"THAT ISN'T HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO STAND, _. MOVE YOUR DOMINANT LEG FORWARD THREE INCHES MORE. AND BEND YOUR LEGS A LITTLE!" Sans corrected you loudly. "YOU'RE SO STIFF, YOU WOULD FALL OVER IF A BREEZE BLEW BY."
Oh, the joy of being forced to learn things. Obediently, you bent your knees and shifted your weight. You had probably spent the last hour alone just on falling into this position correctly. It occurred to you that Sans and Alphys were trying to make the position feel natural to you.
It would likely take much more than just a couple of hours. You supposed this was part of the reason why it took so long to master things like martial arts.
Alphys released a long-suffering sigh. "That's enough for today, Punk. You have to go change for your shift, right?" She added at your confused glance.
"Oh, yeah. Man, time really flies when you're with friends." You replied, moving to collect your water bottle and towel. "Or doing physical activities. I'm not sure which. Maybe both."
A series of sudden shouting drowned out Alphys's response. A swift glance around told you the source, as several people swarmed around a collapsed individual. "Help!" a woman's voice rang out.
You would have to do this fast. People would argue with you if they knew you were a mage before you could do anything. You stretched your power out as you jogged over, trying to get a full scan so you could quickly fix the problem before someone got it in their head to pull you away.
In a group that large, one of them inevitably would, whether you were allowed to work on him or not.
"Please!" the woman begged, looking straight at you as you arrived, probably still not realizing you were a mage. "Please help him."
There was the request. You were officially authorized to use your magic to help, even if she didn't know it. Still fully intending to keep it quick, you gathered as much magic as his body could take at once and slammed it into him before anyone could register your glowing hands.
A hand gripped your hair and yanked. You separated from your patient just as your magic cleared the block and he took in a deep breath. Another arm found its way around your neck as the person literally dragged you at least a yard away. The woman threw herself over your patient, sobbing. Good. At least he was properly healed before someone interrupted.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a vicious male voice interrogated. "Who the fuck do you think you are, to use your magic on an actual member of society-."
His arms were ripped away, dropping you onto the concrete running path with little pain. Sans stood above you, holding the man's arm in what looked -judging by the pain on the man's face- to be a vice grip. Before you could fully register what had just happened, Alphys tugged you away, easily lifting you up and setting you back on your feet.
"I THINK A BETTER QUESTION WOULD BE: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Sans corrected, his voice low. It hadn't occurred to you how much your friends had researched about mages until his next statement, "MY FRIEND WAS GIVEN PERMISSION TO HELP THIS INDIVIDUAL. YOU'RE LUCKY SHE'S GOOD ENOUGH TO DO IT AS QUICKLY AS SHE DID, OR HIS DEATH WOULD BE ON YOU."
You felt strange, watching the man fail to tug his arm from Sans's grip. A couple of thigs occurred to you then. First: you had made amazing friends. Usually nobody stuck up for you in these situations. Sometimes the healed or the one who gave permission, but it was rare, and never a bystander.
Second: Sans was really strong. It was unfair of you to keep that first impression you had of him. Not that you hadn't been aware of it before, you'd known he was strong from the start. But you'd shied away from letting him protect you, even though it was important to him. That was wrong of you.
You'd operated so long without it though, you were kind of afraid of having it change.
What happened next, you were certain only happened because your friends had intervened. The sobbing woman stood, moving in front of you protectively. After her came several more of the bystanders as Sans released the man's arm and stepped away. The woman cursed at him, and the rest of the crowd followed suit until he backed off and ran away.
Humans weren't bad people at heart. You had never thought that they were. But they tended to follow each other. It wasn't until there were two sides of an argument that humans really had the ability to show what kind of person they were. If Sans and Alphys hadn't stuck up for you, there wouldn't be another side to follow.
Just your aggressor. That's how things usually turned out.
The woman turned, eyes still full of tears and thanking you profusely. You accepted the gratitude, you had done her a service after all, but firmly shook your head when she offered payment.
"Hey Sans?" you prompted as the three of you left the park. They had insisted on walking you home. "I'm sorry."
You were about to continue when he turned that enormous grin at you, locking your gaze with his. "YOU'RE FORGIVEN, _. WE'RE YOUR FRIENDS. SOMETIMES, YOU HAVE TO LET US HELP."
You didn't know how he knew what you were apologizing for, but in the grand scheme of things it seemed irrelevant. It just meant you were close, right? Should you ask?
"You're right." You said instead. Sans shot you another smile. His hand brushed your elbow and you turned obediently to start walking again. You didn't have much time left before your shift after all, not after the fiasco at the park. At most, you'd get a quick rinse in the shower at this point.
"Try to avoid things that you know are going to get you hurt, Punk. You're still a raw beginner in defending yourself." Alphys chastised, oddly avoiding looking at you. Was she having trouble with her feelings again? A confused glance at Sans had you discovering that he was already looking at you.
He lifted an arm to pat you on the shoulder, clearly amused. You smiled, one of your hands coming up to twirl a few strands of your hair. It was almost like sharing an inside joke. You'd only been privy to a couple in your lifetime, with your siblings and Fuku. It was nice to share one with Sans.
When you reached your door, you turned, wrapping your friends in a hug. Alphys pointedly looked away from you, a blush growing on her cheeks; physical contact was generally uncomfortable for her. Sans returned it wholeheartedly before you turned to go inside so you could get ready for work.
Alphys and Sans showed up at Grillby's about halfway through your shift. Probably because they knew Fuku was getting off early and were planning to walk you home. You resolved to yourself not to grumble about it.
They did it because they cared. There was no reason to be afraid of that.
Still, you were surprised to see Sans actually pick up a menu. He'd never really approved of unhealthy or overly greasy foods. Sadly, those exact categories made up about ninety percent of Grillby's menu. You could see the disbelieving expression crossing his face as he read it.
Time to salvage this as best you could. "Welcome to Grillby's!" you greeted cheerily, relatively certain that it was Sans's first time here to actually eat. "How are you guys?"
"I…WE ARE WELL, _. HOW ARE YOU DOING?" Sans leaned forward, placing his skull on his palm, elbow on the table. You resisted the urge to lift your hand to twirl in your hair. After all, you kept it up and out of the way when you were working.
"I'm good thanks. Are you having trouble deciding?" You guessed. Usually you would never ask this question so quickly, but Grillby's food was the antithesis of what Sans normally allowed himself to eat.
His easy smile dropped again as he glanced down to the menu. He glared at it for a moment before looking back at you. "I SUPPOSE I AM. WOULD YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR A STARTER?" Hmm…knowing Sans…
"I think you would most appreciate the cheesy potato skins if anything." After all, when he had tacos, nearly a third of the whole taco was cheese. And it was very nearly the healthiest thing on the menu. You reached down to his menu and flipped the page, pointing it out to him. "Do you know what you would like to drink?" You directed this question to Alphys, who was looking at you with incredulity.
"Soda, Punk, same as usual." She retorted. Was she upset?
You turned back to Sans for his order. "JUST WATER TO DRINK PLEASE. I DON'T WANT ANYTHING SUPER SUGARY. ALSO, CAN WE GET AN ORDER OF THOSE POTATO SKINS YOU SUGGESTED?" You beamed as you took the order. People too often ignored any suggestions you gave them. It was a refreshing change.
Watching Sans flirt with you was incredibly difficult. Half of Alphys wanted to punch him in congratulations, and the other half wanted to punch him in embarrassment. How had he gotten so good at it? She was relatively sure he hadn't ever had a significant other to practice on.
Had she and Undyne been so cheesy in the beginning? She didn't want to ask; she was relatively certain of the answer.
And you! You naïve little…she couldn't even think of a proper insult for this. You reacted positively to Sans's flirting without even realizing what was going on, certainly without realizing he was even flirting with you. Someone was going to have to have a good long conversation with you.
Perhaps that fire elemental, Fuku. She seemed absolutely invested in your budding relationship as well, after all.
Alphys's eyes followed you as you moved to greet another table. Humans. Must have been regulars too, with how you seemed to know them. Unlike with her and Sans, though, you kept a very precise distance. One of them, a male, had moved to try to touch you a couple of times, but you just flitted out of the way effortlessly.
A quick glance at Sans told her he hadn't noticed, as he was busy writing you a thank you note on his napkin. Did he look up how to flirt with a waitress or what? Well, honestly it wouldn't surprise her if he had.
Alphys looked back at you, practically ignoring the fools trying to throw themselves at you. So, you didn't respond well to flirting in general. Just Sans's version of it.
A delighted grin stretched across her face.