Rock bottom
Ludo launched a lamp across the room at the group of absolutely incompetent underlings standing before him. Unfortunately he missed as the lamp smashed against the wall breaking apart right by one of his cowering lackey’s heads.
“What do you mean she wasn’t there?!” He shouted completely enraged. It took a minute before one of the mobsters finally managed to grow a back bone and step forward.
“We went to the cottage boss, but it wasn’t her. It was that runaway Bannacci, the one that turned tail after you tried to get info from him on the girl. I think he was in cahoots with her the whole time.” He tried to explain, but Ludo was just too damn angry to listen to his lousy excuse.
“Well then why the hell didn’t you bring him back?! He could have told us a weakness! Hell if the two were connected we could have used him as bait!” The mobster flinched backwards not having a very good justification to Ludo’s question.
“We - we tried to take him with us boss, but he had a knife on him. He - he stabbed Franky! We didn’t leave us with another choice –.”
“Oh don’t even try that with me!” Ludo cut him off. “I ain’t buying that load of bull, you egg heads panicked! And now I got nothing but a useless dead stiff and a sorry bunch of failures with their tails tucked between their legs!”
“B- Boss.” The unlucky mobster stuttered.
“Shut. You’re. God damn. Trap.” Ludo hissed while staring down the stammering mobster with icy cold eyes. “I don’t want to hear any more excuses from you lot. Get the hell out of my office! I don’t want to see your faces again unless you bring me the girl understand?!” He bellowed.
The three mobsters merely nodded and stiffly moved to leave the room, thankful that Ludo hadn’t decided to work out his rage by sending a bullet threw one of their heads.
After they were gone Ludo settled back in his arm chair still seething. Idiots the lot of them! But as he calmed he began to think. If it was true that the girl had never been trying to run herself and had simply been looking for an out for her friend instead, then that at least gave him more time to get to her without Gaster harping at him. And if the girl was really involved with that Bannacci fella then maybe possibly, he might be able to use that to his advantage.
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Sans was awake before his alarm clock again, but this time it was more so because he hadn’t managed to actually get to sleep in the first place. His dark thoughts wouldn’t relent so Sans had instead tried to distract himself by watching Frisk as she dozed next to him. He wasn’t sure if the action would be considered creepy or not but right now he was too tired to really care.
Frisk shifted in her sleep from next to him, nuzzling herself closer into his sternum. It surprised Sans to find that Frisk was actually quite the cuddle bug as she hadn’t so much as moved an inch from his side the entire night. He had to admit that when she and him had first become an item he didn’t think that she would like sharing a bed with him, as Sans knew that he didn’t exactly make for the most comfortable sleeping partner, which a few of his previous bed mates had complained to him about. It was fine of course, considering that Sans was mainly made up of hard and pokey bits, while Frisk on the other hand was a soft and squishy human, though as it turned out she apparently didn’t seem to mind in the slightest as even in her sleep she would move closer to him.
Sans brushed away her messy bangs, careful not to wake her up as he continued to lay quietly next to her. He was momentarily provided with a bit of relief as his thoughts hushed while he surveyed over her peaceful expression. The early morning light of dawn coming in through his window, however, promptly brought him back to reality. Sans sighed as he tried to shut his eyes and ignore the pestering rays of the morning sunshine for just a little while longer.
The day had come too soon for his liking. Sans could feel his solace slowly start to slip away from him as he knew that he could not linger in this serene place, though he so badly wanted to. Right now he wished more than anything that he could just stay like this and forget the rest of the world; that he could just keep himself and Frisk wrapped up in his blankets, safe and warm in his bed forever. Sans took in one more deep breath before he pulled himself upwards on the mattress. He knew he had to get up now because if he didn’t then those wishful thoughts would become too tempting to dismiss any longer, and he had work to do.
As he shifted to get up and get ready for the day Frisk began to stir. She was still very tired as she felt like she had only just managed to finally find peace after that restless night, but the brightening sky outside told her that she had actually most likely attained at least a few hours of sleep. She still sighed bitterly feeling that it was nowhere near enough. She shifted over turning to Sans who she saw at the edge of the bed as he pulled his nightshirt over his head to get dressed. She furrowed her brows as she also noticed the time, realizing that it was still far too early for him to be getting ready for work yet.
Sans noticed her movements and turned back toward her. Frisk could see the exhaustion lingering behind his dull sockets, but he managed to throw on a smile for her regardless.
“Hey mornin sunshine.” He greeted casually. Frisk shuffled over closer to him from under the covers.
“Why are you getting up so early?” She then questioned, her voice still a little horse from sleep. “We still have time before Papyrus wakes up.”
“Sorry sweetheart.” Sans replied as he stood from the bed and walked to get his trousers that were strewn across the floor. “I gotta busy day today.” Frisk frowned slightly at his lack of an answer, but she decided not to push him for more.
“Ok.” She simply agreed. After Sans had pulled on his pants he walked back over to her and sat on the edge of the bed again.
“You should sleep for a little longer. I got the alarm set for when you need to head back to your own room.” He said.
Frisk nodded before she settled back into his messy blankets. Though she knew that she would much rather Sans’ actual presence to stay with her for the remainder of the morning, his lingering warmth and sent on the sheets would provide her with enough comfort to fall back asleep for at least a little while. Sans kissed her on the forehead when she had gotten comfortable.
“Will you be late tonight?” She asked as Sans stood back up and began doing up his tie.
“I might be a little bit.” He replied. Frisk again really didn’t like how vague he was being, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good to demand for more information. She huffed as she wrapped the blankets tighter around herself.
Sans, having finished getting dressed, walked over to her again and bent down to give her a good bye kiss.
“I’ll see you soon.” He said sensing her irritation with him. Frisk caved and kissed him back, not really feeling like she wanted to be upset with him anyway. She was still far too warn out for that.
“Have a good day.” She said simply and Sans lingered over her for just a moment more before he turned to leave his room.
“Will do.” He called.
When Sans made it outside he found that it was raining. He sighed not really all that surprised as he pulled the collar of his thicker coat up and dipped his hat to try and provide himself with at least a little bit better coverage.
“Heh, really putting a damper on this dull day ain’t we?” He said to no one in particular as he meandered down the soaking streets.
Truthfully however, he didn’t really mind the rain all that much as it was very fitting for the mood at hand, and Sans was to focused on his current task to bother with giving the weather man grief for the wet forecast. As Sans watched the water flow down the street gutter to the storm drain he got an idea and then suddenly he realized that the stench of wet dog was coming from somewhere much closer then it should be. Sans narrowed his sockets as he turned the corner before stepping through a shortcut that would take him directly to that pesky little sewer rats hiding hole.
Jack sat at his makeshift table that he had constructed from a few old pieces of discarded plywood and card bored, while he shuffled three plastic cups around on its surface misleadingly. The crocodile monster across from him watched his movements intensely as his beady eyes flicked back and forth following the swift movements of the cups.
“Alright my scaly friend.” Jack said bringing the cups to a halt on the table top. “Where’s the marble?” The crocodile narrowed his eyes in concentration for a moment before pointing at the middle cup.
“This one.” He replied confidently and Jack tossed him a smug smirk.
“That your final answer?” He asked and the crocodile faltered for a moment before he reaffirmed his glare.
“I picked this one.” He stated harshly with a growl, and Jack raised a hand in a gesture of defense.
“Alright big guy, whatever you say.” He said as he picked the middle cup up, only to reveal that the marble was nowhere to be seen.
“Sorry there friend, better luck next time.” Jack said with a shrug as he reached forward to claim the bag of gold that was put up as a bet. However, before he could grasp it the crocodile monster caught him by the wrist.
“You cheated.” He accused while snarling at Jack, showing off his rows of razor sharp teeth. Jack swallowed hard but stuck to his guns. He couldn’t afford to lose the cash that was now only inches away from his reach.
“I can prove I’m honest fella.” Jack said as he lifted up the cup on the left, revealing the glass marble hidden underneath. “See? It was there the whole time.”
The crocodile’s eyes widened for a moment in surprise, before they narrowed again threateningly at Jack. Jack struggled to maintain his good natured smile as the crocodile still held him pinned by his wrist. Then the crocodile let out a huff before he released him.
“Fine, you got lucky this time.” He said before he stood up and began to stomp away.
Jack let out the breath that he had been holding as soon as the crocodile disappeared through the foot traffic of the makeshift market square of the sewer city. Jack then slumped behind his table after he had safety stored away his winnings. Normally he wouldn’t try to play the more intimidating or dangerous looking folks down here, and just let them walk away with their prize to avoid getting a possible beating, but now Jack was just getting too desperate. He found that he was constantly checking over his shoulder, afraid that someone had caught on to his trail. As Jack looked around himself at his decrepit surroundings he sighed dejectedly. He never thought that he would fall so low, being forced to hide in sewer pipes alongside of the rest of Ebotts most vile scum.
Ebott was an old city, one that had been constantly built over itself, leaving a whole network of tunnels, chasms, and old forgotten buildings under its current streets topside. It made the perfect place for the unwanted to live. The sewers were packed full of rundown shacks made up of trash, inhabited by runaways, wanted criminals, beggars, lowlifes and everything else in between. Joey had started living here ever since the Gambinos had found him laying low in the black market. Jack knew that if they had managed to track him down then it was only a matter of time before Sans also caught up with him, making these grimy dark and damp tunnels his new home.
Joey shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of his dismal thoughts. No, this wouldn’t be forever. As soon as he managed to save enough money he would be out of here and leave Ebott, the Gambinos, and the Pansies far behind. He’d start over, get his life back on track. He’d already hit rock bottom after all, which meant that there was only one way to go and that was up. Jack then began packing up his table to hit a new location as he was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to get any more potential suckers to scam here.
As he prepared to make his way down the northern tunnels he stopped dead in his tracks, before whipping his head over his shoulder. He swore he had seen something in the corner of his eye, a grinning face in the darkness, but now as he scanned over the crowd he found that there was nothing there. Still, Jack felt a chill run down his spine as his instincts told him that he was in danger. Perhaps it was only his paranoia, but Jack knew better then to risk it. He bolted down a narrow pathway hoping to lose his potential follower in the maze of underground tunnels that made up Ebotts underbelly.
Jack zigzagged threw the sewers not lingering in one place for long before he’d get antsy and have to move again. He never saw anything following him, but the feeling of dread continued to hang over him like a sharp axe. After ducking behind a dark corner he took a moment to calm himself down. Maybe, maybe there really was nothing there; maybe it was just his overtired and stressed out mind playing tricks on him. Jack slumped down the grimy brick wall as he tried to settle his erratic soul. He couldn’t keep this up. He was constantly terrified, he could barely sleep having to continually be on guard for his pursuers from the surface, and also be aware of his fellow sewer dwellers, as they were just as dangerous to turn a blind eye to.
Jack realized then that he couldn’t continue to live like this. He angrily scolded himself to just calm down already, and finally when his nervousness seemed to ebb he let out a slight breath of relief. It didn’t last though as the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the tunnel behind him. Jack stiffened at the sound as he pushed himself back against the wall trying to remain out of sight. He tried to convince himself that it was nothing that it was just another schmuck like himself down on his luck and wondering pointlessly through the tunnels, but then the footsteps paused right at the entrance to his hiding place.
“Come on out Jack, I know where you’re hiding.” Sans drawled as he waited with his hands slack in his pockets just outside of the tunnel the coyote was currently crouching in.
Jack stiffened. His soul raced and his fur stood on end as he was instantly flooded with panic, but he knew that he had been caught. There was no point in running any more as there was nowhere else that he could go. He had hit rock bottom after all.
Jack quickly then fastened on the most charismatic smile that he could muster to hide his inner turmoil. He knew that he only had one real chance at getting out of this unscathed, and that was to play to Sans softer side. They had been friends after all not so long ago, and that standing had gotten Jack out of trouble with the skeleton in the past. Maybe, just maybe, if Jack played his cards right he’d be able to wiggle free again.
“Oh hey there Sansy, longtime no see.” Jack greeted as he casually strolled out from his hiding place. Sans stared him down unimpressed and Jack could feel a definite pang of fear run through his being as he was held by the skeletons sharp pinpricks.
“That was supposed to be the idea pal.” Sans shot back harshly. “In fact if I remember correctly I think I told you that I didn’t want to be seeing your face in this city anymore.” Jack winced at Sans less then amused tone as he quickly rushed to defend himself.
“I was going to leave Sans, honest just like you told me too, but I had to get some money saved up first you see, and three days just wasn’t enough time, but I got enough now. I’ll be out of your hair licity split I swears.” Jack basically pleaded, and Sans sighed.
“Jack I know you talked to the Gambino’s.” He then said calmly, and Jacks face paled as he looked like he was about to faint.
“I didn’t tell them anything important sans. They forced me to go, they dragged me to Ludo’s feet. He was gonna shoot me Sans if I didn’t give him something, but it was nothing on the Pansies.” Jack spewed out desperately.
“You gave him the location of that cottage I asked from you.” Sans said.
“Yeah that’s it and nothing else. Sent em on a goes chase you know?” Jack replied with a nervous smile.
“Jack, you costed us an informant. We were using that cottage as a safe house, now a good man is dead because of you, a good man with good info.” Sans stated starkly. Jack fumbled as he processed the news.
“I….I didn’t know Sans, I-I thought.” He tried to back pedal.
“You thought wrong pal.” Sans said taking a step forward and Jack instantly took two steps back in response.
“Now wait a minute Sans, I can fix this, I can still be useful to you. There’s a whole untapped network down here. I can organize new informants for you. I bet there’s lots of people hiding from the Gambino’s here that will have even better info to sell you, just give me a little time and I can-.”
“Sorry Jack, you’re all out of time.” Sans said continuing his approach. Jack whimpered at this as he still tried to distant himself.
“Awe common Sansy there’s gotta be something I can do. Don’t take me to the boss, he’ll throw me in the river.” Jack pleaded. “I know I screwed up, just give me one more chance, for old times’ sake?” Sans paused before his shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh.
“Alright Jack. I won’t take you to the boss.” He then said and Jack perked up.
“You – you won’t?” He questioned.
“Nope.” Sans answered. “Look, things got out of hand, I understand that, and we were friends once.” He continued much to Jacks almost disbelief. “I can see that there’s still a glimmer of a good person in there Jack, so let’s just forget all of this and start over. We’ll take a walk and you can tell me about this idea of starting an info network down here.”
Jack was silent as he almost couldn’t process the fact that Sans was sparing him.
“Wait you’re interested in that?” Jack said as he hadn’t really been serious as it had been more of a last ditch effort attempt to convince Sans to let him off the hook.
“Sure pal, I mean if what you say is true then I wouldn’t want that to go to waste, and hell it would make my job a lot easier.” Sans said and Jack allowed a twitch of a smile break across his face.
“Well uh, alright then. I guess I’ll get right on it.” Jack said.
“Why don’t you start by telling me a bit about how you’re planning on organizing this heh, shin-dig?” Sans said with a wink, before gesturing to Jack with a jerk of his head. “C’mere pall, We’ll take a stroll.”
Jack smirked bigger as he walked over to Sans side, and Sans put an arm on Jack’s shoulder giving him a friendly pat.
“Alright, well I suppose I’d need a little time and possibly some money to be able to buy off the info we’ll need…” Jack began to explain and Sans nodded along, though he really wasn’t listening.
As Jack got more distracted by explaining his ideas to Sans he failed to notice the skeletons smile falter. Sans moved his hand from Jack’s shoulder to the middle of his back discreetly, and as Jack continued to talk he called forth his magic, his one eye turning black while his other shown a deadly blue in the darkness of the abandoned tunnel ways.
Jack didn’t see it coming. He hadn’t even noticed that Sans had been leading him away from the more crowded areas of the underground city, where he’d be sure there would be no witnesses. When the sharp femur bone that Sans had summoned shot through Jack’s chest, Sans was sure that Jack hadn’t had the opportunity to feel even fear. Jack disappeared in a cloud of dust instantly. Sans stood over his former friend’s remains for a while as he stared down at the small pile with dull empty sockets.
“Sorry pal, but If we were really friends then you wouldn’t have come back here.” He said before he bent down and took of his hat.
Sans then began to scoop Jack’s dust into his fedora. Though Jack was a traitor and, according to Pansy terms, didn’t deserve to have a proper sendoff, Sans still couldn’t bring himself to leave his former friend in a dark and cold place like this. He’d take his remains to the pier. Jack was often fond of watching the sunsets out there after all.
Sans took a short cut topside and then purchased some moonshine from a shady looking fella in the black market. He went to the end of the pier after that and sat for a while. The rain had stopped now and the sky had cleared, which Sans was now very thankfully for as at least Jack could see one final sunset before Sans sent him to rest.
Sans then opened the bottle of moonshine and took a rather large swig. It burned on the way down and caused him to grimace.
“Don’t know why you like this stuff so much pal, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers, Any way cheers.” He said as he then emptied the rest of the bottle over the end of the pier and into the swirling sea below.
Sans then took his hat and flung Jacks dust up into the wind. He watched it as it disappeared over the open water. Sans then sat down by himself for a while as the light of day gradually faded away. His sockets were blank as he stared down at the dark water below him not really thinking about anything at all. After a while when the stars began to peek out from behind the now deep blue sky, he picked himself up deciding it was time he headed home.
Frisk sat by the window in living room of the skeleton brother’s apartment. It was a rather grey day outside as she absentmindedly listened to the rain soaking the city streets. She pulled the light blanket that she was currently using as a shawl a little tighter around her shoulders as she settled in to the kitchen chair that she had pulled up next to the window sill and then continued to read through the book that Sans had gotten her. Papyrus was humming a tune as he busied himself with cleaning the apartment. He currently had his kiss the cook apron on as he dusted over the shelves with a bright yellow feather duster. He had told Frisk that he had been granted a day off because work was a little slow at the moment, but Frisk knew that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. Papyrus really wasn’t that good at lying, and she could tell that the taller skeleton had most likely taken a personal day in order to keep an eye on her.
She didn’t blame him of course, and actually felt a warm snugly sensation move through her soul at the younger brothers concern for her. Frisk knew that she hadn’t exactly dealt with the loss of a friend very well in the past, which was probably why Papyrus was so worried about her now, so she tried her best to put Papyrus’ mind at ease and stayed within his line of sight so he wouldn’t have cause for concern.
A knock on the door then sounded which gained both Papyrus’ and Frisk’s attention.
“I WONDER WHO THAT COULD BE?” Papyrus said as he moved to answer it. When he opened the door Asgore was standing outside in the hall. Papyrus paused apparently dumbstruck, not expecting a visit from the boss of the Pansies.
“O-O GREETINGS BOSS!” The younger skeleton then stammered sharply as he straightened up to attention; the yellow feather duster being clutched stiffly at his side. Asgore chuckled warmly at Papyrus’ flustered display.
“Why hello Papyrus.” He greeted in return. Papyrus then seemed to remember his attire as he struggled with his apron strings before he quickly removed the garment from himself and hid it behind his back.
“I – I AM SO SORRY SIR ASGORE. I DID NOT REALIZE THAT YOU WOULD BE COMING TO SEE US TODAY.” Papyrus quickly apologized.
“That is quite alright Papyrus, there is no need for such formality. I am merely here for a casual visit to …well see how everyone is doing.” Asgore explained.
“OH I SEE, WELL PLEASE DO COME IN.” Papyrus said stepping aside to allow Asgore to enter. “I’LL JUST GO PUT THE KETTLE ON.”
Asgore nodded in thanks as Papyrus hurried to the kitchen. He then turned his gaze to settle on Frisk who hadn’t really moved from her seat across the living room. He flashed her a good natured smile as he made his way towards her.
“Hello Asgore.” Frisk greeted respectably when he had approached.
“Hello Frisk.” Asgore replied. He noticed the book in her lap.
“Started a new one I see?” He said, motioning to the heavy looking novel.
“Yes, just today actually.” Frisk answered.
“Well it must be a good read, it looks like you’re almost half way through it.” Asgore said with a small laugh, and Frisk smiled in return.
“I am finding it hard to put down.” She replied.
Asgore then paused. His eyebrows furrowed as he cleared his throat, trying to prepare himself to bring up the not so present event at hand. Frisk, having expected this, sat patiently waiting for him to get to the point.
“Frisk I want to give you my condolences. I understand that Joey was a friend of yours.” He began and Frisk felt a sharp cold sting in her heart as she found she was still struggling to face the reality of Joey’s untimely death. She merely nodded not able to bring herself to speak her answer. Asgore must have seen her struggling as he knelt down by her side and placed one of his large furry hands on her shoulder.
“I want to apologize as well.” He then continued much to Frisk’s surprise. “We had made a contract. He required safety in exchange for information. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to hold up my end of the bargain. Frisk, I want you to know that because I wasn’t able to keep my promise I will make amends to his family and loved ones. I believe that this also includes you. Is there anything that you may require of me to help ease this burden?” Asgore asked and Frisk was quiet for a moment, not really expecting this, but then suddenly she did remember something that Asgore could help her with.
“Actually…” She began as she dug something out of her pocket. “I was given this for safe keeping.” Frisk explained as she showed Asgore the silver lighter. “Joey said that it belonged to his father, so if it isn’t too much trouble I would like it to be returned to him.” Asgore smiled at her reassuringly as he reached out and accepted the little silver trinket.
“It should not be much trouble at all.” He said, and Frisk felt a little relived that she was at least able to do something for Joey.
“Thank you.” Frisk said passing the lighter over to Asgore.
“Not at all.” Asgore replied, before he straightened himself up and placed the lighter safely into the protection of his front jacket pocket. Just then Papyrus rounded the corner with a tray carrying a teapot cream and sugar and three mismatched tea cups as well as some cookies to snack on.
“I HAVE PREPARED SOME REFRESHMENTS.” He announced happily before placing the tray on the coffee table. Asgore and Frisk then both headed over to the couch to claim a cup and a few cookies.
The visit was nice as they all sat and chatted around the coffee table. It was a little strange at first, Frisk had to admit as she wasn’t use to seeing Asgore, the intimidating and regal king pin of the Pansies, acting so homey and humble like a perfect house guest. Papyrus adjusted quite easily, discussing new cooking techniques and so on. Work was never brought up however, as everyone understood that it just wasn’t the time nor the place for such things, as now was a time to simply enjoy each other’s company away from business endeavors.
Frisk was just telling Asgore about what she had learned from the book that he had lent her and how it had immensely helped her to care for her growing collection of house plants. She had even managed to get that stubborn orchid to bloom again .He seemed delighted that it had been so useful and promised to bring over a few more, but then glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Well it has been lovely catching up.” He said as he stood from his seat. “But I am afraid that I must be getting back to work.” Papyrus also stood up to see Asgore to the door.
“IT REALLY WAS NICE OF YOU TO STOP BY BOSS. YOU SHOULD COME OVER AGAIN SOMTINE, MAYBE WE SHOULD EVEN MAKE THIS A REGULAR OCCURRENCE.” He suggested pleasantly. Asgore chuckled.
“That is a grand idea Papyrus.” He said before he turned back to Frisk. “Oh before I forget Frisk, Toriel will probably be stopping by tomorrow. She had a few things to finish up at the office and … wanted me to uh, see how you were doing …” Asgore then trailed off a little awkwardly as he unintentionally revealed the main reason why he had stopped by. Frisk just giggled, not really offended at all as she had suspected that Toriel may have had a hand in Asgore’s surprise visit.
“Thanks Asgore, I’ll let her know what a nice chat we had.” She replied reassuringly. Asgore’s slightly tense shoulders fell in relief, and he smiled in thanks glad that Frisk was going to put in a good word in for him.
“Ah yes, well I will make my leave then. Have a good evening you two.” Asgore then said in farewell before he left down the hall.
The rest of the day passed without any other happenings, which Frisk was silently very thankful for as all she really wanted to do was sit and stare out the window. Papyrus had practically gotten the entire house spotless and was now in the process of cleaning between the bathroom tiles with a toothbrush. Frisk had offered to help, but Papyrus was adamant that he was doing just dandy and that she should simply relax and enjoy her book. She agreed without a complaint as she figured that this was just how papyrus dealt with his own grief. She settled herself as she gazed out at the now clear night sky, the rain clouds having dissipated earlier that evening.
She stifled a yawn as she continued to wait by the window sill. She knew that she should probably just head to bed, but she was afraid that she would have that dream again if she did. She instead chose to wait for Sans to get home, hoping that maybe he wouldn’t mind if she could share his bed again with him tonight. She found that his presence really was effective at keeping the nightmares at bay. Papyrus also seemed to be staying up past his bedtime tonight. He had finished with the bathroom and appeared to be finally satisfied with the house work as he plopped himself down on the couch.
“WELL WHAT A DAY.” He said as he stretched his arms above his head. “GLAD THAT I COULD FINALLY GET CAUGHT UP WITH THE CLEANING.” Frisk smirked at him in response.
“You probably won’t need to lift a finger for at least a month.” She said and Papyrus smiled settling back into his seat.
“WELL NOT FOR THAT LONG, BUT FOR A FEW DAYS AT LEAST.” He said and Frisk laughed.
The rattling of the doorknob then gained their attention as they both turned to see the door open and Sans saunter tiredly into the apartment. His expression was blank, his sockets empty as he didn’t even notice Frisk or Papyrus’ presence until he turned his head toward the living room after hanging his coat up. He blinked and then his pinpricks were back in there usual place, and his practiced lazy smile returned to his face once again.
“Heya.” He greeted casually.
“OH GOOD SANS YOUR HOME!” Papyrus exclaimed happily as he jumped up from the couch again. “I HAVE DINER SAVED FOR YOU IN THE OVEN.” He continued as he went to serve Sans a portion of the lasagna that he had made earlier in the day.
“Awe thanks Paps.” Sans replied as he followed behind his brother. “Ya didn’t have to go to the trouble of keeping it warm for me.”
“NONSENSE BROTHER, I WANTED TO BE SURE THAT YOU HAD IT AT THE PROPER TEMPERATURE AS I KNOW YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO LAZY TO HEAT IT UP YOURSELF AND WOULD HAVE JUST EATEN IT COLD.” Papyrus explained handing Sans a plate with a rather large portion of the Lasagna scoped onto it.
“Hehe, you know me too well Paps.” Sans chuckled as he accepted the food.
Papyrus and sans then went back to the living room. As both brothers settled themselves on the couch Frisk straightened up in her seat and tossed Sans a smile, glad to see that he had finally made it home. Sans responded with a subtle, but most definitely flirty wink. Frisk fought back her blush not wanting to alert Papyrus of anything suspicious.
“How was your day?” She then asked as Sans settled himself. He shrugged in response.
“Eh nothing really all that new to report on, just scouting for information.” He replied easily before taking a bite out of his dinner that he had in his lap. “Hey Paps this is really good.” He then stated in between his mouthfuls, hoping to change the topic of conversation.
It seemed to work as Papyrus was then encouraged to deliberate on his cooking endeavors that he had partaken in that day, explaining the recipe and how he had even tried out making his own fresh pasta since he had the time to experiment. Sans listened along as he relaxed on the sofa. Frisk also politely paid attention to Papyrus’s rambling but felt very suspicious at Sans lack of an answer to her. He had been doing a lot of that lately dodging her questions and it was starting to make her worry.
Soon everyone retired to their own rooms for the night after wishing each other pleasant dreams. Frisk however remained awake as she sat up in her bed keeping track of the time. When roughly an hour had passed, and was sure that papyrus was fast asleep, she got out from beneath her covers and snuck out of her bedroom down the hall and through the brother’s apartment. She knocked gently on Sans door and waited expectantly for him to come and let her in. When he didn’t appear however she furrowed her brows a little confused. She knocked again but still there was no answer. Frisk wondered if perhaps he had already fallen asleep. She then hesitantly reached out and turned the knob. His door was unlocked. Frisk then gently pushed it open.
“Sans?” She whispered into the dark room. Again no response.
When Frisk’s eyes finally adjusted to the poor light she realized that Sans wasn’t even there. His bed was empty and his blankets were pushed aside and balled up on his mattress. She passed for a moment outside of his doorway confused as to where he could be at this time of night, but then she figured it out and a frown settled firmly across her face. He was most likely down stairs in the bar drinking after hours again.
Frisk huffed to herself, feeling slightly disappointed. She had sensed that something was off with him since this morning and it stung a bit knowing that he purposefully neglected to talk to her even after she had asked and was now consoling himself with a bottle.
Frisk then made her way more fully into his bedroom, shutting the door behind her before she perched on his bed. She knew that she probably shouldn’t be in here without Sans permission first, but she was feeling frustrated with him and she decided that she would wait for him to come back from his late night escapades. She also had to admit that she didn’t want to go back to her own little bed room. She was still feeling rather frazzled after that last nightmare and she was afraid that if she went to sleep by herself she would be forced to confront it again.
As Frisk waited she felt her eyelids start to droop. She shook her head in an effort to snap herself awake again as she really wanted the chance to talk to Sans, but with every minute that passed Frisk found that her struggle against her exhaustion was proving to be futile. She shifted herself back onto his lumpy mattress drawn in by the blankets that held Sans comforting sent. She tried to convince herself that she could stay wake with her head on the pillow, but really already knew that she had pretty much given in at that point. With one more tired yawn, and one last attempt at staying conscious, Frisk began to drift, burying herself down in Sans comfy bedding. It seemed that just the trace of Sans’ presence was enough at least as the nightmare didn’t surface again, leaving Frisk to a dreamless and peaceful sleep.
Sans sat at the bar with the bottle of whisky at his side. He felt at least a little relief at finally being able to have some time alone to sort himself out, but ultimately still felt fairly numb. Even the drunken haze that by now had settled heavily over him did little to take away from today’s events. His magic still felt cold and foreign to him as he struggled to confront what he had done. Normally he could bury away his misdeeds and pretend like they didn’t exist, but then again the faces that he didn’t really know were always easier to forget, and unfortunately for him Jack was a face he he had come to know to well to simply dismiss with the rest. Sans shot back another swig.
Sans already knew that it was pointless to be feeling sorry for himself. He had signed up for this burden, this was his cross to bear so to speak. He wasn’t going to let himself try and get out of doing his job anymore even if it did leave him feeling empty inside. That was what the booze was for. A buffer of alcohol would allow him to forget for at least a little while, and that would be more than enough to get him through the darker times, and certainly more then he deserved. Sans took another large swallow of the mellow amber liquid relishing in the burning sensation as he swallowed it down. His skull was practically spinning now and Sans knew that he had greatly surpassed his cut off point, but he poured himself another regardless.
As another hour passed, or maybe it was only a few minutes, Sans really couldn’t tell the time anymore, he convinced himself that he should probably turn in for the evening as he was sure that he was going to drink Grillby out of stock if he kept up his pace. He hopped off of his stool and then stumbled nearly falling flat on his face as he found that his legs had fallen asleep from under him. Sans laughed out loud drunkenly as he struggled to balance himself.
“Jeez man, don’t even know how to stand on my own two feet.” He slurred out to the empty room as he stumbled awkwardly on his way to the stairs.
Sans wasn’t sure how he was able to climb up to the second floor, or how he managed to make his way through the dark living room without tripping over something but he somehow found his way to his bedroom door without too much of an incident. He then stumbled into his room. He kicked of his shoes and threw of his shirt as he walked forward to his bed planning on just falling right into his covers and passing out cold. As he struggled with his pants however he noticed the Frisk sized lump under his blankets. He froze. Damn it she had snuck into his bed again.
Truthfully however, Sans found that a wobbly smile had made its way onto his face as he swayed over her from the side of the mattress, feeling a little glad for the company. He knew he probably shouldn’t be, not when he was in this state of mind and Frisk was most likely going to be mad at him tomorrow as he knew that she didn’t appreciate his drinking habits, but his worries really didn’t get a chance to settle as they were quickly drowned in his booze soaked brain.
He then carefully, well as careful as he could considering his current condition, tucked himself in under the covers right next to her. Sans then slid an arm around her waist and pulled her body gently closer so she was snugly nestled against his sternum, before he nuzzled his skull against her upper back.
He could feel her heart beat and hear it’s gentle throb as it kept pace with her peaceful breathing. The sounds were so comforting and Sans felt himself become calmed by the soothing rhythm. He felt himself almost slip into a trance like state as her heart beat became a constant that he could focus on. It was strange but it somehow reassured him that everything was going to be ok as long as he could keep her by his side, and then Sans knew that by his side was exactly where he was going to keep her.
He would keep her safe, even if he managed to fuck up every other thing in his life he would make sure that Ludo, the Gambino’s, or any other sorry slob would never ever get the chance to lay a hand on Frisk.
He, Papyrus and Frisk were family now, and nothing and no one was going to spoil that. Everything then became so much simpler to understand at that instant as Sans balanced on the thin line of consciousness. His and his own was all that he had, and his and his own was all that mattered. He was going to keep his and his own if it was the last thing he did in his sorry life. Sans then fell asleep with that newly made promise still ringing clear in his muddled mind. Family always came first after all.