Set after Sans's birthday

Sans was bouncing in his seat. It was a few days after his birthday party and Grillby was taking him stargazing. Grillby was planning something special for the two of them. Something about the great outdoors. Sans wasn't too keen on it, with what happened the last time he went camping. Miss Uki, his therapist, told him it was a good idea. To go into the forest with someone he trusted. Sans was nervous, but he couldn't deny his excitement either.

Grillby used to talk about the stars when he was young. The beauty of the galaxy and the bright blues, pinks, and purples that developed in grand streaks across the dark night skies. He could use the telescope he just got from Undyne and spend quality time with Grillby. Now that he knew Grillby was his father, he started treating him as such. Then he realized he wasn't doing anything different. Sans was jolted out of his musing when the final bell rang.

Sans - "Hey Eiji, I'm gonna take a shortcut home. You good without me?"

Eijirou - "Yeah bro, I'm good. Me and the squad will be fine."

Sans gave Katsuki a kiss on the cheek and took a shortcut to his and Eijirou's room. He quickly got dressed and took his book on constellations. He knew it would be a bit on the colder side tonight, so he wore his blue puffer jacket with a white fur trim around the hood and sleeves, a pair of sweatpants, Papyrus's scarf, and his favorite bright pink sneakers. He paused when he saw himself in the mirror. It was a different coat, but it was unnervingly similar to the one he was wearing the day he arrived in that alley. The pain, emotional agony, wanting nothing more than to see his brother and da-...Gaster. He tore it off and threw it in the trashcan at the end of his bed. He took a hoodie he pretty much stole from Katsuki out from his bed covers.

It was a silky soft, black and orange sweatshirt that was shockingly warm for how soft it was. It was custom made for Katsuki by some two students in the gen-ed classes called Reak and Indi. Sans loved the hoodie for the only fact that the outside was mostly black with drawstrings, stripes around the sleeves and neckline, and in big bold lettering "BAKUGO" on the back in Katsuki's signature orange. But on the inside was a soft baby blue color with "sans" in lovely cursive lettering.

There wasn't fur to be found, but the fabric and high-quality silks were insulation enough. And, after however many weeks, still had the potent, burnt caramel smell embedded in the fabric. Sans liked to either wear it to sleep or have one of his pillows wear it and cuddle said pillow to sleep. It helped to comfort him after his bad dreams and/or nightmares.

Grillby - "Sans, are you ready to leave?"

Sans - "Yup!"

San came bounding down the stairs where Grillby waited with Natsumi.

Natsumi - "I'm giving you my old Nokia in case you need to call me. And this."

She handed over a switchblade.

Natsumi - "I wanted to give you a gun, but your mother didn't think it was a good idea. If you feel like you're in danger, try to diffuse the situation with words first. If the threat persists, take the knife out your pocket and hit this button. It's a five and a half inch blade. Stab, twist, then book it. Understand?"

Sans - "Yes Ma, I'll text you when we get there, before bed, when I wake up, when we leave, and when we're halfway back. If things get dicey, I can always use a shortcut to get back."

Natsumi - "Alright, I'll see you boys tomorrow."

She gave Sans a tight squeeze before he loaded himself into Grillby's car.

Sans - "How the heck did you get your license and a car so fast? You weren't here that long."

Grillby - "Mister Nezu offered to teach me to drive and provide me a car if I could tell him about the Underground, the Surface, and the Monster-Human War. He's a good fellow who enjoys information and a cup of delightful tea."

Sans snorted and relaxed into his seat. He took out his book on constellations and star patterns.

Sans - "Do you think we'll see any constellations from our world?"

Grillby - "I wouldn't think so, but nothing's impossible. We could also make our own constellations."

Sans - "That'd be awesome!"

They sat in a comfortable silence while Grillby drove them to the campsite. After they arrived Sans created a blaster big enough to carry their tents, his telescope, and whatever supplies Grillby insisted on bringing. Sans followed Grillby since he had more experience with traversing the great outdoors.

Grillby - "There should be a stream up ahead. That's where we'll set up camp."

Sans was barely keeping his breath. They were hiking for what felt like hours. He was so happy when they were able to put up their tents. Well, Grillby put up the tents. Sans set up his telescope and the cooking pots. There were seasonings, flour, potatoes, and carrots.

Sans - "What are we doing for dinner Grilbz? Vegetarian?"

Grillby - "No, I'm going to teach you my mother's fish stew."

Sans - "Woah, seriously?!"

Sans's eyelights formed into stars. Grillby never liked to talk about his family, er wll, Sans's grandparents? It was always such a taboo subject that would leave the old general in a funk for days.

Grillby - "Yes, when I was a boy, my mother would take me to the nearby lake and we'd spend some time fishing. Then we'd make a hearty stew with whatever we caught and some vegetables. I think she'd be most pleased knowing I'm keeping her recipe alive. Her great grandmother taught it to her daughter, she taught her daughter, she taught it to my mother. My mother couldn't have more children after me, which got her disowned from that entire half of her family, but she taught the recipe to me. Through each generation, something new was added to the stew. My mother added minced garlic, I added peanut oil."

Sans - "You want me to add something to the stew? What if I ruin it."

Grillby - "Starlight, I have nothing but faith in you. There's nothing that you could add that would ruin it. I'll start setting up the fishing by the stream."

Sans racked his brain, trying to think of whatever he could add to this special family recipe that wouldn't destroy it. He thought back to his childhood. Maybe he could add something he enjoyed from his childhood. Grillby's used to serve a plethora of fried vegetables, burgers made from water sausages, fries and potato wedges, etc.

Sans - "Fried vegetables..."

He started walking through the underbrush. He used to pester Grillby all the time for fried mushrooms.

Sans - "Found you."

<~>

Sans - "This is impossible."

Grillby had the gall to laugh at his misfortune.

Grillby - "You just need to be patient. The fish can sense irritation."

Sans glared at the smirky face next to him and cast his line for the umpteenth time. This time the fishing pole was almost yanked out of his hands.

Sans - "Holy- Dad I got one!"

Sans jolted to his feet, a massive grin on his face. He used every bit of his minimal strength to reel in a heavy pink salmon.

Sans - "Dad, I got one!"

Sans gushed over his triumph over the fish. Grillby smiled softly at his starlight. Sans probably didn't even realize what he called him. He hadn't called his dad since he was merely a child.

Grillby - "What a great catch! It'll pair nicely with the vegetables."

Grillby helped Sans lay the fish in Grillby pail, where two trout also lay. Sans was undoubtedly pleased with his catch, but Grillby could see that, the closer they got to their camp, Sans was growing more and more nervous.

Sans - "I, uh, I have something we could add to the stew."

Ah, so that's it.

Grillby - "Sans, there's no need to be nervous. What've you got?"

Sans nervously showed him a basket of mushrooms.

Sans - "I figured we could fry some mushrooms. So I found some matsutake and enoki in the underbrush."

Sans watched Grillby's face split into a soft grin.

Grillby - "This is a fantastic addition."

<~>

Sans sat inside his tent. They were finally setting up to look at the stars. Only a small issue with that.

Sans - "It's too cloudy."

Thick, gray clouds covered the night sky. The moon could barely be seen through the clouds.

Grillby - "We might not be able to look at the stars, but I don/t think today was a waste. I had plenty of fun."

Sans - "But we didn't get to see the stars. That was the whole reason we came out today."

Grillby - "Perhaps, however, fishing, hiking, cooking together...We got to spend the entire day with each other having fun. I think today was great even without the stars."

Sans - "Yeah...I had a load of fun today too. Can...Can we do this again?"

Grillby - "Of course, it can be our yearly tradition to come out here and spend the day doign whatever we want."

Sans - "Thanks Grilbz."

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