The time is right

To put my arms around you

You're feeling right

You wrap your arms around too…

Digital Love – Daft Punk

-o-

Chapter 23: Finally

"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal?"

It was the same shtick.

It all felt the same, he was sure of it…

"Turn around and shake my hand."

Then… why was there this warmth building up in his chest?

The human was a head taller than him, dressed in a baggy green hoodie, form fitting blue jeans, and black trainers. A picnic basket was hanging from their right arm. Their back was to him so he couldn't see their face but he had this strong feeling of déjà vu. An inkling that was telling him this human was female…

As the human turned around, their left hand raising up in response to the request to shake, the pinpricks of his gaze flicked up. The human was indeed a female and she had a smile on her face that he could not identify. As her fingers had wrapped around his hand, the warmth of her skin against his bone sent a tingle of magic up his arm. It truly was magic. He could see a hint of green magic around her hand, the blue of his own was responding in recognition…

The sound of the whoopee cushion was drowned out by the sudden pulse of magic that erupted. The human had suddenly pulled him close and the feel of warm lips against his skeletal grin caught him completely off guard. She pulled away briefly to press another kiss against his cheekbone and then another against his brow.

He was trembling from the feel of his magic recognizing this human's and the shock that this human had kissed him. He was reeling from the onslaught of weird emotions that were bombarding him. It didn't register at first when she greeted him.

"Hi handsome," she said, a soft laugh escaping her as she pulled away and released his hand. She was silent as she studied him, the deep blue hue in his cheekbones a dead giveaway to the emotional rollercoaster he was on.

He didn't reply to her term of endearment.

She laughed again as she reached out to stroke his skull with affection. "I guess that was a bit forward this time around… Sorry. I am just so happy to see you." She pulled her hand back. "Well… I guess I might have broken you…" A gentle giggle escaped her as she shook her head, the sound of it brought the same warmth in his chest. She waggled her fingers in a small wave, the warm smile on her face never wavering. "I'll see you up ahead, Sans."

A sudden whisper of something emerged from somewhere deep in him, an echo of warmth and love…

Ami…

She turned around and rushed up the pathway, skidding through the too wide bars of the bridge over the chasm with practiced ease. She kept on running up the path, even as the sight of his brother stomping her way caused the warmth in his chest to clutch in slight fear.

Papyrus had stopped in surprise at the sight of the new figure in the green hoodie heading his way. He had opened his mouth to greet the newcomer when the human gave a friendly wave as she ran past him. "Hi Papyrus! Bye Papyrus!"

"H-HELLO… HUMAN?" Papyrus stared after the human woman as she ran off. The surprised look on his face turned to shock. "NYEH?!" He did a double take before he turned to his brother, his gloved hand pointing in the direction the woman had disappeared. "SANS! WAS THAT A HUMAN?!"

That was more than just a human…

Sans, for the first time since he woke up that morning, moved quicker than he ever had.

Papyrus was speechless as he watched the pinpricks of his brother's gaze disappear and Sans shifted, taking one of his shortcuts. Papyrus was left standing there on the snow path all alone and confused beyond words.

-o-

Sans had found her around the snow poffs, playing fetch with Greater Dog.

The Royal Guard member was yipping happily, his large spear forgotten in the snow as he bounded after the large stick the woman had thrown. While the dog was preoccupied, Sans had wasted no time in shifting behind her and getting a good grip around her waist. Her shocked gasp of surprise was a good sign, it meant this was something he hadn't done before.

He shifted once more and they were surrounded in darkness before the sterile walls of his lab came into view. He released her the moment they were on firm ground and she turned around to face him.

"What the hell, Sans?" The indignant look on her face almost made him laugh. The familiarity of it was cutting to the soul of him. He knew that look on her face. He knew the lines between her dark brows. He knew her… Then, why couldn't he remember a thing about her? He didn't laugh, he simply stuffed his hands into the pockets of his blue hoodie, his eye sockets nothing more than dark holes on his skeletal face.

"Explain," was all he managed, ignoring the sudden warmth in his chest as he watched her throw back her hood to reveal her riot of dark curls.

He knew her…

He watched as she moved to set her picnic basket on the counter. She rubbed her face for a moment, heaving a gentle sigh, before she moved to the left side of the counter and pulled out the far left drawer. She was moving around the space with a familiarity she shouldn't have. She reached in and started pulling out some VHS tapes. Tapes he didn't recall putting there. It was a sure sign. He had brought her here before.

She turned back around to face him. "We're going to need to borrow a VCR. Is Alphys in her lab?"

-o-

Without questioning, he had reached out to take her hand and shifted, using one of his many shortcuts to get to Hotland. Ami - he was sure that was her name - didn't let out a peep this time around, having expected and, may have even been used to, his unique method of getting around the Underground.

The moment they appeared outside of the Lab, he released her hand and stuffed his own back in his pocket. He flicked his gaze up at her the moment he had, his own curiosity getting the better of him. He saw the brief flash of hurt across her face before it quickly shifted to one of resigned acceptance. It was the look of someone who was used to such an action, though it cut to the quick still. She reached out to press the large button by the door, an obvious doorbell.

Sans didn't say anything to her and maintained that aloof attitude about himself. It was the only thing he could do to keep the wild, erratic emotions from showing on his face. Even now, standing close beside her, a part of him was screaming to get closer.

To reach out and touch her…

The door opened at that moment and Alphys stuck her head out. "O-oh! Sans? What are you-" She paused when she noticed the human beside him. She immediately let out a strangled noise in surprise and turned a paler shade of her yellow hue. "A h-hu-human? B-but weren't they-"

"We need to borrow a VCR, Alphys," said Sans, cutting through Alphys' stammering. "Do you have one lying around?"

"A - a VCR?" She looked at Sans. "W-what? I-I think I do… But Sans, that human-"

"Is with me," he said, a flash of a blue and yellow glow could be seen in his left socket. "She won't do anything."

When Alphys glanced at Ami, the genuine fear quite clear in her eyes, the human woman gave the yellow monster a patient and kind smile. "Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble. Sans and Papyrus are good motivators to stay on everyone's good side."

Alphys studied Ami, trembling from fear or nervousness one could never tell. After a heartbeat, she looked at Sans and gave a nervous nod as she took a step away from the door. "O-ok… C'mon in."

-o-

Several hours later found Sans and Ami sitting at a corner booth at Grillby's.

There were several empty bottles of ketchup on the table beside two empty white mugs. A large plate of fries was being shared between them, smothered in ketchup of course. A half empty bottle was in his hand and he was staring despondently at it.

"Hey," came her voice from across the table, the sound of it familiar and soothing. It was enough to pull his gaze from the bottle. He looked at her and saw the sweet smile on her face. It made his soul clench with that familiar warmth in his chest. The feeling was new and then… it wasn't.

"It's all right," she said, clutching her third cup of Irish coffee. "At least this time around we got to Grillbs' sooner."

His hold tightened around the bottle, his grin trembled. His thoughts had been going a mile a minute since seeing the small stash of tapes he had apparently kept in his lab. Seeing those small group of pictures of them, together, in his photo album…

He shook his head. "I don't remember you." He looked away from her sweet smile. "I should and I want to… but I don't. It's not fair to us. To you. I… I'm so sorry…"

He was cut off from saying anything more as she reached across the table to pry his hand from his bottle. She intertwined their fingers, the warmth of their magic intermingling in a familiar way. Though he couldn't remember her, his soul did. His magic responded to hers with a familiarity that he had with no one else aside from Papyrus. He studied her fingers, the warm skin touching his bone, the feel of her own bones sturdy and strong… Fingers that were gentle and comforting. Faint echoes of those fingers rose up from his memory, gently caressing and stroking in places no other person or monster dared.

"I love you," was all she could think to say. "Even if you don't remember… I do and I love you. As long as one of us remembers, there will always be the hope we can get out of this nightmare together."

He didn't respond to her. What could he say to such a powerful statement? She remembered. The tapes and the pictures from his lab were proof that she spoke the truth. Over the course of who knew how many resets, she had grown to love him. Each time the world reset, she would manage to make him fall in love with her in turn…

He couldn't remember any of it. It tore at him that he couldn't. A part of him wanted so badly to say the words in return…

The silence between them was heavy.

After the silence stretched on for what felt too long, Ami took the initiative. "Knock, knock."

He froze, not expecting her to actually go there.

"C'mon Sans, don't leave me hanging," she said, squeezing his hand to get his attention.

An unsure chuckle escaped him as the pinpricks of his gaze flicked up to meet hers. "Who's there?"

"Adore," she said in reply, her smile growing under the muted light of the small lamp above their booth.

"Adore who?"

"There's adore between us," she said in reply. "Will you let me in?"

His chuckle turned into a light laugh. "Good one…"

"Wasn't it?" She gave his hand another squeeze as she lifted her mug to take a quick sip. "Mm, here's another one. Knock, knock."

She had his full attention and he was beginning to feel a little better. "Who's there?"

"Al," she said, setting her mug back down on the table.

"Al who?"

"Al give you a kiss if you open the door."

This time he let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back. Her smile deepened at the sound of his laugh.

After a moment, he shook his head, his laugh fading to a deep chuckle. "I think you already did that."

"Mmhmm," she hummed in reply as she took another sip of her drink, a sparkle of affection and amusement shining in her eyes. "And I plan on doing it some more so watch out." She gave his hand one last squeeze before letting it go.

The deep blush appeared in his cheekbones at her statement, already missing the warmth of her skin. He gave an embarrassed chuckle as he looked down, reaching up to scratch the back of his skull. "Heh, heh… You uh… you really mean it, don't you? Everything you said?"

Her gaze was focused on him when he finally looked back up at her.

"Every word," was all she said in reply.

The warmth pulsed down to his very soul at the words. He could see it. She really did mean it. She truly loved him.

"You… um…" He cleared the tightness in his nonexistent throat. "You have any place to crash?"

"I usually crash at yours," she said before she drained the last of her drink.

His blush deepened. "O-oh?"

"Relax Sans," she said with a laugh once she caught the look on his face. "We've never done anything more than sleep on your mattress. Not from lack of wanting to, believe me… We just… never had the chance to figure it out. There were a few times we… but…" A sad look swept across her face and she shrugged helplessly.

He relaxed somewhat at this but there was a pang of disappointment that followed. A part of him had been curious to know if they had… Her being mostly physical matter and he being very little meant logically it shouldn't work and yet their magic, the very culmination of their souls, seemed to intermingle so easily…

"We should go," she said as she moved to stretch her arms above her head. "Pap's gotta be worried about you, what with the dangerous human running around." She had shed the green hoodie in the heat of the bar when they had arrived earlier and Sans had a very nice view of the outline of her chest. The pulse in his soul had deepened and his blue magic seemed to thrum to the depth of his very bones.

"Heh," was all he could manage as beads of sweat formed on his skull. He quickly glanced up at her. "Y-yeah… Not to mention he didn't get to try his puzzles with you."

"We can do it tomorrow," she said, waving his statement off dismissively.

He seemed surprised at this. "You sound sure we have tomorrow."

Once she had gotten a satisfying crack from her back, she slumped in her seat and gave a smile. "Yeah, I am. These latest resets have been lasting longer in between. Months have been passing. I noticed they only happen when I get closer to the Core. So, if I stay away from the Core, we get to enjoy this current timeline and get closer to finding the answer to the problem of this anomaly."

"That's…" He was shocked and his grin had turned on full force. "That's incredible!"

"I thought so too," she said with a wink. "C'mon, I'm tired… Wanna take a nap? I think we have some time before Pap comes home."

His soul pulsed with warmth as he nodded. "I like the way you think…"

-o-

Days passed.

Weeks passed.

Just as she said it would.

She seemed thoroughly content with lazying about with Sans when they weren't working in his lab.

She had quickly won over Papyrus, not surprising since she absolutely adored the tall skeleton.

Undyne had proved to be a tricky one to win over after her initial attempt to fight and capture Ami. Sans had put a quick stop to that. Once that had been dealt with, Ami had introduced the fish woman to the finer points of anime she had stored on her smartphone and the newness of baking. All attempts at catching the human were forgotten.

Alphys had been even easier.

There were a few reintroductions with other monsters.

Ami had kept a cool indifference to Mettaton when they had met and she made no attempt to get close with the robot. When Sans had asked her about it later on, she simply said there had been some bad blood between them the first few times around and she never quite forgave him for it. She left it that and said nothing more about it.

Sans had an inkling it had something to do with her son, Sully.

As the time passed, Sans found himself growing more comfortable with the human woman. It wasn't long before, one day in the lab while they were working on some new theories, that he looked up from his notes. She was sitting beside him at the counter, her dark curls falling forward to hide her eyes from view as she wrote on a notepad about some obscure things concerning the echo flowers that fascinated her. He could feel that familiar pulse in his soul at the sight of her, his magic thrumming with the feelings he finally recognized from that first moment he met her. Love was a strong thing and he never imagined he would have found it with a human woman of all beings…

"Love ya, snow angel," he muttered, the blue hue in his cheekbones was deep.

She had paused in her writing; her handwriting was neat cursive, small and elegant. She raised her head to look at him and her familiar smile lit her face. "Love you too, handsome."

His grin was warm and his chest was filled with this huge amount of love that he couldn't even begin to describe. His soul had recognized her from the beginning, his magic had mingled with hers effortlessly. He knew there would be no other after this…

He cleared his throat as he looked down at his notes. "So uh... Ami… so…"

She raised a dark brow in question. "Sooo…?"

He could feel his soul pulsing deeply in his nervousness as he tugged on the collar of his white shirt. "So… how uh… how long was it before I asked ya to marry me in the previous timeline?"

The sound of her pen dropping to the notepad was the only thing he got in response. He focused his gaze on her and was shocked to see the look of genuine surprise on her face. He felt his nervousness grow. "I-I guess… this is the first time?"

She opened and closed her mouth for a few moments, looking like a fish out of water.

He wondered if he finally broke her before her sudden scream nearly made him fall off his chair.

"YES!"

She flew off her chair and tackled him in a hug, squeezing him as her delighted laughter bubbled out of her. This time he did fall out of his chair, her momentum having knocked them both over. He was quick to hold onto her as they both crashed to the floor. By this time, she was smothering his face in kisses.

His deep laugh escaped as he held her close. "So is that yes it's the first time or yes you'll marry me?"

"Yes," she said again as she pressed a warm kiss against his grin. "To both."

His soul pulsed at the nearness of her and he could feel her heartbeat racing against her breast, their magic instinctually reaching out and intertwining and mixing…

After a sweet moment, Ami pulled away to look at him, a troubled frown marring the happiness that had been there. "But… who can we ask to marry us? We can't exactly go to the Capital."

"Heh," he shook his head as he reached up to tuck a loose curl behind her ear. "Don't need to. Grillby has the credentials. We can go now, if you want…"

The frown was instantly gone and her bright smile made him feel all kinds of things he wished he could put words to. "Yes, now… Now is perfect. I want… I want this…" She closed her eyes and leaned down to press her forehead against his. "I want this to last as long as we can make it."

He squeezed her close as he closed his eyes, relishing in the feel of their magic flowing and mingling together. "You got it, snow angel…"