It was a given, but things changed after that day. Clover didn't really tell Martlet the extent of what he remembered, but both of them could feel a change in daily life.

Despite their reaffirmations, both of them had felt at least somewhat awkward around each other. Clover... Wasn't quite sure why things had become so strange. He couldn't muster the courage to just... Ask right off the bat, so he started to come up with reasons as to why Martlet had become ever slightly more distant then she had been just days before. So... Despite having done almost nothing, he began to think that he himself... That he might be the problem.

As for Martlet herself? She didn't doubt what Clover had said but... Now that everything had been exposed? Martlet couldn't help but feel guilty. Everything just felt... Off. It showed in her work, whereas before she'd been feeling far less... Lethargic, so to say, she'd started slipping back into old habits. Speaking of her work, Martlet's break was officially over, and she was now back on guard duty. She was currently having an odd mix of being too paranoid to sleep, and feeling too guilty to care. What was the point when she didn't give the one person she should give her all for... Her all?

So, to reiterate, things changed after that day.

Three days had passed by now, and the two had settled into a somewhat uncomfortable status quo.

Clover would spend his days exploring around Snowdin, meeting other monsters and even one time spending the night over at Papyrus and Sans place. Martlet wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but apparently Clover had a pretty good time, so who was she to stop him?

It wasn't like much had really changed to be fair, they still lived under the same roof, ate together, shared displays of affection, but... Those aforementioned displays had grown dull in comparison to the first few days after Clover had lost their memory. They would read together, but not snuggled up. They would hug, but only for a moment. They would eat together, but Clover would not strike up casual small talk like he had before. And those little things added up.

Something needed to change, they both felt it, both wanted to go back to what they had before, but neither knew if the other wanted the same, and both were too afraid to ask... It was a serious predicament.

...

"Okay Clover, I'm heading to work, be good!"

"Alright, see you later mom!"

Martlet sighed as she closed the door behind her, it'd been a few days since she'd offered to help Dalv, she wondered how they might be doing? It had also been a day since she wrote to Ceroba again but... They hadn't written back yet, or maybe the mail just wasn't here yet. She wasn't sure. Couldn't be sure. It was the same result either way though so it didn't particularly matter. Her parents hadn't gotten back to her yet either oddly enough. Maybe mail was just a bit late?

Regardless of that, Martlet figured there wasn't a better day to make good on her earlier promises. Maybe it'd help her clear her mind a bit as well? So it was that Martlet knew what her first work of the day would be.

Martlet gently rapped on the door. Dalv's house, hut? Didn't have any glaring holes in it any more, but Martlet could tell the work was shoddy at best. It seemed as if they could really use some help...

"Coming!"

A moment later, the door creaked open. Dalv stood behind it, now looking at Martlet. For one moment, there was confusion, in the next, there was understanding.

"Ah, hello. It's been a few days, I'd almost forgotten."

"Yeah, sorry about that... There's just been some stuff going on, did you still want help with your house or...?" Martlet's eyes darted between Dalv and the obvious flaws she saw.

"To be honest I'd appreciate it." Dalv slowly began to frown. "You may have noticed but, I'm not exactly the best at this..."

"Heh, no shame in it!" Martlet gave Dalv a reassuring smile while she began to survey the property a bit more intently.

"It's not really much of a problem for me but..." The vampire paused for a moment. "It's a little bit difficult to have company over when your house is even colder then it is outside..."

"Right, I'll get to it then!"

...

"So... You don't mind if I ask questions about Clover, right?" Dalv called up to Martlet as she hammered a nail in on the roof. She hesitated for a moment, but didn't give much thought to her answer.

"No, I don't, go ahead."

Martlet's magic was particularly good at cutting things, which was pretty handy when you needed on demand adjustments.

It had been a bit since she'd last used her magic for any purpose besides flight... The last time being when she had... Attacked Clover... Martlet didn't much like thinking about that.

"Why are they... A bird now?"

"Well... I can tell you that one, but I can't really explain it to you either." Martlet mused as she touched back down on the ground. It was old news at this point and she didn't really mind talking about it but... It was still weird.

"Clover got really, really badly hurt. Their SOUL cracked open and they were about to die, but somehow they came into contact with some of my magic? Their SOUL used it to heal itself, but in the end because of that it ended up taking on some monster traits. It's sort of like if a monster absorbed a human SOUL, I Think..."

"Oh, so... What you said about Clover having an accident... Was true...?"

"Yeah, Clover took a real bad fall."

Dalv didn't ask any more questions for a few minutes after that. They seemed to be deep in thought. That was fine with Martlet, she had more house to patch up.

After Martlet finished patching up a little over half of the place, Dalv asked another question. "So... Why did they call you their mom? Was that just a disguise of some sort or-"

"You know how I told you Clover had amnesia...?"

Dalv thought for a moment, before nodding a few times.

"That wasn't a lie either. They started calling me their mom because they lost their memories... They thought I was their mom, in hindsight, why wouldn't they?"

"Ah, I see."

"But... It's not exactly a lie either." Martlet sighed as her head drooped a little bit. This was all still a bit sensitive, but at the same time it would be good to get it off her chest."

"...What do you mean?"

"When Clover's SOUL changed... Supposedly, that change was caused because their SOUL took on traits from my magic...? I mean, by technicality we are kind of related now... But..."

"Are you alright?" Dalv asked evenly. "You look a little bit..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, there's just been a few things on my mind recently. You don't need to worry about it." Martlet tried to smile reassuringly, but it came out looking rather pained.

Dalv hesitated for a moment, but then he thought back to when he himself had met Clover. "...No, you're out here helping me out, the least I could do is listen to your problems. Please, I insist."

Martlet sighed and leaned against the house. "Well... I guess I can talk about it a bit. I hadn't exactly been very... Truthful with Clover. I tried not to really lie to him but... Sometimes I just couldn't help it. The alternative was... Scary." Martlet frowned as she admitted her own cowardice.

"A few days ago, Clover..." She considered her next words carefully. "Clover got a lot of his memories back. He... Figured out that I'd been lying to him about a lot of stuff, like what humans are."

Dalv nodded for her to continue.

"But he... He didn't seem upset about it at all! He just... Forgave me! Just like that! He still called me his mom, he said he... That he loves me... But... The past few days... I've felt progressively more and more distant from him, is it just me? Am I the problem here...?"

Martlet felt tears welling up in her eyes, she'd... Gotten a lot more into that then she thought she would. She wasn't even sure if she realized how much this was eating at her until she'd said it out loud.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No worries." Dalv nodded slowly. "I... Won't really claim to understand much of what you're talking about, I've never really had an attachment like that to anybody before. But... Would you like some advice? I can't really be sure of how valid it is but..."

Martlet breathed in and out very slowly, before nodding her head. "Sure, I'd love to hear it."

"Maybe you should just talk to them? Clover's a very..." Dalv frowned, recalling how long it had taken for him to stop attacking Clover. "Patient person. They're kind and understanding, if you just sit down with them... I'm sure everything will work out."

Martlet closed her eyes for a moment, and much the same way she had a moment ago, nodded her head. "Okay, maybe you're right... I guess there's not much that I could do which would be worse then doing nothing."

...

Clover could say that he very much did enjoy cooking. At least when he wasn't forced into doing it. For some reason he had very mixed feelings about the art. One side joy and creative passion, the other abject horror as an ever ticking clock threatened to beat him should the time run low. He was starting to suspect his life up on the surface before may have been worse than he initially assumed. Perhaps him being a monster was better than he thought.

"HMMM, ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?"

"O'course I'm sure about it." Clover poured a healthy amount of seasoning and olive oil into the pan. "Why wouldn't I be sure? This is the third time you've watched me make Spaghetti Paps, have a little faith!"

Clover picked up the pan, and despite it being rather heavy, he deftly placed it upon the stove. It was a practiced maneuver.

"Alright! Now it's your turn, grab the... MTT noodles..." Clover found himself somewhat put off by whatever those things were. They felt like a lower quality then he'd been used to, somehow.

"CERTAINLY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE THE BEST SPAGHETTI EVER! WITH YOUR HELP OF COURSE, MY DEAR FRIEND!"

"I'm sure you will." Clover smiled genuinely as he turned up the stove. If one were to look at this situation, they may find it odd that the child was the one teaching the adult how to cook. But, well, Sans certainly didn't find it odd, and he was the only other monster there. So did it really matter?

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Alright, just go ahead and pour in the noodles-" Clover beckoned for Papyrus to come over, which he did. "and I'll go and get... Hey Paps, processed or fresh?"

"FRESH! OF COURSE! ONLY THE BEST OF INGREDIENTS FOR THE BEST OF CHEFS!"

"Right, gotcha. Make sure to keep the pasta moving, comes out better if ya do that!"

Clover strolled over to the fridge, which just so happened to be next to Sans.

"hey kiddo, hows the pasta going?"

"You know how it's goin, you're watching." Clover rolled his eyes with a slight smile as he reached for the tomatoes... He'd make sure to not mash them to oblivion this time. It was a little embarrassing how carried away he'd gotten with Undyne...

"hey, you know me, i'm dead tired. you can't expect me to be paying a skeleton of attention"

"You really like that one joke don'tcha?"

He shrugged, and it seemed as if his grin grew just a little wider.

Tomatoes in hand, Clover returned to the counter. "Alright, next up we're gonna take another crack at de-seeding the tomatoes, understand? I'll keep the pasta movin, you already know what to do."

"OF COURSE! THIRD TIMES THE CHARM!" Papyrus practically skipped as he swapped places with Clover.

"Remember, fourths, scoop out the seeds into one bowl and pulp the tomatoes into the other."

"DON'T WORRY MY FRIEND! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, COULD NOT POSS-"

...

"So, the spaghetti is going to be a little bitter." Clover noted as he took a good look at the sauce that Papyrus had produced. He at least didn't just crush them wholesale this time around though, so that was progress!

"AH WELL, THE ART OF SPAGHETTI CAN ONLY EVADE ME FOR SO LONG! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

"You betcha partner, you'll have it down in no time at all." Clover did his best to pat Papyrus on the shoulder, but he was almost twice as tall as Clover himself, so that was a little difficult.

"VERY WELL! IT IS TIME FOR THE TASTE TEST! LET US PARTAKE OF OUR JOINT EFFORT CLOVER!"

"Sure thing pal, you just get that spaghetti ready and I'll be on the couch with Sans."

How had Sans gone from a chair by the fridge over to the couch? Clover didn't bother to question it. Must've been magic.

With his lack of questions established, Clover flopped over onto the couch on his back. As energetic as he could be, Papyrus was on another level, somehow. The big guy was cool, but sometimes you just needed a moment.

"hey, you know there's only so much space for couch hogging."

"Can you just let me have this, please?"

"woah there kiddo, everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just... i've had a lot on my... plate recently."

Clover smiled as he let loose his pun, but that was only a momentary reprieve. He'd been ignoring it for the most part, but now that Papyrus was off yelling in the distance instead of in his face, a few thoughts had the chance to come wandering on in. Things had been getting... strained with his mom.

Clover internally groaned at his pun, was Sans a bad influence?

"hey i can understand that kid, sometimes there's just going tibia lot to deal with."

"..."

"what? you're normally not so stiff, tough crowd today?"

"I... Guess you could say that. Hey, Sans? I'm not sure if you're really the best person to ask for advice about stuff like this, but, you always struck me as more than you seem." Clover paused for a moment, trying to figure out just how much they were comfortable with telling the bone man.

"hey, might as well hit me with it, eh kiddo?"

"Mmm, if ya say so." Clover sighed before continuing. "Things have been a bit... No, they're not bad but... It feels like my mom's getting a little distant. And I've gotta wonder, am I the reason why? I've been feeling a bit..." Clover paused again, mulling over his next words carefully. "...Conflicted recently. And I guess I'm just asking... What do you think you would do?"

"heh, kid, you know i really am the last person you should be asking for help with stuff like this, i'm no good at it. if you're asking what i'd do? nothin, i'd let it blow over, or boil over if it doesn't get any better, heh. though, if you wanted this skeletons sage advice? just talk to your mom kid. it'd be a shame for my bro's one and only best friend to be having troubles. i'm sure he'd hate to hear that your relationship is getting a bit... strained."

Did he... Read my mind or something...?

"I'll... Take it in'ta consideration."

...

Clover got home first after having a pleasant lunch. The sauce being a little funky couldn't quite ruin the meal, so Clover had eaten his fill. He'd spent about three hours over at Sans' and Papyrus's place. And it had been about a fifteen minute walk each, both to and from their house. By now, all the monsters around knew Clover, so nobody really stopped him to chat.

With all of that in mind, Clover figured he'd have about an hour until Martlet got home. Enough time to wash up, and make sure he was in his best shape. It wouldn't do to be looking disheveled. So, he got right to doing what was just noted.

This time, Clover did not make the mistake of forgetting to grab new clothes. Martlet had long since moved his clothes into his own room, so he was actually aware of where they were now. So, this time with considerably less haste, he got to work doing a deep clean of himself.

Preening was definitely weird. If you told Clover that one day, he would need to essentially straighten every hair on his body or suffer unbearable itchiness he'd have looked at you like you belonged in a mental hospital. Now here he was, currently giving himself a preening. The last time he'd done this he'd been... In far more of a hurry. To be frank, this preening wasn't exactly necessary given he'd done as his mom advised and made it a morning routine, but he wanted to be at his best for the coming talk.

Clover had already had his fair share of insults thrown his way by his mother before, maybe he looked a bit razzled or somehow unclean, maybe he hadn't done something-his train of thought paused again. There it was again. Things Martlet had never done, yet Clover thought she would do them regardless... Why? Why did he think his mom would do that? What had his mother... DONE to him? Clover knew he had a life up on the surface, but for the life of him the exact specifics of it still eluded him.

At this point, he was already half way through completely preening himself, so he figured he might as well commit to it... But the power of his own subconscious was starting to scare Clover a little. He hadn't even noticed what was going on in his head until he was already half way through the process of obeying it... He pulled out a feather by mistake as he shuddered.

...

"Clover?" Martlet slipped through the door with two letters in hand. It would seem the mail had finally arrived, but Martlet could wait. She needed to speak with her child.

"Just drying off! Be down in a moment mom!"

Martlet kept her breathing steady, one breath in, one breath out. Rinse repeat. It would all be fine, it had to be fine. Clover said it himself, he still loved her despite everything. It would be cowardly of her to back down now. She'd already chickened out so many times before, even imagining doing it again was off the table.

"Alright, coming down!"

At last, Clover was wearing one of the tank tops Martlet had gotten him. It would seem both of the long sleeved shirts needed washing.

"...Clover, would you mind sitting down for a moment? I'd... Like to talk to you about something."

"Oh, I uhm-sure! But I, I wanted ta talk to you about something as well."

"Oh-okay! You can speak f-first."

Why am I...?

"I... Don't really know how to say this but... Mom... I feel like we've been getting distant. I'm not sure how you feel about me... Now that I remember more about myself... And I'm sorry if I upset you somehow..."

"W-wait, what...?"

"Is... Something wrong?"

"N-no, it's just..." Martlet couldn't believe that just happened.

"I was... Going to talk to you about the exact same thing."

"...Wha?"

"Clover..." Martlet kneeled down. "I was... Never upset with you, don't think any of this has ever been your fault. Cause it hasn't been, not you losing your memory, not you turning into a monster, nothing at all. I... If anything, I'm the one at fault for anything at all! I lied to you, again and again. You have every right to be upset with me so... So why...?"

She couldn't help but frown. Why was it that Clover, the one who had their life upended, who had their very being ripped away from them, the one who was lied to again and again, why were they the one who felt bad... About anything?

"Wh... Whaddya mean mom...? Were you not upset with me because of... How I acted?"

"N-no! What!? Clover I-I was going to ask you if I was doing something to upset you! If there was something wrong with me...! But... You think... You're the problem...?"

Clover hesitated, yet a few moments later, they shakily nodded.

Martlet didn't even know what to say. So she said nothing, and instead reached forward to pull Clover into a hug.

"No... No...! Absolutely not! Clover, you've done nothing wrong, I'm so sorry if I made you feel as if you did something bad-but-I-I-n... No. Please never blame yourself like that, I'm the one you should be upset with not yourself..."

Somehow, this was infinitely worse than Clover actually being angry at her for something. Martlet knew in her heart she'd done something worthy of being hated, but for some reason Clover just didn't care about it...? That they thought they themselves were at fault despite having done... LITERALLY nothing!? She felt sick to her stomach.

"Clover, I love you... So please... NEVER blame yourself like this ever again, please."

Clover, who had been limp the entire hug, finally found strength in their arms once again and hugged Martlet back.

"O... Okay..."

Despite his best efforts, Clover couldn't keep himself from tearing up. After a few moments, he began to quietly sniffle, and from there the gates only loosed even further.

"I'm sorry... I'm awful, I just... Let this fester." Martlet held Clover close and let the tears run their course.

"I'm so sorry Clover."