The sky was heavy with clouds when Roxy packed her last bag.
It wasn't raining yet. But the air had that stillness, like the world was holding its breath.
Rudeus sat on the porch steps, arms wrapped around his knees, watching her from a distance. His usual confidence, the puffed-up charm, the bratty little quips, gone. Just silence.
Sans stood beside him, arms folded, leaning on the railing. Still in human form, for now. No jokes. No magic tricks.
Even he knew this one wasn't the time.
".... she really goin', huh?" he finally asked, his voice quiet.
Rudeus didn't answer. Just a small nod.
Zenith and Paul were nearby, giving their thanks to Roxy, shaking her hand, offering food and smiles and too-formal goodbyes. But Sans kept his eyes on Rudy.
"you could talk to her, y'know," he said. "say somethin'. anything."
".... She doesn't need me anymore," Rudeus muttered. "She taught me everything."
Sans tilted his head. "she taught you magic. doesn't mean you learnt everything."
Rudeus didn't answer.
The wind picked up. A single leaf danced across the steps between them.
Down by the path, Roxy hoisted her staff and turned.
"I'll be off now," she said gently.
Paul nodded. "You're welcome back any time."
Zenith bowed. "Thank you for everything."
She smiled, and then turned toward the road.
Rudeus still hadn't moved.
But Sans... he'd seen enough.
He flicked his wrist and sent a ripple of magic into the air, just enough to make Rudeus flinch.
"What was that for?!"
"call it, motivation," Sans said. Then pointed. "go. now. or you'll regret it, bonehead."
"But-!"
"I said go."
Moments Later
Roxy was halfway down the path when Rudeus came running.
She turned, blinking in surprise as he skidded to a halt, panting.
"I—!"
He froze.
The words jammed in his throat.
She waited.
Behind them, the clouds finally cracked. Thunder rolled across the hills.
And something inside him snapped.
He thrust a hand skyward, and channeled everything.
Emotion. Magic. Grief. Admiration.
The spell surged up his spine like lightning. He didn't even mutter the incantation.
The storm exploded above them, wind and rain lashing through the clearing in an instant.
BOOM!
Thunder cracked like the heavens applauded.
Rain poured down.
And Rudeus stood there, soaked, eyes wild, heart wide open.
Roxy's eyes widened.
"....You did that without a chant."
Rudeus grinned, half-laughing, half-choking. "I wanted you to see it."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then she stepped forward, leaned in....
.....and kissed his forehead.
"I saw" she whispered. "You've grown so much."
Rudeus flushed red to his ears, speechless.
Then she turned, smiling through the storm, and vanished down the road.
Back at the House
Rudeus trudged back in, dripping wet. Sans was waiting just inside the doorway, arms crossed.
"nice touch" he said, nodding toward the still-rumbling sky. "could've gone with flowers, but hey, dramatic weather works too."
Rudeus gave him a look. "You zapped me to make me go."
"correction: gentle motivational buzz. completely ethical."
Zenith rushed up with a towel. Paul followed with another.
"You caught her?" Paul asked.
Rudeus nodded, a soft smile on his face. "Yeah."
Sans leaned back, watching him, expression unreadable.
".....you really liked her, huh?"
"Of course I did."
Sans gave a slow nod. "then good. now you know what that feels like."
He clapped Rudy on the shoulder.
"get used to it, kid. people come and go. but how you say goodbye?" He paused. "that sticks with ya."
That night, Rudeus fell asleep with the window open. The rain had softened to a drizzle.
Sans sat nearby, still in skeleton form now, floating a single glowing blue bone and letting it spin lazily through the air.
He didn't say much.
Didn't need to.
Rudeus murmured something in his sleep, Roxy's name, maybe. Or just part of a dream.
Sans glanced over.
Then leaned back in his chair and whispered:
"Oh welp....romance aren't really my thing, but ya did well bud"
...
The rain had cleared by morning.
Golden sunlight filtered through the trees, dappling the stone path just outside the Greyrat home. Birds chirped, leaves rustled in the breeze, and the air smelled fresh—like wet earth and new beginnings.
"...weird how quiet it is," Sans said, hands behind his head as he strolled alongside Rudeus. "kinda makes me feel like the background music's on break."
"You always talk like that?" Rudeus asked, skipping along the edge of the road, eyes scanning for bugs or cool rocks.
"nah," Sans replied. "only when i'm awake."
Rudeus gave a snort.
The two made an odd pair: one a curious, sharp-eyed child in worn boots and a tunic, the other a boy-sized skeleton with a blue hoodie and lazy swagger.
Villagers had long since gotten used to the sight, even if a few still locked their doors when they passed.
"Think Roxy's doing okay?" Rudeus asked, glancing up.
Sans shrugged. "bet she's teaching some other punk how not to set themselves on fire. she's got that 'guiding spirit' vibe."
"Yeah," Rudy muttered. "I miss her already."
They walked in silence for a bit. The path curled around a grove of apple trees, dipping into a gentle hill before opening into a clearing near the village outskirts.
That's when they heard it.
Voices.
Loud. Cruel. Laughing.
"...What's that?" Rudeus asked, slowing down.
Sans stopped beside him, one eye-socket narrowing.
It was coming from behind a crumbled stone wall near the field.
"....you don't belong here, freak!"
A shout.
Then a thud.
Rudeus flinched.
Sans didn't.
He stepped forward, peeking around the edge of the wall, and saw three boys, maybe a year or two older than Rudy, looming over a small figure huddled in the dirt.
Green hair. Pointed ears. Pale skin, scraped at the knees.
She was trying to hide her tears, one hand clutching a cracked staff.
"...an elf?" Sans murmured after using [check] on her.
"What?" Rudy stepped beside him.
Sans didn't answer.
Because one of the bullies kicked at her again.
And something inside him snapped.
He moved.
Not running.
Just... there.
He stepped out from behind the wall, hoodie fluttering slightly as the wind picked up. His sockets glowed faintly.
"yo."
The bullies froze.
The tallest turned. "What do you-"
Then he saw him.
The grin.
The eyes.
The bones.
"Oh!"
"I'm gonna give you a choice," Sans said, his voice quiet. "you can run away. or i can make you regret not running."
The air dropped ten degrees.
The boy tried to play it cool. "W-We're not scared of some weird costume!"
BOOM.
A single bone slammed down in front of him, erupting from the ground with a burst of blue flame.
The bullies screamed.
They were gone in seconds, tripping over each other as they fled.
Sans let out a lazy breath and leaned on the summoned bone like a cane.
"kids these days," he muttered.
The clearing was silent again.
Sylphiette sat on the grass, hugging her knees, tears still fresh in her eyes. Rudeus crouched beside her, brushing her hair back gently.
"It's okay now," he said. "They're gone."
A short distance away, Sans stood still, arms slack at his sides, the glow in his eye sockets slowly fading.
He hadn't hurt the bullies.
Not really.
Just scared the soul out of them. A little summoned bone, a touch of cold air, a flicker of the old magic.
Nothing permanent.
Nothing fatal.
But when Paul arrived, not long after the screams had drawn attention, he didn't see that.
He didn't see the bruises Sylphy had, or the terrified look she gave when Rudeus let go of her hand.
He saw his son, his skeletal anomaly of a son, standing over scorched ground and magical residue with three screaming village boys running home to cry to their parents.
And he saw red.
SMACK!
The sound cracked through the clearing.
Sans reeled back, more out of shock than pain.
Paul's fist dropped.
"You think that's okay?!" Paul snapped. "Using that monster magic on children?!"
"Paul..." Sans started, rubbing his jaw. "dude. chill ou-"
"They're just kids! You could've killed them!"
Rudeus jumped up, eyes wide. "Wait! Dad! They were bullying her! They were hitting her!"
Sylphy whimpered behind him, trying to hide her face.
Paul froze.
Sans, for once, didn't speak.
Didn't joke.
Didn't move.
Just looked down at the dirt. Quiet. Expression unreadable.
Then Paul turned. He finally saw Sylphy, really saw her.
The scrapes on her knees.
The tear-streaked face.
The cracked wand in her lap.
The way she flinched when someone moved too fast.
His face changed.
All the anger drained from him like sand through an hourglass.
"I... "
He staggered forward, hands open, eyes wide. "I didn't know. I though-"
"You didn't ask," Sans said coldly, not even looking at him.
It hit like a spell to the chest.
Paul took a step back. "I'm..... sorry."
He turned to Rudeus. "You were protecting her?"
Rudeus nodded slowly.
"She would've gotten really hurt if we didn't."
Paul closed his eyes and sighed, deep and shaking.
Then, he dropped to his knees.
"I was wrong."
The words came out heavy.
"I let my anger get the better of me."
He looked up at Sans, guilt written all over his face.
" ...I hit you without understanding the situation. I'm sorry, Sans."
Sans blinked once. Then twice.
" ...heh."
He scratched behind his head and gave a lopsided grin.
"guess that makes two of us who hit without thinkin."
Paul winced.
Zenith arrived a few minutes later, breathless and worried, only to find Paul kneeling in grass, Sylphy in Rudeus' arms, and Sans floating a tiny glowing blue soul-flame just above his palm like it was a campfire.
" ...what happened?" she asked.
Sans shrugged.
"parenting."
That Night
At dinner, the air was still a little heavy. But Sylphy sat with them, clean and warm, sandwiched between Rudeus and Zenith. She smiled when Rudy passed her the potatoes.
Paul sat quietly, every so often sneaking a guilty glance at Sans, who now lounged sideways on his chair with a glowing blue eye and a fork in his hand.
"I didn't think you could even get hit," Rudy said later, while they watched the stars on the roof.
"me neither," Sans muttered, rubbing his cheek again. "not sure if it was the punch or the disappointment that stung more."
He glanced at Rudeus, then down at the yard below.
Sans added with a grin, "next time, you do the scaring. i'm tryna cut back."
...
"Okay, Sylphy," Rudeus said, proudly flipping open a tattered old magic book, "we'll start with water ball today. Watch closely!"
Sylphy nodded eagerly, her green hair bouncing as she focused. Her hands lifted, mana circling like a thin mist around her fingertips.
From a few feet away, a lazy voice called out.
"don't forget the twisty flick at the end, rookie. unless you wanna summon a puddle instead of a ball."
They both turned.
Sans was leaning against a tree, arms crossed behind his head, one socket half-lidded like he'd just woken up mid-nap. His hoodie flapped gently in the breeze.
"Again?" Rudeus grumbled. "You weren't even reading the book."
"nah," Sans replied, smirking. "i just read the vibes."
Sylphy giggled.
Rudeus shot her a betrayed look.
"Oh come on! You're on his side now?"
"She's got taste," Sans said with a wink.
Sylphy turned back, cheeks a little pink, and tried again.
This time, the magic swirled cleaner, tighter, and a neat little orb of water hovered in front of her.
Rudeus clapped. "Nice!"
Sans gave a small nod. "not bad. you're a natural, kid."
Sylphy beamed.
Then the water ball exploded and soaked her front.
She blinked.
" ...Oops."
Sans chuckled.
Rudeus sighed. "You have to control the compression. Or it goes kaboom."
"Or kablob," Sans added. "depends on the day."
Later That Afternoon
They moved to a grassy hill behind the house. The sun was just beginning its descent, painting the fields in gold.
Rudeus practiced incantations, mumbling under his breath.
Sylphy tried to copy him, fumbling over the longer words but grinning the whole time.
And Sans?
Sans sat on a rock, poking a summoned blue flame in mid-air with a stick.
He wasn't really watching them.
Except he absolutely was.
Every misstep. Every flicker of unstable mana. Every wobble in Sylphy's form.
And every time something came too close to blowing up in their faces, his magic quietly reached out to correct it.
A twist of gravity here.
A breeze nudged there.
A pulse of soul magic so faint it was like the world itself just decided to help.
"yo," Sans eventually said. "you two wanna break?"
"Not yet!" Rudy said. "We're almost at chantless fireballs!"
Sans raised a brow. "uh huh. and you totally didn't melt your shoe three tries ago."
Sylphy stifled a giggle.
"I'm gonna make two fireballs at once someday," Rudy declared, puffing out his chest.
Sans tossed a small bone into the air and caught it. "ambitious. you got the spark, kid. just don't burn down the house."
"You've done it more than me!"
"only once" Sans said, smirking. "and that attic was asking for it."