What Have I Gotten Into

You continue to walk through the craggy landscape and easily found the tacos you were looking for. You were a little surprised to find that the offering was actually frozen. You had to wonder just how long they had been out there in order to have started collecting icicles on their shells. Either way, despite the appetite you were developing, you listened to Papyrus' advice and left the morsels be. Besides, the toaster oven provided wasn't plugged into anything. Now you were thinking about food though. You thought of the bag of tea and biscuits that Asgore had given you but you wanted to save those for when you really needed them. You had a long journey ahead of you to meet Queen Toriel and you had a feeling she would not be so easy to give mercy to. For now you ate a piece of monster candy that you found in the ruins. You felt bad for taking more than one, but you knew you would need it and you were currently low on health.

Your journey to the next puzzle was difficult. You had been unfortunate enough to have a meeting with MonsterKid, who you and the other monsters ended up ditching, abandoning the fight all together. The experience had left a bad taste in your mouth to say the least. Thankfully, Papyrus had come by and lifted your spirts with talks about starting his own fried snow stand and you had to explain to him why he couldn't sell a product if he was going to give it away when the customer said they couldn't afford 50G for one fried snow. Although by the smile on his face, you're sure he was joking. You ran past the Guards, who were so caught up in each other that the moment you suggested they looked good together, they didn't seem like they were going to pull away from each other any time soon. You took a lot of time solving a crossword that you had to insert into a machine in order to move forward and then, finally ran into Sans, who had been busy redesigning another crossword while he was waiting for you.

"Human! You got here fast! Ummmm…" He seemed to hesitate but quickly recovered and continued. "SO! Did you enjoy my tacos?!" You decided to tell him that you did not eat them, in case he went back and found out you lied. It didn't feel right to lie to Sans. He seemed disappointed, but brightened up when you mentioned the toaster oven wasn't plugged in. "Oh! So you couldn't eat them!" He wasn't able to keep a sigh from escaping. You felt kinda bad, but you had a feeling Papyrus told you not to eat them for a different reason. You couldn't hurt Sans' feelings though. "So that's why. I'm glad." You were taken aback by how normal his tone suddenly became. If you didn't know any better you would say he sounded tired. "It is wonderful that you only want to eat my cooking when it's at its very best! When I capture you, I'll be sure to feed you only the best tacos! Anyway, I was waiting for you and Papy but I was expecting you to take longer so I was redesigning my crossword puzzle thinking I'd have time to change it back. Unfortunately, in order to get farther down the path we have to solve the puzzle and I don't want to just LET you go through. It would be a waste of my valiant efforts, so you'll have to solve this new one." He passed the new puzzle to you, smile plastered on his face like he was the cat who got the cream. "Maybe when Papy arrives he can help you." He moved away to lean on a tree, that he almost missed the first time he leaned back.

You went ahead and got started on the puzzle. You had gotten "family", "Tacos" and "Paradox" when Sans spoke up again "You know, I really love going out every day. Making puzzles and trying to search for humans, even if I didn't really know what one looked like until today." You were surprised to hear him speak, but when you looked up he wasn't looking at you. "There's always something out here that makes me feel alive. But that doesn't mean I don't feel alive at home too. I love making tacos for Papy and dragging him outside, even if he doesn't feel like facing the world. Goodness knows I needed it as much as him." He sighed and sunk down on the tree a little at the thought. "When we watch movies together and play board games, they're some of the best memories I have. I'd do anything to see him smile. But… but…" Finally Sans looked up at you, his eyes unsure and almost fearful. "He's been different today. He's been worried. You've been talking to him, right human? He's trying to help me get into the royal guard, isn't he?"

Sans' face somehow looked much older than his innocent smile originally made him seem when you first met. He looked much sadder and somewhat drained. Almost like the other Sans you had met. It wasn't nearly as deep rooted as that Sans, but it was still familiar. "I don't really want to join the royal guard you know. I can hardly give enough energy to make puzzles and search Snowdin. Most days Papy has to take me home because I can't keep my eyes open. And that's before the sun even goes down. That's why I make crosswords and have Undyn make machines for my puzzles. It's just that… all the friends that I've made so far, I met because… because I said I wanted to be in the royal guard. I don't want to lose them, but if I don't capture you, people might find out and not want to be my friend anymore." Suddenly, his eyes began to water and you could hear sniffling noises coming from the little skeleton. "And- and Papyrus! He might hate me if he found out that this isn't what I want at all. He's tried so hard to help me get to this point. I couldn't live with myself if he hated me." You finally moved to put the puzzle down and comfort him, but Sans just shook his head. "I just wanted to let you know why it has to be this way human. You've been s-so nice to me and Papy. Never once treating us poorly, even though you knew my intentions. I felt like you had the right to know why I c-c-can't repay your kindness." You were quite for a long moment before you nodded and turned back to the puzzle.

You could hear Sans sniffle every now and then, but he didn't say a word as you finished the page. Once done, you turned to the sad little skeleton, handed him the pencil and slowly leaned in to kiss his cheek. You wanted him to know everything would be okay. That no matter what happens in this time line, you would never think any less of him. You didn't have the words to say it, but you hoped the action would express how you felt. He looked at you wide eyed, the blue lights in his eyes sparkling. Slowly, but surely, a giant smile crossed his face. "HUMAN! You're a genius!" He took your hand and looked you in the eye, "If we're a couple, then there's no way they can take you away! And there is no way they'll let a member of the royal guard date a human! That settles it! HUMAN, we shall go on a date!"

Guys! I'm soooooooooooooooo sorry this chapter took so long to write! This semester has been kicking my BUTT! But I managed to write this over spring break. Took some time to edit and I had to rewrite Sans little monolog but Next chapter is the last chapter. Won't be able to start writing it till after school gets out. (which is May 12th by the way.) I'm so sorry for taking so long to write this but I'm so grateful for all of the follows and favorites you guys have given this story even though it's been slow going.

Thank for Reading Guys

Love

RR