(Sansby- Requested from: emmar_the_emo)

A glass.

A cloth.

A bell's ring.

A new customer.

An order.

Repeat.

That's how life was for Grillby. He'd watched customers come and go from his restaurant. Familiar faces, strange faces, deceitful faces, truthful faces, you name it, he would have seen it by now.

But now, they were on the surface, there were more things to see, experience, smell, hear... feel. He hadn't ever thought he'd be alive when they made it to the real world, the surface, but here he was, standing on a wooden floor that was built on the ground of the over-world.

He looked down at the glass in his hand, looking at his contorted reflection in the polished glass and he leaned against the counter he had always stood behind, waiting for anyone else to possibly arrive.

His eyes flicked to the clock on the wall, revealing that there were only five minutes until his official closing time. He sighed, standing up and putting the glass on the shelf. He grabbed a rag, putting it in his back pocket, figuring he should start wiping down counters to get a head start on his clean up duties.

He picked up a bucket, filling it with water in his sink behind the bar, pulling it away when it was two-thirds full. He then lugged the bucket around the counter and to the front, placing it on the ground by the first booth. He took the rag out of his pocket, double checking that his gloves had no holes in them, before plunging his hand and rag into the cold, clean, water.

No matter how many times he had done this, it would be a lie for him to say that he didn't get a little squeamish every time. Water may not be able to kill him, but it sure stung like an unwanted hell.

He carefully began wiping down the table, his mind traveling to the events of the day, one in particular had been bothering him.

He hadn't seen Sans once.

Grillby's brows furrowed as he cleaned. Sans was a good friend of his, maybe he even wanted it to be something more, but he knew the comical skeleton would most likely not accept it. From all the years they'd known each other, Grillby got a strange vibe off of him that he wasn't interested in relationships. He wasn't ever sure if it was just his over-self-conscious making him think the skeleton was that way, or if he truly was receiving the right signals.

Either way, his feelings towards his friend wasn't what was bothering him, it was the fact that he hadn't shown up. Grillby understood that things were busier on the surface, but every day for the past year on the surface, Sans would at least stop by to say hi and see how he was doing, even on holidays.

Grillby finished the first booth, moving onto the next.

He scrubbed at a stain on the table, his thoughts continuing. He wondered what could have happened to keep the skeleton away. Maybe he was sick? No, that couldn't be it. The last time he was sick was in the underground, and even then the skeleton called Grillby to tease him how he was 'totally gonna pay his tab that day if wasn't sick'. Grillby rolled his eyes at the memory, despite a fond smile finding its way on his features.

Sans definitely had an odd sense of humor, and by that he meant that Sans could find absolutely anything completely hilarious. It must be a talent.

Grillby sighed, trying to think of what would have caused his friend's disappearance as he moved onto the next table.

Maybe he had gone out of town? No, that still wouldn't explain why he wouldn't have called with half of a stand-up act ready for him to shoot off into the speaker. Maybe something happened with Frisk? He and the rest of their strange group, that consisted of both the former rulers and the leader of the guard, were always being dragged around to strange formal meetings with humans. Maybe one in particular had distracted him and he forgot his usual routine.

Grillby nodded, deciding that this was the most logical reasoning.

Grillby was about to move onto the next table, when he heard a knock at the restaurant's front door.

He rose a brow, looking at the clock seeing it read a minute after closing time. He shrugged, figuring whoever was out there would read the sign, see he was closed, then leave.

Another knock.

Grillby's fire flickered, slightly aggravated. The sign was right on the door, you couldn't miss it if you tried. He took another step towards his next table.

Another knock, this one seeming a bit more frantic.

Grillby stood still. Maybe they needed something urgently, or needed a phone to call someone. He sighed, walking over to the door. He slowly opened the door, surprised by what he saw.

"Sans?" Grillby asked quietly, his voice a little rough from him not having used it all day.

The being in front of him didn't lift their head, keeping it bowed so low that he couldn't see any part of their face under the furred, grey, hood of the navy jacket. The only clue that gave Grillby the hint that it was his friend was his height. He wasn't even wearing his normal blue hoodie.

The being quickly slipped past him, walking into the room to allow Grillby to close the door from the cold of the night.

Grillby looked towards who he assumed to be Sans curiously. The other being was now farther away from the door than Grillby was, with his back facing towards him.

Grillby took a step towards him, again repeating the name, trying to be sure it was who he thought it was, "Sans?"

The being took in a shaky breath, laughing a little before going quiet again.

That was Sans' voice.

Grillby now confidently walked up to the monster, recognizing him to certainly be his friend. He looked on either side of the other being, seeing him hugging his own small form, his hands tightly gripping the fabric of the jacket.

The fire elemental gingerly put his hand on the other's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Grillby waited, expecting an 'i'm fine', even though he knew he was always lying through his teeth, only to get a response he hadn't seen coming in a thousand years.

The being turned, shaking his head as if to say 'no'. A pair of huge, void, eye-sockets looked up at Grillby, tear trails stained into the bones on the skeleton's cheeks, not even the slightest bit of his normal wide smile left on his face as he said, "they're all dead." His voice almost as emotionless and flat as his eyes.

Grillby blinked, not understanding, "Sans, what-"

"they're all d-dead." his voice broke, like he was trying not to yell and cry at the same time, "they're-" the skeleton's voice hitched, his body going stiff as he felt his eye-sockets begin to fill, quickly letting go of his own arms and rubbing his eyes, his movements sharp and rigid.

A quiet, broken cry escaped his throat, a small shake wracking his form as he bit back, ceasing the noise from continuing.

Grillby quickly knelt down to his friend's level, putting both hands on his shoulders, "Sans, what happened?" He said as evenly as possible, despite some panic and worry slipping into his words.

Sans shakily moved his hands slightly away from his eye-sockets, small pinpricks of light making an effort to be seen through the thick fog of black the that engulfed them within his eyes. He looked at his friend, as he tried to speak, "tori, fr-frisk, pa...pap..." his voice left him again, his eye-sockets overflowing with a blue liquid as he broke down into a sob, falling towards his friend, wrapping his small arms around his larger frame, gripping the back of the bartender's vest in an attempt to control his shaking.

Shock jerked Grillby still for a moment, nearly falling off balance from the force. Relaxing himself, he wrapped his arms around Sans in a comforting manner.

Grillby heard Sans try to talk again, quickly hushing the unstable monster, knowing it would be easier to understand what he was trying to say if he wasn't hysteric with emotion.

The skeleton nuzzled into the nape of Grillby's neck, seeming to be trying to get closer to the warmth radiating off of his body. Grillby felt a few cold droplets of tears sting his neck every once in awhile, but he didn't mind. In fact, it was the only reason he knew he was still crying for he was barely making a sound, Grillby's own fire overpowering any sound of distress that left the smaller monster.

Grillby felt a bitter smile tug at the corners of his lips. It felt strange having the usual confident, smiling, person, crying into his shoulder. The elemental remembered himself to always have been the one who needed support, never the other way around.

The other monster just always seemed to be content, lazy, maybe partially not caring, but he never cried. He didn't break, nothing seemed to get to him. Pain, death, getting fired, losing something, bills, murders, nothing ever fazed him. At least he never showed that it did. But now it seemed that the final straw had broken the camel's back.

After a few minutes, Grillby found himself relaxing his own body's weight in a manner that led to Sans falling in between his legs, trying to calm Sans down to the best of his abilities. Though, he wasn't sure who or what Sans had meant exactly. He had a guess, but he was praying that it wasn't true.

What felt like forever passed, before Grillby felt Sans trying to pull away.

Sans kept his head bowed, letting out a shaky breath as his shoulders sagged. He didn't dare look the elemental in the eye, ashamed of himself.

"Sans, what happened?" Grillby asked evenly, still keeping one of his hands on his friend's shoulder.

The skeleton still refused to lift his head, instead finding a spot on the floor to look at as he quietly mumbled, "there was an a-accident." His voice stuttered slightly, making him cut himself off, taking in another breath, seeming to be trying to keep himself calm. "we were driving and-"

The image of a pole coming out of nowhere, smashing through the glass windshield, skewering straight through the frail body of a child plagued Sans' mind. There was a scream before another crash sent the car spinning out of control, the world suddenly turning black.

Grillby waited patiently for Sans to continue, only for him to continue remaining quiet. He gave his shoulder a light squeeze, hoping that would encourage him to explain.

The monster jerked, suddenly getting pulled back to the hard, wooden, floor he was sitting on and the friend in front of him. "-and... next thing i knew i was in a hospital... and they were gone..."

He fidgeted with his fingers, "frisk, tori... just... gone. the kid was announced dead at the scene... didn't have a chance." his voice sounded hollow, he wished they never made the promise not to reset, "tori apparently died shortly after the authorities arrived... and papyrus..." He froze up again.

Grillby's eyes were glued wide in horror, not knowing how to react to what Sans was saying.

His voice trembled, "he was alive... but when i got to 'im... half his body just was gone. he was awake, but not. he just looked... empty. the doctors asked me a few questions, i don' really remember much... they said he wasn't going to live long... his soul had already shut down everything but what was keeping him alive by a string with the life support. i just stayed there... then he was gone too..."

Sans shook slightly, crossing his arms close to his body, his fingers unnervingly scratching at his bone, "i was there for a few more hours... them making sure i was alright... then we had to go through more political stuff and rights to this and that and what was going to happen next... the others were there. good thing too 'cause i sure wasn't listening." He laughed, "then we were sent home, and they are supposed to be 'keeping an eye on me for unusual behavior'..."

He tightened his grip around himself, "all they would say to me was how fucking lucky i was." he laughed again, but this time it sounded more like crying, "they kept sayin' that. how the hell is this lucky?" He hissed between his clenched teeth, "they're dead. they're gone! and then i fucking get out of that bullshit fine!?"

He snapped his head up at Grillby, his features an unreadable complex of emotions, "i've gotta live with the fact that they all died and i'm still here with just a few bruises?" He narrowed his eye-sockets, "tell me how the hell is that lucky!?"

Grillby was struck in shock, still trying to process what he was being told, "... Sans... I..." He trailed off, losing his words.

Sans' jaws clicked tighter together from the amount of pressure he was putting on his teeth, "don't you dare tell me the same damn thing they did, i came here hoping you wouldn't."

"...I am so sorry, Sans-" The fire monster quickly embraced the smaller being, not having any other words for what he just heard. All of it.

Sans felt stiff in his grip, unlike how he had felt before.

"Sans..." Grillby began, trying to at least process some of the things that were wrapping his mind into words, "There is no way for me to make what happened seem any better. I am sorry for that and what you've been through."

The body in his arms relaxed slightly, but didn't return the gesture. Instead, he leaned his forehead into Grillby's chest, whispering so quiet that a coin dropping could have muted the sound, "why am i alive?"

Grillby felt the skeleton sigh, even though it was soundless, "why me?" He said, pitifully, squeezing his eye-sockets shut. "it's not fair. i'm just some fucking piece of shit, why the hell am i the one who survived!?" He spat, not directed towards his friend, but at himself.

Grillby furrowed his brows at the words, "Please, don't say that." He said gently, but stern.

Sans pushed himself out of Grillby's arms, "why not? it's not like it's not true." He stumbled a little, standing up. He moved his arms, emphasizing the words he was snapping, "look at me. what do you think i am besides that? i'm just some scum-bag who goes around surrounded in debt, then doesn't spend anytime with other people other than when i'm here or forced to. i can't get a job anywhere 'cause no matter what i do 'health restrictions' stop me from working an' i don't even take care of myself, 'cause in all honesty, why should i care!"

His breath quickened, leaving a void of silence between the two, the skeleton's chest moving up and down, slowly but dramatically. He stared down at the fire elemental who was still on his knees, his usual unfazed expression looking more empathetic and remorseful.

Sans dropped his arms limply, feeling an odd smile suddenly appear on his face, as he repeated, with a laugh, "why should i care?" He raised his shoulders, shaking his head slightly, "what's the point?" He took a step back, his grin still stretched.

Grillby looked up at him, noticing instantly that what he was saying must have been going through his head for sometime. He just had finally given up on keeping it to himself.

"Sans," Grillby began, glancing to his side, "I know what you're going through is hard, but it wouldn't have made it any more 'fair' if someone else made it out and you died. Nothing about your situation is okay, fair, or lucky. I understand that."

Sans looked towards the ground, not saying a word.

The elemental rose, walking over to the skeleton. He cupped one side of Sans' face, bringing his head up to look towards him instead of whatever he was finding more interesting about the floorboards. "And please, remember people care about you. You seem to have forgotten that."

"they're dead now." Sans said dully, not bothering to back away from his gesture.

Grillby tilted his head at the skeleton, questioningly. "I'm not."

The skeleton's eye sockets widened for a moment, just to narrow again, even tighter than before. He looked to the side, pushing his hand away as he let out a breath. He still made no effort to speak.

"Sans, I've always cared about you." Grillby said, confused by the reaction, "You've been my friend for so long, and I hope I can help you get through this."

In all honesty, Sans had actually thought he was being a nuisance to Grillby. He didn't realize he still valued him at all. He decided not to bring it up, daring a glance at Grillby.

Grillby was just looking down at him, giving him a warm, bitter-sweet smile.

Sans mirrored his expression, feeling his eyes well up again, gratitude flowing over him. He quickly wrapped himself around his friend, burying his face into his chest. He whispered through a whimper, "thank you."

Grillby gladly returned the gesture, leaning his chin into the top of Sans' head. He rubbed small, caring, circles into his back with his thumb. "You're welcome."

*****

A year had passed. Relationships have changed. Maybe things never had returned back to how it used to be, but it was back to as normal as it was ever going to be.

Sans started taking off his tie. It was funny how things changed. He looked into his reflection through a mirror behind the bar. Grillby's bar.

Since that day, Sans had been hired by Grillby as a waiter. A job was a job, anything was better than nothing at all, and it gave him an excuse to be around people more. He liked it, since his home now felt almost like a ghost town. Sometimes he could swear he could hear the ones who were deceased. Unfortunately, it seemed that it was just his own imagination.

He looked into the mirror, seeing Grillby walk up behind him. He quickly turned around tazzing the elemental's side.

Grillby jumped, a strange squeak escaping him, causing him to nearly drop the bucket of water in his hands. He glared at Sans, despite having a smile on his face before he smacked him on the top of the head with his cleaning rag.

Sans laughed, holding the now undone tie in his right hand. He flicked his left hand, blue magic surrounding the sign facing outside the diner, changing it from 'Opened' to 'Closed'.

The skeleton then hopped down from the front of the bar, dropping the tie on the table before grabbing the broom and beginning to clean the floor. As he cleaned, he glanced towards Grillby fondly.

He swept his way up to him, before bumping into him.

Grillby turned, looking towards Sans, before crossing his arms, giving Sans the 'what could you possibly want now' look.

"whoops, my bad. guess i was just blinded by you, hot stuff." he winked, knowing exactly how awful that pun was and loving it even more because of it.

Smoke puffed from the top of Grillby's head, "Really, Sans?"

Sans smirked, grabbing Grillby by the tie and bringing him down to his level, "come'on, you know you still love me." He looked into Grillby's eyes, not knowing where he would be without him. It's funny how much love can evolve and grow.

Grillby shook his head, chuckling, "I can't argue with that." He locked his lips with the skeleton's teeth, feeling him return it with his gentle vibration of magic, letting go of his tie then latching his arms around his neck.

Sans broke the kiss, looking up at him, raising a brow, "what happened to no PDA at the diner?" he laughed softly, his eyes glowing a bit brighter.

Grillby rolled his eyes, smiling wider, "Well, then. Guess we broke the rules."

"ou, what are we gonna do next? us bein' rebels now." Sans teased, laughing.

Grillby thought for a moment, standing up, which forced Sans to unlatch his arms, "Finish cleaning, then we'll talk." He said, playfully, giving him a sly grin.

Sans sent him finger guns before grabbing the broom, "got it, m'boss." He winked, knowing Grillby hated being called that.

Grillby sighed, laughing before he went back to work.

...A year has passed.

Relationships changed.

Maybe things never will return back to how it used to be, but...

it was back to as normal as it was ever going to be.

Sans turned, smiling biter-sweetly towards Grillby as he continued to sweep the floors.

"thank you..."

...

And God, did they love how it ended.

"...so much."

(Turtle side note: I hope you all enjoyed! The only reason I did this first was because I found a fanfiction I already started forever ago, and decided to just finish it.  That being said, thank you for reading! Love ya!)