Sans sat behind his stall, feet up on the counter, leaning back in his chair with the front two legs off the ground, hands behind his skull, eyes slitted as he watched the city guard closing the gate for the evening.
"SANS! ARE YOU SLACKING OFF AGAIN?"
Sans opened one eye to look up at Papyrus as he approached, hands on hips and the usual scowl on his face. Sans grinned all the wider. "not technically slacking if my shift's over."
"NOT UNTIL THE GATE IS CLOSED AND SECURED FOR THE NIGHT IT'S NOT."
"eh, no one is getting in or out while they're doing that." Sans let his chair fall forward with a loud thump, then sat up properly to reach under his stall. He opened a cupboard he had convinced Papyrus to add, inside was a small metal bowl with an equally small flame in the center, staring up at him with big, dark eyes. Next to the flame were two meat pastries, both of which Sans pulled out. He offered one to Papyrus.
"THANK YOU, BROTHER." Papyrus took the pastry and happily bit into it. His smile turned into a frown as he watched Sans break off a piece of his pastry to feed to the flame. "I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE USING A HOLY FLAME TO KEEP A PAIR OF PASTRIES WARM."
"what else do you expect me to do?" Sans asked with a laugh as he closed the cupboard for the night. "you gotta buy them early, bro, bakeries do all their baking in the morning."
"IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT TO USE SOMETHING DIVINE FOR SOMETHING SO MUNDANE."
"and how many holy flames just sit in restaurant windows or," Sans gasped and dramatically put a hand to his chest in mock shock, "use them to cook common, every day food?" Sans winked after that, then crammed his entire pastry into his teeth.
"THIS SPECIFIC FLAME IS SUPPOSED TO BE A BEACON OF WELCOME TO ANYONE ENTERING THE CITY. ANYWAY," Papyrus said with a wave of his free hand, "WE MUST HURRY IF WE ARE TO BE AT OUR POSTS ON TIME FOR THE DUSK SHIFT CHANGE." He quickly ate the rest of his pastry as Sans made a point of standing and stretching, several joints popping and cracking loudly, before ambling in the direction of the city walls.
"hear any interesting rumors today?" He asked as they walked.
"LET'S SEE… I HEAR A FAMILY BY THE NAME OF PYROPE IS MOVING IN A FEW HOUSES DOWN FROM US."
"huh, really? i hadn't heard that."
"NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus bounced happily as they climbed the stairs up to the top of the city wall. "FOR ONCE I HAVE HEARD A RUMOR BEFORE YOU!"
"yeah, good for you."
"IT'S ONLY BECAUSE YOU WORK ONE OF THE CITY GATES DURING THE DAY, YOU HEAR ALL THE MOST INTERESTING NEWS AS IT ENTERS THE CITY. BUT! THAT IS ONLY! OUTSIDE NEWS! I AM GOING TO BECOME A REGULAR RUMOR MONGER FOR RUMORS INSIDE THE CITY, THEN EVERYONE WILL COME TO ME FOR THE LATEST NEWS!"
"makes sense, everyone will be lining up from all directions to talk to you."
"WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO HEAR ALL THE LATEST GOSSIP AND HEARSAY? ONLY THE TRUE AND KIND GOSSIP AND HEARSAY, MIND YOU. I REFUSE TO BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO SPREAD NONSENSE JUST FOR A LITTLE CHEAP ATTENTION. WAIT. WHY DO I GET THE FEELING YOU WERE JUST SETTING ME UP FOR ONE OF YOUR DEPLORABLE PUNS?"
"people will be coming from north, east, west, and south to get the latest news." Sans couldn't help a snicker as he watched the expression on Papyrus's face twist and morph.
"UGH! GO TO WORK, SANS!" Papyrus pointed towards the head nightwatchman handing out everyone's assignments for the shift. Sans laughed again as he joined the small crowd of monsters milling around her. Papyrus took that moment to carefully look over his armor.
"Alright, Sans," Catrina, the head nightwatchman, said once Sans ambled over, "tonight you're with Davis. Eastern wall. First shift."
Sans glanced over to where Davis Pyrope was chatting with one of the other nightwatchmen, Davis looked over and quickly nodded back. "sure, working with davis, got it." Once Papyrus had bid farewell, the pair headed out to relieve the watchmen they were replacing. "so," Sans began as they started their patrol, "i hear there's a family moving in near us, go by the name pyrope, any relation?"
"Oh yeah, my cousin decided to move here. Penelope's a real sweet heart, just got married last year actually. Guess she and the new spouse wanted to move somewhere a little more fire friendly. Don't get me wrong, Auldshoppe is a lovely city, but there's just something a bit homier about living in a city who's patron god is of fire."
"i mean, i guess."
"For fire elementals like us, I meant," Davis added with a laugh as they continued their patrol of the wall. "Lord Gerson's a good guy, but there's just something a bit more welcoming about Lord Fiersome for us fire elementals."
Sans shrugged, "guess i just never really noticed a difference."
"Well sure, if you've never lived anywhere else I suppose you wouldn't."
"y-yeah…" Sans's eyes darted briefly to Davis's face, they were walking a little ahead of Sans, looking over the wall. Sans shoved his hands in his pockets, placid grin firmly in place. "so i was thinking of taking over a housewarming gift, what do penelope and the spouse like?"
Davis happily started talking about their cousin and what they knew of her and her spouse, that devolved into talking about Davis's uncle, and then the rest of their family. Sans nodded and made agreeing sounds in all the right places to keep Davis chattering all night long, though Davis was pretty distracted by actually keeping watch like they were supposed to.
Sans did look over the wall into the empty seeming countryside from time to time, the light in every farmhouse snuffed as the farmers slept soundly within. The distant lights of Auldshoppe's walls were more eye catching, shining like a string of festival lanterns. The inside of their city drew the eye as well, the street lamps burning merrily with only the occasional city guard patrol to disturb the quiet. But more often than not Sans's eyes were drawn heavenward, where all but the brightest stars were overshadowed by the bright bonfires on the wall. All in all not a bad view, and aside from having to keep on the move and checking in with the other nightwatchmen for the whole shift, it was a pretty easy job.
And then it was quitting time. Papyrus had a longer shift tonight, so Sans only waved briefly as he headed back into the city. The street lamps flickered overhead, lighting the way as he trudged slowly down the side of the street. He was, heh, bone tired. Would love to just sleep for a whole week, but his feet weren't taking him home, not quite yet. Instead he soon found himself in front of a building with a worn sign hanging in front featuring a yellow sheep on it in faded paint, the large front windows lit with a welcoming glow.
Sans pushed open the door and looked up as he stepped in. His shoulders fell as a relieved sigh passed his teeth. There was just a bit more pep in his step as he wove his way between empty tables up to the bar, sitting on the opposite end from the only other customer. He slumped once seated, head languidly resting on his hand as his eye lights followed the brightest glowing fire in the room.
"heya grillby, haven't seen you in a while."
The fire elemental nodded to Sans as he wandered over, hands busily wiping down a mug. There was a worried crease to his brow, though any further expression was hidden behind a pair of thick spectacles.
"just been a long day is all, don't worry about it." Sans dug a couple gold out of his pocket and laid it on the bar. "a hot meal would help though."
Grillby nodded and took the gold, then walked into the back. Sans hummed absently to himself while he waited, the little holy flame he had parked himself next to hummed quietly along. He'd gone through three repetitions of the song before the humming dwindled and faded away. Grillby sure was taking his time.
Eventually he did come back, carrying two plates. Sans sat up straight and looked on in wonder as a cut of roast dripping in sauce next to a heap of grilled vegetables and bowl of porridge with a thick slice of bread slathered in butter balanced on the edge.
"what's going on? grillby, i didn't give you enough gold for all this."
"… Don't worry, my treat." Grillby placed the generous meal before Sans. He squinted, was that honey on the bread?
"you serious?"
Grillby nodded, flickers of cheery yellow sparking in his usually orange flames.
Sans's grin softened, "you're the best, you know that?" Sans reached for the bread first, he dipped it in the porridge before ripping a small piece off. The little holy flame at his elbow eagerly opened the mouth they didn't have a moment before, Sans popped the piece in, then started in on the meal himself.
"… How is it?"
"it's good, it's really good."
Grillby beamed, flames burning higher at the praise. Then he went to tend to the other customer.
Sans ate slowly, savoring each bite, pausing every now and again to feed another little sliver or crumb to the holy flame. Grillby just shook his head as he passed by Sans. "… You overfeed them."
"someone has to."
That got a laugh out of Grillby, his flames flickering higher and whole face turning bright yellow.
When Sans was working on the last of his food the other patron was escorted stumbling and cursing out the door. Grillby dusted his hands off, grumbling to himself as he walked back behind the bar, "… Really, how many tankards of ale does one monster even need?"
"technically monsters don't need any tankards of ale." That just set Grillby off on more grumbling as he started wiping the bar down with quick, stilted motions. Sans was quiet for a moment, then his grin spread all the wider. "you know, grillby, the food always tastes better when you make it." Sans had his face angled down, fork idly moving the last few bits of greens through streaks of gravy, but his eyes were locked on Grillby to catch his reaction.
"… Thank you." Grillby's face had lit up, going yellow again as his flames shot high enough to nearly touch the ceiling. Two white spots bloomed just under his spectacles, was that a blush?
Sans snickered, his grin spreading wider and wider as he watched Grillby's reaction. "how do you do it?"
"… I suppose it's because I'm a fire elemental."
"not the only one in town."
Grillby rested his weight on an elbow as he leaned over the bar, his flames returning to their usual languid wavering. "… Perhaps it is the control that comes with using my own flames. Or perhaps it is the feeling I put into everything I make."
"yeah?" Sans leaned closer himself, his plates carelessly getting shoved out of the way. "you put feelings into your cooking?"
"… Everyone does." Grillby's other elbow came up to rest on the bar, better support as he leaned all the farther, their faces mere inches apart. "… But I may be putting more… care into what I make for you." A glowing crack opened in Grillby's face, one of Grillby's rare smiles.
Sans closed the distance between them, their magic mixing beautifully if only for a moment. Sans pulled back just enough to separate, a blush lighting up his face. Grillby's own face had brightened into shades of pale yellow and the brilliant white blush, more sparks of white flickering through his flames. The pair stared at each other in shocked silence, Sans licked his teeth nervously. Then Grillby leaned forward, capturing Sans's mouth again. Heat swirled around Sans's face, warming his teeth where their mouths met. He opened his teeth, letting the heat flow into his mouth. He felt Grillby shift, heard something scrape against the bar, then warmth pressed into his humerus, comforting and steady. Heat poured into Sans's orbits, his nasal cavity, his mouth. Sans lifted a hand to cradle Grillby's face, stretching out the kiss as his own magic sparked and tingled. All of the heat swirling around and through Sans contrasted deliciously with the cold his magic naturally emitted.
After a short eternity Grillby pulled back. Sans stayed where he was, eyes unwilling to open quite yet (when had he closed them?) Grillby gave a soft sigh, then more warmth pressed against Sans's other humerus. The thumb of Sans's hand still cradling Grillby's face gently began stroking over his flames. Sans's orbits finally blinked open as he grinned softly up at Grillby. "that was nice."
A white hot smile spread across Grillby's face. "… Indeed."
The door banged open.
"SANS! OF COURSE YOU'RE HERE, AS I KNEW YOU WOULD BE. I DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER GOING HOME FIRST." Papyrus stood scowling in the doorway, arms crossed petulantly over his chest. The scowl and stance softened as he took in the scene before him, a hand coming up to hover near his teeth. "OH MY GOODNESS, AM I INTERRUPTING SOMETHING?" His orbits lit up, practically glittering like stars. "OH DON'T MIND ME, I'LL JUST BE ON MY WAY. I'LL SEE YOU AT HOME, BROTHER. NYEH HEH HEH!" Just as quickly and suddenly as he arrived, Papyrus slammed the door shut and could be heard laughing boisterously down the street.
A blush had taken up permanent residence over the entirety of Sans's face. "i should probably get going. oh man." Sans sighed and ran his hands down his face, stretching out his features as his fingers caught on them. "he's probably going to tease me like nobody's business."
Grillby chuckled.
"i'll uh… i'll see you around, right?"
"… … … Yes."
"great! uh… that's great…" Sans's eyelights jittered as they darted about the room. He leaned forward and pressed his teeth against Grillby's face with a quick spark of magic, then pulled away and scrambled off his seat. "then i'll see you around. good night." Sans hastily pushed his way out the door, waving as he passed the window and out of sight.
Grillby waved back, then brought up a hand to touch where Sans had left his kiss. "… Good night."
