A/N

Edit(6/3/2019) I had to fix a bit of an issue with some dialogue (it wasn't showing up for some reason?). It's fixed now.

Sans yawned, rolling his shoulders back at the front door after appearing there in a flash of blue light. His shoulders loosened with a satisfying pop before he turned his attention to cracking his neck. Stifling another yawn, the skeleton monster tapped his bare knuckles against the door.

No one answered immediately, and he frankly didn't care. A content grin was on his face and his eye-sockets slowly fluttered shut. The warm sun was starting to sink bellow the horizon, and the last rays of that day's light were settling comfortably on his face. The bottom of Sans's eyes squinted up a bit in his grin.

He was half-dozing when the sun had set fully, and a cool breeze shook him awake. He yawned again, blinking his eye sockets at the still-closed door. The lack of an answer still didn't seem to phase him. He shrugged, there was another flash of blue light, and he was inside the house.

And his foot may have materialized inside a discarded cup of ramen. Sans didn't make a move to remove the cup of ramen, simply acknowledging it with a short glance and a 'hm'. A quick scan of the living room showed that the place was messy, even by his standards.

Well…maybe not that messy.

"Hey, Alphys?" Sans called casually, trudging through the garbage that littered the floor. It was a bit odd for the place to be this much of a disaster. Papyrus usually bullied Undyne into keeping it relatively clean, and Alphys was doing better in regards to clutter these days.

"Alphys?" Sans called again, stepping over an empty Pringles™ can. "Y'here?"

He got an answer this time, in the form of a whirring saw-sound and electricity sparking out from underneath a closed door to a side room. Instead of opening the door like a normal person, Sans decided to simply teleport into the room. Because opening doors was too much work. Manipulating space-time to change your relative position was not, however.

Alphys was hunched over something, a welding helmet shielding her face as her circular saw went to work on some hunk of metal.

"Hey, Alphy." Sans greeted, trotting up to stand by her side. She made no indication she heard him. Sans shrugged it off and glanced around the room. There was a white board covered in notes, whether they be written in marker, or on pieces of paper stuck on it with tape and magnets. There were a few diagrams here and there too, as well as some calculations.

Sans found himself moving closer to the board, eyelights flickering across the scattered information. It was hard to find any particular flow of logic here, but that didn't quite surprise him. Alphys tended not to care much about that sort of thing when she was as invested in something as she was right now.

Sans's phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished it out and clicked it on, reading the most recently received text(s).

Pap

SANS ARE YOU AT UNDYNE'S?

SANS DID YOU FALL ASLEEP?

YOU BETTER NOT BE TAKING A NAP RIGHT NOW, BROTHER!

…

SANS IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT? YOU'RE TAKING A LONG TIME

Sans's grin turned a bit sheepish as he texted back a quick reply of 'srry. fell sleep'.

Another buzz of his phone indicated a response.

Pap

OH MY GOD SANS YOU HAD US WORRIED SICK!

AND HURRY UP, EVERYONE IS BEGINNING TO GET IMPATIENT!

Sans texted back 'k' and pocketed his phone again. He gave the board another glance over then turned to look at Alphys. She was still hard at work, oblivious to his presence. Sans's attention drifted upwards, taking in the entirety of this latest project of the lizard monster.

A large rectangular-looking thing. Wires of all sizes and colors crossed over each other. There was a monitor, but it was off now. Dials and keypads and an assortment of buttons that seemed randomly placed littered its surface. The machine loomed over them, as if trying to stare them down.

It was a mystery to what this contraption did, certainly…

He shook his head, reminding himself of the task at hand.

"Alphys." He tried to get her attention. And failed. He rolled his eyes and tried again "Alphys."

…

Still nothing.

He poked a boney finger against her cheek. Alphys jumped (literally, kind of like a cat) and let out a little squeak. She turned the saw off, flipping up her mask. Sans offered a casual wave in response. Alphys sighed a little in embarrassment.

"H-hey, Sans." She said. A stiff, awkward smile crept its way across her lips "Uh…..what's up?"

"Yer late." Sans said with a shrug. "Papyrus told me to come make sure yer alright. And if you were, he demanded I tell ya 'everyone is waiting and yer dad is scaring me'."

"My dad…?" Alphys frowned. Her eyes quickly widened in realization and she all but threw the saw on the ground, darting out the door. "O-oh my gosh I totally forgot t-that was t-today! I'm not even ready yet!"

Sans chuckled, trotting after her.

"Take yer time. I'll wait." He said to her as she raced up the stairs. He got the feeling she didn't hear him but he didn't particularly care.

The certain event that Alphys was late for was something of a family dinner. Like, everyone's family. Undyne and her parents were there, Toriel had a few of her childhood friends attending, Frisk had Flowey, and he and Papyrus had eachother. Asgore and Mettaton had both intended to come as well, but the two of them had ended up with responsibilities they just couldn't ignore.

It still was a rather large dinner, and everyone was incredibly excited for it. Papyrus had rambled on about it since they had the idea. It was a chance to get to know everyone better, and to get to know their respective families.

When he was sent on this little errand to pick Alphys up, everyone else had already arrived. They all seemed patient enough though, so he wasn't too worried about them being upset.

Well, except for Alphys's father that is….

He swallowed down the groan of annoyance that tried to leak out at the mere thought of the man. Marty, Alphys's father, was quite… blunt. Sans doubted that the guy tried to come across as so ungodly irritating, but he certainly accomplished that anyway.

He was snapped out of his derailing thoughts as Alphys barreled down the stairs in a frilly pink dress, a little bow haphazardly tied to her head.

"I'm s-sorry, Sans!" She stammered out, fidgeting with the end of her sleeves. "I h-h-hope D-dad wasn't too….." She trailed off, making a face as she tried to find the right words.

"Rude?" Sans offered it to her. Alphys sighed, running her hand down her face.

"Ugh, yeah." She muttered.

Sans shrugged "Eh." He shot her a wink "Let's just hurry up so he calms down a bit, hm?"

"Ha ha…. Yeah." Alphys said with a wobbly smile. Sans offered her his hand along with a grin. She took it, and they were in the living room of Toriel's home before you could blink.

Alphys was immediately tackled by a blur of blue.

"ALPHYS!" Undyne grinned, hugging the little yellow lizard so hard her ribs may have cracked.

"H-hey, Undyne-!" Alphys wheezed, her smile gaining strength and becoming a bit more genuine.

Several other people filtered into the room.

"This is Alphys?" Another fish monster said with a grin, one hand on her hip and the other around her husband's shoulders.

"Yep!" Undyne shouted excitedly, holding up Alphys to her. "Alphys, these are my parents!"

"H-hi." Alphys stammered out meekly.

Undyne looked incredibly similar to her mom. Except her mother seemed a bit shorter, her hair had a bit more volume to it. The fins that served as her ears seemed almost shredded at the edges, and she had a large scar across her right eye. Undyne's father was smiling menacingly at her. It didn't seem to be purposely intimidating. He was just very, very large with a large mouth full of huge sharp fangs. He was a kind of bronze in color. And Alphys was scared for a moment, then she noticed how his thick, black claws seemed to be filed down. How his grin seemed a bit shakey and his eyes really gentle….

Aw, he was just a big softy with a scary face.

"Nice to meetcha!" Undyne's mother grinned, shaking Alphys's hand (a little bit rougher than necessary), and shaking her out of her observations. "I'm Sydna!" Sydna pulled her husband over gently "And this handsome fish is Ifrit!"

"Hello, Alphys." Ifrit greeted with as small a smile he could manage "It's good to finally be able to meet you, Undyne talks about you a lot."

"O-o-oh my GOD." Alphys stammered, wide-eyed "S-she does?"

"Well, DUH!" Undyne said with a grin as she hugged Alphys tight "Why wouldn't I want to brag about my awesomely nerdy friend?"

Alphys had nothing to say to that as she was too busy hiding her face in her hands and blushing wildly.

Sans chuckled. His attention was called away from Alphys and company by his pun-pal's voice.

"Welcome back, Sans" Toriel said with a smile.

"Heya, T." Sans said, shooting her a wink.

"Hi Sans!" said Frisk in their quiet voice as they quickly hugged him.

"Took you long enough." Flowey muttered. Sans ruffled Flowey's petals, which resulted in a bit of shared laughter as the plant recoiled with a hiss.

"I AGREE WITH FLOWEY! IT CERTAINLY DID TAKE YOU LONG ENOUGH!" Papyrus said with a bit of a pout as he strolled over. A bundle of while fluff was vibrating on the top of his skull, staring at Sans with its wide, beady eyes.

Sans's grin grew stiff.

"Er…..Is that a Tem?" He asked hesitantly.

Toriel let out a little giggle, covering her mouth with her paws. "Indeed it is." She took a breathe to steady herself before addressing the weird cat-dog-thing with a smile. "Nurse, this is Sans."

"HOI SOONS!" The tem, Nurse(?), barked out happily, her ears tilting in his direction.

"Uh…hi." Sans grinned, tensing a bit. Toriel's face fell, looking between the two of them. Frisk picked up on their adopted mother's unease and they frowned.

"Do you two not get along, Sans?" Frisk asked.

Sans gave a stiff shrug "I have had many bad experiences with Tems."

"With TEMS?" Flowey sneered "I mean, yeah they're annoying, but you're just as annoying. I figured you'd like them."

"Uh…." Sans shrugged a bit into his hood as the Nurse's vibration increased in intensity, her eyes locked on Sans.

"OH, SANS, THAT HASN'T HAPPENED IN FOREVER!" Papyrus snorted, giving his elder brother a dismissive wave.

"It was two months ago." Sans muttered.

"What was two months ago?" Frisk asked. Flowey's glare flicked back and forth between the skeleton brothers. Toriel gave a tilt of her head, her curiosity beginning to gleam in her eyes.

"Nuthin'." Sans attempted to dismiss the query with a (slightly agitated) snort. Papyrus apparently was having none of that.

"OH, SANS HAS BEEN SKELE-NAPPED BY TEMS BEFORE. SEVERAL TIMES." He explained curtly, crossing his arms across his chest as Sans turned an impressive shade of blue. The statement gained the attentions of the other monsters in the room.

"Sans got kidnapped by TEMS!?" Undyne barked out a laugh, leaning on Sydna for support as she cackled. Sydna, in turn, wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and laughed as well. Like mother, like daughter, they had the same laugh. The same, loud, loud, laugh.

"INDEED." Papyrus nyeh'd. His expression shifted to an annoyed one "IT'S QUITE TROUBLESOME TO DIG THROUGH ALL THE TEMS TO FREE HIM."

"Yeh, I had a real bad tem- AH SHOOT-!" Sans began to quip, but was a las interrupted by the Nurse pouncing onto his face, claws sinking into the sides of his skull. Not hard enough to scratch, but tight enough to get a grip on him. Sans flailed around, trying in vain to pry the excited temmie off.

"Paps-! Help!" Sans said loudly, his voice muffled by the Tem.

"OH GOODNESS." Papyrus said, quirking a brow.

"COOT!" The Nurse declared happily.

Toriel snorted out a laugh, and quickly after most everyone in the room was consumed by a giggle fit. All save for Sans and Papyrus, who were the ones dealing with the overly happy Tem. Papyrus got a grip on the small monster and tried to pry her off, however, in typical tem fashion, her legs just stretched out, and their noodly length wiggled with her happy purrs.

"I resign myself to my fate." Sans said with a sigh that was quite exaggerated in the drama category. He dropped onto his back onto his floor, stretching the tem's legs out further.

"BROTHER, NO! STAY WITH ME!" Papyrus yelled in just as dramatic a fashion (whether he was playing off of the comedic mood or if he genuinely meant it is a mystery).

Alphys chuckled, covering her mouth with her hands as the scene unfolded before her. Frisk had set Flowey's pot on a side table and was now assisting Papyrus with attempting to remove the tem (they were still laughing though).

Looking away to try and regain her breath and she let out a startled squeak at the sudden appearance of the monster next to her.

"D-Dad-!" Alphys stammered, clutching at her chest "Y-y-you scared me-!"

Alphys's father, Marty, frowned as he put a steadying arm around her shoulders. "Sorry, sweetheart." He said, concern lacing his voice "Do you need your inhaler?"

"N-no, I'm fine." Alphys said with an awkward chuckle "Thanks, though."

If she thought Undyne's resemblance to Sydna was uncanny, her resemblance to her father was just as such. Same colored scales, same basic build. He had a bit more fringes on his face, and his features were just sharper in general. He didn't have the buck teeth like she did either… Also, he was taller. Whether that was due to his actual height or just her bad posture she had no idea, though.

"Hey Marty, ya feel like lightening up a bit now?" Sydna grinned, strolling over from them as she wiped a tear out from the corner of her eye. Behind her, Undyne was still laughing at the skeleton brothers, now clinging onto Ifrit as the larger fish monster calmly reminded his daughter to breathe. Toriel had joined Frisk and Papyrus in an attempt to pry off the tem (there was now an impressive pile of tem leg on the floor). Flowey was cackling, all the while Sans just laid there, every now and then saying something along the lines of 'go on without me' in a monotone voice.

Marty's expression hardened as he all but scowled up at Sydna. "I don't believe I need to 'lighten up'."

"Aw, c'mon dude, chill!" Sydna grinned, slapping Marty across the back playfully. Marty snorted, straightening his glasses.

Alphys sighed.

Being socially inept just ran in her family, she guessed.

The rest of the night went well. Eventually Toriel had convinced the Nurse to detach herself from Sans's face, which seemed to placate Sans enough. The Nurse then lied on top of the stocky skeleton's skull, slurping up spaghetti from a seemingly impossible distance. Undyne and her mom were both loud in their pleasant way, Ifrit's large, sharp grin bright as he stayed quiet. Papyrus and the Nurse both excused themselves early when Sans and Toriel got into a pun-contest. Frisk found this funny, especially with Flowey demanding to be taken out of the room as well. Alphys stayed mostly quiet too, and she was just happy to be with her friends. Though, she was ever mindful of her father sitting beside her. He looked on at the antics with his usual neutral scowl, but something seemed wrong. The look in his eyes was kind of….familiar.

Much like a look she's seen far too much in her own reflection.

A look of a deep, deep sadness he was trying to hide away.

When it evidentially reached Frisk and Flowey's bedtime, the adults who were foreign to the household politely excused themselves, bidding the home's residents and the other guests farewell. Alphys had just watched Undyne and Sydna dash off into the night, the two of them yelling about who can run across town faster. Ifrit yelled after them, saying he'll meet them at the finish line with some water as he loaded himself into the fish family's car. Alphys fidgeted with her claws as the two competitive women disappeared over the horizon.

Something was bothering her dad. But….she knew that already. He'd have that look in his eyes often, whenever he saw a family having a good time. She never really knew the extent of it. And really, she still didn't. But, now, with her….experiences, Alphys could read a bit deeper into that look. It was something he had to talk about. Talking had helped her with her problems, after all.

Alphys took a deep breath, steadying herself before looking around for some sign of her father. Marty wouldn't have gone home already, she knew that. He would always give her a farewell (with a hug and a few minutes of reminding her to take care of herself, call him when she got home, and to brush her teeth and all that).

"D-dad?" Alphys called out, mindful of the children Toriel was putting to bed. She took to a brief search. Soon enough, she heard her father rather than see him.

"…been doing?" Marty's voice said. Alphys blinked, wondering who he was talking to and about what. She peered around the corner of the front of the house. Marty was there, on the side porch, leaning against the railing as he spoke with….Sans?

"Better." Sans said, his grin seemed tired, but genuine. "She's putting herself out there more, that's for sure."

Marty sighed "That's good to hear. Thank you, Sans."

Sans chuckled at that "Geesh, be careful there, old man. Sounds like you respect me or something."

"Shut it, Five." Marty scowled.

Alphys blinked. Five? She shook her head and kept listening.

"Heh heh." Sans snorted out a quiet laugh. He suddenly stood up tall, clicking his heels together as he folded his arms behind his back "Yessir." He said with a mocking amount of formality. Marty snorted, and at the sound Sans went back to slouching over the rail, chuckling to himself all the while.

The mood sobered up again as Sans's laugh petered off.

"So, how about you?" the skeleton asked after a moment. Marty must have given him a confused look because Sans elaborated "Listen, I know ya worry 'bout Alphys a lot, but ya gotta think of yerself sometimes. No offense or anything, but ya look like shit."

Again, a silent look Alphys couldn't see from her angle. Must've been a nasty one as Sans threw his hands up in mock defeat.

"Sorry, sorry. That was rude." He said. With a sigh, he shoved his hands in his hoodie's pockets. "Still, uh, tryin' to…..remember 'im?"

Marty snorted. Alphys could picture him rolling his eyes "No, of course not. Why would I?" The sarcasm was practically dripping from his words.

Another moment of deafening silence.

"Maybe ya should just….let go?" Sans said. He didn't look at Marty as he spoke, even shrinking more into his hoodie. The uncertainty in his voice was heavy, almost suffocating.

More silence.

"Goodbye, Sans." Marty said curtly. Any trace of familiarity he may have had talking with Sans earlier was gone.

Sans flinched "Y-yeah. Night."

Alphys released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She turned tail and ran back to the front of the house, quickly pulling out her phone and making a show of scrolling through her social media. She wasn't actually registering any of it.

What were they talking about? How did Sans and her father know each other? Why did Marty call Sans 'Five'? Who was Sans telling Marty to 'let go' of? Who didn't Marty remember?

There were too many questions swirling in her mind. It was inducing some sort of headache. Her breathing was getting faster too. Senses were shutting down.

Some part of her mind registered this as having a panic attack.

The majority of it was just too busy having said panic attack.

She saw Marty walk up to her. She saw him realize what was happening and run the rest of the way over. She felt her father's arm across her shoulders, felt his hand holding her trembling one.

"Alphys, sweetie." Marty said soothingly. "Sweetheart, can you remind me of the Fibonacci sequence?"

She knew full well he didn't need reminding. But this was a tested method between them. Her mind was reeled back to reality as she focused on reciting the sequence.

"Zero… one, one… two, three, five…" She took a steadying breath and went on stronger "Eight, thirteen, twenty-one…." Another breath and her voice began to steady out "Thirty-four, fifty-five…." She shook her head, twisted herself away from her father's arm and went in for a full-blown hug instead. Marty returned it almost immediately, rubbing her back in a soothing manner.

Alphys said nothing, just maintained the hug for several long moments. She eventually pulled away, wiping at a few straggling tears. Marty frowned at her, concern evident in his expression. Alphys swallowed again, opening her mouth to speak but finding she had no words to say. She closed her mouth again, studying the man who had raised her.

What was he hiding from her….?

"Sweetie?" Marty said to gain her attention. When she gave it to him, he continued, straightening his glasses "Do you want to talk about it?"

Something I should say to you. Alphys thought. She went to say as much but thought twice. If she knew anything about her dad, it was that he would probably never tell her about anything troubling him. But….maybe Sans would….

Alphys shook her head again and gave her dad a weak smile.

"I, uh…" she fidgeted and settled on a lie. She was good at that, after all "T-there was a lot of people."

Marty frowned "Was Sydna's family too loud?" That edge came back into his tone as his expression hardened "I'll have a word with them."

"D-dad, no-!" Alphys squeaked. From there it was their usual, familiar banter. Marty just didn't understand 'manners', really. Alphys had to remind him once in a while.

After finally getting through to her father to at least be semi-tactful, Alphys checked the time on her phone and frowned "Uh, it's late."

"Makes sense." Marty said, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave the area a quick look-over. His gaze rested back on her "Did you walk here?"

"N-no." Alphys said, shaking her head "S-sans warped me here-" She cut herself off and facepalmed. "Ugh. How am I getting home-? Oh!" She gave a sheepish smile and looked back up at Marty. "D-did you drive here? Can I r-ride with you?"

Marty's tail twitched "Sans warped me here too."

Alphys sighed "Walking it is, I guess."

"Absolutely not." Marty said bluntly "It's too dark. You might trip. Or there can be a wild animal. Or it could rain. Darkness isn't necessarily helpful in keeping you from getting lost either."

Alphys fidgeted "D-do you think we s-should ask Toriel if we c-can stay here tonight?"

"Do you want to?" Marty said, quirking a scaly brow.

"Not really." Alphys said quietly "I can get loud." Marty nodded, knowing too well his daughter's rather…passionate, arguments she often partook in in the late hours of the day. Alphys fidgeted with her claws and continued "But, uh, we really don't have much choice-"

"Sans." Marty said suddenly with an annoyed swish of his tail. Sans was quickly standing between them. His grin was there, but it looked a bit too tight at the corners, and he wouldn't look at Marty.

"Sup?" He said. His tone was its usual casual monotone.

"Take Alphys home." Marty said it more like a command. Sans shrugged.

"All right." He offered his mittened hand to Alphys. She reached to take it when her father's wording became apparent to her.

"W-what about you, Dad?" Alphys said "How are you getting home?"

"Walking." Marty said.

"B-but Dad, you j-just said-" she stammered.

"Good night, Alphys." Marty giving her a quick hug before going on his way. Alphys opened her mouth to call after him when Sans put a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off.

"He doesn't like warping when he's mad at me." He said with a shrug. A quick wink was thrown at her "May have told too many puns for his liking."

Alphys stared at his hand, then up his arm until her eyes landed on his face.

It just occurred to her she didn't remember ever meeting Sans.

The said skeleton's grin faltered. "Uh…."

"S-sans-" Alphys said weakly. She swallowed down her unease and tried again "Sans, I-…I…." She was losing the nerve quickly. Sans seemed concerned. Alphys wondered if she should pry. Every time she does, she just messes it up somehow. She shook her head. No. Self-loathing won't help her dad with whatever problem he was having. Whatever problem Sans knew about.

She had a million things she wanted to say. Eventually, it settled onto a statement she knew would snowball into a conversation she needed to have.

"I heard you and Dad talking." She said, trying to imitate her father's curt manner of speaking. It came out too quiet. Too unsure. But she wouldn't back out now.

Even as Sans's hand on her shoulder suddenly gripped a bit too hard. And his grin hitched up a bit too high. And his eyesockets went dark.

Welp, that was an unnerving expression.

"How much did you hear?"

Alphys flinched back and her eyes widened. That was Sans speaking. That voice that seemed so loud but barely a whisper at the same time. If she had hair, the ones on the back of her neck would have been standing. She swallowed.

"I-I-" Her vision was starting to get blurry. Oh fuck, she was tearing up. Shit shit shit, she needed to be strong and level-headed for this. She then realized she was shaking too.

Sans's expression slowly relaxed. The lights in his eye sockets returned, a bit hazier than before, and his grip on her shoulder loosened.

"Ah geez, I'm sorry Alphys, I-" He took his hand back to run it down his face. "Alphys, please. Just. Tell me what you heard."

Alphys fidgeted. "Um…. I heard you talk to him…about me, I think. Y-you were telling him h-how I was doing better?"

Sans nodded "Alright. That's not it though, is it?"

Alphys slowly shook her head. "U-uh….." She swallowed again. She wanted to ask a million things, really. But…. "You….y-you were telling D-dad he should….let go?" Sans's eye sockets went dark again. Alphys swallowed "L-let go of….what, Sans?"

The wind blew a long moment, rustling through the tree branches overhead. Sans seemed to deflate, his hands in his pockets.

"Your father. The, uh, the other one."

Alphys's eyes widened.

It suddenly seemed colder.