A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been meaning to write it, but. I just didn't. Not even gonna sugar-coat it. Imma lazybones. Hopefully it was worth the wait? Also, let me say this now, I'll end up taking a few crazy liberties. Can I just say, what laboratory the size of Alphys' not have an infirmary? Now you're going to say "She does, in the true lab." and I'm going to say "No one knew about her true lab, and she liked to keep it that way." Also, don't ask why Alphys didn't confront them. She was too busy watching anime.
Rating: T (Hey, we earned it too. Chara's a mouth on her, for a kid)
Word Count: 1,450
Summary: Sans was tired of going through the resets, tired of watching his brother and his friends get killed over and over, knowing he could do absolutely nothing about it. He decided he would give it one final chance, hoping - praying - he could talk some sense into her. He had never expected to fall in love with her.

The Last Timeline
Chapter 2

They didn't speak the entire trip to Hotlands, only acknowledging each other through brief glances, neither noticing the other as the did so. In all honesty, it wasn't long of a trip, but the deafening silence made it feel all the more awkward. It wasn't until they had made it inside Alphys' lab that Sans broke the silence.

"so, uh, what is it you want in the lab?" he looked up at Chara who simply shrugged in reply. His gaze flickered away from her face for a minute, the pinpricks of light not entirely matching his grin. It was silent for a beat, and Chara picked up her pace, taking lead in front of him. His hands dug deeper in his pockets, not bothering to catch up to her and simply letting her hold the distance between them. "y'know, you were wrong earlier. i do want you to talk to me. i do care."

Chara stopped so suddenly, turning around to look at him, that he almost ran into her. Her face was twisted in hatred, her eyes practically burning through him. "You think I believe you? After everything I did, you care about how I feel, why I'm doing this? Bullshit." she crossed her arms, huffing out an angered breath. "language." was the only thing he said in reply.

"There is no way you care about me at all. You hate me and I hate you. You're just hoping that you can change my mind, that you just say something nice, and I decide to go back on everything I've worked up to. Well, fuck you. I'm getting my ending, one way or another, and if that means I have to die a million times by your hand, so be it."

Sans sighed, shifting his weight slightly, his skull tilting at her. "you think that you'll be so happy. but you won't. you'll keep going until there's nothing left, and then what? you'll reset, and just do all this again? sometimes, what we think we want, isn't what we really need. once you 'win', you'll realize it was what you ever wanted in the first place, that you were blinded by an emotion and you let it make the decisions for you."

She scoffed, eyes narrowing at him. "And how would you know that?" he shrugged, lights flickering softly in their sockets. "let's just say i went through a similar situation quite a few timelines ago." Chara sighed, turning around briskly and resuming her path.

It would take more than a short conversation to break through the thick armor Chara had set up, he knew. And, in a way, she was right. Sans had no reason to care for her after what she had put him through. He knew he shouldn't, but he just did, and it made absolutely no sense to him. It wasn't a desperation to stop anymore, but a legitimate curiosity as to what made her act this way. If he could just prove to her how much he cared, as inconceivable as it may be, she would understand. She would open up to him, if he could just break through. If he could just gain her trust. He knew it'd be a trip to Hell and back, but in a way he wanted to do it. For her.

Why did he care?

In a way, he figured, he'd always cared. Even when he was so extremely vengeful towards her, because, in that first timeline, when he had witnessed her murdering his brother, he had wanted nothing but to hit her, harm her, kill her. So, he waited in the Judgement Hall, where he knew she would have to pass if she wanted to see Asgore, where she couldn't escape him. And he didn't give her a chance. As soon as she stepped into the golden-lit room, he attacked her, Gaster Blasters flying in on every angle. She didn't even have the time to panic.

And in the fleeting moment before the world went dark, before the timeline reset, he didn't feel as though he got what he wanted. He felt regret. He had killed a child and (even though she, in a way, deserved it) he felt nothing but pure anger - not towards Chara, but towards himself. He had found out that killing Chara wasn't what he had wanted, but what he had asked for.

And he didn't want to kill her again.

The tour of the lab was spent in silence, Chara taking the lead and exploring the different rooms. It wasn't until they had made it to the infirmary that she had started getting bored.

She flopped into one of the beds, her weight causing the old box spring to creak in protest. Sans chuckled, following in her footsteps and jumping into a bed. "now we're talkin'. sleepin' is my specialty." he propped his arms under his head, settling into the mattress and letting his eye sockets flutter closed.

He heard the bed beside him shudder softly, signaling movement, before he heard creaking from further away. He opened his eyes just in time to see Chara jumping to the next bed in the line. He sat up, watching as she kept jumping from bed to bed, brief spurts of giggles escaping her every so often.

"what'cha doin' there?" she stumbled, falling into a heap on the bed closest to him, shoulders shaking in laughter. She looked up at him, her smile stretched into a wide grin that, for the first time he'd ever seen it, was devoid of any trace of evil. "The floor's lava." she shrugged.

"oh hey, would you look at that, girl who claims she's emotionless can have fun," one of his brow bones raised, and she could swear he was smirking. "What do you want from me, I'm a kid." she sat up, crossing her arms. He still just looked at her, eye lights twinkling in joy. "Shut up!" she said defensively. He chuckled.

"y'know, sometimes, if i look real close, i can see a glimmer of a good person, a glimmer of an innocent child, and all she wants is to be happy," her head ducked down, and Sans could almost swear he saw the faintest of blushes on her cheeks. "i wish i could see her more often. she's very beautiful." Chara looked up at him, and for the first time, her face wasn't etched in hatred at him. Starstruck pupils replaced her darkened eyes, an almost admiration-like expression painting her features. "hey, where you stayin' tonight, kid?"

"I don't know, the inn or something? I don't exactly have a home." she scoffed, her face going blank. "why don't you stay the night?" her jaw fell open, her face twisting in a look of skepticism. She looked just as shocked as Sans felt. He couldn't believe he had just said that.

"I.. You... Stay the night? Do you hear yourself?" he shrugged, nodding. "Me and you, in the same house? Sleeping?"

"pap's spending the night at undyne's and you couldn't get into my room even if you tried, so why not?" he got out of the bed, holding his arm out and looking at her expectantly. "i won't take no for an answer. now c'mon, i know a shortcut."