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You’ve always found comfort in silence. If you had the choice of either going to a party with dancing and music or sitting at home all night, curled up on your bed with a good book, you would choose the latter without thinking twice. That’s probably the reason you enjoy being a librarian so much.
 
People rarely came there, especially on weekends, and if anyone

did

show up, they were there to either study or read in silence. Thanks to this, you got to spend most of your shifts doodling in the small sketchbook you carried around with you, or reading some chapters in the book you were currently hooked on. The added silence of this job was like a small cherry on top of a sweet, sweet sundae.
 
It was a calm Sunday in fact; sunlight was filtering in through the windows, the room stained a deep orange colour thanks to the sun setting slowly over the horizon. Outside, soft gusts of wind kept the temperature of early spring from warming up too much, birds were chirping happily from their perches on tree branches. All in all, today seemed like a very good day.
 
And it had been. Barely anyone had popped into the quaint little library, which meant you had taken all day to making small doodles. You’d been so focused on this, however, that you hadn’t even noticed someone walk up to the counter, with their arms full of books, until you heard a surprised, yet happy sounding gasp, above you. Your head sprung up from your sketch and you suddenly made eye contact with a very,

very

tall skeleton.
 
Your eyes widened in shock, the guy had to be at least 7 feet tall! He was smiling at you, but you couldn’t make your tongue move; it was like a heavy rock in your mouth.
 
Everyone knew about monsters, it was impossible

not

to. A year ago, when they first emerged from Mt. Ebott, it was all any news station could talk about for

months

. Apparently, they’d be trapped under the mountain for thousands of years because of a barrier put in place by seven human mages, and the only reason they were standing in the sunlight now was thanks to a small, non-binary ten year old named Frisk. The news had everyone bewildered, not only did a

child

free a whole species worth of creatures, but monsters were

real

. Magic, of all things, was

real

. It had been all this time and no one had known. That information was what had made you ecstatic. All your life you’ve read novels, seen movies and

wished

for magic to be a reality, and now it was! And so were

monsters

! It was like a dream come true!
 
Of course, not everyone had thought of it this way. There were plenty of humans who seemed to despise all monsters, no matter how kind or polite they might be. This seemed extremely unfair to you, but honestly not that surprising. Humans hate other

humans

just because of how they looked, or who they loved, so the fact that there are monsterphobs was not at all surprising. That didn’t make it any the less disheartening, though.
 
Fortunately for the monsters, no one in power was (publicly, at least) monsterphobic, so they were granted rights and the ability to find housing and jobs relatively quickly. Now, they happily lived amongst humans, despite some of them being treated unfairly.
 
“HELLO HUMAN! I AM SORRY FOR SHOCKING YOU. I JUST COULDN’T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT YOU ARE VERY SKILLED AT DRAWING!!” The skeleton exclaimed, practically yelling. You had to mentally restrain yourself from wincing at the sudden noise.
 
You smiled sweetly, still a bit flustered. “Oh! T-thank you! That’s very kind of you to say!” Your eyes fell to the stack of books still in the skeletons hands. “Do you want to check those out?”
 
He seemed to remember the books himself and set them onto the counter, pushing them towards you. “YES PLEASE! I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND MULTIPLE BOOKS ON PASTA, AND EVEN A FEW ASTROLOGY ONES FOR MY LAZY BROTHER! I HAVEN’T SEEN HIM READ ANY RECENTLY, SO I FIGURED HE NEEDED SOME NEW ONES!” You let out a small giggle at that, taking the skeletons library card and beginning to sign out the books. It was rare that anyone made small talk. Actually, scratch that. No human you’d ever met during your work hours seemed willing to make conversation with you. This monster, however, seemed more than happy to make light hearted chatter with you. In a way, it was endearing.
 
“OH MY!” A hollow thud sounded throughout the library as he suddenly smacked his skull, your body freezing up again as you gazed up at him in horror;

why the hell did he do that?!

“HOW COULD I BE SO RUDE! I HAVEN’T EVEN INTRODUCED MYSELF!” He extended a gloved hand—gloves? In

spring?

—“I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! AND YOU ARE?”
 
You simply stared at the skeleton -

Papyrus

- for a moment. He was

introducing

himself?! You cleared your throat as quickly as you could and politely told him your name, shaking his hand (which was surprisingly gentle, he seemed to notice your size difference and was taking that into consideration, what a sweetheart). “WOWIE! YOU HAVE A VERY NICE NAME, HUMAN!” You let out a small laugh at that, he knew your name now, yet he still was calling you ‘human’? It didn’t necessarily bug you, it was just...strange. You decided to shrug off for now, handing Papyrus his books. He hesitated taking them, and you raised an eyebrow. “HUMAN, WOULD YOU MIND IF I ASKED YOU A QUESTION?”
 
You pulled your sketchbook towards you, closing its cover; your shift was practically over by now. “Not at all, what’s up?”
 
Papyrus thought for a moment, tapping a finger bone - you were pretty sure those were called ‘phalanges’, but you could be wrong - before saying: “HOW ARE YOU SO SKILLED AT ART?”
 
You… honestly didn’t know how to answer that. You’d been expecting him to ask you something about the library, or possibly a recommendation on any books you thought were worth a read, not something so… personal? Well, no, personal wasn’t the right word. “I… well, um, I’ve been drawing for a very long time, and I’ve taken a few art class here and there for different mediums but…” your sentence breaks off, fading into the silence. Papyrus nodded thoughtfully, as if you’d just explained the meaning of life to him. “Why do you ask?”
 
“WELL, I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO GET INTO ART MYSELF. I HAVE HEARD ART CLASSES WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL BUT…” His smile faltered slightly. “MANY PLACES STILL DENY MONSTERS ENTRY. EITHER THE CLASS ITSELF IS DENYING MONSTERS, OR THE BUILDING IT IS LOCATED IS” Your kind smile fell entirely. Sure, you knew some places would be rude like that, but to the point that this sweet skeleton couldn’t even find

one

art class to go to?
 
You huffed in annoyance. “Seriously?! That’s totally unfair!” You looked down at the counter top, where your sketchbook and pencil lay discarded, an idea floating into your mind. “I could give you lessons if you’d like” You weren’t the best with some mediums, but you knew enough that you could teach someone the basics.
 
Papyrus’ eye sockets widened at your suggestion, they even seemed to be… shining? “WOWIE, REALLY HUMAN? YOU’D BE WILLING TO DO THAT?”
 
“Well, yeah. It’s not fair that you can’t get the same teaching as humans just because you’re a monster.” You shook your head again, sighing. Sometimes you became incredibly disappointed in your species.
 
“OH THANK YOU HUMAN!! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus clapped his hands excitedly. He was acting like a child who’d just been told they’re going on a trip to Disney World. It was

adorable.

“I KNOW! AS A SIGN OF MY THANKS, I SHALL MAKE YOU SOME OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI FOR SUPPER! YOU CAN EVEN MEET MY LAZY BROTHER, SANS!”
 
Now, if this had been anyone else you most definitely would have declined the offer, you literally just met the guy, for heaven's sake! You weren’t even sure

why

you agreed, if you were being honest with yourself. But you did. And now you have his phone number so he can message you his address and what time would be best for you to come over. You watched as the tall skeleton walked out of the library, practically skipping.

Ray is going to be

pissed

.
 
*****

You lived in a small town home three blocks away from the library with your three friends, Ray, Natalie and Regium (pronounced Ree-jean). The fact that you could walk to and from work worked perfectly for you, considering you didn’t have your license and never wanted to drive. Your friends made the arrangement… wild, to put it simply. You were closest to Ray, you’d known her since elementary school, and to this day she’s still very

loud

and outgoing. Her girlfriend, Natalie, a sweet girl with dark red hair, happens to be the exact opposite. How they ended up together is a mystery, but they were happy so you didn’t see any need to question their relationship. Regium is… well, you didn’t know them very well. They were Ray’s younger sibling and was living with you three while they went to college; you hate to admit it, but you had no idea what they were studying. They kept to themselves most of the time and you, being much the same, never asked.

The house you four actually dwelled in was also in…

questionable

condition. It was two stories, the main level where the living room, kitchen, bathroom and other such rooms were, the top consisted of Ray, Natalie and Regium’s bedrooms, and you had completely taken over the basement. Your room was (organized) chaos haft the time, and your ‘studio’ was no better. You were pretty sure the room was meant to be a living room or something of the sorts, but when you moved in you turned it into a place where you could paint or use alcohol inks or any other medium you wanted to play around with. All in all, it was a mess. The rest of the house wasn’t as bad, especially the more open rooms - Natalie was the only really organized person who lived there, and was quite forceful when it came to cleaning rooms guests would see.

But it was home, and you loved it.

You unlocked the front door, stepping into the warmth and kicking off your shoes. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to sneak downstairs, change into something more casual than your work clothes, and slip out to Papyrus’ house without anyone asking too many questions.

Apparently today was

not

your lucky day.

You heard Ray call your name and hear the distinct

pap pap pap

of her socked feet running towards you. You mentally cursed. “Natalie’s allowing us to binge and get pizza tonight! We need to celebrate!” Ray slide into view, striking a ridiculously dramatic pose, her dark brown hair, dyed purple at the tips, falling over her face in curly knots. You snorted humorously and playfully rolled your eyes.

“Another time, I have dinner plans tonight.”

“

What?

” You began your journey downstairs into your room, Ray following close behind you. “With who? I thought you didn’t

have

any other friends?”

Now, here’s the thing about Ray: she had little to no filter. If she didn’t like you, she’d be sure to make sure you knew it. “Ouch, you make me sound like an antisocial loser” you said playfully, opening your closet door and pulling out jeans and a space T-shirt with the word

Sorry, I space out a lot

on the front. Ray respectfully stayed around the corner. “And I’m not actually sure if he’s a friend yet…”

“So you’re going with a

stranger

for supper?”

You sighed, running a hand through your short hair. You looked presentable at least. “I met him at the library today and I’m going to be giving him art classes; he invited me over for supper to say thanks”

You emerged from your room to find an annoyed Ray, her arms crossed over her chest. “Why does he need

you

for lessons? Aren’t there like, official art classes and shit?”
 
You pushed past her, walking up the stairs again. “There are, but apparently monsters aren’t allowed to join them.”

“He’s a

monster?”

You sighed again. “Look, I’ll call you if anything seems off, okay? But I’m almost certain nothing will. He seems like a genuinely nice guy.”  Your friend huffed.
 You exited back into the chilled evening air, pulling your phone out to check the address again. Fortunately for you, he lived relatively close to your place, about a 15 minute walk. 
The walk there was peaceful, if not a little chilly, in hindsight you probably should have worn a warmer jacket. It turns out Papyrus lived in a small, one story house; it honestly looked like something out of a fairy tale. It looked like it was made out of wood and a strand of red and green Christmas lights hung from the roof.
 
You hadn’t been nervous before, but standing in front of the dark door, hand positioned to knock, made your stomach twist into knots.
 
Maybe this was a bad idea.
 
You literally

just

met the skeleton and-
 You rapped your knuckles against the door. 
Papyrus was there in less than a minute, his smile widening when he saw you; his eye sockets even looked like they were literally shining. “HUMAN!! YOU REALLY CAME!” The tall skeleton pulled into a

bone

crushing hug (heh). When he let you go, he welcomed you inside.
 “Well of course I did. I said I would, didn’t I?” The house was as cozy looking inside as it was outside. The front door led straight into the living room, a green couch pushed against the wall with a small, light brown coffee table placed in front of it, across the room from the couch was a large flat screen TV, multiple book cases of what appeared to be movies, TV shows and Anime beside it. The left side of the room opened into a clean, tiled kitchen, the smell of pasta emitting from it. To the right there was a hallway that branched off into several room; bedrooms and a bathroom, you guessed. 
“WELL…” Papyrus fiddled with his red gloves, looking anywhere but you. “I KNOW SOME HUMANS ARE… SCARED OF MONSTERS. AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS A BIT WORRIED I HAD FRIGHTENED YOU.” You frowned, moving a bit closer to the skeleton and patted his ulna and radius, trying to comfort him.
 
“You didn’t scare me.” You reassured, smiling up at him. “If there are really people who are afraid of you, they are surely missing out on someone great.” Papyrus smiled at you, letting out a little ‘nyeh heh heh’.
 
“WELL, SUPPER IS ALMOST READY! DO YOU WISH TO ASSIST ME WITH WHAT'S LEFT?” You agreed, following Papyrus into his kitchen.
 
...And it was a mess.
 
Papyrus explained to you that the friend who taught him how to cook was… a bit

aggressive

, and her more… questionable ways of cooking had been passed on to him. You offered to help him clean up while the pasta finishes. You’re standing behind the skeleton now, holding dishes for him to clean; for some odd reason, his sink was really freaking

tall

and you could barely reach it. I guess it’s height makes sense, considering how tall he was - your head just barely reached the middle of his chest (rib cage?). Didn’t Papyrus mention having a brother? Were they the same height? Or was his brother much taller?

There was a sudden burst of cold air behind you, causing you to shiver slightly, though you didn’t pay much attention to it until…

“who are you?”

You let out a small squeal and whipped your body around to face the voice, dishes clutched to your chest.

There stood another skeleton, a blue hoodie draped over his white t-shirt, basketball shorts and… were those bunny slippers? He had an grin plastered over his face, small white lights in his eye sockets scanning your face.

Was this Papyrus’ brother?

He was shorter than Papyrus, but still taller than you - he probably reached up to Papyrus’ shoulders.

“HONESTLY, BROTHER, THERE’S NO NEED TO SCARE OUR GUEST!” So, this

is

the infamous brother you’ve heard… honestly not that much about.

The shorter skeleton raised an eyebrow (bone?) at his brother that now stood next to you, hands on his hip bones. You felt

incredibly

awkward. Papyrus introduced you, patting a hand on your shoulder, making you feel very, very small. Were

all

monsters really freaking tall?! “I MET HER AT THE LIBRARY TODAY! SHE EVEN OFFERED TO GIVE ME ART LESSONS!! SO, AS A WAY TO SAY THANKS, I INVITED HER OVER FOR SPAGHETTI!” He gasped, causing you to jump. You really needed to stop doing that. “SPEAKING OF: IT SHOULD BE DONE BY NOW!”

You watched Papyrus practically run to the stove, dirty dishes still held tightly in your grip. Papyrus’ brother chuckled, a deep sound that made your cheeks flush a light pink. He gently took the dishes from you, placing them in the sink. “name’s sans, by the way.” He winked, making you wish you still had the dishes, just so you could do something with your hands. “sans the skeleton.”

Papyrus brought a big pot of hot Spaghetti over to the dining table, gesturing for you two to sit down. “you know, if i knew there was the

pastability

of a guest being over, i would have been here sooner.” You snorted at the pun, and let out a real laugh when Papyrus groaned in frustration.

“BROTHER! THAT’S ENOUGH; YOU’LL INFECT THE HUMAN WITH YOUR AWFUL HUMOUR!”

“i don’t know paps, i think she already finds them

humerus

. didncha see her shirt?” Sans gestured towards you and you suddenly felt very proud of your wardrobe choice for this dinner. Papyrus simply sighed in what seemed like annoyance.

“I WAS AFRAID OF THIS..” He groaned, clasping his hands in front of his face, taking a deep breath; wait, why was he breathing? Why were

either

of them breathing? They weren’t actually… were they?

…

what the hell..

Upon further examination, you saw that both of the skeletons rib cages moved up and down, similar to the way yours did. So they breathed… but

why?

This train of thought led to you completely zoning of out the conversation; the skeletons had simply been playfully bickering, so you didn’t necessarily miss anything.
 
It was 10pm when you said you had to leave. You hadn’t mean to stay so long, honestly; you hated walking in the dark. But Papyrus and Sans could be rather distracting, and now you were left to suffer in the dark and cold.

It had been worth it, though. Sans seemed to have an unlimited arsenal of puns at his ready, much to you amusement and Papyrus’ frustration, and by the end of the night you made a silent promise to yourself that you’d pick up some joke books from the library tomorrow.

Papyrus was very adamant that you came to his house for the lessons, which you really didn’t mind - you wouldn’t get much work done with all three of your roommates hanging around - so you’d now be coming over every Sunday for the lessons.

You were in the middle of attempting to get your shoes on without falling over when a bony hand patted your shoulder. Sans stood beside you, still smiling. Come to think of it, he hadn’t done anything

but

smile all evening; was he just a really happy guy or was he just… like that? You decide to drop the question for now, maybe you’d ask him about it someday. “hey” he started, holding you up when you almost topple over.

Stupid gravity

. “i’ll walk ya home.”

You straightened, face flushed “You really don’t have to; I’ll be fine on my own.” You’ve walked home in the dark before; sure, you were a little new to this area but you knew you’d get home eventually, you have google maps if necessary.

Sans simply shrugged, moving in front of you and swinging the door open. “paps will probably feel better knowing you got home safety, and i don’t what him out this late so.” He really wasn’t going to take no for an answer here, was he? You sighed, stepping out into the night air, arms reflexively wrapping around your sides. It wasn’t that Sans scared you, quite the opposite - he had a very calming personality - you were still pretty cold.

Screw you for not grabbing your warmer jacket.

“I only live a few blocks away, it took like fifteen minutes to get here.” Sans remained silent this time, but you caught him nodding out of the corner of your eye.

For the next few minutes the only sounds were cars driving by and idle chatter you could hear from the insides of houses. “i’m kinda surprised you didn’t drive.”

You rubbed your arm, watching the ground. You’d never gotten your license as a kid, and you hadn’t made any plans on getting it now. “I… don’t drive.”

Sans watches you for a moment, still smiling. But… it was different now, his smile. It seemed… fake. His whole expression seemed fake, devoid of emotions; a mask. “can i ask you something?” You nodded for him to continue. “why are you helping my brother?”

The question took you by surprise, causing you to stumble, nearly falling on the concrete. “W-what? Oh… um” You quicken your pace so you catch up to him; for a quote unquote ‘lazybones’ he certainly could walk fast. “Papyrus seemed, uh, really enthusiastic about art and… and he mentioned that official art classes weren’t always , um,

friendly

when it came to monsters so… I mean, I’m not the best but I know the basics so I can at least get him started so…” The rest of your sentence died on your tongue. You had stuttered; why had you stuttered? There’s no reason for you to be nervous; Sans is probably just worried about his brother, and he had a perfect reason to be. Well, no, he didn’t, not from you, but he didn’t know that. They probably haven’t had the best interactions with humans so far.
 
“ok. so you offered art classes then came over for dinner?”
 
“Papyrus invited me over; didn’t he explain this before we ate?”
 
“he did but, you know,” He shrugged, finally looking over to you. “it’s pretty nerve racking when random humans show up for dinner, especially when they seem so…” he waved a hand in the air in a ‘so so’ gesture. “

nice

”

Ouch, he really didn’t trust you.

Don’t let it get to you, humans have been dicks to monsters, you just got to show him you’re different

“Look, Sans, I understand that humans haven’t really been kind to you guys but I don’t have any ill intentions.” You smiled at him, but he barely cast you a glance. “I really am just trying to be nice.”

He scoffed. “you have to have some kind of ulterior motive.”  He gives you what you think to be a deadpan look. “They all do; and it’ll be easier for both of us of you just say what your up to.”

Why did he have to be so stubborn? “I’m not up to anything. Just trying to help out a fellow artist.”

“then why’d you come over? people usually don’t accept invites like that from literal strangers, let alone a monster.”

You huffed, reason or not, he was started to get on your nerves. “It just felt like the right thing to do!”

“sounds like bullshit to me.”

“I’m telling the truth!” He looked over at you, that mask of a smile still in place. You sighed, stopping and gesturing towards the row of townhouses on the left. “This is my place.”

You begin to walk towards the door, fishing out your keys when you stop, spinning around. “I’m really not trying to do any… where’d he go?” Sans had literally vanished from behind you, nowhere in sight.

How did he…?

You push the thought aside, entering into your own home. The living room light was still on, but both Natalie and Regium should be asleep by now; Natalie worked at the pet shelter downtown, and always had one of the earliest shifts on Monday - how she managed to do that, you hadn’t the foggiest idea - and Regium had morning classes. Ray, on the other hand, worked at a coffee shop near Regiums college, and worked afternoons on Mondays, much like yourself.

You saw your friend’s head pop up from behind the couch, eyeing you with a half-hearted glare. You smile at her, but it no longer feels genuine. You slink back down to the basement, collapsing on your unmade bed.

You need to clear things up with Sans. You were going to be at their house every Sunday from now, and it would suck if he could never relax when you’re there.

You’d show him that you mean absolutely no harm.

The thought of becoming friends with the two strange skeletons filled you with determination.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sans wasn’t there the following Sunday when you came for art classes. Papyrus had insisted that he was simply at work, but you had a sneaky suspicion he was completely avoiding you. You debated even asking the taller skeleton where he worked, but you didn’t want them them thinking you’re creepy or insanely clingy.
 
The Monday after your first session with Papyrus you were stuck reshelving books in the library - definitely not your favourite thing in the world, but at least it gave you time to think. If you were correct about your assumption that Sans is avoiding you, then you’d have little to no luck finding him. Maybe if you invited Papyrus and him to your place? He seemed like the protective type, so he’d probably show up just to make sure your aren’t gonna try and pull something on his beloved brother.
 
You slide a copy of “Ready Player One” into its correct spot, humming thoughtfully to yourself, scanning the shelf’s to make sure no other books were in the wrong spot. Nodding your approval, you push your cart of recently returned books into the next isle.
 
And completely freeze.

Holy shit

.
 
There in the middle of the lane stood Sans, idly flipping through one of the many science fiction novels in the area.
 
“Hey Sans!” You chirp cheerfully, finally regaining control of your legs. You moved so that you were next to him, smiling brightly; this was

perfect!

You’re shift was almost over, so you could invite him for coffee, and you can finally clear some things up!
 
The skeleton was obviously surprised to see you, his skull whipped over to you when you called his name, eye lights a lot smaller than usual and his grin faltering for a split second. His mask was back up in an instant, however. “oh, hey.”
 
You hummed, leaning over your cart slightly, trying to catch a glance of what book he was holding. “You looking for anything specific?”  He shook his skull, placing the book - ‘

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

’ - down and shoved his hands into the pockets of his blue hoodie. “You know, I get off work right  away here, and there’s a nice little cafe a few blocks away; why don’t we go grab something to drink? My treat.”

Please say yes

.
 
Sans watched you for a minute, and damn it, he looked pretty close to declining your offer. “Please.” You press. “Things didn’t really… end well last time we talked and—“ you shrugged, hoping it’ll mask your nerves. “—I want to prove to you that I’m not a bad person.”
 
The skeleton thought for a minute, staring at the bookshelves, then sighed. “yeah, ok.” He winked, his mask still firmly in place; how was he so good at that? Masking all his emotions behind a simple smile. “can’t say no to free coffee.”
 
You clapped your hands happily. “Wonderful!” Patting the top of your cart, you add: “I’ll hand this over to someone else then we can get going!”
 
Sans had moved to the front of the library when you were ready to go, lazily scrolling through something on his phone. You happily walked over to him, flashing what you hoped to be a sweet smile. “you said the cafe’s close?” He pocketed his phone.
 
You nodded, walking to the large doors beside him. “I’ve been there a few times with some other friends” You nudged his arm with your elbow, playfully winking. “Perfectly monster friendly.” He let out a little chuckle, but you couldn’t tell if it was fake or not.
 
You walked in silence for a few minutes, the wind rustling the tree leaves. The sky was almost completely clear of clouds, and was a beautiful shade of blue. “It must be really nice, seeing the sky after so long.”
 
Your skeleton companion nodded, turning his own gaze to the sky. “yeah… i completely lost it when i saw the stars for the first time.” Bingo,

that

got him talking. “there was this area, underground, called waterfall, and the roof was cover in these glowing rocks. we all used to compare them to stars, even made wishes on ‘em and shit, but, god, they can’t even compare to the real thing.”
 
You wondered briefly if talking about the Underground was smart; did he think of it as a prison or an old home? “What was it like? Down there?”
 
He shrugged, eyeing you up before saying: “it wasn’t… terrible; had food, water, friends. paps.” He looked around  at the other pedestrians. “it’s better up here, though.”
 
“I bet.” He looked back at you and, finally, seemed to give a genuine smile.

Victory!!

He opened his mouth to say something when he was suddenly interrupted by a new voice: “Hey there, sweetheart. Whatcha doing, hanging around trash like that.”
 
You looked over to the tall male you had rudely interrupted your friend; right when you were beginning to make progress, too! Quickly looking back at said friend - sadly - proved that his mask was back in place. His eye lights had definitely shrank though; what could that mean, he’s surprised? Or angry?
 
“Hey. I’m talking to you.” You winced; not only was this guy way taller than you, he was buff too.
 
“I’d prefer if you didn't make such rude remarks about my friend, thank you.” You tried to make your voice sound stronger than you felt, but you must have failed, considering how the man barked out a laugh.
 
Sans called your name. “come on, let’s just get outta here.” You waved him off, the man stepped closer to you; he reeked of alcohol, making your stomach tie into knots.
 
“A pretty gal like you shouldn’t hang out with garbage like yer ‘friend’ over there.”
 
You heard your name being hissed behind you.
 
“The only trash I see around here is you, sir. And the shit from that ally behind you.”
 
The man roughly grasped your face, pulling you closer, causing you to let out a pained gasp. You futilely tried to smack his arm so he’d let you go. An arm suddenly wrapped around your waist, pushing the man back from you while simultaneously pulling you away from the confrontation. Sans moved his grip to your arm, pulling you away, father down the sidewalk. By now there was a crowd of spectators surrounding the area; you glared at them for not stepping in to help.
 
After you were a good block away from the man, the skeleton dropped your arm, practically

growling

at you. “what the fuck were you thinking?!”
 
You were taken aback from this aggressive tone. “I… I don’t know? I just reacted!”
 
“he could have really hurt you! i

told

you we should have just left! why didn’t you listen?!”
 
“And let him be so blatantly mosterphobic about my

friend?

Not happening.” You huffed, your arms crossing across your chest.
 
“we get that all the time, you don’t gotta risk yourself like that.” He murmured, dragging a hand over the top of his skull. “you’re gonna get hurt.”
 
“I stand up for friends, that just how it is” You sighed; this day had been off to such a nice start! Then that ass hat showed up! “Look, the coffee shop’s just over there.” You attempted to pull the skeleton with you but he was locked in place, looking back to see what was wrong with him, you saw his fake smile in place, but it looked far more like a scowl now, and his eye lights were completely gone. You retracted your arm from him. “S-Sans?”
 
“you know what happens to people like you? people who stand up for us?” his voice sounded so devoid of any emotions, it was incredibly unsettling. “they

die

”
 
“That’s… that’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Your voice wavered slightly, and you attempted to swallow around the ball forming in your throat.
 
“no, it’s not. don’t you watch the news? guys like him” He jerked his head down the way you came. “kill people like you.”
 
“I'm not going to simply die for standing up for myself and a friend!”
 
Sans fell silent, his eye lights slowly flickering into view. He watched you, mask covering any hints of what he might be thinking. “how do you do that?”
 
“Do what?”
 
“be so goddamn selfless. you never think about how something will affect you, just how it’ll affect others.” He sighed, shoulders slumping in what looked to be defeat. “you just…

assume

there’s good in everyone you see.”
 
“Well… yeah. I mean-“ You rubbed your arm nervously. “Anyone can be a good person if they try, you know? So I just… give them a kind attitude in hopes it’ll encourage them to do the same.”
 
Sans was staring at you again, it was as if he was

studying

you; what made you happy, sad, what you cared about and such. It made your cheeks revert to their pinky colour. “come on” he took a step forward. “let’s go get that coffee you wanted so much”
 
You silently followed after the skeleton, doing your best to ignore the bystanders that were now staring. God, you two probably looked like a couple arguing. That thought made your already hot cheeks flush a darker shade of pink, borderline red; whatever, you two were friends, all you wanted was to be his friend and now you succeeded.
 
Yup. Friends.
 
Nothing more.

Sans held the wooden door of the cafe open for you, and you both entered into the warm building.

There were only a few people inside, a few looking up to see who had just entered. The whole place smelled of fresh coffee and caramel, making you feel immediately at ease. You came here a lot when you 16 and 17, and it quickly became one of your few ‘safe places’ you would go if you were upset. “What do you wanna get?” You asked Sans, watching him take in his surroundings. You really hoped he liked it.

Wait, what? Why do you care? If he doesn’t like it, that’s his opinion. You can still come here as much as you want!

It would be nice to come here with him more though…

Stop.

You really needed to stop these stupid thoughts, it’ll only end badly.

“don’t know. what do ya recommend?” His eye lights were now scanning the menu that was suspended on the wall behind the front counter.

You rocked back on your heels, clasping your hands behind your back. “I usually get the Mochaccino, but I also put sugar or cream in my coffee when I drink it at home, but my friend, Natalie, she likes her coffee black and she prefers just the brewed coffee. I actually tried it myself once! It was too bitter for me though,”

Oh my god, shut up!

“I think I’ve always prefered sweet things. Literally and figuratively; I read a lot of romance stuff. Ray says I’m a hopeless romantic; she’s probably right, ‘cept I doubt I have a romantic bone in my body.” You bit your bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood, flushing a deep red. Sans was now watching you with an amused grin, making you blush more. Damn it, why did you have to blush so much?! “S-sorry!” Oh, now you’re stuttering?! “I was rambling... “

The skeleton next to you chuckled, a deep and rich tone. Oh, Screw his stupid deep voice! It was in

no way

helping you in your flustered state! “no need to apologize.” He winked, god damn it! “i think i’ll get that brewed coffee, it’s the right choice for me. i can feel it in my bones.” He was changing the subject, bless his soul. You let out a nervous laugh, pulling your wallet out of the bag that was slung over your shoulder.

“Why don’t you go find somewhere for us to sit? I’ll place our order and pay.”

He raised a bonebrow (you had no idea if that’s what it was actually called, but that's what you’re going to call them). “wait, you were serious about payin’?”

You laughed, your nerves slipping away; right, there’s no reason to be so nervous, it’s just Sans. You’re just two buds getting coffee. “Oh course I was serious! Why would I lie to you?”

He chuckled again, and smiled his genuine smile, making your own grin widen. “kay, but i’m buying next time.”

You mentally restrained yourself from pumping your fist in the air; there would be a next time! You could barely contain your goofy grin as you ordered, then brought the cups over to the table Sans had picked.

It was in a corner that was currently (besides himself) vacant of any other customers, and had a nice view of the large window, showcasing the the sky and city street filled with others going about their own daily lives. You gently placed Sans drink in front of him, sinking into your own seat.

“so, have you worked at that library for long?” He asked, taking a sip of his beverage. You briefly wondered how the hell he drank or ate anything, considering he shouldn’t have a stomach, or organs in general, but you pushed the thought aside for later.

You gave a slight nod, resting your elbow on the table and your chin in the palm of your hand. “Mhm, basically ever since I got out of high school.”

He did that thing again, where he just seemed to study you for a minute. “you never wanted to do something with your art? the way paps gloats ‘bout ya makes it sound like you’re really good.”

You shrugged. “I may be good, but I don’t want it to be my career. It's just a hobby.”

And a very useful coping method.

“What about you? What do you do?”

“i worked on some science stuff for a while underground, but dropped it.” His tone made it sound like he really didn’t want to explain his reasoning for that. “i work at this hot dog place now.

tibia

honest, i think grilling ‘dogs is more of my thing.”

You snorted at his pun, grinning into your cup. His grin became a bit more lopsided, a smirk? “hm? ya think i’m

humerus,

bud?”

You giggled at that one. “How do you know so many of those?”

He shrugged this time. “had a lot of free time underground.”

You sit in comfortable silence for a while, happily sipping from your hot drink, simply enjoying each other’s company. At least, you hoped he was also enjoying this. What if he’s just putting up another act? Just trying to get you to stop bothering him?

Oh, stop it. Be positive!

Right, of course. Positivity.

“Have you seen the ocean yet?”

He idly tapped one of his phalanges against the table top, watching out the window. “paps went with some of our friends a little after we got out, after we got all those rights and shit you humans have.” He drank from his cup, eye lights lazily moving back to you. “i haven’t been out there yet.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t go with Papyrus?”

“nah. i wasn’t really feeling well that day.”

You hummed, setting your cup down. “We should all go out there together! I haven’t been out there since my dad-” you undruptly cut yourself off; you really didn’t want to talk about your father with Sans. Not right now. “I haven’t been out there in a while, and it’d be fun to see your reaction!”

“heh,

shell

yeah.” You smiled, your nerves still flying around your stomach. He definitely noticed your reaction to mentioning your father, he was far too observant not to. At least he wasn’t asking about it. That’s one thing you respected the skeleton for, you supposed. He seemed to understand when and when not to ask things.

Or maybe he didn’t care.

Stop it! Positivity!

The sun was beginning to set as you finished your drink, other customers slowly filtering out onto the street. “I should probably get home.” You stated, smiling sadly. Truth be told, you didn’t really

want

to go.

Unfortunately, Sans seemed to agree with your statement. “same here, paps will get mad if i’m late for supper again.” He stood up from the wooden chair, stretching his arms upwards in what you guess was him stretching; you took that as a sign to stand up yourself. “want me to walk you home?”

The question took you off guard at first; it really wasn’t that late, and you probably knew this area way better than the skeleton, you’d been here enough that finding your way back was never a problem. Maybe he was just being courteous? Or… maybe he was worried about that guy from early would show up and cause you hell?

Oh honestly, calm down.

Yes, you could get home just fine but…

“Yeah, actually. That… that would be really nice.” You smiled at him as you exited the door. He smiled back, and it was that real smile you were growing quite fond of.

You walked in silence for the first few blocks. You two did that a lot, you realize. Simply sat or walked in the comfortable form of silence, you never felt the overwhelming

need

to always fill that silence with Sans. You guess it was just his lazy and calm personality that made you feel so relaxed.

The sun was low on the horizon at this point, a chill breeze beginning to pick up. The streets were slowly becoming less and less crowded as families returned to their homes for the night.

Surprisingly, Sans was the one who broke the silence. “hey, so, uh…” You gave him a questioning glance. Why was he acting so… nervous all of the sudden? “when we first met i was kinda an asshole. i’m sorry about that, it’s just…” He took a deep breath, you smiled up at him and patted his arm.

“No need to apologize, silly. I don’t expect you to suddenly completely trust me, we still don’t know each

that

well.” You pulled your hand away, lacing then behind your back, turning your attention back to the sidewalk in front you. “Besides, humans in general have been unkind to you guys since you got up here, so you being suspicious of a strange one in your home is completely understandable.”

Sans chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck (or should you be calling it his vertebrae? Hell if you knew), glancing quickly at you then back to what was ahead of him. “for a human, you’re pretty damn understanding.”

“I try to be.”

“well, i guess that means you’ll understand why i say i still don’t trust you 100%?”

You let out a breathy chuckle, then smiled up at the skeleton. “Of course! Trust is something that needs to be earned, it’s not something people just give out willy-nilly.”

“heh… sometimes i feel paps doesn’t really understand that.” He hands slipped into his hoodies pockets; did he always wear that thing? I mean, you couldn't judge, you’ve wore sweaters for days on end just because they're comfy.

“Well, now that he’s got a human friend, I’ll make sure he doesn’t get tangled with the wrong bunch.” You shot finger guns at Sans, sticking your tongue out playfully, causing him to snort.

“uh, actually, it’d mean a lot to me if you did. i would but, you know,” he pointed to his right eye socket. “i don’t exactly have any eyes to do so.”

You rolled your eyes at his joke. “Of course I will.”

You stopped in front of your home; it appears Sans remembered where you lived, considering you didn’t have to remind his that this was your stop. “This was a lot of fun. We should do it again sometime!”

Sans was staring at your house, eye lights scanning over the walls and windows, before returning to your face once again. “heh, i’d like that a

latte

” you snorted, which seemed to make his grin grow. “‘cept i’m paying next time.” You openly laughed at that, shaking your head.

“Whatever you say, skelly.” You clasped your hands over your mouth, eyes widening. “Oh my god. That… that wasn’t offensive right?”

Your friend shook with suppressed laughter, killing off some of your nerves. “nah, not at all. stars, that’s a new one though”

You sighed, relieved that you hadn’t insulted the guy, but still very embarrassed you let the name slip. Idiot! “I… uh, I should probably go inside.”

“oh, yeah, ‘o course” He winked, taking one hand out of his pocket to give you a short wave. “see ya, buddy.”

And he was gone.

He literally

vanished

out of

thin air

.

“What the hell?” You we’re alone now, so your voice seemed unnatural in the silence. You decided to mark whatever just happened under ‘magic’ for now, but made a mental note to ask Sans about it another time.

You turned on your heel, towards your cozy home. You reviewed this afternoon's activities in your head, a giddy smile forming on your lips.

Looks like you’ve got

two

new skeleton friends now.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Your name was almost immediately called from the kitchen when you entered your home, once you entered you found all three of your roommates crowded around the island; Ray was frantically gesturing you over.
 
“What’s going on? Some freaky cult meeting? Hate to break it to you guys, but I’m not inter-”
 
Natalie laughed, while Ray shushed you, a finger placed in front of her lips. “Shut up! Regium learned some cool monster stuff in school today!”  You raised an eyebrow, taking a seat on one of the stools.
 
“Well… no, technically it isn’t ‘cool monster stuff’ it’s… uhm.” Your friend began, tapping a finger against the counter top in thought. “One of my professors is a monster, Dr. Alphys; she actually use to be the royal scientist underground! Um, so, today, she came into our class and explained souls, and the differences between monsters and stuff like that.”
 
“Souls? I never took monsters as the religious type.” Natalie interrupted, pushing her dark hair out of her face.
 
Regium shook their head. “They’re not. Well, I don’t think they are, but souls are real.” they gestured at you three, then tapped their own chest. “We all have one. And human souls are way stronger than monster ones.”
 
“So.” Ray clasped her hands on the counter top. “Everyone has a soul. That’s a fact.” She looked to her sibling, who nodded to conform her statement. “What do they look like?”
 
“Human souls look like cartoon hearts, but they can be different colours, depending on what that person’s main personality trait is. Like, uh, cyan is for patience, orange is bravery, yellow mean justice…” They paused for a moment, counting something with their fingers. “Kindness is green, dark blue is for integrity and purple is… perseverance, if I’m remembering correctly. Oh! Red is determination!”
 
“You said that’s for humans, do monster souls look different?” You questioned.
 
“They do! Monster souls are really weak compared to us; it would take

millions

of monster souls to create the same power our souls have. Because of this, our souls are not only a bit bigger and brighter, but we have colour traits: Monster souls don’t. All of their souls are white, inverted hearts. But monsters are more connected to their souls then us, because they’re more magic than matter; while us humans are more matter than magic-”
 
“Wait, we have magic too?”
 
Regium nodded excitedly, it was nice seeing them so animated, considering how quit they usually were. “We do! A long time ago, before the monsters were trapped in Mt. Ebott, there were even human mages! We still have that magic, it just like… trapped inside of us. Dr. Alphys thinks that now that monsters are back above ground we’ll all slowly be able to use magic again!” You felt a grin widden on your face; you might be able to use magic! Plus, this mean Papyrus and Sans have magic too, right? Maybe you could ask them to show you this Sunday…
 
“Oh, uh, anyways. Monsters are more magic than matter-like I said-so when they die, their soul immediately shatters, taking all of that magic with it, and that means the matter is all that remains, in the form of dust.” Your smile fell, eyes widening.
 
“They turn into

dust

when they die?”  Regium nodded solemnly, eyes dropping down to the top of the kitchen island.
 
“Dr. Alphys explained that monsters will spread their loved one’s dust on something they cared and loved during a funeral.”
 
“That’s so… sad. Do they still live with that object? After the dust is on it?”
 
“Oh, yeah. It’s actually really important they keep and care for that object. I mean, think about it. That’s all they have left of the person who died.”
 
You four fell into silence, digesting the information Regium had just laid out before you. Ray was the first to speak again. “I bet you have a green soul.” she reached over, poking your cheek. Your rolled your eyes.
 
“Suuure, whatever you say.” You drummed your hands against the counter. “Come on guys, let’s make supper.”
 
*****

You flopper down onto your unmade bed, staring up at the dark ceiling; it was nearly midnight by now, but your body was refusing to sleep. Ray had, unfortunately, seen Sans walk you home this evening, and had begun to tease the ever-loving hell out of you, letting up only to eat, then getting right back at it afterwards.
 
Sans was your friend.
 
That’s it, Ray.
 
Nothing more.
 
You smacked your forehead and rolled onto your side, pulling your blankets up to your chin, praying to any god there might be to just let you

sleep

.
 
You had an early shift tomorrow, too. Sadly, despite the many sleepless nights you’d had before, you still had no idea how the hell to deal with them, except for laying in bed, despising your body until you passed out from boredom.
 
Ok, that was exaggerating it a bit, being sleepy was probably making you more loopy.
 
Something buzzed on the nightstand beside your bed, lighting your room up with a artificial, bluish light. “What the hell…?” You rolled over so you could grab your phone, unplugging it and adjusting the brightness, squinting as you did so.
 
Once you weren’t blind from the light, you blinked and saw it had been a text.
 
From an unknown number?
 
Repeating your earlier sentence, you opened the message.
 
Unknown: heya

Unknown: it’s sans

Unknown: paps gave me your number

Unknown: that sounds really creepy

Unknown: sorry, guess i should have actually asked you for it, huh?
 
You giggled, and reread the string of messages. Papyrus gave Sans your number. That meant he had

asked

for your number, right? So, he definitely likes you,

as a friend

, and he wants to talk to you more? Maybe you two could start doing more things together, Papyrus mentioned the fact that he likes stars, so you could go stargazing or-

I really need to go to sleep, oh my god

.
 
You added Sans number into your contacts, in case you forgot who it was (but let’s be honest, there’s no way you’d forget

that

), just as another message came in.
 
Sans: shit, you’re probably sleeping, right?

Sans: sorry, i’ll leave you alone

You: Oh, no, I’m still wide awake.

You: You apologize a lot more than I thought you did lmao

Sans: i apologize when it’s necessary

You: That’s a lie.

You: You’ve apologized 3 times today, none of which were necessary

You: You silly skelly

Sans: i mean
 
It took a few minutes before you got the next message, the three little dots that symbolized the skeleton was typing appeared and disappeared multiple times before he decided what he had written was good enough to send.
 
Sans: i literally asked my little brother for his human friend’s phone number, whom i had been with a few hours prior, and then i texted her at 12:15 in the morning on a weekday

Sans: also please tell me you have my contact name as “silly skelly”

You: Honestly, it’s fine. I couldn’t sleep anyway.

You: And no, but I will change it ;)

Silly Skelly: hey, i’m supposed to be the winky one

You: I’m pretty sure winky is not a word.

Silly Skelly: it is now

Silly Skelly: you should probably go to sleep though, right?

You sighed, your sleep deprived brain kicking into high gear. Was he just saying that so you wouldn’t talk to him? Or was he honestly worried about you?

You: You should too, you know.

Silly Skelly: yeah, i know. paps reminds me enough.

You: If that’s the case why are you messaging me?

Silly Skelly: do you want me to stop?

No. You absolutely did not. Healthy or not, it was giving your tired brain something to do other than staring at the walls.

You: Not really

You: Wait, you called Papyrus your “little brother”

You: You’re older than him?

Silly Skelly: oh, yeah.

Silly Skelly: by five years lmao

You clucked your tongue: that either made Sans much older than you than you thought he was, or Papyrus younger. Neither of which was necessarily a

bad

thing, but you were silently hoping Sans was closer to your age…

… yeah, you’re just going to blame your sleepy brain for that dumb thought.

You: So then, how old are you guys?

You: that was rude, I’m sorry

You: You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to

Silly Skelly: pal, it’s just an age, calm down

Silly Skelly: it’s not like you’re asking me to reveal some dark secret or something lol

Silly Skelly: to answer your question though, i’m 25, making paps 20

Silly Skelly: what about you?

So, Papyrus was a

lot

younger than you thought. It make sense, you suppose; his happy go-lucky attitude and enthusiasm was very similar to that of a child’s. This also meant Sans was only a year older than you.

… why did that thought make your chest feel warm and fuzzy?

You: I’m 24

You: are monster life spans different from humans? We usually only live until we’re, like, 70.

You: 90 if we’re lucky and healthy

You: but I read somewhere the King is really old.

You: in his thousands, kinda old.

Silly Skelly: depends on the monster, actually.

Silly Skelly: asgore (the king) will probably live another few hundred years

Silly Skelly: skeleton monsters, like paps and i, typically live until they’re  a hundred or two

Silly Skelly: i know a fire elemental who’s been around for about 2 thousand years,  and should have another thousand to go if he’s lucky.

You: oh wow, you guys live for a long time, huh?

Silly Skelly: naturally, yes

You: naturally?

The three dots kept appearing and disappearing over the next ten minutes, making you worry you’d asked a bad question.

Truth be told, you felt a bit sad knowing you’ll die long before your friends. What if they just… forget you? If someone lives that long, surly they’d forget some people along the way, right?

Your phone buzzes in your hand, thankfully pulling you out of your thoughts.

Silly Skelly: can i call you? it’d be easier to explain this stuff if i didn’t have to type it all out.

You: yeah, of course.

You phone began buzzing repeatedly in you hand and you quickly swiped the ‘answer’ button, binging the phone up to your ear. It had been a long time since you’d called anyone, or since someone had called you, making your nerves flutter in your stomach for a moment.

“hey” Sans voice filled your ear; he sounded tired, understandably so.

“Hi”

“so, uh, you’re right, monsters live long lives compared to humans, unless we’re dusted by someone or…” he cleared a non-existent throat, and you sunk further into your sheets. You were learning a lot today. “us monsters do this thing, um. when we’re in a really serious romantic relationship, we’ll ‘soul bond’ with that monster- oh, uh, do i need to explain souls and stuff?”

You shook your head, but then remembered that Sans has no way of seeing you right now, and quickly corrected yourself. “N-no, my friend learned about it their class earlier and explain all the soul stuff to us this evening before dinner.”

“they learned about it in school?” He sounded skeptically; he probably thought a human taught them and didn’t exactly have all the correct information.

“Yeah, apparently one of their professors was the royal scientist Underground.”

“alphys?”

“Um, yeah, I think that was her name. Anyways, continue.”

“uh, yeah, right, so. soul bonding is the act of… well, bonding souls. after two individuals bond they’re usually referred to as ‘soulmates’, i think you guys have a different definition of that but, uh… anyways, soulmates have their souls bonded, right? for us, it’s a huge sign of love and trust, since souls are so important you know? it does come with some, uh, physical differences, if you can call it that. basically, if your soulmate dies, you die.” He paused “less monsters soul bonded in recent years though. we were all starting to kinda lose hope down there, so a lot of us just kinda… stop looking for that kinda thing.”

“That’s…” you were at a loss of words, your brain processing taking a minute to understand everything.

“...weird?”

“No, no. It’s… its really beautiful, actually.” You let yourself think over your words before saying them, making sure you wouldn’t make a fool of yourself. “You guys literally share your very being to each other; that’s so… so sweet.”

You heard a nervous chuckle across the line. “i guess.”

“You don’t like it?”

“eh, call me biased, but i don’t…” He took a deep breath. “i think love just… isn’t something everyone gets.”

His voice sounded wrong, hollow. It made something in your chest throb painfully. “Don’t say that. Everyone deserves love, no matter what.”

Sans was silent, then: “whatever you say, pal.” His tone made it clear that this was not something he wanted to talk about, and you decided to back off.

After a few minutes, you speak up. “This Friday, my friends and I are going to be having our annual ‘movie night’ and I was thinking, if you and Papyrus wanted, you can join us. I know Papyrus wanted to meet them, and they really want to meet you guys so, I just… uh”

Sans was still silent on the other end, and you were about to apologize (multiple times) before he, finally, answered. “yeah. yeah we’ll come; i know papyrus really wants to meet some more humans. plus, it’ll be nice to see you again.” Goddamnit, you were blushing again. What the hell was going on with you? Why was your heart being so fast? And there was that dumb warm feeling in your chest again…

Calmdowncalmdowncalmdowncalmdowncalmdown

“Awesome.”

“awesome”

“Goodnight Sans.”

“‘night buddy.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You didn’t sleep well.
 
Well, no, you slept fine. You just didn’t get

enough

sleep, your dumb brain had decided to put in overtime last night to think about what was wrong with you.
 
Or more accurately, what was wrong with your

feelings

.
 
At this point it was pretty obvious you had a crush on Sans, which annoyed you to no end. You two had just met, and it was pretty obvious he only thought of you as a friend; and he was barely that, a friend. He made it clear in the first place that he didn’t think highly of humans, you just happen to be the lucky exception. So him liking you like

that

was definitely out of the question.
 
Therefore, so was any chance of a romantic relationship.
 
You groaned and glared at the blank paper in front on you, not only did you have art block but so far the library had been fairly busy. And since you were working signing books out today, all of these people had gotten to see those wonderful bags under your eyes.
 
You wanted to go home.
 
“HUMAN!!” You were abruptly pulled from your sleepy day dream by Papyrus’ booming voice. You smiled - though it felt more strained than usual - and waved at the skeleton as he skipped over to you from the front door, receiving a handful of annoyed glares from the other people in the room. “IT IS WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU!”
 
You laughed, closing your sketchbook - you weren’t even using it in the first place, so why bother keeping it out? “Likewise. So, what brings you here? Looking for some new books?”
 
The taller skeleton shook his skull, then patted the top of your head as he said: “NOT THIS TIME! I SIMPLY WISHED TO SEE MY FRIEND!” He gasped suddenly, pulling his hand away to instead clap happily, gaining more glares; one thing you’d learned about this sweet skeleton is he is very animated - you didn’t think he understood that his ‘loudness’ might be disturbing others. “THIS MORNING MY BROTHER TOLD ME THAT YOU INVITED US TO JOIN YOU AND YOUR HUMAN FRIENDS IN YOUR ANNUAL MOVIE WATCHING!”
 
“Oh! Y-yeah, I did. You guys don’t have to come if it cuts into other things or-” Papyrus was waving you off, causing your words to peter out.
 
“NONSENSE! OF COURSE WE WILL COME! YOU ARE OUR FRIEND AFTER ALL!” You smiled at the sweet skeleton; you were feeling a bit better now that he was here, truth be told. Papyrus suddenly lent down, his skull merely inches away from your face. “JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME,” His voice was a bit quieter, but not to the point that people around you couldn’t here. “MY BROTHER HAS A HARD TIME BECOMING FRIENDS WITH PEOPLE-” His smile morphed into a frown, his eye sockets squinting. “-HE CAN BE VERY UNTRUSTING TOWARD OTHERS. BUT! HE APPEARS TO LIKE YOU VERY MUCH!! WHICH IS VERY GOOD, BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ALSO LIKE YOU! NYEH HEH HEH!” He stood back up, his smiling returning to his face. “NOW I MUST BE ON MY WAY, HUMAN, I HAVE AN EXERCISE SESSION WITH UNDYNE!”
 
He pat you once more on the head, then sprinted out of the library, leaving a handful of annoyed humans and a very flustered you.
 
You figured out on your own that Sans was very… cautious around people. And it wasn’t hard to understand that Papyrus liked you, the guy was very open about his feelings, unlike his shorter brother. Now, what your sleep deprived brain was focusing on was that Sans apparently liked you “very much”. What the hell did he mean by

that

?
 
He couldn’t have meant a crush. No. No way. All he meant was Sans thought of you as a good friend.
 
Yes. A good friend. Definitely.
 
… God, you

really

needed to get a good night's rest.
 
*****
 
Fortunately, the week went by fast and you were able to get multiple nights of good sleep in. Now here you sat, crossed legged on the couch, arguing with Ray about why you guys should definitely watch Wall-E tonight.
 
“I’m just saying that we’ve

watched

it before.”
 
“Yes, but it’s a classic and Sans and Papyrus haven’t seen

any

disney or Pixar movies yet!” You counter back, playfully tossing a pillow at your friend. She caught it with ease.
 
“How’s that even possible? They’ve been up here for a year, right? So wouldn’t they have seen some of the newer ones?” Natalie cut in, prying the previously mentioned pillow away from her girlfriend, who was most definitely about to throw it back at you.
 
“Movie theaters aren’t exactly monster friendly yet.” A lot of theaters didn’t let monsters in because they were worried they would “break something” or “scare away the children”. Sans had once mentioned seeing a movie trailer for an action movie (he hadn’t specified which one) and how Papyrus had been crushed when he found out they couldn’t go see it.
 
“Is

anything

monster friendly?” Ray inquiered, spreading out on the floor.
 
“Grocery stores, some restaurants, hotels - you know, necessities and all that.”
 
Regium winced beside you, pulling their legs up to their chest. “That must be so hard for them…”
 
You nod in agreement, eyes focusing on the black TV screen. There were a lot of things you took for granted before you learned about the monsters; a part of you feels extremely guilty about that now.
 
A knock sounded from the door, causing you all to jump. You were the first to spring completely out of your seat, however, racing down the hall to the door. Behind it stood the two brothers, Sans with his usual grin (though it didn’t look at all forced) and Papyrus looked absolutely thrilled.
 
“Hey you two!” you waved a hand, gesturing them inside. “Come on in, we were just getting ready to start the movie!”
 
Sans winked at you; he did that a lot, huh? “we do pride ourselves on our

pun

ctuality.”
 
Papyrus groaned and you giggled, leading the skeletons to the living room. Ray and Natalie had migrated to the love seat and Regium remained on the ground, lying on their stomach with a pillow resting beneath their chin. “Everyone, this is Papyrus and Sans.” You pointed to the skeletons as you said their names, making it clear who is who. “And this is Natalie, Ray and Regium.”
 
Sans gave a small wave, and Papyrus happily gasped. “I KNOW NATALIE; YOU WORK AT THE ANIMAL HOME WITH ME! EVERYONE SAYS VERY GOOD THINGS ABOUT YOU!” You carefully lead the boys to the couch, smiling as the red haired female’s eyes widened in reconitation
 
“I thought I recognized your name!” She gave an apologetic smile. “I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of actually working together however.”
 
You had been planning on sitting on the floor, beside Regium, until Papyrus pulled on onto the couch between him and his brother. “SADLY, WE HAVE NOT; THEY ARE STILL HELPING ME LEARN HOW TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THE ANIMALS!”
 
Reguim looked up at you five from the floor, their red dyed hair falling into their eyes. “Are we ready to start the movie?”
 
Ray laughed, throwing a pillow at her sibling, earning an eye roll from her girlfriend. “Yeah, you can start it.”
 
“WHAT MOVIE ARE WE WATCHING?” Papyrus seemed to be trying to make his voice quieter, it was still louder than any of the others but noticeable quieter than his normal volume.
 
You accepted the stack of blankets Regium handed out before they rolled over to put the movie in, you offered one to Sans, who politely declined, and Papyrus, who happily wrapped it around himself. You took one for yourself then threw the last two and Ray and Natalie. “Wall-E. It’s about a little robot falling in love with another robot in space.”
 
Sans chuckled, sinking into the corner of the couch. “You humans come up with the weirdest things.”  
 
You all fell silent as ‘
Put On Your Sunday Clothes’ began playing, signalling the start of the movie. Someone had turned off the lights, except for a lamp in the corner of the room; you figured Regium did it but you could be wrong. You smile to yourself and curled up with your blanket, eyes focused on the TV.
 
You had no idea Sans was stealing quick glances at you all throughout the movie.
 
At least, you didn’t until Papyrus spoke up.
 
“...BROTHER? ARE YOU NOT ENJOYING THE MOVIE? YOU KEEP LOOKING AT THE HUMAN WITH A STRANGE LOOK ON YOUR FACE.”
 
Your eyes darted over to the skeleton in question, catching him just as he whipped his skull to the side, a cyan colour forming on his cheekbones. Had he actually been watching you?
 
...Why?
 
“ARE YOU OK, SANS? YOU’RE BECOMING RATHER FLUSHED.” This comment caused his cyan blush to darken into a light blue colour, and he moved his hands to cover his heated face. Ray was snickering across the room.
 
“yeah, ‘m fine, bro.” You heard him mumble into his hands, his voice muffled slightly. You slunk deeper into your blanket so it covered the bottom half of your face, feeling your own cheeks heat. God, you probably looked like an idiot, goofily grinning at the TV screen while the movie played. That had to be why he was staring; you looked stupid.
 
That has to be it.
 
“You sure, bud? We could choose a different movie if you don’t like this one.” Ray teased from across the room, earning herself a loud groan from Sans.
 
He moved his hands away from his skull, pulling the hood of his sweater up, then shoving his hands into his pockets, his face still an impressive shade of blue. “let’s just watch the movie…”
 
The movie was finished in silence, though you caught yourself glancing over at Sans repeatedly; you never caught him looking directly at you, but you thought you saw his skull whip forward before you could catch him red handed, that cyan colour blooming on his cheekbones once again.
 
As the credits began to roll, you heard a sniffle beside you; you smiled over at Papyrus and gave his arm a gentle pat. “Did you enjoy the movie?”
 
The skeleton nodded enthusiastically. “YES, IT WAS A VERY SOULWARMING FILM! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHOWING IT TO ME!!” He looked over top of you, towards his brother; you took that as a sign to, also, look over at the shorter skeleton, still smiling gently. “WHAT DID YOU THINK, BROTHER?”
 
Sans’ eyelights made eye contact with you for a moment before darting up to his brother. “yeah, it was really good.” He reached up and scratched his left cheekbone, nervously glancing around the room, still avoiding looking at you; crap, you didn’t somehow mess things up between you too, did you? “we should probably head home though; it’s almost time for your story.”
 
“OH, YES!” He looked to the others before explaining: “SANS ALWAYS READS ME A STORY AROUND THIS TIME TO HELP ME SLEEP! HE HAS DONE SO EVER SINCE I WAS A BABY BONES!”
 
You let out a quiet ‘

aww

’, again looking over to Sans; you made brief eye contact before his eyelights darted away, much like the first time.
 
You ignored the pang of hurt in your chest.
 
“Well, in that case, I’ll walk you guys out.” You said, discarding your beloved blanket and stood, stretching your arms skyward.
 
You made your way to the front door, the two skeletons saying their goodbyes and thank yous before following. Papyrus pulled you into a large hug before exiting the door, repeatedly thanking you. You laughed and patted his back, telling him you were happy they decided to join you guys.
 
Sans also thanked you, but he was acting far more subdued than usual ever since that little ‘incident’ during the movie. Before he could leave the house with his brother, you gently placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling up at them. “Actually, before you go, can I talk to you?” You cast a glance over at Papyrus - who looked far more pleased than confused - and smiled apologetically. “Alone?”
 
Papyrus answered before Sans got the chance to, nodding rapidly. “YES, OF COURSE! I WILL WAIT FOR YOU IN THE CAR, BROTHER!” With that the younger skelton bounced to the car, ‘Nyeh heh heh’ing as he did so.
 
“So,” You started, turning your attention to your other skeleton friend, who was looking more and more anxious by the second. “Are you… are you mad at me or something?”
 
His eyelights shank in what you guessed was shock, his smile fully falling for the first time since you met him. “what? no, oh my stars, no, not at all.”
 
“Then why have you been acting so weird since the movie?”
 
Mention of the movie made his blush return, and he sighed. “i was just embarrassed. ‘m sorry, i didn’t mean to upset you.”
 
Now it was your turn to sigh. “I’m not upset, I was just worried I messed this up somehow.” You shook your head, as if doing so could ride you completely of the thought. You then offered Sans a small smile, seeing his was also back in place - it looked different but you couldn’t figure out why - and gestured to the still open door. “You should probably join Papyrus though, right?”
 
He looked out to his brother, who was sitting patiently in a red car. “yeah, guess so. see you sunday?”
 
“Of course. Have a good night, Sans.”
 
He smiled at you, that smile that made that thing - you guessed it was your soul - warm. “you too, buddy.”
 
And then he was gone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sans popped into the passenger seat of his brother’s car, watching as your eyes found where he reappeared, smiling and waving at the two skeletons, then shut the door to your home. His brother huffed in annoyance; he was used to his brother popping in and out of places, though he did not, in any way, approve of this “lazy” behavior.  “WHAT DID THE HUMAN WISH TO TALK ABOUT?”
 
Sans shrugged, buckling his seat belt. “nothing important, don’t worry ‘bout it, bro.”
 
Papyrus hummed and started up the car, pulling away from your house. “DO YOU LIKE THE HUMAN, SANS?”

oh hell no, not this question.

just play dumb.

“‘course i like her, she’s our friend isn’t she?”
 
“YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.” Oh, did he ever.
 
And no, he definitely didn’t like you like that.
 
He just thought you looked really cute when you were doing something you enjoyed.
 
And that you had a really nice smile.
 
He really enjoyed hearing you laugh, too.
 
And he

may

have used some of his skills he gained from being The Judge underground to sneak a peek at what colour your soul glowed.

… fuck.

Ok, maybe -

maybe

- he had developed a small crush on you.
 
But he wasn’t about to admit that to his brother.
 
He wasn’t going to tell him that when you smiled, or laughed, or, hell, even

talked

his soul would heat and jump in his chest. He wouldn’t tell him how much he wished you had fallen asleep on his shoulder during the movie. And he definitely won’t tell him how much he enjoyed seeing that vibrant green glow from your soul.
 
He wouldn’t say anything because he could barely admit these things were true to

himself

.
 
He, honestly, didn’t even know you that well yet! He couldn’t understand how you got him to trust you so quickly, let alone lo-

like

you. His guess was the fact that you had a green soul made you a very trustworthy person.
 
Your soul; it was the most vibrant, and beautiful green Sans has ever seen. When he first got out of the Underground he figured he’d never use his “Judge” skills to look at a souls glow again, and yet, during that movie, he couldn’t help himself. Seeing that you had “kindness” as your main trait hadn’t surprised him all that much, even if green was a rare soul colour. No, what

had

surprised him was how

bright

your soul had been. That’s why he kept looking back at you, both to see that cute little smile on your face and the glow of your pure green soul.
 
He hadn’t expected Papyrus to notice.
 
But apparently Sans’ brother could be just as observant as he was.
 
The car pulled up next to the sidewalk in front of the skeleton’s house, Papyrus put it into park then turned the engine off. Sans was quick to unbuckle his seatbelt, but his brother placed a hand on his knee before he could get fully out of the car. “SANS, YOU CAN TRUST ME, DO YOU LIKE THE HUMAN?”
 
Sans sighed, eyelights flicking to the window. He hated when his little brother said that,

‘You can trust me’

; it made him feel worse about hiding so much from him. He had to, though. How could he ever explain that their world has been reset multiple time? So many, in fact, that Sans had lost count. How could he tell his sweet, trusting, little brother that he’s watched him

die

, over and over again and didn’t do anything to protect him?
 
How could he tell Papyrus that without completely shattering his faith in Sans?
 
“i… i don’t know, paps.” He couldn’t just say no, Papyrus would know that’s not true, and he definitely can’t say yes; if he did his brother would do everything within his power to get Sans and you together, and Sans was still cautious of a new reset: if you and him were in a relationship and that happened, well...
 
He didn’t want to risk his soul gaining any more cracks.
 
Papyrus watched him for a minute, hand still there on his femur. He then sighed, removing his hand and stepping out of the car, making his way to the front door.
 
Sans followed close behind, hoping he’d find a way to get his emotions under control again.
 
*****
 
You adjusted the tote bag draped across your shoulder, making sure you still had all three of the canvases you brought with you and none had fallen out on your walk here; you had promised Papyrus last week that you’d bring your painting supplies - or as many as you could - and teach him the basics of painting. You probably only needed your pad of paper and two canvases, one for the skeleton and one for you, but a part of you was hoping a certain hoodie-wearing monster would join you today. You knocked against the door, surprised when Papyrus didn’t immediately open it, like he always does. Instead, two or three minutes later, the door opened to reveal Sans.

Well, speak of the devil.

“heya buddy. paps just stepped out for a bit, said something about ‘needing to buy something incredibly important’?” He shrugged, stepping to the side. “come on in, he should be home soon; i can help ya set anything up in the meantime.”
 
You smiled, stepping through the door. “Actually, that’d be really helpful. Thank you!” You felt him gently take the bag from you so you could peel off your shoes and jacket.
 
“what is even in this?”
 
“Uh, paints, pallets, paint brushes, canvases… I was going to bring both acrylic and watercolour paints but I didn’t have enough room.” You giggled nervously, absentmindedly running a hand through your hair. As you did so, Sans’ eyelights focused there, watching with what appeared to be great interest.
 
“is it really soft?” He asked suddenly, setting your bag on the kitchen table.
 
“My hair?” He nodded, cyan forming on his cheekbones, just like they had during the movie. “I guess. Monsters don’t have hair?”
 
“nope, some of us have fur, but, as you can see,” He gestured to his body. “i don’t even got that, so…”
 
You began unloading your bag, taking a moment to think. “Would you like to feel it?”
 
Sans snorted, looking at you with an amused and confused expression. “you’re kidding, right?”
 
You flushed, it wasn’t

that

weird of an idea, was it? “I-I mean, if you want to, I don’t mind.” You felt more heat rise to your face: you probably sounded like a bumbling idiot.
 
“i mean. that’s uh…”
 
You shook your head suddenly, setting your now empty bag aside. “Nevermind. That was weird, I’m sorry.” You laughed nervously, twirling a paint brush between your fingers.
 
“no need to apologize, buddy. i just, um.” A tube of royal blue paint bounced between his hands, his eyelights trained on it. “isn’t that a kinda a romantic thing for you guys?” You shockingly looked over at him, mouth hanging open. “i-i mean.” His skull was progressively getting bluer and bluer, and you wondered if he’d eventually look like a grinning blueberry. “in all of your romance books, it’s like ‘they ran their hands through their hair, sending them a wave of pleasure’ or some shit like that so i thought…” Sans’ voice trailed off, his eyelights finally reaching your face
 
You raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on your lips. “You read romance novels? I didn’t peg you as a romantic.”
 
His eyelights shrank, blush becoming a shade of blue very similar to the paint he still had clutched in his hands. “i’m not! i was simply bored. and you didn’t answer my question.”
 
You laughed, setting the brushes into a neat and straight line. “No, it’s not necessarily romantic or sexual. However, some people do find it relaxing when their significant other combs through their hair, and some get aroused by hair pulling. I’ve never had someone I’m in a relationship do it, so don’t worry about that, and that other thing…” you blushed, looking up at Sans. “I’m not… into that stuff.”  
 
“so i can touch your hair?”
 
With a shrug of your shoulders, you took a seat, resting your elbows on the table. “If you want to, go ahead.”
 
The skeleton hesitantly reached out, gently running his phalanges through your hair, his eyelights dilating. “it’s really soft.”
 
You laughed. “I’m flattered. Now, can you help me setup all this paint?”
 
It was at that moment that the door burst open, a scream escaping your throat. Sans pulled his hand away, tugging your hair a bit, startled, before doubling over on himself laughing.
 
It wasn’t deep like his usual chuckle, no, this made his voice raise in pitch a bit, and his eye sockets squint in mirth, like they did when he genuinely smiled. A laugh that made your nerves skyrocket.
 
Papyrus burst into the kitchen, looking confused, staring right at you. “HUMAN! ARE YOU OK?! I HEARD YOU SCREAM VERY LOUDLY!”
 
You took a deep breath, attempting to slow your pulse down. “Yeah… uh, yeah, I’m fine Papyrus.” Beside you, Sans’ laughter was dying out; Papyrus looked between you two suspiciously.
 
“WHAT WERE YOU TWO DOING BEFORE I GOT HERE?” Sans gave his brother a half hearted glare.
 
“We were just setting up the paints and stuff. What’s in the bag?” Papyrus set a plastic bag on the table, beside your painting supplies, giving his brother a smug look. Sans, in return, rolled his eyelights, hands finding their way to his hoodie pockets.
 
“I WANTED TO BUY YOU SOMETHING!”  The taller skeleton turned his attention back to you, reaching into the bag and pulling out a new sketchbook, one with a beautiful star themed front. “I REMEMBER YOU SAYING YOU WOULD NEED A NEW ONE SOON, SO I FIGURED I WOULD GET YOU ONE!”
 
“Oh my god, Papyrus, thank you so much! You really didn’t have to do that!” The sketchbook was placed in your hands, Papyrus patting you gently on the head.
 
“NOW! WE MUST MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME! ARE WE PAINTING TODAY?”
 
You smiled and nodded, setting the sketchbook aside. You looked up to Sans, who was sitting at the table across from you. “Do you want to join us today?”
 
Sans looked startled that you asked, and he chuckled. “nah, art isn’t really my thing”
 
“OH, COME ON BROTHER! IT WILL BE VERY FUN!” Sans stood from his chair, shaking his skull. He gave a small smile.
 
“sorry bro. think i’m just gonna go to my room.” He waved to you. “it was good to see ya, buddy.”
 
You and Papyrus watched as he walked out of the kitchen, to what you guessed was his room. You couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that Sans wasn’t joining you.
 
Apparently, Papyrus was also upset. “I AM VERY SORRY ABOUT HIM HUMAN.”
 
You placed a few pieces of paper onto the table in front of the skeleton. “For what?”
 
“MY BROTHER: HE IS SOMETIMES LIKE THIS, JUST DISAPPEARING INTO HIS BEDROOM FOR HOURS ON END.”
 
“Is… is he ok?”
 
Papyrus’ body seemed to shrink of himself as he stared at the table. “I… I HOPE HE IS, BUT HE NEVER TELLS ME ANYTHING! I HAVE TRIED CONFRONTING HIM ABOUT IT BUT HE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY TO AVOID THE QUESTION. AND-AND-“ He took a shuddering breath, and you reached out to hug him, which he gladly accepted. “HUMAN, DOES SANS NOT TRUST ME?”
 
You rubbed his back, or what you could reach of it. “Of course he does, you’re his little brother after all!” You pulled away enough to look up at him. The skeleton looked absolutely heart broken. “Sans loves you very much Papyrus. He just might be dealing with something that’s… difficult to talk about. Just be patient with him, and he’ll eventually open up to you, ok?”
 
He nodded, giving you one final squeeze before letting go, taking a deep breath. “YES, I WILL DO THAT. THANK YOU, HUMAN. YOU ARE VERY WISE.”
 
You laughed nervously, rubbing the back of your neck. “Now, why don’t we get started?”
 
Papyrus nodded happily, sitting down. “OH! NEXT WEEK, ON SATURDAY, ALL OF OUR FRIENDS WILL BE COMING HERE FOR A MOVIE SLEEPOVER! YOU SHOULD JOIN US!”
 
“I wouldn’t be… intruding or anything, right?” You gave the skeleton a paint brush, and set the pallet full of paint between you two.
 
“NOT AT ALL!! IT WOULD BE VERY FUN TO HAVE YOU HERE!”
 
“Well, then. I’d love to join you guys.” You gave him a smile, then began explaining what to do for the painting you wanted to teach him to make.
 
You did your best to focus 100% on the lesson, but everything that your skeleton friend has told you about Sans was always lingering at the back of your mind, a dark cloud on a sunny day.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You nervously rubbed your sweaty palms on your jeans, the backpack on your shoulders an unpleasant weight. Papyrus has been messaging you non-stop about how excited he was that you were going to meet his other monster friends, and although you greatly enjoyed talking with him, it only made you more aware of how little Sans had began talking to you.
 
You two still met for coffee every Monday, and this week he apologized for not painting on Sunday, but he didn’t go into details of

why

he did it. And there was everything Papyrus told you about his relationship with Sans, which had lead to more sleepless nights, staring at the ceiling and letting your brain work itself into exhaustion.
 
Plus, just to make things even more difficult, your crush was growing into something far more serious.
 
You huffed, stubbornly deciding to push those negative thoughts aside for now. You’re doing this sleepover thing for fun, not an excuse to mope!
 
The skeleton’s house came into view as you crossed the street, a red van you didn’t recognize parked along the road out front. A large, white goat monster stood beside it, leaning over so their large, floppy ears hung down, blocking their face from your view. They wore a light purple, button up shirt with dark jeans covering their long legs, and as you drew closer you saw they had been helping a child out of the back of the van.
 
“Hello!” You greeted once you were closer; from here you could see the monster had small horns on the top of their head, and their eyes were a rich chocolate brown. You could also see the child more now: they were practically glued to the large goat monsters side, their small fingers clutched around as much of the monsters hand as they possibly could.
 
“Oh! Greetings, my child! You wouldn’t happen to be the human joining us in watching our movie tonight, would you?”
 
You smiled up at the monster, their voice has a very smooth and gentle quality, reminding you instantly of a mother. “Yup, that’s me!” You proceeded to introduce yourself, accepting the monster’s gentle handshake; their fur was silky and soft against your much smaller hand.
 
“It is wonderful to meet you! My name is Toriel, but please, simply call me Tori. And this -” Toriel placed her hand atop the child’s head, who smiled up at you, albeit a little nervously. “- is Frisk.”
 
You waved at the small child (even though they looked closer to 10, now that you thought about it) and paused, your brain catching up to what was happening here.
 
You were talking to Toriel.

Queen

Toriel of the monsters.
 
Your hands flew up to your month, eyes widening and cheeks heating up. “Oh my god, I didn’t realize- should I bow? O-or is there something you guys do- I don’t want to be disrespectful, I’m so sorry!”
 
Frisk giggled, rocking back on their heels. Toriel looked rather amused as well, but was obviously trying her best to hide it.  “Oh, dear, there’s no need for titles or anything of the sorts.” She gave you a gentle grin, her brown eyes full of motherly tenderness. “I long ago gave up my title of Queen, I simply assumed the role for a brief time recently to make sure that everything went smoothly.” Her eyes clouded slightly, smiling twitching. “Dreemurr can be quite the pushover in certain situations.”

‘Dreemurr’

? That was the king’s surname, if you were remembering correctly.  “Oh, right… right, I-I’m sorry.”
 
Toriel chuckled softly, her hands - paws? - clasped in front of her. Like this, even in such casual clothes, she looked extremely regal. “There is no need for apologies, my child.” She glanced towards the house, then back at you. “Papyrus and Sans speak very highly of you; I was very happy to hear they’d made such a friendly human friend. Frisk was very excited to meet you as well.”
 
The child perked up at mention of their name, nodding happily and moving their hands in front of their chest: sign language.
 
A wave of guilt hit you, if you’d known they signed you would have tried to learn some before coming here. Toriel must have noticed your panic. “We will be able to translate for you, don’t worry; if you want, I’m sure frisk would be more than happy to teach you.” You smiled, and thanked both of them.  “You know, I must admit I was a bit surprised you befriended Sans. He is usually rather wary of strangers.”
 
“Oh, he was still wary of me, I just had enough charm to win him over.” You jokingly winked, but your smile fell. “I’m pretty sure he’s avoiding me, though.”
 
Toriel’s brow furrowed. “Sans is a… strange monster, my child. But trust me when I tell you, he does like you quite a bit.” Frisk nodded in agreement, giving you two thumbs up.
 
You smiled, the weight of Sans’ possible reject still heavy on your shoulders; but you didn’t need to bring it up more than you already have, you didn’t want anyone thinking you were petty.
 
And that’s what you were being.
 
Petty.

Yes, keep telling yourself that. I’m sure it’ll

totally

come true the more you say it!

“We should head inside! I’m sure the others are waiting for us!”
 
“Ah, yes, of course.” All three of you walked toward the door, frisk running in front of you so they could be the first to knock. “They always like coming up with knock knock jokes for Sans when we come here.” The goat monster had to lean down quite a bit to whisper into your ear, snickering at the end; you couldn’t help but smile as well.
 
The small brunette knocked twice on the door, then beamed up at you two. A few minutes passed before Sans voice sounded from the other side of the wood. “who’s there?”
 
Frisk signed something to Toriel, who grinned proudly, then translated the message to the skeleton. “Harry.”
 
“harry who?” You swore you could

hear

Sans’ proud smirk; he always got a really proud look on his face when you made jokes or puns, as if he were saying;

see? She likes them, she gets it.

Or maybe that was just your imagination.
 
“Harry up and let us in!”
 
You heard Sans’ deep chuckle through the door, right before he swung it open, lifting an extremely proud looking Frisk up and onto his shoulders. “heya kiddo.” He grinned up at the kid as they began tapping against his skull, like it was a drum.
 
His eyelights caught on you, and you swear you saw his smile twitch upward. “hey buddy, glad you could come!” He gestured for both you to come inside, Toriel having to duck down a bit to enter - she was even taller than Papyrus, your head reached just a bit past her midsection.
 
“SANS? IS THE HUMAN HERE?” Papyrus voiced came from the kitchen, followed by a loud, female voice… screaming?
 
On the couch sat a yellow, lizard-like monster dressed in a long turtleneck sweater and black leggings, both of which complemented her curves very well. She nervously waved at you, and you smiled and waved back. “yeah, so is tori and the kiddo!” Sans called back to his brother, extending his hand for your coat.
 
Papyrus burst into the room just as you handed off your jacket, tomato sauce smeared across his right cheek bone, and he pulled you into a hug - something you’d actually gotten used to over the pass weeks, so it didn’t wind you anymore. He set you back down and patted Frisk’s head, giving them a similar, happy greeting.
 
Your feet lifted off the ground as someone else hugged you from behind, but it was far rougher and… muscleier than Papyrus’ hugs. “AW HELL YEAH, I FINALLY GET TO MEET THE NERD!”
 
You noticed the blue arms wrapped around your waist, holding you in a vice grip. Luckly, Papyrus saves the day. “UNDYNE! PUT THE HUMAN DOWN, YOU MIGHT DAMAGE HER!!”
 
Undyne groaned in annoyance, but set you back down nonetheless; Sans shook with suppressed laughter, and frisk was openly giggling. Toriel offered her hand when you stumbled slightly, but you politely shook her off; you glanced up to see who had picked you up, only to find a bright blue, muscular fish woman with bright, scarlet hair, pulled up in a ponytail, grinning down at you, her bright eye practically reflecting her wide grin. She was bit taller than Papyrus, but not by much. “Hey nerd! Papyrus talks about you a lot! I was expecting someone less… small, but your still good!”

At some point Sans had walked up behind you, ruffling a hand through your hair. “you bet your ass she’s good.” You batted his hand away, heat blooming across your cheeks. His laughter only grew when both Papyrus and Toriel began lecturing him on his word choice.
 
Tonight was going to be very… eventful.
 
*****
 
You later found out that the yellow lizard monster’s name was Alphys, Undyne’s small girlfriend. And that she

really

liked anime.
 
You sat down on the ground, in front of the couch - Undyne, Alphys and Toriel were sitting there, Frisk happily curled up on their goat mom’s lap - sighing contently. Papyrus and Undyne had made spaghetti for supper and, although they had made a huge mess of the kitchen, it was really good. Sans sat next to you, handing you a blanket with a wink, you smiled as you accepted it, happily wrapping it around you. Papyrus sat on the far left of you two, closest to Toriel and Frisk, his legs crossed and a pillow placed on top.
 
“What movie are we watching?” You asked, looking between the others.
 
“the kiddo said they wanted to watch one called… what was is? outside in?” Sans rolled his skull back, grinning up at the other human in the room, who giggled before pouting and shaking their head.
 
The signed something to Sans, who then nodded his head and snapped his fingers. “right, it was inside out!” He looked over at you from the corner of his eye socket. “silly me”
 
You couldn’t help the grin that formed on your face, pleased that you two already had something similar to an inside joke. That warm feeling bloomed in your chest again.
 
Frisk - who you had learned was eleven - scooted off of Toriel’s lap, to their small bag in the corner of the room, pulled out the disney movie and proceed to place it into their DVD player then rush back to the couch, grinning excitedly.
 
You’d seen this one before; of course you had, you loved all of Disney and Pixar’s movies, even if you were technically an adult. As the film began and everyone fell into silence, you felt a certain skeleton scoot closer to you, to the point that your shoulders were touching. Your pulse quickened and face flushed;

what was he doing?

“hey.” He whispered, hot breath brushing against the shell of your ear; screw his weird magic skeleton anatomy that let him breath like you did. “can i talk to you in the kitchen? please?”
 
You didn’t trust your voice at that moment, given your flustered state, so you simply nodded, following him when he stood and began walking towards the kitchen. Once there he lent against the counter, hands in his pockets. He even looked a bit nervous.
 
Was he okay?

“so”
 
“So?”
 
“i’m sorry for not talking as much this week. and for what happened on sunday.” You let out a small chuckle, moving to stand next to him, trying to ignore your heart pounding in you chest.
 
“I just assumed you were busy or something; even if you weren’t, I don’t need to be the center of your attention 24/7. And you already unnecessarily apologize for the whole ‘not painting with us’ thing, remember?”  You smiled up at him, only to find his permanent smile much smaller than usual, close to just being a line of teeth.
 
“that’s not…” He took a measured breath. “i could have at least told you i was busy instead of just dropping off the face of the earth.”
 
“You didn’t though. We still talked, just not as much.”
 
“i just don’t want you thinking i don’t care about you.”
 
You pushed the wave of nervous butterflies down, swallowing hard. “I know you care it’s just… I’m not the kinda person that deserves so much attention. I’m fine on my own most of the time.”
 
Sans was staring at you as if you were the most bizzare animal on the planet, making panic form like a rock in your throat. You hadn’t said something wrong, right? “what do you mean?”
 
“Huh?”

oh yes, very smart response, idiot.

“you’re not the kind of person who ‘deserves so much attention’?” His browbones were furrowed at this point, and he had pushed off the counter so he could stand in front of you, meaning you had to make eye contact.
 
“All I mean is I’m just average.” You forced out a laugh, wanting to ease the tension building in the room. “I understand when people want to spend time with people more interesting. That’s all. Come on, let’s just go watch the movie, okay?”
 
“no.”
 
“N-no?”
 
“listen to me, bud.” He grabbed your shoulders, leaning down so his face was directly in front of yours. “you are anything

but

average. you’re fucking amazing, alright? repeat it.”
 
“What? Why, I do-”
 
“

repeat it.”

“Sans-”
 
He said your name sternly, never once losing eye contact with you. Could he feel your pulse beating like a sledgehammer in your chest? Why did he even care so much about this, anyways? You steadied your breath, focusing on the white of his eyelights.
 
“I’m fucking amazing.” Your voice wavered mid sentence.
 
“and don’t you ever dare think otherwise.” He stood straight again and stepped away when you nodded, giving you a chance to take a deep breath again, your nerves feeling fried.
 
“we should go back to the living room before the other start to wonder what we’re doing.” Sans said, looking toward the other room. His smile was back in full force, but he looked far away, like something important was filling his mind.
 
“Right. Yeah.”

What are we doing?

“come on.” He gentle grasped your hand, the smooth bone surprisingly warm against your clammy skin, and began to pull you out of the kitchen, your stomach full of hyperactive butterflies.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You kept your head low as you came back to the living room, but you could feel the eyes of the others following you - and yours and Sans’ linked hands - with curiosity. As you sat back down you felt the skeleton’s hand slip away from yours, making you immediately miss its warmth; however, said skeleton still seemed content sitting next to you.
 
You found yourself losing focus of the movie multiple times, your mind wandering to replay what happened in the kitchen or deciding to pay very close attention to Sans, either by simply watching his ribcage rise and fall as he breathed out of the corner of your eye, or just enjoying the view of his relaxed grin you were so fond of.
 
Or wondering what it would be like to kiss him.
 
Or what it would be like to walk down a street together, hands intertwined.
 
… Yes, you certainly had a lot on your mind at the moment.
 
So, you suppose, it was no surprise that you had dozed off sometime during the film, your body slumping onto Sans’ - surprisingly comfortable - shoulder. Way too cliche and embarrassing for your liking.
 
He was gentle shaking you when you awoke, confused, you had looked up to find him smiling down on you. But this smile was different than the one you were used to: this one was gentle and caring. Affectionate. “wakey wakey, sleepy head.”
 
You sat up from your relaxed position, your groggy brain processing your current position, first noticing the credits rolling on the TV screen, then to the multiple sets of eyes trained on you.
 
“YOU LOOK VERY RELAXED WHEN YOU ARE ASLEEP, HUMAN.”
 
“You make little sounds too!” Undyne chimed, poking your cheek, only to burst out laughing when your face became a bright red.
 
“Oh, stop teasing the poor girl: can’t you see she’s already embarrassed as it is?” Toriel scolded as Frisk began signing rapidly; you had no idea what they said, but whatever it was it made Sans’ cheekbones change to cyan. “Frisk, dear, go get your things, it is getting close to your bedtime.”
 
The brunette child pouted, but did as they were told nonetheless. You all gathered around the door to say goodbye to the monster and human child; you were very happy when Frisk wrapped their small arms around your waist in a hug, telling you that they were very happy to meet you and wanted to do this again (Sans had been beside you to translate.)
 
When the door closed and the two were gone, you all migrated back to the living room, Papyrus taking the now open seat on the couch. After some debating, Guardians of the Galaxy was the movie you all agreed to watch next.
 
A few minutes into the movie, Undyne reached for her overnight bag, rummaging in it before pulling out a large bottle of vodka, a sly grin plastered on her face. “Now that the kid’s gone, why don’t we have some more ‘adult’ beverages, hm?”
 
A lump formed in your throat at the sight of the drink, your body stiffening, anxiety building in your system.

No, god no please don’t do this.

The bottle opened, the smell of alcohol drifting over to you, bile rose in your throat. You stood up, nearly knocking over your glass of water you had gotten earlier. “hey… you okay, bud?” You were stepping away from the group, nearly falling over; Sans stood himself, hands held up in front of him. Outside. You needed to get outside.
 
“I’m fine! I just… I just need to some fresh air, ya know?” You laughed nervously, grabbing at your jacket. “I’ll be right back, don’t worry!” You smiled at the group, but it felt so forced; you should have known this would come up, how could you be so damn

stupid

.
 
Sans looked like he was going to say something, but you slipped outside before he could. You leaned against the closed door, taking several deep breaths. You were over reacting; you should be

fine

.
 
Why couldn’t you just be fine?
 
You stepped away from the door, taking a seat on the steps leading to the house, dropping your head into your hands.
 
“mind if i join ya?”
 
Your head whipped up, finding Sans standing next to you, eyelights casting a faint glow against his face in the dark. You took a deep breath, making sure you wouldn’t just start crying in front of the skeleton, and nodded, wrapping your arms around yourself. “Yeah. Go ahead.”
 
You sat in silence for a bit, watching as a few stray cars drove past, some with music loud enough you could make it out, and others just silent travelers in the night. “if i had known that vodka bugged you, i would have told undyne not to bring anything.”
 
“It doesn’t… It

shouldn’t

bug me, it’s just… just…” You trailed off, eyes drifting down to the ground; you could feel Sans eyelights on you, watching silently as he waited for you to finish. “My dad died when I was younger in a car crash caused by a drunk driver.”
 
You words were quiet, and you wondered for a moment if Sans even heard you. He must have, since he placed a hand on your knee. “i’m so sorry…”
 
You chuckled weakly, rubbing at your eyes stubbornly. “It was years ago, I should be absolutely fine around this sort of thing but I…” Your eyes flickered up to the skeleton, his eyelights full of what seemed like genuine sympathy. “I guess I just can’t let it go, huh?”
 
Sans frowned, it looked so weird on him, someone who almost always smiled. “i don’t think that’s something you can ‘let go’, bud.” His eyelights looked down, to your hand, then back to your face. He seemed cautious as he moved his hand to hold yours, gently squeezing it. “stuff like that… it’s gonna stay with you all your life. it might get easier to deal with as time goes on; but it’s okay to have some things that will always bother you. doesn’t make you weak or anything like that.” He stared off into the distance as he talked, thumb idly rubbing against your knuckles.
 
“I guess… I feel kinda bad about ruining everyone else’s fun.” You pressed farther  into your jacket as a breeze drifted through, the chill air causing you to shiver slightly, but didn’t seem to have much effect on the skeleton.
 
“you’re not though. papyrus never really drinks it - upsets his ‘stomach’ - and i don’t like messing with the stuff most of the time. alphys drinks a little, but she’s a huge lightweight so.” he shrugged.
 
“What about Undyne?”
 
“she gets kinda wild when she’s drunk. even if you were okay with alcohol it would still probably be best that we put it away.”
 
“...I’m sorry.”
 
He sighed, shaking his skull. “bud, you don’t gotta apologize for this; it’s not something you can really control.”
 
You shifted your body so you could face him better, moving your connected hands so they were between you, sandwiching his with both of yours. “No, not that. I’ve… kinda been a mess tonight, with what happened in the kitchen and now this. I’m not making tonight feel like, I don’t know, a drag or something, am I?”
 
The skeleton chuckled openly at that, moving a stray piece of hair that the wind had blown into your eyes away. “not at all.”
 
“Promise?” Oh god, he’s going to think you sound like a child now.
 
Sans looked visible taken aback by your request, stilling and eye sockets widening, but it only lasted a minute before his eyelights softened again, smiling the same smile he had when we woke you up earlier.
 
“i promise.”
 
*****
 
Sans was truly and utterly fucked.
 
He knew it the minute he saw you beside Tori earlier this evening; he had tried distancing himself from you during the week, thinking that

maybe

that would help him get control of his feeling again, help him get rid of that small crush on you.
 
Yeah, that plan was a complete bust. The minute he saw you his soul had fluttered in his ribcage, warming pleasantly.
 
The worst part, he thought, was the fact that he

liked

that feeling. He liked the way you had smiled at him. He liked the way your cheeks were always a light, peachy pink colour around him. He liked the way you seemed so happy around him and his brother, and how well you fit into his group of mismatched friends.
 
He liked

you.

Really, really liked you.
 
And he didn’t want that feeling to go away. He knows there could be a reset - sometimes it was the only thing he could think about, alone in his room - but Frisk had said they wouldn’t intentionally cause one, right? And Chara was gone, as far as both he and the kid knew, so was having a little hope for the future really such a bad thing?
 
After so long of thinking otherwise, Sans wanted to believe that this was okay.
 
He could do this.
 
He could

try

to do this.
 
To do that, though, he needed you to understand that he hadn’t been ignoring you. He had heard what his brother had told you last Sunday - considering that his brother was almost always screaming, it was hard not to hear him sometimes - and he couldn’t help the guilt that had floored him, hearing Papyrus say those things. Sans knew he should talk to his brother more, but most of his problems stemmed directly from the resets and the genocide timeline, something he didn’t want his little brother knowing anything about, so he kept them to himself. He’s usually pretty good at dealing with it on his own, too. Either way, Sans could understand how you might think, given how he was distant during the week, and the info Paps had given you, that he’s mad, or just upset in general, with you.
 
So he pulled you away during Frisk’s movie - and yes, he definitely saw Papyrus’ excited grin and Undyne’s suggestive smirk as he did so - to explain that no, he wasn’t ignoring you, and that he definitely still liked you.
 
That conversation didn’t go the way he had planned.
 
He doesn’t know what had gotten into him when you began talking down on yourself.

.

The skeleton, for the life of him, couldn’t see how you saw yourself as something so… simple. You were beautiful. Kind. Funny. The list went on and on.
 
He did something similar with Paps when he was younger; many of the other monster kids at his brother’s school didn’t necessarily like the skeleton, and of course that had brought the poor guys self esteem way down. After everything that had happened with Gaster - Papyrus didn’t remember their ‘father’, but Sans definitely did - he had decided to motivate the young monster the best way he could. Telling him things like

‘they don’t want to play with you because they’re imitated by your greatness!’

or

‘They only said those things because they know they’re not as great as you, so they’re jealous!’

.
 
So, he had attempted the same thing with you; he hoped it worked, at least a little bit, when he pulled you back to the living room.
 
Sans knew it could be a bit of a risk, taking your hand like he had; maybe you would be freaked out by the feeling of his phalanges, or maybe you just didn’t want him touching you like that.
 
You didn’t seem to mind, though.
 
Especially when you curled up next to him, head resting on his shoulder, and fell asleep.
 
It

did

make it a bit difficult to focus on what was happening in the cartoon; considering you would shift and make small sighs and other noises every once in a while, and everytime you did, Sans felt a pulse of panic that you find him uncomfortable or accidentally jab yourself on one of his many bones. You, luckily, didn’t, and slept like a baby throughout the rest of the movie.
 
As the movie ended, both Undyne and Alphys began giggling behind him, Undyne even went as far as to jab his skull with a finger, repeatedly. “You

like

her, don’tcha?”
 
“oh, shut up.” Sans groaned, earning himself more girly giggles. He choose to ignore them, and instead to focus back you on. He gentle shook you, watching as your eyes fluttered open, and you looked around, visibly confused. Your eyes eventually looked up him, your lips parted slightly and your cheeks covered in a dusting of red.

adorable.

“wakey wakey, sleepy head.”
 
You had responded by sitting up completely, the dusting of red blooming into a full out blush; Sans found himself missing the warmth of your body soon afterward, but pushed the thought aside for now.
 
Both Undyne and Papyrus teased you for dozing off - he was pretty sure his brother hadn’t actually intended to tease you, it just came out that way - and Toriel seemed to draw the line when her own child chipped in, begging to sign

‘Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G’.

Sans had been incredibly thankful that you didn’t understand sign language yet.
 
When Undyne pulled out the vodka later that night, once Frisk and Tori were long gone, the only real worry he had was that she’d break some more glasses; the last time she got drunk during one of these movie nights, she had smashed two of the skeleton brother’s cups, and the glass had been an utter pain to get out of the carpet. At least, it was his only worry until you stood abruptly and went outside for some ‘fresh air’. You had looked so panic, so… scared.
 
So Sans followed you out.
 
And he realized the irony of him telling you that it was okay to be upset, to have things that bother you. Afterall, he didn’t tell anyone what was bothering him; but you were different. You were worth far more than he ever believed he could be. He wanted you to feel free from these problems, to be happy without a care in the world. He wanted to make sure you could be happy like that.
 
Then you had asked him to promise something.
 
Sure, it wasn’t really a serious promise; you were asking for confirmation that he wasn’t upset. That you weren’t ruining his night. Which, of course, you weren’t. He doubted that you ever could ruin something for him. But it was still a promise. And he still hated making those.
 
You looked so worried that you were dragging him down though, like you truly believed you were some horrible thing in his life. So he made this promise to you; it was one that was completely true, anyways. You could never bring him down, not when you seemed to glow so brightly.
 
Sans was truly and utterly smitten with you.
 
And, goddamnit, that smile you gave him when he said those two words - ‘i promise’ - only strengthened that statement.
 
*****
 
“come on, bud, let’s get you inside before you catch a cold or something.” The skeleton stood, gently pulling you up with him. You nodded, happy when he didn’t let go of your hand as he lead you back inside. The three other monster’s heads all turned to you, expressions full of confusion and worry.
 
“ARE YOU OKAY HUMAN? YOU LOOKED VERY TROUBLED…” You smile gently at Papyrus, sitting back down on the floor, reluctantly letting go of Sans’ hand.
 
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Behind you, Sans pulled the bottle of vodka out of Undyne’s hand, sidestepping when she immediately reached towards him, attempting to snatch the bottle back.  
 
“nuh-uh, no alcohol tonight.” The fish lady groaned, again reaching towards Sans, who dodged her with ease.
 
“Why not?!” You looked at the skeleton with slight panic: what if Undyne got upset? Or, worse, mad at you?
 
“remember the last time you drank some of this shit?” His eye lights flickered over to you briefly. “you broke two cups and almost broke a

window

.”
 
“‘Almost’” Undyne shrugged, sitting up more, glaring at Sans. “I can restrain myself tonight. Give me it.”
 
You edged away, and Sans’ brow furrowed. “no.”
 
Undyne groaned again, sinking back onto the couch. “Fine, whatever.” You relaxed as you felt the tension fade. You all went back to your movie; Sans put the vodka somewhere, you hadn’t paid too much attention as to where, and returned to sitting next to you.
 
When the movie ended, Papyrus let out a loud yawn, catching everyone’s attention. “think that’s a sign that we should hit the hay for tonight.” Sans said with chuckle, standing up from the ground, helping you up with a hand.
 
Papyrus agreed with his older brother, nodding sleepily, giving you a surprisingly gentle hug and saying his good-nights to the other two monsters before disappearing into his room. “you’re okay with sleeping on the couch, right?” Sans asked after Undyne and Alphys left for the guest room at the end of the hall, leaning against the the bathroom door as you set your bag down to change.
 
“Of course!”  
 
The skeleton nodded, then excused himself and went to Papyrus’ room. You shut the bathroom door, quickly changing out of your clothes and into your pajamas, then took a moment to stare into the mirror, taking a deep breath, a small, giddy grin forming on your lips; you had been alone with Sans a lot tonight - sure, some of the reasons

why

you tow had been alone weren’t always the best, but it had happen. And at several moments you had held hands, and you must admit that you very much enjoyed that and would definitely like to do it some more. A small part of you, a very hopeful part, was screaming at you, saying that there’s a chance that the skeleton

liked

you the way you liked him, but you stomped the thought down for now; even of Sans did feel that way, shouldn’t you wait a bit so that you’re sure he likes you back? Or, at least, had a bit more evidence to show that he might?
 
That way, you wouldn’t accidentally make a fool of yourself.
 
As you brushed your teeth, you decided that that was something you should worry about later; you were in a good mood right now, so why ruin it?
 
You found Sans placing multiple, fluffy blankets on their green couch when you left the bathroom, a pillow placed at the end closest to the front door, his back facing you. “I don’t think I ever thanked you.”
 
He jumped slightly, turning to face you, then smiled gently. His eye lights even seemed to dilate slightly - strange. “for what?”
 
“Well, let’s see…” You sat down on the couch, taking one of the blankets and wrapped in around your shoulders. You patted the spot next to you, signally for Sans to sit next to you. “There was that whole thing in the kitchen-”
 
“why would you thank me for that?” Normally, you probably would be upset that he interrupted you, but the skeleton looked genuinely confused so you let it slip for tonight.
 
You smiled shyly, biting your lip before saying: “I know I made it seem like I wasn’t worried that you were upset, but… to be honest, I really was.” You laughed weakly. “Hearing you confirm that you were just busy really made me feel better.”
 
Sands looked like he was about to reply, but you held up a finger. “Now let me finish my list! You asked after all.” He chuckled, leaning back against the couch. “I also wanted to thank you for comforting me out there earlier.” You clasped your hands in front of you, the blanket slipping off your shoulders slightly. “Besides Ray, I’ve never really told anyone about that… and it feels really, um, nice to have it off my chest, at least a bit.”
 
You glanced over at Sans, his eyelights seemed to have shrunk, and he suddenly looked very anxious. “i didn’t make you feel like you

had

to tell me that stuff, right?”
 
“Oh, god, no!” You laughed, reaching over and patting his femur, grinning up at him. “I trust you, Sans. I feel like you forget that sometimes.”
 
His cheekbones reverted to cyan, and he laughed nervously, rubbing the top of his skull, suddenly avoid eye contact. Honestly, you more than just trusted him.
 
You just couldn’t tell him that yet.
 
“Lastly, I’d like to thank you for letting me stay the night!” As you finished you went to pull your hand away, but Sans caught it in his own, looking back into your face. Your cheeks heated, and your soul jumped excitedly within your chest.
 
“you’re really something else, you know that?” Your blush darked as his white eyelights did that thing again, where they dilated. You also became deadly aware of the situation; everyone else was asleep and you two were alone on the couch, Sans was even holding your hand, staring into each others silently. If this was a TV show, or a movie, or even a romantic novel, this is where the two main love interest would probably kiss, or confess, or do something else equally lovey-dovey.
 
It’s a shame that this wasn’t any of those things.
 
You gently pulled your hand away, using it to pull your blanket back up instead, giggling anxiously. “So are you, silly.”
 
Sans hummed in response, shrugging. “we should probably head to bed.” He stood up from the couch, waving at you to lay down; you comply, resting your hand against the soft pillow, surprised when Sans proceeded to tuck the blankets around you. “that good?” He asked once you were pleasantly surround by the sheets. You nodded and he smiled proudly. “alrighty. good night, buddy. sleep tight.”
 
A part of you - the same part that wanted to desperately tell Sans how you really feel - wanted to reach out and pull him back to you, to curl up next to him and sleep that way. You pushed the urge away, annoyed with yourself for even thinking it right now. Instead, you smiled. “Good night Sans. I’ll see you tomorrow morning!”
 
He flicked off the lights and you were alone again, and for the first time in a week, sleep came to you easily.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sleep may have come easily, but it sure didn’t stay for long. You awoke with a jolt around two in the morning, nearly tumbling right off the couch. The worst part is you couldn’t even remember the dream that had woke you up, leaving you confused and stressed on the couch, blankets pulled up to your chin.
 
You debated getting up and grabbing a glass of water, but quickly dismissed the thought since there was a chance it would wake one of the others; you sighed and rolled over to your side, eyes lazily drifting towards the hallway.
 
… why was there a blue glow over there?
 
You sat up, pushing the blankets aside, leaning over to see where the glow was originating from; it definitely hadn’t been there earlier, and it seemed too bright to just be a car or some other artificial light shining in through a window. After realizing you wouldn't find what it was by just sitting there, you stood fully and began making your way to the hallway, doing your best not to make any noise.
 
Sans’ room.
 
The light was seeping through the cracks of his door, appearing to be much brighter on the other side. You stood outside of his room, glancing around nervously. Should you go inside to make sure he’s ok? Maybe it was just a computer screen? … No, it couldn’t be; it was far too bright to be coming from a laptop or monitor, even if he had one in there.
 
Your hand hovered over the door knob, nerves rolling around in your stomach like tidal waves. You’d just peek inside, make sure he was a-okay, then leave. That would be okay, right? He wouldn’t get that mad if he noticed you, you could just explain you were concerned.
 
It’d be fine.
 
Steeling yourself with a deep, steady breath, you pushed the door open.
 
The room behind the door was warm, and buzzed with some sort of energy, socks and other articles of clothing layed around the room, at times certain objects would jump or twitch. On a bed placed in the corner of the room, layed Sans, curled up on himself, his bed’s green comforter held tightly in his arms; he even appeared to be sweating slightly, despite the occasional shiver that seemed to shake his form. As for that strange glow: it seemed to be seeping out of his closed, left eye socket, occasionally pulsing brightly or with a flash of yellow.
 
Panic set in your system, and you quietly shut the door behind you, making your way over to the skeleton as quickly as you could without tripping over anything. You hesitated for a second before sitting on the edge of his bed. Was he having a nightmare? Or was this some kind of… illness for monsters? And this energy in the air, and the light from his eye, that had to be his magic, right?
 
You decided you could ask Sans once you wake him up.

Please don’t get mad at me for this…

Placing a hand on his shoulder, using the other to support yourself so you didn’t accidently fall over, you shook him gently. When all that did was make him groan and bury his face in his pillow, you shook harder, calling his name quietly.
 
That caused the light from his eye to disappear completely, his body springing up fully, eye sockets wide with what appeared to be confusion and fear. The small pinpricks that were his eyelights landed on you, his breathing heavy. “Hey, hey, Sans, calm down. Everything's okay; take a deep breath, okay? Can you do that for me?” You shifted you body so you were fully on bed, legs crossed, both hands on Sans’ shoulders now, keeping him in place so he had to look at you.
 
He nodded frantically, doing his best to calm his breathing, his own hands reaching up to your arms, squeezing them. Once he seemed calmer, his grip losing slightly, you attempted to move your hands away, but he stopped you from doing so. “why-” He voice came out hoarse, like he’d been screaming; he coughed and cleared his ‘throat’, then continued: “why are you here?”
 
You looked down, blushing, glad that the darkness would hopefully mask it. “I saw some kind of blue light coming from your room. I came to see if everything was okay… the door was unlocked…” Anxiety made you want to curl in on yourself.
 
Sans was silent for a few minutes, making your nerves worsen. “i’m sorry. didn’t mean to wake anyone up.” He sighed, letting you go fully, rubbing his temple.
 
“You didn’t. I woke up on my own.”
 
His hand fell into his lap, his eye lights focusing right on you. The air around you still had a sort of electric effect, leaving the small hairs on the back of your neck and arms to stand up. “you were? are you ok?”
 
You snorted, raising an eyebrow. “I’m

fine

. And I feel like you should be more worried about yourself here.”
 
“that happens all time, i’ll be okay.”
 
You hummed, rocking back and forward. “What was it you said earlier? That it’s okay if some things bother you?” Sans eyelights shank to pinpricks again, and he looked down to his uncovered mattress. “I don’t mind staying for a bit if you want to talk about it.”
 
“... it’s late.”
 
“Oh, right, um. In the morning then, okay?” You reached over, lifting his head so he’d look at you, giving him a small smile. “If you want to.”
 
His eye lights shrank and grew repeatedly, until they stopped at a size close to what you guess was neutral, but a tad bit bigger. “okay.”
 
“I’m gonna head back out to the couch.” You patted his arm, standing up. “Try and get some more sleep, yeah?”

“wait.” You turned towards the skeleton, hand still on the doorknob. “can you stay?” Cyan formed on his cheekbones, casting a soft glow on the bed in front of where he sat. “please? i don’t really want to be alone right now.”

A mix of excitement and nerves clashed in your chest, as your own cheeks heated. He was scared. That’s all. You could spend the night, his bed looked big enough that you could both sleep there without getting in each others personal space, and you did say you don’t mind staying.

… But then again, you could be really cuddly.

You sighed, letting go of the door and walking back over. “Yeah, I can stay.” You sat on the bed, bringing your legs up onto it. Sans gave you a shy grin, straightening out his crumpled blanket, gesering to a pillow, for you to lay down.

You did so, laying down on your side, albeit a bit awkwardly. Sans paced the blanket on top of you, his phalanges brushing against your back as he wrapped the heavy comforter around you. Once he was apparently satisfied, he settled down against the mattress himself, leaving you two laying on your sides, staring at each other, some level of a blush on both of your faces; unfortunately for Sans, his couldn’t be hidden by the darkness like yours, considering the fact that it

literally glowed.

Truth be told, it was really cute when he got blue-cheeked.

You again wondered what it would like to kiss him. Would that even be possible? It’s not like he actually has any

lips

so what would it be like for him? Do monsters even kiss each other? Maybe the did something else?

“you okay, bud?”

You snapped yourself out of your thoughts, blinking repeatedly; you’d been staring right at the poor skeleton, and his cyan flush was now a borderline royal blue. “Yeah, sorry.” You smiled, happy when he gave you a small one back. The warmth that’d you’d grown used to over the past few weeks bloomed in your chest once again, but this time, the heat didn’t stop; it felt like someone was holding a lap there, not too hot, but like a pleasant summer day. Then it glowed green. A bright, shamrock green, glowing from somewhere inside you. You yelped, hands shooting up, but your soul’s colour disappeared as fast as it had come.

Sans was also watching that spot now, his eyelights having grown extantanaly. “What was that?!”

“your soul…” the skeleton sounded dazed, and his gaze hadn’t left that spot on you chest, as if he could still see it.

Maybe he could.

“Aren’t those supposed to stay inside you? Unless you, like, take them out?”

“it didn’t leave your chest.” Sans finally looked back up to your eyes, seeming to have composed himself now. “it just glowed bright enough that it shone through. it could have something to do with the leftover magic in the air. souls can be affected by it in different ways; all souls can warm, and glow, and ache depending on your mood, the more connected you are to your soul, the more you’ll feel these.”

“There’s still magic in the air? And how did that make my soul glow more that usual? What does it mean if it glows or feels warm or-” Sans chuckled. “Sorry, am I asking too much?”

“not at all. i like that your so curious about this sorta thing.” He gave you that grin again, that affectionate one. “magic isn’t something that’s here one minute, gone the next. for example, the air inside my room feels more… charged than it would outside. that’s because during my dream, my magic was going haywire. it’s still in the air; eventuality it’ll disappear entirely, but until then it’ll just linger there.” So you were right, that was Sans causing the room to feel electric when you had let yourself in earlier.

“So then, does magic itself have a feeling?”

Sans nodded, then froze and shrugged instead. “kinda? i dunno how to explain it.” He paused to think, then pulled out his hand, holding it out in front of you. “here, give me your hand.” When you hesitated, he added: “it won’t hurt you, don’t worry.”

Once your hand was in his, he gently intertwined your fingers, a light, blue glow surrounding his hand. It felt like someone had placed warm cotton around your intertwined hands; that wasn’t all though. There was another feeling, another sense, that you couldn’t figure out what it was. It felt familiar, you noted, and safe. Friendly.

It felt like Sans.

The magic faded, but it still felt like some of it was left on your hand, neither you or Sans pulled your hands away right way, just layed there, holding hands, for a minute. Eventually, Sans let out an embarrassed laugh and pried his phalanges away from you. “well? what do you think?”

“It felt like you.”

“huh?”

“You know, it was just so… unexplainably you. I liked it.”

He laughed again, scratching at his cheek, grinning to himself. “thanks, uh, i guess? um, so, my left over magic would have heightened your soul’s power, in a way, and that’s why we saw it. so, when it started glowing naturally, the magic around us acted like a… steroid, of sorts, making it visible to us.”

You looked down at your chest, a sense of wonder filing you. “What does green mean?”

The skeleton grinned at you like you were the greatest thing on the planet, making your blush spread up to your ears. “kindness. it’s actually a rare soul colour now a days.”

You placed a hand over your chest; you had a rare soul.

You,

of all people.

… but you were so average…

“hey.” Sans lifted your head so you’d look at him, a look of concern on his face. “you okay?”
 
You smiled, pulling his hand from your chin, holding it in your hands briefly before letting go. “I’m fine, just thinking.”

“about?”

“You’re really persistent, aren’t you?”

“i can be.” He winked at you before his features turned more serious. “i’m serious though; you look upset.”

You sighed, letting out a small chuckle, pulling the blanket higher up. “It’s just… why do I have a green soul? I’m nothing special.”

“oh stars, this again? i told you, you’re-“

“I’m not, Sans. I’m just a girl, who works at a library. A sad little girl whose daddy died in a car crash. Boo hoo, she can’t even drink like a normal adult!” You laughed again, rubbing at your eyes. “Look at her, she can draw a fucking circle! Whoop-dee-doo!” A sob caught in your throat; damnit, you came in here to comfort Sans! And now look at you!

Pathetic.

The skeleton said your name, and you could feel him scoot closer to you on the bed, but you refused to look up. “I mean, look at me! I came here to check to see if

you

were ok and now I’m venting again!”

“can you please look at me?” You faltered, gripping at the green sheet tightly, before glancing up at your friend. He was much closer than you had guessed, his body almost pressed directly to yours. You wish your brain had focused on that instead of his eyes. Well, eyelights. They were wide and gentle, casing a soft glow onto you. “you can’t really feel that way about yourself, right?”

“What do you mean? It’s who I am. It’s who people see when I’m with them.”

He hummed, pushing hair out of you face, his phalanges resting there for a moment. “that’s not who i see.” You blinked at him, hands itching to reach out to him. You resisted, of course. “i see a kind and beautiful lady. i see a talented artist, an enthusiastic bookworm who loves her job. i see someone who prefers sweet things over bitter ones, someone who’d do anything for those she cares about.” There was that blue blush again, and he was watching you with a look you couldn’t describe.

Well, no you could probably describe it, it just didn’t make sense.

He looked lovestruck.

… You must be seeing things.

“I’m not…” You trailed off when Sans held a finger to his teeth.

“not done yet, buddy.” His smile softened. “i also see someone who’s struggling on their own because they’re scared to talk about what’s wrong.” You bite your lip, stopping a sob. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop the tears themselves. Sans whipped at a tear with his thumb, tutting. “you’re not alone though. you got natalie, ray, regium. papyrus, me, everybody.”

You didn’t know why that set you over the edge, why that made you sob out loud, made you curl up to Sans, his arms wrapping around you. He rubbed your back comfortingly, shushing you softly.

You were rambling apologies at this point, trying to calm yourself down. You don’t know how long it took, but you did eventually stop, your eyes puffy and most likely red. You rested your head on Sans’ rib cage - you could feel his individual bones through his shirt - your hands gripping at the fabric; you could feel his chin resting on top of your head, his phalanges still rubbing slowly up and down your back. You hadn’t noticed while crying, but he was humming softly. “S-Sans?”

You felt his shift away from you slightly, enough that you could actually look at him. “I’m sorry. I…” The skeleton shushed you.

“how long have you been holding all this in?”

You bite your lip and pressed your head to his chest, focussing on the small bit of heat that radiated from its center. The monster said your name softly, running a hand through you hair. “I’ve never talked to anyone about this sort of thing seriously. I’ve made comments every now and then but.” You gave a weak shrug. “Never saw the point of bringing it up.”

Sans remained silent for a moment; he was surprising warm for a skeleton, you found. It was comforting. “i don’t like seeing you upset like this.” He stated. “... you’ve never told

anyone

about this?”

“I haven’t always had low self esteem. I just figured it was a part of being an adult at first. Of course, it didn’t take long to realize that most people are confident in their skills, and looks, and make friends easily and, well, you get the point, yeah?” You sighed, absentmindedly running a hand over his ribs.

“i…” You felt his fingers twitch against your back. “i don’t know how to help. heh, when paps was little all i ever really had to do was tell him he was great and he’d believe it.” His chin rested against your head again, and you felt his take a deep breath. “guess being an adult makes thing more difficult, huh?”

You nodded, yawning. You guessed it was all the crying that made you sleepy, but it could also very well just be the fact that it was insanely late. “I didn’t… you didn’t get to talk about what’s bothering you.”

“hm?”

“Your nightmare. You didn’t get a chance to talk about it; I’ve been rambling too much…” You’re sentence ended with a yawn. You knew you should probably move away from Sans, but he was so warm and you were so comfortable…

“we can talk about that tomorrow if you really want, okay? get some sleep buddy.”

“Should I… do you want me to move?” As much as you enjoyed being held by the skeleton like this, you had to ask; you didn’t want him to be uncomfortable.

“no. if you’re uncomfortable though you can.” You sleepily shook your head, Sans chuckled. “did you hear about the kidnapping at a school today?”

Your head perked up. “

What

?”

“oh, don’t worry; they woke up.” You groaned, head falling back to the monster’s chest, suppressing a grin at the stupid joke.

“jerk.”

“no, i’m sans.”

You snorted, smacking his rib cage gently; he froze at that, breath hitching for a few seconds before he returned to his relaxed form; what was that about? “Go to sleep, Skelly.”

It didn’t take long for your eyes to flutter shut, falling into a deep sleep. As for Sans, he was up far too late, his mind a tornado of thought. And of course, the whole ‘small, adorable human sleeping in his arms’ thing wasn’t really helping. Eventually, your calm breaths lulled him into a pleasantly dreamless sleep.

*****

Sunlight streamed in from the cracks in the curtains, birds were chirping outside as your eyes fluttered open. You sighed deeply, a bit disappointed you had woken up, and snuggled closer to the warm skeleton who still had his arms around you, his breathing deep and calm.

… wait.

The memories of what happened last night came rushing back to you. Your cheeks reverting to deep red. And caused a very big question to pop in your head.

Did Sans like you as more than a friend?

You wanted to say yes, but that’s mainly because that’s what you so desperately want. But, looking at the evidence you had, maybe that idea isn’t all that farfetched.

For one, he always seemed to show up when you were upset, or needed comforting; that could just be tallied up to him simply being a concerned friend, but it was

how

he comforted you, that made this key. He seemed to gravitate towards touch recently - holding your hand, patting a knee, and now hugging and cuddling - and he never seemed to falter when it came to talking about how ‘great’ you were, making it clear, at least to you, that the monster thought rather highly of you, seeming to just… well, adore you. Maybe you were being egotistical, but you doubted it right now. Secondly, there was the whole blushing thing. You’ve never seen him blush about anything, unless it had to do with you. Got caught watching you during the movie? Blush. Touching your hair? Blush. Asking you to stay with him after your nightmare?

Blush.

Again, you suppose it could be just because he’s a more anxious person than you thought, but you knew that you didn’t have any trouble with these things unless you liked the person. You’ve slept next to Ray multiple times with no problems, you’ve even slept with friends of the opposite gender in highschool without problem

because

you didn’t think of them as anything but friends. Lastly, this. You were literally curled up to the skeleton, and his arms were wrapped around you in a way that felt rather protect, his chin resting comfortably on top of your head. You felt you knew Sans’ pretty well at this point, and he was not someone who trusted people easily; he was very secretive monster. So, for him to not only ask you to stay, for what you assumed was comfort, after he had a bad dream, but to also be content with you sleeping next to him, wrapped up in his arms, must mean

something

, right?

… Maybe you were overthinking this. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done that.

Sans stirred in his sleep, one of his hands moving so the rested on top of your hip, the other still under you and by the middle of your back. And it was at that moment Papyrus burst through the door, roughly banging it against the wall. “SANS, WAKE UP!! THE HUMAN IS NOT ON THE COUCH AND WE CAN’T FIND HER YOU MUST- OH.” You struggled to turn in Sans’ arms, but you eventually succeed, gaining multiple groans in protest from the previously mentioned skeleton, and waved to Papyrus. His voice was extremely shocking so early in the morning, and you could feel a small headache forming; maybe coffee would help? “I DID NOT REALIZE YOU SLEPT WITH THE BROTHER LAST NIGHT!”

You felt Sans shift behind you, a groggy “what the fuck.” leaving his month. Ah, so now he awakens. You crained your head up, finding him staring down at you with a confused and tired expression;you hadn’t noticed them before, but their were dark circles under his eyes, not black, but maybe a light, grayish purple? Eyebags. Did he not get enough sleep?

“Morning, sleepy head.” You smiled up at him, and it seemed to take a minute for his brain (didn’t he say something about monsters not having organs? Does that mean he literally doesn’t have a brain?) to catch up to what was happen, guessing by the way his face became a bright blue, his body stiffening.

“NOW THAT WE HAVE SOLVED THE CASE OF THE MISSING HUMAN:” Papyrus clapped loudly, gaining your attention again, along with his brother’s. “BOTH OF YOU LAZY BONES NEED TO GET UP!! IT IS NEARLY 9:30, AND BREAKFAST WILL BE READY SOON!” You smiled and gave the taller skelton a thumbs up; with that Papyrus left the room, shutting the door behind him, restoring the peace of the room once again.

Of course, this meant you and Sans had to deal with the elephant in the room.

You felt the skeleton move away from you, rolling onto his back. You sat up fully, pulling your knees up to your chin, watching your friend. He had an arm up over his face, hiding his eye sockets from your view; you could still see the tell tale glow of his blush however. “‘m sorry.”

You tilted your head to the side, poking the side of his hand. “Why?”

“i dunno. feels like i did something wrong.”

You hummed, spreading out on your stomach, a hand resting under your chin. “Nope.” You hadn’t paid much attention to it last night, but Sans’ was wearing a long sleeved shirt with a cartoon ribcage on the front - ironic, considering he was a literal skeleton - and gray sweatpants. You won’t lie and say you weren’t a bit disappointed that you couldn’t see what his arms actually looked like. “But if I remember correctly, you promised that you’d talk about your dream in the morning.”

The monster finally moved his arm away, turning his skull to look at you. “i didn’t promise, just said i would.”

“Exactly. Spill it.”

He sighed and sat up, looking towards the door. His smile was smaller than normal, and his eyelights looked dim. “everyone's waiting for us.”

“They can wait a few minutes.” You sat up yourself, leaning towards the skeleton, a hand gently on his shoulder. “Look, I know you said you’re fine but… I mean, you didn’t look it last night. And it’s not good to bottle stuff up so I…” His eye lights flickered to you, browbones drawn. “I just want to know if you’re okay

Really

okay.”

He held eye contact with you, gripping at his blanket. He eventually signed, skull dropping down to look at his lap. “being trapped underground all my life played a toll on me, that’s all.” He pulled your hand off his shoulder, holding it. “you shouldn’t worry so much about me.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I worry, I care about you.” Her reaches for your hand, lacing your fingers together, smile softening.

“you know, sometime we should go stargazing together.” He chuckled. “i,uh, i know a really good spot for that a little ways out of the city.”

“Like…” Your face heated up, but you couldn’t help the giddy grin forming on your lips. “Kinda like a date?”

He chuckled again, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles, giving you that affectionate smile. “yeah, like a date.” Your grin widened against your will, and you looked down to your conjoined hands, giggling. You bit your lip to stop yourself: you probably looked stupid, laughing and smiling like that. You heard Sans’ tut, then gently lift your head, winking with his left eye. “come on, bud. let’s go join the others.”

You nodded, following the skeleton out of the room. In the kitchen, Undyne was leaning so much on the table she was practically on top of it, Alphys sitting on the chair beside the fish woman, a cup of what appeared to be tea in her claws. Papyrus stood in front of the oven, scooping pancake batter into a hot pan, a plate of finished ones beside him on the counter, the smell drifting over to you, making your stomach rumble. Turns out the younger skeleton

could

make things other than spaghetti. As you and Sans entered the room, Undyne’s head turned to you, a shark like grin appearing on her face, showcasing all of her large, sharp teeth. “Look at that! The two love birds decided to join us!”

Aphys giggled into her mug, while Sans rolled his eyelights, weaving past the larger fish monster to the fridge. “THERE IS COFFEE ON THE TABLE IF YOU WANT ANY HUMAN!” You thanked papyrus, accepting the coffee cup Sans passed to you, raising an eyebrow when you noticed the bottle of ketchup in his hands.

You nearly split the hot beverage you were pouring when he looked you dead in the eyes and took a swig from the bottle.

*****

To say you were surprised when Sans’ told you he wanted to join Sunday’s art lesson would be an understatement. Of course, surprise had been one of the emotions you felt, but glee was far more prominent. Plus, you now that a stargazing date to look forward to! You two haven’t exactly set a time for it yet, but still!

You ended up staying until 4:30 yesterday, you meant to leave earlier but you had lost track of time while drawing with your new friends. Now you sat at the front desk at the library, idly tapping your pencil on the cover of your sketchbook. Today was a stereotypical Monday: slow.

Someone knocked on the wooden desk twice, and you had looked up to find Sans grinning down at you. He reached over the desk, pushing a yellow sticky note onto your forehead. “did you know you have ‘fine’ written all over you?”

You swatted his hand away, peeling the note off asd he began snickering. The word ‘fine’ was written on it messily in blue pen. You snorted, raising an eyebrow at the laughing skeleton. “Did you just use a pick-up line on me?”

The monster rested his elbows on the desk, a smug grin taking the place of his casual one. “maaaaybe”

You snorted again, rolling your eyes playfully. “You’re a dork.” Your eyes suddenly widden and you gasped, dropping your head onto the top of the desk with a loud

thump

. “Crap, I forgot to tell you!”

Sans went stiff at this, panic taking over his features. “tell me what?”

“Someone called in sick today and they needed someone to take the closing shift. I offered to do it. Meaning we can’t get coffee today.” You smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

Your friend sighed in relief, dragging a hand over the top of his skull. “stars, you scared me, i thought something was seriously wrong. we’ll just go out tomorrow instead.” You hummed, nodding. You still felt a bit bad for not telling him sooner, but at least he didn’t seem mad. “do you want me to come back later to walk ya home?”

“Oh, no, I’ll be fine! Thank you though!”

You noticed Sans’ shoulders tense. “you sure? i really don’t mind.”

You waved him off, winking. “I’m positive. I’ve walked alone before. Don’t worry!”

“alright… could you message me when you get home though? please?”

“Of course!”

Looking back on it now, you really wish you would have taken Sans up on his offer to walk you home.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sans jolted awake as someone knocked loudly on the front door, nearly falling straight off the couch.
 
Why wasn’t he in his own bed?
 
… Right, he was up late last night, phone in hand, waiting for your text that you had gotten home okay. He knew you said you’d be fine, but he couldn’t help feeling worried. He didn’t want to lose you. He never did get a message, however, but he figured it was because you forgot, or maybe you had fallen asleep before you could say anything. He was sure you’d apologize to him this morning, or explain what happened. You two would go get coffee like usual and everything would be

fine.

A quick glance at his phone told him that it was 9:30 in the morning, and that he had yet to receive a message from you; there was one from his brother, though, saying that he had left for work earlier and that he wanted Sans to have a healthy breakfast when he awoke. The knock sounded again, harsher than the first. The skeleton groaned and stood up, stretching any aches out of his back; he slept so much on this couch Underground he was honestly surprised he still got back pain (or should he call it ‘spine pain’, considering his lack of an actual back?).
 
Behind the wooden door stood your friends, Ray in front of the other two, hands on her hips, an agitated look on her face. Both Natalie and Regium were looking around anxiously behind her. “Where is she?”
 
“who?”
 
Ray stated your name like it was obvious who she was talking about; it was, Sans supposed, his mind just didn’t want it to be true. Stars, how he hoped this wasn’t what he thought it was.
 
“she didn’t get home last night?” Panic was beginning to set in his system.
 
“If she did, do you think we’d be here?” Something cracked in Sans. Maybe it was Ray’s tone, but it was for more likely the fact that you were

missing

, that sometime last night, while his was sitting around on his CoccyX doing nothing, something happened to you.
 
He could have stopped this.
 
If he had only pushed a little harder about walking with you when you finished your shift,

none of this would have happened.

You were gone, and it was his fault.

You were

gone

.
 
He hadn’t even realized he had teleported to the library until he was pushing through the heavy doors, scanning the large room for your smiling face. He weaved in and out of the book shelfs, waiting for you to pop out, for the sweet sound of your laugh to reach his ‘ears’. For you to say this was just some cruel joke.
 
You never did though.
 
The sun outside felt too bright once he left the building; it felt like it should be raining. Pouring. But it wasn’t. Today was just a normal day for everyone else. They hadn’t lost someone that was so incredible important to them.
 
He’d check the route you take home. Maybe you got lost? He knew it was stupid to hope at this point, but he needed this to be fake. He needed you to be okay.
 
Something in the first back alley he passed, the one directly next to the large library, caught his attention. Your jacket: discarded near the dumpster, dirt covering the sleeves. You always wore that thing. He didn’t know

why

, it certainly didn’t look all that warm. He knelt down to it, picking it up gingerly. You wouldn’t have just left this here. Someone put it here. Or maybe they forgot about it. He clutched at the fabric, holding it up to his face; it was cold, and did little to ease the grief biting at his soul, but it was all he had of you at this point.
 
Stars, he wanted you. He wanted you here with him, holding him in your warm arms, telling him everything would be okay. He’d be okay, that all this will get better.
 
But it won’t, will it?
 
Natalie was beside him, calling his name. When did she get here? Whatever, it didn’t matter. He let himself fall back into the void, taking him back to his room. Surely your friends would tell Papyrus what happened to you. He’d probably take it better than his brother is, Papyrus was full of hope and optimism, he’d think you’d come back. You’d come back and everything would be just like it was before.
 
Sans knew better: people have been going missing for the past seven months, and the police have only found one out of the six victims. As in they found the poor human’s body hidden amongst the trees on the side of the highway to Mt. Ebott.
 
He looked down to the jacket still in his hands, something red on the collar catching his eye.

Blood.

Your

blood.
 
A sob ripped through his throat, his body curling in on itself. When was the last time he cried like this? After the first few genocide resets, he had - for the most part - been able to block out these emotions. Guess it was just another thing you had given to him.
 
...You gave him so much, and what had he done?
 
Nothing.

He’d done nothing to protect you.

He felt the sharp pain of his soul splitting open again, a new crack amongst the many others.
 
*****
 
Black.
 
Everything was black. Cold too. Yes, you were cold. Why were you cold? Didn’t you have a jacket?
 
Where are you? Your head pounded, and your hands were bound behind you, against what felt like a pole. You were sitting on something cold - everything here was cold it seemed - and hard, a concrete floor?

Think, what happened…

It’s Monday, or was, and you worked late. Sans wanted to walk you home, you said no. What time had it been when you left? Ten, you were positive. You left at ten and began walking home. There had been strange noises behind you, like someone running, or following you. You looked and saw that no one was there. You had debated calling someone, hadn’t you? Yes, yes but you didn’t. Why not? You should have. Someone had hit you. Maybe hit wasn’t the right word. Someone swung at your head. A bat. Yeah, that was it, wasn’t it? They had swung at the back of your head with a bat, you had fallen, blacked out.
 
That’s what happened, or, more accurately, all you could remember.
 
Your thoughts felt fuzzy and removed, like they weren’t yours.
 
How hard had they hit you?
 
“Look who’s finally awake.” The voice was gruff, and there was the sound of a metal chair being scrapped against the floor. The fabric that covered half of your face was yanked away, and you had to squint at the sudden brightness. You were in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, some of the high windows shattered, golden sunlight streaming in. Square, metal support beams lined the edges of the large, cluttered room, a few meters from the wall; at least that explained what you were tied to. Old scaffolding stood in the far area of the building, discarded paint cans left on and around them. Boxes surrounded you, littered throughout the room, many falling apart or with holes in them. There was also a far amount of garbage and discarded metal on the floor; you even thought you saw a few needles discarded near some of the beams.
 
In front you was a tall, muscular man, leaning down to eye level with you; he had shaggy blond hair and cold grey eyes, a baggy black t-shirt covered his chest and he wore faded jeans with it. You vaguely recognized the man from the first time you went out for coffee with Sans. He wasn’t the only one there thought: behind him was a plastic fold out table with two metal, also foldable, chairs on either side. One chair was discarded - it must have been buffy’s - and a scrawny ginger sat in the other. The boy didn’t look any older than 19, his short hair sticking out in multiple directions, freckles dotting his baby face, along with black rimmed glasses. He wore a dark green hoodie that painfully reminded you of Sans, and large sweatpants. On different circumstances you may have even seen the kid as endearing or cute.
 
But right now, both him and his ‘partner’ seemed like the most intimidating things on the planet.

“What’s wrong, bitch? Where’d that sharp tongue of yer’s go?” The blonde practically spat in your face: turns out he didn’t forget about your little incident.

“Brody, please. We’re not supposed to hurt her too badly.” The ginger spoke up, his british accent surprising you.

“Shut it. It’s not like I’ll kill her or somethin’”  The man - Brody - grinned down at you, a hand coming up to cup your chin. “Still hanging around that freak, sugar?”

The ginger shifter nervously, glancing at his phone. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Your eyes found Brody’s again, but you remained silent. He snarled, pulling his hand away. Only to bring the other down, hard, against the side of your face.

The impact caused your body to slmp forward, a pained sob escaping you. The metalic taste of your own blood filled your mouth, coughing, it splatter against the cold floor. Another hit came down quickly, this time against your gut.  Tears formed in your eyes, but you blinked them away the best you could.

These assholes wouldn’t get to see you cry.

“Dante, get yer ass of that chair and go get my shit.”

“What?”

“In the trunk, moron, There’s a cardboard box. Bring it.” The blonde rested back on his heels, glaring at his smaller partner.

“What’s in it?”

“You’ll see.”

“Brody, should we really be doing this? They said-”

“They wanted her broken. It’ll make everythin’ easier for what’s-their-face.” The ginger was standing there, watching you with a blank look. “Didn’t ya listen to a word they said?”

“I was distracted.”

Brody snorted, grabbing a fist full of your hair, yanking your head up so you had to actually look at the two men. “Right: busy tryna’ feel this broad up.” your body flitched, wanted to cover up your exposed arms, to curl in on yourself. The kid didn’t do anything right?

You prayed to god that he didn’t.

“I’ll get your stuff.”

*****

Three days.

You’ve been gone for

three days

.

Sans pulled your jacket closer to his skull, his soul throbbing painfully in his chest. He hadn’t left his room since the first day you went missing, and he knew Papyrus was getting more and more concerned; he’d come in everyday at meal times to try to get Sans to eat. He would, at least a little, to please the younger skeleton, but he barely spoke, choosing to just listen.

Papyrus was constantly trying to reassure his brother that’d you’d come back, and that all he had to do was believe you’d be okay.

Sans didn’t see the point.

His door opened, light shining into the dim room; the curtains were always drawn nowadays, and Sans never bothered turning on his lights, much preferring the dark and silence. The bed shifted under the skeleton, signalling that his taller sibling had sat down. Papyrus was being more quiet than usual, but going from the smell of hot soup that was now in the room, he definitely had more food.

“SANS?” As expected, the monster in question didn’t answer, just turned his skull so that he could glance at his sibling. There were light rings under his eye sockets, making Sans feel a twinge of guilt; Sans had his own eye bags, of course, darker than Papyrus’, but that didn’t mean he wanted his brother feeling like this. It’s the last thing he’d ever want. “I KNOW YOU ARE WORRIED, BUT YOU MUST SLEEP AND EAT MORE. I AM VERY UNEASY WITH HOW YOU ARE TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING YOUR… ER, HP CONDITION.”

“i’ll be fine, paps.”

“BUT WHAT IF YOU FALL DOWN?” The younger skeletons voice cracked, and Sans felt him turn more onto the bed.

“that’s not gonna happen.”

“BUT IT CAN IF YOU DON’T TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! OR-OR IF YOU LOSE HOPE AND…” Sans knew this; all monsters knew this. But he’d spent so long

without

the hope and optimism others seemed to have that Sans honestly wasn’t worried anymore. It was bound to happen someday, right? So why worry about it happening a bit earlier than expected?

...He really shouldn't be thinking like that. Even without you, he had to stay for his brother. Who knows what Papyrus would do if his brother fell down unexpectedly? Nothing good, Sans was sure. He may not be a good person in his own eyes, but his younger brother loved him dearly, and it would crack his soul if he lost his one and only family member.

The older of the two skeletons sighed, sitting up so he could look at his brother straight on. He was about to reassure him that Sans wouldn’t die because of this when Papyrus cut in. “THE HUMAN WOULD WANT US TO TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES WHILE SHE IS GONE, AND TO TRUST THAT SHE WILL BE OKAY!”

Now, don’t get Sans wrong, he loved his brother. He’d die for him, keep him safe and happy no matter what. But there was something about how he talked about you right now that he couldn’t take. He figured it was his pure positivity, his belief that you were fine, and would be back soon. Maybe it was the fact that Papyrus was

right

, at least about the part of you wanted them to take good care of themselves. Whatever it was, it made the monster snap. “she’s

gone,

papyrus! it doesn’t matter what she’d want, she’s not coming back! why should i worry about her seeing me like this, when she never will?!”

Sans’ brother looked shocked at his outburst, but it faded quickly. “YOU CAN’T THINK LIKE THAT SANS!” He paused, taking in the sight of your jacket still held in smaller skeletons hands. “I KNOW YOU LIKED HER VERY MUCH, BROTHER. AND THAT THIS… THIS IS VERY HARD FOR YOU. BUT SHE IS NOT GONE FOREVER! THE POLICE ARE STILL SEARCHING HIGH AND LOW THROUGHOUT THE CITY!”

“doesn’t matter if i liked her or not, bro. haven’t you seen the news? she ain’t the first human to go missing. and have they found any of the others?” He waited a minute, raising a brow bone. When Papyrus remained quiet, looking down at the bowl of soup still in his hands, Sans continued. “no. they haven’t.”

“THAT… THAT DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING! SHE COULD BE THE FIRST ONE THEY FIND! YOU MUST BE OPTIMISTIC THAT-”

“that doesn’t help anything!! just because i ‘believe’ or ‘hope’ that everything will be good again doesn’t mean it will! doesn’t mean that my soul will suddenly be crack free, doesn’t mean that i’ll suddenly be

okay

!” He didn’t mean to yell, he really didn’t. The hurt look his little brother gave him afterward only made him regret it more. Papyrus set the bowl down, reminded Sans to actually eat it this time, and then took his leave, hesitating for a moment at the door.

Sans glanced over at the soup, debating pulling it closer to him to eat, but ultimately decided against it, turning back onto his side. He knew Papyrus was just trying to help him, stars, he knew. But he just felt so hopeless, so lost. His brother had been right about him liking you; hell, he adored you. You made him feel like he did long before the resets. You made him feel so hopeful, and

happy

for the future. And now…

It felt like he was back Underground.

And he

hated it

.

But that wasn’t any reason to get mad at Papyrus; he hadn’t done anything wrong. He should have gone out to apologize, explain that he was just so

scared

right now. He didn’t get up though, if anything, he burrowed farther into his sheets, tears welling up in his eye sockets. The liquid magic fell onto his pillow as he bawled quietly.

Then he felt it.

At first he just assumed it was just his soul responding to the new crack, but then it happened again, and it didn’t feel like a crack, and it definitely wasn’t painful. If was as if someone was reaching out to him, tenderly pulling him. Beconing. He wiped as his eye sockets, attempting to control his erratic breathing; he summoned his white soul into his palm, wincing at the spiderweb of cracks that covered the surface; the newest one was the largest. The skeleton felt the pull again, a green hue forming dimly around it, pulsing brighter when the pull was stronger.

Sans recognized the green instantly.

It was

you

.

It was really you!

You were calling to him, who knows if it was intentional or if your soul was doing it out of desperation. But this meant you were still alive! That you could still come home.

It also mean that you needed him.

The skeleton sprung up from his bed, grabbing his blue sweater he had discarded long ago in the corner of his room. He let his soul sink back into the safety of his ribcage again. He pushed his door open, he could hear his brother in the kitchen, and stepped out. As Sans was slipping on his runners - probably better if he wore those instead of pink slippers - Papyrus caught sight of him.
 
“BROTHER! YOU ARE UP AND OUT OF BED!” His eye sockets had a shine to them, a relieved smile on his face. “... WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”

Sans shot his brother one of his best fake smiles he could pull off - at this point, he wondered if his brother saw through those. “just out for walk. fresh air might do me some good.” A part of Sans hated that he could lie so easily, but right now it was grateful for the skill.

“AH, YES! THAT IS A VERY GOOD IDEA!”

Patting his femurs, a thought crossed his mind; Papyrus has been talking to your friends about any updates on your missing case, right? Then he’d know where they have and haven’t checked for you…

Not that it mattered that much: Sans planned on looking for you

everywhere

. Even the places that have apparently already been searched. You were out there somewhere, and Sans planned to do everything in his power to find you.

“hey, by any chance do you know where the police have searched already?” papyrus stared at his brother dead in the eye sockets, squinting.

“SANS, YOU’RE NOT PLANNING ON DOING WHAT I THINK YOU ARE, CORRECT?” The younger of the two crossed his arms, his smile gone now.

“depends on what you think i’m gonna do.” Sans challenged, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He felt antsy; you may be alive now, but the people who had taken you could change that with ease.

“SANS, YOU CANNOT GO OUT LOOKING FOR HER. WHILE I MOST DEFINITELY SUPPORT YOU FINALLY GETTING OUT OF YOUR STUFFY ROOM, THIS IS NOT THE SAFEST WAY FOR YOU TO DO SO!”

“it not being safe is the entire reason for going out though!” He felt his magic flare protectively for a moment, but Sans quickly stomped it out. “think about it bro; at least i have my magic so if shit gets bad i can get both of us out of there like that.” he snapped his fingers for emphasise.

“BUT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SLEEPING OR EATING PROPERLY!” Papyrus shot back.

Sans looked to the ground. Papyrus was scared, he could understand that. But you needed him, and he needed to find you. “i’m sorry, but i can’t just…” He looked up to meet Papyrus’ eye sockets. “i’ll be back, okay? both me and her. promise.” And with that, Sans teleported out of the house, onto the driveway.

He was quick to get into Paps’ car, taking the spare keys his brother had given him so long ago out and starting it up. He had to adjust the seat before he could drive off, but when he did he had one destination in mind.

He’d start on the outskirts of the city and make his way inwards.

He’d find you.

*****

Your leg was throbbing painfully, everything was at this point, that was just the most prominent place in your tired mind right now. You had no idea how long you’d been gone; could have been months, could have been a day for all you knew. Brody had been harsh with you; your right leg was shattered, there were bruises, cuts and burns along your arms and stomach, there were most likely some on your face too, but you had no way of being sure. After his partner had his fun, Dante would sometimes feed you bits of whatever they had or give you something to drink.

Your mind was still fuzzy: there were points in time where  you’ve been here that have simply gone missing, you were sure your brain had either repressed those thoughts or that you had simply passed out during those times. That being said, what you have been awake for hasn’t at all been good. Earlier, while both men were knocked out, you had sobbed, begging for any kind of mercy.

Begging for Sans to find you.

You missed him, you missed them all.

And god, you were scared. What did these men plan on doing with you? The kept talking about someone higher up then them, a boss of somesorts. They way they spoke made this ‘boss’ person seem no better than Brody.

Right now, Brody sat on one of the two metal chairs, scrolling through something on his phone. Dante had left earlier, apparently he had to pick up the boss from somewhere and bring them here. Luckily for you, the blonde still here didn’t seem interested in beating you right now. Of course, the taser and knife that laid haphazardly on the table still taunted you.

The metal doors at the front of the warehouse screeched open, and Brody stood from his chair abruptly. You didn’t bother looking up, choosing to keep your head down, eyes half lidded. “What the hell Dante? You’re suppos-” his words cut off, and you curiously looked up to see what was wrong. He was staring towards the doors with annoyed shock. “What the fuck are you doing here?!”

That caused you to lean forward to the best ability to turn and look over, eyes similarly widening in surprise.

Sans.

Your breath caught in your throat; you wanted to scream out to him, run to him and let him take you far from here.

He came for you.

“sorry, just here to pick up a friend. we’ll be out of here in no time.” He was speaking to the blonde man, but his eye lights kept flickering to you, to your wounds. He was smiling, like always, but it was easy for you to see his anger for this man, and the concern for you. You could also feel a wave of energy coming from him.

Brody reached for the knife, but froze as Sans flicked his hand upward, a circle of blue, semi translucent bones surrounded him. You could feel the air thicken with the monster’s magic, the hair on the back of your neck standing on end. “look, bud, i really don’t want your filthy blood on my hands, so as long as you don’t move, you won’t have a bad time. capiche?”

Sans was quick as he made his way to you, basically running. Brody glared at him, but didn’t dare move. Your friend knelt in front you, examining your condition now that he was closer. “stars, what did they do to you…?” He brushed his hand against your right leg, the broken one, and you whimpered, attempting to pull it away; Sans immediately withdrew his hand, looking back at you with sympathy. He looked over his shoulder, towards Brody, who was staring longingly at both his phone and weapon. With a quick nod upwards with his skull, a pristine white bone, sharpened to a terrifyingly sharp point, shot up from the ground, piercing through the flesh of the blonde male’s left leg with ease, blood spattering onto the floor, staining the cloth around the new wound. The man let out a high pitched scream, only to suck in a pained breath between his teeth as he moved against the blue bones, a burn forming on the arm that grazed them.

You flinched at the sound, not because you necessarily felt bad for him, but because of the blood. After all this you doubted you’d be good around open cuts or burns.

Sans turned back to you, reaching behind you; you don’t know how, but he undid the twist ties with ease - you guessed it was his magic that let him do so - and you slumped forward onto him, a cry of pain leaving your throat. Fortunately, the skeleton caught you, letting you rest comfortably on his chest. “i’m gonna take you to paps and my place, alright? papyrus knows healing magic, so he’ll be able to patch you up.” He brushed hair out of your face, and you winced; your body ached whenever you moved. You clutched to him nonetheless, nodding. What was happening was finally registering in your mind: you were going to be safe, you were going

home

. Sans was here now, he found you. Tears formed in your eyes, and you let them fall this time, pressing your face into Sans’ sweater, weeping rather loudly.

The skeleton shushed you softly, rubbing your head, cradling your beaten form. “can you close your eyes for me, pal? might feel a little sick after this if you don’t.” You nodded, body shaking slightly.

If felt like you were falling for a second, just a second, then Sans was telling you that you could open your eyes. You did, and you were on the skelebros couch, a louder sob escaping you.

Technically, it wasn’t were you lived, but it felt like home. And that’s all you needed right now.

Papyrus appeared from the kitchen, looking like he was about to scold his brother, but his eye sockets landed on you, curled up on Sans lap, bruised, bloody and crying, and they softened immediately, his hands coming up to his month in shock.

Soon, you were being hugged by both monsters, all three of you crying.

You were finally safe again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Papyrus was the first to stop his tears after taking note of your condition. He had Sans lay you on the couch and bring a wet washcloth to clean up the blood. Sans returned with the wash cloth and he also brought water for you; insisting you needed to drink something before you got dehydrated. Papyrus kneeled by your legs, pulling his gloves off and hovering his hands a few inches away from your broken leg. A lime green glow surrounded his hands and a warm, cottony feeling engulfed your leg. “WHERE DID YOU FIND HER, BROTHER?” Sans gently lifted your head as he sat on the couch. Lowering your head onto his lap, he helped you sit up a bit to drink your water.
 
“warehouse, little ways out of town.” The washcloth was warm against your cheek and collar bone as Sans dapped it gently against you. Papyrus eventually moved to take care of the other, smaller wounds covering your body. Silence fell over the room, but a question hovered unspoken in the air: what did they do to you?
 
Once Papyrus finished healing you, the physical pain was gone but your body still felt stiff. “WE MUST CALL YOUR FRIENDS, HUMAN! THEY WILL BE EVER SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU ARE BACK!” You winced at the younger monster’s loud tone, watching as he skipped to the kitchen, to where (you guessed) his phone was. You were a bit surprised he had Ray and the other’s numbers, but you supposed it was understandable considering what happened.
 
Sans took your now empty cup from you and set on the coffee table before he helped you sit up fully. “healing magic can get rid of the actual cuts and pain, but you will be sore for a few days and the scars…” his voice trailed off as he ran a finger along one of the newly healed burns on your arm closest to him.
 
“A few scars never hurt nobody.” Your voice sounded frail, even to your own ears, and you shrunk in on yourself in embarrassment.
 
The skeleton beside you was quiet, his attention on his brother as he paced around excitedly in the kitchen while on the phone. Sans silently intertwined his fingers with your own before suddenly saying your name and turning his skull to you with a sorrowful look on his face. “i’m so sorry. i… if i had been there on that night none of this would have happened. and then i didn’t…”
 
You squeezed his hand, making him stop mid-sentence. “This wasn’t your fault Sans, Honestly, all that matters is I’m here now, and I’m okay.” You smiled, but his own smile was completely gone - he looked so broken; so lost. How long had you been gone? And what had your disappearance done to this sweet skeleton?
 
“how… how can you be so positive about all this?” His grip on your hand tightened and you noticed cyan-coloured tears ( the same colour as his blush and magic) forming in the corner of his eye sockets. “you could have died! and … and-” The tears overflowed from his eyes, his skull falling forward as a sob escaped him.
 
You wrapped your arms around his shaking form, pulling him to you; he came easily, burrowing his skull into the crook of your neck. His bones rattled as he cried and he gripped the back of your dirty shirt; you rubbed the top of his skull in, what you hoped, was a comforting way. Papyrus was coming back from the kitchen with a large smile still on his face until he saw his weeping brother; you gave Papyrus a small smile, and he knowingly nodded before going back to the kitchen.
 
Sans continued, not realizing his brother had quietly retreated. “i-i thought you were dead, and i… my…” You shushed the poor skeleton as a new wave of tears hit him.
 
“Sans, look at me.” He sniffed, and slowly raised his skull to look at you; there were dark eye bags under his sockets and wet tear tracks stained his cheeks. You raised your hands to hold his head, rubbing your thumbs over his cheekbones. “I’m not though, right? I’m right here, with you. And you know what?” You knew it was a risky move, but you wanted to calm down the skeleton. So, you leaned forward and placed a soft kiss between his eye sockets. His body froze up at the contact and you could only hope you hadn’t made him uneasy. “I don’t plan on leaving again.”
 
It was at that time Ray, Natalie and Regium burst in through the door; Sans quickly moved a bit away from you and wiped any traces of his emotional outburst away.
 
You were once again surrounded by your friends but, this time, you weren’t the one crying. If anything, you were almost laughing while repeating again and again that you were

okay.

Once Ray was composed again, she lectured Sans about leaving your guests alone on your front door. Apparently, when they came here on the first day of your absence, Sans had used his little teleporting ability to go straight to the library and left your three human friends confused on his front step.
 
Sans just shrugged, his grin didn't look 100% fake but it definitely wasn’t his happy, relaxed grin you loved to see. “i was a bit panicked at the time; wasn’t really thinking straight.”
 
“Yeah, no shit.”
 
“Oh, honestly Ray!” Regium scolded, smacking their older sister on the arm. “He was the one who found her! Don’t be so rude!”
 
You giggled as Ray flipped off her sibling, only to get glared at by her girlfriend. Papyrus came bounding into the room, clapping happily. “I HAVE CALLED THE OTHERS! THEY SHALL BE COMING FOR DINNER TO CELEBRATE THE HUMAN’S RETURN.” His attention on your friends, he added. “IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF YOU ALL STAYED AS WELL!!”

Natalie nodded while Ray and Regium shared death glares with each other. “We’d love that, thank you Papyrus.” She leaned back on the ground, turning to Sans. “If you don’t mind me asking, how

did

you find our friend here? I don’t want to be rude but you seemed so…”

“unresponsive? isolated?” Sans supplied, sighing. “i dunno, just felt like i had to do

something

. i was just lucky the idiots who took you chose the most suspicious looking place to hide you.” He explained, looking over to you.

“THAT REMINDS ME! I ALSO CALLED THE POLICE TO LET THEM KNOW THE HUMAN HAS BEEN FOUND. THEY SAID THAT THEY’D WANT TO TALK TO BOTH YOU AND SANS TOMORROW.” Papyrus chipped in, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

You couldn’t help but groan; talking about what happened was something you really didn’t want to  do, especially so soon after getting back. “hey.” Sans nudged your shoulder. “don’t worry about it; they won’t make you go alone if you want someone there with you.” You nodded repeatedly, taking a deep breath.

It’d be fine. You were fine. “i have an idea. what’s your favourite meal of all time?”

You fiddled with the hem of your ripped shirt nervously. “Uh, I don’t know… I really like pepperoni pizza, I guess.”

Sans winked at you. “well, there we go. that’s what we’ll have for supper tonight.”

He was trying to cheer you up and keep your mind off of what happened.

Papyrus gasped excitedly and stood up. “WONDERFUL IDEA! I SHALL START IT IMMEDIATELY SO THAT IT IS READY BUT THE TIME THE OTHERS ARRIVE! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Regium sat up taller. “Can I help?”

“WHY, OF COURSE! COOKING IS ALWAYS MORE FUN WITH A FRIEND!” The short human - seriously, Regium was barely 4’11 - followed the skeleton happily into kitchen. Truth be told, Regium had greatly enjoyed meeting Papyrus when the two monsters came over to watch Wall-E; gushing on multiple occasions about how

cute

and

innocent

he was.

Sans called your name gently, getting your attention again. “come on, let’s get you out of those clothes.” Ray shot him a glare that seemed to say she’d slap him right across his face for even suggesting such a thing with

her best friend

. So he specified, “you can borrow some of mine until we get you some clean ones.”

Looking down at yourself, you agreed with him; your shirt was stained and ripped, and your jeans were no better. A shame really, you had really liked this outfit. The skeleton led you to his bedroom, Ray calling “You better keep those hands to yourself, Bone Boy!” after you two. Sans had snorted at the comment, rolling his eye lights, while you chuckled good naturally.

Once in the room you shut the door, watching as Sans looked through his dresser for something for you to wear. His bedroom was far messier now than it had been when you first saw it; the curtains were shut tight, there were discarded clothes all over the floor, and there was even a full bowl of soup sitting forgotten on the table next to his unmade bed. His green bed sheets were bundled up in a ball, and beside it…

Your jacket?

“oh, uh, that…” You picked the article of clothing up, looking back over to Sans with a puzzled look. He held a folded, gray shirt along with (what looked like) sweatpants and a cyan blush formed on his cheeks. “i found that in the back alley near the library after you went missing and… well, uh, this might sound creepy but… i just kinda kept it with me.” He averted his eyes, his blush growing darker. “made me feel like i wasn’t so alone, heh.”

You held the coat closer to you; it smelled like Sans -like pine trees, fresh snow, and kind of minty. You felt tears in your eyes again; your absence had affected Sans so drastically. Maybe if you’d been more careful this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe-
 
“hey, woah, hey, you’re crying! are you ok? did i do something wrong?”  He set the clothes down rather carelessly onto his bed, his hands coming up to gently wipe at your tears.

“No, n-no. I’m fine… I’m…” You looked into Sans’ eyelights; they were full of care and worry, and you couldn’t help feeling bad. You caused him to feel alone and sad. You caused him to lose his appetite and sleep. “I’m sorry… I made you-” you hiccuped, more tears spilling down your cheeks.

The skeleton tutted, pulling you into a hug. “You didn’t make me do anything, buddy.”

“You isolated yourself because I-”

“oh, come on, don’t say that. weren't you saying that what happened wasn’t anyone’s fault? all that mattered was that you’re here now?” He ran a hand through your hair, helping you focus on calming down.

“...How long was I gone?”

“three days.” You swear you felt Sans shutter against you, and you moved your face to look up at him. He stared back for a minute before leaning his head forward to press his teeth to your forehead and nuzzled you gently. “you should really get changed.” You hummed, wiping your eyes and letting yourself move away from him to look at what he had gotten for you to wear.

You were right about the sweatpants and the shirt was soft to the touch with the phrase ‘

Bad Puns are how Eye Roll’

on the front. You snort, raising an eyebrow at Sans, who merely snickered and shrugged. “i’ll head back out to the living room so you can” he gestured his hands at you. “do your thing.”

He went to leave, and panic rose within you.

He was leaving.

You’d be alone.

Alone…

“Wait!” Your voice came out more scared than you’d meant it to and you immediately pulled the clothes up to cover your mouth, your cheeks flushing. You were being ridiculous, you’d be fine for a few minutes on your own, that was common sense. But… everytime ‘alone’ popped into your head, so did all the thoughts of what those cruel men did to you. Oh god, Sans was watching you now, a questioning look on his face. There was a certain tenderness there that eased your nerves, if only a little. “Could you stay? Just, um, turn around…?”

His eye sockets widened, then understanding overtook his features. “yeah, ‘course.” He turned his back to you, rocking back and forward slightly.

You pulled off your wrecked clothes as fast as you could with your body still being a bit sore and pulled the new, softer ones on. Sans’ shirt was baggy on you, reaching down to the middle of your thighs, and you had to roll the pants up quite a bit so you wouldn’t be tripping everywhere you went. “Ta da!” You displayed your arms away from your body, signalling for Sans to turn around.

He did and, what looked to be, a proud smile formed on his face. He snickered, noticing the rolled up sweatpants and how long the shirt was on you. “those gonna work okay for you?”

You twirled around, grinning widely; this is what you want right now: to just relax, have fun, and make jokes with your friends. “Of course! They’re perfect. Thank you.”

Stepping towards the skeleton, you grasped his hand; when he didn’t pull away, you gentle pulled him out of the room. “anytime, buddy.”

As you and Sans came back to the living room, you noticed Ray’s eyes land on your intertwined hands first before noticing your new outfit. “So, quick question.”

“Shoot.” You sat down on the worn couch with the skeleton sitting beside you, his hand splitting away from yours.

“Are you two a thing? Because if so, I gotta give Boney the ‘friend talk’” Ray leaned forward, resting an elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand, a teasing smirk forming on her lips as a blush bloomed on both yours and Sans cheeks; even Natalie giggled at your sudden embarrassment.

“What? N-no! We’re just friends!”

“i ain’t

that

lucky. we’re just friends.”

You and the skeleton spoke at the same time, your eyes widened and a blush darkened your face when you realized what he’d said; meanwhile Natalie broke down in more giggles. Ray wiggled her eyebrows at you, and you covered your face with your hands. “IT IS USELESS TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT ROMANTIC FEELINGS, RAY; THEY ARE BOTH HOPELESSLY OBLIVIOUS.”  Papyrus called from the kitchen.

Ray sighed, leaned back and eyed you up. “Really? I had no idea.”

“OH? I THOUGHT IT WAS EASY TO SEE?”

Sans snorted this time, Ray looking amused as well. “I was being sarcastic!”

“OH!”

You giggled now too, pulling your legs up to you chin. You glanced over at Sans from the corner of your eye.

‘i ain’t that lucky.’

What did he mean by that? He couldn’t

really

like you back, right?

Weren’t you thinking the same thing the last time you were here? What was that, five days ago? It seemed everytime you hung out with the skeleton the question popped into you head.

Maybe he did.

Maybe you should tell him how you feel. If he doesn’t like you that way, surely he’d still be friends with you; right? Or would that make things too awkward for him?

Your eyes landed on your arms, now covered with marks and scars; you knew you had no reason to feel ashamed, but you did feel ashamed. Maybe Sans had liked you before, but after what you’ve been through, he may have changed his mind. You wouldn’t blame him if he had: I mean, look at you! You couldn’t even handle being alone for three minutes to

change clothes

. No one would ever want someone so… pathetic.

He was laughing at something Ray or Natalie had said, leaning comfortably against the back of the couch, a carefree look on his face.
 At least you had him as a friend, you figured, while giving him a small smile when he noticed you watching him; to which he smirked and winked at.

*****

It was half an hour later when the monsters arrived, and after quick introductions to the new humans, you were again surrounded by hugs. Surprisingly - at least for you - Frisk was almost as clingy as Sans, both of them were glued to your side all evening.

Papyrus pulled out a knife as Regium carefully pulled the fresh pizza out of the oven, it smelled delicious but there was an uneasy feeling in your gut.

The knife.

It was a stupid thing to worry about, to be scared of; this was Papyrus, not… not

him.

Papyrus would never hurt you, He’d never hurt

anyone.

So why were you suddenly so anxious watching the larger skeleton cut the pizza into neat triangles. Why did watching a pizza being cut cause the damn blonde’s face to flash through your head and the sensation of being cut over and over again to blow over your arms and gut?

“hey, bud?” Sans placed a hand over yours and you jolted violently, making his hand retract. “what’s wrong?”

What’s wrong? You felt sick to your stomach, you felt scared, and you didn’t understand

why.

Forget about eating: your appetite was long gone now. “I… dunno.” Your voice was even shaking; what the hell?

Two strong hands landed on your shoulders, and you heard Undyne say something behind you; your brain couldn’t make it out though as panic filled you.

Memories of what had happened, at what those two men did to you, filled your head; their voices were all you could hear - it was like you were living those terrible moments again. You could feel the pain radiate through your body and you were

scared

and all you wanted was for it to

stop.

Just

stop

.

The memories disappeared as fast they came and you found yourself disorientated. Sans was calling your name and, when you saw the kitchen again instead of the damn warehouse, you noticed his hands were tightly gripping your shoulders; his eyelights were pinpricks and his smile had vanished, his brow scrunched up. You were holding onto his sweater too, and your eyes and cheeks felt damp - you’d started crying?

Everyone was quiet now, you could feel their eyes on you, and Sans’ hands moved to your face to stroke away your  tears with his thumbs. “oh my stars, are you ok?” His voice sounded shaken and you nodded weakly, going easily when he pulled you into his chest; wrapping his arms around you gently, careful not to upset you. “what the fuck were you thinking undyne?!” His soft tone was discarded now, replaced with an angry, almost growling one. It made you shiver, and the skeleton responded by stroking your head.

“Sans, I know you’re upset but please, watch the langu-“

“How the hell was

I

supposed to know she would react like that!?” The blue fish monster interrupted Toriel, slamming her fists onto the table. The noise made you scoot your chair closer to Sans, burrowing farther into his hoodie.

“she was obviously tense! you didn’t have to go grabbing on to her like that!”

“Maybe to YOU it was obvious!! If I had done that before all this shit happened, she would have been fine!! So I thought-“

“sure didn’t seem like you thought about anything before that! she was fucking

kidnapped

!!”

“She said she was FINE!”

“let me rephrase that: she. was.

kidnapped

. you worked as the head of the royal guard for how long?! and you don’t know how that kinda shit affects people?!”

“BOTH OF YOU, STOP IT!”

The room fell quiet again and you lifted your head. Papyrus now had everyone’s attention, hands on his hip bone, he glared at his brother and friend. “DO EITHER OF YOU THINK YOUR LOUD BICKERING IS HELPING THE HUMAN RIGHT NOW?” When both monsters didn’t answer, Papyrus sighed. “HUMAN, PLEASE UNLATCH YOURSELF FROM MY BROTHER’S RIBCAGE.” You made a noise of complaint, but did as you were told; however you kept your chair pushed up against his.

Ray was sitting on the edge of her seat and looked ready to slap Undyne if it weren’t for Natalie clutching her hand. Regium was beside Papyrus, plates pressed against their chest, their brows furrowed in worry. Toriel was holding a confused looking Frisk in her lap, watching you with a look of great concern. “NOW, HUMAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

You stayed silent, bowing your head and casting a glance at Sans. His ‘lips’ seemed tight, and he looked as if he wanted to simply pull you away from all of this. The silence was growing heavy with tension and when you finally spoke up, your voice sounded frail. “I’m… fine. I’m fine, everybody. Let’s just… just eat.”

Sans grunted, resting his elbows on the table. “don’t give us that bullshit, bud. you’re obviously

not

‘fine’”

“Sans,

please

, watch the language. There’s a child present.” Toriel reached towards him, placing a hand on his humerus but he shook her off, standing up.

“she was literally just triggered by something and you’re worried about frisk hearing a few cusses?

really?

”

“Sans, we get that you’re worried, we are too, but getting upset won’t help anything.” Natalie added, her voice soft.

“Aren’t triggers something people who’ve been in the army get?” You questioned and everybody’s eyes landed on you again. Despite Sans’ obviously tense figure, his eyelights still managed to be gentle and caring when looking at you.

“they’re something people with ptsd get.”

“‘Post T-Traumatic Stress D-D-Disorder’?” Alphys’ voice was even quieter than your human friends’.

“yeah.”

“I don’t…” you laughed nervously, rubbing your arms. “I don’t have that.”

It seemed everyone in the room gave you a ‘you’re joking, right?’ look, making bile rise in your throat. You

don’t

though, you were

fine

.

You had to be okay!

Sans placed a hand on yours. “bud, hey. you’ve been through hell, it’s understandable if you-“

“I’m supposed to be fine!” You pushed away from the skeleton and table, nearly falling over as you stood. “Why can’t I just be okay?! Why do I have to be so… so…” A hand flew up to your face, and you made a dash to the bathroom, throwing up what little you had in your stomach.
 
You’ve never enjoyed up chucking anything - no one did, honestly - but it was far worse when you had very little to bring up. A warm hand was placed on your back, rubbing. You didn’t have to look over your shoulder to know it was Sans: the boney feeling of the hand was a dead giveaway, and it was too small to be Papyrus’s.

A broken sob left your throat as you pushed away from the toilet, flushed it and sat back on your heels. A water glass was pressed into your sweaty palms and, although you weren’t sure when Sans had grabbed it, you accepted eagerly. “there’s nothing wrong with having ptsd, ya know. nothing wrong with having any mental illness.”

You didn’t answer, staring at the floor. You knew that, sure. But you’d been saved, healed. Everything was good now.

So shouldn’t you be back to your normal self?

“think about it: you were kidnapped, those people

tortured

you.” He tapped your arm as if to show proof of what he was saying. “and they weren’t covering their faces -  at least the guy i saw wasn’t - you know what the means?”

“...no”

“means they had no intention of letting you go. i’d say that’s a pretty traumatic experience, wouldn’t you?”

“...I guess.”

He sighed. “there are things you can do to help it too. it’ll probably always be there but…” He grew silent. “you’re crying.”

You rubbed your eyes, annoyed that he was right. “Isn’t that all I do nowadays?” When he didn’t answer and just moved closer, you decided to continue. “I just… I don’t want to be but I’m still scared. But at the same time, I’m so happy to back with all of you guys. And then I’m mad because I’m not 100% okay and now this!” You ran your hands through your hair, wincing at how greasy it felt. “I just don’t know how to deal with it all on my own.”

“you’re not on your own. you have all of us, remember?” You nodded wearily. “bud, look at me.” You did as you were told, meeting his warm, large eyelights. “i usually don’t make promises, don’t really like making them if there’s a chance i’ll break it, you know? but…” His warm hand wrapped around your own, squeezing ever so slightly. “i

promise,

you’ll never be alone, alright? i promise that i won’t let anyone, and i mean

anyone

hurt you like this again.”

Your eyes were wide, to say you were shocked was an understatement at this point. Was… was he promising that he’s always be there for you? That he’d protect you at all costs? It made your soul feel buzzy and your cheeks hot. “you good to go eat now?”

You grimaced. “I don’t really have an appetite after all that…”

He frowned, pushing hair out of your face. “you should eat something though, can you at least try and eat some carrots and other veggies?”

You probably could. You could also ask Papyrus to keep the knife away from you; he’d understand, right?

Probably.

Sans hadn’t moved, and you raised an eyebrow. He looked like he was debating between two things before saying. “i think you should stay the night tonight.”

“Huh?”

“i mean, well…” He cleared his nonexistent throat, a light blush on his face. “we don’t know if those guys were caught yet and, if they come for you, it’d be better if you were around two monsters who know magic and can use it well, than three humans - n-not to be rude! it’s just, uh, just…” he groaned. “i’m so bad with words, what the hell…” The last bit came out mumbled, and you giggled.

“No, I understand. I, um. I’d like that. To stay, I mean.” His smile seemed to grow a bit, his eye lights brighter. “Ray’s probably not gonna be too happy about that though…”

He hummed. “may not be happy about it, but she’ll respect it, yeah?”

“...Yeah.”

Sans stood, helping you up as well, before making your way back to the kitchen. “i can help ya tell her if you want?” He was quiet as he said it after you had assured everyone you were feeling better now and it was okay for them all to eat; everyone was now distracted by both the food and their own conversations that they didn’t notice Sans lean over to whisper to you.

*****

A little after supper, Toriel suggested that everyone go home for the night, saying you’d had a long day and should get some rest; the monster left first, Undyne even apologized for earlier - Sans seemed very pleased by this - and you had assured her you knew she hadn’t meant to upset you, and that it was alright.

Once they were gone, your human friends began grabbing their stuff - you know Sans had told his brother you were staying, but neither of you had said anything to Ray yet; mainly because you were worried about how she’d react. You knew she didn’t hate Sans, but he definitely wasn’t her favorite person. Plus, after what happened, she’d want you home where she’d know where you were and that you were safe and sound.

“Sans, dude, you gonna give her her jacket so we can go?” Ray raised an eyebrow while passing you the shoes she must have brought earlier since the ones you had before were gone.

“Actually, um... “ You fiddled with the oversized shirt you were wearing, looking to Sans for help.

“she’s gonna stay the night.”

The brunette’s eyes narrowed. “What? No, she’s coming home with us.” She gestured to her sibling and girlfriend, then looked to you, face softening slightly. “Right?”

“I… no, I... “ You bit your lip. You didn’t like upsetting others, especially friends. “I’d feel safer here, with… with them.”

Ray was about to say something to try to get you to change your mind, when Natalie interrupted. “If that’s how you feel, we understand.” Her girlfriend crossed her arms, huffing. “Just give us updates on how you’re doing, okay? Are you just staying the night or…?”

Her gaze moved to both skeletons, who shrugged. “I don’t know. When I feel more comfortable, I guess, I’ll come back.”

Ray was obviously still upset with the plan but she seemed to let it go, hugging you rather tightly when they were all ready to go.

It felt strange when they left; you weren’t uncomfortable, but the air just seemed… tense, in a way. “Can I have a shower?” It felt like you were caked with dirt and dust and… other substances, and you assumed a shower would also ease your hurricane of nerves.

“‘course, come on, i’ll get ya a towel.” You followed Sans into the bathroom.

“I SHALL GET YOUR BED READY HUMAN!” Papyrus called to you from the living room, and you moved backwards to smile and thank him.

The older skeleton pulled out a gray towel for you, placing it gently in your arms, along with a small washcloth. “there’s body wash,” He pulled the shower curtain aside, pointing out the bottle. “but we don’t have any shampoo or conditioner. sure you can understand why.” He rapped his knuckles against his skull, grin seeming to grow when you began giggling.

“That’s fine, thank you.”

Sans shot you two thumbs up then took his leave, closing the door behind him. You pulled off your clothes, turned the shower on and adjusted the heat. You took a moment to inspect the marks left on on your body: most of them appeared faded, but it was pretty clear that they were there. You’d still be able to wear t-shirts, right? That could give you unwanted attention though…

The warm water was like heaven, and you let yourself relax as it fell over you. You were happy to be spending the night here, but you did feel a bit bad about it. Surely both Sans and Papyrus would enjoy just relaxing in their own home instead of taking care of someone all the time. Even if it was Sans’s idea, maybe saying you’ll be here until you’re comfortable again was stepping over the line; who knows how long that could take? What if you’re never going to be okay with being alone again? If you have PTSD, that meant you’d alway have triggers, right? How will you learn to figure what all those are and deal with them.

You groaned, running your hands through your wet hair. You needed to calm down. Your friends can help you with all that; you could even look at going to therapy. You’ll figure everything out.

… Sans seemed to know a lot though, you could ask him about it tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, you’d have to go to your place to grab clothes and all of your hygiene things - you’d have to shower again tomorrow since you didn’t have deodorant, and you doubted that either of the skeletons had any either - you could also grab your sketchbook.

Your sketchbook!

You had it with you when you were kidnapped! And Sans said your jacket was all they could find, so that meant…

“Fuck.”

What were you going to tell Papyrus?! He’d been so kind to get it for you and now it was gone, god, what would they have done with it? You’d been so… occupied with other things, it didn’t even occur to you that it was missing until now.

You sighed, turning off the water. A shiver ran down your body and you grabbed the towel, drying yourself off. Once you had your clothes on again - you ended up putting your bra on again, since it was still clean and would protect you from accidentally flashing either of the monsters in the house. You ran your fingers through your wet hair, grateful that it was short, meaning you didn’t have to worry about too many knots.

Stepping out of the bathroom, you saw Sans and Papyrus standing by the younger skeleton’s room. He noticed you first, moving swiftly and pulling you into a hug that was gentler than any other he’d given you. “IT IS TIME FOR ME TO SAY GOOD NIGHT HUMAN!” He patted your head, pulling away from you. “I AM VERY GLAD THAT YOU ARE BACK AND SAFE, WE WERE ALL VERY WORRIED ABOUT YOU.”

You smiled, rubbing your neck. “I’m glad I’m back too Papyrus. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

“OF COURSE! SLEEP WELL, HUMAN!” The tall skeleton bounced back to his room, Sans gave you a lazy grin, pointing at the room at the end of the hall. “go get comfortable, bud, i’ll come check on ya after i read paps his story.” You gave a thumbs up, and Sans gave you a wink before following his brother into the bedroom.

You missed having a bed, you decided, as you fell back onto the neatly made bed in the spare room. The sheets were soft, and the mattress was a blessing for your sore body. You can’t remember getting a good night's sleep while with those two men, you know you had passed out while there, but that wasn’t at all a restful thing.

You ended laying spread out on top of the bed for longer than you meant, going by the snickers coming from the door. You lifted your head, finding Sans leaning against the door frame with an amused grin; his eyelights seemed to be sparkling, something you’d seen happen to Papyrus’s eye sockets. “pretty sure you’re supposed to go under the sheets, not on top of them.”

“I don’t think so; this is much more comfortable and less work.”

“ah, ya got me there. i love things that take a little amount of work to do.” He laid next to you, on his side instead with his head propped up by his hand. “mind if i join you?”

You laughed, turning to look at him more. “Why ask me if you’re gonna do it either way?”

He shrugged, winking. “i knew you wouldn’t say no.”

You huffed, poking his nasal ridge. “I hate that you’re right.”

He chucked, his eyelights growing wider. They seemed to waver for a moment before returning to their steady circular shape. “you know, i’m pretty great in bed.”

You burst out laughing, bringing a hand up to cover your mouth, not wanting to disturb Papyrus. “Oh, are you now?”

“mhm, i can sleep for days.” That made you laugh more, heat blooming on your cheeks as you gasped for breath. This seemed to make Sans more determined to tell bad jokes. “what do you call a zoo that only has one dog?”

“What?” You managed to wheeze out, slowly gaining control of your laughing again.

“a shitzu.” You snorted again, another laughing fit washing over you.

“Wait, wait wait wait!”

Sans raised a brow-bone, obviously proud of himself for making you laugh to hard. “waiting?”

“I have one!”

His grin grew, moving his hand so that he could rest his skull right on the bed. “yeah? let’s hear it.”

“Why is dark spelled with a ‘k’ not a ‘c’”

“dunno, why?”

“Because you can’t ‘c’ in the dark!”

Sans laughed, really laughed, the sound light, and carefree. It made your soul buzz and a warm, bright blush ignited on your cheeks, along with a giddy grin.

Once Sans stopped laughing, cyan dusting his cheekbones, he gave you a confused look. “... what?”

“Huh?”

“you’re giving me a weird look.” He waved a phalange in front of his face, smile becoming lopsided.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” You pulled the the top of your shirt up to cover the bottom of your face, attempting to hide your growing blush. “I just… really like your laugh.”

The skeleton’s blush darkened, his grin again changing to something that appeared flustered, even timid. “you do?”

“Very much so, yes.”

“well, i really like yours too.” He scratched his cheek, adding: “and your smile.”

“My smile?” You said with an anxious giggle.

“yeah. it’s a very good smile.”

You giggled again, your soul was practically flying around your chest at this point; this could be your chance to tell him how you felt with both of you laying on the bed, enjoying each other’s company, relaxing.

Do it.

Come on, just do it already!

“i guess i should let you go to bed though, yeah?”

Do it!!

“Yeah, I probably should.” He sat up, you following suit. You mentally scolded yourself; that could have been your chance! And, if course, you went and blew it!

Idiot!

“you’ll be okay in here for the night?” He looked genuinely concerned as he sat on the edge of the bed, you couldn’t help but wonder if he’d stay with you if you said no, but decided it would be best if you didn’t test that theory.

“Of course!”

“okay… but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to come get me or paps, okay?” He patted your knee.

You gave him a small smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, Sans, but thank you.”

He shrugged, standing back up to his full height. “sleep tight buddy.”

“You too, Skelly.” The skeleton snorted, winking at you before leaving the room and shutting off the lights; he didn’t fully close the door, leaving it slightly ajar.

You curled up under the thick blankets, relishing in the heat, letting your eyes flutter shut.

You ignored the anxiety building in your chest about being alone, doing your best to convince yourself that it was okay, Sans and Papyrus were just down the hall; you were fine, everything was fine.

Eventually, you fell into a fitful sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You jolted awake in a cold sweat and your breathing was haggard. You sat straight up in your bed, trying to calm down, but you could only hear and see the two men from before...
 
You were alone.
 
It was dark.

Just like it was there

.
 
It felt like the darkness was suffocating you, wrapping around you with thick tentacles, and draining the air out of your lungs. A sob escaped you and you gripped at the sheets. Your body ached with the memory of what had happened to you, the blonde and redhead’s voices bouncing around your skull.
 
You needed something.
 
No, you needed someone.
 
Sans.
 
He’d help.
 
He’s always there to help.
 
Everything was a blur as your stood from your bed, stumbling a few times on your way to his room - you were suddenly immensely grateful he hadn’t completely shut the door. You rapped your knucks against his bedroom door, and wrapped your arms around yourself; you were shivering despite the fact you felt like your body was on fire.
 
It didn’t take long for Sans to open his door, his eye sockets widening in shock before immediately changing to worry when he noticed your current condition.
 
“hey, hey what’s wrong-“ You all but fell into his chest, wrapping your shaking arms around him and burrowing your face into his shirt; he was pleasantly warm, and there was a spot on his ribcage that seemed to emit a certain type of energy that helped calm your nerves a bit. His arms surrounded you, making you feel as if he was a type of shield, protecting you. “what happened?”
 
“Nightmare.” Your voice cracked and you swallowed. It felt like there was a ball in your throat and your pulse was still racing but, luckily, the voices had disappeared.
 
You were okay.
 
You were safe.
 
“Can I sleep with you?” Screw worrying about overstepping boundaries; you were scared, and being with him was all you wanted.
 
Gently rubbing your back, he rested his head atop of yours. “of course.” He pulled away from you and took your hand, guiding you into his room. “do you want to go lay down while i get you some water?” You shook your head, gripping his hand harder.
 
“I don’t want to be alone.”
 
“okay… okay, let’s go lay down then.” He got you to let go of him so you could lay down, and he covered you with his sheet before laying down himself.
 
You curled up next to him, feeling relieved when he cuddled you back. “that bad, huh?”
 
You shrugged, sighing softly. “I guess.” He ran his phalanges through your hair; your pulse was finally slowing back to normal, the roller coaster of nerves inside of you slowing to a halt. “It… it may sound kinda stupid but… I feel safe around you. Like, really safe and comfortable.”
 
The skeleton hummed, hand stilling for a moment before resuming his soft stroking. “doesn’t sound stupid.”
 
Silence fell over the room and you focused on the sound of your friend’s breathing. You were feeling better now, but you still felt buzzed from the anxiety that you doubted you’d be able to fall asleep again. Maybe if you did something to clear your thoughts you’d be able to sleep. A thought sprung into your head and you looked up at Sans; he looked relaxed, but his glowing eyelights showed he was also awake. “Sans?”
 
“yeah?”
 
“Before I went missing… you, uh, you were talking about us going stargazing?”
 
He seemed to falter for a minute before asking: “you sure you want to go out right now? right after that?”
 
You nodded your head. “I want to do something that’ll let me relax, clear my head. I think going out to see the stars would help.”
 
“the dark won’t bug you?”
 
“I don’t think so, plus if it does, you can just… teleport us back, right?”
 
A tired chuckle left Sans, his face turning down to look at you. “finally figured that little trick out, huh?”
 
“Kinda hard not to when you’ve literally used it with me.” You laughed softly, and he shrugged.
 
“either way, if you’re sure you’ll be okay; yeah, we can go out now.” His eyes examined your face as you nodded, his blush making an appearance again. “but you gotta wear more than just my t-shirt. i don’t want you getting sick.”
 
He rolled away from you, sitting up and moving across the room to look through his dresser; shifting through its contents he tossed a hoodie at you. You caught it, looking over the front before pulling it over your head. “

‘But first, coffee.’

? How come I never see you wearing this stuff?”
 
He shrugged, smirking. “dunno, but now you get to wear it so,” You giggled, and he waved at you to come to him. “come here, can’t use a shortcut unless i’m holding you.”
 
“You call them shortcuts?” You asked, sliding off his bed.
 
“yup.”
 
“Why do you have to hold me?” You asked as you two hugged again, his chin resting on top of your head.
 
“trust me, you don’t want to find out what’ll happen if i don’t.” You hummed, resting your head against his ribs.
 
“If you say so.”
 
“close your eyes for me? this could make you feel nauseous.”  You did as he asked.. The sensation of falling washes over you before being  abruptly replaced with a cold breeze blowing through your hair.
 
Sans chuckled above you. “you can look now, pal.”
 
You pulled your head away, eyes opening. You two were on a small hill covered in dark green grass; you could see the city lights a far distance away, and above you…
 
You gasped, stepping away from Sans to gape up at the sky; there were millions and millions of stars speckled across the night sky, lighting it from above. “It’s beautiful.”
 
Sans hummed behind you, taking a seat on the grass. “i guess so. i know something prettier, though.” He patted the patch of grass next to him and you sat down.
 
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
 
He slipped his hand over yours, eyelights growing. “you.”
 
Your face became hot and you pulled your (Sans’s) sweater up, trying to hide your blush; Sans noticed, of course, and laughed at your flustered state.
 
“you know, i first wanted to come out here to tell you something.” He tilted his skull to look up to the stars, taking a deep breath.
 
“Tell me what?”
 
He remained silent, simply watching the sky; you turned your own head to look up, your body relaxing into his shoulder. Finally, he continued,  “you know how people used to use stars to guide them? to know which way was north and all that?”
 
“Yeah?”
 
“you’re like a star to me in that way, i always feel like you’re guiding me somewhere brighter. happier. well, that and you shine like the sun whenever you smile or laugh.”
 
You look up to the blushing skeleton’s face, your own cheeks flushed a deep red. Where was he going with this…?
 
“w-what i’m trying to say is, well...um...i...uh…” He took a deep breath, looking down at you, eyelights wavering. “i really like you. like, really,

really

like you.” Your eyes widened in shock, mouth forming a small ‘o’. “i-i understand if you don’t feel the same! i mean, i’m just a bag of bones so why-“

“I like you too, Sans.” You interrupt, sitting up so you could look at him easier. His eyelights shrank at first before becoming wide again; his cheekbones were stained a deep royal blue and a small, happy grin forming on his face.

“you do?”

“Well, yeah!” You laughed, rocking back a bit. “I figured it was really obvious.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling sheepishly. “maybe, guess i just didn’t notice.”

You smiled happily at him, squeezing his hand and leaning back onto his shoulder. “I almost said something earlier, but I chickened out.”

“...to be honest, i wasn’t sure about telling you so soon after you got back. you’ve been through so much, i just didn’t want to… i dunno, overwhelm you?”

“What made you change your mind?” He shrugged, brushing some hair out of your face.

“just felt like the right thing to do.” You hummed, cuddling closer to him and he wrapped an arm around you, watching the sky. “can i… uh.” You looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “can i kiss you?”

Heat bloomed in your chest and you giggled. “I mean, I don’t know, can you? You don’t really have, um, lips?”

“oh! uh.” He laughed, scratching his cheeks. “we monsters usually kiss differently than you guys… heh.”

“You should show me.” You smirked, laughing when Sans looked to you with a flustered and surprised look. Your soul was buzzing and pulsing in your chest.

“on your lips?”

“Anywhere you’d like, silly.” This made him chuckle somewhat darkly, moving you so you were on top of his lap; he seemed to have regained control again, considering his now cocky smirk.

“i’ll remember

that

for another time, when we’re alone in a more

private

area.”

You snorted, rolling your eyes. “Oh my

god

.”

He snickered again, his grin again turning soft before pulling you closer to him. You instinctively closed your eyes, feeling his teeth press gently against your pink lips and nuzzling against them. You felt your soul jump in your chest, a pleasant wave of warmth passing over you. He pulled away, staying close enough for your foreheads to touch. “was that… okay?”

“More than okay.” You leaned closer, placing a ‘human’ kiss against his nasal ridge. “You should definitely do that more often.”

The skeleton chuckled, his hands resting on your hips. “yeah?” He pressed against you again, this time nuzzling for longer, then shifting to your cheek before pulling away again. His cheeks were a bright blue, and he wore a dopey grin; it was his eyelight, however, that caught your interest. Your hands came up to his face to cradle it, giggles erupting from you. He gave you a confused look, one brow bone drawing upwards.

“They’re hearts!”

He chuckled, his eyebrows furrowing. “what are?”

“Your eyelights!” Sans’ hands flew off your hips to his face, hiding his sockets, his blush darkening.You laughed at his sudden embarrassment, moving off his lap and onto the ground to sit next to him. “Aw, come on it was cute!”

His groan was muffled by his hands. “i can’t believe they did that…” You giggled again, prying his hands away. To your disappointment, his eyelights were back to their normal, circular shape; the rest of his skull was stained a deep blue though.

“I didn’t know they could change?” That’s not entirely true, you knew that they could change size but not that they could change their entire shape.

Sans shrugged, taking your hand in his. “they can. ‘m sure you’ve seen ‘em dilate and stuff, yeah?” You nodded, moving your head to rest against his chest, his arm wrapping around your shoulders. “well, they do that depending on my mood. like, if i’m happy, or excited or, uh, looking at something i really like, they get bigger. and if i’m surprised, or angry, they shrink. they can even disappear completely if i’m really pissed.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “they sometimes change to stars and hearts, too, like you saw earlier.”

You looked up to him, he was watching the stars now, his blush still there but much dimmer. He looked calm, relaxed. Content. “What makes them do that?”

“if i’m really, really excited or fascinated by something they change to stars; it happened a lot more when i was a kid, i think. and the hearts…” He cleared his ‘throat’, blush darkening again. “i, um, i’m sure you can guess why they’d change to that…”

The blush on your cheeks warmed and you grinned to yourself, squeezing his hand. A cartoon heart was usually seen as the symbol of love, right? So, that must mean…

No, no don’t get ahead of yourself here, you two just started dating; it’s too early to be saying - or thinking -

that

yet.

...You two

were

dating now, right?

Crap

, what if he only likes you and doesn’t want anything more? But, he kissed you, right? That means he wants more, right? Oh god, you’re overthinking things again…

Sans poked your cheek with a finger, making your head shift up to look at him. “you okay down there?”

“I’m fine, just… heh, I’m just thinking…” You drifted off, eyes wandering back up to the sky. Sans was watching you, obviously waiting for you to explain. “This, um, this means we’re dating now, right…?”

The skeleton burst out in a laugh, the sound warming your chest and cheeks. “i should hope so! i mean, after all that, i just assumed that’s what you wanted too!”

You felt your blush spread up to your ears. Of course you two were together now. You were worrying too much again…

You chuckled nervously. “Does that mean I can call you my

bone

friend?”

Sans snorted. “you

do

realize what the sounds like, right?”

“...no?”

He laughed harder at that, before saying. “makes it sound like we fucked or, more accurately,” he winked down at you, smirking. “

boned

.”

Your eyes widened and you shrank into the hoodie you had on, covering your hot face to the best of your ability; Sans was practically shaking with laughter beside you, obviously enjoying your now flustered state. “i mean, if you want to

jump my bones

that badly, you could have just asked.”

You groaned, wishing you could curl up into a tight ball. “You know that’s not what I meant!”

“do i? didn’t you say i could kiss you

anywhere

earlier?” He crooned, attempting to poke your red cheeks.

You couldn’t help yourself and laughed, pushing away and smacking his shoulder playfully. “You’re unbelievable.”

“

pun

believable.”

You snorted, rolling your eyes. “You’re a numbskull.”

He shrugged, reaching out and pulling you back to him. “aw, come on, you know you find my puns

humerus

.”

“You’ve used that one before! Don’t get lazy!”

“a good joke never gets old.”

“Yeah, a

good

joke.”

Sans place a hand on his chest, feigning offense. “my puns are great, you take that back.”

“Make me.”

The skeleton fell silent and you looked up to to see what the problem was; he was staring at the sky, eyelights blown wide and… in the shape of a star! You immediately turned your own gaze upwards, attempting to see what was so interesting. “a shooting star…”

“You saw one?” You were a bit disappointed you hadn’t been looking up in time to see it, but at least one of you had, right?

“yeah…” His grin was small but genuine, his eyelights bright, shifting back to large circles as he looked down at you. “those are supposed to be good luck, right?”

You nodded. “Can be, yeah. Some people make wishes when they see them.” You nudged his side gently, winking with a playful smile. “You could if you wanted to!”

The skeleton shrugged, arm moving from your shoulders to around your waist. “no need: i already have everything i’ve ever wanted.” You giggled, pressing a kiss to his teeth.

“Yeah?”

“mhm. paps is safe and happy, we’re up on the surface, and i have you.” He nuzzled against you, emphasising his point. “i’m happy.”

You smiled up at him, snuggling into his lap. “Me too.” You both fell silent, watching the sky and relaxing against each other. After a few minutes passed, you spoke up: “You know, my dad would have really like you.”

Sans seemed surprised, giving you a confused look, before hugging you tighter to his chest, chin atop your head. “you think so?”

“Yeah… he was always joking around like you, and he’d do anything to make other people happy.” You hummed. “Plus, you make me feel happy and safe.” He stroked your hair, nuzzling softly.

“he would be proud of you.”

You chuckled softly. “I know. He’s the reason I cut my hair, actually.”

“he is?” His fingers stilled for a moment, probably looking at your pixie cut with a questioning look.

“Yeah. It was really long when he was still alive, and after the crash, I just wanted something that like… visibly showed I could move on from that, does that make sense?”

“...yeah.” Sans took a deep breath, his hand stilling at the back of your neck, playing with the hair there. “sometimes that’s the best way to help you move on.”

You nodded, before snickering anxiously. “I’m sorry, I ruined the mood, didn’t I?”

“nah. i want you to be able to talk about things like that, you know?”

You shifted in his lap so you could look up at the stars with him, your hands lacing with his. “I want you to feel comfortable talking about that kinda stuff too.” The skeleton hummed, and you looked up. “I’ve done a lot more venting than you have.”

His eyelights shrank, his smile faltering. “i know, it’s just…hard for me to talk about my problems.” He sighed, pulling one hand away to scratch his cheek. “usually keep that stuff to myself.”

You squeezed his hand. You were torn: you wanted to know more about him, to be able to help him if he needed it, but you don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable in anyway.

Just tread lightly, don’t make him feel like he has to tell you everything right now.

“Neither you or Papyrus have ever talked about your parents.” You could feel Sans tense up behind you. “What were they like?”

He didn’t answer right away, taking a deep breath in and out before answering with: “it was just us an’ dad. no mom or other dad or anything.”

You’re brow furrowed. “Don’t you need two monsters to have kids? Or is that just a human thing?”

“normally, yeah, it takes two soul bonded monster to have a baby - gender doesn’t really affect the whole process like for you guys. but, you know, dad wasn’t all that normal.”

“What do you mean?”

Your boyfriend sighed, gently unlinking your hands. “can you get off of me for this? not that i’m not enjoying it, i just… want to be able to look at your eyes if i’m gonna be talking about this.”

“Oh, yeah, of course.” You easily slid off his lap, taking a seat in front on him; you miss his warmth now that you weren’t so close, but ignored that for now.

“thanks. so… our dad was the royal scientist before alphys - for most of his life, i think - but, either way, that title gave him a lot of… um,

equipment.

plus, he was smart as hell. so, in an attempt to create a sort of soul replacement for the barrier, he created me.”

“Wait, soul replacement?

Created?

” He was making it sound like he’s just some crazy lab rat.

“yeah, we needed seven human souls to break that thing, and we weren’t getting those all that fast; if gaster could create souls similar to the power of a human’s; he’d be able to free everyone.”

“Gaster?”

“my dad, wingdings gaster.” Turns out everyone in Sans’ family was named after a font. You wondered if that was a skeleton thing. “anyways, that’s what he was trying to do. using some bone from his hand,” He drew a circle around your palm as he spoke. “some of his own magic and just a tiny bit of determination, he created me. ‘course, there’s a lot more to it than that, but that’s the simplest way to explain it.”
 
“Why determination?” Out of everything he said, that ‘ingredient’ seemed the most out of place to you.

“out of all your human soul traits, that’s the strongest; it’s what gives you guys the power you have. for us monsters, if we have too much, it causes us to… well, for lack of better words, melt.”

A look of horror crossed your face; how could something so vital to humans be so dangerous for them? “but gaster didn’t use too much, and here i am. it was a trial and error process, though, like most things; and it didn’t get me… just right, i guess.”

“What do you mean?” You looked him up and down, searching for any abnormalities, only to find nothing.

He tapped the middle of his sternum. “appearance wise, i’m fine. it’s my soul. don’t know what he did wrong - pretty sure he didn’t know either - but somehow, he managed to make my soul ‘weaker’ than others.”

When you gave him a confused look, he elaborated. “everyone has something called hp. It’s your ‘health’, a number that determines how many attacks and how much damage you can take before you die. it’s different for everyone, but, typically, everyone has

at least

20 or more.” He paused, before adding. “i only have one.”

It took you a moment for what the skeleton was telling you to set in; everyone has HP, much like a video game (at this point, with monsters and magic and souls being real, you weren’t all that surprised anymore). It shows what you can take physically before dying.

And Sans only has one.

That means he could die with a

single hit.

A

single hit

could turn him into dust.

And he came for you anyways

.

If Brody had successfully grabbed his knife, or anyone of his weapons, Sans would have died.

It would have been your fault.

You started to hyperventilate and, before you knew it, Sans’s hands were on your shoulders. “hey, hey, calm down. i’m okay, you’re okay. sweetheart, it’s okay, deep breaths, okay?”

You did as he told you, grasping at your sweatshirt harshly. He was right, everything’s okay. “didn’t mean to upset you, ‘m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize! I just…” You moved his hands from your shoulders, holding them instead. “You could have died! When you came for me, if.. if he had gotten his knife, or-!”

“that didn’t happen though. i’ve learned to be careful: i’m always aware of my surroundings, i’m pretty damn good at dodging, and just because i have low hp, doesn’t mean my magic level is low too.” He rubbed your knuckles. “you were in far more danger of dying than i was anyways.”

You stayed silent, sighing. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful you found me when you did, but what if you hadn’t made it?!”

“it’s in the past now, there’s no point in worrying about ‘what if’s.’ you’re safe now, that’s what matters.”

You huffed. “I guess. Just promise me you’ll be careful next time.”

Sans stiffened, brows furrowing. “let’s just make sure there isn’t a ‘next time,’ okay?”

“I suppose that’s a better idea.” A shiver ran down your spin. “Can I sit on your lap again?”

Sans nodded, his normal grin was lopsided, and he opened his arms for you. You eagerly moved to sit there, sighing contently when he wrapped his arms around you. “Is there any way to raise you HP?”

“kinda? it’s not a good thing though.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“there are… other, uh, abbreviations that everyone has: lv and exp.”

“Aren’t those video game things?”

“those are, but there’s a difference. instead of ‘experience points’, exp stands for ‘execution points’.” Your eyes widened. That seemed so…

morbid

, especially for monsters! “it’s a way to evaluate how much pain someone has inflicted on others; you kill someone, your exp increases.” Nerves rolled in your stomach. “there’s also lv, or l.o.v.e, which is an acronym for ‘level of violence’, it rises when someone has a certain amount of exp. it's a way to measure someone’s capacity to hurt. the more you kill, the easier it is to distance yourself from the act. the more you distance yourself, the less

you

hurt, making it easier to bring yourself to hurt others.” He took a deep breath; you couldn’t help but notice that it seemed like he’d explained all this before, multiple times. So much that it was burned into his memory.

Or maybe you were overthinking and this was just common knowledge for all monsters.

“it just so happens that if your lv increases, so does your hp and how hard you can attack someone.”

“That’s horrible!”

Sans shrugged. “i agree, but that’s just how it is.”

Silence fell over you two, with you clutching to Sans and your head resting on his chest. “How does someone see what their HP, Lv and all that are?”

“typically you can see it when you pull your soul out; it may be harder for humans, since you guys aren’t used to interacting with magic or your souls anymore.” He paused, appearing to think something over, brows drawn in concentration.

“Sans?”

“hm?”

“Are you okay?”

“oh, yeah. yeah, i’m fine just…” He sighed. “

most

monsters need to have their soul out to see that sort of thing, and they can’t see anyone else’s, but… um, i…” He huffed, looking towards the stars. “underground, i was what most called ‘the judge’.”

“Like, in court? That kinda judge?”

“no, it was… hm, when someone wanted to see asgore, it was my job to ‘judge’ their ‘sins’ before they could go. basically, i made sure no one had too much exp or lv.”

“But didn’t you say…?”

“that’s why i specified ‘most’; my magic gives me the ability to see what colour someone’s soul is - if they’re human - how bright it is, and all of their hp, exp and lv.”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. “i don’t see that stuff all the time, it’s like anything else with magic, i gotta think and focus for it to work.” He rubbed the side of his skull, adding: “as far as we all know, i’m the only one with this ability. heh, just another weird thing about me, i guess.”

“Not weird, that’s cool!! You can literally do something

no else

can! Do you not realize how amazing that is?!” You were beaming up at him; you couldn’t help but feel proud of having such a wicked boyfriend.

“...you’re not freaked out?”

“Oh, god, of course not!!” You kissed his cheek, snickering. “Don’t be silly.”

He gave you a small smile, nuzzling you back while humming softly. He looked relieved, going by the way his eyelights seemed larger and slightly fuzzier. “You never did say what happened to Gaster. He’s not around anymore, since Alphys is - well, was - the royal scientist?”

“yeah, he just… disappeared one day when paps was, like, two. no idea what happened to him.” You notice how the skeleton shifted uncomfortably while saying this, avoiding eye contact. “asgore helped take care of us until i was actually old enough to get a job and a house and all that. a little after my 14th birthday, i just kinda took papyrus and left for snowdin. got a house there, a good job at this one restaurant - real great place, the guy who ran it opened a new place up here; remind me to take you there sometime. either way, asgore figured out where we ended up and insisted on helping pay for food and stuff until i was an actual adult.” He shrugged. “that led to him finding about my, uh, ‘special ability’ and one thing led to another and i ended up getting a side gig as his weird judge.”

You were still smiling as he finished his little story, happily humming. “That’s so cool. You're like family with Asgore!”

Sans visibly winced, shaking his skull. “wouldn’t call us that. never thought of him as a dad or uncle or any family member. as far as i know paps doesn’t see to him like that either.” His grin twitched, eyelights shrinking from their large size. “he’s more of just… an acquaintance, at least for me.”

“You guys aren’t close?”

“maybe when i was little but as i grew, i developed by own values and all that, and some things that asgore has done just… rub me the wrong way, you know?” You nodded; you know that has happened with you and some of your old highschool friends. You were a bit curious about what the king must have done to upset Sans; surely being king came with making difficult choices, but exactly what kind did the goat monster make?

“i don’t hold anything against him for what he’s done in the past.” The skeleton specified. “we’ve all made mistakes, right?”

“Well, yeah. That’s just part of being alive. That doesn’t mean you have to forgive, or like someone though.” You added, snuggling closer to your boyfriend as a breeze swept through, making you shiver ever so slightly.

“exactly.” He looked down to you, caressing your hair. “wanna head back? you look like you’re getting cold.”

You nodded, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

His arms tightened around you, pulling you closer. “close your eyes for me?”

Like last time, it was like you fell shortly before landing back on Sans’ unmade bed, the warmth of their house surrounding you. Your boyfriend’s grip loosened, and you pulled away to take off the hoodie he had given you earlier. Folding it quickly, you set it to the side. Coming back to the bed, you noticed Sans still sitting there, seemly glaring at the wall. “Hey?” You placed a hand on his arm, causing his to jump. “You okay?”

“hm? oh, uh, yeah, just thinking.”

“About?” Sitting beside him, you tried to push him down so he was laying down, only to be unsuccessful and laughed at.

“you’re really not, i don’t know, grossed out by me now?” He apparently understood what you wanted, as he leaned back, falling onto one of the pillow, you taking the other.

“No?” You laughed, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I?”

Now it was his turn to look confused, his head even tilting to the side - only slightly, considering that he was laying down. “i literally just explained to you how paps and i are failed lab experiments. doesn’t that freak you out?”

“One: no, not at all, and two: you are not a ‘failed’ experiment. You’re alive, you’re happy, you’re

you.

Who cares how you were made? All that matters is that you’re here now, and you’re Sans.” You snuggled closer to him, kissing his nasal ridge. “My sweet skeleton who’s always telling stupid jokes; who’s always worried about the people he cares about; who’s always there when you need him.” You smiled, squeezing his hand reassuringly when he took hold of yours. “That’s who you are, Sans.”

The skeleton’s eyelights were blown wide at this point, cyan covering his cheekbones and an admiring smile on his face. Chuckling, he breathed: “you really got a way with words, huh?”

You shrugged, your own cheeks hot. “It’s the truth.”

He chuckled again, the sound deep and tired. He looped his arms around you, pulling you to him and placing a gentle, affectionate skeleton kiss against your lips. “goodnight, sweetie. Sweet dreams”

You grinned against Sans’s chest at the pet name, sighing happily. “‘night, skelly.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You shouldn’t have been surprised, but you were when you woke up from another nightmare. Well, after Sans was able to calm you down again, you were surprised. And guilty.
 
You couldn’t help but feel bad for waking Sans up more than once in the past 24 hours; especially considering he doesn’t look like he’s gotten a good night's sleep since you’ve been missing. You both were sitting up on the bed now, after you had calmed down, Sans looked at the time and had said that there was no real point of going back to bed now. You haven’t seen the time, but going by the sun shining outside, it was probably close to 7 or 8.
 
“how are you feeling?” The skeleton rubbed at his eye sockets, scooting to the the edge of the bed until he was next to you.
 
“I’m fine, just a little shaken up.” He placed a hand on your knee, lightly rubbing. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”
 
“no need to apologize, sweetheart.” He nuzzled against your cheek, causing a giggle to escape you.
 
“You really like using pet names, huh?” You giggled again, kissing his cheek when his brow bones furrowed.
 
“do they bother you?”
 
“Not at all. I really like them actually.” He breathed what looked to be a sigh of relief, laughing quietly.
 
“had me worried there for a second.” You shrugged, smiling apologetically. “how ‘bout we get you some breakfast, yeah?”
 
Standing up with him, you nodded and added, “You need to eat something too, silly!”
 
“yeah, yeah. guess i should get some meat on my bones, eh?”
 
You snorted while rolling your eyes. “Har har.” He winked at at you, making you giggle again.. “Come on, numbskull, let’s go eat.” You took his hand and pulled him out of the room. There was still a dull ache in your right leg that seemed to be more prominent with every step you took, but you ignored it. Making your way to the kitchen, you were greeted by Papyrus’ packing, what you guessed was, his lunch with his back turned to you.
 
“morning, bro.”
 
The tall monster turned to you, grin widening. “GOOD MORNING!! I HOPE YOU BOTH SLEPT WELL!” You attempted to go to the fridge but Sans ushered you to the table, firmly pressing you down to a chair. You pouted and rested your chin on the table. “I DID HAPPEN TO NOTICE YOU SLEPT TOGETHER LAST NIGHT.” The skeleton enthusiastically wiggled his ‘eyebrows’ and you couldn't help but burst out laughing, cheeks warming ever so slightly.
 
“if you’re excited about

that,

you’re literally going to lose your mind when we tell you what else happened.” Sans said with a chuckle while pouring some Mini Wheats into a bowl for you - you were pretty sure it was the only cereal they had; so it was a good thing that you both enjoyed that type of cereal and actually wanted cereal in the first place.
 
“OH? PLEASE, DO TELL!”
 
“We’re officially dating!” You said with a large grin, glancing over to Sans in time to see him give you that affectionate look again.
 
Papyrus gasped comically loud, you had to restrain yourself from laughing, and cupped his hands around his cheekbones; his eye sockets were shining and his large smile stretched ‘ear’ to ‘ear’. “THAT IS FANTASTIC NEWS!! IT IS ABOUT TIME THAT MY BROTHER FOUND HIMSELF A SUITABLE DATEMATE!” Papyrus pulled you into a sudden hug, a surprised squeal escaping you. “I HAD HOPED HE WOULDN’T WAIT SO LONG TO TELL YOU HIS FEELINGS.”
 
“hey, i didn’t take that long.” Sans placed the bowl of cereal in front of you with a spoon, his brother releasing you.
 
“YES, YOU DID! IT HAS BEEN OBVIOUS FOR WEEKS NOW THAT YOU TWO LIKED EACH OTHER.”
 
“suuuure.” You brought a spoonful of food to your mouth. “did the cops tell you when they wanted to see us today?”
 
“OH, ABOUT THAT!” Papyrus clapped his hands, making you jump from surprise. “THE POLICE ENDED UP CONTACTING ME EARLIER THIS MORNING BECAUSE

SOMEONE

-“ He shot a pointed look at his older brother who was placing two pieces of bread into a toaster. “LEFT

MY CAR

AT AN OLD WAREHOUSE YESTERDAY.”
 
Your boyfriend winced. “do they think you’re a suspect now?”
 
“THANKFULLY, NO. SINCE I WAS THE ONE WHO CALLED THEM YESTERDAY WHEN YOU RETURNED WITH THE HUMAN, AND SINCE I HAD PAID SO CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE INVESTIGATION; I WAS DEEMED AS INNOCENT. THEY WERE MORE WORRIED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN STOLEN.”
 
The bread popped up in the toaster and Sans pulled the pieces out. Placing the toast on a plate, he distractedly spread some jam on them but he was paying more attention to his brother. Something that was apparent to you when he accidentally got jam all over his thumb. “and? what did you tell them?”
 
“I EXPLAINED THAT YOU HAD TAKEN IT - AND THAT YOU HAD MY PERMISSION, EVEN THOUGH YOU DID NOT - AND THAT YOU HAD FORGOTTEN IT THERE AFTER FINDING OUR FRIEND. AFTERWARDS, THE NICE OFFICER EXPLAINED TO ME THAT THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN RESPONSIBLE HAS BE APPREHENDED, AND THAT THEY WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT WITH YOU TWO THIS AFTERNOON AT 2:30.”
 
“Men.” You correct, the shorter of the two skeletons sitting beside you.
 
“I BEG YOUR PARDON?”
 
“You said ‘the man was apprehended’, you mean men.” You looked between the two, panic setting in your stomach when they both looked slightly confused. “

Right?

”
 
“hon, there was only one guy when i got there. the other one is probably still out there.” When he saw the alarm clear on you face, he quickly added, “for now. if they got the blonde it’s only a matter of time till they get the other one.”
 
“DO NOT FRET HUMAN! YOU ARE SAFE WITH US!” Papyrus reassured you, patting your shoulder; you smile up at him, nerves still rolling around in your gut. “AH! YOUR FRIEND ALSO CALLED ME THIS MORNING!”
 
“Ray?” You couldn't say you were surprised: she probably just wanted to make sure you had slept alright and that Sans hadn’t… ‘done’ anything.
 
“YES! SHE SAID SHE EXPECTS YOU TO COME OVER SOMETIME THIS MORNING, AND THAT YOU MUST CALL YOUR MOTHER AT SOME POINT TODAY!”
 
You groaned, your face dropping into your hands. It wasn’t that you didn’t like you mom, you loved her, it was just that after your dad passed away, you two had drifted apart. It didn’t help that you barely talked to her now that you lived on your own. A part of you had hoped your mother wouldn’t find out about this, but that was simply illogical; either the police or Ray would have called her immediately after you went missing.
 
“sweetie? hey, what’s wrong?” Sans had noticed your sudden stress. He always notices when you’re upset; so you didn’t understand why you were surprised he’d noticed.
 
You lifted your head and took hold of the hand he was holding out in front of you. “I’m fine.” Doubt crossed both of the monsters’ faces and you laughed weakly. “Really, I am. I just haven’t talked to my mom in a while.”
 
“I HAD ASSUMED YOU WERE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER? YOU ARE FAMILY, AFTER ALL!”
 
“just because people are family doesn’t always mean they’re close, bro.” Sans said with a hum. “is it because of… er,

that

.” You were glad Sans was being discreet about your father’s death. You didn’t want to talk about that today, especially given the fact that you’d have to talk about your kidnapping later.
 
“Kinda, I guess. ...I don’t know.”
 
“I AM LOST, WHAT HAPPENED?” You waved a hand to Papyrus and gave him a reassuring smile.
 
“Don’t worry about it, it’s not important right now.” You could tell he wasn’t all that pleased you were avoiding his question, but he seemed to at least understand that it was something you didn’t want to talk about right now.
 
“IF YOU SAY SO HUMAN. NOW!” The skeleton swiftly finished putting his lunch into a small, red, squarish bag with a yellow

‘P’

embroidered on the top. “I MUST GET GOING! SINCE

SOMEONE

FORGOT MY CAR, NATALIE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO OFFER ME A RIDE TO WORK SEEING AS WE ARE BOTH EMPLOYED AT THE SAME PLACE!”
 
You hugged the skeleton before he left - it was more of an awkward side hug since you were actually trying to eat the cereal Sans had given to you. Waving to his brother, Papyrus took his leave, leaving you and Sans to sit in the silence. “so, mommy issues?”
 
You snorted, taking a bite of your breakfast before replying: “Guess you could call it that.”
 
“what would you call it?”
 
You sighed, tapping your spoon on the side of the bowl. “...I don’t know. We were never really close and after dad died…” Your hand stilled and you swallow the lump forming in your throat. “It didn’t get any better after I moved out either. Once I started living out here it was less of… well, an obligation to talk to her all the time.” You laughed weakly, rubbing a hand absentmindedly through your hair. “Geez, I really got some issues, huh?”
 
Sans hummed, taking your hand in his. “everyone does.” You gave him a small smile and he leaned over to nuzzle your forehead. “...i agree with ray though, you really should call your mom to let her know you’re okay.”
 
“And that I have a new sweet skele-boyfriend?”
 
Sans chuckled. He sounded tired, not that you blamed him, but his deep voice still seemed to be laced with affection. “suppose you should tell her that too.”
 
Breakfast was finished in silence. Sans said he’d clean up the dishes and that you can go get ready for the day. You decided to go shower without putting up much of a fuss; you knew you wouldn’t win even if you did, so why bother?
 
While washing your hair and body, you took a deep breath, your mind returned to the whole “mom issue”.
 
You’d have to tell her about Sans eventually because if you two were to ever get married-
 
Nope, moving on from that topic for the time being.
 
You’d have to use Sans’s phone to call her since you’d lost yours. She’s definitely going to ask what happened, something you’ll hopefully be able to avoid for now...or be extremely vague with. Your boyfriend will surely pick up on the fact that you don’t want to talk about it and would be adamant your mother drop the subject; but that would simply bring up more problems...
 
For one thing, your mother was stubborn as all hell. If she wanted to know something, she’d stop at nothing to know what it is.
 
And secondly, you had absolutely no idea how she felt about monsters. Sure, you two weren’t close, but that didn’t mean you didn’t care what she thought of your boyfriend. You didn’t want her to simply hate him because of how he looks; that would just be unfair to Sans.
 
Taking a another deep breath, you turned off the water, grabbed your towel and wrapped it tightly around your body; you’d have to ask Sans for some new clothes to wear until you went home to get your own stuff.
 
The skeleton in question was standing in front of a full body mirror in his room - something you hadn’t realized he had, thanks to the articles of clothing he had covering it. He wore a dark blue dress shirt and charcoal black pants, and was, at the moment, attempting to tie a gray tie around his neck. You could tell it wasn’t something Sans did often, and because of that was floundering in tying the piece of cloth - in his defence, it was a difficult thing to do. You couldn’t contain your small snicker as you walked fully into the room - despite how cute he looked as he glared at his reflection, you didn’t want to stand in a towel forever.
 
It was easy to tell when Sans noticed you and how little you were wearing; especially when a dark, bright blue brush formed immediately to cover most of his skull. “Here, let me help you.” You didn’t wait for his reply before taking hold of his tie.
 
“...how do you know how to do this?” He cleared his throat and directed his eyelights at the ceiling, face still bright blue.
 
“I helped Ray with it a lot when we were in high school and stuff.” You shrugged, patting his chest once you’d finished. You looked him over and bit your lower lip, you never thought you’d ever find a skeleton attractive, but here you were.
 
What could you say? He cleaned up very well.
 
He was still averting his eyes and you couldn’t help but giggle, poking at his cheeks. “Can I wear some of your clothes until we get my own stuff?”
 
“uh-huh, ‘course.” He pulled you away, hastily making his way to the door. “wear whatever you want. uh-“ His eyelights landed on you, expanding and his blush growing a deeper blue. “um, thanks for, er, for helping…”
 
You laughed at his embarrassment, waving him off. “You’re welcome silly. Now go, before you start overheating.”
 
The skeleton nodded repeatedly, stepping out the door backwards and nearly tripped over his own feet. As the door shut, you burst into giggles; your usual embarrassment forgotten for the time being.
 
Looking around the room, you calmed yourself down, still grinning widely.

Now to find an outfit to wear for a few hours.

*****
 
You ended up choosing another one of his pun t- shirts (this one has a picture of a cartoon tea bag and the words ‘

it’s a tea shirt!

’ written beside it), and the smallest pair of pants he owned; which you still had to roll up a bit to make sure you wouldn’t trip.
 
Entering the living room, you found Sans sprawled out over the frayed green sofa, scrolling through something on his phone. You flopped down next to him, leaning over to see what he was doing; he tilted his phone to show you what looked to be a meme page on instagram. You raised an eyebrow when you saw the page. “I’m kinda surprised you don’t run one of those.”
 
“bold of you to assume i don’t.” He winked down at you, smirking ever so slightly.
 
“Do you?”
 
“nope.” He chuckled deeply and you rolled your eyes affectionately. “you wanna go get your clothes now or later?”
 
You hummed, resting your head on his ribcage. “Let’s go now. Might as well get it done and over with, right?”
 
He discarded his phone on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around you instead. “sounds like a plan.” He nuzzled against the back of your head fondly, making you giggle. “you wanna walk or take a shortcut?”
 
“Let’s just walk. I think the fresh air will do both of us some good, yeah?”
 
He hummed, letting go of you to stretch. “good idea. you good to go?” You nodded, hopping off the couch.
 
It’s was pleasantly warm outside, the sun was shining bright and there were barely any clouds in the sky; perhaps you could all go to the park later? Sans intertwined your hands together as you began walking; you felt good, no anxiety, no panic, just glee.
 
Sadly, that pure feeling didn’t last too long. The farther you and the skeleton walked, the more you noticed people paying more attention to you two and giving you odd looks.

Whispering.

Judging.

It was probably stupid of you to think this wouldn’t happen; of course there would be people who are upset about your relationship. Monster-phobes exist and there was still the fact that interspecies relationships were very rare; at least going by what you’ve seen they are still rare. Thinking back on it now, you don’t think you’ve seen

any

monster-human couples yet. At least Sans didn’t look all that bothered by all the attention!

...Well, of course he wasn’t bothered by the attention; didn’t monsters get this all the time, everywhere they go, no matter who they’re with?

The skeleton nudged your shoulder with his. “you doing okay?” He’d obviously noticed the looks you were getting. Honestly, he’d probably noticed before you had considering how observant he is. You nodded with a smile, albeit a smile that was a bit forced; you felt slightly uncomfortable with so many people watching you. Sans, of course, noticed your discomfort and believing he was the cause, he attempted to pull his hand away from you but you were having none of that, so you responded by squeezing his tightly.

Sadly,  you realized you didn’t have your keys once you got home; so you had to knock on the front door, which was odd for you considering it was

literally your own home.

Thankfully, it only took Ray a few minutes to answer the door. She gave you both a once over, her eyes lingering on your intertwined hands before welcoming the two of  inside. “For two people who are ‘just friends’ you do a lot of ‘coupley’ things.”

“we, uh, are not just friends anymore.” Cyan formed on your boyfriend’s cheeks as he spoke and Ray’s eyebrows shot up.

“Since when?”

“Last night.” You let go of Sans’ hand to pull off your shoes. “Midnight?”

“it was more like 3 am.”

“What?”

You sighed, shaking your head. “Doesn’t matter how, it just is now.” You waved your hands for emphasis. “Ta-da! Now, I’m going to go get my shit. Sans?”

He followed after you down the stairs with Ray saying she’ll make some tea in the background. You noticed Sans examining your ‘studio’ curiously, nearly tripping multiple times. “and i thought

i

was the messy one.”

“It’s not messy.” You pulled out the biggest duffle bag you owned (a dark blue one with black straps) out of your closet, waving the skeleton into your actual room when he stood at the door awkwardly. “It’s organized chaos.”

You began putting different shirts and pants into the bag, being as neat as you could. Sans took the time to wander over to your dresser, his eyes pausing on the few pictures you had framed sitting on  top of it. “you and ray look really different in this one.” You walked closer to him, taking a look at which picture he was talking about. It was one from when the two of you were in grade 6; about a year after you two had become friends. Your hair had still been long back then, but other than that, and being a bit smaller, you couldn’t see much of a difference.

Ray, on the other hand...

This picture had been taken a long time before her transition, which meant her hair was still in a traditional male style. She wore jeans and a short sleeved Avengers shirt with Iron Man on the front. Really, she looked just like a little boy. Course, that’s what everyone had thought she was back then. It wasn’t until grade 9 that she realized she was trans but you supposed she probably had an inkling of who she was before then.

You vaguely remember the day the picture was taken: your dad has come to pick you up that day to take you both on an outing to the zoo. Later that day, you’d both begged for ice cream and a sleepover. Your father had caved both times and had allowed you two girls to do what you’d both wanted; much to your mother's dismay.

That had been 3 years before he died.

Taking a deep breath, you smiled up at Sans. “That’s from when we were really little, twelve or eleven, I think.”

“why does ray look so different?”

“Well, I mean, she’s trans.” He gave you a genuinely confused look; was this not a thing for monsters? … probably not. From what you knew they didn’t have genitalia (you could be completely wrong about that, but you didn’t want to consider the possibility that Sans, a

skeleton,

was hiding something in his pants). “It means she was born in the wrong body” The skeleton gave another confused look, but didn’t ask any other questions, much to your relief. It wouldn’t have been right for you to just go and spill everything about Ray to him, especially considering she wasn’t necessary close to him.

He moved away from the picture, eyelights catching on the picture on your nightstand. “is.. that you and your dad?”

Looking over to the picture, you gave a small smile. It was a small photo of you standing next to your dad in a knee-length black dress with lace on the top and red roses printed into the skirt. You were a lot smaller than your dad, even back then, but you and him had the same eyes and large, happy grins on your faces. It had been your fifteenth birthday and you had been planning on going out for dinner. The picture itself was taken a little after your father had given you his gift: tickets for you and your friends to see your favourite band at the time.

It was the last picture you’d had taken with him before…

Wiping are your eyes, you nodded. “Yup, that’s him.”

Sans looked at you worriedly, noticing the few stray tears in your eyes. “are you okay? did i do something wrong?”

Laughing softly. “No, Sans, not at all. I just miss him is all. I’m

fine

.”

He watched you for a minute before sighing, rocking back on his heels. “you need any help?”

Glancing around the room, you grabbed the small bag you used for your hygiene things (hairbrush, deodorant, that sort of thing). “I don’t think so; thank you though, sweetie.”

He blushed at the nickname, eye sockets widening slightly. “Just sit down, I’ll be done here right away.”

Once you finished packing everything from your small bathroom, you found Sans deep in thought while sitting patiently on your bed. “the looks we got on the way here bothered you.”

The statement caught you off guard, a pit forming in your gut. “I mean, yeah. Didn’t they bug you?”

“yeah, but for a different reason.”

You pushed the small pack into your bigger bag, struggling to close it entirely. When you finally succeeded, you sighed and flopped down next to Sans. “And what’s that?”

He stared at his feet, not saying anything. You placed a hand on his arm. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Taking a deep breath, he pulled your hand off his arm, deciding to hold it instead. “it bothers me because you don’t deserve that.”

“What… what do you mean?”

“we monsters have been treated like that since we got up here; we’re used to it, we can ignore it.” He glanced back at you, grin looking somewhat guilty. “i can ignore it. but you…” His free hand gripped at your sheets, his shoulders becoming tense. “if we weren’t together you wouldn’t get weird looks.”

You shook your head, laughing softly. “Honestly, Sans. I doesn’t upset me

that

much. I’ll learn to live with it.” He gave you a look that appeared… anxious, even a bit desperate. “I’m not going to leave you because some people are assholes. Is that what you’re worried about?”

His shoulders raised upwards, and he nodded weakly. A knock sounded at your bedroom and you both turned to the sound. Ray stood there, arms crossed, leaning against the door frame. “You two done down here yet? Or should I close this door for you?”

You rolled your eyes, flipping her off. “Yeah yeah, we’re coming.” Pushing off the bed, you took Sans’s hand, raised your bag to your shoulder, and trudged up the stairs.

“You like tea, right Sans?” Your boyfriend nodded, giving Ray a thumbs up. “Good.” The three of you sat at the kitchen table after your friend placed mugs of hot tea in front you. She slid her phone to you after a few minutes. “Call her.”

You groaned into your mug, the skeleton beside you looking confused. “Do I have to?”

“Um,

yeah

? She’s your mother for god's sake!”

You groaned again, looking to Sans for support. He gave you a sympathetic look but shook his skull. “i agree with ray. sorry sweetie.”

You pouted, but reached out and grabbed the phone nonetheless. “Your passcode still the same?”

“Mhm.”

You tapped the table while the phone rung. “Hello? Ray?”

It felt strange to hear your mother's voice like this; not only had it been a while since you’ve actually called like this, but she sounds so tired and worried. It never really occurred to you how much your absence would have affected her. “Hi mom.”

There was a choked gasp on the other end. “Sweetheart? You’re okay! Oh my god, I was so worried! The policed called me and, oh lord, I thought… I thought-.” Oh god, she was crying; you could hear her sniffles.

“Mom, calm down, I’m fine, really.”

“I didn’t... No one called me that you got back - when did-”

“Here, just… just let me explain.” You took a deep breath. “So, uh, first I should tell you about my new friends- well, uh, friends and boyfriend, um.” Ray wiggled her eyebrows teasingly at Sans who covered his mouth as his face turned blue.

“

Boyfriend?

”

“Um, yeah. His, heh, his name is Sans. um, basically I started giving his little brother art lessons, and one thing led to another.” Sans was giving you a happy smile from across the island, making your cheeks heat slightly. “Ok, so now that you know who they are, um, I’ll- crap.” You took another steadying breath, taking your time to collect your thoughts before speaking again. “Three days after I… went missing, um, Sans… Sans found me. He saved me, mom.”

“I don’t understand, how did…”

“I don’t know how he did it, he just did. And now I’m back.”

“Are you safe at least? Did he take you to the hospital? I imagine that you weren’t doing too well after…” You could hear the concern in your mom’s voice, making it sound slightly shrill.

You shuttered a little thinking back on what you’d been through. “Well, yes, I’m safe. As for the hospital, there wasn’t really any need. Both Sans and his brother, Papyrus, are monsters; so they were able to heal me with their magic.”

“Wait, they’re

what

?!” Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why was she was focusing on that right now?

“Uh, they’re monsters?” Sans’s shoulders tensed when you repeated the statement.

“You’re dating a monster?! God, no wonder you got kidnapped…” The last part came out as a mumble and you felt yourself go stiff.

“Excuse me?”

She ignored you. “That must be why their names are so odd..”

“Oh come on, don’t be rude, their names are fine!” Your boyfriend shrank in on himself, a look of great unease covering his skull.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few minutes before your mom spoke up again. “Sweetheart, is… are you doing alright... mentally? This isn’t some kind of… phase, is it?”

Rage boiled in your stomach and one of your hands formed into a fist. “You’re joking, right? I just got back from being

kidnapped

and you’re more worried about me dating a fucking monster?” Sans flinched at your angry tone, making you feel a bit bad; but only for him.

“Language!” She scolded, making you huff in annoyance. “Of course I’m concerned about what you went through, but.. What if they had something to do with it?”

“They

didn’t

. If they did, do you think Sans would have risked his life to find me?!”

“Right, right… I’m sorry, I’m just… worried.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to be so rude.”

“I-I know, and I’m sorry. I’m still not used to the whole… monsters thing.” You didn’t answer, so your mom continued. “Have the police found who did it?”

“One of them. Maybe they found the other, I don’t know. We’ll be talking to them later.”

Silence spanned out between the two of you; you were about to say goodbye and hang up when your mom spoke up. “I want to come visit you.”

“What?”

“I want to see you, after everything…” She trailed off. “You, Ray and the others still live in the same house, right?”

“I’m not staying with them right now.”

“Huh?”

You sighed and rested your elbow on the counter with your chin in your palm. “I’m staying with Papyrus and Sans for a bit.”

“Oh! Um, Can… can I visit you there then?”

“Dunno, not my house.” You knew you were being sharp and a bit rude, but you couldn’t help it if you were still be upset over her ‘phase’ comment from earlier.

“Can you ask for me?”

“Ask for yourself.” You moved the phone so it was right in front of Sans who flinched again. He gave you a confused look and you wiggled the small device at him. He hesitantly took it from your grasp and held it against the side of his skull where his ear would be, if he had one.

“hello?” He didn’t sound like himself, more nervous, jittery.

Was he okay?

“yeah, um, yeah, i’m sans.”

You couldn’t make out what your mother was saying but you could hear the distinct chatter-sound that signified she was, indeed, talking.

“i don’t mind.” he quickly glanced over to you, probably gauging your reaction. You weren’t mad, it was his place after all and, despite you being a bit annoyed with her, it would be nice to see your mom again. “don’t think paps, my bro, would mind either. he loves having people over.”

“um, yeah, i’ll send you the address later. uh, bye?” he handed the phone back to you; he looked extremely uncomfortable and anxious.

What was bothering him?

“He seems… nice.” Pressing the phone back to your ear, you idly tapped your mug.

“He is.”

“Well, um. I… I suppose I’ll let you go, then. We can talk more about… what happened when I get there, deal?”

“Fine.”

“... I love you, dear.”

You sighed deeply, shoulders falling. “I love you too, mom. See you later.”

You set the cellphone back down against the counter, sliding it towards your friend. The silence was heavy in the room, and you could tell Sans was very uncomfortable; he was hunched over the counter too, head resting on his palm, eyelights avoiding both you and Ray. All in all, he looked as though he wished he could shrink in on himself.

...Your mom hadn’t said anything rude to him, right?
 
You gave Sans your mom’s phone number so he could tell her their address. As you all finished your tea, Ray filled the room with senseless chatter with  you and Sans occasionally adding your own two cents. Afterwards, Sans helped you fill another bag with some of your art supplies incase you got bored. The skeleton suggested teleporting your bags back to the house if you wanted to walk back, but you decided against it. You’d had enough fresh air for today and wanted to get home.

“Are you sure you have everything?” Ray inquired as Sans lifted your bags off the ground in front of the door.

“Pretty sure.”

Ray hummed, a thin eyebrow raised. “Shampoo and conditioner?”

“Yup.”

“Pads?”

Your eyes widened as you realized your error. With everything that’s happened, your period had been the last thing on your mind. God, you couldn’t even remember when you were supposed to get it again - luckily, you had always been the type of person to keep track of this sort of thing in a small calendar on your dresser.

“I’ll be right back” You nearly tripped down the stairs in your rush, vaguely  hearing Sans ask your friend what pads are for which was followed by snickers.

It took you a moment to figure out the day (being gone for three days was really paying a toll on your internal clock) you figured it was Thursday, meaning you had until Saturday before you really had to worry. Grabbing the small pack of pads out from under the sink in the bathroom (along with the few tampons you had) you hastily made your way back upstairs.

Sans’s brows were drawn and a hesitant, confused smile was playing on his features while Ray leaned against the wall,  clutching her gut from laughing. “Oh boy, have fun explaining periods to this guy.” She said, wheezing.

“You… You don’t know what they are?” He set the bag down so you could squeeze the small packages into it.

“they’re the dots at the end of a sentence?” He sounded so confused, similar to a child even.

“Well, yes, but… uh, no.”

“what?”

Standing back up, you rubbed your hands together, biting your lip. You’d have to explain this to him later. It would embarrass the hell out of you, and send the skeleton into panic mode (thinking you were hurt), if either of you woke up and there was blood on his sheets because your pad had moved during the night.  “I’ll, um, explain it later.”

The skeleton shrugged, seemingly satisfied with the answer for the moment and picked your bags up again. “be right back.” With that, Sans popped out of existence with your luggage.

“How are you going to explain you-know-what to him?”

You sighed. “Dunno yet. I’ll figure something out.”

Just as you finished your sentence, Sans appeared beside you, a puff of air blowing over you. He looked between the two of you, a casual grin in place. “you good to go?” Now that you thought about it, his grin was almost too casual. His smile was close to the one he used when he wore his mask but not quite that fake. “hon?”

Crap, you’d been staring hadn’t you? You quickly pulled a smile on your face, nodding. “Yup!”

You exchanged a hug with Ray. She reinforced, multiple times, that if you need anything, or wanted to come home, to call her anytime and she’d be there in a flash. Afterwards you pressed against Sans, his larger arms wrapping around you. With one more wave to your friend,  you and Sans fell away from the front entrance of your home. This was the first time you’d forgotten to close your eyes and for a split second, you saw a world of total and complete darkness with flecks of blinding white peeking out here and there.

Your legs threatened to give out beneath you when you were back in Sans and Papyrus’s living room and a sudden wave of nausea hit you. Fortunately, Sans held you up with ease, pulling you closer to his ribcage. “didn’t close your eyes?”

You nodded your head, taking deep breaths as the nausea passed. “Yeah. it was really dark, but not? It was black.”

Sans didn’t answer right away, nuzzling the top of your head. “you feeling okay now?”

You pushed away from him a bit, enough that you could actually see his face. “I’m fine. Are

you

okay?”

His skull cocked to the side, smile faltering. “why wouldn’t i be?”

“I don’t know! You’ve been acting weird since I had that call with my mom!” Your words came out as an accusation, which wasn’t your intent but you were really worried. You didn’t like it when he was obviously hiding something.

He flinched, eye lights shrinking drastically. “you noticed that?”

“Well of course I did.”

He sighed, shoulders falling. His smile fading entirely too, making him appear exhausted. “i just…” He opened his jaw and closed it, visibly struggling to find his words.

“You wanna sit down?” When he nodded somberly, you took his hand and led him to the green sofa and sat down beside him. You patted his knee reassuringly and gently prodded, “Take your time, okay?”

He took a moment, squeezing your hand to calm himself down, before beginning. “i’m just worried.”

“About?”

“meeting your mom, i guess? like, she already doesn’t really like me, so… so what if she takes you away? what if she hates me and makes you leave? i... i can’t…” He was beginning to hyperventilate; so you reached up and cupped his cheekbone with your hand, moving his face so he’d look at you.

“Sans, calm down, okay? You don’t know she doesn’t like you, don’t say that.”

“she doesn’t like that i’m a monster.”

You didn’t want to outright deny that because, technically speaking, you didn’t think he was wrong to say it. “You’re more than just a monster. You’re Sans. You have a personality, you’re sweet, you’re funny and…” You bit your lip, then added. “My mom can learn to overlook the whole skeleton thing once she actually meets you.

“you don’t know that.”

You sighed, rubbing his cheek. “Neither do you. Beside, even if she doesn’t like you, I do. A lot. And I’m an adult who can make make her own choices and do what she wants. Mom can’t take me away, even if she tries.”

The skeleton didn’t respond, eyelights dropping down to the ground. “That’s not all that’s bugging you, is it?” With a slow shake of his skull, Sans seemed to shrink in on himself slightly. Like this, he looked so small and helpless. A stark contrast from the smiling joker you’ve come to know. “Can you tell me about it?”

He gently took hold of your hand, pulling it away from his head. “i... i’ve been thinking about this since we…” He waved a hand between the two of you, eyebrows knotting.

“Started dating?”

“... yeah.” He ducked his head, hiding his eye sockets from you. “you... you have to have noticed that i don’t… i don’t…” He trailed off, his grip on your hand tightening, his phalanges digging a bit into your flesh.

“You don’t what?”

“i don’t

deserve

you!” His skull suddenly whipped upwards. He looked desperate, eyes wide, his hand and body suddenly pushing away from you. “don’t you understand that!?” You don’t think you’ve ever heard him yell like this before, his deep voice cracking in certain places, his breathing erratic. “i’m so… so god damn

fucked up

and you… stars, you’re so amazing and kind and… and…”  His features turned downward, small cyan tears forming at the corners of his eye sockets. “and you could do so much better.”

You watched in silent shock as he collapsed against the side of his worn couch, skull falling forward. “Sans…” You inched towards him and he flinched, making you back off a bit. “I… I didn’t realize you felt that way about yourself…” A part of you had just assumed Sans’s confidence was relatively high but… turns out you were sorely mistaken. “Sans, please, look at me.” Hesitantly, he did as you asked. “I don’t… we all have problems, that’s just part of being alive. And none of your problems make me feel any different about you, you know that, don’t you?”

“you don’t know what i’ve done.”

You try again to reach out to him and, when he doesn’t jump back like last time, you rest your hand on his knee. “I really care about you. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before. And… and I can promise with all my heart and soul that’s not going to change anytime soon.”

Sans watched you, shoulders rising and falling, as he took deep, steady breaths. The sound of kids running outside, their small voices playfully calling after one another, filled the silence. Finally, Sans shyly moved away from the corner of the couch to curl up next to you, his skull finding its way to the crook of your neck while his hands clutched the back of your shirt. You rubbed his back (well, more like his spine) and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “i... i don’t think i could physically or emotionally handle that at this point.” he chuckled nervously, his breath warming on your neck.

“What do you mean…?”

He didn’t answer, instead he pulled himself closer to you. ‘i’ll... explain it another time.”

That, you thought, was probably for the best. The poor skeleton already looked emotionally drained, so you didn’t mind waiting for an answer.

The two of you  had all the time in the world, right?

You relaxed into the plush furniture, resting your chin on top of your boyfriend’s skull - something he’d done with you on multiple occasions - and let yourself relax.

You still have to talk with the police and your mother, so spending a few minutes relaxing with your sweet skeletal boyfriend wouldn’t hurt.

Besides, after everything that has happened, you both deserved a moment of peace.