Chapter Text
The blatant threat from the Queen was all you needed to confirm the skeleton dudes were bad news and that you should make plans to move overseas. Between them and the sheer amount of bullshit you had somehow managed to get into the past two days, you had to wonder if you managed to offend some trashcan witch that decided to curse you with perpetual bad luck.
"eat your salmon while you can," Papyrus ordered from his sprawled out position on the couch.
You looked down at it, but the tremors in your hands only accented your lack of appetite.
***
In the end, you ended up closing the lid to the food container (of the non-sandmon), glumly waiting for your inevitable doom. Papyrus didn't offer further conversation as he idly chewed on a lollipop and in the silence of the room, you could really feel the tired ache in your eyes.
You somewhat missed the antics of the two assholes though, if for nothing else but to distract you from your own thoughts. Everything had been so chaotic up until this point, you had hardly had time to think, but now...
"H-help...!"
It felt like you had too much time.
***
After what felt like hours of you finally coming down from your adrenaline highs, the door finally opened again to reveal the annoyingly familiar forms of Bratty and Catty. Neither of them seemed terribly thrilled to see you either and you weren't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
"Like... C'mon, human."
"Yeeeah, we've got places to be, yanno?"
You glanced at Papyrus, who gave you a shrug and a dismissive wave, so you stood with the container of food clutched in your hands.
"Uh... Bye," you awkwardly told him as you joined the others.
"seeya, snotface."
***
The cat and crocodile Monsters didn't pay you much mind as they bantered back and forth and led you out of the station: their gossip about BonBons and Blue Bunnies flying clear over your head. From what you could tell, they were on the path to take you back to your apartment - something you weren't sure how you felt about - and by the time you actually got there, you felt dead on your feet.
It was Bratty that turned to you with an impatient wave. "If you could like... Get spare clothes, we'll take you to the hotel tonight."
***
You stared at her with a vacant expression on your face as you tried to figure out if she was saying you should stay in a hotel rather than be at home, or if she was propositioning you. Sure, she may be nice for all you know, but you didn't think you were ready for that kind of commitment in your life. No matter how short term.
Catty pushed you inside with a roll of her eyes and thankfully answered your question without you even asking it. "Unless you, I dunno, want to stay here, weirdo."
"Not really," you grumbled.
***
You waded through your trashed apartment with the sense like you're having an out of body experience. Each move was dictated by auto-pilot as your eyes glazed over at the sight of the paint on your walls and your belongings that had been smashed to pieces on every surface imaginable: including the twelve pound lump of clay you had been conned into buying by a cute kid that set up (an illegal) "shop" at the park.
For some reason, that upset you the most - not that it looked like anything in particular, but you had an emotional connection to it.
***
You didn't pack much aside from a few pajama shorts, your giant ass "comfort shirt", and your work uniform - all of which you used to safely nestle your fancy herbed salmon roll thing because goddamnit you were going to eat that eventually. Not even your laptop had been spared, so it wasn't like you really had anything else to take anyways.
Bratty and Catty didn't comment on what you were doing for once and leaned against the wall until you were ready to go, then shut up the apartment again to whisk you away into the night to locations unknown.
***
Much to your surprise, "locations unknown" was a shoddy motel on the south side of town that made you feel like you were going to get mugged just by looking at it. However, the two seemed at home as they set you up with a room and immediately beelined for the dumpster to start digging through it.
You tried not to judge, but how often were you going to see an officer digging in the trash for recreational purposes? No, you ended up judging them hard as you reluctantly stepped into the sketchy room to try to grab a shower.
***
Going through the motions of showering felt more cleansing than the shower itself, though you tried not to think too hard about that beetle in the corner of the bathroom as you dried off and dressed. The bed at least looked clean, but you had also seen enough 'Hotel Hell' to know better than to trust that.
Laying out your towel on top of the covers, you sat down on it and held the salmon roll-up container in your lap as you settled. Your hands still had a tremor in them and you exhaled, then opened it to dig in.
***
When Bratty and Catty fished each other out of the dumpster and came to check on you, they found you bawling your eyes out with a fork in your mouth. The utterly confused looks on their faces as they stared at you with the armload of garbage they've collected stated they had no idea what your deal was, and you weren't about to share the chunks of heaven that you kept stuffing your face with.
It was delicious when it had sand in it, but now that it lacked the 'crunch'...
Each bite tasted like comfort in these trying times.