Save Point (Sans x Reader)

Chapter Nine

Third Person POV

Sans’s Perspective

The time marks nine o’clock when he reaches his home, the detour Papyrus had to take for the supermarket being the cause of them arriving at an hour later than usual. He helps him carry four of the nine bags they'd packed in the car and follows him towards their home. The night is cloudy and cold, completely free of stars. The unusual change in temperature reaches his bones, though it's nothing compared to the perpetual cold of Snowdin.

Sans stops walking after reaching the entrance and waits for Papyrus to unlock the door, taking this as an opportunity to check his phone before it was time to wrap up for the day. Surprised to see a notification marking two unread messages, he sets himself aside -- right next to the locked door his brother was still searching the key for -- and places the four bags he carried nearby. He clicks on the notification, the two messages he was informed of displaying themselves on screen.

I feel like I’m saying this too much but. . . Thank you for visiting.

I really like the time I spend with you.

don’t mention it, pal. i feel the same way.

i think you’re pretty rad-ius.

How humerus.

I bet you could go ulna-ight making puns like that!

“You seem quite close with (Y/N) now, Sans!”

Those words are the ones he regrets hearing the most. He almost jumps at the sound of Papyrus’s sudden, booming voice and is close to dropping his phone with the startle he receives from him. Feeling a strange sense of guilt -- quite like that of a child being caught eating too many sweets -- he locks the phone and puts it away, shielding it from Papyrus’s attentive line of sight. Though he was expecting his brother to bring up that subject again, he still didn’t feel ready for it. He looks up at the taller skeleton, his hand holding the door open for him and for the rest of the grocery bags left to carry into the house.

“How long has it been already? Three months? Four?” Papyrus asks, enthusiasm clear on his voice.

“It’s been two months,” Sans replies, walking with him into the living room. “It’s been kinda fun, so I figured it’d be nice to invite them and Faust to see the Echo flowers.”

“I am happy for you, brother! Perhaps, you could bring them over some time.”

“Sure,” the shorter one mutters, chuckling. “Is there a another reason behind it, Paps? A cooking duel or somethin’ like that?”

“Don’t be silly, brother!” the tall one exclaims, furrowing his gaze at Sans. “I think it would be a good way to get them to know you better. Show them what you do for fun!”

“What, like my sock collection?”

“I am being serious! What about science? You give tutoring lessons on that too, after all! I am certain they would love to hear you talk about things you like. You could perhaps find something in common, too!”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Still feeling as if he’d been caught sneaking his hand where he wasn’t supposed to, Sans sets his phone aside on the coffee table and begins unpacking the groceries, helping Papyrus organize the pantry and fridge. Palpable silence spreads across the kitchen, the baby elephant in the room refusing to be addressed, no matter how many times he initiated conversation to ask over where an item was supposed to go. Although his brother meant a lot to him, this was a matter he could only bring himself to discuss with Grillby.

Later on, perhaps, he could find the ease to tell his brother the whole story, rather than evading the topic with every miniscule chance he got. Right now, however, he couldn’t find the right words to explain how much he liked receiving texts from (Y/N), nor how much he enjoyed visiting their home to see them and Faust.

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What's left of the night disappears in the blink of an eye. Sans finds himself at Grillby’s again, choosing a burger this time for his order. Grillby is standing behind the counter as customary, eyeing him warily -- or at least, it seemed so. It was hard to tell based on the flame’s featureless face, the only thing to enhance it being the eyeglasses he wore.

“. . .?” (“Something on your mind? It’s midnight again.”)

Looking away from his half-eaten order, he smiles at Grillby, resting his hands over the counter as he leans closer to face him. “Your advice worked like a charm, Grillbs,” Sans explains, his voice sounding calm despite the thoughts he had left in mind. “I, uh. . . think we’re technically friends now.”

“. . .?” (“You think? . . .Technically? Why are you this uncertain?)

“Gimme a break, pal,” the skeleton intervenes, snickering. “I just wasn’t sure what to call it before. I mean, we talked after the lessons, and we went out for coffee a few times. . . But it was a lil’ awkward back then, since I didn’t know how close I could get.”

Appearing pleased by his regular’s response, the bartender only nods and heads off to the back without a word. Intrigued, Sans watches the door Grillby passed through, finishing up the rest of his burger while he waits for the flame monster to return.

The quiet bartender returns after a few more minutes of wait. Much to the skeleton’s surprise, he places a shiny, round rock on the counter. It's similar to the ones he once observed with the help of a telescope near Waterfall, the sight bringing back memories -- both good and bad.

“What’s this for?” he asks, taking the rock and inspecting its smooth and perfectly spherical surface. If he didn’t know where these were from, he would’ve assumed it was fake or modified to look the way it did. The fact that nature could create such wondrous, striking objects still amazed him to this day.

“. . .” (“It’s a gift for (Y/N). Give it to them when you feel ready, or when the moment’s right.”)

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Uploaded a day later than usual due to changes in my schedule -- Might change the story's update schedule soon to make up for that!