Archive of Our Own ^beta

The growing time on the surface had been… new.

Very new.

And frankly, New was not something Papyrus had very much experience with.

At first, it has been wonderful and exciting, the thrill of being on the surface and meeting so many people making it difficult to focus on things that he didn't want to focus on, to begin with. It was so easy to pretend they didn’t exist at all, that the past wasn’t real!

But all too soon the lack of the distressingly reassuring stability that came with the constant repetition had started to leave him panicked more often than not. Particularly at night.

This was one of those times.

Papyrus had woken up with a gasp that was really just a quiet intake of breath. Almost unnoticeable.

The dim lights in his eye sockets darted across the unfamiliar dark ceiling and nausea started to build at the feeling of the strange bed beneath him, head jerking to the side where a small bedside table held nothing but a small photo frame. The photo was nothing but a black square in the low light, the image completely obscured.

Papyrus jolted upright breathing in short bursts as he pushed his head into his knees. Shaking he forced himself to steady his breathing.

After a long time, he became aware of something damp pushing against his hand. Lifting his head he saw that Dog nudging him with his cold nose and licking his hand. Breathing more slowly and able to hold it more steady at this indisputably familiar occurrence, Papyrus slowly started to pull out of his still half-asleep panic.

Still feeling dizzy, he looked around the dark room and started to realise where he was.

His room.

His new room, on the surface.

The dog had climbed into Papyrus’ lap and had fallen back to sleep easily. A warm weight grounding him in reality. Papyrus stroked him absently.

When Papyrus had set up his new room here on the surface, he had deliberately placed his figurines on his new desk and along his windowsill, far away from his bed. Not even inside his bedroom in fact! He had his own office now!

His new bed… was also very different from the one he’d had for so long. Longer even than a simply linear view of time itself would suggest. He had a very normal looking single bed now, (it had been part of a twin set, actually, and the other was now in Sans’ room. It had worked out cheaper that way), with a comfortable brand new mattress that felt like nothing he could remember.

There was no need to cruise while he snoozed when he owned a real car now, so the loss of his old bed hadn’t felt as bad when he’d made the decision to buy this bed. Even if he was still learning how to use his new car.

It had been very deliberate, actually. Making sure everything about his surroundings was so different.

He’d thought it would help.

Every morning when he woke up, his completely foreign surroundings reminded him that it was all over. The resets were over. All the thoughts he’d left behind in the underground could no longer reach him. Everything was new!

At first, it had been a comfort, as he’d planned.

Freeing.

Now, it made him feel sick in those small hours of the morning when he was woken up by the cloying sense of wrongness as he was forced to lay awake, without the distraction of work he had during the day keeping him from being overwhelmed by the distressing sensation of change.

Lying back, Papyrus’s head hit his pillows, hands still resting on the warm Dog. The annoying creature had become a rock of familiarity in this sea of change, he thought affectionately. The Dog in question shuffled further up now that Papyrus was horizontal again until his nose was buried in Papyrus’s boney armpit, cold feet pressed against his ribcage. He wrapped his arm around the dog, hand resting lightly on the gently snoring animal.

Papyrus stared at the ceiling as the sound of birds started to filter in from outside.

Another of the new things in his life. Hearing the sounds of hundreds of other living creatures waking up when he did. For so long he’d been the only one awake in the small hours, now he was in a world surrounded by all sorts of life!

It was… actually quite nice.

The sound of birds kept him company as the light started to filter in, barely blocked by the thin curtains. When there was finally enough light to make out the shapes of his room, Papyrus took a hand off the dog and reached over to the picture frame next to his bed and looked at it in the dim light. Holding it up over himself as he lay back on his pillows.

It was all his friends, in a group shot. Smiling and happy on the surface. It had been taken during their first few weeks on the surface.

It helped, looking at the photo when he woke up. Seeing how happy everyone looked together in the picture. Sometimes he’d find his eye sockets leaking as too many emotions overwhelmed him when he did this. But that was okay, because the only one there with him was the Dog, and he wasn’t one to comment on such things.

Even with how enveloping and suffocating the feeling of change was, seeing his friends looking so happy made his new life real. He could cope with this. And he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else as long as his friends were happy.

Pulling himself up and climbing out of bed slowly, Papyrus stretched his bones. The Dog rolled over into the middle of the bed with a small snuffle. Turning to look at the creature, Papyrus sighed, and did his best to make the bed around the dog, leaving his snout sticking out from under the covers so he could still breathe easily.

Looking over at his headboard as he worked, Papyrus wondered to himself if he should get some stickers to customize his headboard with.

It looked so plain and dull.

Would the stickers just end up serving the same purpose as the action figures had in the past?

Papyrus shuddered and pushed that thought down.

No thank you!

He had no reason to concern himself with such a thought! The resets were over! He could allow himself the opportunity to make his room as cool as he was without such concerns entering his thoughts!

He had other plans today! And he wasn’t going to let the past detract from the present!

Papyrus stood in front of the small warehouse. He’d taken the bus here, instead of driving. Not that he didn't want to drive! Very much on the contrary!

But during his most recent driving lesson last week he had finally realised he had to face the facts. He couldn't ignore this reality anymore.

Standing in front of the thick metal sliding door, Papyrus wondered if he should knock, or if he should just enter. He had sent her a message saying he would be coming over, but he hadn't gotten a reply by the time he had arrived.

His dilemma was cut short when the door was frantically pulled open and the acrid smell of burning metal, rubber and a lack of proper ventilation hit him in the face. Stepping back, he made room for the coughing reptile on the doorstep.

“Alphys! Are you alright?” Papyrus exclaimed in concern.

Blinking with watering eyes she nodded as she continues to cough and wheeze, eyes and snout leaking fluids.

Papyrus carefully placed a gloved hand on her back and patted gently while peering into the dark of the warehouse that had been converted into a mechatronics lab. He could see two other figures running around opening more windows, arms pressed over their faces.

As Alphys’ coughing slowed, Papyrus finally asked, “What happened?”

“The ventilation system stopped working this morning”, she wheezed, “It wasn't a problem at first but when Dee accidentally set their project on fire the metallic oxides and sulphonated hydrocarbon fumes just became too much. Really quickly. Um.”

Papyrus nodded in understanding before admonishing, “You really should be more careful, you shouldn't take health and safety risks like that!”

Alphys twitched slightly at that and nodded unhappily while moaning, “You're right. We thought we had it under control and that it wasn't a big deal. But accidents happen. They always happen.”

Alphys had an expression on her face that Papyrus couldn't quite recognise, but it didn't look like her thoughts were something she should be focusing on.

Papyrus decided to change the subject in the hopes of fixing that, “I don't know if you got my message, but I need your help with something and you seemed like the best person to help.”

Blinking out of her thoughts, Alphys focused on Papyrus, “Oh! Yes! I um, saw your message. I pulled the necessary stuff out of my storage so I could help you out when you got here. It shouldn't be a problem!”

She fidgeted nervously.

Papyrus smiled at her in amazement, “Oh wowie! You didn't have to go to all that trouble!”

“Oh, it's no trouble. I need to test my eyesight every few months so it just seemed handy to build the equipment for myself ages ago. So I had it on hand. Um. I looked into the human versions of eye tests as well when we got to the surface, but the machines don't really account for the variance in monster physiology at all.” Alphys started to ramble as Papyrus listened intently.

The smell had either dissipated or Papyrus had become so accustomed to it he could no longer smell it, either-or, and as Alphys spoke the two of them made their way back into the building. Leaving the door wide open to keep the air ventilating.

One of the two humans in the large open warehouse had his head still sticking out a window on the observation floor above, and didn't look keen on moving from there anytime soon. The other had made their way back to a workspace and was mournfully trying to dislodge a lump of half-melted machinery from the table surface with difficulty.

 “So how's the start-up going?” Papyrus asked as they made their way through the disorganised building.

Alphys waved a hand at the large room, “it's um, going better than it looks actually. A lot of people are interested in the practical application of combining current human technological advances with monster magic-based scientific study. And we actually have quite a lot of backing for our advanced prosthetics projects, which is really great!”

Her entire body language started to shift as she spoke, face alight with passion.

“I’m really glad I'm not the Royal Scientist anymore,” Alphys said, a small fragile smile on her face as she spoke, “Mechanics was always my passion, and now I have control over what I do here. And we're actually really helping people now, human and monster. And… that's important. I think.”

Alphys was quiet for a moment.

“Oh gosh! I'm so sorry I've just been talking your ears off!”

Papyrus shook his head with a grin, “Not at all! And seeing as I don't have ears to begin with that is even less of a concern!”

Alphys fiddled with the device on the workbench in front of her and shook her head.

“No, no - I'm sorry. How about you? How's life as the ambassador?”

Alphys was so thoughtful to ask. But Papyrus didn't quite know how to answer. It was hard, but most of the difficulty came from how he felt after he returned home and to his room. The job itself…

“I love it!” Papyrus said after a pause, “I meet new people every day and everyone pays attention to what I do and say.”

He continued, “And that’s great! It absolutely doesn’t become overwhelming being the public face of all monsters and having your every action reflect on hundreds! And even if it did, I have Asgore and Undyne working with me and get to see them almost every day, so how could I possibly complain?”

“Uh...uh-huh,” Alphys said after he finished talking. She fiddled with the machine on the table in a way that seemed more nervous than practical.

“I can, um, test your eyes now, if you're ready,” she said.

Papyrus nodded with a grin, and sat down, moving his head into the correct position instinctually.

“Oh, have you had your eyes tested before in the past?” Alphys asked in surprise.

Papyrus shook his head slightly, before stopping due to the confines of the contraption, “No I haven’t, why?”

“Oh, nevermind then,” She said, “Hold still, I just need to start it up and it’ll automatically do a reading and give us the results.”

Holding still, the machine hummed gently and a moment later Alphys spoke up.

“Okay, you can lift your head.”

Papyrus obeyed and looked over at her, “So what are the results?”

Aphys looked at the SSD built into the machine and jotted down the numbers onto a scrap of paper.

“Well, you do need glasses,” Alphys said slowly, “It’s not too bad though. Not as bad as my eyes at any rate.”

She pulled over a few flat boxes, “I brought over all my pre-made glasses I’ve made for monsters over the years that got returned to me when their prescriptions changed - it helped save on materials back when we were in the Underground - as well as some from people who never picked theirs up. Um. I’m pretty sure I have one made up with this prescription already somewhere.”

Browsing through the boxes, Alphys claws stopped over a pair of glasses that looked strangely familiar to Papyrus.

“I can’t… remember who I made these for originally, but whoever it was, they never came to pick them up. They’re from a really long time ago though, so I doubt they’ll come asking for them anytime soon,” she said as she passed them over to him.

Holding them up to his face, Alphys quickly moved forward with a tape dispenser and helped him fasten them to his face.

“S-sorry, the tape isn’t a really great option, but it’ll hold things in place for now at least,” She said, “I’ve seen these cord things some humans use that can tighten glasses onto their heads, one of those might work better if you can find one.”

Papyrus meanwhile was focused on other things. To be specific he was focused on just how focused everything was!

He looked at Alphy’s face as she taped the glasses into position, able to see the way her scales creased on her forehead, and the red blotch on the side of her face where she’d scratched a patch of slightly inflamed scales, causing one to hang loose slightly.

He grinned even wider, seeing his friend in high definition for the first time. She had so many unique features he hadn’t realised he was missing out on until now! He couldn’t wait to see everyone else now as well!

Alphys moved back, inspecting her handiwork. A thoughtful frown appeared on her face, and Papyrus could see the creases in her scales deepen.

Amazing!

“You know,” Alphys started, “seeing you with those on really reminds me of someone, but I can’t for the life of me remember who.”

She shook her head, “But that’s not important, um. How do you feel?”

Papyrus beamed at her, “Brilliant! These are absolutely brilliant! I would expect nothing less from someone as brilliant as you though!”

Papyrus noticed the slight shift in the colour of her scales. They seemed to go an even brighter yellow! She took off her glasses and wiped her face on her sleeve. The loose scale stuck to her sleeve as she pulled it away from her face. Papyrus could see the small speck of keratin in clear detail!

“Oh, um. I’m not - I…” She trailed off looking flustered.

“Thank you so much!” Papyrus carried on, wondering how he got so lucky as to be friends with such an amazing monster,  “How much do I owe you for these, and for the test of course?”

Alphys shook her head immediately, “Oh! N-no! I can’t charge you, I’m just glad to help.”

Papyrus frowned, “You are a very smart and important scientist, your time is valuable and as such, I insist I reimburse you for it.”

Alphys’s face seemed to struggle with this information.

“Send me the bill and I will pay you directly,” Papyrus said firmly.

He wasn’t going to take advantage of his friendship with her by taking up her important time and then treating it as irrelevant! It just didn’t seem right!

After they finally said their goodbyes and Papyrus had left the lab, and stepped out into the wonderfully fresh air, he took the opportunity to look at everything as he made his way back to the bus stop. Who knew that trees had so many individual leaves?

He felt like floating he was so happy. And seeing as he was also bursting with happy energy, he decided to do so.

Forgoing the bus, he stepped up into the air and looked at the world from on high. So much detail even from high above!

All too quickly he arrived back at the house and stepped down onto the doorstep. Pulling out his keys, he unlocked the door and entered the house. He could hear moving around in the kitchen. Papyrus glanced at his phone to check the time. It was past eleven already, but he was still surprised that Sans was already up.

Usually, he would only see his brother after midday at the earliest on the weekends. Papyrus didn’t understand the appeal of sleeping in. All it did for Sans was make it even harder for him to wake up on time during the week.

Papyrus sighed at the thought. He wasn’t sure how his brother was reacting to living on the surface if he was honest, but at the very least Papyrus thought he was happier. And It was pleasant to spend time up late with his brother on the weekends, so he was willing to let his brother sleeping in go without a fight. Their house was on the outskirts of the city, and the nights were clear of light pollution and full of stars.

Papyrus did prefer things a bit closer to earth, but he was happy to encourage healthy hobbies for his brother. And staying up late looking at the stars wasn't a bad way to spend time. 

Papyrus strode into the kitchen briskly, in time to see his brother bending down to give the Dog a bowl of food.

“Sans! I’ve already fed him this morning! He doesn’t need another meal this soon!” Papyrus scolded.

“aw, c’mon paps, the little guy was asking and who am i do refuse,” Sans said with a grin, watching the Dog eat while he squatting down next to the frantically eating creature.

Turning to glance up at him, Sans froze and did a double-take.

There was a sudden silence.

Sans’s grin looking more frozen than usual. With his glasses on Papyrus could see the small changes in his brother's eyes clear as the sun. He looked deeply surprised by something.

“ah,” Sans said eventually, Papyrus still filling with confusion at his reaction, “new glasses there bro?”

Oh! Of course, Sans hadn’t seen his glasses yet!

“Yes!” He said proudly, drawing himself up, “I went to see Alphys this morning and she sorted me out!”

“is that so?” Sans said blankly.

“it, ah… looks good bro,” Sans said looking away,  “i’ll, ah, get out of your way though. i’m meeting with frisk and toriel in an hour, so you’ll have the house to yourself today.”

Sans left as quickly as he could, giving Papyrus another frozen grin as he left the kitchen.

Papyrus blinked. Something had upset his brother. He could see that clear as he could see the individual leaves on a tree now! he just didn’t know what had done so.

He sighed.

He would try to talk to Sans about it tonight after he got home.

With nothing else to do, Papyrus made his way to his office. He might as well check his emails and continue with some of his paperwork before Monday arrived.

Walking down the hallway, he felt a spike of panic as he caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye socket. He sharply turned to face it, head buzzing and soul thumping wildly in his ribcage.

Bones trembling, he stared at his reflection in the hallway mirror. Pinpricks of light deep in his eye sockets as he struggled to reign in his panic.

Reaching up, he pulled the glasses off his skull, the tape ripping off loudly. The world lost its focus and his reflection became fuzzy around the edges.

Had he… always looked like this? Had he always looked so similar to him?  He looked at the glasses in his hands, feeling empty.

He would message Alphys immediately and ask if she could make him a spare pair... in a different style. Maybe something that downplayed or changed some of his bone structure.

Remembering Sans’s expression earlier, Papyrus felt his hands shake at the realisation of who his brother had seen when he looked at him.

He definitely wasn’t going to bring this up with Sans when he got home!

Walking to his office quickly, he let himself in and locked the door behind him, before sinking down onto the ground, head buried into his knees for the second time that day, breathing rapidly.

He tried to catch himself as he felt himself drowning under the crushing weight.