Frisk hadn't spoken to him in six months.

To be fair she hadn't spoken to anyone in six months. When she had awoke from her preemptive suicide she realized three things. She was alive, Sans had told the others everything and she meant everything and she was under house arrest until Toriel stated otherwise. She had tried at first to reason, get angry and even blame them but that wasn't her way. By the end of the first month she stopped signing all together. By the end of the second she barely responded to them past a head gesture. And it killed him.

After rescuing her from her almost self-inflicted fate, Sans realized two things. One, Frisk had planned this a long time ago. Killing oneself wasn't something that you could do at such a young age without time to process everything even if you didn't understand everything. It took time to go through the stages of grief, time to accept and find peace. And time was something Frisk had; every single reset was a moment to come to terms with her decision. The second thing he realized quickly was that if Frisk had come to peace with this than she wasn't about to give up. Oh no, the little girl who ran on determination would try again and again until she took her own life and made sure she could never be brought back. And Sans wasn't sure he could always be there to stop her. Hell he couldn't always be there to stop her when she killed Papyrus or rather when Chara possessed her… For a moment he had no idea what to do but it had dawned on him quickly that he could not do this alone… Not this time.

He didn't tell the others to spite her nor did he tell them because he wanted her in trouble. She was so determined to end her life that night and it scared him. The moment that he realized that teleportation or not he could not always watch her he knew she had to be watched. But he needed to know that someone else could be by her when he couldn't. He needed to know that she was protected, that she would have someone to show her that she was loved. But in telling them it meant telling them everything. Absolutely, everything and more importantly… It meant telling Papyrus everything he had worked so hard to hide from him… It was something that made him stop in his tracks right outside the house. For a moment he found himself looking down at the little girl. He ran over every scenario, every possible outcome but in the end he knew he had little choice. Either way, Papyrus would be alive but Frisk? He wasn't sure.

So he bit the bullet and after putting the girl in her room he did the deed. First he brought Papyrus aside and explained the situation to his brother the best he could. It was harder than he thought it would be but every single time he believed Papyrus would shun him—especially when he spoke of the genocide episodes—his brother just comforted him. Just told him he understood it was hard and that he would be there for him. Leave it to Papyrus to be there for him, to love him unconditionally… Looking back on it he wished he only told him, because it wasn't nearly as disastrous as telling the others. Sans adored Toriel, really he did. She was one of his closest friends but honestly her ways of parenting were questionable at best. Parents didn't claim to love their children then try to burn them to a crisp to see if they could fend for themselves. And parents definitely didn't react to the news that their child tried to commit suicide by waiting until they woke up and unloading their emotional turmoil on to them. She questioned how the child could think about such a thing, how she could even be so selfish as to think that they would want her dead.

Undyne was no better but that wasn't a surprise. The fish woman didn't know how to deal with anything emotional in way other way than throwing spears at it so her screeching, while unwarranted he took responsibility for. He should have known better. He should have stopped them before they went to her that morning. But the damage was done and honestly he didn't believe at the time it would pan out that way. It was hard to believe that they would respond in kind—he didn't want the kid to get scolded and spoken to as if she was insane for her thoughts. (Even though he wasn't happy with them.) She was just doing what she thought was right. What she thought would protect them all. Having her mother and 'bestie' speak to her as if she was merely a foolish selfish child… Well he could see the hurt grow in her heart as they spoke. It wasn't until tears pricked at the normally strong child's eyes that they realized they were going too far but by the time they realized their error and attempted to make up for it the kid just shut down.

At least the others received so much of a head gesture though. Sans was lucky if the kid even looked at him and even if she did look at him it wasn't as if it was pleasant by any means. Amusingly enough, the nine year old was a pro at keeping up appearances. Even though she made sure not to directly interact with them she allowed the media to paint a pretty picture of her. It wasn't easy for her to be the ambassador, the humans were ready to tear her bit from bit but the very first time she sat before the world leaders she spoke with confidence. Rather as much confidence as a nine year old in the face of savage men could muster. He knew she wanted nothing more than to leave and go to her room, to pretend she had succeeded that night when he had stopped her. But her strength stopped her from linger upon it in the face of the other humans. During the meetings, Sans stood behind her chair to one side while Papyrus stood to the other presenting themselves as her guards so to speak. They didn't sign up for the job at first but it soon became clear that the others just would not do. Asgore and Toriel would try to baby her making her lose credibility, Alphys was…Alphys. And Undyne would try to fight someone the moment they upset her.

So only he and Papyrus were left. To his brother's credit, he did a good job at playing the fierce silent protector despite his relatively goofy demeanor. Papyrus was naïve, not stupid however. He knew very well what was at stake… The others stood to the side lines watching in anticipation as the gathering began and Frisk was called to attention. At first they had expected her to sign as usual but as she stood up the little girl's eyes lit up with determination and she opened her mouth once more.

He had forgotten that it was the first time the others have physically heard Frisk's voice. Didn't matter that he had heard it before either really. It still caught his attention; it still distracted him. There was something about the kid that made you pay attention; that made you want to listen and absorb every word she spoke. It was hard to explain. It reminded him of the first time Toby heard the sounds of his whoopee cushion in action. The dog stopped and for a brief second and took in the new sound, memorizing it. That was the closest he could get to explain why they listened so carefully. It was just so…foreign for the little girl to speak. But when she did he realized she was more charismatic than he originally believed. She knew what to say, when to say but then again when one lived through multiple timelines of surviving based off of pure mercy, it was hard not to hold a sliver tongue. By the end of the meeting she had done her best to ease irrational fears; she had an answer for most things and things she didn't have an answer for she by passed to the best of her ability. The humans needed to understand that they weren't going away. Monsters weren't going to murder people. They weren't going to conquer the world, they just wanted to be.

Things weren't perfect, he wasn't saying that at all obliviously. Some of the leaders were still resistant to change, some were just plan resistant to their existence. But an outright war was something they didn't have to worry about just yet and that was enough to rejoice. But whereas the others agreed that the meeting was a sound success, he was hesitant. It was only one meeting after all. Although a child who could take on Undyne without a weapon and win was a child to be reckoned with a little girl could only do so much against men of power in one meeting. Yet across some faces, he could see amusement which lead to patience for the child ambassador and that patience for her was the closest tie to allegiance he could pin point. And unlike the others he wasn't surprised when Frisk went right back to despondency the moment they were out of the media's eye. Toriel and Asgore did their best in an attempt to pry the child out of her silence. Toriel apologized for her reaction, hugged her and even baked a pie just for her. But besides a few head gestures and staring she didn't give them the time of day. Asgore had assured everyone that time would heal the strife between them and Frisk but…That was during the third month. Today marked six months and one day.

Toriel and Asgore still tried their hardest but she was stubborn, as always. They tended to enjoy the media now more than they did when they first arrived. If there were cameras around, Frisk would smile. If there were people nearby she would sign her little heart away speaking only to the ambassadors out of fear that they would not take her seriously if she remained voluntarily silent before them. But if she was with them alone? It was almost as if she was attempting to silently will away their presence and quite frankly he was tired of it. He found himself walking towards her room in the dead of night knowing the kid was awake, knowing that there was nothing to stop them from speaking one on one. He doubted though that the child would dare speak but he was hopeful she would get her to say something. Even if it was something he didn't want to hear.

Opening the door, he spotted the smaller form of the girl sitting on the window edge enjoying the night breeze. The sight hit a little too close to home for him and without consent, his magic wrapped around her and brought her back inside. Once she was standing on her feet, she stared him down keeping her face blank even though he could feel her rage at his intrusion. Sans wasn't afraid of this child but the face she gave off reminded him of a less peaceful timeline. Still it wasn't the time to reflect on such things was it? Sighing, he spoke up. "How long you plan to keep this up kid…?" She said nothing. "You're pissed at me fine but don't take it out on everyone else. Don't you think you've made them pay enough?" Still silence. Reaching up, he rubbed the back of his vertebrae as he tried to find his words. "I didn't tell them to hurt you kid. I told them because I don't want you to do anything reckless. Because I want you to know that they wouldn't have been happy without you. But you're here giving them the five finger brush off and they aren't any happier. You made your point but know I will never regret saving you. You're trying to distance yourself so by some miracle we'll let you do your thing. But I got news for you kid—its not going to happen. We're not going to let you die."

This time she couldn't help it. The creature of her ire stood before her and although she did her best to empty herself, she couldn't help it. She just couldn't. Reaching up, she began to sign rapidly and despite the mental maturity she retained due to the resets the tantrum won out in the end. "I hate you. I hate you more than Chara." She didn't. "I hate you more than I've hated anyone in my life." She really didn't. "You took the one chance I had to make sure things would never reset away!" He made sure she would have many more chances to succeed in this life again. He would let her throw her life away. He had to keep telling himself that in face of the vicious words the little girl threw at him. It didn't feel good having the kid tell him these things but he knew that if she didn't get them out they would get worse. So he did what he did best and allowed his grin and laid back shrug to stroke the inner flames further. "Shit happens kid." "Screw you! I hate you! You ruined everything!" "Oh really? And what are you going to do about it?" He knew exactly what she was going to do about it. Six months ago it may have been but the lesson he learned that day stuck—Frisk was a child. A child who had been holding her breathe for six months and now, she was going to breathe.

Overcome by grief, the little girl launched herself at the skeleton punching at him with her tiny fist. And he let her. It didn't hurt him really, he knew Frisk herself was as much of a threat as a lady bug. However, the fact that her attacks weakened gradually until she was a sobbing mess hurt him more than any physical attack could. Yet it was exactly the reaction he was waiting for. Without a word he scooped the child up and sat down on the bed with her in his lap. She didn't fight him; no her walls had been broken down and now nothing remained but tears and tiredness. Leaning his back against the wall he sighed gently as a boney hand ran through her hair. For a while there was nothing but silence and the sounds of her crying but when the tears finally stopped she raised her hands and signed with a slight tremble.

"I hate you."

"I know."

"You're awful."

"I know."

She lowered her hands but his eyes followed them as she continued.

"Why'd you do it…?"

Now it was his turn to pause and after a moment he shrugged. "I made a promise." Looking up with a tear stained face, Frisk frowned as he removed his hoodie and wrapped it around her. She looked at him in absolute confusion as he continued on. "Someone told me to be happy." Her expression turned into one of shock if not horror as she realized it was her own words but before she could retort—and six months to late—he pulled his hood down over her face in payback as he brought her back against him. "But you know, the little snot who told me that forgot one thing. What makes someone happy isn't something we can decide. Happiness cannot be force. Happiness just is kid. It just is… So I had the decision to either let you do your thing or be selfish and keep my promise." She pushed up the hood just a bit allowing her to catch him winking at her. "I decided being selfish and happy in the long run was worth it." For a bit she merely stared at him as silence overcame them and after a bit she finally, truly relaxed against him even going so far as to hug him as she did. "I don't hate you…" His grin widened just a bit and he rested his head on top of hers as she gifted him with the sound of her voice. He could get used to the child speaking more.

"I know, kid."

"You're not awful."

"I know."

"You didn't ruin everything…"

"I know."

The next bout of silence was peaceful and after that emotionally draining episode the skeleton found himself quickly slipping into sleep.

"Sans…?"

"Hm?"

"…Did you just call me a 'little snot'?"

"…Go to sleep kid."

Edit edit edit 12/22/2015

So yea, I redid this chapter to make it flow better.

I'm going to be doing this to all the chapters so you know. Yay?

Yay.

Not much to say. On to the next.

~Muuds