:):

Thank you for all the reviews!

I adore these father - daughter moments too, so you can bet there'll be plenty more to come. :)

Fearia's new furry friend is going to be playing a big part in the next arc!

xxx

Poff and the Storyteller

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Reclining against the messy balled up bedsheets, Sans sat on his bare mattress while he occupied himself with an old beat up journal. Meanwhile, the kid and dog, now affectionately named Poff, rolled around on the messy carpet, picking up lint as they did. This was probably the first time he had really seen the little girl play like an actual child. Even though she was bratty and immature at times, she always seemed a tiny bit reserved. But now that she had someone her size to play with, she was finally starting to act her age. In a way, it was kind of refreshing.

After nearly an hour of playing around and a late midnight snack of greasy leftovers, courtesy of Grillby, the tiny human was, at last, beginning to tucker herself out. The fright that had been so potent in the child when he had found her outside his door was now nowhere to be found; almost like it had never happened.

But it had.

Sans really didn't want to ask for fear of upsetting her again but at the same time, he needed to know what had caused her distress. It was the omelet conundrum. If he didn't ask, he wouldn't be able to fix the problem. With a sigh, Sans lowered the old journal and looked over to the child. She was sitting on the carpet calmly pampering the little white dog. "so, kid, feel like tellin' me what happened earlier?"

A frown quickly fell into place as the little girl's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She really didn't want to tell him. It was completely shameful how she had acted. As much as she tried, Fearia just couldn't seem to rid herself of the self admonishing thoughts swirling around inside her mind. Hanging her head down, she winced a little. "Promise you won't tease?"

"sure, kid."

"Promise?" Fearia stressed.

Sans' grin lessened as he reluctantly agreed. How many times had this kid made him promise something? He was starting to lose count. At least they were just tiny promises.

"I'm afraid... of the dark." Fearia whispered as she chewed on her bottom lip. It was very difficult for her to admit that. Being afraid of something so childish made her feel weak and infantile. How would she ever be able to prove her bravery if she was still scared of a little darkness? "It's pathetic, I know..."

Letting his eye lights wander up to the ceiling, Sans felt his grin go flat. For someone who was afraid of the dark, that deal she had made with her old man just seemed even more cruel. The Underground was no place for someone with severe nyctophobia. But, if viewed in a different way, it actually says a lot about the kid. Given her own fears, she was still brave enough to come down here on her own anyway. "don't beat yourself up, kid."

"But-"

"no. forget all that crap you've been taught about not showing fear. it's okay to be scared and it doesn't mean that you're weak. ...wanna hear a secret?" Sans asked as he looked back to the small child. She nodded meekly and he patted the mattress next to him.

Attempting to gather up the now completely spoiled white dog, Fearia made her way over to the unmade bed and climbed up next to the skeleton, joining him on the springy mattress. "What's the secret?" She whispered.

"a long time ago, back when papyrus and i first came to snowdin, it took a lot of getting used to." Sans grinned as he stared back up at the ceiling. "i bet you couldn't tell, but me and my bro aren't originally from here. we grew up in a place near the core where it's never ever dark."

Fearia listened with rapt attention as she held the small dog close to her chest.

"the first few weeks were tough, i'm not gonna lie. snowdin is one of the furthest places from the core a monster can get, and it gets dark here. i mean darker than dark. pap's was too terrified to sleep at night and i... well, i had a hard time sleeping at all." The skeleton chuckled with dark sarcasm. "it got real bad until one day we discovered something that would help."

"What?" The small child asked as she leaned closer, fully absorbed in his story. "What did you find?"

Sans grinned with humor knowing he had the kid's full attention. He had almost forgotten how satisfying it was to be listened to. For years he used to tell Papyrus nightly bedtime stories, but after he got it into his thick skull that he wanted to be part of the Royal Guard, he decided that he was now too old for them. Heh. Maybe he was. Sans, on the other hand, wasn't too old to tell them. This wasn't much of a story but he could at least make it worth her while he thought as he pulled out the dramatics.

"while i was exploring the w.g.d., i came across a small item half buried under a pile of treasure. it was a strange device that resembled a crescent moon cradling a star."

The child was silent as she waited for Sans to continue.

"i knew i had found something great, but i wasn't alone that day... there were others who also had their eyes on it." He let that linger in the air for a moment, pausing for dramatic effect as he let the tension build. "the manga lizard and her goons had seen what i had found and they were willing to use any dirty trick they could to steal it for themselves."

"What did you do?" Fearia whispered as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through the dog's fur to calm herself. Thinking about her friend in such a dangerous situation made her uneasy.

Sans chuckled internally as he replayed the memory in his mind. All he had really done was wave at Alphys obnoxiously before teleporting away with the small lamp. It wasn't a very exciting way to end the story, so he did what any good storyteller would do. He embellished.

"surrounding me from all sides, they tried to persuade me to part with the item by offering something even better. however, nothing they had could compare. and after their attempt at bribery had failed, they eventually resorted to the dirtiest trick in the book. blackmail." With a small shrug, Sans grinned and closed an eye socket. "but they couldn't find anything on me, i'm squeaky clean, kid."

Holding back her skepticism at that, Fearia frowned with worry. "Did things get violent after that?" That's usually what happened when negotiations failed. She had seen it many times.

Sans eyed the child for a moment before shaking his skull with a subdued chuckle. "nope. i just used the ol' hat trick and distracted them with something else while i slipped away."

"Thank goodness..." Fearia smiled, relieved with the outcome. "Then what happened?"

"after that, i brought it back home to papyrus." Sans replied, getting back to the original story. "once it was cleaned up, it turned out to be a pretty nifty little nightlight."

"A nightlight?" The small child asked as she curiously tilted her head. "Is that what helped you and Pappy sleep? What is it? Is it like a candle?"

"not exactly... a nightlight is a small device that glows when you turn it on. it's perfect for people who don't like to sleep in the dark." He explained patiently. "how about tomorrow i'll see if i can find it for you. knowing pap's he probably has it tucked away somewhere."

A smile lit up the child's face at the generous offer. "You'll really let me use this nightlight device?"

"kid, i think we'd all be happier if you slept through the night, so yeh, of course we will. after all," Sans' grin faded a little. "it's not fun being scared."

Frowning slightly, the small child peeked over at the closed door. It was the only thing keeping the darkness out, and just remembering how afraid she had been a little while ago put her on edge. She didn't want to go back out there. Turning to her friend, the child hesitated for a moment. Then, with shy determination, she presented a request. "Sans...? Can I stay in your room? Just for tonight? I promise I won't bother you."

That was the plan all along, Sans thought as he stared at the child's hopeful face. Why did she always have to act like she was somehow a burden? Not wanting to dwell on the probable cause, the skeleton instead gave an apathetic shrug and lifted his journal again. "you're not botherin' me, squirt, but i'm going to be reading for a while longer. hope you don't mind the light."

"I don't mind!" Fearia chirped happily. "I don't mind at all."

...

Hours later, a tired yawn escaped the skeleton as he finally closed the worn book. He'd nearly pulled another all-nighter again and the dark circles under his eye sockets were proof he tried. The kid, for all her promises, had invaded his personal space and was now squished under his arm. She had fallen asleep trying to read the old journal. She couldn't, of course. To top it off, the furry white dog was sound asleep curled up on top of the ball of bedsheets.

This is what he got for being too damn nice. Secretly though, he didn't really mind the company.

xxx

Snow Poff, get it?

...

In the next chapter, the hands of fate begin to move once again.

Who's ready for the Waterfall arc?

xxx

Thanks for reading!

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Sheii Bae~