A/N: Um, hi. It's been a while. I can't really explain why I got back into this hyperfixation, but it hit me hard. I've been busy. It's been almost 8 years since I wrote the first chapter of this collection of drabbles. Well, if you call 2 a collection. It's hard to believe how much has changed. I've graduated college, I've completed all my internships, and now I'm struggling to get a job. I've been depressed about it, feeling useless while I try to find any work I can, but getting a real job is a lot harder than I thought. No one told me just how long it can take. Writing has been a bit of a saving grace for me, and I guess I fell back onto a series that was nostalgic and familiar.

Also, the fact that pretty much every Undertale fic I used to read on Tumblr is gone is total bs. I wish there was more archived somewhere, but it looks like it's mostly gone. Well, I might as well fill the void with something new! This fic kind of retroacts my previous ones, but don't worry about it. (Also, I think my writing has improved SO MUCH since I wrote them.) This fic kind of starts in a weird place, but it's very loosely inspired by an old fan comic. Hope this was a good surprise!

"Y O U D B E D E A D W H E R E Y O U S T A N D."

The human's eyes widened and appeared to water for a moment, and in that moment, Sans realized he'd gone too far. His intention was never to make the human feel bad. He wasn't sure what his intention was if he was being honest. Originally, he just wanted to give the human the full story. He'd figured the kid deserved to hear the truth from him, but spelling it out like that was never part of the plan.

His tone of voice, his vacant eyes, they had been almost involuntary. In a second he went from seeing the kind human in front of him to seeing the blood stained, evil face he'd seen in his dreams. He was originally just going to mention the promise he made, but the emotions that spilled over from everything made him slip up.

"Hey, lighten up bucko," He tried to reach out with a gentle, hopefully calming voice. "I was only joking."

They wiped at their face and got up from their chair. Without a word the human started walking away.

"Kid, wait!" He got up, reaching out to them.

"I thought we were friends." The smallest, saddest voice Sans had ever heard said. Oh no, he'd really messed up.

"W-we are!"

He was met with only silence as the human sniffled. Sans couldn't have felt more awful. It wasn't the kids fault he could sense alternate timelines. Those versions of the human had messed up, done awful things, and fought maliciously. Not this one. This kid had done virtually nothing wrong compared to those other timelines. How could he have let his emotions get the better of him like that, saying that to the human completely unprovoked? Sure, he wanted to be honest with the kid, but that didn't mean having to go and say something like that.

"I-I... Okay." Sans knew just 'sorry' wouldn't cut it. "I'll go pay for dinner. Can you wait outside for me?"

The human nodded their head.

"Alright, I'll give you a moment." With that he got up and made his way to the counter to pay their check. Meanwhile, the human walked past him and out the door.

Sans was only glad there was no one near them to see what he'd said to the poor kid. After he paid the giant blob fish and grabbed a bottle of ketchup to go he made his way to the entrance of the hotel. A few feet from the door sat the human, knees up and crouched, hiding their face.

"Thanks for waiting for me." He smiled, reaching out a hand. The human looked up for a moment and, hesitantly, decided to take it. Sans helped them stand up. "Do you want to go over to the courtyard? They have some benches we can talk at. No shortcuts required."

"O-okay." They stared up at him. He'd never really taken the time to look them in the eye until this moment. Before, he'd tried not to pay attention, mostly because it brought back painful memories to the nightmares he'd been having. Now that he really looked though, the eyes that looked up at him were completely different from what he was expecting. They were gentle, kind, not like the rage filled ones he'd seen in his dreams.

The two walked over to the bench next to a statue of Mettaton, surrounded by shrubs and bushes also in the shape of Mettaton.

"I'm sorry, kid. I've always been kind of a bonehead, but I really messed up." He gave a dry, humorless laugh.

"I just don't get it." The human shook their head. "Did I do something wrong? I get that I'm not like you guys, and humans have been really bad to you, but I thought I was doing good."

"No, you haven't done anything wrong." He assured the child. "I guess I'm the one that still has some biases."

They wiped at their face, a few tears still remaining. "I understand, you know." They said with a sudden seriousness. "I know what would have happened if that woman had never talked to you. It just never really sunk in that you might have... That you..."

"Hey, enough of that. I shouldn't have even brought it up in the first place."

"But it's true."

He sighed. He didn't like admitting it, but he was at a loss for words. No witty joke or comeback, no pun or sarcasm. Well, he wanted to be honest with the human for once, he might as well pass his judgment a little bit early.

"I've seen you, kid. You always try to do the right thing, even when monsters make it difficult for you. That doesn't make you completely innocent or naive, but you always kept a certain tenderness close to your heart." He handed the human a paper towel he'd grabbed on the way out for them to dry their tears.

They took it, wiping at their face, then crumbling it up and putting it in their pocket.

"Whatever might or might not have happened if things were different, I want you to know I'm glad things turned out this way."

The human took a breath and smiled. They really were resilient. Of course Sans already knew that, watching their every fight, but he'd never seen how quickly the human was able to bounce back emotionally. He didn't know much about their personality in general.

All this time the human had been so caught up in being kind to all the monsters they encountered, getting to know them, becoming friends with them, but Sans never extended the same courtesy back. Sure, he kept an eye out for them. He already knew they could just load their recent save file if something bad happened, but that didn't mean they couldn't feel the pain with every fight they lost. He'd mostly just checked to see what the human chose to do, all so he could pass judgment on them at the end of their journey, just like every other timeline of himself did. However, he never got to know the kid on a personal level, despite the time they had spent together.

"You know, you're a really tough kid. How old are you anyway?" He asked just before taking a swig of ketchup.

"I turned 8 a few weeks ago."

Sans nearly choked. He banged his fist against his chest, coughing and sputtering. Up until then he thought the kid was way older. Of course he had no idea what a human child was supposed to look like, or how tall they were supposed to be, but he never thought the kid was that young. Though, the standards between humans and monsters were a bit different. Some monsters could live hundreds of years, usually reaching adulthood much later in life than humans. To some monsters, 8 was practically still a toddler.

"Sans! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just went down the wrong pipe." He lied as his coughing fit settled down. "Geez kid, you must be pretty tall for your age."

The human raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm pretty average. I think I am at least."

Wow. His knowledge on humans was worse than he thought. The kid had always seemed so mature, from how they talked to others, to how they treated everyone with empathy, and how they handled situations that even some adults would have trouble with. It was hard to believe that in other timelines, a human that age could be capable of everything they'd done.

"I think you're the first person that asked how old I was."

"Really?" He supposed he wasn't the only one that didn't really get to know the human more personally. Or at least the first to ask these questions.

"You know, no one down here has asked me what my name is." They sighed. "Everyone kind of just started calling me 'the human.'"

That couldn't be right. Not a single one of the monsters they'd met had asked their name? Although, thinking back on it, he'd never taken the time to ask himself. Even Papyrus chose to refer to them as 'the human'.

"Well, let me be the first to ask. What is your name?"

A long pause followed, as if they weren't actually expecting him to ask. "I'm Frisk."

"That's a cool name. Pleased to finally make your acquaintance." He held out his hand for Frisk to shake. They took it, only to hear a long, drawn out farting noise come from his hand. For some reason they were surprised, even though this was one of the first pranks Sans ever pulled on them. They gave a snort of laughter before covering their smile.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor," he said with a wink.

"Do you carry that thing with you everywhere?"

"Hey, I'm always prepared for a comedy emergency. Just in case I need to cheer up a friend."

Frisk's smile was small, but it was a sign that Sans was winning them over.

"How come you never told anyone this stuff?" He continued. "Usually you're supposed to say your name when you introduce yourself."

"I- don't know," Frisk admitted. "I've never been good at that kind of stuff."

"You mean like talking to people?"

"Yeah." They turned their eyes away, seemingly shy about the fact.

"Well, you've done really well talking to monsters." He patted them on the shoulder.

Frisk's smile grew. "I guess I have. I never thought about it, but you guys just feel easy to talk to."

The kid really had grown during their journey. Sans felt a sense of pride looking at them. Though they were bruised and battered from the adventure so far, they never let it change who they were. Sans felt foolish for not trying to get to know them sooner, all because of some bad dreams. And what better way to bond with someone than telling them bad jokes?

"Hey kid, do you know how many beans are in a can?"

They thought for a moment, then shook their head no.

"239, any more and they'd be 'too farty'."

They broke out into giggles. "Too farty? That's so dumb."

"Yeah, that one's pretty silly." He chuckled.

Frisk took a breath to stop laughing. "You know, I stopped by the snail farm earlier and did the snail race. I tried taking off my snails shell to make it go faster, but it just made it more 'sluggish'."

Sans was the one to laugh this time, snickering into his hand. "Kid, that was so bad. I'm proud." It was reassuring to see just how quickly the kid bounced back. Maybe things weren't unsalvageable after all.

"I'm still sorry about what happened earlier," he sighed, "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Frisk considered it. "We could keep telling each other bad jokes."

He smiled, relief washing over him, both because Frisk was willing to forgive him, and because he loved telling these jokes. "Bud, you have no idea how happy that makes me."

They kicked their legs giddily. "Oh, I've got one! What is a pirate's favorite letter?"

"Pft, too easy kid. It's arrrrr."

"Nope. It's the C."

Sans face palmed and gave a huff of laughter. "You got me there."

Frisk beamed with pride. Sans never thought he would find someone else that was so proud of their bad puns. Well, other than his friend behind the ruin door.

"Okay, my turn." He continued. This was one of his favorite jokes to annoy Papyrus with, or at least get him to laugh. "How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?"

They were oblivious to where Sans was going with this, even as he leaned just a tad bit closer.

"I don't know."

"Tentacles!" He suddenly poked at the humans side, and that was all it took to get a squeak out of them. "Oh?" He asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I guess it doesn't take nearly as many to get you to laugh."

Frisk giggled nervously and wrapped their arms around themself.

"I didn't know humans were ticklish. It's a good thing you didn't let anyone know, they could have been a tickle monster." He quipped.

"No way," they insisted, "there's no such thing as a tickle monster." As far as they had seen. There was still a large portion of the underground they hadn't gotten to explore. For all they knew, a tickle monster could very well be real.

"You want to bet?" Sans wiggled his fingers toward them. "Unfortunately for you, I'm the biggest tickle monster you'll ever meet."

The excited expression on Frisk's face reminded him of when his brother was little. He used to love playing tickle monster, and Sans remembered his giggles along with him halfheartedly swatting away his tickling hands. Frisk actually reminded him a lot of his brother. Both were kind and considerate, both were strong fighters but never had it in their heart to actually hurt anyone. The one main difference was that Frisk seemed to like his jokes.

"Nahaha, I don't believe you!" The human stubbornly shook their head.

"Oh, you don't, do you?" He teased, his hands drawing closer. "Well, I guess I'll just have to convince you!"

He finally skittered his fingers across the human's sides, causing them to flail their arms as they squealed.

"I guess I'm really tickling your funny bone, huh kid?" He grinned as he wiggled his fingers on their side. Frisk squirmed and swatted away the skeleton's hands.

"Sahahahans! It tickles!"

"Really?" He chucked. "I never would have guessed."

Frisk was a kicker, so much so that Sans had to back himself up a bit to avoid getting kicked. "Geez, are all humans this squirmy?" He tried to hide the amusement in his voice, but the endearing giggles coming from the human were hard to not find adorable.

"Nohohohoho! I'm nohohohohot!" They denied even as they were still flailing.

"You're not?" He teased, "Oh, I get it, you're not actually a human. You're a wiggly worm." He made sure Frisk saw his hands make claw-like motions before tickling at their sides again. The playful jester seemed to only make the tickling worse, as Frisk's laughter turned more high pitched. Though they shook their head back and forth, they made no real effort in pushing him away.

"Hey, I've got more jokes for ya." He said without skipping a beat. "Why can't you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?"

Frisk was in no position to ask 'why', but that wouldn't stop them from trying. "Whahaha-why?"

"Because, the P is silent."

It was childish, but the silliness of the joke would have already been enough to make Frisk laugh. "Thahahahahats so- ahahAH!" Sans quickly shifted to tickling under their arms. They tried blocking the tickles, but found that they'd accidentally trapped Sans's hands in place. He hardly even needed to try tickling them, all he had to do was wiggle his fingers.

"Hey, I'm alright giving you a hand every now and then, but I'm going to need them back at some point." Papyrus used to fall for the same trap all the time. He could never lift his arms once Sans's hands had been trapped in place, making it all too easy to completely wreck him with tickles.

"Ihihits not my fault!" Frisk exclaimed through their fits of giggling. After a minute, they finally found the strength to lift their arms, and Sans took that as his que to change spots.

"Geez kid, I know these jokes are real rib ticklers, but come on." At that he switched to scribbling along their ribs, driving home the pun.

"SAHAHA-SANS! NOhohohoho!" They helplessly squirmed as he took time to individually tickle between each rib, another skill he'd picked up from his tickle fights with his brother. The human was certainly determined, but even they would need a break from the tickle monster eventually. Right on que, Frisk decided to tap out.

"Ohohohokay! Mehehehercy!" A call for mercy from Frisk meant it was serious. The kid had shown mercy to every monster they'd fought so far, Sans figured he should follow their example.

"Alright, I'll spare ya." He chuckled, releasing the giggling human from his clutches.

Frisk's laughing fit slowly subsided as they held their sides. "You were right, Sans. You are a real tickle monster!"

He grinned at the proclamation. Seems he hadn't lost his touch. It had been a while since he and his brother played that game, but now it felt as though no time had passed. He was still a big brother, that instinct never left him.

"Hey, can skeletons be ticklish too?" Frisk asked.

The grin on Sans face quickly dropped. Oh yeah, he'd forgotten that usually in their game, Papyrus would seek retaliation. He'd always let his brother get some revenge, it was just the principle of the game, but he'd also forgotten just how nerve wrecking the anticipation of being tickled could be.

"Uh, well you see-EEK"

Frisk hadn't actually tickled him yet, all they had done was get ready to poke his side. As soon as Sans even noticed the human was drawing close he flinched and yelped.

Frisk couldn't help but laugh. "Sans, I didn't even do anything."

"H-hey, buddy, l-let's talk about this," he nervously stammered, already guarding his sides.

"So, you're saying skeletons can be ticklish?"

"Nahahahaha! Frisk, whahahahait!" They just wiggled their fingers slightly closer to him.

"Come on, Sans, you said you wanted to make it up to me." Frisk smirked. "I'm the tickle human now!"

That smug kid. Of course they would play that card. He supposed it was only fair, since he was the one who initiated the game in the first place, but why did he have to be so ticklish? He had a knack for making people laugh with his jokes, but he was a bit more reserved when it came to his own laughter. He supposed laughing was another form of vulnerability, one others didn't get to see from him often.

Again, looking at Frisk he was reminded of his brother, eagerly awaiting taking some playful revenge. Papyrus was one of the few people he trusted getting close to, and despite his memories of humans from other timelines, he felt that same bond towards Frisk, like a new little sibling. As long as the kid was having fun, he supposed he could handle it.

At least he thought he could, before Frisk finally poked and prodded his stomach. "Pfft! Bahahaha! Wahah-wahahait! I wahahasnt ready!" How embarrassing. Frisk barely had to lift a finger and he was already a mess. He was hoping the human wouldn't realize that they could tickle his stomach, but that poke had sealed his fate.

"Ready or not, the tickle human is after you!" Frisk seemed to pounce as they scribbled across his torso. Sans couldn't hope to pretend it wasn't getting to him as his booming belly laughs filled the air.

It hardly made sense to Frisk how Sans had a belly in the first place. In their mind, a skeletons' clothes should hang around their bones, but it seemed like magic somehow gave his body a more physical form. They had no idea how that worked, but they were grateful for it. After all, it seemed to make him all the more ticklish.

"Wow, you're super ticklish!" The human exclaimed. "Are all skeletons like this, or are you just extra ticklish?"

"Stahahahap making fun of me!"

"Making fun of you?" they pretended to be offended. "I'm asking a real question."

"NAHAHAHAHAHA FRISK- NOHOHO!" He gawked as they suddenly kneaded his stomach.

"Do you mean no, all skeletons are this ticklish?" They suddenly scratch along his ribs, resulting in a yelp. "Or do you mean no, you're just that ticklish?"

Sans's deep belly laughs turned into snickering as he tried to respond. "No-nohohoho nohohohot either!" As he tried to catch his breath, a loud, unmistakable snort came from him.

Frisk didn't mean to laugh, but seeing the skeleton that was normally so composed be turned into a giggling, snorting mess was something they weren't expecting. "Skeletons can snort, too?"

"Ihihihi dohohohon't- nahahahahaha!" In trying to deny the fact that he could, in fact, snort, he left himself open to a sudden bombardment of kneading and scribbling on his belly. His clothes didn't seem to do much to lessen the ticklish shock, only sending him into even higher pitched laughter. Trying to block the human's hands, he fell to his side, allowing Frisk to tower over him and release their final tickle attack. They scratched and spidered everywhere they could reach. His sides, belly, ribs, nothing was safe as he could only throw his head back in laughter.

"AHAHAHALL RIHIHIHIGHT! I gihihihive, mehehehercy!" He gave in and grabbed hold of their hands, finally pushing them away. "Youhuhuhu little gremlin." His final giggling fit only gave way to more snorting, making Frisk laugh along with him.

They tried to giggle through an apology, unsuccessfully as they doubled over.

"You're a real menace, you know that?" Though Sans shook his head, he was still grinning.

"Saha-sorry, I didn't mean to push."

"Pft, please," He said as he sat up straight, "it takes more than that to take me down." The last thing he wanted was for the kid to think he couldn't handle something as silly as being tickled.

"Really? You seemed pretty ticklish to me. Way too ticklish!"

"Alright, alright," he nudged Frisk's shoulder playfully. "Ya got me, kid."

They kicked their legs in delight. "The tickle human wins!"

Sans patted the human's head. "Hee, looks like someone's fully cheered up."

He was glad the human was a pacifist, otherwise he might have been in trouble there. While he was reflecting, his watch suddenly rang out an alarm. Ah, his break was technically over. Though he didn't really care about going back to work, Frisk seemed to notice as they glanced over at the time.

Nodding their head, Frisk stood up. "I guess I need to get going. Alphys is probably wondering where I've been."

Even though Sans knew they would have to carry on with their journey eventually, he found himself not wanting to say goodbye. He knew Frisk would still have many trials to face, eventually leading them to their ultimate choice. Either they would defeat the king and get to go home, or they would give up their soul. Sans tried not to dwell on it too much, but it was hard not too when Frisk was right in front of him.

Maybe that's the real reason he didn't get to know the kid earlier. Getting attached would make it all the harder to let them go, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to lose something like that again. But the prophecy was already in motion. Even if he wanted to convince the kid to stay, like he'd attempted to do at the restaurant, they were too determined for their own good. As hard as it was, he would have to let the human return to their adventure.

When he turned to say his goodbyes, until he would inevitably meet the human again in the judgment hall, he found himself feeling different than he'd expected. Instead of sadness, there was a sense of hopefulness. Even though it seemed impossible, even if it really was impossible, somewhere in his heart he knew Frisk would make the right choice in the end, and they would be okay.

He stood up, a confident smile on his face. "Good luck, kiddo." Again, he held out his hand for Frisk to shake.

"I'm not falling for that a third time." Frisk rolled their eyes.

Sans dropped the whoopie cushion. "Eh, worth a shot." He winked.

Frisk giggled. "Bye Sans. I hope I see you again soon."

Sooner than they'd think, that's what Sans wanted to say. Instead he just gave a wave, then watched the human as they made their way back into the hotel, where they would continue their journey into the core.

It would be a tough road ahead, for both of them. But this newfound hope seemed to give him his own determination. No matter how this ended, he believed in Frisk, and he was glad he'd finally gotten the chance to know them.