In all honesty, things were pretty good for the little Gaster-plus-Wyngblaise family. They were all together, the father, the uncle, and the brothers, and they were all on the surface. They were in a peacetime, no war to worry about. Things were good, there was nothing to worry about.

Yet monsters were beings of emotion, and for as good as things were, Sans still had bad days. Days where it was hard to get out of bed, days where he wasn't in the slightest bit hungry, not even for a hotdog. Days where going beyond the front door seemed impossible. Days where he was ready to give up, didn't see the point, couldn't even try.

Gaster had left before the shorter skeleton awoke, and wasn't there to comfort Sans. Papyrus had stayed for a while, but Sans had assured him he was okay, and that the younger brother could go meet up with Undyne and Alphys to do something or other.

Firhaur arrived at the house later in the day, after spending some time exploring the forests surrounding Ebott town. He walked into the living room, saw the small skeleton curled up on the couch, and let out a slow sigh. Then he moved over, settled down on the floor beside the couch, and draped one wing over the couch, sheltering Sans under the tent of his wing. Finally, he twisted his head around to tuck it under his wing, nuzzling gently up against Sans.

Sans just let out a whimper, and snuggled up against the dragon.

For a long time, they just laid there, snuggled together. Firhaur started letting out a soft rumble, a gentle, comforting purr, to let Sans know that everything was going to be okay, and to let him know that he was loved.

But eventually, the dragon bossmonster's patience with the moping skeleton wore thin. He asked, "Well? Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Sans took a long time in replying, slowly sitting up and pulling Firhaur's wing over his shoulder like a blanket. "... did... did dad explain about... about the time anomaly to you?" He asked quietly.

Firhaur blew out a slow breath. "A little bit. About how Frisk has so much Determination, they are able to manipulate time itself. Though, I admit, Magic was my main focus of study, and quantum physics and all that was never my strong suit."

Sans just let out a small murmur as Firhaur hugged Sans a little tighter with his wing. "... that's... all you really need to know... but me? ... i remember the resets. i remember it when they do it, when they drag us all back to the underground... and... and i just can't stop thinking..." He sighed. "the kiddo promised they wouldn't reset without a good reason, but... but i of all people should know promises can be broken. and... i'm afraid that... one of these days, i'll wake up, and it won't be here. i'll be back in snowdin, and the barrier will still be there, and none of this will have happened-..."

Firhaur blew out a slow sigh. He gently pulled Sans close with his wing, scooped up the small skeleton in his arms. Firhaur cradled Sans on his back like a child, so Sans' hands were tucked against his chest.

"... It is true that they may break their promise, I'll grant you that. But, they also may not break their promise. You have no way of knowing, do you?" Firhaur paused a moment to allow Sans to give a small head shake. "Besides, in the end, is there really anything you can do to stop it?"

"no..!" Sans nearly sobbed.

Before he could break down into hysterics, though, Firhaur interrupted. "So why are you worrying about it?"

"b-because what if they do reset? a-and what if- if they commit genocide again, a-and everyone--"

"So what?" Firhaur interrupted with a gentle laugh, leaning forward a little to nuzzle Sans' chest with the tip of his snout. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the thought is a horrible one, and I'm so sorry that you have to remember it. But that's then and there and this is here and now. And here and now is on the surface, with you, and me, and your brother, and my brother, and the king, and the queen, and everyone else, all together and alive and happy. You can't tell if Frisk will reset or not, and you don't know when they'll do it, if they do it. It's just some vague idea, some distant possibility that may or may not ever happen that you can't control anyway. So why worry about it? Why let the then and there ruin the here and now?"

"because it c-could all end, a-any second, a-and--"

"But that just means you need to enjoy every second! Life and happiness and love like this, Sans, is the most valuable thing in the world. And if you spend all this time worrying about losing it, then you'll be too busy trying to hold on to it to enjoy it for all it's worth!"

Sans let out a noncommittal mumble.

Firhaur hugged him a little tighter. "Besides, again, there's nothing you can do. It'll come eventually, or it won't, but that's then. This is now. Sans. Look at me." Firhaur met Sans' gaze and held it, the pair of them staring at each other for a long moment. "Don't worry about what may or may not happen at some undefined point in the future. If you must, must worry about something..." another long pause. "Worry about how Gaster said he's going to be cooking dinner tonight."

Despite his best efforts, that earned a little chuckle from Sans.

Firhaur smiled with his success, and continued. "I mean, that we can change, and if we don't do anything to stop him, he'll burn the house down! Again!" Firhaur grinned a little. "But, I guess I'm getting a little fired up about the issue."

Sans laughed a little more. "y-yeah, it's not like it's a heated debate or anything."

Firhaur chuckled a little. Then, "Hey, wanna go get Grillby's? Then we can say we already ate."

Sans smiled up at the dragon. "... yeah, okay."

With that, Firhaur lifted Sans onto his back, and headed off to Grillby's.

§

A/N

Firhaur is the best sass kitten dragon uncle.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are my Favorite Things, and every notification I get makes my day!