Your shoes crunched into the freshly fallen snow as you continued to race downhill. The temperature dropped considerably since you lost them and your feet were starting to sting from the cold. I knew I should have worn socks. Flower was fastened to your neck and arms while it kept looking behind to see if Sans or the others were close.
"I don't see anyone following us Charlie, maybe we should stop."
"Are you kidding me, Flower?" You fretted. "I'm sorry but did they, or did they not...try to kill you!?" Everything muscle in your body was screaming to stop.
"Something's not right, we should stop. I know Undyne and Papyrus, they would have caught up by now, yet no one is following us." You slowed the pace considerably and started a fast walk instead. The bridge was now less than a block away but your path was still covered in thick snow. Your legs itched terribly from the cold but it wasn't wise to stop. There was no shelter nearby and that bridge was the only passage to a possible safe haven.
"Okay," you began a walk to slow your breathing. "We can't stop but I'll slow down. Just keep an eye out for anyone behind us." Flower patted you on the back. You turned your head to see what it wanted. "What's up?" Flowers eyes were still glued to the forests.
"I...I wanted to thank you. Back there you could have kept your mouth shut but you instead saved me." The apology sound very sincere and almost sad.
"Your welcome." A smile managed to sneak its way onto your mouth. "It'd be a shame if someone were to hurt a flower as pretty as yourself." Flower blushed but you couldn't tell since they were on your back. "But what I really want to know is why you didn't turn me in. I'm just a damn dirty ape….uh I mean human. But technically I guess that counts too." Flower stretched in front of you far enough so you could see each other's face.
"An ape?" Flower was surprised.
"Yup, as far as species go, were evolved apes."
"That's ...well...I don't what to make of it. I just assumed humans were always humans."
"So did a lot of other people for a long time until science and years of findings suggested otherwise. A lot of people didn't want to believe we evolved from apes but it's just the way organisms adapt to their surrounds, they evolve."
"That's very fascinating! Humans are very complicated creatures." You shrugged at its response.
"I guess, if you say so Flower."
Flower's vines wrapped around your chest and it relieved some tension from your sore arms and neck. Your hands were unfortunately white and numb from the cold. The vines that covered your torso were warm at least.
"Hey, flower."
"Huh, yes, what is it?"
"Would you care if I used your vines to warm my hands?" Flower studied your face for a moment but then coiled two of its vines into your hands. The vines felt like soft warm velvet. You grabbed them and your hands slowly melted into the sweet warmth. You made a genuine smile and Flower's face beamed with appreciation.
A low chuckle echoed from behind you, back inside the forest. Both of you crouched down and knew it was time to go and the bridge was only 20 feet away.
You took off running but then a red sneaker leaned into your path from a nearby tree and you face planted into the snow. The chuckle now came from directly above.
A hand grabbed the back of your jacket and lifted you five feet off the ground. It turned you to face it. Sans eyed you from inches away, but he wasn't pissed off. His face actually suggested he was enjoying this. Sick bastard.
"Listen kiddo, you've had a good run. Just call it quits." You spat in his face and watch the spit slide down his cheekbone. Rather than smack you against anything, he opened his mouth again. The excessive blood-red tongue traveled to your spit on his cheek and delightfully licked it off before returning into his gaping mouth. You stuck out your tongue in disgust but he laughed.
"You're pretty fucked up you know." You tried to look composed as if you're the one handling the situation well but he gave you a look that called you adorable. Sans dropped you and you took off towards the bridge.
"Why did he let me go?"
"I doesn't matter Charlie, keep running," Flower urged. You reached the bridge but then halted momentarily. It was covered in ice and one careless movement could slip you into oblivion. You looked back.
"What the hell, where he'd go," you questioned. Flower noticed he disappeared but shook its head.
"Like I said, doesn't matter, we should hurry." You frowned at the heights but then kneeled down.
"What are you doing?"
"Just hush for a moment, I'm trying to concentrate." You grabbed in between each plank and crawled across the bridge as fast as you could. You only focused ahead and didn't look back or down, the fear of falling would screw your concentration. The end of the bridge was almost there but then you heard another chuckle.
"God dammit," you bickered out loud because this shit was getting old. You looked down for a second to push yourself off the ground but then stood up right in front of Sans. He grinned as you sighed in defeat.
"I told you to give up," he reached for the hooded part of the jacket but you ducked and tumbled around him. "Kid I can do this all day." You looked back at his stupid smug face before facing forward.
"Fuck!" You slammed right into Sans who, somehow, was in front of you. The soft snow cushioned your butt as you fell.
He never bothered to reach for you again. You could hardly breathe from all the running and the frigid air didn't help. He just slid his boney fingers into his coat pockets and looked at you curiously.
"Come on kid, what's it going to be?" He opened his arms as if expecting an embrace. "I'll even let you hit me once, if it'll make you feel better," he snickered.
You were wheezing from the shortness of breath and waved your arms around. "Nuh uh, no way. I'm not going to touch you and besides, I would have won if you hadn't cheated." That remark made him upset.
"Cheated?" He was agitated. "You broke three of my fucking ribs and you want to judge me?"
"You had it coming you stupid pile of bones." That was embarrassing, you couldn't come up with a better comeback. "You were willing to hurt your own kind, a fucking flower for christ's sake, just to maybe know where I was. Flower didn't even know where—."
"We would never hurt our own, unlike you humans. We used Flower to draw you out peacefully."
"Yeah well...," you were running out of lines, "you shouldn't have tried to strangle me.
"You were being rude first, by interrupting my conversation with Flower."
"Oh, well aren't you just so mature," you said sarcastically. He looked more annoyed than angry and didn't budge from his current position. You stood and scraped the snow off your pants and then shivered there in the snow. Flower tried to cover most of your body but you patted it on the head to show you appreciate the little help and held its vines close. Sans saw you helping each other but it didn't faze him.
"I don't have anything to apologize to a human for. But in case you were too slow to figure it out, I don't plan on killing you yet." You were so confused.
"Then make up your damn mind. I going to die if we stay here and you sure as hell aren't the welcoming type so I don't see us exactly 'hanging out'." You stood there staring at Sans for at least thirty seconds that felt forever in the cold wind.
"There's someone who wants to see you. And whether you like it or not, he wants to see you….alive." You and Flower looked at each other.
"Who's him?" You both spoke in unison. Sans turned to you and then Flower.
"Listen, I'm tired of bickering and I know we hate each other's guts," he looked at your shivering legs, "but you can either freeze to death or come with me." You look past him towards the nearby lights of another home. Sans tilted his head to block your view. "Or I can let you go, sure, let you go and be free to run into a town of monsters. You'll be killed the second you step foot into town." He tried to show concern for the human but it almost disgusted him. "If I leave you here—"
"I'll be dead where I stand, right?" Your phrase caught him off guard but he nodded.
Your feet ached from standing and the tenderness on your fingers and face was unbearable.
"If I go, you must promise me you'll make sure nothing bad happens to Flower." Flower tried to protest.
"I can't make promises anymore kid," he interrupted. He scratched his head in mid thought."But I'll do my best."
"Fine, but there's another problem." He raised the bone above his eye and it acted as an eyebrow.
"And what's that?"
"I ...I can't move my legs." Sans paused for a few seconds and then chuckled again, that annoyed you as you stared down at your frozen thighs.
It's not fair. Once again you did the best you could but you still failed. You looked up at Sans and he was already right up on you again.
"Don't get any perverted ideas you spooky skeleton," you warned. He opened his arms again and embraced you in a massive blanket of warmth. How did this skeleton produce heat? Or was it just the coat he was wearing?
You awkwardly stood there accepting his warmth. You were afraid to make the situation weirder by asking how long this hug was going to be. He lowered his head to see your face in the cocoon he made for you.
"Why are you always so close to my face?" His smile turn into an awful grin.
"Hold on," he warned.
"What!" You suddenly felt nothing and it was pitch black. Your senses were dead and you couldn't feel any part of your body. You were completely devoid of all of your senses. You tried to grab onto sans in the dark but you couldn't feel your hands and you started to freak out.
You almost fell onto your ass when your senses came back but then felt Sans still holding your back. You were somewhere completely different. It looked like the inside of a normal house with dirty socks lying around everywhere.
"Flower are you okay?" Flower didn't look too good and you were about to throw up. You tilted your head up at Sans who was just staring at you again. What is with him?
"You can let go Sans," you calmly added. He started to sweat from embarrassment but didn't let go.
The front door to the house opened.
"I sure hope Sans isn't screwing around with that human, what a bonehead," Papyrus joked as he pushed the door open all the way. He nearly choked when he saw you and Sans together. Undyne ran inside afterwards and stared at Papyrus enraged face. Then she saw Sans still awkwardly holding you and burst out laughing.
"Oh my god..," there were tears in her eyes from laughing too hard, "you were right on the money Pap." Sans dropped you on your butt and Undyne continued to wipe the tears from her face. You stood up and saw Papyrus face still angry at the two of you.
"What did I do?" You sounded accused. Papyrus directed his anger to Sans who wasn't there anymore but then you heard a slammed door upstairs.
"Sans! Get down here." There was no response from Sans upstairs.
You just stood there looking like a moron with yet another pissed off skeleton staring you down.
"Great...," you muttered to Flower.