Chapter 18
Sans smiled as he heard Frisk come into the living room, letting his snoring get a bit louder before the doorbell rang. He wasn't expecting anyone but judging from the excited noise Papyrus made his brother was. A thread of unease went through Sans and he opened his left eye to watch.
Introducing their guest, Papy looked like he had just done the best possible solution to their 'hide the human' trouble. Undyne stared at Frisk with shock and the first bits of anger, and Sans knew the kid well enough to see the terror on their little face, their eyes darting around for an escape. Just as Undyne went to yell, Sans jumped up and placed himself between the human and head of the Royal Guard, hands in his pockets.
"Sans! Don't just stand there! Capture that human!" Undyne shouted before jumping towards them. The aforementioned skeleton grabbed the kid and hopped them through a shortcut to the other side of the living room, watching with a laugh as Undyne tackled the couch.
"C'mon Undyne, didn't ya hear what Pap said? We're gonna have dinner together and be friends." There was an edge to his voice that he hadn't meant to put there, but he could feel the kid trembling behind his back. Protective urges he hadn't had since Papyrus was small welled up in him. Undyne got up and materialised a spear into her hand, pointing it at Sans.
"This is no time for joking! That human is our chance at freedom. As captain of the Royal Guard it's my job to capture them and bring them to King Asgore!" The angry monster declared, thumping a fist against her chest to emphasize her point. Sans could feel his pupils flickering, his anger rising. Papyrus was silent for once, looking between the two monsters in the stand off. He seemed to get that this was a bad idea, and Sans couldn't bring himself to get mad at his brother.
"Maybe." Sans replied with a shrug, keeping himself between the spear and the kid. "But for now she is a guest in our home, just like you. It would be very rude to throw our guest in the dungeon, wouldn't it?" He shrugged again, winking his right eye shut. The comical skeleton didn't really want to fight Undyne, especially not with his brother and the kid watching, so he tried diffusion instead. Thankfully Papyrus finally found his nerve to speak up.
"YES! YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO SHARE A DINNER WITH US UNDYNE. FRISK AND I MADE YOUR FAVOURITE, SPAGHETTI! LET'S EAT BEFORE IT GETS COLD!" He exclaimed, practically pushing Undyne into the kitchen. Thankfully she released her magic spear and went along with it, shooting Sans a glare. Sans followed along, grabbing the kids hand and bringing them too. When they got to the kitchen Sans made sure to put himself between Undyne and Frisk, happy when Papyrus did the same.
Dinner went by quiet and tense, though Sans did attempt to fix that. He told bad jokes and stories, trying to lighten the mood. Papyrus helped by forcibly laughing at his jokes and telling stories on how good the kid was with puzzles. Having his brother being a forced attentive audience made Sans pull out all the stops, telling the jokes that made even him want to groan. He could practically see the pain in Paps eyes every time the jovial skeleton 'laughed' and that brought out a real smile in him. Undyne ate as energetically as always, but barely said anything. She did give Papyrus a playful punch and tell him that his spaghetti was getting better, making him blush.
Frisk said nothing and didn't even eat, staring down at her hand the whole time, eyes nearly shut in fear. Sans wondered, not for the first time, what colour her eyes were. He'd never seen her open them enough for him to see. Her silence worried him a bit, not that she had ever talked before, only laughing or snorting at his jokes, but he knew it was just out of fear of Undyne. The dinner was mercifully short, and Undyne made excuses to leave when Papyrus suggested they watch television together. Giving one last glare to the kid, then to Sans, Undyne left. Sans let out a sigh of relief and sank onto the couch.
"I AM SORRY BROTHER, HUMAN. I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE BETTER, THAT YOU TWO COULD BECOME FRIENDS." Papyrus said in a small-for-him voice, an orange blush on his cheeks. He did look sad, and Sans couldn't bring himself to be mad.
"Nah, it's cool bro. You were trying to do the right thing. A bit of warning next time would be nice though." Sans waved off his brother's concern, glancing at the kitchen. Frisk hadn't moved from her spot at the table, and Sans decided to let her sit and calm down while he took his brother upstairs for the bedtime story. Papyrus only half listened, down-heartened by the night's events, and Sans left him to his thoughts.
Back in the kitchen he picked up the kid with his magic, wrapping them in a blanket in a way that was becoming a nightly tradition. Only when they were both on the couch did the kid give a shudder before relaxing finally. She pulled a hand out from under the blanket and made a fist with it before making circles on her chest, signing an apology.
"Bzzzzzzzzt, wrong!" Sans replied, giving the kid a light shake. "When friends have your back you don't say 'sorry'. You say 'thank you'." He smiled at the little girl and was rewarded with a soft smile back. He sent his magic out and turned off the lights, snuggling in to sleep on the couch again. The soft sigh she made as she relaxed on him was music to his non-existent ears.