After that whole fiasco was over with, Papyrus wasn't too keen on having the kid face The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror. In fact, the thought seemed to upset him. Which really wasn't surprising. Papyrus never wanted the human to go through that elaborate trap. Sans expected that.

So, on Papyrus's orders, Jude was staying the night at their house. Papyrus set about to setting up the couch to be as cozy as possible, and then took it upon himself to clean Jude's bloodied sweater. So the kid was stuck in his black undershirt, wrapped up in a soft blanket with a cup of cocoa nestled in between his hands.

Sans rolled his shoulders back, plopping down next to Jude on the couch. The boy sipped at his hot beverage. His face was flushed from the cold, his nose reddened. The constant snivels was a clear indication of where he had been.

"So, Jude." Sans yawned. The boy looked at him, tilting his head ever so slightly. "What brings ya down a mountain?"

"Oh…"Jude shrugged, turning his gaze away "Just…thought I'd drop by."

Sans chortled, smacking his hand over his mouth before it became a cackle. Through his snickers, he rose a bone-brow to the brow. "Was….was that a pun?"

Jude's face somehow grew redder "Er….y-yeah."

"Niiiiiiiicce." Sans laughed, giving him a thumbs up. The boy stared at his hand a moment. A frown flashed on his face a moment, but was quickly swapped out for a small smile.

"Do….do you like puns?" He asked, eyes bright.

"Heck yeah. I love 'em." Sans grinned, winking at the boy "I tell a skele-ton of 'em."

It was Jude's turn to snicker, curling in on himself deeper into his blankets. His eyes were locked on Sans's, bright and shining bronze. Sans grinned wider and buried his hands further into his shorts.

"Did ya find that humerus?" he winked "Tibia honest, I think it's a bit overused. But I guess I shouldn't be so sternum about it."

Jude's giggled rose into a laugh. A high, bleating thing. Almost like a goat. Except a bit lower and a bit less goaty and a bit more humany. He was laughing so hard, in fact, he spilt his cocoa on the couch.

"Woah!" Sans jerked away on reflex the same time Jude did, avoiding the scalding liquid as it further stained the already stained couch cushions.

"I-I'm sorry!" Jude stammered, turning away quickly. Sans waved him down.

"It's okay, kid, accidents happen-" He stopped suddenly.

Did…

Did he imagine that? Or did the kid just flinch?

"I'm sorry." Jude repeated, worming his way out of his blanket "I'll go get something to clean it up-"

"Kid, don't worry about it." Sans interrupted, the corners of his grin twisting downwards "I spill stuff on this couch all the time."

Jude stared at him a moment before he nestled back into the couch cushions. His eyes were locked on the mug in his hands.

"A…are you sure it's all right?" He asked, sparing only a quick glance in Sans's direction.

"Sure I'm sure." Sans said, shrugging. He winked "Though, actually, I'm Sans."

Jude stared at him a moment. Then his small smile was back, set under those bronze eyes of him. He laughed. But not a lot. Then he simply fidgeted, kicking his feet up and down.

"Er…Mister Sans, can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Y'just did." Sans pointed out, grinning. Jude laughed a little, but again, not much.

"Yeah…But, what I mean is, why do the Monsters hate humans so much?" He stared up at the skeleton, tilting his head ever-so-slightly to one side, his bruised eye up. "I can tell they don't think too highly of us. Why is that?"

Sans sighed, looking away "Observant kid, aren'tcha?"

"Sorry."

"Yeesh." Sans pouted, his eyes flicking back over to the boy "Y'don't gotta apologize. Y'didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh." Jude fidgeted, blushing "Sorry- er-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough 'sorrys'." Sans sighed. He nestled into the couch, hunching his shoulders. "Er…well…" he sighed again, clenching and unclenching his fists in his pockets. "We kinda got sealed down here by them, y'know? So….most monsters are kinda….mad."

"…Oh." Jude said. That's all he said. He turned away again, uneager to maintain eye contact. He still asked "So why don't you and Papyrus hate me?"

Sans felt his bones stiffen. He forced a shrug "Eh. Pap's too good to care about that kind of thing."

"And you?"

Sans's bones rattled. His SOUL felt as if some unseen pressure was squeezing it. Even if he did have lungs, he was sure he couldn't breathe. "…I'd be lyin' if I said I was fond of 'em."

"Oh." Was all he said.

Sans gritted his teeth. He hadn't known too many humans in his lifetimes. But the ones he did know… Well. There was always a knife involved at some point. There was a smiling mask, holes in the hands. A low voice either saying 'it'll be over soon' or 'but nobody came'. A golden hall. A dark basement. Gushing red that seeped through his ribs and soaked his shirt, plastering it to his chest. A stinging pain that started where the bones were cut but then spread, spread deeper and deeper until the only thing he could know was pain-

"Mister Sans?" said the boy's voice, dragging Sans out of those vague memories and looking eye-to-eye with one of those humans he so loathed. But…

This wasn't a red-eyed child.

This wasn't a man in a mask.

This was Jude. Frowning. Small hand on his own skeletal one. A bruise gracing his eye, another on his cheek. His hair sticking up in a frenzy. The stocky skeleton had a sudden urge to ruffle it back into place that he quickly suppressed. The boy's bronze eyes were dark with concern, frantically struggling to meet the pinpricks of light in his sockets.

"Er… heya kid." Sans said, hitching up his grin "What's with the look?"

Jude blinked "Are you okay?"

"Wha?" Sans said. He shook his skull slowly, pushing the kid away from him "You're askin' me if I'm okay when yer the one all banged up?"

Jude nodded. Then frowned "Is that bad?"

Sans sighed. "Nah, kid, it's cool." Sans said "Just be sure to take care of yerself."

Jude tilted his head. His frown stuck outwards into a pout "Don't treat me like a kid."

"Well, kid, I hate to tell ya this" Sans winked "but you are a kid."

Jude rolled his eyes, settling back down on the couch and hunching the blanket over his small form. Sans rolled his shoulders back, enjoying the crack of his joints as they were moved out of place. Mettaton was up to some nonsense on TV. Jude seemed to be as disinterested as he was, instead eyeing the pile of socks in the corner, as most of the kids did.

His eye sockets fluttered shut as Papyrus raced down the stairs, declaring

"HUMAN, I HAVE CLEANED AND MENDED YOUR SWEATER!"

It wasn't until later that evening, when Papyrus shook him awake, that he, well, woke up. Sans grinned up at the annoyed glare of his brother, yawning to add to the effect.

"'Mornin'." He grinned.

"IT'S NINE AT NIGHT!" Papyrus yelled, stomping his foot. The younger brother was already in his pajamas, it looked like. For some reason he wore a pair of stripped boxers on his head. But who was Sans to critique fashion?

"Oh." Sans chirped "'Night, then."

Papyrus pouted "BUT SANS-"

"I know, I know." Sans chuckled, pushing himself up off the couch. "Bedtime story time, right?"

Papyrus's face brightened "YES! I'M SO GLAD YOU REMEMBERED- OH! HUMAN!" his attention shifted as Jude hopped down the stairs. The boy flinched at the volume of Papyrus's voice, but met his eye sockets.

"Yeah?" He blinked.

"WOULD YOU CARE TO JOIN ME AND SANS FOR BEDTIME STORIES?" Papyrus asked, practically vibrating with how eager he was.

"'Bedtime stories'?" He repeated with a tilt of his head.

"SO YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US! EXCELLENT!" Papyrus cheered, scooping up the boy who let out only a small squeak of protest before he raced up the stairs. Sans rolled his eyes fondly, trudging up after them.

As he entered the room he found the duo snuggled deep into the blankets of Papyrus's racecar bed. Jude, nestled into the crook of one of Papyrus's arms, stared widely, vastly confused as he looked at Sans, clearly hoping for some sort of answer or explanation. Papyrus was excitedly bouncing, practically vibrating.

"So…" Sans grinned, burrowing his hands in his pockets "What book should I read tonight?"

"OH! OH!" Papyrus yelled "HOW ABOUT FLUFFY BUNNY GOES TO THE CIRCUS?"

"Sure." Sans said. He trotted over to Papyrus's bookshelf, grabbed the mentioned book, and trotted back to the bed. He sat on its edge, making sure that his audience could see the pictures. Jude blinked, staring.

Sans was particularly fond of Fluffy Bunny himself, but he was fond of how much Papyrus enjoyed it. It was a boring, simple storyline with lots of water-color pictures and very few words. But he read them slowly and melodiously, putting his own spin on the voices and the narration. He kept reading out of habit even after he heard Papyrus's snores fill the room. As he whispered 'the end' and closed the book, he felt a gentle tug on the end of his sleeve. Blinking, he looked down at the small human.

Jude looked away from him, a light blush on his cheeks. His voice was quiet as he asked "Can you read another?"

Sans thought a moment, then shrugged "Sure."