Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Underground was mostly deserted, anymore.  There were a few monsters still around, if Sans wanted to search for them, but almost everyone had cleared out.  After only a few years, the warm and welcoming neighborhoods were falling apart.  The magic that made it bright and livable was fading away, and there were growing pockets of darkness where there used to be carefully maintained light.  

Sans hadn’t mentioned to Papyrus he was leaving, this time.  He had just sent a message to him after he was long gone, telling him he wouldn’t be back until late.  He just had a quick little task, and he didn’t need Papyrus down there with him, dragging up old, bad memories.  

His work room looked the same as he remembered it.  Was there a little more dust on everything?  It was hard to tell.  

He checked his notes, and found everything the same as he had left them. He thought about going through them with the thoroughness he used to manage, but couldn’t bring himself to care enough.

There was one thing he did care about, though, which was why he had bothered to come back down here.  He pulled out his album and flipped through until he found the picture of him and Grillby.  

He had a copy of it on his phone, but seeing the original one again was surreal.  His life had changed a lot because of this picture.  He pulled it out of the album.  He and Grillby looked like they were on a date.  Maybe it was just his current circumstances warping his perspective, but Grillby had that “quietly tolerating a stream of terrible jokes” look that had become so familiar.  

He shoved the photo in his pocket, closed the album, and put it away.  

–-

Sans pulled an over-sized suit jacket on over a clean t-shirt.  He had borrowed the jacket and pants from Frisk, and their clothes were already getting too big for him.  He’d had to roll up the cuffs, but it still beat going out and buying new clothes.  

He had a pair of black and white sneakers in the back of his closet that were kind of faded, but they were more formal than slippers.  They were made to look like a tuxedo, and there was even a little bow-tie at the top.  He used to wear them to every formal event he was invited to.  

For a while, rolling out of bed and putting on some slippers had been the amount of effort he thought it was worth making, but he’d dragged up some energy from somewhere over the last couple years.  It was probably from all the sun.  Skeleton photosynthesis.  

He checked the weather report on his phone.  There was a small chance of rain, so it was going to end up an indoor-only date.  

Papyrus was in the living room, watching Mettaton on the television.  He had on his fan club t-shirt and his eye sockets were riveted to the image on the screen.  

“hey bro.  headed out.”  

Papyrus tore himself away from the TV for a second.  "OH  MY GOD!  I REMEMBER THOSE SHOES!  I THOUGHT YOU HAD RETIRED THEM PERMANENTLY!  LET THEM REST, SANS.  THEY ARE SO TIRED.  THAT JOKE IS SO TIRED!  MAYBE FRISK EVEN HAS A PAIR OF SHOES THAT ARE ONLY SLIGHTLY TOO LARGE FOR YOU."  

"eh. my dogs need comfort, paps.”  

“HOW CAN THEY BE COMFORTABLE WHEN THEY ARE ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY ARE WEARING?”  To Sans’ surprise, Papyrus actually got up off the couch even though he hadn’t hit a commercial yet.  He walked over and brushed something off Sans’ shoulder and started buttoning up his jacket.  "WELL, OTHER THAN THAT, YOU LOOK FINE."  He evened up Sans’ rolled up sleeves.  "BUT WHEN UNDYNE GETS MARRIED, YOU ARE GETTING SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY FITS YOU!  BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT SHE WOULD DO IF YOU SHOWED LOOKING SO MESSY ON HER BIG DAY!”  

“well, i’ve got a few years before one of them proposes,” Sans said. “hey i found another good joke for my toast.”

Papyrus sighed, exaggerated.  "FINE!  LET’S HEAR IT!“

"i remember before they started going out, you could tell undyne was in love because she was always wearing a suit of amour.” Since Papyrus told him Undyne was planning on proposing, he’d figured out most of the speech.  He hoped he didn’t forget to bring the actual toasted bread with him, because he didn’t want Tori or Grillbz to have to do it and ruin the amazing joke ahead of time for them.  

Papyrus yanked a little too hard when he straightened out Sans’ collar.  "I WISH I COULD SAY THAT WAS THE WORST JOKE I HAVE EVER HEARD, BUT I DON’T GET TO SAY THAT!  BECAUSE YOU ARE MY BROTHER!" 

"oh man if you remember what the worst joke i ever told you was, i really want to know,” Sans said.  

Papyrus frowned, considering.  "THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES, IT IS DIFFICULT TO PICK JUST ONE.  BUT THE WORST ONE IS PROBABLY SO AWFUL, IT IS WIPED FROM MY MEMORY!"  

Sans glanced away, his grin briefly strained.  "heh.”

“I WOULDN’T TELL YOU, ANYWAY, BECAUSE THEN YOU WOULD–”  He broke off.  "ARE YOU NERVOUS?  OH MY GOD!  THAT IS ADORABLE!  YOU SEE GRILLBY EVERY DAY!"  

"that’d be quite a feat, being nervous without nerves,” Sans said, chuckling.  

“WELL IT HAS TO BE POSSIBLE, SINCE YOU HAVE A HUMERUS AND YOU ARE NEVER FUNNY!”  

“oh man, you burned me, bro.  you’d think that would happen during the date, not before it, but you’re just too good.”  

“NYEH-HEH-HEH! I AM EXACTLY THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF GOOD!”  He stepped back and looked Sans over.  "THERE!  I’M SURE WITH GRILLBY’S WEIRD TASTE, HE WILL LIKE HOW YOU LOOK."  

Sans could already tell this was going to be more trouble than it was worth.  "sure.  i’d better get going or i’ll be–” he glanced at the clock “–more than five minutes late.”

“YOU’RE LATE??”  Papyrus started pushing him towards the door.  

“hey.”  His weak protest had no effect.  "okay.  bye, bro."  

Papyrus grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked it even before shutting the door firmly behind him.  Sans was left standing outside.  

"HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME!” his brother shouted through the door.  

“heh.”  He shook his head and stepped down the stairs onto the top step outside Grillby’s apartment.  He shuffled, uncomfortable in his clothes, and thought about unbuttoning the jacket again.  He decided to leave it.    

He knocked on the door, figuring he shouldn’t start this out with Grillby in a bad mood.  Sans braced himself as it opened.  

“hey, grillbz,” he said.  

Grillby had on a trim black suit and tie.  He looked good.  Sans didn’t know much about clothes, but he knew that Grillby looked good in everything he wore, and that was not an accident.  

Grillby had been surprised from the start, when Sans agreed to go along, and now he looked completely shocked.  His fire hit the top of the door frame before he caught himself.  

“hot as ever, there, grillbz.  that look suits you.”

“Sans.”  He pressed his hand to his cheek.  "Sans."

"uh.  we’d better get going.”  

“…you look very nice,” Grillby said, collecting himself.  

“getting dressed up like this attires me out,” Sans said.  

“………that joke is worn thin,” Grillby tried.  

“i thought maybe they wouldn’t let me inside in my slippers, but now i’m a shoe-in.”

Grillby hazarded a look at Sans’ shoes.  

“ok one more,” Sans said.  "two silk worms ran a race.  they ended up in a tie.“  He jabbed a skeletal finger in the middle of Grillby’s solid black tie.  He really needed to do something about Grillby’s boring tie collection when his birthday came around.  

Grillby covered his mouth, laughing.  

They started down the stairs, Sans going over the restaurant location in his head.  When they reached the bottom, Grillby put his hand on Sans’ shoulder and tugged at him, asking him silently to turn around. When he did, before he could ask what was up, Grillby gave him a quick kiss that left a lingering warmth on Sans’ skull, above his eye socket.  

”…thank you,“ Grillby said.  "For coming along, tonight.  I know it isn’t your kind of thing.”  

Sans shrugged.  He didn’t have skin or veins to blush with, but his whole face felt hot anyway.  "no problem, grillbz.  now let’s get out of here.“  

–-

The week had been a series of surprises for Grillby.  When he asked Sans to come with him to a fancy restaurant, the invitation had been out of a sense of obligation.  

Grillby was taking advantage of the fact that he had decided to close the bar on Mondays for the foreseeable future until he hired and trained up some more people.  He would be spending most of the "free time” working, still, but he had a chance finally to try out dinner at some of the fancier human restaurants.  

He had expected Sans to say “nah” and then he would invite Dogaressa and Dogamy and hope they could get a babysitter for the evening.  But, instead, he shrugged and said, “sure, why not.  you’re paying, right?”

He had expected Sans to show up late (which he had) and in his regular clothes (which he hadn’t).  Once they were at the restaurant, the food wasn’t his thing, but Sans tried it anyway.  The light in his eyes flicked around the room, taking it in.  He seemed alert.  Even when he nodded off while they waited for the bill, he snapped back awake and jumped to his feet with an energy Grillby had rarely seen in him.  

He expected Sans to want to head right back.  Grillby didn’t mind – Sans slept over after their dates, anymore, so it wasn’t like he would be saying goodbye.  

When they stepped outside, Sans stopped and looked up.  He rubbed the back of his skull.  "hey.  sky’s clear.  want to go somewhere else?"

Grillby was carrying an umbrella, but he hadn’t needed it.  There were only a few wispy clouds.  He nodded.  

Sans’ grin got a little wider and he put his arm around Grillby’s waist.  Grillby made a small noise of surprise and then looked down at Sans, amused.  

"Where are we going?” he asked.  

“i know a shortcut so you’ll see in a sec.”  

Grillby felt a little dizzy, this time, as the restaurant disappeared and they blinked into someplace he didn’t recognize.  He was standing on dirt and rock, his black shoes already losing their polish.  He was too curious to mind.  

They seemed to be up high.  Back at the restaurant, in the city, he hadn’t been able to see the stars, but the sky was clear and the stars were bright pinpoints of light above and around them.  

“nice, right?”  Sans let go of him and walked a little distance away. “it’s been a while.”  

Grillby took a few steps after Sans and stopped, looking up.  The few clouds were far in the distance.  "It doesn’t look anything like the wishing room,“ he said.

"you used to go there?  kind of thought you’d avoid that whole area,” Sans said.  He knelt in the dirt, and Grillby noticed he had found a large box sitting in some scrub brush.  Sans opened it up and started to take out a telescope.  Oh. 

“I preferred walking through Waterfall to taking a boat,” Grillby said.  "It’s a long walk if you just take the dryer caves, and you still have to go over bridges, but…"

"still better than a boat, huh.”  Sans set up the stand and put together the telescope with the automatic ease that came from regular practice.  "strike the cruise off the list of our future vacations."  

"Please.”

Sans made a few final adjustments and went back over to the box.  He dug inside it and pulled out a blanket.  "always meant to bring chairs up here, but," he shrugged and shook it out.  Grillby was sure he saw something he shook out of it hit the ground and run away.  Sans set the blanket on the ground and spread it out.   He took off his jacket and rolled his shoulders.  

Grillby went over to the telescope, curious.

"you ever have much luck with these?” Sans asked.  

“I can manage.”  

Sans closed one eye and peered through the eye piece, making adjustments until he seemed satisfied.  Grillby took a look, then, and he listened silently as Sans explained what he was looking at.  

Sans eventually went and sat on the blanket, and Grillby sat next to him.

“I don’t think I ever believed I would see the real stars,” Grillby admitted, looking up at the sky.  

“yeah. i get what you mean.  you know, you have a lot in common with ‘em.”

Grillby was somewhat taken aback.  "That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said."

"they’re big balls of flame all in black,” Sans said.  

“…it’s still, somehow, the most romantic thing you’ve said.”

Sans started to laugh.  "what are you sayin’ grillbz?  there’s not a romantic bone in my body?  i drew a heart on that whoopee cushion i put on the couch last week." 

"I must have missed that when I destroyed it.”  

“pff. you really have it out for 'em.”  He shifted around and put his head on Grillby’s legs, using him as a pillow.  

“You’re in a good mood, tonight,” Grillby said.  He meant it as a question.  Sans was usually cheerful, regardless of his mood, but he seemed to have found some extra energy.  

“yeah.  hey, you know any constellations?”  

Grillby knew a subject change when he heard one, and decided not to push it.  “No.”  

Sans pointed out a few, and then complained that Grillby was ruining his night vision and just started telling space jokes.  "why did the sun go to school?  to get brighter.  how do you organize a party in space?  you plan-et."  He kept going.  

After several minutes, Grillby covered his face with his hands.  

"if you’re gonna cry, grillbz, i can take a break.  you need your space, i get it.”

“How do you know so many?” he asked.  He pulled his hands away from his face, and it was an odd shade of blue, from trying not to laugh.  Spending so much time with Sans had ruined his sense of humor.  

“if the universe is infinite, there has to be that many bad jokes about it,” Sans explained.  He reached up and touched the side of Grillby’s face, where it was the bluest.  

They stayed out until the clouds rushing by overhead obscured their view. Grillby started to flicker uneasily, his fire buffeted by strong winds.  Sans got up and carefully packed away his telescope before taking them on a shortcut back to Grillby’s.  

“welp, it’s getting late,” Sans said, looking around Grillby’s living room.  "might as well sleep here."  

"You’re always welcome,” Grillby said.  

“you really mean that, huh.”  There was something resigned in his voice.  Grillby had no idea what to make of it.  "i’m bone-tired.  let’s get to bed."  

Later, when Sans was fast asleep, snoring gently on Grillby’s pillow, Grillby found it difficult to get to sleep, himself.  

Sans had been strange, all night.  He had his good days and his bad days, so it wasn’t just his energy being up that hit him as odd.  Sans acted like he was trying to tell Grillby something, but all asking had gotten him was a subject change.  

Could he trust Sans to talk about it, if it was actually important?  Grillby was pretty sure he could trust that Sans wouldn’t talk about it.  

He shifted closer and pulled Sans against his chest, resting his chin on the top of his head.  

Sans’ breathing lost its even quality, and he mumbled something.  

"Hm?”

“don’t really need a blanket with you around,” he said.  

“Sorry. Should I move?”  

“hm?  nah.  night, grillbz.”

Grillby pushed his worries out of his mind.  "Goodnight, Sans.“  

Chapter Text

“hey. tori.  this is perfect for you,” Sans said, completely deadpan.

Toriel braced herself and turned away from the collection of inexpensive but priceless mugs she had been looking through.  She had to be very careful in the glassware section at the thrift store.  The aisles were just not made for larger monsters.  

Her first thought was that the shirt he held up was too small, but it had a picture of a koala and said “koalafied teacher” so she couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.  

As she considered whether it was worth purchasing it and altering the size with magic, she spotted Frisk handing a slip of paper to one of the store employees.  She wondered what stage of their “mission” they were on.  Were the two shy employees finally confessing their love?  Toriel wondered if most human children were so dedicated to little projects like that one.  

“that kid’s something,” Sans said.  

“I believe they just want everyone to be happy,” she said.  "They have a noble spirit."  

"yeah.”

She liked their little outings.  Sans had worn one of the shirts she had found for him – her personal favorite.  It just said “Pun Intended,” and she had a matching shirt that she wished she had decided to wear so that they could match.

“Sans.  Knock, knock.”  

Sans was suddenly alert, like she’d hit his “on” button.  "who’s there."  

"Nanna.”

“nanna who.”

“Nanna your business!” she finished, confident.  

Sans chuckled.  "hey, i’ve got some more teacher jokes."  

"Oh my goodness, you funny bones, you had better tell me, then,” she said.  

“what kind of meals do math teachers eat?”  

“What kind of meals do they eat?”

“square meals.”

She accidentally knocked three mugs off the shelf, laughing, but she caught one and Sans saved the other two.  She knew he somehow used his magic to move so quickly, but she just thanked him for being so close to the ground.  

He laughed.  "i thought you were above that.  you’re stooping to my level, tori." 

For some reason, the other people in the store avoided them entirely.  Frisk found them exchanging snail jokes in the checkout line, an hour later.  They went and stood with them, staying silent.

Toriel nodded at her child and continued her conversation with Sans.  "I was sure you must have run out of them by now!”  She paused. “Run short of them!”  

“nope. how do two snails fight?”

“They slug it out, of course!” she said, laughing.  She knew that one, but still enjoyed it.  

“speaking of short,” Sans said, “so’s the line.”  He nudged her with his elbow, and she turned around, surprised to see that she was next.  

She made her purchases, partially listening as Sans asked Frisk how their little quest was going.  

“from the look on your face, i’m going to say you’ll be back here next week.  oh well.  i bet if you bought me lunch, you’d feel better, kiddo.”  

Frisk didn’t say anything.

“hey. what was that look for?”

Toriel smiled, to herself.  Sans seemed a little more energetic these days than when she first met him.  Maybe he wasn’t feeling as bonely as he used to.  Her own life had improved more than she could have ever imagined, and it was little outings like this one that reminded her of that.  

“Oh, is my child buying lunch today?  There is a wonderful French restaurant just down the road I have wanted to try, but it is just too expensive for me,” she said.  

“sounds great, tori.  you know, i’ve heard the highest priced item on a menu is always the best.”

“I have also heard that!”  

It was tragic, but the fancy French restaurant wasn’t open so early in the day, and they ended up flipping a coin to decide if they would go to a nearby family diner or Grillby’s to eat.  

She meant to ask Sans if something had happened, that he was coming along on outings so frequently.  She never got around to it as she got caught up watching Sans and Frisk build an elaborate structure out of the sugar, syrup, and butter containers they had at their lunch table.  

Once they had run out of materials and were congratulating each other, Toriel innocently reached across the table for the salt and knocked it down so it scattered all over the two of them.  "Oh no!  I am so sorry!  Oh my goodness, this old woman is so clumsy!"  She was so clumsy, she told them she couldn’t be trusted to pick everything up, so Frisk mostly did it while Sans supervised.  

She wasn’t sure they cheered Frisk up after their earlier disappointment, but they certainly distracted them.  Not just them.  Sans was gone before she remembered she had questions to ask him.

–-

"Well, if you have to pick the movie, th-then…then I get to pick the snacks!” Alphys carried her cell into the kitchen and started raiding the cupboards for chips and candy.  

“ok. that’s fair.”  

Whenever Sans picked the movie, it always somehow managed to be the worst thing she had ever seen, so she also grabbed a couple bottles of sake and her commemorative Mew Mew Kissy Cutie sake glasses to take along.

Undyne was working late, and Papyrus was busy, too, so it was the perfect night to watch something terrible.  The best part was, Sans always came over to her house, so she didn’t actually have to go outside!  

She had actually been sort of surprised to hear from him – it was the third time this month he had invited himself over.  It was starting to become a thing, like he actually liked spending time with her.  She had thought, when they first got to the surface, that he was avoiding her.  Because of what she knew about him and the lab and what he understood about her.  But maybe she was wrong, or he was moving on, or maybe everyone else just wouldn’t put up with the awful things he wanted to watch?  

Well, whatever!  She set out snacks and listened to Undyne yelling at herself in the mirror.  The bedroom was pretty far away from the entertainment center, but Undyne was very good at making herself be heard.  She was getting herself pumped up for work, even though Alphys was pretty sure she was already always pumped up for work?  It was actually kind of encouraging, listening to her, like maybe Alphys could leech a little bit of enthusiasm off of her and be motivated to work harder.

It was always a very short time after they decided to have a movie night that Sans showed up.  If she hadn’t known about his shortcuts, she would have figured he was always in the area because he didn’t really live that close to her and Undyne.  

True to form, Sans knocked a few minutes later and she heard him say, muffled through the door, “knock knock.”

Oh, god.  "Um.  Who’s there?"  

"dozen.”

“D-dozen who?”

“dozen anyone want to let me in.”  

She rolled her eyes and opened the door for him.  He was still chuckling at his own joke on the other side.  She was a little surprised to see him in an ugly, badly knitted sweater and sweat pants instead of a hoodie and shorts.  

“Um, you look…different?  Nice?” she tried.  "Did Papyrus make that?" 

"yeah. isn’t it cool how he makes time to learn new stuff, even when he’s so busy?”

“Y-yeah! That’s pretty impressive, actually!”  

“heh, yep.”  He walked in, and she saw the movie tucked in under his arm.  

She recognized the title.  Oh god.

He was setting things up and she was finishing organizing the snacks when they heard the bedroom door slam open, against the wall, from across the house.  Undyne must be ready.  

Alphys almost fainted when she saw her, posing dramatically in the doorway, hands on her hips.  Her head and shoulders were back and that and everything else about her posture screamed self-confidence.

“Alphys! You’re throwing a nerd party or something in here?”  Undyne’s uniform was crisp, like she had ironed it right before putting it on and hadn’t sat down yet. 

Alphys had to cover her face, to hide her blushing.  "Uh…something like that?  Undyne, you look…you look really…" she trailed off.  

"welp.  think you broke her.”  

Undyne walked right over.  "Pull yourself together, Alphys!"

"I just…you look really…………”

“hey, i’m just gonna go use the bathroom,” Sans said.  

Undyne was grinning at her.  She barely seemed to notice Sans leaving.  “Spit it out!”

“You look so b-beautiful, Undyne!”  She clasped her hands in front of her chest.  "You look exactly like Princess Striker from the episode where she–"

"Where she commands the army!  That’s what I thought when I put this on!”

“Is that why you did your hair that way?  That’s so amazing!”  

When Sans came back, Undyne had already left and Alphys was sitting on the couch, staring into space.  She snapped back to reality when he sat down next to her and switched the TV on.

“Wait.  You’re a skeleton.  Why would you ever…”  She looked at Sans. “No, n-never mind.  I don’t think I want to know.”  

“guess the last thing i ate ran right through me,” Sans said.  

“Ugh, nooo, I don’t want to hear it.  You were just being nice so I could say goodbye to my girlfriend!”

“ok.”

“Ok!”

They both turned their attention to the movie.  By the time it was over, her face was red and there were tears in her eyes from laughing about how awful it was.  It was supposed to be science fiction, but she told Sans they should probably just call it fiction fiction, because it was so completely unbelievable!  He laughed.  

They didn’t finish off any of the bottles, but they made a dent in one of them by the time the credits were rolling.  Sans left them running because he said someone needed to look at those names and judge them for what they made, but neither of them actually paid attention.  

“so you and princess striker are pretty serious, huh?”

“You weren’t listening??  Sans!”

“nah. the resemblance was, uh, uncanny.”  

“Oh.  Yeah, wasn’t it?  She looked so impressive!”  She filled her glass.  "Um, of course we’re serious, though?  We’ve been living t-together for ages, and it’s going really well?  I think, anyway."

"yeah.”

“I’ve been thinking…”  She stared at her glass.  "Can you keep a secret?"  

"ok.”

She frowned and nervously tapped the arm of the couch.  She hadn’t told anyone, not even Mettaton, afraid that once she said something it would make it too real and she would freak out and not be able to go through with it.  But, maybe if someone knew who wouldn’t tell anyone, she could at least feel like it was really something that was going to happen?

She knocked back the sake, slammed the cup on the table, and said, “I’m going to ask Undyne to marry me!”  

“oh. pretty soon?”

“Yeah!  We’re going to the beach next weekend, and I’m ready!”  She poured herself another glass.  

“that trip was her idea, wasn’t it?”

“It’s the perfect time for it!  Maybe when there’s a sunset.  I already have this blue shell, like the one from…”  She frowned. “Never mind where it’s from.”

Sans looked like he was laughing.

“What’s so funny?  I mean it!  She…she always takes the initiative on things, and…”  Alphys looked down at her laugh.  "…you don’t think she’s going to turn me down, do you?  I’m happy with how things are, now, but…I want her to know how much I care about her."

"she’ll say yes.”  Sans sounded completely sure.  "but you should do it pretty early on the trip, before you lose your nerve.  the earlier, the better."  

"M-maybe. You really think she won’t…freak out?  Or maybe she’ll think I’m not…strong enough, yet, to be her wife?”

“nah.”

Sans’ casual dismissal of her worries gave her a little bit of comfort.  She sighed.  "What about you?  And, um, your bartender?"  

"what about me and my bartender.”  

“Are you…”  

“what.”  Sans was staring at her, so she looked down again.  "he’ll be my plus one, if that’s what you’re asking."  

"No, I mean…do you think you’ll ever…get married?”  She looked back up.

“uh.”  Now he was looking away.  "that’s kind of early to say."  

That wasn’t a nah, or another easy dismissal.  That was really interesting, but she wasn’t sure yet if she shipped it.

"It’s been like a year, right?”

“almost.” He shook his head.  "what show’s the blue shell from?"

"Oh! Let me show you!”  She jumped up from the couch and had to catch herself on the edge, she was so dizzy.  "It’s actually really cute and, um, Undyne loves it!“  

"ok.”

She hurried out of the room, her shoulder hitting the doorframe on the way out, for some reason.  

–-

Papyrus was scrubbing the kitchen counter when Sans got back.

“don’t work yourself to the bone, paps.  it’s late.”  

“UGH! I KNOW IT’S LATE!  IT’S THE PERFECT TIME TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS PROPERLY ORGANIZED, SO I CAN START OUT TOMORROW WITH EVERYTHING FRESH!” 

“ok.  want a bedtime story?”

“…YES.” Sometimes – he would never tell Sans this! – it was hard to rest without one, and he actually was a little tired.  He finished the counter and went to his bedroom.  Sans was already there, looking through Papyrus’ bookshelf.  

Papyrus got into bed and Sans picked a book and sat down on the edge and read to him.  The sound of his voice made Papyrus a little sleepy.  He didn’t need a story, like he had as a little babybones, but routine was very important! 

When Sans was done, he stayed where he was, for a minute.  "hey. undyne’s proposing next week, right?"

"THEY ARE RENTING A HOUSE ON THE BEACH FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND!  IT IS GOING TO BE PASSIONATE AND ROMANTIC!”

“that’s what i thought.”  He chuckled, to himself.  "this is going to be great."

"I KNOW!  UNDYNE SAID I AM GOING TO BE THE BEST SKELETON!  NOT JUST IN GENERAL, LIKE I USUALLY AM, BUT AS A POSITION IN THE WEDDING!”  

“yeah, she couldn’t ask for a better one.  it’s a lot of work.”  Sans gestured to the stack of wedding planning books Papyrus had on his desk.  "looks like you’ve got it covered, though."  

"IT IS GOING TO BE THE MOST MAGICAL EVENING OF THEIR LIVES!  OR AFTERNOON!  …THAT ISN’T DECIDED YET.”  

Sans nodded.  "you’ll figure it out."  He got up and shut off the light.  "night, bro.”

Papyrus remembered that Sans had been hanging out with Alphys.  He really hoped Sans hadn’t let the “cat” out of the “bag.” The proposal was going to be a huge surprise and Alphys was going to cry and say yes and Undyne was going to cry and send Papyrus a text when Alphys said yes and then Papyrus was going to cry, too.  He had it all planned out.  

–-

A few days later, Sans didn’t get out of bed.

Papyrus knocked loudly on his bedroom door, until he heard Sans tell him to come in.  Sans had his blankets pulled up over his head and the lump barely moved when Papyrus marched in.  

“ARE YOU ILL, OR BEING VERY LAZY?  THE HUMAN FRISK WILL ALREADY HAVE STARTED WALKING TO SCHOOL!”  

“just tired.  already messaged tori.”  

At least he had taken that much responsibility.  Papyrus frowned at the blanket lump and went over to pull the blinds up, filling the room with light.  Sans didn’t seem to notice, under his protective layer of blankets.  

“don’t you have work?”  

“YES, BUT IF YOU ARE SICK, I CAN TAKE A DAY OFF.”  Papyrus barely ever took sick days, himself.  

“not sick, bro.”  

Sans had been very active, by his own standard, lately.  Had he run himself down making almost the amount of effort a normal person would make?  He needed to be more careful.  

Papyrus made Sans pull the blanket away so he could check to make sure he really wasn’t coming down with something before he left for work.

When Papyrus got home, Sans was still in his room.  That had been what Papyrus was expecting, but not what he was hoping.  He managed to coax Sans down to eat dinner, but he was back in his room right after that.  

The next morning, Sans didn’t get up again.  When Papyrus came back from work, he was out of his room, at least.  Sitting on the couch, staring at the television.  It was progress.  From what, to where, Papyrus was not sure.  

“still not sick,” was all Sans had to say when Papyrus sat down next to him and checked his temperature.

“I AM…NOT ENTIRELY CONVINCED,” Papyrus said.  "EVEN IF IT ISN’T CONTAGIOUS." 

"i’m just tired.”  

It felt like the hundredth time Sans had said that.  Papyrus wanted him to get out of the house again, go out and do things, but he was not sure that nagging him –giving him brotherly encouragement – was the best tactic.  Not if he was suffering from overexertion.  

The next morning, Sans left like everything was normal, and nothing had ever been wrong.  He made many awful jokes and despite them Papyrus mostly felt relief as he left to start his own day.  

Papyrus was a few miles down the road towards work when he noticed a lingering sense of unease.  Something had been off.  Sans had been pretending to be well, obviously, but so long as that meant progress, Papyrus would play along with the ruse.  But he was not positive it had been anything but a ruse.  

He drove back home and found Sans in his room, sleeping.  Papyrus stood in the doorway, angry about being lied to, but mostly worried and upset.  He called off work and paced the hallway outside their bedrooms, completely unsure what he could do.  

Eventually, he heard: “hey.  you’re back early.”

“SO ARE YOU!”  Papyrus burst out.  

“heh. i guess.”  

Papyrus couldn’t take it.  He went back into Sans’ bedroom instead of just yelling at him from the hallway.  "YOU LIED TO ME.  ABOUT GOING OUT."  

Sans sat up, slowly, like gravity was working harder on him than it did on a normal monster.  "yeah.  there’s no point in you worrying about this.”  

“OF COURSE!  THERE IS A POINT!  IN WORRYING ABOUT!  MY BROTHER!!!”  

Sans flinched.  He rubbed at his eye sockets.  He still looked exhausted, despite almost two days of sleep.  

Papyrus spoke a little softer.  "IF YOU WON’T TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG, SANS, CAN YOU AT LEAST TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO?"  

"eh.  you do way more than you have to.”  

“BUT IT DOESN’T HELP.  I WANT TO DO SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY HELPS. IF I JUST KEEP DOING THINGS WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT I AM DOING, EVEN I COULD MAKE A MISTAKE AND THEN THINGS WILL BE WORSE FOR YOU.”  

Sans drew his knees up and rested his head on them.  Even sitting up seemed to tire him.  "you’re so cool, bro.  you’re helping me out just by being yourself." 

"IF THAT WASN’T A LIE, THEN YOU WOULD NOT BE IN BED RIGHT NOW,” Papyrus said.  

“that…really wasn’t a lie,” Sans said, his voice muffled by his blanket. “…promise.”  

“OK.”  He hated that Sans was trying to comfort him.  That was the incorrect order of things in this situation.  

Sans dragged his head up and blinked, slow and exhausted, at Papyrus.  The light in his eyes was visible, but only barely.  He rubbed his eye sockets again.  "i guess i messed up if i didn’t want you worrying about me."

"YES.”  Papyrus sighed and sat up a little straighter.  "IF IT IS JUST…A MATTER OF TIME…THEN I SUPPOSE I WILL JUST HAVE TO ENCOURAGE YOU BY CONTINUING TO BE MY COOL SELF!  YOU MAY BE…VERY SAD RIGHT NOW, BUT EVENTUALLY YOU WILL REMEMBER HOW GREAT I AM AND YOU WILL START TO IMPROVE!"  

"i think it’s already working.  heh.”  

Papyrus wasn’t so sure, but maybe pretending to be better and making himself do things to help pretend was how he worked his way out of his…problems.  

Sans pushed off his blankets and went into the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal.  He settled down in the living room on the couch.  He grabbed a fistful of cereal out of the box and leaned back to look at Papyrus.  "they’ve got a million old cooking shows on right now."  

Papyrus recognized the invitation and sat down next to his brother.  "…WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU TOOK A SHOWER?"

"uh.  dunno.  grab a calendar for me and i’ll guess.”

“UGH. NEVER MIND!”  Papyrus took the crumpled afghan from the end of the couch and pulled it over both of them.  Sans nodded off a few minutes into the first cooking show, cereal loosely scattered on the blanket in front of him.  

Papyrus sighed and brushed the cereal back into the box.  He had taken off work, for a “family emergency,” so he continued to watch television.  

Sans woke up for lunch, his eyes just a touch brighter.  Papyrus reluctantly made him what Sans called a “sanswich”– a bread, cheese, and ketchup sandwich.  He also brought him an huge glass of milk to make up for feeding him something so disgusting.  

Sans flipped through channels for a while.  

“I AM SURPRISED I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM GRILLBY,” Papyrus said.  

Sans turned down the volume a few notches.  "i told him i was gonna be busy for a few days.“

"YOU WERE…VERY PREPARED.”  

“i had to, uh, think something through.  i made a decision a little while ago, but, eh.  hit a wall.”  

Papyrus considered this.  "IF UNDYNE WAS HERE, SHE WOULD SAY THAT YOU SHOULD KEEP HITTING THE WALL EVEN HARDER UNTIL YOU KNOCK IT DOWN!" 

Sans was sitting next to him on the couch, blanket pulled up to his chin, staring blankly at the television.  

"…BUT, I BELIEVE THAT NOT ALL HER ADVICE WORKS FOR EVERY PERSON.  MAYBE YOU JUST NEED TO…MAKE THE DECISION A LITTLE LATER?  WORK UP TO IT?" He tried to remember when Sans’ strange behavior had started.  It had been very soon after his recent trip to the Underground.  Papyrus was not supposed to know that was where Sans had gone, but it was not so easy to pull wool over the eye sockets of the Great Papyrus.  

Sans shrugged.  

"WELL.”  Papyrus sighed.  "YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING VERY HARD LATELY, AND YOUR BROTHER IS PROUD OF YOU."  

Sans turned his head away from the screen, for a second.  ”…you’re the best, paps.“

"YES.”

Sans’ smile looked genuine.  Bolstered by the positive reaction, Papyrus snuck his arm around Sans’ shoulders and gave him a side-hug of brotherly fondness.  He thought it was likely there had not been enough hugs, lately.  

Sans put his head on Papyrus’ shoulder and closed his eyes.  "i can take it back.  what i decided."

Papyrus had only the vaguest idea what Sans was talking about.  Maybe he was worried about dating?  But Papyrus also thought he might just be talking about trying to do things, like he used to.  Changing his clothes when he got out of bed in the morning, spending time with his friends, going out on fancier dates with his boyfriend, and that sort of thing.  Sans had been doing more since they came to the surface, little by little, but now he seemed to be trying very hard.  Papyrus did not want him to stop that, if that was the decision he was talking about.  

"IF YOU THINK THAT IS BEST.  BUT MAYBE YOU JUST NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL?”

“no way to do that.”  Sans was talking so quietly, Papyrus had to strain to hear him.  "the bad time’s going to happen, just no idea when.  just have to think about it like – that’s true, anyway. for everyone."

"I GUESS?”  Was Sans talking about…falling down?  Or a more general “bad time?”  

“heh. never mind.”

“THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE, BROTHER.  I WILL ALWAYS MIND.”  

"ok."   

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.  BUT!  HERE IS MY OPINION, ANYWAY.  IT IS ALWAYS WORTH IT TO TRY, EVEN WHEN YOU THINK IT MIGHT TURN OUT BADLY.  EVEN WHEN YOU ARE SURE IT WILL TURN OUT BADLY!  THEN IT IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO TRY!”

“sure.”  For a second, Papyrus thought Sans was going to leave it at that, but he shook his head and kept talking.  "in a life or death situation, or for some principle, i guess.  this is just me, and, i don’t know.  at some point it’s going to be too much, and maybe then i won’t be able to care about anything.  not you, even." 

Papyrus did not like how little emotion he was hearing when Sans said things like that.  "I DON’T BELIEVE THAT COULD EVER BE TRUE.”  

Sans’ jaw tightened and he looked like he was in pain.  "yeah,“ he said, after a minute, his voice hoarse.  

Papyrus wasn’t sure how Sans could doubt that.  He didn’t know what to say to convince him of what was obviously true.  Instead, he pulled his brother into a full hug, against his chest.  He couldn’t see his face, but he could hear him breathing strangely: thin, shallow breaths.

His brother was very small, in his arms.  He was so weak, and became so easily ill, and he was always so tired. Sans was facing something huge and awful, that had to be bigger and stronger than he was, and he was facing it by himself.  Papyrus was sure he had been doing so for a long time.  He hugged Sans a little tighter.  All he could do was encourage him and, hopefully, inspire him.

"uh.”

“I WILL DO WHATEVER I CAN TO SUPPORT YOU!”

“uh. are you crying?”  

“…I JUST HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE.”

“tears?”

“OF COURSE TEARS!”  He pressed Sans’ face against his chest, and hugged him for all he was worth.  He needed Sans to understand how he felt!  

Sans’ voice was muffled.  "…don’t have lungs, but…"

"OH!”  He let go.  

Sans looked up.  "think you squeezed a couple out of me, too, bro,“ he said, rubbing his face.  

"THEY ARE BETTER OFF OUTSIDE.”  

“i can’t believe…papyrus, you just tried to press the depression out of me.”  He chuckled, a little weak.  

“OH MY GOD, SANS, THAT IS ENTIRELY INAPPROPRIATE.”  

“yeah, but you’re smiling, right?”  

Papyrus could hardly deny it.  "YOU ARE TRYING TO TURN ME INTO A TERRIBLE PERSON!"  

"i think i figured out why i’m so much shorter than you.”

“NO!  I REFUSE TO LISTEN TO THIS!”  

“i must’ve been depressed as a kid.”  

“OH MY GOD???”

“from all the pressure.”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!”  He looked Sans over.  He seemed, better, just a tiny bit.  "ARE YOU STILL TIRED?"  

"yeah.”

“WELL MAYBE YOU HAVE A PROBLEM GETTING…DEEP REST.”  

“good one.  maybe you’re right.  maybe i should get some exercise before i go to bed.  just gotta be careful on my walk or i’ll trip and fall into a huge depression.”

“OH MY GOD.”

“wait. i already did that.”  He laughed.  "nah, i’m not that bad. i’ve been worse, that’s for sure.“  When Papyrus looked worried, he continued, "you helped out, then, too.  not a big deal.”  

“SANS.”  Papyrus gripped Sans’ upper arm bone.  "EVEN IF YOU DON’T WANT TO TELL ME WHY YOU’RE UPSET, OR IF THERE IS NO REASON, YOU SHOULD TELL ME THAT YOU ARE.“  

Sans was looking away.  "can’t really fool you, anyway.”

“PAPYRUS CANNOT BE MADE A DUPE BY HIS OWN BROTHER!  I CAN READ HIM LIKE A BOOK – LIKE A BOOK I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO READ, BECAUSE I HAVE ALREADY MEMORIZED IT BECAUSE I KNOW IT SO WELL.”

Sans snorted.  "me and fluffy bunny have a lot in common." 

"IT’S TRUE!”  

Sans was tricking him, a little, Papyrus knew.  His brother was not nearly as improved as he was pretending.  He stood up so slowly, and he shuffled around like his feet were too heavy to lift off the ground. But he was standing up, and he was walking around.  Maybe he was pretending for Papyrus’ sake, but maybe if he pretended enough it would eventually be real.  

If that didn’t work, they would figure out something else.  Papyrus would be there, regardless.  

Chapter Text

Grillby didn’t see Sans come in.  He heard the door open, but was in the middle of an order and didn’t bother to look up.  When he did, Sans was sitting in his regular spot, like he hadn’t disappeared for days after one quick text message that read:

i’m busy for a while.  see you when i get back.

Grillby had sent a few messages with questions, but had never gotten any kind of reply.  And…here he was.  

There were shadows under Sans’ eye sockets, but the light in them was bright and steady.  Grillby leaned on the counter in front of him, looking him over.  

“hey, grillbz.”  He put his elbow on the counter, resting his chin in his hand, like his skull had weights in it and needed the extra support.  "you look like you’re burning to ask me something."  

Grillby was not sure what he wanted to say, exactly.  If they were alone, he would have kissed him, but he at least wanted to pretend to be professional when he was working.  "…welcome back," he said.  

"just get me the usual,” Sans said.  His eyes were half-lidded, and Grillby wondered if he was going to wake Sans up when he returned with his food.  

“…it’s good to see you,” Grillby said.  He did have something he wanted to say, he decided, but he would leave it for the time being.  

Sans reached up with his free hand and put his hand on Grillby’s arm.  His smile seemed genuine, if tired.  

“…you’re exhausted.  I shouldn’t ask you to stay after closing.”  

“nah, i might as well stick around.  what.  does it look like i worked my fingers to the bone while i was gone?”  

Grillby shook his head, amused despite himself.  "…you need to move them if I am going to feed you."  

"yeah, sorry, i got a real death grip there.”  He used that hand to cover his mouth when he yawned.  

When Grillby returned with a plate of burger and fries, Sans had nodded off.  He loudly set down the plate in front of him, and Sans lifted his head off the counter.  "heh.“

Grillby sighed.  He had no idea what had happened.  Sans told him nothing, and even Papyrus had skipped around the issue when he finally asked him, which was far more alarming than Sans avoiding talking about something.  He got out a full bottle of ketchup and held it out.

"thanks, pal.”  

After that, the night seemed to slow to a crawl.  Closing was two hours away, and each minute took longer to tick by.  Sans kept nodding off on his barstool and then waking up and looking vaguely surprised that there was a burger in front of him.  Grillby surreptitiously reheated it a few times as he walked by on his way to take care of another customer.  

The customers started to leave, in small groups, until Grillby and Sans were the last people inside.  Grillby switched off the “open” sign.

“so. uh.”  Sans slid down out of his seat and walked over, hands shoved deep in his pockets.  

Grillby crossed his arms over his chest.  He waited for Sans to say whatever it was he wanted to say.  

“figured i should say sorry in person.”

“…you were busy.”  

“paps said you seemed kind’ve worked up about it.  can’t say it was great boyfriend behavior.”  

“…I was a little worried,” he admitted.  "You were acting strange and then you disappeared."  

"strange.  yeah, i guess.”

“Were you really busy?” he asked, finally.  "Or was it…some other reason?"

"eh.”  Sans scratched the back of his skull.  He didn’t move, besides that, but it felt to Grillby like he had taken a step back.  "either way, it wasn’t a great time."

Grillby nodded.  There was no point pressing the issue, with someone like Sans.  You could push as hard as you liked, but he was infinitely malleable.  He remembered when the human attacked them behind the movie theater, and how every hit other than the first one, the one he had taken on purpose and that couldn’t hurt him, had missed so completely.  It had been like he was never even there, wherever the human’s blow had landed.  

Grillby didn’t have it in him, to push like that.  To keep pushing, until Sans made some kind of mistake, and he got what he wanted out of him.

"I’m sorry,” he said.  "You don’t need to tell me."  

Sans chuckled.  "you’re too good to me, grillbz.”

Grillby shook his head.  

Neither of them spoke, for a minute.  Sans was probably waiting for him to say something.  

Grillby set down his rag on the closest table.  "I want to invite you upstairs, but you should go home and sleep."  

"nah. let’s go.”  

Grillby locked up and they went upstairs together.  He ate his dinner on the couch while Sans flipped through the channels.  He started to relax.

“mind if i crash here tonight?” Sans asked, eyes still pointed towards the television.  "guess you can get tired of your own bed."

"Of course you can stay here,” Grillby said.  He wasn’t paying attention to the screen, at all.  He watched Sans’ hand on the remote, and then the side of his skull.  Occasionally, the light in Sans’ eyesocket would flick over to glance at him.  "If you want, you can think of my apartment as your home away from home.  You don’t have to ask to stay here."  

"uh…yeah, grillbz, i don’t think you get how little trash i leave around here, compared to my own place.”  

Grillby stayed quiet.

“but, thanks.”  He looked at Grillby for a split second, and then back at the television.  

Grillby stood up, brushing crumbs off his lap.  Sans tilted his head back.  

“I’m getting ready for bed,” Grillby said.  

“yeah, there’s nothing good on, anyway.”  

Grillby went into his bedroom and changed.  He paced around for a few minutes, trying to work out some excess energy by cleaning up a room that was almost empty and already completely clean.  He finally gave up and went back into the living room.  Sans switched off the television and got up.  Grillby wished that it didn’t look like moving hurt him.  

Sans walked over.  "uh, you all right?"  

"I’m…”  Tentative, he put his hand on Sans’ shoulder.  

“oh.  hey, go ahead.”  

Grillby pulled him into a hug.  He held him tight against his chest.

“oof.” Sans laughed, quietly.  "i’ve been a magnet for these, lately."  He patted Grillby on the back.  "sorry you had to worry about me.”  

“I had no idea what I should even be worrying about,” Grillby admitted.  

“yeah.  you put up with a lot from me.”  

Grillby shoved him back, hands still gripping Sans’ shoulders.  "I do not just put up with you.“  

Sans looked so alarmed by his reaction, he made himself let go and pull himself back together.  

"heh.  didn’t mean to get you so heated, there.”  

Grillby sighed.  "…let’s lay down.  Do you want to borrow something to sleep in?"  

"i’d never find my hands in one of your shirts,” Sans said.  

Grillby’s was briefly charmed by the mental image.  They went into his bedroom and Sans pulled off his hoodie and kicked off a pair of sneakers Grillby just noticed he was wearing instead of slippers.  He dumped them by the closet and climbed into bed.  

“…honestly, you put up with a lot from me,” Grillby admitted.  He sat down on the edge of the bed.  "I shouldn’t have gotten so angry."  

"that was angry?”  Sans asked.  "one time i made a joke so amazing, paps threw himself out a second story window and went screaming down the road."  

"…I remember that."

"it was great living in a small town.”  He patted the bed next to him.  "you have a different standard for angry than other people."    

Grillby shifted so that he was right next to Sans.  "You do put up with a lot, though.  We go on real dates once every few weeks, and it is not because of you.  And I am…terrible at expressing myself.”

“nah. it just takes you a while.  you get around to it, and it’s not like i’m in a hurry.  and i knew what your schedule was like when i decided to go out with you.”  

“I knew what you were like, too, Sans.”

Sans dropped his head on Grillby’s chest.  "ok.  guess we like each other.“  

"Well. I love you.”  

Sans closed his eyes.  "yeah.  gotta send more than a ‘see you later’ next time."  

Grillby took Sans’ hand and kissed it.  "Good night, Sans.”  

“night.”

–-

The bed shifting abruptly woke Grillby sometime close to morning.  His glasses were set aside and he couldn’t read the clock.  Sans was a white blurry figure, sitting on the edge of the bed.  

Grillby went over to him, touching his back.  

“oops.”  Sans turned his head, slightly.  "didn’t think i’d wake you up."  

"Bad dream?”

“nope.”  He was quiet.  

Grillby shifted into a more comfortable position.  Sans hadn’t tried to shake his hand off, so he put his arms around him and rested his chin on top of Sans’ skull.  He didn’t know what was going on.  He wished Sans would just go back to sleep.  

“how long you think this is gonna last, grillbz.”  

“How long will what last?”

“this.”

“I…have been trying not to think too far ahead.”  

“ok. ideally, then.”  

Grillby was quiet.  

“let’s say i already know the answer, but i want to hear it.”

Grillby sighed.  "The rest of our lives?  If that wasn’t the ideal, for me…I don’t think we would be here."  

"yeah, that’s what i figured.  sorry.  i really need to lighten up a little.”

Grillby held him a little tighter.  

Sans leaned back against him.  "it’s pretty easy to know i made the right decision when i’m around everyone, but when i’m by myself it starts to get to me."  

"What decision?”  

“uh. how did bro put it.  to, uh, give up on giving up.”  

Grillby was pretty sure if he held him any tighter, he would break something.  “It…sounds like the right decision.”  

“yeah.”

“If you think you’re going to change your mind, you can wake me up.  Send me a message.”

“yeah, i know.  i love you too, grillby.”  He scrubbed his face with his hands.  "but i can’t just distract myself until it goes away.  won’t work forever."

"Well. I am here, anyway.”  

“for the rest of our lives, huh.”

“…ideally.  But, even if this doesn’t work out, Sans, I can’t imagine myself not caring about you.  Even if we had never dated.”  It was easy to say he loved him, because he had for a very long time.  It was different now, but a different side to the same thing.  

“yeah.  hey, grillby.”  

“Hm?”

“you’re the light of my life, pal.  you warm the bone cold cockles of my heart.”

“Sans.”

“not to make light of my feelings.”

“Sans. Those are awful.  Let’s just go back to bed.”

“yeah. i’ll lay down and i’ll be out like a light.”   

Grillby gave up and laughed.

“hey.  grillby.  you know how when you look right at the sun, it hurts, but you remember how awful it was for everyone being underground not getting any of it?”

Grillby stared.  "It hurts you to look at the sun?"

"what.  yeah.  most people, grillbz.”

“Is that why you see people with umbrellas, sometimes, when there isn’t supposed to be rain?”

“what?   yeah.  where are you seeing people with parasols?”  Sans strained around to look at Grillby.  "never mind.  hey, here’s a question.  what are the brims on hats for?“  

"…the answer is obvious, now." 

"wow.  ok, now i’ve lost wherever i was going with that.  let’s just go to bed.”

“Yes, please.”  

“you’ve never wondered why everyone squints when they look at you?”

“No?”

“not once?  ok.”  

“Good night.”  

“yeah.  wow.  good night, grillbz.”  

Grillby stayed awake for a while, thinking, but it had been too long a day and Sans was sleeping so peacefully against him, he eventually managed to get back to sleep.  

--

Sans woke up warm right through his bones.  Grillby’s arm was over him, and he was sleeping deeply enough that he had lost a little coherency to his shape.  His pajamas mostly kept everything together, but the hand near Sans’ face looked less like an orange hand and more like the bed was on fire, just in that one spot.  

He moved to push Grillby’s arm off.  He wondered if Grillby would ever humor him and agree to use his magic to make Sans look like he was on fire for a great photo idea he had.  Sans would caption the picture hot date with the bf.  Maybe he’d give a thumbs up.  Grillby probably wasn’t ever going to go along with the idea.  

Sans sat up and grabbed his phone.  He couldn’t remember if he’d told Papyrus he was staying over.  He’d been half asleep when he texted him, but hadn’t gotten any messages from Papyrus overnight, so his brother must have figured it out.  He reread the old messages.  

going to grillby’s today.  let me know if you want anything.  might not be back until tomorrow, though, so i hope you like it cold.

I WILL NEVER WANT ANYTHING FROM THAT PLACE.  STOP ASKING!!  

BUT HAVE A NICE TIME!  

thanks. so just some fries right

I DO NOT WANT THEM IN MY HOUSE, SANS!

ok

He had immediately made another suggestion, and scrolled down for a while, past pages of all-caps text, until he reached the bottom.

hey paps turns out grillbz didn’t know what brims on hats were for

He glanced over at Grillby, sleeping peacefully, and switched off the sound on his phone.  

NYEH HEH HEH!  AND I THOUGHT HE UNDERSTOOD FASHION AND HOW TO LOOK COOL ALMOST AS WELL AS I DO!  HE MUST HAVE BEEN VERY EMBARRASSED TO HAVE YOU EXPLAIN IT TO HIM!

what do you think the brims are for

THEY ARE LIKE WEARING SHADES, EXCEPT ON TOP OF YOUR HEAD!  THE SHADIER THINGS ARE, THE COOLER THEY ARE!  

METAPHORICALLY AND LITERALLY, ACTUALLY.  

i guess it’s tough for a fire monster to get that shade = cool like we do

YES! DO NOT MAKE FUN OF HIM TOO MUCH FOR HIS IGNORANCE!  IT WOULD BE VERY INSENSITIVE.  

yeah i capped it off at 5 mins

heh. capped

DO NOT TEXT ME AGAIN.

UNLESS IT IS IMPORTANT.

ok

THAT WASN’T IMPORTANT AT ALL!   I AM ABOUT TO START DRIVING!

ok

drive safe bro

He glanced down at Grillby.  He had to fight the urge to mess with him when he was looking so peaceful, his flames fluttering so gently in the almost-still air inside the apartment.  Grillby wasn’t lazy and had a full day of work ahead of him, and he’d be a pain to deal with if Sans kept waking him up.  

Sans had learned a lot about this guy, in the almost-year since they started dating.  A lot of little stuff he didn’t want to forget, even if the dating thing didn’t work out.  He wanted to note those things down where he would find them post-reset.

He wasn’t going to do it, though.  

He got off the bed and found where he had tossed his stuff, by the closet.  He pulled out a photograph from his pocket and went back to bed.  He knew what happened, now, if he brought stuff over about Grillby.  

Once had to be good enough.  He wasn’t repeating this so many times he’d wake up from a reset, go to Grillby’s for some grub, and get hit right in the soul knowing he’d lost something.  It was bad enough not being sure his brother was alive, first thing.  He got to be relieved to see Papyrus.  

Grillby made a small hissing noise and shifted a little on the bed. “…what’s that picture?” he asked, groggy.    

Sans watched Grillby patting around the side table until he found his glasses.  Sans shrugged.   He wouldn’t be carting the photo around if he was that worried about someone seeing it.  

“dunno,” he said.  "found it in my stuff a while ago."  

"Is that…the MTT Resort?  When did we ever go there?”  He adjusted his glasses and took the picture out of Sans’ hands.

“well i worked there sometimes.  we coulda run into each other.”

Grillby handed the photo back.  "Strange.  I would have remembered."

"yeah, you’d think.”

“Maybe it isn’t real.”

“you think i doctored a photo of us hanging out.”  That was a pretty good guess, actually.  Not right, but a good guess based on what Grillby knew.  "i must’ve been real drunk." 

"You must have been secretly in love with me,” Grillby said, deadpan.

“there we go.  maybe i just had a picture of me across from an empty chair.  god, i hope i find a stash of these.”  

“You on a date with the king.  You on a date with some anime character.”

“ok. if this didn’t sound like too much work, i would make this happen.”

Grillby laughed.  "How long have you had it?"

"i dunno.  i found it maybe a year ago.”  

“Maybe I just don’t remember,” Grillby said.  "It makes me think about some of the odd things you used to say, back in Snowdin.  When you were very…tired, and a little drunk."

Sans went still, for a second.  He should not have shown Grillby the picture.  What had he said, back then?  

"Maybe you know what this is,” Grillby said.  "But you won’t tell me."  

"uh.”

“But,” he sighed and rubbed under his glasses, “maybe you have your reasons for that.  …never mind.”  

“uh. yeah.  that’s a lot of maybes there, grillby.”  

“…maybe I should get some more sleep.”

“sorry about waking you up.  again.”  

He shook his head.   He seemed to have decided to change the subject. “Are you staying until breakfast?”

“nah, sorry.  told tori i’d meet her.”  

“When?”

“an hour.”  

He leaned in.  "Then there’s a little time."

"not sure i can handle that many breakfasts, but i’m willing to give it a shot.”  

Grillby laughed.  "No, that’s not what I meant.“  He explained, further, with a warm kiss on Sans’ cheekbone.  

"oh, hey.  good morning.  weren’t you going back to sleep?”  

“…after you leave.  I missed you.”  He kissed a little closer to Sans’ mouth.  

Yeah, and they’d both been in a bad mood last night.  Sans turned towards him and tugged at the collar of Grillby’s nerdy silk pajamas.  "yeah. me too."  He got another kiss for that line.  "guess that’s as good as two breakfasts.”  

“If I was making one of those breakfasts,” Grillby said, very dignified, “it wouldn’t be.”  

Sans started laughing, until his head fell against Grillby’s chest.  After a beat, Grillby started laughing, too.  

Sans was putting Grillby’s high opinion of his own cooking on the list he was never writing.  thinks it’s better than smooching.  probably depends on how hungry i am, if he’s right.

His fingers held tight the smooth material of Grillby’s shirt and Grillby whispered that he loved him so quiet Sans wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear it.  

–-

On the walk to Toriel’s, Sans took the photograph out of his pocket and tossed it in a nearby trashcan.  He found the copy on his phone and deleted it.  Whatever happened in that timeline, it was over.  

They had been on the surface for years, now.  Everything could end tomorrow, everyone suddenly stuck back underground, or it could be even more years before it was over.  Either way, he got one shot at this thing with Grillby.  No pictures, no notes to himself, no cute little hints that he’d try to figure out.  

Maybe, that way, he could make himself care enough to give it his all.