Seeing yellow eyes on the other side of his front door had brought his little fantasy world crashing down.

Sans knew it was bound to. He knew he was on borrowed time. That Frisk would eventually find him, that resets would catch up and he'd have to talk about them. That, even with his time as a Judge and his tracks pretty covered for his less-than-legal activities of hosting serial killers, Sans was on borrowed time.

What a cluster fuck, huh? Sans really didn't know when to keep digging. Maybe he was never bound to have a normal life, fate was certain of that. Born as an experiment who had to claw his way out to freedom with snarling grows and sharp teeth only to discover a second, bigger cage waiting for him, with an infant in his hands and absolutely no experience on how to care for something so tiny and vulnerable.

He did try. He really did. Sans was just a kid, though. A kid who managed to barely scrape past getting shoved into the overcrowded fostering system of the Underground with luck and a few connections. Fuck if he knew how to raise a kid, but he tried to teach Papyrus how to live as he taught himself. Sacrificed himself in a repeat of resets and bloodshed to try and keep his brothers innocence, the only thing keeping Sans from calling it quits with a bullet to his skull, frankly. Only to discover, once they finally escaped to the surface, that apparently Sans had fucked it up so badly that Papyrus left him in a building to die.

It wasn't solely his fault, he knew that. He was a kid with no parents, and barely any support, who just escaped from a basement of experiments and test tubes and was worth nothing more than his magic capabilities. And it wasn't all Papyrus' fault either, since he had just grown into the overabundance of lavishing attention Sans thrust upon him out of his own trauma. Sans watered him, of course, Papyrus would grow under the rain. If anyone was to be blamed fully, it was the fucked up Scientist who wore stupid glasses and decided that incubating two children into experiments was a perfect idea and would have absolutely no repercussions whatsoever.

Yeah, safe to say that certainly was not the outcome.

Either way, Sans' life was always bound for a fucked up road from the start. It was his birthright. He tried in the lab, and he failed. He tried with Papyrus, and he failed. Happiness from others was something difficult and fleeting because when they left, he was just as sad and broken as before. Sans had to build confidence and joy in himself first, and that was... a process.

Finally, a new life came around with the craving for family and support that was wholeheartedly given to him. Though, luck never was on Sans' side to begin with, so of course it was from serial killers of all things. Not that he cared. From being born to kill to being trained as the Royal Judge, and having a murder of his own in his back pocket, his moral opinions were just as monochrome as his tall clown boyfriend he very much adored. So when Smile Dog had given him soft reassurances and support, appearing as the first stable rock in years of his shitty life, Sans started to yearn for more. And more he was given. The slippery slope of disappearing finally had a rope, and he was being brought out.

Even if that rope was held by killers. Death wasn't as permanent when most of your life was spent in a time loop, and Sans found himself caring less and less about other people every day. They were just as broken and needy as him, so how could he judge when he was no better than them? If anything, Sans was just better at self-control and hiding. If resets were remembered by people other than himself, he likely would've been thrown into jail years ago for some of the fucked up shit he's done when consequences didn't matter.

Like bloodied, empty yellow eyes cold on a corpse. The murder of a child.

A child who was a little curious shit who didn't take no and reset time and time again. A little child who, mind you, tormented him until depression was more of a fact of life than anything else. And a child that had shown up on his front porch, no prompting, with a set smile and curious eyes.

"So Toriel mentioned you have a kid?" They had asked, and it was all over from there.

Sans knew his time was limited in his newfound little fantasy life. All of them had pasts that were bound to catch up eventually, it was just a matter of who's first. They were lucky the police hadn't sniffed them out yet, whether it be from their lack of action or from their 'hidden in plain sight' strategy. He had had some discussions quietly with his dates and housemates over the potential of going on the run if they were discovered, and what it would mean for him and the kids if they were caught. Backup plans were made. Evidence was planted. Depending on who was caught, and how, they could possibly warp the story to keep Sans and his kids out of jail while the others would hide until the police were off their backs.

And, if it ultimately came down to it, Puppeteer certainly did owe Sans a favor. And Ben had a few connections himself they could use.

But it wasn't their past that had come barreling towards them like a freight train. No. It was Sans'. An unstoppable force that lived off of curiosity like a leech off of blood.

So yeah, safe to say Sans may have panicked and jumped ship the first chance he could.

He got the furthest house away with enough bedrooms and the quickest availability he could. Frisk would find him, they always would, but it was just to create some distance while he worked out somewhere better and more secure to move to.

And frankly? Sans was starting to consider fleeing the country entirely.

Because Frisk wouldn't settle for mere questions and answers. They'd poke, prod, invade, and press until his life was a festering wound they could peek into. They've done it before, and they'd do it again. And once they got their results? Oh, that's when they'd start placing themselves conveniently into his life. They'd drag Papyrus and Sans back together, two people who absolutely should not be together right now, for the hell of it. Any walls Sans built would be pummeled in favor of building whatever outcome they wanted.

Sans wasn't sure what exactly Frisk would do if they discovered the serial killers and his dirty little secret of being tied to them. They might turn them in. They might turn him in and take away his kids.

Either way, the upcoming storm screamed resets, and Sans needed to get away as fast as possible.

It wasn't easy to quell his worries when the tidal wave known as god damn fucking Frisk was still an ever-looming threat. Especially since permanent relocation efforts were giving disappointing results. He needed somewhere deserted enough without a present police force, but not dangerous enough so he wouldn't have to worry about disappearances whenever someone broke into his house. Somewhere far enough away to not be accessible to Frisk, but one that had a decent monster population to quell his worries about racism.

So, to conclude, the house search was fucked and his anxiety was very high.

The others noticed, and he noticed them noticing. There wasn't much to be done, though. Sans wasn't sure if he could break through the ice and explain the horrors of resets. Especially since a reset would just rewind time and undo the explanation if Frisk decided so. Could he handle spilling such news and be crushed all over again when they forgot?

He remembered telling Papyrus a few times. The first few times his brother was hesitant to believe him. When Sans started providing proof, Papyrus took it upon himself to ask the human to stop.

It didn't go well. Sans stopped telling him after that.

There were a few other people who knew about resets. Flowey, of course, was aware because he used to be able to do them. Asgore was aware of them but retained no memories. It was nice, knowing Asgore knew, but he didn't remember so it didn't help too much. Of course, Sans remembered himself, and he had a feeling it was due to the damn experiments in his childhood that'd haunt him for the rest of his life.

But no one else would remember. And Sans wasn't sure if he could place hope in them with the risk that they'd forget.

So he kept his mouth shut. Tried to figure out a way to hurdle past the massive wall of doubt and fear over the results of such an admittance. If he told them, that would be everything out in the open. And it might get erased.

Sans shut them out. He closed and locked the door for the conversation, unable to handle it. And what did they do? They took him to the aquarium for a date.

Bless them.

Jane drove, one hand lazily thrown over the wheel as the other lay on the open window to her left. Black hair flickering in the wind, slick and neat in a tight ponytail. Sunglasses perched upon her pale nose. Toby sat in the passenger seat beside her, his usual mask up as his fluffy brown hair fluttered. Sans wanted to run a hand through the soft fluffs. Laughing Jack sat in the backseat with Sans, awkwardly crammed to the side. Bean sat in her car seat, chewing firmly on the edge of her baby bottle as she watched Sans with fixated interest.

He's never really gone on a date with more than one person before, so he wasn't sure what to expect. Especially since he was going to an aquarium, and he's never actually visited one before either. They had Waterfall itself Underground, but that probably didn't count.

So no, Sans wasn't sure what to expect from this.

He was going to try and block out Frisk and resets his thoughts for this trip. Frisk hadn't reset yet. He wasn't sure why they weren't using it, but he had to take advantage of it for now. Which meant trying to enjoy this date with his three amazing serial killers and his baby.

Laughing Jack, ever the touchy person, had leaned over with his bendy body and laid his head across Sans' lap. The skeleton had taken no time before digging his hands into his hair, running along the soft length to try and soothe himself with one hand while the other lay beside Bean to let her know he was acknowledging her. She'd get fussy if he didn't. Then something would go flying, or something would get bitten, and he didn't want to handle that.

She was walking. Not talking too much, but walking decently now. Bean is also a very smart cookie. By that, he means that she's very good at noticing where they hid the candy and starting teleporting herself into the cupboards to access them herself.

She was absolutely going to be the death of him. That was for sure.

Admittedly, Sans was a bit nervous about having a human child. Skeleton kids were extremely easy. They couldn't drown, couldn't suffocate. He could leave bleach out and about and not stress about her getting into it. But a human child? They were far more fragile than skeletons. And he doubted he'd get lucky enough to have two kids that never cry. Even if the crying was exchanged for some weird obsession with him, definitely inherited from Jack.

A quick glance to his right proved that, yes, Bean was staring at him with wide eye sockets and a sharp grin. Ferocious and obsessive.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll hold ya in a bit kiddo," Sans said, reaching a hand over to run it through her thick transparent hair. Bean cooed in reply, bumping her skull up against his bare hand.

"Heh," Laughing Jack said, pointing a glare toward their child. "I got Sans cuddles first. Loser."

Sans snorted. "Oh my fuck, Jack. She's a baby. Don't be competitive."

The clown on his lap only offered a toothy grin. Sans pinched his earlobe.

The aquarium was moderately sized, and as a result, moderately crowded. Kids got in for free, so little Bean didn't need a ticket as they purchased some. Sans didn't even bother to use her stroller, knowing full well she'd whine until he held her. That was Bean. Clingy and demanding. She flailed her arms towards him the moment he started stepping out of the car, apparently not satisfied with the attention received beforehand.

Bean was finally situated within his arms, bundled up in a cute little dress and pants combination she liked, with her tiny little fists clutching onto the collar of Sans' light blue hoodie as she babbled random noises. None of them were anywhere near real words, of course. Her hair wasn't long enough to be put into a ponytail or anything just yet, but it was starting to grow out to the point where he ran a comb through it for any knots or tangles.

"Just how many damn hallways does this place have?" Jane grumbled from his left, her eyes fixated down upon the map within her grasp. The paper wrinkled slightly under her fingers as she tightened her grip. "What the hell?"

Sans tried to look over to help her, but she quickly noticed and shifted the map outside of his view with a firm frown pointed at him.

"No no, pregnant boys don't get to look at maps and get stressed out more than they already are," Jane hummed out as if it was a plain fact of life. "Just stand there and be cute, alright? We're here to treat you."

"Oh, sweet," Sans said. He grinned at her. "Can't complain about that."

Her eyes glazed over him for a moment. "Good, you're already being cute. Keep it up."

"Will certainly try."

Jane, ever the brilliant and lovable woman Sans was pretty sure he'd let push him down and take him until he cried and frowned once again at the map. Fingernails painted the typical black shade and dug into the paper. "Okay, this is fucking useless."

"Let me... me see," Toby grumbled out, his tone more helpful and innocent than the teasing tone Sans had donned moments ago. Hands reached out and grasped the map, and a moment passed until his eyes flickered wide. "Is this a joke?"

Sans really wanted to see the map by that point. There was no way it could be that incomprehensible.

Laughing Jack peered over Toby's shoulder and cackled. Sans didn't bother to question Jane when she rolled the map into a tiny, scrunched-up ball and tossed it into Laughing Jack's hands. He also didn't bother to question her when she turned, on her heels, and gave a curt "Fuck it, we can figure it out ourselves" before they were off.

This was the first official date with Toby involved. The first official date where Sans was going with multiple people, too. They've hung out, sure, but this was explicitly a date. Date date. With three other people and a baby who got more clingy every passing day. A bit complicated, but hey, that was just his life at this point. Sans wasn't sure if he could settle for anything other than a bit fucked up. Anything other than them anymore.

Laughing Jack was, of course, the most eccentric. A tall clown invisible to everyone but those who he wanted to see him. He looked so odd, towering above the crowd with a tilted back and wide, sharp grin that'd scare them all shitless if they could see him. One hand always lingered on Sans, keeping him close and watching over him and their kid. Most of the time it rested on his shoulder, but occasionally it'd trail down to flicker Bean's hair or squeeze his forearm. His claws were cold and sharp, yet never came close to actually harming him. Sometimes Sans would lightly bump his elbow out to acknowledge him. Or to be an ass.

Most of the time to be an ass.

Laughing Jack would only ever chuckle and giggle at his sly attempts to pester him. A futile attempt, really, as Laughing Jack was a man who was born to pester. The slight bumps or small pinches brought out a plain, giddy expression over the fact that he was receiving attention. Pair that with Bean, who'd occasionally babble and reach up toward him, it kept Jack pretty satisfied. Other than that, he didn't engage much on the date. His grey eyes, always focused and obsessed, bore down onto Sans and Bean as they passed by countless fish breeds. Laughing Jack never really was a creature who cared about life, so Sans wasn't too surprised.

Jane, naturally, took stride ahead as the impromptu leader after the whole map disappointment. Which - after Sans got a brief glance at a map on the wall - he totally got it. It was clearly half-assed, and the colors gave him a headache. He couldn't imagine trying to orientate himself through the building with that monstrosity. Sans made sure to murmur to his clown boyfriend to keep the map and show him in full later.

Jane was swift with decisions for movement but lingered near displays. She seemed interested in the clownfish of all things, which made Sans pause before she explained she was always a big fan of Finding Nemo when she was a kid.

"Oh my god, it was fucking brutal," Jane was saying as she held Bean, letting the little skeleton press up against the glass as she made biting gestures towards the fish innocently swimming past her, unaware of her desire to kill and devour like some sort of ambush predator, and not the nine-month-year-old child she was supposed to be behaving as. "I watched it at least twice a day and had this cool Nemo dress and slippers. And this one thin blanket that was really scratchy and ragged, but hey, I carried it around everywhere." A soft expression crossed her face as she thought it over, quietly running a finger against Sans' knuckles as memories bristled within her head. "I got over it, of course, but it's funny to think how the goth chick had a clownfish phase."

"Nah, it's cute to think about," Sans said.

Because it was. Because Sans loved the idea of little Jane, bundled in merch for a fish movie about a lost son, running around in fluffy slippers with a grin sharp and wide. It was cute to think about, cute to consider. Jane was normally hot. That was her vibe. She was the strong, cool one. With slick black outfits that showed just the amount she wants to, with cutting words and smirks that could make a room go cold before her knife would ensure it stayed cold. Jane was hot, sexy, and terrifying all in one glorious bundle of a woman.

But she was still cute. In more rare, quiet moments Sans would always cherish. He adored her confident hot side, always would, and still found her more withdrawn, cute side just as precious. In the mornings, when she woke up, she was quiet and contemplative. Would sit at the edge of the kitchen counter, coffee cup in hand, staring out of the window with a tired hum and sluggish movements. Jane liked slow mornings. And Sans very much enjoyed them as well. Mainly because he could pass out against Jane and she'd just hum some quiet, obscure tune from a song Clockwork blasted in the garage as she would brew him some coffee as well. On mornings when Jane wasn't trying to be strong or confident or in charge, much more complacent to exist and let the world wind up.

"Think it'll be genetic?" Sans asked. "Should we get a Finding Nemo onesie for our kiddo?"

Jane glanced over at him, her lips pressed thin. A glimmer of something strong flashed through her eyes. "Yes."

So that was that.

Toby seemed to be in the same boat as Bean, completely enamored by anything moving in the tanks. It was almost as fun to watch as the fish themselves. His brown eyes would glimmer and shine like stars themselves as he would stare, captivated by the bored, doe-eyed fish that lazily floated in the same place for five minutes. As if it was a rare species and not some trout that somehow ended up in an aquarium. Toby was an animal guy. Sans didn't realize to what extent until now, but then again Smile Dog was a fully sentient person with a human personality.

One time Sans made a joke and threw a stick for him to fetch. Mysteriously and coincidentally, all of his favorite shirts kept getting lost in the dryer for the rest of the day. He had a particular feeling that Smile Dog put Jeff or Ben up to it. It wasn't ever hard to convince those two boys to do anything prank related. All you had to do was briefly mention a prank, and then they'd slam their hands down and excitedly ask to whom could they inconvenience for the next twenty-four hours.

Toby was still the newest in the relationship. Sans and he had, by this point, worked out their coexistence and boundaries pretty decently. Sans wasn't sure exactly what stage to label their relationship, really. They were holding hands and kissing by that point. Sans wore Toby's shirt once to bed. Or twice. Maybe three times.

Sans liked big shirts he could steal, alright? Can't blame him for sneakily snagging a few from Toby's hangers and making a face at Toby as he made his grand escape.

But they weren't there yet, not to the level of Jane and certainly not to Jack. Sans said love to Jack. That was a rare privilege. Sans liked Jane a lot, but he wasn't quite to love yet. Toby would take a while. If he had to rank it, he'd say on a relationship level: Jack was his husband, Jane was his fiance, and Toby was his boyfriend. Even though Sans didn't do marriage or engagement stuff too much.

He could, just... not right now. Right now didn't work for time or schedule-wise.

It was to be expected that Toby was an excited mess when they came to the section where you could pet animals. And a section where Sans found a familiar face.

"Onionsan?"

Sans met her once or twice. Big octopus monster from Waterfall. He and she used to have occasional chats when he'd go out with his telescope. Sometimes he gave her free hotdogs. Admittedly felt a bit bad for her. She was behind on her registration for housing in the Capital and got screwed over because of it. So, she was stuck in Waterfall, too big to go anywhere else. Didn't deserve it. Sans sometimes wished she could breathe on land, so she could just up and leave. Travel the world.

The woman had been busy with some people but turned with an excited, almost gleeful expression when she heard the familiar voice. Not that Sans could blame her, he was one of the few that stuck around when Onionsan was lonely. Sans, that one siren monster girl, and Grillby. Which was pretty surprising, because if there was one place Grillby shouldn't be, it was Waterfall. Snowdin was already a stretch.

That conversation was a small, almost meaningless once, but it stuck inside of Sans for years to come. Right before the resets loop had started, they both ended up visiting Onionsan at the same time. Played some cards, and threw out some song lyrics for some band she was eager to start. It was near the end, though, when Grillby was tugging up a plastic umbrella over his flame head when Sans stopped and asked. Asked why.

And Grillby only shrugged and said, "Why not?". Safe to say Sans was pretty sold on friendship with him after that.

Grillby was a man of loyalty. He stuck by people once he claimed them as his. Though their lives took drastically different directions, they both made sure to keep in touch decently. Even if it was just the occasional meme or life update. Sans should try to go on a double date with Grillby and that human he's been seeing. Once he's settled down after his second kid, that should be fun.

"Sans of the comic variety!" Onionsan practically chirped, turning in the sloshing water toward the skeleton. "How are you?"

"Good, I'm great actually," Sans said, letting his emotions relax as he gestured towards Bean and his two visible dates. A slight squeeze on his shoulder signified that Jack was still behind him. "How about you? I thought you were gonna travel the ocean and start that band?"

Onionsan blinked, her cheeks blushing at the realization that he remembered. "I wanted to, yeah yeah! Even did for a bit! But one of my friends ended up taking over this place and I want this big tank car I can drive so I can explore land just as much as the ocean, you know? So here I am, helping my friend and earning some money!" She leaned forward, a wink crossing her features. "Between you and me, I'm still working on those lyrics in my free time. The hot dog song will be dedicated to you!"

"Thanks," Sans said. "Oh, shit, yeah, this is my daughter! Her name's Bean. She bites."

As if to further his point, Bean snapped at the air with her teeth. Jack chuckled behind him, low and rumbling and kind of hot.

"I know, I heard!" Onionsan gushed, pushing out a small tentacle to lightly tap against Bean's forehead. Bean gurgled a reply that sounded suspiciously like 'potato'. "Frisk mentioned it. They said they even got some help in figuring out your dates. Apparently, you're super secretive or something, little skeleton!"

Frisk.

Frisk.

Frisk.

The day he had been building up completely crashed. Jane and Nemo. Toby and animals. Laughing Jack and fighting Bean for his affection. All of those little moments, bonding times, none of it could've prepared Sans for the emotional backlash that Onionsan just gave him. He staggered back as if hit with a bullet. If it weren't for Laughing Jack, he might've collapsed entirely.

"Sans?" Jane asked, reaching out.

Sans sputtered on a noise, clutching Bean closer to his chest as the room tilted on its head and went sour. He shuffled to the side, escaping from her reaching hand and from from the one already on his shoulder. By this point, even Toby, the man with the lowest emotional intelligence out of all of them, had noticed from across the room. Which meant it was obvious.

"I just, uh, gotta... go," Sans said, ever the brilliant liar.

Frisk. Fucking Frisk.

They knew. They fucking knew. How much did they know? The last time Sans saw them, they didn't get out more than a few words before Sans slammed the door in their face. He should've known he wasn't the first source they'd seek out. And that he wouldn't be the last. And they got help. What kind of help?

Sans still never did figure out who followed him to his brother's house that one day. When he told Papyrus about Sally or something, right? When he was still under that damn curse, or 'Slender sickness', whatever it was. Something CreepyPasta related had followed him, and it hadn't been anyone he knows so far. What kind of help did Frisk manage to get? How much did they know?

Sans wasn't sure how he went from being in a public room to a bathroom, pressed against the back of a stall. Absolutely drenched in tears and already in the midst of a horrible panic attack. Bean became more of a lifeline than ever before, as Sans clung to her like she'd disappear if he didn't. Bean only curiously babbled, very much content as she chewed on his hoodie.

"Sansy? Little potato?" Laughing Jack asked, always very quick at finding Sans no matter where he hid. He didn't, however, tug open the door instantly. Instead, his knuckles rapped against the door in a feeble attempt to quietly knock.

Sans sniffed. "I just..." He couldn't breathe. He 'just' couldn't breathe or think or even try - "Need a moment."

"Was she one of the bad ones? Like Papyrus?" Laughing Jack asked.

"I... no," Sans said.

She wasn't. She wasn't a close one, but that meant she couldn't be one of the bad friends, either. And Grillby was a pretty good judge of character. There always had been a reason why Grillby didn't seem particularly fond to befriend Papyrus, Sans was always just too stupid to notice at first. Onionsan was a bit dense and innocent, but she was fine.

"Frisk is the kid, right?" Laughing Jack asked. His voice was slow and steady.

If Sans was in his right mind at the moment, he would've noticed how eerily calm Laughing Jack's voice was. He wasn't focused on how Sans ran away, or how Sans wasn't in his arms. This meant that Laughing Jack was going to blame Frisk, which meant that Frisk was inevitably going to be in danger. But he didn't focus on that. Instead, he just murmured out an agreement.

"I just can't, I-I... I can't go back, they know, they'll... you can't kill them!" Sans sobbed out, pressing against his tear-socked eye sockets with a shaking hand. "They'll just - fuck, Jack, they'll reset, and I can't stop it, and you won't remember and -"

The dropped, bundled-up map is what caught his attention. What made Sans pause, realizing what he said out loud, and turned.

Laughing Jack had been halfway through opening the door when he paused. His eyes were wide, surprised, jaw open from shock. He stared down at Sans with an unreadable expression, hands tight on the door.

"You can remember resets?" Laughing Jack asked, quiet as a mouse.

Sans paused.

And somewhere in him, the world that once stopped turning long ago started all over again.