Ermines are about as expressionless as skeletons. Even his ears don't do much to indicate his mood. He's just staring up at Tim, shivering a little, but maybe that's just his heartbeat. Maybe that's all it is.

"you think i--?"

He stops. Don't argue. Don't disagree. He's right, isn't he? Tim is right. The intentions, the explanations, none of it matters. The point is that he ended up just like them.

He ended up just like him.

He didn't fully realize it until now.

"you're right."

Someone who really gets it wouldn't do it to someone else, right? Wouldn't let that happen. Would be better than that. Took the wrong lesson from it all. Got too obsessed with sheer survival.

"i got scared. i got scared, and--i thought you were gonna--"

Didn't want to lose anyone else. Selfish, selfish, selfish. You didn't even save them for them, did you?

There's nothing he can say that won't be an excuse, that won't be manipulative, that won't be some shitty joke or misdirection. He remembers. Conversations with Sans are like walking on thin fucking ice.

So cut it out or don't bother.

He really just isn't worth this kind of grief. It's his own damn fault that he decided he didn't want to let go anymore.

"is there any way i can make it up to you?"