Goodnight, Kiddo... (Adopted by Sans! Reader Fanfic)

Nine

Your PoV

Of all the weird things Sans and I had done, puzzling over a Starbucks menu on our way to Ms. Bell's place was one of the last things I'd have expected to do.

"caramel macchiato or a lil' s'mores thingy?" he asks me. "man, why are there so many things to choose from?"

"Unicorn Frappucino," I continue, reading off the strange names. I'd never been to a Starbucks either. "Teavana tea, Midnight Mocha, what? Sans, I thought this was just a coffee place."

"you and me both," he agrees, watching a mixed line of humans and monsters beginning to form in front of our indecisiveness. We study the menu for a little while longer until we get up to the counter, and end up ordering the least complicated item- hot chocolate. Sans gets a slice of lemon loaf for us to share, plops the money on the counter, and waits for our drinks. We walk outside, where I immediately tell him that it is nowhere near as cold as Snowdin.

Sans laughs. The weather around us is calm, a slight breeze in the air and a layer of snow on the ground. We walk slowly down the sidewalks, talking as we savor our midmorning snack.

"you want my sweatshirt again, kiddo?" he asks me, offering a bite of the cake. He holds it in front of my mouth, and I take a bite.

I swallow before answering. "Nah, I'll just have to take it off once we get there. It's not too far."

Sans insists, however. "c'mon, you don't want to get sick again. it may not be as cold as snowdin, but it's enough to chill me to the bone."

"Fine," I say, rolling my eyes playfully as I take the sweatshirt. His hands full now, Sans holds my hot chocolate along with his and the remains of our citrusy cake. We continue down the street.

Sans sips his hot chocolate, his eyes on the tall buildings at our side. He watches the cars go by, the people in their windows, and every so often he sneaks a glance at me.

After a while, we stop to sit down on a bench of an outdoor cafe, vacant in the wintertime. Our pace, easy as it was, tired him out.

"Can I thank you now?" I murmur, swinging my legs. The heels of my worn-out shoes gently brush away the snow under me.

Sans yawns, shaking his head. "ya'd think the coffee would energize me," he jokes. "kid, you have no idea what you're in for. you'll know when to thank me, promise."

"All righty," I respond.

"how much longer 'till we get there?" he asks, his voice growing fainter as he closes his eyes.

I look hard at him. "Sans, you can't fall asleep! It's... It's only a little farther."

My complaint is met with silence. Figuring that he fell asleep, I ignore the scarce passerby and fold my arms.

"What if I said I didn't want to go back?" I mumble, my lip jutting outward in a pout. "Then what would you say?"

With his eyes still closed, Sans says, "what if i said i never wanted to take you back?"

I straighten, suddenly embarrassed.

"S-sorry," I whisper. "I didn't know you were still awake."

Sans still doesn't open his eyes, but he takes another sip of his drink. "i wish i never had to see that crazy lady again either, (y/n), but we've gotta sort this out. the way things are, you can't stay. i only hope she doesn't have me arrested." I notice that even that last sentence, serious as it was, had a flash of Sans's joking tone in it.

"Well, even if it's not time yet, I wanna thank you anyway," I say. "For taking me to Grillby's, and getting coffee just now, and letting me into your home... Nobody's ever treated me like this before."

He grins. "not a problem. wish we wouldn't have to split, kiddo."

I sigh, standing up. "Me, too. C'mon Sans... Let's get this over with."

Sans follows my lead, tossing the empty lemon loaf wrapper into a nearby trashcan, and we walk the next few blocks without stopping. At Ms. Bell's doorstep, Sans looks at me for a long moment, then stretches his arms out as if he were to give me a hug.

"reassurance," he murmurs, petting my hair as I accept it. "everything's gonna be fine."

We step up to the front door together, and I reach out to touch the doorbell. A faint orange glow emanates from its smooth white surface, barely kept alive. Ms. Bell soon answers the door, kids trailing her from all directions.

As soon as she sees me, her eyes widen, but when she notices Sans, they slide back down into an ugly squint.

"You," she hisses at him. "You hid her from me! I knew it!"

"ma'am," Sans says, shrugging it off, "here is your lost child. saw it on the news and everything, how much you missed her. i bet since she's your oldest and knows you the longest, she must be your model child, right?"

Ms. Bell's face contorts into a surprised expression, her mouth a perfect o.

"Wh-why, yes," she replies, hesitantly looking me over. "You could say it like that."

"well, i wanted you to know she was well cared for," Sans continues. "my brother's girlfriend gave her some new clothes, and we had a little adventure in a starbucks this morning on our way back. but here she is, and i'm letting you have her back, even though i'd like to keep someone as sweet as her."

I see the crestfallen faces of the little girls in the background, as unexplained luxuries that they'd never experienced poured from Sans's mouth.

"Why, yes," Ms. Bell says again, getting a bit impatient at his treatment of me. "If you'll just leave now, sir, I'll take her back. Thank you."

Sans winks at me as she yanks me inside, waving to all of us as she slams the door. The other little girls cling to the window as he leaves, trying to get a last glimpse of him as he walks away.

One of the smallest girls, short for her age of eight, rapped on the window in attempt to see him. Sans turned and saluted her playfully, and then disappeared with a slight wisp of blue.
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