Hakuna Matata
You can't stop your leg from bouncing as you glance over at the clock for the umpteenth time. It's almost time for your lunch and your stomach is in knots. You had asked Sans to meet you at Grillby's but you have no idea what you were going to say. It was a spur of the moment thing last night but now you just want to smack yourself in the face. For that matter, why are you so nervous? Sans obviously hadn't been too bothered by your weird behavior last night. This was just lunch with a friend. A friend that you can't get out of your head.
These thoughts are gonna lead to dangerous places. You shake your head. You barely even know a thing about Sans, or his brother for that matter! You're just slipping into that old habit of being clingy to anyone who paid attention to you. Okay, tonight you're gonna start asking about them! Papyrus you figure will be happy to talk; you had learned at least a little bit about the eccentric skeleton over the past few days. He loves spaghetti, he's an insanely passionate worker and wanted to be a member of the Royal Guard. Sans however is almost a complete mystery and you have a sinking feeling he likes to keep that way. You put your head in your hand, thinking. Maybe if you got him back on the topic of spacey science he'd be more willing to open up.
A gentle tapping draws you out of your thoughts. Sans is peeking through the open window, knuckles against the glass. He waves at you and you give him a 'just a moment!' gesture.
"Abby, I'm heading to lunch!" you call. You've been covering her spot on the front desk and she strolls back in from one of the offices.
"Gotcha. Before you leave, just to let you know-ooh!" She spies Sans through the window. She's making no effort to hide her delighted stare and you see Sans shift slightly until he's out of sight. You slide just in front of Abby's view.
"So uh, I'll be back soon. What were you saying?"
She tears her gaze away. "Tod wants to see you when you're done, nothing urgent. I think he's gonna ask you to help out with the fall festival in the park." She wiggles her eyebrows at you, glancing pointedly towards the door and dammit now you're starting to blush.
"Shush you," you mumble, smacking her shoulder lightly. "He's a friend. Barely." You're already thinking of him as a friend, oh boy.
She says nothing to that and practically shoves you out the door. Sans is leaning against the building, scuffing his old sneakers against the ground. "heya." He's all smiles and suddenly the knots in your stomach are gone.
"Hi! Sorry about Abby," you say, nodding towards the studio. "She's a bit of a skeleton fanatic. She's got a tattoo and everything."
This seems to take him a little off guard. "huh. that's...uh...." He's a little flabbergasted so you tug on his sleeve and pull him to the bar.
"Let's eat! I'm starving."
Grillby's is a little more packed than the last time you were here, most likely caused by a lunch hour rush. All the seats at the bar are taken so the two of you slide into a booth. A smaller flame monster, this one a bright green, takes your order and hurries away. Sans reaches for the ketchup bottle and starts chugging it by itself. You wrinkle your nose.
"Okay, after you dumped the whole bottle on your fries last time, I figured you just really like ketchup. But good grief Sans!"
He waves the bottle in your general direction. "c'mon, if your favorite food was available in a bottle, you'd have no trouble drinking it. right?"
"I guess," you mutter. "To each his own."
"paps won't stop talking about how excited he is for tonight," Sans continues, finally putting the bottle down.
"I'm glad to finally have a movie buddy again," you laugh.
Sans shakes his head. "'s not just that," he says, his gaze going to the table. "thing's have been kinda tough for paps. even back underground, he didn't have many friends. he's kinda intense for some people."
Intense Papyrus certainly is. But he's so sweet and considerate, you can't imagine someone like him not having friends. "Being passionate about how you live your life isn't a bad thing," you say. "I admire him for it. Sure he's a little loud about it but everyone gets like that sometimes. It just means he's got a ton of energy to spare."
Sans looks up at you. Again, you can sense he's mulling something over, like he's trying to find the right words. "it hasn't been easy, being up here you know? most people aren't as open and inviting as you. you're his first human friend, aside from frisk i mean. or rather, our first human friend."
"Frisk? That kid that freed you guys right? Man, I'd like to meet them someday-oh." The rest of his sentence hits you and you stop talking. You know you must be staring at him because he looks down again. He called you his friend. Your lip quivers and you bring your hand up to hide it. You're saved from saying anything by the arrival of your food and the two of you eat in silence for a few minutes. You finally clear your throat.
"I'm really happy I moved in next to you guys," you say softly. Sans looks up at you, a fry dripping with ketchup halfway to his mouth. You see his shoulders ease up and realize that he's completely misinterpreted your silence. You hesitantly put your hand on top of his. You feel his bones twitch slightly, but he allows your hand to stay. "You took me by surprise!" you say lightly. "Seriously, you two are awesome. Meeting you guys has been the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."
There it is again! His cheeks dimly light up with a blue blush. It's so adorable you can almost feel your heart burst. He hurriedly shoves the fry through a thin line between his top and bottom teeth.
"you're not too bad yourself," he says, the casual grin back on his face. "so you wanna meet the kid huh?"
He's changing the subject but you don't mind. "Absolutely! Just whenever they have some...time...." Time! You quickly glance at your phone. You've only got a few minutes before your break is over. "Sorry Sans, I gotta bounce."
"no problem bud. my break's almost over too."
You look at him in surprise. "You're on break? Where do you work?"
"here and there. i got the bill," he adds, noticing you trying to signal the frantic waitress.
You feel bad but you don't really have any time to wait. "It's my treat next time!" You call as you hurry to the door. You don't see the gentle look that crosses over Sans' face as he watches you leave.
~~~~~~
"What kind of experience do you have with graphic design?" Tod is messing with something in the drawers with one hand, the other balancing a stack of files. You take the files from him before they topple over.
"I took a few art classes back in high school," you say cautiously.
"Perfect." He finds what he's looking for; it's a sloppily drawn sketch on a notepad with a list of information written at the bottom. "I want you to design the flyers for the upcoming festival. All the info you'll need is right here."
You exchange the files for the notepad and look at the scribbled notes. An odd twist of excitement and worry tugs at your gut. "No problem boss," you say, smiling widely, squashing the feeling as best as you can. "When do you need it by?"
"Monday at the latest."
Okay, it's Friday now. That gives you the entire weekend to work on it. "Got it."
"Also," Tod gives up trying to juggle the folders and sets them down, pulling out a thin envelope with the radio's logo on the front. "We need various businesses and sponsors to set up booths and such. Abby is handling most of that, but I want you to try and find just one business, since it's your first go. You just need to ask a manager or leader of whatever business if they would like to participate and give them this letter, which has all details. It's best to go over this yourself in case they have questions. Can you handle that?"
Just one business? You're pretty sure you can at least do that. "No problem! Should I shoot for like a cafe or something?"
"I'll leave that up to you." Tod gives you a wide smile and claps your shoulder as he heads back up to the recording booth.
The excitement of your assignments follows you the rest of the day and on your way back home you stare intensely at each store you pass by, trying to decide if it would be a good fit. You're so into your task you almost forget to grab movie snacks. You duck into a gas station, grabbing some popcorn and licorice. Then, as a last minute thought, you grab a big bottle of ketchup. Gross as it is, you want Sans to have what he likes.
When you get home, you shoot the brothers a text to let them know and get to setting the living room up. You feel bad about Papyrus sitting on the floor all last night so you drag your air mattress out from your room. You pull out your collection of various blankets and pillows. If there's one thing you know how to do right, it's movie nights! You're just putting on the kettle for hot chocolate when you hear a tap at the door.
"Come in!" you call.
Papyrus bursts into your place holding a massive pot of spaghetti, Sans casually strolling behind him. Both brothers are wearing p.j.'s; Paps has a shirt that screams he is the 'Spaghetti Master' and Sans is wearing one of those 'got milk?' tees. He joins you in the kitchen while Papyrus starts going through the cabinets looking for plates.
"Next one over!" you call to him before turning to Sans. "Hey you."
"heya." He's quiet and his smile is thin.
"Everything okay?" you ask, turning off the stove. He doesn't answer you right away and with a bit of alarm you notice that the white lights of his eyes are small and a little dim. "Sans?"
His smile grows wider but now you can tell it's fake. "'s nothing. just people at work with too much time to waste." It's clear that he doesn't want to talk about it so you reluctantly decide to drop it.
"Okay. But if you wanna talk you don't have to hold back," you tell him as you reach for the bag of goodies. "Anyway, I don't got milk, but I got this!" You offer the bottle of ketchup and his expression eases just a bit.
"i guess i can settle for this," he says with a wink. He pops the lid open and you smack his hand gently and waggle a finger at him.
"Dinner first! That's for the movie."
"SANS, HUMAN! DINNER IS READY," Papyrus calls the two of you over. This batch of spaghetti is actually decent compared to the first dish you had and Sans whispers to you that Papyrus had been cooking all day to make sure it was perfect. Your heart swells at this and you make sure to eat plenty.
"HUMAN," Papyrus says suddenly as the three of you move to the beanbag. "I HAVE A QUESTION. WILL YOU BE RUNNING AGAIN SOON?"
"Uh yeah I think so. I'll probably do it tomorrow night," you say as you put in the movie: it had taken a while but Paps had finally decided on Lion King. You debated on warning him about the Mufasa scene but hold your tongue. Might as well give him the full experience right? "Do you want to go again?"
"YES! I ALSO TOLD MY FRIEND UNDYNE ABOUT MY NEW RUNNING FRIEND. SHE WISHES TO JOIN US."
You had no idea who (or what) Undyne is but if she's a friend of Papyrus' you see no reason to say no. "Sure thing. That sounds like fun." Sans lets out a little grunt at this and you look worriedly at him. He's smirking. "Is that a bad thing?"
Sans shakes his head. "undyne is...was the head of the royal guard. she's a very intense person. you'll be in for quite a workout."
Oh geez. Well, tomorrow's problems can be dealt with tomorrow. Papyrus has made himself at home on your air mattress, stretched out on his stomach with his skull in his hands so you grab your sketchbook and join Sans on the beanbag. Might as well work on the flyer designs for a bit. You balance a bowl of popcorn between the two of you. "Don't get ketchup on my beanbag," you warn him as the movie starts.
He pops the lid open and gives you another wink. "how dairy you suggest i would do such a thing," he says, pulling his shirt out a bit. You resist throwing popcorn at him since that seems a bit contradictory to what you just said. You give him a gentle kick instead.
"Shush you. The movie's starting."
Sans turns his attention to the screen and you start scribbling. You're not exactly a professional, but you did like to sketch so your various pumpkins and scarecrow designs don't look too bad. You get into it, barely paying attention to the movie until you hear a gentle sobbing. You look up in alarm. Shoot! The movie's already reached the end of the stampede scene and Papyrus has his head buried in his hands. You scramble out of the bag and drop down next to him. "I'm so sorry!" you say, rubbing his shoulder. You can feel the shape of his shoulder blade. It's so odd to feel that and no flesh but now isn't the time to focus on that. "I should have said something Paps. I'm sorry."
"W-WHY WOULD HIS BROTHER DO THAT?" Papyrus sobs. "HIS OWN BROTHER A-AND POOR S-SIMBA-!"
"Shh Pap it's okay," you whisper, reaching over and pausing the movie. Scar is on screen, telling Simba to run away, mouth open in a snarl. "It's just a story."
"BUT IT WAS SO BRIGHT AND COLORFUL AND EVERYONE WAS HAPPY."
Oh man you messed up big time. "That's the story Pap," you say gently. "It's a story about how life can change so dramatically and through no fault of your own. Simba has to learn how to deal with this and what true family is." He's starting to calm down a little so you pat his hand. "Do you want to watch something else?"
Papyrus sniffles. "NO. I AM FINE NOW. I WISH TO SEE THE REST."
"Okay buddy. I promise the songs and the smiles come back. This is the saddest part and it's almost over." You turn the movie back on and look to the bean bag.
Sans isn't there. For a split second you don't see him and a wave of panic hits you. Did he leave? But then you notice he's standing in the corner over by the door. He's leaning against the wall, head turned down. You quickly go over to him.
"Sans, I'm so sorry I didn't think it would bother you guys that much..." your voice trails off as you notice a quiet rattling. He's shaking. "Sans I-" What should you do? Papyrus you can understand getting upset but something must have hit Sans deeply to affect him this much. Or...maybe this has something to do with whatever upset him earlier? He lifts a hand to his face.
"sorry. just give me a sec."
Something about the movie, or maybe just seeing his brother upset has very clearly triggered something in him. You can't just stand there, seeing him shake like he's going to fall apart. You slowly step closer and when he doesn't move away, you wrap your arms around him, pulling him gently away from the wall. He's so solid, more so than you would expect a skeleton to feel. He tenses under your hug. "I'm sorry," you whisper softly. You don't know what else to say.
His shaking stops after a minute and he slumps like he's lost all his energy. You let him go and he takes a deep breath.
"Is it the movie? I'm really sorry, I didn't think it would upset you guys like this."
He shrugs. "nah, 'm not upset cause of that. heh, not upset at all. i just...got reminded of a bad time."
The two of you stand there in silence for a minute. The joyful tune of Hakuna Matata fills the room and you look back at Papyrus. He's calmed down and is completely engrossed in the movie again. "Do you want to go sit down again? I promise the worst is over," you say, gesturing back to the t.v. You would completely understand if he doesn't want to though. "I'll make sure the next movie isn't so sad."
He nods wordlessly and follows you back to the beanbag. You tuck a thick blanket around the two of you and you feel him shift a little until he's pressed up against you. His bones are still now, and warm. How can he be warm without blood or skin?
"sorry," he mutters after a few minutes.
You turn slightly to look at him. "Sans you have nothing to be sorry for."
He sighs, eyes dim. "didn't think a freaking cartoon about lions would get to me."
"You can't control what gets to you." You had plenty of experience dealing with that. "If we could, then things wouldn't get to us. Right?"
"heh. guess not." He lets his head flop back and closes his eye sockets.
Guilt eats at you for the rest of the movie. When it's over, you slip out from the blanket and quickly put on How To Train Your Dragon. There was nothing too sad in that one. Papyrus is back to his cheerful self and offers you some popcorn. You take a handful and quietly slide back under the blanket. Sans still has his eyes closed and after a second, you realize he's asleep. His face is much more relaxed now and that gives you a little peace of mind. Halfway through the second movie you see Papyrus's head bobbing and soon he's fast asleep as well. You're feeling so comfortable and warm you can't bring yourself to move or wake the brothers up just yet. Just a few more minutes won't hurt. You'll get up in just a few minutes.
And just like that, you fall asleep as well.