Let it go
As sans stepped out of his shortcut in front of Grillby’s he immediately regretted using his magic again so soon after previously straining himself. He stumbled slightly as a heavy dizzy spell washed over his body. He ended up bracing himself against the outer wall of the building as he waited for his eye to settle once again.
“Yup, bad idea.” He mumbled to himself as he winced at the throb of his left eye socket. When he finally regained his bearings he then sauntered in to the now empty establishment. Well, it should have been empty as it was well past midnight but despite the early hours of the morning Grillby still sat at the bar, his coat on ready to leave as he glanced at the clock.
Sans cleared his throat to announce his presence. Grilllby quickly turned around at the sound. His shoulders falling slightly in what looked like relief.
“Heya Grilbs, don’t tell me you were waiting up for me?” He asked sheepishly as he made his way over. Grillby nodded. Sans scratched at the back of his skull guiltily. He guessed that the little display he had pulled by dragging a blood stained human in to the bar had really frazzled his friend.
“Sorry pal, didn’t mean to worry you. I guess you could say that situation got a little heated .” Sans said with a slight chuckle attempting to lighten the mood. Grillby just huffed in response as he got off his bar stool and made his way over, placing a hand on Sans shoulder.
“Are you alright Sans?” He asked as he held the skeleton with concerned ember eyes. Sans sighed loudly and rubbed at the back of his neck, his grin faltering slightly at the edges.
“Eh, I’ve uh, definitely seen better days, but I’m fine Grillbs honest.” He replied. Grillby nodded .
“And the girl?” He asked. Sans stiffened.
“Well Paps and the doc got her patched up; she’ll be back on her feet in no time.” Sans said. Grillby shook his head at Sans response, and Sans knew that he wasn’t just asking about her physical wellbeing.
“She’s um, well I’m not sure really.” Sans continued. “She’s distant.” He finally managed. Grillby nodded in understanding.
“She has been through a lot.” He said.
“Ya, more than most.” Sans replied. Grillby then patted Sans shoulder lightly a few times before letting his hand fall back to his side.
“Take care of yourself Sans.” He said as he made his leave.
“You to pal.” Sans called after him as Grillby exited the bar. After he watched his friend go, Sans made a mental note to explain the whole situation a bit better to Grillby after the both of them had gotten some proper rest. Who knows? Maybe the flame elemental would have some advice on how to reach the girl and bring her out of this limbo she was currently stuck in.
When Sans made it to the apartment door he could not wait to fall into his bed and finally shut his eye sockets for a good night’s sleep. However, when he entered the apartment and saw Frisk still awake limping around the room throwing all of her things into a worn sack he knew that sleep would be evading him for a little while longer.
“Kid, what are you doing?” He asked. Frisk flinched at his question, not realizing that he was there, before she turned back to her work and continued to fold her clothes and place them neatly into the bag.
“Packing.” She replied. Sans paused for a moment in the entrance way, before he gradually sauntered over to her, shutting the door behind him.
“You don’t have to do that kid, I talked with Asgore he’s changed his mind you’re allowed to stay.” Sans said. Frisk hesitated when she heard the news, but then she quickly regained her rhythm as she continued to fold up her light blue dress, before delicately placing it in the worn out sack.
“Doesn’t matter.” She responded. “I’m leaving anyway.” Sans furrowed his brows at her reply, not at all happy with her decision.
“Look pal, it’s late. Why don’t you take the night to rest up and we can talk about this more in the morning?” He suggested, fighting back his frustration.
“It’s better if I leave now, I can use the darkness as a cover to get to the next town.” She said firmly, not so much as tossing him a glance.
“You really think you’re even going to make it to the next town in your condition?” Sans asked, his voice beginning to leak his anger. “Kid, you won’t make it around the block before you collapse.” He spat.
“That’s really none of your concern.” Frisk replied flatly, as she tied up the bag and swung it over her shoulder, before limping to the door. Sans immediately stepped in her way, not letting her pass.
“You’re daft if you think I’m letting you leave when you can barely even walk.” He said.
“Get out of my way Sans.” Frisk said coldly as she attempted to move around him.
“Nope.” Sans simply replied as he leaned his body weight against the doorway with his hands lazily tucked into his pockets. Frisk narrowed her eyes at him.
“Sans, it’s after midnight the contract is expired. I’m no longer bound to the Pansies, you can’t keep me here.” She said, her voice growing more and more agitated. Sans just shrugged in response before shooting her a challenging grin.
“You wanna bet?” He said, raising a snarky eye brow. Frisk moved forward and attempted to push him out of the way, but Sans stood solid not budging from his place in front of the door.
“sans move!” She ordered.
He just chuckled dryly at her as he feigned a bored yawn, ignoring her command. Frisk gritted her teeth in annoyance and anger as she pushed at him harder, but still he didn’t budge. Frustrated, Frisk raised a small fist and lunged at him pounding on his chest. Sans narrowed his sockets in his own frustration as he grabbed her wrist before she could strike him again.
“Knock it off kid.” He warned.
“Let me go!” She shouted angrily as she tried to fight her way out of his grasp, but Sans only tightened his grip. She struggled against him in vain for a few more moments, before she finally allowed her arm to go limp in his hold, exhausted of all her energy.
“Why do you even care what happens to me?” She suddenly asked in a very small voice.
Sans almost loosened his hold at her question but retained his grip none the less. Her eyes were wet now, and he noticed how she lowered her head to try and hide her face. He could tell that she was about to break.
“You should hate me by now, after everything I put you through. After everything I put everyone through.” She continued her voice beginning to wobble with emotion. Sans still stood stern in front of the door his clutch still snug around her wrist.
And then Frisk finally let it go. It started with a few stray tears that leaked down her cheeks. At first she stubbornly tried to wipe them away, but soon she became overwhelmed as she broke into quiet sobs. Her body slightly shook as she tried her best to hide them. She brought her free hand up over her face trying to cover her watery eyes as she continued to stare at the floor. Sans still held her other wrist but he now loosened his grip as he gently pulled her over to the couch. She followed him blindly, too tired to resist anymore. He then sat her down on the sofa bore he took the seat next to her as she continued to cry. He hesitantly placed an arm around her shoulder, hoping that it might bring her some level of comfort as she sobbed. She didn’t pull away from his touch as she buried her face in her hands still desperately trying to hide her tears.
“Kiddo, we don’t hate you.” He said softly. “What happened wasn’t your fault.” Firsk seemed to cry harder at his words so he moved to rub small gentle circles in to her back.
“It was.” She finally managed to stammer between her sobs. “It was all my fault, I couldn’t help her Sans, I couldn’t do anything.”
“No Frisk, it wasn’t.” Sans said again. “look, the work that we do in the Pansies isn’t exactly the safest. All of us know what we signed up for when we joined. Mittsy knew what she was risking as well, but she also knew that by risking it she was helping a lot of other monsters in Ebott to have a safe place to live.” He continued. “Sometimes bad things like this happen, and you can’t blame yourself for it. All we can do is just pick up the pieces and move forward.” Frisk continued to weep at his side as he spoke.
“I know it hasn’t been exactly easy for you to fit in around here, but believe me when I say we don’t want you to go. Grillby, Undyne, Papyrus and I, are all your friends and we can’t just watch you risk yourself. So please, stop pushing us away.” At the sound of his request Frisk turned into his hold and buried her face into his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She whimpered. “I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean any of it.” She said as she clutched at his shirt.
Sans sat slightly stunned as Frisk practically threw herself in to his arms, before he began to pet the top of her head in an effort to calm her down.
“I know you didn’t buddy, we all do.” he said as he let her continue to cry.
“Do – do you mean it?” She suddenly asked in a timid voice. Sans had to strain slightly to hear her as her question was muffled by his shirt. “Can I really stay here?” She continued. Sans felt his soul swell at her plea.
“Of course you can Frisk, we wouldn’t want it any other way.” He replied.
They sat like that on the couch for a while as Frisk vented out all of her sadness and hurt. She continued to weep and weep like she hadn’t in years, and Sans guessed that was probably exactly the case. When he had first met Frisk she was a stone wall, not letting anything out or anyone to see inside, but now it seemed that the dam had finally broken. All of her hurt from over the years was now being allowed to be released in a giant flood of tears. When she finally seemed to quiet, Sans looked over to her. Her face was still firmly planted into his shoulder as she continued to hide it from view.
“Hey kiddo you ok?” He asked her quietly as he shook at her shoulder gently.
She didn’t respond, and it took Sans a moment to realize that she had actually cried herself to sleep. Sans sighed to himself, a sad but relived smile made his way onto his face at her small form balled up at his side. It was finally over. She had finally let it go. He then made a move to get up from the couch but quickly found the task to be much more difficult than he had originally thought. The kid had practically crawled right in to his lap when she had finally broken down, and now even in her sleep she clutched tightly to him. When he tried to delicately move himself from under her or pry her grip from his shirt, she would stir and furrow her brows before groaning sleepily in protest. Sans felt himself stiffen, a light blue blush forming across his cheekbones as he realized his precarious position pinned under the small girl. He was stuck.
Sans didn’t really know what to do in that moment. He knew he didn’t want to wake Frisk up. She needed her rest in order to heal and she looked absolutely exhausted cuddled against him, but whenever he made a move to try and release himself from her grip she seemed to only burry herself closer in to his side. Sans also knew that he needed to get some rest for himself, as he was very, very tired after the day’s events. His magic reserves were also still far too low, he needed to recharge. As he continued to sit pinned in place on the sofa he found it increasingly more difficult to keep his eyes open. His pinpricks continuously fizzled and blurred out of focus. He yawned as he reluctantly began to nod off. He fought it for a moment longer before finally giving into his body’s desperate plea. He could afford to let himself rest for a few hours, just until he restored some of his magic. Then he would get up and put the kid to bed properly, before going to his own room for some decent shut eye. Sans found himself quite pleased with the idea. He found it completely agreeable as he finally allowed himself to drift into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.
The sun streaming through living room window was what first began to rouse Sans from his slumber. He grumbled as he tightened his eye sockets and threw a hand limply over his forehead in an attempt to shade himself from the suns pestering rays. He found himself making a mental note to buy curtains for that annoying window, when he suddenly remembered where he was. Sans then opened his eyes. He was now lying on his back with the kid snuggled into his side. One of her arms draped loosely across his rib cage. Sans blushed blue as he noted the change of position. They must have shifted in their sleep. The second thing that he noticed was the woolly blanket that had somehow ended up tucked around them. Sans raised a quizzical eyebrow at this. Now how did that get there? The third thing that he noticed was his brother sitting in the chair that Sans had brought from the kitchen, smiling smugly at Sans with his chin resting in the palm of his hand. Sans hoisted himself up to a sitting position when he realized he had been sleeping for far longer then what he had originally intended to. Frisk shifted as he moved, now laying across his lap.
“Paps! you’re up!” He stammered as he tried to come up with the words to explain this slightly awkward situation. Papyrus only continued to grin as his brother fumbled on the couch.
“YES BROTHER, I WAS GOING TO WAKE YOU AS WELL, BUT YOU JUST SEEMED OH SO COMFORTABLE.” Papyrus replied raising a brow bone at Sans. Sans blush darkened immediately at his brother’s comment.
“This isn’t! That’s not!” He stuttered and Papyrus only chuckled.
“RELAX SANS I'M ONLY TEASING. I WASN’T IMPLYING ANYTHING.” He snickered. “I SEE THAT FIRSK IS FINALLY FEELING BETTER.” He continued his gaze softening as it fell to the sleeping girl.
“Ya, we had a talk last night. I think I got her to agree to stay.” Sans answered as he finished pulling himself out from under her. Frisk grumbled slightly in her sleep as she turned over now clinging to the woolly blanket once Sans presence had disappeared from her grasp.
“ NEYHEHE! THAT’S EXCELLENT NEWS SANS!” Papyrus replied as he stood form his chair. “THIS CALLS FOR AN EXTRA SPECIAL CELEBRATORY SPAGHETTI BREAKFAST!” He declared as he made his way to the kitchen. Sans sighed as he went to follow his brother, but before he left he grabbed the corner of the blanket and tugged it up to cover the rest of the sleeping girl on the couch.
When Frisk roused herself from slumber she was surprised to actually find that she no longer felt tired. She almost allowed herself to laugh when she realized she had slept soundly through the night. No nightmares and no dreams, just a peaceful undisturbed rest. She smiled slightly at the thought. She had been beginning to think that she was never going to be able to sleep well again. Her attention was then quickly drawn to the kitchen where she heard the voices of the two brothers talking quietly to one another while Papyrus clanged pots and pans as he cooked what Frisk was sure to be another interesting batch of spaghetti breakfast.
Frisk took a deep breath as she hoisted herself of the couch. She felt her cheeks turn pink as she thought about the conversation that she had with Sans the other night. She felt herself cringe slightly in embarrassment when she remembered her emotional display. She glanced back to the kitchen unsure if she was ready to face him quite yet, but she knew that she couldn’t avoid him. She also knew that she needed to apologies to Papyrus for her distant behavior as of late. A swell of nervous energy bloomed in her chest at the thought.
“OH FRISK YOUR AWAKE IM SO GLAD! WILL YOU BE JOINING US TODAY FOR BREAKFAST?" Papyrus asked when he saw her making her way over. Frisk tensed, her tongue tying itself in a knot as she tried to form the words of her apology. All she managed was a small nod. Reluctantly she decided to try again later as she took her seat across from Sans at the table.
“Heya pal how you feeling?” He asked her. Frisk felt her blush deepen as she chanced a meek look to him afraid that he was going to bring up her blubbery display last night. When he simply sat and sipped at his mug of instant coffee she felt herself begin to relax.
“I’m doing much better thank you.” She replied quietly. Sans grin grew wider at her timid voice
“Glad to hear it.” He said.
Papyrus then placed a heaping stack of overcooked spaghetti in front of her the noodles practically turning to mush on the plate.
“MAKE SURE YOU EAT UP FRISK, YOU HAVE TO REGAIN YOUR STRENGTH.” He said.
Frisk picked at her noodles for a few moments her brows furrowed in concentration as she worked up her nerve. Then with a wave of determination she put down her fork and stood from her chair facing the taller skeleton brother.
“Papyrus.” She called confidently. Papyrus turned around from the sink and cocked his head in question.
“YES FRISK? IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR PASTA?” He asked. Frisk shook her head.
“No breakfast is great! It’s just well; I wanted to tell you something.” She said her bravado beginning to fade as her once firm gaze slowly slipped to the floor.
“WHAT IS IT FRISK?” Papyrus asked as he moved closer to her. Sans was also watching the conversation in slight curiosity as he sipped at his coffee from his seat at the table.
“Well I – I wanted to apologies to you.” Frisk began as she nervously began to fiddle with her shirt sleeve.
“I‘ve been short with you, and I haven’t been that nice for the last few days, and I wanted you to know that I’m really sorry for treating you that way, for shutting you out. I’m- I’m just really, really sorry Papyrus.” She managed to finish as she continued to stare at the floor.
When Papyrus didn’t reply she winced inwardly. She debated whether or not to chance a look at his face to see if he was angry with her, but then she was suddenly swooped tightly in to his bony arms as he squeezed her against his rib cage in a super surprise hug.
“OH FRISK! THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO APOLOGIZE. I UNDERSTAND YOU WERE JUST SAD IS ALL.” He said as he nuzzled her with his skull. Frisk was stunned. He had forgiven her that easily? She couldn’t believe it.
“You mean you’re not mad?” She asked dumbfounded. Papyrus looked down at her confused face and raised a quizzical brow bone.
“HEAVENS NO, I AM NOT ANGRY. I AM ACTUALLY QUITE THE OPOSITE.” He replied happily. “I'M JUST SO RELIVED THAT YOU ARE COMING BACK TO YOUR OLD SELF. I WAS WORRIED THAT YOU WOULDN’T EVER EAT BREAKFAST WITH US AGAIN.”
Frisk felt her eyes go misty at his sentiment. Papyrus was worried about her. She couldn’t really place the emotion she felt when she realized how much the younger skeleton cared about her. It was like a mixture of guilt for making him concerned, and happiness knowing that she meant something to him. Frisk wiped at her watery eyes and replaced it with a bright happy smile. She had cried enough for a life time last night and now was sick of tears. She wanted to focus on catching up on all the happy moments that she had missed with her friends while she was being such a pill, and stewing in her own self misery.
“I don’t think that would be even remotely possible Papyrus. How could I resist your home cooking for so long?” Frisk replied with a smile. Papyrus seemed to straighten up at her compliment, before striking a confident pose.
“YES FRISK I SUPPOSE YOU ARE RIGHT. NO ONE CAN DENY MY HOME COOKED SPAGHETTI FOR LONG. IT WILL BRIGHTEN ANY ONES DAY! NEYHEHEHE!” Papyrus exclaimed.
Frisk nodded in agreement as she retook her seat before taking a big bight out of her plate of pasta. The noodles instantly congealed into a mushy blob in her mouth, but even despite their soggy texture the dish was probably the best thing that she had ever tasted.