Chapter Text
Sans woke up with a start, mumbling something about hot dogs and flowers and whatever it was he’d been dreaming about. He was on the couch, and Papyrus was shaking him awake with a grimace. The room was blasted with light from the TV and windows, and everything smelled a little like tomato sauce. Had Papyrus tried making spaghetti again? Of course he had, Undyne had just left. Ugh, that meant the kitchen was probably a mess. Again. The smaller skeleton sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eye sockets.
“Sans! How can you sleep at a time like this? Do you even know what time it is?”
“It’s time to get a new watch.”
“Sans! Ugh, it’s nearly noon! Didn’t you say you had a job interview this afternoon? Have you done anything to get prepared for it?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“What have you done?”
“Woke up.”
Papyrus sighed. “Sans, even though I, the Great Papyrus, am fully capable of supporting us both, I simply cannot let my brother lounge around all day!” He turned off the TV, and faced Sans, arms akimbo. “Today, I, the Great Papyrus, shall help you get ready for your job interview.”
“Bro is this really necessary?” Sans said as he was pushed towards his room. Before he could stop him, Papyrus was throwing clothes everywhere and muttering to himself. Sans knew his brother was just being thoughtful, but he wasn’t crazy about the sudden mess in his room that he knew he would never pick up. If he was lucky, Papyrus would clean it up for him. Papyrus stood up suddenly, beaming and holding a casual-but-not-too-casual shirt and some nice pants. Since when had he owned those? Oh well. In no time he was presentable and ready to go. He was also kind of uncomfortable. There was a remaining hour till the interview. A whole hour left for him to chicken out.
“I’m not so sure about this, bro. I don’t think the job’s that important. I only applied because you asked me to.”
“Don’t be such a negative nancy, Sans! You’ll do great! Would you like me to give you a ride?”
“Nah, I can get there myself,” Sans said, stretching the remaining tiredness from his limbs. “I think I might leave early to, uh, scope things out.” By that he meant walk around until he remembered to arrive late to the interview, but Papyrus didn’t know that.
“Scope things out, eh? Sounds like a great idea! Make sure you don’t get lost in the city, I know I’ve nearly gotten lost many times in that labyrinth,” Papyrus said, following Sans to the door of their apartment. “Good luck, brother!”
“Heh, thanks.” Sans waved back at Papyrus until he shut the door, and took a shortcut to the parking garage where his faithful moped was parked next to Papyrus’ car. Maybe he would just ride his moped around town until he decided to show up to the interview. The air was crisp with the coming winter, and the leaves of trees continued to fall and carpet the sidewalks. It was a pretty day, but Sans couldn’t help but feel paranoid. Already it felt like ants were crawling through his bones as his anxiety tried to take over. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the feeling away. Papyrus would be disappointed if he didn’t at least show up to the interview. It was one thing to disappoint himself, a whole other thing to disappoint Papyrus. The moped sputtered to life, and the skeleton was off, trying not to sweat it.
Maybe life up here wouldn’t be so bad. It had taken some getting used to, escaping the underground, but Sans had adjusted. Sort of. He still wasn’t so sure about the kid. His visions kept getting worse, lately, but they always got worse. Shivering, he decided not to think about his visions and instead tried to come up with some puns to tell at the interview. If they asked him to be a waiter, and asked why they should hire him, he’d say “I think I can bring a lot to the table.” Heh. That was pretty good. If he accidentally spilled a drink or something on himself, he’d say, “This one’s on me.” He smiled a little. That was good too, but he hoped he wouldn’t spill anything. That wouldn’t look good for him in the long run.
Ring-ring! His phone caught him off guard, and he almost swerved into a telephone pole.
“Sup,” He said, pulling to the side of the road, ignoring the dirty looks from the drivers passing him.
“Hello Sans!” It was Toriel. “Your brother told me that you were having a job interview today.” Of course he told her.
“Yup! I hope they’re okay with hiring a skeleton though.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, they might think I don’t have the guts for the job.”
She laughed and he smiled.
“Oh, Sans, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Do you know when you’ll be free next? I need a babysitter for Frisk this evening so I can go and get groceries.”
“I should be available in a couple of hours. But, uh, do you really think Frisk needs a sitter? I mean, after all the kid’s gone through…”
“... I know, I know. I’m just not comfortable leaving them alone anymore.” She was quiet for a moment, and Sans felt chills run down his spine. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter. “I haven’t told anyone this yet… but last week they were having some issues sleeping. I think they’ve been having nightmares.”
Sans frowned. “Yeah, I’ll come over later.”
“Oh, thank you dear! Maybe you could invite Papyrus to come help and after I can make a nice meal for all of us.”
“It’s a date. Later, Tori.”
“Goodbye, Sans.”
Click.
‘Oh my God did I just say ‘it’s a date’ to the queen, holy cow,’ he freaked out inwardly.
Sans merged back into traffic, still trying not to sweat it, hands and legs jittery. Whenever he talked with Toriel the world seemed brighter. Calmer even. It was like he could see more colors and more beauty in the world when he heard her voice. It confused the heck out of him, but he decided not to think about it too much. That was his policy: If it’s confusing or scary, ignore it and maybe it’ll go away. He made an exception with Toriel, though. He couldn’t ignore her, that would would hurt her feelings, and who was he to hurt the feelings of the ex-queen?
After riding around for awhile, Sans stopped in a parking lot and lit a cigarette. All the humans he’d met who’d said anything about smoking had warned him that it ruined your lungs. But Sans didn’t really have lungs, so he concluded it was different for him. He’d never tell Papyrus though. Or anyone else for that matter. The only one who he thought might guess anything about it was Undyne, but she probably wouldn’t care that much. Besides, it made him feel a little better. Hey, if it made him feel better, Sans figured it was decent enough for him. Sans glanced around the parking lot. It was about a block away from the locally-owned cafe he’d sent an application to, and pretty empty. That was surprising, considering this was the heart of the city. Maybe it was just a slow day.
Stepping out into the street was like entering another world. More people, more sights, less gray. Signs flashed in the sun and delicious scents filled the air, though somewhat tinged with the smell of gasoline. Sans continued to feel uneasy, mostly because he wasn’t wearing his usual outfit like the lazybones he was, but also because of all the humans. There were a lot of them. And he couldn’t help but notice the occasional suspicious stare or muffled gasp as he passed by. Definitely set him on edge. Didn’t help that he stood out so much, with his stark white bones and his shortness. Now he was beginning to sweat it, very much so.
Pausing by an alley, he stomped out his cigarette and lit another one. Gosh, why was he so freaked out? Was it nerves? His anxiety? Damn, who knew a guy could get so riled up just by existing? Really dampened his day. He just needed to take a breather. Everything was fine. Breathe in… breathe out… he let the smoke fill his rib cage and let it tickle his eye sockets on the way out. He listened to the heartbeat of the city, the cacophonic monotony. The clicking of bikes, the booming of cars, the chatter of passersby, the clatter-clink of a fence…
He practically jumped out of his shoes when a couple of mangy-looking dogs barked from behind a fence nearby. Regrettably, he managed to jump backwards into foot traffic, knocking over a couple of humans.
“Oh my God are you–” Sans couldn’t finish his thought before a human took one look at him and freaked.
“What the– who the hell do you think you are?”
“Stacy, calm down–”
“No! That monster just assaulted me!”
The dogs continued to bark, drool foaming to the ground. Sans’ legs felt like jelly.
“Stacy, I’m sure it was an accident.”
Sans took a step back, trying to stutter out a sorry. The human named Stacy kept yelling and the other human tried putting some sense in her head, but Sans could feel panic set in. Before another moment had passed, he ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, away, away, away, away, away. He still could hear the dogs barking in his head, yelling, yelling– oof! He’d bumped into someone else, and he heard something clatter to the ground, but he continued running anyway.
He wasn’t sure how long it was until he stopped, but when he did stop he was out of breath behind a gas station. He swore. A lot. And lit another cig.
Inhale. Exhale.
Everything was fine. He looked down at his shirt. A large stain spread across it, probably coffee. When had that happened? Fuck. Sans suddenly felt very much like taking a nap.
He showed up late to the interview as he’d guessed he would, his shirt was a mess, and he was out of breath. Like, really, really out of breath. That was the most he’d run in his entire life. So Sans was definitely surprised when they didn’t immediately turn him away. The owners of the little cafe, Caffee, were a human couple by the name of Dan and Shelby Owens. They were very nice, and obviously frazzled. Shelby had short blonde hair and reminded Sans a little of Toriel. Dan had a lot of tattoos and was kind of intimidating, but acted nice. And thank God they asked him why they should hire him to be a waiter, because he definitely stuck the landing with that pun. They laughed a lot.
Smiling, Sans suddenly felt a little better.
“We’ll definitely get back to you as soon as we can, Mr. Sans,” Shelby said with a smile.
“Please, it’s, uh, just Sans. Thanks.”
“No, thank you, Sans. If you haven’t noticed, our little business is really hurting for help. Our host and a couple of other staff members quit–”
“Not on bad terms, mind you. It was all mutual. They had their own lives to get to, ya know?”
“Ok. Cool.”
“Yeah, and, you know, we really want to be supportive of the whole ‘monsters’ movement, ya know? So many people are already so hostile towards each other, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to try and get a job.”
Sans tried to keep smiling. “...Yeah.” Aw, crap. Of course, that whole thing would be brought up. He knew they meant well, but… just being referred to as a monster didn’t feel nice. Like, he got that that’s what they were called, but the word monster could mean so many things. He didn’t like it. They stood up, and Sans followed suit, shaking their hands with some hesitation. An empty feeling in the skeleton’s chest was all that remained when he left the cheery establishment.
The crisp air no longer sent a tingle of newness down his spine– now it was just cold. Why was he feeling this way? Everything had gone better than expected. Everything was fine. But why didn’t he feel fine? Why didn’t he feel fine? A shortcut later, he was by his moped. His phone buzzed. It was Toriel, texting him.
-Hello, dear! I’m just contacting you to see how everything’s doing and if you are still up to babysitting Frisk. ]:)
-ye everything’s cool i’m on my way now
-Oh good! Make sure you invite Papyrus too.
-will do :)
Eye sockets filled with only a vacant stare, Sans let a few minutes pass before texting Papyrus.
-yo
Hardly a second passed before Papyrus responded.
-HELLO BROTHER! HOW DID THE INTERVIEW GO?
-good. Tori's wanderin if u r free to help me babysit frisk
-THAT SOUNDS LIKE A WONDERFUL IDEA! WHEN DOES SHE REQUIRE OUR ASSISTANCE?
-like rn
A pause. Damn.
-I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE TO HELP CARE FOR THE HUMAN FRISK, BUT (FEAR NOT!) I WILL BE ABLE TO SHOW UP IN ABOUT HALF AN HOUR! ):
Sans rubbed a little more sleep out of his eye socket. Yeah, he should’ve figured this would be the case.
-its cool bro. cya then
-SEEYA!
‘Whelp, tonight should be interesting.’
“Sans!” Frisk squealed upon opening the door. They had the biggest smile, and a the room behind them was covered in various toys. Toriel certainly was spoiling the kid, but nobody seemed to mind. If anything, the kid deserved to be spoiled.
“Hey buddy. Mind if I come in?”
They shook their head and ran giggling to find Toriel. Stepping inside the modest household, Sans smiled a little. This was just what he needed right now. A chance to, you know, take his mind off things. As much as he was wary of the kid, they meant a lot to him. Frisk had saved the people of the underground. Probably reality as everyone knew it too. Sans was a little confused with that part, but he always just shrugged it off. He figured it wasn’t his place to know.
“Sans! Thank goodness, I was just about to head out.”
“Hey, Tori. My bro should be here in about half an hour.”
“Oh good– Oh my,” she was surprised to see the massive stain on his shirt. “What happened? Here, you can borrow one of my sweaters.” Pulling a sweater off a nearby coat hanger and handing it to him, she said with a tone of pride, “I knitted it myself. You can use my washing machine if you want.”
“Oh, uh… thanks.” It was a nice sweater, salmon pink with white stripes. “I, uh, bumped into someone–”
“Papyrus is coming?” Frisk asked, eyes filled with excitement.
“Yup. He’s a little busy right now, but he’ll be here.”
Toriel chuckled a lovely warm chuckle, and patted Frisk on the head. “You be good for Sans, okay, dear?”
“Okay!” They ran off, leaving Toriel and Sans a moment alone.
“I want to thank you again, Sans. Frisk really looks up to you, you know.”
“Heh, well… what can I say? Guess I’m just a good skull model.”
She laughed. “That was so bad! Heh, I’ll be back by the hour, Sans. Toodles!”
“Later.”
Giving Sans a cheerful smile, the ex-queen left with a hum.
“Hey kid, did you know I used to be addicted to soap?”
“What? That’s silly!”
“It’s ok– I’m clean now.”
They both laughed, Frisk hugging their new favorite toy, which was a plush monster doll Toriel had made for them. “Sans, you’re silly.”
“Why thank you.”
Frisk gasped. “I know what we should do! We should play hide-and-seek!”
“You got it, buddo. You wanna hide first?”
They nodded their head eagerly.
“Well you better skedaddle, because I’m counting to a hundred! One…”
They leapt up off the ground and ran into various rooms while Sans covered his eyes and counted.
“Two…”
Sans smiled, hearing their little feet pitter-patter on the floor.
“Skip a few, 99, 100!” He yelled through the house with a mischievous grin. A distant yelp gave Frisk’s position away, and Sans laughed. For all the kid had been through, they were terrible at this game. Shrugging, Sans blatantly looked through all the rooms they weren’t in first and then reached Toriel’s room. Her room was a master bedroom, but the decor was modest. A few flower pots sat in a couple of corners, a picture frame on the desk. Sun streamed through the window, highlighting a well-made bed.
“Hm… I wonder where Frisk is?” He said, walking around the room, and opening various drawers and closet door. A stifled giggle escaped from under the bed. He opened the drawer on the bedside table, pondering out loud, “Not in here… I wonder…”
He fell down on all fours, peeking under the bed with a big smile and scooping the up child in his arms. “Found ya, squirt!”
“Hey!” They laughed when he gave them a big raspberry. The kid squirmed out of his arms and, pointing, said, “Your turn!”
“Heh, okay, just give me a minute, kid.”
He took his sweet time walking out of the room, but tip-toed with eagerness into the kitchen, the bathroom, and then the guest room. The guest room, of course, was very well kept. It was similar to Toriel’s, though not as big, and had a few boxes stashed in the corner. A few looked empty. There was also a wardrobe across the room.
“One hundred! Ready or not, here I come!” Frisk’s voice was distant but getting closer. Sans leapt into a box, not as gracefully as he thought he’d be, but quiet enough. He closed the lid and sat in the darkness, smiling to himself. The hiding spot was in plain sight, but far too obvious to be suspect. Pit-pat-pit-pat-pit-pat… footsteps ran across the house in a mad frenzy, getting closer and closer and then further and further. Frisk entered the room, dashed into the wardrobe, dashed to the bed, dashed out. Sans blinked. Was it just him, or did it feel a lot later than it was? It was kinda nice, sitting in this small, dark space. He closed his eyes. Just for a second. Just until Frisk found him.
He opened his eyes, and he found himself sitting in a field. Specifically, the park in town. He was alone. Wildflowers sprung up like confetti in the grass, and it felt nice out. Warm, open, a nice breeze. It was almost warm enough to take off his jacket. Hadn’t he been wearing Toriel’s sweater? Standing up, a pair of butterflies danced around him. His heart felt happy. A smile lit up his face. How long had it been since he’d been here? Too long. He saw friendly faces in the distance, waving at him. He waved back. How did he get here? Why was he here? Frisk smiled at him, on the other side of the field. But the smile didn’t feel good. It was… different. Sad? Mad? Scared? Sans shuddered, falling to his knees. Reality bent in on itself, warping and bending and ripping apart at the seams. He fell and he fell and he fell, and he couldn’t do anything about it. He tried screaming but he didn’t have anything to scream with. Tumbling through the void, it felt like his nonexistence would tear his soul apart. He tried screaming again… nothing. It felt like he was being crushed by the nothing. Bone-crushing pressure, no longer falling, but fighting to stay existing. He flailed his non-arms, kicking as hard as he could, tried to tear himself away from this place. Even as he felt himself disappearing, the void whispered his name, as if mocking his very existence.
“Sans!”
Sans fell out of the box, sweating and trembling and panting and oh god what was going on where was he, where was he, where was he? A familiar face looked down at him– Papyrus. Why was he here? Why would the void torture him too– but they weren’t in the void.
It was the guest room. Papyrus was holding him, both of them scared. Frisk stood in the doorway, expressionless.
“Sans! Sans, what happened? Are you okay?” Papyrus asked, helping Sans get into a sitting position on the floor. Sans hugged himself, trying to steady his breathing. He was safe. It was only a vision. Everything was fine. Safe. Even so, he avoided looking at Frisk.
“I, uh… I’m fine, bro. Just, uh… heh, claustrophobic.”
“Claustrophobic, eh? Are... you sure you are alright?”
Sans nodded, standing up. “Urgh… I need some air. Um. Is it okay if I leave you two here for a bit while I go for a walk?”
“Why don’t we come with you?”
“Yeah!”
He really just wanted to smoke, and get out of there for a bit. How could he say no to them, though? Scratching the back of his neck, he shrugged. “Um… I, uh… I think Uncle Sans needs some time to himself. I’ll be back in a jiffy though, okay?”
Frisk pouted, but nodded. “Okay.”
Papyrus seemed concerned still. “Are you positively sure you’re okay, Sans?”
“I’m as okay as the hokey pokey. Seeya in a bit.”