A/N: Guys, guess what? I just realized that I've reached 50 stories. Holy shit. I've written a ton of words, y'all. If you're into Grillster, maybe check out my newest oneshot, Fireproof? #selfpromotion

Anyhow, can anyone say "filler"? Cuz I can! Nah, there's real stuff here, but most of it is fluffy filler and background stuff. Enjoy!

CHAPTER SIX

After the meeting with MK's school, Frisk started seeing Sans in a different light. He was still her best friend, but he was also the bodyguard he'd promised to be and a monster MK could really look up to. They spent as much time together as possible, him coming to her house for impromptu dinners and her deciding to show up with some new treat recipe for Papyrus' sweet tooth.

Sans felt like he had to find the right time to ask her about her dad. It was obviously still a sore subject to her brother, and he didn't want to upset her by asking. He decided the time was right after having a very short discussion about his own dad.

"What happened to your dad?" he asked.

She huffed, a little miffed that he refused to give her much information. "Tell me about your dad, then we'll talk about mine."

Sans sighed. He probably should have known that would happen. "Frisk, my dad…He wouldn't want me talking about him to a human, okay? I'm sorry, but I'm only trying to be a good son."

She regarded that for a moment. She knew a lot of monsters didn't want humans to know much about them; it was a side effect of their history. Humans had enslaved their races, of course they'd want to hide from them.

She looked up at him and nodded. "My dad was killed trying to break up a fight," she finally said. "They were these stupid humans trying to hurt a monster. Dad got in the middle of it, and they killed both him and the monster."

Sans could see how that would be such a sore subject. "I'm really sorry, Frisk."

She shrugged. "It was a long time ago. MK was still a toddler. To him, Dad is like a fairy tale. I know he wishes Dad was still alive because he feels like all the bullying wouldn't happen if he was there to protect him."

He nodded and leaned forward to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "I get that. Let him know that's what I intend to do."

She smiled and hugged him back. "I will."

Frisk had gotten used to both brothers using magic when she was just with the monsters. Something sparked her curiosity a few weeks later, after she noticed Papyrus glowing both eyes with orange magic.

"Hey Sans," she asked one day as they watched a movie on her couch.

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

He smirked. "You just did, dork."

She smiled back. "You're the dork. Why does Papyrus have two glowing eyes, but you only have one?"

He could feel her curiosity, and it amused him. He really wanted to tell her, but then he'd have to tell her about his dad. He really didn't want to do that yet. He decided to tell her only a little bit of the story.

"Skeletons are supposed to be able to glow both eyes," he started. "Before my parents got together, one of 'em was in an accident and lost one of their eyes. I inherited the one-eye thing. Funny thing is, when skeletons lose an eye, it usually costs them some of their power. Neither of my parents lost any power, and if I'm not at full strength I'll never know. It's kinda scary to think about me having any more magic than I already do." He grinned at her.

She couldn't help but laugh a little. "Then I assume that since Papyrus didn't come from your parents, that's why he has both eyes?"

Sans nodded. "Yep."

"Does he know anything about where he came from?"

He shrugged. "The best we can come up with, based on his fuzzy memories, is that his parents were killed. The person who killed them couldn't hurt a baby, so they decided to throw him away instead."

Frisk scowled. "That's terrible. I suppose—trying to find the silver lining here—at least he didn't die. He's so sweet."

"Yeah, he is. He's the coolest brother I have."

She snorted. "Which one of your parents was in the accident? And what happened?"

He knew she was going to ask that. He sucked in a breath. "It's kinda something I promised I'd never tell anyone about." That was only kind of a lie. He had really only promised he wouldn't tell anyone that his dad still had magic. According to the humans that had hurt him, he lost his magic after they'd scarred him.

Frisk nodded. "That's okay. You know me; I'm just nosy."

He pulled her in for a quick hug. "Yeah you are."

They would have dinners with their friends, movie nights with either just the two of them or they'd invite her brother or his, and even sleepovers.

It was their third sleepover that really got to her.

She usually stayed the night on the couch at the brothers' house. Both Papyrus and Sans had offered their beds, but she wouldn't dream of taking them. She'd be fine on the couch, she said.

The movie they'd watched that night had been a bad choice for a few reasons. The first being that it involved a rape scene that caught them all by surprise and brought back horrific memories for Frisk. The second being that it had an anti-monster rant that made Papyrus cry. They all decided they hated the movie.

As she tried to fall asleep, her mind kept replaying the scene from the movie over and over. It mixed in details from her own experience and kept her from relaxing enough to fall asleep. Eventually, fatigue won out and she did manage to pass out.

She was jolted awake by someone shaking her violently. She shrieked and reached out to smack whoever it was away from her. Her hand hit hard bone, and suddenly she was wide awake.

"Frisk?" Sans said with wide eye sockets.

Frisk was breathing heavily, sweating so hard she felt like she'd just taken a bath, and so convinced she was back in that abandoned basement. She met Sans' eyes and took a breath to steady her quivering stomach. It had been a nightmare.

"Did I hit you?" she asked, dumbfounded. Her hand throbbed.

Sans nodded. "Yeah. Didn't hurt. Are you okay?" He moved to sit next to her and pulled her close. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles before massaging them gently.

Frisk adjusted herself to cradle her face in his neck bones. "I think so. I'm sorry I woke you up."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I'm just glad you're okay. I'm sorry we had to choose that fucked-up movie." He squeezed her a little tighter.

She shrugged. "Not your fault." She sucked in a deep breath and noticed—not for the first time—that he smelled really good. His scent was a mixture of citrus and cinnamon that felt like comfort incarnate.

"I know, but I'm still sorry." Sans closed his eyes and nuzzled his face against her hair. "So, I heard the hairdresser for that movie had a brush with fame."

Frisk pulled back and looked up at him. She was about to ask who it was when she understood what he said. Her lips pulled up in a smile. "That was awful."

He shrugged. "I saw this movie about a beaver once. It was the best dam movie I've ever seen."

She snorted. "Sans." She couldn't help but giggle.

"Hey, did you hear about that new broom that just went on the market?"

Frisk groaned. "Don't."

Sans grinned. "It's really sweeping the nation."

She laughed out loud. "Dammit, Sans."

"What? I gotcha to laugh, didn't I?"

Frisk leaned into him and laughed again. "Yeah, you did."

They stayed in silence for a few more minutes. It wasn't until she pulled back and yawned that she realized what he was wearing.

The thin, white t-shirt flowed over his bones gracefully. She'd seen him without a jacket of some kind only a handful of times, and those times he had been in a long-sleeved sweater. She'd never seen so much exposed bone before, and for a brief moment she was concerned.

It didn't take more than a few seconds for her brain to remind herself that he was a skeleton; exposed bone equaled exposed skin on a human. She found herself admiring his structure and the way his shirt outlined him perfectly.

"You okay?" he asked; less of a question to measure her wellbeing after the nightmare and more of a question to see if she'd fallen asleep staring at his chest.

She looked up to meet his eyes and smiled. "I'm fine."

He nodded, and they both stood up. He stretched, his arms high above his head. It caused his shirt to ride up, and she couldn't help but stare. His sweat pants sat on the middle of his hips. The tops of his hipbones were clearly visible, along with his spine ascending and disappearing under his shirt. She blushed and looked down at his feet. She'd never seen him without shoes or slippers on, and somehow his bare metatarsals and phalanges were adorable to her. She wondered what the hell was wrong with her.

She looked up, surprised when Sans laughed. The humor in his eyes was unmistakable.

"You look like you've never seen bones before, Frisk." He reached out and lightly tapped her shoulder. "You have your own under all that…flesh."

He had hesitated on the word, and she could have sworn the lights in his sockets traveled over her body from head to toe before he muttered it. She was probably just being hopeful.

Frisk smiled. "Yeah, but mine won't walk around when they're exposed."

She immediately regretted what she'd said when his brow bones furrowed and he looked down.

"I'm sorry, Sans. I didn't mean anything by that." She took a step closer and put her hand on his arm.

Sans smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. "I know, Kiddo."

She took another breath of his scent and focused maybe a little too intently on the vertebrae in his neck before pulling back.

"Thank you for waking me up and making me feel better."

He nodded against her head. "Are you gonna be okay out here alone?"

She really wanted to say no. It would be an excuse to stay close to him the rest of the night. In reality, she knew she'd probably be fine. She had new things to focus on that would probably give her good dreams.

She nodded and pulled back from the hug. "I'll be okay."

It was her turn to stretch and yawn. As she stretched, her back popped in two places. She almost laughed when he cringed.

"Goodnight, Frisk. Please don't make that sound again."

She smiled. "It's not actually my bones popping."

He tilted his head to the side. "What is it?"

Although it wasn't the first time she'd had to explain human things to her skeleton friend, it was a pretty rare occurrence. "It's gasses that accumulate in the fluid between my joints. When I stretch, the gasses escape and make that sound."

Sans shuddered. "Humans are weird."

Frisk laughed out loud. That was almost always his response when she explained something about the human body.

After that night, Frisk decided that she needed to start dating again. She was certainly becoming more and more attracted to her best friend, but she wasn't sure if he felt the same way. She made it a point to dress a little nicer and spend some time on her makeup each day. She had nearly melted when Sans told her she looked nice one day. She tried to flirt with him, but when that went nowhere she decided it would be best to look elsewhere.

After two months, she'd had a handful of dates but hadn't found anyone that she actually liked enough to continue seeing. One person ended the date early when he found out her best friend was a monster. Another seemed nice enough, but he never laughed at a single pun she told. She couldn't stomach the idea of being with someone like that for a long time.

It was another month later that she decided maybe dating wasn't a thing she was going to be good at. She really thought she'd found a good one this time, as it was their second date. She dressed in a blue skirt and a white top, curled her short hair, and painted her nails. He was due to show up at seven o'clock sharp.

By seven thirty, she'd texted him three times to see if he was still going to make it.

When he still hadn't showed at eight-thirty, she decided she was done waiting for him. She sighed dejectedly and told herself it wasn't her fault.

Instead of dwelling on the weight in her chest, she texted the person she actually wanted to date.

How's your night going?

She put her phone down on the table and looked at her nails. She thought she'd actually done a good job with them this time.

Back from your date already? It's not even nine. Is he being a douche?

She huffed.

It never actually started. So yeah, he's being a douche.

She told herself she wasn't going to cry. This happened to people all the time. She pouted; it had never happened to her before.

He never showed?

She sucked in a deep breath.

Nope. I hope your night's going better.

She got up and took off her shoes. She wasn't sure why she'd kept them on this long to begin with.

Meh. Are you up for company?

She smiled to herself. Maybe Sans would come over and help cheer her up.

Yeah, actually I could really use some. Will you come over?

Four minutes later there was a knock at the door. She let Sans in and hugged him tightly.

"You look nice," he said when they pulled apart. "He's missin' out."

Frisk was sure she blushed. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry the guy was an ass. You want me to track him down for ya?"

She caught the faint light in his left eye and realized he was actually upset. She shook her head. "No, but thank you. I just want someone to talk to."

He nodded and hugged her again before walking over to the couch. "Then that's what I'm here for."

They sat and talked for a while about trivial things. She tried again to flirt with him, but either she was really terrible at it and he didn't know what she was doing, or he was ignoring her advances. She gave up, not willing to embarrass herself further.

Sans decided to cheer her up by showing her a few tricks.

"You wanna see something cool?" he asked.

"That would be nice."

His left hand began to glow. She watched in awe as the flame in his palm shifted and twirled, taking the shape of a blue lily. Light danced around the outside, and the inside of the flower began to turn purple, spreading outward across the petals and blending with the blue of his magic.

"That's so beautiful," she breathed. She reached out to touch it. Her fingertips touched the petals gently. She was surprised when a hot shock went up through her fingertips. They both gasped, and she pulled back quickly.

He curled his fingers and the magic was gone. "Is your hand okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I can still feel it; like it's a tingle up to my elbow." She rubbed her arm.

He smirked. "Me too. I didn't expect you to touch it like that, so I wasn't as gentle as I should have been."

"I'm sorry—Wait, you felt it, too?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. My magic is part of my soul. When I put so much of it in one spot like that, to make something, it's pretty sensitive. I can control how…I guess how intense it is; the emotion behind it. Weapons are a little different; they come from a different part of my soul. With stuff like this, the more intensity I put into it, the stronger I can feel it. I wouldn't summon anything that could really hurt you, Frisk. I just didn't expect that. You wanna see another one?"

She nodded eagerly.

The flame engulfed his hand once again. This time, it swirled into the shape of a dragonfly. The wings' color drained to a pale, near translucent turquoise while the body darkened to indigo. The wings fluttered briefly twice.

She laughed joyfully. "Oh, Sans…this is wonderful."

He loved the spark of happiness in her eyes.

"I'm glad I can share this with you."

She met his eyes and sighed happily. "Me too."

A/N: I just love learning new stuff about monster magic and how they can use it/what they can do with it.

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