The ambassador bounced restlessly at Sans' bedside, tugging at the duvet atop the monster's sleeping body without an ounce of patience to spare.
"Sans!" they cried, their voice just above a faint whisper in the darkness. "It's raining stars outside!"
Sans hadn't thought twice about renting a flat with his brother and the little human, but after living with them on the surface for nearly an entire month, he'd come to discover that they made quite the rambunctious duo. Keeping up with the child was no easy task, but truthfully, Sans loved that more than anything. While he wasn't exactly fond of the mere five hours of sleep each night, it was a small price to pay for the unrelenting enthusiasm they brought into his life. Tonight was no exception.
He buried himself under the flannel sheets, tucking them over his skull before groaning something incomprehensible. The ambassador shook their head in disapproval.
"Sleepyhead!"
They fumbled under the blankets for a limb to grab, ultimately settling for one of Sans' legs. Seizing his ankle and throwing it over their shoulder, the child dragged his heavy bones away from the mattress, stopping until only his head and arms were spread across the bed's footboard.
"Saaans!"
"What's the matter..." he trailed off in a yawn, his voice void of any tone at all.
"I already told you!" the ambassador huffed, crossing their tiny arms. "It's raining stars! Look out the window!"
Sans blinked, his eyes following the child's jittery movements before adjusting to the soft light glistening through the windowpanes. For a fleeting moment, he almost believed he was dreaming.
He'd studied this phenomenon, hadn't he? Little sunny star fragments skidding through space, only to be eaten up by Earth's atmosphere in their descent...
The astronomy books called it a "meteor shower," but he didn't like that name much. "Big ol' flying rocks" seemed much more suitable, didn't it?
Still, he couldn't rip his eyes away.
"Hey, kid," Sans muttered through the darkness, groggily removing himself from the chipped footboard. "Wanna get a closer look?"
The ambassador danced on their tippy-toes, virtually squealing with excitement. "Oh! Where're we gonna go?" they blurted, covering their mouth immediately after hearing their own voice. Sans chuckled.
"Just follow my lead," he winked, a mischievous Cheshire grin spreading over his face.
With that, the two departed hand-in-hand, giggling and hushing each other as they snaked their way through the vast apartment complex. After scurrying their way down to the pavement, Sans whipped out his keychain, guiding the ambassador to the spot where he'd parked his little blue motorbike. He mounted the seat with the human at his back, hugging his waist without ever tearing their gaze away from the moonlit meteors showering the sky.
"I'm so excited," the ambassador yawned, their smoky breath exposed in wisps amid the frigid air. They wanted so badly to bury their face in Sans' fluffy jacket, but they were spellbound by the raining stars above, counting each one like sheep.
"You know," Sans began, "if you fall asleep on me, this could legally be considered a kid–napping."
Turning the ignition key, the motorbike growled in anticipation before roaring raucously into the darkness, Sans commanding it at the throttle. Paralyzed, the human laughed hysterically, caught somewhere between exhilaration and panic. They had never traveled via motorcycle before, always opting to ride in the backseat of Papyrus' car instead, but they'd liked to think they enjoyed this.
The emission streaming from the bike left a puffy trail of smoke lingering in the air, resembling grey storm clouds on a rainy evening. The ambassador wished to reach it, to run their hands through its weightless haze until a different idea struck them, prompting them to reach out into the sky and grasp the falling lights with their palm.
They stayed like that for a while: hesitantly holding a hand out and feeling the wind run between their fingers, attempting to catch each hypnotizing star that emerged from the inky blackness. The human could almost hear Sans snickering from within their tight grip, occasionally glancing to the side to watch the child clasp the empty air. He'd never admit it to himself, but the ambassador really was quite cute.
Sans swiveled as he looked back at the freeway, recovering from a particularly long glimpse at the child's hand swaying behind him. Luckily, no other vehicles were anywhere to be found—at this time of night, the road virtually belonged to them. With such a vast, vacant highway, Sans was finally able to take in the city around him, watching the uptown lights glitter and blink like the shooting stars fading past his peripheral vision. If his bike weren't so loud, he might've even heard the ocean's song beneath the freeway: a soft lullaby beckoning even the lightest of dreamers to sleep. Sans would have undoubtedly nodded off had he been able to listen to it; the human, however, didn't need such a soothing melody.
The side of their head rested against Sans' shoulder, their eyes occasionally fluttering open in a deep, sleepy daze. Clearly, the ambassador was at least somewhat comfortable with his driving to have fallen asleep, their arms limp around his waist, but perhaps they were merely that exhausted. Either way, it warmed Sans' soul.
After one exit, four traffic lights and at least fifteen minutes, Sans finally reached his destination: the sandy dunes of the beach. In the morning, it was always swarming with hordes of monsters and humans alike; the sandcastles bordering the shoreline were more than enough evidence of their aforementioned presence. In the black shroud of night, however, it was rare to find even a single wandering soul amongst the wintry waves.
"Kid," Sans nudged the child with a tinge of guilt, knowing they were still asleep. "Hey, kid."
The motorbike came to a full stop along the coast's edge, its fearsome roar shrinking into little more than a contented purr as Sans withdrew the key from its ignition switch. At last, the mellow music of the ocean filled the air, prompting the ambassador to awaken in a dizzy haze as their arms left the monster's waist.
The human paused, staring at Sans' playful grin before channeling their line of vision to the boundless sky above, the stars still raining in the distance. They gasped, dismounting the motorcycle to take in the surrounding scene.
"Oh my goodness!" the ambassador shouted, their hands fixed over their gaping mouth. "You—you wanted to come all the way out here?"
"What can I say?" he teased, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head. "You always talk about it. I figured it'd be a cool surprise."
"It's the middle of January! The water's gonna be freezing!" they fretted, smiling all the same.
Sans kicked down the bike's side stand before teleporting behind the ambassador, still preoccupied with the everlasting light show. "There are other things to do at the beach, bonehead," he said, ruffling their tawny hair. The child squeaked in surprise.
"I'm not a bonehead!"
Sans shrugged. "Could've fooled me."
The ambassador jokingly rolled their eyes, sighing in defeat.
"Anyway," Sans continued, "I had something else in mind. You won't need your boots."
The child gasped, their grin lighting up the cloudy darkness. "We're gonna build a sandcastle?"
"Nah, not exactly."
Removing their rainboots, the ambassador sprinted eagerly into the open stretch of sand fringing the waves. Sans followed shortly behind, watching as the human whirled around on their bare feet before falling flat on their face. It wasn't long before they turned over on their back, breaking down into laughter as they attempted to make a sand angel with their arms. Amused, Sans shook his head, extending his hand to the child as soon as he caught up with them.
"Whatever you wanted to do can't be better than sandcastles, Sans," the ambassador decided, entwining their fingers with Sans' as he pulled them up to their feet.
"Sandcastles are pretty great," he admitted, placing his opposite hand on the human's waist, "but dancing is nice, too."
The child shuddered at the intimate touch, a tinge of red dusting their cheekbones. Sans adjusted the placement of their arms as they awkwardly tried to reciprocate his position, one hand atop his shoulder and the other resting in his palm.
"I–I don't really know how to dance..."
"It's easy," Sans assured, taking a step closer to the ambassador. His oversized jacket brushed up against the fleece of their shirt. "Paps taught me all the basics."
"You danced with your brother?"
"It's not something he likes to talk about."
Standing only inches away, Sans made eye contact with the ambassador, their face heating up like the wick of a candle. He pretended not to notice.
"Move your left foot to the side a little," Sans instructed, glancing downward and tapping the child's foot with his own. "We can't be aligned, or else we'll just be kicking each other."
They followed along carefully, taking a nervous half-step to the left. Sans squeezed their hand in approval.
"Now, I'm gonna step backward," he explained in a gentler tone, widening the gap between the human and himself, "so you should be able to step forward here."
The ambassador did as he said, hesitant to come much nearer. The monster hadn't ever seen them act so sheepishly before.
"C'mon, you don't have to be so distant," Sans smirked, pulling them closer at the hip. The child's breath hitched in their throat. "That's better, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
"After the first step, it's your turn to move in the opposite direction." He pressed lightly on their waste, impelling them to step backward and shift slightly to the right. "Just like that."
"I think I've got it," they said, their voice wavering just above a hum. The ambassador continued to follow the ebb and flow of Sans' footsteps, occasionally stepping on his slippers only to apologize profusely after doing so.
"It's okay," he would assure them each time, breaking away from their clasp to lovingly stroke their cheek every so often. "Really."
The child was mesmerized, nearly forgetting the reason they were even here.
"Oh! The stars!" they exclaimed, diverting their attention overhead. Colorless clouds littered the sky, blocking their view from even the crescent moon's glow. The ambassador furrowed their brow. "Where'd they all go?"
"They're hidden under those low-lying stratus clouds. It's... probably gonna rain soon, actually."
Slumping their shoulders, the child sighed. "I can't believe I missed out on the last ones."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Sans crooned, his hand still resting on the human's waist.
"They were so cool, Sans."
"I know."
Before they could even comprehend Sans' immoderate closeness, he pulled them into a sudden and affectionate embrace, cradling their head with a single, gloved hand. Wide-eyed, the ambassador mindlessly returned the gesture, finally finding an excuse to bury their face into the fluff of Sans' jacket. It smelled like the pine trees of Snowdin: earthy, with a trace of spearmint. They were expecting cotton candy, but pine tree didn't disappoint, either.
Breaking away from the hug, the human assumed the earlier dancing position, only now, their chest was pressed up against Sans' in a ballroom embrace. As they lost themselves in his hypnotic smile, he gladly continued to humor them with another waltz, leading their twirling steps to the shore where the icy waves would sweep over their ankles and send a shudder up the ambassador's spine.
"I'm freezing," they admitted, their words just audible enough to be heard over the ocean's ballad.
"You want my jacket?"
"Then you'll be freezing!"
"I'm shore I'll be fine," Sans winked, and the human giggled in unruly shame. "Besides, you're trembling."
Before they could outright refuse his offer, Sans was already removing his trademarked jacket, revealing the white tee that the human had never before seen in its entirety. He draped the jacket over their shoulders like a cloak, flaring its fluffy collar so that it brushed against the ambassador's jawline. Once again, their cheeks were painted in various shades of rose-gold, glowing faintly under the obscured moonlight.
"Perfect," Sans concluded, and the child was speechless.
They resumed their dance with poise, leading each other further into icy water until it nearly reached the ambassador's knees, but the monster's sheer proximity kept them warm.
Until suddenly, he wasn't so close.
"If we leave now, we can probably avoid the rain on the ride back."
"No!" the ambassador shouted, their volume much higher than intended. "I mean, I don't really care about the rain. I like the rain."
"You'll catch a cold."
"I like colds!"
Sans chucked, his hands reaching for the pockets of a jacket he wasn't wearing. "You're really something, Frisk."
On that note, the ambassador was swept up by Sans, their legs pendant in a bridal-style fashion. At first, they kicked and squealed in protest, attempting to hold back an eruption of laughter, but they would later fail thoroughly as he carried their squirming body back to the coast where he'd parked his motorbike.
The ambassador yawned for the umpteenth time that night. They didn't remember mounting Sans' motorbike, nor did they remember the ride home, but somehow, they were already outside the apartment complex with their body still in Sans' arms.
"You fell asleep," he insisted before placing them gently on the pavement, but the ambassador wasn't so sure. Nonetheless, they shook it off, like every other one of Sans' metaphysical mysteries.
As the twosome returned to their building and ascended several flights of stairs, the human told impromptu stories of neon dragons and towering castles in the sea, keeping their voice steady in a hush-hush whisper. The fairytale persisted even after they arrived at their doorstep, unceasing as Sans turned the knob and tucked them into bed, and only ending when he thought to plant a skeleton kiss on their forehead.
"Stay," they adjured, a single hand reaching for his own. "I want you to stay."
A distant thunderstorm filled the silence. After everything Sans had done that night, the ambassador's innocent request was the easiest to appease.