Undertale - Fighting To Stay [Frans] [Book 3]

Proving Himself [12]

"You want... To willingly train with me and Papyrus tomorrow?" Undyne questioned, raising an eyebrow at the skeleton in the blue hoodie who was sat next to her upon the living room couch. He nodded, confirming her question. "What? Why? Not that I don't mind you coming along, it's just... Aren't you normally the lazy one?" 

Sans chuckled, expecting this surprised reaction from her. He wasn't really one for fitness, and it's not like he expected to get any enjoyment out of it whatsoever. It was just the fact that he hated that he still didn't feel satisfied with himself. He didn't feel like he was strong enough yet to even be able to protect Frisk. Like she had said, he may have had 15 HP now, but that was still only a couple more hits until someone would dust him. So, if he was going to survive for as long as he possibly could in this world, he was going to have to get stronger. For Frisk's sake. 

"yeah, but... y'know, i figured it would be a better idea to improve my fitness and my HP." Sans shrugged his shoulders at her. "i just... i wanna be able to make sure i'm strong enough to protect frisk if anythin' happens..." 

"Huh?" Undyne still gave him that same confused look. "But you're already quite tough, Sans. And you've protected Frisk a number of times." 

"yeah, but there have also been times where i've just felt totally useless, because i've just spent a lot of time sleepin'." He sighed. "it isn't about just protectin' her. i want to be of more help to her, rather than just lazing around the house while she's workin' herself down to the bone with all these important ambassador meetings. i know she says she doesn't mind, but..." He trailed off, just staring sadly at the floor while Undyne kept her eye on him. There was at least a minute of silence, until one of them spoke again.

"Alright, fine. I'll train you." She shrugged, chuckling at Sans' shocked but happy response. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you! No slacking off during training, you understand punk?!" She said in a serious tone, pointing right in his face. He smirked in return, a laugh escaping from his mouth. He simply nodded, agreeing. "Then we have a deal." 

****

 The skeleton really hadn't expected this whole thing to be a big deal. Rather than it just being a day of training with Papyrus and Undyne, they all decided to go to a park with their other friends who were deciding to have a picnic while Sans and Papyrus were busy jogging laps around the park field, the others going to cheer them on as they passed. Course, Sans was already beginning to get tired after the first lap. Go figure. 

However, Undyne wasn't hearing any of it, and kept pushing him on to continue running laps. He was thankful to eventually fall over and pass out near the others who were having the picnic, because he later woke up on the picnic blanket, with Frisk staring over him looking worried.

"I think you worked him a little too hard." He heard Toriel's voice say. 

"HE'S NOT HURT, IS HE?" Papyrus wondered.

"I'm sure the trashbag is fine. Stop being so whine-y." Flowey commented. 

"hey, i'm awake..." Sans chuckled as he slowly sat up, hearing some of them gasp, glad to see that he was just fine. "undyne just worked me down to the bone, is all." He joked, earning a groan of annoyance as a response from his younger brother Papyrus. He was surprised when Frisk suddenly threw herself at him, giving him a close hug as she simply said nothing. "heh, calm down, kid. it's not like i'm dying." 

"I know that!" Frisk said over his shoulder. "I just... I was worried you worked yourself too hard, that's all... You never even told me why you started doing this training in the first place... So you kind of owe me an explanation." She sighed, pulling away from the hug to stare back at him. Sans shrugged.

"well... like i told undyne, i felt bad. because you're always workin' so hard and i'm always... lazing around. i wanted to be able to do more." He admitted. 

"But you do do a lot. You--"

"it's not just that, frisk." Sans interrupted her. "i... i want to be stronger. so i can protect you, look after you better in case something happens... i just... ever since that ajax guy got what he wanted, i've had a bad feeling. sure, it's been a couple of days and nothing has happened, but... y'know. this is what i want to do." He said, looking serious about that. Sans had never really done any sort of fitness in all his life, he had been pretty used to being laid back, to being lazy. And the only times he'd actually get dead serious, is when he'd have to fight someone.

Like all the times he had to fight Frisk in the underground, during all those genocidal timelines. But it didn't matter in the end anyway, because there were some timelines where he remembered falling asleep, being killed. Being turned to dust. Then the timeline was reset all over again and the loop continued. Pacifist timelines, to Neutral timelines, to Genocide timelines... And Sans was pretty lazy in almost all of them. Just because he stopped caring. Just because he did not see the point in doing anything, of putting his effort into anything. It was all just going to be reset again, right?

But not this time.

This time Sans completely believed in Frisk, one hundred percent. He trusted her. He wouldn't be asking her to marry him if he didn't. She still had the power to reset if she wanted to, and yet she still hadn't. She allowed this timeline to continue on, she allowed for everyone to go on with their day to day lives. It had been at least a couple of years since THIS specific timeline started, and it was still going on 'till this day. This is why Sans knew he had to make the effort. 

"i'll be fine." He smiled, picking himself up off of the ground to glance back towards Undyne. "i think i'm ready to go again." 

"Alright, if you're sure, punk! Then start running!" She shouted at him, and he did just that, taking breaks here and there to eat and drink, before starting back up again. 

He wasn't going to fail Frisk. He was proving himself to her.