Chapter Text
The Underground was mostly deserted, anymore. There were a few monsters still around, if Sans wanted to search for them, but almost everyone had cleared out. After only a few years, the warm and welcoming neighborhoods were falling apart. The magic that made it bright and livable was fading away, and there were growing pockets of darkness where there used to be carefully maintained light.
Sans hadn’t mentioned to Papyrus he was leaving, this time. He had just sent a message to him after he was long gone, telling him he wouldn’t be back until late. He just had a quick little task, and he didn’t need Papyrus down there with him, dragging up old, bad memories.
His work room looked the same as he remembered it. Was there a little more dust on everything? It was hard to tell.
He checked his notes, and found everything the same as he had left them. He thought about going through them with the thoroughness he used to manage, but couldn’t bring himself to care enough.
There was one thing he did care about, though, which was why he had bothered to come back down here. He pulled out his album and flipped through until he found the picture of him and Grillby.
He had a copy of it on his phone, but seeing the original one again was surreal. His life had changed a lot because of this picture. He pulled it out of the album. He and Grillby looked like they were on a date. Maybe it was just his current circumstances warping his perspective, but Grillby had that “quietly tolerating a stream of terrible jokes” look that had become so familiar.
He shoved the photo in his pocket, closed the album, and put it away.
–-
Sans pulled an over-sized suit jacket on over a clean t-shirt. He had borrowed the jacket and pants from Frisk, and their clothes were already getting too big for him. He’d had to roll up the cuffs, but it still beat going out and buying new clothes.
He had a pair of black and white sneakers in the back of his closet that were kind of faded, but they were more formal than slippers. They were made to look like a tuxedo, and there was even a little bow-tie at the top. He used to wear them to every formal event he was invited to.
For a while, rolling out of bed and putting on some slippers had been the amount of effort he thought it was worth making, but he’d dragged up some energy from somewhere over the last couple years. It was probably from all the sun. Skeleton photosynthesis.
He checked the weather report on his phone. There was a small chance of rain, so it was going to end up an indoor-only date.
Papyrus was in the living room, watching Mettaton on the television. He had on his fan club t-shirt and his eye sockets were riveted to the image on the screen.
“hey bro. headed out.”
Papyrus tore himself away from the TV for a second. "OH MY GOD! I REMEMBER THOSE SHOES! I THOUGHT YOU HAD RETIRED THEM PERMANENTLY! LET THEM REST, SANS. THEY ARE SO TIRED. THAT JOKE IS SO TIRED! MAYBE FRISK EVEN HAS A PAIR OF SHOES THAT ARE ONLY SLIGHTLY TOO LARGE FOR YOU."
"eh. my dogs need comfort, paps.”
“HOW CAN THEY BE COMFORTABLE WHEN THEY ARE ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY ARE WEARING?” To Sans’ surprise, Papyrus actually got up off the couch even though he hadn’t hit a commercial yet. He walked over and brushed something off Sans’ shoulder and started buttoning up his jacket. "WELL, OTHER THAN THAT, YOU LOOK FINE." He evened up Sans’ rolled up sleeves. "BUT WHEN UNDYNE GETS MARRIED, YOU ARE GETTING SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY FITS YOU! BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT SHE WOULD DO IF YOU SHOWED LOOKING SO MESSY ON HER BIG DAY!”
“well, i’ve got a few years before one of them proposes,” Sans said. “hey i found another good joke for my toast.”
Papyrus sighed, exaggerated. "FINE! LET’S HEAR IT!“
"i remember before they started going out, you could tell undyne was in love because she was always wearing a suit of amour.” Since Papyrus told him Undyne was planning on proposing, he’d figured out most of the speech. He hoped he didn’t forget to bring the actual toasted bread with him, because he didn’t want Tori or Grillbz to have to do it and ruin the amazing joke ahead of time for them.
Papyrus yanked a little too hard when he straightened out Sans’ collar. "I WISH I COULD SAY THAT WAS THE WORST JOKE I HAVE EVER HEARD, BUT I DON’T GET TO SAY THAT! BECAUSE YOU ARE MY BROTHER!"
"oh man if you remember what the worst joke i ever told you was, i really want to know,” Sans said.
Papyrus frowned, considering. "THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES, IT IS DIFFICULT TO PICK JUST ONE. BUT THE WORST ONE IS PROBABLY SO AWFUL, IT IS WIPED FROM MY MEMORY!"
Sans glanced away, his grin briefly strained. "heh.”
“I WOULDN’T TELL YOU, ANYWAY, BECAUSE THEN YOU WOULD–” He broke off. "ARE YOU NERVOUS? OH MY GOD! THAT IS ADORABLE! YOU SEE GRILLBY EVERY DAY!"
"that’d be quite a feat, being nervous without nerves,” Sans said, chuckling.
“WELL IT HAS TO BE POSSIBLE, SINCE YOU HAVE A HUMERUS AND YOU ARE NEVER FUNNY!”
“oh man, you burned me, bro. you’d think that would happen during the date, not before it, but you’re just too good.”
“NYEH-HEH-HEH! I AM EXACTLY THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF GOOD!” He stepped back and looked Sans over. "THERE! I’M SURE WITH GRILLBY’S WEIRD TASTE, HE WILL LIKE HOW YOU LOOK."
Sans could already tell this was going to be more trouble than it was worth. "sure. i’d better get going or i’ll be–” he glanced at the clock “–more than five minutes late.”
“YOU’RE LATE??” Papyrus started pushing him towards the door.
“hey.” His weak protest had no effect. "okay. bye, bro."
Papyrus grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked it even before shutting the door firmly behind him. Sans was left standing outside.
"HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME!” his brother shouted through the door.
“heh.” He shook his head and stepped down the stairs onto the top step outside Grillby’s apartment. He shuffled, uncomfortable in his clothes, and thought about unbuttoning the jacket again. He decided to leave it.
He knocked on the door, figuring he shouldn’t start this out with Grillby in a bad mood. Sans braced himself as it opened.
“hey, grillbz,” he said.
Grillby had on a trim black suit and tie. He looked good. Sans didn’t know much about clothes, but he knew that Grillby looked good in everything he wore, and that was not an accident.
Grillby had been surprised from the start, when Sans agreed to go along, and now he looked completely shocked. His fire hit the top of the door frame before he caught himself.
“hot as ever, there, grillbz. that look suits you.”
“Sans.” He pressed his hand to his cheek. "Sans."
"uh. we’d better get going.”
“…you look very nice,” Grillby said, collecting himself.
“getting dressed up like this attires me out,” Sans said.
“………that joke is worn thin,” Grillby tried.
“i thought maybe they wouldn’t let me inside in my slippers, but now i’m a shoe-in.”
Grillby hazarded a look at Sans’ shoes.
“ok one more,” Sans said. "two silk worms ran a race. they ended up in a tie.“ He jabbed a skeletal finger in the middle of Grillby’s solid black tie. He really needed to do something about Grillby’s boring tie collection when his birthday came around.
Grillby covered his mouth, laughing.
They started down the stairs, Sans going over the restaurant location in his head. When they reached the bottom, Grillby put his hand on Sans’ shoulder and tugged at him, asking him silently to turn around. When he did, before he could ask what was up, Grillby gave him a quick kiss that left a lingering warmth on Sans’ skull, above his eye socket.
”…thank you,“ Grillby said. "For coming along, tonight. I know it isn’t your kind of thing.”
Sans shrugged. He didn’t have skin or veins to blush with, but his whole face felt hot anyway. "no problem, grillbz. now let’s get out of here.“
–-
The week had been a series of surprises for Grillby. When he asked Sans to come with him to a fancy restaurant, the invitation had been out of a sense of obligation.
Grillby was taking advantage of the fact that he had decided to close the bar on Mondays for the foreseeable future until he hired and trained up some more people. He would be spending most of the "free time” working, still, but he had a chance finally to try out dinner at some of the fancier human restaurants.
He had expected Sans to say “nah” and then he would invite Dogaressa and Dogamy and hope they could get a babysitter for the evening. But, instead, he shrugged and said, “sure, why not. you’re paying, right?”
He had expected Sans to show up late (which he had) and in his regular clothes (which he hadn’t). Once they were at the restaurant, the food wasn’t his thing, but Sans tried it anyway. The light in his eyes flicked around the room, taking it in. He seemed alert. Even when he nodded off while they waited for the bill, he snapped back awake and jumped to his feet with an energy Grillby had rarely seen in him.
He expected Sans to want to head right back. Grillby didn’t mind – Sans slept over after their dates, anymore, so it wasn’t like he would be saying goodbye.
When they stepped outside, Sans stopped and looked up. He rubbed the back of his skull. "hey. sky’s clear. want to go somewhere else?"
Grillby was carrying an umbrella, but he hadn’t needed it. There were only a few wispy clouds. He nodded.
Sans’ grin got a little wider and he put his arm around Grillby’s waist. Grillby made a small noise of surprise and then looked down at Sans, amused.
"Where are we going?” he asked.
“i know a shortcut so you’ll see in a sec.”
Grillby felt a little dizzy, this time, as the restaurant disappeared and they blinked into someplace he didn’t recognize. He was standing on dirt and rock, his black shoes already losing their polish. He was too curious to mind.
They seemed to be up high. Back at the restaurant, in the city, he hadn’t been able to see the stars, but the sky was clear and the stars were bright pinpoints of light above and around them.
“nice, right?” Sans let go of him and walked a little distance away. “it’s been a while.”
Grillby took a few steps after Sans and stopped, looking up. The few clouds were far in the distance. "It doesn’t look anything like the wishing room,“ he said.
"you used to go there? kind of thought you’d avoid that whole area,” Sans said. He knelt in the dirt, and Grillby noticed he had found a large box sitting in some scrub brush. Sans opened it up and started to take out a telescope. Oh.
“I preferred walking through Waterfall to taking a boat,” Grillby said. "It’s a long walk if you just take the dryer caves, and you still have to go over bridges, but…"
"still better than a boat, huh.” Sans set up the stand and put together the telescope with the automatic ease that came from regular practice. "strike the cruise off the list of our future vacations."
"Please.”
Sans made a few final adjustments and went back over to the box. He dug inside it and pulled out a blanket. "always meant to bring chairs up here, but," he shrugged and shook it out. Grillby was sure he saw something he shook out of it hit the ground and run away. Sans set the blanket on the ground and spread it out. He took off his jacket and rolled his shoulders.
Grillby went over to the telescope, curious.
"you ever have much luck with these?” Sans asked.
“I can manage.”
Sans closed one eye and peered through the eye piece, making adjustments until he seemed satisfied. Grillby took a look, then, and he listened silently as Sans explained what he was looking at.
Sans eventually went and sat on the blanket, and Grillby sat next to him.
“I don’t think I ever believed I would see the real stars,” Grillby admitted, looking up at the sky.
“yeah. i get what you mean. you know, you have a lot in common with ‘em.”
Grillby was somewhat taken aback. "That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said."
"they’re big balls of flame all in black,” Sans said.
“…it’s still, somehow, the most romantic thing you’ve said.”
Sans started to laugh. "what are you sayin’ grillbz? there’s not a romantic bone in my body? i drew a heart on that whoopee cushion i put on the couch last week."
"I must have missed that when I destroyed it.”
“pff. you really have it out for 'em.” He shifted around and put his head on Grillby’s legs, using him as a pillow.
“You’re in a good mood, tonight,” Grillby said. He meant it as a question. Sans was usually cheerful, regardless of his mood, but he seemed to have found some extra energy.
“yeah. hey, you know any constellations?”
Grillby knew a subject change when he heard one, and decided not to push it. “No.”
Sans pointed out a few, and then complained that Grillby was ruining his night vision and just started telling space jokes. "why did the sun go to school? to get brighter. how do you organize a party in space? you plan-et." He kept going.
After several minutes, Grillby covered his face with his hands.
"if you’re gonna cry, grillbz, i can take a break. you need your space, i get it.”
“How do you know so many?” he asked. He pulled his hands away from his face, and it was an odd shade of blue, from trying not to laugh. Spending so much time with Sans had ruined his sense of humor.
“if the universe is infinite, there has to be that many bad jokes about it,” Sans explained. He reached up and touched the side of Grillby’s face, where it was the bluest.
They stayed out until the clouds rushing by overhead obscured their view. Grillby started to flicker uneasily, his fire buffeted by strong winds. Sans got up and carefully packed away his telescope before taking them on a shortcut back to Grillby’s.
“welp, it’s getting late,” Sans said, looking around Grillby’s living room. "might as well sleep here."
"You’re always welcome,” Grillby said.
“you really mean that, huh.” There was something resigned in his voice. Grillby had no idea what to make of it. "i’m bone-tired. let’s get to bed."
Later, when Sans was fast asleep, snoring gently on Grillby’s pillow, Grillby found it difficult to get to sleep, himself.
Sans had been strange, all night. He had his good days and his bad days, so it wasn’t just his energy being up that hit him as odd. Sans acted like he was trying to tell Grillby something, but all asking had gotten him was a subject change.
Could he trust Sans to talk about it, if it was actually important? Grillby was pretty sure he could trust that Sans wouldn’t talk about it.
He shifted closer and pulled Sans against his chest, resting his chin on the top of his head.
Sans’ breathing lost its even quality, and he mumbled something.
"Hm?”
“don’t really need a blanket with you around,” he said.
“Sorry. Should I move?”
“hm? nah. night, grillbz.”
Grillby pushed his worries out of his mind. "Goodnight, Sans.“