Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The rattling of the CORE down a faraway hall was practically just white noise at this point. If he didn’t hear it, there was an unsettling silence. The hissing of the steam and some sharp curse words every now and then were just the soundtrack to Sans’ job. It used to be distracting, but after a while, it simply became an average day working for the Royal Scientist.

Sans wasn’t the Royal Scientist, obviously, and he never saw himself becoming the Royal Scientist. He always figured it’d be his coworker, or some other big shot chemistridiot that came wandering down this way with a sparkle in their eye and hope for the future. Really, to Sans, this was a story to tell at comedy gigs, a fun way to do what he loved as a job while also doing what he loved as a hobby. After all, he never saw himself as the type to take that position. He wasn’t very… what’s the word… ambitious? High-strung? Energetic? Those traits bled into the walls of the CORE like it was its very lifeblood, and it was. The personality Sans had discovered within this place didn’t come from anybody but her.

Alphys. That woman. She’s like a firecracker under a metal bowl. All her happiness and her excitement stays inside, and it boils into nervous energy she doesn’t know what to do with. It was so thrilling to see her, every day, being this incredible person with a genuine love for her job, not even knowing how amazing she is. Sans had realized at this point that she’s never going to see herself the way he does. That’s just part of the reason why it was so sad to… “change their relationship”. We’ll use that term. But they’re both happier now. Without her, Sans never would have realized how boyish he is, and she would have never realized her girlhood. So, there.

And there she is. That stammering, excited voice. Alphys walked through the door, carrying a whole bunch of trivial stuff in her arms, and Sans would never remember what it was. It wouldn’t be important in a week. “Hi, Sans! Uh, t-there’s your things, everything you needed! I think the boss is really busy, uh, s-so it’s just us today.”

“fine by me,” Sans shrugged back. “i don’t have much going on.”

“I figured you wouldn’t,” Alphys giggled, setting up her workstation. “Y-you always happen to finish really early.”

“workin’ hard and never hardly workin’,” Sans joked, when really, he works mostly at home. For some reason, working in a stuffy office was never his cup of tea. “how did your date go last night?”

“.....W-well!” Oh, girl. “It wasn’t, really, a… uh… it wasn’t r-really a d-date?” OH, GIRL.

“you gotta light that fire under your ass and ask her out,” Sans laughed, probably knowing she couldn’t have done it. “you hung out and watched anime, and it wasn’t a date?”

“Y-you know I’m not good at that sort of thing!” Alphys squeaked back, stammering ceaselessly. “Besides, I-I don’t think Undyne, uh, is the, uh… t-type to notice??? When she’s, uh… being… c-courted???”

“definitely not.” Sans did know this for a fact. She’s a genius at combat and strategy, even today, but for a prominent figure in the Underground, she’s got the social cues of an ear of corn. “that’s why you gotta woman up.”

“That sounds easy on paper, sure, but y-you try going up to your, um, woman, and s-saying, hey! I’m!!!! In love!!!! W-with you!!! See what I mean? T-that’s scary!”

“okay, then it’s time to put our heads together,” Sans smirked, turning completely away from the counter.

She let him lean his forehead against hers, and she started melting into giggles. “No, not this again!”

“we have to let our brains connect to each other. so we can make a patented sans plan.”

“Y-your patented Sans plans are too big and crazy!” Alphys kept giggling, finding this hilarious.

“nuh-uh.” Sans found that making her laugh was the best way to get those nerves out. “you have to ask undyne out, and i have to get my girl. so we need to help each other out yet again.”

“It’s not as easy as swapping clothes and picking out names!”

“who says it isn’t?”

“Me!” Alphys laughed. “And, like, all the laws of romance?”

“there’s no laws of romance. you made that up.”

“I did not!” Now she was just leaning against his forehead in return.

Sans’ laughter was a bit contagious. With both of them catering to each other’s worries about love and finding it again after such a long stint with each other, he really did start to think of a patented Sans plan. “okay. how about tomorrow, since we don’t have work, i’ll go with you to talk to undyne. and you can come with me to the door. sound good?”

Alphys nodded, still giggling a little bit. “Yeah. We can do that. You make me feel a lot looser, anyway.” She does still think that, even today. Even years after all of this. It never stopped being true.

“i got you, girl. don’t even worry about it.” Sans hoped, after all of this, she’d be happy. Just as happy as she was when they were together. Maybe her happiness would make him happy too.

A faraway alarm blared a little further down the hall, and Alphys doesn’t budge. “G-geez. He said not to bother him, s-so he’s probably got that.”

“five seconds tops?” Sans also seemed just as nonchalant.

They both hold up a hand, bringing one finger down for each second. Alphys only had four, so Sans put down the last one for her. They broke the connection between their brains, and Sans sighed.

“okay. let’s see what cataclysmic event he’s triggered this time,” he laughed a bit.

Leaving the office, Sans and Alphys walked down the hall, perfectly in time with each other, as the alarm blared longer and louder the closer they got. The CORE was in view, and it was steaming, practically bursting with fog, turning a redder color by the second.

“that… doesn’t look normal.” Understatement.

The alarm continued to scream like trumpets in distress, and by now, it’d been much longer than five seconds, which is what was always agreed upon. Shooting each other slightly concerned looks, Sans and Alphys picked up the pace, heading to the observation deck that overlooked the CORE’s fuel bay. It was a vat of bubbling liquid, and ending up inside, Alphys felt like her scales would melt off her face. This was a restricted area, and the boss was very adamant about that, but red lights were flashing and changing the color of the entire area. Something was wrong.

“W-where is he?” Alphys panted, almost ready to take off her lab coat. “He should d-definitely be somewhere around here.”

“maybe he went to turn off the alarm and…” Nope. He knew he shouldn’t even try. His employer was too smart to let anything like this happen, and none of it could be explained. This is just a problem that would have to be fixed, when worst-case scenarios started arising in place of his usual solutions. Where were his patented Sans plans now?

Clearly, he’d passed them on to Alphys, who adjusted her glasses and spoke quickly. “Okay. He’s not here anywhere, and it’s just us. This is probably a fuel overload, so we need to take about half of this to the tank. But we can’t touch this at all, or we’d–I don’t even know what would happen. Someone needs to go down there and open the vents–”

“ ” A voice from across the hall was calling, running quickly to Sans and Alphys.

“where have you been? is everything okay?” Sans asked, and just a moment after, Alphys continued to take control of the situation.

“That’s what we were just talking about, because this is definitely a clog in the system–how did it even reproduce this much?”

“ ” he said, as he pointed to another observation deck with a panel of buttons. “ ”

“yeah, send us a signal or something, but this is dangerous. who’s gonna go down there?”

“Sans, I can climb the ladder and push the lever down, and you keep an eye out for the signal to flip it up again.”

“alphys–”

“I know you’re cautious,” Alphys said, her voice powerful, not a hint of anxiety betraying her determined expression, “but we have one chance to stop this whole thing from coming down! Trust me, okay?!”

What was he thinking? Of course Alphys knew what she was doing. She always did. Finally, without even realizing it, Alphys is putting enough confidence in herself and trust in her coworkers. It’s enough to give the most worthless guy in the world more hope than he knows what to do with. “good. i trust you. be careful down there.”

Alphys nodded, hugging him tightly before she heads for the ladder. She went over the edge of the observation deck, the heat getting harder and harder to bear as waves in the air clouded her vision. Steam covered her glasses, so she ripped them off, shoving them in her pocket.

Meanwhile, Sans watched his boss head for the observation deck above, immediately clicking buttons to pull up a real-time schematic image of the engine’s fuel capacity. Alphys couldn’t go more or less than what she needed, or the whole thing would blow. The alarm was blaring louder, and the flashing was getting faster. Sans was useless again, watching his best friend in the world do something braver than he could even imagine.

Alphys landed on the narrow balcony below the ladder, only protected by an iron fence. She tried to hold onto the fence, her blurry vision throwing off her sense of direction, but her hand immediately came back up again, and she winced, watching her scales go red and crinkled. It was too hot down there to do anything, so she had to tough it out.

Alphys reached for the rubber handle of the lever, straining as she pulled it down. She wasn’t very strong, but something unlocked in her, and surely, the lever that was twice her size creaked down, slowly coming down as the vents loudly groaned, and some of the fuel was leaving the vat.

“ ” He shouted from above.

She was sweating, maybe about to completely pass out from the heat, but some drive was keeping her going. The entire CORE started to rattle, and panels were falling from the wall. Even the platform Alphys was on started to shake, and her anxiety began to get the better of her.

“you’ve got this, alphys! don’t let it go yet!” Right there with her, like he always was. If the fuel didn’t leave quicker, the whole place was gonna collapse with them inside, but she needed time. All she needed was time, and he’d get her that time. He just needed to focus.

Alphys could feel the stability only barely coming back under her, and gravity shifted around everything. Sans had her. Somehow, it didn’t surprise her. Alphys kept the lever pulled down, and the heat started to subside.

“ ” He sounded frantic. His platform was going to collapse any second.

Alphys let go of the lever, and it snapped back up. The gravity around her went back to normal, and the rattling was worse than ever. Sans was holding up the boss’ platform now, and as soon as Alphys started to climb back up the ladder, her landing fell right into the CORE.

“ ”

With Alphys holding onto the ladder, losing her grip with those burnt hands, the CORE was breathing too hard. Panels and pieces of the wall, useless sheets of metal, and entire pipes started falling into the vat of fuel, but everything would be fine if it all just stopped shaking.

Sans had to help Alphys, but the boss was going to fall if he didn’t hold on. She was slipping, and if he didn’t do something fast, both of them would be dead as a doornail. Okay, you are not the type to make these decisions, but you’re gonna have to be. You can do both.

Sans’ telekinetic hold completely let up on the boss’ platform, and he reached down, grabbing Alphys’ arms with his very minimal upper body strength. Using both hands, he pulled her up with extreme effort. There was a name for that drive, but it was four letters and started with L, and he swore it off after everything. He’d just find a new word for it later.

Alphys exhaled sharply, and both of them held onto each other tightly, as the CORE continued to groan with a screaming metal sound. Sparks and electricity flew everywhere, the fuel was bubbling up and emitting a sharp reddish light, and it was unlike anything the two of them had ever seen before.

Something from above, whatever Sans was trying to hold onto (he can’t quite remember what it was now), fell massively, with a great big splash, and a hiss, and a huge blinding light. That observation deck, and everything on it, was gone in an instant. An instantaneous feeling of guilt washed over him. Sans couldn’t be sure where it came from, or why.

They just held onto each other, staring with wide eyes and heavy chests into the exhausted brightness of the CORE, as it finally seemed to relax and unwind. Finally, the hissing wasn’t deafening, and the alarms had stopped, and the lights had died down a bit, and the fuel was bubbling a normal amount. Alphys had stopped the CORE from collapsing, killing everyone inside, and maybe even destroying the Underground as they knew it. Something just felt so wrong.

Alphys was sweating, her hands scalloped and sizzling with some severe burns, that could be fixed with any kind of healing magic. Sans looked down at her, and he could tell everything was coming back to her. That brave, strong girl washed away, and now she’s just terrified, feeling things she couldn’t begin to understand, and memories she can’t form for some reason. There’s a guilt present between both of them, and it felt like something had changed.

“...are you okay?” Sans asked quickly, after some silence, feeling his own breath catch in his chest.

“I-I’m okay,” replied Alphys, her voice small and nervous again. “You s-saved my life.”

“...yeah, well,” Sans exhaled, “you just saved everything else.”

The two of them just stayed there. The CORE didn’t feel like their job, or their livelihood, or something to be proud of anymore. They can’t place the feeling at all, but something has happened. And it’s taken away any bit of love they had for this place. Any obligation.

Something happened in just a few short moments that changed their entire lives, and neither Alphys nor Sans could even begin to articulate it.

A name was on the tip of their tongues, behind a firewall in their heads, and they don’t have the program to unlock it.

They could never forget each other.

Maybe that’s the worst part.

Chapter Text

“...No, that’s not true! My friends like me! And I like you, too!”

Alphys didn’t think she could be saved more than once in one day. It’s a Long Day, but she’s had really uneventful ones before.

Just then, Alphys was nothing. Not the meek lizard girl with damaged scales and the stupidest glasses known to monster. She was a voice in the head of the Angel, who, unbeknownst to her, was this random little human with a bandage hanging off their face, creaky knees and a dream. (Really, though, she was wrong. Halfway wrong.)

It felt really good. There was something about watching Frisk reach out, with all their heart and all their love, to talk to somebody. Talk to some of Alphys’ closest friends, like… Undyne! Looking at her, even with the weird pulsing squares in front of her eyes, it sure is a good thing Frisk went for Alphys before her. She sent a little extra love towards the front of Frisk’s brain, telling Frisk, be careful with her. She’s just as hurt as anyone else.

Asgore and his clone were no problem. Something just felt so exhilarating, so empowering… it was like Alphys and everyone else joining her were sharing in Frisk’s head, all of Frisk’s emotions, and influencing the love they all had for each other. Still tethered to this scary rainbow thing with wings, but they’re just more drawn to Frisk. Really, all that was left was…

…Papyrus. And Sans.

Wow. It’d really been a while since Alphys had seen him. Like, really seen him.

“just give up. i did.”

Oh, Sans. There was nothing good in giving up. Alphys knew his story better than anybody. He came from far away, another world, that he was just so desperate to get back to. But no matter how hard he tried, and no matter how hard she tried to help, they just couldn’t get him home. They found love in the fray. Then they found identity. And they found pain, like an invisible knife without a name or a face twisting into their skulls and poisoning their memory. A memory, it seems, held the missing link in the story of their relationship, and it left a chapter empty.

Alphys tried to send love to the front of Frisk’s mind. It was the most desperate kind of love, where you feel more than one emotion, and it’s never happiness. She couldn’t look away, and he looked so hurt. Like a blank slate. That wasn’t him, not like she remembered him, but in a way, it’s the most recognizable parts of him. The best parts of Sans were stripped away, and it left his loudest and most painful memories exposed.

She had to wonder where she was in all of the hurt. Frisk, please, just say my name, and tell me how he reacts. If it wakes him up, I’ll know. Whatever you have to do, though, wake him up.

“why even try?”

These aren’t just random phrases. Alphys had heard all this before, a lifetime ago, in a different corner of reality where love couldn’t be lost. That was in response to Alphys’ encouragement years before all of this, and she heard the most defeated things from him that day.

She could only imagine why he still thinks this. Did he really never try to fix it again? Could he never do it without Alphys? All these questions sent to the front of Frisk’s mind, and Alphys realized that it was all her. Her emotions were all to Sans, someone she still loved, even if it could never be romantically. She’d always remember the way loving him felt, but she was so scared that he’d be able to remember it now, like this. Alphys couldn’t stand the thought of being somebody’s most painful memory.

And when he asked that question? Why even try? Alphys just told him, try for her. She couldn’t go with him wherever he wanted to be. Maybe she was there, but not really her. But Sans needed to be happy, and however she could make that happen, she’d do it. Try for her, try to get there, so I can know you’re happy. Sans would never be happy here. Look at him. He still isn’t.

“you’ll never see ‘em again.”

Alphys asked him about his home once. Sans described it in such a way, it felt like home to her, too. There were people he knew, people she knew, warm homes that smelled nice, and to some, it was a holiday every day. The folks there stayed together, like a family, and you could just walk into their homes like it was nothing. They’d be happy to see you. On top of it all, his favorite part was the rain. Come on, Sans. You don’t need me to tell you. It’s raining somewhere else.

Think of Waterfall. The middle ground between us, remember? You prefer the chill in the air, and I prefer the warmth, so the humidity was just right. And you’d show me the puddles, and you’d say, maybe if you looked hard enough, you could see the houses behind you, and the bright blue sky, and your brother in that dumb winter scarf, and the ripples in the water, and a real smile on your face. That real smile. I love it so much. Please smile for me again. I’m looking in the puddles for you, and I’m hoping. I think of you when it’s raining. I can imagine how the rain would sound, and I know you’re wishing on the same stars, hoping that it’s raining somewhere else. You always said that. Come on, say it again. Frisk, I believe in you. It’s raining somewhere else.

“nah, i’m rootin’ for ya, kid.”

And as soon as Sans arrived over on Alphys’ side of things, the first thing he heard was rain. Not the harsh kind. The pattering kind. The kind from home.

Alphys kept the rain for him, nice and steady. Maybe we don’t kiss anymore, or we don’t draw each other stupid hearts. Maybe we’re not even the most perfect friends. But I still love you. I kept the rain for you, see? I keep it in my heart, right next to you.

And I can hear you think something towards me. If you’re thanking me, you don’t need to. You don’t have to thank me for knowing you. Really, I should be thanking you. You told me about the rain. You told me it’s what you remember, and it’s how you keep home with you. You told me how it smells, how it feels when it falls through your fingers, how it sounds when young, free-spirited girls smash their shoes into puddles on the street, and how it looks when her friend sees her excitement instead of the rain. I get it now, you know? The rain brought people together. Just like it brought us together.

I still love you. I still love you so much. I still love you too much to let you go. I still love you so badly and so painfully, that when I lost you for so long, it was like I lost my own rain. I know it’s raining somewhere else. In Snowdin. But we promised each other, didn’t we?

And I know you love me too. Our love goes so far past a type of relationship. We’ve felt every kind of love for each other. I can’t describe it in any other way now. Just that you need me. Just that you remind me what it’s like to miss someone. Just that you’re the part of me that loves so deeply and so meaningfully. Just that it’s raining somewhere else.

…Alphys, of course, would never remember these thoughts. Not as soon as Frisk finished what they came to do.

But she never forgot him. Not him, not what the rain meant to him, and not what it always meant to her. And she never had to miss the rain ever again.

Chapter Text

How did something like this happen? …It’s a good question, because like many things in Alphys’ life, she can’t even remember.

She can’t really remember the first time she met Mettaton. She’s sure Mettaton doesn’t remember, either, because it couldn’t have stood out that much after everything. It just feels like they’ve known each other forever.

Alphys also can’t remember the day the queen left, or the day she was appointed Royal Scientist, or the day she met Undyne…

…or the reason why she and Sans stopped hanging out so much.

Why’s she suddenly thinking about that again?

Oh, yeah. THEY’RE FACE-TO-FACE WITH EACH OTHER.

Frisk had run off. That kid is really weird, but for some reason, they’ve ended up making Alphys feel better about herself than she had in years. They scurried away to go say goodbye to everybody in the Underground, talking to themselves incessantly… this kid saved everybody and broke the Barrier? A little hard to believe, but Alphys has heard crazier. Frisk is awesome.

Meanwhile, everybody else had gotten to talking. Toriel was planning on letting everybody join her for some kind of meal, Asgore remained really down bad for her, Undyne and Papyrus were excitedly chattering about cooking (couldn’t possibly go well), which only left her and Sans.

There was that same stare. It hadn’t changed in years, and it brought her right back to those days of working with him, hanging out with him, even dating him for the longest time. They had a kind of relationship that, even after both of them became more affirmed with their identity, was untouchable. As friends, lovers, amicable exes, coworkers, and… a word that means “we really shouldn’t talk for the better”... they still had a lot of love for each other. Didn’t have to be romantic.

He was just looking at her. Maybe he’s thinking the same? It’s been too long since they last talked. They agreed to just avoid each other on purpose.

Alphys remembered something horrible happening. Sans felt so guilty after all of it, he totally devolved into a shell of a skeleton being. And she had all this new responsibility, it was impossible for her to stay afloat. She really did think their relationship was untouchable. Maybe she still does. The fact that Sans hadn’t blinked, hadn’t even tried to look away from her, told her maybe there was still friendship there. The only thing is that neither of them even know what happened.

Still, with everybody leaving the half-circle and talking in their own groups, Alphys felt herself locked into place, thinking about walking over to him, and still unable to move. She wanted to talk to him. More than anything at the moment.

And Sans must have noticed this, because finally he looked down, and–did he chuckle at her??? Yeah, she’d admit it, some things never change. Alphys never stopped being the anxious, stuttering mess he was remembering. Once he’d finished laughing ENOUGH at her, he walked a bit closer, like nothing had changed, and like no time had passed at all. Time, though, clearly hadn’t been kind to him. Those eyebags were worse, and the lights in his eyes were dimmer. She could tell the difference between a fake and a real smile, though, and this one was real.

“hey.” That voice had gotten a bit deeper. Sans is older, and so is she. This’ll be a calm and mature conversation.

“Hi,” Alphys smiled. She’s a bit older, too, and maybe Sans would disagree, but the meekness in her voice hadn’t subsided. “Uh… h-how have you been?”

“oh, y’know,” Sans shrugged, thrown back into familiarity and his traditions with her from years ago, “i’ve been. what about you?”

“Y-yeah, same,” Alphys laughed. “You, uh, look… good. You and your brother. G-gosh, has he gotten taller?”

“he always is. i stopped trying to catch up a while ago.” Talking about his brother. Wow. It always eased the tension before. “and you look great. how are things going with you-know-who?”

“Oh–!” Alphys covered her face with her eyes, and she could hear Sans start laughing AGAIN, which made her giggle a bit in return as she whispered loudly. “Sans!! S-she’s literally here!!!”

Sans whispered back, muddled with short chuckles. “hey, my girl’s here too. i’m just as freaked.”

Alphys took her hands down, going redder than she expected, and smiling uncontrollably. “...Okay. W-we’re still… I’m… well… ugh. I’m–!!!!!! D-damn it, I can’t talk!”

“you’re shitting me,” Sans still laughed. “you almost kissed, like, two seconds ago!”

“W-well! You know me!” That’s true. He did know her. “A-and what about you? Isn’t this the first time you’ve ever even SEEN her?”

“well, yeah, but i’m also just realizing she was the queen.” Sans did seem genuinely surprised by that information, and definitely embarrassed to be secretly crushing on her IN FRONT OF THE KING. “the QUEEN, alphys. how am i supposed to go cucking the king?”

“It’s not cucking!!” She whispered loudly. “T-they got divorced!!”

“i’ll figure something out.” Sans flapped his hands up and shoved it into his pockets. “he’s definitely still into her, but i’m not bothered about it.”

Alphys took his arm and lifted it out of his pockets. He was holding a Rubik’s cube.

“maybe a little bothered.”

To Undyne and Papyrus, it was clear that both of them were laughing very hard, and actually enjoying themselves. It was a perplexing sight, seeing Alphys so loose and seeing Sans so happy. A lot of things have been changing lately, but that looked like a good change.

“...What the hell?!” Undyne gruffly exploded. “Papyrus! They’re LAUGHING??? Have those two ever even TALKED this long???”

“OH, YES!” Papyrus nodded. “IT SEEMS IT’S BEEN A WHILE, THOUGH. GOOD ON THEM FOR CATCHING UP!”

“I’ve never even heard your brother complete a sentence! What’s Alphys DOING to him?!”

“NOT SURE. BUT I REMAIN EVER SURPRISED AND PROUD OF MY BROTHER! MAYBE HE’LL GET TODAY’S GOLD STAR WHEN HE TAKES A SHOWER.”

Alphys continued with Sans, excited to catch up on everything now. Really, all of this had barely hit her. “S-so, how’s that project of yours going? Did you e-ever…?”

He shrugged, and Alphys could tell he was a bit defeated about this, but he’d never let it show. “nah. it’s busted. did the best i could, but i’m not the right guy to fix it.”

“Oh. …sorry. I know that was… really important to you. G-going back.”

Sans seemed to think about it for a minute, his eyes never leaving her. “...no, you know what? i’m fine with that. it’s not a bad thing, is it? never would have found you again.”

Alphys found recognition in his eyes where there didn’t used to be before. Sans’ goal was always getting back home, wherever that would have been, and Alphys was always so ready to help him. That machine was his ticket, and Alphys still expected that he felt a little bad about it.

But admitting he was okay with being here, never going back, and never having the chance to see his home again? That was big. That was something Alphys never thought she’d hear him say.

“...I’m happy for you, Sans.” She smiled, genuinely, and she really was very happy. “Would you… just… this has been r-really fun. Getting to talk to you again. I k-know we have a, uh… history… but would you ever??? Want to????”

“hanging out again would be fun.” Thank you, Sans, for always knowing when to complete her sentences. “besides, we’ve got all the time in the world now. all the world, as a matter of fact.”

“G-gosh. Feels like we never stopped being friends,” Alphys giggled.

And Sans smiled back. “we didn’t.”

Frisk suddenly ran back into the room, sweating. “I made it to Hotland. It’s hot there. Like the land. And , yeah. I’m gonna try again.”

“Oh, everybody!” Toriel called all of a sudden, holding that little phone of hers. “Before Frisk heads out again! Because the occasion calls for it, I believe we should take a photo!”

As the seven of them all variously agreed, bunching up together, Toriel turned the phone to face the group in her giant paws, and Sans brought his arm around Alphys. The two of them held up peace signs, like they always did in photos, but something about them has changed. Grown. They’ve learned something, though they’re not quite sure what it is, outside of… well, love persists. It just might change form along the way.

“Oh, ssssnails.” Toriel muttered, giggling shyly. “Apologies, everyone! I seem to have flipped the camera the wrong way…”

As everyone posed again, Alphys laughed, whispering in Sans’ direction. “S-still after the silly types, huh?”

“welp. some things never change.”

(There’s a photo album inside the drawer.)

(There are photos of Sans with a lot of people you don’t recognize.)

(...and, one photo of you standing with Sans and all your friends.)

(He looks happy.)

Chapter Text

She is the last person he expected to see alive.

The human who ran through, ravaging everyone and everything it saw, or didn’t see, for no good reason at all, killed the king. Asgore, who had never met a human he couldn’t crush immediately, fell to that thing that somehow covered all the bases of the horror stories he was told as a child. The king of all monsters. Lost to a human. Somehow, it doesn’t seem believable.

It also happened to kill Undyne. The captain of the Royal Guard, who didn’t have much of his respect before this, had harnessed unbelievable and untouchable power that nobody in the Underground could even dream of, and became so strong, you could see her glow from the Snowdin border. Undyne lost to a human. Everyone lost hope after that. Somehow, it doesn’t seem believable.

The woman behind that door, who he’d been talking to for years, telling knock-knock jokes to a hunk of purple, splintering wood. She hadn’t responded in days. He stopped trying after a few nights of falling asleep there, hoping, wishing, praying someone would come. Maybe just another person. But some kind of powder started to look different from the snow at the crack under the door. He stopped being too sensitive to the sight of dust. Somehow, it doesn’t seem believable.

And, the most surprising of all, it even killed…

…it isn’t believable. Too long living with him to suddenly have to live without him. They were all each other had. He wasn’t even done with his training. Stupid training. If Undyne had helped him more, if Undyne hadn’t underestimated him for so long, he wouldn’t have died so quickly. He wasn’t done with everything yet. Didn’t even finish the laundry.

Sans spent so long thinking about all of this, that it was hard to do anything else. Just standing there for an unfathomable amount of time, life was feeling like a picture he was just staring at. Nothing was moving, not even him, and there was no sound. Silence in a house where he used to sleep through the sounds of chaotic cooking, plastic-sounding music playing upstairs, dramatic and aggressive monologues as large, falling footsteps chased a few little barks. There’s nothing for him to sleep through anymore. Now sleeping’s just the same as living.

Sans spent too long thinking about nothing. So when he heard knocking at the door of his house, he flinched unnecessarily, surprised at hearing anything from anybody in Snowdin. He waited for more knocks, and more came, sure enough–pounding, intentful, and frantic. Who the hell’s so serious about talking to… oh. They probably want to talk to him. Sure. Let’s go break the news for the fifteen millionth time.

He knew he didn’t look good at all. Probably tired, probably disheveled, probably like he’s just a walking pile of dust. But going up to the door and opening it, he was met with the biggest, the most comforting, and the most beautiful surprise that could possibly be left in the world.

Alphys was wearing Sans’ old lab coat, even then, and she clearly never grew into it. Obviously. She never had one of her own. And she stared at him, wide eyes huge and sad, but she breathed out so heavily, it was like she was pushing weights off her shoulders.

She stayed in place, her knees likely locking under her as they always did, and Sans could only wonder how in the world she’s alive. Why she was the only one who survived. Even the people smart enough to hide, everyone Alphys was smarter than, was found eventually. She saved the Underground once. He wouldn’t be surprised if she happened to do it again.

And it’s been years since he’d seen her. Damn, she’d changed. They’d only communicated through very scarce and very short letters, the very distant trading of dog food for Alphys’ thick envelopes of gold he always sent right back, but those only had months in between them. There’s nothing that could have prepared him for this. Those braces were off, but she still had those piercings, and those glasses were now glitterish pink with little cat eyeliner wings sticking off the top corners. Mettaton, for sure. Alphys looks upset, hysterical, like she’d been crying for days, wrung out and hung on a clothesline to dry, like her theoretical heart must have been thumping a million beats a second, and like she was just as surprised as Sans is to see another living being in front of her, but she’s alive. God, she’s alive. That’s all that matters.

She must have been expecting no one to answer, or to have been so worked up knocking on that door and hearing nothing at first, because Alphys just started crying. It took her a minute to even move her digits out of her snowprints, but she hugged Sans so tightly, he could feel the lost years and the horrible situation that got her here in every breath. He quickly wrapped his arms around her in return, absolutely speechless.

“You’re okay!” Alphys was out of breath, sobbing through her speech. “T-there’s so much going on, and s-so much has happened–I didn’t think I’d ever s-see you again, but you’re alive!”

Still, he just held her, letting her stay there for as long as she needed. The cold must have been digging into her. It always had before, so that stupid jacket he’s always wearing finally came to some use. Sans could remember, anyway, how badly she hated the cold, how badly she avoided it, so coming here must have been important. He took it off, and still holding her shoulder, wrapped it around her. She couldn’t stop crying enough to notice.

“come on.” Without the right words. Sans was just full of relief. Seeing someone he knew, someone he loved once, someone he still loved, someone who was just as happy to see him, someone who came back for him…? There weren’t enough words. It was an unimaginable situation, so he just brought her inside.

Alphys was still sniffling as Sans sat her down on the couch, and with him sitting next to her, she just leaned against him. Everything that had happened, everything she hadn’t allowed herself to feel yet, just came out in buckets.

“I didn’t think you’d be here,” she sobbed. “I-I was so worried it got you too, I tried to send letters, but when n-nobody answered…”

Right. He usually took care of the mail. “i, uh… well, if i knew it was you, you’d have heard from me.” Sans can’t really guarantee that that’s true.

“...I’m running everything now,” Alphys groaned, her voice still spoiled with tears. “L-like, everything. The whole Underground, it’s… mine.”

“sounds awful.” Can’t even lie. It does. He hated the thought of just being the Royal Scientist, a lifetime ago.

“It is awful,” she returned, her voice shaking. “Everybody was a-always counting on me before, but… now it’s… well, everybody. And I-I don’t know what to do. They’re all…” The tears came back again, like it was the first time Alphys ever really said this out loud, and maybe it was. “Sans, they’re all gone. J-just like that. It took one day.”

One day. It’s unbelievable how much can change in one day. Turns out, you only need 24 hours, or a record-breaking Long Day, to change your whole life forever. How fast the world takes everything and everyone you love. Except for, ironically, your mutually traumatized ex.

“...i’m sorry.” It hurt to admit, but, yeah. He’d suffered losses, too, no matter how much he pretended.

“No, I’m sorry!” Alphys frustratedly squeaked, her voice catching in her throat the longer she cried. “I should have–I had every chance, and there was–shit, Sans, I’m so stupid!”

“you shoulda what?” And he tried his best to sound supportive. It was just difficult in a time like that. “you shoulda went off and died? everyone else thought they could stop it. you’re not stupid, alphys.”

“...I could have done something.” Alphys breathed out shakily, clenching her fists. “After I got people out. There didn’t have to be more. Undyne d-didn’t have to…”

“i could have done something, too.” Maybe Sans had already made up his mind by the time he knew that thing was in Hotland. Maybe Sans couldn’t handle losing Alphys on top of everything, but then it turned to cowardice. And its karma wasn’t nearly high enough. He couldn’t have won. “...guess i’m not the type.”

Alphys huffed through her nose, still crying, but there was more of a driven sadness in her voice. A desperation. “It took everything we love. Everything we ever cared about. I’m so upset, Sans, and I’m angry. I hate it. I hate that thing so much, I could scream! They were all so right about humans, I-I don’t know what I was thinking!”

He can’t even say anything. She’s right, and justified, and he just loves her too much to correct anything she says, or to believe anything else.

“I swear, Sans, I’m angry enough to kill somebody,” Alphys growled, her shredded, shallow voice coming out in sobbing waves, burying itself into her heart like every word is a new mark on her theoretical capillaries. “I need it to come back. Just once. Just once, let it try to show that disgusting face here again, and I’ll destroy it! I’ll fucking kill it, just let me try! For everybody we lost, and I don’t care who it is! They’d want us to!”

Papyrus wouldn’t. But that’s so besides the point. Revenge is something you don’t have to ask your brother about.

“Sans, I’m just so… so angry,” Alphys whimpered, “and I hate that part of myself. This is… doing something to me. I’m so full of sickness in here.” She presses her hand to her chest, and she can feel Sans’ hand close over her own.

“nah. this is going to make you better.” Sans sighed, taking her claws in a comforting grip. There’s a pulse close to where her heart would be, a fluttering. It’s her SOUL, and it’s not full of sickness. Just sadness. “you’ve been through something. this is a normal feeling. a very justified feeling.”

“...I just wish I could… make it know.”

“don’t we all?” Sans chuckled humorlessly, feeling her relax. “...you’ll want to. and if you ever get the chance, it might make you feel better. sometimes it does. sometimes it doesn’t. but you’re a good person. you’ve never mouthed off to anybody. and seeing this part of you now is, honestly, a little comforting. you have to let this shit out no matter what.”

“Having that chance would… maybe fix me.” Alphys tried to joke. It didn’t happen. She just sort of shrunk in on herself, her shaky breaths still drawing out so much pent-up sadness.

“i’d make it happen if i could.” And, now that Sans finally had someone to worry about again, he was thinking about it. Which, he knew by now, is a bad thing to start doing.

“Sans?”

“yeah?”

“...c-can I stay here tonight?”

“...yes.”

Alphys was so quick to fall asleep. It took her a few moments of silence, but she drifted off. She stayed leaning against Sans, who’d taken her in his arms and held her there so she had some security. He felt a little bad. The romantic love, the wish to want her back, never came true. There was no desire to have her again, but he still loved her so much. She’s always going to be the girl he loves. Maybe more than the woman behind the door. That woman would have been the type to settle down and have a family with. Alphys was the family. Now more than ever.

And holding her again, he felt like he hadn’t lost everything yet. There were so many holes that losing so many people left, holes that would never be filled. But the one Alphys left behind years ago suddenly had her piece back, and it was something. They both needed something to hold onto, desperately, and if Sans really imagined it, he could maybe start to feel Papyrus’ arms around his shoulder, the woman’s voice in his ears, like his whole family, his whole life, was back here again. The feeling of missing something would never come back. He’d never be missing a part of himself again. It would always be right here.

But it was just Alphys, and he was just Sans, on the couch, almost falling asleep, wishing for hope under a night sky, and having one star let it come true.

When Alphys woke up, she was still on that couch, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and little spots all over her glasses, but she saw Sans’ house, and she didn’t feel quite as horrible as she did the day before. However, Sans wasn’t there, and she wondered where that blue recluse could have possibly run off to.

She sat up, and noticed his jacket still around her.

…that sickness in her? The one she felt yesterday? There was something so warm there now. Her voice was hoarse from the emotional overload one sleep ago, and her body was sore from all the tenseness she’s been feeling, but the hatred ripping her apart was gone. It was replaced with the faraway love Sans left wrapped around her. She didn’t even notice it, but it was as soon as she showed up. He’d always been so quick to help her.

No more romantic love. But maybe there’s something better now.

As she cleaned off her glasses and tried to rub the teardrops away from the lenses, the door opened, and Sans walked in, heading straight for the kitchen.

Alphys yawned, rubbing her eyes, and putting her glasses back on. “Where did you go?”

She could hear the sink start, and something being ran under the water, and a lack of response from Sans made her stand up and go check on him. He had an ancient ass cell phone in his grip, taking a sponge and rubbing it clean, while also sort of… looking away?

“Uh, w-what are you doing?” Alphys couldn’t quite see what the problem with it was, but she knew it could withstand water, so…

He finally dried it off, exhaling, and turning away from the sink. The drain was unplugged, and slightly dirty water swirled all the way down to the pipes. “this has the human’s phone number on it.”

“...H-how do you know that?”

“doesn’t matter.” Sans turned the water off. “i want you to feel better. and if i didn’t know for a fact it doesn’t talk, i wouldn’t have gone this far.” He went past Alphys, picking up his own cell phone off the table next to the unfed pet rock. Last call went to his brother. After this, he’s breaking the phone.

“Are you sure about this?” Alphys stammered for a moment, seeming apprehensive. “W-what if I mess it up somehow, and i-it comes back?”

“you just remember what i said,” Sans replied, not seeming fazed by Alphys’ paranoia. “maybe this will help. maybe it won’t. but you’ll always regret not saying something. you’re a good person, alphys. don’t let this stop you.”

Alphys’ hands rattled with anxiety, but she steeled herself, clenching her fists. “...Okay. I trust you.”

“don’t go quoting me now,” Sans joked, haltingly checking that cell phone. A few calls were made to that number, and its name was saved as ‘child’. What a load of bullshit. He carefully, digit by digit, typed the number into his own phone. Again. Breaking the phone after this. Hitting the dial number, he waits. There’s a ringing sound… picking up… and crackling on the other end. Labored breathing. That’s the human, for sure. “...alright. i’ve got the number.”

And, handing the phone to Alphys, she looked at him cautiously. He nodded. He knew she had this, and Alphys could feel the trust he put in her. She was calmer than expected. “H… hey. So you’re the one who killed all my friends.” No stuttering. No stammering. No anxiety. It was a true statement. “I just called to tell you. I hate you.”

It was so surprising, in the best way possible, how calm she was being. Sans just watched her, listening to her, and wordlessly giving her approval. No words. Words couldn’t describe how proud he was. Now, that’s a fucking queen.

“Yet… strangely… it’s because of you, that…” She smiled at Sans. “That I was forced to become a better person.” How did he just get prouder? Alphys went back to the phone’s attention. “When I first saw you hurting people… I just sat there. Watching you. I felt so guilty knowing I hadn’t done anything to stop you. I felt like all I could do was… hope you’d destroy me, too.”

The honesty she’s always had. Pure honesty, and pure empathy. She acted like it, but Sans knew she wasn’t afraid to be herself. Not always. She was just afraid of other people, and how they could hurt her, but behind closed doors, with just Sans alone, she was the strongest woman he’d ever know.

“But when Undyne called, with crazed desperation in her voice, I realized I had to do something,” Alphys pushed out, hearing the breathing on the other end of the phone get heavier. “Even if it meant everyone would have to learn the truth about me. It’s strange, you know? Even after all the bad things I did, people treated me like a hero. And then they… asked me to run everything.”

It’s a horrible burden to carry. Sans couldn’t imagine taking all that responsibility. (And in any other world, he never would.)

“So I’m trying my best here. I think I have some good policies, but, y-you know…” That anxiety again. She never could compliment herself. “Talking to people still makes me nervous. I’m no Asgore, you know?”

And her eye catches Papyrus’ bedroom door. She was standing right in front of the staircase, and Sans watched her gaze shift, and her take a deep breath in.

“...God, I miss everyone.” There’s a shakiness in her voice, a crackling where she won’t allow tears to come out. “Now that they’re gone, it feels so clear what I should have done. What I should have said.” Sans stepped a little closer. Just… remind her she isn’t alone. “Undyne… Asgore… Mettaton…” And she turned her head, taking Sans’ hand, and looking right at him as she said this. “At least Sans is still here. He’s a good guy. And with him around, I…”

Sans just held her hand tighter. And she sighed, as her face became a bit more confident. Her eyebrows furled down, but she still kept a smile, holding her claw over the button.

“You know. Just daydreaming here.” Alphys’ confidence reached a boiling point, and suddenly, the waver in her voice was completely gone. “But I really should have killed you when I had the chance.”

And she squished the button down. Click. Sans took the phone, and Alphys breathed out, letting go of all the anxiety before she had the chance to realize what she’d done. With one blink of an eye, Sans dropped his phone on the ground, and slammed his shoe down over it. Little pieces of plastic flew everywhere. Alphys laughed, feeling lighter than air, and she hugged Sans, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and he held her tighter than ever.

They never took a stand before. But silence where there once was all talk, and all talk where there once was silence, is its own little revolution.

Chapter Text

A pile of cartoon playing cards sat in front of Frisk as they tapped their fingers together. They were staring at their own hand of cards, clicking their teeth in thought. “Are you looking?”

“What kind of question is that?” The voice in their head, known as Chara, responded with the slightest bit of humor in their tone.

Frisk ignored the remark. “Do you have… a little monkey with sunglasses?” And then, they picked up a second hand of cards.

Chara let out a whispery chuckle. “Go fish.”

“You’re too lucky at this!” Frisk started digging into the pile.

“What made you think this would work? Go Fish is a two-player game.”

“It’s working for me,” Frisk said back, giggling shortly, as they picked up the first card at the top. It was a dog holding a comically large lollipop. “Damn. That’s not a monkey.”

“Okay, okay. Do you have a – Frisk, my cards.”

“Oh!” Frisk held them back up.

“Do you have a…” And a little exasperated sigh from Chara. “Do you have a horse wearing a fluffy pink dress?”

“I do!” Frisk slid their own princess horse into Chara’s hand. Then, they grumbled just a little bit. “Awww. I’m hungry.”

“So go to the kitchen,” replied Chara drolly, always the voice of reason. “But, it’s still early in the day. I doubt anyone’s made anything yet.”

“I’m very focused on the game right now!” Frisk felt their hand drop to their side, and then watched it flop all over the place, completely terrorizing the piles and disrupting their harmony. The cards were scattered all over the hardwood floor, and as Frisk giggled, they felt the feeling return in their arm. “Hey!”

“Go eat,” Chara smiled (though Frisk was the only one who knew for sure that they were).

“Fine!” Frisk’s cheeks were going pink from laughing, but they stood up, grabbing the edge of their bed to steady themselves.

They didn’t do much in the mornings. Frisk was still wearing pajama shorts that had some sort of varietal banana pattern, and a very fancy pajama button-up that was MTT-brand. Feel well-rested and glitterized as soon as you wake up, and no refunds ever!

Heading downstairs, Frisk’s socked feet hit the carpeted staircase one after the other, and they yawned long and loud, stretching their arms out and rubbing their face so they didn’t look so sleep-kissed.

“After you eat, you should go back to sleep.”

“Noooo,” Frisk sighed, hand trailing down the banister as they refuted the very right friend in their head. “I have things to do. Like… be a person. And not be a bedbug.”

“Why not? You fit the criteria,” Chara quipped.

“Silence,” Frisk laughed, landing at the very bottom of the staircase and rounding the corner into the hallway. “I think, also, that Alphys was having an anime night tonight? I have to be a good host.”

“Oh, well, that is a good reason,” Chara hummed, and it was like their consciousness was idly spinning through Frisk’s skull.

“Quite!” Frisk nodded back. “Anime night comes but once a two times a week.”

“...Biweekly.”

“Wow, good for them.”

Frisk walked into the kitchen, reaching for the light switch, before realizing the lights were already on. They flapped their hand down, and turned off the lights, then blinked in confusion, before flipping them back on. “Oh. Whoops.”

Sans was standing in the kitchen, holding a mug with his name scribbled on it in permanent marker.

“...What are you eating?” Frisk asked lethargically.

“ALPHabeEt soup .”

“Oh. Okay.” Frisk nodded, before processing. “Why did your voice do that?”

“do what?” Sans asked teasingly, before going into the fridge and grabbing the same bag of chips he’d kept crumpled up in the meat drawer.

“Do. THAT.” Frisk waved their arms up. “The, uwguuawjWHuhwagh, thing. Why did it do that?”

“i don’t know what you’re talking about. maybe you’re hearing things.”

“Yeah, Frisk,” Chara said, a small smirk up in the nose of their voice, “maybe you’re hearing things.”

Frisk flapped their hand up absentmindedly, a wordless shut-the-fuck-up to Chara. “How come you’re eating alphabet soup at… uh, what time is it?”

“oooooooh. you’re dreaaaaminnnng. go back to sleeeeeeeeeep friiiiiisk.”

“Nooooo! That only worked one time!”

Sans laughed a little bit, putting a chip close to his face. It disappeared. “it’s 7:38. and i am making my voice deeper.”

“Why?” Frisk tilted their head, messy sleep hair falling to the right with their tiny baby face.

“i used to be a girl. don’t tell anybody, though.”

Frisk, for some reason, isn’t majorly surprised. It’s still enough for their mouth to hang a little slack-jawed, though, and for Chara, who was absentmindedly swimming in their brain, to snap up quickly and be majorly surprised for them.

“What?!” Chara, as soft-spoken as ever, is maybe reaching the top 10 loudest moments of their afterlife. Frisk would have to update the list later. “I thought we were done with exposition!”

“Woah. That’s super cool.” Frisk blinked, leaning in just a bit. “You’re acting so chill about this!”

“it’s been, like, a lot of years. but only a handful of guys know. so. shhhh.”

“Got it, got it. Shhhhh.” Frisk pinches their fingers together and runs them across their lips, mimicking a zipper. “How did you make alphabet soup do all that? Is it magic?”

“more like science. but… yeah, magic.” Sans tilted the mug a little bit, showing the contents. Just your average alphabet soup, but the letters are drawn in a lot of different ways. “we infused this with font replicators, so i just drink this, and my boy hat stays on.”

“That’s incredible!” Frisk clenched their fists and brought them under their chin, smiling widely.

“it’s definitely revolutionary,” Sans nodded. “figured this out a long time ago with alphys.”

“Again, I thought we were done with exposition,” Chara continued, chattering away. “Why does Sans always find a way to make everything we thought we knew wrong?”

“You guys are so smart,” Frisk remarked in awe.

“whateverrrr.” Sans poked them in the forehead, walking out of the kitchen. “anyone can be smart.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Chara said back, knowing he couldn’t hear them, and watching him leave. “Unless he means it in one of his cryptic ways.”

“Definitely one of his cryptic ways,” Frisk whispered. “I thought we were done with exposition, too.”

“I gathered that Sans and Alphys were friends a long time ago,” Chara whispered, even though they didn’t have to, “but… giving alphabet soup the ability to change someone’s tone of voice?”

“I should drink some.”

“You really shouldn’t.”

“One drop, Chara, come on, you know you want to.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Chara! I could sound like Dom Toretto!”

“Do you even know who that is?” Chara asked rhetorically. “And don’t answer that. I know you don’t.”

“Get out of my head!” Frisk teasingly swatted up at their forehead, giggling with tiny snorts. “Okay, so Sans probably won’t say anything more.”

The thought of an evil little smirk buzzed in the back of Frisk’s head, and it was a sure sign that Chara’s scheming gears were turning with tactical ticks. “But you have to be a good host today.”

And that evil little smirk, of course, made its way to the corners of Frisk’s lips. “I can interrogate HER.”

“Wow, who gave you that idea?” Chara joked. “I was going to suggest striking up a friendly conversation. You have such a disgusting way of thinking.”

“No waterboarding. Just some tiny little hints. The lizard will talk.”

“I want to know what their history is, too,” they responded to Frisk, slowly thinking aloud. “We only know the most obvious parts.”

“Like how they were friends and NOTHING ELSE? I don’t buy it.” Frisk paused for a moment, before grumbling again. “I almost forgot! I’m hungry!”

“Good thing you’re in the kitchen.”

“Oh, Chara, I just can’t go on! Tell my kids I love them!”

“It’s a good thing you’re IN THE KITCHEN.”

“I have 27 kids, and they’re all the letters of the alphabet. You have to send letters to every single one.”

“27 kids…? And each of them have their own letter?”

“Yeauh.”

“...That just makes perfect sense. There are no flaws in your reasoning, Frisk. You’ll be an excellent progressive parent.”

“Progressive? Like I’m more than normal about the gays?”

“No, like… never mind.”

-

So, how in the world was he supposed to talk to him about this?

Alphys has a history of being understanding. Almost to a fault. But for some reason, he’s passed his stuttering nature onto Sans, and he can’t even think outside of the nerves. He told Alphys they needed to talk. Alphys agreed.

It was just how bad he loved Alphys. Sans hated to admit that there wasn’t romantic love there anymore. But there was still love, the kind of love like the seeds from golden flowers. The kind of love like thorns digging into your bones when you try and pick them. It wasn’t romantic love, but he can’t tangle it out of himself, so what was Sans getting ready to do? Cut the vines, so the source is gone, and he’s left with a bleeding heart?

The second Sans was sure about this, he asked Alphys to meet up. He’s the best. He’s Sans’ favorite person, and he was scared this would change the way Alphys saw him. Maybe that was a good thing. But being unapologetically himself wasn’t the hard part. What he called himself was only half of his identity. The other half was his better half, the one he was ready to spend the rest of his life with. It could still happen, just…

…no, what were you thinking? Call it off before he comes all the way to Snowdin, and gets cold, he hates getting cold –

“Hey!” SHIT. Alphys walked in, closing the door behind him. “It’s r-really cold out there, but, uh… you said you wanted to t-talk?”

“oh, hey,” Sans waved, clearly taking a deep breath in. “yeah, i, uh… needed to talk. about something. very important.”

“W-what a coincidence!” He also looked nervous. What. “Me too!”

“okay, cool,” Sans exhaled quickly, “so we’ll just both… go at the same time?”

“...Yeah??????”

So, like they always had, they put their heads together. Sans and Alphys leaned on each other’s foreheads, holding up their fingers, and counting down from five. Alphys didn’t happen to have five fingers, so Sans put down the last one for him.

“...i’m a boy.”

Alphys blinked. “...I’m a GIRL.”

And they both stared at each other for a minute.

“...never mind. this is going to be a hell of a lot easier.”

Chapter Text

That familiar pink color palette exploded across every pixel of the TV. There she was, in all her glory, that beautimous girl (nay, woman) with the most marvelous cat ears, that spun in the air and began her transformation. Glitter sparkled in outdated 3D graphics, splashing from her clawed hands and dashing across the glass, like it was going to explode from the television and scatter into the room. What could they have been watching, you ask…? It was none other than Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, the best anime to ever grace the early 2000s silver screen, Alphys’ favorite show.

“Yes!” Alphys screeched, pumping her fists and almost curling entirely in on herself. Her glasses reflected the show ahead of her, and her eyes didn’t move away from it for a single second.

“You’ve seen this a million times,” Chara states, “and it’s always just as good as the first.”

Frisk starts to think back to them, something about it being a great show and having something for everyone, but their train of thought was interrupted by Mew Mew’s transformation being finished. No matter. Chara got the idea.

It was the same day as before, fast forwarding a couple hours. Anime night was in full swing, and Alphys was the first to arrive. Undyne would, no doubt, be coming in no time, and she’d have Papyrus with her. Sans had to work, which he regrettably informed the group of beforehand, but he’s also seen this a million times. Everybody has. Since leaving the Underground, they’ve had access to all kinds of new media, but of course, nothing beats the classics.

It was just Alphys and Frisk on the couch, surrounded by a whole bunch of snacks. Human AND monster snacks. Frisk nabbed a whole bunch of Twinkies, specifically the chocolate ones. They’re not just eating for themselves anymore, and they HAVE to compromise. They also had various sodas, which they were sharing with Alphys, who didn’t care about the differences between human and monster snacks. She ate so much ramen in the Underground. Just a lot.

“This show is so good! I-I’m always noticing new things!” Alphys threw some popato chisps into her mouth, and her ruffles flared just a bit in excitement. She was wearing, of course, a MMKC t-shirt that was remarkably too big for her, and pajama shorts that tied into a cute little pink bow at the top. Her piercings were also bedazzled pink. Anime night is a holiday and a lifestyle.

“You know what?” Chara hummed, a little thought rattling in Frisk’s brain. “Anime girls’ transformation outfits are way too impractical.”

And Frisk agreed, thinking about how smart it would be if they just transformed into armor instead. Like Undyne.

“Like Undyne,” Chara concurred in response. “I suppose the armor could still be a bright, sparkly pink. But that could be bad, too, because what if you have to hide? And you’re wearing bright, sparkly pink?”

Frisk and Chara, sharing the same consciousness, decided to agree that they’re lucky anime is just fiction. Sparkly, mind-melting fiction, that could be raunchy at times. Just like Frisk thought. There’s something for everyone.

“Look how beautiful the background art is,” Alphys gasped softly. “That’s hand-painted, I bet!”

“Oh, yeaaah!” Frisk leaned in a little bit. “I can see the brush lines! That’s so pretty!”

Alphys took a soda and popped the can open, twisting at the tab idly. “I-I love it when you can tell people had, uh, fun making things.” And she started to take a big swig.

“Mhm,” Frisk smiled. “Yeah. I think it’s obvious with this, too. How long have you and Sans been friends?”

Alphys squeaked, choking herself on her drink. She was so surprised, she coughed loudly, and all the soda in her mouth came shooting out. She kept coughing, stammering, and every time she started to talk, she just coughed a bit more. The redness on her face almost completely blended in with the redness of the couch, and Frisk was a little taken aback by how surprised she was.

“Wow, Frisk, you killed her,” Chara joked drolly. “Good work.”

“I didn’t mean to–!” Frisk spluttered, flapping up at their head. “Are you okay, Alphys?”

“Y-y-y-yeah??? I’m o-okay, but–wha–y–wuh–” And then she kept coughing. Alphys dropped her head on her arm, leaning it against the couch’s armrest, and wheezed like an anxious mess into the fabric. She’d crushed the empty soda can in her hand.

“I was joking, but maybe you really did kill her,” Chara snorted.

Alphys took a long, gasping breath in, raising her head up again. It took her a moment to stop coughing, and once she had, the flush in her face still hadn’t gone away. “W-why are you–why do you ASK?? I-I mean, we’ve been f-friends for a while??? A… lot of years????”

“A lot of years. How specific,” Chara sarcastically responded.

“Why do you ask?” Alphys shuddered, pausing the show quickly and staring Frisk down. “D-did he tell you to ask? Has he been, like, a-asking about me? Or sssssomething?”

“No.” A quick response from Frisk. “He just mentioned you today. And I’m curious!”

“He WHAT?!”

“Frisk, pump the brakes,” Chara said monotonously.

“Just in passing!” Frisk shot out, thinking back to that morning, but they were very sleepy, so those memories are probably muddy. “He was eating alphabet soup.” And that’s all they’re going to mention. Alphys definitely knew about the whole ex-girl thing, but they’re so good at secrets, and they cannot take any chances.

“.....ohhhhh. Oh, my–ughhhh.” Alphys seemed to breathe out in extreme relief, sinking back into the couch. “Right. The…. yes.”

“She’s acting weird,” Chara muttered. No, really? “Yes, really, Frisk, shut up. I can state the obvious.”

Alphys sighed, adjusting her glasses and sniffling a little bit. Soda in her nose. Ouch. “Yeah, we… uh, knew each other. Have known each other, f-for, uh, a while. I can’t count the years exactly, b-but it’s definitely… more than twenty? Since before I was, uh, t-the Royal Scientist. We sorta… grew up together?”

“And she sounds so unsure of herself, too,” Chara said, stating the obvious again.

“Wow. More than twenty years is a long time to know someone. I’m not even that old.”

“Y-yeah,” Alphys giggled, “I c-can’t remember NOT knowing him. He’s sorta just… always been there. For me. Trustworthy guy! Y-you know!”

Frisk nodded quickly, smiling. “Yeah, I know!”

“Yeah, s-so, we hung out a lot!” Alphys was smiling. It was a sort of expression Frisk hadn’t really seen from her before. “Through everything. School, work, being kids, being adults… I-I think he knows me better than… anybody? A-and that sounds like a reach, but it isn’t!”

“You guys sound like really good friends!” Frisk beamed, leaning forward on the couch, body facing totally towards her. “How didn’t I know all that?”

Alphys’ face seemed to fall a little bit, her smile twisting into something a bit more thoughtful. Not like she was searching for words, but like she was searching for a memory, and came up with nothing. “W-well… things happened, I think. Not between us! …Definitely between us, a-actually, but it wasn’t anything bad! Just… uh… you know. People’s paths, they cross, and t-then they sorta… uncross.”

“Oh.” Frisk’s face copied hers, a little more remorseful than thoughtful. “That’s sad.”

“W-we still talked, just… never in person,” Alphys laughed awkwardly, tapping her claws against each other. “But we were really happy to see each other again! W-when you showed up! And broke the Barrier!”

“How long had it been at that point?” Frisk didn’t laugh with her. Something about this story wasn’t as cheerful, or bunglingly passive as Alphys was trying to make it out to be.

“.....Maybe, like, ten? Years?”

“Ten years?!” Frisk’s voice climbed all the way up in surprise.

“Time flies, I guess… I-I didn’t even realize it’d been that long. But I missed him a LOT.”

“Aw,” Frisk pouted, slumping their shoulders a little. “But at least you’re friends again, right?”

“Mhm!” Alphys nodded. “S-so, it can’t be too sad! Because we’ve!! Still!! Got each other!! And! That!!” There was a little bit of silence, then Alphys haltingly shoved the remote back into her own hand, and clicked the play button. “L-l-let’s just keep watching!”

And, Frisk guessed, the conversation was now over.

“I’m trying to figure this out,” Chara mused. “What could have happened to drive them apart?”

Frisk sighed through their nose, inaudible over the TV screen, thinking to themselves that anything could have happened. But Alphys is so anxious, and Sans is so secretive, that they might never know. And if they don’t want them to know, then they shouldn’t know. You know?

“I know,” Chara thought back. “It’s just a bit surprising. They don’t seem like they run in the same circles, until you take all the science into account.”

Frisk wondered why they cared, laughing just a little bit to themselves. They thought Chara still had to be the broody, disinterested meanie pants, or they’d explode into a million tiny sarcastic pieces.

“You’re incredibly annoying,” Chara scoffed, and yet, Frisk could feel a playful smile burning pink behind their ears. “I’m interested for your sake.”

-

“Oh, Sans, look at this one!” Alphys was digging into her closet, pulling out shirts she didn’t care to keep. She pulled out a grayish-purple shirt with a long green diamond in the middle, smiling brightly. “This one would fit you perfectly!”

Sans was floating just a few inches off the ground, rummaging through boxes of his own clothes. He turned, catching the shirt as Alphys tossed it to him, laughing a little bit. “i thought this was one of your favorites.”

“NOT!!! ANYMORE!!!” Alphys giggled, flailing her arms up. “I’m totally reinventing myself!”

“cool,” Sans smiled, grabbing something out of the box. It was a pink shirt with a pocket to the side. “here. take this one.”

Alphys caught it once he threw it, and she noticed how he floated up just a bit more. Still, she turned it around to him. “This says hashtag girlboss.”

“yeah,” Sans nodded, “because you’re a girl, you’re a boss, and you use hashtags.”

“I’m not a boss!” Alphys squeaked. “What if gets mad because my shirt says I’m the boss, and HE’S actually the boss, and I get fired?!”

“i don’t think that’d happen,” he said absentmindedly, before thinking more on it for a moment. “...actually, yes, i do. hold on.”

Sans floated over to the desk in Alphys’ room, grabbing a marker off the piles of cogs and tools. He twirled it in his fingers, going back over to her, suspended just a little higher over her in midair. Taking the shirt, he scribbled out just the word “boss”.

“there,” he nodded, sure of himself. He passed it back to her, grinning. “now you’re just a hashtag girl.”

Alphys looked so happy, it was enough to rip him into little smiling shreds. There was a gorgeous pink light surrounding her now, seeping through her yellow scales and shining through her eyes. She would be floating too, if she could. She was marvelous in this light. The most beautiful woman he’d ever meet.

They couldn’t love each other. Not the way they used to. Alphys must have loved the girl part of him, and he was sure of this. (He was wrong.) But Sans loved her in every way she was, and every way she’d ever be. He loved her right next to her, and he loved her far away from her. He loved her when he had her, and he loved her when he had to let her go. He’d always love her. Just differently from now on, because he had to.

“O-oh,” Alphys suddenly stammered, “are you… d-did you tell your brother yet?”

Sans’ daydreams were interrupted, and he floated back down to the ground, his slippers landing gently on the tiled floor as he spoke. “...nah. not yet. haven’t figured out a way to say it.”

“I-it’s okay!” She quickly saved face, taking his hand. “I’m, uh, not out to my family yet, either… but a-all that in good time!”

“...yeah. all that in good time.”

Alphys could see the uncertainty edged in his expressions. The way he saw every word she didn’t want to say all the time, she learned how to pick up on it, too.

“...He’ll understand. I don’t doubt that he’ll understand,” Alphys said softly, holding his hand in a reassuring grip. “I mean, you raised him, and he loves you. I love you. If anybody’s got your back other than me…”

Even when she wasn’t trying this hard, Alphys always found a way. Sans breathed out, holding her hand in return. “you’re right. i’ve just gotta… find the words. i guess.”

“...I think I have a patented Sans plan.”

Sans laughed a little bit. “oh, really?”

Alphys giggled back, leaning her forehead against his. And as she saw that happy light come back into his eyes, she felt a little more certain. “I think we can help each other. We can, like, rock paper scissors or something, and see who goes first, and we go with each other to explain it to our families.”

“that sounds like a really good idea,” he nodded back. “that’s the best patented sans plan you’ve ever had.”

Life this way doesn’t seem so bad.

Sans wasn’t sure of anything when he found out he was a boy, other than that he couldn’t stay this way with Alphys. Being himself hurt others, and it would hurt the person he loved most of all. Lucky for him, she was also having the same thoughts, and came to the same opposite conclusion.

He couldn’t stay lucky.

…At least he’d always have her. Sans couldn’t see anything taking them away from each other. Sans wanted to be something a long time ago. A scientist, a comedian, a stupid hot dog salesman, a guy who rode a bicycle on the Surface, but in every one of those daydreams, Alphys was there. She was the partner he always worked with in science class, she was the obnoxious laughter in the audience, she was the one buying all the stupid hot dogs, and she was the one riding next to him into the beautiful sunset. Now, he kind of just wanted to stay with Alphys, no matter the relationship. And he’d make it happen no matter what.

The boss was busy with a lot of things. As he’d put it, a “new opportunity” had arisen for the kingdom, which everyone knew was the kid that fell down the mountain. Cool that we had a human that seemed really nice, if not a little bit reclusive. Or maybe reclusive isn’t the word. Just antisocial. But who isn’t antisocial these days? Whatever. Chara Dreemurr seemed like a nice kid. Sans had never met them, and probably never would, because he just isn’t that important. Nevertheless, the boss WAS the important guy meeting them, so he’d never notice his two assistants swapping genders on a whim.

…cool that they were a duo. That was the nice thing about it. The two assistants to the Royal Scientist. Alphys and Sans. Sans and Alphys. It had a nice ring to it. He was just happy thinking about it that way, and knowing that they were destined to spend the rest of forever as that duo was invigorating.

Maybe they wouldn’t have kids, but that was okay. They don’t have to kiss each other to be with each other. Friends didn’t seem like the right word for it, though, not after everything. Not friends, not lovers, and amicable exes seemed too passive… traveling partners. That’s good. Sans and Alphys, traveling partners. The unbreakable duo.

Alphys was so beautiful in this light. That pink light. It didn’t swallow her. It accentuated everything about her.

Sans hoped he looked the same to her, in his complimentary blue.

Chapter Text

So you finally made it. The end of your journey is at hand.

…Stupid. The ice cream is melting.

Even through all of this, Sans managed to stop and give the Nice Cream guy their last customer of the day. It was able to stay nice and chilled through Snowdin, and only minorly started to drip through the river tunnels of Waterfall into Hotland. But despite his best efforts, it’s melting now.

He couldn’t pretend for too long that his brother was not dead. He couldn’t pretend for much longer than he didn’t watch it happen, and that he froze up once it happened, and he heard his brother’s last words, and stood there too long with a dumbfounded expression to stop it from attacking, or to stop it from getting any further.

But there was a hopelessness that locked Sans’ knees in place, and the human didn’t even look back as it walked away. He just… disappeared. If he didn’t watch it happen, he wouldn’t even notice the difference between his brother’s dust, and the snow he was standing on seconds ago.

And then he thought for a moment. Sans watched them fight. Watched them kill too many things. A brief idea crossed his mind, that he knew how it fought, and how it presented itself. Just the shortest second to get the stupidest idea in the world.

And Sans blinked. The snow was freezing to the ground, and it was quiet. Quieter than Snowdin Town had ever been. No footprints. Nothing was happening. Time had stopped.

…

…so we’re going to the hallway.

Sans would call him and let him know where he was going. The Nice Cream guy was packing up, and as he usually did before going off to his second favorite place, he bought a hot pink ice cream cone and kept it with him to pass the time. Why was the Nice Cream guy packing up? Why do they look so sad? So scared? What are they saying about Hotland? Today’s just a regular Long Day. A longer Long Day than normal. The hours haven’t changed in such a long time.

Sans doesn’t like the Riverperson. Not because of any particular reason. Just because of… well. They’re odd. Unsettling.

“Tra la la. Seems like the Underground is going empty. …the Angel has returned. Just like the old poem.”

He didn’t respond. Sans seemed to watch himself from far away, so removed from his own consciousness, hold his shaking hands under the ice cream and over the edge of the boat.

The old poem. He can’t quite remember it at the moment.

“...beware of the man who came from the other world.”

They said it like it was a hint. A recognition from two very different people. They always said that around him, and nobody else, Sans figured, ever heard that particular musing. But still, he said nothing back. He was too busy stopping the ice cream from melting. It’s the only thing he can stop from falling apart. …that’s not true. Why did he say that? Nothing’s going on.

Finally arriving at Hotland, he stepped off the boat, a few drops of ice cream dropping into his hand and falling off of his fingers. He couldn’t hold himself still.

“Come again some time. …Or don’t. I don’t believe there will be another sometime. The Angel has returned.”

And, of course, once Sans looked behind him, the Riverperson was gone.

Hotland was a place of blistering heat. Sans was never too affected, but the ice cream would fall apart here. He couldn’t let it fall apart. Still holding his quivering hand under the cone, he listened for monsters around, and only heard voices ahead.

Monsters, from every different area, packed thinly as they filed through a door. The door to the lab. Where Alphys was…

…Alphys.

The door would be locked if she hadn’t opened it. If she hadn’t told people to come in, so they’d be safe from the human, she’d be… what is she trying to do? Is she even… is she alive?

Is Alphys alive? That’s the new question swarming Sans’ head, and he can’t let it go all of a sudden. He doesn’t know what she’s planning. She wouldn’t leave the lab, unless she would. Sans was so frightened by the fact that he didn’t really know her anymore.

He found himself just staring at the door, as monsters left the crowd and came inside the lab. Sans couldn’t see inside, but there were less people outside now. He could feel the chill of the ice cream droplets landing on his fingers, and it was the only thing grounding him.

Sans just needed to know she was alive.

“Are you coming?” A monster walked past him a little bit, waiting before talking again. No response from Sans. “There’s a safe place we’re all going. I don’t think it’ll get us there.”

He just shook his head.

“...But you might die. What if you died?”

Nothing from him. After a few seconds, the monster scurried off. It was quiet, and the lab doors hissed shut.

Okay. You can’t go in that way. You need to take a shortcut, no matter how bad you don’t want to. The ice cream will survive if you just use your stupid, undeserved abilities, and make it to…

…the hallway. It was deserted.

Birds were singing outside. There was a kind of light, artificial orange light, shining through the windows. It must have been from the CORE, or… something. He didn’t want to think about it now.

Sans just stood there. The ice cream wasn’t melting as bad anymore, but it wasn’t frozen. It’d be gone if he didn’t eat it.

…couldn’t move his hands.

His elbows and knees, locked in place, shaking limbs, tunnel vision spinning through his eyes, and the ice cream was melting onto his sleeves.

Why is he acting like this? Everything is fine. It’s just a Long Day he’s spending in the hallway again with an ice cream.

…Right. Sans had to call him and let him know where he was going.

He snaps himself out of it, grabbing his phone (still shaking.) and punches in the buttons to his brother’s number. Holding his phone up to his ear, or where it would be, he stared straight ahead, waiting for him to answer. First two rings. It’s always the first two rings.

When the third buzzed into the receiver, Sans started to wonder why his brother couldn’t come to the phone.

…he hung up.

His hands stopped shaking.

The only sound wafting into the air was his own ragged breathing, as Sans shoved the phone into his pocket.

He watched Papyrus die. And he did nothing. Alphys must have been dead. She had to have been dead.

The woman behind the door, his brother, and the girl he loved.

Everyone around him is dying, and he did nothing.

He did absolutely nothing.

Sans dropped the ice cream cone, and with no emotion at all, crushed it under his slipper.

He can’t cry now. No time in the world to cry, or feel sorry at all.

Time passed without a hitch. As it always did. The ice cream was a puddle on the ground, and the cone it rested on was shattered into crumbs.

The human.

That motherfucker.

“heya.”

Was there really anything more to say to it? It wouldn’t respond. Papyrus’ dust is on its hands. Everyone’s dust is on its hands, of course, but he’d know Papyrus anywhere. That’s him.

“...you’ve been busy, huh?”

It was hard to hide, and it was hard to hear.

But the hatred in his voice…

“so, i’ve got a question for ya.” His brother’s question. Not his own. “do you think even the worst person can change…? that everybody can be a good person, if they just try?”

And with no response, he’ll admit, Sans found it funny.

“...alright. well, here’s a better question. do you wanna have a bad time?”

It wouldn’t have done this if the answer wasn’t yes. He’d decided. It wanted to get its ass beat.

“because if you take another step forward… you are REALLY not going to like what happens next.”

Sans had already sealed his fate by being in this hallway. His hallway. Daring to step in its way.

The Angel had returned, and it was an ugly son of a bitch.

And when Sans had made the decision, for his brother, for the woman behind the door, and for Alphys, the love he may never find again…

…he didn’t care that he knew he’d die.

Sans just wanted to know, after everything, that he didn't stand there and do nothing.

Chapter Text

DELTARUNE WAS LAST WEEK. boy howdy!! was that one of the best experiences i've ever had in my whole life!!

so if you played chapters 3 & 4 (and if you didn't, i suggest you click away now and come back when you have), you'd know that MY BIGGEST SANS THEORY WAS CONFIRMED. HOLY. SHIT. SANS IS ORIGINALLY FROM DELTARUNE!!! but also. that was a beautiful game. i'll never have a better experience playing a game until maybe chapter 5!

i'll be back posting stuff now! i'll take a bit, but salphys t4t amicable exes is BACK and STRONGER THAN EVER!!