Real Friends?

When he opens his eyes, it's to the familiar darkness of the underground. Actually, to the familiar ceiling of his room. Yeah, leave all that exploring to the people with energy. He yawns. It isn't like the world is going anywhere. When his bro had raced off to be the 'mascot', Sans had returned home for a quick nap. Now he's watching a speck of dust on the ceiling. Vaguely he wonders if he should get up and do something – it kind of feels like he should. Maybe just a few more minutes of sleep...

"SANS?"

He hears the all too familiar voice of his brother, but it is faint, as if far away.

"SANS? SANS? SANS?"

But getting louder. No, just getting closer. Sans groans, hugging his pillow. He thought the surface would distract his brother at least for a little. He can already hear the door to their house opening.

"SANS?! SANS! YOUR SOCK IS STILL HERE! ARE YOU STILL HERE?"

He rolls out of bed, knowing that Papyrus would be knocking at his door soon if he doesn't get up now. He can at least spare himself the headache. Sans opens the door just wide enough for him to step out, closing it behind him immediately. Habit. Guess he'd never grown out of his teenage years and never wanted others to even peak into his room.

"sup, bro," he grins, well actually he was always grinning, even when he sleeps. "bored of the overworld already?" If this is the underworld, that has to make the land above the overworld, right?

He pauses. Next to his tall skeleton of a brother, is the human. Frisk, nearly half the height of Papyrus, so tiny and looking up with such innocent eyes.

yeah. can't fool me.

It's good that his smile can't fall off, because he probably would have given away his memories. That human... It might be wearing Frisk's body, but that isn't his friend. He instantly tenses, realizing just how close the fake human stands to his brother. If Chara makes a move, it would be difficult for Sans to reach and stop them in time – even if he teleports.

"DON'T YOU 'SUP' ME, BRO! YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT'S UP THERE!" Papyrus's eyes narrow a bit. "EXCEPT YOU DON'T, BECAUSE YOU LEFT AS SOON AS WE GOT UP THERE. WE FINALLY MAKE IT ACROSS THE BARRIER, AND YOU COME BACK HERE TO -SLEEP-?!"

Oh, brother. Papyrus knew Sans too well. "well, you can tell me all about it, then," he casually walks down the stairs, closer to the two. Not out of any desire to humor his brother this time, but just to be closer in case Chara acts. The human is watching the scene quietly, but Sans doesn't see the vacant gaze that normally accompanies Chara – which considering their last encounter, could just be Chara acting. "what's different up there than here? outside of the sun."

"FOUR-WHEELED BICYCLES," Papyrus responds instantly. "THEY GO CRAZY FAST! IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH TWO MORE WHEELS MAKE A DIFFERENCE."

Sans stops. Four-wheeled bicycles? What in the world is that? "wow. that sounds pretty great."

"YEAH! ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME! AND BOY, DO THEY -LOVE- ME UP THERE! I ALREADY GOT SCREAMING FANS!"

From what Sans knew about humans, he has a pretty good feeling they weren't screaming out of sheer joy when they saw Papyrus. "heh. might want to take it a bit slower, pap. I don't want all this fame sinking into your bones."

"NO WAY! I NEED TO WORK HARD TO GET THE RECOGNITION I DESERVE, SO I NEED TO GET FASTER." He poses, the small cape behind him fluttering magically without wind. "THAT'S WHY... WE GOTTA GO GET ONE OF THOSE FOUR-WHEELED BICYCLES TOO!"

"our bicycle already goes pretty fast, pap."

"NOT FAST ENOUGH! HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET ONE!" Papyrus's fluttering cape stops as he abruptly slams his foot down. Sans can't really understand why his brother is getting so worked up. Is being fast really such a big deal? Probably not as big a deal as standing next to a homicidal sociopath. He really, really, really needed to separate Chara and Papyrus.

"uh, you got it," Sans agrees, more just to pacify Papyrus. "why don't you go on ahead, and we'll meet you top-side?" He grabs Frisk by the shoulder, pulling them a bit roughly to his side. Frisk stumbles a bit at the movement, the human looking between Sans and Papyrus, seemingly confused by Sans's not-so-subtle action. Papyrus looks like he's about to protest, but Sans interrupts. "hope you don't mind me borrowing our friend. i gotta things to pick up before getting to the surface, and wanted to try out a few knock-knock jokes."

Papyrus's face immediately goes from confusion to disgust. "UGH. I'LL SKIP ON THAT, GLADLY." He's already running out the door, before he can hear the first line of 'knock-knock.'

Leaving him alone with the human. Sans is smiling. The sudden silence from Papyrus's departure is pretty extreme. … But now with his brother finally out of the way, Sans is a little less tense. A little. Frisk curiously pulls his head back, the two locking eyes. Is it Frisk? Is it Chara? Sans seriously can't tell.

"you're awfully quiet today, kid," Sans breaks the silence first. Not that silence is particularly unusual for them. It already feels like it's been another lifetime. Like the last time Frisk was at the brothers' house, Frisk had been trying vainly to move a chunk of frozen spaghetti to a microwave. Except it was glued to a plate, that was glued to the table. The spaghetti was so cold it had caused the air around itself to freeze. When Frisk attempted to lick it, their tongue had gotten stuck on the block of ice.

"..." Frisk's eyes dropped. They took a small step backwards, a more comfortable distance from Sans. Their gaze wouldn't quite meet his.

"knock-knock." He tests the only way he knows how.

"Who's there?" Frisk finally looks up, hesitantly.

"boo," Sans winks.

"Boo... who?"

"don't cry, it's just me."

The faintest of smiles flickers on Frisk's face, but they can't seem to keep it. Neither can they meet his gaze for more than a few seconds. He thinks it's probably Frisk.

"really though, you look like somethin's eating up your soul," he settles on having a conversation instead of smacking Chara around with threats. Except then he realizes his previous question came out a bit wrong, considering how Frisk got in this circumstance. He regrets his choice of words almost instantly. Frisk bites their lip, gaze already back on the ground. Their mouth twitches, but they don't seem capable of speaking.

"my bad. that came out wrong," he scratches the back of his head. "but seriously kid, give me an estimate. how much in there is you, and how much is the other one?" He can't even bring himself to say Chara. Like it might somehow summon the fiend's presence into Frisk's mind.

"Um," Frisks's eyes widen, looking up at Sans.

"what, don't tell me you think i forgot."

Frisk really does look like they're going to cry now. Tears are welling up beneath their eyes. It's some strange combination of hope and fear. They shake their head, perhaps not trusting themselves to speak.

Sans sighs. "any hints? something that might help me so i know what to expect?" He still believes in them, at least a little. Maybe it's just that he wants to believe, that Frisk and Chara are two separate entities. His friend Frisk has to be real...

Frisk is biting their lip again... They take a deep breath, looking Sans straight in the eye. "I think... if I don't want to come back when I die, I won't."

Sans pauses. So they're saying...

"Please..." Their voice wavers, despite the strong gaze. "Um." They squeeze their eyes shut. "...Kill me, Sans." Such brave words, but their body trembles faintly.

Kill Frisk. Would it really be that simple? "you've died uh, what... five or six times in the past?"

The peaceful face Frisk is trying so hard to maintain breaks with a snort. Their face contorts into something like a scowl and smirk at the same time, but enough pain for Sans to still recognize it as Frisk. Looks like he said something bad again. He thought it couldn't be that many times, if the other is still afraid of dying.

"my point is, i don't think that's gonna work, kid. you keep coming back. and if that monster's really taken your soul, then they won't just wanna die. their determination will bring 'em back... not you." If anything, it might just be a fast-track to reviving Chara's consciousness. God knew how that works.

"But... it might work, right?" It sounds like Frisk is begging. "So in that case... while I'm still me..." They hang their head, as if awaiting an execution. Their body is trembling again.

...There isn't any harm in trying, right? One life... in exchange for the lives of so many. Logic said it was worth the shot. Dang, they were just a kid. Sans couldn't get over it. Watching Frisk tremble like that, there's no way...

"...i can't kill you when you look so scared of dying, buddy," a bead of sweat drops on Sans's bony forehead.

Frisk looks up sharply. "I'm not scared of dying!" There's such determination in their words, Sans blinks. But the moment passes quickly, and soon they're back to biting their lip, head drooping again. "That's... that's not it..." They gulp. "Besides, you've... killed me so many times already, this really shouldn't be hard for you... right?"

...He doesn't know what universe Frisk is talking about, but it's one he doesn't want to imagine. Frisk is the one who gave Papyrus happiness again, a goal to live towards, a new friend. Frisk recognizes the good in all monsters, even those that wished nothing but ill upon them, like Undyne. Frisk teaches confidence, a firm acceptance of love and friendship that made Alphys grow. Frisk is just a little kid who likes eating hot dogs and gets their tongue stuck to chunks of frozen spaghetti.

"nah... you're my friend, kiddo," he decides. The decision is final. "i'll not only save everyone. i'll save you too."

Frisk finally stops trembling. And a real smile is upon their face. "We... really ARE friends." It sounds like they never believed it until this moment.

Yeah... there had to be a happy ending somewhere. Sans just needs to find it.