Sans lay on his back, covered in blankets, while Frisk happily snuggled on his chest.

“that was a hell of a way to spend an afternoon,” Sans said, after a few minutes of comfortable, sated silence.

Frisk laughed.

“Agreed,” they said. “I really hope to do that again sometime.”

“maybe not quite so much abuse of your time powers, though,” he said.

They grinned.

“It was a lot of fun, you have to admit,” they said.

“that i do,” he said. “also gotta admit, i feel like a bit of a hypocrite. got on your case, and was hostile towards flowey way back when, over not taking resets seriously. and then, literally as soon as i have access to it myself in any way…”

They laughed and hugged him close.

“You were totally distracted,” they said.

“true,” he said. “and most loops weren’t longer than a couple of minutes. and we weren’t interacting with anyone, so no one else really lost anything.”

“Yeah,” they said. “Some loops were even unreasonably short.”

Their tone was slightly biting for some completely unknown reason and he snickered. That forced orgasm speed loop thing was a ton of fun. Probably five seconds per loop?

“seemed pretty reasonable to me,” he said with a grin.

They poked him and he laughed.

There was another soft, silent moment.

“Hey Sans?” they asked quietly.

“yeah?”

“I want to say something, but I’m afraid it’ll come out the wrong way,” they murmured. “You know I don’t want to push you, to make you uncomfortable or anything, right?”

“i know,” he said and sighed a little.

He had a feeling he knew what was coming.

“I haven’t asked about your past, about the things that weigh on you, because I don’t want you to feel pressured,” they said. “I wanted to leave it up to you, how you wanted to handle all of that. But I am curious. I do want to know. And not just out of selfish curiosity - though there is that - but also because I want you to have someone you can talk to about things.”

Yep. His gut clenched and he closed his eyes, listening.

“I want you to know that I’m available, always, for that,” they said. “I think you knew that already, though. Thing is, what I saw in your soul…”

His gut churned even more and he suppressed the urge to push them away like he always did. It was easier, since he also felt the desire to keep holding them close.

They hugged him tighter and it soothed the ache.

“I don’t know if you can be happy like this,” they whispered. “I don’t want you to feel alone… to feel lost. I… I don’t want to pressure you. To ask you to tell me things. But I do want you to be okay, Sans. I want you to be happy. I want you to heal.”

That was about as gently non-pressuring as they could have possibly put that. He appreciated it. All of it. The sentiment, the kindness, the gentleness.

“if you’d said that at any other time, i’d have blown you off,” he admitted, his eyes still closed. “earlier today, i would have been distracted by all the sex stuff. before today, i’d have made jokes or whatever. probably been a little angry at you, and then angry at myself for being angry at you.”

He felt them nod on his chest and pulled them closer.

“it’s not easy to talk about that stuff,” he said. “for lots of reasons. it hurts, but also, it’s really goddamned complicated. so i don’t know what to do. the idea of setting aside a few hours to just say everything… that sounds awful. it hurts to even think about, it’s just way too much. but if i try to say stuff without context, it won’t make any goddamned sense.”

“I’m not sure that’s true, though,” they said. “I mean, the last bit. Telling me your pet glazbeck died and you’re sad about it wouldn’t be hard to understand, even though glazbeck is something I just made up, you know? It’s the heart of things that matters, not the details. I can just trust you that all the pieces do make sense, even if I don’t immediately know how. And I’m pretty sure you come from another world - I get why that would complicate your history.”

They had a point.

“how did you figure that out, anyway?” he asked and they chuckled happily. Probably because he confirmed the guess.

“Lots of tiny hints,” they said. “You knew what the sun was with absolute confidence, you recognized me as human immediately, and most monsters, Papyrus included, were clueless. You couldn’t figure out how to ‘go back’ to your home, despite having teleportation, which implied it wasn’t in the underground, yet also weren’t interested in going to the surface anymore, because everything felt pointless with the loops, implying your home wasn’t on the surface, either. You and Papyrus ‘just appeared’ one day, according to folks in Snowdin, without any indication of where you came from.

“Your combat skill and knowledge of EXP and LOVE just did not match up with… I don’t know how to put it… the way society was set up down here? Where, how, could you possibly have gotten that good at killing things? Especially since Undyne’s in charge of the Royal Guards, should be in charge of a lot of combat related stuff, and comments she’s made suggest she didn’t have the faintest idea that you were combat capable. And Flowey’s comments about how quick you were to kill him, especially in the earliest days of the loops? You’re too good at killing things, too quick to choose to do so, seemingly accustomed to it, for a society of cinnamon buns. And you have a clear scientific background that, among other things, relates to studying spacetime related stuff. No idea if you’re from the future, or past, or an alternate universe, or what, but it seemed the only thing that matched.”

He was laughing on the inside as they spoke.

“you weren’t surprised at all when i admitted to having killed before, were you?” he asked.

“Nope,” they said. “I mean, sort of. I was surprised you told me.”

He chucked out loud at that.

“I… admit I would be surprised to find out you’ve only killed one person,” they admitted cautiously.

He sighed.

“you’re right about that, too,” he said. “i… it’s not easy to talk about that stuff, though, frisk.”

“I get that,” they said. “But it’s not easy to live like this, either, is it?”

That was another gut punch and he hugged them closer again.

“no, it’s not,” he admitted softly after a minute.

“Then tell me,” they said, with pain in their voice that also ripped at him. “Whenever, however, in whatever sized chunks you want. Please don’t feel alone, Sans.”

He sighed again. Memories swirled in his mind… maybe it would hurt less if he said some things to them. Maybe this was the only moment he could. Maybe tomorrow, he’d have locked himself down tight again, pushing everything and everyone away, and there was no way he could say anything.

“i wasn’t always alone,” he murmured. “it’s probably hard to believe, but i… if i weren’t a moron, i would have been married. or at least engaged.”

Frisk went still, for the most part. They softly stroked his chest as he spoke.

“i thought, even despite the war, i thought we had all the time in the world,” he said. God, this hurt to say, and yet the words just kept coming for some reason. “i was wrong. i never even got to say goodbye.”

Frisk squeezed him tightly.

“today was the first time i’ve… any of this… since then,” he said. “i keep being reminded of her. of us. today, i mean.”

“I… with you being from somewhere else, there’s a few things that could mean,” they said carefully. “Is she okay?”

“she was, last i saw her,” he said. “but that was years ago.”

He hesitated, but now that he’d started to speak, the words were practically pushing themselves out.

“almost everyone else i knew is dead,” he said, his voice rough. “but i can’t tell papyrus. he thinks they’re all okay. that we’d all just get back together again, if ever we made it home.”

More ripping, tearing sensations. Why was he still speaking, when it hurt so much?

“he thinks that because that’s what i told him,” Sans confessed, the words pouring out almost against his will, feeling like he was bleeding all over his bed. “i lied to him, over and over, practically his entire life. one day, he’s gonna figure out what death is, figure out what probably happened. i keep lying, keep misdirecting him, keep putting it off, but-”

Even with the pressure behind the words, they broke off. He couldn’t say anything.

“I understand,” Frisk whispered.

Something loosened in his chest at their acceptance. It was stupid. It’s not like he actually thought they’d turn away from him or anything. Why did them knowing about his lies, about the rough outline of his loss, why did that matter?

He held them close to his chest. It mattered anyway.

“Alphys couldn’t handle things until she had support,” Frisk said, after a long moment of silence. “Papyrus understood that. You saw how gentle and accepting he was. Something’s going to happen with this situation eventually, but maybe there’s some time. Maybe you can talk things through with me, try to get everything to hurt less, and make a plan for how you want things to go? I don’t want the fear of that ticking time bomb to hold you. But whatever you want to do, I’m… I’m here for you, Sans.”

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It was a ticking time bomb, wasn’t it? One that he refused to face, one that he kept making worse, for years. If he did nothing, if he kept on this same course, things would blow up in his face. His gut clenched at the idea of Papyrus’s reaction, at him understanding…

There was a reason he’d refused to face it. It would be better if he made a plan, if he addressed things proactively. But the thought of facing either the time bomb, or a controlled reveal… both burned too hot to touch, he couldn’t.

But Frisk wasn’t suggesting doing anything about it now. To stay the course until he was stronger… it seemed cowardly, but maybe they were right?

He squeezed them tightly again.

“i know,” he said. “it’s been an insane mess to get us in this situation, where you’re here for me like this, but i can’t help but appreciate it.”

“Yeah,” Frisk laughed softly, and then sighed. “I’m so glad you remember now. I still feel guilty about what I’d done to the first Sans, when I refused to try to get him to remember, after coming up with the genocide idea. There are so many things I wish you remembered.”

“hey, don’t worry about it,” he said. “this is probably the only way things could’ve worked out. can you imagine any way at all that first sans could have done what we just did?”

Even with Frisk being extremely comfortable with pain and death, even loving it, due to their experiences with the genocide route, it was practically a fluke he went along with things. Without that? Not in a million years.

Frisk blinked.

“I… guess not,” they said after a moment, sounding bewildered.

Sans chuckled at that.

“i’m glad we did all that,” he said. “so, while it’s been a whole mess… i’m glad for it all. you don’t have to be alone anymore, barring flowey. i don’t have to feel like things are pointless because of the resets thing.”

“You… you think I made the right choice, to go and kill everyone?” they asked timidly.

“i have no clue,” he said. “all i know is that the choices you made brought us here. this is a good moment, a success i can’t imagine we could have had otherwise, y’know? and however we got here, i’m glad we did.”

“You’re happy for today, happy for me being like this, you’re… good with everything?” Frisk asked, a catch in their voice. “Really?”

Sans sighed.

“i don’t know how i’ll feel about things tomorrow,” he admitted. “but right now? yeah.”

They squeaked out a happy noise and nuzzled into his chest again.

The thought bothered him, though. Who knew how he’d feel in the morning? Would he lock himself down again, hold Frisk at arm’s length? Refuse to connect, refuse to say anything, maybe get mad at them for wheedling stuff out of him?

His jaw clenched. He could see himself possibly doing that. He knew he was still lost in a haze of emotion right now, in a timeless gap of eternity, all his walls broken down from intimacy so intense it was downright aggressive.

“i’m probably going to regret saying this, but whatever,” he said. Screw his future self, if he disagreed with what he was about to say. “even if i decide that this is all wrong and everything, don’t forget something.”

He moved a little to meet Frisk’s gaze. The love, kindness, acceptance, and understanding in their eyes… he’d be an absolute idiot to reject that, but he knew that was exactly the kind of idiot he usually was.

“this matters to me,” he said. “you being there for me like this, it matters. even if i do my usual crap of pushing you away, i don’t actually want you to go.”

They smiled at him and gently stroked his cheek.

“I’ll always be here for you, Sans,” they said.

He’d thought the same of her once, too.

But Frisk was an immortal with power over time itself, and had done as they’d promised. They’d taken him with them. Unless something happened to break their power, he couldn’t ever lose them. Even if he died. Even if, by some bizarre happenstance, he died and then they saved without realizing - it’d just mean he’d wake up to the alarm about the reports on that first day, because he knew that there was absolutely no chance Frisk would let him stay dead.

Maybe this really was forever.

It felt good, crushing them to his chest like this. They giggled a little and then hummed happily.

“i know,” he said, and it was true.

His grip loosened as he just relaxed. He couldn’t think entirely clearly, and he couldn’t touch his recent memories without possible complications, but in this exact moment… everything was okay. He felt at peace. Safe. Comfortable.

Loved.

It was a couple hours before he woke up, feeling more refreshed than he had in a long time.

He smiled at Frisk’s sleeping form, drool soaking part of the blankets. That was kinda gross, and he really looked forward to telling Frisk about it. Though he’d have to make sure to time it right. It might be a trifle harder to embarrass them now, after all.

With a careful blend of positioning and teleportation, he managed to slip out from their sleepy grasp without waking them. He started to toss on his clothes quietly.

Today had been…

The look on Frisk’s face as he came within them, his magic burning them away, their pleasure blending with his own as their soul flooded him with the dual orgasms, the pleasure incomprehensibly intense, the satisfaction absolute…

The memory surged a little too intensely and he stumbled, catching himself on the lamp. Desire surged and he shoved it away as best he could. He focused on his breathing.

He… he wanted…

No, he also wanted to have a life. To see Papyrus. He couldn’t stay here forever. He wouldn’t want that.

He really needed to not think about those memories.

It was really hard not to.

Later. When he was alone in his room, that’d be fine. For now, he had to focus.

He managed to finish getting dressed with only two more times almost falling when memories ripped at him. Maybe there was such a thing as sex that was too good. This was maybe a problem.

He’d deal with it later. For now, they had lives to get back to. He’d take them back home, and then he’d go home, and the two of them would adjust.

Things would just go back to normal.

Don’t let me convince you that I don’t need someone close to my heart. Don’t let me convince myself, either. You being there for me like this, it matters. Even if I do my usual crap of pushing you away, I don’t actually want you to go.

Maybe things wouldn’t go back to normal.

He couldn’t believe he’d actually said that.

So many things he’d said, how could he…

The feeling of their soul’s devotion to him, the absolute peace and stability they felt as something belonging to Sans. The love in their eyes as they accepted him, saw him, knew him, embraced him.

He stumbled again. It wasn’t just the sex memories that were too goddamned intense.

“Sans?” Frisk asked in a mumbled, sleepy voice. “Are you okay?”

“of course,” he said blithely, slipping into old habits without thinking. “why wouldn’t i be?”

He glanced over at them and they smiled at him knowingly, fond exasperation touching at their eyes.

“gotta lot of things to think about from today,” he went on, trying to keep his emotions out of his voice. “i don’t know how long we slept. hope you didn’t have any plans that got messed up.”

“I made sure the entire evening was free,” Frisk said, looking like they were suppressing a laugh. “No rush on my account.”

“good, that’s good,” he said, feeling really off balance. “me, uh. me, too. no plans, i mean. i think i’ll just drop you off and go home and kinda think about things.”

“If you don’t want to be alone while you’re thinking, I would be happy to stay with you,” they said softly.

He closed his eyes and turned away as another memory lashed at him, of Frisk screaming in pleasure, of the feeling of their body squeezing him as they came…

Steady breaths. In and out, he could stay focused. His magic responded to his will, which meant his body responded to his will. He just had to stay focused.

“i think i need to be alone for a bit,” he said.

He heard them stand and walk over to him. They wouldn’t be wearing anything, of course. He needed to keep his eyes closed, needed to continue to face away from them.

The memories were too much, too powerful. He wasn’t the best at resisting even normal levels of temptations, and this…

He felt their hands gently rest on his shoulders.

“Please don’t feel afraid, or uncertain, or anything like that, about calling on me,” they murmured softly. “For anything.”

“i know,” he said. “no promises about how i’ll feel, but i know anything like that is completely on my end.”

“I guess that’s good enough,” they said with a little laugh.

The thought occurred to him that he could just take them now, and feel a little more clearheaded in just a few minutes.

Another steadying breath.

No. The sleep had resettled his brain, he was more himself again. He… definitely wasn’t the same, and felt incredibly unsteady, but he could try to do things the right way. At least for now.

A part of him was convinced that, no matter what he decided, or thought he decided, there was no way that he’d resist the temptation forever. He was going to feel it again. There was no way he wouldn’t.

Didn’t matter. It didn’t. For this moment, he’d try. Hell, he wasn’t even feeling all that horny, exactly - he’d pushed it away well enough. It was mostly a mental compulsion, a pure desire to feel that pleasure again.

He wanted to be more than a creature of lust and sex, wanted to be a thinking being with a life, with a brother, with things in his life other than the mindless pursuit of -

Stars burning in his bones, power surging through him, the feeling of Frisk’s soul in every way he could experience…

- pleasure, no matter how compelling.

This was ridiculous. He had to try to keep his head on straight.

“i’m not going to completely fall back into old habits or anything,” he said. “some things have totally changed. i just need to try to wrap my head around everything. it’s, uh, a lot.”

“Yeah, it is,” they said. “And… whatever you end up deciding, or feeling about it all… for what it’s worth, I’m so incredibly happy for today. For everything.”

He reached up to his shoulder and put his hand on theirs.

“i know,” he said in a low tone. “go ahead and grab your stuff. i’ll take you to your room.”

“Thanks,” they said with a little laugh.

He didn’t open his eyes or turn around, just listening as they moved.

It would be so easy to…

Breathing, nice and steady.

“I’m ready,” they said.

He had to be able to face them. It wasn’t easy to teleport things without having a sense of exactly where they were, especially something as large as a person.

Bracing himself, he turned to look at them.

They were beautiful. The soft blush on their cheeks as their eyes sparkled with joy, the slightly shy way they held their body, the cute way they bit their lip uncertainly…

The endless love in their eyes which somehow burned even deeper and brighter now than he’d ever seen. It was mesmerizing.

“Sans?” they asked.

“er, uh, yeah, uh, let’s go,” he said and wrapped them both in a spacetime bubble.

First to Frisk’s room, followed by a very quick goodbye, and then fleeing, er, teleporting as planned to his own room, where he collapsed into his bed.

His room, his bed, where he was totally safe from all temptations.

He swallowed.

Except for the fact that absolutely nothing was stopping him from teleporting back to Frisk’s room at any moment. Whenever he wished. Frisk sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him.

Without anything to distract him, the memories ripped at him. Impossibly alluring, impossibly powerful, impossibly tempting.

Nope, nope, nope. He wasn’t a sex addict, this was not going to be his life, he could get a grip on things.

“AHA!” he heard from downstairs and he smiled. “I DID IT!”

He knew exactly how to get his head in order. He sighed with relief and headed downstairs to chat with the best brother in the world.