I try to get up without tangling myself up in my earbuds and blanket. I fail. I try to sit up straight, but I remember the hard way that I'm under a table. Thump.

"Ouch!" I yelp. I glare upwards at the table while rubbing my head, like it was its fault I'd hit it.

Sans chuckles and shakes his head, watching me struggle.

I give him that look.

"what?" He asks innocently. "it's funny watching you flail around like that." He shrugs, continuing to lean against a wall nonchalantly, but I can feel the cord of the earbuds start to loosen their hold on me. I stop struggling and let him untangle it with his telekinesis.

"Thanks, Sans." I say when he's done.

"for what?" He says with a smile, not making eye contact in his usual cool way. "i didn't do anything."

I roll my eyes.

Psh. And Alphys calls me a tsundere.

I get out from under the table. I collect my stuff and put it back in my bag while yawning and rubbing my eyes.

"it'll be Christmas eve tomorrow," Sans says, "that's probably why Toriel doesnt want you to sleep too much during the day. it'll mess up your sleep schedule, or at least even more than it already is."

"Huh. I totally forgot. It's....Saturday, right?" I say, surprised.

Sans nods.

"It's the 23 today. Christmas is in two days."

I don't know how I'd forgotten. All the monsters really love Christmas, so the house is all decked out in holly and that other green stuff (what's it called...?). The Christmas tree practically takes up half the living room at home. Even the lab is decorated, (against Alphys wishes of course; she likes having the lab clean and distraction free, but Undyne had decorated it, and I think Alphys didn't want to take all the lights and stuff down because they remind her of Undyne). I must've been more tired than I'd thought- I'd totally glossed over that stuff in my descriptions. Sorry, guys.

I swing my bookbag across my back and slip my phone and my earbuds in an inside pocket of my jacket with the usual silent prayer that they wouldn't end up tangling themselves up in my pocket.

Sans offers his sleeve to me, knowing me well enough by now to not offer his hand, because I won't take it.

Actually, he learned that the day we first met.

***

"hey, Tori," Sans start hesitantly, as if he's not too sure how to ask this, "Can I take the kids out to Grillby's or something."

"Why?" She asks him looking surprised and slightly suspicious. "Why can't you talk to them here?"

"It's....a long story." He says with a slight smile, "maybe one day I'll be able to tell you, but either way, me and them have...uh....some things to clear up."

She studies us. I know she didn't miss the looks on mine and Azzy's faces when we saw Sans. Actually, when we saw everyone. She knows we know them somehow.

"It'll be fine, Mom." I say, ignoring the frightened looks on Frisk's and Azzy's faces. "He's right."

Frisk looks like he's about to protest, but I glare at him, "Consequences." I say with a sharp edge in my voice, only loud enough for Frisk, Azzy and Sans to hear. "This is what happens."

"Okay," She says reluctantly, not wanting to let us go so soon, "Just...just be careful."

We end up going to Grillby's. Not that many monsters are in there. Frisk, Azzy, and me all slide into a booth. Sans stays standing.

"so, Chara, huh?" He studies me shrewdly.

I don't bat an eye at it. "Yep."

"Can I talk to you? Alone, I mean." Sans adds as Frisk and Azzy go to stand up. "Nothing bad, I promise," He says, as if reading my mind. I keep my face neutral and look at him warily.

"No. She doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to." Azzy says fiercely, "you got something to say, you can say it to all of us!"

"Guys this isn't Geno'. I'm not gonna dunk you, 'cause ya haven't done anything to deserve that. Well, in this timeline at least."

The tension is palpable for a second. "Okay," I shrug.

"But-" Frisk starts to object.

"Even if I die Frisk, its not like itll be the first time," I say exasperatedly, "Besides, he's not gonna do anything."

"Fine." Frisk says. Under the table, he tries to put the knife in my hands. I push his hand away, and the knife clatters to the floor.

"No." I say firmly. I stand up and get out of the booth.

Sans doesn't miss this exchange, but he doesn't react either.

"i'm not gonna do anything, Frisk." Sans says quietly meeting his eyes, "I just want to talk to her."

They stare at eachother for a second, until Frisk seems to relax. He nods and says, "Okay. Stay safe."

After a moment he says to Azzy, "Hey we never had a chance to talk after that battle."

Sans jesters toward the door with a smile. "Come on."

We walk out of Grillby's into the freezing outside. I wince at the cold.

He notices, and asks while we're walking, "so what's you're favorite place in the underground? Or, what was you're favorite place in the Underground when you were alive?"

I think about this for a second as we walk. Our footsteps crunch into the snow and I can see my breath when I exhale. "Honestly.....I think it was where ever Azzy was."

He nods. He says without looking at me. "so you two were pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah, we were."

He nods as if understanding. He probably does; him and his brother are pretty close. "well.... what about your second favorite place?"

"Hmmm." I pause. "I guess Waterfall. I really loved the places with the echo flowers. Quiet Water."

"ah. so quiche bench?"

"Sure."

He offers me his hand. I don't take it. Instead, I grab his sleeve. He blinks a couple times, looking kinda surprised, but he doesn't question it.

***

Sans looks at me funny. We're at home, a couple of feet from the stairs that but I haven't let go of his sleeve.

"Woops. Sorry, I zoned out there for a sec."

"uh, Okay." He says, studying me as if trying to figure out what I was thinking about.

I raise my eyebrows at this. "Come on. Toriel is waiting."

I shake my head as if that will get rid of the memories. I look at the house fondly. It has lights and garlin all strung around it. My feet make that crunching and squeaking sound in the snow as I walk up the steps, and the door practically screams as I open it. Our home is this old town house that was pretty rundown when we came to the surface. No one wanted it, and the previous owner had never used it, so they gave it to us, (They are super nice; we still talk to them sometimes). We fixed the house up when we came here. Everyone helped by using their magic. Even me and Frisk helped, even though we can't do magic, we still managed to do the few things we could with old fashioned determination and elbow grease.

***

OK, yeah, i know. this is kinda an incomplete chapter, fight me. It's a 1249 words. I'll continue it in the next chapter.