A/N: Hi everyone. I am glad that some people are excited to hear about Gaster. Unfortunately he doesn't play a large part in the fic.

Toriel kept her face remarkably still at her visitor, not even a single twitch of emotion. Even though the skeleton had limped in dragging her leg behind her. The former queen didn't flinch at the bandages around her skull or how she spoke without moving her jaw with a hoarse voice greeting her. The boss monster didn't react when she had to catch the healer when she stumbled, leaving traces of dust in her paw-like hands. But now at her dining table, Toriel did raise an eyebrow. "I am certain that the hot chocolate is sweet enough," she noted as the skeleton dropped the third sugar cube into the dark almost sluggy mixture.

Avenir blinked, but took a sip of her drink. Toriel took a sip of her own tea; it wasn't the same without Asgore, but she pushed the thought away. It did no good to think of him. The two of them had made their choices. "Will you tell me what harm befell you? If I may be blunt, you look like you are about to dust." The boss monster gave the other a concerned look. The healer narrowed her sockets in thought.

Avenir's dilated eyelights looked down at her cup. "I found myself in a small fight," she answered, her voice hoarse. She took another sip, sockets shutting in relief.

"Small. It appears whatever conflict you found yourself in was anything but," Toriel said lightly though her motherly tone held a hint of chastisement.

The skeleton's cheekbone were brushed a lime-green. Toriel didn't know what happened to the other, but she was certainly more expressive. "I was challenged by one of the Royal Guards. The brute." The skeleton tilted her cup back.

"Did no one attempt to heal your wounds?" Toriel asked with a horrified gasp, "And what sort of guard would harm a healer?" Avenir took a bite out of the cinnamon butterscotch pie that she ignored until that point, savoring its sweetness.

"Green magic isn't really effective on me," Avenir answered matter-of-factly. Toriel gave her a sad look, her brown eyes full of concern. The only instances she knew of green magic not working was those with malformed or damaged SOULs. "It really isn't a concern. What I am concerned about is Asgore's plan to prepare for the next human." The healer rubbed her cervical vertebrae as one would their sore throat. "He plans to install cameras. The next human would be monitored every step of their journey."

Toriel frowned in thought, "Cameras would also make our meetings more difficult to conduct." Avenir nodded in agreement. The former queen hummed while the other monster ate her pie. "I know that you did not wish to exchange numbers, but I must insist to do so now. I am concerned about your safety. If you had dusted in your fight, I would have no inkling of what had occurred."

"You worry about me?" Avenir asked, looking up at the queen. Her sockets were wide and she tilted her skull. The skeleton gave a small smile, "I have been hearing that more often as of late." She poked at her pie but the small smile stayed. It warmed the mother's heart like Chara's rare smiles.

"Of course, I was worried and I am even more worried," Toriel responded with a smile of her own. She pulled a piece of parchment and a quill pen from her inventory. The boss monster wrote her phone number in her beautiful writing. "I do not have what you younger monsters call texting, but I am always willing to talk." She pushed the paper across the table to Avenir who picked it up. Her eye-lights looked over the number before it went into her inventory.

"I should be leaving. My … friends will be back soon and they get worried," Avenir stated as she got to her feet. Dust sprinkled to the ground and Toriel made a mental note to sweep it off of the wood floor. If the healer notice, she didn't point it out.

"I can understand their concern. You look like you are about to dust," Toriel noted as she stood up to help the healer get her bearings. The skeleton was tiny and Toriel could feel the fragility of the other's bones. They could crumble into dust at the slightest foul intention.

"I suppose I nearly did," Avenir noted distractedly. She looked at the pile of silvery dust she left on the chair she sat on. Her brow bone furrowed as the fact hit her.

"It is not my place to ask, but do you have plans in place in case of your demise?" Toriel asked. She grew sad at the thought, "When my son died, Gor- My ex-husband and I did not know his wishes. We put his dust on his old toys, but I still wonder if that is truly what he wanted." She slumped at the memory, feeling ancient.

Avenir took a deep breath that agitated her wounds, "Your son was unjustly murdered. You couldn't have prepared for that." She laid a comforting hand on the boss monster's arm.

"I know. It still haunts me at times. That is why I asked about your plans," Toriel responded, pushing the old pain down. Her brown eyes held back tears.

"I- I have to confess that the thought never crossed my mind. I didn't believe I would find any monster who cared enough. I thought when I finally dusted, it would just be swept away," the skeleton answer was stated without any emotion that it broke the queen's heart. She reached out to pull the shorter monster into a soft embrace.

"You have at least one monster who wishes to honor and remember you," she said as she stroked Avenir's skull. The healer didn't hug her back but she leaned her head into the soft touch.

"Mom- Excuse me, Toriel," the skeleton monster was quick to correct her slip. "Thank you. When I have decided, I will tell you." The former queen gave her a motherly smile; it had been so long since anyone called her mom. The simple word warmed her SOUL though she knew that the other wouldn't make the mistake again. She released her hold on the healer who appeared to be distracted.

The boss monster insisted that the healer packed the pie as the skeleton left. Avenir accepted the sweets and gave Toriel a small smile as she left. As the door shut behind the petite healer, Toriel's phone began to ring. She picked it up. "I was just calling so you have my number," Avenir's even voice came through the speaker. Toriel smiled even when the other hung up without a goodbye.

UT~UT~UT

Avenir fell heavily into the soft couch, its plush comforting on her aching bones. She was relieved that she made it back to the skeleton brother's house before they did. She didn't want to answer any questions on where she went though she had picked up Grillby's just in case. Her bones throbbed in pain, but it was too much to push her to get up and take her medication. She briefly hoped that Sans or Papyrus showed up to help her. She poked at her bandaged hand and came back with dust on her bones.

She thought back to Toriel's question about dust. Her own fragility never was so obvious. The door opened slightly, letting the cold air in briefly. She shuttered at the chill. The healer pushed herself up to see Sans kick off his slippers. "Heya, Avie. Thanks for picking up dinner," he said in greeting as she moved to allow him a place to sit. He gave a tired sigh as he sunk down beside her. "Somethin' on your mind?" The older skeleton watch her continue to shake dust from her arm.

"I was nearly dust," she stated, looking at the little pile she accumulated. Sans flinched; he really didn't have the energy for dealing with an existential crisis. "I suppose I never really thought about it. What would happen after that?"

Sans sighed, "Some monsters believe that there is an afterlife of some sort." He shrugged, pulling his jacket closer.

Avenir gave the other skeleton a confused look, "I wasn't wondering about that. I was wondering what they would do with my dust." Sans relaxed at that; it was a much simpler question. "Have you and Papyrus discussed it? What are your plans? I would hate for you not to be honored." She could feel those words deep in her SOUL though the thought of either of them dust made her sick and furious.

Sans smiled at the concern, "We haven't talked about it. It is a morbid topic. What brought it up?"

"Nothing. May I show you what my wish is?" Avenir asked. Could she trust him with this information; bear her SOUL even more? Sans shifted uncomfortably, but nodded. Avenir gave him a small, grateful smile. She felt relief; she wouldn't just be trampled under the feet of monsters. "We need to go to my home." Sans offered a shortcut and the two found themselves in the healer's tiny shack of a home. The trip still made her head spin and her nonexistent stomach churn.

She released his gentle hand and limped to her bedroom. She would be quick, but looked back anyways to check to see if he was still there. Sans waited for only a moment before she reappeared. Her lime eye-lights looked at the object in her hands with fondness. A toy crown a little to large and misshaped to be store bought was firmly in her grasp. Crystals like the wishing room's 'stars' were set in each point. "My father was a craftsman. He used to whittle little figurines for me as gifts, but this was my favorite. I was wearing it when… That is besides the point." The healer held it out to Sans to hold. The jacketed skeleton took it gingerly, feeling as though he shouldn't be handling something so important to the other. He could see silvery dust caught on the edges of the crystals and points of the toy. The healer watched him with bated breath, waiting for him to say something.

"Why are you tellin' me this?" Sans asked, feeling overwhelmed. Avenir's soft look, harden. Her skull stilling to a impassive one. Her openness disappearing behind walls of no emotion.

"I was clearly mistaken. My apologies. I assumed that our relationship was closer than you did," the female said, reaching for the crown. Her soft, vulnerable tone was gone replaced with a cold and unfeeling one.

Sans dodged her grasp easily, "What did you think we were?" Anger passed through the other's sockets. The older skeleton felt slightly guilty at causing it.

"Does whatever my misinterpretation was matter?" she asked, reaching out again. The older skeleton danced out of the way while the healer grew frustrated. Her sockets setting themselves into a glare. Her breath exhaled sharply. Sans shrugged to answer her question and teleported away as the other launched herself at him. The healer crashed loudly to the floor.

"You okay, Avie?" he asked as the other struggled to get back on her feet. He stepped forward to steady her. The healer held her injured arm close. Lime-green tears budded, but were blinked away.

"I thought we were friends at the very least, Sans," she looked away from him. "I apologize for the assumption." She broke away from him, taking the crown from his weak grasp. "Leave," she commanded limping away from the older skeleton. The door to her bedroom closed loudly, ending any conversation. She sunk to the floor, sliding down the closed door.

Avenir could feel the magic residue of a 'short cut' and she get go of a sigh. Her sockets burned and she wiped away the slightly sticky magical tears that threatened to fall. She hugged herself, trying to calm the emotions that she had thought she had long lost. She placed a hand over her broken SOUL. She wished that this didn't hurt her; she wished she didn't feel like she did before. Something sharp stabbed her fingers, reminding her of the crown she held. She rubbed her thumb over its cool surface with a sad smile. She was okay; she would just give it to Toriel. The boss monster was the one to poise the question. The skeleton pulled out her phone, flinching as it was painful to hold in her injured hand. She redialed and waited for the boss monster to pick up.