It was a sunny afternoon. The kind of day that begged for running, for laughing, for games in the yard.
Kids from the nearby village had come to play near the Greyrat estate, laughing, chasing chickens, pretending to be knights and monsters.
Rudeus sat on the steps of the porch, hugging his knees, watching them from a distance.
Not playing.
Not even trying.
Sans leaned against the porch rail beside him, sipping something cold with a clink of ice cubes in the glass. He didn't say anything at first.
Just watched.
The silence stretched.
Then...
"They're dumb anyway," Rudeus muttered.
Sans looked at him. "oh yeah?"
"They wouldn't get it. I'm smarter than them. They're just kids."
Sans chewed the straw in his drink for a second, then said, "so are you."
Rudeus frowned. "I mean mentally."
"... ah."
He sat down next to him, creaky bones and all, letting his legs dangle off the edge.
"lemme guess," Sans said. "you tried to talk magic with them. or theories. or the stock market or some other grown-up junk."
Rudeus didn't answer.
Sans looked out at the kids for a long time.
Then said, real quiet: "lemme tell ya a secret, bro."
Rudeus looked over.
Sans's voice was still light, but the joking edge was gone.
"i wasn't good with people either. back where i came from. never really tried to fit in. never wanted to."
He scratched his skull.
"told myself i was above it all. smarter. funnier. didn't need anyone."
Rudeus blinked. "... That sounds familiar."
"yeah. it's an easy lie to sell yourself when being alone hurts less than being rejected."
Rudeus didn't say anything.
"... but y'know what?" Sans went on, eyes on the kids. "that version of me? the one that didn't try? he died bitter. full of regrets. and bad puns."
He smiled softly. "so i'm tryin' something different in this life."
Rudeus swallowed. "You think I'm doing it wrong?"
Sans looked at him. Really looked at him.
"nah. i think you're scared."
He nudged Rudeus with a bony elbow.
"and i think.... it's okay to be scared."
A silence settled between them again. This one was less awkward. More.... honest.
"....I don't know how to talk to them," Rudeus finally admitted. "They talk about games and chasing bugs and climbing trees and, I don't care about any of that. But if I talk about magic or calculus, they just call me weird."
Sans chuckled. "well.... you are weird."
Rudeus glared.
"but so are they," Sans added. "everyone's weird, just in their own flavor. you just gotta find the one that goes with yours."
He stood, stretching.
"i'll make ya a deal."
Rudeus looked up.
"i'll help you practice your people skills. one awkward conversation at a time. think of it like.... a new kind of spell. takes time. lots of failure. but if you master it?"
He tapped Rudy's forehead.
"you won't be lonely anymore."
Rudeus sat there, stunned.
".... That actually sounds kind of nice."
Sans turned, hands in his pockets, starting back toward the house.
"don't get used to me being soft, kid."
"Too late" Rudeus called.
Sans paused.
".....heh. Tomorrow yeah?"
" ...sure..."
He didn't turn around.
But for the first time in a long while, Rudeus smiled a little.
And in that moment, brotherhood, real brotherhood, began to take root.
...
It's a beautiful day outside
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming
On day like this, kids like Rudy
Could make some new friends
It was the kind of day that made you forget monsters even existed.
Blue skies stretched overhead, fields blooming, and laughter echoed from the edge of the Greyrat property where a group of village kids were tossing rocks and playing tag.
From the porch, Rudeus stared.
Hugged knees. Blank stare.
He wanted to go. Really, he did.
But wanting and doing were two very different things.
He just there, like yesterday.
A familiar skeletal figure dropped into the chair beside him with a dramatic clack. He was in full bone-mode today, which the Greyrats had long since stopped reacting to. After the second or third time Zenith nearly fainted, they'd just... adjusted.
Sans leaned back lazily, summoned a bottle of some fizzy blue drink from a shimmer of magic, and sipped.
"still brooding, huh?"
Rudeus groaned. "They won't talk to me."
"have you tried talking to them?"
"I said 'hello.' Then tried explaining how the water crystal trick works. Then I said something about mana flow."
Sans gave him a look. "...dude. that's like walkin' up to someone and sayin 'hi, wanna read a physics textbook together?'"
Rudeus frowned. "Is that... bad?"
Sans snorted. "c'mon. we're fixing this. now."
Ten Minutes Later
A bunch of kids gathered around the clearing near the riverbank, where Sans stood, spinning a bone like a baton.
"alright, monsters and mayhem! we're gonna play something special today~. Straight from the depths of hell itself!"
The kids gasped.
Rudeus nearly choked. "What?!"
Sans winked. "relax, it's just dodgebone."
He raised a glowing, floating bone overhead. "rules are simple. don't get hit. if you do, you gotta do the loser's dance."
One brave kid laughed. "That's not a real spell!"
Sans' left eye flickered blue.
"oh? want a demo?"
He snapped his fingers, and a floating bone swerved at full speed toward the kid. It stopped an inch away from his nose and wiggled.
"boo."
The kid screamed. Then burst into laughter.
Within minutes, everyone was running, screaming, and laughing as glowing bones whizzed through the air, gently bouncing off arms and legs with harmless bonks. The field became a battlefield of pure joy.
Rudeus stood frozen at first.
Then one of the kids tagged him. "You're in!"
He hesitated....
Then smiled, and ran.
Later
The game ended with everyone panting on the grass. Rudy was covered in dirt, his face sweaty, but glowing with something deeper than just a good time.
He looked at Sans, breathless.
"They liked me."
Sans grinned, sitting cross-legged and summoning a harmless mini-Gaster Blaster to float above them like a balloon.
"course they do. you're weird. they're weird. it works."
He turned to the group. "alright, lil' humans. who wants to see a soul trick?"
Cue a dozen tiny hands shooting up.
Evening
Paul sat on the porch, watching the sun dip below the hills. Zenith leaned against his side, humming softly.
Inside, Rudeus was excitedly telling the story of the bone-dodgeball massacre.
"... and then Sans hit me in the back of the head with three bones at once! But I dodged the last one using wind magic!"
Zenith smiled, brushing his hair back. "You made some friends today, Rudy."
"Yeah" he said, quieter. "I think I did."
Sans stood leaning against the doorframe, still in skeleton form, sipping another glowy drink. Paul looked over.
"You're a strange one, Sans."
"thanks, i try."
Paul smirked. "You're good for the boy. Even if your magic gives me the creeps sometimes."
"that's fair. soul stuff isn't exactly bedtime story material."
Zenith glanced at him. "You could've done all this from the beginning, couldn't you?"
Sans shrugged. "maybe. but some things only work if he's the one who moves first."
She smiled. "You're a good brother."
"...don't say that too loud. you'll ruin my rep."
And as the stars came out and the house settled into night, Rudeus fell asleep with a tired grin, and a few bruises from dodgebone.
He didn't feel lonely anymore.
Not tonight.
...
The next day...
The sun was barely up when Paul Greyrat, swordsman extraordinaire and self-proclaimed super dad, made a decision.
"I need to bond with Sans! We're family!"
He stood in the hallway outside the boys' room, arms crossed, nodding to himself.
"He's my son too" Paul muttered. "Even if he's... bony. And glows sometimes. I can't let Zenith do all the emotional work!"
From inside the room came the sound of snoring.
Then a clack.
"yo" came the lazy voice. "been standing there for five minutes, pops. you gonna stare all day or say something?"
Paul jumped. "Wha-! You were awake?!"
"skeleton. no eyelids. always awake. fun times."
Sans was sitting cross-legged on the bed, in full skeleton form, floating a playing card with blue magic. He lazily flipped it through the air and caught it between two phalanges.
Paul rubbed his temple.
"I was thinking we could... spend time together today. Just the two of us. Y'know. Dad and son."
Sans stared at him.
Then slowly tilted his head.
"do i gotta call you 'pops' the whole time?"
Paul sighed. "Only if you want to."
"deal."
Ten Minutes Later
"So" Paul said as they walked through the field, "what do you do for fun, anyway?"
Sans pulled a bone out of nowhere, twirled it, and shot it like a javelin into the air. It arced gracefully, then stuck into a tree trunk on the other side of the yard.
Paul stared.
"...You've got a weird idea of fun."
Sans shrugged. "used to hang out in a place where my idea of fun was dodging knives. this is an upgrade."
Paul gave a short laugh, trying to hide how unnerved he was.
They reached the training post. Wooden dummies stood waiting, battered and beaten from years of sword practice.
Paul tossed Sans a wooden sword.
Sans caught it. Twirled it.
"we playing knights?"
Paul grinned. "More like 'father teaches son the basics.'"
Sans nodded. "right. then allow me to retort...."
He vanished.
Paul blinked. "Wha-?"
Behind him, a soft "boop."
Sans had reappeared with the sword poking gently into Paul's back.
"you're dead...." Sans said cheerfully.
Paul jumped, spinning around. "No teleporting! That's cheating!"
"nah, it's monster magic. tactical advantage, bro."
They squared up again. This time, Paul went all in, charged, swung, yelled. Sans ducked, dodged, and blocked with casual laziness, his bones rattling with each impact.
Paul was panting within minutes.
Sans hadn't broken a sweat.
" .... okay," Paul wheezed, hands on his knees, "let's... let's take five."
Sans offered him a bottle of glowing blue juice. Paul took it. Sipped. Then immediately coughed.
"What is this?!"
"soulberry fizz. found the recipe in my old memories. kinda gives ya a temporary boost in mana.... or gas. could go either way."
Paul wiped his tongue on his sleeve.
"Zenith's going to kill me if I drop dead from skeleton juice."
Later
They sat under the shade of a tree, cooling off.
" ....You really care about Rudy, huh?" Paul said after a pause.
Sans didn't speak for a second.
Then nodded. "he's a mess."
Paul blinked.
"he hides it well, but i see it. kid's lonely. scared. thinks he's broken."
Paul's smile faded a little.
" ....You're not wrong."
Sans turned his head toward him. "you weren't around much at first."
Paul looked away.
"I know."
"you trying now?"
" .....Yeah. I am."
Sans leaned back.
"good. 'cause if you don't step up, i'll adopt him myself."
Paul snorted. "You'd be a terrible parent."
"damn right. but i'd be funny."
They sat together in the silence that followed.
Just a skeleton and a swordsman.
Maybe not the most normal father-son bonding ever.....but real, in its own weird way.
Back at Home
Zenith opened the door just as the two of them walked in, Paul sweaty and sore, Sans whistling a jaunty tune.
She raised an eyebrow. "...What happened to you?"
Paul groaned. "Your other son cheats."
Sans flashed a lazy grin. "he wanted to play swords. i gave him a bonafide experience."
Zenith rolled her eyes. "Dinner in ten. Don't break anything."
As Paul limped toward the bath, Sans turned to her and said:
" ...he's not bad, y'know. for a meatbag."
She smiled. "He's trying."
Sans shrugged, then pulled out a floating bone like a conductor's baton and spun it.
"guess we all are. Man, having a mother sure is new"
" Hope you like it then~"