A/N: Just so that nobody is startled. I want to warn everyone reading this that Sans may be a little mean in this chapter ... But of course, he has to have some reason ... right? (Once again, I own nothing. //sobs)

Memories flooded Frisk's head. Flashback after flashback after flashback. Sans looked exactly the same. His clothes hasn't changed, his grin hasn't changed, he still doesn't have eyebrows ... Frisk's heartbeat accelerated. A voice inside their head was telling them to open their mouth and speak. However, Frisk's mouth was open, it's just that they couldn't find any words. If Sans thought they were mute, they wouldn't blame him.

"Don't you know how to greet a new pal?" Sans cocked his head to the side, his right hand extended.

"Uhh ... umm ..." the first stutterings of a sentence started to formulate.

"Human!" Papyrus suddenly interrupted. "Don't shake that hand! He's got a whoopee cushion in it!"

Sans groaned. "Why d'ya give it away?"

"Because it's not funny!"

"That's because you keep falling for them," Sans laughed.

"It's YOUR fault you keep putting them around the house! I must have tripped on dozens of them by now!"

All of a sudden, Frisk began to giggle. They weren't even aware of it themself until Sans and Papyrus looked at them. Frisk realised they were the only one laughing and instinctively covered their mouth, feeling self-conscious ...

A silent two seconds passed. "Welp. Whad'ya know. Looks like you do have a funny bone in you after all, Papyrus." Sans chuckled lightly.

"Oh shut up! EVERYONE has a funny bone. Mine's just the best!" Papyrus puffed out his chest proudly.

Frisk patted Papyrus's shoulder as he finished the sentence. Although their eyes were on Papyrus, they could feel Sans's gaze boring into Frisk? They wonder if he could somehow tell ... if he somehow knew ...

Then again, just like Papyrus, Sans may prove to be a "different" Sans. Frisk so badly wanted to find out what he knows and what he can tell them ... but now doesn't really seem to be the right time. Speaking of which, they wonder what time of the day it was. Frisk peered around the room but was unable to find a clock.

As if Sans just read their mind, he suddenly spoke, " ... half-past eight."

They whipped their head back around but saw that he was speaking to Papyrus.

"ALREADY? I haven't prepared for my next puzzle yet!" Papyrus looked shocked and horrified at the same time. "We must head home now!"

Papyrus stood up to leave, putting a few notes and coins on the table. Frisk reached into their pocket, pulling out a single gold piece. They mentally chided themself for not bringing more gold before coming here. Frisk quickly got down from the chair and followed Papyrus who was just starting towards the door.

Then, he stopped abruptly, almost causing Frisk to bump into him.

He turned to Sans. "OH I almost forgot! Tonight, This hu - my ... friend will be staying over," he cast a hesitant glance to Frisk who gave him two thumbs up and nodded their head.

Flushing from happiness, he turned back to the door without awaiting a response from Sans. "Follow me! I will guide you to our fantastic home! I will be the best host ever!"

"Papyrus -" Sans called after but he was already out of the restaurant.

Frisk looked at Sans. He seems troubled. "Is everything alright," asked Frisk quietly.

Sans quickly gave a laugh. "I'm just worried he may get mad at the whoopee cushion I put outside his room."

Frisk smiled but couldn't help but have the feeling Sans may not be telling the truth ...

"You go on first. I'll see ya later."

Still staring at him, Frisk approached the door, and then they finally opened it and went out into the cold. They could see Papyrus walking towards their place in the distance. Shaking off the slightly uncomfortable feeling that stuck to Frisk, they hurried after Papyrus.

They just hoped that Sans wasn't secretly against Frisk staying over ...

Trailing after Papyrus for a minute or two, they finally reached their house. Frisk noted that Papyrus's mailbox was still empty, but this time, so was Sans's. Or at least, not stuffed to the brim with junk mail. Upon closer inspection, it looked like one mailbox (Papyrus's) looked newer than the other, if the lack of rust and shine were of any indication. They wondered if this house actually belonged to someone else before Sans and Papyrus came to Snowdin ... thus the sudden need for two mailboxes instead of one.

When Frisk entered the house, Papyrus was proudly showing them around the living room. The place was as sparse as ever, but other than the empty tables, nothing looks different. Somehow, despite the lack of furniture, the rugs and colour scheme of the room, combined with Papyrus's energy gave a groovy, comfortable vibe to the home which Frisk appreciated.

Suddenly, the both of them heard a door open and close from upstairs. Turning their heads, they saw Sans coming down the stairs, hands in the pocket of his jackets.

"SANS! Remove the whoopee cushions from the sofa!" Papyrus yelled. "We have a guest over!"

"Okay," said Sans, with a hint of amusement in his voice as he crossed the room to remove two whoopee cushions that Frisk hasn't even noticed from under the seats.

"That's better," said Papyrus. Then, turning to Frisk, he asked where they would like to sleep.

"We do have a guest bedroom! But," Papyrus lowered his voice, "it's actually my cool toolshed. Don't tell anyone."

Frisk laughed in spite of themself. However, sleeping in a wooden room on the wooden floor outside in the cold didn't really appeal to them, hence Frisk volunteered to take the couch.

Papyrus had no qualms with that and proceeded to offer supper which they declined.

"If you need anything. Yell for me! Or Sans. But he may prank you -"

"Hey, don't deny my jokes are pretty humerus!" Sans cut in, pointing to his upper arm.

Papyrus let out a strangled groan as his brother burst out into laughter. Then, Papyrus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he continued after regaining composure, "refreshments, accommodations and puzzles have been provided! With that, I hope you have a good rest. Goodnight, Human!"

Then the two brothers proceeded to go back to their rooms after turning off the lights. Frisk heard the sound of a door opening and a whoopee cushion going off.

"SANS!"

Laughing, they sat down on the couch and removed the haversack from their shoulders. Then, their laughter died as they remembered they had something to do.

The moon had started to come out as the clouds cleared. Light streamed in from the window, which cast a slightly ethereal glow about the room as it fell on the couch and carpet. Sighing, Frisk pulled out the diary from the haversack and inspected it closely. As they ran their fingers over the ornate, floral swirls, they wondered what kind of person Chara might be and why they would go to such lengths to destroy humanity. It feels strange and exciting at the same time, to hold such a personal possession of Chara's ... yet it was also a reminder as to why Frisk was here in the first place.

And then, loneliness struck Frisk once again.

"Ahem," a voice suddenly cleared, interrupting their thoughts.

Jumping a little, Frisk lowered the diary and looked up to see Sans standing half in the stream of moonlight and half in the shadows. Although he was smiling as always, they couldn't quite read his mood.

"I thought you might need this," he stepped into the moonlight and threw something swiftly to Frisk who barely caught it. It was soft and warm.

"Thank you for the blanket," said Frisk genuinely as they wrapped it around themselves.

Sans shrugged, "I'm hungry." He walked towards the kitchen, switching on the lights. "Do you want anything?"

They shook their head.

There were sounds of drawers opening and the rummaging of utensils. Frisk heard the fridge open and close, and following that, the sound of a microwave. Then the lights were off and Sans came out with a plate of fries.

"You know," he said, "I may be good with tricks but I can't make solid objects disappear yet ..."

Following Sans's line of sight, Frisk saw and realised that they were clutching the diary a little too tightly. So much so that their knuckles were turning white. They told themself to calm down and relaxed their grip, trying to hide their nervousness. It's odd but Sans seemed more guarded and uptight despite his jokes. Or maybe they were just over-thinking this?

"It's important ... to me," Frisk explained.

Sans cocked his head to one side.

"It's my diary," said Frisk quickly, "but I lost the key ... so I am looking for a locksmith."

"Is that why you are here?" Sans asked, expression unreadable. "Do humans not have locksmiths on the surface?"

This caught Frisk off guard. Sans knew they were human? Then again, Papyrus has been calling them "Human" ever since they met so Frisk really shouldn't be surprised ...

"I ... fell in accidentally," they started. "Was out hiking and I fell. Lost my key on the way down."

Sans raised his non-existent eyebrow. "Welp. Unfortunately, I can't help ya. Papyrus may know someone though. I'm kinda unfamiliar with the folks in town."

"Is that because you just moved here?" Frisk said suddenly, strangely emboldened by a sense of reckless courage.

Sans's grin somehow faltered. "Yeah ... Did uh, Papyrus say anything?"

Frisk decided to push it a little. "Maybe ..."

"What did he say?"

"He just talked about being confused here at first ..." Frisk said honestly, then they asked, "... Where did you move from?"

Sans's grin was back in full force, "I don't know, kid. My memory's not quite what it used to be."

This struck a chord from within Frisk. This was the first time he had ever called them "kid" and it somehow gave them more confidence. As someone who was relatively quiet, preferring to gesture than to speak, raising their voice was a first for Frisk.

"But you just got here!" they exclaimed.

"Heh."

"The monsters in town said you two just showed up one day!"

"They aren't wrong."

"But -"

"It's late," Sans interjected. "Get some rest. I'm gonna go ahead. Goodnight, kid." He started towards the stairs.

Frisk frowned. They wanted to call Sans back, tell him everything they knew. Reveal that they were from the future and tell him about how they've met everyone before. That they were already friends. And that Frisk was here to save Asriel because they weren't able to do so ...

That's why, Sans. That's why I'm here. So please, help me.

But Frisk couldn't find any words. They never came to them easy. The encouragement from hearing Sans call them "kid" was dying down. Now, Frisk was back to being the awkward, quiet human that was out of place, yet so at home in the Underground.

"Don't forget your ketchup, Sans," Frisk whispered to themself before lying down on the couch and wrapping the blanket even tighter around their body. Somehow, doing this gave them a little bit of comfort. It was as if it shielded them against the feelings of pain and helplessness that were growing stronger.

As they closed their eyes, they thought about the friends they once made. Toriel, Asgore, Asriel, Flowey, Papyrus, Sans, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Blooky ... All the memories, their faces upon getting to the surface ...

Seconds turned to minutes, and soon, Frisk was fast asleep, dreaming about their friends.

When Frisk woke up the next morning, they realised they were still holding on to the diary. As they reached down to put it back into the haversack, they also found a plate of spaghetti on the floor with a note to the side:

Specially delivered from Grillby's! May you enjoy the delight you never had.

Nyefully yours, Papyrus

Smiling, Frisk took up the plate and realised the spaghetti was half frozen. They decided to bring it to the kitchen to heat it up.

To their surprise, Papyrus was in the kitchen that morning. He seemed to be busying himself with something at the counter ... Frisk cleared their throat softly.

Papyrus jumped, noticing they were there. "Oh! Good morning, Human! I see you haven't eaten your spaghetti!"

"It's frozen."

Papyrus looked shocked. "Frozen!? Let me help you warm it up!" Then, he took the plate from Frisk and put it in the microwave in cupboards below.

They moved closer to Papyrus, trying to peer at what he was doing at the counter. With a start, he quickly grabbed what seemed to be a piece of paper and dropped his pencil.

"What's that?" Frisk asked.

"Why, that's - that's ..." Papyrus looked worried, clutching the paper to his chest.

They picked up the pencil from the floor, causing Papyrus to gasp. "Oh no! You aren't going to take that from me, are you? I need that to write this list!"

"List?"

Papyrus froze, then sighed. "You caught me, Human. Oh my. I was trying so hard to keep this a secret too! But you so cleverly tricked me into telling you!"

They waited patiently, as he laid out the piece of paper on the counter, smoothing it out.

"It's actually a gift list, for Christmas!" Papyrus said proudly. "Only I can't decide what to get Sans yet ..."

Frisk was slightly shocked. Christmas? When was Christmas? As soon as they wondered that, they also realised, they had asked that aloud.

"Why, it's tomorrow!" exclaimed Papyrus, giving them a strange look.

They were slightly taken aback. Christmas was tomorrow? That means today would be the 24th! Well, at least now that they knew that, they are able to keep track of the dates. Frisk peered at the list. On it, were Sans's name and Frisk's, or their nickname "Human" at least. They continued to read the rest of it. There were names like, "Shopkeeper", "Innkeeper", "Monster Bear outside Grillby's", "Weird Bunny with Pet", "Monster Kid" etc. Then they realised, Papyrus had listed down everyone who lived in Snowdin!

Frisk also noted that Papyrus had written, "key" next to their name. They pointed to it and looked at Papyrus in confusion.

"Oh. Well ... Sans told me you lost your key," said Papyrus hesitatingly. Then, with more confidence, he exclaimed, "but I'll get you a new one!"

They stared at Papyrus, wondering if he could really get a key that would fit the diary's lock perfectly. Has he even seen the diary? Just as Frisk was about to ask, Papyrus quickly grabbed them by the shoulders.

He looked around the room and lowered his voice. "Will you help me get a present for Sans?"

Frisk nodded with a smile.

"YES!" Papyrus hugged them and they returned it happily. "Well," he said after letting go, "what do you suggest?"

They thought for a while, but were unable to come up with ideas. Sans was a curious character ... sure, he appears to like bad jokes and puns, but there was definitely something more to him than that. They weren't sure how much Papyrus knew either. Did Sans ever tell him about his knowledge of timelines?

"Looks like you are out of ideas too," remarked Papyrus. "But of course, if I can't come up with one, surely you can't either. How about we take go get others their presents first?"

Frisk nodded yes and ran to grab their haversack.

A few minutes later, the two were out of the house and walking about Snowdin. It was a brilliant sight. Frisk didn't think it was possible but the town was even livelier and bustling with Christmas spirit more than ever. Monsters had already begun to decorate their houses with wreaths and brightly-coloured bobbles. As they walked around town, Frisk saw a few monsters on ladders, stringing fairy lights from tree to tree.

"Let's go into the shop!" Papyrus suggested.

Inside, the orange lit shop had a Christmas song playing on the radio and mistletoe everywhere.

"Welcome! We are having a Christmas sale today! Christmas-sy items off 50%!" The shopkeeper said brightly as the two wandered in.

"WOWIE!" Papyrus clapped in delight and hurriedly took out his list from his jacket. He showed the slightly crumped piece of paper to the shopkeeper.

"Oh yes! We do sell Christmas beanies! Please have a look at our collection!" She beamed.

Papyrus and Frisk thus began their extensive Christmas shopping for all the monsters in town, picking out every gift meticulously. As they shopped, Papyrus started to sing a merry tune and Frisk hummed along while the shopkeeper clapped to the beat.

A beanie for Strange bunny

A sweater for Monster Kid

A snow globe for Polar Bear ...

This went on for an hour or so. After purchasing half the items on Papyrus's list, they went to Snowdin Forest to pick out flowers and twigs to make a Christmas bouquet for the Shopkeeper and Innkeeper. They got an assortment of nuts and berries for Grizzly Bear and strung together snowdrop chains for the Librarby folks.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way ~~" Frisk sang softly.

"Oh what fun it is to ride on a Gyftrot-open sleigh!" Papyrus continued cheerfully.

A Gyftrot in the nearby trees gave an approving grunt.

With Christmas spirit in the air, Papyrus and Frisk quickly finished their gift shopping and walked back to Snowdin, arms laden with presents.

The monsters in town stared at the merry two. However, the Christmas spirit was growing on them too and they also began to sing along. Upon reaching home, Frisk and Papyrus was panting, faces red and warm from all the singing and walking about town. Then, Papyrus told them to start wrapping the gifts with the paper they just bought while he goes collect something. This leaves them alone at home surrounded by a pile of presents.

Well, they should get started.

Although they had bought wrapping paper, there were no scissors and tape. Frisk thought back to Papyrus and Sans's place on the surface. If they remembered correctly, Papyrus had once opened a drawer in the kitchen while attempting to find mittens and instead found a bunch of crafting tools instead. Frisk decided their best guess was the kitchen. And sure enough, opening one of the bottom drawers of the cupboard revealed papers, glue, scissors, tape and glitter. They also realised their spaghetti had been sitting in the microwave since the morning ... it seemed like Papyrus had forgot to turn it on ...

Frisk quickly got started on the gift wrapping. The afternoon quickly passed and soon, they were done with every single present. As they sat on the floor, they sighed, staring proudly at all of the wrapped gifts laid out in front of them.

Just then, Papyrus burst through the door. "Human!"

His eyes widened as he saw all of the presents. "WOWIE! They are wrapped so exquisitely! Of course, I knew straightaway you would do well but ... This is just wonderful!"

Frisk stood up, gave a bow and giggled.

Then, Papyrus pulled out something from behind him. It was a green box, about the size of the average book with a silver ribbon around it. "This is for you," he said, handing it to Frisk. "But don't open it yet! Wait 'till Christmas tomorrow!"

Frisk looked up at him. "Thank you," they murmur, quickly hugging the skeleton who warmly returned it.

Then, Papyrus remembered something. "SANS'S PRESENT!"

Frisk wanted to slap themself. How could they forget? However, all of a sudden, they heard the melody of a rock version of a Christmas carol drifting in from a nearby house. A lightbulb went off in their head.

"Papyrus," they started. "Does Sans like rock?"

"Rock?" Papyrus frowned. Then, a slow smile crept across his face. "Yes ... YES! That's IT! A ROCK!"

It was Frisk's turn to frown. "Huh?"

Papyrus grabbed all the presents, somehow managing to carry every single one of them. "I'm going to put this at the Christmas tree in town and get Sans's present on the way. Thanks for the great idea, Human!" And then, he disappeared out of the door.

Frisk wasn't sure if he got their idea on gifting Sans a rock album of Christmas tunes ...

That night, the Christmas tree at Snowdin was laden with presents and twinkling brighter than ever. So, Frisk thought, taking in all the Christmas decor and cheer in the gently falling snow. This was Snowdin on Christmas Eve ...

With a heavy heart, Frisk trudged back to Papyrus and Sans's place. They would have to leave by tonight. When they reached the house, they started packing, putting everything but Papyrus's gift to them in the haversack. When Papyrus came down the stairs and saw them, he remarked he was sad to see them go too, but nervously explained that Sans had told him he wasn't keen on letting Frisk stay another night.

Sans. He did seem a little guarded and defensive. Frisk recalled him being a lot more amiable the first time they met. Was it because this time, they just moved to Snowdin? Was Sans wary of strangers in general? Or did he have something to hide? Needless to say, Frisk was heartbroken they weren't able to form a strong friendship with Sans ... somehow, they got the feeling that he didn't trust them, despite all his jokes and puns.

"Human," Papyrus said, pulling Frisk out from their thoughts. "Do you want to wait up for Santa with me? Before you ... go?"

Frisk blinked. Santa?

Evidently, they looked perplexed because Papyrus begun to explain himself. "I want to see Santa and thank him for his gifts! I've always gotten what I've written for! I must be a good skeleton!"

They smiled agreeingly.

"Let's go up to the roof!" Papyrus said and gestured for them to follow him.

10 minutes later, the two were sitting on the snowy tiles of the roof, freezing. Or at least, Frisk was. Papyrus looked just fine, no, more than fine. He looked excited and couldn't stop rambling about the presents from Santa he'd gotten from previous years.

Then, as time dragged on, Papyrus also slowly grew silent. They both leaned back, watching the bright stars (or rocks) that hinted of galaxies and other worlds ... It was a beautiful kind of magic that one so rarely experiences in their lifetime. A sense of the unknown, and how little you are compared to the ever-expanding, beautiful world out there. Sitting so high up, the falling snow seemed to sparkle and dance around them, adding to the magic.

However, Frisk soon heard a snore next to them. Looking over, they realised Papyrus had fallen asleep.

"Papyrus -" they called softly, reaching over to shake them awake.

"Hey, kid," a gruff voice said from behind them. Frisk turned to see Sans coming up on the roof. "Is my brother asleep?"

They nod.

"Okay. Good. Don't wake him. I gotta get him down to bed. Why don't you go down first and wait?"

A little confused, Frisk stood and climbed down from the roof and went into the house. They waited patiently in the living room and soon Sans appeared on the stairs.

"You know, I almost couldn't get his present done on time this year. This is the first time he's asked for an action figure of himself as a Royal Guard. I wonder who put that idea in his head." Sans said as he came towards Frisk.

They shift uncomfortably.

Sans suddenly laughed. "I suppose there's no point trying to hide it now. Papyrus waits up for Santa every year but always falls asleep around this time. It's a good thing too. He might be disappointed to find out it's been me all along ..."

Frisk let out a quiet, "oh." It made sense. This conversation made sense. Sans was just talking about how he'd been pretending to be Santa for years which wasn't surprising at all. It's just a casual conversation ... so why does it feel so tense?

To distract themself, they picked up the gift Papyrus had gave them earlier, fingering the ribbon lightly.

"Why don't you open it? It's 12 midnight." Sans said, looking intently at Frisk.

They sit down on the sofa and proceeded to untie the silver ribbon. It fell from their hands. They lift the cover of the green box, revealing ...

A shiny sculpture of a key made in glass. It was just a little smaller than Frisk's hand.

"It's pretty," they smiled as they held it up. It had a round base at the bottom which allowed it to stand. Although, it wasn't quite what Frisk was looking for, they appreciated the sincerity and effort.

"Wow," remarked Sans. "I can't believe he actually did it."

They looked at Sans, confused.

He scratched his nose, or at least, where his nose had been. "I told Papyrus that you were here to get a key to replace the one you lost. I don't think he understood but I can't believe he would still go to lengths to make this for you ...

"He actually went to request Ice Wolf, someone whom he was mildly afraid of, to make this. That's amazing. How did you manage to worm your way into his heart so fast?"

They felt more disconcerted by the second. What was going on? Why was Sans saying all this?

"Papyrus," he carried on, "had never been one to make many pals. Sure, he is a friendly guy but he's a little socially awkward and has a hard time making friends because of that. So he grew up with the mentality that everyone was intimidated by him because he's too awesome ... But I guess, you already know that, don't you, kid?"

Sans stared at at Frisk. Expression once again unreadable. They thought they could just make out a light behind his left eye. But it was just a flicker. And as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. A few seconds of tense silence passed.

"What do you want, kid?" Sans suddenly demanded, his tone was casual but it somehow sounded threatening. "You think I haven't noticed? How quickly you became friends with my brother. How you know this house like your own home. How you even know what sauce I have my fries with."

"What are you up to? You, a spy, kid? We got nothing to hide here."

Frisk's heartbeat quickened. Oh no, oh no ... everything was going downhill. How did Sans arrive at the conclusion that they were a spy? They could feel their voice dying, as if someone had clutched at it and was squeezing the life out. This feeling was horribly familiar. They didn't want to remember it but it reminded them of their school days on the surface before falling into Underground ... where they felt welcome, at home. Where they found their voice again.

"I, I ..." Frisk stammered. "I just want ... to find, a key -"

Sans laughed. "Sure, kid."

Tell him! Screamed an inner voice inside of Frisk. Tell him why you're really here!

No! Frisk argued against themself. They couldn't! If they told Sans they were here from the future to save Asriel and humanity from death and destruction at the hands of Chara, Sans will never believe them! There's no way they can prove any of this! How much does Sans know about the future or timelines at this point in time anyway? There's just too much risks involved and Frisk wasn't ready to take them.

"Do you ..." Frisk started in a strained voice, "... do you believe in time travel?"

Sans looked at them long and hard.

"Nope."

Something in Frisk crumbled and died upon hearing his answer.

"I ... I should go." They put the sculpture back in the box and shoved it in the haversack. "I'm sorry for intruding. Thank you, for having me."

Then, they heaved the haversack over their shoulder and ran out of the house without looking back ...

They ran and ran, silent tears freezing on their cheeks in the cold wintry air.