Chapter 13:
Balancing Act
Sans shrugged and placed the bowl of popcorn on my head, forcing me to balance it. I focused solely on the balancing task, carefully taking each step forward while Sans watched with amusement. I had almost forgotten when I had balanced the hot dogs on my head as a child. That was much easier than compared to now.
I felt Sans's hand touch my lower back and propel me forward a bit faster. His hand sent a chill down my spine and I hoped he couldn't feel my shiver. The popcorn began to wobble, so I tried to lean in the right direction to compensate. Something caught my foot and I left all sense of balance behind as I fell forward.
I expected Sans to just save the popcorn, but instead I felt boney arms curl around me and heard the bowl hit the floor. Sans's arms caught me at the shoulders and chest, my face now pressed into his shoulder. He helped me upright and looked me over to make sure I was fine.
"Careful there, Frisk. I don't need to be Super Sans more than once today."
I nodded and thanked him softly, embarrassment coating my voice and face. We both took a second to look at what I tripped over. A sock. The sock that had never left its spot for years and now shared residency with scattered popcorn.
Sans groaned softly to himself and moved to the sock. Curiously I watched him use his magic to pick it and the popcorn up off the ground and place them into the trash. I let out a fake gasp with soft giggles escaping me, using my hand to emphasize my theatrics.
"Sans! Did you finally pick up your sock?"
His face blushed into a shade of blue and snatched the bowl from beside my feet. "If it's gonna start to cause a bad time, then I guess so..."
I smiled gently and watched him disappear into the kitchen to make more popcorn. It felt sweet to see him do something that had been daunting to him, just for me. Turning my head in the way of the couch, I opened my mouth to ask Papyrus if he saw the ordeal.
The mighty skeleton and my daughter had both fallen asleep, in each other's arms. Papyrus had his chin against his chest and his eyes shut peacefully, while Arial was curled up in his arms still properly supported. I decided it'd be best to take Arial and put her to bed upstairs then return to guide Papyrus to his own mattress.
I retrieved my daughter then took to the stairs. Once to the top and to Sans's room, I made a quick decision on a makeshift crib for my child. One box and a flattened pillow later, a little bed was made for holding my baby. I made sure she wasn't going to roll over on herself before I went back downstairs, leaving the door open behind me just in case.
I made it halfway down the stairs when Sans started up them, with Papyrus leaning over his shoulder.
"Almost there Pap. Then you can go back to sleep."
Papyrus muttered something and followed to his room, myself not far behind. I helped Sans pull back the covers and lay him down before tucking him in and sneaking away. Sans patted his brother's head before following me out and down to the couch.
"Well, uh, looks like it's just you and me." He smiled and offered fresh popcorn.
