"Are you okay?"

That was all it took. For Smile Dog to catch Sans early in the morning, tilting his ears back and asking such a short question.

The moment he did, Sans immediately broke down crying.

It was a weird couple of days after that. A lot of sobbing. He was real sensitive after the walls were broken down, to the point where he cried over everything. For example, he saw a sad looking puppy on T.V and cried so hard he had to go lay down.

Papyrus had ultimately left Sans to die and didn't bother to even turn around. There was no excuse about that. Papyrus, the boy he raised, gave everything away for, left him to die.

Everyone in his house was great supporting him, though. Sally helped Sans keep his spirits up, Smile Dog helped the skeleton talk through what the fuck just happened, Ben helped deal with his pesky inbox, and Jeff helped Sans distract himself and ensure he was eating consistently.

One thing he decided to deal with, before Papyrus, was Laughing Jack. And what he had said before, about the love.

Oh, and the part where they had sex. That was a thing too.

"I mean, I know you technically met me a long time before I met ya, but I'm still surprised you can actually say that so easily," Sans said. "I can't say I love you back."

"I'm okay with that," Laughing Jack said, snuggling up against Sans' neck. His long body was tilted weirdly onto the bed, curling against Sans so his long limbs wouldn't dangle needlessly.

"You're not... like, a bad guy - I mean, you are, but I'm fine with trying to uh... make it work between us."

He really was willing to try and date him. Sure, he wasn't conventionally hot, had an unusual voice and weird limbs, but he's seen weirder monsters. And the guy seemed to like him. Why not try? Smile Dog said he deserved happiness, so he should actually try with someone who seemed to love him.

"Really?" Laughing Jack perked up, "That's awesome! Let's get married, right now." He planted a trail of kisses along Sans' cheek.

"Not married, let's start the dating stuff, first," Sans said, chuckling.

So now he had a boyfriend.

What a way to get one, huh? Sans was actually kinda glad it was Laughing Jack, though. He was nice, careful to Sans, and loved to cuddle. Seriously, he always seemed to want to cuddle with Sans. It was kind of cute.

Yes, the nine foot tall clown demon looking guy was kind of cute. What even was Sans' life anymore.

And since this was Sans' first time dating, it was a good introduction to that stuff. Considering they both didn't seem to know what the fuck they were doing.

Jane had ended up visiting briefly one day. She didn't give him a "I told you so" either. No one did. They all knew better than to do that. Instead, she had handed him a simple flier. Of a neighborhood.

"We want to target here next, consider moving here," Jane had said, "We'll find you wherever you move, though, if you do. And I'm sorry, about what happened. I didn't think it'd go... that bad."

"Yeah." Sans gave a forced grin, desperate to keep himself together. "Yeah."

"Even though it is out of self interest, I recommend you move. Really. To get away from that shit."

Time passed. He drew up a basic mental plan of how he wanted to talk to Papyrus and the others, what to do, how to deal with that conversation. Ben would watch through the screens to make sure it went smoothly. Laughing Jack would stay nearby to ensure Sans could be taken away if they made him cry. Which they probably would.

Sans was very emotional recently. Why wouldn't he be? His brother abandoned him. He could have tried to help. He could have not taken them there. Sans almost died and it was all his fault.

Fuck Papyrus. Fuck everything about him. Sans gave his entire life to that man and he bailed when Sans needed him.

He managed to figure out that mentality one day, finally building enough self confidence to say that to himself and actually believe it. What the hell did Papyrus ever do for Sans? Sans had known this clown dude for a week and he's boosted his self esteem way more!

Then something happened. When he was sitting on his bed, going over his mental script about going no contact with his brother. Something fell onto the bed next to him.

Sans stared down at the skittle with a very confused face. That was not there a second ago. Yet here it was, sitting, taunting him with its presence. He picked it up and inspected it, carefully. Definitely candy. A normal piece of candy.

His eyelights focused back at the bed as a small flash of blue and grey magic occurred, causing a second skittle to summon upon his sheets not a second later.

It wasn't him doing it.

Which...

No, no, that was a silly thought. Of course it was.

Skeletons could get pregnant, he knew that. And it happened when the souls bonded, which he had done with Laughing Jack. But, hey, pregnancy was only... extremely likely in skeletons after a soul bond. Right. He had learned that in the days of the lab. And that little soulings typically started developing their magic after only a few days.

Sans never ran to the bathroom so fast in his life.

He lifted his shirt up, staring between his ribcage. There, between the front and back ribs, was his soul. Upside down, white, hovering.

And next to it, faintly, he could see a tiny second soul. Feeding off of his magic, and growing.

Huh. Interesting.

Sans turned and promptly vomited into the toilet.

~~~~~~

Okay. Oh. Okay. This was perfectly and utterly fine. Sans was pregnant. That was fun. So very fun. As if he didn't have enough other shit to deal with, this decided to spring out and hit him in the face. Sans ended up sitting on the bathroom floor for two minutes, trying to process everything at once. Maybe he cried a bit more. Okay, a lot more.

If it had happened all of that time ago in the spring, before Sans had witnessed that murder, he would have been estatic. He did want kids, always was super excited about that idea. But that was also with the idea of of Papyrus being their Uncle, coming over to see his kids. Sans thought about it for years. Finding some nice people to start a big and happy family with, for Papyrus to come by and play catch with them as Sans would watch and say sly puns that'd annoy his brother and kids alike.

Sans couldn't even hold the idea of that for very long before becoming angry. If Papyrus was willing to leave Sans like that, for death to claim his soul, what would he do if any of hid children were in danger? What would he...

He couldn't trust his brother, Sans realized, clutching onto his shirt. Papyrus could put his kids into danger. Leave them and save himself.

And Sans... he wanted this kid. He wanted kids. But he didn't want his brother in that happy family image. He was already planning on going no contact, but this cemented it. Sans wanted his kid to be safe, and even being near Papyrus was now too dangerous.

And he was going to be a Dad. A Father. He had a kid!

Sans practically sprung from the bathroom door, giddy and nervous and bones a little shaky as he rushed down the stairs. He had a kid. He was going to be a Dad and -

Holy shit holy SHIT.

Everyone did a second take when Sans entered the room, for the first time wearing a wide smile and giddy giggle when he walked it. His bones rattled slightly, but he didn't really pay attention.

"I got a baby!" He said excitedly.

Perhaps he should have explained skeleton anatomy first. Or maybe he should send Jeff back to school. Because the teenage boy popped up, giving a wide stare.

"Why the fuck did you kidnap someone's kid?" He asked.

"No, uh..." Sans gave a thumbs up towards Laughing Jack, who had dropped his fork. "I'm pregnant."

Yup, this was his game plan. Just rip the bandaid right off.

Laughing Jack's face perked up so brightly that it was endearing, and was in front of him in an instant. "Baby!" He paused. "Is my my baby?"

"Yeah, your baby," Sans chuckled.

"Wait, WHAT?" Jeff shouted, running over. "Dude, no way!"

"Can I have a little sister? I want a little sister!" Sally said, pulling on Sans' sleeve.

"Congratulations," Smile Dog said, before leaning over towards Ben. "Is this even... possible?"

"Googling it!" Ben hissed, frantically typing away.

"I have a baby," Laughing Jack giggled, "I'm out of the box and I have a baby."

Sans really should have remembered that even so much as bumping souls together could get a skeleton pregnant. And he should have remembered that Laughing Jack was a bit crazy because he scooped Sans up into a hug.

And didn't let go for over an hour. Sans ended up dangling there for a good few minutes before redirecting the clown to the couch, to take off his shirt and show off the tiny little soul within his ribcage.

"I'm going to have a baby, baby baby," Laughing Jack giggled, slowly rocking back and forth.

Sans pushed down his phone, looking at the way the little soul was facing.

"A daughter, too," Sans chuckled.

"How can you tell?" Laughing Jack asked. His grin didn't falter, though.

Sans pointed towards the soul. "See the way she's facing. If it's up, they're a girl. Down, boy. And sideways means they don't have a gender. And if they rotate or do weird flips they're genderfluid or non binary."

"Girl, I'm having a girl!" Laughing Jack said, kissing Sans' face repeatedly "I love you and her already! Yay!"

"How can you say love so easily?" Sans asked, blushing lightly at the word being thrown around.

"I just... know," Laughing Jack said softly.

A sigh escaped from Sans as he looked down. A little girl. He was going to have a daughter. It was a bittersweet moment. He was gaining one family, and losing another soon.

But no, fuck that. He was having a kid, and Papyrus was ruining it!

Sans decided to get that out of the way earlier than later. So here he was, parking outside of Papyrus' house behind the several cars in his driveway. Undyne's and Toriels. Guess everyone was here. Good. He had less trips to make.

This wasn't just for him anymore. Now, it was also for his daughter.

Because he was going to be a parent, and didn't want anyone near her that'd hurt her. She deserved better than that. As did he.

At least all of the CreepyPasta were happy about it. Sally was going to get someone to play with, Jeff was cool with anything in general, as was Ben, and Smile Dog said it was nice that Sans would start living his own life now. He had talked to them some more, and decided a few more things. Either way, it was time to deal with Papyrus.

His front door was unlocked. Of course it was. Sans simply pushed his way inside, a frown on his face. How was Papyrus not murdered yet? Seriously, he kept his doors unlocked during the day, it was stupidly easy to break in.

They were all gathered in the living room. Toriel, Alphys, Undyne, Frisk, and Papyrus. Sans walked past them all, ignoring their stares, straight to Papyrus. Looks like they had been in the middle of a conversation.

Yeah, he didn't give a shit. They always interrupted him whenever he talked.

"I have a lot of things to say to you," Sans muttered.

His soul was burning, the emotions from the past week crumbling out into the world to see.

"Sans, I'm so, so sorry -"

A slap echoed throughout the room. His hand burned from the impact of bone against bone.

Sans paused, flinching just as much as Papyrus did. Oh. He didn't... plan that. Okay. It just... He squeezed his hand into a fist and lowered it, taking a deep breath.

"You left me to die like a coward," Sans said, "You didn't even try to come back. You're a horrible, selfish, ass of a brother. I did everything for you. I didn't go to clubs or sports so you could, I let you have the spotlight for things I've done. Fuck, I even led Frisk to you Underground just so you could have the credits of finding a human. But you did this to me. You left me."

"Sans, I-I..." Papyrus was now crying, cheek red from the impact. "I didn't mean to! You know I didn't! I was so focused on getting my magic restraint off that I didn't hear you and -"

"Which was your fault! You're the one who didn't care about my worries of magic restraints and dragged me in there! And we were in there because you couldn't stop being a shitty brother for ten minutes! The only time you've ever been good to me was when I was struggling with PTSD!" Sans said, jabbing a finger at him. "Because you liked the idea of fixing me! But, the moment I'm trapped under rubble of a building, about to die because my brother dragged me to a dangerous zone, guess who saved me? Someone else! A guy I thought I was supposed to be afraid of, but he helped me instead!"

Laughing Jack. Sans was dealing with too many things to properly deal with facing his feelings towards him. He didn't love him, that was for sure, but he liked him. And once Sans got settled down, the love might blossom. Marriage sure was off of the table, but... he really didn't mind dating him.

"Sans, maybe we should all calm down and have some pie?" Toriel offered.

"No, I'm not staying this long," Sans said, shaking his head. "You guys have already made your choice. I'm making mine. I'll send the invitation to your wedding back, Alph, I don't wanna go. It's pretty clear we weren't friends."

"Sans, it's n-not like that," Alphys said, "We just... you're... a lot. At times. You say too many puns, you're just..."

"The brother of a friend." Sans finished. "I get it. I do. But you guys can't pretend we're friends when we're not. That's a dick move. And talking behind my back is a piece of shit."

"We never talked behind your back!" Undyne said.

"Yes you did, Smile Dog heard it all and told me!" Sans snapped.

Oh. Right. Their expressions turned towards those of confusion, and he quickly realized he slipped up. Shit. His back straightened when he realized he fuck up, steeling his face.

"He's... part dog monster," Sans said, fumbling with his words before he straightened his voice. "Some human ended up experimenting on a dog and gave him the ability to talk. I dunno the full story, but Smile Dog can talk and understand people, and the experiments made him look like... that. He told me about the shit you guys said at the festival while I was on the ferris wheel. I didn't know why he wanted me to keep the fact he's practically a person from you, but I guess I found out why."

Kind of a decent excuse, he guessed. It wouldn't hold if they looked for evidence, but they probably wouldn't. Either way, if they believed him or not wasn't his problem. No one would ever think a dog was a serial killer unless they saw it for themselves.

"That... explains a bit," Undyne muttered, "That dog acted way too weird from a normal dog."

Her good eye blinked as the gears in her mind whirled, likely trying to figure out if it was possible. Alphys scrunched up her face, before anxiety took over and she covered her face.

Oh. Did she think she forgot about another dog experiment? Well, he was fine with Alphys thinking that. Fuck her.

"It doesn't matter, what matters is that you still tried to lie to me, even now," Sans said, "And Tori, I don't wanna blame this on you, but you're the reason I was at the school that day. I shouldn't have done you that promise. Especially since you sent me shitty recipes when I asked for some good ones. If you're that petty over recipes, I'm starting to rethink who was at fault for your failed ass marriage."

"I..." Toriel looked to the side. Frisk stared at them. When Sans glanced at them, they only tilted their head.

Their conversation wasn't one to be had in public. So he passed by over them. If anything, he'd like to avoid ever confronting them.

"Not that any of that matters, because the real reason I'm pissed as hell is because my brother left me to die!" Sans jabbed a finger back at Papyrus. "I can understand why everyone else was shitty somewhat, fine, we didn't have to be friends, but seriously bro? First you covered for Undyne for breaking Charlie, then -"

"Sans, Sally is crazy!" Papyrus argued, "She ripped that bear herself and framed me! Is she the reason why you're acting so weird?"

"Don't change the subject, it doesn't matter what Sally did, you still left me for FUCKING DEAD!" Sans pushed him away.

"Sans, she - she is the reason why all of this happened, you're just acting stupid because of her!" Papyrus continuously tried to draw focus away from his own mistakes, focusing on a minor problem instead. "You won't be a good Father in the future if she's like that! No wonder you have no kids, because she turned out like that!"

"Papyrus," Sans hissed, "I'm pregnant."

The purse Toriel was holding thudded to the ground.

"... You have the right to know, I guess, so I'm telling you," Sans said, sighing quietly. He held his elbows to comfort himself. "The guy that saved me made sure I got picked up by the ambulance okay, and he's the one who drove me home. We ended up talking, one thing led to another, and now I'm pregnant. And I'm keeping the kid. And I don't..." His grip tightened. "I don't think I want you in my daughters life. I'm moving with him. We're going to start a new life somewhere else, and I'm not telling you guys were I'm going. From now on, we're going no contact."

Papyrus took a moment to respond. His shoulders hunched, eye sockets widening, and his bones started to rattle.

Papyrus was now full on crying, reaching out to Sans. "Wait, Sans you can't - you're - please, just give me another chance! You can't just leave! You're my brother and I want to meet my niece!"

"Being brothers didn't matter when I was trapped under debris in a broken building, did it?" Sans asked, blinking away tears. His voice grew quiet. "And I don't want my daughter to be in danger, and for you to run away like a coward. So no. You don't get to meet her. And you don't get to see me either, or my boyfriend. You can't burn the bridge then expect me to put out the fire. I'm letting it burn. You choose yourself and everyone here over me everytime. It's time to make my choice. And I'm choosing my daughter."

Whew. Good thing he practiced several times before he actually came over here, or else he probably would've broken down crying.

Sans turned around, looking back once more. "Oh, by the way... Undyne, that kid that was in the jail cell treated me nicer than you ever did. I dunno what happened to him after I left, and if you did get to send him to the chair or not, but a serial killer was nicer than you." He then turned to face the door. "Go figure. Congratulations on the wedding again. Go to hell, all of you."

Trees passed, slowly and surely, shrinking in size and number with each minute. He kept his hands steady on the wheel, making sure to watch out for any wildlife that may try to jump out in front of the car.

Their meeting was the last time he ever spoke to them. He blocked them on his number before getting a new one entirely. They tried to go visit his house, but Sans wouldn't open the door or even go check it. His few social media accounts were deleted, having no interest in posting anymore. He never was a fan of shoving his personal life down the throats of uninterested strangers. Fuck, he only really kept it to support his friends and like their posts. And post the occasional meme.

Now, a month later, he was free. Moving out. Once and for all.

All of his stuff was at the new house. A bigger house, since he needed more rooms. It was a good two story home with a finished basement, a good distance from the forest. While Sans' old house had been right on the outskirts of a forest, this one, a good couple of hours away, was right in the heart of a suburban neighborhood. In a quaint little town, where a bunch of parents had moved into with their children. A good place to raise a kid. Not a lot of CreepyPasta in the area, and had loose law enforcement there. And there was a positive to this situation. Sans didn't have the curse anymore.

It was broken.

Looks like his soul only needed eight CreepyPasta. When Jane finally came around to take her prize with her girlfriends in tow, the curse was broken. Sans didn't really realize it until he had went to the store and found himself perfectly fine alone. Like before. The curse was gone now. Felt rather anti-climactic. No sense of buildup. And he didn't even notice it disappear. 

Sans expected for some grand light or something, but nope. Something that plagued his life for months just vanished without so much as a whisper.

Not that he was complaining. He had other things to worry about now.

Sally leaned back and forth to the music, kicking her feet in tune with the beat. On her lap sat Charlie, whom she was playing with quietly. It was a good thing to see her bear still working just fine. Sans was worried the little stunt Undyne pulled was going to leave permanent marks, but the stuffed bear was just fine.

Jeff, who sat in the back, was wearing his usual hiding clothes, and was snoring away softly as he slept against the window. Poor kid. He ended up being the watcher all night, out of worry for Sans' safety in case his old friends showed up, so sleep was not gained for his still growing body. On the floor, his head resting on the teens lap, was Smile Dog, making sure Jeff got as much sleep as he could.

Crammed in the middle was Ben, the shortest out of them, who was playing a game on Sans' phone. He tapped away, uninterested in the scenery around them, quietly letting the world drift away from his focus.

And, to the right of him was Laughing Jack, whose body was bent in all weird ways to fit into the car. Sans honestly did not know how the clown could do that. He was able to bend and stretch his limbs impossibly, to the point where his arms were like noodles.

Right. Noodles. That reminded him of spaghetti. And spaghetti reminded him of Paps.

It was a bittersweet moving day. Sure, Sans was moving, but it was also the wedding date. That's actually why he decided to move today. Since they'd be busy, and he didn't want to risk them stopping by his house and seeing him moving. He liked this outcome better. One day, they'd go see his house still being his. A week later, they'd drive over, probably to knock on his door and tell him why he was wrong and how he seriously needed to keep being their ''favor guy' before seeing his house was empty.

It... was a nice new start. New house. New town. His old problems finally, finally gone. Nothing to hold him back or give him nightmares. No curse, no brother troubles. Just him, some serial killers, and a new baby on her way.

Sans found himself smiling softly. Guess he did have a skele-ton of friends after all.