It was a year after the genocide and monsters were still falling down. They had so little hope. That last human was supposed to be the one to free them and everyone who was ever brave enough to stand in their way was dead. They were vulnerable to another attack and next time there was gonna be no one to stop the human.... no one but a certain Skeleton that popped into existence out of nowhere. "shh, ya rowdy bunch. this shouldn't take long." Sans whispered to his pups as his magic assisted him in opening the door to his old place. Once the door closed he put the three down, letting go of the kids leashes he'd gotten to ensure they stayed close on walks. "i'm proud of ya three. you actually stayed still long enough for your first shortcut. i know 72 snail facts is getting boring along with the other stories." Sans started poking around at the books downstairs, choosing out old favorites of his and Pa- his brothers..

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The pups got ahold of the pet rock. Sans found it amusing as long as one of them didn't swallow it or anything... on second thought. "Rok!"
"Giv! Giv!"
("Noooo..") Sans was met with a lot of complaint when he took their new toy away. "if it's toys you want, we can get toys too." He put the rock back eyeing the children in case they decided to ignore his words. Upon confirming that they were listening, he headed up to the second floor to get some stuff for the kids. He hesitated at the door, he hadn't been here since that day... dusty red scarf in the snow. No, no. Don't think about it. That was over, he was gone. Sans had other priorities now. Sans gulped and opened the door. Dusty red scarf in the snow, clinging to everything it touches. Red blood on his hands as he mercilessly kills over and over and over to no avail. A burning slash running across his chest as he too succumbs to the kids murderous ways. The feeling of falling apart slowly as he di- something slammed into the back of his leg, causing his knees to buckle as he fell forward. Three pairs of small arms hugged him. That's right. He wasn't there, he was here. "th-thanks kiddos..." Sans croaked. "let's be done today."

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He gathered the little ones into his arms before taking a shortcut back to what used to be Tori's place. He shakily unclipped the kids of their harnesses to let them run around. He put them on a side table and dropped the bag of things from the house next to a bookshelf before falling into the recliner. His pup trio clambered onto his lap and nuzzled into him. ("No sad no more.") Artemis, the only female of the bunch stood in Sans lap to hug him around the neck with Sirius, the youngest following her lead. Orion draped himself across Sans lap. Sans sighed. He tended to forget how easy it was for dogs to pick up on emotions. "you kids are too sweet, ya know that?" Sirius gave Sans a doggy kiss as he sat on the armrest, Artemis doing the same. "... why don't you three play for a bit while i make dinner? then we can read a bit after?" Orion was all in and tumbled off Sans lap with Sirius jumping off the side to join him. Artemis hesitated a moment longer then pet Sans skull before joining her brothers. Sans shook his head smiling as they disappeared around the corner to their bedroom.

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After a decently made dinner of quiche with some soup, Sans had them go prepare for bed. He choose out a book, then went to assist them in brushing their teeth so that they didn't swallow the toothpaste or get it in their fur. He did not want a repeat of last time. The pup trio ran around him and nearly tripped him multiple times on their way back to the recliner, but finally when he settled into it, they settled on and next to him. He wasn't quite ready for reading any Fluffy Bunny yet, but there'd been plenty of other options to choose from that he thought they'd enjoy. He wasn't wrong either, they didn't fall asleep until he was near the end. The last page could be saved for another day. It took him two trips to settle the three of them into the two beds, the boys shared one and Artemis had the other. Eventually he would have to finish that room for her to sleep in. For now though, this was fine. Sans tucked them in and kissed them goodnight, before going out to put out the fire and go to bed himself.