Pairings: Sans/Reader, Sans/Sans, Bad Sans Poly, Bad Sans Poly with Reader
Lost & Found
Pre-Addison. After a frantic search across the multiverse for their missing partner, the gang discover Cross in The White Void, and Nightmare uncovers a new facet of his brother’s power.
Chapter Tags: Near-death condition, reference to torture, disassociation, panic attack and sensory-overload.
Pairings: Sans/Reader, Sans/Sans, Bad Sans Poly, Bad Sans Poly with Reader
A Story Heard X Times Before
Chapter Summary: Addison’s having a busy day at work. Cross shows up looking a little messed up and a lot more miserable.
Chapter Tags: Dick jokes, a character briefly worried that another has cut wrists (nothing to worry about there, I promise). A bad dream and a bad omen.
Pairings: Sans/Reader, Sans/Sans, Bad Sans Poly, Bad Sans Poly with Reader
Cracking the Cage
Chapter Summary: On a day when she feels stuck in a holding pattern, Dust decides to surprise Addison with an impulse visit to Nightmare’s famed library.
Chapter Tags: Past familial abuse (flashbacks, references to going hungry, property destruction), discussion of the possibility of a dead body.
Hey folks! I hope everyone is having a lovely and safe holiday season. Just a heads up that I will be taking another week off after this, but will be back with weekly updates (ideally) after the new year. Here’s to 2022 folks!
Sans flipped through some notes as he walked down the hallway of the true lab, on his way back upstairs to the main computer where he could run some more calculations. Alphys certainly had some strange findings on determination. Sans sighed sadly as he looked over the effects of determination on monsters. He wished Alphys were still here. He knew that she was horribly ashamed for what she did, but in Sans’ mind, she really had nothing to feel guilty over.
True, perhaps she should have waited a little while longer before using more determination to fully understand its effects. She wouldn’t have known that though. Her thing was mechanical and electro-magical engineering, not biology. However, she did do everything she could to bring them back and, technically, she did despite the negative side effects. He remembers first coming to the lab to find footage that she had of Undyne’s death playing on repeat on the giant computer screen. The Captain became so determined she simply melted away. He had debated letting Papyrus watch it after seeing him so torn up over her when he finally figured out the truth, but he quickly decided against it.
He wished he had gotten to the lab sooner. Then maybe he could have saved the amalgamates and sent them to their respective families. However, when he got here, the months of neglect had left nothing but dust. It took him the longest to collect everything he could and contact the families. Strangely enough, he couldn’t find anything of Alphys. He remembered during one of her past depression phases, she had debated throwing herself off a waterfall into the abyss.
He could only assume that was what she did after Undyne and Mettaton’s death. As much as Sans liked to think of her as a friend, those two were really all she had left. He wondered if it would have been different if he had bothered to keep in better communication with her after he left the labs. His soul twinged with guilt, but deep down, he knew that he couldn’t have done anything. None of it was in his control anyway.
The sound of clattering papers had Sans turning quickly to look behind him, a blaster forming above his head just as fast. A few papers fluttered as they finished their descent to the floor. Sans examined the stack in his arms and determined that he had dropped a few things. With a labored sigh, he gave his blaster a pat on the snout before dispelling it and walking over to the papers on the floor to gather them.
Perhaps now that things were slowing down and becoming easier, he would be able to confide in his brother a bit more. At least about everything concerning Alphys. While he knew deep down that her suicide wasn’t his fault, he figured that the extra reassurance from Papyrus would help…. And if it was his fault at least then he could fully accept it. He really really didn’t want to tell him about Undyne, but he figured that his brother had the right to know. Maybe he would tell him once Paxan was better settled into his new position.
Sans shook his head violently. He didn’t need to be getting distracted. He had to get a lead something so Papyrus could have something to tell the monster folk next week. He figured two weeks of delays would cause too much unrest. Monsters were given hope and were now far too impatient to get out. Sans knew that before he left to work in the lab full time. Even if he couldn’t get them out at this very moment, the frequent updates could at least keep them stated and keep them hopeful. That was the important part.
His brother seemed much more at ease now that everyone was more hopeful. The taller skeleton had been trying for months and months to get monsters to not give up with no avail and Sans could tell that his brother was starting to doubt himself because of it. However, since the discovery that only one human soul was needed to pass through the barrier, monsters have been much more hopeful. Monsters were slowly becoming happy again. Even if Sans didn’t really work directly with the populous as a whole anymore to know on a first-hand basis, he could tell in the way his brother was starting to shine closer to his previous brightness.
He let out another labored sigh as he finished gathering the papers. He finished making his way to the elevator and pushed the up button so he could go back up to the main floor. He really needed to focus. Too many distractions were not going to create a very productive day. The elevator made a dinging noise, signaling its arrival and Sans stepped in as the doors opened. He quickly leaned back against one of the walls for support.
Today was going to be a long day.
+++++++
Sans scoured over notes and printouts at the desk, trying to find any patterns in the findings. Irritation had started to bubble up inside him long ago. He wasn’t finding anything that he didn’t know already. Human souls had a higher ratio of determination than monster souls, the large amount of determination is what allowed human to just pass through the barrier, determination was the only trait that could break the barrier, so on and so forth.
Sans tossed the papers on the ground with a growl of frustration. He wasn’t going to get anything done at this rate! He rubbed his face with both hands as if he could scrub away what irritated him. He then switched to rubbing his temple with a sigh. He was starting to get a headache. Maybe he was hungry. He usually got a headache when his magic was running low on juice.
He looked at the time and saw that he had about forty-five minutes until it would be time to go home for lunch. He briefly wondered how the address went. It was fine, he was sure. There was something slightly unsettling about not knowing what was on the monster-folk’s mind this week, but at the same time, he was relieved that he didn’t have to deal with it anymore.
He wasn’t really too much of a politics person. People person sure, but when it came to political matters, Faia could have it any day. He was certain that if something pressing came up, that Faia would tell him about it… or at the very least, Papyrus would. He shoved those thoughts aside for the time being and tried to focus back on his work. Why couldn’t he seem to just focus today?
What would happen if he used raw determination on the barrier? Would it just go through? Would it crack it? If it left a crack, would the barrier fix itself? Does the barrier even crack, or does the field just get weaker? What would a weakened barrier be like?
Could he make it weak enough that monsters could pass through and he wouldn’t have to completely destroy it? Would raw determination just hit the barrier and dribble down? Sans let out a grunt as he pondered more and more. What if he just used a pipette to place a small amount of determination on the barrier? If it weakened the barrier in any way, maybe he could find a way to fuse magic and determination to sort of weaponize it…. Like a cannon of sorts.
Something clicked in Sans’ mind and his eye sockets widened. He quickly stood up and moved somewhere in the room with more space. With a quick flick of his hand, his blaster came roaring to life right in front of him in a cackle of energy. The blaster opened and separated its jaws as it collected magical energy but didn’t fire it. Sans held its maw gently as he peered inside. He stared at the collected magic intently… searching for something. His eye sockets widened when he found it.
“oh,” Sans couldn’t help but say out loud as realization hit him smack in the face. Swirls of cyan and yellow were mixed within the raw magic of his blaster. His canon, so to speak. His mind shifted to the avian version in the true labs that he knew his father left behind. Pipes leading into to it to feed it raw energy rather than tying it to a host. “OH!”
A buzzing sound caused Sans to jump upright in his chair. He wondered for half a second what it was before instinct from experience past told him it was the doorbell. Movement on the computer screen caught his attention and he saw a video of a familiar monster standing outside his door. A wide grin tugged at his skull. Not wanting to take the time to walk, he shortcutted the few short feet to the door and opened it.
“hey, grillbz!” He greeted, unable to contain the happiness in his voice. Man, when was the last time he had been to Grillby’s? When he couldn’t recollect he managed to say. “uh… long time no see. what brings you my way?” The fire elemental answered by holding out a bag to Sans. It was a brown paper bag, but the grease stains settling on the bottom left nothing to the imagination as to what was inside. Sans felt the smile on his skull pull upwards a bit more. Damn. He didn’t know how much he missed Grillby’s cooking until it was right in front of him. Grillby said that Sans hadn’t visited in a while and so he decided to bring him lunch.
“gee, thanks grillb,” Sans said and took the bag. “yeah, sorry i’ve been a bit of a stranger. it’s been a really weird past couple of months. ya’know. moving into the capitol and all, and becoming the royal scientist and then this whole thing with the captain of the royal guard and stuff.” Grillby nodded in understanding.
“hey, ya wanna come inside and catch up? i’m sure hotland is much more comfortable for ya than back home,” Sans offered. Grillby shook his head and politely declined. He explained that he had to get back, because there was usually a rush right after the address. Perhaps some other time on a day when things wouldn’t be as busy.
“ah, right. glad to hear business is still going good. i won’t keep ya then. thanks for lunch. you can just add it to my tab,” Sans said with a wink. What amounted to a small smile on a fire elemental grace Grillby’s features. He explained that it was on the house. Sans chuckled a bit at that.
“well, see ya later grillbz,” Sans said. Grillby gave his farewells as well, but after a moment also asked Sans to be careful. The request took a different tone than his usual one. It sounded almost as if he were pleading. Sans looked at Grillby confused for a moment and then chuckled as a realization dawned on him.
“aw, you don’t gotta worry grillb. i’m not gonna try anything stupid like my old man did,” He said. What counted as a frown showed on Grillby’s face before he bid Sans goodbye once more and began to walk away. Sans frowned a bit as well, although all it really amounted to was his smile being a little less pronounced. It was still good to see old friends and he supposed Grillby had a reason to worry. He watched Grillby make his way to the Riverperson before closing the door behind him.
Sans took a moment to debate if he should take the bag home and eat it. Then again, that wouldn’t really be fair to Papyrus, even if he didn’t like grease. Sans placed the bag on an empty spot on the table. He would just run home real quick and leave him a note.
+++++++
Sans grabbed another fistful of ketchup drenched fries and stuffed them into his mouth. A printout of fresh calculations sat in his other hand as he poured over them. He had to know if this was do-able. It probably was if this is what his father was chasing after right before his untimely death. Sans paused a moment as a vaguely amused chuckle left him at the realization that he was becoming like his father.
Growing distant. Hardly leaving the lab. Only really leaving to sleep or eat and sometimes not even that. Staying up all night to run calculations by hand. Doing anything he can to make time for yet more science. Deeply, secretly, absolutely loving his work to the point that he didn’t care if it was running him ragged. Doing science was intoxicating at times. Knowing so much than others and being able to learn and know beyond what was previously known brings with it a sense of power. If left alone, Sans would never leave the lab and keep doing Science until his body couldn’t keep up with him anymore.
This. This is exactly why Sans left the labs in the first place. Right after his father’s death. He couldn’t stand the thought of becoming the person his father was. Then again, he was nowhere near the prim and proper perfectionist that he was. Papyrus had ended up with most of that trait. Sans finalized this thought by licking some dribbling ketchup from his hand before it landed on any papers. If it wasn’t for Papyrus, he probably would never leave the lab, he thought grimly. Then again, he just left his little brother alone for both breakfast and dinner to be at the labs. That realization didn’t sit well with Sans.
He groaned and stood. He really needed to focus on his work or he wasn’t going to have any results from the day except for some theories. There he goes again. Being just like his father. Sans growled at himself and shortcut his way to the place where they stored the determination.
+++++++
Sans stood at the barrier with a Pasteur pipette filled with determination in his hand. The red liquid glowed faintly, leaving a little hint of red shining onto Sans’ bones. The royal scientist took a deep breath before gathering some magic in his system and bringing the dropper closer to the barrier, ready to shortcut out of the way the instant there looked like there would be trouble. He pressed the tip of the dropper gently to the barrier and squeezed the bulb. When the pipette was empty, he stared at the droplet. It sat there for a moment, rolling down the barrier.
Sans glared at it like it had offended him. He had really hoped for more than that. Crick. Sans jolted in surprise as the determination suddenly vanished and he scoured the surface for the cause of the sound until he found it. It was barely visible on the shimmering, glassy surface of the barrier, but it was there. The faintest of cracks. After a few moments, the crack began to close, starting at each of the ends and fusing back together until they met at the middle.
A wide grin tugged at Sans’ face. This is exactly what he wanted to find.
He ported to the lab only for a brief second to deposit the pipette safely before going straight home. He couldn’t wait to tell Papyrus. He wasn’t disappointed to find Papyrus already at the stove when he arrive at the kitchen. The taller skeleton whirled around at the sound of displaced air that now surrounded Sans.
Sans was caught a bit off guard when Papyrus suddenly flung himself onto him in a similar fashion as the previous night. Oh yeah. Papyrus was disappointed in him yesterday. An awkward feeling washed over him. He wanted to tell Papyrus about his findings, but at the same time, he still felt pretty bad about yesterday. But what was he going to say? It wasn’t the end of the world so he didn’t really care? That he knew timelines were shifting around and it was going to stop after the human left so he just let them leave? He knew that wasn’t going to fly. If he was honest, he didn’t really know how many people the human had killed until after the fact.
“Sans,” Papyrus said. Sans looked down at his baby brother, finally returning the hug after he realized that he had been lost in thought.
“yeah, pap?” he returned.
“Will you take the day off tomorrow?” Papyrus asked.
Once again, Papyrus was rudely awakened by the artificial sunlight striking his face. At one point he closed the curtains so it wouldn’t bother him, only to have Sans wake him up thirty minutes after he was supposed to get up. After that ordeal, Papyrus decided to trust the light more than his internal clock. He grunted as he shifted enough for a few of his joints to pop. He must not have moved all night. Well…. the part of the night that he slept, anyway.
Yesterday had been such a big day. After three long weeks of searching and facing the difficult task of finding a new Captain of the Royal Guard, Papyrus had finally found someone that he felt wouldn’t put Undyne’s name to shame. In fact, it was an old war veteran by the name of Gerson that recommended the young lad to the king. Papyrus was a bit worried at first.
He already discussed the appropriate qualifications with the remainder of the guard: first, the new Captain would have had to have been in the guard for the past three years; secondly, they could have no more than three behavior citations; third, the new Captain must exhibit phenomenal leadership skill; and lastly, they needed to show proficiency in fighting skills.
Papyrus felt a bit uneasy about these requirements, thinking that he didn’t meet any of those himself. However, it was his fellow monster kind that elected the new King into his position, and the requirements for the Captain were more than necessary.
When he met the young monster, Papyrus found himself a little intimidated by his appearance. He was a tall dragon-like monster with bronze-ish scales. His eyes were a piercing green color, and claws adorned every finger and toe (Papyrus assumed this was the reason he didn’t wear boots). He also wielded a strange weapon: it looked like a sword, but it was slightly curved. It looked more like the ones Undyne used to describe to Papyrus as being from an anime.
When Papyrus stood from his throne and approached him, the young guard quickly fell to one knee in respect.
“Oh! Please don’t do that. Please stand up,” Papyrus asked, completely flustered by the situation. Usually the guards would put a fist over their soul and give a slight bow.
“I apologize,” The monster said as he stood. “I’m incredibly honored that you have chosen me as a potential candidate to take the office of Captain. I… don’t feel like I can live up to Undyne’s legacy.”
“You were recommended to my by Gerson. Him and Undyne were…. close, near family… and given his past experience, I felt like I would be disrespecting him and Undyne to not at least meet you,” Papyrus said with a tight frown on his face. He was doing his best to hide his pain. Just merely mentioning Undyne was sending pangs to his soul.
“I see. I feel honored none the less,” the monster assured.
“Why don’t we have a seat in the dining area and I’ll go make us some tea?” Papyrus suggested.
“That sounds delightful,” the dragon monster said with a hint of a smile. Papyrus escorted the monster to a foyer where there was a small table with chairs where the two could comfortably sit.
“If you don’t mind waiting here, I’ll go fix us some tea. Do you have a preference?” Papyrus asked.
“Oolong if you have it,” the other monster said. Papyrus gave a kind nod and made his way to the kitchen.
Upon talking to the monster, he found that the name of the sword was called a katana, and that the guard was only a few years older than Papyrus himself. The name of the dragon monster was Paxan, and he was the last remaining member of his family after the human came through.
After a few more talks with Paxan and asking his fellow guard members about him, Papyrus had no doubt in his mind that Paxan would be a wonderful Captain. While Paxan seemed intimidating, he was actually a very kind and gentle monster.
According to the other guard members, Paxan could take leadership in scenarios where it was needed. He paid special attention to the abilities of each monster and what they were capable of. He suggested ways to divide up tasks for them as needed. In a sense, Paxan was already naturally beginning to take on a higher role of authority through sheer respect alone.
Yesterday was finally the day that the new Captain officially accepted his role in front of all monster kind. Papyrus remembered what Undyne’s ordination was like in his younger days. He was thirteen when his soon-to-be-best-friend had her ceremony. At the time, he had paid attention to every detail, as a future Royal Guard should! After all, this was to be his boss someday. With these bittersweet memories in his mind, Papyrus attempted to give Paxan every bit of the same respect.
It was a lot of work. The celebration lasted a full afternoon and evening. The entire Underground had shut down for the event. Sans even came back out of the lab for a week to help Faia organize the whole thing.
There was a speech from the King himself. Papyrus focused on the attributes of Paxan more so than the death of the previous Captain. However, it was impossible for the subject to be completely avoided. Tears were valiantly being fought back by the king the entire time he told of her noble death. Although Papyrus managed to keep his eyes relatively clear, the rest of the audience wasn’t as successful. Even Faia had to wipe away a few tears.
This was quickly followed by the vows of Paxan, and then the official appointment. That was the hardest part for Papyrus, as it was customary for the retiring Captain to present the new one with their helm. Undyne had removed her helm before attacking the human, so it was the only thing that remained of her.
As Undyne was, obviously, unable to be there, it fell to Papyrus to hand the helm off to the new Captain. It took every ounce of control on his part to keep it together as he handed the only surviving piece of his best friend’s armor to her replacement. He couldn’t bear to look at Paxan as he did so, opting to look at his feet instead. Despite his best efforts, a few silent tears ran down his skull. Paxan, in his kind nature, gave Papyrus a few pats on his hand to sympathize with his grief. Papyrus looked at the kind monster to see his reptilian eyes were glassy.
The new Captain stood after he accepted the helm, and both monsters took a few moments to collect themselves before continuing on with the ceremony. Paxan was to give a speech to his comrades as their new Captain. It was incredibly moving, with many words about how he hoped he could adequately fill the position as well as the previous Captain had. He claimed for that to never be possible.
The Captain’s name, however, was never mentioned. Papyrus assumed that it was for both of their sakes, to prevent any other breakdowns. Alas, it seemed ineffective to the crowd of monsters below them as the occasional cry or sob broke out.
After the heart wrenching ceremony there was a feast that accompanied an evening of celebration…. which…. left Papyrus a little unsettled. It was only one little detail, but it was one that bothered Papyrus. The new Captain was supposed to sit on his right. It was only a formality, and certainly appropriate, but Papyrus felt like he was betraying Sans in a way. Especially after assuring his brother that he would always be his right hand man. Correspondingly, Faia was his “left hand man” or er…. woman.
In the end, Papyrus didn’t want Paxan to think that he distrusted him. Therefore, he allowed the new Captain to sit to his right. Sans, much to Papyrus’ relief, didn’t seem bothered by it and easily took the seat to his left. Faia followed behind, also not seeming to think much of it and sat beside Sans. Now that the brothers were in arms reach of each other, it didn’t take long before Sans began soothing Papyrus with a few comforting pats.
Once nearly all the guests had left, Paxan decided to take his leave so that he would be well rested for his meeting with the king in the morning. Papyrus didn’t argue. He left the celebration after everyone had gone to get his own rest. Papyrus was elated that Sans had opted to walk with him rather than teleporting straight to his room like normal. Once they reached the bedrooms, Papyrus hesitated. Sans stood by his side, also not moving any closer to his room.
Papyrus could not have possibly appreciated Sans any more than he did in that single moment. For the older brother gently tapped Papyrus before opening his arms for a hug. Papyrus knew that Sans wasn’t the one that needed the hug. Many of the cleaning staff were still out and about. So he pulled Sans into his room and closed his door before collapsing into his embrace. It wasn’t long before tears began to roll down his face.
He didn’t say anything. Nothing needed to be said.
As time passed, Sans ushered Papyrus deeper into the bedroom, opting to settle them both down on the couch where it was more comfortable. Papyrus had no complaints. He felt heavier as his body was wracked with more tears. He was sure Sans was pushing his limits as to how long he could support his weight.
Papyrus ended up with his head in his brother’s lap. Sans gently petted his head while the younger cried himself to sleep.
+++++++
Papyrus sighed as he realized why his pillow felt so hard. He had fallen asleep on the couch. No wonder he felt so stiff. He was surprised by the hand that was still petting his head. Before Papyrus could say anything or make a move to get up, a soft, yet gruff voice filled his ears.
“hey, bro. you finally awake?” Sans asked as the petting stopped. Papyrus grunted and sat up. He looked at Sans to find that he was beaming up at him with a pencil in hand. It looked like he was using the end table to do some work. But where did…?
“i got it from your desk,” Sans supplied, twirling the pencil. The confusion must have shown on Papyrus’ face. Leave it to Sans to use magic to bring the office supplies to him rather than to bother getting it himself. Then again, Papyrus figured that Sans probably didn’t want to wake him.
Even though Sans didn’t have nearly as much paperwork to do, he was still almost always working on calculations of some sort. Even at breakfast. It was somehow less unsettling to Papyrus than when he was doing regular paperwork at breakfast. Probably because he knew that there wasn’t exactly any due dates for this sort of thing and according to his recent boost in enthusiasm, Sans was doing work that he probably enjoyed more. He wondered how long Sans had been working.
Now that Papyrus thought about it, Sans looked incredibly tired. Both had been able to catch up on sleep a little bit since Faia and Sans had begun splitting the work. After learning how close they were to freedom, the overall morale of the citizens seemed to increase, which certainly eased the stress on the skeleton brothers (and Faia) as well.
So any additional lack of sleep was more visible on the skeleton pair, and a lack of sleep was certainly visible on Sans. His smile seemed a bit dull and it wasn’t just from a lack of coffee. The bags under his eyes seemed a bit darker than normal.
“What time did you get up?” Papyrus asked.
“well… uhh… you fell asleep about three hours ago…i uh…” Sans said slowly while he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “i didn’t sleep at all. i decided to get some work done instead. i haven’t exactly gotten much lab work done the past couple of days because…. well, you know.
Papyrus knew this behavior. This is how Sans talked to him when he knew Papyrus wouldn’t like what he was going to say. Sans was certainly right. Papyrus did not like it. He let out a heavy sigh, but he was too tired to scold Sans with as much vigor as usual.
“You know I would prefer if you got some rest over getting lab work done” he softly chided. “Sleep is important for your health, and you know neither of us have gotten much recently.”
“i know, but i’d still feel bad if you didn’t have any progress to report in your weekly address,” Sans said. Papyrus just sighed and slumped onto Sans’ shoulder. He didn’t have the energy to argue about that this morning. Sans let out a soft chuckle.
“is it coffee time, bro?”
“Please.”
+++++++
Papyrus sat at the table, downing his bowl of oats before properly waiting for the eggs to turn into dinosaurs, while Sans stood at the counter preparing the coffee maker. Sans opened the cabinet to take out two coffee mugs.
“Sans?” Papyrus called.
“yeah, bro?” Sans asked.
“Can you…. Put mine in the little fish teacup?” Papyrus asked. Sans’ smile faded a bit and he slumped over a little.
“are you sure?” He asked.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Papyrus said. Sans held his gaze for a moment longer, but he didn’t argue any further than that as he obeyed his brother’s request. A few minutes later, a small, fish shaped cup was placed in front of Papyrus.
But something was off.
The coffee didn’t have the sweet caramel smell like it normally did. It smelled… just so faintly of chocolate, and there was whipped cream on top. Papyrus wondered for a moment if Sans had given him hot chocolate instead.
“i decided to show you something different,” Sans said. “it’s called a mocha… it’s kinda like hot chocolate with coffee thrown in. if you don’t like it, i can make you your usual. no biggie.”
Papyrus gingerly picked up the cup and took a sip of the coffee. It was good. Not as great as the caramel macchiato, but it was still good. It definitely tasted how Sans had described, but less creamier than he had expected. The chocolate didn’t do as much to cover up the taste of coffee as the caramel did, but interestingly enough, the coffee taste didn’t bother him very much. Perhaps he was acquiring a taste for the bitter liquid. Papyrus almost audibly grunted at the thought.
“how is it?” Sans asked.
“It’s pretty good,” Papyrus said. Sans stifled a laugh. He raised a brow bone. “What’s funny?”
“i just think it’s fan-tashe-tic that you like my coffee, bro,” Sans said with a grin. Papyrus initially groaned, but as the pun set in, he raised his hand to his face and found some whipped cream just above his teeth.
“Oh my god, Sans! Shave your puns for later,” Papyrus retorted. He grabbed a napkin and wiped his face to hide his smile. Sans began laughing.
“but it’s hairy important,” he replied before leaning against the table in laughter.
“Oh my god, it’s not even made of hair,” Papyrus said as he still struggled to hide his grin.
“you’re still smiling,” Sans said.
“I am and I hate it!” Papyrus said.
“i still count that as a win,” Sans said with a wink. Papyrus only gave an exaggerated groan as he went back to drinking his coffee. Sans continued his giggle fit.
Papyrus wasn’t going to lie. He still definitely liked the mocha better than drinking it black like Sans preferred. Although he noticed that Sans’ first coffee of the morning would always be something not-black like Papyrus’. Perhaps he just didn’t like to take the time to hand-make coffees like that, so chose to drink it black instead. Papyrus wouldn’t put it past him. Sans gave a bright smile and set back to his work while Papyrus continued to eat his breakfast. A soft smile managed to remain on his face after the jokes and giggles subsided. It was good to see Sans joking again even if he was sleep deprived. Papyrus was almost finished with his meal when a knock came at the door.
“Yes?” Papyrus asked.
“Sir, Paxan is here for his meeting with you,” Faia’s voice came from the other side. Papyrus let out a heavy sigh. He left his bowl of unfinished oats on the table and picked up his cup of coffee.
Sans was dragged from his sleep by his phone buzzing in his pocket. He grunted and lifted his head. He quickly realized that he wasn’t in his bed. Not even in his room. Papyrus’ favorite book was open underneath him on one of the pages near the end.
Through the dim light, he could make out the form of his sleeping baby brother. Sans smiled softly and reached inside his pocket, feeling around for his phone. He pulled it out and looked at the time.
His eye sockets widened. He had been sleeping through the alarm for the past twenty minutes. He was running late. He had to make Papyrus breakfast. He had to collect the guard reports from Faia. He was behind on those now. He had a lot to sort through. He had to find a new assistant for Papyrus. Maybe he could talk to Faia about it. She’d been such a huge help so far.
There would be people showing up soon to ask for appointments with the king. Should he go ahead and schedule them or should he tell them that there would be an address at the end of the week…tomorrow… and ask them to come back afterwards?
That address. He had to rewrite the list into something that would be easier for Papyrus to read. He was too tired to do it last night. They also finished sorting those guard applications last night. He had to call all of the accepted applicants and schedule all of them so they could get interviews done in a timely manner. Then there’s still the ever present issue of finding a new Captain since no one was stepping up to the plate since Undyne….
Then there was the lab. People had been asking for updates on the barrier ever since it was announced that he would be looking into it. That was one of the priorities for the address. He had to get something done. He had to show that progress was being made. He had to make sure no one would be upset with his brother.
He sighed and ran a hand over his face before looking back to Papyrus. He looked so peaceful while he was sleeping, a small smile was still on his face. Sans didn’t want to leave his side…..but he had so much that he had to do…. But the way Papyrus clung to him after he offered to read him a bedtime story…… Had he really been neglecting Papyrus that much? Was Sans so focused on helping the new king that he had been neglecting his dear baby brother’s biggest need?
Sans flopped his head back down on the bed and let out a heavy sigh.
“screw it,” he muttered as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
He pushed the book to the side and folded his arms more comfortably. He spared one more glance towards Papyrus. He reached out for his hand. Once he had Papyrus’ hand in his, he focused briefly on his brother’s life giving energy coursing through his bones. The sign allowed Sans to relax further.
He laid his head back down on the bed and allowed memories of a smaller set of bones all bundled up in his arms to lull him back to sleep.
+++++++
Papyrus stirred awake when artificial sunlight struck his face. He went to throw an arm over his eye sockets only to find that he couldn’t. He pried his eyes open to see what was holding him down. He blinked a few times at the hand that was wrapped around his and the skeleton that it belonged to. Shouldn’t Sans be up by now?
“Sans?” Papyrus called quietly. He only got a soft snore in response. Papyrus sat up some, careful not to disturb the skeleton beside him. He looked over and saw his favorite book still open and pushed over to the side. He picked it up with his free hand and placed it back in it’s proper place.
He watched Sans sleep for a few moments. His brother definitely needed and deserved his sleep, but Papyrus knew there were things that they both had to get done. He wished he could stay here and just allow both of them the much needed rest, but sadly, the monsters needed their king and their king needed his right hand man.
He pried his hand away from his brother’s before gently shaking his shoulder.
“Sans, wake up. We have a lot to do today,” Papyrus said. Sans shifted a bit and lifted his head.
“hmm? oh…mornin’ paps,” Sans greeted him with a lazy smile.
“Good morning, brother,” Papyrus said with a smile of his own. “Did you sleep well?”
“yeah. i slept real good. sorry i didn’t get up to make ya breakfast.”
“I’m actually more concerned about you getting a proper night’s sleep, and I’m very glad that’s the case!” Papyrus said happily.
“welp, let’s go get some grub then and we can get started, huh?” Sans said with a grin. He sat up and stretched. His back popped a few times. Papyrus figured it was because he was slouched over the bed all night, but he knew that his brother could get a good sleep practically anywhere.
“Sounds wonderful, brother!”
+++++++
The rest of the week went by without any further incidents. The address at the end of the week went well. Sans was officially dubbed as the new royal scientist and Faia the new royal assisant. The address went so well, in fact, that Papyrus decided to make it a weekly occurrence. Citizens were able to approach Faia with questions, which would be compiled and answered at the end of the week.
Sans was still hanging around the castle a fair bit to make sure that Faia transitioned into her new position. Papyrus admired how Sans did keep certain duties such as buying ingredients for him and fixing him breakfast (which now included a caramel macchiato instead of a glass of milk). He was especially elated at the fact that Sans tried to be home in time to read him fluffy bunny before bed at least three times a week.
If only they could find a new Captain of the Guard…. That would make things run more smoothly. Faia would be able to perform her duties without Sans’ assistance and Sans could devote his full attention to the barrier. Papyrus sighed at the thought while he watered the flowers in the throne room.
He had been putting off looking for a new Captain for quite some time. He really didn’t want to do it. In his mind, no one could be better for the job than Undyne. She lost her life to protect the king. She died doing her duty and Papyrus wasn’t sure he could say any of the others would do the same. Those that would have perished in hotland fulfilling that same duty.
Papyrus felt guilt swell inside him. He thought he had turned the human from their ways. He thought the human had turned over a new leaf. He thought that through his inspiration and motivation, the human had come out to be a better person….
But he was wrong.
All he did was let the human walk right past them. Vouched for them. Led his best friend to her demise.
Papyrus didn’t notice that he was dropping until his knees landed in the flower bed below him. He let the watering can fall from his hand and he covered his face.
It was his fault. He was the reason Undyne wasn’t here anymore. He should have followed the human. He should have made sure the human wasn’t lying. He should have fought beside Undyne….
Maybe then she wouldn’t be dead.
Maybe then, they could have defeated the human, or at the very least died protecting Asgore like true royal guardsmen. Papyrus would have been fine going out that way….
But that’s not what happened. That’s not what Papyrus did. Instead, Papyrus had happily stayed at home, anxiously waiting to see when the human would call.
Undyne was out there dying while he stayed at home hoping to hear from her killer.
The thought made his soul churn in disgust.
He hoped the human would never call again. He hoped he never had to see another human again.
He let his hands leave his face to pound the ground below him with his fists. The pain of the impact ran up his arms and began seeping into his rib cage.
Papyrus looked down, startled. How hard did he hit the ground? He lifted his hands to examine them. He saw a few flowers stuck to his gloves from being flattened by such a force. In that moment, he realized that he was letting his pain turn into anger….
But that wasn’t him.
That was not a very Papyrus thing to do.
Papyrus growled as he stood to his feet, only getting angrier at himself. He needed to go on a walk, go train, go do something to ease him. The watering can was abandoned on the ground as the king’s feet forced him towards the exit of the castle.
+++++++
Papyrus stood in front of the stove as he stirred the spaghetti. Normally Sans would be the one to cook dinner, but Papyrus had insisted on cooking after the day’s earlier events. Thankfully, Sans didn’t argue. Instead he told Papyrus that he would go spend a couple hours at Alphys’ lab to try to find some more answers about the barrier. At first, Papyrus didn’t want his brother to leave his side. Sans had convinced him however, by promising to be back in two hours, and Papyrus knew how Sans was about promises.
He remembered the first time Sans had left to go to the lab. That day Papyrus had insisted on cooking dinner as well, hoping that the familiar dish would help him feel closer to his best friend during her absence. Papyrus’ stirring slowed as he remembered the fact that Undyne was now dead.
Dead. What did that word really mean? Does it only mean that all physical manifestations of the person no longer exist? Does it mean that the person in their entirety no longer exist? No. He still had memories of her, right? He still missed her dearly. She still existed in his heart. That means she’s not completely dead, right?
His eyes drifted over to a little fish shaped tea cup sitting on the counter.
+++++++
“hey, bro,” an unmistakable voice said behind him.
Papyrus turned so quickly, a noodle flung out of the pot. There stood Sans with a stack of papers in a manila folder tucked under one arm.
His attire was different. More different than the different it had already been. Over the now regular lab coat was an extra layer; a white, plastic translucent coat. Even over his shoes, he had what looked like clear shower caps, but they were clearly designed to be put over shoes. To top it off, Sans had a pair of goggles hanging around his neck.
“SANS!” Papyrus said, slightly startled. He looked over to the clock on the wall. Sans had only been gone for an hour and fifty minutes. “YOU CAME BACK EARLY.”
“yeah, i didn’t want to give you the chance to worry,” Sans explained with a lazy shrug. There it was again. Papyrus swore that he was hearing that phrase more and more as time went on.
“oh, this,” Sans said inspecting himself. “it’s just lab stuff bro. keeps any chemicals and stuff off my bones. anyway, i think i found some files that could be useful. i’ll look over them while we eat.”
“OH…. ALRIGHT,” Papyrus said as he turned back to dinner.
In the meantime, Sans removed his plastic outer garments, sat down at the table and began going through the files. After a few minutes, he teleported somewhere, only to come back with a pad of engineering paper. He took a pen out of the pocket on the front of his lab coat and began scribbling down numbers, only breaking concentration when a plate of spaghetti clanked down on the table in front of him.
“thanks, bro,” he said before stuffing a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth, being careful not to let any sauce drip on the precious papers spread out across the table. He continued to work as he ate. Papyrus took the seat across from Sans, making sure to give him plenty of space to do his work. Papyrus ate his own food slowly, not particularly in a rush to do anything else for once.
“no,” Sans said after several minutes filled with nothing but the sounds of clanking forks and the skritching of pen on paper.
Papyrus looked up at Sans, but said nothing knowing that his brother was deep in thought and was speaking to himself. He didn’t want to break his concentration.
“that can’t be right,” Sans said as he set the plate far off to the side and began frantically scouring over the pages. He occasionally looked back to his engineering pad as if to make sure he got his reference figures right. After about a minute of this, Sans tore his recent calculation out of the pad and began working all over again, leaving the remainder of his food discarded to the side. Papyrus went back to eating, knowing that trying to get Sans to eat would be pointless at this exact moment.
“really?” Sans asked himself. “does everything check out if i work backwards?” These murmurs continued for a while.
Papyrus tuned them out. He didn’t even notice Sans was trying to talk to him until his name was called.
“papyrus,” Sans said. It seemed like he was trying his hardest to keep his voice in a calm tone.
When Papyrus looked up at him, his brother’s face was plastered with a wide grin. Papyrus sat up straighter at this sight, giving Sans his full attention. It had been far too long since he had seen his brother smile like that.
“Sans?” Papyrus asked in a quieter tone to let his brother know that he was genuinely listening.
“you only need one,” Sans said excitedly.
Papyrus tilted his head to the side a little, not sure what Sans was talking about.
“one soul, paps! you only need one soul to cross the barrier! it won’t break it, but you can cross it. i know it’s not exactly what we were looking for, but it’s something isn’t it? now we’re right back to where we were before the human came down! asgore needed seven, but…maybe the human crossing it weakened it somehow! this is good news, paps! you can tell everyone that we just need one soul!”
The thought of being the one to gather human souls made Papyrus’ soul tense up painfully. That meant he had to kill a human. Was he capable of doing that? What if the next one that fell down here was nice? He couldn’t kill them, could he? They had decided it would be case-by-case, even if he knew now that the last human had stipped him of his friend, his idol and his king.
“paps?” Sans, asked, sensing his brother’s distress. When he didn’t answer he left his seat and walked up to him.
“hey, bro. you ok? you’re lookin’ really pale there,” Sans pointed out. Papyrus didn’t respond. He just kept thinking the current scenario over in his head.
“hey, paps,” Sans said taking his brother’s shoulders in his hands. Papyrus looked up at him. “you don’t hafta kill a human. we can find a guard who can do it. i can even do it if ya want.”
Papyrus shook his head. He was a bit concerned that Sans sounded nonchalant about the issue.
“NO, EVERYONE’S LOOKING UP TO ME,” he said, trying to wear the bravado he used to always have. “I SHOULD BE THE ONE TO DO IT.” He fell silent, dwelling on that thought.
“hey, c’mon bro, look at the bright side. tomorrow you get to tell everyone that we aren’t starting over, and that we’ll be out soon,” Sans encouraged.
Papyrus’ face lit up. He could tell everyone that.
“oh,” Sans said quietly, now looking rather ashamed of his outburst. “i… uh… i guess it would be impossible for me to be the royal scientist and help ya out around here, huh?”
“YES, I THINK IT WOULD BE, AND YOU’RE ALREADY DOING SO MUCH SCIENTIFIC WORK ALREADY. IT’S LIKE YOU’RE ALREADY TRYING TO DO BOTH JOBS. I’LL LET YOU PICK THE ASSISTANT YOURSELF IF THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT ALL OF THIS,” Papyrus offered.
“yeah… yeah it would actually. i wouldn’t let just anybody be my baby brother’s right hand man,” Sans replied, clearly hiding a sad tone in his voice.
“WHY, SANS, YOU’LL ALWAYS BE MY RIGHT HAND MAN! THEY’LL JUST BE MORE LIKE…. MY LEFT HAND MAN! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus laughed at his own joke. Sans smiled a bit more and chuckled a bit too. It had been far too long since either of them had laughed at all.
“alright, bro. i’ll find ya a left hand man tomorrow. promise,” Sans said with a wink and then he made a move to get up. “i should probably go ahead and hit the lab if i’m gonna get any work on the barrier done today.”
“WAIT!” Papyrus yelled while his hand captured his brother’s. “WAIT! YOU SHOULD EAT SOMETHING FIRST! YOU JUST WOKE UP AFTER PASSING OUT FROM EXHAUSTION! CAN….. can science-y things wait until tomorrow?”
Papyrus looked at Sans with a pleading look. It was silent for a while, but Papyrus could tell by the way his older brother was looking at him that he was about to get things his way. The heavy sigh from Sans a moment later proved as much.
“alright,” he said. No sooner than the moment the words came out of Sans’ mouth had Papyrus wrapped his brother up in a bear hug and stood to his feet. This made Sans let out a short cry of surprise and left his feet dangling above the floor. Nevertheless, Sans chuckled and returned the hug.
“LET’S GET YOU SOME SUSTENANCE, BROTHER!” Papyrus happily exclaimed as he began carrying his brother to the kitchen.
“uhh… ya know i can walk, right pap?” Sans asked. He looked rather embarrassed about the situation.
“Nonsense, Sans,” Papyrus began. The quiet tone appeared to capture every bit of Sans’ attention. “You just passed out from exhaustion earlier. I carried you here then. It won’t be any trouble to carry you to the kitchen now. Besides, no one will be around to see you.”
“can i shortcut over there?” Sans asked.
“ABSOLUTELY NOT,” Papyrus said with returned vigor. “Shortcutting everywhere probably helped get you into this mess. Would it really hurt you to try walking somewhere?”
“shortcutting is faster though. why spend five minutes walking when i can use that time to get something done instead?” Sans asked with a wink. That lazy grin on his face tilted upward just a hair. Papyrus assumed that his brother was amused that he now had an excuse to be lazy in that regard.
Papyrus groaned in response, refusing to validate that logic with an answer. He watched as his brother’s grin grew just a bit wider. Apparently not answering was just as ineffective.
Still…. it felt good to see his brother smiling like that. A small genuine smile of his own tugged at his cheek bones. He felt something touch his face and he looked down to see Sans pointing a bony finger at him.
“heh, there it is,” Sans chuckled.
“There what is?” Papyrus asked, confused.
“that smile. been awhile since i’ve seen it,” Sans said. He reemphasized with another poke on Papyrus’ cheek.
“I’m almost always smiling, brother,” Papyrus said.
“yeah, but that’s your social smile. i know you, bro. you’re always smiling when you’re around people. i mean this one,” Sans gave another poke. A more playful grin began showing on his face. “this real one is the one i haven’t seen in awhile.”
“And you’re enjoying this opportunity to annoy me aren’t you?” Papyrus asked. His own smile tugged upward just a bit more. He honestly missed the lighthearted bantering they used to engage in.
“nah, what makes you think that?” Sans’ sarcasm rang clear as he poked his brother’s face yet again.
“Saaaaaans, stop,” Papyrus halfheartedly whined.
“alright, alright,” Sans conceded and kept his hands to himself.
Once they reached the kitchen, Papyrus placed his brother down in one of the chairs and went to the refrigerator to pull out some leftover spaghetti. In a few short minutes, both brothers were seated at the table with a plate of steaming pasta in front of them.
Papyrus found that he was much hungrier than he originally thought. It was most likely due to the fact that he didn’t really eat lunch either considering the day’s earlier quarrel. Once his plate was clean, he decided it would be best to try to engage in conversation since Sans wouldn’t be heading to the lab today.
“Earlier you said that you wanted to get some work on the barrier done. How’s that going?” Papyrus asked. Sans looked up at him with his mouth still stuffed with spaghetti. A few noodles were hanging out of his mouth. Papyrus guessed Sans was even hungrier than he was.
Sans slurped the noodles back before quickly answering. “well, i started doing my own work and figuring out how to run experiments on the barrier and i came across a bunch of information on the barrier that was already in the archives. i’m still looking through it all, but so far nothing that we don’t already know. mostly stuff about the differences in monster souls and human souls.”
“Oh,” Papyrus looked back down at his empty plate feeling downtrodden.
“but hey, i found this book on anti-gravity.”
“Oh?” Papyrus asked. He looked back up at his brother, curious. He raised a brow bone at Sans’ mischievous grin.
“yeah, it was impossible to put down,” Sans’ grin widened.
“Snrk- OH MY GOD, SANS!” Papyrus complained as a smile tried to force its way onto his face.
“but then it ended up getting stuck near the ceiling,” Sans continued. “that’s ok though. i’ve got no one but myshelf to blame.”
A small snicker made its way from Papyrus’ mouth.He was sure there was a smile there by now, but he still tried to conceal it with a gloved hand.
“STOP!” Papyrus laughed.
“c’mon, bro. you’re smiling,” Sans said. He, himself, smiled proudly while his hands found their way into his coat pockets.
“I am and I hate it,” Papyrus said. His argument was weakened by continued chuckles.
“heh… i’d tell ya a chemistry joke, but i don’t think i’d get a reaction,” Sans said.
Through squinted eye sockets, Papyrus could see Sans close his eyes and slouch in his chair. He looked awfully confident in that joke, as if he was sure it would make Papyrus laugh.
“OF COURSE NOT, BROTHER! I’M TOO NOBLE TO REACT,” Papyrus retorted.
Sans opened his eyes and stared at his brother. It took half a second for the response to sink in before the older skeleton doubled over in laughter.
“oh my god, bro,” Sans said between laughing fits. “that was gold.”
“NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus’ laughter finally burst forth. Both brothers were sent into a spiraling fit of laughter and giggles. Soon they were both supporting themselves on the table and gasping for breath, but the laughter didn’t stop.
To Papyrus, it felt too good to stop. It felt good to keep laughing. It felt good finally feel a bit of happiness swell inside him. It felt good to see his brother overcome with laughter for the first time in far too long.
Eventually, laughter died down into exhausted huffs of air and sore rib cages.
+++++++
Although Sans didn’t make a trip to the lab that evening, the brothers still remained busy with other matters to take care of. Papyrus washed the dishes while Sans finally finished sorting through those pesky Royal Guard applications. Once those were all discussed and sorted into piles based on who would get interviews and who would not, they made plans for when and where the interviews would take place.
They began compiling a list of questions to answer for the address later that week. They went over the completed list and agreed that the questions were all relevant and frequently-asked. They then set about the task of organizing the questions by priority. They worked both forwards and backwards, trying to make the topics meet in the middle. The last ten or so topics proved to be difficult.
“what’s more important?” Sans asked. “providing more power or the progress of job creation in the core?”
“I don’t know,” Papyrus said with a yawn. “They’re so similar. Why don’t we just combine them into a broader topic and address them both at once?”
“ok, but then does it get tacked on below the high priority or above the low priority?”
“I don’t know,” Papyrus repeated. He laid his head down in his arms on the table.
“heh, you too tired to think, bro?” Sans asked. Papyrus only responded with a nod. “why don’t i make you some coffee? i could go for some myself.”
Papyrus lifted his head and looked at his brother curiously. He had never had coffee before. Well, none that was caffeinated anyway. When he was younger, Sans had let him try some decaf and he didn’t like it. It was far too bitter and he couldn’t see how his brother could drink it all the time.
“Does it taste as bad as what you gave me the first time I tried it?” He asked cautiously.
“well, yeah, but there’s stuff you can put in it so it’s not as bitter,” Sans said.
“Hmm… it’s worth another try,” Papyrus said.
Sans nodded and stood from the table. He made his was over to the counter and began making a full pot of coffee. Papyrus laid his head back down into his arms to rest for a moment.
“heh, don’t lay your head down too long,” Sans warned knowingly. “you might fall under arrest.”
“Snrk. Sans, that was horrible,” Papyrus said. He was glad that his head was down so Sans couldn’t see him smile.
“you’re smiling,” Sans said anyway.
“You can’t even see my face!” Papyrus said. He peeked his eyes out just enough to see the proud grin on his brother’s face.
“i can hear it in your voice,” Sans said with a shrug. His hand glowed faintly while he used magic to pull down two mugs for them to use. Papyrus noticed that Sans was putting sugar and some white liquid into one of the mugs. He covered his eyes again while he waited for Sans to finish.
He didn’t know how long he had his head laid down, when he was suddenly jolted awake by a ‘cla-thunk’ in front of him. He jerked his head up only to find a single coffee mug in front of him. He could hear his brother snickering off to the side.
“i told ya so,” the obnoxious older brother said as he sat back down in his chair. “heh, and you call me the lazybones.”
Papyrus only grunted groggily and sat up some. He picked up the mug in front of him and gave it a sniff. It definitely smelled like coffee, but there was something else there. It smelled sweet and oddly similar to candy.
“it’s a….uh… caramel macchiato.” Sans said. “i prefer my coffee black, but sometimes I make something more like this.”
Papyrus took another sniff. So that’s what the candy smell was. He cautiously took a sip, and his brow bones moved up in surprise.
“That’s… actually really good,” Papyrus said before he began drinking the beverage more fervently.
“heh, i thought you would like that. there’s not as much coffee in it though. i don’t usually warm the cream up either. that way it cools off the coffee. otherwise, it’s scalding.”
“Where did you learn to make this?” Papyrus asked.
“oh… i found it in a magazine a while ago. so i tried makin’ them myself.”
Papyrus only responded with a nod and kept drinking the ‘macchiato’ until it was all gone.
“Can I… have another one?” he asked. Sans chuckled a bit.
“let’s wait a minute to see what the caffeine does to ya. if ya drink too much, you won’t be able to go to sleep tonight. if ya like it that much though, i can go get some decaf when i go pick up more ingredients for your spaghetti. that way you can drink it without the caffeine,” Sans offered. Papyrus nodded in agreement. Sans grinned back at him.
“I think it belongs right below the high priority ones,” Papyrus said. Sans looked confused for a moment before he realized that Papyrus was talking about their previous task.
“right,” Sans said. He scribbled the note on the list.
+++++++
Many hours (and for Sans, many cups of coffee) later, all of the day’s tasks were done. The one caramel macchiato seemed to be just enough for Papyrus. It woke him up and gave him enough mental energy to keep going until the day was done. He was amazed that it was only nine-thirty. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten to go to bed at a reasonable time. Hopefully this trend could continue once Sans wasn’t balancing two very important and very time consuming jobs.
“heh, wouldja look at that?” Sans said looking up at the clock. “maybe i did need a day off from science-y things.”
Papyrus nodded and stretched. That was really all he could manage at the moment. A yawn quickly followed.
“since it’s an early night and you seem pretty tuckered out, hows about i read ya a bedtime story?” Sans offered. Papyrus’ eyes widened back up. When was the last time he had gotten a bedtime story?
“PLEASE,” Papyrus practically begged. He lunged for his brother and wrapped him in a hug. Sans chuckled and patted his brother’s skull.
“alright, alright,” Sans said. “let’s go find fluffy bunny and get you in bed.”
“Oh! I always keep it on my night stand!” Papyrus said as he stood. “I…. read it too myself sometimes when you’re busy.”
“…oh…” Sans said standing. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he looked down. “can you read text that small?”
“Well, no,” Papyrus said. He frowned at his brother’s ashamed look. “But I remember every word to it! So I can at least look at the pictures and imagine that you’re reading it to me!”
“what?” Sans asked, his eyes widened in disbelief. His grin fell from his face.
“YOU HEARD ME. I SAID I’M HIRING A NEW ASSISTANT,” Papyrus repeated.
Sans was quick to stuff his hands into his pockets. He was getting nervous. Concern was written on the older’s face.
“is there something i’m not doing? am i doing something wrong? did i forget to do something? did i mess up on something?”
“NO, NO SANS,” Papyrus said moving his hands in a reassuring motion. “THAT’S NOT IT AT ALL!”
“then….why?” Sans inquired. “are…. are you replacing me?”
“NO!….WELL… YES…. YES AND NO,” Papyrus said. Sans raised a brow bone and gave him a questioning look. “IT’S NOT THAT YOU’RE NOT DOING ENOUGH, SANS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU’RE DOING TOO MUCH! I MEAN… WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SLEPT?”
“last night,” Sans replied slowly. So Papyrus’ initial theory was wrong, but Sans still could not have had much sleep.
“FOR HOW LONG?” Papyrus asked.
“a couple hours. maybe a little less,” Sans said.
“SANS! THAT’S NOT SLEEPING, THAT’S NAPPING!” Papyrus tried to keep his chastising lighthearted. “YOU NEED MORE THAN THAT! NOT SLEEPING ENOUGH IS JUST AS UNHEALTHY AS SLEEPING TOO MUCH, IF NOT MORE SO!”
“i’ll be fine, bro. everything’s ok. it’s just been a rough past couple of months for everyone,” Sans reassured.
“IT’S BEEN SEVEN MONTHS SINCE THE HUMAN CAME THROUGH, SANS.”
“ok, alright, it’s been a bad past month then, yeah? we’ve been transitioning and making your position here more permanent, but everything’s ok. it will get easier as time goes on,” Sans rephrased. Papyrus was getting tired of Sans insisting that everything was ok. He knew that it wasn’t. He felt like Sans was trying to baby him, and it was getting on his nerves.
“NO, IT’S NOT OK, SANS! STOP SAYING THAT! YOU’RE HURTING YOURSELF!” Papyrus was a bit harsher this time.
Sans stood from the table. The plate of spaghetti still sitting there, untouched.
“bro, look,” Sans said, taking his hands from his pockets and motioning to himself. “i’m fine. i’m standing. i’m moving. i’m talking. my soul is beating. i’m. fine. everything’s ok.”
“STOP SAYING THAT!” Papyrus snapped. “STOP SUGAR COATING EVERYTHING THAT’S GOING ON! I’M NOT A BABYBONES ANYMORE. I’M THE KING. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON IF I’M GOING TO ADDRESS ISSUES PROPERLY. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIX THE UNDERGROUND IF I DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING THAT’S WRONG WITH IT?”
Sans reeled a bit. Sure, Papyrus has yelled at him before, but normally it was lighthearted and about trivial matters. Now, he was serious, and it was about everyone living in the underground.
“just leave it up to me, bro. i’ll let ya know if there’s anything serious that needs your attention,” Sans said, stuffing his hands back into his pockets.
“NO, SANS!” Papyrus yelled. “I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE IT ALL UP TO YOU. IT’S MY JOB, NOT YOURS. THEY ELECTED ME AS RULER OF THE UNDERGROUND AND SO I WANT TO BE MY BEST AT IT. I CAN’T ENCOURAGE EVERYONE IF I’M HIDING BEHIND YOU ALL THE TIME.”
He frowned shortly after his outburst. He didn’t mean to yell or come across like that at all. He appreciated his brother’s help, but he didn’t want Sans hurting himself in the process.
He quickly realised that he had also started to sound full of himself. He knew better than to use his position against Sans. He looked over at him sadly to see that Sans wasn’t looking back at him. Instead, he was looking down with his eyes hollowed out.
“Sans… I…” Papyrus began quietly.
“sorry. i’m going to go make sure that everything is ready for your afternoon appointments with the citizens. which is your job. i’ll do my job as your older brother to take care of you. after all, i just wanna make sure you have the time to eat your lunch. now, if you’ll excuse me, your highness,” Sans said expressionless.
Nothing was left but the sound of displacing air. The breeze caused some of the applications to flutter off of the table and onto the floor.
Papyrus didn’t bother standing up to gather them. He looked sadly at Sans’ uneaten spaghetti and pushed his own to the side. He placed his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands. What did he just do?
In the process of trying to offer his brother help, he had only managed to make him neglect his health more.
+++++++
Golden light shone into the room where only the sound of birds singing and footsteps were heard. The king solemnly walked down the judgment hall as he made his way to the throne room. The argument from earlier was still heavily weighing on his mind. He needed to find a way to convince Sans that hiring a new assistant would be beneficial to them both. Hiring one anyway would only make Sans angry, if he wasn’t already. Trying to take on some of the duties Sans had been fulfilling would only tire them both even further. Maybe he could convince Sans if he allowed him to make the application and run the interviews himself…. but then that would put more work on Sans and he didn’t want to do that.
“Papyrus!” a voice called as another set of footfalls echoed down the hallway. Papyrus looked up from his feet to look up at the monster approaching him.
If he had a heart, it would’ve stopped. He wasn’t concerned that a monster had called for him so suddenly. He wasn’t concerned that they sounded worried. He wasn’t concerned about the fact that they were running towards him.
What he was concerned about, was the white and blue mass that the monster was carrying in their arms.
Papyrus’ eye sockets widened in fear and he rushed to meet the monster. His soul began to pound. Had Sans fallen down? He was silently hoping that wasn’t the case. He didn’t know what he would do without his brother. He couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not after Sans seemed so upset the last time he saw him. He would never be able to forgive himself if Sans had fallen down because of him.
“WHAT HAPPENED?” Papyrus almost demanded once he got to the monster. He immediately reached for his brother. The blue fox monster gingerly handed Sans’ limp form over to the king.
“I-I don’t know. I think he p-passed out, but I don’t know,” she stammered as she attempted to catch her breath.
Once Sans was in the king’s arms, the younger quickly looked for his brother’s soul. He visibly relaxed the moment that he found it. His brother’s soul was still beating, still letting out life giving energy. He hadn’t fallen.
“He’s alright…. You were right… He just passed out,” Papyrus affirmed.
The fox let out a breath she was holding in. She took a few more deep breaths, as she was still short of breath from her sprint.
“Oh thank goodness. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know how to tell if he had fallen or not,” she quickly apologized.
“It’s quite alright. We don’t have lungs or hearts like most monsters, so I’d assume it’d be difficult. Thank you for finding me,” Papyrus said.
“Of course, sir,” the monster reciprocated with a polite bow. “Would you be back in time for your appointments or….?”
“I would like to stay with my brother until he wakes up. Would you please explain to the citizens that came to see me that something has come up…… and that I will be making a public address at the end of the week?” Papyrus asked kindly.
“Yes. Is that all?” she asked with equal politeness.
Papyrus thought for a moment. This monster seemed reliable. He had seen her in the castle quite a bit in passing, but knew nothing of her.
“Well, I don’t believe I caught your name,” Papyrus inquired.
“Oh! My apologies. Faia, at your service,” she said with another polite bow.
“Ah, well, thank you, Faia,” Papyrus said with a smile. “I will go take care of my brother now.”
Faia nodded in understanding before rushing off to complete her new task. Papyrus watched her go for a moment. She certainly seemed dedicated and he wondered what her job here was. He figured he could ask Sans about it later.
+++++++
Papyrus used his foot to open the door to Sans’ room. He braced himself. He didn’t know what the interior would be like. He had never been in his brother’s new room before.
As expected, clothes were strewn everywhere, papers and empty ketchup bottles littered the floor, and Sans had apparently already taken the liberty of putting a new trash tornado in the room.
Papyrus sighed and walked to his own bedroom. It would be far easier to use his bed than try to navigate to his brother’s. He had to work a bit harder to get his door open with his foot, but managed and strode in. He gingerly placed Sans down on his bed and quickly retreated to shut his brother’s bedroom door.
He was just as quick to return to his brother’s and look over him. He appeared to be passed out from exhaustion.He searched for his brother’s soul once more so he could confirm his suspicion. Papyrus was proven right as the magical pulses coming from Sans’ soul were no where near their normal strength. It was a wonder he was still able to shortcut from place to place. Papyrus wondered how much of an influence Sans’ constant use of magic was. Skipping lunch probably also played a role in his sudden collapse.
Papyrus debated going and preparing a meal for his brother to eat once he had woken up, but he didn’t know how long Sans would be out and he didn’t want it to get cold. He also really didn’t want to leave his side.
He decided that it would be best to cook something for Sans after he was awake, and he went and fetched the chair from his desk. He set it down beside the bed so he could at least sit down while he waited for Sans to wake up.
He spent a long time just holding his brother’s hand and feeling the magic course through the bones there. Feel that he was still alive. Feel that he hadn’t fallen down. At some point he laid his head down, but he didn’t know when. He was just so tired.
+++++++
Papyrus was stirred from a dreamless sleep he didn’t realize he had fallen into by the feeling of a boney hand petting the top of his skull. Papyrus slowly lifted his head a bit and looked over at the skeleton the hand belonged to.
“hey, bro,” Sans said.
“You’re awake,” Papyrus said as a smile crept onto his face. Sans permanent smile made a slight tilt upwards and he kept petting Papyrus’ skull.
“yeah… i passed out in the throne room didn’t i?” Sans asked.
“I don’t know where you passed out. Faia carried you and found me in the Judgement Hall,” Papyrus explained.
“crap!” Sans exclaimed before he took his hand from his brother’s head and used both of them to rub his own cranium. “i was in the middle of collecting guard reports from her. i still gotta get those and archive them and you’re supposed to be meeting with you appointments and i haven’t made it to the lab yet today and-”
“SANS,” Papyrus called in an attempt to get his brother’s attention. It worked and Sans let his hands fall back down to his sides. “CALM DOWN. FAIA IS LETTING THE APPOINTMENTS KNOW THAT SOMETHING CAME UP AND THAT I WILL BE MAKING A PUBLIC ADDRESS AT THE END OF THE WEEK.”
“a public address? address what?” Sans asked.
“I’VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF THE SAME QUESTIONS FROM MONSTERS. YOU WOULD THINK WORD WOULD TRAVEL QUICKER, BUT I’M GOING TO ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS AGAIN ANYWAY…..IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. THAT SHOULD CUT DOWN ON THE NUMBER OF APPOINTMENTS YOU HAVE TO MAKE FOR ME,” Papyrus said.
“that’s …. a really good idea actually,” Sans confirmed after a moment.
“I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO HAVE A NEW ASSISTANT BY THEN…. IF YOU’LL LET ME,” Papyrus added.
“are you serious? are we really doing this right now? why?” Sans asked. There was a hint of anger in his voice.
“I’VE ALREADY TOLD YOU. YOU’RE OVERWORKING YOURSELF,” Papyrus replied calmly. He really hoped that this wasn’t about to turn into another argument.
“and ya think the monster you pass it on to won’t be overworked?” Sans asked a bit spitefully.
“NO, I WAS GOING TO LET THEM HAVE HELP AS WELL. BESIDES, ONCE A NEW CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD COMES FORTH, NEITHER YOU NOR THEY WILL HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GATHERING REPORTS OR TAKING CARE OF THEIR IMMEDIATE CONCERNS ANY LONGER,” Papyrus assured.
“oh, so you’ll let them get help? what is it really, papyrus? what am i doing wrong that makes ya want to replace me?”
Papyrus stopped and his eyes widened a bit. He remembered that was a concern of his brother’s at lunch too. Is that why Sans was so upset earlier? Is that why he’s being so defensive? Is that why he didn’t want Papyrus to hire a new assistant? Sans thought Papyrus was replacing him? That certainly explained why he suddenly got defensive when the topic was brought up over lunch.
“SANS, YOU HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING WRONG. I’M NOT TRYING TO REPLACE-”
Artificial sunlight streamed from the windows into the bedroom and onto an extravagant bed. The sleeping skeleton stirred as the light began to wake him from his slumber. Papyrus rolled over onto his back and threw an arm over his eyes. For a moment, he debated not getting up, but he knew better. The people needed their new king, and they needed him awake, bustling, smiling and (most importantly) preparing them their daily spaghetti. He sat up quickly, knowing that laying down for too long would only tempt him further.
It’s been seven months since the human came through the underground. Recently, Papyrus and his brother had to move closer to the castle. The trek from Snowdin to the Capitol was too time consuming, taking too many precious hours from their days. The royal family’s old establishment had been offered to the brothers, but it felt too wrong to Papyrus. He couldn’t possibly live in the old king’s home. Alternately, the castle was filled with a plethora of guest bedrooms as well as a kitchen and a handful of sitting areas containing couches, end tables, sofas, coffee tables, chairs and even a couple sets of dining sets.
Although not it’s original purpose, the brother’s were easily able to move into the castle. Each were able to pick their own bedroom, however, Sans promptly chose one of the bedrooms right beside his brother’s chosen room. Papyrus didn’t argue. On the contrary, he was glad that he could remain relatively close to his brother since they hadn’t talked much this past month.
Papyrus knew that the lack of communication was almost entirely on him. He just wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that Sans had lied to him about everyone being on “vacation”. He knew that Sans lied to spare his feelings, but he didn’t think that Sans should have kept up with the lie for so long. He should have at least told him after Papyrus was elected ruler of the underground!
Papyrus had begun to wonder what else Sans had lied to him about…. what else Sans was trying to protect him from. It bothered him, and he simply didn’t know how to converse with his brother anymore.
The tired king sighed and tossed his long legs over the side of the bed before extending all of his limbs for a good stretch. A few joints popped and the stiffness in his bones began to ease away. He examined his bedroom as he stretched. His bed sat against a wall with the door to the bathroom directly across from it. A little to the right, was the door to enter his closet, which was rather large so Papyrus guessed that it was more like a wardrobe. On the right wall, was the door that led to the hallway as well as the skull and crossbone flag and bone portrait that Papyrus had managed to bring over from their old home. To the left wall was a large floor to ceiling window that allowed the artificial light to begin flooding the room. To the right of that was a row of bookshelves and to the left of the window, was a personal desk. In the center of the room was a small sitting area containing a sofa, a reading chair and a coffee table. The room was rather large, but all the furniture made it seem smaller than it actually was.
Despite having more to keep track of, the whole place was still spotless with everything in it’s place. Satisfied that everything was in order, Papyrus stood and made his way over to the bathroom. One nice thing about the guest rooms in the castle was that each bedroom had it’s own separate bathroom attached to it.
Papyrus enjoyed being able to keep a place meant for hygiene neat and clean, but recently, he’d really missed sharing a bathroom with Sans. In the back of his mind, he wondered how many dirty clothes were strewn across his brother’s bathroom.
Papyrus shook the thought from his mind and turned on the hot water. He washed his face vigorously in hopes that it would make him feel more awake. He let his hands fall and grip the sides of the sink, letting the white noise of the running faucet soothe him.
He sighed and let the water drip from his skull as he looked up at himself in the mirror. Dark bags had long since began to form under his eyes. His bones had lost some of their magical hue and were looking pale and dry. The eyelights in his sockets were dim in comparison to their regular bright radiance. He looked like someone who was being worn down each and every day. He looked like someone who was being stretched too thin. He looked like someone who was just getting up and going through the motions….. And that wasn’t far from the truth.
He looked tired.
Realizing that he was wasting water, Papyrus turned the faucet off and reached for the hand towel to dry his face off with. He probably needed to throw it in the wash soon. He looked over to the laundry basket sitting in the corner behind him. He probably needed to do laundry in general. Sans probably needed to weeks ago. Papyrus figured he could ask his brother about it at breakfast. That could be a good conversation starter right? It wasn’t about appointments, or goings-on of the Capitol, or anything business-y… just regular, normal, homey things.
Papyrus rushed to his wardrobe to get dressed. He was eager to get to breakfast with his brother. He quickly began pulling his battle body off an armor rack that Sans had managed to procure for Papyrus and gave it to him as a gift. Papyrus enjoyed using it to plan out what he was going to wear the next day. It was nice to be able to see an entire outfit laid out as if someone was wearing it. He quickly slipped on his gloves and boots before wrapping the big heavy cape around his shoulders. He had gotten more used to it, but he still prefered the scarf that Sans had made for him.
Once the broach was in place, he strode out of his room and made his way into the kitchen, where he knew Sans and breakfast would be waiting for him. Sure enough, once he entered the kitchen, he was greeted with a bowl of steaming oats and a glass of cold milk on the table.
There was something missing.
There were quite a few things missing actually. The box of the remaining starting-to-get-stale cinnamon bunnies that had been on the counter was gone. So was the filled trash bag that used to sit beside the trash can. Papyrus checked the trash can that. It had a completely empty trash bag inside. The handful of dishes that were in the sink had been cleaned up. There was no pile of papers covering the other half of the table. No coffee pot or coffee cup, although the smell of coffee was still hanging in the air.
Sans was nowhere to be seen. As Papyrus approached his breakfast, he saw that Sans had left a note. He was quick to pick it up, open it and read it. He noticed Sans’ handwriting was larger than usual, which he was grateful for.
hey bro,
sorry i can’t be there to have breakfast with ya like normal. something came up and i had to head out early. don’t worry about it though. i’ll take care of it and be back in time for lunch. then we can go over what appointments you have for the day and i can help you with those royal guard applications. i’ve already gone shopping and gotten the ingredients you need so you can make your spaghetti. i set them on the counter for you. see you at lunch.
sans
Papyrus put the note down with a sigh. He didn’t want to know how early Sans had to get up in order to accomplish everything he had already. This was the first time his brother had ever been called out before breakfast though.
The kitchen felt awfully lonely as the king sat down and stared at his breakfast. He didn’t even really feel like eating anymore, but he didn’t want to waste the food that his brother had made for him. In the back of his mind, he knew that he would have to eat in order to keep his energy up. He still needed to make everyone spaghetti.
Papyrus lifted his spoon and stirred the oats a little bit. It was still steaming, but the little candy eggs had already transformed into dinosaurs and were starting to fall apart. His brother must have left before Papyrus had even gotten out of bed this morning. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to eat if he kept thinking about such things, Papyrus began shoveling down his meal with an occasional drink from the glass of milk.
Once finished, Papyrus moved over to the sink and placed the dishes inside. He took off the big heavy cape, folded it, and laid it carefully over the back of one of the chairs. He removed his gloves, rolled up his sleeves, and set to the task of keeping the monsters of the underground fed. The ingredients were still in bags, sitting on the counter, just like Sans had informed Papyrus that they would be.
As he began cooking, Papyrus finally allowed himself to set his mind to his brother. He knew that Sans had gone to bed after he did last night, and Papyrus had gone to bed in the early morning hours. He knew that Sans must have gotten up early in order to be able to clean the kitchen, get groceries, do his regular morning paperwork and still have the time to make Papyrus his breakfast.
Papyrus looked at the clock on the wall. He became increasingly worried about the very real possibility that Sans didn’t actually get any sleep at all last night.
He began to wonder how much sleep his brother was losing by doing everything that he was. Losing too much sleep just wasn’t healthy! Looking back, he realized that Sans had been going to be after him almost every night this week. Yet, the new routine hadn’t changed and his brother was still there waiting for him every morning at the kitchen table with paperwork, coffee, and his breakfast. The worry in his soul only continued to grow and began to churn.
Papyrus knew that he needed to do something. Something about his brother working harder than him, the king, wasn’t sitting right at all in his soul. This clearly wasn’t a job for just him, nor was this a job that only just two people could handle.
Technically, Sans was trying to pull two jobs. Not only was he assisting Papyrus in his everyday duties, he was also fulfilling Alphys’ old role by researching how to get through the barrier. Although, a formal declaration had never been made, Sans truly was the new royal scientist.
Papyrus’ mind was made up. He knew what he was going to do.
+++++++
Papyrus plopped down at the table after setting the large, nearly empty pot of spaghetti on the stove. He needed to sit down. Just for a minute.
He had been standing for hours serving monsters spaghetti. At least now, most of the monsters had been able to get back on their feet and provide for themselves, but there were still several monsters that were in need of help.
Papyrus sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. His cheekbones hurt from forcing himself to smile so much. He didn’t even know that was a thing that could happen. He wondered how Sans did it all day every day. Pretending to be happy and full of energy was exhausting, but he needed to be that way if the people had any chance of being happy and hopeful. He let his hands slide off his face and dangle at his sides. He looked over at the clock on the wall. He wasn’t expecting Sans to be home for another few minutes.
Papyrus stood and made his way over to the cabinets. He couldn’t serve any spaghetti for the two of them quite yet, but his throat felt dry from all to socializing that he did. As he was reaching for a glass, he heard the subtle sound of air being displaced. He looked behind him to see his brother standing there.
“SANS! YOU’RE HOME EARLY,” Papyrus said.
He examined his brother. Sans’ hands were stuffed into the pockets of his lab coat, his shoes seemed dirty, that forced smile was ever present, and the bags under his eyes looked darker than Papyrus had ever seen them before.
“eh, i didn’t want to give ya the chance to worry,” Sans said with a shrug of his shoulders. He closed his eyes as he made the statement. Papyrus frowned a bit. Sans has been saying that a lot lately.
“THERE’S STILL SOME SPAGHETTI LEFT OVER. I WAS GOING TO MAKE US PLATES ONCE IT WAS CLOSER TO LUNCHTIME,” Papyrus explained.
“heh, why don’t we go ahead and eat since i’m here?” Sans suggested. “that way we can get started early on those applications”
“ACTUALLY…” Papyrus began, looking to the side. He wrung his hands in front of his chest. “THERE’S SOMETHING I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT.”
“oh, yeah. sure, bro. whatever you wanna talk about,” Sans offered. Papyrus was glad that his brother was open to talk about things. He didn’t seem to be trying to hide anything from him. “let’s get some grub first though. i’m starving.”
Papyrus nodded in agreement and took two plates out of the cabinet. After filling both of them with spaghetti, he sat down at the table where Sans was already working on separating applications into piles. He carefully placed Sans’ plate somewhere that papers weren’t occupying.
“so ya wanted to talk about somethin’?” Sans asked. He looked up from his task and grinned up at his brother.
Papyrus wandered through a dark room dimly lit by echo flowers and mushrooms. He had walked this path frequently in his lifetime. Therefore, he had no need to touch the mushrooms that normally lit the way. In fact, he knew the path so well, that he didn’t even watch where he was walking as he stared down at his phone. He was waiting to receive a phone call, a text message, an instant message….anything to calm his worrying spirit.
A long red cape was draped over his shoulders. It was much longer than his typical scarf and it licked at his ankles as he walked. A gold pennant of the Delta Rune clasped the cape together above his collar bones. Silver pauldrons rested on his shoulders, holding the cape to his frame as it billowed softly in the non-existent wind. Even these had gold trimmed edges and small intricate designs carved into them. It was attire fitting for the ruler of the underground. To Papyrus, though, it felt wrong to wear such noble clothing. His authority was only temporary anyway.
Despite his new position, Papyrus never could bear to get rid of the battle body that his beloved brother had made for him, nor the scarf which remained wrapped around his neck and shoulders under the cape. He found a strange comfort in the familiar fabric, and greatly prefered it over the heavy material of the cape. The scarf even helped keep the metal of the pauldrons from weighing so much on his shoulders and dispersed the weight more evenly. However, it did nothing to ease the invisible weight of the underground’s hopes that hung from his shoulders.
It had been six months since the human had left the underground. Alphys, Asgore, Mettaton, and Undyne were all still on vacation. As time passed, Papyrus was beginning to wonder if that was true, yet he didn’t want to believe that his brother had lied to him, though. Still, he missed all of them greatly. The underground felt…. empty without them. Even if he didn’t really know Alphys or Asgore personally, he knew that Undyne cared a lot about them, which meant that Papyrus cared about them too. Maybe they were all vacationing together.
He missed watching Metatton’s shows. He couldn’t even stand to watch TV anymore. Seeing reruns of the rectangular robot’s programs merely reminded Papyrus that Mettaton wasn’t here right now. He was surprised that the idol hadn’t made any sort of announcement before leaving. Normally, he kept his audience very well informed of his antics. Papyrus wished he would come back soon. He had a movie to finish after all!
Papyrus sighed as his thoughts continued to wander. He began absently kicking a pebble along with him while he continued his journey. He had to abandon this venture as the pebble landed in a stream before him. He continued on his way, waving to Gerson as he passed the old turtle’s shop, but no words were exchanged.
As much as Papyrus wanted to care about everyone equally, he quickly realized that he missed Undyne the most. Without her, there were no cooking lessons, no training sessions, no toothy grin smiling at him encouragingly, no loud booming voice giving orders and offering praise, and no skeleton noogies. Yes, he even missed her rough and brash form of affection. He was actually beginning to think that perhaps he missed that the most. He wanted her back more than anything. His one, true friend had been gone for six months and he didn’t know how much longer he could bear it. Besides, without the Captain, how could he join the royal guard?
Although, he figured that his aspirations to join the royal guard were probably pointless now. He was the ruler of the underground after all. Despite this, he didn’t give up on his dream. Perhaps, if he was a good enough ruler, when Undyne and the king returned, they would immediately appoint him into the guard!
Papyrus jumped as he heard a sob coming from his right. He didn’t think anyone was nearby. He jerked his head to the direction that the sound had come from, only to be face to face with an echo flower. They always had the tendency to scare him, and jumping at the sound of them was a habit he still hadn’t been able to break. His eyes widened in mortification. He felt a sinking feeling in his soul as the flower continued to sob. Papyrus stood still for a moment, and just listened to the flower as it replayed the sounds over and over again in an infinite loop.
Papyrus knew what this meant: someone had walked past this flower recently while they were crying. He didn’t have to think very long about what could be the cause of the unknown monster’s sorrow. Just thinking about it only made guilt and grief rise up deep in his soul. He had been trying so hard to make everyone happy. He had been trying so hard to give everyone hope despite the fact that it was only seemed to dwindle more with each passing day. The new ruler knew that things looked grim. The human souls had disappeared, and many monsters were still missing. Trying to keep everyone happy and encouraged was beginning to take it’s toll on the tall skeleton. But that didn’t mean that he was going to give up! No! If he gave up, then everyone else would too! Then who would be left to keep the hopes and dreams of monsters alive?
Everyone was counting on him…..
With that reminder, he turned and continued onwards towards his destination with a little bit more hope in his soul.
++++++++++
Any hope or happiness that Papyrus had gained in his little pep talk vanished as he stood at the entrance of a cavern. From here he could see the bright red ribbon wrapped around a long golden bone. It was propped up against a door …. exactly as he had left it four months ago. He had thought that it would be nice to leave Undyne one of her favorite things at her door so she could have something to welcome her home. Occasionally, Papyrus would switch out the ribbon for a fresher one so it still looked presentable for when she came back.
Normally, at the sight of this, Papyrus would turn and walk back to the capitol or wherever his next destination was. This time, he forced his feet to keep moving forward as he walked right up to the front door. He knocked on the door…but he already knew what the response would be. He just stood there and waited, holding onto a futile hope that the jaws of the door would open and Undyne would be standing there in the maw, inviting him in after giving the guard in training a good punch in the arm. After a few minutes of silence, he turned, pressed his back to the door and covered his face with his gloved hands. He slid down the door until he let his legs slid out from under him and the cold ground met his pelvis.
He felt the wetness of tears that were threatening to leak from his eye sockets. He didn’t want to let them. Rulers don’t cry! They are supposed to be inspirational and supportive! But ….he was just so….so tired. Tired of pretending. Pretending to have more hope than he actually did. Pretending to be happy. Pretending like everything was ok. It was all slowly beating away at the once exuberant skeleton. He hated not being able to show his true feelings. He couldn’t. Not when everyone was looking up to him. He couldn’t let anyone see his personality falter. Especially his brother. Not his dear brother that was doing so much to make sure that Papyrus’ new occupation wasn’t any harder that it had to be.
Sans was doing more work that Papyrus had ever seen him do. Papyrus knew that Sans used to work other jobs besides his sentry job, but even then, his brother was lethargic and did the bare minimum that he had to. Now Papyrus’ lazybones brother was doing all of the new ruler’s paperwork for him so that he could focus on taking care of everyone. That wasn’t the only thing that Sans was doing. He was also doing more than his part in keeping the everyday functions of the capitol running smoothly. He even organized appointments for people who wanted to come speak with the new ruler.
It pained Papyrus to see his brother slowly grow more exhausted day by day.This was the opposite of his normal routine, after all. He was happy that Sans was being more active, but watching his older brother slowly deteriorate in front of him was pure torture. Papyrus even noticed that his brother had stopped going to the door that led to the ruins ever since the human had come. He knew that Sans would spend hours there when he was supposed to be on watch for humans, although he never asked him why. He wished his brother would go. He always seemed to be just a little bit brighter after hanging around the door for a while.
Sans had spoken to Papyrus a few months back about looking into the barrier to see if there were any other ways to break it. He mentioned that it might give people hope if they didn’t have to wait for another seven ( potentially bad) humans to come. More importantly, he was willing to explore anything that meant that they could leave sooner. The suggestion was music to Papyrus’ metaphorical ears.The sooner they left, the sooner everyone would return from vacation. The sooner they left, the sooner everyone would be happy. The sooner they left, the sooner Sans could take a long, well deserved break…. the sooner his brother go back to being his normal, lazy self.
Papyrus had eagerly agreed, more than happy to have something that could possibly lift the spirits of the downtrodden monsters of the underground. Papyrus knew that his brother was smart. How else was he able to prank him throughout time and space? If anyone could find a solution to this dilemma, he was sure that Sans could. Or, at least, he hope he could.
Only a few days passed before Papyrus regretted letting Sans take on more work.
One morning, he woke up to find that Sans was awake before him. His brother was sitting at the kitchen table, working through a stack of papers with an empty coffee cup beside him and a half-empty coffee pot not too far away from it. Across the table from him was a very fresh bowl of oats (the kind with the dinosaur eggs in them) and a cold glass of milk beside it. Sans was even dressed properly, with blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a non-ketchup-and-grease-stained shirt. Even with the typical blue jacket still worn over all of it, Papyrus was impressed.
“SANS? WHAT’S ALL THIS?” Papyrus asked him. Sans looked up at Papyrus with a big grin plastered onto his face, although Papyrus could tell that it was somewhat forced.
“hey, bro,” the older skeleton said. “i just got up early to get a head start on these papers so i would have time to go to alphy’s lab to see if she had any information on the barrier.”
“IS IT OK WITH HER?” Papyrus inquired, tilting his head to the side curiously. Had Sans heard from her?
“of course, i used to visit her lab a lot when you were younger. she told me that if i ever needed anything to just stop on by, no questions asked,” Sans had explained, however Papyrus could tell by the slightest twitch in his smile that he wasn’t telling him the whole story. He didn’t press it though. Sans was already doing so much and he wasn’t going to pressure him about it. Instead, he took a seat at the table and examined the oats and milk in front of him. It was very fresh. The eggs were still in the process of turning into dinosaurs.
“oh yeah! i made you breakfast. i made it while i was waiting for my coffee to finish brewing…. thought it might save you some time,” Sans had remarked with a bit more genuine smile on his face. Without waiting for a thank you, Sans went back to his task at hand. Papyrus had examined the half empty pot. Sans would have had to put away all that coffee rather quickly if it was already that empty. Was he really that tired? Papyrus was grateful for the meal, of course, but his worry only grew as this became the new regular morning routine. Even this morning, Papyrus had woke to find a bowl of oats and glass of milk waiting for him at the kitchen table.
Papyrus felt tears threatening to spill once more as his concern for his brother brought the unwelcome liquid back tenfold. A hiccup escaped him and he gave a soft gasp of horror as he unhid his face. He quickly looked around to make sure that no one had heard their ruler crying, only to be faced with the empty cavern in which Undyne once dwelt.
His eye sockets welled up even more as they caught sight of the training area. The dummy had long since left. He remembered enjoying watching Undyne practice with the dummy and watching her in awe with rapt attention before she flashed him a toothy grin.
Papyrus curled up and brought his knees to his chest. He wrapped his arms around them and buried his face as much as he could before he finally let his tears roll freely. No one was here to see him anyway. He just needed to cry. There was so much that he needed to cry about. Him missing his best friend. Him being stressed out by the responsibilities of his new title. Him being a failure at being the leader that these monsters so desperately needed. His ever growing worry for his brother’s wellbeing.
Once the tears began, he couldn’t get them to stop. He didn’t want them to stop. He simply just let them roll down his face, not concerned that they were dripping onto his cape and battle body. His body shook from the immense sorrow that he was finally able to let escape. Every once in awhile he shuddered as he hiccuped.
His body was beginning to feel sore and achy as he curled in tighter on himself. He didn’t know how long he had been crying or how loud he was. Quite frankly, he didn’t care. He just needed to cry.
A smooth, deep and very, very tired voice filled the emptiness of the cavern.
“there you are, bro. heh, i’ve been looking everywhere for ya.” Papyrus didn’t have to look up to know who the voice belonged to. He simply curled in impossibly tighter on himself so his brother didn’t have to see his disheveled appearance. His efforts were in vain as his body betrayed him once more when another hiccup escaped him. Even if Sans couldn’t hear him, his whole frame shook from the action.
“bro?” Sans asked, his voice now much closer to the curled up skeleton on the ground. The said skeleton didn’t respond as he heard his brother drag his feet over to his side and kneel down beside him. “papyrus?” he asked again. His voice dripped with concern and shortly after a bony hand was gently placed on the taller’s back. Papyrus finally pulled his head up and faced his brother.
He immediately regretted his decision as he watched his brother’s face contort upon seeing him. He could easily read all the emotions that were displayed on his face: pity, worry, sorrow, fear, guilt… so much guilt. Papyrus couldn’t bear to look at his beloved brother anymore as he wrapped his arms around him and planted his face on his shoulder. Smaller arms didn’t hesitate as they wrapped around his armored shoulders. The sad, broken ruler resumed crying. There was no use in attempting to hide it any longer.
The familiar smell of chemicals and the scratchy feeling of the fabric told him that Sans was wearing his lab coat, which had become part of his normal attire. Papyrus moved his face to his brother’s sternum and wrapped his arms tighter around him, clutching the hood in the back that hung over the lab coat. The feel of a more familiar fabric brought him some comfort. He didn’t want the lab coat reminding him of how different things were from just a few months ago.
Sans mercifully said nothing as he held onto his little brother. After a few moments, he began petting the back of Papyrus’ skull in an attempt to comfort him. Papyrus continued crying for what felt like an eternity. Even after the tears stopped falling, his body still shook with dry sobs and his hold on his brother remained firm. Sans said nothing the entire time, and just let his brother’s stress and sorrow soil his jacket and white t shirt while the rocks and pebbles beneath him dug into his knees.
Papyrus finally pulled his face away as his hold loosened and he released Sans’s hood. Sans gently kept his hold, but still allowed his brother to pull as far away as he wanted, which wasn’t but a few inches.
Papyrus looked up at his older brother. Although his tears had dried long ago, his face still had a soft orange glow from his distress and a bit of orange residual magic was beginning to crust around his eye sockets. Sans removed his hand from the back of Papyrus’ skull and gently wiped the matter away with his thumb.
“SHE’S NOT ON VACATION….. IS SHE?” Papyrus asked suddenly. His brother’s expression was heavy with guilt as he shook his head solemnly. Papyrus looked down and nodded slowly, showing his understanding. He would have started crying again if he had the tears or energy. Instead he just let his arms drop to his sides and his whole frame slump with the weight of this knowledge.
His best friend was never coming home. Which meant that no one else missing or “on vacation” was either. Papyrus fully understood the situation now. His position wasn’t temporary. It was permanent. He was now the new ruler. The new king….. And it was going to stay that way until he dusted. The fate of all monsters now rested on his shoulders and that realization only made them feel heavier to Papyrus.
“do you want me to shortcut us back so no one has to see you?” Sans graciously offered. Papyrus hadn’t even thought about other monsters seeing him in this broken state until Sans had mentioned it, but now that he thought about it, he really just wanted to go home. Papyrus only nodded. Sans stood to his feet and brushed off the pebbles that had stuck to his body from being in the same position for so long before helping Papyrus to his feet as well.
“Sans?” Papyrus asked. His quiet, solemn tone making tension hand heavy in the air.
“yeah, pap?” Sans returned, as he helped his brother dust off. Papyrus waited until they were finished before he looked Sans in the eye and asked,
“Did the human kill all of them?”
Several moments of silence followed. Papyrus could tell Sans was debating something from the focus in his eye lights.
“yeah,” he said quietly and then offered Papyrus his hand. Gloved fingers only took moments to intertwine with his. “yeah they did, pap.”
And with that, they left, leaving only a ribbon wrapped bone propped up against the door.
I think it goes without saying that I don’t own any of the art or photo’s since it’s a mood board and all, I can’t remember where I got a lot of these art pieces since I’ve been working on these for so long- but the one’s I do remember can be found here: Sparrow/Crooks/Poplar (HT! Papyrus), Bear/Axe (HT! Sans), Vi/Money/Mutt (Swapfell Pap & Sans, Fellswap Pap)
Bonus Self Insert OC Mood board Content for both OC’s for the fanfic (Otter and Kade) under the cut:
Descrip- not in a million years did coffee expect to find himself in possession of a stolen black card, and he certainly didn’t expect himself to be the thief. But in his efforts to return the card to it’s rightful owner and heavily apologize, he finds that he tricked himself into taking the card. Now he faced a proposition from a beautiful human woman, one who held a lot of power. A contract, short, and to the point. She wanted him to be hers, and to have anything he ever wanted…at the low price of abstaining from something he never had in the first place? How hard could it be.
He thought of his older brother… Surely wine would do the same thing, why wouldn’t one accept the gifts and money for just simply spending time with a beautiful woman? No obligatory sex, no orders to follow, she just wanted to watch him draw, to spoil him and for what? Because she appreciated him as an artist? How could he turn down such a compliment?
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Notes- you’d think I wouldn’t start another fic with all the ones I have stacking up… But I will :D I I’m simply fed the fuck up with there not being any love for Sf golf paps. I love him so much and I will be making a fic for him. Even if its “out of character” or “fast burn”
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—–writing, start!—
I stood at the counter as normal, waiting for the same drink I get everyday. As much as I liked Muffets, her drinks couldn’t home a candle to the café with the best coffee this side of the surface. It was also a plus that I didn’t have to go as far for it, since the nice café was local.
“Here you are, sir!” the human slid my coffee onto the counter, holding my card out to me. I blinked at the black card, I didn’t recall giving it to them, or even taking out my wallet yet. struggling it off, I took the card and slid it back into it’s place before walking out the door, cup in hand.
I decided to walk back home, the snow was so different on the surface. The way it fell so freely, each splintering out in unique patterns of their very own. All the now that fell in the underground wasn’t so unique, they were just round specks of snow; just another amazing wonder of the surface. Never in the 500 years I’ve lived did I ever think I’d get to live out the rest of my life on the surface, that I’d get to experience the wonders of humans and their ways.
A tiny human ran ahead of his mother before slipping on the icy sidewalk, landing on his hind end. Of course, the child starts to cry as his mother rushes to pick him up off the ground and scold him for running ahead of her.
It wasn’t hard to tell what humans were children, but it would help if the adult ones wouldn’t wear stripes- that still messes with me sometimes, and I have to remind myself that the majority of humans didn’t know (or care) about monster customs. That’s what My big brother worked hard for now, as captain of the royal guard, he worked to maintain peace with the humans while also fighting for our rights against them. The queen has ordered peace among us all… Even if it was a rather baleful declaration of peace on our end, consequences heavy for those who went against the order to play nice.
I sighed out again, enjoying the way my faux breath fogged the crisp air. The one thing on my mind right now as I sipped my coffee, was the intense list in my hoodie pocket. Sans was a busy man, even more so now that he was working his coccyx off as the right hand man to the Queen herself, so when he gave up the chore of grocery shopping to ME of all people I knew just how busy he really was. I could hardly do anything right without Sans’s help… But I would do this right! I- no I don’t. I don’t believe in myself. But I do have one hell of a spiteful fire in my soul to prove that I can at least take a little of the weight of my brother’s shoulders!
I sweat dropped as I stood in sweets isle, how tempting it was to snatch up a box or ten of the little napstaton cupcakes… But no! I was going to get the last thing on the shopping list and check out. I wasn’t going to touch those cupcakes. I was here for the flour Sans wrote down and that was it. That’s all. Nothing extra. My lights flickered back and forth between the end of the aisle where the flour was and the shelf in front of me holding many powdered doughnuts, sweet rolls, and prepackaged cupcakes. Only… Only two small boxes wouldn’t hurt right? Right? He wouldn’t even notice…
I checked out as fast as I could, letting the chip reader do all the work for me before I slid my card back into my wallet, booking it put of there with all the bags hanging off my arms. Teleporting home like I had just committed a crime. With the adrenaline rush I had from simply snatching up a couple boxes if cupcakes onto the bill? It felt like I had. But now I had to wait for Sans to come home and ask me why the bill was seven dollars off what he calculated.
… But it never happened. The only thing Sans said about the grocery was a simple ‘thank you’ for picking them up and putting them away. I didn’t say anything about the cupcakes I had hidden in my sweets stash up in my room.
Of course, the next day I stepped out of the void into the alleyway by my new favorite café. All the stressing out I did about the cupcakes I bought had me needing my caffeine fixed a lot earlier than normal. My eyes locked with the woman who held the door open for me as I entered, and I felt my soul stop as I walked by- I almost hadn’t noticed that the human for monster rights leader was holding the door open for me. I didn’t even have time to stop her before she wished me a good day and was out the door. I know I must have looked stupid still looking after her, but I had just ran into the one human most monsters dreamed of meeting. The one human my brother idolized. Sans would be of his rocker when I told him about this, but… I didn’t want to tell him I just saw her and let her walk away. Because I’m too shy to talk to her. I forced myself to walk to the counter and order 4 of my usuals. I’m sure Sans would ask yet again, why on earth I never just bought the coffee grounds they surely have in stock to make myself at home… But I liked coming here, it was nice to bring my sketchbook and sketch the humans walking by. Or the ones that were sitting amongst the many chairs in the café.
Today was not a sit-down and sketch day though, not with the shock of seeing my brothers idol in person, and the crash from the adrenaline rush I got from buying one to many sweets and getting away with it.
—
That’s all you get to see for now! How well this post is received will determine if it’s put on the back burner or if I will put this as a high priority work :D
Pairings: Sans/Reader, Sans/Sans, Bad Sans Poly, Bad Sans Poly with Reader
The Multiverse Lesson
Addison has a request that only Nightmare’s library can fulfill, and Nightmare takes the opportunity to teach her a lesson or three about the Multiverse.
Chapter Tags: Paranoia, existential questions, Nightmare gets a little scary towards the end.
ready for me to add random thoughts? Its gonna happen!
Addy my beloved, you are galaxy brain. You are getting a book that doesn’t exsist in your universe by getting it from another? Amazing, best use of interdimensional hopping I stan.
Nightmaremobbosssitnightmaremobbosssitnightmaremobbosssit!!! *chanting in fereal*
Oh the word map salad, as someone who is 1: an ADHD gremlin and 2: unable to read a REGULAR map I understand this sensation and it stinks.
Nightmare calmly explaining stuff to Addy is very good and I love how open he is with a lot of his knowledge
Killer would have called them nerds (affectionate)
The dread of not knowing enough. That is some energy right there. I dunno if the feeling hits for me like existential dread it almost seems like nightmare is angry or afraid of not knowing enough. Like that will make everything fall apart.
And boy does the -redacted- really make everything feel even more looming! (Redacted for spoilers the anxiety of the scene was palpable. I’m not gonna ruin it!)
Gily, this is another amazing chapter, sorry for my silence on a few!
I just was not in a place emotionally to write about them as some aspects hit a little closer to home than others
Thank you for this chapter, it was a delight and helped me get through a pretty hard day!
few pics to this chapter and my undertale Au were still have to find a name for xD’
the mistake
Soul was working once again on the one soul he tryed to make perfect, he was sweating lightly and holding the syrene tighly in his hand, shaking before he poke with the needle very lightly in and added only bits of detemernation in.
everything was balanced on this soul, justice, kidness,preverse, patince,bravery,caring and more, it wss just the determanation left to be balanced into this soul.
he bit lightly his lips still adding very lightly determation into it, the soul was pulsing and glowing golden a good sign, something he was waiting for so long as respon.
on the othr room papyrus alias rewind ws cleaning the books, soul recipes. Souls that soul allready created and look over if he want repeat the recipe again. nodding and proud of his work he gave nya and looked at the clock “TIME REMIND SOUL TO TAKE A BREAK AND COOK A SPLENDIND LUNCH WITH ME THE AMAZING REWIND” he made a nyahaha lough and gripped the door swung it open with his energie and posed speaking loudly starteling soul in his work stabbing the soul pushed all detemeration into it “NO!” the soul was shaking and soul was expeting the soul to shatter but it shake and start melting turing deep dark black glowing giving tocix black smoke out “SOUL SORRY” but soul ignored rewind for bit gripping the soul hard, who refused staying in his hand, he was sweating such determend black soul try escape his grip “REWIND GET A JAW QUICKLY” rewind nodded getting a jaw and soul throwing the soul in slamming it shot before it tryed shooting out, it gave angry pulsing growl out. both sighed hard and put books, weighs on it. since the black soul was determend to get out punching at the container hard, making it shake “..that was a close call” rewind was sweating from his skull looking guilty at soul “I AM SORRY SOUL I SHOULD KNOCKED BEFORE STOMING IN” soul sighed smiled gently at the tall skeleton and took his boney face in his hand spoke gently to jim “accidents happend rewind, even this one was a big mistake but we can’t rewind since Time isent here or change the fact it happend. its not bad ok” rewind nod unsure both looked at the angry blackend determend soul “BUT SOUL….THIS BLACK SOUL DETERMEND GET OUT YOU NEED TO DESTROY IT NOW” soul hummend nodding “thats true, its not like the other black souls that happend by an accident. this one has a mind through the overload of determation, obiviozs want get out to claim a host even if the host have a soul it would devour the allready existing soul and corrupt the host” rewind looked worried holding soul tighly close “BUT,BUT WHY AND…WOULD IT CORRUPT YOU OR TIME OR SOMEONE ELSE? WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO CREATE ANYWAY?” soul hummend quitly “it could corrupt me but i can fight it since i am the creator and i can detroy it to bits again would be hard but possible, he coul corrupt you or time or any other of his being like the classic sans, or others making the worse then anythingvor powerup other bad beings…giving them double powered…and i tryed creating a guard. you great guard as time but time need conctrade more on his job and we both need someone here to help you” rewind nodded in understanding both watched the blackend melting soul, as if it was listing and watching them. both shuddered and but few chains more weigh on it so it was impossible to escape “its not like the other Au’s know i you or time exist since we keep ourself hidden and quite working quitly and i don’t think that will change soon. i do know time meet i think ink few times but rewind so the guy forgot about him that we exist and put our World Au to the furthest corner, so we stay hidden unseen” both walked in the kitchen starting cooking, talking a bit more about the diffrent aus, worlds and diffrent versions of time. not knowing the soul shaking inside the container again.
