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Beep. A notification comes up on your new cell phone, stopping you from scrolling through more of the UnderNet’s 'Cute Dog Pictures' feed. It’s pretty limited, since there’s only, say, six dogs in the Underground for there to be pictures of, but they stay adorable. The text is from Toriel, who’s been in your contacts ever since she gifted you the phone recently.
“Good afternoon, ____. Have you and Sans taken off to your favorite spot yet today?” Seeing your SOULmate’s name in a text brings the biggest grin to your face, as always, which makes it really easy to quickly send a text back.
“Not yet, he had to go pick up a few things to bring with us. He’ll probably pick up a few jokes while he’s shopping, too.” Just a brief moment passes before another text comes in.
“Ah, yes, I am sure he will. You’d know better than anyone how quickly he can make a joke out of anything.”
“Awww, really? It’s only been two weeks, you’ve known him a long time.”
“Yes, but you’re you. I’m sure you’ve been picking up on all the great little things with him so quickly.”
“Welp, I sure can’t argue with that. I’ll let you know all about how it goes!”
“Please do, my child. Take care.” You’d go back to the feed of dog pictures, but hearing Sans’ name from someone else just brings you back to him every time, so you give in and think about the afternoon ahead.
As you’d mentioned, it’s been a mere two weeks since you fell into the Underground, and… well, plenty’s happened since then. A certain flower was the first creature to greet you down here, quickly giving you a lesson on what LOVE is, before almost killing you by showing how it works. Leave it to a certain hooded skeleton to save you from that, show how the Underground works, introduce you to so many amazing friends, and just so happen to be the special someone you fell in love with.
You and Sans had to quite literally battle through some insanity Flowey put in your way just a day and a half after your arrival, but in the end, your bond prevailed. It wasn’t long after that the glowing feeling in your souls reached the point of realizing you’re SOULmates, which led to plenty of hugs, smooches, tears, and… well, all stuff you’ll have more fun thinking about when he’s by your side.
Pretty soon, you’ll be moving into the house that him and his younger brother, Papyrus, live in in Snowdin. It’ll be pretty easy, considering all you had when you fell into the Underground was the clothes you were wearing, and all you’ve gotten since is more clothes from Toriel, and one of Sans’ hoodies. The smell of ketchup from it will hold you over each morning until you’re spending them in his arms. Until then, though, you’ve been visiting every day, going to your favorite tranquil spots in the Underground and enjoying all the love and laughs that comes with your bone-afide connection.
“kept ya waiting, huh?”
Welp, the connection won’t have to wait any longer.
Sans voice suddenly enters your ear from behind, making you jolt and swing around. No matter how much he does that, it still gets you.
“heh, hey again, buddo. missed me?”
“O-Of course I missed you! Might’ve only been, like, twenty minutes, but that’s twenty minutes without you in it. It was for a good cause, though.” You point at the bags of food that he’s carrying.
“eheh, yeah, these’ll totally be worth it. it’s a lotta lumbar to carry, but i figured you’ll be a car-pal and help out.”
“Awwww, well, with jokes like that, I’d be so sacrummy not to.” You share a nice, long laugh together, and that low, rolling tone of his gets you to go on your knees on the couch and bring Sans’ forehead in for a rub. Naturally, he wants to return the favor, so he sets the couple bags down and rubs back, enjoying the gentle feeling of your skin moving around with the magic bone material that makes up his skull. To your delight, you learned you can pinch his cheek and cup it in your hand, which has done plenty of good for cuddles.
“happy twoweekversary.”
“Same to you, Sans.” The instinct in your souls brings you to share a little smooch before you pull back, realizing if you don’t stand up soon, you probably never will today.
“So, erm, heheh… how do you wanna get there this time? Shortcut?”
“nah, that’d be a little too quick. besides, i dunno how keenly soda takes to the void.”
“Yeah, we don’t wanna make any soda cryboneate.” You share some more laughter before forcing yourself to walk towards the door, knowing this could easily devolve (evolve?) into pun night. It wouldn’t be the first time that took over some other plan.
“Ready to go?” You open the door and extend an arm out for him to link elbows with.
Pfflflflflflflflfflflrt.
“Ahaha! Got one! You’ve whoopee cushioned me one too many times, and now I know how to do it to you.”
Sans just stares at you. He’s completely flabbergasted- not that you managed to get a whoopee cushion in your armpit, he’s kept them in weirder places, but how he’d never planned for a counterattack. You can’t tell what kind of emotion he’s feeling from it, but a moment later, his stunned face turns into a faint blush, of all things.
“wow… ya got me. i’m real impressed, and so, so proud. now i’ve gotta think up even more devious ways to getcha with those, though.” You try to think up some retort to that, but all that comes to mind is…
“Whoopee!!” It’s so unexpected that it draws out Sans’ loudest laugh in days. Apparently, the two of you are really good at getting way off track from your plans, but at least you’re doing that together. Once he’s caught his breath, Sans hands you one of the bags of food to take, while keeping the other arm linked with yours. Even with some now limp rubber in between, the feeling’s too good for either of you to wanna let go.
“off we go to snacks, sight-seeing, and snacks-seeing.”
“Exactly. See you later, Rocko.” Bidding farewell to Sans’ pet rock and kicking the door shut behind you, you enter the warm ambience of Snowdin. You’ve done this kind of thing enough for it to not be a surprise to anyone, but you still get plenty of kind waves and remarks from the townspeople. They’ve all been so glad to see that Sans has a SOULbond now; it’s not that he was living a bad life whatsoever without that, but everyone agrees that there’s an extra joy to his smile. Even you can say you’ve noticed that extra perk from since you first fell.
“All this positivity from town’s never gonna get old. I can’t say I got the same thing up on the surface.”
“reason 427 for this being such a wonderful community. when ya don’t have a way out from here, you’ve gotta at least get along with each other, but that’s not the only reason everyone’s so kind here. monsters just have that part o’ them that’s like that.”
“Oh, I know, given the kinda things you make me feel every day… well, you and your brother. Can’t go a day without appreciating his kind of energy.” Any time of day’s a good time to talk about Papyrus, and as you reach the end of town with Sans and the chatter trails off, it gives your minds something nice to center on.
“of course. you need that kinda energy if you’re gonna be the head of the royal guard. not many people can say they live with the person that holds that title… because i’m the only person that can say they live with the person that holds that title.”
“Well, not forever!”
“why’s that?”
“Because I’ll be living there soon, too, silly!”
“oh, yeah. guess my cranium’s feelin’ pretty hollow today. anyhoo, you’re right, and that’s an honor we’re both glad is gonna get another member.”
“Awwwww, it always makes me happy to have his support for everything. Been enjoying hearing all his stories about what’s going on in his busy schedule, too. I figure he told you about his plant smoothies?”
“yuppers. thought at first he was making health smoothies with plants. looks like he’s actually making smoothies for the castle plants.”
“That’s what I thought, too. Never heard of someone trying that, but if anyone can make it work, it’s him!”
“who knows, maybe we’ll be asked to be taste testers.”
“I dunno how good of a plant representative I can be, but I’d do my best to think… plant thoughts.”
“sounds good enough for me. you’re not planting your feet down and saying no.”
“Pffff, nope, no way I could say that to such an amazing brother of yours… and SOULmate in law of mine, I guess you could say.” Hearing great things about his great brother always brings Sans even more happiness, and he shows it in how he draws your elbow even closer. At this point, you each silently realize you’d be better off just wrapping an arm around the other’s back, so you switch to that instead, giving you the chance to feel the back of Sans’ ribs through his hoodie.
The sights of Waterfall are all fairly familiar at this point, having taken this walk many times, but it never ceases to be breathtaking. The fields of long grass, the sparkling ponds, the purple rocks that only light up when you touch a lantern… it’s gonna take a long, long time for you not be lost in awe looking over all this.
“uh oh, you’re lookin’ pretty loopy, ____. hope ya didn’t fall off chairiel when you were havin’ breakfast, but tori probably woulda legged me know all about it by now.” You share some more laughs that echo across the caverns, and lo and behold, some of the Echo Flowers pick up on it and begin laughing back. It fills your surroundings with this priceless, booming sound of Sans’ chuckles.
Given how well things have gone for Sans and yourself since you arrived, you’re able to share jokes about falling. You fell from Mt. Ebott, fell off the bridge, only to be saved by your eventual SOULmate, fell into that SOULmate’s life… it’s become quite the trend. Some of the earlier falls knocked you pretty out of it, so it makes Sans think back to those first meetings, and thinking of how you got to where you’re at today is always a pleasant time.
The funniest part of it all might be that you never even had to tell Sans your name for him to know. In the midst of getting your bearings together and exploring the culture of the Underground on your first full day, you'd forgotten to tell him what your name is. Once your souls came together to fend off Flowey and realize how close they are, though, something in yours... just gave your name to him. He used it soon after, and every time he says it now, you can take pride in knowing you're probably the first person to ever share your name through the love in your soul, and not what your vocal cords spit out.
Eventually, you break off the main path, walking your way over some rocky surfaces and making sure to not drop any of the snacks in the meantime. This detour’s how the two of you get to your favorite spot in the whole Underground to lay back, relax, and just look out at what’s above you. Here, it’s the twinkling lights that shine from the rocks above, which is a liiiittle more exciting than the blackness in Snowdin, or the fumes in Hotland. Neither of those are bad, of course, but something about this spot in Waterfall’s extra special.
“excited?”
“You bet I am! I get to try whatever funky stuff you bought, and the sights are always nice. None of it can beat the entrée, though.”
“whazzat?”
“You!”
“eheh, would you look at that. my dessert’s talking to me.” The laughs don’t echo as much in the tight part of the cavern, but the sheer noise of your laughter makes up for that. Anything and everything can turn into a pun or nickname, and this small, desolate part of Waterfall is no exception. You keep walking along, making jokes and quips of the same caliber, before it abruptly opens up into the place you’d been coming all this way for.
You can tell no one else has been coming here, because the only old footprints around are the ones that your shoes and his slippers have made from enough steps on the short grass. With how big this space is, there’s a bit of a new breeze, but it’s nothing your hoodies can’t handle. You’re donning a purple one that Toriel knitted for you herself, and Sans is wearing the same kind of hoodie he wore yesterday, and the day before that, and probably the same as this day five years ago… or would it be six? Eh, it was probably the same for both of those.
“Our little home away from home.”
“and away from new home.”
“Pffff, yep, it’s a waaaaays away from here.” Way out in front of you and Sans is a look at the front side of New Home, with its looming stone buildings. You’re too far to hear any of the street traffic, so all that greets your ears is the wind, the rustling of the grass, and whatever your SOULmate decides to say.
“so, the usual order?”
“Stuff ourselves and lay back together? You got it.” Reluctantly letting go of your side, you and Sans sit down and set the bags gently by your sides.
“doesn’t matter which one ya got, got us each one of everything.”
“Awwwww, the same eatperience. How thoughtful.” Together, you start pulling stuff out of your bags, and surely enough, it’s the same things each time. One bread roll in each, one box of incredibly fresh apple juice in each, one…
“One slice of bologna?”
“yup. didn’t really wanna do sandwiches, so a slice it is. there’ll be enough other goodies in there for us.” You’re totally fine with everything he packed, but there’s a joke you have to make.
Going by his expression, he has to make the same joke, too.
“That’s a load of bologna.”
“that’s a load o’ bologna.”
You spit it out at the same time, keeping laser-sharp eye contact. After a joke like that, a slice of bologna’s gonna taste better than any sandwich could, aside from one Papyrus would make. As per usual, you start with the drink, so you each take the straw off the box and stab the silver part on top as hard as you can. Some things are best to never grow out of.
“To two weeks with the most amazing, calming, charming SOULmate.”
“ditto.” What a sansational way for him to reply. Tapping your boxes together like they’re wine glasses, you each take a big sip, with Sans letting the straw sort of hang out over his teeth. The juice goes through the cracks between, without a single drip spilling out. It explains how his teeth stay so clean.
Quickly downing the juice, you think of what to have next. Since the bologna will inevitably take up joke time from the rest of the food if you don’t have it now, you chow down on that next, and Sans… does the same thing he did with the apple juice, simply holding it in front of his teeth. It pulls its way in, not leaving a trace. Each time you watch it, you’re reminded of how surprised you were the first time he did that, with no warning whatsoever.
The rest of the meal goes on with the same lack of chatter, not being able to stop indulging yourself in the fantastic choices Sans picked. Big Mouth, one of the regular’s at Grillby’s, was right about Sans’ interest in fascinating foods, as there’s a bunch of crazy fruits and veggies mixed in with simple stuff, like the good ol’ roll. Papyrus is gonna be proud of how health conscious you’re each being. When you get to the bottom, though, there’s something… different, and it’s ominously staring up at you.
“heh, i can tell what you’re looking at. you’ve got that curiosity on your face.”
A single ketchup packet. Nothing exactly unique about it, but… it’s a ketchup packet, and there was nothing in the rest of the food to put it on…
You quickly realize where this is going. Looking back at Sans, you see that he’s already opened his.
“c’mon, you’re gonna love it. it’s like a portable smoothie.” For a moment, you wonder if that’s one of the smoothies Papyrus is making for the plants, but that probably wouldn’t meet his standards.
“…Welp, I’ve never doubted you, hun, and today’s not gonna be that day.” Sans is patiently waiting for you to open yours, so you rip off the top, bringing it close to your mouth.
“bone appetite.” He slurps it down in one gulp, and you do the same. It’s…
“…Pretty good! Never knew ketchup tastes so good on its own. Can we have it in our lunch every time now?” Sans looks a bit surprised that you liked it so much already, and that surprise quickly translates to a warming smile.
“of course, kiddo. i’d love to watch you ketchup to how much i dig ketchup. i’d never think you’re a musturd if you said no, but if you want, i’ll gladly tomate you under my wing.”
“Ahahahaha, yay! The rest of humanity’s missing out.” With the ketchup now resting in your gut, you put all your wrappers back in the bag, making sure no litter ends up somewhere as nice as this. Sans does the same, and then joins you in tying up the tops of the bags and tossing them aside for now.
“that was… *burp*… some good stuff. think all that food’s getting me feel beet pretty quick.”
“Yeah, I think that squashed my energy, too. Time for me to recharge by my beacon.” Sans, of course, is the beacon in your life, so you scooch next to him, wrapping your arm around his back the same way you did when you were walking earlier.
“awwwww, shucks. think ya got the appetite for some stars for dessert?”
“Totally. Nothing tastes better for dessert than 91.2 percent hydrogen, 8.7 percent helium, 0.078 percent oxygen…”
“pffff, you remembered all those for me?”
“Of course I did! You’re worth some number studying.”
“awwwww, awwwgain. stars time it is, then.” He lays back in the grass, and you follow suit, feeling more bodily peace than for anything else you do.
The twinkling lights above might not really be stars, but they give you the same wonder that real ones would. There might be lots of fancy gemstones on the surface, but none of them twinkle like these do. Over the past couple weeks, you’ve learned more about Sans’ love for astronomy, so you’re glad that if he can’t enjoy the stars on the surface, he at least has this panorama to take in. You feel so honored to be here for it, too.
A few minutes pass in silence, aside from the sounds of shuffling closer together every now and then. You can call anywhere you’re with Sans your happy place, but this truly is your happiest place together. Besides, how could it not be when this is the place you first kissed?
Quietly turning your head to not draw any attention, you see that Sans’ pupils have expanded from his fascination from what’s above, giving you the perfect chance to strike. You lean forward and plant a smooch on his cheekbone, making his pupils quickly shrink to way smaller than they usually are. He turns his attention away from the gemstones to you, unable to hold back a cyan blush that never fails to warm your heart.
“…heheh, didn’t mean to distract you from everythin’ up there.” He lazily flails an arm towards the ‘sky’.
“Oh, you didn’t distract me at all. My favorite star’s right here.” Sans’ smile goes away for a moment, but it’s to show his adorable mug of surprise. Soon enough, it creeps back up, and you find yourselves rolling off your backs and onto your sides, not paying much mind to the stones now.
“awwwww, gee, ____, i… ya got me with that one. took my hobby and ran with it.”
“Oh, I’m not gonna steal your hobby, that’s yours to grow.” You pretend to hand Sans back his hobby, and he thanks you before grabbing at the air above your palm. It gets the two of you chuckling again, and…
Gosh. That smile. You really can’t help but want to bring it closer, and going by how he’s been inching closer to you, he seems to want the same for yours. Using the hand that gave Sans back his hobby, you wrap it around his back, drawing him close enough to press up hoodie to hoodie. You’re close enough to see the bit of light his pupils cast. Through all of this, your soul had been getting the pulses that you’re used to with your SOULmate, but being this close makes you feel the same pulse, spreading warmth through your body each time it hits.
“i really, really love how that feels.”
“Me, too.” He scoops an arm around your back, not wanting any separation.
“best two weeks of my life right here. and it’s just the start of so, so much.”
“Absolutely, Sans. I’m not going anywhere, and not just because there’s some barrier keeping me from leaving. My home is wherever you are.”
“and you’ve got the whole underground behind you, buddo. with a heart and soul as warm as yours, you’re gonna fit right in, like ya have been already. and, eheh…” He can’t help but look away.
“this might sound silly, or corny, or grainy, or wheaty, or some other plant-y, but… if i’m your home, it’s a lot more full with you in it.”
Feeling your lip tremble a bit, you know you’re not gonna be able to spit out anything coherent, so instead, you draw your face closer to give his teeth a gentle smooch. You don’t know how long it should be, but you can feel Sans answer your question for you, drawing his mouth deeper into it. You can hear these adorable giggles from the other side of his teeth, so you must be doing a good enough job. After a bit, though, the giggling noises stop, and when you pull away from the smooch to see why, you notice a tear trailing out of one of his eye sockets.
“o-oh, sorry, ____, i didn’t w-wanna rattle ya with that, it’s just… y’know…” Words feel too hard to string together, so you nod instead, use a thumb to rub the tear away, and bring your forehead back onto his, leaving it there.
“Love you so much, Sans. You’re amazing.”
“love ya too, ____. SOULmates forever.” Life truly feels perfect, as you melt into Sans’ touch and let any thoughts of time slip away.