Chapter Text
"So I'll go, but I know...
... I'll think of you every step of the way...
… And IIiiiiIII- OH wow!!"
You laughed as you slapped yourself in the face in pure shame.
That was your worst attempt to date at singing that part of I will always love you by Whitney Houston.
The sun hadn't even risen yet, but you were driving to work on a quiet Saturday morning, and you were actually excited to get there as usual.
Singing helped keeping you awake, as a matter of fact. You were recently involved in a minor car crash because you fell asleep while driving.
Luckily, you were the only one involved since you just drove your car off the road and almost collided against a tree. The experience shook you so bad, you forced yourself to sing along with whatever song was playing on the radio to make sure you stayed awake.
You tapped your fingers on the wheel while the comercial ended, expecting a new song to sing when the car in front of you suddenly stopped without a warning, making you gasp in shock. You were able to stop just before you hit the other car with your bumper.
You sighed, placing a hand on your chest. "That was clo-"
The car behind you hit you so hard, your face almost banged the wheel if it weren't for the seat belt.
"And our co-host is surprisingly late today... I wonder what's keeping her." Larry chuckled as he tapped the table, "let's hope she didn't get herself into a car crash this time."
As soon as he said that he noticed you walking into the booth through the glass, speaking with one of the sound technicians before running out and into the recording room.
He chuckled as he watched you give him an apologetic look.
"Well, let's hope she'll be able to explain herself on air now. Welcome to the show (y/n)!"
You gulped as you put on your headset, sitting on the opposite side of the round table and grabbing your mic. "Thank you, Larry." You licked your lips, "I promise I have a good excuse this time."
"Oh, do tell us." Larry leaned both elbows on the table, making the table creak slightly.
"Remember when I drove my car out of the road last month?" You giggled in anticipation.
Larry's smile dropped.
"So yeah, I was involved in a new car accident, but it wasn't my fault this time!"
"But- did you get checked by a doctor or?"
You shook your head. "I haven't yet, but I'll go as soon as we're done with the show. I couldn't let our dear listeners hanging."
Larry blinked at you in disbelief. "But- what happened exactly?"
"A car in front of me stopped abruptly to avoid hitting a cat, and I missed hitting it by just a millisecond, buuuut the car behind me sadly couldn't stop before hitting me."
"So it's a classic case of whiplash?" Larry tilted his head.
"I guess? I've never been involved in a car crash before."
"Lucky you!"
"Here's the funny thing, the guy that hit me recognised me! He says he's a fan of the show, so shout out to Miles, you'll be hearing from me very soon."
"Always looking at the bright side," Larry shook his head, "classic (y/n)..."
"You know me." You shrugged.
"(L/n)?"
You stood up and approached the young girl who called you from the front desk. She was made of fire, or so it seemed, and her whole body was a beautiful shade of green.
You didn't really know why she told you to wait since the clinic was empty, but you did come ten minutes before your appointment, so you didn't mind.
The clinic was fairly new, but it was the closest to your home your insurance could find you. You didn't know free massages were a thing that car insurances provided now, but you weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The young lady guided you through a quiet alley to a white wooden door before knocking.
"Miss (l/n) is here." She announced before opening the door and guiding you to come in.
"Thank you." You said before walking in, hearing her close the door behind you.
The room was white from top to bottom with nothing hanging on the walls except for a clock, not even a mere diploma. There was a big red bouncing ball and a couple of steps and stools by one of the corners, close to a small locker. You guessed those were to treat injuries as well, thought you hoped they weren't for you.
"sooo (l/n)?"
You turned to look at the man reading your history. You couldn't see his face since he was hiding it behind his clipboard, but you immediately noticed how... unprofessional he looked.
He was wearing a white coat that seemed to be a side or two too large for him. He had his ankle resting over his knee, shamelessly showing that he was wearing a pair of furry slippers.
"That's me." You breathed out.
He finally put the clipboard down on his desk and turned on his chair to face you. You blinked in surprise when you saw he was actually a skeleton. And a chubby one somehow.
"i'm sans." He simply said as he stood up, giving you a quick glance, "your file says you were in a minor car accident?"
You nodded, but stopped halfway through.
Your neck pain had been, well, a pain in the ass. And speaking of ass, your lower back had been also hurting a lot as well. Who knew that's what happens when someone hits your car from behind?
"let me see how flexible you are right now. can you try to touch your toes without bending your knees?"
"Sure." You blinked before bending down. Your lower back started hurting as soon as your hands made it past your knees, which made you frown in surprise.
You'd always been able to touch your toes without having any discomfort.
Sans hummed as he crouched to check how far down you were. He then went over to his desk to write something down on his clipboard before coming back to you.
"please sit there." Sans said pointing at the massage table in the middle of the room. It was covered in a long sheet of gray paper, which you guessed would be thrown away after your session.
You sat before he pressed a pedal under the massage table, making it go lower and lower until you were almost at this hip level.
"we're gonna do some stretching before we try anything more aggressive."
Aggressive?
"Ok." You nodded, making your neck hurt again.
"you need to tell me when you feel the least amount of discomfort during these stretches, all right?" He said lifting your left foot and resting it on his shoulder as he kneeled on the massage table.
The position was awkward to say the least, but you didn't want to say anything yet.
"i'm gonna push forward a bit now. let me know when you start hurting."
"Hm-hm."
He started moving forward, resting his palms on the massage table to push your knee towards you. His face started getting closer to yours, though he wasn't looking at you.
And there it was, the discomfort he was looking for.
"It hurts." You grunted.
You were surprised that it hurt, in fact. Why did you lose your flexibility over a stupid accident that wasn't even your fault?
"let's try the other one..." He said as he placed your leg down before grabbing your other foot, doing the exact same thing as before.
He looked at you this time, but you avoided to make eye contact.
"There." You pursed your lips.
"all right..." He placed your leg down as he got off the massage table, touching a couple of buttons before you felt the massage table moving you into a seated position.
He walked over to you and placed his bonny palm flat against the right side of your face. "now i'll need you to push to the side as hard as you can without hurting yourself."
Odd, but you did as he told you.
He watched your face expressions closely.
"can you push a little harder?" He asked when he watched your lip curl.
"N-no." You pursed your lips.
He walked over to the other side and did the same thing. This time he didn't even ask you to push harder before he took his hand away.
"all right, i know we have a two hour session today, but i'm not going to touch you yet."
You looked at him with curiosity as he walked over to a small locker close to his desk and came back holding something that looked like an electric blanket.
"please move forward a bit."
You did as he told you before he placed it on the massage table, pressing a couple of buttons.
"sit back down."
You did as he told you, already feeling the mild heat coming from the blanket, though now that you could feel it against yourself it felt more like a yoga mat.
He then pressed a button on the massage table, turning it into a more flat position, but not completely flat. Not quite sitting, but not quite laying flat down.
You watched Sans walk back to his desk without saying a word.
You awkwardly looked at the ceiling as you pursed your mouth into a thin line.
"Am I supposed to do something here?" You asked tentatively.
Sans was looking at his phone, not even sparing a look at you.
"not at all. you just need to rest there for..." He looked at his watch, "... an hour and a half."
"... That's it?" You sat up to look at him properly.
"please stay down on the mat." He rolled over to you on his chair to check if the mat had moved.
"I'm sorry, how's this gonna help with my injuries?"
He shoot you a glare as he adjusted the mat again, not standing up from his chair. "first time being involved in a car accident?"
You nodded, closing your eyes shut because of the neck pain.
"this is how whiplash is treated. you come here, lay in this mat for a while, and then i start working on your contractions."
"So we'll start with the massages in the next session?"
"no." He chuffed, "you'll need more of this next week too. it's too son yet."
You looked at him with a disappointed look.
"why're you so keen on me touching you?" He chuckled, "i'm sure you will regret it when we start with the massages."
You gave him a surprised look. "Why would I?"
His smile got wider, "you haven't gotten a massage done by a physiotherapist before, have you?"
"No." You admitted.
"how about you take a nap while you lay there? here, i'll make the massage table flat for you." He said as he rolled to the opposite end of the massage table.
You chuckled, shaking your head. "Please, don't bother. I have a bad case of insomnia."
Sans stopped rolling to look at you. He seemed to hesitate before he spoke.
"is that why you were involved in the accident?"
"No," you sighed, "but I've almost had an accident before because of that."
Sans rolled over to you again, grabbing onto one of the massage table's legs.
"my brother had insomnia too." He started, leaning on the back of his chair as he looked at the white ceiling, "it made him have a hard time focusing and remembering things."
"That happens to me too when I haven't slept in a couple of nights in a row." You sighed, "how did he fix it, if I can ask?"
He chuffed at your politeness, "well, setting up a routine before bedtime helped a bit..."
"That never really worked for me." You lamented.
"have you tried sleeping pills?"
"Yup... They just make me tired and force me to stay in bed, but I still never fully fall asleep."
"i have a feeling you'll be coming here again after i'm done with you." He stretched his arms, resting them behind his head, "if you survive your next car crash."
"I don't plan on getting on another accident!" You giggled, "and I'm trying to fix my insomnia."
"hey, i'm not complaining." He shrugged, "people getting hurt pays my bills."
You frowned at his phrasing.
You didn't feel any different after your session with Sans, if you could even call it that.
The following week you arrived five minutes early again. The receptionist made you wait again before taking you to his office.
"Good afternoon." You smiled at him.
"hey," he smiled back.
Well, he was always smiling.
The massage table had a mat already set when he walked you over to it, though this time it looked different from the one he used last week.
"Should I...?" You asked pointing at the flat massage table. You didn't know if he wanted to change the position like last week.
"yeah, just lay down." He rolled over on his chair to reach the mat's buttons.
You laid down, interlocking your fingers and resting your hands on your ribcage.
"this one's a bit different from the one we used last week." Sans hummed.
So you were right, it was different.
"How is it different?" You asked curious.
"you'll see."
Then the mat under you started moving. You weren't sure if it was vibrating or not before it started pushing you upwards. It was inflating itself, almost as if it was breathing, moving your entire spine in a very relaxing way.
"how's it feel?"
"Good." You admitted, "what's this doing to me exactly?"
"it's stretching you up a bit." Sans hummed, "we'll do this one for an hour today. then another hour of the heating one."
"Ok." You smiled, though you weren't a fan of just laying down for hours.
You already did that every night.
Sans rolled over to his desk before you could say anything else, leaving you there with this new breathing mat.
You sighed and reached for your phone on your pocket, checking if you had any new emails.
Hosting a radio show was obviously not your main job. Your main source of income was writing and editing articles for the local newspaper, and then you would host your radio show on the weekends.
Your current host, Larry, was the one who got you the gig. Your newspaper is located in the same building and Larry would chat with you when he found you outside with your coworkers having breakfast.
Larry was very charismatic, you weren't surprised he had his own radio show at the station. He was witty, a quick thinker, and he had the best contagious laughter. The only downside was how old he was, and after two years of co-hosting with you, he was finally retiring this year. He hadn't given you an exact date, but you knew it would be soon.
You knew you couldn't just host on your own. Your very few fans would be disappointed, but it was what it was. It had been a good couple of years though.
Your clock marked that one hour had past, and you were starting to feel dizzy with the constant wave like movement. You sat up a bit to look for Sans, only to find him passed out on his desk. He was even snoring a bit. Funnily enough, you thought that sound was coming from the mat all along.
You didn't want to embarrass him so you laid back down and cleared your throat loudly before speaking. "I think it's been an hour. Should we change the mat now?"
Sans sat up and looked around to see that you were laying still, just waiting for him.
"sure, yeah, i'll just grab it one sec."
Phew. You saved him the embarrassment of catching him asleep on the job.
"here, let me just..."
You blinked in surprise when you felt his voice coming from behind you. He was by the locker just a second ago and you didn't see him walk over to you.
He pushed you to sit up before he exchanged the mats, pushing you back down by your shoulder.
"how're you feeling so far?"
You looked at him. "Honestly? I don't feel much of a difference."
"of course not, i haven't touched you yet," he chuckled, "but are you feeling dizzy or...?"
"That mat did make me feel dizzy at the end," you frowned, pointing at his hand that was still holding it.
"yeah, this one can make you feel a bit light headed if you're not used to it." He yawned, barely covering his mouth, "but it's good for you, i promise."
Well, so far you hadn't been seeing results, and this would be your fourth hour in his hands. You still had several more sessions with him scheduled, but you were tempted to cancel them and lie saying you were already feeling better.
It's not like you considered your free time above physical therapy, but this was getting ridiculous.
"are you free tomorrow?" Sans asked scratching his chin.
You gave him an awkward smile, "Yes?"
"then come by at the same hour. i don't wanna make you wait an entire week before we start with the massages."
"Oh, ok." You smiled.
Finally.
"make sure to bring comfortable clothing." He hummed sitting on a stool, "and try to come well rested if you can."
You chuckled at that.
"still not sleeping?"
"I'm used to it." You said fidgeting your thumbs together.
"i suppose your injuries aren't helping either."
"Yeah," you gulped, "I can't even lay in bed for anything over a couple of hours. My lower back is killing me and my neck won't adjust to any of my pillows anymore."
"we'll try to get that fixed in the next couple of sessions." He groaned, brushing his fists against his closed eye sockets.
"How many sessions do you think I'll need?" You looked at him from the corner of your eye.
"i haven't touched you yet so i shouldn't say... but we can schedule more with your insurance if need be."
"We have like... eight more sessions scheduled, right?"
"yup. it was ten in total." He nodded.
There was a silence after that. Sans pulled out his phone and started scrolling while you looked at the ceiling, closing your eyes.
You hoped tomorrow's massage would help you sleep.
Sans watched you from the corner of his eye sockets as he turned off the heating mat. Despite it beeping, you didn't open your eyes.
You'd fallen asleep.
He looked over at the clock hanging above his desk, debating if he should wake you up or not.
He still had another client to take care of, but he had an additional massage table and a couple of screens to give you some privacy.
His stool creaked as he stood up to collect the screens and hide you away. He wasn't much of a talker, and the client he was expecting was just an old lady who would usually keep quiet during their sessions.
He wondered when you'd wake up.
You were awoken by a gentle poke on your left cheek. You frowned as you slowly squinted your eyes open.
It was dark, with a dim yellow light somewhere in the room casting long shadows on the floor.
Sans smiled at you, as he always would, when you blinked at him. "i need to close the clinic. i thought it would be nice to give you a heads up before i lock the door."
Your eyes widened as you sat up, your face quickly turning pale. "Did I fall asleep?" You asked before covering your mouth.
"a little bit." Sans chuckled.
"What time is it?" You asked as you reached for your phone.
|05:03|
"don't worry. i won't charge you for the extra time since i turned the mat off." Sans chuckled, noticing your horrified expression.
"I'm... so sorry, Sans." You gulped hopping off the massage table, "I didn't mean to fall asleep for so long."
"don't sweat it. let's just head out so i can lock this up, shall we?"
Despite how flustered you were after the stunt you pulled at the clinic, you tried to use it to your advantage. You quickly got home, showered and went to bed, hoping to fall asleep again.
Alas... those three hours you slept at Sans' clinic did a number on you. That's the problem you had with naps, after taking one you would not be able to sleep at night.
At least you rested for a bit though, but your neck and lower back hurt so much you couldn't take laying in bed.
"Time to watch some netflix I guess..."
"you're early."
You blinked at Sans as he entered the clinic, sipping on some grape juice box.
"I always am." You giggled awkwardly from your seated position in the waiting room.
"well, come in then." He shrugged before he walked towards his office.
You weren't sure if that would be considered an office since that's where he treated his patients, but it was where he kept his desk so...
He tossed his empty juice box in a small trash can near his desk and went over to the sink to wash his hands.
"lay face down on the massage table while i get my hands oiled up, won't you?"
The part where the back of your head would usually go had been removed, leaving a round hole to make it easier for you to lay face down.
You heard Sans approaching you, dragging a couple of stools with him before abruptly stopping.
"hmmm..."
"Yes?" You asked, lifting your head to face him, "should I change positions or?"
"you were supposed to take your shirt off. i can't give you a massage if i can't properly feel you."
You blushed, quickly sitting up and pulling your shirt over your head.
Sans turned around, giving you the same privacy he was granting you when he went to wash his hands.
"Sorry... It's my first time getting a massage so I didn't know..."
"it's fine." He hummed, placing the big bottle of oil on one of the stools he brought.
"I'm ready now." You gulped, adjusting your face into the massage table's hole again.
"alright..." Sans turned around, moving his stool to sit next to you, "i'm just gonna adjust this before we start..." He said touching one of the pedals, making the massage table move.
You noticed how the floor started getting further away.
"i'm gonna start feeling you a bit to see where you have more tension."
"Ok." You hummed.
He started pinching your entire back with both of his hands. He didn't seem meticulous while doing it, but you guessed he was so used to doing it that he didn't really care.
He was being a bit of a brute though.
"you said you were feeling discomfort on your lower back and neck, right?"
"Hm-hm."
"aight..." He moved his stool to sit near your hips, "i'm gonna roll these down a bit if you don't mind." He said holding the elastic of your yoga pants.
"Sure."
He rolled the elastic down on itself three times, stopping before your ass crack started to be exposed.
You gulped in anticipation as you heard him pumping the bottle of oil.
"do you feel discomfort when you sit down too?" He asked nonchalantly as he started pressing his fingers on your sacrum, moving his hands outward.
He didn't sound like he was making a great effort, but it felt like he was putting a lot of pressure on you. You couldn't believe he was still sitting down while doing it.
"Yeah..." You pursed your lips, trying not to sound too whiney, "I work on my desk a lot so it's been difficult..."
"what do you work as?" He said as he pressed his thumbs on the outer sides of your lower back, digging them into your skin as he made small circles that kept getting bigger and bigger.
"I'm a j-journalist." You gasped.
Fuck, he was really digging his fingers in there.
"a journalist?" He hummed, "like, writing newspapers?"
"Yeah, exactly." You breathed out, feeling his hands finally leave your lower back.
He moved back to the second stool to pump some oil again before coming back to you.
Well, shit.
"i noticed you had some tension on your back too, so working on your desk makes sense." He said as he pinched your back again. It seemed like he was looking for an specific point.
"But I usually keep a good posture..." You mumbled.
You tried to always sit up straight when you were on the radio for instance, since the sessions were always recorded to be uploaded to YouTube.
You weren't a fan of it, but luckily most of the fans were actually radio listeners, so there was that.
"i don't doubt it..." Sans said as he started massaging your back, digging his index, middle, and ring finger from both hands on your left side. "but you also have insomnia... so you probably have a lot of hobbies that also require you to stay seated..." He grunted as he kept working, "it sounds like you spend too much time sitting down for a human."
You started breathing shakily, trying very hard not to cry.
It was hurting so bad.
"once we're done with our sessions i recommend you start taking yoga lessons or simply just walking more often."
"but it..." You breathed slowly, trying to keep yourself in check, "it really hurts when I walk."
"you should feel better after i'm done with you."
You gulped as he went to move his stool to the other side of the table to massage the other side of your back.
"Is it normal for this to hurt so bad?" You asked concerned, watching your tears drop on the floor.
"meh," Sans shrugged before putting his hands on you again, "some folks manage the pain better than others."
He was putting so much pressure on your back now. You let out a shaky whine before gritting your teeth.
"Could you..." You closed your eyes shut, trying to remain calm, "could you maybe go a bit easier...?"
Sans' hands stopped mid stroke.
Shit, did you offend him?
You yelped when he met your eyes. He'd crouched low enough to sneak under the massage table and face you with a condescending look.
"if i go easy on you the massage won't work, and then you'll have to keep coming here because your muscles are still sore." He sighed, resting his wrists on his bent knees, "not gonna lie, i could just give you a regular massage to appease you, but i would be ripping you off." He shrugged.
You blinked at him in surprise.
"do you want me to rip you off?" He raised a brow bone at you.
"No..." You mumbled.
"then i guess i'll keep doing my thing." He said as he stood back up, stretching his arms over his head.
Sans handed you a box of tissues at some point, not even making a comment about how much you were crying. He did ask you if you wanted to stop from time to time, but you decided to power through it.
"i'm gonna need you to turn around now."
You opened your eyes in surprise. "Turn around...?"
"yeah, just lay on your back." He shrugged.
"Um..." You gulped, "can I put my shirt back on?"
"no, not yet," he shook his head, "here, have this if you wanna cover your chest up."
He then placed a rolled towel on your hand.
You hesitated as you raised your head, looking around the room while he stood there with his arms crossed.
"want me to turn around?" He raised a brow bone at you.
"Please?" You gave him an apologetic smile.
He turned around, looking at the clock above his desk.
He still had another 45 minutes with you.
"do you need to use the restroom?" He asked without looking back at you.
"No, not really." You said as you adjusted your towel an laid down.
"alright then..." He approached you again, sitting on his stool next to the top of your head.
He noticed you'd placed the back of your head right into the face hole.
"i'm gonna need you to hold your towel still-" he hooked his hands under your armpits and pulled you towards himself, making your neck rest above the hole on the massage table after moving your entire body, "there we go."
He was stronger than you first anticipated.
You held onto the edge of the towel on your chest while you heard him pumping the bottle of oil.
He started by pinching you right above your collarbone, trying to find where you were hurting the most by feeling your muscles.
Your lips were pursed into a thin line when he moved his hands from your shoulders to your neck, but so far you weren't complaining yet.
"i'm gonna lift your head now, so just let it rest on my hand." He said as he used his palm to hold your head.
Your neck quickly went stiff, helping him hold the weight of your head.
"no, don't do that." He tsked, holding your head with both hands.
"Oh, sorry." You swallowed, giving him an apologetic look, "is this ok?"
"no... just let the weight on my hand." He insisted.
You did as he told you before he moved one of his hands further down, massaging your entire neck with moderate force.
You heard him sigh in defeat before you noticed you were going stiff again.
"Sorry..."
"just pretend you're asleep."
You chuffed.
"or dead?" He chuckled in realisation, "just stop thinking and let go."
"Ok, ok." You said closing your eyes and trying to relax.
He kept manhandling your head and neck, increasing the force of his massage to the point of making your spine hurt.
You let out an strangled whine before pursing your lips, tightening your jaw to keep yourself quiet.
He studied your face as he kept going. You were actually going pale while you started breathing faster and tightening your grip on the towel over your chest, a small tear already forming on the corner of your eye.
There were only five minutes left for your session to be over. Maybe he could divert your pain a bit.
"do you do that a lot?"
"Hm?" You blinked before looking at him.
"tightening your jaw. do you do that often?"
"I'm... not sure." You swallowed.
There was a slight asymmetry in your face right under your cheekbones. He looked at you for a moment while he touched your lower jaw on both sides.
You gave him a concerned look.
"wait a second."
He disappeared in the blink of an eye, but you could hear water running, so you guessed he was washing his hands.
Then you heard the unmistakable sound of some latex gloves being stretched.
"Is something wrong...?" You asked concerned, trying to sit up.
"no need to move." He approached the massage table and touched one of the pedals under it, turning the table fron flat to a seated position.
You quickly grabbed your towel to prevent it from falling down.
"now relax." Sans said as he stood behind you.
You couldn't help but tense up at that.
He placed his hands on each side of your face. One was gloved, the other was bare.
"What're you doing now...?"
"shhh, i need you to stay silent."
"..." You pursed your lips.
He then started digging his thumbs on each side of your face. You didn't know a single finger -or in this case two- pushing against your face could be so painful.
You fought the urge to cry, focusing on the clock on the wall.
You only had to put up with this for another five minutes.
"open your mouth." He instructed, not moving his fingers from their spot.
You opened your mouth slowly, hoping the gesture wouldn't break your jaw in the process.
And then, without a warning, he inserted a gloved finger inside your mouth.
You frowned, your eyes widening in surprise.
"stay still," he warned you, "and don't bite me."
You gasped when he made it all the way to your wisdom tooth and pressed there, connecting with his thumb that pressed your jaw.
"stay still..." He said as he moved his thumbs in circles for a moment.
Your eyes kept watering as you let out an strangled whine.
Only when he felt a tear touch his ungloved hand did he stop with the painful pressure. He pulled out of your mouth and closed your jaw shut himself while resting his other hand on top of your head.
You breathed shakily, trying not to sob.
He kept his hands there, waiting for you to calm down as he digged his fingers into your scalp in a tender gesture.
Or so it felt like.
"you ok?"
"Hm-hm..." You sighed.
"you're a crybaby." He said sincerely.
At that you opened your eyes, making a resting bitch face.
"don't." He chuckled.
You just raised a brow at him.
"don't grit your teeth."
"Right." You pursed your lips, not looking at him. "Can I get dressed now?"
"sure." He took off his glove, "i'll leave the room to give you some privacy."
You watched him walk outside and close the door from your seated position before reaching for your shirt.
"Fucking asshole..." You mumbled as you used the towel to clean your neck and back as best as you could before putting on your shirt.
You walked out of the room, going straight to the front desk, determined to ask the receptionist for a different physiotherapist.
Alas, Sans was the one sitting in the front desk.
"there you are," he smiled at you, "do you mind signing this paper for me please?"
You sighed in defeat, reaching for the pen tied to the table and putting down your signature. "What happened to the receptionist?"
"you were my last client of the day, so i just told her to go home before you arrived."
He kept saying client instead of patient, you noticed.
"Anything else?"
Sans' smile twitched at your coldness.
"yeah, that's it. see you next week?"
You nodded before leaving, closing the door with a quiet thud.
He was almost expecting you to smash it closed.
"i got a feeling i just gained an enemy..."
"Welcome everyone to our show Early birds on air on Key12 FM, I'm your host Larry!"
"And I'm your co-host, (y/n)!"
"Today's weather says there's a mild fog on the northern part of town, do be careful if you happen to drive today!" Larry turned to you.
"Indeed!" You nodded, "I was so scared while driving here!"
"For those who don't know, our dear (y/n) got in a minor car accident the other day..." Larry pouted looking at you, "how're you feeling now after that whiplash?"
"I'm doing ok, thanks for asking." You chuckled, "and how are you doing? Still set on retiring?" You shot him a cocky smile.
Larry laughed in earnest while some canned laughter made an appearance on the back. "Oh, (y/n), I'm going to miss you so much!"
"We'll miss you too, Larry." You said sincerely.
"But hey, I've had enough of talking about my impending retirement... Are you really feeling better after your accident?"
You let out a fake laugh, looking down at the table.
"Well, I've been seeing a physiotherapist," you got closer to your mic, "provided by my car insurance, of course." You chuckled.
"Ooof, massage therapy, huh?" Larry crossed his arms before leaning on the table, "how sore are you today?"
You blinked at him in surprise. "How did you know...?"
"Well, I cried like a toddler when I got my back injury treated years ago."
"Wait- when did you get injured?"
"Some years ago when I was fixing a tile on my roof- well, that's not important. Just tell us about your progress!"
You sighed, "well, I haven't been enjoying it much, it's just... too painful for me to handle I guess." You mumbled at the end.
"I don't envy you right now." He groaned, tapping his fingers on the table.
"I don't know if our listeners have been through anything similar but... are massages supposed to hurt that bad or does my physiotherapist just hate me?"
"Both things can be true."
More canned laughter.
Sans phone kept buzzing with each email he received. He half opened one eye socket, sparing his phone screen a glance.
13 unread emails
He groaned, opening the first one.
For what his half opened left eye socket gathered, there was a multiple car accident and several insurances reached out to him to deal with the mess.
He might have to work on the weekends to keep up with the demand.
A chuckled scaped him as he threw his phone down on the mattress.
Then, he turned on the radio as he started getting dressed up.
"I've been getting into Legos lately..."
"Legos??"
"I don't know, it seemed like fun and you know I have a lot of time to kill!"
Sans groaned, looking around for his slippers.
"I swear you would be able to find a way to eradicate world hunger with all your free time."
"It's not my fault I can't sleep!"
"there you are..."
"And how's your body been treating you?"
"So far so good I guess? I haven't been to the clinic a second time yet. I should go in a couple of days and I'll let you know how that goes."
Sans went over to the bathroom to brush his teeth, despite not having had breakfast.
He truly didn't care for breakfast on a Saturday morning.
"Well, it's time for..."
"... Our 'daily lives' calls! You know you can call us at XXX-XXX-XXX right now and we will listen to whatever you have to say!"
"Do you want to declare your love for your partner life through the radio? Give us a call!"
"Or if you just want to chat! You know I enjoy a good conversation..."
"Like that time an archaeologist called! What was his name?"
"Luke? It was a long time ago but I loved-"
Sans turned off the radio and headed over to his front door. He wasn't looking forward to working today but work is work...
"can't reach any further?"
You groaned as you tried to bend yourself downwards a little more.
"still unable to touch your toes..." Sans hissed as he wrote on his notes, "are you sure you could do that before the accident?"
"I thought I did." You sighed as you stood back up.
"aight..." Sans' shoulders sagged before he stood up from his chair, "hop on the table."
You sat on the massage table before laying down on your back. Sans did the same thing he did last time; lowered the table using a pedal before lifting your leg by your thigh and pushing it towards you.
The position was awkward despite doing it before.
"have you been doing any physical efforts?" He asked before your knee touched your chest.
"Not really... As I said I work on my desk and drive to work so nothing mayor."
"right," he switched legs, "you were a journalist, weren't you?"
"Yes," you whined, closing your eyes.
"did that hurt?" He said stopping.
"A little."
"alright..."
He got off the table and started touching its pedals again, turning the table from flat into a seated position.
You kept your eyes on him as he approached you, though he wasn't even looking at you.
"now you need to push your face against my hand, remember?"
"Yes." You pursed your lips.
He placed his bonny hand against your right cheek, "push."
You closed your eyes as you pushed. This time he studied your expressions to see if you made a face.
And there it was.
"stop." He walked over to the other side, doing the same to your left cheek.
"push..." He sighed, watching how fast your face changed. "stop."
You sighed when he pulled his hand away before opening your eyes.
"take off your shirt while i wash my hands, would you?"
You hummed in agreement as he walked away, taking off your oversized t-shirt.
You wereny sure how to cover yourself though. There was no hole on the massage table this time and he hadn't handed you a towel to cover your chest.
"Hmm..."
What was his name again?
"what is it?" Sans asked as he got back to you.
"I can't lay face down." You gave him an awkward smile.
He just reached the massage table and took off a piece of it, making the hole visible.
"Sorry!" You hissed, "didn't notice I could just... move that."
Sans sighed, rolling his eye dots.
You were not looking forward to the massage either.
"Are you ok...?"
Sans' brows furrowed, "you're talking to me?"
You leaned on your elbows to look back at him. "It's just that..." You locked eyes with him for a moment before looking away, "you're not hurting me anymore?"
Sans blinked at you before nodding.
He was tired. He was not making as much of an effort as he was in the previous session.
"sorry," he cleared his throat, "it's been a long day," or rather week, "for me..." He said right before he put his bodyweight on his arms, making you whine when he moved his fist over your lower back.
"Why don't we call it a day then?" You asked hopeful.
He frowned at you. "do you not want the massage?"
No.
"Yes," you nodded, wrapping your towel around yourself as you sat up, "but you're tired and I don't mind losing a session."
He stood up from his stool, tilting his head to the side, "are you sure about that...?"
"Yes, of course." You assured him.
He'll get paid either way and you won't have to suffer for the next hour. It's a win win situation.
Sans shoulders sagged as he sighed in relief. "alright then... i'll go wash my hands while you get dressed."
You couldn't help but smile at that. You hoped he didn't notice.
You quickly put on your t-shirt before hoping off the table.
"come over to my desk to sign your attendance sheet for me if you don't mind." Sans said from the other end of the room.
You're not sure how he got there without walking past you.
"Of course..." You swallowed as you walked over to him.
You crouched to leave your signature while he sat on his chair, looking at you with curiosity.
"have you been clenching your jaw lately?" He asked leaning on his desk.
You blinked at him, unable to remember if you did.
"I couldn't say..." You shrugged.
"take a seat," he pointed at the stool by his desk.
You guessed he used it to rest his feet since it was rather low.
"O... K?"
He rolled his chair to be closer to you and looked at your face for what felt like a whole minute.
You avoided making eye contact with him while he did it.
"Is... something wrong?" You gave him an awkward smile.
"your face's still a bit asymmetric." He hummed as he stood up.
Did he just call you ugly?
You tensed up when he put his hands on each side of your face.
Oh no.
"open your mouth a bit." He ordered as he placed his thumbs under your cheekbones.
You braced yourself as he started putting pressure on his fingers, his thumbs staying still while he digged them into your skin.
Your skin crawled at the painful sensation.
"now close it..." He said as he stopped pushing, moving his thumbs in circles with a soft motion.
You breathed out as his thumbs kept moving upwards all the way to your scalp. You slowly closed your eyes while he kept moving up to the top of your head, now using all of his fingers to do the same circular motion.
He was being so gentle you would have to call this massage pleasant.
"oh-oh." San whispered.
"Wha-?" You opened your eyes, trying to look up at him, but a sharp pain coming from your scalp stopped you.
"don't move," he stressed, "your hair got stuck between my joints."
He tried to squirm his way out of it, but every time he freed one finger the other would get tangled up.
"Let me..." You pursed your lips as you reached for his hands. One of them was further away from your roots but the other was restrained pretty much against your scalp.
It took you a couple of minutes, but you finally got to free him from your hair.
"sorry," he mumbled as he made a fist with his hands, "i should've put on gloves or something."
"It's fine," you giggled as you stood up to look at him, "I didn't know that could even happen."
"sadly, it's nothing new for me." He chuckled.
You gave him an awkward smile.
"see ya next week?"
Your smile turned into a thin line as you pointed at him. "Next week," you chuffed, "wouldn't miss it for the world."
"I can't wait to be done with those massages," you whined, "I hate the feeling of being rolled flat like a pizza though."
"That's a weird way to put it," Larry laughed.
"My physiotherapist seems to be tired of me too," you sighed, "I told him to take the day off if he was tired and he accepted it."
"I mean, I would've accepted it too."
"I was glad he did." You admitted, "I wonder if I could just recover on my own? I wouldn't mind letting him get paid for doing nothing."
"You're being pretty generous." Larry whistled.
"Is it a bad thing if I don't do the physical therapy?"
Larry tapped on his headphones before ushering you to do the same. "It seems we finally got a call from an anonymous listener!"
"Finally we can talk about something that's not me!" You chuffed, "what did you wanna talk about, kind stranger?" You asked as you leaned on the table.
"sorry, it's my first time calling," the person chuckled.
"Are you familiar with our show?" Larry asked curious.
"i started listening to it only a couple of weeks ago."
"That's fine," you said softly, "how come you called us today?"
"because i'm a physiotherapist."
"Ooooh..." Larry looked at you teasingly.
"Please don't lecture me about being a baby." You whined.
"Admittedly, you usually handle pain pretty well, so you physiotherapist might be a bit of a brute." Larry intervened.
"Usually."
"sorry, i never learned why you're seeking massage therapy."
"I'm not seeking it," you chuckled, "it was recommended by my doctor-"
"I think they mean what happened to you since they're new. They probably never heard what happened to you." Larry shrugged.
"Right! Sorry..." You nodded, "I got into a minor car crash."
"so's just a whiplash?"
"Yep."
"how long ago was it?"
"About... three weeks ago?"
"uh-huh."
"Any recommendations for our dear host?" Larry inquired.
"Co-host." You corrected him.
"go to your physiotherapy appointments."
"That's such a physiotherapist thing to say." You pouted.
"i mean it. you're a human right?"
"Yes." You nodded.
"Can we assume you're a monster?" Larry asked.
"yup."
"Can I ask why you decided to become a physiotherapist if... you're a monster? Are physiotherapists for monsters a thing?"
"Do stop us if our questions become a bit annoying for you."
"it's fine. monster physiotherapist are not a thing, i'm afraid."
It made sense since all monsters had completely different anatomy and they were not made of muscles like humans.
"i first tried to become a chiropractor but i decided it wasn't for me."
"Isn't it the same thing?" Larry whispered.
"I don't know." You mumbled back.
"they're different things. physiotherapy is scientifically proven to work while chiropractic is just... cracking your bones and hoping that'll fix all your problems. physiotherapy focuses on restoring and repairing your muscles permanently."
You and Larry stayed quiet, listening to the physiotherapist's explanation.
"Well, I have been wasting a lot of money on chiropractors these past few years then."
"afraid so." They chuckled.
"That was actually pretty interesting..." You admitted, "so I should just keep going to my physiotherapy appointments?"
"you should."
"But it hurts..." You chuckled, "... it hurts SO much..."
"if your physiotherapist knows what they're doing you should just put up with it."
"You heard the expert." Larry gave you a cocky smile.
"Fine..." You grumbled, "thank you very much, kind stranger. We do have a couple of calls on hold right now so, is there anything else you would like to tell us? Maybe your name?"
"nah, not today. thanks for having me."
"Thank you for calling! And hey, feel free to call us again, I will be whining about my next session next weekend."
"will do."