Chapter Text
Grillby never called him… Grillby never had to call Sans, why would he? Sans came there just about every day regardless, hell, it was usually Papyrus Grillby had to call when Sans had a bit too much to drink and didn’t feel like walking home.
But here it was, a call from Grillby at 9 o’clock at night, right after Sans had finished reading his bro and his kid a bedtime story. Sans could care less what any legal documents said, Frisk was his child, plain and simple. Toriel was the sole legal guardian of Frisk according to the paperwork, and since neither himself nor Asgore had really brought up the idea of dating since she hadn’t seemed all too interested…
Sans broke out of his musings and answered the call. He didn’t need any intermediary to understand Grillby’s speech, which was good because the bartender told him in hushed tones that he needed help with a certain customer… human.
“I’ll be right over!” Sans said, ending the call and firing off a text to Toriel that Frisk and Papyrus were asleep and that he needed to go out for a while. She was likely back in the living room by the fireplace, but that was at the opposite end of their huge house. Grillby had sounded urgent…
His phone buzzed the moment he left the house.
Be back by 11.
ok
It was a short walk even without shortcuts, but Sans used them anyways, heading into the woods and walking towards a tree until suddenly he was walking up to the front door of Grillbys. Opening the door, he noticed a lot of familiar faces from the underground, and a few new faces, mostly of monsters who had lived in Hotland and the capital. But one stood out.
“Oh fuck no…” He muttered. There sat Linda… plastered drunk on a stool at the front of the bar. She was the last human in the world he wanted to see in the best of conditions, and these were anything but.
“Eyyyyy S-saaansy pansy” Sans could only cringe as the lanky woman swayed drunkenly, attempting to point at him but failing a good 80% of the time. “Who’da thunk you’d be a drunkard? Wai… wait’ll the others… wait’ll they hear”
Sans kept a steady smile on his face as he approached, not too hard considering that simply was his face. The other regulars gave the two of them peculiar looks.
“Why are you here, Linda?” He asked, his tone as smooth as gravel. “You hate monsters.”
“Yah but Grills is the best… nobody I’d know’ll find me here, n’ all a’ you won’t lay a finger on a human in case’a startin som… somethin…” She rambled, then turned away, her face dropping. “I ain’t pretty by human standards, so I’m a tub a’ ugly in here, safe as hell.” She took another swig of her drink.
Sans didn’t like this. This foul woman was against every liberty that existed for monsters and humans that thought any differently than she did. She blackmailed the other moms into agreeing with her most of the time, and emotionally manipulated the remaining. He despised her rotten existence and all the trouble she put his child through just because she could.
But right now, she wasn’t the prideful woman that constantly disregarded the basic code of decency on a daily basis. She was…
She was crying.
Damn his fucking nonexistent but still caring heart.
“Linda.”
“Hey… since I got some juice on you… c’n I… it’s only fair you have something over my head hangin too.” She slurred, but Sans could feel her calming down some.
“Linda you’ve got to get home. Grillby won’t give you anymore. And our alcohol is stronger than-“
“Sure sure. Jus’ one story.” She waved her hand at him and then patted the stool next to her. Sighing, Sans contemplated just grabbing her and teleporting her home. But curiosity nagged at him and forced him into sitting next to Linda.
…
Sans began to wonder if she was even drunk as she locked eyes with him for a moment. Her swaying had stopped completely, and her eyes looked far too aware. Sans recalled the “placebo effect” and glanced to her drink, suspecting Grillby knew this customer’s limit a little too well.
“I ever tell you about the time my husband left me?” Before he could respond, she let out a pitiful giggle. “Rhetorical question,” She muttered, “I never told anyone about that damn week. The week that kept happening… over and over…”
Sans stiffened, eyes shooting back to Linda’s fearfully. “Over and over?”
“First time he cheated on me and I kicked him out. We fought over Tommy and he won just as you monsters came out.” She said, eyes looking past him. “Then I woke up next to him, we were still together, no monsters… I freaked out, he left me, called me insane, took Tommy…”
“Linda…”
“It went over and over. Sometimes no monsters came out, sometimes I cheated on him, sometimes I won custody, sometimes Tommy-“ A sob caught in her throat.
“What?”
“I made sure after that one I focused on Tommy. I couldn’t fix the marriage, but I could keep Tommy and make him happy. Then it finally stopped and I could move on… but I can’t know for sure. I’ll never know for sure that I won’t just… wake up next to my ex all over again… and lose my son and husband again…”
“It won’t happen again.” Sans’ eyes had turned to the single blue one out of fear. How could she remember the resets? Why? Linda didn’t seem to hear him.
“I spoil my son rotten… and then go get drunk to forget for a little while… What has my life become…?”
Sans put a heavy hand on her shoulder, forcing her out of her slight trance to look at him seriously. “It won’t reset anymore. Ever. Trust me.”
That’s when the torrent of tears started to flow. She shoved her arms around him, hugging him tightly, which was quite awkward and painful from the stools. Sans pushed her away after a moment. Sob-story or not, he hated this woman with a passion.
“I’m…” She shoved her hands onto her face and put her elbows on the counter to cover her face from him.
“What?”
“I’m sorry.” She said softly.
“For what?” Letting your son bully my child? Getting back at me by making Frisk’s life miserable in school with rules specifically against them? Making my brother cry by telling him how awful his pasta was? Sans yearned to say all of that, but held back.
“I had a dream that… Frisk and you monsters made those resets happen. I’ve… been cruel over some stupid dream…” she sighed, standing up from the stool. “I shouldn’t hate a whole race over some dream involving a talking flower.”
Sans stopped dead in his tracks. But she was holding out her hand to him.
“I should hate you individually for being jerks." She wiped away her tears on her sleeves. "Now walk me home and... I’ll pay you back with my recipe for ketchup cake.”
“Ketchup… cake?” Well that won out as the most unbelievable thing he’d heard tonight.
“Found it online.” She shrugged.
“Then I can look it up myself.” Sans gave her a hard glare.
“Oh hush you know you’re too much of a gentleman to let me walk there alone. And Grillby trusts you.”
“Wait…” San’s eyes went dark. “You aren’t drunk at all, are you?”
“Probably not. Grillby just fills my cup and lets me act as drunk as I please. I told him I needed someone to talk to and guess who shows up?” She still had her hand out to Sans.
“Ugh…” Sans took her hand to help get out of the stool, wishing he could be drunk now and not have to feel so conflicted over such a terrible person. Chara at least had the decency not to be this difficult to hate!