Sans had been feeling increasingly fond of the human, and seeing that attack against Muffet shook him up a little again. But it was still good to have seen it - it helped make everything feel more real. Like he understood who they were.

They were someone who had an unbelievably intense amount of determination and will to live. A drive to find their path that was almost terrifying.

In their first path, they pursued peace with an intensity that was hard to credit, but was clear to see. Such as with the unusual path to victory with the Royal Guards. In their second timeline, they were absolutely convinced that they couldn’t fall to darkness - and it sounded like they had good reason to feel that way - and they made the decision to murder everyone, to draw out more information on their psycho ghost.

In that path, they followed through, despite what sounded like really damned significant obstacles. And all because they felt like they had to, in order to have confidence in the security of the future.

And in the end, they fell in love with him. And that was enough to finally shake them from their path, as they just couldn’t kill him, even if they felt like it would help with their goals. Nothing else - not death, not pain, not difficulty, not guilt, nothing - none of it worked, but that. And it sounded like it’s what stopped the literal end of everything.

Then with the shield of LOVE removed, they regained themself and walked again the path of perfect peace. He didn’t see anything that even remotely threatened to kill them, and they even kept snacking on extra food when fully healed, since they were running out of space to keep it. Even with the dimensional boxes attached to their phone.

There was more to see, of course, but he felt like he understood them, now.

He didn’t have a lot more time to think. They were heading to the resort.

Ah, what the hell.

He teleported out in front of the resort just before they got into view. They came by, gave him a grin, and he asked them to grab some dinner with him. Their eyes shone with delight and they softly accepted.

He got them to take a “shortcut,” which they snickered at, and with that, they were in the restaurant.

“well. here we are,” he said. “so.”

They smiled warmly at him.

“your journey’s almost over, huh?” he asked.

“Getting there,” they agreed.

“gotta admit, i don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “you’ve given me a lot to think about. both what you said, and from watching your journey.”

“Voyeur,” they said teasingly.

“yeah, yeah,” he laughed. “last time we were here… what all did we talk about?”

“Do you want the long or short version?” they asked.

He was in full on information gathering mode, so the answer was obvious.

“we got time,” he said. “let's hear it all.”

“You seemed sad,” they said after a moment, looking thoughtful. “Lost in your own head. You said something about how I must really want to go home, and that you really understood that. I didn’t know how to respond, and didn’t really want to correct you, so I just… listened. It sounded like… like you’d lost your home. You mentioned the same idea, in passing, during our fight, too.”

He nodded.

“I don’t know what’s going on with all that, but I also don’t want to push,” they said with a small smile. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for what you’ve lost, and if I can help, I will. But back to the conversation here…”

They chuckled and he joined them lightly. They closed their eyes, remembering.

“You tried to encourage me to be happy with what I have,” they said softly. “I had good food, friends. I think you had it in your head that the best option was just to never go to Asgore, to just live my life in peace down here. Again, I didn’t want to correct you. Didn’t want to point out how infeasible it was to try to live in peace when people like Undyne and Papyrus were tearing themselves apart, torn between duty and friendship. When several people wanted me dead. When my nature as a human was a landmine, that could cause huge disasters if anyone knew.

“But I think you were just… not wanting to think about it. Because it delayed the pain. From what you saw, there were only two paths. I live, and Asgore dies, and all hope for freedom goes with me. Or, I die, and…”

They trailed off, smiling at him sadly.

“I don’t think I really need to lay out how you saw things, I guess,” they said with a laugh, and he laughed a little in agreement, though it was a bit forced.

“It… it was this moment that I went from thinking of you as ‘the funny friend’ to… I don’t know how to put it. You were so… melancholy. We’d hung out at Grillby’s, and laughed together. I called Papyrus more in that timeline, and you kept popping in with ridiculous jokes.

“One, in hindsight, kills me - Papyrus was confused about what a laboratory was, and mixed it up with a labrador retriever, and asked if there were dogs in Alphys’s lab, and you said we couldn’t rule it out. I didn’t get that till way later.”

They grinned at him and his grin widened to match.

“But anyway,” they continued. “We’d had all these good moments, and in facing me getting close to Asgore, you just… it obviously was upsetting you. And you didn’t know what to do about it. And the fact that you cared enough to be shaken… well, it shook me, too. I felt afraid, in a way I hadn’t been before. I mean, Undyne scared me, not gonna lie, but that was a fear of pain and setback. Once I fully realized I was immortal, it didn’t take long before I became absolutely confident, you know? Doesn’t matter how much I die, as long as I don’t give up. And I just don’t give up. Ever.”

He nodded at that.

“But I still… I was certain I’d find a way. I knew I could go all the way back to the beginning. That somehow, I could make things right. What’s the point of power like this, if I can’t make things perfect?” they asked with a soft smile.

Despite the softness of that smile, there was a resolution in their eyes that was hard as diamond and glittered just as brightly.

“So, you were all… melancholy. You told me you were rooting for me. And, I didn’t realize it then, but that meant on some level you’d chosen for me to kill Asgore, because that’s the only way you could see things going.

“Then you told me a story. A story of a door, deep in the woods of Snowdin forest. Of you being bored on sentry duty, and of knock knock jokes, and uproarious laughter. I knew immediately who you were speaking about, but I’d… grown silent. I hadn’t known what to say from the beginning, and so I just… stayed silent.

“You told me of the promise you made. And then… I don’t know if it was a moment of weakness, but it felt like all the barriers between us fell away. Like they’d been crumbling the whole time, and something about telling me about the promise, about the circumstances that led up to it broke them down the rest of the way.”

Their gaze was distant as they spoke.

“You said to me, if she hadn’t said anything, that I’d be dead where I stood,” they said softly, and a chill went down his spine.

The look they gave him then was complicated, but warm and affectionate.

“The barriers popped right back up,” they said with a gentle smile. “You pretended you’d just been joking with me. Didn’t fool me, of course, not for a minute. But it was… it was real in a way that’s hard to articulate…”

They trailed off, thinking.

“It sounds like a bad thing, right?” they asked finally, with a little laugh. “But… I’m trying my best to say this right… but it wasn’t. It’s not like I didn’t know that half of monsterkind wanted me dead. The silly teenagers in the alley shop just over there openly brag about how they’re hyped for the destruction of humanity. Half the monsters I’ve met have tried to kill or capture me. But it’s not like they’re evil. They just want freedom, and they see me as a means to an end.

“And you’re…” they said, trailing off again for a moment. “You were obviously trying to share with me your own tangled up feelings. That you wanted freedom, and had the power to make it happen. That you are someone who is bound by promises, and will sacrifice something you really want, for a promise. I didn’t fully grasp how much promises meant to you until later, of course, but I got a glimpse then. And that… if the promise were all that bound you, you’d secretly want me to lose against Asgore. That you could justify things, say you tried to protect me by trying to talk me into just living here peacefully, but secretly wanting me to die. But that wasn’t the case.

“Despite what you wanted, despite what you had the power to do, despite it all… you were rooting for me, in the end. And you felt all tangled up and frustrated and melancholic about it, and you just didn’t know what to do. You expanded on that, too, in the Hall of Judgement, later. About how, if it were you, you’d have thrown in the towel by then, but that you hoped that somehow, someway, I’d find a way forward, if I kept trying. That I’d inspired you to have a spark of hope, too.”

He leaned back a little, thinking, and they let him have a moment.

“sounds like you are pretty observant yourself,” he said eventually.

“Not nearly as much as you,” they said with a grin.

“don’t sell yourself short,” he said, grinning back. “i gotta admit, it’s weird. the stuff you’re saying. it sounds right. sounds like what i’d say, what i’d do. in watching you, i can even kinda see it. the things you’ve done - i’d have noticed how determined you were, how committed you were to peace. i’d have wanted there to be some way for things to work out.”

“But you feel differently about things?” they asked tentatively.

“not exactly? yes? i dunno,” he said with a sigh. “i do want things to work out peacefully. obviously. but this time, you already told me that there’s a way. don’t understand what it is, but i’m not worried about that impossible choice, like i would have been before. like i was, this morning.

“i’m not feeling torn up in the same way. but i s’pose this is the place for confessions, so what the hell. i have no idea what to feel about you, kid.”

Their face was tight.

“Because of how I killed everyone,” they said. It wasn’t a question.

“not just that,” he said. “though that is part of it. but you really do seem honestly committed to doing the right thing, so i do believe you about your reasons. and you’re right that, if no one gets hurt in the end, it’s not as bad as it sounds. but it’s still complicated.”

“So what’s bothering you, then?” they asked.

He sighed.

“you remember things that i don’t,” he said. “you remember conversations we’ve had. you feel things because of that. me telling you about that promise changed our friendship for both of us… but also, only for you. i was never there for that. i never made the choice to tell you. the person you became friends with doesn’t exist anymore.”

They flinched and their eyes filled with tears. They swallowed.

“i’m not saying… look, i’m sorry, kid,” he said, shaking his head. “i’m not saying i have a problem with being your friend. i’ve been watching your journey, and i’m rooting for ya, too. but it’s weird, y’know? like, the way you feel about me… it’s uneven. i’m saying this all wrong.”

He sighed.

“i dunno if i should even say anything more,” he muttered.

“Please do,” they said. “I want to know. I want this version of you to be forever, to never make the memories one sided again. And… I want to know, rather than guess, about what our friendship is.”

“well. i guess that’s fair,” he said with another sigh. “look, part of the trouble i’m having is trying to keep up. and it’s guesswork on my end, too. you have a lot more information than i do. on what you feel, especially regarding me, and why you might feel that way. i’m trying to piece together the journey. where we had started, where we ended up.”

“Would you want me to tell you that, first? How I feel about you? How that has developed on my journey?” they asked softly, their throat tight.

He hadn't planned to actually ask - he was just revealing a problem. But if they were offering…

“it’s kinda selfish to ask,” he said. “but yeah.”

“Are you sure you want to know?” they said, their voice sounding a little pained. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. But I refuse to lie to you.”

“i… might already have a good idea,” he said. “but guesses might not be doing us any favors. and i’ve been doing a lot of guessing.”

“So you’re certain,” they pressed. “Really, for sure. Because I really, really don’t want to make you feel pressured in any way, shape, or form.”

“i’m sure,” he said.

They nodded and then looked thoughtful.

“One last question,” they said. “I just realized, I’m not sure if you want the… whole story, or if you just wanted a sort of overview.”

“i’m in no hurry,” he said. “tell me the whole thing.”

Besides, an overview would be dependent on him trusting in their self appraisal of the situation. Which he didn’t. He didn’t know them nearly well enough. Walking him through it would absolutely give him more knowledge. And with an immortal being who was this mentally messed up and this powerful? Yeah, more was better.

They took a breath and swallowed.

“At first, I was terrified of you,” they said, closing their eyes. “As you stalked me through the Snowdin forest. Man, that was some whiplash when you greeted me with the whoopie cushion like that. I had no idea what to think. And then the whole little dance with you and Papyrus - he scared me, too. I was feeling very… very… I don’t know how to put it. Vulnerable. I’d been rescued by Toriel, and had had some really… emotionally complicated experiences. And having to say goodbye to her like that, I… I don’t know what to say, other than really vulnerable.”

He did kinda feel like a jerk, hearing that. He’d wanted to push them, to see who they were, but hadn't thought that the human might have been in a fragile state on coming through the door. With his knock knock buddy caring about humans, he kinda figured they’d already be used to monsters being friendly.

“And other than being a hilarious asshole with the terrifying stalking joke, you made me feel safe. I latched onto that feeling hard. I didn’t know if you’d kill me. Or Papyrus. Or anyone else. I’d only died once by then, and was still scared of dying again. Or of my powers failing me.

“But you were really nice to me. You knew I was human and gave me no trouble about it. No threats, no attacks, nothing. The worst you threatened me with was making me listen to your jokes, and I kinda wanted to just sit next to you and cry and listen, because you made me laugh and feel safe and like maybe things would be okay. But I was also scared of scaring you away with my sheer awkwardness, so I just pressed on.”

So they actually cared about him from the very start? His heart twinged, hearing this. Rather than the untouchable, unshakable creature of fearless immortality and might he’d seen in this timeline… they’d been a scared kid, trembling as they sought joy and laughter in his company.

But there was one problem with this story.

“hang on,” he said. “if you were this scared… why did you leave the ruins?”

They looked down, looking ashamed.

“Toriel invited me to stay with her,” they said. “She was really sweet and everything. But, um. I… I can’t. I couldn’t. She’s wonderful, but also kind of smothering, and I can’t handle feeling trapped. I felt I had no choice.”

“possibly dying was better?” Sans asked.

“It’s hard to describe,” they said. “Possibly dying was awful. Possibly having my power fail me was awful. But all that was just… just a chance. There was a glimpse of hope through that, that somehow I’d find a future that works for me. And staying was guaranteed… being trapped, I guess. I can’t, I just can’t turn away from a thread of possibility like that. Ever. No matter how scared I am.”

He nodded thoughtfully, and they continued after a moment.

“During this time I died, as I said. Not against Doggo, but against all the other dogs. Greater Dog killed me twice. Mostly because, back then, I’d get so scared, I’d just freeze and couldn’t move and just… uselessly shook until their magic ripped me apart. In the ruins, at first I reacted to my fear by lashing out and killing them, but I undid that. Then after, I often had no idea what to do, so I just froze, since I refused to kill anybody.”

His heart was twinging again. Previously, he’d struggled to reconcile the peaceful determination with the dusty warpath. Now, he was struggling to reconcile the fearless, immortal master of combat with a kid who literally let themself be killed because they were too afraid to move.

“But even as they killed me, I knew, I could see it, they didn’t actually want to. Okay, Doggo kinda did, but I literally just had to stand still and I’d be fine. And I guess Dogamy and Dogaressa sorta did, too, but… they were so clearly just following orders, and were being good dogs, you know?”

He nodded at that. Despite everything, they'd continued to feel empathy for their own killers. Over and over again.

“And I kept running into you in the forest. And every time I saw you, I relaxed a little. I never knew when Papyrus was going to move from traps to attacking me. Everyone hurt me. And the dogs were so cute and sweet, and even they ripped me to shreds, and it hurt, and I was so, so afraid.

“And then I’d see you, and I just… started to have hope that I’d be okay. Because you’d be there, laughing and smiling, and telling me jokes, and no monsters approached while I was talking to you. Being near you was a safe little bubble. A little place of laughter and joy. I appreciated you so much. Even so, you were just ‘the funny friend.’ The first friend. I mean, I cared about Toriel, too - still do - but with her, it’s more like a mom than a friend. But you treated me like a friend, and not like a threat, or a prize, or anything.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He wasn’t sure this was all that healthy either, but it did just sound like an honest, if unusually intense, feeling of friendship. And honestly… that was a role he’d be happy with. To be a figure of hope, joy, and laughter? His own heart ached at the thought of it. It seemed… healing, even, to be viewed that way.

“The first time I went down to the cave by the cliff, and saw you… it’s hard to describe. You were doing a ridiculous thing of teleporting just out of my sight, and I had no idea what you were doing, or how you seemed to be in two places at once. The one thing I was sure of is that you had some measure of power, and it felt… nice.

“I mean, I’d already seen glimpses of it, like you saying you’d see me up ahead and then walking the wrong way. But that was the first blatant thing. And yeah, it was played for laughs, but it made me feel like… like someone strong was my friend. Like you had my back, and you were strong enough that that meant something.”

They paused for a moment, thinking.

It was a generous interpretation of events. That his teleportation trick also meant he was strong in other ways… though, he supposed, they seemed insightful, too. Maybe not the same way he was, but they’d picked up a hell of a lot of subtext from what they’d said of their previous conversation here.

But this also warmed his heart. To be a thing of joy, laughter, hope, safety, to feel like they could trust him… that felt good.

“My determination, in those earliest moments, was born of fear,” they said. “I was so, so afraid of death. I was also afraid of becoming something that I would hate, and clung to who I am. Especially since I’d accidentally killed Toriel… the guilt of that… it terrified me, what I could do. All that said… Sans, if you’d betrayed me then, I think I would have broken. I think my fear would have transformed from driving me, to consuming me.”

He nodded at that solemnly.

“But you didn’t,” they said, smiling at him warmly. “I slowly grew accustomed to death, and stopped being so afraid. I’m not sure when I stopped being so afraid of Papyrus. I think… if I’m remembering right, I’d already started to suspect he really didn’t want to hurt me, by the time we reached his ‘gauntlet of deadly terror.’ And so I felt vindicated in that little belief when he refused to activate it. Felt a measure of safety with him. Still wasn’t sure if he’d kill me eventually, but at least I felt sure he didn’t really want to.”

He’d reassured them that Papyrus was safe because he’d known they could conclude he was a threat, but deep down, he had a hard time seeing Papyrus that way. And it sounded like, even in Snowdin town, they were still afraid of him, in that first timeline.

“In Snowdin town, it was so nice. So peaceful. No one attacked me, accidentally or otherwise. Guess the monsters living in the woods are less polite or something - honestly, I’m still not sure what’s up with that. And I guess I’m getting sidetracked, but I think it’s relevant. I started to feel more safe, more at peace. It wasn’t just you that made me feel safe. The whole town started to feel that way. And then I left, and ran into Papyrus, and he insisted on fighting me. On striking me. On hurting me. And I was so sure, because of what happened with the dogs, and with Toriel’s warning about Asgore, that if I surrendered, he’d kill me.”

His face was tight as he nodded again. Papyrus wouldn’t, of course, but to conclude that… yeah, it made sense.

“I think, because I’d started to feel safe, that I’d grown a little less numb. I was so scared again. I didn’t want him to hurt me. I didn’t want to die and reappear, only to have to do it all over again, caught in an endless cycle of death and pain. It didn’t take long for him to strike me down. I felt myself growing weak, and a series of bones came flying at me, and I didn’t know how to dodge them. I closed my eyes, accepting that it was over… and then they stopped. As soon as the strike started to land, and he’d seen that I’d given up, he actually pulled back his attack. He refused to kill me.”

The smile on their face was that same admiring, impossibly tender look as they’d given Papyrus during the fight he’d witnessed. He felt a surge of pride in his brother, because he was cool.

“He picked me up and put me into the garage with some dog food and stuff, which was so ridiculous. And of course, with bars too wide to keep me inside. I just laid there and cried for a while. But he’d mentioned someone coming and taking me, so I still needed to leave.”

They smiled at him, a bright and happy expression.

“But I realized I wasn’t afraid of him at all anymore. I had two people I could feel safe with. Not completely, in his case - he was still trying to capture me - but I can’t tell you how important that was to me.

“And his attacks didn’t hurt all that much, either. He was trying to batter me into submission, not torture me. At the time, I didn’t realize how… variable magical attacks could be. Your bones would rip through my life and body both, but his just tore at my life as they passed, leaving nothing but maybe some tender skin and bruising. I went into the fight with him again, full of food in my pockets and determination in my heart. He wouldn’t kill me. I wouldn’t kill him. And maybe I could actually learn to fight, to dodge and weave, if I weren’t so afraid.”

His eyes widened. The first time they started to actually learn to fight was with Papyrus?

That was so cool.

“Long story short, he beat me twice more. But each time, I got way, way better at fighting. I mean, I’d learned a lot with Toriel and the other monsters, too, but this was different. Like, with Toriel, she actually guided her attacks to not hit me, once I got really hurt, so I couldn’t even practice anymore. But anyway. I wasn't attacking him, so I couldn't exactly win, but he was starting to get worn out.”

Papyrus had been training hard. It made him smile to hear that they'd struggled against him.

“In the end, though, from the conversation we were having during the fight, as well as before each fight, he just… didn’t want to fight me. He wanted friendship instead. And I accepted, and we hung out, and it was great. And then, as I went to leave Snowdin, I realized… I had a place where I felt safe. And it was because of you both. You, more than Papyrus, because of how… I really don’t have the words… but it felt like a deeper connection.”

“kinda curious why you didn’t just stay in snowdin, in that case,” he said.

“Papyrus’s boss wanted to kill me, and he was obviously feeling torn up about it,” they said immediately. “The dogs had orders to kill me, and they were really not subtle about that. If they knew I was human, my peace would shatter. The townsfolk had no idea I was human. They’d have been afraid of me, if they knew. Or hated me. It wasn’t a stable situation. As long as I played it careful, it was okay, but it was… fragile.

“But, even knowing who and what I am, I had you and your brother. I had to move forward, to try to find… some sort of resolution to the situation, some sort of stability. If I could convince Asgore to let me stay in peace, to call off the orders to kill me, I would have gone back and stayed in Snowdin. Happily. And despite the difficulties ahead of me, I knew that if I had to reload, if I had to come back, I had some people who I felt like I could trust, even knowing the truth.”

He nodded at that. They’d even basically mentioned as much a minute ago, when talking about their conversation in this restaurant last time. Apparently, they’d felt that way from the very beginning.

“Of course, I couldn’t actually trust Papyrus that much,” they said with a laugh. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. So, then I ran into you, and you invited me to hang with you at Grillby’s. I accepted, of course. You asked me what I thought about Papyrus, and we commiserated about how cool he is for a bit. Then you did a crazy thing, and it looked like you froze time, to ask me about a flower. I was certain you were talking about Flowey, at first, who caused me some… issues… back in the Ruins. But then you said you thought someone was pranking Papyrus with an echo flower, and I was so unsure what to do or say, I kinda just stayed quiet. You warned me to be careful, and then let the timefreeze slip away. It reaffirmed what I’d already concluded, about your strength.”

Sounded like there was a recurring theme, where he said something that wasn’t exactly right, and they didn’t want to correct him. He grumbled to himself inside his head. Made him wonder what he’d missed in this timeline…

“I think that’s when it felt really solid. You were my friend. I felt like I could trust you, you were strong, and maybe you wouldn’t fight for me or anything, but I felt like… like I could rely on you. That sense of safety went from tentative to solid. I felt less afraid, as I went into Waterfall.”

He smiled at that.

“Then, of course, I immediately ran into the grass and overheard a conversation between Papyrus and Undyne, where she pressed him and he agreed to betray me to her, that he’d do what was necessary,” they said with a wry laugh and he flinched a little. “Don’t get me wrong, he very obviously didn’t want to, he tried to persuade her to change her course. But, well, my faith in my friendship with him cracked pretty hard at that. It went back to being you, alone in all the world, that I felt I could trust.”

He had to admit, that made sense. Except one part.

“not toriel?” he asked.

They hesitated.

“When I left, she told me to never return,” they said. “Far as I can tell, she couldn’t handle the idea of waiting to hear from me, and slowly deciding I had been killed by Asgore as time passed without me visiting her. By forbidding me to ever contact her again, she could willfully delude herself into thinking I’d survived, as the only way for her to feel like she could… she could survive the grief of my death. Knowing that she was just deluding herself, but an irrational hope is better than confirmation of loss, is what I think she was thinking. So, while she had my back, she refused to be there for me, in absolutely any way.”

He nodded slowly. It backed up the idea that they were insightful into who people really were.

“I don’t want to give the wrong idea,” they said. “She did care. Does care. She gave me a hug and everything as I was leaving, and she is so sweet. But she’s dealt with a lot of loss and grief. I had no idea how much, at the time, but even then, I could see it in her eyes.”

He’d definitely heard the same thing in her voice, the day she’d begged him to make the promise.

“Waterfall was awful, that first timeline,” they said, their voice somber. “Papyrus got my number and kept calling, and kept clearly struggling with trying to balance not betraying me or Undyne, but in the end betraying us both. I knew he cared and didn’t want to hurt me, I couldn’t expect him to betray his boss and friend, I didn’t really blame him… but it was… hard. She even outright admitted that she was going to murder me herself, and while he protested, he just… accepted it. And I went through and met all these monsters, and heard all these wishes, and I just…”

They trailed off, their eyes glistening.

“All these dreams, these wishes, that could be fulfilled if I just died,” they said softly. “I found myself wondering if wanting to live was being selfish. If it would be better if I just let Undyne kill me, and let everyone go free. I hadn't learned, yet, that Asgore planned genocide of humanity with the captured souls.

“But I didn’t want to die, and I didn’t think it was fair, and they weren’t even respecting me in it. They didn’t plead their case and ask me to sacrifice myself for them, they just wanted to kill me and I didn’t want to die for them if that was the case, but I was surrounded by all these wishes and they were just…”

They went from a rambling flurry of words to trailing off, tears glistening in their eyes.

“But I didn’t want to die,” they said, and sounded almost ashamed. “I didn’t, I didn’t, it wasn’t fair to just steal my soul like that… and Undyne scared me so much. Every time I ran into you in Waterfall, it was like a salve on my soul. You wouldn’t make me feel guilty for being alive. You would make me laugh. I had no idea what goofy thing you’d do, but I knew it’d be silly and safe and that, at least for those moments we were hanging out, everything was going to be okay. I couldn’t know if I’d survive the next hour, if I’d be battered with so much pain and such overwhelming defeat that I’d die for real, but I knew for at least those few minutes, that I was okay.”

He was getting a hell of a lot more than their feelings for him, but he definitely wasn’t blind to the implication. He was increasingly of the opinion that he’d find out they fell in love with him even before the murder timeline.

And his feelings were changing, too. Yeah, they were an unstoppable nightmare of limitless power now, if they chose to be, but he really felt for the kid they’d been. He could easily see how he’d have felt, how much he would have grown to care for them, seeing their fear and uncertainty transform into contented laughter at his jokes and play.

“Finally, I got to the end, and Undyne killed me a ton. But, I’d learned how to fight with Papyrus, and had had a chance to practice with the monsters of Waterfall. She only killed me a dozen times or so. It really helps that the food here instantly heals me, once I got the knack of it. And, while I was afraid… the bullshit she said when she first attacked me, it really changed how I felt. I still wasn’t sure if I should let myself die to save monsters, but I found myself pissed off and committed to one thing I knew for sure - if someone was going to take my soul, it wouldn’t be that bitch.”

Sans couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“I’m really a lot better at fighting when I’m not afraid,” they said. “And the stuff she said, I was just furious. And… and I did something awful. Not being afraid, my fear all burning as anger, and her being just so… so unfair, so cruel. The first attempt against her, I literally got on my knees and begged for my life, and she just killed me anyway. She’d hurt me, and stalked me, and ambushed me, and insulted me, and mocked my efforts to be good to monsterkind, and turned a friend against me, and was trying so hard to murder me, and refused to back down and accept peace…”

He nodded. The human getting pissed, and breaking away from their peaceful approach? Not surprising in the least - it’s what he’d have expected to happen.

“I killed her,” they said, sighing sadly. “It's sad, Sans, how much easier it is to kill monsters than spare them. I killed her on my first try.”

He knew damned well how hard humans were to kill in combat. Without leveraging the power of stolen human souls or special training, it was definitely in the humans’ favor.

“And then, the things she said as she died… it was so sad, Sans. She didn’t actually care about me at all. She spoke of the things she’d wished she’d said, of the people she loved. Of her refusal to die, her refusal to stop protecting them. She… you know about determination, about all of Alphys’s secret experiments, I’m pretty sure.”

“yeah,” he confirmed.

“She had enough determination that she melted,” they said softly and he nodded. “She tried so hard to live, to continue to fight for those she loved. And I didn’t matter to her at all.

“That’s when I realized, really understood, she wasn’t actually insulting me, or attacking me. I was nothing but an idea. I had to be, because if I were a person to her, an innocent person, she couldn’t hurt me. But if I were just ‘the enemy,’ then she could pretend she was being a hero, like she really is deep down.

“And then, there I was, once she eventually turned to dust. I had a straight path forward, and she could never hurt me again.”

They smiled, and once again, it was impossibly tender.

“But I reloaded instead,” they said. “From Undyne, I had learned to have true faith in myself. I could get past her. Not just as a belief, but as a certainty. The question was, could I keep her alive at the same time?

“I tried a few different things, but in the end, I figured out that I could run and just keep running. And maybe, since she’d stopped when Monster Kid stood up to her, maybe if I just ran enough, I could find another solution. She’d catch up to me, and attack again, but I’d just keep running. I was grinning all the while. And you know what happened next - I just repeated it this time.”

He nodded again.

“I know it sounds like I got off track,” they said. “But the key thing is, I suddenly felt safe, in a strange way. I had faith in my power, and in my ability to become strong enough to overcome whatever I faced. And before that, you were my only source of security and safety. Yes, yes, people would try to murder me, and that would suck, but it didn’t matter. I had someone who had my back, who was a real friend, and I had faith would never betray me. And I had another friend who… maybe was tangled, but still cared. And that maybe, just maybe, things would actually be okay. I felt stable, and our friendship was a part of that stability. But more in the sense of… equals isn’t the right word, but I don’t know a better one. I didn’t feel like I was leaning on you, the same way.”

That made a lot of sense. It was interesting, hearing about the fight with Undyne, too. It revealed a lot about them.

And… this sounded like it was a healthy foundation for a friendship, now. Maybe not perfectly, but hey, who was he to complain about imperfect mental health?

“There wasn't much between us in Hotland,” they said. “Dealt with bullshit with Alphys and Mettaton, but with my newfound confidence in myself and faith in my power, his death threats didn’t really get to me at all. A little, but he was more annoying than frightening.”

Sans snickered at that.

“He is a pain in the ass,” they said with a grin. “Had a few cool moments with you in Hotlands. Like with the hotdogs - I’m so glad we were able to do that again, it was so much fun. And it really didn’t… change anything about how I felt about you. I just felt, again, solid in our friendship. And every interaction just reinforced that feeling.”

They suddenly hesitated and gave him a complex look. Their voice had grown solid and cheerful as they spoke, but that didn’t match the expression they now wore.

“Then… our conversation here,” they said, their voice uncertain. Uncertain, but resolute. “Reaffirming what I’d grown to believe, that you were truly my friend, that you did care, that you were on my side. Reaffirming what I’d learned, that you were a being of power. Telling me of a promise, a story that shared the heart of your connection to Toriel, and not the mere truth that there was a promise. A feeling of real connection, for all that there was an implicit threat within your words.

“And, the part I forgot to mention a minute ago, that you made a comment about how you were doing a good job protecting me, because I hadn’t died yet. And I just laughed…”

They grinned at him and he grinned sheepishly back.

Then their expression got tangled again and they looked rather sheepish themself.

“Er… this is where it kinda gets awkward,” they admitted. “But you asked, and so I’ll answer.”

They took a steadying breath and looked away.

“I… I felt a really strong sense of connection, as I’d mentioned,” they said. “But, um, it kinda was… a, um… whoo, this is hard…”

They were really struggling. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to help get the words out. And, as he’d said, he had guessed. Plus, on the off chance they denied it, it was completely plausible as a teasing joke.

“you started to fall in love with me,” Sans said, as they continued to struggle in the silence.

They flushed a bright red and took a moment to breathe. They slowly nodded.

It felt better, to be honest, knowing that they’d fallen for him before their murderous timeline. That their feelings were born of joy, laughter, friendship, and a real sense of connection, not out of desperate guilt.

And hearing it like this… he could see it. Walking him through their journey made it feel real. It wasn’t as real as if he’d been there himself, lived it himself, but it wasn’t as impossible to feel as before. He even found himself caring for the person that they’d been, caring more deeply for them now, because of that deeper understanding.

Not that he loved them, not even slightly, but… the situation maybe wasn’t as messed up as he’d first felt. And while he wouldn't call it love… it wasn't nothing, what he felt for them.

They continued to steady their breathing and finally spoke again.

“I only started to,” they said. “Somewhere around the feeling of ‘best friends forever,’ a feeling of loyalty, and, I guess you’d call it a crush. As before… everyone else, even Toriel, had hurt me, attacked me, killed me, betrayed me, turned away from me, or pushed me away. Except you. It’s hard to describe the feeling of trust, why it was so deeply rooted. On the surface, I’ve literally never had a fight of any kind. Not so much as a spar. I’ve never had to so much as question my safety. Why, then, did I feel a sense of safety and trust with you that ran so much deeper than anything I’d ever known on the surface?”

They quirked a lip into a half smile.

“It’d probably take a lot of time to try to untangle why that is, but the important part is that that’s how I felt,” they said. “I felt a depth of trust and care for you that I’d never really felt in my life. I didn’t have the best home life and don’t actually have a real home to go back to.”

He nodded at that.

“I guess I could go back, but let’s just say that at the end, Toriel offers to take me in as her child, and I accepted, and intend to accept again.”

He could read between the lines, hear the complexity in their voice, see the depth of emotion on their face…

He reached out and squeezed their hand. They smiled at him appreciatively, squeezing back, and he pulled his hand back after a moment.

“Not much changed from there for a while. Oh, things happened in my journey, but not regarding my feelings for you. And then I reached the Hall of Judgement.”

He wondered if he’d ever tell them that wasn’t the corridor’s name.

“You started off so serious,” they said, their gaze distant. “Like this was… maybe like it was the one job you took seriously. You made me feel like I was really, actually being judged for the choices I’d made on my journey. And for a moment, I was a little worried. Only a little, though. Yeah, I’d killed Toriel and Undyne, however briefly, but that had never happened. And I’d tried so, so hard to do the right thing.”

Their smile softened.

“You told me about LOVE and EXP. What they meant. How they worked. You made it explicitly clear that you were judging me, how you were judging me.”

Their face lit up into a happy expression.

“And then, you shifted so I could see your face properly in the light, and you were giving me this… this… really sweet smile,” they said. “That’s so not the right word. You were so nice. You said I kept tenderness in my heart, that I strove to do the right thing, that I’d refused to hurt anyone. You talked about how I’d never gained LOVE, but I’d gained love. And I had, actually, gained some LOVE - just long enough to feel it, before I reloaded. But I was free of all that, and that’s what you saw. And I felt… I felt…”

They struggled with words again and he considered. His other self had probably no idea that they’d intentionally killed Undyne and undone it, but in the end… he couldn’t blame them for that. Hell, he wouldn’t have blamed them for killing Undyne and keeping things that way. He would have judged them for the LOVE they’d gained, but he wouldn’t have hated them. Wouldn’t have stopped being their friend. Just been disappointed that life wasn’t as good as it could be, which was hardly news.

“I really don’t have the words,” they continued. “Just, let’s go with it was a positive thing. I felt seen, appreciated, respected. In a way that felt both professional and objective, as well as personal and caring.

“And then, you left it off with talking about what came next. You didn’t know what I should do. You laid out the facts of my choice in simple, clear fashion. That Asgore and I would meet, and we’d determine the fate of the world. That if I refused to fight, Asgore would take my soul and destroy humanity. Or, I could kill him, take his soul, and leave, consigning monsterkind to remaining trapped.

“You said you didn’t know what I should do, that if you were me, you’d have thrown in the towel. You talked about how I’d gotten that far by never giving up, that I had ‘determination.’ That you believed if I didn’t give up, I’d find a way to do the right thing, even if you had no idea how. You said everyone was counting on me and wished me luck, then you disappeared.”

It hurt a little to hear this. If he didn’t know the kid had found a way, then things would have looked pretty bleak. They did look that way, this morning, but he’d been trying not to think about it. Let the cards fall where they would, kind of thing.

But that Sans had run out of time to refuse to face things. He’d grown to care for the human kid and just let them go off to deal with an impossible situation. He’d tried to persuade them to just live a peaceful life underground, and failing that… there was only death and loss. Whose death and whose loss, he didn’t know, but it looked inevitable.

And that Sans had chosen to cling to a little measure of hope. That the kid’s power, their determination, their unwavering commitment to peace… that maybe it would somehow be enough.

“and you did it,” Sans said. “you found a way.”

“No, actually,” they said with a wry smile. “It’s a long story. And there’s not much between you and me during that whole process… I guess I could skip ahead to when we broke the barrier, unless you want to hear that part?”

“gotta admit, i’m hella curious,” he said. “you don’t have to, though.”

They grinned. Sans smiled back, settling in his chair.

“I’m happy to,” they said cheerfully.

Time to hear what the future held.