They had only been on the Surface for a few months when Sans noticed something was going through their trash.
Paps always put it out to the curb and Sans would grab it after work and drag it back up to the side of their house, so he was always the one that found rubbish littered around the base of it.
It couldn't be the truck's fault right? Humans were picky with how things went and he didn't notice their neighbors having the same problem. Is it a hate crime? Are their neighbors digging through their trash in hopes of finding something to pin against them?
Sans decided to get to the bottom of this odd mystery, after all he has to pick up the rubbish left behind and bringing the bin up to the house was already enough work as it is.
So when trash day came around again and Paps took the bin to the curb before heading to his job for the day Sans settled in next to the front window to wait.
It didn't take long for him to spot the culprit.
A mangy dog makes its way down the sidewalk, nosing at the neighbor's bins before moving closer to theirs, frowning he scratches his skull as he watches the gray furred canine carefully stand on its hind legs and nudge the lid open.
The brothers always filled the bin up to the top, so the dog is able to grasp the top bag and drag it out slowly, it obviously knows what it's doing because the bin hasn't fallen over.
Managing to get half of the bag out it rips through the plastic and steps back as a bunch of trash falls free thanks to gravity, nosing aside empty ketchup bottles it laps at the inside of old burger bags from Grillby's until it finds a half-eaten burger in one and hungrily gulps it down before moving onto quite a bit of Paps spaghetti.
Hey after having spaghetti constantly you'd get tired of it too, but it seems the dog is a fan and quickly devours it before digging around a bit more.
Normally he'd be pissed, sure he's sorta a dog loving skeleton but this mutt is making a mess! However, he can see it's ribs from here, and as he watches the dog push the bag back into the bin and nudge the lid closed he begins to hatch a plan.
He doesn't tell Paps, his brother isn't too fond of canines since the dogs underground once chewed on his leg bone, ever since then he's had a fear of them.
Sans doesn't really need to tell Paps since all he's doing is feeding the dog…right?
Another week passes and he offers to take the bin out this time, Paps shoots him a curious expression, "BROTHER ARE YOU ILL?"
"nah just figured we could switch things up a bit," he says with a lazy shrug, "sides you gotta get to work, you got an earlier shift today,"
Papyrus hums in thought, "YOU ARE RIGHT, PROCEED AND I WILL PICK IT UP LATER," He says before climbing into his car and backing out of their driveway, he waves goodbye before disappearing down the street.
Sans drags the bin to the curb and then heads back inside to grab the bag of Grillby's he had saved from lunch, stepping back out onto the front porch he settles on the steps and fishes a cigarette from his jacket pocket, the great thing about not having lungs is he doesn't have to worry about lung cancer.
Digging his lighter out he pinches the cigarette between his sharp teeth and lights it, taking a drag before reaching into the bag and fishing a burger out, unwrapping it he sets it down on the pavement in front of him, letting it rest on the plastic incase the dog doesn't eat it.
Don't want to waste food after all.
He waits, taking slow drags and letting the smoke ease from his eye sockets and nostrils, the sensation of the smoke is like a whisper of wind as it moves through his skull, he's so relaxed he nearly misses the dog.
Sans remains relaxed, eye sockets half open as the canine moves forward fearlessly, it's bushy tail wagging as it approaches and quickly grabs the burger, scarfing it down before licking the plastic wrap.
Once it's done it lifts its head and peers at him, he's stunned to find one green eye and one blue eye locking on him.
"still hungry?" he asks flicking his cigarette away as he reaches in for another burger, unwrapping it he decides to see how far the canine would go for food, he keeps it in his hand and slowly extends it out, watching as the dog steps forward to take a bite, avoiding his phalanges as it eats around his hand, he offers the last of the burger to it before cautiously reaching out to rest his palm against its head.
His hand swamps the canine's skull and his fingers curl, scratching carefully behind it's ears, watching in silent joy as the dog's tail wags harder and it steps even closer, resting its head gently atop his knee.
"you're pretty friendly….guess a good burger goes a long way huh pooch?" he chuckles, continuing to scratch the dog's head.
It's been awhile since he's felt this sense of…accomplishment, a sense of purpose? Yeah…guess caring for another creature can do that to ya.
"come on, Paps can't be too mad, with a face like yours he'll be putty in your paws," he chuckles, standing and grabbing the bag, glancing at the dog to see if it follows, sure enough it climbs up the stairs, sticking close to his legs as he opens the door and lets it dart inside.
Paps can't be too mad, after all, Sans found someone who loves his spaghetti.