"Ah, Valentine's Day," commented Sans lightly. "The perfect day for a skeleton to be bonely, eh, kid?"
He chuckled to himself, his grip on Frisk's hand tightening slightly as he led them through the snow.
Frisk's lips upturned into an amused smile and they nodded.
"Don't worry, kid," Sans added, winking. "We're gonna have the valen-time of our lives today!"
Sans laughed at his own joke. He was pleased to be spending time with Frisk. This was normally the case, but this feeling was especially genuine today. Valentine's Day did strange things to monsters and humans alike. While he was perfectly happy to spend the entire day lounging on the couch, everyone else had plans of their own. In fact, Toriel had rushed him and Frisk out of the house as soon as Sans arrived. Something about "Valentine's Day plans" had skittered off the flustered monster's lips. Sans took that to mean she had planned a romantic evening with Asgore. Even Papyrus had departed the house early, blushing and muttering something about "a date". For the rest of the day, it was just him and Frisk.
The pair passed Dogamy and Dogaressa. The two dogs were sharing an affectionate embrace in front of Grillby's. Their love for public displays of affection had never quite diminished, regardless of the filthy looks they received. Sans and Frisk waved as they passed the lovestruck canines. Neither waved back, as they were too caught up in one another.
"See that?" Sans commented to Frisk. "That's puppy love in action!"
Frisk grinned and shook their head. They wanted to be annoyed at Sans's joke, but found it impossible.
Their walk continued in relative quiet, save for the occasional chuckle from Sans.
As they reached the main path leading to the house shared by the skeleton brothers, Frisk reached into the pocket of their jacket. It was a bright purple jacket decorated with pink hearts. Not the most attractive of outerwear, but Toriel had bought it for them as a special "Valentine's Day gift". She had been extremely happy whilst watching Frisk unwrap the package. Remembering that smile, Frisk smiled as well as they dug into their pocket. Finally, they pulled out a white envelope.
"Whatcha got there, kid?" asked Sans curiously.
Frisk tapped Sans's shoulder with the envelope, grinning. The name "Sans" was written on the side in a messy scrawl. The envelope itself carried the strong aroma of lavender and peaches. Frisk had sprayed it with Toriel's perfume before adding its contents. They knew how much Sans loved the smell.
Sans took the envelope, rather bemused. He opened it slowly, taking care not to rip or otherwise distort Frisk's handwriting. He half-expected it to be a piece of paper with the word "Gotcha!" written on it or a photograph of his own rear end with an amusing caption. He'd done both of these things to Frisk in the past and was waiting patiently for the unavoidable revenge. However, inside the envelope was merely a heart-shaped piece of cardboard. It read, in neat handwriting that must have been Toriel's: "I think you're SANSsational. Love, Frisk."
Frisk beamed and squeezed Sans's hand, cheerfully watching his reaction.
Sans stared at the card, speechless. An indescribable feeling was rushing through his body. A part of him wanted to laugh. Another part seemed intent on bursting into tears of either gratitude or despair. But the emotional centers of his mind seemed to have closed up. He merely gawked at the card, unable to respond. However, after a long minute of dumbfounded silence, he looked up at the grinning human before him.
"This...this is for me?" he uttered quietly.
Frisk's response was straightforward. They pulled their hand out of Sans's, nodding energetically. They carefully bent the fingers from each hand in unison, bringing them together to form a heart.
The tears came almost instantly. They ran freely down Sans's cheeks as he slipped the card back into the envelope. He tucked the envelope into his jacket, making a silent promise that he would never lose it. He then began wiping the tears from his face, half-laughing as he did so.
"Aw, shucks," he uttered somewhat thickly. "It's a little choco-late in the day for this, isn't it? But thanks, kid."
He suddenly wasn't feeling quite as bonely.
It was arranged that Frisk would spend the night at Sans and Papyrus's house. Sans didn't mind. Frisk often slept over at their house when Toriel was too busy to be home. In this case, Sans suspected there was a whole different reason for Toriel wanting Frisk to have a sleepover with the skeleton brothers.
"Comfy?" Sans asked.
He had made Frisk their usual makeshift bed on the couch. Frisk nodded in reply, snuggling into the warm comforter. It was freezing cold outside, but pleasantly warm and inviting inside Sans and Papyrus's house. The contrast was well-appreciated.
Sans went into the kitchen to make the two of them a round of hot chocolate. While he was waiting for the water to boil, he retrieved Frisk's valentine from his pocket. He regarded it for a moment, smiling at the crudely-shaped, yet somehow touching, piece of cardboard. Then he carefully taped it to the refrigerator door, next to a hand-drawn self-portrait of Papyrus and two Nice Cream punch cards. Satisfied, he finished making the hot chocolate and left the kitchen.
"Hear ya go, champ!" he uttered brightly. "Be careful. Its kinda hot."
Sans handed over one cup to Frisk, keeping the second one for himself. He didn't actually like hot chocolate, but he knew how much Frisk or Papyrus enjoyed drinking it with him. He raised the cup to his lips, unconcerned by the temperature. Before he could take a sip, there was a series of knocks at the door. The knocks sounded oddly loud, as if the person or monster wasn't using their hand. Sans placed his cup on the coffee table. He strode quickly out into the hallway and to the door.
Opening it revealed, to Sans's astonishment, Monster Kid. He was wearing a blue jacket, but there was a decent amount of snow piled atop his bare head. In his mouth he held a pink envelope.
"Papyrus isn't here," Sans told him.
Monster Kid shook his head. He uttered something, the words unable to squeeze themselves past the envelope.
Confused, Sans pulled the envelope from Monster Kid's mouth. It had what he assumed to be a name on it, although in reality it was a series of indecipherable scribbles.
Freed from the envelope, Monster Kid began speaking enthusiastically.
"It's a Valentine's Day card!" he explained. "I tried giving it to Papyrus, but he wouldn't take it. He told me to give it to you instead."
Sans abruptly ceased examining the envelope. He looked at the object more closely, realizing that there was perhaps the vaguest suggestion of a "P" and a "U" among the otherwise unreadable scribbles. But the name, once of importance, suddenly had little appeal to his senses. He stared at Monster Kid, his emotions reaching the peak of modern language. Monster Kid's energetic grin began to blur.
"Geez!" Sans complained, wiping away tears. "Can't I go five minutes without the waterworks?"
To distract himself from the tears and Monster Kid's bemused expression, Sans tore open the envelope. He expected another hand-made card similar to Frisk's, most likely adorned with a sappy love-themed pun. Or if not that, a completely unreadable message of affection and an inspiring, yet ultimately failed, attempt at constructing a heart. Instead, the envelope contained a very simple card decorated with hearts. When Sans opened it, a slightly distorted tune burst forth heartily from a tiny speaker. He cringed at the terrible quality of the music, unsure of what the song was even meant to convey. Fortunately, the song only played once. Relaxed by the silence, Sans took a moment to read the perfectly legible message: "Roses are red, violets are blue. Some people like movie stars, but I like you!".
Monster Kid turned to leave. He looked over his shoulder, smiling proudly at Sans.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" he uttered cheerfully.
He bounded away, humming the tune from the card as he ran through the snow.
Sans stood in the doorway staring at the card for an unusually long amount of time. He knew it was merely a store-bought card, less than unique next to its thousands of brothers and sisters on the shelves. He could have purchased the exact same card for anyone he knew. However, his thoughts continuously fluttered between Monster Kid's words and his brother Papyrus. Sans hadn't realized it before, but he missed spending Valentine's Day with his brother. He missed doing a lot of things with him: Cooking, playing video games, reading bedtime stories, and quite a bit more. But Papyrus's life, his slowly fading innocence and his emerging awareness of love, the world around him, and his own desires, wouldn't stop even for Sans' sake.
Frisk had finished their hot chocolate by the time Sans returned. They raised their eyebrow at the skeleton, bemused by their overly long absence.
"Sorry about that," Sans apologized, grinning. "It's a little choco-late for visitors, huh?"
After Frisk had fallen asleep, Sans went into the kitchen. He poured the remainder of his half-drunk cup of hot chocolate down the drain, humming to himself. He dropped the empty cup into the sink, leaving it for Papyrus's return. Sans glanced at the clock and realized it was very late at night. The hour hand was inching steadily towards midnight. His grin faltered. It wasn't like Papyrus to stay out this late, even on a holiday. Had something happened to him? Sans wondered. The first inklings of panic filtering into his mind, Sans pulled out his cellphone. He squinted into the glow of the screen, the light seeming unusually harsh in the dimly-lit kitchen. His finger was halfway to speed-dialing Papyrus when a thought occurred to him. His hand clenched, his finger idly wandering away from the "1" on his phone.
Papyrus had left the house earlier that day to go on a date. Sans hadn't entirely processed the word and its definition in his half-asleep mind. Cradled by the embrace of a particularly good dream, he'd only nodded in response and allowed his brother to depart without a single follow-up. Even three hours later, after he'd woken up for the second time and eased himself off the couch, he hadn't thought too much about the fact that Papyrus apparently had a special someone. But his reasons for putting such a vital realization aside hadn't come together until now. Staring down at his cellphone, Sans realized that he had no desire to call Papyrus to make sure he was alright. He had no desire to intrude on Papyrus's life, his blossoming maturity and possible romance with this mysterious person. Sans might have been more devoted to Papyrus than anyone else in the world, but he knew when it was time to let go. Sighing, he placed his phone on the kitchen counter. If Papyrus needed him for anything, he could call.
Sans crossed over to the refrigerator and stared at the card Frisk had given him. Frisk truly was a special child, and not just because they'd saved the Underground. They were special because of the way they smiled at him, the way they laughed at his jokes, and the way they held his hand as they walked through the snow. Whenever they went anywhere together, Frisk always clung to Sans's hand as if afraid he might run away. In many ways, they reminded Sans of Papyrus. The old Papyrus, back before they came to the surface, back before dating and flirting and realistic ambitions in the human world. Back when Sans didn't care that nothing changed in the Underground, because some things he just didn't want to change.
Sans placed the card Monster Kid had given him next to Frisk's. It wasn't just a card, he realized with a smile. It was Papyrus's apology for things to come. But he needn't have bothered to apologize. Sans didn't fear the future anymore than he feared the past. Whatever happened, him and Papyrus would still be brothers and he would still have Frisk.
Sans returned to the living room. The lights were out, the roaring flames of the fireplace the only illumination. Sans strode over to the couch. Frisk was asleep, their chest moving up and down in a slow rhythm to match their breathing. They looked as peaceful and as innocent as Papyrus had the first time Sans leaned into the crib to get a look at his new brother. Sans gently patted Frisk's head.
"Happy Valentine's Day, kid," he whispered.
Silently, Sans slipped back into the kitchen to wash the dishes.