Frisk was too busy staring at the thick snowflakes falling outside to pay too much attention to Sans's story. Tonight was a new book that Papyrus had chosen himself at the library called 'Three Frogs and a Stool.' It probably would have made more sense if Frisk had actually listened to the story, but something inside them...itched. As if something were just slightly misplaced three inches to the left in the world. The snowfall had stirred something within them and called the young child outside. It was the same call that compelled them to traverse Mt. Ebott alone.

"...end."

"WHOA...THAT WAS...UNBELIEVABLE? THAT STORY WAS...NOT GREAT AT ALL. WHAT DO YOU THINK, HUMAN?"

Without putting too much thought into it, Frisk gave a few nods and clambered out of Papyrus's car bed. The brothers exchanged confused looks, but didn't take too much notice to it. The kid was naturally quiet, but something seemed to be on their mind.

"going to bed?"

"Yeah."

"what, no goodnight?"

Stopping in their tracks, Frisk turned to Sans and ran straight into his chest. With as much strength as they could muster, they hugged him as tightly as they could until Sans laughed and gave them a hug back.

"what's gotten into you?"

"NO HUG FOR ME?"

Papyrus jealously held out his arms to Frisk with a playful scowl on his face. Lighting up, Frisk jumped up onto the bed and tackled Papyrus backwards in a tight hug as well. Of course, Papyrus hugged back and swung the tiny human from side to side before pressing his forehead against Frisk's.

"GOODNIGHT, TINY FRISK."

"'Night, Papyrus."

Letting go, Papyrus couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry. Frisk was acting weirder than usual. When the small human scrambled out of the protection of his long arms, the tall skeleton couldn't help but frown. It was very unlike Frisk. Sans caught his brother's look of worry immediately. He was his brother, for crying out loud. There was literally nothing in this world that he wouldn't do for him.

"what's up, paps?"

"OH, NOTHING AT ALL! JUST THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW'S COOKING LESSON WITH UNDYNE!"

Sans wasn't convinced. Papyrus could never lie to him. Ever. But the look on his face said that he didn't want to talk about it right away. Maybe tomorrow, but the taller skeleton never kept things to himself for more than a day or two.

"alright. g'night, then."

"GOODNIGHT, SANS."

It was still dark outside when Frisk began to thread their arms through their thick winter coat. The final touch was added, a vibrant red scarf, and Frisk was out the door quietly. Wading down the pathway, snow as high as their thighs, Frisk paused a moment and turned their gaze upwards. Thick, fluffy flakes tumbled from up high and plastered against a darkened sky. The moon had hidden behind the clouds, but Frisk knew the place like the back of their hand.
It was quiet. Serene. It felt like Frisk could breathe. Several deep breaths later, Frisk began their trek to nowhere. The snow, blanketed across the landscape before them, had muffled the world. It was lonesome, actually. Papyrus and Undyne would have enjoyed sledding. Sans would be tossing snowballs at people (and obviously trying to sell his infamous fried snow). Toriel would be building snowmen right beside Frisk. Would Asgore be there? Or Alphys? They didn't seem to be the type to like snow. Frisk would have to ask later on.

Stopping in their tracks, Frisk made a complete turn to look back at the house that they had left behind. They didn't turn on any porch lights, but the Christmas decorations were always illuminated. It was more warming than any porch light could ever be. Turning back out towards the streets, dimly lit up with sporadically placed lamp posts, Frisk trudged on.

It didn't take long for them to come across a familiar park. The boards for the skating rink had been put up in late October in hopes of early hockey season. Unfortunately, even if there were any ice, it was buried in more than two feet of snow by now.
Still, curious, Frisk couldn't help but try and clear a small patch to slide in circles on. It made no sense to be out at this hour just to skate around, but the night unnerved them for some reason.
So pushing, scooping, and building up snow Frisk did until a small patch of ice surfaced. Grinning in triumph, Frisk tested it by sliding from side to side until that became boring. But the piled up snow around them gave them an idea to pass the time.

"THE HUMAN HAS ESCAPED!"

Papyrus's was in the living room and was frantically overturning the sofa cushions as he yelled. In his desperate attempt to find Frisk, he even flipped the sofa to make sure that they weren't hiding under it.
Sans, wiping the grogginess out of his eyes, went straight to Frisk's room to make sure his brother didn't make a mistake. The moment he realized that the bed hadn't been slept in that night, he too, began his frantic search.

"kid?"

He didn't want to raise his voice in concern like his brother, he was too lazy for that, but he could feel his heart thundering in his chest. This was no good. If something happened to them...if they left them? God, why would they leave?

"AH HA! THE GREAT DETECTIVE PAPYRUS HAS FOUND A CLUE! MISSING BOOTS!"

Sans didn't miss a beat and sprinted to the front door. For some reason, he was relieved. At least the kid thought to dress themselves before...
Throwing open the door, Sans saw the large waddle marks where Frisk had passed through. Most of it had been snowed in, so it had been a few hours, but at least he could follow the trail. Papyrus wasted no time in realizing the trail belonging to his human and, in long, graceful strides, he bounded after the marks. Sans took only a moment for his brain to click as to what just happened and then he was right behind his brother.

The morning was warm enough. It usually was after a snowfall. But it was still winter, and the kid was alone out there and-
Sans's heart stopped dead in his chest. Papyrus was still running towards the rink in the park, but Sans's knees sort of buckled together and he felt the weight of the world suddenly heft itself off his shoulders.

There, among several snow sculptures, was Frisk happily waving at the two skeletons from a tall mound of snow. They were alright. But they were definitely going to have a bad time.

Sans found his strength renewed only when Papyrus began his scolding. Approaching the rink, he could hear his brother going on about the importance of talking to people.

"WE WERE SO WORRIED YOU LEFT US."

"Sorry..."

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE?"

Frisk's shoulders heaved up and down, barely noticeable under all their winter attire. Sans, his heart still hammering against his ribs, stared at the sculptures. Frisk was tying their scarf around a snow-Papyrus, and had donned a snow-Sans with found hockey pucks for eyes.

"kid...you nearly gave us a heart attack."

"Sorry..."

They weren't going to get much more out of them. Frisk wasn't oblivious, just...independent?

"what were you thinking?"

Frisk frowned and buried their face behind their coat zipper. Another shrug. How were they supposed to explain the thing that made them find the Underground in the first place? That and...something else...that something that was still three inches too much to the left...

"well...these look pretty darn great, at least. nice job, kiddo."
Frisk smiled meekly as Sans pat them on the head and managed to ruffle their hair under their hat.

"I miss Underground, I think."

That alone caused Sans to stop dead. He looked down at Frisk with empty eyes and held his breath. Papyrus was busy lecturing their ears off, or trying to, but the two of them weren't paying attention.

"what...do you mean?"

"Grillby's. And doing puzzles with you guys. And going on dates with Papyrus and all the friendly monsters out and about." Sans actually breathed a sigh of relief. Frisk, on the other hand, finally placed the problem, and the itch was gone.

"I miss it. We never do things like that anymore. Papyrus hasn't built a puzzle in a long time...and we don't have a Grillby's up here, so I never actually go out to eat with you anymore. I miss it."

"kid...we're always here, you know."

"-MISS COOKING WITH UNDYNE AND..."

"But you went and got jobs. You come home late at night and all we do is read a story. I miss the fun times I had with you guys."

Sans could feel his heart burst and shatter into a million pieces. They weren't neglecting Frisk, but they were busy with other things.

"...HOW 'BOUT IT?"

And Papyrus had been taking cooking lessons outside of lessons with Undyne, so he was busier than usual. Toriel was teaching classes and...God, the kid was lonely...
Sans looked at the sculptures and then wrapped his arm around Frisk, pulling them into a sideways hug.

"ARE YOU TWO LISTENING TO ME?"

"sorry, bro. hey, how 'bout we skip lessons and work on a puzzle? all three of us."

"WHAT? WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT MATERIALS HERE! AND HUMANS WOULDN'T APPRECIATE PUZZLES PUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET WILLY-NILLY."

Before Frisk could even frown, Sans gave them a tight squeeze and smiled.

"we can turn our house into a puzzle. i'll even help ya recalibrate it every so often."

Another tight squeeze and Frisk finally giggled. Finally.

"REALLY? WE CAN DO THAT?"

"yeah, bro. why not?"

"ARE YOU SURE?"

Grinning, Sans gave the thumbs up to his brother and nodded.

"snow problem."

"THEN WE BETTER GET STARTED! HUMAN! FRISK! LET US WORK ON MASTERFUL BLUEPRINTS! ALPHYS SHOULD HELP US! SHE KNOWS ALL SORTS OF COOL STUFF! BUT WE SHOULD...PROBABLY NOT TELL UNDYNE...SHE'LL WANT SOME SORT OF PUKE CHALLENGE..."

A small smile spread across Frisk's face as they nodded. Undyne did have some sort of affinity for...extreme...puzzles. And Sans would definitely not help with them, but he'd stick around anyway.

"Thanks, Sans."

"you're part of the family, now, pal. you gotta talk to us. now, you look bone tired, so let's get you home and a few hours of sleep."

Nodding, Frisk let out a mighty yawn and let the smaller skeleton steer them back home where a comfy bed, warm room, and potential hot cocoa would be waiting for them.

AN: Small drabble. Hope you enjoyed!