Sans let out a loud, sleepy yawn, stretched until his joints popped, and scratched his backside.
Today he was napping at his post again, his old post anyway. Seeing that he was no longer a sentry anymore… Still! It was a great spot to snooze- the cool, clean air, the aroma of wet grass, the musical dripping of water droplets overhead, an occasional refreshing mist blown by a gentle breeze and the rushing lullaby of the waterfall.
"oooooh yeahhhh. this place does wonders for my bones." Sans cracks his neck and heaves a contented sigh. "doing absolutely nothing sure can take a toll on you. i deserved this." He reminds himself, now awake and energized. He rested his legs over the countertop, arms folded behind his skull. He sat there for a few minutes, contemplating whether or not he should get up.
Then he frowned. "wonder what frisk is up to right now?" He fidgets in his seat from the thought. " suppose it's none of my beeswax." Sans tried to reassure himself. He returns to his mindless lounging, hoping to keep his mind away from the subject of Frisk.
…but it was no use.
"*sigh* now i gotta get up." Sans groaned. The short, stout skeleton, now slightly annoyed, gets up from his napping post and casually makes his way past the waterfall, hopeful that he can make it on time to intrude on Frisk's day to hang with Undyne.
Sans fiddles with the phone in his pocket. "i could call..." He contemplates. "nah. don't wanna look desperate." Now concise in his decision to not call Frisk, Sans musters up the energy to walk at a regular pace.
He arrives too late. The windows are broken, water leaks out of them as if the home itself was weeping. There is more water rushing out from underneath the door, which looks like it's about to burst at any moment- judging by the way the wood is groaning from the swelling water behind, and the patch of ground where Undyne likes to train is scorched and ripped up from the earth. The whole property is a muddy, flooded mess.
"i'm not cleaning this up." Sans tells himself as he briskly turns around and heads back whence he came, not bothering to look back. Now a little disappointed, he wonders if he should just head home and watch tv. Frisk is probably long gone by now, either back at Toriel's or with Alphys to find a way to resolve that mess. He absent-mindedly kicks a rock on his slow journey back home.
Then he hears a musical note.
And another note. And another one, and another. The tune is beckoning; haunting when you listen to it long enough. Sans recognizes the melody.
"frisk."
With more pep in his step, Sans dedicatedly follows the somber tune.
Frisk listened to the music box cradled in the stone statue's arms, legs crossed and tucked under a small umbrella, curtesey of the pail of them not far down. Frisk was happy here, if not, a little sad. There is where Frisk liked to go whenever they felt lonely. Sitting in quiet company of this statue, both seemingly hypnotized by the rhythm of the tiny music box. Who better to understand than this stone guardian? All alone, day in and day out, getting dripped on by the constant flow of water, shielding this humble little box that played a familiar tune.
The music was hard to describe. It hurt, it truly did, but it was a good hurt.
It was happy-sad, bitter-sweet, lonesome, yet comforting.
Something about this song made Frisk feel… Lost. Kind of like when they and Napstablook would lay on the floor and feel like garbage together. But this was a little deeper than that.
Frisk's heightened sense of awareness drew their attention to the heavy footsteps behind.
"howdy." Sans greets. "that's a fine umbrella you've got there, mind if i squeeze in?"
Frisk scooches over on their small patch of dry earth to make room. Sans somehow squishes his large self under the small umbrella, daringly close to Frisk.
He curses himself for being so brash. "god, i've really done it now. i thought it would be a smooth way to get close, but now we're shoulder to shoulder!" Sans fretted that Frisk would see him sweat from a mile away- now that they didn't have that mile between them. Frisk, seemingly oblivious to the jittery skeleton, returns their gaze to the imposing statue.
"ya'know, not many people would think to give the big fella an umbrella." Sans speaks up.
Frisk shuts their eyes, feeling themselves getting into the music's steady beat.
"that was real cute. now every time i pass by here, i can never get lost, cuz this pretty song is there to guide me."
Frisk blushes a little from being called "cute".
"what? that sounded unlike me? give a skeleton his moments." Sans responded to Frisk peeking an eye open at him. "are you blushing?!" Sans noticed, his heart leaping. He readjusts himself to be even closer to Frisk, now shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip. He feels Frisk tense up.
A thought crosses his mind.
"this would be the perfect time to ask someone out on a date…" Sans realized. He clears his throat. "hey, wanna go somewhere with me?"
Frisk looked torn.
He catches on to their hesitation. "no worries, we can sit here for a bit longer, i just wanted to know that whenever you're ready to get up, would you put off going straight home to chill?"
Frisk nods.
"good. let me know when you're ready." Sans grins. And so the two of them sit in silence, enjoying each other's company, occasionally brushing an elbow, or a knee. Sans feels himself drifting off.
Suddenly, a small hand to his lap jolts him awake.
"hm?!"
Frisk jumps a little from his reaction, but patiently motions for the both of them to get up.
"oh, time to go already?"
The two had actually spent over an hour sitting there, if up to Frisk, they would've been there longer were it not for Sans's snoring preventing any musical meditation.
Sans checks the time on his cell phone. "it's pretty late. this might work in my favor."He turns to Frisk. "it's dark out, that means it's the perfect time to check out a favorite spot of mine."
When didn't he have a favorite spot to relax, no matter where they were? They first returned the umbrella to the pail, and he leads them back to the darkest section of the caves where only lantern light allows them any visuals.
Frisk reaches out to touch a lantern, but Sans stops them.
"not this time, you gotta trust me. we're pals right? you trust me."
Frisk nodded, but raised an eyebrow.
"yep. good. that's what pals do, they trust each other. so this spot is a bit of a big secret, and i don't want anybody else to find it just yet, so grab onto me, ya hear? i know the path like the back of my hand."
Feeling very nervous about walking blindly in the dark caverns where they could both plummet to their dooms, Frisk entrusts Sans with their safety.
They lock arms, and with his hands in his pockets, they watch the last lantern flicker and die. It is pitch black. Without a word he walks, tugging Frisk with him. They make a few turns, walk straight, another turn, then back, then forward again. The constant change of direction causes Frisk to lose footing, they lets out a panicked gasp when they feel their foot slide off the edge.
Just as they are about to fall, a strong tug lifts them from the invisible gap. Sans reflexively pulls Frisk close to him, and in his effort to catch them, has an arm wrapped around their waist. Frisk is immediately uncomfortable, though grateful their friend just saved them from a nasty fall. Sans is so still and silent Frisk wonders for a moment if he is really there. It's too dark to tell. Then a boney hand slides off their waist. Frisk shivers from the sensation.
Furiously embarrassed, Frisk stays very close to the skeleton, tightly wrapped around his arm. As they walk, one can hear a low rumbling in the distance. Once they are close enough, Frisk recognizes it as running water. The world becomes slightly more visible thanks to the light coming from the other side of the waterfall. Frisk feels a cool spray hitting their face.
"here we are. behind the waterfall."
Behind the waterfall?
"go ahead, walk right in."
Shocked, Frisk zips their head to catch the expression of the skeleton in the dim light.
His face is dead-serious. "you said you'd trust me right? i know we're high up, but you won't fall, step through the water and head in."
How is there not a steep drop under a waterfall?
"i'm going on ahead." Sans daringly strolls right into it! There is a splashing as the water makes contact with him, but Frisk doesn't hear anyone slipping and falling.
Assured that it isn't some cruel joke, Frisk takes a wary step forward. They expect their foot to touch ground, but when they set it down, there is a steep drop and Frisk slips and falls head first into the depths! Frisk lands on a smooth surface, but feels gravity pulling at a breakneck pace. The slick ground slides them this way and that, the fast wind blowing back their hair, and the next thing they know is tumbling onto the hard, wet floor, landing ungracefully on their behind.
Frisk groans and rubs their sore derriere, coming to their senses when two boney hands lift them up and dust them off.
"see? told you we wouldn't fall. but that doesn't mean we won't slide."
Frisk glares at Sans for not warning about the steep slope downward.
Sans lifts his hands up in surrender. "hey buddo, don't look at me like that. look up instead." He points upward.
With a frown, Frisk tilts their head to the ceiling, their immediate reaction is for their mouth to drop open.
"hehe."
All around them are twinkling lights, they've slid into an alcove surrounded by water crystals on all sides. Large, luminescent gems hang from the ceiling, jet out from the walls, and spike up from the ground. The running water reflects and refracts the light into a dazzling display.
Sans feels incredibly proud of himself as he watches Frisk gape at the sight with their jaw dropped.
"a lot prettier than the glowing moss and fungus everywhere else, huh?"
They nod in agreement.
He lets them explore it for a while, admiring Frisk's reflection on the many crystals as they walk out of view. Sans taps Frisk on the shoulder as they strokes their finger over the fine surface.
"this isn't even the best part. follow me." He grins eagerly.
Frisk is too awestruck to notice Sans take their hand in his as he leads them through the tunnel of shimmering rocks.
"you remember the echo flowers right?"
Frisk does.
"so you already know how they work. that means i have to stop talking now, or it'll ruin the fun."
What fun?
At the very end of the tunnel is a small, round room, full of echo flowers in bloom that glow dimly in a pale-blue light. Sans nudges Frisk to go try them out. Frisk approaches one cautiously, and kneels down to listen. Sans's whispered voice flows to their ear.
"you wanna know why skeletons are so calm?" Frisk turns around to see Sans for the answer, but he merely lifts his shoulders and remains silent. The flower whispers again
"because nothing gets under our skin." Frisk snorts, which sans finds adorable.
Frisk walks over to another flower. "what do you call a skeleton with frostbite?"
They smile expectantly.
"numbskull."
Again they chuckle, delighted by the many puns Sans surely must've whispered to the flowers, practicing his stand-up.
"why was the skeleton too afraid to cross the road?"
Frisk excitedly awaits the answer, already snickering in anticipation.
"he didn't have any guts."
Frisk looks like their having the time of their life. Sans almost can't believe it how well it was turning out!
It's this one joke that causes Frisk to break composure and laugh so hard it echoes throughout the tunnel.
"little known fact: the average human body contains enough bones… to make an entire human skeleton."
Frisk lost it at this joke, their bubbly laughter springs forth all the way from the gut. Hearing such a silent person laugh so loudly nearly brings a tear to Sans's eye socket, he too laughs along, caught up in the moment.
When the laughter settles down, Frisk looks apologetically to Sans, realizing the laughter echoed too loudly, meaning all of the flowers would repeat it and they wouldn't get to hear the rest of his jokes. He beckons for them to walk back to the alcove.
"don't sweat it, i can always come up with fresh ones to replace them. you enjoyed yourself?"
Frisk childishly claps with glee, a wide, cheeky grin on their pleasant face. They reach the slope.
"k. before we go, promise me you'll never come here without me. there's no way up once you slide down, there's no cell signal to call for help and only i know the shortcut."
Aware of the severity, Frisk nods in agreement.
Sans smiles. "well, that was fun. come on, i'll walk you home."
The two traverse the caves in total darkness, until they finally exit back out into the snow.
"i'll take you there again sometime, when i come up with new material."
The two walk through Snowdin and back onto the path to the ruins. Along the way, Frisk wraps themselves around Sans's arm again, his eye orbs shift nervously, but he doesn't shrug his friend off. Only the soft crunching of their footsteps in the snow breaks the silence. A crescent moon shines in the dark, night sky. Snowflakes float down gracefully from the clouds.
Sans steals a glance at Frisk.
Their face is lit with a small smile, their eyes are lit up like stars, and their cheeks are especially pink from the cold. Ice crystals from the melting snowflakes decorate their silky hair, twinkling from the light of the bright moon overhead. Sans feels as though he is in a trance. He sighs lightly, that feeling overwhelming his senses again.
He has to quickly avert his eye sockets when Frisk briefly turns to see if he said something.
They eventually arrive at the stone doors. "g'night frisk." He says a little solemnly. Expecting a curt nod or a short wave, Sans flinches when Frisk hugs him. He's frozen where he stands, but builds up enough steel to place two, shaky hands on their back. He shuts his eye sockets in contentment, but they fly open when he feels warm, soft lips pucker against his cheekbone. "~Smooch.~" Sans tenses up, his entire frame paralyzed from the shock. Frisk waves him goodnight as they enter the doors and seal them shut.
Once the heavy doors are firmly closed, Sans raises a hand to his cheekbone. His face is entirely flushed and his eye orbs have once again, changed to the comical shape of tiny hearts. Sans lets himself go and falls backwards, no longer having the strength to stand. He lies in the snow, arms and legs splayed out, a goofy grin on his face. "…best day of my life."