Started as a Feeling

Chapter 12 - Setting it Straight

Sans twisted the knob to the door to Toriel's home, slightly creeking it open. It was in the late afternoon and he heard Papyrus talking. He peered inside and saw Papyrus and Toriel comforting Frisk on the couch. Papyrus's voice becomes more clear, "Don't worry Frisk! I, the GREAT PAPYRUS, will make sure you will walk home unharmed! Believe it or not, I too had bullies once! And you know what happened?" Papyrus waited for a reply, but recieved nothing. He continued, "Sans made sure the bullies never made fun of me again! I don't quite recall what he did to scare the bullies off, but I assure you that he got the job done!" Sans closed the door behind him and the sound made Papyrus and Toriel look up. Toriel's face is upset and pitiful, "Sans, my dear, where have you been?"

"I was, uh, at the new place Grillby was workin' at," Sans couldn't look Toriel in the face, he still hasn't recovered from forgetting about the night before. Toriel wonders if something is wrong, but she focuses on the main problem, "Frisk, Sans is here." A long pause was greeted with an awkward silence. Sans, rubbing the back of his head, looks to the floor and speaks in a low tone, "I think I need to talk to the kid alone. There are things that need to be said." Toriel nods and kisses the top of the boy's head, whispering words into his ear then getting up. She motions for Papyrus to get up, and he follows Toriel into the kitchen.

Sans waits a moment before taking a step towards the couch. He walks around the sofa and plops down next to Frisk. He is too afraid to look towards him, "Here kiddo, let's take a shortcut to your room." Within seconds, Sans and Frisk are sitting next to each other in Frisk's bedroom. They sit in silence for a while until Sans sighs, "Ok, what happened, and who did it?" Frisk tapped Sans's shoulder and Sans faces him. What he sees makes him flinch. Frisk had a black eye and a cut on his lip. They were minor wounds but seeing Frisk hurt was a first for Sans. His fluorescent eye started to show with rage but he closed his eye sockets and shook his head. He can't loose his temper now. Sans put his hand on the child's cheek and thumbed lightly over Frisk's purplish eye, "Damn kiddo they got ya good, huh? Did ya give 'em the stink eye?" Frisk looked away, tears starting to form from his eyes. This isn't a good time for jokes. Sans's shoulders fall, he's not the lovey dovey type, but that was going to change right then and there. 'I mean it, the thing about you being a father figure. He needs you in his life.' Sans scoots up against Frisk's bedframe and scoots the kid into his arms, laying him against his chest. He runs his boney fingers through Frisk's hair slowly, "Kid, I'm sorry I wasn't there. I was off being an idiot, I didn't even bother to look at my phone. Tell me what happened. Sansy needs to know bud."

"They said I was a dumb orphan... And they called me a freak. They started to pick on my friend, the monster kid, and I stood up for him. But they pushed us around, and I told them we didn't want to fight!" Frisk starts to choke up and sob into Sans's jacket sleeve, "They didn't show [MERCY] Sans! They didn't even SPARE us!" Sans let the poor boy cry, rubbing his back and letting him soak his jacket. He was building rage inside, calmly but firmly he asks, "Who are they?" Frisk calms down a little and looks up at Sans, face red from crying, "Some eighth graders, I don't know their names." He wipes his nose with his own sleeve, "Papyrus is going to start walking me home from school." Sans feels powerless, he can't even go up to the punks and say something. He'd love to get in their faces and show them a thing or two.

"What are you going to do Sans?" Flowey suddenly speaks with worry in his voice, for once he seemingly cares about the one person who loves him. Sans huffs and looks into the flower's eyes, "I have no idea. But what I will do for sure is continue to drop Frisk off at school. Papyrus can walk him back. Until I see these useless brats I can't do anything." Flowey glares at the skeleton, he wishes he could protect Frisk. He wishes he could have his soul back so he could go to school with him. Nothing seems fair in this situation. Frisk sits up and wipes his face, he looks at Sans who seems calm and content, no smiling, no joking. Frisk picks up Flowey's flower pot and holds it in his lap, "I'm not mad Sans..." Sans grins and messes up the kid's hair, "I know kiddo, but I am. I shouldn't have been actin' like a dope." Flowey decides to speak up, "Hey Smiley, could you leave me alone with Frisk? We need to talk." Sans becomes agitated by this but let's it go. He pats the kid's head and get's up from the bed. He goes to leave but stops at the doorway. He looks back at Frisk and smiles, getting an idea. He takes off his navy blue jacket, leaving him in his white shirt, and walks over to Frisk. He drapes the coat over Frisk's shoulders and pats his back. The baggy jacket is obviously too big and leaves Frisk huddled inside it, "Here kiddo, you can have it for a while." Sans gives him a wink and walks out of the door, closing it behind him.

Frisk smiles, Sans always knows how to make his worries go away.