Sans looked at the clock. It was three o' clock in the afternoon. Time to head over to Muffet's. Oh, but how he didn't want to, he finally found the most perfect position on the couch and his sockets were heavy with sleep. How he wanted to just lay there in that blissful position for the rest of the afternoon and snooze away. But he told Toriel he'd meet her there at three-fifteen. Perhaps he could just blow it off for a few hours of sleep.
...No, he couldn't do that to Toriel. She'd be worried sick about him if he didn't show up, then frustrated once she found out he ditched her just to sleep. He could always give her a call, but his cell phone was on the coffee table just barely out of reach, and if he got up to grab it he'd might as well finish getting up to head out anyway. There was no way around it. He could sleep another time.
Groaning loudly and rather dramatically, Sans sat up on the couch and rubbed the sleep out of his sockets. Trying and failing to stifle a yawn, he grabbed his phone and trudged upstairs to his room where - surprise, surprise - it was a complete pigsty. Granted it wasn't nearly as messy as his room in the Underground was because he's been more energetic ever since the monsters were freed, but that still didn't mean he was going to turn into a neat freak like Papyrus was.
Sans opened his closet and fished out his regular attire: a blue jacket, a thin shirt, and shorts. The only thing he substituted were his pink slippers, slipping on socks and sneakers instead. It was easy to walk around in just slippers in Snowdin, but that's because there weren't dangers on the outside like cars and work zones and things of the like that would either cause him to lose his footwear or keep him from running from danger.
By the time he put everything on, it was three-o'-five. He just barely had enough time to make it to Muffet's. That is if he were walking. Chuckling, Sans tapped into his magic and snapped his fingers, teleporting out of the house and reappearing in less than a second later in the center of the bakery.
A sharp cry was heard soon after, followed by many crashes of dishes. Sans whipped around behind him to find the source of the abrupt noise, and he winced when he found a human woman collapsed to the ground with chattered lavender dishes around her, a large splash of coffee on her white shirt, and a few donuts scattered around her. Sans immediately knew he had startled her with his sudden appearance and caused her to fall back and spill her food all over her.
"Aw, geez, sorry about that," Sans apologized, holding out a hand for her to take.
The woman growled at him and shoved his hand away rudely before standing up and glaring down at him, gesturing to her stained shirt with her hands. "Look at what you did, you freak! This shirt is brand-new and you ruined it!"
"Look, I understand you're pretty steamed about this, but donut think I did that to you on purpose," Sans chuckled sheepishly, hoping his puns would lighten her mood.
Unfortunately, it only seemed to make her even more angry. "Now you're mocking me with puns? What do you take me for, a toddler? I don't have time for your little shenanigans! Move aside, monster!" She spat the word "monster" and shoved the skeletal monster out of the way, nearly making him fall over, and stomped out of the establishment.
"I said I was sorry..." Sans mumbled, rubbing the back of his head in confusion.
"Sans, are you okay?" a female voice called out. Sans recognized it to be Toriel's immediately, and he saw the boss monster walk over to him quickly. "Did you hurt anything?"
"Nah, I'm fine," he replied with a wide grin. He felt his SOUL grow lighter upon seeing the beautiful boss monster. He had finally accepted that he indeed had a crush on Toriel, ever since he first met her on the other side of the door to the Ruins in Snowdin Forest. Only when he saw her in person did his feelings truly blossom, and he didn't even feel guilty about crushing on the former queen of the monsters now that she left Asgore. A part of him still felt a bit guilty for practically snatching her up from the king, but Asgore had assured him that it was fine that he loved her. He wanted Toriel to be happy above all else after all. "If anything's hurt, I think it was that woman, but she didn't stick around too long before storming out."
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry about her," Toriel sighed. "That was Linda, one of the PTA members who attend the meetings at school. She doesn't like monsters too much, and she definitely doesn't approve of monsters coexisting with humans and sharing the same rights."
"Harsh," Sans grunted. "Sorry about that, Tori."
"Oh, no, it's fine. We're not here to talk about her anyway. We're here to talk over a few donuts and a cup of coffee, remember?"
"Uh, y-yeah, that's right." Oh, boy. Sans' cheeks are starting to grow hot in an electric-blue blush again. This sort of thing always happened whenever he'd spend time with Toriel, mainly because he likes to secretly pretend that these hangouts weren't just hangouts, but dates. Of course he wasn't able to muster the courage to tell her his feelings yet, but he'll get the chance one day. Hopefully.
Sans accompanied Toriel back to the seat she had reserved for him, and the two sat down in the chairs, facing each other. There was a lamp shining just above them, and the light allowed Sans to see all the beautiful details of Toriel's face. Her soft silky fur had been brushed to perfection, and her crystal clean white teeth shimmered like freshly fallen snow in the afternoon sun. Her eyes sparkled with joy and kindness like pools of sapphire, and that warm smile she wore as she looked down at him made his nonexistent heart melt.
The two monsters shared a cup of coffee and a few donuts, trading horrible puns and jokes back and forth and laughing up a storm. Sans always felt his spirits rise at the sound of Toriel's melodious laughter, which only drove him to make more jokes. Gosh, everything about this monster was just perfect. He knew things could only go up from here.
That is until the bill came. Sans was never good at remembering to bring his money with him, which was typically why he always forgot to pay Grillby for the things he ate back in the Underground. He had also said he was treating Toriel to lunch, but lo and behold the lovestruck monster was penniless. He moaned a bit, his cheeks flaring up in embarrassment, and he leaned against the table as he looked down.
"Er... I forgot my wallet at home..." he confessed meekly. "You wouldn't mind, uh... payin', would ya? I know I said I was treating you, sorry..."
"Oh, Sans, it's okay," Toriel smiled sweetly as she pulled out her wallet from her purse. She pulled out three pieces of Gold, and she frowned. "Oh, dear..."
"What's wrong, Tori?"
"I only have three pieces on me, but the pill calls for eight."
"Guess we'll need to get more dough to pay for the dough we ate, eh?" He felt a little better when the boss monster snorted and giggled. "Jeez, what do we do? I doubt Muffet's the type of monster to let me start a tab here."
"Is everything alright over here?"
A new voice spoke up in an airy giggle. Sans jumped in alarm as the voice came from right behind him, and he whipped around to see Muffet smiling down at him, her six arms folded casually behind her back and a sickly sweet smile stretched across her face. Great, just the monster he needed to see... How lucky is he...
"Oh, Muffet, I'm so sorry," Toriel began, "but I'm afraid Sans and I are just 5G short on what we owe you."
"Oh, dear, that is a problem," Muffet nodded in concern. She brightened up and smiled. "Not to worry, I know how you two can pay off what you owe!~"
"Oh, wonderful! How?"
"Ahuhuhu!~ By working it off, of course!"
Sans was afraid she was going to say that. He was never a good baker - evidence of this fact was shown in the pie he tried to make in which Papyrus mistook for a quiche - and he was a little too lazy to do any actual work. But that would mean that if he didn't do it, Toriel would, and she didn't deserve that. It was his fault for not remembering his wallet in the first place, and for her to take punishment for his blame just wouldn't be right. Sans stifled a heavy sigh.
"Alright, I'll do it," he spoke.
"As will I," Toriel jumped in.
"No, Tori, it was my fault for not remembering my wallet," Sans argued. "I just wouldn't sleep well at night if I knew you were sharing the punishment that's supposed to be mine and mine alone."
"I assure you it's okay, Sans," Toriel tried to reason, but she stopped arguing at the look of utter determination on the skeletal monster's face. She sighed softly and nodded. "Well, if that is what you wish. But if you need any help, you only need to ask."
"Wonderful!~" Muffet cried with joy. "You shall start work tomorrow, then, Sans, and you shall keep working until you have paid off your debt. Which shall take... three days."
Three whole days of working?! Well, at least Sans will be able to take advantage of those legally-required breaks. He had to do this, though, for Toriel. He had to prove to her that he can own up to his own mistakes and make things right. After all, women like and admire responsible men.
"Alright, I suppose that's okay," Sans confirmed.
"You shall come in at five o' clock tomorrow morning, then!~"
"F-Five?!" Sans stammered, shaking his head a bit. "That's way too early!"
"I come to work at three in the morning to start my work, so consider yourself lucky that you'll be coming in two hours later."
Sans moaned softly and hid his face in his hands. Boy, this was going to be a lot harder than he thought. "Alright, alright... I'll be here at five."
"Marvelous, ahuhuhu!~" the spider monster giggled gleefully. "You two have a nice afternoon!" And with that, she skipped away to tend to the other customers.
"Geez, Tori, I'm really sorry about all this," Sans muttered, his cheeks still tinged with an embarrassed blush. "I know this was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon."
"Don't worry, Sans, it was," Toriel smiled reassuringly, resting a massive paw on his shoulder. "And I forgive you for forgetting your money. Everyone forgets something every now and then. We are only monsters after all."
Sans smiled and held her paw in a bony hand, finding much comfort in her words and gestures. He almost forgot why he was upset in the first place. Almost.
Sans and Toriel bid each other farewell before taking their own routes back home. This date wasn't too bad at all; it was rather fun actually. If only he hadn't forgotten his wallet. Now he had to work for Muffet for three days until he paid the money off. Halfway home, it also occurred to him that he had totally forgot to feed his pet rock.
Oh, Papyrus was not going to be happy when he got home.