"Sans?" She asked, seeing the shadowed figure of a Skeleton. He closed the book and turned his head, eyelights meeting her wary orbs. Why was he here? Why was she home?
He let out a breath, closing his eyes. He seemed to be in deep thought so she didn't want to say anything. Tense silence coiled around her. Sans finally opens his sockets, dots of light hardened and grinning corners of his mouth down. It looked wrong somehow. "sorry."
She blinked at him.
"i didn't mean to push you away. something came up that, really rattled my bones. didn't want to drag you into until i got my head straight. still don't but… sorry." He held out his hand. "think we can be frie-" She cut him off with a hug.
"I'm so glad." She sniffled. The tears came back but for a different reason. "I thought you hated me and left."
He patted her back awkwardly. "of course i don't. so please…. stop crying."
"Sorry. I'm just so relieved." Krissa rubbed her eyes. He hesitantly reaches out and places his hand on her head. She looked up to see him closer. The eyelights were somewhat larger and soft around the edges like a hazy flashlight beam in the fog. There was something there that was new.
Something tender. His focus dropped down to her chest like he was searching for something. It made her feel vulnerable. Her face warmed at the strange intensity he held in his gaze. She shrunk in on herself. That seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.
There was a dusting of blue across his face. Sans removed his hand. "heh. how 'bout i take you out for burgers? as a better apology." Krissa smiled and nods happily. He walked over to flop down on her couch. "mind if i crash here again?"
Krissa shook her head and sat on the recliner on one side. "Not at all." She turned on the TV and switched on Netflix.
"not sleeping yet?"
"I had enough sleep. There's a guest room if this bothers you." She murmurs.
"nah. i'm not tired."
She rose a brow at that. Didn't he say he wanted to crash here? Why ask if he isn't going to rest? With a shake of her head, she selects one of her favorite movies. 'Hotel for Dogs'. Sans watched with interest at Bruce's, the younger brother's, inventions did their thing.
The doggy elevator, meal call megaphone connected to a bike, and whatever unimportant gadget he held in his lap for a second interested him. But thin he frowned. "what's this about the two getting separated?"
"Normally adults only want one kid to deal with if they adopt."
He hummed and looked back at the screen. The foster parents were making their appearance. Sans rose a brow ridge. "is that hair an actual style?"
"In the 70's and 80's poofy was a fad."
"does bruce always make neat contraptions?"
"You'll see."
At this point the sister was being introduced to three pet shop dogs. Romeo the… she didn't know what he is, Shep the border collie, and Rupert the bulldog. "what the hell is that?" He asks, pointing at the small rat looking dog. Krissa only shrugged at him. Sans' eye light widened when the scene changed to the broom catapult. Poor Dave got wooden spatula to the face. "Ouch."
Cue invention montage. Bone treadmills, bruce at a desk making blue prints, and then the finished feeder machine. Next was creating the bathroom machine with a glorious gold fire hydrant that Romeo had the honor to test. Then there was the boop toilet that sends bags of boop into a dumpster outside.
"this kid is ingenious."
And with a new kid joining the group, they made it their mission to rescue every stray they hear about on the radio. Sans seemed to like this.
"See why it's called hotel for dogs now?"
"yep." Sans laughs at the car ride simulator and doorbell game. "oh my god. that's ridiculous."
Krissa hummed as she watched Romeo and Juliet chase each other through the hotel. It was one of her favorite parts. Then it was a sad scene. Berney came to tell the siblings about an opportunity to get good parents but they choose to stay for the dogs. As the movie goes on, the happiness turns into sadness. Someone sells out the fact that the girl was foster kid at a party and all the dogs are taken away.
Tears drip from her eyes at how sad it looked when the dogs were shoved into the cages. Trapped and sent to be alone at the pound. The siblings were being separated now, causing her to sob.
She felt a hand rub her back. Sans had a sad look on his face too. Not having it in her to ask, she kept quiet and watched the rest of the movie. It was a family movie so of course it ends happily. No matter how many times she watches a movie, some scenes always get to her.
She can't remember when but at some point she drifted off. Her eyes open to dawn shining through her window blinds. She got her bearings the more her sleep haze lifted. Beside her Sans hadn't moved from his position. She on the other hand, had her head on his lap. It could have been a more embarrassing position so she should be lucky. That didn't stop her face from burning up though.
Krystal got up and made her way to the kitchen. She took her meds and got to working on breakfast. Cheese and bacon omelettes. It was the least she could do as a thank you. After she dished out the two folded egg pancakes, she picked up her ketchup bottle and wrote out 'sans' in the thick red condiment. She did the same with hers and writing her name.
Lazy shuffling of feet came into the living room. Sans rubbed the bottom rim of his droopy eye sockets. There were strange indents under them that gave the impression of tired bags. The white of his bones even had a shadowy dark and dull blue color.
She held out his plate and the bottle with her remaining ketchup. "Bone Appetite?"
He chuckled and took the offered items and sat down at the table. She did the same while placing down silverware and cups of milk. She watched him eat with wonder. "Where does it even go?" She covered her mouth when he looked up. "S-sorry! That was rude of me."
"how 'bout i answer all your questions at grillby's."
"Deal."
After breakfast she turned on the news. Sans said he only needed to go to work at eleven. She'll need ask him what he does later. That was still three hours from now. She liked that he was staying around, lazing about her living room with her. It was like how it was before. It didn't matter if her feeling went unnoticed.
As long as she still had his friendship, she was happy to keep being in his company. And yes, she has reason to believe that she thinks of her as a friend. Who else would barge in to help her get through a bad panic attack.
Sans was reading her Wicca book. Bailey gave it to her when she asked about her always being a witch for Halloween last year. Something about getting her to understand the mystical world of magic believers. Of course, seeing real magic now, Wicca looked like pretend. Speaking of that holiday, it was coming up in the next week. She settled on being a fairy. A butterfly fairy.
Something on the news flashed up to start the next story. Dunwick Oregon… kinda close. She was about to zone out again when the scrolling lines on the bottom said monster. She snatched up her remote and turned up the volume.
"A monster was attacked last night. We are unsure who it was but we do know that the monster called gryftrot was seriously injured after being mugged and jumped. This is one of the many attacks that have been occurring as of late. So far the people responsible are not going towards Ebbot and only staying on the borders."
"Aside from that news-"
Krissa mutes the T.V and frowns. "Horrible. Three years of peace and now this?"
"gryf was a neighbor of me and paps. It's either humans suddenly hate us more or…"
"They were biding their time until they were confident enough to strike. Like a cobra." The dark thought made her stomach churn. The clock on the wall made her jump up. She was still wearing her green t-shirt and shorts from yesterday. She ran into her room and changed into white pants and a pastel pink embroidered shirt. "I have work!"
Krissa tightened her choker and hurried past sans. "Let yourself out, bye!"
How on earth could she forget her own schedule!? She got to the shop with a minute to spare. Bailey laughs at her ragged appearance. "Well good morning to you too gemstone. Sparkling as always."
"Shut up. I'll get started on deadheading the bloomed out blossoms before I man the counter."
He watched.
He's been watching for weeks.
She, the girl with red eyes was different.
Her demeanor has changed.
She was happier.
Her mask of neutrality has vanished.
There she stood in the flowershop. Looking content. She was upset for days. What changed?
Monsters.
She's been conversing with those creatures.
But that wasn't all….
He will find out.
Krissa yawns after sending a woman out with a pot of poppy flowers. Almost break time. Another costumer walks in. There was only a minute left till break. Damn. 'Pleasant thoughts and smile you fool.' She grinned but it almost immediately falters when she sees just who it was.
Savanna. Tall, slender, sun-kissed, and blonde hair saturated with all expensive products that their town had. Cover girl makeup caked her face and her clothes were revealing. Her black lace bra was showing. Just the upper rim, but enough to seem 'seductive'.
Her sandy blond hair was naturally wavy with curled ends that pool at her shoulders. He bands were swept to the right. She had pencil thin eyebrows and deep blue almond shaped eyes she always thought to be cold.
She sneers. Sometimes Krissa believed she and Jordan were related. A manicured hand with fresh sparkly gel nails slam on the counter. "Hello Krystal. It's so nice to see you." She coos in that sickly sweet voice dripping in thorny nectar like a Venus fly trap. That's the perfect plant to describe her.
With a plastic business smile, she says her equally fake words. "Hello again Miss Whitley. Are you here to purchase anything?"
"Actually Red," The way she said the nickname with blunt distaste. She liked it when Sans said it like an endearment and not a taunt. "I'm curious. I heard you were involved with monsters recently. How does it feel to be around your own kind?"
Krissa bites her lip, her eyes tingling as they change. "I'm not a monster."
"Sorry, demon. Better?" Savanna laughed, the sound shrill and unpleasant to her ears. "Better be careful. Your soul well be damned. More than it already is anyway."
Bailey enters with a scowl across her face. "Are you harassing my employee again Whitley?"
"Of course not. I'm just giving a warning to an old friend." She turns and walk to the door. "And.. I like your hair. Keeping it short was a good choice. It'd be a shame if something happened to it again."
Krissa clenched her fist, biting her tongue. Not that she would be able to talk back anyway. She grabbed her phone and got a toffee from her dimensional box. Something sweet should wash away the bad taste in her mouth. She pulled on her coat and walked out. When she stepped outside, she saw Sans waiting against the wall.
She waved though he must have seen her distant expression since his usual grin dropped slightly. "you okay there?"
"Yeah. Let's just go."
"c'mere, i know a shortcut."
Smiling, she took the hand he extended out to her and closed her eyes when he put an arm around her. The blush was inevitable but hopefully he was more focused with teleporting to notice.
The earth drops and her stomach lurched but it wasn't as bad as the first time. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a cozy looking diner. When she entered, she was impressed by the homey rustic theme. It reminded her of her grandmother's cabin.
Booths with red cushions lined the walls and round tables with four to six chairs were scattered about. In the back of the room was a bar. There were monsters and humans as patrons. Sans waved when many of the monsters called his name and greeted him. He seemed popular. Making it to the bar, she sat down at a stool. A long fart sound came from under her rear.
A red blush consumed her face while the skeleton beside her snickers. "careful. weirdos like to leave whoopee cushions on seats sometimes."
"I-I can't… no. Actually I can believe you would do this."
The bartender walks out from the back room and nods to Sans. The monster was completely made of fire, wearing glasses and was sharply dressed. He could be described as handsome with his tall and lean physique. He disappeared into the back again without a word.
Sans grabbed a nearby glass ketchup bottle and started drinking it. Her nose crinkled as she watched. "That is something I'll never get used to seeing."
"me consuming anything in general or ketchup?"
"Both. Oh, you promised to answer that by the way."
He chuckles and sets the bottle down. "how 'bout we make it a game? you ask, and then me. no holdin' back."
"...Deal."
"okay. so starting with your, monsters convert food into magic energy. our food is made of magic too so it vanishes quickly." The elemental returns and places down two plates of burgers. "thanks grillbz."
Krissa took a bite from hers. Here taste buds came alive with the warmth and flavor. "Wow!"
"heh. so what do you like other than books and gardening?" She looked down. "hey now. i get you don't like talking about yourself but relax and let go for a bit."
She sighed, knowing that she really should open up more to her new friends. "I… Like to sing. It's nice for when I don't have my music. I was in a choir at school for a little bit. How good are the drinks here?"
"see? not so hard and pretty good. monster alcohol is very different but it's safe for a first timer to drink two glasses. would you like to try some?"
"Sure. Something with a similar to a pina colada will be nice." Grillby, who she assumed was the fire monster, nodded his head and started making it. "Hmm. How come I haven't met you guys sooner?"
Sans looked thoughtful before shrugging. "we pretty much stuck to our own in the first couple o' years. asgore made sure we had some rights before we started integrating. flowey found the buttercup field and kid wanted to go there. so... you like living alone?"
Krissa shook her head and smiled when her drink was handed to her. She took a sip and sighed from the refreshing wave of coolness flowing into her chest just like monster food did with its warmth. The flavors of pineapple and coconut swirled around on her tongue before dissipating like mist.
She grins at sans, face only a little bit flushed. "Amazing!" Remembering that he asked a question, she coughed into her fist. "S-sorry. No. I don't like to live alone. It's too quiet. I need to always have some noise so it didn't consume me." Wow. She said a bit more than she liked normally. A simple 'it gets lonely sometimes' would have been enough.
Her eyes drifted to where his stomach should be and poked. Her finger was met with resistance. "What gives you shape?"
"magic." She glares at his amused grin. "seriously. magic sorta makes it to my inner bones are protected. is that a favorite necklace?" He asks, pointing to her neck while she was taking a few swallows of her tropical magic drink.
"I guess. It's useful so I keep it on."
"useful?"
"Uh-uh. My turn." She giggles. The drink was getting to her. "Ish banned topic."
"huh?"
"No ash-king about it. Now...what job you have?"
Sans snorted at the random fire pun though he was sure it was her words slurring. "eh. multiple. usually i run my own hot dog stand. then i do side jobs. have red eyes always bee in the family?"
She nods. "Grandma had them. It skipped my dad and I inherited it. Never really showed until elementary school. Pushed off a swing by a bully and got upset. That made my eyes change. What's your favorite thing to do...other than wandering the forest like me."
"watching stars."
Her head fell onto the counter and she smiled. "Thought so."
Sans watched as her expression change the more she drank. Monster alcohol was a lot like truth serum. People find themselves admitting to a lot of things. He bet she has spoken more than what she usually would.
He didn't expect one glass to get her drunk. She must not do it often with human drinks. She pokes his shoulder and giggles. Her phone buzzed on the counter and he picked it up to see that it was Bailey. He swipes the lock screen open. "yo."
"Sans? Where's Krystal?"
"um….."
"Sans…"
"i took her out to a diner and uh.. she got drunk. normally this stuff won't affect a human when they drink one glass."
She sighs. "Krissa has very low tolerance. Make sure she gets home okay."
"you're not mad?"
"You didn't know."
She hung up and he looked back at the giggly human woman beside him. Definitely a happy drunk. Should he try asking about her choker again? No that would be taking advantage. Small questions will do or now.
"so... favorite color?"
Krissa poked him again. "Blue. Indigo, navy, sky, cerulean, electric, all those blues. Pretty colors." He chuckled and scratched behind his skull. "I like…." She stopped and looked at her food. "Burgers."
He snorts at how ridiculous this turned out. Here he was just trying to get to know her more as a person and now he had to deal with a very loopy human. It could be worse. She could've been an angry or sad drunk. She was gripping his sleeve tightly just a little over his hand.
Sans wasn't one for contact, only touching someone directly when he needed to aside from Paps. Krissa was the opposite from that. She sought out to have something to hold unconsciously.
He's seen the signs. When she walked, she held her index and middle fingers like a child would to their parent. She hugs her pillows to sleep. She lit up when Asgore and Toriel showed her parental love. This woman craved affection. Wanted it. Needed it. He didn't know what kind of life she had to have lived to lead up to this subtle desperation for love.
His curiosity wanted him to ask while the alcohol was still in effect but his conscience was saying it was wrong. Him being him, he went with the right choice. Krissa was far to sweet to take advantage of. Her soul will no doubt be a good color if it ever came out of it's shell. He wanted to bring it out.
The idea made him freeze. This wasn't his soul wanting it. Souls don't make a monster feel things. It only guides them. Returning from his thoughts, he saw that she was staring at him. Her gaze was soft and bleary. The magic leaving her system was making her tired. A common side effect.
The back of his gloved hand rushed back a stray lock of hair and watched as her cheek were dusted pink. Her brows knitted in confusion. "Mm?"
"think you're good ta go home?" She hummed again. An agreeing sound. He got up and chuckled when she closed her eyes. "hey now, no napping. that's my job." He dug out his wallet and tossed some cash onto the bar and looked up at the crackling noise. Grillby was staring at him. "what? i'm paying her half. you put the rest on my tab."
If his friend could raise eyebrows, he imagined he would be doing just that. He holds her to his side before teleporting into her living room. Krissa yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes. "That was fun."
"oh?"
"Mhm. I got to see a new place filled with both humans and monsters. Got to try new food. Thanks for the… outing." She sat down on her couch and turned on the discovery channel.
He walked towards the door but stopped to glance over his shoulder. Krissa had turned around, a gentle smile on her lips as her eyes sparkles with something that made his soul do funny flip.
That single smile was enough for him to realize…
He has fallen for her... and not in the dusting way. Sans yanked his hood over his skull to hide the blue spreading over his face.