Sans woke up on the floor, clutching an empty bottle in his hand. He slowly pushed himself up soon noticing the abysmal headache rattling his skull. He was definitely hung over and, if he remembered correctly, he had recently run out of aspirin. He would have to fetch some later. For now, he took a moment to gain his bearings and wake up. He gazed emptily at his room, eyes floating between the many scattered bottles. He should probably clean them up lest Papyrus finally decide to start visiting his room again. But after a long moment of consideration, Sans opted against it.
"whatever." He muttered to himself as he got onto his feet.
The smaller skeleton wobbled a bit. He steadied himself before walking out of the front door, listening intently to see if he could catch any signs of Mettaton or Papyrus still lingering in their house. 'Their' house. He scoffed at the thought. Despite Sans having bought the dwelling to begin with, he felt like an extra – a permanent third wheel. He had lost his place the moment he agreed to let the robot join them and modify whatever he felt needed improving. He kept up a bright smile and continued to crack jokes for Papyrus's sake, but genuine sentiment was missing.
Everything had gone so horribly wrong. Sans doubted he would ever be happy for the remainder of the reset and thus he eagerly waited for it to end so he could try again. Every passing day, he prayed the human would fall into the Underground sooner than expected for whatever reason. He wanted them to go on their rampage and kill everyone because he knew that regardless of all the suffering and torment, there would be a reset and none of it would matter. Still, Sans felt wrong and terrible to wish for such a thing. Death and murder, he supposed, were terrible even if the act was temporary.
Sans climbed down the stairs and headed for their kitchen. It was much bigger than it had once been and given that Mettaton was now a permanent resident, their refrigerator was always filled to the brim with many things most of which weren't spaghetti. At least one positive thing had come from the robot's invasion. However, Sans barely got a chance to consider what he would eat as he noticed the bane of his current life sitting in the kitchen sipping on what was probably a mug of oil. According to Mettaton, it tasted horrendous but helped his body run smoothly.
The moment he came into view, the robot in question lowered his mug and fixed Sans with his gaze. He said nothing and yet there was something accusatory about the look he was giving. Naturally, the smaller skeleton elected to ignore it. He didn't care about what Mettaton had to say – well, so long as it had nothing to do with Papyrus's wellbeing. Sans gave him a polite nod before heading towards the refrigerator to fish out a meal. He continued to feel the other monster's hard stare bare into his back and he knew it inevitably meant he would be stuck engaging in a conversation.
"what." Sans sighed.
"You're supposed to be on sentry duty." Mettaton reproached, tilting in his chair to look at Sans.
"takin' a break." He mumbled his response, grabbing a few Tupperwares and examining their content. He placed them back where he found them, deciding he wasn't in the mood to eat what they contained.
"This is the first time you've left your room today." Mettaton stated. His tone had Sans sighing once more, shutting the refrigerator door and slowly turning to face the robot. He hoped he conveyed the depths of his annoyance adequately. "I know," Mettaton continued, "because I looked into your room when Papyrus wondered if you had already left."
Sans stiffened. "what did you tell him?"
Worried thoughts flooded his mind. If Mettaton looked into his room, surely he found him passed out on his floor holding an empty bottle of alcohol. He probably also noticed the many other ones scattered everywhere else. It wasn't a secret that they didn't get along – except to Papyrus – and Sans couldn't see why Mettaton wouldn't have sold him out. The robot was desperate for excuses and reasons to get Papyrus to move out; Sans being an alcoholic mess was probably exactly what he needed to accomplish his goal.
There was a long pause wherein Mettaton said nothing. He simply stared at Sans as though assessing him. Then, one of his chest compartments opened and he grabbed whatever it held, tossing it at him. Sans caught it and was admittedly surprised to find aspirins.
"I told him you left early." Mettaton replied much to the smaller skeleton's confusion. "I'm not in the business of lying to Papyrus, but I made a special exception."
"at what price?" Sans frowned sceptically.
"The price of being a benevolent monster." Mettaton snorted, brushing his hair back.
"liar." Sans stated bluntly.
"Fine. Maybe I do have a price." Mettaton conceded.
"what is it?" Sans asked apprehensively.
"Convince Papyrus to move out with me." Mettaton demanded. "I don't understand why he's so adamant on staying here. I think he might be afraid of such a big change, but we're adults – lovers. We need our own space."
"papyrus does what he wants." Sans replied, "if he wants to stay, he'll stays. if he wants to leave, he'll leave. who am i to tell him what to do?"
"I'm not telling you to kick him out." Mettaton sighed in annoyance, "I want you to have a talk with him. Figure out why he's hesitant about leaving this dull place and see if there's something you can say that'll change his mind."
"and that'll buy your silence?" Sans asked.
"Yes." Mettaton promised.
"what if i can't change his mind?" Sans added.
"If you figure out what's stopping him from leaving my lips will remained sealed." Mettaton conditioned.
Sans nodded. He glanced back at the refrigerator. He wasn't particularly hungry anymore, not after bargaining with Mettaton. They may have come to a sort of understanding, but it would still be foolishly idiotic of Sans to trust that he would uphold their deal no matter what. They weren't friends; they couldn't even get along for Papyrus. And so, with a shrug, Sans walked away. He could get something to eat at Grillby's. Heck, he could also get a drink. He certainly needed one now more than before.
"Sans…" Mettaton said, stopping him dead in his tracks, "You…you should take better care of yourself. We don't get along, but Papyrus would be devastated if he discovered what you were up to…"
Sans laughed. "you really are a good actor." He said bitterly, "you almost sounded genuine."
He teleported away before Mettaton could add anything else. He didn't care. He didn't want to hear it. He wanted to drown his problems away. Sans paused in front of Grillby's, glancing at the aspirins he still clutched in his hand. His head was pounding but he shoved the pills in his pocket. He was about to get drunk again. The booze would take care of the headache. He could use the pills later, when he sobered up.
And without further ado, Sans walked into Grillby's. He greeted the typical patrons. A few monsters made jokes in regards to Sans skipping out on work again and he responded with the same kind of humour. He stirred a few laughs and did a small, improvised routine before heading to the bar and ordering some food. He chatted with Grillby for a little before ordering his first drink. By the third drink, Sans was socialising with the usual drunks who wasted their time away the same way he did. He spent the rest of the day in a similar manner without much care or worry. Papyrus didn't like going to Grillby's. Sans knew his brother wouldn't wander in. The only times he had ever done so before had been after Sans had explained to him the flame monster actually had a proper menu with healthier food options. But that was in a different timeline.
Sans chuckled to himself at the thought. They had had so many dates in Grillby's dinner. So many wonderful dates that only he remembered. It hurt to think about them for that very reason. Sans was the only holder of those memories and they were made all the more painful when Mettaton was considered. But he pushed any thoughts of the robot away. If he didn't have to think about him, he wouldn't. Instead, Sans decided to indulge in bygone memories. It was a poisonous habit, but it was the only thing that was going to get him through this timeline until the reset – that and copious amounts of alcohol.
Eventually supper time was just about ready to roll around. Sans cut himself off and drank gallons of water to sober up. When he considered he was in a good enough shape to return home, he saluted Grillby and the remaining patrons and was subsequently on his way. He took his time and extended the short walk as much as he could. Part of it was to make sure he was truly sober enough to pretend he hadn't spent the entire day drinking, the other part was because he knew he would happen upon the sickly domestic sight of his brother with Mettaton and he wished to delay the inevitable a little bit. Sans bitterly began to recall when he and his brother acted in such a manner during so many previous resets.
How he missed those wonderful days…
Of course, he pushed his jealousy aside when he walked through the front door. Sans found Papyrus and Mettaton sitting on the sofa together. When the taller skeleton caught sight of him, he angrily jumped from where he sat, standing akimbo. "Sans!" He chastised, "I didn't see you at work today! Didn't you leave early?"
"sure did." Sans lied, ignoring the reproachful look Mettaton was sending his way.
"Where were you?" Papyrus demanded.
"working diligently." Sans grinned toothily. "so diligently—" he yawned, "i'm actually tired. so if you'll excuse me, bro, i'm going to go to sleep."
"What about supper?" He asked.
"i ate at Grillby's."
Sans quickly circled around Papyrus and made his way upstairs. He luckily managed to escape any further interrogation, though he wasn't sure he would be so lucky next time. Regardless, the smaller skeleton was a little tired. He considered going to sleep when a half full bottle of fire whisky laying on the top of his clothes pile caught his eye. The temptation was too much to resist. How could he deprive himself of his coping mechanism when Papyrus was downstairs with Mettaton? For all he knew, they were kissing or fucking or both on the couch again…the same way he and Papyrus once had during a previous timeline.
"fuck my life." Sans groaned to himself, snatching the bottle almost aggressively. Time and time again, living was just painful.
He was admittedly, a bit of a mess at the moment. Fortunately, to his knowledge, Papyrus was unaware and it was better that way. However, the taller skeleton was actually catching on unbeknownst to Sans. He stood where the latter had left him for a long moment, staring at Sans's door from the living room. He had noticed how evasive and distant he was becoming – especially during the past few weeks. Where Papyrus initially thought it was because he and Mettaton's displayed affection made him uncomfortable, he was now beginning to think otherwise.
"Papy?" Mettaton called softly. "Is something wrong?"
"I get the feeling Sans isn't doing so well…" Papyrus admitted. "I'm worried."
"He's acting the same he usually does." Mettaton said.
"Doesn't he seem a bit distant to you?" Papyrus asked, finally turning away to look at his boyfriend.
"Not particularly, no." Mettaton replied with a shrug. Papyrus frowned, unsatisfied with the answer. He wringed his hands together anxiously as he considered other alarming hints he had noticed before, wondering if they were the product of his worried imagination or not. The skeleton didn't think too much about it when Mettaton caught his attention by opening his arms, beckoning him in a tender embrace. "Come here, love." Papyrus snuggled himself against Mettaton's chest, climbing onto his lap and resting his head beneath his chin. "Sans is an adult. He knows how to take care of himself."
"I know…" Papyrus reluctantly conceded.
"But…if you're worried." The robot continued after a brief pause, "You could always confront him."
"What do you mean?" Papyrus asked, tilting his head up to look at Mettaton's face.
"Sit him down." Mettaton suggested. "Tell him the truth; you're worried and if he needs to talk about something that's bothering him, you're there for him." Papyrus nodded quietly, pondering how he would address the conversation. "Tomorrow, work in Snowdin should be cancelled." Mettaton added, "According to Alphys, the weather in Snowdin has been plummeting the past few days and tomorrow should be far too cold for anyone to be out. Anyone except for me."
"Where are you going?" Papyrus asked.
"I've got a couple of shows to record in Hotland." Mettaton explained. "I'll be gone for a day or two, maybe more considering I need to change into my more practical form. Have that conversation with him by then."
"Maybe we can have some brotherly bonding time too." Papyrus smiled.
"Of course." Mettaton chuckled, kissing his skull. "But leave some time for me too!"
Papyrus giggled, planting a kiss upon the other's lips. "I promise." He smiled, "I'll call you every day until you come back."
"It's imperative that you do." Mettaton nodded in approval. "I need my daily doses of adorable skeleton." He then kissed Papyrus once more. "I love you."
"I love you too."
It's funny because I'm pulling from personal experiences to write Sans.
Note: I'm not an alcoholic though.