It's a surprise, but the quiet sort. When you wait around for ice to thaw, you sometimes wait long enough to wonder if it's ever going to.

The position can't be very comfortable, bone cushioned by a few thin layers of Moira uniform, but Sans reaches a hand up reflexively to complete the circuit. When Papyrus was a kid, there were times like this, when things were lean and the his little brother needed him. Really needed him. No matter how much Sans insisted being useless was easier, and no matter how hard he believed it, there was something nice about that part -- the being needed part.

Squeezing her tighter, rubbing her back, this felt different and the same all at once.

"We'll fix it, alright? I'm back now, we can figure this out together."