Laughter filled the home for what seemed like the hundredth time. Undyne was yelling something as she gestured with the very large hand of cards she now possessed. The glint in her eye and the way her snarl kept threatening to turn into a grin spoke largely of how much of it was for show; she was, after all, the one that had caused her own destruction. Sans squeezed his hurting ribs as he tried - and failed - to get his laughter under control. Each gasp for air was painful but the joy of the whole thing made it hard to stop laughing. Alex pressed into his back laughing too, but there was a heaviness to Alex's weight that spoke of an exhaustion greater than the joy. Slowly his laughter gave way to the occasional giggle and he sat more upright, gently helping Alex upright with the same momentum. The human's laughter gave way to a mild coughing fit that petered out in a matter of seconds. Sans could still hear the wheezing, though, and it dampened some of his enjoyment. Despite the heavy exhaustion on Alex's face, the joy was still very much prominent.
He caught Papyrus glancing at the clock at the edge of his vision.
"I don't think we can push our luck anymore, Undyne," the lanky skeleton spoke up, his dejection evident in his words. Sans rubbed away the happy tears that still lingered on his cheeks as bodies began to move. "Do you want us to walk you home?" Papyrus asked Grillby, standing. "Undyne and I are walking Alphys back to the Lab before going on to our shifts so it'll be on our way and would make up for the last minute invite."
Grillby dipped his head in a sort of thanks. "If you wish to accompany me, I will not stop you." There was a slight shift in the flames and Sans got the distinct feeling Grillby was smirking. "You're not that bad of company."
Papyrus chuckled. "I'm glad."
"Get your coat on, Flameboy," Undyne called over from the entryway. She was helping Alphys into a bright pink, very puffy coat. "We've got to get going if we want to be on time."
"We'll walk you out," Alex offered, clambering to his feet.
Papyrus reached out as if to steady him. "No. You're going right to bed."
Alex was sure on his feet but still sent Papyrus a soft smile of thanks. Undyne, however, cut in before Alex could say anything. "You sick?"
Alex shrugged with a soft smile. "Outside my normal state of being, no. I've just been tired these last few days is all."
"More so than normal," Sans interjected, getting to his feet. He met Alphys's worried look. "Don't worry. If it turns out to be more than a simple cold, we'll drag him to see a professional."
Alphys nodded, the gesture quick and sharp. Undyne relaxed marginally, barking, "Good." She placed a heavy hand on Alphys's shoulder, meeting Papyrus's gaze. The skeleton and fire elemental had joined them at the door and were about ready to walk out. "Come on. We've got a nerd to drop off." Her eye flashed as she took in Grillby. "Make that two."
Those flames shifted again and Sans got the distinct impression that Grillby was smirking at her.
The air outside was crisp, almost sharp, as it blasted in from the front door. Sans shivered from its initial touch before focusing on the others. Undyne and Alphys were out the door first. Grillby followed sedately as Papyrus swept Alex up in a tight hug. There was soft exchange before the pair parted and Sans found himself suddenly wrapped in a big, tight, warm hug. He didn't want to let go.
"Make sure he gets to bed soon," Papyrus urged quietly. "And you too."
Sans gave him an easy grin as they parted, offering, "I'll get us both to bed in an hour or two, don't worry."
"Promise?"
Sans snorted, rolling his eyelights even as Papyrus half glared at him. "Yea yea. Now get going. You're threatening to extinguish Grillby in this cold if you don't leave soon."
It was a lie. The fire elemental looked quite content - and warm - standing a few feet from the bottom step, a bag over one shoulder, hands buried in coat pockets, and face half obscured by a thick scarf.
Papyrus pressed against the top of Sans's head, rubbing at it like one would to ruffle someone's hair. Sans laughed, grinning as he shoved his brother out the door. Papyrus grinned back till he reached the edge of their tiny porch and simply skipped the steps to bound to Grillby's side. A conversation was started as the pair took off after Undyne and Alphys.
"You guys be safe getting there," Alex called out, one arm tight around his torso as he waved vigorously with the other. Undyne and Alphys glanced back at his shout and waved when they understood what was going on. Papyrus and Grillby waved at Alex, too.
Alex's arm fell to his side but the human didn't move to enter the house and Sans didn't try and make him. When the others were well out of sight, he heard Alex let out a heavy sigh. The human leaned into him and Sans felt Alex quaking with shivers. He gently nudged at Alex. "Unless you want to smoke, let's get inside and on our way to bed before you actually do get sick."
"Alright."
Fifteen minutes of silence ended as Alex's voice filled the room as Sans hunted for suitable clothing. "Do you think they might date or am I seeing things?"
"Who?" he asked from where he was digging through a drawer.
"Papyrus and Grillby."
Sans froze as his brain tried to process that. Straightening with some random shirt in hand, he looked at Alex. The human was lying on his stomach on Sans's bed, still dressed. "Why do you think they would date? Grillby's way older than either Pap or me could be. He's probably closer to a father figure than a friend anyways."
Not that he could back that up. He still didn't remember anything about the fire elemental.
Alex shrugged, the arm draped over the edge of the mattress barely leaving the floor it was laying on. "You're probably right. Just seemed close, was all."
Sans crossed over to the bed and was tempted to do something to the strange human. In the end, he settled on turning around and sitting on the mattress so that his legs were over Alex's back and his head was close to the wall the long edge of the mattress was pressed up against. "People could say the same about us."
Alex huffed a tired laugh. "Oh? And why would they do that?"
Sans sat up and tugged his shirt off. "Well, we've been sharing a mattress for two months now."
"Because I can't sleep alone and Pap's been doing night shifts," Alex lazily pointed out.
"I can't recall the last time we've been seen with other people."
"That one is not my fault," Alex chastised. Sans could feel the laughter through his legs.
He dug a heel into a ticklish spot in Alex's side, gaining a squeal and Alex's body jerking to get away only to press more into Sans. "And because I'm fairly certain that most assumed we had been together before all this shit hit the fan."
Alex shifted and Sans was surprised when it brought the human even closer to him. When Alex settled, he had bodily wrapped himself around Sans, knees digging into Sans's lower left side and head pressed into his right. Sans rested his hand in Alex's hair, unsure of what to do with the sudden closeness - not that it was unusual in and of itself. Alex was a fricken octopus at night when they slept so physical closeness wasn't strange anymore but this seeking some sort of comfort was.
"Alex?"
Alex's body shifted close to him as the human took a deep breath. "What do you remember from before your coma, Sans?"
He carded his fingers through Alex's hair, worried but willing to play along. "Quite a bit now, but I'm not sure what specifically you're asking about."
"So you don't understand the significance of Papyrus pushing 'Spin the Bottle'."
He frowned at the wary certainty in the other's words. "Should I?" Alex shrugged but it wasn't enough for him. "Alex, what...why was it significant that he was pushing it?"
Alex took a shaky breath.
It caught in a way that Sans was intensely familiar with.
Alex spasmed around him as the human started coughing. Sans shimmied this way and that until he was able to get himself detangled from the other. Freed, he quickly pulled at Alex to get the other to sit as upright as possible.
The fit lasted far longer than Sans would have liked. By the end of it Alex looked completely exhausted leaning against him seemingly unable to support himself anymore.
"Come on," Sans softly coaxed. "Let's get you into bed."
The maneuvering was awkward and Alex's breath sounded oddly hollow by the time the human settled on his stomach. Sans bit down on suggesting that he sleep on his back or side.
Alex took a deep breath in. It caused him to cough weakly.
The skin beneath his magic covered hands flinched, bringing his awareness to his actions. He recoiled mentally from what he was doing but the initial flinch was the only negative reaction he got out of Alex before the human moaned low and deep into the mattress. Sans relaxed, letting his not quite the right green healing magic seep into Alex's back and lungs.
"About a week before your coma, the Lab held its monthly game night." Sans started at the sudden words. Enough time had passed that he had sworn the other had passed out beneath him, he himself zoning enough to be classified as dozing while casting. In the abrupt change of awareness his soul clenched in his chest. A strange sense of forbidden rolled down his spine as he realized what Alex was talking about. "I...can't remember who all was there. Even now the memories are horribly pieced together but I know the group playing 'Spin the Bottle' - Truth or Dare edition - was pretty big. You were sitting almost directly across from me in the circle, Papyrus one or two people to your left and three people to my right."
Alex shifted against the mattress as if he could burrow into it without moving more than his head. "I don't remember whose idea it had been. The game, I mean. People had been more than happy to play. I would be surprised if Alphys and Undyne didn't remember the event. I think they even spun each other."
Sans was certain of it, though he couldn't actually remember any of it.
"It was Pap's turn to spin." A beat heavy with something Sans couldn't decipher. "And it landed on me. As soon as the bottle had stilled, Pap had gained a triumphant look." Another beat but this time Alex's next words carried the human's mild frustration. "I can't remember why I wasn't able to choose truth. The only thing I do remember about it was that it was part of the house rules and I couldn't avoid the dare I knew he was about to give me. I had known it the instant he had dragged me to that circle."
Sans felt his soul twist in his chest, anticipation making it beat harder.
Alex took a shuddering breath before he all but confessed, "He dared me to kiss you."
It was like his entire system got interrupted by that. His healing magic sputtered out and all his brain could focus on was the memories of asking Alex what they had been back at the beginning of his recovery. Something coiled heavy in his stomach and his eye sockets seemed to burn.
Words kept tumbling from Alex's lips and it took a moment for Sans to start understanding any of it again. "-you stood up and walked over to me and it was all I could do to not drown under the toxic blend of emotions." A breath. "But you reached down and your hands were so steady that I felt so alone. How could this have happened? Why was Pap ruining everything?" A second breath, this one shakier and far more raw than the last one. "But instead of the longest, agonizing thirty seconds of my life that was going to destroy everything we had worked so hard to steady, it turned into thirty seconds of bliss that didn't last long enough." Alex gave a breathy laugh that sent magic rippling from Sans's hands like goose bumps. "I don't even know how you managed to kiss me like that but it was-" a choked word and Sans buried his fingers into Alex's hair to reassure the other, "it was something that's haunted me till my own amnesia rolled in."
"Did we talk afterwards?" Sans asked, his voice hoarse in his throat.
Alex trembled under his hands. "No."
"Liar."
The word was past his tongue before his brain could form it. But as Alex twisted around to stare at him, he found that he could back up his claim. The memories were slowly trickling in and with each new one, the bitter taste on the back of his tongue grew. "We talked about it and I promised-" He recoiled from the memory and he forced the rest of the sentence out, "I promised you a date the same day I was stupid enough to fall into my coma."
Alex struggled to get upright. "You didn't do that on purpose!"
"Didn't I?" Sans challenged, his words edged in a sorrow he hadn't known. "I could have left Gaster's work alone. I could have picked up on the warning signs earlier and had gotten help before I passed out on the same day we were supposed to go out!"
"That doesn't matter now," Alex urged, shaking his head.
"Doesn't it?" Sans barked back. "All this time and you didn't continue to pine after some skeleton that wasn't coming back?"
"I had come to terms with that!"
The shout echoed through the room but it wasn't what had stopped Sans short. Nor Alex. Sans watched as thick tears streaked down Alex's face and the human jerked away, desperately trying to rub the tears away. A solid, bitter weight settled in Sans's chest as he heard the first choking sob escape the other.
It took far too long for him to reach out and pull the human towards him. The gesture was harder than he had intended but Alex followed willingly. He felt Alex's fingers dig into his shoulder blades as the human's arms constricted around his ribs. He held the other just as tightly, feeling like the ass he was.
He carded his fingers through Alex's hair hopelessly lost on what to do to make things better. If only he hadn't been so blinded by whatever it was he had been researching.
"I'm so sorry, Alex," Sans offered, letting his soul lead his words. His mind was too muddled to even try and filter any of it. "I had promised you so much and then turned around and forgot all of it. I forgot you, this world, everything we'd ever done together, and for what? A solution that I never got? A broken mind for my efforts?" He pressed his face into Alex's hair. "I had wanted to do right by you. Papyrus had done me a favor daring you like that and I'd thrown it out the window chasing fantasies."
Alex shifted against his chest like he wanted to pull away but the human didn't leave his chest. "You were-were trying to save the Underground," the human urged between sobs. "It was our job."
He pulled Alex off of him if only to seek out those green eyes. Somewhere Alex had lost his glasses and those green eyes fought to focus on him through tears that didn't seem to end. "But you're just as important."
Alex was shaking his head, already prepared to counter his words. "The Underground-"
"I don't care about the Underground if it means I lose you!"
They both sucked in a sharp breath, but where Sans's caught in his chest and stayed there, Alex's wrenched out a massive coughing fit. Guilt bit at Sans's soul as he went through the motions of getting Alex to breathe normally again.
The fit left Alex shaking against him, breathing shallow and rattling horribly. Sans found himself running his hand through Alex's hair again.
"You and I both know I don't have much longer to live, Sans." Alex's voice - weak and hoarse - barely carried through the still air. "You'll outlive me by centuries even if I do live long enough to see the Overworld. But with how things are going, as long as I get to see you and Pap happy, I don't care if I never see it. Just as long as you two do."
"You'll see it," Sans retaliated. "We'll figure out the solution and we'll keep you living till you die of old age."
That gained him a pitiful chuckle out of the human but nothing more and Sans fell silent.
"At least you finally remember me too. S'the least I'd hoped for."
The words cut through the air and with them came a few stragglers of memories. They were little things, things that made his soul ache against all the damage he hadn't meant to cause and he moved before he could think against his actions. He cupped Alex's cheek, coaxing the other to look up at him. "Thankfully it wasn't the most."
He saw the confusion start to stretch across Alex's expression as he let instinct and defiance drive the kiss.
At first it was short, hesitant, but the more Alex responded, the more Sans didn't want to stop and it wasn't till a new sob broke through that Sans realized the significance of what he had done. He felt rather justified as his entire being seemed to burn with more of the memories that had originally driven him to strut across that circle of people and kiss Alex like it was the only chance he was going to get.
He cupped Alex's face and wiped away the tears with his thumbs only to have more replace them. "Hey, I know I'm a bad kisser but crying seems a bit excessive," he tried joking, his smile tight and his soul hurting. Despite how confidently - or cockily - he had kissed Alex, it hadn't stayed and now he was left with concern and doubt.
Alex gave a watery laugh. A few coughs cut through but Alex didn't let them keep him from urging, "No, it-that had-" Another watery laugh and those green eyes bright with tears locked onto his face. "I had honestly believed you would never kiss me like that again." Another sob broke through, this one heavy with a sorrow that stabbed through Sans's soul. "I had given up hope you would ever come back for me."
Screw his apprehension about consequences and misstepping. He pulled Alex's face to his and he kissed the stupid human soundly. It was wet, it was sloppy, but damn if it wasn't filled with every ounce of love he had for the bloody octopus of a human being.
The kiss broke as Alex's lungs betrayed him again. Sans helped him through the fit like he always did, stating plainly as the coughing subsided, "I'm going to make all of this up to you. Every missed moment, every lost date, I'm going to make it up to you."
Alex gave him a breathy chuckle, asking mildly, "And how exactly are you going to do that?"
Sans shrugged, catching Alex's lips in another kiss. "Not sure yet." Another kiss. "But I do know that I can at least drown you in kisses tonight."
He kissed along Alex's lower lip as the human chuckled under him. "We should probably talk about this first."
"Nuff talkin'," Sans grumbled as he kissed Alex's jaw. The whiskers of Alex's scruff of a beard was a strange sensation that Sans was quickly growing fond of. "More loving."
"Heh. Rude."
Sans huffed and caught Alex's lips in another kiss. It was slow, languid, and he felt Alex's hands press into his chest. A spark filled shiver raced down his spine as those hands ran up his ribs, along his shoulders to his neck, to his head, to his arms, down his back…
Sans nipped gently at Alex's throat. Something primal escaped Alex's throat as the other's nails scrapped at him, one set at the back of his skull, the other at his left shoulder blade. Alex's throat bobbed against his teeth as the human swallowed. "Sans."
It was breathy but it was like a pleasurable weight on his back, on his head, and it -error-his magic he hadn't -error-his coma. He hummed against Alex's throat, tracing the nonexistent bite mark with a conjured tongue.
"I…" a panted breath, "what were we going to do, that first date?"
He -error- shirt and -error-him to get away from the cold -error- with a soft, slow drag of -error-. "I think I wrote it down somewhere because I didn't want to forget." Another-error- Alex. "It had been a really good one, -error-it."
"Would…." A shaky breath escaped Alex and it was all Sans could do not to pull back and meet the human's eyes. He could feel the tension - the hesitation and self consciousness - with every -error-
A jolt of magic shot down his spine at that and he jerked back, searching for -error- -error- -error- His face twisted against not being able to straighten out his thoughts enough to explain. -error-
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Alex cut him off with a kiss. "I know," came out as a whisper between them. "And I know I said -error- -error- -error- -error- -error- -error-
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"Hey, -error- muttered between kisses. "Think you can manage -error-
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"Sounds nice."
Alex actually managed to get himself upright and off the bed. Sans walked with him into the bathroom and started up the water. "Set the temp to what you want," he directed Alex as the human sat on the edge of the tub. Sans stole a kiss as he cupped the side of Alex's head. "I -error-
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He buried fingers in sweaty red locks, pressing a kiss to Alex's temple. He gained a tired giggle in return. "If I -error-
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"Come on. Bed's clean," he coaxed.
Alex grumbled something but complied. There was no point in trying to get -error- other was asleep on his feet and Sans wanted it to stay that way. He -error- -error- don't have to, you know."
"Want to," was the mumbled reply.
Sans chuckled softly and went back -error-
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"Sleep," came back muffled.
He dug through the dresser -error- -error-
-error- -error- wrapped around him before he was even fully sitting and an amused smile pulled at his face.
"Think -error- in the morning?" Sans inquired softly, happily wrapping himself around Alex in turn.
"Not a -error-
-error- one last time, offering -error- to sleep. He felt Alex accomplish sleep long before he did and Sans let himself drift off with nothing but blissful thoughts.