had purchased, carrying them home with relative ease, nodding.

"I tHoUgHt wE weNt OvEr thiS. wE bOth kNow i'M exTreMeLy hOt, stOp kIddINg yOuRseLf. AnD yeAh, i'M fiNe."

You sent him a look of embarrassment and mock annoyance, your cheeks beginning to burn up again, making you  hide your face behind one of the bags you carried.

"I didn't mean it like that, and you know it! And good, I was worried for a second, you seemed pretty drained just now." You smiled, pleased to know that he was fine,walking up the front steps of your porch and unlocking the door, setting the bags on the table, your skeleton companion following suit. You then prop yourself up on the counter, sitting on top of it as you rested after a long day, glancing over at the male.

"So, what didja get with the money you had? Some chocolate, I presume?" You guess, digging through one of the nearby bags, grabbing out a large box of assorted chocolates and hiding it behind your back. A small gift for his compliance, as you would call it.

You didn't notice Error doing the same.

The skeleton huffs, his cheekbones dusted with royal blue as he thrusts out a bouquet of freshly-cut roses, along with a heart shaped box of chocolates, holding them out for you to take.

"ThIs. HApPy VaLenTiNe's dAy, nerD."

What?

"T-thE cHoColAte WaS sUpEr eXpEnSive, sO I kInda jUst stOle iT aNd raN,,, YOu bETter EnJoY iT aFter AlL tHe tRouBlE I weNt tHrOuGh To gET iT.." He continues, stuttering slightly as you gingerly take the objects out of his hands, your face so red that it'd make a lobster jealous.

You were sure he didn't know the meaning behind Valentine's day; it was centered around showing your affection to those you love, though that didn't make it any less sweet of him. The fact that he even thought about getting you something was touching.

As soon as the items were in your hands, however, the male had turned around and began walking away, shielding his face as he began towards his room. You snapped out of your stupor, jumping off the counter and bolting after him, grabbing his hand and tugging him back, his eyesockets widening in surprise.

"T-thank you so much... h-happy Valentine's Day.!" You stammered, shoving the chocolates in his hand and giving his arm a soft, affectionate squeeze, before sprinting in the opposite direction.

That day, you both fell asleep with burning faces.

____________________________________________________________________________ Hello, Sweetarts! How are you, today? ^^

Hope you enjoyed this small chapter in honor of the shippiest day of the year, Valentine's Day! This was fun to write haha, enjoyed it a lot =^-w-^=

That's about all for now, so stay safe, stay cozy, and stay shippy. See you soon, love ya! :3