It was raining that day. Small bullet like drops of water pelted against the car window. Sans watched from inside, letting his Mother take him who knows where. Not like he could get out of this anymore. And, hey, it was a good way to avoid his bro. So he didn't hesitate when he climbed into her car, letting himself scroll mindlessly through his phone to avoid any confrontation with her.

Jandle, of course, was one step ahead.

"What kind of music do you want to listen to, hun?" She asked, one hand on the radio station.

"Huh?" Sans had asked, too engaged within his phone to process what she had said.

"Music, honey," She said, "What kind do you want to hear?"

"Anything works," He muttered. Sans wasn't too picky.

"Then why don't we chat then, instead of music?"

"Fall Out Boy, put on that," Sans said quickly.

Only when Jandle smiled and adjusted the music channel did Sans realize both decisions he could have made were traps. Either he bonded with her, or he shared another personal fact about himself. Damn it. She was good.

Thankfully, he didn't have to talk to her for the rest of the ride. He lay against the door, tapping his fingers to the rhythm of the music as she drove on. Jandle didn't seem to enjoy or hate the song, instead simply focusing on her driving.

Soon, when Sans was on the verge of dozing off from the drive, they took a left into a parking lot, making him blink away any sleepiness as he glanced up. Above them towered a large building, one he was quite familiar with. Escalators, elevators, stores and stores galore.

"A... mall?" He asked quietly, tilting his head.

"Surprise!" Jandle said, waving her hands. "I realized that your room at our house is rather... well, outdated. We could only go off of what we had from your childhood, so we realized we should just let you pick out how you want to decorate it! Papyrus and I will go another day to decorate his room."

Sans stared at her. "You do... realize that I don't live in your house. So I won't be using that room. Ever."

"I know, you don't live with us, but it'll be fun for bonding time! You can decorate it to your hearts content! And since we live near some good family events, you and Papyrus can just stay the night if we go out and do more family things!"

Right. Sans kept forgetting that this was going to be a permanent thing from now on. That he was going to be stuck with his parents for the rest of his life. Forced to play along to the picture perfect family they want.

Forever.

Know what? Fine. Sans would play along today. They already knew enough that anyway he decorated it wouldn't bring about any new information to them. So why not? The longer he was out, the longer he could avoid the inevitable conversation with his brother. So he'd do that. It gave him more time to think of a better excuse to what happened then "my bad".

The mall was quite crowded, bustling with excited monsters and humans alike. Little kids laughed and clapped as a small train circled around the lower floor, squealing happily from the ride.

Jandle brushed aside a few strands of stray pink hair to look down at her phone, a map of the mall pulled up from an online search. She zoomed in, looking across the stores with a focused stare.

"Alright, where do you want to go first?"

Home. Sans didn't dare say that out loud. And frankly, he wasn't even sure if it was true anymore. Home didn't feel like home, he didn't want to go back there. He didn't want to go to his parents house, either. He...

He missed being Underground. Missed Snowdin. That was the best time of his life. Good friends that didn't accidentally attack him, no parents invading into his house. Just him and Paps. Always together, hanging out, chilling. He liked it. Loved it, even. Why couldn't he go back to that? When everything was normal and he didn't have to be constantly paranoid or afraid.

"What stores do we even need to visit?" Sans asked, "I'm not big on decorating stuff, so I dunno what stores we go to."

"Why don't we just go to all of them?" Jandle offered, wrapping her arms around one of Sans'. "We can look through all of the stores! It'd be fun!"

"... Fine," Sans said.

And just like that, she was dragging him along.

He walked steadily down the large halls of the mall, hands shoved into his pockets. Jandle knew her way about, judging by how easily she was able to maneuver them throughout the store.

Everything about this trip was designed to take a long time. Going to every store, the route, heck, even the food she wanted to get while they were out. They had only a few select malls Underground, and Sans had taken Papyrus to one once when they had the extra cash, and that had taken out a good chunk of their day. That was with a limit to what they bought. Here, though, Jandle was willing to buy as much as she wanted.

An optimal way to force Sans to eventually talk. They were too good at everything. Weaknesses lacking, the two seemed undefeatable. Even in simple conversation.

He could see her plan, but didn't see a way around it. Tire him out so much he isn't on defense later on. Sans just... didn't get it.

"Do you guys really..."

"Hm?" Jandle hummed, turning towards him.

Sans glanced away for a moment. Just a moment. "I don't get it. I know you guys did something to Undyne to make her summon that spear, and I know you guys did something that has Toriel all... whatever she's been doing recently. But why are you so instant on me and Paps? We ain't useful."

She paused. Right. Usually Sans tried to avoid them altogether, and he barely confronted them. Much less face to face. But he was going crazy not knowing everything they were planning or doing. He didn't like the thought that they were bonding simply to bond.

"We're family, honey."

Of course she'd respond that way. Why did he even bother? As much as he tried to ignore and deny those claims, the evidence continued to stack up. While they didn't like other people, they wanted a close relationship with their children.

"Right."

Noticing his lack of enthusiasm over her response, she wrapped her own hands around his and cupped them gently. "Sans, our little starlight, while you may not understand, it's true. We love you both so much. Family is very important to us. And you're our children."

"You just want us to join that... family tradition of yers, right?" Sans asked.

"No."

That response surprised him. A lot. He was expecting her to say yes. That they wanted to manipulate Sans and Papyrus with their bonding to join the family cult. Wasn't that what they wanted? To pass on the knife to their next generation? Or did they finally realize that Sans and Papyrus were never going to go down that route?

"Why would we want you guys to face the problems of the world? That's why we face them ourselves, remove the injustice so you don't have to worry about it. And that is why we're here today. So we can set up your room as a safe space so you can be protected."

"Protected? You guys practically kept me on house arrest when I was a kid," Sans pulled his hands away. "I didn't have any friends my age."

"That's because monsters just moved underground, dear. We were waiting for it to all settle before we let you outside. And you have the choice to stay and leave from our house whenever you please. We just want you guys to be safe."

"You guys are still crazy."

He rubbed his arms. She was starting to get inside of his head. It'd be so much more easier if they just did something stupidly evil. Like set the world on fire, say they wanted to kill Papyrus, stuff like that. So he could dismiss everything else they did. Ignore the gifts and nice words, the praise and compliments, and pretend he didn't have any parents. Like before.

It was so much easier when he could just pretend they were the masks they wore that fateful night.

"I think, if we were, we would have been dust by now," Jandle said. "Just think about it, tonight. Why we've managed to survive an economy like this, if it is so good."

Just like that, she was back to shopping, quickly turning around and gushing about the type of stores they can visit. Next to her Sans sighed, shrugging when she asked where he wanted to go first.

After spending so much time around them, he wasn't afraid of them. Well he was, but not physically. He was afraid of what they could do and say to other people. At this point, it was quite obvious Sans and Papyrus weren't going to even obtain even a scratch from their parents. It was a weird feeling Sans had. Where he knew they were dangerous, saw that danger before, but now was becoming... numb to it, in a sense. They hadn't really done anything new recently. The latest danger to him was Undyne. And that, he knew for a fact, was an accident.

Might as well let her plan work out. No point in fighting it. She'd get the information one way or another.

And, as he dwelled over earlier, he liked the idea of avoiding Papyrus. And this was a darn good excuse.

"Now, hun, I know you like stars, but which blankets look better?" She held up two blankets from the store they were at.

They both did look cool. One was full of planets and solar systems, but the other was a really nice combination of orange and blue with stars sprinkled about.

"The... the blue and orange one," Sans said, "I like that one better."

She smiled. A gentle, warm smile. One she always seemed to gave them. No calculating face. Just a Mother happy to spend time with her child.

"Okie dokie then, we'll get this one!"

Maybe it was just time to stop thinking. Just for a bit. That clearly got him into enough shit as it was. Undyne and Alphys were gone, Papyrus probably hated him, and he couldn't find any scrap of excuses that could push away his parents.

Stop thinking about it. Just stop trying to avoid them, stop running in circles, just...

"How about we get you some new clothes for you room?" Jandle had gushed, grabbing onto Sans' arms. "We can dress you up and buy a bunch of nice looking outfits, oh, wouldn't that be so much fun?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

It was quite easier when he stopped trying to mentally battle everything they did. He felt like he stopped chasing his tail in constant circles. This was a shopping trip; no one was going to get hurt. If they hadn't killed that man the one night, Sans probably would have never found out. About any of it. So they wouldn't do anything to them, much less in public.

The day passed by in a slow snails pace. They tried on clothes and looked at funny posters, order after order being placed. Then they grabbed dinner at a mall restaurant, one of the more longer waiting one's, as Jandle talked on and on about Sans' squishy little cheeks when he was younger. One embarrassed face later and they were eating their meal at a corner table, plastic forks digging into rice and fried chicken.

"I have to say, I'm so excited you agreed to go on a bonding excursion, I had so much fun!" She had gushed, tilting her head to the side. Her pink, transparent hair swayed with the movement. "How about you?"

"It was fine." Sans shrugged yet again. "You know why I don't exactly have 'fun' spending time with you guys."

"It's okay, I know. We did something that scared you. But, Sans, wouldn't it be better just to... let it go?"

"Let it... go?" His eye sockets narrowed.

Jandle smiled. "Consider it, just for a moment. We're your family, your parents. We're the only parents you boys will ever have, so destroying the relationship with us would be awful. And Papyrus really does care about us, if you tried to cut us off he'd be devastated. But look at you. You're tired, of this. We aren't going anywhere, but you keep trying and trying to harbor these bad feelings just out of obligation. For a society that doesn't even care about you." She reached over a hand, cupping his skull. "We just want to make your life better. Look at how better today was when you didn't snap out at me. Wasn't it at least a little bit fun?"

"I..." His voice fell flat.

"We're only offering what's best for you all. I didn't do anything to Undyne, she summoned that spear of her own accord, then didn't bother to check her surroundings before throwing it. Alphys chose her dangerous girlfriend over you. Toriel has never offered anything but empty words and you already know Asgore's situation with the misuse of finances. We just want to offer you stability from that. You know your current living situation was never fully stable. If it came down to it, and you lost your rooms, where would you go? Think about it. For Papyrus."

They'd be on the streets again. Sans could put up with that, if he really needed to. But he didn't want to do that to his bro.

"Toriel has been..." Jandle tilted her head, "Emotional, lately. I can't say for certain if the house you have will stay open long enough for you and Papyrus to get stable jobs. So I'm just suggesting that letting go of some negative thoughts over us wouldn't be an awful idea. So you can stop stressing, Papyrus doesn't have to worry about you, and you don't have to worry about a backup plan for rooms. You don't have to forgive us entirely. Just don't go out of your way to try and hate us. At this point, it's just hurting everyone."

She was right. It was just a bad idea. Without any solid evidence, he'd come off as bad as Undyne did if he kept acting like that. Look where he was now. Papyrus and him weren't talking. Toriel was always gone. He was...

Alone. This was the first time it truly dawned onto Sans what was happening. Why he was so quick to let this shopping trip not be an attempted spewing of insults from him. Because he was utterly alone.

Is this really where his attempts to protect his brother had gotten him? If he had spoken up about it, he and Papyrus would have been dragged back by Asgore when he was younger. He tried to resist them now, and now he was alone and considered a freak by his lil bro.

They won. This was it.

"If I... attempt a relationship with you guys, will you make it stop?" Sans asked, voice quivering. "I don't wanna lose anyone else I care about. I'm just tired."

"We didn't do anything, Sans. We didn't make them go away. They just left with a push. But it's okay." Her hand, still cupping his face, trailed across his cheekbone. Her eye sockets were soft. "Because your parents are here to make it better.

~~~~~~

This was good.

She pulled into the driveway, taking a small glance to her right. Where Sans was sitting, sleeping soundly. After almost a full day of walking from store to store, the poor boy was exhausted. It barely took five minutes of hearing nothing but Jandle humming and the smooth car engine to lull Sans into slumber. And there he stayed. Judging by the bags under his eye sockets she noticed earlier, a deep sleep was to be expected with the help of a small container brought along within her pocket. She might have helped a little, but that'd remain a secret. Just a tiny dissolvable pill. He was bound to sleep anyways, she was simply helping him.

When the Mother climbed out of the car, she pulled herself out of the drivers seat, noticing Gaster standing on the porch, awaiting her return. A smile plagued her teeth as she motioned him forward. Her husband always did that. Ever since they were kids, too. He'd always stand on the porch whenever she was about to return, eager to see the woman he loved as fast as possible.

"Did Sans fall asleep again?" Gaster asked, looking through the cars windshield as he approached. "That's quite adorable."

"Isn't it?" Jandle cooed. "Ah, but I'm afraid now isn't the time to fawn over him. Could you carry him inside? We need to have a talk."

"I'll make sure to lock the basement door. We brought home another 'guest', remember?"

"Of course. We don't want to bring up any unnecessary trauma. Make sure to add a bell to Sans' room, just in case."

As Gaster carefully picked up Sans, much like he did before, Jandle made her way to the kitchen and got to work. Just when the coffee was done brewing did Gaster return downstairs, having changed into a new pair of clothes. Pajamas, to be specific, with little bunny marks going down his pants. He liked rabbits. Had a pet one, when they first got married.

"Did you get anything from Sans?" Gaster asked.

"No. He barely mentioned Papyrus at all. Which is extremely unusual, so at least we know something definitely did happen," Jandle said. She poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of Gaster before settling down next to him. "How about you?"

"Nothing. Papyrus just got a sad look on his face when I asked if anything happened. It definitely wasn't a fight from what I could tell, and Sans didn't mention our home activities, either." Gaster paused. "A misunderstanding must have happened between our boys. I believe something romantic related, because Papyrus had been listening to love songs all morning on his phone."

"Oh no, our poor dears must have gotten themselves all flustered and mixed up," Jandle said.

The skeleton woman leaned against Gaster. Her boys were so smart yet so ignorant at the same time. They both clearly liked each other. Sans was just much better at hiding it than Papyrus.

"While I didn't get anything out of Sans related to him, I did help him overcome some troubled emotions he had with us."

Gaster paused. Than glanced over with a smile. "So we're...?"

Jandle held up her cup of coffee. "Almost there? Yes. I say we can move further along now."