:):

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone is having a great day. :)

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Numbing the Senses

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Back in the privacy of his bedroom, Sans placed the med kit down onto his wobbly desk before popping the latch and lifting the metal lid. Inside, a wide assortment of sterilized items waited patiently for someone with even the bare minimal of medical experience to use them. Joke was on them, of course, Sans still had no idea what he was doing.

Standing beside her friend, Frisk was more or less as perplexed as he was as she stared down at the contents of what she had expected to be a box filled with ordinary medical provisions. What she found, though, were packets of paper and barely recognizable items trapped in clear wrapping. How odd.

"uh.. let's see..." Sans started as he began to rummage through the neatly packed box. This kit was brand new. After the whole "busted knee" incident with Fearia, he'd gone and replaced the old, expired one they had with an updated version just in case they ever needed it. Unfortunately, that didn't mean he knew how to use it any better than the last one. "how about we try one of these." Sans said as he plucked a medium sized medical pad out of the pile.

Tilting her head questioningly, Frisk watched as the skeleton nimbly peeled apart the paper, revealing a soft looking, square piece of cotton. Huh. It was like a pre-cut, individually wrapped bandage. For something so very simple, the mute girl couldn't help but find the idea rather ingenious. Still.. just like many things in this house, this was yet another curiosity that she couldn't quite explain.

Without need of being asked, Frisk flushed slightly as she lifted the hem of her new shirt just a little past the open wound on her side. Even though he couldn't exactly see the seal under all of the damage, she still felt very uncomfortable revealing it to someone. This seal was just a humiliating reminder of the misfortune that had befallen her and her mother the day they were captured... It was something she'd rather not think about.

Completely unaware of any of this, Sans had taken a seat in his chair in order to properly size up the bandage. Luckily, the cotton pad was more than big enough to cover the circular wound. Now that it was thoroughly cleaned, though, he should probably find some kind of ointment or something to put on the injury. That's what people normally did, right? But.. what?

"hang on one moment, darlin'," Sans said as he stood back up in order to rummage through the now thoroughly disordered med kit once more. "gotta find... something.. ah. here we go." he said triumphantly as he retrieved an unopened container from the bottom of the box. Lifting it up, he quickly scanned the label just to be sure.

Numbing Salve.

Perfect, Sans thought as he unscrewed the lid. If her side was giving her grief, then this was sure to help ease that discomfort. He hoped.

After applying more than enough of the numbing salve to the cotton pad, Sans turned back to the injured human. "this.. might hurt a bit." he said hesitantly as he gave the mute girl an apologetic look. "just try to give it a minute or two and this stuff should dull the pain."

With a nervous nod, Frisk gave her friend the go-ahead as she forced herself to look away. She was no stranger to pain, but that didn't mean that she reveled in it either. As the soft cotton pad was pressed over the angry burn, Frisk winced as her skin reignited with a horrible stinging sensation. Thankfully, it didn't last too long.

Working in silence, Sans proceeded to tape the bandage in place with the medical adhesive strips he had found inside the box. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure if they were meant to be used in this way, but.. it seemed to be working. With as much finesse as he could muster, the skeleton gently worked around the sensitive area, careful not to put too much pressure on the wound.

"there we go." he said as he finished taping down the cotton pad securely to the mute girl's side. It wasn't perfect by any means, but he had to say, it at least looked halfway decent this time. "that should hold for tonight. but if it starts getting any worse, don't be afraid to tell me, okay?"

With a shy smile, Frisk nodded as she lowered her new shirt over the freshly bandaged wound. Remarkably, it did actually feel a little bit better now. That was probably largely due to the mystery ointment he had used on the cotton pad. Whatever that stuff was, it really seemed to work. The pain was almost entirely gone now.

Pleased, and grateful for the relief, the mute girl gave the helpful skeleton a warm smile. Forgoing her usual gesture of gratitude, she instead mouthed out a silent "Thank you". It may seem trivial, but she really was so grateful for all of his help.

Grin widening slightly, Sans gave a lazy shrug as he turned back to his cluttered workspace. "you don't gotta thank me, hun." he said as he gathered up the loose wrappers. "really, this was the least i could do. if you couldn't tell, i'm not exactly a doctor here." he chuckled.

Expression softening into a small humored smirk, Frisk chose not to respond to that. It was kind of obvious that he wasn't exactly a physician, but she was thankful all the same. After all, he didn't have to help her out. He wasn't obligated in any way. Yet, he still had.

Quite honestly, with everything Sans had done for her so far, Frisk was starting to feel like her gratitude just wasn't enough. If only there was some way she could repay his kindness. Perhaps there was something that she could do to help him somehow.

But what...?

In silence, Frisk stared down at the exhausted skeleton for a moment before her hazel eyes were drawn to the horrendous crack in his skull. It looked even worse than it had the first time she had seen it. The jagged gap looked suspiciously larger than before, like maybe he had lost a few pieces somewhere along the way during their time in the Ruins.

Wincing in sympathy, Frisk felt her stomach turn a little as she beheld the gruesome injury. It was painful to see, but probably nowhere near as painful as it actually was. She already knew that Sans wasn't one to complain about such things, hiding his broken bones was proof of that, but... something this serious must be causing him constant discomfort.

Unfortunately, with her seal the way it was right now, Frisk wasn't sure if she could even help with repairing the new damage, let alone fix it completely. Simply too much time had elapsed for that. Still... even if she couldn't mend the damage, there must be some way that she could help ease his pain.

In truth, Frisk still didn't know very much about how magic skeleton's healed, but maybe it was the same as everyone else. Perhaps the damage should be treated just like a normal injury. If that was the case, then maybe it should also be properly bandaged. But... would it be too forward of her to suggest such a thing...?

Unbeknownst to the human's concerns, Sans had an entirely different matter bothering him at the moment as he tried to figure out how to fit everything back into the small metal box. This had all come out of the med kit, right? So, in theory, it should easily all fit back inside. So then... why the hell wasn't it?

Smushing the contents down as far as he could, the magic skeleton was totally mystified when the mound of prewrapped cotton pads appeared to poof back thicker than ever. A second later, almost as if to mock him, a few of them slid out from the rim of the box and landed lightly onto the messy desk.

"how the hell... did all this junk fit in here?" Sans muttered under his nonexistent breath as he took a moment to stare critically at the small box. This was a true mystery, a puzzle if you will, and he was just too damn tired to figure it out.

Coming to his rescue, a pair of merciful hands reached down to assist him by collecting the fallen medical pads from the uneven tabletop. Then, after being restacked into a neat little pile, they were handed back to him in silence. In spite of the twinge embarrassment he felt, a grateful smile still managed to appear on the skeleton's skull as he accepted the small offering. "heh, thanks, buddy." he said, his words laced with humor as he grinned up at the subtly smirking human. "looks like i made a real mess outa this dumb box, huh?"

Not really wanting to offend, but unable to disagree with the facts, Frisk gave a shy not before smiling. *Would you like some help?*

"well, tibia honest, i was just about ready to give up." Sans shamelessly admitted. "but, if you think you can figure this out, then give it your best shot, sweetheart." he grinned as he gestured to the kitchen chair beside him.

Smiling probably more than she realized, Frisk happily accepted his invitation. Sitting down beside her friend, she was more than grateful to be of some assistance to him. Not to mention, reorganizing a medical supply kit seemed like a simple task.

Or, so she thought...

The mute girl felt her smile waver a little as she stared down at the contents of the small box. Everything had been thoroughly scrambled and it was now in a state of utter disarray. How had he managed to do this in such a short amount of time? Honestly... she was kind of impressed. Though, considering how messy his room was, perhaps this was just something he exceled at.

Holding back a silent laugh of dismay, Frisk resisted the urge to tease the disorganized skeleton as she began to empty the small metal box of all of its contents. It would seem that she would have to start over completely if she wanted everything to fit right.

Taking the cotton pads out first, she placed them aside in a neat pile. Then the rolls of gauze. After that, she extracted the medical utensils trapped in clear wrapping. And, lastly, she lifted a few glass bottles that had been laying on their side at the very bottom. That, most likely, had been the real reason why nothing was fitting. These bottles took up way too much space when they were not standing upright.

Leaning back in his chair, Sans tried, and failed, to hold back an improbable yawn as he watched the human as she worked. It was kind of funny, really. She hadn't even met him yet, but Frisk was eerily similar to Papyrus in some respects. They were both so painstakingly methodical. This was exactly what Paps would be doing if he were in her place - he'd empty out the box and start all over again.

jeez.. Sans thought to himself as he felt the guilt creep up on him. Sure, he might be a little lazy, but he'd be damned it he just sat back and let her fix the mess that he himself had created. His good conscious just wouldn't allow it.

It had taken them a few minutes, and a few mild disagreements about where things went, but now everything was once again back in its rightful place. Lowering the metal lid, they both let out a collective sigh of relief when a tiny click was heard. Finally. That little mess was sorted out.

Giving a satisfied nod, Frisk smiled at a job well done. Ironically, it might have actually taken a little longer with Sans' help, but.. she didn't really mind. He had somehow made this boring project a tiny bit more fun. Truth be told, it was kind of pleasant to work alongside someone for once. Of course, she'd never let him know that... He'd probably just think she was strange.

"ah, crap.." Sans said as he picked something up off of the unvacuumed carpet. "looks like we missed something."

Attention drawn back to her friend, Frisk stared at the small, round container. That definitely went at the very bottom she surmised with subtle consternation. Though, with everything packed away so snuggly, admittedly it was rather difficult to determine where this item actually fit.

Wait..

Wasn't that the mysterious poultice that had been applied to her bandage? The size and shape of the container was easily recognizable. She still wasn't quite sure what it really was, but it was obvious that that ointment contained some kind of pain relieving agent.

Previous worries returning to her, Frisk frowned slightly as she accepted the small item from the skeleton's boney hand. Turning it over, she stared thoughtfully down at the indecipherable label. If applied, would this poultice also work at relieving the pain in his cracked skull?

It might, but... the likelihood of him agreeing to her help was slim and she knew it.

Still...

"uh, ..somethin' on your mind, sugar?" Sans asked as he stared over at the mute girl. With her brow set in a small crease, she appeared to be lost in thought.

Cheeks tinting with a shade of pink, Frisk tried to hide her embarrassment behind an awkward smile as she lifted the little container. *This is for pain?* she silently asked.

"yep, that's the stuff i used on your side earlier." Sans confirmed with a slight nod of his skull. "it's a numbing salve, so it might start to wear off in a few hours. i'm guessin' it'll probably last the night, though... why?" he asked as he carefully studied the smaller human. Did she have another injury that he didn't know about?

Glancing away in nervous indecision, Frisk hesitated for a short moment before releasing a small, nearly unnoticeable sigh. He'd probably decline her assistance, but she still wanted to give it a try. Turning back to her friend, she gave him a small smile as she tapped a finger to her own head for emphasis. *Doesn't your skull hurt?*

Realizing right away where this was going, Sans gave an awkward chuckle as he unconsciously raised his hands in a preemptive attempt to refuse the suggestion before it was even asked. "eh, you don't gotta worry about me, hun." he replied, his grin now looking a little forced. "there's.. probably not much that can be done about this crack anyway. so, really. it's fine."

*You didn't answer my question.* Frisk silently pointed out with a tiny shake of her head. *Doesn't it hurt?*

"well, uh... yeah.. i mean, it's a little uncomfortable." Sans reluctantly admitted as he unconsciously lifted a hand to his damaged skull. Accidentally scraping a sore spot, the stubborn skeleton winced a little before he could stop himself. Instantly realizing his own mistake, Sans privately cursed under his nonexistent breath as he attempted to evade the worried look that was shot his way. "yeah, i know it looks bad.." he conceded a little. "but, trust me, it's fine..."

With a hint of trepidation, Sans watched as a subtle frown formed on the human's face. After studying him critically for a second or two, she then, much to his dismay, turned to look for something on his desk. Already knowing exactly what she was searching for, the anxious skeleton cringed slightly when she began to write something down on the back of an already used piece of scratch paper.

oh god, Sans privately stressed. This was bad. Frisk was already tough to argue with, but she was somehow even more persuasive in WingDings. Maybe he was just being unnecessarily difficult, but.. he'd really rather avoid this whole situation if at all possible. He wasn't exactly a fan of being fussed over.

Finishing her message in a timely manner, Frisk presented the small piece of paper to her friend with a look quiet determination.

*It's not fine. Not if you're in pain.

It looks like it really hurts...

Please, won't you let me help?*

Smile going flat, Sans felt his resolve slowly crumble as he stared down at the short but well written note. How the hell was he supposed to argue with that? The short answer was - he couldn't. At least not without sounding like a stubborn dolt.

damn...

Holding back a groan of defeat, the exhausted skeleton instead relented with an improbable sigh as his eye lights wandered off to the side. "well.. if it makes ya happy, sweetheart."

Delighted by his response, Frisk rewarded the reluctant monster with a grateful smile. She knew, of course, that he really wasn't thrilled about the idea, but she was still pleased that he was allowing her to help. Vowing to do her best, the mute girl quietly arose from her chair in order to properly assess the damage.

In wordless compliance, Sans bit the metaphorical bullet and turned his chair to give her better access to his big stupid head. Why the hell had he agreed to this again? Was Frisk really that good at arguing her point, or... did he just have a hard time saying no to her? Honestly, the answer to that question worried him a little.

Now at an angle where she could see everything, Frisk felt her mood take an unpleasant dip. It truly was an awful sight. She wasn't quite sure when it had happened, but the damage had definitely gotten noticeably worse. The jagged gap in his skull was just a little wider now, and the thin crack that ran into his left eye socket was much more defined than it had been before. This obviously required a bandage. Maybe two.

Returning to the metal box, Frisk tempted disaster as she bravely popped open the latch to the med kit. Thankfully, only a few cotton pads slid out this time. That was perfectly fine, because those were exactly what she was looking for. Lifting a medium sized one up from the wobbly desk, she considered it for a brief moment before opting for the larger one. It was better, after all, to have a little too much than not enough. After sizing it up, Frisk gave a small unconscious nod, satisfied that it would cover the worst of the damage.

Before she placed the bandage, however, the numbing salve needed to be thoroughly applied. She could put the ointment directly onto the cotton pad, but.. there were just so many micro cracks, chances are she'd likely miss an area by accident. Not wanting to inadvertently neglect any part of the painful looking injury, Frisk decided that the best course of action was a hands on approach.

Eye lights drifting up towards the silent human, Sans winced slightly as soft fingertips began to lightly slide over the jagged edge of a crack. In truth, he was more startled by it than anything. The sensation wasn't exactly painful, it was just... kind of weird feeling. Like a feather gliding over bone - it tickled a little.

Not able to really see what was happening, the tired skeleton slowly lowered his gaze until his eye sockets finally slid shut. Relying on his other senses, Sans began to focus solely on the mute girl's touch as she meticulously applied the numbing salve to his cracked skull. With only the barest amount of pressure, her administrations were surprisingly gentle, and, if he was being honest, oddly relaxing as well.

Ironically, however, the more he focused on her soft touch, the harder it became to actually feel. With the numbing salve finally taking effect, all of the sharp pains that had been plaguing him slowly began to fade into the background. And, after only a few more minutes, even the persistent ache from within his skull had, at last, been dulled down to a blissful silence.

In the absence of all of that bothersome pain, Sans barely noticed when the incorporeal strings of sleep began to sneakily invade his subconscious. It was only when the frontal portion of his skull made contact with something soft, did he finally realize his mistake. Forcing his tired bones to sit up a bit straighter, Sans held back some choice words as he tried to fend off the sting of embarrassment. jeez.. had he really almost fallen asleep? How lame was that?

Hearing the familiar sound of a breathy giggle, Sans felt his grin widen a little in spite of himself as the silent human took a step closer, following his actions. great.. he thought privately, holding back a groan of humiliation as he lifted his gaze - she definitely noticed that. Even though he couldn't exactly see her face right now, he could easily imagine the smirk that she was probably wearing. just great..

In an effort to retain what was left of his dignity, Sans forced himself to stay alert as he turned his attention to what he could actually see. Beside him, on the wobbly desk, he observed the beginnings of a pile of wrappers forming as the human attempted to free a large bandage from its paper casing. Once she was done, she leaned in a bit closer as she carefully placed the cotton pad over his fractured skull. After that, he watched with some level of amusement as she struggled to understand how to use the roll of medical tape.

"here." he offered as he held out a hand. "you just gotta find the end and then rip it off like this." he explained, demonstrating once she had handed the roll over to him.

Giving the helpful skeleton an appreciative smile, Frisk nodded as she tried it for herself. Figuring it out pretty easily now, she secretly marveled at just how sticky the paper actually was. What a weird yet ingenious invention she thought as she placed a small portion between the cotton pad and bare bone. It held tight. Satisfied that it would work, Frisk then began the methodical process of taping the bandage in place.

A few minutes ticked by in silence before the half used roll of paper tape was returned to the open box. Was she finally done? Lifting his skull a little, Sans couldn't seem to help himself as a curious hand rose up to investigate. Not able to feel what he was touching, he clumsily fumbled over the bandage for a moment before another, smaller hand put a quick stop to his meddling. Looking up, Sans was met with a look of subtle exasperation as a small humored smile played at the mute girl's lips.

*Careful.* Frisk silently warned as she gently held his hand at bay. *You might end up pulling it off if you keep that up.*

Absentmindedly closing his phalanges over her fingers, Sans gave the human a lazy grin. "heh, sorry about that, sweetheart." he apologized easily. "wouldn't wanna mess up your handiwork."

"i gotta say, though.." he continued as his eye lights wandered off to the side. "that stuff works a little too well. the top of my head feels like it's totally missing right now. and, tibia honest.. that's really freakin' weird."

*It's only temporary.* Frisk reminded good naturedly. *Besides, aren't you feeling better now?*

"eh, maybe a little." Sans replied, his grin turning slightly mischievous.

Rolling her eyes, Frisk rewarded the sarcastic skeleton with a subtle smirk. Of course that would be his response. She wasn't a bit surprised. Still.. he did look like he was feeling better. Studying him for a second or two, her eyes caught sight of the thin fracture line running into his eye socket. Had she missed that area?

*Tilt your head up a tiny bit?* Frisk silently requested as she took a closer look. It was true, she had missed it. She must have been focusing so hard on the larger wound, that she had somehow overlooked this portion. That just wouldn't do.

Staring up at the quiet human, Sans' grin faltered slightly as an unfamiliar feeling of self-consciousness crept up on him. What was she looking at? "uh... find something interesting up there, hun?"

Giving the monster an apologetic smile, Frisk shook her head slightly. *No, I just missed a spot.* she silently explained before reaching over and retrieving a dab of the numbing salve. *Here. Hold still for a moment, okay?*

That feeling of awkward unease seemed to only intensify as a warm hand was placed gently to the side of his skull. Not knowing where else to look, Sans found himself simply staring into the mute girl's hazel hued eyes as she carefully used her other hand to apply the ointment to his fractured eye socket. Doing his best to stay as still as possible, the comical skeleton, for once, couldn't think of anything witty to say. Why the hell was he suddenly so nervous?

Waiting as patiently as he could, Sans couldn't help but notice all of the small things that he hadn't before - like the faint fragrance of flowers, most likely from the soap she had used. Or the fact that she was so close, the temperature around them had risen slightly. His bones certainly weren't complaining about that as the cold chill from within them seemed to melt away in the ambiance. In an unconscious desire for more of that warmth, he unknowingly leaned a tiny bit more into the human's soft hand.

Finishing up the delicate task as carefully as she could, Frisk was a little surprised when she felt the added pressure. Curious, and with a touch of concern, she turned her attention to the unusually quiet monster. Easily catching his gaze, Frisk felt herself flush a little as she stared into her friend's brightly glowing eye lights.

With the human's focus completely on him all of a sudden, Sans felt his nerves begin to frazzle. It was almost as if those hazel eyes could see straight through him, and that made him more than a little uncomfortable for some odd reason. Feeling suddenly exposed, he quickly shifted his gaze as a nervous, guilty grin spread across his skull. "uh... heh."

"Sans!"

Shattering the moment of painful awkwardness, a small, merciful voice rang out from downstairs.

"Pappy said dinner's ready!" Fearia called out to the missing skeleton. "He also said to stop bone dogging!"

"BOONDOGGILING!" A louder voice corrected in haste. "Miss Fearia, I said Boondoggling, Not Bone... Sans!"

"uh, be right back." Sans said as he took advantage of the distraction. Pulling away from the human, the embarrassed monster disappeared in an instant, fleeing the situation outright. Whatever the hell that was, it was obvious that he was in way over his skull.

xxx

Hope everyone liked this. It took me SO long to write!

...

In the next chapter, it's finally going to happen - The long awaited reunion!

xxx

Thanks for reading!

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Sheii Bae~