Sans spent almost all of his time on the cushion by the window. He was either looking up at the endless sky, or thinking of Frisk and Papyrus. He could only hope that Papyrus had ended up in a nice place, and not...
He was jolted out of his thoughts by footsteps behind him.
"You really like that window, don't you? Maybe I should look into a collar or something so I can take you outside."
Sans looked at Hope with wide eyes, not sure whether to focus on the possibility of going outside, or of having a collar. Eventually, he just turned back to the window, this time wondering if Papyrus had a collar. The thought really annoyed him. Papyrus, chained up like some criminal. Like a pet.
The anger was better than the sadness. He could hold that back. But anytime he let himself dwell, the tears would start to build, and the human would worry. Would pay attention to him. He just wanted to be left alone.
He could feel the soul in his chest start to vibrate, as if to sooth him. It had the opposite effect, just reminding Sans of how big of a failure he was. He curled in on himself, as if to protect the soul from any harm that might come to it. He didn't realize he was crying until the human crooned at him. He ignored the words they were saying, only tensing, waiting for her to realize that he wasn't like the rest.
He knew that when the human found out that he was different than the other monsters, that he would probably die. That's what the humans did, they just killed anything that wasn't exactly what they wanted. Like Frisk. Like the owner of the soul that throbbed in his chest, seeming just as sad as he was.
"You know what, little guy, I'm going to go buy you a harness and a leash. Maybe if I take you outside, you might cheer up" Sans was glad when the human left the house, finally giving him some peace.
He sat back, coaxing the little red soul to the surface of his chest. He gently caressed it, begging to murmur to it.
"Hey kid. I know you've been trying, but could you give me one more try? I just want you back. Please, just reset. It'll all be better when you do. I can shake your hand with a whoopee cushion, and you can pretend to eat his pasta. We can hide the fact you're a human, and I can adopt you. We can be happy again. As a family. Come on kid, I know you can do it."
Sans' voice cracked, betraying his emotion. He pushed the soul back into his chest and curled into a nap. He pretended that when he woke up, he would be at his post, Papyrus shouting at him to wake up, and Frisk would walk through the Ruin doors, safe and alive.
It was not Papyrus that awoke him, but instead the sound of the door opening and closing. The human walked in, reaching into a bag they held. When Sans saw what they had in their hand, his heart sunk.
A harness. Like what you would put on any other pet. He guessed that it was only inevitable that he would just end up like some sort of dog. He sat quietly as the blasted thing was put on him, begrudging whatever higher power thought it fun to torture him. A leash was connected to it, and he was placed in front of the door.
When the door opened, all grievances were forgotten. Even in a city, the surface was beautiful. The clouds billowed above, and the chilly wind was amazing on Sans' bones. He looked around wide-eyed at all the bright colors displayed in windows. His human gently led him to a park, and Sans fell in love with the grass, feeling it under his tiny hands.
The trees were bright with color, in wonderful oranges and yellows. He snached a fallen leaf in his hands, holding it up in front of him. It was almost the same size as his reduced form, and he could see every ridge in it. Compared to the slim pine needles of the tree's in Snowdin, the leaf was astounding.
He held onto the leaf, even as the human started to lead him back to the apartment. When he tripped over it one too many times, the human picked him up, carrying him leaf and all. He took the opportunity to look up at the sky again. It seemed endless, like nothing he had ever seen in the Underground.
When he was taken back inside, he was hit with just how kind it was of the human to take him out. She seemed to rarely leave the apartment from what he had seen in the last few days. And yet she had taken the time to allow him outside simply because he had stared through a window. Maybe she was like Frisk, a monster in a human body.
"Thank you."
Hope paused in putting him down. He looked at her confused. He saw her shocked face. Then he realized.
He had said that aloud. He had spoken to a human. They would kill him for that. For not being a pet like he was supposed to. He was going to die, and Frisk's soul would be lost. He shrank into himself in fear, knowing the fate to come.
"Did you just speak?" The human asked, and Sans flinched at her voice. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you."
"How am I supposed to believe that? I'm not what I'm supposed to be. You'll just kill me for that."
"Wha? No! I would never kill you for that."
Sans glared at her. "I've seen it happen. Frisk coulda stood up for us, so they killed 'em. Kid was like my own, and I couldn't do a thing. If humans would kill one of their own, then what's to stop you from killing me." Sans took a deep breath, and at a lack of response from the human, continued,
"It's typical of you. Cram us underneath a mountain, and taunt us with a way out. Except when we finally break the barrier? We're just met with a trap that drains our magic to such a high degree that we lose our ability to even think clearly. And to rub salt in the wound I'm forced to watch as the king is turned into a pet and Frisk is killed in front of my eyes. I-I couldn't ev-even do a-a thing to pr-protect them. I co-couldn't even ke-keep my prom-promise." Sans heaved, wracked with sobs, his anger drained into his usual self deprecation.
He was surprised when the human clutched him to her chest.
"Ya, I guess most humans are like that. I'll admit, I'm not the best of races. But I'm not like them. I would never hurt someone just because they were a bit different then they were supposed to be. I'll be honest, the reason I rarely leave the apartment is because I have... Problems with people. If I were to kill you, then I might as well kill myself. Cause I'm broken."
Sans looked up at Hope with tearful eyes. Hope moved, and before he tried to read her intent, Sans jumped. He hopped through a shortcut, landing on the table a good distance away.
Hope looked around, confused. When she noticed Sans on the table, she made a disgruntled noise.
"How did you? You know what, never mind. I'm just going insane. That's it. I've finally gone completely batty. Talking skeletons. That can teleport. By the way, what's your name, if you have one?"
"Name's Sans, Sans the skeleton."
AN: And I no longer have to use Sam again. Thank goodness.