A Misplaced Note (TicciSans)

Chapter 4

The holes in their story started to show.

They were small, such as leaks were on boats. One lie after another, slightly grazing the outer layer. Barely noticeable to those on board, neither Sans nor Toby bothering to fix them. Just small, dainty pieces of information that barely aligned, but still worked. A mistake led to Toby claiming their place of meeting was on the streets instead of a store, and another had Sans give Undyne and Toriel two different reasons as to why Toby couldn't come that night. Although the two abord felt the shifts and scraps against their fragile ship, it held against the tidal waves of his friends.

Overtime, the blows became bigger, more noticeable. Small holes were broken through the wood, dribbling in the waters of disbelief into their relationship and Toby's true identity. When Toby had to leave one day, the delay before his poorly made excuse made Undyne tilt her eyebrows with confusion. A lie from Sans about work made Alphys perk up, the words, "I thought Toby worked for a private business, not at a store" tainting the air. With each inconsistency in their stories came another hole, the sink starting to wobble as it tried to sail through the intense storm around them.

Sans and Toby both tried their best, they really did. They pressed forward with their hope being the sails, desperately trying to keep their relationship afloat. However, it wasn't just Sans' friends that noticed, Toby's did as well. Toby's increasing interest in 'petting zoos' brought an angry proxy to his bedroom door, arms crossed while demanding that Toby was purposely skipping out of needed work. A poorly made excuse drew in the attention of another killer, the masked man tilting his head when Toby awkwardly said he was going to the movies while emphasizing how he would definitely be going alone.

The biggest hit on the ship, though, had been during ice skating.

Months later from their original meeting, Sans and Toby had shared an event with the others under fluttering snow flakes. Lights sparkled around them as Sans balanced on his blades. Toby, on the other hand, was forced to lean against Sans, body twitching. Warm clothes concealed both of them as they carefully threaded across the ice, passing by Undyne and Alphys.

"How are you and Papyrus so good?" Undyne yelled at Sans, gripping a side bar just as Toby did Sans.

"We lived in Snowdin, we practically went ice skating everyday!" Sans laughed, looking at his brother to find him gliding expertly across the ice.

The night had actually started good. Toby and Sans considered it to be a date, the two holding one another closely as they made progress throughout the night. A few kisses were stolen by one another each time Toby's weight caused them to fall, the two laughing on the ground. They weren't the only two, as everyone else collapsed onto the ice at least once. Papyrus was the only one who stood tall, declaring how great he was as he would quickly approach to help his friends up.

When it happened, it was a blur. One moment, the damaged ship had been drifting softly, sailing through the sea. The next, Sans could almost feel the explosions as the ship practically shattered in half, waves wrapping around the boat as it started to sink.

It started slow. Toriel had approached Sans as he was shaking off the shoes, freeing his feet from the confines to the ice skating shoes. With a phone in hand, she looked at him with a look of worry

"Sans, I am not sure how to bring this up," Toriel said, brown eyes sorrowful with regret. "But, ah... I don't think Toby is who he says he is."

Frisk gave Sans another sad look, his soul dropping with worry. What was she implying?

"What?" The question tasted sour in his mouth, like Sans shouldn't be asking this.

The conversation felt like the warning before the storm, the clouds approaching the ship from the distance. Dread slowly crawled up Sans' back as he watched Toriel continue.