FurtherDown

Chapter 5, Pages 84-98

     Sans straightened up and closed his eye sockets for a little bit, opening them to look over at Frisk who he caught looking up at him with sorrow in her eyes. 

     "What's that look for kiddo?" Sans asked, looking down at Frisk with his dark, fatigued, eyes. Frisk had her arms crossed and gave him a stern look, intending that she was irritated. Sans took the cue and quickly apologized. "Alright, I know I should've told you and Pap sooner. M'sorry, okay?" Frisk, still wearing a stern look, pointed up at Sans telling him not to use his magic either. "Fine, fine and I won't use my magic either 'til Alphys clears me. Happy?" Sans asked, winking. Frisk, satisfied, gave him a warm smile, putting her arm down. "Good. Now, about what happened earlier-" Frisk's smile quickly faded at the thought of the man and Sans using his depleting magic. She lunged forward into Sans, grabbing his sleeves and burying her face into his ribcage. 

     "Woah!" Sans cried out. "E-Easy there bucko, those are the only ribs I've got," Sans warned. Suddenly, he heard a small sniffle befall from Frisk; he already knew what was coming. It left an aching in his chest cavity hearing her cry, especially into him. 

      "Aw, kid, the waterworks again? Come on, whatever happened to all that DETERMINATION of yours? You were never bothered by us monsters, but you actually act like you're scared of your own..." Sans trailed off, looking deep into Frisk's hopeless and innocent eyes. "People." He finished. She looked up at Sans, tears staining her face and eyes as she clutched to Sans as she had before with Mr. Tensom. Sans looked down at this poor child nestled within his arms and felt a shiver go down his spine, willing himself not to think of all the horrible things that could've happened to this girl. Sighing, he brought her closer to him, embracing her. Resting his skull atop of her head, Frisk burrowed further into the Frisk sized hole in Sans. He closed his eye sockets, choking back tears as he could feel Frisk silently weeping into him. After a couple of breaths, Sans released Frisk from his embrace, even though he could tell she didn't want to come out of her hole just yet. He placed his hands on her shoulders, phalanges caressing her shoulder blades and arms. 

     "Listen, whatever happened to you before you fell down into the Ruins, it's, it's in the past. We're gonna protect you. No one's gonna hurt you on our watch, okay? You just gotta hold yourself together." Sans told Frisk as she wiped tears from her tired eyes with her sleeves. "Not that I blame you for, you know, being on edge." Sans said. Frisk looked into his eye sockets and could see the bags under his eyes as his hand moved to his chest. His chest started to glow a cyan blue under his hand, magic festering with his emotions, his fingers digging into his sternum. 

     "I hate to admit it, but I sort of lost it back there, for a minute" Sans confessed. "I thought, I thought he was really going to do it, really take you away." The skeleton continued. Fresh tears formed in Frisk's eyes as the intense glow of the monster's chest illuminated her face and body. She looked down at his chest, then up at his face, studying his face as he went on.

     "I know living in an orphanage would be awful for you. And if you were unhappy, you m-might, might you know, RESET. And I kinda just couldn't let that happen." Sans said, leaning back and looking up at the stars with his hand still over his chest. Frisk, a bit hurt from his disbelief, closed her eyes and shed the tears that had welled up in her eyes, streaming down her face, over her cheeks. 

     "I won't RESET." She said solemnly. 

     "Yeah, yeah, I know, kid. You've told me that before. But, but it doesn't really, really mean anything anymore." Sans said. Frisk slid off the log and stepped in front of Sans, who was doubled over with both his hands hovering over his chest. She lifted both her hands in front of his radius and ulnas, offering support.