Grillby stood outside the front door to the skeleton bros' house, pulling out his phone to check for messages. It had been 3 days since he had last seen either of the skeletons, and he was stopping by to check on them.
"Sans? Papyrus? Are you in there?" He called, leaning over to peek through the window. Inside, the living room was softly illuminated by light, but the rest of the house lay in shadow, presumably because no one was home.
Giving up, Grillby shrugged and was stepping off the porch when his phone buzzed in his hand. He instantly looked to it and scanned the screen quickly, taking action immediately.
Sans: please come in
Grillby twisted the knob and was a bit surprised to find it locked, swinging the door open and trying not to sneeze as dust filtered about him. The house looked tidy as usual, but abondened, and he began to wonder why.
"Sans? Where are you?" Grillby asked quieter, not wanting to yell as loud in Sans' home, as that would be rude. He slipped out of his jacket and was placing it on the back of a chair when a weak voice called to him.
"Up here.." The bartender looked up to the railing of the balcony, noticing that only Papyrus' door was open, and assumed that his friend must be in there.
He padded slowly across the carpet, wondering what could possibly be wrong, and avoiding letting his mind jump to conclusions. As he climbe the stairs, he placed his hand on the railing, sliding it across it and scoffing as he pulled it back covered in dust. This was beginning to be scary.
"Sans, why is your house so dusty?" Grillby asked, reaching the open door and peering in, frozen in place as his eyes landed on the skeleton.
Sans was sitting in the exact same spot as he had fallen, his body curled towards the bed, his posture crest fallen. He still had his phone in his lap, staring blankly at it with dark eyes only caused by lack of sleep.
"Sans, what's wrong?" Grillby made his way over to the huddled monster, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. Sans looked up to him with wet cheeks and at first didn't respond, his entire composure leaked sorrow.
"I-I.. Messed up w-with Pap.. I really messed up, Grillbz.. I messed up bad." His voice cracked as he whispered, having been so long since the last time he used it. He dropped his gaze and stared at his hands, shaking terribly as he fought with himself.
"I'm not a good brother.."
"Sans, your a great brother. I'm sure what you did was-"
"I yelled at him. I grabbed him, told him he couldn't leave, and then.. And then he.. Hit me.." Grillby watched pitifully as the skeleton was overcome with grief covering his face limply with his hands, shimmering tears leaking across his face.
"I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have been that mean to him.. This is all my fault. He left because of me!" Sans whimpered, rocking himself slowly as he pulled his legs closer to him. Grillby was about to speak when Sans suddenly pushed towards him, causing him to fall back on his butt, where he sat completely still.
Sans was clinging to his clothes desperately, his body stricken with fear.
"No, don't go.. I can't lose you too.." Grillby lowered his eyes, feeling terrible for not coming sooner, and nodded, pulling the ball of sadness closer to him.
"I won't." Sans was silent as Grillby wrapped his arms around him, feeling the monster's bones beneath his jacket. He decided that he would stay with Sans for the time being, to make sure nothing happened to him.
After a little time passed, the bartender figured he would be able to coax some information from him, and hoped he would be willing to accept his help.
