HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

As he slipped on his jacket, he couldn’t help but feel as though he were being watched. Glancing towards Frisk, he frowned as they slipped on their shoes. It wasn’t them watching him. Glancing around, his attention was immediately caught by Anya. She gazed at him, her lips pursed. Her whole body was tense and it suddenly occurred to him why that might be.
Smiling sheepishly, he started over to her and gave her a hug. “We’ll be fine,” he nodded rapidly. “We’re just going to get some ice cream!”
Anya cocked her head and twisted towards Eliza and Cecilia, frowning when they nodded. She sighed and twisted again, hugging Mason tightly. There was plenty of ice cream there at Zander’s, so he was likely using that as an excuse to leave… To spend some time with Frisk, it seemed? They did tend to leave Mason to get attention from everyone else first.
“You better message us every so often,” she huffed.
He chuckled and nodded, giving Cecilia and Eliza a hug as well. “I will!” He beamed at them, but was immediately surprised when Eliza wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down.
“We’re not telling you to not fight anyone that gives you no choice,” she whispered into his ear. “Just, be smart about it. Killing your opponents is not the only way to be rid of them, nor is making them fade from existence. You can depend on us at any time. Don’t think of that as a weakness.”
Surprised by the sudden advice, he could only nod. Though, wasn’t Eliza one of the ones most struggling with the fact that he could have died? Sure, when he’d first waken up, she had seemed mostly blank. But Anya and Cecilia had mentioned that Eliza was crying. She had practically refused to leave his side, and talked to him despite that he wouldn’t wake up.
And then, when she finally got him alone, he saw her cry for the first time. She tried to refuse that, say that she was just so angry that she was crying. Of course, he knew better.
Glancing to the door, he saw Frisk practically bouncing in front of it. They were ready to leave. He smiled and squeezed Eliza extra tighter. “I know, I know.” It didn’t particularly help that his body still felt weak, his magic sluggish when being cast. It was going to take him a while before he felt completely normal. He had never felt so off before.
Stepping back, he pulled his phone out and showed them. “I have my phone, and it’s charged.”
“Come oooon!” Bouncing over, Frisk grabbed his arm and pulled. Luckily, he was healed enough that this wasn’t enough to make him stumble.
He giggled and ruffled their hair. “Relaaaax! It’s not like the ice cream shop’s going to just run away from us.” Frisk stared at him, giving their best puppy eyed expression. Which worked, of course. Waving at everyone else, they were soon gone.
- - -
“What kind of ice cream do you like?” Frisk hopped beside him, beaming at him.
“Hmm…” Mason cocked his head for a moment, considering that. “Definitely Cookies and Cream. As well as chocolate.”
Frisk nodded and smiled, “I have too many to choose from.”
Glancing towards them, he gave a somewhat of a mischievous smile, “That, or you’re just incredibly indecisive.” When Frisk pouted at him, he ruffled their hair. This made them beam as a result and they quickly forgot to pout.
“It’s still true!”
Their banter continued on into the ice cream shop. Mason immediately went to the counter, already knowing what he wanted, while Frisk hurried to the glass separating them from the ice cream. They leaned in, looking from ice cream to ice cream. Immediately, their eyes lit up with mischief. He resisted the urge to groan as Frisk slyly slid over to him. He already had in mind what Frisk was about to do.
Staring the clerk dead in the eyes, they said, “Your ice cream is definitely the cream of the dairy.”
“You freaking--” He buried his face into his hands, groaning. It was so painful. He could hear both the clerk and Frisk, the latter of which was cackling at his side. “This was a mistake,” he moaned. “I regret so much.”
Frisk giggled, bumping their shoulder into him. “Too late now. You have to sit with me and my amazing puns.”
Mason pouted but paid for their ice creams, Frisk getting rainbow ice cream. They chose to sit at a booth at the window, Mason sliding in first before Frisk getting in beside him. And promptly touching their shoulder to his. They were a bit clingy, but Mason wasn’t about to tell them to knock it off. Considering what had happened to get them that clingy…
For a moment, he licked at his ice cream, considering what had happened in such a short time since Frisk had came to their world. He wondered if he should have thought more about them. He thought he had been thinking about them at the time… But the more he thought about it… The more he realized that his worry for them had been a mere thought in the back of his head.
Right now, he didn’t regret forcing that god out of existence. He still thought that they deserved it, though who knows when that would change.
Then again, maybe he should have tried harder to find another way. Not because the god deserved to live or anything, but because his family was looking for him. And yet, if he had let that god go, wouldn’t they have gone after other innocents? Other people that may or may not have been able to defend themselves? People that, unlike him, thought more about themselves rather than other people.
There was nothing wrong with that. The god, in their twisted morality, thought it was better to kill off ‘immoral’ people so that only moral ones would be left. Even though he was quite certain that wasn’t how things worked.
When he zoned back into his surroundings, he noticed Frisk staring intently at him. Blinking at them, he gave an uneasy smile. They always seemed to notice when others were deep into their thoughts. “S-Something wrong?”
Frisk pouted. “I know that expression. You’re worrying too much again, aren’t you?”
This gave him pause. Normally, he might have reassured anyone that noticed that he was fine. But he honestly wanted to just talk to someone and get these thoughts out of his head. And well… Since Frisk occupied some of those thoughts, it was only fair.
“It’s just…” He hesitated, fighting back the instinct that told him to stay quiet. He swallowed. His shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry.” Frisk didn’t show any outward signs of surprise. Just stared at him contemplatively with those too deep eyes of theirs. “We brought you over to Zander’s not to get traumatized or fear for someone’s life, but so that you could get lessons. That should’ve been all that happened…”
Frisk shook their head, smiling warmly in spite of Mason’s sudden negativity. “I’ve had a lot of fun on this world, Mason. But I understand that unexpected things happen too.” They sighed and looked down. “You and Cecilia have done so much for me… If I lost either of you, I’m not sure what I’d do. I was scared. Scared that you wouldn’t ever wake up again.” Looking up, they frowned at him. “And you know you can tell us about anything, right?”
Right… He hadn’t exactly told them much about it yet. Why it had gotten to that point, or well, anything about his adventure. He smiled weakly, “Sorry. I don’t intend to keep it from any of you, I just…” Pausing to get a lick of his ice cream. “Haven’t got it all together in my head yet, I guess.”
There was a moment of silence where Frisk cocked their head, considering him. “You don’t have to wait until then to talk. You can just say whatever’s on your mind.” When Mason twisted towards them, surprise written on his face, they smiled. “You didn’t consider that? Don’t focus on it not making much sense, just talk. You can start with me!”
He bit his lip, fidgeting in the seat. He wasn’t sure where to start… But like Frisk had said, it didn’t matter. He slumped down in his seat slightly. “Even though Zander told me it’s normal to not feel regret yet, I still think it’s weird. I just… Don’t feel anything, even joy or relief that it’s over.” Pause. “Shouldn’t I at least feel guilt? Regret? Especially since this is the first time I’ve ever done that to anyone… I know that Zander said I’m probably still in shock. I’m just… Weirded out, I guess?”
Frisk nodded rapidly, smiling sheepishly. “It’s understandable to be weirded out with that. From what the others have said, this is your first time coming face to face with something like this.”
“Yeah… I’m also wondering if I should do something for everyone to say I’m sorry. Like… Bake them something?”
The teen seated at his side shot him a blank expression. “I’m positive that if you did that just to apologize, everyone would smack you.” Their expression softened. “No one wants to hear you apologize for something that was out of your control.”
“But what if--?”
A flicker of determination glittered in their gaze as they shook their head. “Nope! No ‘what if’s’. You didn’t have the experience for such a situation. It’s no one’s fault! None of us had any idea that this could happen.”
He looked down, brows furrowed. He could understand that, even if it was difficult for him to wholly accept. “Everyone’s probably grieved for me in their own way, before and after I woke up. I feel so bad for that.” If there was one thing he regretted, it was making everyone feel like that. No matter what he had wanted or expected. “I know if anything had ever happened to any of you, I’d be quite similar. I know it’ll change soon enough, but right now, I can only look at everyone and see how my disappearance and unconsciousness affected them. I’m really happy that they worry about me of course, and I wouldn’t change that for the world but--” He gestured a hand about vaguely before dropping it. “I don’t know…”
Frisk nodded and set their ice cream down before leaning over and hugging him tightly. “That’s normal too! You’re feeling guilty for causing them so much worry. Just know that they feel as such because of their immense worry. They’re family, and I know they wouldn’t change that even now.” Frisk was determined to squeeze him until he gave them a hug.
After a moment, he complied, squeezing them gently. “Thanks,” he smiled weakly at them. It was going to take him some time to come back to normal but… It really helped being able to just talk to someone. And Frisk really did help.
“Now…” They leaned back and cocked their head, “Didn’t Anya want you to message them?”
His eyes went wide, “I completely forgot!” What with their serious conversation, ice cream, and puns.