You sit at your table nervously switching between fiddling with your phone to check if you have the right time and place for the nth time and sweeping the restaurant with uneasy glances. You feel entitled to it now that it is looking more and more like this will mark the 5th blind date that Janet set you up on which will just stand you up. At least then you will just look like a sad looser. Way worse would be if he did show up and made a scene about something stupid like the last guy did.

Sighing you consider your options. On one hand you could wait just a little longer. It had been 40 minutes since the planned meeting time however. But if your date was just running really late and you left now you would look like the ass. There is also that small part of you to consider that finds it a waste to have dressed up all pretty only to end up going home early and alone. You give a frustrated huff plowing a lose strand of hair out of your face. You put the strand behind your ear, your knuckles tapping against your earrings, and stroke over your high sitting ponytail to make sure it is sitting correctly still. You waste another few minutes checking your make-up with your phones camera and smoothing out the cute new blouse you bought from a small designer with their own shop a few streets from your home.

Idly you wonder why you still let Janet set you up. She has very poor taste. Even if she is very persistent. You can´t help but wonder tho what she was thinking when trying to set you up with the hipster that gave you a lecture spanning ¾ of your date about how mainstream music was destroying art. You are still unclear how you got there from your comment about that obnoxious driver you had in front of you on your way over. You startle at a throat being cleared. Looking up your gaze lands on a short skeleton monster dressed in black slacks, a white button down and equally black suspenders and bowtie. He seems to be sweating profusely and is stammering. After a few seconds you can make out your name.

"You are Sans?", you ask tilting your head lightly to the side. You didn´t even realize Janet knew any monsters. The skeleton nods and sits down hastily. With how nervous he seems you choose to give him some time to calm down, hopefully apologize, and look at the menu. You picked out what you wanted to eat 10 minutes ago. Silence reigns for another 10 minutes. Finally you look up at the face, or is it skull you wonder, of your dining companion and inquire about his lateness. It seems to startle him. You watch him stumble through a wage apology that doesn´t explain anything except that he did not have your number to warn you. You allow yourself to assume that Janet made herself unreachable. As she so likes to do. Just so you can´t back out at the last second. It has made for a great inconvenience in the past.

You give it another five minutes and the time it takes you both to order your food before trying to start a conversation again. You are met with the same uncomfortable nervousness as before and end up getting frustrated and annoyed. You will have to take back everything you said. People staying on a date even tho they clearly don´t like the person opposite them are the worst. They may be trying to spare the others feelings but if it´s as bad as what you are experiencing it just comes of as being insulting to the intelligence of ones date. Maybe you should just call it off now. Janet would never let you hear the end of it but at least you wouldn´t have to deal with this mess. You are still contemplating this option when your food arrives.

Catching your waitresses attention when she sets down your food you make sure to give her a pleasant smile. The entire time you have been there she has been nothing but kind to you even tho she has had her hands full dealing with the kids at the table a little ways behind you. You would feel bad causing a scene as well and creating more trouble for her. So you just grin and bear it for now as you try to make small talk. You will not give Janet the satisfaction of being able to say you didn´t try.

Conversation is slow. Your date is awkward and any attempts at conversation that are not cut of by short answers are answered with excessive stuttering. Slowly you find yourself getting more and more snippy and rude. Startled by the sudden question of: "so how´s the salad?", that your companion shoots a question at you, you blink at him slowly, stunned for a second. "Good?", your answer comes out more questioning then you would like. "he. would you say it´s egg-celent?" You can´t help the laugh that slips out at the pun. Quickly you slap your hand in front of your mouth trying to hold in your laughter. The fork that you just speared into a piece of egg shakes in your slackening grip. You put it down, shaking a little from the sudden burst of mirth.

You see your date perk up at this. There is a shift in his demeanor. He seems delighted. Even if the grin on his face hasn´t changed all evening, you can just feel the change. He starts in on you. Firing of pun after pun after pun. You eventually lose the fight with your laughter. Roaring your amusement to the whole restaurant. Finally he lets up with the puns to let you settle down. After taking a quick sweep of the room you decide you better move this to someplace else. Flushing red you call your waitress to pay. Sans accepts the fact that you are paying easily enough which you are glad for, you would not be able to stand being there a minute longer after that mortifying outburst. Quickly grabbing your jacket, which you got from the same designer as your blouse, you head out as fast as you can without running. Your cheeks are still warm with embarrassment when you stop ducking your head a few blocks away.

Unsurprisingly night has fallen while you were at the restaurant. The sky is dark and only street lamps light your way as you wander of in a random direction. For a while there is silence. Finally you just blurt out your question, asking the skeleton monster why he had been so nervous. You almost choke on your hysterical laughter at his response. It is rather comical to you that he was so nervous because of the cloths his brother had made him wear. After calming down you apologize. Explaining your past experiences with bad blind dates set up by Janet. You swap storys for a while as you make your way through the streets.

Sans stops unexpectedly, causing you to take a few more steps before noticing, looking up with silent awe. "Something the matter?", you ask him softly. He laughs lightly and begins telling you about how much he loved the stars. About his fascination with them even while still living underground. "Seeing them reminds you of being free now, doesn´t it?" Sans nods, then launches into a pun riddled lecture about astronomy. You can´t think of a better way to spend the night. Even with the dates rough, and late, start you are enjoying it immensely now. Come to think of it you still don´t know why exactly the skeleton was so late. Soaking in the unbridled excitement rolling off of him you can´t really bring yourself to mind it terribly much.

You end up sitting on a bench in the park you were walking through, before Sans stopped so suddenly, for what feels like hours. Only each other and the stars as company. Listening to the short monster talk you find yourself amazed at how long it has truly been since you did something like this. Spend a quiet evening with great company just talking. Laughing together. Being close. As you look up at the gently twinkling stars you can´t help but wonder if this is the reason for all those failed dates. Not the men Janet set you up with but you yourself.

After moving to the big city you had become enamored with the constant loud bustle of city life. You thrived in being able to go out and meet with people sharing one or another of your interests at virtually any time you wished for it. But over that you forgot to slow down once in a while. To just lean back and enjoy life. You can´t help but wonder for how long your subconscious had been screaming that at you. It seems so clear now that this is what you always wanted. With your head tilted just the slightest bit back to watch the stars your eyes fall half closed. You relax and very gently grasp the skeletal hand resting beside yours. Sans gaze lands on you with a weight that does not surprise you as much as it maybe should have.

The gasp from your companion is almost too quiet to hear. But you take notice. From the corner of your eyes you send him a look. His expression seems unchanged which makes you wonder if he even is able to change it or if his skull is hard and unchanging like a humans. What his expression does not say however is picked up by the feeling you get from him. Almost like a voice whispering the answers in your ear talking in a language you only have the barest understanding of but that you find yourself understanding better and better as the night goes on. He seems surprised or maybe shocked by something. A lazy smile stretches across your lips.

Skeletal fingers brushing along your neck startle you out of your satisfaction. A sharp glance tells you Sans is reaching for your earrings even if his gaze is fixed on you. "Are those crystals from the underground?" You can´t suppress the proud smile at that question. "Yes. My cousin picked them out for me. Apparently there was a monster in my home town selling them and my cousin bought them as a birthday present. Pretty cool right? I just love how they glow with such a pretty blue." Sans gives a soft laugh at that but does not explain himself. You let him have his secrets for now. You will find out in time.

Even the best nights have to come to an end tho and you find yourself having to part ways with Sans. You exchange phone numbers with firm promises for a call and another date. In the middle of the short skeletons babbling about how much fun he has had you pick him up, wrapping you arms around him firmly. You wonder if him being a skeleton makes it easier or if your recent starting to work out a little is showing here. Chuckling at the brightly glowing cyan flush now sported by your date you lean in and kiss his teeth a little awkwardly at first.

As he tentatively parts them you slip your tongue in between tangling with what you guess would be the skeleton equivalent. Smirking you set the now panting monster down and walk of, flipping your hair and waving smugly. You decide that Sans looks adorable all flustered like that. Definitely something worth repeating.