Booze and music
As the night wore on the crowed of monsters became more and more rowdy as more and more alcohol was consumed. Undyne had taken to the piano and had actually started a sing along with Frisk, as well as a few other drunken monsters. Sans chuckled as he watched the kid and the others sway back and forth in rhythm with the song, spilling their booze as they all belted out the words to an old love ballad in different keys before breaking into laughter at the end of each verse.
It was then that Sans noticed Alphys also watching the group from a secluded corner of the room. She was tapping her foot along to Undyne’s playing, a slight pink hue to her cheeks as she watched the fish women at the piano. Sans rolled his eyes at his old coworker’s shy disposition before he made his way over.
“Heya Al.” He said announcing his presence. Alphys immediately tensed and fumbled with her drink nearly dropping the glass. Sans chuckled.
“You know you’d be able to hear the music better if you got a little closer.” He suggested.
“Wha- oh no, no, no that’s ok I – I can hear just fine from here.” She stuttered as she began to nervously strum her fingers against her glass.
“Alright.” Sans began as a playful grin spread across his face. “Whatever keeps an object fully or partly immersed in a liquid that is buoyed upward by a force equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by that object pal.” Alphys snorted as she stifled her laughter. Sans grinned wider at her reaction. He knew she would like that one.
“I’m glad to see that Frisk is looking better.” Alphys said as her gaze shifted from Undyne to the young girl standing next to her laughing along with the noisy group.
Sans hummed in agreement. He had also been keeping a close eye on her throughout the night, just in case she pushed herself to hard with her injuries, but from what he could see she seemed to be doing just fine on her own. The only thing he was concerned about at the moment was how much she had been drinking. He knew that Undyne could be a bit pushy when it came to booze and judging by how the kid was swaying, he was pretty sure that she was nearing her cut off point.
“So how’s the research coming on the smoker?” Sans asked.
“Oh it’s um, really coming along.” Alphys replied with a wobbly smile sans raised a brow as he saw her shoulders slump.
“Huh, that good?” He replied. Alphys’ shoulders sank even further.
“No it’s hopeless!” She said, her weak smile completely falling away from her face.
“Even with the substance right in front of me, I just don’t know enough about human determination, And the only monster that does might not even exist anymore and….” Suddenly Alphy’s eyes lit up as she got an idea.
Though it was true that Gaster was no longer around she did still have one of his apprentices, Sans. Alphys practically smacked herself for not realizing this sooner. Sans had worked with Dr. Gaster. He may be able to help her deceiver his notes! Alphys then turned her hope filled gaze quickly to the short skeleton who was now looking a little concerned and also a little uncomfortable as a big excited smile slowly made its way across her face.
“Sans!” She exclaimed suddenly grabbing him by his arm. “You are exactly what I need!” She said. Sans’ eyes went wide in confusion.
“Wha…” Was all he managed to get out before Alphys began talking a mile a minute.
“You worked for Doctor Gaster! You’ve seen his work! You probably know exactly what he meant! This is actually fantastic you can help me crack the code, we can finally get somewhere!” She exclaimed. Sans just watched her as she continued to ramble, not fully comprehending anything that she was actually saying.
“Hold on there a sec doc.” He said, finally managing to silence her.
“That was a long time ago and I was only his assistant. I doubt I would be of any real use to you honestly.” He stated nervously as his pinpricks darted around the room looking for an escape route.
“Besides, I haven’t picked up a science textbook in years. I’m uh, you know out of practice, rusty even.” He continued as he subtly tried to back away. Alphys however, only tightened her grip on him, not allowing him to get away from her that easily.
“Nonsense, your perfect!” She argued. “I won’t require you to help me for long, just to help me look over a few research notes, to get a second opinion really.”
Sans scratched at his skull not entirely thrilled with the idea of jumping back into the field that he had left behind so many years ago.
“I don’t know Al…” He began.
“Please Sans, I’ll owe you big time. I’ll, I’ll buy you all the ketchup and fuzzy slippers you could ever want.” She begged. Sans let out a dry chuckle at her offer, what could he say? The women knew him well.
“Ok, but only a few notes, and only for one afternoon.” He said sternly making sure that he made his position very clear on the matter. He knew that Alphys could sometimes get overly excited and lose track of time and he had no desire to end up locked away in that homemade lab she had set up in her apartment for more than a few hours .
“Yes, yes I promise.” Alphys replied as she practically bounced happily in place.
“But uh, instead of the ketchup and fuzzy slippers, I actually got something else in mind that you could help me out with.” Sans continued as he eyed the rowdy group by the piano.
“Oh, well of course. Whatever you want!” She stated.
“ Ya see, it’s past the kids bedtime… and also her alcohol limit, but I’m having a bit of trouble prying her away from our oh so jaunty underboss there at the piano.” Sans said motioning to Frisk and Undyne, who were now trying to commence a drunken music lesson as Frisk tried to sloppily copy a cored that Undyne was attempting to explain to her with slurred and broken words. Alphys fiddled with her glasses as she turned her gaze over to the piano. She then looked back to Sans unsure of what he exactly wanted her to do about it.
“If you could let’s say distract Undyne for a few moments well I get Frisk , we can consider ourselves even.” Sans explained.
“Wh- h-how am I supposed to do that?!” Alphys blurted out, her yellow scales turning scarlet as she nervously fidgeted with her tail.
Easy pal just go talk to her. You know how much of a chatter box undyne is when she’s drunk.” He replied with a shrug.
“I – I don’t think I can do th- that.” Alphys said as she shrunk further into herself, her confidence continuing to plummet.
“Not even for science?” Sans questioned raising a smug eyebrow at her. Alphys stiffened and turned her head back over to the fish women.
“O-ok.” She said slowly gathering up her nerve. “For science.” She declared as she pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her snout before hesitantly making her way across the floor.
Sans chuckled to himself as he watched Alphys’s nervous approach. The little yellow lizard monster didn’t even get a chance to introduce her presence before Undyne whirled around giving her a big toothy smile before she threw a strong arm around her shoulder in greeting. Alphys was a stuttering mess at this point, but it didn’t really matter all that much as Sans had been telling the truth about Undyne being quite the talker when she was under the influence. All Alphys really had to do to keep up with the conversation was smile and nod as Undyne began to retell heroic adventures of her and her troops dangerous missions commandeering goods from other gangs.
Sans grinned seeing his opportunity to swoop in and get to the kid now that the under boss was efficiently distracted. Frisk also wasn’t too interested in the conversation as she swayed slightly at the piano bench, still trying to pluck out the new techniques that Undyne had been trying to show her.
“I think that’s enough practice for one day buddy.” Sans said as he came up from behind her. Frisk turned her head up over her shoulder at the shorter skeleton brother, a goofy smile spreading across her face.
“Oh, hey Sans.” She said greeting him with slurred words. Sans cocked a brow bone the kid was more buzzed then he had thought.
“You doin ok there pal?” He asked. Frisk giggled at him.
“I’m doing sansational.” She declared as she stood from the bench, laughing to herself at her own joke. Sans snickered as well.
“Heh, good one kid.” He said. “But I think it’s about time we head on up. We don’t want to keep Grillby stuck here all night after all.” Frisks smile fell into a firm pout.
“Aw, It’s not that late.” She argued as she scanned the bar. Though, to her surprise she found that the party had definitely died down a lot. Now only a few groups of monsters were left still drinking as the majority had called it a night and went home.
“Hey, where’d Papyrus go?” She asked as she squinted her eyes and continued to look around the room for the taller brother. She hummed annoyed when she couldn’t seem to spot him. If the room would just stop spinning she was sure that she would be able to pinpoint him quite easily.
“He went to bed an hour ago.” Sans answered, slightly amused by Frisks confused face when she couldn’t manage to find his brother. “Which is where you ought to be going right about now.” He said. Frisk wrinkled her nose at him.
“Fine.” She finally huffed. “But only after one more of those martini things.” She said as she began to sway over to the bar.
“don’t think so pal.” Sans replied as he loosely caught her by the back of her collar before she could wander too far away. “You’ve had plenty.” He said. Frisk frowned at him from over her shoulder. She debated whether or not to make a break for it.
“Come on, this way.” Sans said not giving her enough time to make up her mind as he swung a firm arm around her shoulder before leading her to the staircase.
“You’re no fun.” Frisk grumbled. Sans just chuckled lightly in response.
“Can’t be mister funny bones all the time.” He replied.
When they made it to the apartment Frisk immediately kicked off her uncomfortable shoes and sat on the couch. She hummed happily as she stretched her toes out in front of her, feeling immense relief that her feet were finally free from there pinchy prisons. Sans smiled as he watched her from the door before he made his way over to the kitchen to get the kid a glass of water and himself a quick swig of ketchup.
Frisk peeked over the back of the couch at him. She grimaced as she watched him down the thick red condiment, before she got an idea.
“Hey, hey Sans!” She called, suddenly waving at the skeleton to get his attention. Sans laughed, a little amused by her efforts.
“What’s up kid?” He asked, deciding to humor her.
“What did the martini glass say to the ketchup bottle?” she asked, a big childlike smile growing larger and larger across her flushed face.
“Don’t know what?” He replied still smirking at her as he leaned lazily against the counter top before taking another drink from the ketchup bottle.
“Olive you from my head tomatoes!” She said beaming brightly at him when she had delivered the punch line. Sans coughed on his laugh as he almost spit ketchup everywhere. When he finally managed to fully swallow down his mouthful of ketchup he chortled loudly. Frisk giggled, happy with his response.
“Jeez kid, you’re getting better and better at those. Pretty soon I’m gonna have some serious competition when it comes to my title as the official comedian of the Pansies.” He said. Frisk shook her head and continued to grin at him.
“No you won’t, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone funnier then you Sans.” She said. Sans couldn’t help the blue tint that started to appear on his cheeks as she smiled at him. He was beginning to feel a little bashful all of a sudden.
“Well, aren’t you just a sweet heart.” He said. “I’ll tell you now though buddy, flattery will get you nowhere with these old bones.” He teased as he made his way over to the couch.
“Ok scoot over giggles.” Sans said as he passed Frisk the glass of water. He made sure that she drank at least half of it before he sat down on the cushion next to her. He wasn’t envious of the hangover that she was undoubtedly going to be feeling in the morning.
“Hey sans?” Frisk suddenly asked when she had finished downing the glass. “Why didn’t you want to tell me about Asgore assigning me as your underling? I thought that you would have wanted to tease me sooner.” She said. Sans rubbed at the back of his skull.
“Heh, well you know a lazy bones like me isn’t really one for all that extra responsibility.” He said with a shrug. “And besides, I don’t think I’m really cut out to be any good at being in charge anyway.” Frisk frowned slightly at his comment.
“You know um, nothing really has to change.” Sans continued sounding suddenly nervous. “I mean if you don’t want…. you don’t have to think of me that way, as your boss I mean.” He said his pinpricks focusing pointedly at a spot on the floor.
“I think you will make a great boss.” Frisk replied matter-o-factly. “You’re good at looking out for people and making sure everyone’s safe.”
“Heh, thanks kid.” Sans replied, his blush growing a shade darker.
“That’s why Asgore let me stay isn’t it?” Frisk said her tone growing more serious despite still being heavily intoxicated. “You convinced him by taking on the responsibility. You’re his insurance policy to make sure I stay out of trouble.” She continued. Sans winced. He had forgotten how sharp Frisk was. Even when she was inebriated she could still put two and two together rather quickly.
“Look kiddo, I didn’t mean anything bad by it –."
“Thank you Sans.” Frisk replied, cutting him off before he could try to explain himself.
“I don’t think I’ve really properly told you that, especially after everything you’ve done for me.” She said. " Sans, you've already saved my life, and now you’re risking your position for me as well.”
Frisk then turned her gaze toward him. It was rather intense, and Sans found himself actually struggling to maintain eye contact with her. He tried to brush off the heavy atmosphere with a light laugh as his pin pricks shied away from her, but Frisk just held firm to her resolve. After a few more moments she crawled over to him on the couch and before Sans could register what she was up to, she placed a small kiss on his cheek bone right below his left eye socket.
“Thank you sans.” She repeated as she smiled sweetly up at him. “Thank you for everything.”
Sans was utterly dumbfounded in that moment, and for once in his life at a complete loss for words. Frisk began to pull herself away from him, returning back to her side of the couch, but before she could get too far Sans reached out and caught her by her cheek. His gaze was fixated on her bottom lip as he stroked his thumb over it slowly. They had been a lot softer then what he had expected. Now he couldn’t help but wonder what they would feel like pressed against his teeth.
Sans began to move forward, inching himself closer to Frisk, until his pinpricks flicked up to meet with her eyes. He paused. Her expression looked somewhat confused and dazed as she swayed slightly in her seat. Her eyes were glassy, almost appearing as though they were glazed over, and her face was still flushed from the all the alcohol still running amuck in her system. Sans then quickly backed away from her once he remembered that Frisk was still very, very drunk. He moved his hand from the side of her face to the top of her head and proceeded to ruffle her hair playfully, hoping that the act would prove as an effective distraction from his previous actions. It seemed to work as Frisk snorted and giggled while attempting to bat his hand away.
Sans sighed inwardly with relief when he realized that Frisk hadn’t registered his true intentions, before he began to internally scold himself. What the hell was wrong with him? Frisk had offered him a simple thank you. That kiss was only meant to be a sweat and innocent token of her appreciation. Nothing more.
Sans mentally chastised himself for daring to try and turn it into something that it wasn’t. For acting on a stupid impulse. He looked over at the girl next to him still giddy from the booze. Her cheeks pink and pinched as she continued to laugh, her hair was mussed form there play fight, and her warm brown eyes sparkled happily from behind her dark messy bangs. She was a pretty little thing, but she wasn’t meant for him.
“Alright pal, I think it’s time we both hit the hay.” Sans said, forcing on his best smile. Frisk pouted and stuck her tongue out at him.
“heh, real cute kid.” Sans said raising a brow bone at her before throwing the woolly blanket over her face. As he hoisted himself up off the couch.
“don’t forget, we still got work tomorrow. If I were you, I would be trying to catch as many z’s as I can before your shift starts.” He said.
“Yes Mr. Sans sir boss man.” Frisk replied with a taunting smirk as she tossed him a mock salute. Sans chuckled.
“Good night Frisk.” he said as he rolled his eyes while heading to his room, ruffling her hair one last time as he passed.
“Night Sans.” Frisk replied through her giggles.
When Sans finally made it to the seclusion of his bedroom his grin fell completely away from his skull as he flopped face first into his unmade bed. He then grabbed his pillow and pulled it roughly over his head trying to smother the memory of the stunt that he had just tried to pull with Frisk on the couch. When that didn’t work he turned over and stared at his ceiling, his mind continuing to analyze the incident over and over again.
What the hell had he even been thinking? Sans smacked his palms over his eye sockets hard, before grinding his palms into his cheekbones. Well obviously he wasn’t thinking at all, because even a moron could see what a terrible idea it would be to just go macking on a drunken coworker. Sans then winced when he remembered that Frisk wasn’t just his coworker anymore, but now also his underling. He groaned to himself at the realization. How much more unprofessional could he possibly get? Sans shook his head trying to relive himself of his internal scrutiny.
He needed to calm down. This was no big deal. In reality he was probably blowing this whole thing way out of proportion. He had just had a little too much to drink, that was all. He just got carried away in the moment. But, despite his desperate attempt to placate his anxious thoughts, Sans could still hear the nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him otherwise.
He tried to play back what exactly it was that had triggered him to act, but he knew that his actions weren’t just the product of one night of drinking and a simple kiss. No, he knew that he had been boycotting these thoughts for a while.
“Stupid, Sans you idiot!” He cursed himself out loud. These types of thoughts were dangerous, not only for himself, but for Frisk as well. She was a human after all, and he was a monster. He knew of the harsh reality that met with those who tried to cross the invisible line that society had drawn. If he did try and pursue her, it would most likely end up with them both being hunted down and killed. He dismissed that idea immediately.
Nope. This wasn’t going to move past a simple infatuation, he wouldn’t let it. Frisk was strictly off limits. In time he was sure that he would eventually get over this silly fixation. He was probably only interested in her because she was something different, something new. Human faces were a rarity in this part of town after all. Once the novelty wore off he would be right back to his normal self. He just had to be patient. Sans sighed as he turned on his side to try and get some sleep. His head would be clearer in the morning. He could think about this more logically then, but for now he needed to rest. Sans then shut his eye sockets firmly as he attempted to get his thrumming soul back under control.