You slowly come down from your high, struggling for breath. You don't know why that made you laugh so much, it wasn't even that funny, you admit. Maybe it's just his exaggerated movements, or the fact that he thinks you can't hear his supposed whispers. But either way it feels good, a nice fuzzy feeling nestling in your chest. "I'm sorry…" You wheeze. "I just… I wasn't expecting that…" The two brothers couldn't be of more polar opposites. Sans seemed to you to be somewhat lazy, quiet, and had a gloomy aura surrounding him despite the almost permanent grin plastered on his face, while Papyrus, you thought, on the other hand was just a tall ball of bursting energy and loud cheerfulness.
Suddenly you feel very aware that you're in a stranger's house, laughing at its owner, who you've just met, and guilt settles in as you look down at your fingers. "Um, I'm sorry for intruding. I'll get going soon." You start getting up from the couch and pick up the blanket from the floor and fold it carefully.
"Your clothes are still drying." Sans points out. "Whether you like it or not you're stuck here with us for now." You hadn't thought about that. You bite down on your lip.
"Well then at least let me make myself useful… I've already been enough of a nuisance."
"NONESENSE! YOU'RE A GUEST AT OUR HOME! IT WOULD BE VERY RUDE TO MAKE YOU DO ANY WORK AT ALL! IN FACT, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM AT YOUR SERVICE! SO TELL ME HUMAN, HOW MAY I BE OF ASSISTANCE?" His friendly demeanour makes the corners of your mouth twitch into a semblance of a smile. "MAYBE SOME COFFEE? I'LL MAKE YOU SOME COFFEE!"
Before you can say anything, Papyrus is already in the kitchen. Some noises that you wouldn't expect out of making coffee echo through the house and your brows furrow in confusion. After a few moments you hear Sans talking to you.
"So, while Paps is busy destroying the kitchen, why don't you tell me about yourself?" You turn to face him. He's still sitting on that armchair, one ankle resting on his other leg, his hands behind his head. You swallow nervously.
"There's not much to tell…" Your eyes look anywhere but at the skeleton closely inspecting you. You can tell he expects more than that. "I ran away from home." If you can call it that…
He hums and leans forward, looking like he's about to say something else when Papyrus bursts into the living room carrying a steaming mug of coffee. You let out a breath you didn't realise you'd been holding and accept the mug the taller brother hands to you. It's very warm in your injured hands. You stare at its contents intently. You put it up to your lips and take a tentative sip. It's really bitter and you scrunch up your face in a grimace. Sans laughs and Papyrus gasps. "OH NO! DID I DO IT WRONG?"
You quickly shake your head to soothe his worries. "It's just that I've never had coffee before." You explain.
"OH GOOD, BECAUSE NEITHER HAVE I! BUT FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS MASTERED THE ART OF SPAGHETTI, COFFEE IS AS EASY AS STEALING MONSTER CANDY FROM MONSTER KID!" You're not sure what he means by that.
You sit down on the couch again and carefully take another swallow. It warms up your insides as it slides down your throat, the taste is still very unpleasant but you don't really want to voice your opinion, afraid you'll hurt Papyrus' feelings, even though you're pretty sure that's just the way coffee tastes. You keep your eyes on the ground but out of your peripheral vision you see Sans going into the kitchen himself. You feel Papyrus' gaze on you, burning holes into your skull. You lift your head to look at him and try to resist the urge to flinch away from his intense stare.
You decide you should make some small talk to make the atmosphere less tense. "Um…" Your mind's drawing a blank and you're at a loss for words. Just say something… anything… "So… how are you adjusting?"
Out of nowhere his face twists into an enormous grin and he starts acting very excited. "IT'S GREAT! I GOT MYSELF A JOB AT A STORE! I HAVE TO GREET COSTUMERS! I'M SUPPOSED TO START TODAY, ACTUALLY!" You can't help but smile back at him, his happiness is contagious and in spite of the fact that you yourself can't get a job, you're glad that he managed to. Besides, it seems like he's suited for that kind of work.
Sans walks back in with a paper bag in one hand and your folded clothes in the other. He sets them on the armrest. "I didn't know what you liked so I just brought a bagel." He said returning to his spot on the armchair.
"I thought you said there wasn't any food in the house."
"I went out to get it." You nod.
"Wait what…" You mutter realising he had just gone to and from the kitchen. You could swear on your life that you hadn't seen him go past you and he'd have had to if he wanted to walk out the front door.
"Heh, I know a shortcut." He clarified seeming amused by your dumbfounded expression.
"That still doesn't make any sense, though…" He just shrugs, not offering any other sort of explanation. "Uh… Thanks. For everything."
"It's nothing." You're about to object to that when Papyrus interrupts you. "YOU ARE WELCOME TO ANYTHING YOU MIGHT NEED, HUMAN! NOW MUCH TO YOUR DISMAY I MUST LEAVE YOU TO ATTEND MY NEW PROFESSION! GOODBYE!" And with that he's out the door. You stare at it for a few seconds unsure what to think.
"He's really something…" You decide to say.
"Yeah, he really is… And so are you." Your head snaps back to look Sans in the eyes, the white lights that are his pupils staring right into your soul. Once again you feel like he's examining you. Your hand unconsciously goes to your chest just like it had the first time you met him, this time in an effort to hide yourself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." He says averting his gaze elsewhere, a cyan hue dusting his cheeks. "It's just that it's different from anything I've seen before, but feels familiar at the same time." You wonder if that's why Papyrus had ogled at you so much as well.
"It's fine…" You feel your own cheeks warm up.
Setting the half empty coffee mug down, you take the bagel out of the small paper bag lying next to you and bite into it. It tastes really good. This must be the most you've eaten in weeks. A feeling of gratitude mixed with remorse settles in your stomach. You decide to just close your eyes and enjoy the moment of serenity that you so rarely experience. "My father wasn't the nicest person. He might've actually been the worst." You don't know why you said this. As soon as it comes out of your mouth you instantly regret it so you don't voice anything else. You keep nipping at the bagel.
"Is that why you ran away?" Sans asks. You simply nod. There was more to it, but you didn't want to even think about it, much less talk about it. He seemed to catch that because he didn't question you further and you appreciate it. Once the bagel's gone you get up off the couch taking your now clean smelling clothes with you.
"I should change back into these."
In the bathroom you take off Sans' clothes. You want to shower again, the thought of not being able to do it another time for however long it might be filling you with dread. You should ask for a towel… Instead, you just splash some water on your face, and swirl some around in your mouth and get dressed. You hate these clothes but they're all you have. They're what you had when you left… They're what he had given you to put on that day…
Shaking those thoughts away you step out into the hall. You're unsure what you're going to do next. Most likely going back out on the streets, only to struggle to survive just like before. The prospect drives you into a downward spiral of depressive possibilities. "You're looking down in the dumps over there, you should go into an elevator… To lift your spirits."
"That's awful…" Even so you can't help but smirk a little.
"Admit it, you thought it was punny." You roll your eyes but look amused.
"Those are very bad…" You shake your head at him.
"Well, I am bad to the bone." You start giggling. Sans seems pleased with himself.
"Why are you doing this?"
"To make you laugh."
"No, helping me. I haven't done anything for you, I'm not even sure I can, and you don't really know me… So why?"
"Why not?" He shrugs.
"Because I'm not a good person…" Your voice is quiet, barely audible. "I don't deserve your kindness… Or anyone's…"
Sans puts a hand on your shoulder. "A bad person wouldn't laugh at my bad jokes, or keep drinking something they find disgusting not to hurt Paps' feelings. Or pretend they're fine so that a stranger wouldn't worry about them."
You turn your head to the wall, inspecting it as if it's the most interesting thing in the room. "You don't know what I've done…"
"You're right I don't." He admitted. "But neither do you. How do you know you can trust me?" His question takes you by surprise. You freeze. "How do you know I won't hurt you?" Slowly you turn to look at Sans. His eye sockets are empty, no sign of the tiny white lights that usually shine through the darkness inside. Your breath hitches. In your chest your heart starts beating faster and a very familiar fear crawls down your spine.
"I…" A knot forms in your throat and you feel your body begin to shake.
And just like that Sans' posture changes completely. He puts his hands in his jacket pockets and leans backwards against the wall, his pupils returning. "Whatever is in your past, I'm sure you're not as bad as you think you are. We've all done things we didn't want to. I'm sorry for scaring you." You blink at him calming yourself down. For a moment you think he looks ashamed.
"I'm just trying to understand why you're doing all of this for me..."
"You looked at the stars the same way I do since I got out of the Underground." Like someone who had longed for the freedom to walk beneath them…
NOTE: So that's that, giving Sans a little bit of a sneak peak into 'your' past while he shows you his dark side, albeit not intentionally haha Thank you for reading and feel free to leave any feedback you may have
PS: I've had a blast writing the next chapter so I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I am.