"Hey."

The moonlight, soft and reflective, cut through the open window of Kitty's bedroom. The girls had stationed themselves inside of her room for the surprise sleepover, wearing the clothes they were earlier, and using their fingers as toothbrushes. Alphys could have had a servant bring one over, but this was her first chance for a genuine teenage sleepover, so she continued the night without any requests for items. Undyne drooled on the carpet floor freely, a hand thrown over Alphys' stomach. Alphys turned, still awake, to look at Kitty at the prompt.

"Wanna talk? Outside?" She asked, gesturing towards the door.

And that's how Alphys found her and Kitty on the porch, drinks in hands. Alphys curled her own tail gently, finding herself jealous of the fur Kitty and Sans had. She wanted her own fur. It'd be much easier to keep warm with it.

"So," Kitty started, "You know I'm the older one. You know that."

"Yeah?"

"That's the thing about older siblings. Not all of them, but when things get tough, some of us protect the others through thick and thin. I've always done that, and if Sans had a younger brother or sister, he'd do the same. That's why I've always been cautious about you guys being his friend. It's worrying, to know that just looking like a skeleton can get him hurt."

"Is this about earlier?" Alphys asked.

"Yes. You saw me looking."

Alphys glanced away. Sans had used his magic earlier, just to float something. That was it. Yet, when Alphys saw his eye flair with magic, something he's done before, it just... She flinched away from him. She's seen him use magic with his hood, and it never bothered her before.

"I'm sorry, I know, but at least Sans didn't see it," Alphys said.

"Yeah, thank god," Kitty said, "His self esteem has been picking up, that would have ruined it. You seemed to react just fine when you originally found out. What changed?"

Alphys sighed. "It's not that I don't trust him, I do! I've been friends with Sans for a long time, he's my first friend, I know him! But I guess... I've been told all my life that my enemy is a skeleton, that a skeleton doesn't know empathy, they they are pure evil..." Alphys looked back over at Kitty. "And I know logically that Sans isn't like that. That it's just an old legend, like our stories. Just... I guess I'm still not over the surprise, even after all this time. I thought I was."

"What about Sans using his magic scares you?"

"I don't know, that's the problem. I just saw his eye socket light up and for a moment I just... was scared. I don't - Nothing makes sense. I hate emotions."

"Emotions are confusing and powerful." Kitty leaned back, staring at the stars between her fingers. "Trust me, I know. They can make or break a spell, ruin or save a Princess. I'm not going to blame you for your upbringing, I won't, but I will blame you for your response to that. It's going to be difficult, but you at least had the chance to get to know Sans before you knew, right? That should help."

Alphys nodded. It was still kind of hard to get used to. Just knowing that her best friend was... supposed to be her enemy. No one could fully cope with that. Alphys knew, at first, that Sans logically wasn't doing anything wrong. She can tell a fake smile, no matter the person. He never once faked it when telling her she was his friend. It was genuine.

"How powerful is Sans?" Alphys asked, "Could he even hurt or poison me?"

"Ha, no." Kitty almost snorted. "He's not really strong. We never got the chance to help train him much, he only knows basic stuff. He doesn't even know any poisoning spells. He knows how to summon a few bones, some telekinesis, teleporting, and cleaning, but not much else. One time he summoned this big dog looking attack, but that was when he was - nevermind. I'd rather not think about that situation."

The Princess glanced away. "Oh."

"That's the problem with those things your told. We have to get rid of those ideas, it's hurt us, and it's almost killed Sans before. He only managed to summon that attack because he was on the verge of death, and we haven't figured out how to do it since. I don't think Sans is even knows how he did that himself."

Kitty threw her arms back, slowly spinning on her toes to enjoy the fresh outdoor air. Alphys nodded to no one but herself. Logic didn't always control fear. She knew some people that were terrified of simple things. After years of being told that a skeleton with magic would be her end, of course her body still retained that fear. She didn't even realize she was afraid until she had already flinched.

God, she felt terrible.

"Don't look like that," Kitty said.

Alphys glanced over. "Why shouldn't I? You and I both know I shouldn't react that way."

"It's... a complicated situation, I guess. That's the thing about Cheshires, that we're always walking the balance of grey between good and evil. Of course, we lean more towards good, but there's always going to be grey in our lives. If I had to say, that's what's happening to you right now. I'm always going to protect Sans first, so that's why I immediately jumped onto the train to call you out, but really - look around, you live in a world dominated by royals and what they say. So if you were told, all of your life, that skeletons are bad, it'd make sense that you'd still flinch away. Like I said before, I won't blame you for your upbringing, but I will blame you for your response to it. Just work on it, okay?"

"Okay," Alphys said, "And can you not do the weird jumbled explanation of black and white and grey? It sounded kinda like a riddle."

"Nah, it's what Cheshires do."

The lizard snapped a finger towards Kitty. "I actually meant to ask about that. Sans talks a lot about choosing his destiny, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this, but some royals have been asking why he's being a hypocrite. In a way, since he always said he's a Cheshire and not an Evil King. I know what you both mean, but I know I have to defend him, and I don't know how to explain it."

"That's simple. He wants the destiny of a Cheshire. He shouldn't be forced to what family legacy he wants to uphold, he should be allowed to choose one, both, or neither on his own terms. Or one he isn't related to. Or one that never existed before. Basically... We don't want the book to exist. I think it's dumb, sealing your soul to a destiny you can't deviate from."

Alphys nodded, smiling softly towards the sky. "Thanks. For this talk, and for watching out for all of us. It'll give me something to think about."

"Sure thing," Kitty said.

~~~~~~

Sans gently stretched from his position on a shelf, curling his tail and arching his back. The thing about being a short Cheshire was that he could sleep anywhere high off the ground. In branches, shelves, anything on a ledge. So Sans stationed himself onto one of the shelves in his room, with Papyrus on the bed and Grillby on the floor.

He was hungry. The girls had woken him up a little bit ago, he heard them moving about, and now he was awake, alert, and hungry.

"Darn it," Sans whispered, glancing at his snack bowl. Empty.

So, he gently climbed out from his spot, folding away his blanket before he landed onto the carpet. Almost in complete silence.

Yet, despite how darn careful he was, Grillby still lightly mumbled to himself, leaning up onto his wrist and wiping at his sleepy, drooping eyes.

"Hm?" He grumbled.

A fact he learned about Grillby during their previous sleepovers was that he was an extremely light sleeper. It didn't take long for him to go back to sleep, thankfully, but he could be startled awake by so much as a pin dropping.

"It's just me, I'm grabbing a snack," Sans said, shuffling to the door, "Go back to sleep."

"No, we agreed... I'd cook you things." Before Sans could object, Grillby was sitting up, now firmly waking himself up. "I'll make you something."

"Grillbs, no, it's one in the morning," Sans whispered.

His argument came too late, as Grillby stood, fully awake and ready to go. He shook his head lightly, then stepped over his bundle of blankets to reach Sans.

"Yer don't gotta do this, Grillby," Sans said.

"No, I have to." The fire elemental stopped at the door, pushing it open. "I really do."

And now they were in the kitchen.

Grillby grumbled lightly as he pulled open Sans' fridge, his tone of disappointment. "Nothing's even homemade. It's all fast food."

"It's called we're broke," Sans said, leaning against the counter. "And uh... what did ya mean by the thing you said? That you have to?"

The fire elemental pushed aside their fast food containers, instead reaching for the small amount of groceries in the back. "It's... you know how my parents always taught me to treat people well? It's that mindset. You saved my life, I have to repay you. This is the least I can do. And I feel like I should be doing more."

Sans couldn't really blame him. If someone saved his life, and he never got the chance to thank them, he'd be going crazy with guilt.

"I'm sorry about not telling you, I didn't mean to make you get bullied," Sans said, rolling his tail around on the counter behind him.

"It's fine, I'm just glad it came out." Grillby set down some eggs, pulling out a pan and sticking his hand flush against the bottom of it. "And I'm just glad to have friends. I don't mind being a little less popular than others."

His cooking skills were unmatched by anyone else. Grillby cracked two eggs with just one hand, effectively not getting a single piece of the shell onto the pan in only a second flat. Instead of holding the pan by the handle, he held it by the bottom, letting his own flames build to act as the heat. Soon, the eggs sizzled loudly in the pan, being flipped with a fork.

"I seriously don't mind cooking for you, it's okay if you and Kitty stop by for dinners," Grillby said, "You guys don't even have a pancake turner, no wonder you get takeout everyday."

"I'm not going to stop by your house for dinnes, you already make me lunch," Sans said, "And I feel like I'm taking advantage of you, like I'm making you."

"I volunteered."

"I mean, I know that, but still. I can't help but feel guilty."

Grillby tilted his head towards Sans, looking at his close friend warmly. "Don't feel guilty. I love to cook, especially for friends. And since I feel guilty over not thanking you before, why don't we call it even? No guilt whatsoever."

"Yeah, okay," Sans grumbled.

They later found themselves on the couch, legs folded, set with low volume on the mirror. Sans pushed aside the remote, glancing down at the soft cushions. He could remember being here, the morning before he met Alphys, telling Kitty he probably wasn't going to be getting any friends. Yet here he was, sitting with a teenager he'd consider himself close to, eating eggs at one in the morning.

"I'm just glad you're doing well now," Sans said, turning towards Grillby with a soft smile. "It's good to see ya energetic again."

"What do you mean?" Grillby asked.

"Well, ya know, when we hung out before. You seemed really down about not finding out who saved you. It's good to see you a little bit happier than before."

"Yeah," Grillby laughed softly, "I guess. It's nice to get that out of the way, not have to worry about anything anymore. The only thing that I really have to be upset about nowadays is that I can't hug most people."

That sounded awful, but Sans could understand. Without his clothes, Grillby couldn't touch most people. That included all of their friends. Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus would get burn marks from touching his bare flames. That would be a problem Grillby would forever have to face. And some people craved physical touching, even if it was just platonic. Monsters were people of emotions, even Sans and Kitty pet each other just to have contact. It wasn't unusual for friends to have a hand on a shoulder, or sometimes grab hands and hold them. Grillby couldn't do that.

"Know what, I have an idea," Sans said, "Take off your shirt."

Grillby's flames turned a deep hue of red, no doubt a large blush that spread through the flickering fire. "W-What?"

"Dude, just trust me."

Sans set aside his plate as Grillby complied, pulling the top of his white t-shirt over his head and onto the couch nearby. Once he was done, Sans pulled up a blanket, scooting closer to Grillby.

"What are you -"

"I'm a skeleton, can't get burned." Sans pointed to his face, pulling a blanket over them. Grillby tensed the moment he felt Sans lean his body against his, folding his torso against Grillby's bare chest. "And friends hug with each other all the time. I do it with Kitty and Alph, and sometimes I'll plop down onto Paps, so it'd make sense that I'd hug you."

"I-I..." Grillby hesitantly wrapped his arms around Sans, "... This is the first time I've ever hugged anyone. I... thank you. It feels nice."

Sans chuckled, leaning his head against Grillby's shoulder. "No problem. You can always ask me if ya need some contact. But I mean, if you also want to pet me, I won't stop ya."

"Can we stay like this, for the night?" Grillby asked, hand resting near Sans' ears, ready to pet him.

"Sure," Sans said, tucking the blanket up over them.