"Sans, I can't take it anymore." You were tired. You were more than tired. You leaned on the threshold of the skeleton's kitchen, refusing to look at him. He was sitting on the couch, his back to you. The TV was off, but you could see a wisp of blue from the corner of your eye.

"Well what are you going to do about it?" His tone was serious, but you could almost see the grin still stretched painfully across his face. You wince and take a deep breath.

"I don't think you're going to like my idea." I could see his shoulder tense up.

"I know what you're thinking kiddo, and I don't find it very humerus." His sad attempt at a pun usually got some kind of sympathy laugh from you, but not tonight. You made sure Papyrus had gone to Undyne's. You knew he couldn't handle it.

"I'm sorry Sans." Your eyes begin to burn. You couldn't stop the onslaught of memories. They had been coming back in your dreams, and they've been getting more and more detailed. You never understood why Sans acted the way he did around you, how he seemed to get colder when you were near Papyrus. You never understood the shaking in your hands when you were confronted by the different creatures.

Now you do. You realized you had a special power, the ability to start over, to reset your adventure. Night after night of the atrocities you committed in a past run through haunt you, making you wake up in the middle of the night, your face ripped wide open in a silent scream.

You killed Pap. You killed Toriel. You killed every last one of them.

And you liked it.

You wiped your eyes and tried to control your breathing. You knew this was the only way you would find any relief, and you knew it was the only way poor Sans would get any closure.

"Tell Papyrus I'm sorry, and that he shouldn't worry."

"Now listen here kiddo-"

"Actually, tell him I just went on another adventure. He would believe that; don't tell him what I'm actually going to do. At least I can protect him this time around." You're words catch in your throat and you find it hard to finish your sentence.

"Stop this, right now." Sans dropped the lightheartedness in his voice. He knew what you were planning, knew what you meant by this time around. "That wasn't you. You didn't do anything to hurt my brother or anyone else."

"No Sans! It was me! I was the one who decided to murder everyone! I was the one who enjoyed it! I'm the reason you can't look me in the eyes without flinching!" Your voice grew louder and louder until you were shouting right in his face.

His grin never faltered, but you could have sworn his bones whitened a little more. He took a step back and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at his slippers. You gave him those slippers after everyone got settled down.

"No, it wasn't you. That's why I refuse to let you go through with this." You grasp the handle of the knife tightly, hiding it behind your back. You've been holding it for an hour, mentally preparing yourself for what you had to do.

"I'm sorry Sans." You take a step away from him, making sure your path to the door was clear. Before he could reach out for you, before you could see the pained frown taking the place of his usual grin, you ran. You couldn't stand being in the same room as him, knowing you were the reason he was being so serious. You hated serious Sans. You missed fun, punny Sans. You knew if you did this, the real Sans would come back.

You ran to the clearing just past their house and tripped over a snow-covered log. You fell to your knees, the knife cutting into your stomach slightly. You didn't notice the pain, but you did notice how the cold made the tear tracks move painfully down your cheeks. You've been thinking about this ever since you realized what you had done.

Sans would never be free, this whole world would never be free until you finally went through with it.

You raised the knife and aimed it at your stomach, anticipating the next few short, painful moments. Just as the tip was about to pierce your stomach, it hit something hard.

Sans had threw his hand in between your stomach and the knife, the cold metal striking his boney palm.

"I won't let you do this."

"Sans leave me alone!" You knew this is what had to be done. He ripped the knife from your hand and threw it across the clearing. Kneeling down in front of you, he pulled you into his chest.

"Listen Kiddo, I know I'm not the most responsible skeleton, but I'm sure as hell not going to let you do that to yourself. I couldn't stand to have the house feel empty again. Pap would be deviated, as would Toriel and everyone else." You began to shiver violently in his arms, the cold of the air finally getting to you.

He releases you and unzips his jacket. Draping it over your shoulders, he helps you stand. You're frozen, emotionally and physically. You're numb, not quite comprehending what was happening. Why was he helping you? He of all people should be happy about your decision.

"Why?" You whisper, not trusting yourself to speak any louder.

"Because." He helped walk you back to the house, not taking his eyes off the path in front of you. Bitter tears make tracks down your face again, soaking the fur trimming of the jacket's hood. You walked in silence, afraid of what would happen if you tried to speak.

He opened the door for you, and walked you over to the couch. He gestured for you to stand for a moment and disappeared up the steps. A few minutes later he came back down with a pile of clothing. Without a word, he unzipped the jacket and placed it on the couch. He hesitated a moment, but he knew you wouldn't be able to change on your own. Your fingers were frozen, you couldn't move if your life depended on it, which it might if you didn't get warm soon.

He gently lifted your sweater above your head, being courteous and looked above your shoulder the whole time. He didn't mention the cuts on your arm, but you saw his perpetual grin tighten even more. He moved to take off your leggings, which were soaking the carpet as the frost melted off, but you managed to stop him. You could do that much.

The silence continued as he handed you a pair of sweatpants, obviously his, and a white t-shirt. Once you were mostly dry, you slipped the slightly damp jacket back on. Sans gently pushed on your shoulder to get you to sit on the couch. He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around your shoulder before sitting next to you. You sat in silence for a moment before offering him some of the blanket. His smile softened and he moved closer to wrap the other half of the blanket around his boney shoulders.

"We need to talk about this, you know." You both sat, staring at the blank TV screen. You shook your head. "Well I've a bone to pick with you."

"Why?" You repeated your question, not really expecting a real answer. He took your slightly warmer hand in his boney one under the blanket, and somehow his fingers were warm. You own hand quickly began to warm up.

"There's a lot to discuss. How about we start with your arm, huh?" His voice regained its airiness, but it was calculated.

"Sometimes, when I wake up at night, I… punish myself." You can feel your hands start shaking again, but not from the cold. Sans' hand tightens around yours. "I deserve it. I hurt everyone. I killed Papyrus. I killed you. I deserve the punishment." You spoke with such sincerity, and that scared Sans. His glowing irises went black, and you were afraid you mad him angry.

You remembered the last time you made him angry, like really angry. One glowing blue eye, and a grin that would melt the skin off your frame in fear. It was right after you killed Papyrus.

"You don't."

"What?"

"Don't deserve it. You don't deserve to be punished." He took your arm and brought it above the blanket. He pushed up the sleeve if his jacket and inspected the wounds. Most were healed, but one of two were still red and puckered. He ran a boney finger down your skin, flinching when his finger caught on a raised line. "No one deserves this."

You shook your head and took your arm back, pulling the sleeve down and hid under the blanket again.

"How did you think killing yourself would make things better?"

"I just wanted the nightmares to stop. And you'd-" His shoulders tense violently. "You'd finally be able to live without to look at the person who murdered your brother every day."

It made sense in your head, but Sans didn't seem to understand.

"You think… I want you to die?" You didn't know how to answer at first.

"It would make things easier." He stood up and brushed the blanket off of him. He took a step away from the couch with his back to you. You saw a flicker of blue from his one side. He had tried to put his hands in his pockets, but remembered you were wearing his jacket. He clenched his fists and let out a low growl.

He hunched his shoulders slightly and placed his hands on the side of his head as if trying to stop a headache. He began to shake, and you started to worry. He began to shake harder, and you heard low chuckling. He laughed louder as his shaking grew more intense.

"Sans?" You were scared for your friend.

"You… you honestly thought…" He couldn't get out a full sentence. He whipped around and stared at you, his irises wide. Bluish tears were streaming from his face. His grin was no longer tight, nor was it soft. It was the kind of grin someone gives when they were about to snap.

"Sans…"

"You thought… I wanted you to die?" His voice went up at the end. He shook his head and covered his eyes. You stood, not knowing what to do. You wrapped your arms around him and held him as he shook.

You heard a light gasp, and you looked over at the door. Papyrus was standing in the doorframe, holding a Tupperware container of what looked like casserole. His face held no emotion.

"Brother?" His voice didn't have its usual volume, but then again e probably hasn't seem his brother cry before.

"Pap… what are you doing back so early?" You took a step back, but Sans stayed where he was, looking down at the ground. Papyrus studied the profile of his brother before answering.

"I had a bad feeling, so I came home as soon as I could." Sans gave a snort and lifted his head. The tears were gone, but his smile was anything but easy-going.

"You're such a good brother Pap. Why don't you put that in the kitchen and head to bed? It's getting kind of late."

"Brother, is everything alright?"

"Of course, silly bones. Everything is just fine."

"Brother, I'm not a child nor am I an idiot. Please tell me what's going on." Sans glanced up at you, and your heart skipped a beat.

"Kiddo and I had some serious heart-to-heart talking, that's all." Papyrus began to walk towards the kitchen, seeming to accept this before stopping.

"Was it about the cuts?" You and Sans both froze. How did he know?"

"Pap-"

"I told you Brother, I'm not an idiot. I saw them a while back, but I thought they were from a battle. But then they kept coming, even though there were no battles to be fought."

"Partly about that, yeah. You're so smart Pap."

"Thanks Brother." Papyrus left, leaving you and Sans alone again.

"I never would have guessed he would have been able to connect the dots like that. My brother sure is a clever one." You could tell he was trying to lighten the mood, but you were thoroughly shaken.

"Should I tell him?"

"It's up to you. I think he would be able to handle it." You moved to kitchen, swallowing thickly.

"Hey Papyrus?"

"Hello Human! I am glad to see you are in good health. It is good to talk about the things that bother you."

"Papyrus? If I were to… go on an adventure and never come back, never call you again, what would you do?" The taller skeleton stopped messing with the leftovers and turned to face you. His usually cocky smile faded to a concerned one.

"Why, I would track you down and follow you to the end of your adventure to make sure you were safe."

"Even if I were a killer?" Papyrus was silent, his irises seemed to dim.

"So that's what this is about…" You gave him a confused look. "I remember well, Human. What you did in the other life, or whatever you want to call it. I didn't know what it was at first, these memories. But I managed to connect the dots."

You froze, and you heard a quite keening come from the other room.

"Then you know…"

"Yes, but that was not you. This you is kind and loving, and I would do anything to keep this you safe." You were shaking, and he noticed. "I may seem like an airheaded loudmouth, but I know what's going on around me. I'm not a child."

He made it to where you were standing in two strides and wrapped his arms around you.

"Papyrus, I almost did something really dumb today."

"What matters is that you didn't, right?"

"I almost left you guys. For good." He stepped back from you, a fearful expression on his face.

"Human what are you saying?"

"I almost killed myself." Finally saying the words out loud formed a lump in your throat, but it felt as if a weight was lifted from your chest. You began to sob, and threw yourself at the shell-shocked skeleton in front of you. You buried your face in his scarf and cried. You were vaguely aware of a large hand patting you on the back, and of the slight quivering of the bones under you. You did, however, notice when another warm pair of arms wrapped around you.

You turned halfway and wrapped one arm around Sans, creating a group huddle. You felt wetness dripping on your head and shoulder, and saw both Papyrus and Sans had tinted tears running down their faces.

A sudden realization hit you. If you had gone through with it, they would have been crying because you hurt them so badly. This you, in this timeline, would have hurt them. The thought made your sobs renew and you couldn't stop your shaking.

"Come on Kiddo, we've all had a long day." Sans led you to your room, tears still pouring from your eyes. As he stopped in front of your door, he turned to you. It was obvious he wanted to say something, but you beat him to it.

"Thank you, for saving me. And I'm sorry. I didn't realize how it would affect you." He grinned lazily and ruffled your hair.

"Don't get all broken up about it kid. What matters is that you're still here. But don't ever do that again. You scared the life right out of me." He meant it as a joke, but the image of his grin turning to ash flashed across your mind. He must have realized it as well, because he grimaced. "Forget that. Just, don't let what another you did get to you, ya hear me?"

You nod, but you weren't completely sure you would be able to comply. You've spent so long blaming yourself, how could you just switch like that. Sans really was smarter than anyone gave him credit for, because he seemed to know exactly what you were thinking.

"Listen, if you have a nightmare, or feel like you're going to do something dumb again, come to my room. I'll leave the door unlocked from now on, just for you." He grinned at you, and you found yourself smiling back. Sans leaned in and pressed his smile to your forehead. "Nighty night Kiddo. I'll see you in the morning."

"Thank you Sans."

"Anytime."

Alright this started as a personal things, because I thought maybe writing something about someone comforting someone else would help me, and Sans is such a good big brother figure, I thought it would fit together. It was only supposed to be a page or two long, but it's six…

I know everyone is out of character, but I believe that anyone would be more serious when faced with something to somber. I got the idea from another story where Frisk blamed themselves for what the other them did.

I purposely wrote it so Frisk could be a girl or a guy, but it's obvious they aren't a childlike in the game. This is after the game kind of.

I'm posting this because I like feedback, and I'm really proud of how this came out. It really did help me sort out my emotions. The main thing I have trouble with is believing that people would actually care if anything happened to me, so this kind of helped me set that straight.

If anyone wants a second chapter, I have enough of an idea of what to do that I could add on, but only if people want me to.

Thank you for reading everyone. Until next time,

~Starlight