The last of the customers were leaving, and Grillby was just about to close up when Sans stumbled in. He looked like he had been through hell, and the bartender noticed that his shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.
The skeleton stumbled over to his stool and sat with his head in his arms. He didn't even seem to notice the lack of people in the restraunt, or that it was just him and Grillby.
"Sans, are you okay?" The flame monster asked with concern in his voice.
"C-can I just have the usual?" The normally upbeat and comical punmaster had just barely choked the words out before Grillby had set a bottle of ketchup on the counter in front of him. Sans made no move to grab it, but he raised his hand slowly in a gesture of thanks.
"Sans, did something happen?" Grillby was very worried for his friend, and was afraid something bad had happened to him or his brother.
"I didn't want to wake Papyrus." Sans mumbled out.
"What do you mean?"
"I watch him die every night. It's the resets, every time we have something good, every time we make it to the surface, it's ripped away in the blink of an eye. Next thing I know, everyone I love is dead."
"Resets? Sans, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Nah, you wouldn't. You got it good, not remembering. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one. As long as Paps doesn't remember..." He trailed off, before sitting upright and throwing his hands up in the air. "It's all useless! It just keeps going, over and over and over!" The skeleton started crying again, and pulled his hood over his head, resting his head in his arms once again.
"Sans, it's going to be okay." Although Grillby didn't exactly understand what was going on, he did know that he needed to be there for his friend. He walked around the bar to the stool that Sans was sat.
The bartender set himself gently in the seat next to the skeleton and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Grillbz, I've watched you die more than once. I just don't know how much longer I can go on like this. But no matter how many times I die, it always resets in the end." He said, lifting his head. Tears were forming in his eye sockets and sliding down his skeletal face.
Without hesitation, Grillby wrapped Sans in a hug. He tried to put as much feeling as he could into that one gesture, wanting to let his friend know how much he cared.
Sans cried into the bartender's shoulder. His tears stung the fire monster, but the man didn't seem to mind. He kept whispering that everything was going to be okay, that he will always be there.
After almost an hour, Sans had calmed down and was fast asleep at the bar. Grillby smiled at the sleeping skeleton.
He finished closing up the restraunt before lifting his friend into his arms and carrying him home, where he would be safe from any more nightmares that dared try and haunt his dreams.
Please send requests! I need more ideas, because I really like writing these little short stories ^~^
