Waking up from a nap to find her curled up within his arms had two effects. First, he panicked, his mind racing to figure out just where the hell they were, who was around, what was happening. His constant state of vigilance (masked by procrastination and 'laziness') had slipped, and he'd fallen asleep in a place that was not his nor Papyrus' rooms. After that faded, though, and he realized where he was, there was a deep-seated warmth that filled his soul and, embarrassingly enough, he actually glowed. The soft rays of pale blue light glowed between his thick ribs, muted only slightly by the shirt he was wearing, and when he realized it was happening, it only made it worse. 'Shit, I haven't glowed in...' He tried to remember the last time, but it had been so incredibly long that he couldn't. A wide, genuine smile lit up his skull, and he gently nudged his nasal ridge against the back of the human's neck, burying his face in her hair so he could inhale her scent. He could smell her shampoo, a soft, floral scent, but even beneath that, the faint scent that was uniquely her own. It made him want to fall asleep again.
He spent the longest time simply looking at her, bony fingertips trailing along her arms, her shoulders, exploring that which he'd already seen. Her face scrunched up and her body tensed in her sleep, and he frowned, sliding his hand down to her tummy to methodically rub slow circles into her flesh. Gradually, she relaxed, giving a small, satisfied sigh, and his skull practically split with the width of his grin. Helping out his human was probably his favorite thing, right up there with reading Papyrus his bedtime stories.
"Sans?" The shorter skeleton flinched slightly, looking up to see Papyrus standing in Lena's bedroom doorway, looking apologetic. He carefully untangled himself from the human and got up, gesturing for his brother to follow him. The door closed silently behind them, Papyrus turned with his hands on his bony hips. "Where on earth had you gone to?! The human Lena was quite concerned, and she was not feeling well."
"Sorry, bro, I just uh...needed to go get a few things," he offered lamely, chuckling quietly at the unimpressed look on Papyrus' face. "Listen, uh... Lena's goin' through a human thing right now. She's not really sick, but she's gonna be at less than a hundred percent for the next few days." This was awkward. How was he going to explain this to his brother without confusing and embarrassing the both of them?
"Ah, you mean she is on her 'cycle', yes? Worry not, brother! I will be sure to stock up on the necessities!" The taller skeleton strode off into the kitchen, just in time for a loud beep from the oven to sound, signifying that their lunch was ready. The smell of tomato sauce and melted cheese filled the air as he opened the oven door, a pleased smile on his face as he reached in with his oven mitt-clad hands and pulled out the glass baking dish. Sans had followed close behind, an incredulous expression on his face.
"Wait, you know about that?"
"But of course I do, brother! The Great Papyrus is the greatest of friends, and as such, I elected to do what I could to learn about my human friends! So that I could be of help to them, no matter the situation! ...Sans, are you alright?" Papyrus asked carefully, one browbone raised as he looked at his brother. Sans' skull was a pale shade of blue, his eyesockets empty voids, and his mouth was set into a tight grin.
"Yeah, 'm fine, bro. Gonna just go to Grillby's for a bit."
"What? But I just made the human's lasagna!"
"Eh, 'm not too hungry, bro," he said with a shrug, and he didn't miss, but chose to ignore, the disappointed expression on his face. "Lena's takin' a nap right now. 'm sure she'd love havin' some of yer lasagna Paps."
"Sans, wait a moment-" Papyrus stepped forward, but Sans was already cutting a doorway beneath his feet, and before he had the chance to say another word, his older brother fell into the Void and vanished. "...Stubborn numbskull." Papyrus huffed and turned back to the kitchen, dedicating himself to tackling the problem at hand. He'd help the human with her troubles first. His brother, as stubborn as he was, would come to him in his own time.
As he fell through the void, he released an aggravated sigh, raising a hand to rub at the bony space between his eyesockets. 'Frickin' PAPS knew about it?' A groan escaped him, and he wished he had a wall in front of him to bang his head against. It was typical of his brother to go overboard when it came to his friends, but this? Was it really that out of the question, or was he just feeling bad that he hadn't thought to do the same...?
The familiar scene of Grillby's came into view slowly around him as he left the Void, and the normally cheerful chorus of voices calling his name only made a dull ache appear in his skull. He grinned and gave a wave to everyone, shuffling his slipper-clad feet across the worn wood floors. "So you finally show your face around here again..." A large furry arm looped around his shoulders, pulling him into a crushing hug. "Heh, well, y'know me, Dogamy. Can't stay away for too long. Grilbz is too hot to resist." The room filled with laughter, and though he normally would have been amused by it, it did little to lighten his mood. He shrugged off the arm and gently pushed past the towering dog monster, heading toward the bar, but he was stopped by a far gentler paw landing on his shoulder.
"It has been a long time, my good friend. Are you alright?" Dogaressa asked, brows furrowed slightly in concern.
"Nah, just bone tired. Y'know how it is." She chuckled and nodded.
"I do. I take it that work has been a real bitch?" His sockets widened incredulously before he let out a loud snort, shoulders shaking with poorly-concealed laughter. Dogaressa looked fairly pleased with herself, and the rest of the dogs at the table were literally howling with laughter.
"Woah, now, didn't think you'd make a joke like that. You're pretty good..."
"I must be, if I got you to laugh!"
"Ayyyy, whaddaya talkin' about? I'm always laughin' and crackin' jokes," he drawled, and she held a paw to her muzzle, as if she wanted to say something. Chuckling, he ducked past the group of dogs and continued heading toward the bar. "Well I'll catch up with ya later. Got a hot date." He gestured toward the fire elemental standing behind the bar and Dogaressa giggled, waving him off. He sidled up to the bar and hopped up on his usual bar stool, releasing a slow, deep sigh.
"Hey, Grillbz. 's been way too long since I was here last," he said, glancing at the fire elemental's face. The flames around his cheeks were brighter, flickering a bit in that way that Sans knew meant he was smiling. A glass bottle of ketchup was slid across the bar smoothly, landing perfectly in the skeleton's bony hand. The clink of bones against the glass was soft, nearly lost in the bustling noise within the bar, but it was just so familiar that Sans couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He flicked off the cap and took a long draw from it, ignoring the playful gagging noises from a few patrons a few stools away from him. "So what's been happenin' around here since I've been gone?" A faint crackle of flames from high on the elemental's forehead, like he was raising an eyebrow. "Yeah...heheh. Guess a lot's been happenin' lately."
"Paps is workin' for Muffet now. I'd be worried if he had any blood for her to drain, but he seems to really like it," he said, chuckling as he spun the bottle on the polished wood surface of the bar. "Frisk's doin' okay, same as usual, more or less... n' Tori's been goin' to a lot more meetings lately. The kid's been comin' over to our place a lot. She's tryin' real hard to get the permission to open up her school to monsters and humans." Grillby gestured to the shelves behind the bar, tilting his head slightly in question, and Sans gave a roll of one shoulder. "Eh, sure, a few won't hurt." The fiery hands were surprisingly gentle as they grasped a tumbler glass from the rack, fingers nimbly skipping along a few bottles before grasping one, and an even wider grin spread across the skeleton's face. "You still remembered my favorite, huh?" he asked, glancing at the bottle of whiskey. The flames flared a bit as he set the glass and bottle down, gesturing in a wordless 'of course'. He poured the amber liquid into the glass and slid it in a similar fashion over to Sans, who picked it up and threw it back effortlessly. The alcohol burned slowly down a throat he didn't have and settled to a pleasant warmth in his soul.
"Hey, thanks, Grillbz. You always were the hottest bartinder around." Grillby made a show of huffing, a small puff of smoke escaping from the flames at the crown of his head, and Sans chuckled. "Hey, I'm not blowin' smoke up yer ass. You really are the best." There was a slight crackling noise and Sans laughed outright, holding the hand not holding the glass out in front of him in a placating gesture. "Alright, alright, simmer down there!" He quieted his laughter, setting the glass down when the elemental gestured for him to do so and watching with a slight brightening of his eyelights that it was refilled. This time he sipped at it slowly, sitting in a comfortable silence. He'd missed the flame elemental. Sure, he wasn't much for words, but sometimes Sans wasn't either, and sometimes just having someone to listen was enough.
The silence was broken by fingers rapping softly against the bar top, and Sans glanced up at his friend to see him staring at him, an expectant air about him. The skeleton kept quiet, returning to his drink, and a soft, whispering voice filled the space between them. "You neglected to mention the human woman. Miss Lena, I believe her name was?" Sans remained silent, a faint flush rising to his cheekbones. "...Ah, I see. So you finally did it. I suppose I owe Gerson fifty gold."
"You bet on us?!" he sputtered, embarrassed, and he sighed as he set his now empty glass none too gently on the bar again. Grillby refilled it with a soft, crackling chuckle, the glasses set upon his face glinting in the light. Sans scowled lightly. "Yer just as bad as Tori."
"Perhaps. But if that is the worst I ever am, then I shall count my blessings and stars," the elemental said smoothly, picking up a rag and a glass to dry. "So, are you going to tell me about it, or must we sit here and pretend to dance around the issue?" Sans groaned; Grillby wasn't much of a talker...except when he decided to be an 'irritating prick' and nose into his business. Though truthfully he was just doing his job as a good friend, the skeleton didn't appreciate being teased.
"Nothin' to tell." A plume of annoyed smoke and Sans heaved a sigh. "We're...dating. Paps n' I moved into the spare rooms in her place- Because she was havin' trouble payin'!" he added quickly, noticing the way elemental's 'eyebrows' rose. "She got fired for associatin' with monsters... How could I not help 'er out, y'know?" Grillby nodded slowly, setting aside the now dry tumbler and grabbing a champagne flute.
"And, of course, that was your only reason for wanting to move in with her," he said dryly (haha), looking at Sans in a way that just screamed sarcasm. He felt his cheekbones burn blue, and he pulled his hood up a bit to try and hide it. "I am curious as to just how far ahead you're looking with her."
"Whaddaya mean...?"
"I mean," Grillby began gently, setting aside the delicate crystal with a grace and gentleness unseen, "how long do you see yourself being with her? Are you aiming for this to just be a fling? Or...are you, perhaps, looking to settle down?" Sans' eyesockets widened and he frowned, pulling the fur of his hood in closer to his face.
"I...dunno. I haven't really thought about it," he lied; he knew it, Grillby knew it, he knew Grillby knew it, the whole ridiculous circle. Sighing, he drained the last of his whiskey from the glass tumbler gripped tightly in his hand, setting it with a dull thunk on the bar's polished wood top. "It's hard to think about somethin' like that. Thinkin' about the future in a positive light...'s not really my style."
"I know, but perhaps now would be a good time to try?" Sans slid is glass over and, after a short pause, Grillby refilled it with the alcohol of choice, which Sans greedily swallowed down. "I am aware of your difficulties in accepting positives, but you really ought to look at the future. If you want to spend the rest of your life with a human, there are things you need to consider."
"Yeah, maybe..." he grumbled softly, staring down into his empty glass. He gestured to it, glancing up at the elemental's face, and Grillby released a small puff of smoke as he sighed. The glass was grabbed and taken beneath the bar, the sound of running water filling the space. He carefully returned the glass to the counter top, now full of cold water instead of the amber liquid. "Cut off already, huh? 'm not even buzzed yet..." Sans frowned but didn't argue it. There was no point in arguing with Grillby. Though it was difficult to tell just from a glance, he was one of the most stubborn monsters...in his own way.
"Hey, uh, didn't mean to eavesdrop, buuuut..." Hearing a voice, Sans glanced over his shoulder and saw the female bunny monster that was usually passed out in one of the first booths. She held a bottle of beer clutched tightly in one hand as she attempted to walk without staggering towards him. "Did he say...a human?" she asked, wrinkling up her nose at the word 'human' as if the words themselves left a disgusting taste in her mouth.
"Yeah, he did," he said shortly, turning back to the bar and sipping at his water.
"You're not really dating a human, right?"
"...Yeah, actually, I am. What's it to ya?"
"Just that they're too...different! They're too different, Sans!" she whined, leaning forward to throw her arms around his shoulders. He didn't stop her, but he tensed under her hold, gritting his teeth faintly in irritation. "She wouldn't know how to please you like I could..." Her voice dipped down into a sultry tone, and he wanted to laugh at just how wrong a tree she was barking up right then. "Humans can't use magic anymore, so she can't give you a good time like I could." Grillby glanced between the two before releasing another hissing sigh, slipping out through the door to the back room.
"Listen, you really oughta let me go. You're askin' the wrong person."
"Why're you so attached to a human anyway? Is it because they're different? You get a rush from it because she's alien?" His pleasant smile was slipping, and it was clear that she'd had a few too many, because she wasn't even bothering to try and hide how she felt about the situation. "Do you even know how to please her? Humans are different!" His hands gripped a bit more tightly at the edge of the bar counter, though she was far too distracted by talking and hanging all over him to notice. After a moment's pause where he said nothing, she swung herself over until she was sitting on his femur, one hand gripping his shoulder, the other raising to cup his cheek. "C'mon, Sansy~," she cooed, "Lemme be the girl to show you what a relationship's all about." He chuckled and shoved her to sit on the stool next to his, getting up.
"Sorry, girly, but my woman is waiting at home for me," he said pointedly, and she frowned drunkenly before bursting into tears. "Grillby, put it on my tab." The elemental still hadn't returned to the front of house, but his friend knew he was good for it. Besides, he was ready to get the hell out of there, and away from that horny rabbit. As he shuffled out into the chilly night air and the door closed behind him, he released a small sigh.
"Do you even know how to please her?"
A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth and he shoved his hands deeply into the pockets of his hoodie. 'I don't really know anything about her at all, do I...?' Even Papyrus had more knowledge than he did, and...though he hated to admit it, he was jealous. The thought that his brother, or anyone else for that matter, could take care of her better than he could was enough to make him anxious. 'I'll learn...' he vowed silently, scuffing his slippers across the cold ground as he made his way home.
Lena was still in her room when he returned, so Sans made a beeline straight for his room. He turned the thumb lock once the door was closed, and he pulled his laptop onto his bed. Where should he even begin? What was the best way to approach this sort of study? He supposed he could just ask Lena questions, but...the thought of doing that left him feeling a little flustered. "Okay, c'mon, you can do this," he mumbled, opening up his computer's browser and typing his first search topic into the bar.
"Human Female Anatomy"
He pressed enter and as photos and topics began to pop up, he felt his cheekbones burn as they glowed a faint blue in the darkness of his room. This was going to take longer than he thought...