Turtle Side Note: Let's call this a two in one chapter, since it is double the length of the chapters I usually write.

The two went around the bar, cleaning it until it was spotless. The counters shined as if they were new, the floors sparkled from finally being ridded of the dust that had collected on them throughout the day, and the tables looked like no one had ever eaten at the diner.

Sans let out a breath of relief from the job finally being done as he stretched before slumping towards the wall, leaning against it for support. His breath whistled through his teeth as he rolled his neck back, a few of his joints popping as they snapped back into their proper place.

He looked up, seeing Grillby's features cringe back from the popping sound he had just made. The skeleton's grinned turned into more of a smirk as he called to his friend, who was standing a few paces away from him with a mop in his hands, "what's up? am i botherin' ya?" He then reached his hands forward, his fingers entwining with his other hand as he cracked his knuckles.

Grillby clutched the handle of the mop that was in his hands, holding it in front of his body as if he was trying to use the mop as a shield against the skin chilling pops from his friend's bones.

Sans chuckled under his breath before walking over to Grillby, forcefully taking the mop from his hands. He pointed the end of it at Grillby, his grin pulled back with mischief, "ya know, maybe you should take a crack at poppin' your joints some time. it really helps loosen you up." He snickered, watching as aggravated smoke suddenly came from the top of Grillby's flames as he narrowed his eyes at the skeleton from behind his lenses.

"aw, come on," Sans began to say in a defensive manner, before winking towards the bartender, "i know you secretly like 'em."

Crossing his arms, Grillby shook his head, "Sans, I've heard your puns for nearly half my life."

"yeah, and i've heard 'em my whole life. what's your point?" Sans questioned, giving his friend a playful look as he opened the door to the back room, dropping the mop into an empty bucket next to the doorway, leaning it's handle against the wall.

Grillby thought to himself for a moment, before he got an idea that he couldn't resist. He felt a smile creep onto his face as he rested his arms on his bar, pushing some of his weight into them as he spoke."My point is, your jokes aren't as sharp as they used to be." Grillby barely finished his sentence before he jumped, watching Sans nearly fall through the door he was about to close. He caught himself on the doorknob before he suddenly whipped his skull towards Grillby, a dumbfounded look on his face.

Grillby looked towards Sans with concern, "Sans, are you alri--" Sans cut him off, not seeming to even be aware Grillby was talking in the first place.

"did you just- ..." The skeleton said quickly, looking at Grillby in wide-eyed disbelief, not comprehending how such a smoothly placed pun came from his friend.

The concern melted from Grillby's face as he realized Sans didn't get himself hurt, "...Maybe." Grillby responded, holding back a laugh from his friend's expression.

Sans' smile suddenly widened, as his face seemed to almost brighten with glee. He suddenly let out a strange snort, before he started laughing, holding his hand up to teeth, muffling the sound, "grillbz! i am so proud!" He cried out in a cheer, quickly walking over to Grillby's side, "fucking hell, man, i could kiss ya right now!" He said, between a breath of laughter, giving Grillby's back a firm pat.

Grillby felt his flames suddenly heat up, quickly succeeding in calming them down. He knew it was just a saying, but it didn't change the initial reaction he had from Sans saying it. Grillby shook his head dismissively at Sans, "Don't be expecting any more puns out of me."

Sans rolled his eye-lights, "aw, why not? that was great!"

Grillby looked down at him, before flicking him in the skull, in between his eye sockets, "Because, you are quite possible the only person on this planet who finds puns amusing after the five-hundredth time hearing them."

Sans sent Grillby a look, shaking his head before he walked away from him, heading towards where his coat was hanging, "yeah, maybe you're right," he said, untying the bow around his own neck in a singular smooth motion. He then looked back at Grillby, flashing him a wide grin, "but, you could also be left." He winked, turning back around, already knowing that Grillby was most likely face palming right about now, with smoke surrounding his most likely frustrated scowl.

Sans laughed to himself. If he was being honest, whenever Grillby got frustrated or annoyed, it was actually kind of cute. The little cloud of smoke that would poof out from his head, and just the face he made when he was trying and failing to look mad at him. Grillby did have very endearing tendencies and quirks, and if anything, it gave Sans a reason to smile.

Sans shook the thought off, as he walked towards the coat rack, grabbing his overcoat off of the hanger. He looked over his shoulder at Grillby as he started to wriggle his coat onto his form, shoving the ribbon of his untied bow into his coat pocket, "so, i'll be seein' you tomorrow, right?" Sans asked, making sure he had his schedule right in his head.

Grillby nodded to Sans, watching his friend zip up his coat.

Sans smiled, "okay, cool." He grabbed Grillby's coat, walking a few steps closer to his friend before tossing him his jacket.

Grillby caught the coat, walking towards San, who had already started heading towards the door again, "Would you like me to give you a ride home? It's really bitter out tonight." He asked, looking at Sans with concern.

Sans seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking his head, "nah, i feel like walkin' tonight."

"Are you sure?" Grillby asked, worry filling his tone as he easily flipped his own coat on, buttoning it up.

"yup, i'm sure." He said, reassuringly, "i don't mind the cold."

Grillby nodded, to show he understood. He watched as Sans opened the door, inviting in a gust of cold wind that caused Grillby to shiver a bit, but didn't seem to have the same effect on Sans.

Sans looked up at Grillby as he flipped his hood over the top of his skull. The fur on his jacket seemed to frame his face in just the right way so it gave a more youthful, yet more exhausted look. Like a young teen who had been up all night, worried sick about a test that would make or break what college they'd go to, "guess i'll see ya later... goodnight, g." Sans said simply, as he took a step out the door, only to be frozen in his tracks by his friend calling after him.

"Sans, wait." Grillby said quietly. He knew he had to say something about his sudden change of behavior earlier and the fact that he was completely ignoring Sans for nearly two weeks. He felt a guilty churn in his stomach from reopening the thought of how awful he had made Sans feel; or at least how awful he imagined Sans felt from what Jane had told him.

Sans tilted his head towards Grillby, closing the door he had just opened, "hm?" he hummed, "what's up?"

Grillby put his hands behind his back to hide the fact he was nervously fiddling with his sleeve, "I... I'm sorry for the way I was acting for the past two weeks. It was nothing personal, even though I realize now that it might have felt personal to you." He made up a white lie quickly to cover up the true reason why he had been silent, "I suppose I was just having a bit of a quiet spell... what with the new employee, Sylvia, and all, I wasn't exactly comfortable yet and I feel like I took it out towards you more than anyone else." He paused, looking towards the ground, "I hope you can forgive me for my behavior... it wasn't right of me to ignore you like that."

There were seconds of agonizing silence.

Grillby felt his mind racing, not being able to tell what Sans was thinking. He felt a cloud enclose his thoughts as he started doubting how he worded what he just said. His mind frantically ping ponged around his head, until it was snapped back to reality by a familiar touch.

Grillby felt a hand squeeze his upper arm in a comforting manner, "hey..." Sans' low voice rumbled, his tone soft and gentle, "it's okay... but next time, if you aren't feelin' your best, don't be scared to tell me, or give me a heads up."

Grillby looked down, seeing Sans standing extremely close to his body, the skeleton's outstretched arm still keeping a gentle grip on the bartender's arm. His soul thumped in his chest, even though his face held its composure, "You aren't... mad about it?"

Sans laughed softly under his breath, "grillbz, how could i ever be mad at you?" He smiled up at him, "i don't think that's possible." He pulled away from Grillby, looking up towards him with a meek grin, "but, uh, thanks for at least letting me know what was goin' on... better late than never."

Grillby looked to the side, "I still feel bad about it..." He took a deep breath before he looked Sans in the eye, "Is there anyway I could make it up to you?"

Sans' eyes-lights connected with his, a timid, mild expression on his face, "you already did." He smiled softly, opening the door and waving a goodbye to Grillby.

Grillby waved back, a dumbed look on his face as he watched Sans leave.

That went... surprisingly well...

Grillby snapped out of the dead eyed daze he got stuck in, fumbling to find his keys before he turned, quickly making his way out the back door and to his car.

As he stepped outside, he teetered on his feet, the cold bustle of wind making him shiver against the piercing night breeze as he made his way to his car, unlocking the machine's door with haste and hopping in it.

He felt his body sink into his car's seat, wasting no time in turning the engine on with his key, feeling his car rumble with life as it revved up. He let out a breath as he was about to pull out, when he felt his phone buzz, stopping him. He took it out of his pocket and looked down at his device to find a text message from Sans.

-hey. so, now that i'm thinking about it, i was wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime. you know, to catch up with each other? we haven't really done anything together in years, so, idk. it's up to you.-

Grillby looked at his phone, feeling his soul jump then flutter. He knew Sans most likely meant it in an innocent way, but it didn't stop Grillby from internally jumping with glee at having time to spend with someone he really loved deep down.

He smiled dopily at his phone, quickly texting back.

-I'd love to do that.-

He was about to put his phone down, only for it to go off again with another message.

-okay, cool. just give me a time and place.-

Grillby looked at the text from Sans, and thought for a moment. He knew that next Sunday he had work off, just like he always did, and that Fuku was planning on having a sleepover with her friend from Sunday morning until Monday afternoon.

Grillby nodded to himself, deciding Sunday afternoon to be a good time. But, now he had to think of a place.

They could go to his place, but Grillby wasn't sure if that was weird or not.

He furrowed his brows in thought. They had always gone over to each other's places before, but for some reason it now felt... strange. Maybe it was just because of the re-emergence of a crush Grillby had on Sans?

Grillby decided that was the reason, which meant it was probably only him who felt odd about it. He smiled, knowing what to say.

-Would Sunday afternoon work? My house.-

There was barely a second of delay before Sans' response came through.

-yup, that works for me.-

Grillby grinned at his success, putting his phone away. He started up his car, pulling out of the parking lot, and started driving home.

As he drove, he looked over, seeing Sans walking, the skeleton's gaze fixated on the sky.

The fire elemental felt himself smile at the scene. He swore, if there was something that skeleton loved the most, it would be those stars.

*****

Sans shuffled along the sidewalk, so entranced by the stars that brightened the night sky, that he didn't even mind the harsh wind and cold gusts that blew around him. He was happy that Grillby said yes to hanging out with him, he missed the times they would spend alone back when they were still in school, and it would give them time to just goof around like they used to.

He watched the stars twinkle, allowing himself feel completely content for once, not letting any of his problems distract him from the horizon above.

The stars were special.

They made him feel safe.

He smiled, a memory of his forming, only for it to be quickly interrupted by a soft noise.

He stopped walking, his brows furrowing as he looked around for the source of the noise.

There was a rustle in a nearby bush.

He whipped around to it, taking a step back, not sure of what could possibly be lurking in the dark cover of the bushes at this time of night.

He listened closely and heard... a meow?

He watched confused, as a small white cat with a black kinked tail stumbled out from the bush. It looked like it had plastic wrap tangled around its legs as it partially limped out of its original cover.

Sans stared at the animal for a few moments before he knelt down, "hey there, little buddy." He cooed, holding out his hand for the cat to smell.

The cat looked at him fearfully for a moment, before slowly walking over to him, sniffing his hand. The cat then looked up at him, whimpering out a small cry of a meow, as if it was begging him to help them out of the plastic they were stuck in.

Sans looked at the cat's round eyes sympathetically. One of its eyes were blue, the other a golden yellow, but they were both wide with a need to be helped.

"it's okay, little guy," he said as he reached forward, carefully picking up the cat before he cradled it in his arms, "i've got you." He used his free hand to help untangle the cat from the trash that was stuck around its small, fragile legs. He then let the cat go, watching it as it licked its paws. He chuckled, "there you go, buddy." He stood up, holding the plastic wrap, deciding to properly throw it away in the trash can once he got home.

He walked away from the cat, only to realize a few moments later that the animal was following him. He looked back at the cat, raising a brow at it, "hey, now what do you think you're doin', little guy?"

The cat sat down, cocking its head to one side, innocently meowing at Sans.

"if you're planning on following me home, i hate to break it to you, but i can't exactly let a cat into a house that might have some weird disease, or that might belong to somebody else." Sans said, aware the cat probably didn't understand a word he was saying.

The cat mewed before walking up to Sans, rubbing its body against his leg, a soft purr rumbling from its throat.

Sans sighed, feeling himself cave to the creature that was affectionately cuddling his ankle, "fine, follow me if you wanna, but just know i can't let you inside." He then started walking again, hearing the cat's nails click against the pavement of the sidewalk as it continued to follow him.

A few minutes passed and he arrived at home, the cat still following him right at his heels. He walked up to his front door, unlocking it.

He turned to look down at the cat, "you gotta stay out here..." He thought for a moment, looking down to see that the cat was basically skin and bones. It looked like the poor thing hadn't eaten in weeks. He thought for a moment, trying to figure out what he could do to help. He snapped his fingers, an idea popping into his skull, "but, i'll be right back out with some water and food for you." He laughed to himself, "you needa eat, or else you're gonna start looking like me." He winked as he pointed at his bones.

The cat's ears flattened at him.

Sans narrowed his eyes at the cat, "oh, so now you understand english?" He shook his head, walking into the house.

As he entered the warm building, he felt himself freeze in place. He came home, expecting no one to be awake like usual, only to find Frisk sitting at the couch with paper everywhere and their nose buried in a textbook from their science class. Frisk's head snapped up at the door, jumping a little before calming down, seeing it was just Sans.

The child waved halfheartedly, "Hiya, Sans..." They said, seeming to be exhausted.

Sans looked at them concerned, "kid, what are ya doin' up so late?"

Frisk shrugged, yawning, "It's not that late..."

The skeleton blinked, pulling out his phone to look at the time, "kiddo, it's nearly midnight." He walked across the room, tossing the plastic from his small cat companion into the trash can. "is somethin' wrong?"

The human shook their head no, looking back down at their book.

Sans looked them over suspiciously, sighing, "kid, we're gonna have to talk, but i gotta do somethin' real quick." Frisk didn't respond, causing Sans' smile to stretch. He let out a breath, before heading towards the kitchen.

He walked into the kitchen, his first course of action being to pull out a stool from a lower cupboard. He picked it up and brought it over to in front of the cupboards that were above the counter-tops, standing on it, and then his tippy-toes. He opened up a cupboard, and reached the top shelf, grabbing two dipping bowls. He hopped off the stool, lazily kicking the stool off to the side, placing the bowls on the counter.

He grabbed one of the bowls, walking over to the sink and filling it with water. He put it down, grabbing the other bowl and opening the fridge. He looked inside the fridge, spotting the last bit of leftover chicken. He grabbed the chicken, dumping it into the bowl, and placing its original container in the sink to be washed later.

He then grabbed both of the bowls, and headed out the front door again, to find the cat sitting by their mailbox. He smiled, making a clicking sound with his voice to get the cat's attention before placing the two bowls by their front door. Once the cat started walking over, he closed the door, going back inside the warmth of the house.

He shrugged off his coat, looking towards Frisk who was sitting in the living area, still surrounded by a mass of papers. He hung up his coat, grabbing his bow ribbon out of the jacket's pocket, and headed over to Frisk. He picked up a few of their papers that were on the couch, sitting down next to them and placing the papers in his lap. "so... kid... what's goin' on?" He asked, hoping for an answer.

Frisk didn't even bother looking at him as they reached over, grabbing the papers from his lap and putting them off to the other side of them. They muttered under their breath, "Studying."

Sans raised a brow at them, "kid, i know from experience that cramming until midnight isn't gonna help you on a test. you needa sleep."

Frisk determinedly shook their head at him, "No, I need to study."

Sans sighed, his features relaxing as he decided to try a different approach. He softened his tone as he put a hand on Frisk's shoulder, "kid, you'll do fine, but you need sleep. you can't take a test on a tired mind." He said as he tapped his skull with his index finger.

"No, I won't do fine. I haven't been doing fine all year." The child huffed out at him, through gritted teeth.

"frisk..." he said, keeping his tone light as he leaned down, trying to look them in the eye, "buddy, just because you haven't been getting one-hundreds, doesn't mean you're doing bad."

The child didn't respond.

"kid-"

"Sans... I need to tell you something..." Frisk said, interrupting him, their voice raising in pitch as if they were trying to hold down something.

"i'm listenin'," Sans said, angling his body towards the human.

"I... I failed the last three tests I took." Tears suddenly started bubbling in their eyes, "I l-lied and forged your signature, and I d-don't know what I'm doing, and th-the tests keep getting h-harder, and I-I-I don't u-u-understand why I'm so d-dumb, a-a-and-" They kept talking faster and faster, until they lost their composure, collapsing into tears. They threw their book off their lap, hiding their face in their knees.

Sans stared at them, shocked, watching their shoulders heave up and down as they started shaking. He snapped into action as he cautiously reached over and around them, pulling the child to him, "hey, heyyy, shhhh." He cooed despite the rush of urgency behind his tone. He felt their body continue to shake against his as he held them close.

He felt their uneven breath against his vest, cooing to them in the most soothing voice he could muster while he rubbed small circles into their tensed back. He rocked both of their forms back and forth, just like he always used to do to Papyrus when he was a baby bones.

After a few minutes, he heard their sobs turn into soft cries as their body began to ease. He felt them slowly hug him back as they tried to say something, but due to them talking right into Sans' vest, he couldn't understand a word of it.

Sans raised a brow, even though he was aware the child couldn't see his reaction, "hm?" He hummed, trying to discreetly get them to say what they were trying to tell them without forcing it out of them.

He felt the child shakily pull themselves away from his body, their eyes red and puffy from tears, "Why am I not smart?" They asked, their voice wavering as their bottom lip quivered. They tried to swallow a sob, only for it to seem to get stuck in their throat.

Sans felt like his soul snapped in two from the child's usually optimistic and hope-filled tone crashing into nothing but pained confusion, "kid," he said, leaning towards them to hold their eye-contact, making sure they knew he meant what he was saying, "you are smart."

The child's brows furrowed in a frustrated anger, "How?!" They said, biting back a cry, "My grades are horrible and I'm too dumb to understand anything the teacher tries to explain! Everyone else always knows what's going on! Papy isn't very good at math or science, but he's amazing at English and Social Studies, M.K. is okay at everything, I'm not sure about Fuku, but she never seems worried about her grades, and even you remember how to do everything I ask you and you haven't been in school for years!" They let out an exasperated breath, rubbing at their eyes frantically as they fell away from Sans, trying to hid themselves in the cushion of the couch. Their tone suddenly softened into a meek whisper as they quietly said, "... I'm sorry..."

Sans closed his eye-socket, letting out a sympathetic sigh. He lifted himself from the couch, walking around the front of it before standing in front of where the human sat. He leaned forward, using his hands to keep himself standing, feeling his palms sink into the ancient material of the piece of furniture, "kid," he said in a calm, yet stern tone, "there is nothin' to be sorry about."

The child didn't respond, instead they only peered one eye up at their guardian.

Sans' gaze held an uncharacteristic look of resolution, as opposed to his usually lazy eyed stare, "and you aren't dumb either-"

"But-"

"i can prove it." He said with a finality to his voice that peeked the child's interest in what he thought he could so confidently prove.

Sans held out his hand, but Frisk just stared at him with intrigued curiosity. He laughed a little gently grabbing the child's forearm, "c'mon, buddy, i can't show you want i mean unless you stand up." Between him helping the child up, and Frisk doing it on their own, they managed to get the human on their feet.

Sans led them up the stairs, and down the hall to Frisk's bedroom. He twisted the doorknob open, before walking into the small, blue, room. He let go of the human's arm, heading for their desk, pulling out something Frisk recognized all too well from behind their bureau.

It was their painting with the froggit that they made to represent a group that has been, and still is, being discriminated against.

Sans walked over to them, handing them their own painting to them. Frisk stared at the illustration, not sure what Sans was getting at with this.

They looked up towards the skeleton, a look of honest bewilderment on their face, "I... I don't get it... how does a painting make me smart."

"the same reason that knowin' facts makes people think others are smart." Sans said simply. "right here, you created somethin' that a lot of people couldn't even imagine." He gestured towards the painting, "just 'cause you can't list all the animal kingdoms, doesn't make you dumb. there are all different types of ways you can be 'smart'. people smart, book smart, street smart... and for you... i think you're the creative type-of smart."

He gave them a small smile, that held more meaning than his usually wide one, "trust me, i couldn't do this if you taped a paintbrush in my hands and forced me to sit down for a hundred years."

Frisk eyes went from his, back to their painting, "But...art isn't going to make me a doctor or anything people actually care about..."

"well...you know what i think?" He asked them, not expecting an answer and continuing, "i think that you can touch a lot of people by using your imagination." He looked to the side, "ya don't need to do surgery to fix a broken heart if you can create."

The human froze for a moment, before a goofy smile slowly crept onto their face. They felt tears reemerge in their eyes, but they weren't sad...

They were happy.

They dropped their painting to the side of their body, before leaping forward, ringing their arms around Sans' neck, the poor short monster nearly getting knocked off his feet from the unsuspected impact. "woAH, kid!" he yelped, his voice raising for a moment of stumbling before he regained his balance. "what was that abou--?"

"Thank you..." The child quietly spoke, their voice hushed as they squeezed their old friend with all their might.

Frisk was filled with gratitude.

"That really... meant a lot." They remained hugging him for a few moments, before they felt his stiff bones finally relax, hugging them back.

Frisk felt Sans' voice mumble a low, soft, "it's nothin'."

They stood there, silent for a few moments, before Frisk could tell they were going over the limit of Sans' allowance to be touched at all, as he did the arm nudge to unintentionally let them know he wanted to be let free. Sans liked people to stay out of his bubble, and Frisk could respect that, especially when he did allow people in when he could tell they needed it.

They pulled apart, Frisk suddenly remembering the mess they left downstairs, "Oh geez, I need to go clean up my papers." They started to make a beeline towards the door, only to be stopped by Sans' voice.

"nah, kid, i got it. you needa get some sleep." He headed to the frame of the door, looking back over his shoulder, seeing that the child took no argument to that request and was already hopping in bed. He shook his head at them, laughing under his breath, "goodnight, kiddo." He said, with a smile.

Frisk flopped down like a weight into their mattress before softly calling out, "Goodnight Sans... and thanks again."

Sans smiled bitter-sweetly at that, before he closed their door.

He made his way down the stairs, cleaning up their papers, and packing their backpack. He flicked off the lights to the area, before making his way back up the stairs. He peeked into Papyrus' room, saying a goodnight to his already dream-filled brother, then made his way to his own room.

He easily stripped free of his work outfit, slipping on a pair of mismatched pajamas. As he popped his night shirt over his head, he looked over at his desk, seeing the collar still sitting there.

He glared at it, knowing the crimes it had committed, before he walked over to his light, flicking it off, before crawling into his own pink sheets.

He began to close his eyes as his body sunk into his mattress, only for something to catch his partially closing eye. His eyes snapped open wide as he sat up, only to see nothing. He froze confused...he could have sworn he just say a red light come from the now vacant of life collar.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, before quickly passing it off as his imagination due to lack of sleep.

He laid back down, and closed his eyes.

As he dozed off, one thought rang in his skull...

They were worth it.

Turtle End Note: ... I am not proud of this chapter... my writing has gone to complete sh*t lately, and I apologize. The whole thing feels like it's lacking in any kind of human emotion and touch, and I hate it so much. There was no atmosphere, no emotion, no message, just dry nothingness.

I try to put feeling, atmosphere, morals, and so much more into my chapters, as I want these characters to feel as real as possible. I want you to feel like you could reach through the screen and shake their hands, and tell them to stay strong, or tell them to cool down. I want them to feel real. But... I did not succeed in creating that feeling this time around.

I wish with all my heart that you still at least found some enjoyment out of it anyways, as I did put my best foot forward. Let's hope for better chapters in the future.