Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dainty, gloved hands gripped at the motorcycle handles.

The only thing you could see through your helmet was the bright headlight illuminating the path in front of you, everything else being a swirl of black and navy blue. A chill made its way down your spine as your clothes failed to provide any sense of warmth to your shivering body. The rapid winds cut through your form, and the chatter of your teeth echoed throughout your eardrums. You straightened your back as an attempt to regain composure, but your panic failed to simmer down.

Seeking to decipher your surroundings, you leant toward the abyss in front of you. Yet the sky denied you any sense of vision, the only thing greeting your eyes being darkness. Not even the moon wanted to give you any light, for it was hiding behind a thick curtain of clouds-- the stars following suit. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were driving straight into a black hole.

Seeing as you didn’t have any luck with your vision, you decided to check on your bike. Sadly, it seemed you weren’t going to have luck there, either. A flashing red light was illuminated on your motorcycle, signaling that your gas tank was dangerously empty. There was only enough fuel to keep you going for a couple more minutes.

Driving in the middle of nowhere, in the dark of night, with an empty gas tank.

It couldn’t get any worse than this.

But just as that thought crossed your mind, a sinister crack of thunder rumbled throughout the wasteland, bringing a flash of brightness along with it. A heavy downpour of rain followed shortly after, tumbling against both your helmet and bike.

Okay, now it couldn’t get any worse.

As the storm retched and bellowed, you looked around in hopes of seeing a sign of human life. Luckily, the newly introduced flashes of thunder provided a great light source-- although fleeting. Unluckily, it seemed as if you were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Just miles and miles of grass plains ahead and behind you.

This was why you didn’t like traveling through rural areas.

“Fuck, fuck.” You whispered to yourself, checking your bike once again. Nothing had changed, obviously. That same red light blinked brightly, as if it were mocking you. But this wasn’t the time to hold a grudge against non sentient light sources, you had to figure out what your next course of action was.

Slowing down your bike to preserve fuel, you weighed your options. You could try to find a tree to rest under for the night. At least it would provide some sort of shelter; although sleeping outside during a storm wasn’t something you were excited about. Just thinking about the bugs that would come out due to the wet environment sent a feeling of disgust through your body. It would probably be difficult to sleep with all this thunder, anyway.

Then again, you couldn’t continue driving. But perhaps you could attempt to push your bike to a nearby town? That sounded incredibly tiring, though. Especially considering the fact that you had no idea where the nearest town was

Speaking of towns, wasn’t one located around here? You glanced around the area again, but of course, there wasn’t a sign of civilization in sight.

Huh.

Now that was strange. If you recalled correctly, there was supposed to be a small town around this area; you saw it on your map. Unless you somehow managed to get lost, there’s no way you could’ve missed it. Well, the possibility of being lost did make a lot of sense. Maybe you accidentally took the wrong road, blinded by the dark environment around you.

...

...Wait, what was that?

You squint your eyes underneath your tinted helmet. It looked like... a street light? And a house? It was hard to tell with the combination of rain and darkness distorting your vision, but there was definitely some sort of light source over there.

Well, it was the only lead you had, so you might as well check it out!

You gradually speed up your motorcycle, a newfound hope glimmering in your chest. It didn’t look like a whole town, but perhaps you could ask the people living there for directions, maybe even some fuel.

The sturdy wheels of your bike thudded against the cracked road as you proceeded to get closer to the light source. It was definitely a street lamp, and it illuminated what looked like a two story cabin. From what you could see, it also looked like there was a sign next to it. You couldn’t make out the words, but maybe it was a shop? Or, hopefully, an inn?

Slowing down, you made your way into the building’s parking lot. You maneuvered right next to the lamp and parked your bike, turning off the engine. You highly doubted someone would attempt to steal it; mainly because there was a lack of a ‘someone’ around to do the stealing.
So, you figured it was fine to forgo chaining your motorbike.

Getting off the seat, you stood and observed your surroundings. The first thing that caught your attention was the cabin. It was a faded teal color, most likely due to old age. The walls were wooden and slightly cracked, but they looked sturdy- like the thick kind of wood you’d see in a log house. The roof was also wooden, the only difference being its thickness. Also, its color. The roof was a rich, dark brown shade.

You noted the lack of windows.

Satisfied with your ‘investigation’, you decided to glance at the large sign. In big, bold letters were the words “Papyrus’s Wares!” . Other things were scribbled onto the sign, but you were too far away to read them.

This was probably a shop of sorts; judging from the ‘wares’ part. A bit disappointing that it wasn’t a motel or inn, but you weren’t complaining. It was better than being stranded.

Now you should probably stop standing in the rain…

Sighing, you walked to the front door of the establishment. It was certainly home-like, leading you to believe the owner probably repurposed their house to become a shop. You’ve seen quite a few people do that, and it was admittedly a cool concept. You’d consider trying it when you settle down with a special somebody.

A small bell jingled as you pushed the door open, signalling your presence. The first thing you were greeted with was a pleasant scent. It smelt like a newly bought car, or maybe a freshly printed book. It was... satisfying, in a sense.

There were various shelves and racks around the store, and they displayed tons of trinkets. Things like keychains, snow globes, shot glasses, etc. It was certainly interesting. In fact, a cute plush keychain caught your eye. But despite this being a shop, you felt as if you couldn’t touch things without permission. So you begrudgingly ignored the knickknack. Perhaps you could come back to it later.

You weaved through the maze-like store, careful to not damage anything. Soon enough you arrived at what seemed like the front desk. There was a cash register and everything, so it probably was.

There was also a sleeping skeleton. So... that was that.

Monsters weren’t anything new to the world. The barrier had been broken about a decade ago, so they had been integrated into society fairly well thus far. It was a bit surprising to see one living out in such a rural area, though. Most of their population was located in the big city. You understood why, despite the various problems that arose in these concentrated areas. The city just had a certain charm to it. And if you were trapped underground for centuries, you would definitely want to see all the technology you missed out on.

Dismissing your mental rant, you glanced at the skeleton. They wore a tattered blue hoodie and black basketball shorts, along with some fuzzy pink slippers. It looked like a comfortable outfit, to be honest. You would kill to wear that instead of being stuck in wet clothing.

There was a tiny golden bell next to them, probably to grab their attention if they were busy (or sleeping as they were now). But, you hesitated to ring it. It looked like the skeleton was comfortable; they had their head buried into their arms, light snores emitting from their form. Perhaps you should wait until they woke up naturally, it was pretty late after all. They were probably tired, and you didn’t want to be rude.

“I guess I’ll just look around for now..” You mumbled under your breath, turning around on the creaky wood. There was certainly a lot to observe; this store seemed packed full of cool things. Maybe you’d even find a bathroom while you were at it.

“human.”

You jolted at the unexpected baritone voice, instantly turning your head towards the noise.

“don’t you know how to greet a new pal?”

The skeleton’s empty eye sockets stared you down, causing your heartbeat to rise. It was... very unsettling. You knew they- or judging by the voice, he couldn’t control how he looked, but it still sent your nerves into a frenzy. His empty grin certainly didn’t help either.

However, you swallowed the fear building up in your throat. As much as you wanted to run and never come back, you didn’t really have anywhere to run to. So, you had to just suck it up and bite your tongue. Besides, he could be a nice person, it wasn’t good to judge people based on appearances.

But oh, were you scared.

Wringing your sweaty hands together, you opened your cracked lips to speak. “I’m so sorr-”

“shake my hand.” The skeleton extended his arm.

You stared at it for a minute, which turned into two, which turned into three.

And then you decided to shake it.

You took his hand in your own, but before you could continue, a loud phbbbbtttttt~ noise settled through the air. A couple of seconds passed by before you snorted, scrunching up your nose in amusement.

“the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick,” The skeleton pulled his hand back, taking the red cushion out of his glove. A goofy grin sat on his face. “-I haven’t been able to pull that one on anyone for a while.” His voice dropped the intimidating tone, leaving a friendly attitude to fill the air. All the tension had melted away in a split second, and you definitely felt more relaxed.

Huh, you can’t believe you were intimidated by this guy for a second!

Deciding to take off your helmet, you reached upwards and pulled it off. The skeleton continued his bit whilst you attempted to tame your frizzy hair. “it’s an oldie, but a goodie.”

Holding your helmet by your hip, you decide to humor him. “Yeah. It never stinks, no matter how many times I hear it.”

His grin stretched wider.

“heh.” He sat straighter in his chair, taking a second to observe your form. It seemed your soaked clothes were the first thing to catch his eye… socket? Eye light? He manifested some sort of white pupil after he finished his joke, so you were just going to call it an eye light.

“looks like you got caught in the storm.” You sighed at that statement, running a hand through your hair. You probably looked like hot garbage. Minus the hot part.

“Yeah, unfortunately.” You clicked your tongue. “Didn’t think it’d rain today. Just my luck, I guess.”

“why’re you driving around this late anyway? it’s dangerous, ‘specially since you’re in the middle of nowhere.” The skeleton took one last glance at your attire. “doesn’t look like you’re from around here, either.”

“Maybe I am from around here.. How would you know if i’m not?”

“Well, I dunno if you noticed, but the only people ‘from around here’ are me, myself, and I. so…”

“I know, I know. Just trying to tickle your funny bone.”

“sorry, ‘guess I didn’t find it very humerus.”

You smiled, deciding to confide in this nice stranger. “I’m actually heading to visit a friend of mine. They live in the mountains, near Mount. Ebott.”

“makes sense,” The skeleton hummed, leaving you to continue your story.

“Yeah, I’ve never been to this area before, so I guess I got lost or something. I was supposed to stop at a town tonight, but obviously I didn’t find it.” You blew a raspberry with your lips, leaning against the wooden counter. “By the way, you wouldn’t happen to know where the nearest town is, would you?”

“there is a town around here, but you won’t get there by following the road. it’s a couple of miles behind the store. they like their privacy.”

“Oh.”

“Well,” You continued. “-do you know if they have a motel of sorts? I don’t think I can do much driving in this weather.”

“I don’t think they do. it’s a real small town, sorry.”

Now that was just great. What were you going to do now? You really didn’t want to sleep outside. Like, at all. Who knew how sick you were going to be if you even attempted that. In fact, you’re probably going to wake up sick tomorrow anyway, considering the fact that you’ve been in soaked clothes this whole time.

That is, if you wake up tomorrow.

“Ah..” You pinched the bridge of your nose. “Well, thanks for your help. I guess i’ll be on my way now.” That was a lie, you were practically out of fuel. But he didn’t need to know that.

“luckily, this shop doubles as my house, so I wouldn’t mind having a guest.” Your head perked up at that sentence.

“-if you’re willing to stay.” He quickly added.

You thought about it for a moment. There weren’t a plethora of options for you to choose from. Either you sleep outside during a storm, or you trust a nice skeleton and sleep inside, where it’s nice and comfortable.

Looks like you were trusting the skeleton.

Listen, listen. If you were going to die, you were going to die warm. Besides, this guy seemed kind enough. He liked puns, and ran a little shop in the middle of nowhere. That was about all you needed to trust someone.

Giving people the benefit of the doubt has helped you in the long run, so why stop now?

“Sure, why not.” You shrugged, to what seemed like the skeleton’s surprise.

“really? not even a bit of caution?” His eye sockets seemed to.. widen..? You weren’t going to question the physics behind a piece of bone stretching. “I mean, for all you know, I could be some serial killer.”

“Accepting help from others is what has gotten me this far.” You nonchalantly stated. “And why would a punny guy like you harm me?”

“huh.” He paused for a second.

“I guess i’ve got too many funny bones to be considered a threat.”

“Hey, I expect a fee for stolen puns.” You crossed your arms, smiling.

“consider it your rent for the night.” The skeleton stood up from his chair, pushing it into the desk. He then proceeded to lead you to a staircase.

“oh, right.” He took his hand out of his pockets. “I’m sans, sans the skeleton.”

You took his hand once again, however this time lacked a whoopee cushion, much to your disappointment. Gently shaking his hand, you gave the skeleton- sans, your name.

“nice to meet ya.”

He smiled. Somehow, it looked different compared to his perma-grin. It felt kinder, friendlier. It had more joy packed into it.

You couldn’t help but smile back.

What a nice skeleton!

Chapter Text

“-and this is my brother’s room, you can stay here.” His hands rasped against the wooden door. “he’s not home today.”

You nervously played with your freshly washed hair. Sans had, thankfully, allowed you to take a shower in his bathroom. Oh, the feeling of scalding water practically boiling you alive had never been more welcome. Although you were a bit confused as to why a skeleton owned hair care products, but you kept your concerns to yourself.

Currently you were dressed in a pair of your pajamas that managed to stay dry (Investing in a water proof backpack was certainly a good choice- nice call, past you!) and some slippers that your new skeleton friend loaned you. Apparently he had multiple pairs of the same exact slippers, an almost comical gesture if you did say so yourself.

“Are you sure your brother won’t mind? I could just take the couch, I’m totally fine with it.” While you were grateful for the kindness Sans had shown you, you felt uncomfortable indulging in more than necessary. Especially if this was his brother’s room, someone who had never met you; much less given you permission to use their space. Besides, there was nothing bad about sleeping on the couch. It was something you were used to as an ex-couch surfer.

“it’s fine. my brother’s a cool dude, he won’t care. he’ll probably be happy he got to help in any way.” Sans put his hands into his pockets, shrugging nonchalantly. You bit your lip and briefly pondered his offer. He seemed completely fine with it, and if his brother was anything like him, then it should be alright.

It was only one night, after all.

Oh, what the hell.

“Then... I guess i’ll sleep here.” You nervously shifted your weight from one leg to another. There was still a bit of guilt lingering in your mind, but Sans’ attitude was reassuring. All you could do was hope his brother had a similar mentality.

“you uh, sure you’re not hungry?” The skeleton scratched the back of his skull. “i wouldn’t mind making you something to eat..”

“No, no. I’m good, really.” You smiled. “Thank you for the offer, though.”

“ah, okay.” He shoved his hands back into his pockets, looking down to the floor. “well, if you need me, i’ll be downstairs taking care of some things.”

“Alright.”

A fleeting moment of silence passed between you two.

“...And, sans?”

His head perked up. “yeah?”

“Thanks for everything, seriously. I probably would’ve been stranded in the rain if it weren’t for you.” You gave him a closed eye smile, hoping the sincerity of your words would reach him. While moderately kind people weren’t hard to come by- they were just that, moderate. There was a limit to their kindness. But Sans was different; I mean, he gave you a free place to stay for god’s sake. There were very few people who would go to such an extent to help a stranger.

You were so glad you met him.

“heh, it’s nothing.” He bashfully chuckled, showing you another one of his genuine smiles. “helping people is just in my genes, tibia honest.”

You mirrored his expression.

“Have a good night, bone man.”

“...you too.”

And with that, you stepped into your assigned room for the night. Before closing the door, you checked to see if Sans was still there- just so you wouldn’t accidentally slam the door in his face. But, he was nowhere to be found. Almost like he disappeared as soon as you turned around.

Huh.

Deciding to focus on the room instead, you shut the door, fully engulfing yourself in the new environment.

The first thing that caught your eye was certainly the red race car bed. It looked huge, comfortable, and most importantly...

Awesome!!

With the biggest grin on your face, you ran towards the bed and threw yourself on it. All your previous qualms with sleeping in a stranger’s room had melted away, a childish excitement appearing in their stead. Your body bounced against the squishy mattress, and you couldn’t help but explode into a fit of giggles. A part of you wanted to start jumping on the bed, but you just narrowly held yourself back. You didn’t know how soundproof the room was, and you didn’t want to bombard Sans with a bunch of noise. So, you settled with snuggling into the comfortable pillows.

Alright, you were indulging your inner child wayyyyy too much, but how could you just sit still with this masterpiece in front of you?

Eagerly sitting up, you decided to inspect the details of the bed frame. It was wooden, surprisingly; you had expected it to be plastic. There were many hand painted details on it as well. Patterns, stripes, and random little smiley faces filled its exterior. Just the sight of these cute doodles filled you with such a wholesome feeling.

It was clear that a lot of love was put into this creation.

Coming down your euphoria-induced high, you flopped against the mattress once more. This time you stayed still, taking a moment to compose yourself. Your chest was still rapidly intaking air, rhythmically heaving up and down. The beat of your heart echoed through your head as you absentmindedly stared at the ceiling.

Once you finally calmed down,

a disgusting feeling of loneliness prodded at your gut.

The smile melted off your face, and your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. The extreme mood change gave you whiplash, as if you were suddenly drenched in ice cold water. Or like you burnt yourself with a hot tray. Either way, it was such a... nasty feeling. You didn’t know where it came from, or why it hit you right now, but you did know it felt...

Absolutely terrible.

You slowly discarded your position on the bed, the uncomfortable feeling forcing you to stand up. A frown tugged at your lips and goosebumps peppered your skin. You tenderly stroked your arms, complete and utter confusion filling your brain.

Then you noticed how dusty your hands felt.

No, it wasn’t that kind of dust, thankfully. It was the old kind of dust that collected on untouched things, forgotten things. The dust that collected underneath your bed, or maybe on top of a tall shelf. Dust that signaled someone hadn’t been in here for years.

You crouched down to the bed frame, suspecting that the grime on your hands came from it. Naturally, you brushed your finger against the wooden surface to test your theory. Surprise surprise, a thick layer of dust coated the appendage. It was a little... jarring how you didn’t notice at first, as the red underneath the substance was much more vibrant.

Did anyone even live in this room?

Intrigued, you proceeded to further inspect the area. The desk was the same as the bed frame, caked in dust. The drawers were empty, and probably even more dusty than the bed and desk combined. You were pretty sure you saw dust bunnies having a party under the rug. The closet was devoid of clothes (not devoid of dust, though), and you didn’t even want to touch the posters on the wall. If anything, this area felt more like an attic instead of someone’s living space.

Yet despite the sheer mass of dust occupying the premises, the room felt empty. It felt lonely. Stagnant.

It felt cut off from the rest of the world.

Suddenly, you didn’t want to sleep in the fun bed anymore.

But you couldn’t go out and reject Sans’ hospitality. That would be so, so disrespectful- especially after everything he’s done for you. So, you did your best to bury the feeling in your chest, instead opting to sit on the mattress.

What caught your attention was how clean the sheets were, especially compared to the other furniture. They were probably the only thing in the room that weren’t swimming in dust. They looked and felt freshly washed; lived in, even. Like someone was preparing to host a guest. Well, if you disregarded the state of the rest of the room.

Had Sans been cleaning them?

If so, why disregard the rest of the room? 

There were so many questions swimming through your head, and none of them had answers. Every time you attempted to figure them out using the little knowledge you had, you would just get more confused. All your ‘theories’ (if you could even call them that) had enough holes to be used as a fishnet.

...

..Why were you worrying so much about this?

It was kind of weird- scratch that, very weird that a supposed living being’s room was as empty as an abandoned house, but it wasn’t really any of your business. Sans’ (and his brother’s) situation wasn’t something that concerned you. Well, it concerned you, but it didn’t concern you, you know?

Argh, it was just.. so hard to keep your feelings in check. On one hand you wanted to pry into your new acquaintance’s life with a pair of pliers, but on the other hand, there was no reason for you to. Sure, it would satisfy your curiosity, but that was about it. You definitely weren’t going to be here long enough to help Sans with any of his problems. Besides, it would be pretty rude if you questioned him on the state of his home when you were merely a guest- a stranger, at that.

So, maybe it was better if you let these quirks slide under the rug. Maybe you were just looking too far into it; you did have the tendency to let your imagination go wild.

At the end of the day, you were only staying here for a night. A night where you’d sleep in a cool, dusty race car bed, and that was about it. You would thank sans in the morning and be on your merry way. None of your questions would be answered, but that was okay. There was no need to stress over arbitrary details about a stranger’s life.

As much as you wanted to.

And with that, you shut your eyes.

Chapter Text

Your motorcycle had been destroyed.

Okay, well that was a bit of an exaggeration. It wasn’t completely demolished, but it might as well be! It was rendered immobile until you fixed it, at the very least.

The tires were completely trashed. Big, gaping holes were ripped into them to make sure they were unusable. Honestly, you didn’t know how the perpetrator did it; it was like they took a chunk out of your tires. With damage that bad, you couldn’t even use a temporary repair, you had to get brand new wheels if you wanted to drive the thing again.

As if that wasn’t enough to discourage you from riding, both the head and tail lights had been shattered- like someone took a crowbar and swung as hard as they could. Flecks of glass shards were scattered across the ground, so you had to watch your feet as you further inspected the vehicle.

There were slight damages done to other parts of the bike. The turn signals looked scuffed up, and various parts of the outer metal shell were dented. Scratches were scattered along the seat and handles, but overall, there wasn’t any serious damage. (excluding the tires and lights, obviously)

Thankfully, they had the heart to leave your engine alone. If they hadn't, well, it would’ve been a disaster.

Crouching down, you dejectedly rested your head against the seat of your motorbike, running your hand down the metal exterior as if you were consoling it. “Oh. Oh no… Who did this to you?” Your fingers occasionally got caught between dents and scratches, reminding you that the once smooth outer shell had been destroyed.

A couple seconds passed in that position before you heard a sharp inhale, like someone sucking air through their teeth.

“yikes, that doesn’t look too good…” Sans’ voice was filled with an aversive undertone, as if he were cringing just looking at the vehicle. To be honest, you didn’t blame him. Damage of this caliber was definitely out of the ordinary; someone must’ve really had it out for you.

“I-I don’t understand. How did this happen? Who would do this..?” You vented your frustrations, cooing at the remains of your motorcycle. This was going to be one heck of an expense, and that was if you managed to find replacement parts in this vacant area. You wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t an automobile shop anywhere near this place.

Oh god, you really were in trouble this time. If last night was a dosage of bad luck, this morning was an overdose.

Humming, sans stalked over to your back tire, inspecting it. “sheesh, did they take a bite out of this or something?”

“That’s what I was thinking!” You whined, lifting your head from the bike and joining Sans by the tire. He stared at the hole for a couple more seconds before scanning the area.

Now you didn’t want to make baseless accusations, especially towards someone who allowed you to stay in their home, but… it was getting kind of hard to ignore the fact that Sans was the only one living in this area. If someone had broken your bike, wouldn’t it be him? It definitely wasn’t you, and there was no one else around, so it was natural to be suspicious of Sans.

However, that begs the question, why? Why would Sans want to ruin your motorcycle? It was your only way of getting out of this place, and quite frankly, Sans seemed to be a bit of a lone wolf. He was nice and all, but there was probably a reason why he chose to live in such an isolated area. If anything, you wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted you to leave as soon as possible. So, why would he do something that actively hindered your departure?

Not to mention, Sans didn’t seem like the type of guy to destroy anyone's belongings- much less to this extent. Granted, you’ve known the guy for less than a day, so it was possible that he was hiding a nasty personality underneath the hospitality and puns, but you honestly didn’t get that vibe from him. He seemed kind- No, he is kind.

But who else would destroy your bike?

The pieces just didn’t add up.

“...don’t worry, I didn’t do it.” The aforementioned skeleton must have sensed your thoughtful stare, because he turned and gave you a look akin to that of a kicked puppy.

“A-ah! Was I staring at you that hard? I’m sorry.” You quickly shuffled back. “It’s just.. you know...”

“yeah, I know. I probably look real suspicious right now, don’t I?” He gave you an understanding look, which only served to make you feel even more guilty. Gee, it was really hard to look at the situation logically when you were constantly getting blindsided by emotions. Not only were your thoughts incoherent and ever-changing, but your heart didn’t know what to believe.

Sans was nice to you. He gave you a place to stay, was generally polite (and funny!), and even offered to feed and clothe you. He had such a mellow personality, it made you want to trust him completely.

But then again, it was just.. so hard not to suspect him. You wanted to believe in him, you really did! Yet your subconscious was hellbent on holding you back, whispering doubts in your ear. Those negative thoughts kept bleeding into your perception of Sans, to the point where you couldn’t tell if you liked him or not.

Maybe you just needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But was that even possible to do while you felt this way?

“Nonono! It’s- ugh, it’s my fault for jumping to conclusions. You’ve done nothing but help me thus far. God, I’m really sorry-”

“it’s fine, it’s fine. i’d do the same thing if I was in your position, really.” He let out a halfhearted chuckle. “It’d be a little concerning if you completely trusted me, to be honest.”

Oh lord. You knew he was only trying to make you feel better, but you wanted to curl into a ball and die of shame with every word that fell out his mouth. He was so calm and understanding, god, you were such an asshole for not trusting him.

“But I mean it! I’m so so so so so sorry! Please forgive me..” You could already feel your face heating up with embarrassment as you sputtered out your apology. Well, was it really an apology? Were you really sorry? Or were you just apologizing to feel better about yourself?

Your head was starting to hurt.

“hey,” He put his gloved hand on your shoulder. “-no need to apologize so much. you didn’t do anything wrong.”

He was right. But you didn’t believe it, you didn’t know what to believe.

“besides, I think you should worry about fixing your bike, first.”

“O-oh… right.” And then there was that situation. You suppose the matter of who broke your bike didn’t matter as much as how you were going to fix it. The sooner it got repaired the sooner you could leave, after all.

Yet with the fire going on in your mind, you weren’t sure if you could think clearly. How could you possibly figure anything out while you were this distraught? “I’m sorry, can I have a moment to think?”

He looked your way. Then he gave you a nod. “of course, take your time.”

“Thank you..” Your gratitude was more of a whisper to yourself, but that wasn’t what you were focused on right now. There was so much happening, you just needed to calm down- you needed to cool down. At this rate nothing would get done; if you went on like this any longer you would keel over and pass out from exhaustion. You needed to clear your head first, everything else would come afterwards.

But it was so, so hard to think straight. Everything was overwhelming, stressful. It felt as if someone poured sand straight into your skull, clogging every inch of your conscious. Your limbs suddenly became incredibly heavy, like weights had been taped to them, and your ears were packed with static that rendered your sense of hearing useless. Your being felt empty, yet full. So completely full of emotion, and so completely devoid of coherent thought.

All the ideas in your head blended together, to the point where you couldn’t tell what anything meant. It was all just reduced to loud noise that served to plug your ears even more. Soon you forgot about what you were trying to do in the first place. You forgot where you were. It was just… so noisy.

A burning feeling lit up in your throat, like a cough you couldn’t quite get out. Or maybe an itch you couldn’t scratch.

It was getting harder to breathe.

“can you name five things you see?”

You looked toward the voice.

A few shaky breaths left your mouth as you tried to comprehend what it meant. See. Things you can see.

“There is…” You looked up to clearing above you. It was bright blue and opaque. It was- “the sky.”

Right, that was the sky. You were underneath the sky.

“And…” You took another heavy inhale and scanned your surroundings. The voices in your mind felt a bit quieter. “the cabin, and the sign.”

“Grass fields, and my… motorcycle.”

You felt a pressure on your back.

“okay. can you name four things you feel?”

“Uhm..” You gulped down the building saliva.

“I feel the ground. I feel the blood in my ears. I f-feel the air around me.”

...

“And I feel your hand on my back.”

“great. can you name three things you hear?”

You went silent for a moment to take in the noises around you. Not the ones in your head, but the ones outside, in the world.

There was a gentle breeze.

“I hear the wind, the birds, and your voice.”

“two things you smell.”

Your nose twitched as you took a deep breath. This time it wasn’t shaky or anxious. It was deep, strong, and most importantly, stable.

“Wet grass, from the rain yesterday. And mud.”

“one thing you taste?”

“Mmh,” You ran your tongue across the ridges of your teeth. “My toothpaste.”

“good job.”

You spent a couple minutes basking in the sunlight. There wasn’t much to be said, so you leaned into the skeleton’s touch.

Eventually, you ran a hand across the bumpy ground. It was made of many sharp rocks and pebbles of various colors. You saw orange rocks, black rocks, and grey rocks. The orange pebbles were smooth and tiny, like small candy. The black ones were sharp, large, and very shiny. It looked like they used to be a part of a bigger rock and got sliced in half, revealing the glossy innards. The grey ones were choppy yet round; like someone had cut a cube into a sphere.

The hand on your back had moved to your shoulder. They tensed their grip, but not enough to hurt you. Just enough to get your attention.

“do you want to go inside?”

You couldn’t find the energy to give a verbal response, so you hummed instead.

The skeleton gradually got up. Once he was standing, he extended an arm to help you do the same. You took the arm and hoisted yourself up. When you were fully upright, you wiped the dirt particles off your palms.

Once they were clean, he took your hand and led you towards the cabin.

-----

“I’m guessing there’s no repair shop around here, right?” You spoke up, curling into the fuzzy blanket.

“bingo. heh, sorry, you got stranded in the worst of places.” Sans responded, throwing his head back against the cushion. The springs creaked against his movement.

Currently, you both were resting on the couch in his loft/living room. The TV in front of you was playing some cliche movie that you hadn’t bothered to pay attention to, but you appreciated the background noise. There was a coffee table with a now empty water bottle on it, as Sans had advised you to drink water after the… incident.

So you did.

“No kidding.” You sighed. “Well, at least I have you with me.”

He fell silent for a moment.

You leaned further into the couch, acutely aware of the distance between you two. It wasn’t too much, but it also wasn’t too little. It was perfect; comfortable.

“on the topic of me,” He cleared his throat- wait, no. Cervical? Gah, whatever. “I do think I can help you with your bike..”

You gasped, lifting your head from the decorative pillow. “Really??”

“there are, thankfully, some automobile shops that ship to this area. I order from them occasionally, since I gotta repair stuff for the townsfolk. I can order some tires and lights for you- if you want.”

“Oh my gosh, that sounds perfect, seriously.” A hopeful smile ran across your face, stretching to the corners of your eyes. “You’re literally a god send.”

“heh heh, you really don’t have to flatter me so much. it’s no problem.”

He scratched the back of his skull. “but I can’t guarantee fast shipping, so you might have to stay longer than expected.”

“Well, if it can’t be helped- and if you’re fine with it, then I don’t mind.” Actually, you sort of minded (you felt tired of intruding), but there wasn’t much you could do about it.

“you can stay as long as you need.” He confirmed, gracing you with a smile.

Your gut twisted. You ignored it.

“So, how much do you want me to pay you for the motorcycle parts? I probably can’t get the full amount to you right now ‘cause of, you know, being stranded. But I swear I’ll pay you back as soon as possible!” Although you tried to put on a responsible front, you were dying internally. Of course you had another bill to pay, you always did. This one wasn’t cheap, either. Tires were freakin’ expensive.

God, money was going to be the death of you!

“what?” He looked stunned for a second, as if you were speaking in hieroglyphics. Luckily, that didn’t last for long. “you don’t have to pay me anything, really. it’s no skin off my nose.”

As much as you wanted to enjoy his little joke, you had to focus your attention on a different problem right now. That problem being…

How the heck was this skeleton real?

Wait, that sounds mean.

How the heck was this skeleton’s kindness real?

Of course you weren’t going to let him bear the brunt of the cost, no matter how much you wanted to forgo paying for extra expenses. But, just the fact that he offered such a thing really blew you out of the park. This was just too much.

Someone could take advantage of this poor guy. He was so nice and caring, it put your friendliness to shame. Gosh, you wouldn’t be surprised if he was some angel on Earth.

But you couldn’t take his offer.

“No, I’m definitely not letting you do that.” You huffed. “It’s my bike, my responsibility. I don’t want to make you pay for something you didn’t even do.”

A tenseness flew through his figure. Yet it was gone in a flash, making you question if it was there in the first place.

“well, maybe we could split the cost? I don’t want to make you pay for this all by yourself.” His eye lights trailed to the side.

“You’re not making me do anything, Sans. This is just something I have to deal with; it’s my problem.”

“...yikes. you’re really not letting me charm my way through this one, huh.”

You gave him a playful glare, to which he only responded with a sigh.

“okay, but can I at least buy you some breakfast? Neither of us have eaten yet, and I want to treat you.” He bargained, pulling those puppy eye... lights again. “this bag of bones would feel bad without cheering you up.”

“Sans, you really don’t-”

“I want to, alright? think of it as a friendly outing- or a date.” He rushed that last part in, as if he didn’t want to hear it. Of course, you heard it anyway.

“Fine.” You relented, giving an overdramatic huff.

“There’s nothing wrong with a casual date, I guess.” You made sure to briefly emphasize the casual, in order to prevent any misconceptions. Sans was a great dude, definitely the type of person you could spend the rest of your life with, but you weren’t looking to settle down just yet. You were still a young adult with plenty of ambitions that simply weren't possible with a committed partner, and you didn’t want to string anyone along by letting them think you wanted something serious.

Sans seemed to take no offense to that, thankfully. “right.”

“there’s a place I really like in town, they’ve got the best burgers.”

“Burgers for breakfast?” You teased.

“hey, anything can be breakfast if you’re open minded enough.”

“That’s true.”

He stood from his place on the couch, letting you follow suit. Then he offered you his hand.

“c’mon, I know a shortcut.”

You took his hand.