A Burning Secret

Feeling Good

The gentle crunch of snow under his slippers, the chilling air that would cut into his skin if he had any and the peaceful silence brought an unusually wide smile to Sans' face. Everything just felt good.

Perhaps Sans was getting a little too cosy, letting his guard down around the human. It had been almost two months since the human arrived and they showed no interest in harming the monsters. The human had even befriended all the monsters they encountered, including the notorious Undyne. They were really making a name for themselves.

Of course an air of wariness still hung around Sans when he and his brother, Papyrus, would spend time with the human, but despite all that, somehow this timeline just felt different, it felt safe.

To continue his good mood Sans headed straight for his favourite place in Snowdin, Grillby's. A place where he could truly kick back and relax without a worry in the world.

He settled his hand upon the door handle, but stopped to kick off the snow from his slippers before entering. As soon as the door opened a wave of heat rushed out and a familiar awe of warmth and safety washed over Sans.

Grillby's was his home away from home. A place where he could be surrounded by friends, have a good meal, a great drink and enjoy the company of his favourite bartender.

Of course with every happy sensation and feeling of safety a thought of doubt always echoed at the back of Sans' mind.

You could lose it all.

This won't last.

We are all going to die.

For the first time in a long time Sans was able to push those thoughts away as he clambered onto his favourite bar stool, which was a little too tall for him.

The fire elemental behind the counter gave a silent nod and automatically handed Sans a bottle of ketchup. It was a routine that was engraved in his mind and body movements. For as long as Grillby could remember as soon as Sans sat down he would always greet Grillby with a smile and a silly joke or two before requesting the usual condiment.

"ya know me too well Grillbz," Sans smirked as he reached out to take the bottle, but suddenly paused before recoiling. "ya know what...i'm in the mood for some change! how about some whiskey?" Sans asked with a bold smile. 

Grillby stared at Sans before looking to the bottle of ketchup, his eyes hidden by the pair of glasses that he wore. He half expected Sans to laugh and say 'gotcha'.

 "what? i thought you'd be burning for the day i try something new." Sans grinned, struggling to stifle a chuckle at his terrible pun.

Sans could almost sense Grillby roll his eyes as he took the ketchup bottle and put it back under the counter. He turned around and grabbed a small glass and a bottle of whiskey before turning his attention back to Sans.

Grillby filled the glass half way and left the bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter, in case Sans acquired a taste for the whiskey and desired more.

"...This will add a lot onto your tab." Grillby said quietly, his voice was low but warm, it even crackled ever so slightly.

"you really got a bone to pick with me over that, don't you?" Sans smirked as he took the glass, swirling the whiskey around for a moment. "don't worry about it, lighten up." Sans said with a casual shrug, but his wide grin was shaking as he fought with all his might not to laugh.

"....Sans....Stop...These puns are terrible." Grillby sighed sharply as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

 "what can i say? good fire puns are just hard to extinguish!" Sans laughed aloud, loving how flustered Grillby was becoming.

Grillby could only scowl with annoyance, knowing that no matter what he said that Sans would just continue with the terribly bad fire puns.

Grillby remained silent as Sans took a rather large mouthful of the whiskey. After a few minutes he finally managed to speak. "....You seem to be in a good mood."

"i am! i finally feel like everything is falling into place." Sans said with a happy sigh. He folded his arms on the counter, gazing down into the dark liquid of the whiskey. "...i just hope it lasts." He murmured, more to himself then to Grillby.

(A little slow going at the start, but things will heat up soon!)