And we're back! My cousin and I decided we're going to try and update every three days. (Key word being try).
Thank you all so much for the reviews! We hope you like this chapter too.
-mariahills-capsicle
Day 325.
Still no reset.
Sans wakes up again, grudgingly removing his covers from his tired bones. Maybe someday, he'll actually get a decent sleep. That day was obviously not today. With his bones creaking as he shifted, Sans put his slippers on once more. The daily routine. Sans chuckled out loud. His life was so monotonous.
He made his way to the kitchen, his footsteps causing the entire house to creak and moan. The sleepy skeleton began to brew himself a cup of coffee.
"Another day… another cup of joe... " Sans mumbled deeply, "Aaaaand now i'm talking to myself. That's just great."
The coffee takes quite some time to brew, the entire time, Sans just stood there, leaning against the counter and watching the coffee drip its way into the pot below. It wasn't until the small red light on the side of the coffee maker shut off that he moved, reaching to the top shelf, he pulled himself down a mug. Across the cup it read '#1 bro'. Papyrus had gotten it for him for Christmas.
Sans turns the mug to the side, so that the words faced away from him. Only to reveal a badly photoshopped image of him and Papyrus side by side. Sans didn't go anywhere for Christmas, he wanted to stay home, but lo and behold: Papyrus and everyone showed up at his front door, offering gifts and hugs. As much as Sans appreciated the gesture, he asked everyone to leave shortly afterwards.
Sans didn't want any new memories of happiness that would just be torn away from him. Snapping out of his deep thoughts, Sans poured the hot black beverage into his mug. Some of it sloshed out of the cup and onto the counter, but Sans shrugged it off, like usual. As he walked out of the kitchen, gripping the warm mug tightly, he froze.
On the hideous orange couch, a small bundle lay in the middle. Sans could barely make it out in the dim lighting. Sans felt for a lightswitch on the wall, as soon as he found one, the lights flickered a bit before filling the room with a dim light.
"Why the hell…. is there a child on my couch…."
Sans stared in disbelief at the small skeleton that lay dormant on his faded couch. Sans cautiously approached the petite bundle, setting his coffee down as he walked by the kitchen table. Taking a closer look, the skeleton was absolutely coated in dirt and other substances, His clothes were torn and faded. Carefully, Sans advances, reaching a shaky hand down to the skeleton child. After giving the kid a small shake, the child's eyes widen.
Sans returns the expression, but before he could act, the child leaps away from him. The kid is clearly terrified, his eye sockets were alert and his entire body trembled.
"Hey, h-hey kiddo. It's alright." Sans tried to reassure the little skeleton, but the kid seems even more unsettled by his words.
"P-please… I just n-needed a place to stay!" There were tears in the kids eyes, Sans didn't know what to do, he just looked at the kid in horror. Is this kid alone?
"D'you got a family, kid?" Sans asked cautiously, the kid couldn't be more than 10, surely he must have someone to go home to. The kid trembled a bit,
"M-my… Parents… They…" The small skeleton falls to his knees, breaking into a sob. Sans, without thinking, rushes to the kid, kneeling down.
"Hey. It's okay kid. I'm not angry.", Sans says softly, reaching out to put a skeletal hand on the kid's shoulder. The kid flinches at his touch, but doesn't move away.
"Y'got a name, kiddo?" The child wipes some tears from his cheekbones, sniffling.
"F-Franklin."
"The name's Sans. Sans the skeleton. Nice to meet ya' Frankie" Sans offers Frankie a soft smile, Frankie returns it. Sans gets up, offering his hand to Franklin. He takes it.
"You hungry, Frankie?"
Sans pulls Frankie to his feet, still smiling kindly. Frankie nods,
"Y-yes sir."
"Just Sans will do, Kiddo"
"O-okay"
Sans remembers he doesn't have much food to give… except…
"You can uh… Take a seat. I'll be back in a second." Sans gestured to the couch before walking out of the room and into the kitchen. Frankie sits on the couch, still shaking a little. In the kitchen, Sans opens his fridge, to reveal the container labeled 'spaghetti'. With a deep breath, he removes it from the fridge. Papyrus had made it for him a few days ago, showing up at Sans' door without warning. Sans kept the visit short, as much as it hurt to see his brother leave. Sans shook his head, as if to shake the memory away, it was all in the past. He shouldn't be so hurt by it. Sans took the cold spaghetti out of the container, putting it on a plate. Sans put the plate in the microwave for a minute, he glanced over to Frankie, who was still sitting on the couch, a hollow look in his eyes. The microwave snapped Sans' attention back to it. Sans pulled out the warm spaghetti, grabbing a fork out of a nearby drawer. The short skeleton shifted his way back into the living room, holding the plate of spaghetti with two hands.
"It's uh, not much… But here, kiddo" Sans presented the dish of pasta to Frankie, who looked a bit more comfortable. Frankie didn't shift, he stared up at Sans, his wide eyes in disbelief.
"It's alright, kid. You can take it.", Sans said, trying to reassure the skeletal kid. Frankie still looked uncertain, but took the plate out of Sans' hands, setting it on his shaky lap. With a trembling hand, Franklin snatched up the fork and speared himself a few noodles. Frankie's eyes lit up at the first bite, suddenly in a rush to devour the rest of the plate. Sans chuckles, taking a seat next to Frankie on the faded couch.
"Heh. Careful there, buddy." Sans' laugh was low and deep, like the soft rumble of a distant waterfall. Sans caught himself gazing affectionately at the small skeleton sitting next to him. He's just some kid. You can't get attached. Sans reminded himself in his head, tearing his gaze away and looking down at his feet.
"You got a place to go, kid?" He asked, not meeting Frankie's eyes. Frankie had just finished off the last of the spaghetti,
"N-no sir- uh… Sans." The kid stammered in response, he was still shaken up. I could just… Sans began in his head, but stopped the thought as soon as it had presented itself.
There's an orphanage just down the road. I can take him there, and forget about him. Sans shot the kid a quiet smile,
"There's a pretty nice place down the road. They'll take in monsters. You'll have a place to sleep and eat, sound good?"
Sans didn't like the idea of dropping this kid off at some orphanage, but hey. It's better than the kid being out on the streets.
Franklin was silent, an obvious look of disappointment in his eyes. After a brief moment of silence, Frankie spoke up in a shaky voice,
"What if they don't like me?" The kid's voice was serious, brimming with emotion like he was about to cry again.
"If they don't like you, you can stay he-" Damnit Sans. Frankie's eyes lit up,
"Do you mean it?"
"Ye-"
Damnit Sans. Sans had to cut himself off again, internally cursing at himself. Don't get attached. Sans got up, turning around to face Frankie,
"I'll uh, take you to the place. I'm sure they'll love you, kiddo." Sans gave Frankie another reassuring smile, fidgeting a little at the promise he just accidentally made. Sans offered his hand to the little skeleton, who gladly took it. Frankie grabbed his small backpack and slung it around one shoulder, giving Sans a shy smile.
"Heh. Alright. Let's go then." Sans rumbled passively, it had been quite some time since Sans had been outside, perhaps it was time. Sans swung the door open to reveal a thick blanket of new-fallen snow, covering his unkempt yard in a sparkling white sheet. The narrow pathway that lead through the middle of his lawn was faintly outlined. Sans grabbed his coat, a blue jacket with a fur lined hood,off of the nearby coat rack. He lazily let go of Frankie's hand so he could slip it on, and as soon as that was accomplished, their hands were locked once more.
Leading, Sans stepped into the crisp snow, the crunch underneath his slippers was all too familiar. Memories. The orphanage wasn't too far of a walk, in fact, it was just around the corner. Sans had passed by it a few times, usually on his rare trips to the grocery store. Frankie stayed quiet for most of the trip, never letting go of the larger skeleton's hand. Sans felt the kid's grip grow tighter at the sight of the orphanage.
Sure, it was dark, the outside of the building was a dark gray color, the panelling on the side of the large house seemed a bit decrepit, but it was warm right? It was a place the kid could stay and be safe. There was a gate out front, and Sans pushed his way through, earning a shriek from the hinges. A sign above the door read 'Miss Kindon's Monster Orphanage'. Sans cringed at the word orphanage, looking down at Frankie to make sure he took no notice of it. He didn't want the kid to think he was being abandoned. Well. Sans rolled his eyes at his own internal comments, he was doing himself and Frankie a favor.
"It'll be okay, kid. This place looks great." Sans tried to sound enthusiastic, giving Frankie's small hand a tight squeeze. Frankie looked unsure. Sans rang the doorbell, a deep chiming
sound could be heard from inside. A few long seconds later, a human woman opened the door. She smiled a bitter smile.
"Welcome to Miss Kindon's Monster Orphanage, please, come in." Sans felt Frankie stiffen beside him. Sans gives the woman a curt nod.
"You must be Miss Kindon." Sans held out his free hand to her, she didn't take it. She just gave him a small, pointed smile.
"Yes. I am. Now are you going to stand there and let all of the heat out, or are you going to come in?" Her voice was astringent and laced with what could only be described as frustration. Sans nodded again, stepping inside. The interior of the place wasn't as bad as the exterior, the floor was a dark oak and there was a winding staircase leading up to the next floor.
"Are you adopting or dropping off?" Miss Kindon sneered down at Frankie at the mention of dropping off, Frankie clung closer to Sans.
"Uh, dropping off, I guess."
"Follow me. You have paperwork to do." Miss Kindon sighed, clearly not happy to be caring for another child. Sans sighed as well, paperwork being one of his least favorite things.
"You can go and find yourself a room. Down the hall, right there." Miss Kindon said to Frankie, pointing down the hall, where rows of rooms lined the walls. Frankie reluctantly let go of Sans' hand, Sans winced, seeing the small skeleton make his way down the hall. Frankie turned around, still looking unsure. Sans gave the kid a wink, urging him onward. It's for the best. Sans hears Miss Kindon clear her throat behind him,
"If you've quite finished, Mr…. Uh… What was it?"
"Sans."
"Right. Mr. Sans. This way please." Miss Kindon began walking the opposite direction, Sans grudgingly followed. He didn't like her. She led him into an office room, a large dark oak desk stood in the center of the room, atop it lie neat stacks of paper. Miss Kindon sits behind the desk, her slender fingers tapping impatiently as Sans shuffled slowly across the room, to sit in the chair opposite her.
"Now then, Mr. Sans. Is he your child?"
"Nah. Kid's homeless. Found him lyin' on my couch this morning"
"Ah. I see. Does he have a name?"
"Franklin."
Miss Kindon smiles, exposing her off-white teeth. Sans shudders,
"So uh, where are the other kids? Haven't seen any."
"Oh, they're around. Most of them prefer to stay in their rooms, bless their souls" Sans narrowed his eye sockets, she didn't seem very concerned. Nonetheless, Sans answered any questions as best as he could, filling out forms as he went along. It was tedious, but at least Frankie would have a place to stay. Miss Kindon looked bored,
"This." Miss Kindon says, taking a breath, "is the last form, just sign here." Miss Kindon points to a line at the bottom of the page,
"You can go see Franklin again, before signing."
Sans hesitated. He probably shouldn't… Don't get attached. The familiar phrase repeated once more in his head.
"Yeah. I'd like that." Sans smiled lightly, fully knowing it was a bad idea. Miss Kindon hands Sans the paper, attached to a clipboard.
"Just bring the form back when you're done.",she says, letting out a long sigh that quickly escalated into a yawn. Sans nods, heading off to find Frankie.
The orphanage is quiet, the only sound being a quiet sob, which Sans quickly identifies as Frankie. Sans locates the door that the crying was emanating from, knocking lightly before entering.
"Uh… Hey, Frankie?" Sans says, cautiously approaching the skeletal child, who lay face down on the small bed in the corner of the room, his face pressed deeply into the pillow. The room itself was sparsely decorated, a few toys lie in a plastic bin in the corner of the room, on the wall hang a single painting of a castle. Sans sighed, shuffling his way across the room to sit on the bed, the mattress squeaking as he did so.
"You're gonna be okay, kiddo. It's uh… Gonna be tough, but I'm rootin' for ya." Sans says softly to the crying monster, "I promise, you'll have a nice time here…" Sans looks down at the clipboard, frowning. With a shaky hand, he clutches the pen, pressing it down to the spot that Miss Kindon had told him to sign. Hesitation.
Sans sets the pen down.
Damnit Sans.