Sans stood on the edge of the path leading down the mountain, just letting the sun pour over his bones and the wind blow through his ribs.
Previous resets had let them get this far before they started over, and he was going to enjoy these few moments in the real sun, feeling the real, honest wind all he could before he woke up back underground again.
There was a little tug at his sleeve, and he glanced down at the human standing next to him, looking up at him out of the corner of their eye.
Frisk was filthy and scraped up, and the part of Sans that was pure big brother instinct wanted to scoop the kid up and get them into a tub, get them cleaned up and bandaged and fed.
But it was better not to get too attached. The others had done the same thing, tried out one route and then another and another, everyone else forgetting but for a sense of deja-vu, until their soul had been contained in one of the cold, impersonal cylinders in the palace. The memories were dimmed with time for Sans, too, save for the nightmares and what he stored in his hidden journal, kept safe between timelines.
Sweet as Frisk was, it was just going to make it hurt more when they reset and Sans had to watch their soul be imprisoned in glass and steel like the rest of them. And for all he knew, even that wouldn't stop the resets, once they had seven human souls in their possession.
...he wasn't sure it was going to be worth it either, if they had to give up Frisk too to do it.
In the here and now, Frisk looked up at Sans, and he got the distinct impression they were debating something. Mind made up, they tugged insistently at his sleeve until Sans followed them off to the side, where they could talk in relative privacy.
"What's up, kid?" Sans asked when they stopped and Frisk shuffled in place, apparently not sure where to start.
They took a deep breath, face filling with determination. 'You said some things earlier,' they signed, 'so I wanted to know if you knew about...resets?'
Sans blinked. "Well, kid, sure don't beat around the bush, do you," he said. Frisk frowned, hands flying as they asked Sans to please be serious and answer the question.
Sans sighed, though his ever present grin didn't waver. "...fine, kid. Yeah, I know about resets. How long we got until you do one on us?"
Frisk had no right to look that hurt, in Sans' opinion. "Look, they always do, kid. Sooner or later they get bored and reset so they can have the whole adventure again. Just...let me know how long we've got this time. You know, so I can actually try to enjoy it this time around instead of having it hang over my head?"
Frisk's hands flew even as they teared up, hair flying as they shook their head, signing over and over in signs that stuttered and were loose, repeating over and over how they never, ever wanted to reset, that they'd never been happy before, they didn't want this to end, please Sans...
Frisk found themselves pulled into arms that didn't feel bony, despite being nothing but magic over bone, and Sans mentally flailed for a few moments before he began stroking Frisk's hair, like he'd done over Papyrus' skull when he was little and needed reassurance.
Apparently it worked for humans just as well as for skeletons, as Frisk slowly relaxed against him.
"...kid, why'd you climb Mt. Ebott?" Sans asked quietly. Frisk went stiff for a few seconds before burying their face further in Sans' jacket, as if they still weren't used to affection and wanted to soak up as much of it as they could before they were pushed away.
Hesitantly Frisk leaned back, their hands spelling out a story that made Sans, depressed as he was, want to wrap them up and never let them out of his sight again.
So the kid talked with their hands and probably had more issues. They all did. Didn't make treating them like that right, especially if it left them feeling like they didn't have any other options than deliberately going up a mountain no one came back from, or go on the streets and starve.
And they were signing faster now, promising over and over again they weren't going to reset, ever, not if it meant their new friends were going to be forced back underground, they promised, just please don't be mad or make them leave, they wanted to be good, just...
For the second time Sans found himself holding the small human close, and this time the hug was returned, if a little desperately.
As for Frisk, they wondered if this was what having a big brother was like. They couldn't remember being hugged before Toriel, and her hug was very different from Sans' (for one thing, Toriel smelled of baking, rather than the faint scent of grease and snow that clung to Sans' hoodie) but the feeling of being safe and wanted...that was new, and the same as hers.
" 'm not mad," Sans mumbled into Frisk's hair. "You promised. 's good enough for now. We're not getting rid of you, kid. You let us outta the mountain, now you're stuck with us. You're not broken, you remember that. No matter what anyone says, there's nothin' wrong with you."
He hugged Frisk a little tighter, feeling the kid press their face against his jacket and clutch against it.
"You just keep from resetting on us, kiddo, and we're always going to be here for you," he muttered, wondering just when he'd gone soft. "You're not alone anymore." He took a deep breath before admitting, so quietly Frisk could only just hear him. "I'd given up, kid. One more reset and I was done. You really saved me, yanno? So now we're gonna return the favor. You're kinda a hero, kid. You're kind of my hero."
They could hear Papyrus calling for them, Toriel's softer voice echoing his calls, and slowly drew back from the embrace.
Then Sans slung an arm over Frisk's shoulders companionably, and for Frisk, it was almost as good as a hug. "C'mon, kiddo. Before your mom tears apart the mountain lookin' for ya."
Smiling so widely if felt like their face would break, Frisk hurried to stay with Sans, feeling warmth and determination fill their chest.
In all the chaos and fight to save their new friends, it looked like they might have been saved as well.
...and Sans might not realize it, but right now, he was kind of Frisk's hero, too.