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If someone had asked Sans a few years ago what he would prefer, turning to dust or living alongside humans... he probably would have chosen to pay off all his debts, and that's saying a lot.
Right now, he was riding his motorcycle through some fields and landscapes that looked beautiful at first glance. Frisk held onto his jacket and hugged him to keep herself steady. He liked that. He wasn't entirely sure he knew where he was going, but he trusted her directions, and according to her, there weren't many miles left. She had mentioned many times "Grandma's country house in the mountains," a cabin she had inherited when her grandmother died. Some time ago, Frisk had gone to check on the property, but since she was living in the city with everyone else and still hadn't been able to move there from the Underground, a friend had been taking care of the maintenance. Sans didn't know him.
"That way!" Frisk pointed, and Sans understood, heading in that direction. It was an unpaved road that branched off from the main road. As they entered, he began to see more houses on both sides of the road and many other animals outside. He thought about the monsters who had appearances similar to some of them. It would be a huge identity crisis, he joked to himself. Frisk, meanwhile, was excited for Sans to see her old home. It needed some remodeling, but it reminded her of a stage in her life that she was very happy to remember. Her life with her grandmother had been filled with very good memories.
"Here it is!" she told him, making him stop in front of a property with a closed gate beside the road. Frisk got off the motorcycle, took off her helmet, and fixed her hair after the wind and helmet had left it messy. She stretched her arms a little and approached the somewhat worn and rusty metal gate.
Sans took off his helmet as well and stared straight ahead at the house he could see in the distance. It was clearly made of wood, like all the others, and its windows were closed. After a few moments, a tall, somewhat stocky, curly-haired man wearing glasses came out of the property. So this was probably her childhood friend.
"Frisk! I'm so happy to see you! How long has it been since your last visit?" the man greeted cheerfully, hugging the brunette. Her friend had changed a lot physically over the past few years. She was happy for him.
"I think it was a month ago," she replied. She would have liked to visit him more regularly. After all, he had done a lot for her little farm, and she was very grateful for that.
"Don't worry! I know you've been busy with work, your studies, your personal matters. I don't want to make you feel pressured to come around here. Everything is going perfectly!" he explained, laughing nervously at the end. After all, the move wasn't far away now. She was finally going to move. They would be neighbors again!
While the conversation continued, Sans checked his location on the map on his phone. (How the hell was this thing supposed to be used, anyway?) He was used to getting anywhere without one of those in the Underground, but the surface was much bigger. He doubted his shortcuts would have the same effect over such long distances. Then he felt someone grab his arm.
"Arthur, let me introduce you to my husband! Sans, this is Arthur," Frisk caught him off guard, and he felt a little embarrassed. He had forgotten that this young man was still here.
The young man looked at him somewhat surprised, but then smiled kindly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Sans. My name is Arthur Harlan. Frisk has told me things about you. Good things!" He laughed a little and held out his hand in greeting. Sans did the same and shook his hand.
The young man continued. "I'm very sorry I couldn't attend the ceremony. Believe me, I would have loved to. Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, I couldn't make it to the city. However, I'm very glad to finally meet you in person." As Arthur was apologizing, a fart was heard, interrupting him. He withdrew his hand and stared directly at the skeleton.
"The whoopee cushion joke never gets old," Sans said mockingly.
Well, he certainly had a peculiar personality, but he seemed charismatic. That was what Arthur could think. Frisk, meanwhile, laughed quietly.
"It's okay, kid. No problem, we understand. Thanks for the thought."
Arthur scratched the back of his neck and smiled in relief. In fact, Sans appreciated having fewer humans at the wedding. Although that thought made him feel bad now that he knew this guy was an important friend to Frisk.
"Well, I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Sans. I hope you settle in well around here. As you can see, there aren't many monsters, but the neighbors are friendly! See you soon, Frisk. Take care. They're already in the chicken coop, so don't worry!" Arthur said goodbye politely as he handed the keys to Frisk. With another short hug and a handshake (no whoopee cushion this time), he said goodbye to both of them.
Sans didn't want to admit it, but he could see that the guy had good intentions and was quite polite. Not bad.
When they entered the cabin, the house reminded Sans of Snowdin. Maybe the walls and everything else were different, but the way the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms were arranged reminded him of it. Frisk was happy to return to her old home. It was very clean. Arthur probably cared about this house as much as she did. They were like siblings, after all.
He watched Sans, who couldn't stop inspecting the place curiously. There were paintings of people, animals, and landscapes. It was quite nice, and there wasn't just a painting of a bone in the living room.
"So, what do you think?" Frisk asked, trying to hide her excitement in her voice.
Sans leaned back in one of the armchairs and looked at her. Frisk waited for his answer, but he said nothing.
"I like it."
Frisk smiled. "Really?" Sans wasn't one to give many compliments, but she appreciated his sincerity.
"The house?"
He looked at her with those deep, dark eye sockets that barely revealed his irises, yet without seeming threatening.
"The view is nice," he smiled playfully. And then, in a more indifferent tone, he added, "The house isn't bad either."
She hadn't expected his flirting, and her cheeks grew warm.
Sans laughed to himself at her reaction and continued talking about the cabin.
"Yeah. It's got a good atmosphere." He looked around again. "Though I was expecting more... bones. It's not very sans-sational, but it can be fixed!" He laughed at his own joke.
The human looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "It's a country house, Sans."
The skeleton stood up to inspect the rooms once again, turning to look at her with amusement.
"Yeah, definitely a house."
There was a pause.
"...Pretty convincing, actually!" he said, shrugging, earning a small hit on the arm from Frisk.
Frisk looked out the window and remembered what Arthur had told her. She quickly grabbed Sans by the hand and led him outside.
"I FORGOT!" she said, barely containing her excitement. "My chicken coop!"
Sans frowned in confusion when he saw approximately twenty chickens in a pen outside. He crouched down to look inside and made a comment.
"Looks like the chickens have a bone to pick with somebody."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just making sure they're not plotting a coup," he laughed. "Look at that, the poor things are already imprisoned."
Frisk laughed at his joke and, for a moment, hoped there wasn't some kind of chicken monster around, because that would be fatal. Finally, she opened the coop so they could run around and feel free. She assumed her friend was probably afraid one of them would get lost when he wasn't there.
As soon as the gate opened, the chickens began coming out one after another, running around the small piece of land. Some immediately wandered away, while others stayed nearby, pecking at the ground. They scattered incredibly quickly, leaving Sans staring at them in confusion. Frisk laughed because he didn't know what to do.
One chicken approached Sans, and he crouched down to look at it. The chicken pecked at his shoe, and Sans stared at it.
"Rude."
Frisk laughed. He tried to pet it, but the chicken quickly moved away.
"Well, I guess we'd better give them some food and check the water," Frisk said as she looked for their food, which was in a bag beside the chicken coop, and began calling them by completely absurd names.
For a moment, Sans wondered how she could tell them apart when they all looked the same to him. As he watched her cheerful expression, he let out a satisfied sigh. He loved seeing her happy.
His daydream ended when he felt something pecking at his shoes and pants again. He kicked at the air, trying to scare it away without hurting it.
Sans followed her with his hands in his pockets.
"Need a hand?"
Frisk stopped and looked at him with some surprise.
"You want to help?"
"Nah," he quickly denied, wanting to see her reaction.
"Sans..."
"...but apparently I'm married now," he replied with a small smile. "Seems like I'm legally obligated."
Frisk burst out laughing.
"Legally?"
"Emotionally obligated, too."
She shook her head, still laughing, and handed him one of the containers.
"Then you can start with this."
Sans took it and stared at the container for a few seconds.
"Wow. Marriage and manual labor. I'm starting to think I got scammed," he commented sarcastically.
"You can get divorced whenever you want," Frisk assured him, playing along.
"Nah. The benefits are too good."
Frisk raised an eyebrow.
"What benefits?"
Sans glanced at her.
"Free hugs."
Frisk couldn't help smiling as she began filling the other container with food. Sans, meanwhile, eventually approached the pen to do his part, although he couldn't help complaining every time a chicken crossed in front of his feet.
"...And sometimes something else," he teased, finishing the sentence.
Frisk rolled her eyes in amusement and went to collect water from the faucet to give the chickens fresh water.
Once they were fed and hydrated, Frisk felt more at ease. She really cared about them.
She remained there watching them with a smile.
Sans, who was standing beside her, noticed how her expression had changed. She no longer seemed simply amused. There was something nostalgic in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Frisk took a few seconds to answer.
"I think my grandma would be happy to see them like this." She was still a little embarrassed about talking about such personal things regarding her family with Sans, but after everything they had been through, and since he had told her about his own family, she considered it fair. Sans had had a grandfather too.
Sans followed her gaze toward the chickens.
"She took care of them?"
"Yeah. When I was little, she always made me help her. We collected the eggs together, fed them..." Frisk smiled softly. "She even had one that always tried to peck me."
Sans discreetly pointed at one of the chickens.
"That one?"
Frisk let out a small laugh.
"No. That one's new."
"Damn. Thought I found the culprit."
Frisk looked back toward the field. The wind gently moved her hair, and for a few seconds she said nothing.
"I missed this place."
Sans watched her silently. Then he moved a little closer and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah."
Frisk looked up at him.
"Yeah?"
Sans looked back toward the house.
"I think she'd be happy you're back, too."
Frisk remained silent.
Then she smiled and hugged him around the torso. Sans looked down at her and let out a small smile.
"Careful, kid. You're gonna make me sentimental."
"Too late, " she tightened the hug.
Sans gently rested his chin on top of her head.
"Way too late, " he replied.
Soon the sun began to set, and they were watching the sunrise while remaining wrapped in each other's arms, feeling the warmth of the other.
Suddenly, an idea came to Frisk, and she decided to interrupt the moment.
"Hey, let's have a picnic tonight."
Sans pulled away from her and considered her idea.
"Sounds good to me. Let's get everything ready." He gave her a soft smile, and Frisk hugged him tightly again before they both headed back inside the cabin.
He felt another peck on the bones of his leg. It wasn't as if it could really hurt his hard bones, but the situation was uncomfortable. Sans looked down and found the culprit, realizing that, after all, he actually could distinguish some of the chickens.
"Hey, I think this one has a problem with me," he told Frisk.
She looked at him.
"I think she likes you," she assured him.
Sans burst out laughing.
"Then I'd hate to see what she does to people she dislikes," he said ironically.
--
After thirty minutes, they gathered the chickens one by one to put them back in the pen and keep them safe. Sans's telekinesis turned out to be very useful for speeding up the process. After all, it was much easier to make a chicken gently float back to the coop than to try to chase it all over the property.
"That was cheating," Frisk said between laughs.
"Efficient," Sans corrected.
For their improvised nighttime picnic, they prepared some sandwiches, a few fruits, drinks, and a couple of sweets Frisk had found in the kitchen. They spread a blanket over the grass a few meters from the cabin, where they could admire the mountains beneath the clear sky.
Frisk sat down first, and Sans dropped down beside her, stretching out his legs.
"Not bad," he commented, looking at the food. "Almost looks like we know what we're doing."
"Almost?" the brunette questioned.
"Well, we're still alive. That counts as a success."
Frisk laughed and handed him one of the sandwiches. She was still surprised that Sans hadn't chosen to make hot dogs.
For a while, they simply ate and talked about unimportant things. Frisk told him little anecdotes from her childhood while Sans made an occasional comment, although he gradually spoke less when he realized that she seemed to simply enjoy being there.
When they finished, Frisk sat beside Sans and slowly rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'm happy I came back to live here," she murmured.
Sans looked down at her.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I was afraid everything would feel different."
"Does it?"
Frisk looked at the cabin for a few seconds.
"A little. But now you're here."
Sans fell silent.
For once, he didn't have a joke prepared.
He simply put an arm around her and pulled her a little closer against his body.
"Guess I can live with that."
Frisk smiled and closed her eyes.
For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. They simply stayed together, listening to the wind and the nighttime sounds of the farm.
Frisk lifted her head and looked at him.
"What?" the skeleton asked.
"Nothing."
"You're looking at me."
"I know," she affirmed.
She smiled and leaned in to give him a small kiss.
Sans returned it, keeping her close for a few more seconds before pulling away.
"Huh," Sans commented.
"What?" Frisk asked, afraid she had done something wrong.
Sans looked up.
In the Underground, he had known darkness, artificial lights, and Snowdin's strange sky, but this was different. There were no stone ceilings or lamps trying to imitate the stars.
But what irony, right? Clearly, the one who would bring light into his life wasn't going to come from there, because she came from the surface, where everything was more real.
He turned his attention back to her, his brightest constellation.
"Maybe this place isn't so bad after all," he said in his carefree tone, trying to hide the bluish tint that was beginning to show on his cheekbones.
Frisk found his expression and the way he was embarrassed very cute. She let out a small laugh and leaned against him again.
"That was sweet," she said without context.
She expected Sans to understand.
"What was?" he asked, raising an eye socket.
Frisk smiled.
"Your face when you get like that."
Hearing her say that made the bluish tint spread further across his skull.
"Damn. Guess I ruined my reputation," he said, already defeated.
Sans looked back up at the stars.
"I think I like the surface."
"Just because of the stars?"
"Nah." He looked at Frisk. "I've got better reasons now."
Frisk smiled and intertwined her fingers with his.