Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Papyrus briskly exits his home and places the full box in his hands on the ground with a thud. 

The sound ringing with an air of finality in his non-existent ears. 

He straightens, brushes off his hands, and slowly and appraisingly scans the assortment of cardboard boxes of varying sizes and contents that had accumulated outside of his home. Or, he guesses now, what used to be his home.

He quickly takes out his list to distract himself. 

A suitcase full of his clothes, action figures, and books. 

Check.

Four boxes filled with the most basic and crucial necessities such as Bone Cologne, Beauty Yogurt, Attraction Slime, etc. It was imperative that one lather the skin (or lack thereof) and behind the ears (or lack thereof) every night to maintain a lustrous, friend-attracting sheen! 

Check.

Their pet rock’s filtered and colorfully decorated tank with said rock safely inside. Sans had brought him a tank for their pet upon his request as he felt it may lessen the stress of the move for it. 3 out of 4 rocks prefer that you move them, but Papyrus isn’t quite sure what their rock’s stance is on the matter so he’s trying to make its environment as comfy as possible just to be safe. 

Check.

2 gallon jugs of spaghetti sauce. New places means new friend making potential! So of course, he’s readied himself with the ingredients to whip out a heaping plate of spagh for every lucky citizen of this new town. He thinks about this and chuckles smugly to himself. What a pleasant surprise this blissfully unsuspecting town was in for!

Check.

And of course the remaining 20+ boxes filled with bones. He didn’t even need to check those. He wasn’t a naive fool, of course he wouldn’t leave any valuables behind.

Check.

That should do it, he thinks to himself with a satisfied nod. Everything was here and in place as it should be.

Except for Sans that is.

He swivels his head in all directions searching for the other skeleton. He groans. Late as usual. Too late to do any of the work himself as usual usual. Though, if he’s being honest, he should probably be relieved that Sans didn’t help him pack. He knows it would have been an unorganized chaotic mess that would have been annoying and possibly hazardous to his safety to unpack if the trash tornado in his room was any premonitory. 

How lamentable though, that he must do everything himself. He sighs to himself and takes out his keys, striding up to the front door he locks it shut. And he realizes that it is almost certainly the last time he will ever hear that familiar click.

It makes him pause. 

He pauses for the first time since the moving preparations started. He had kept himself so busy, busy, busy the past few days. Busy with cleaning up and putting things away and prepping the rock’s tank and getting after Sans for not doing what he should be doing and then doing what Sans should be doing in his place. And he never rested or thought about what his actions really meant, he never let himself dwell on what it was all leading up to which was, to put it simply, leaving the only home he had ever known.

He stepped back and looked up at the old, sturdy building. It looked so hollow now with the Christmas lights removed, no wreath on the door, and the skull and crossbones flag taken down. The only thing left adorning it being the blanket of snow that never melts away completely. 

Though it is a shell of itself, little things here and there remain, an unremovable proof that they were there. Like the dent in the storm drain from when Papyrus’s foot slipped off the latter while he was putting up the lights so he hung on to that drain for dear life, wailing at Sans for a good ten minutes to help him down while his brother stood there and made dumb ‘sorry to leave you hanging’ jokes the whole time. As Sans became more amused, Papyrus became more infuriated and desperate and then he fell…

...and realized it was only about a one foot drop. He forgot he was on the balcony. 

Though, Sans was insufferable about it for well over a week (and still is whenever he remembers it) Papyrus recalls that after he stomped his way inside after the fall Sans was ready on the couch with a pillow for Papyrus’s vertebrae and a warm bowl of dinosaur egg oatmeal. Sans asked Papyrus what part he fell on and when he told him Sans gently massaged that part of his spine and told him he would until it felt better. He remembers the warmth of that moment, curling up next to his brother on the couch as the snow fell quietly outside the window behind them, feeling so comfortable eating his favorite food and watching his favorite show and forgetting all about the ache in his back. He didn’t tell Sans right away that it felt better, he didn’t see anything wrong with letting his brother massage him a little longer than strictly necessary. 

So many memories like that were made in this house. Memories of feeling loved and wanted and comfortable, it always felt like it was where he belonged. Memories he felt like he was leaving behind. 

“hey bud, you alright there?”

Papyrus looks to his side to see his brother casually leaning against one of the boxes as if he had been there the whole time and hadn’t just appeared in the blink of an eye. It would startle anyone else, but Papyrus knew it was kind of his thing. 

“W-WHY, YES!” Papyrus states putting his hands on his hips with feigned confidence. “I’M QUITE ALRIGHT, BROTHER. BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS IN ORDER (NO THANKS TO YOU). THE BONES ARE PACKED, THE ROCK HAS HAD ITS RECOMMENDED DAILY DOSE OF SPRINKLES AND IS NAPPING IN ITS BOOSTER SEAT READY FOR THE RIDE, AND I’M EXCITED TO GET THIS NEW LEAF TURNING STARTED!” He rubs his hands together and hastily picks up one of the boxes. Papyrus is about to ask where the moving truck is as Sans had said he ‘got it covered’ and all Papyrus had to do was get everything outside. 

“you, uh, sure you’re alright? ‘cause... it’s ok if you’re not.”

He looks at Sans and waits for the joke or the lighthearted remark that downplays the significance of what they’re doing but it never comes. Instead Sans’s eyes soften and he places a hand on his brother’s back. 

“it’s alright to cry, too.” 

What, he’s not- oh. 

Papyrus lifts a hand to his face instinctually and he quickly turns away and scrubs his eyes.

“I’M NOT CRYING!” He denies quickly. “I’M SWEATING OUT OF MY EYES SOCKETS!! I’M OVEREXERTED FROM DOING ALL THAT PACKING BY MYSELF!!” He hopes Sans doesn’t notice the way his voice cracked.

Sans gently pats his back. The thumb of his mittened hand rubbing gentle circles into the back of Papyrus’s rib cage.

“are you maybe sweating… tears?”

Papyrus crosses his arms and stares firmly ahead of him with a stubborn frown. He’s about to deny it with vehemence but then he feels Sans lean into him and his resolve crumbles completely in an instant.

“M...MAYBE…” Saying it makes it harder to hold back for some reason. His shoulders shudder involuntarily and he takes a seat on the box behind him.

“hey, hey…” Sans murmurs in that voice that Papyrus knows is only reserved for him. Now that Papyrus is seated Sans is closer to his face and lifts a hand to his cheek. ‘listen, i meant it before when i said it. anytime you wanna ditch this plan, we can. it’s not too late…”

Papyrus shakes his head. He grabs Sans hand and removes it from his face. He takes a breath and collects himself, giving Sans’s hand a gentle squeeze when he does. 

He sighs finally. “NO, NO, I DON’T WANT TO DO THAT. I WASN’T LYING, SANS. I REALLY AM EXCITED ABOUT MOVING TO A NEW PLACE AND MEETING NEW PEOPLE. IT’S JUST… GOSH, I’M REALLY GOING TO MISS THIS PLACE I THINK?? WE JUST HAVE SO MANY GOOD MEMORIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS HOUSE.” He stares wistfully at the house then he looks down at Sans.

“boy, do we ever…” 

This has to be hard for Sans too, though he isn’t showing it. Papyrus runs a hand along the top of his skull. Sans meets his gaze and leans into his touch. He closes his eyes looking soothed.

“ah, all those good ol’ times, heh. they’re all floodin’ back to me… like that time i left my sock in the living room… and that time all those sticky notes were on that sock… and, oh man, that fateful day when you finally cracked and threw that sock in the wash for me… never thought i’d see the day, heh heh. almost enough to bring a tear to my eye…”

“WE HAVE PLENTY OF NON-SOCK RELATED MEMORIES TOO???”

“oh sure.” He gives Papyrus a wink. “but the sock related memories are the ones i hold closest to my heart.” 

Okay, he had officially ruined the almost sentimental moment they were having. Papyrus pushes him away with an exasperated groan. 

“NEVER MIND!” Papyrus gets up and resumes gathering up his things. “SOCK RELATED OR NOT, WE SHOULD STOP DWELLING ON THE PAST AND MOVE FORWARD! ON TO BIGGER AND BETTER LAUNDRY PERTINENT EVENTS!”

“now that’s more like it, pal.”

“THOUGH IT IS WITH A HEAVY HEART, WE MUST LEAVE THESE HALLOWED HALLS! I MUSTN'T DEPRIVE THE WORLD OF MY UNIVERSALLY KNOWN GREATNESS FOR A MOMENT LONGER!! AFTER ALL THE GREAT PAPYRUS’S GREATEST QUALITY IS HIS ABILITY TO SHARE HIS GREAT GREATNESS WITH THE GREATER PUBLIC! NYEH HEH HEH!!”

“i’m sure they’re all great -ing their teeth in anticipation.”

Papyrus’s bout of conviction puts him in high enough spirits to let that one slide. 

“seriously, though it’s real brave of you to do this, bro. i promise you won't regret it, they’re all gonna love ya out there.”

Sans smiles up at his brother and Papyrus can tell it's genuine. Though his smile technically never leaves his face, it’s apparent when he’s really smiling in his eyes. His eye lights are ever so slightly bigger and brighter. Papyrus thinks he’s probably the only person who has noticed the subtlety. 

Then he closes his eyes. “now, i got one more surprise for ya.” He reaches a hand out toward Papyrus and winks. “consider it a... housewarming gift, heh.”

Papyrus takes his hand but eyes him a little suspiciously at the way he said ‘housewarming’. He already knows that this is leading up to some kind of pun so he makes a preemptive guess.

“HOUSEWARMING…” He mumbles as he rubs his chin with his other hand. “OH! OH! IT’S A SPACE HEATER ISN’T?”

“good guess, but no. you gotta close your eyes for this surprise.”

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT.” Papyrus lifts his gloved hand to cover his eyes and Sans steps forward leading him along. “IS IT A… STOVE??”

“nope.”

“IS IT-” 

He is cut off when his body feels weightless for a split second. He probably would have tripped if it weren’t for Sans’s steadying hand. He recognizes what it is almost instantly, that brief blink of a moment that feels like the world is being turned on its head, Sans is using a shortcut. The ground underneath him is suddenly more solid, and the familiar sound of the crunch, crunch, crunch of snow underfoot is suddenly absent, replaced with a sturdy and even path of what is probably concrete. The muted silence of a snowy landscape is also absent, replaced with what sounds like a strong breeze rustling through the leaves of trees, and even… was that a car in the distance? He doesn’t let the sudden change in environment deter his guessing. 

“IS IT A GIANT BLANKET THAT WILL COVER THE ENTIRETY OF OUR NEW HOME??”

“eh, i definitely considered that one… but nah.” He comes to a stop. “but i think you’ll like this one much better than any of those. go ahead and take a look.” 

With his curiosity and anticipation peaked he eagerly removes the shield of his hand from his eyes.

For a moment all he sees is gold. 

He blinks at the sudden brightness but once his vision focuses he sees hundreds, maybe even thousands of golden leaves. The golden flecks of foliage shimmer in the low light as they tremble on their branches. This breathtaking and fresh new view was certainly in a location he’d never been before, but the sight of the brightly colored leaves and the slight cold nip of the wind was a familiar scene. This must be what they call Autumn! He’s heard so much about it from ‘The Tale of Fluffy Bunny: A Hop, Skip, and a Jump Through the Seasons’--a truly riveting piece of literature. A perpetual Winter is all he’s ever known, he’s excited to see what this fabled ‘Fall’ brings, and how much of it entails actual falling. He wonders if it's perpetual here. 

“WOWIE!!” He yells with glee as his eyes go starry. “THIS IS BEAUTIFUL, SANS! I-”

Papyrus turns to look behind him and when he does his train of thought completely derails. 

Straight ahead, looking not at all out of place, looking the same as it ever has, its new backdrop the only difference, stands their house.

Not a bright and shiny new house. The same old house he’s always known.

He jumps back and only avoids falling by catching himself on one of the packed boxes (which are also somehow there??)

He frantically looks between the house and his widely smirking brother. He runs up to the building and comically pats it down as if that will somehow give him a clue as to how it got there. He has so many questions that he starts them all at once and ends up stuttering nonsense.

“YOU-- HOW DID-- WHEN--” 

He is cut off when a slushy glob of snow slides off the roof and plops right onto his head.

He looks up. This location is much warmer than the tundra they had inhabited before, it was already melting the snow off the roof. 

Ah. Housewarming gift. 

Now he gets it. 

“told ya you’d love it. our home, away from home, heh heh.”

“OH BROTHER, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE!” He runs back to Sans and gratefully sweeps him up in a hug. Oh, how he loves it when Sans defies the laws of spacetime for his sake (it almost makes up for the pranks)! He shuts his eyes with a contented sigh and rests his head on his big brother’s shoulder, it bounces a little as Sans chuckles lightly. After a maybe not so brief, moment of enjoying the feeling of Sans’s hand stroking the back of his skull, his eyes flutter open and he sees the plethora of boxes he was going to have to lug back inside. 

“REALLY YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE ACTUALLY.” He says, his voice significantly less enthusiastic this time. He puts Sans down and roughly places his hands on his hips as he glares down at his visibly amused little big brother. 

“what d’ya mean, bro-”

“YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN! WHY ON EARTH DID U MAKE ME PACK EVERYTHING AND MOVE IT OUTSIDE IF WE AREN’T ACTUALLY MOVING?! THINK OF ALL THE UNNECESSARY STRESSED YOU’VE CAUSED OUR ROCK, PLEASE SANS IT’S JUST A CHILD!”

“sorry, it’s just less house turbulence that way, you know how it is.”

He’s about to argue that house turbulence isn’t a thing, but he honestly has no idea how Sans's shortcuts work so maybe it was.

“OK??????” 

He huffs and turns back toward the house. He tries to hide his smile. 

Things were changing, but it seems like they were going to stay the same as they ever were. He wants to believe that Sans bringing along the house was his way of confirming that considerably comforting fact. 

If he was being honest, when Sans had proposed the move and he agreed he had gone on to imagine all the ways he would reimagine himself. He’d be in a different place, so he’d start to live in a different way, and attract different people. It was only today when he was faced with the moment to actually make that a reality did it become a surprisingly scary thought. Change isn’t a bad thing, but maybe those sorts of changes aren’t necessary right now. Maybe they can be and continue to be The Great Papyrus and his lazy brother Sans. Maybe that was enough. 

Well, there is one big change that he will certainly appreciate.

He walks up to the front door with keys. “ANYWAY, NOW THAT WE’RE OUT OF THE TUNDRA I’M AT LEAST GLAD WE NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT MENACING MUTT EVER AGA-”

He opens the door.

“NO.” 

A small white dog is happily chowing down on a pilfered bone directly in front the doorway. The dog’s eyes widen in surprise. The mutt in question looks up at the pure unbridled agony on the face of the tall skeleton before it and barks happily at the sight of its friend. Its tail wags ready to play. It gets up and runs away with the bone.

“looks like this is his bone sweet bone too.”

“I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS RIGHT NOW!!!” Papyrus yells at his brother as he dashes toward the notoriously meddling pup that seemed hellbent on plaguing his life with various unwanted japes and hijinks. “GET BACK HERE YOU CONNIVING CANINE!!

“Bark! Bark!” Papyrus could have sworn for a split second the thing actually winked at him.

“ah, come on bro. can’t ya throw me a bone? heh heh.”

“UUGGH!!”

Maybe some change would have been nice after all.

Chapter Text

Sans steps back with a sigh, wiping his brow he cranes his neck up to admire his work. The sign adorning his convenience store now displayed the correct name, though all the letters besides the first ‘S’ were a little on the small side and hard to make out from the ground. It’s pretty much legible though. 

Eh, good enough.

He throws the can of paint and the paintbrush he was holding into the potted flowers next to the entrance. He’ll get it later.

He figured the reno’ was necessary after his customers were assuming the name up there was his and he was already over telling people, ‘nah. that’s the old owner’s name.’ 

Business was already booming and he hadn’t even been open for a full 24-hours yet. Apparently, this town had gone without any kinda grocery store before he showed up. Kinda weird, not sure how that worked. He guesses everyone had to make due making orders online maybe? The internet seemed to be down for the whole town at the moment though, so the line out the door last night shouldn’t be that surprising.   

Still, from what he could see he thinks he’s gonna like this place, his brother too. The town seemed accepting of their newcomer, so much so he already feels as if he’s been here forever--the new routine coming easily to him. Everyone seems nice enough, they got that small town weirdness charm to ‘em--fitting in wouldn’t be hard.

He’s already made a good joke buddy too.

A real nice gal came in late to buy chocolate kisses for her kid. Said her name was Toriel and she was a teacher. Her kid seems like a real character, she mentioned how she had to lock up the chocolate to keep them out of it at night but sometimes she still finds them with smudges of chocolate on their cheeks in the morning. 

She shook her head remorsefully but there was a fond smile on her face as she dug around in her purse for her wallet. “I just cannot understand how they keep finding a way to swipe those sweets. I could’ve sworn I locked them up and hid the key.”

“Sounds like your kid’s got a few twix up their sleeves.”

She stops and looks up at the skeleton’s winking face. Then she bursts into howling laughter. She quickly puts a hand over her mouth when she notices that the volume of her laugh caused everyone in the store to stare. She continues to chuckle to herself with the slightest embarrassed blush on her face. Sans chuckles along, amused.

Once she catches her breath she removes her hand and smiles in a wide and dorky way. “You, hee hee, you really gave me the snickers with that one.”

What a funny lady. 

The two of them went back and forth for a while--much to the other customers’ dismay. The store was tiny and no matter where you stood you were within listening distance of everyone else. Audible groans could be heard throughout the store with each joke, which only egged the both of them on once they noticed. 

Eventually, they had to call it quits when a cat monster in what appeared to be some kind of mascot costume stepped in line behind Toriel. Said cat monster had made the whole place smell like pizza grease as soon as he walked in and his horrifying face was scaring the kids. The detached head of the mascot costume that the monster had tucked under his arm was also a little unnerving. It’d be best to get him out of the store as quick as he could, Toriel didn’t have to be told. 

“Ah, sorry for taking my sweet time. But I really should be going.”

“right. wouldn’t want you to be choco- late to bed now would we?”

“Hee hee, of course not.” She gives him an endlessly friendly smile. “It was very nice to meet you, Sans.” 

“same to you. have a good one.” 

Yeah, if he could make new friends this easy it was gonna be a cakewalk for Papyrus. He glances over at their house next door. He can hear faint barking and not so faint yelling. 

Papyrus hadn’t stepped back outside since he’d hastily thrown all the packed boxes back inside yesterday. He said today there was absolutely no way he was going out when the house was in complete disarray. If he went out to socialize, everyone would make him their cool friend and then they’d all want to go to their cool friend’s house and how embarrassing would it be if there were a cute little white dog there waiting for them. They might jump to the heinous conclusion that the little beast was his pet. And wouldn’t that be humiliating. 

So Sans sits on the steps of his little store and watches the town around him. 

...

...

...

Not much goes on around here. 

Just the way he likes it.  

A kid in a striped shirt walks right up to him. 

“hey, look who’s walkin’ around. how are ya, kid?”

The kid answers after an uncomfortably long pause. “Great to see you again.”

They seem slightly confused by their own words. 

“yeah, it’s real nice, isn’t it? especially considering i’ve never met you before.”

Maybe his greeting was a little over familiar and that’s what caused the confusion. He did know who the kid was, though, despite them never having met. This was undoubtedly Tori’s kid. They were a human and, as he’s heard, apparently the only human in town so it wasn’t a hard guess. 

They seem to be a pretty friendly kid. Little bit of some weird vibes going on with ‘em though, their movements a little jerk-y, their speech a little forced, a shadow over their eyes that makes their expression hard to read. That’s teenagers for ya.

Despite that, they put up with his jokes and lighthearted jabs and talk to him until there isn’t much else to say. 

As they walk away, Sans gets an idea. He stops the kid and asks if they’d like to come over to his place tomorrow. 

This time they answer concerningly quickly. They agree.

The kid’s a little odd but Sans figures if he were the only human in town he would be too. He doesn’t think Tori is capable of raising a bad egg anyway. Maybe they just feel a little out of place here as the only human, maybe Papyrus would be able to relate to that out of place feeling and the two of them could hit it off. 

Sans watches as the kid unabashedly walks over to his house next door and checks the side of the building. They seem to be looking for something. 

Huh. 

Seems like they didn’t find what they were looking for. 

They walk around to the front and knock on the door. Sans can hear the distant trousle of bones all the way over here. He assumes Papyrus is a little too preoccupied to hear it. The kid tries a few more times, they stand there for a few moments before quickly pacing back and forth. They’re body language looks real angry, but their face looks only slightly annoyed. They walk away and past Sans without acknowledging him.

Huh.

What a funny kid.

~

When the sun sets, Sans goes home for the night. He sees some confused townsfolk before he walks through his front door. They were probably wondering why the store was closed at this hour even though it had been open at this same time the night before. 

Consistent schedules are overrated anyhow. He likes to keep people guessin’. 

He tries not to laugh at the sight he sees in front of him once he’s inside. 

The place is a mess. With paw prints that look like they were left by paws covered in spaghetti sauce covering the floor, somehow also the walls, and yet more unbelievably the ceiling as well.

In the middle of it all, Papyrus sits on the floor grunting with effort as he tries to pry the sauce covered culprit off of him. The dog’s eyes are closed in peaceful contentment as he lightly nibbles away at the vertebrae of Papyrus’s neck.

“woah, woah, hey, am i interrupting somethin’ here?”

“BROTHER! FINALLY, I’VE-”

Papyrus starts to yell at him with desperate frustration. He is cut off with a choked gasp when the dog quickly let’s go of his neck. The dog looks at Sans with what feels like a sly look before it turns and puts its paws on Papyrus’s chest then starts licking at his face.

“NYEHHH!” Papyrus squawks in indignation as the little puppy attacks him with wet kisses. 

“yeesh, get a room you two.”

“JUST-” He stops and firmly shuts his mouth so that the dog's tongue doesn’t go right in his mouth. He shivers in disgust as it runs its tongue over his teeth. He pushes it away quickly. “JUST GET IT OFF OF ME!” He says hurriedly as it easily squirms right out of his bony hands and dashes right back to his face. 

“alright, alright. you want this doggone dog gone , i get it.” He walks over to one of the unpacked boxes of bones and takes one out. He whistles at the dog, an impressive feat without lips. “hey boy. look over here.” 

Its ears perk at the whistle and it briefly stops its slobbery assault to glance at Sans. 

“bone appetit.” He says with a wink as he slightly wiggles the bone in his hand tantalizingly.

The pup doesn’t look impressed and latches back on to Papyrus.

“AUGHH! OF COURSE THAT WON’T WORK, SANS!! MY MUSCULAR AND HANDSOME CALCIUM RIDDLED BONES ARE MUCH MORE ENTICING THAN THOSE!”

“ok, i see how it is. how ‘bout i sweeten the deal?” 

The dog doesn’t let go but it looks at him out of the corner of its eye. 

He goes and grabs a handful of rock food (sprinkles) and peppers them along the bone. 

The dog stares as its tongue hangs out of its mouth. Sans moves it to the left, its eyes follow it. He moves it to the right, its eyes follow it. He goes over to the window, cracks it open and tosses it outside. The dog makes a mad dash for it, sprinting up and out the window in the blink of an eye. 

Sans shuts the window behind it and brushes off his hands. 

Papyrus sighs in relief and promptly falls flat on his back. He sighs again, sounding significantly more tired. He closes his eyes looking more mellow and drained than he ever looks. He stays like that for about five seconds before lifting his head and peering at Sans with irritation. 

“SANS, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL DAY?! WE JUST GOT HERE AND YOU’VE ALREADY FOUND SOMEWHERE TO SLACK OFF--”

“nah, bro you’ve got it all wrong. don't ‘cha remember? I told ya on my way out i was goin’ to work.”

Papyrus blinks at his brother before realization dawns on his face. “OH! RIGHT. THAT’S SOMETHING YOU’RE DOING NOW. WORKING...... WILLINGLY......” He says looking oddly conflicted. He clearly wants to say something about this but it doesn’t seem like he wants it to sound like he objects in any way. “WELL... THEN WHY AREN’T YOU MANNING THE STORE RIGHT NOW?” 

“ah, she’s closed up for the night. can’t stay there too long, that’s how it is with new stores. ya gotta ease ‘em into business real gentle like.”

“RIGHT...??” He looks as if he doesn’t entirely buy that. 

“anywho, i’m back.” Sans states the obvious as he takes off his sweatshirt and haphazardly tosses it on the couch. He doesn’t miss the way Papyrus’ eyebrow twitches. “sorry i’m late for your bedtime story, i’ll go pick somethin’ out-”

Papyrus quickly picks himself off the floor and waves his hands dismissively at his brother. “OH NO, NO, WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT TONIGHT.” He strides over to the couch and picks up Sans’ sweatshirt, folding it with practiced ease and slinging it over his forearm. 

“what?” Sans says with a little surprise as he follows his brother into the kitchen. “since when do you ever skip out on storytime?” He asks over Papyrus’ shoulder as he fumbles around under the sink for some cleaning supplies. Seems to be quite a bit hard to find under all the leftover dog residue. It always amuses him how much the little runt sheds, the dog to fur ratio seems quite a bit unbalanced. 

He turns to answer but Sans doesn’t register much of what he says because he’s too busy trying to keep himself from laughing at the dog fur wig and mustache attached to Papyrus’s face unbeknownst to him. “SINCE A LITTLE BEAST THAT INVADED MY HOUSE MADE A TERRIBLE MESS OF THINGS, THAT’S WHEN!”

“heh heh heh, he sure made a hairy situation, didn’t he?” Sans lifts a hand to ruffle the hair piled on Papyrus skull which causes the other to finally take notice of his unwanted new hairdo.

Papyrus frantically brushes the hair off of himself with a groan. “THAT WASN’T AS HAIR -LARIOUS AS YOU THINK IT WAS, BROTHER! NYEH!” He says defiantly as he sticks his head back under the sink to continue his search. “NOW WHERE DID THAT BOTTLE OF ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER GO, I COULD HAVE SWORN…”

“it’s right here, bro.” Sans grabs the bottle of cleaner that had been on the counter next to the stove the whole time. 

Papyrus blinks and rubs his eyes, not hiding his exhaustion very well. “AH! OF COURSE-” He reaches for it but Sans pulls it back just before he can grab it. Papyrus sighs. ‘SANS, WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR GAMES. I HAVE TO GET THIS HOUSE IN ORDER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF I WANT ANY OF MY YET UNBEFRIENDED FUTURE FRIENDS TO COME OVER FOR A VISIT!”

“right, but… you’re lookin’ a little tired there, bro. i really think you should take it easy for a little bit.” He glances up toward Papyrus’ bedroom. “c’mon, fluffy bunny’s waiting.” 

At the mention of his favorite character, Papyrus looks like he wants to give in for the briefest moment. He quickly shakes his head and crosses his arms. “YOU KNOW, I’VE BEEN THINKING THIS FOR A WHILE, BUT I’M STARTING TO THINK YOU LOOK FORWARD TO STORYTIME EVEN MORE THAN I DO. ARE YOU SURE YOU AREN’T PRODDING ME FOR YOUR OWN INTEREST?”

Sans winks and shrugs in response. “ah, ya caught me.” 

And it wasn’t even a lie. He really did look forward to reading to his brother every night. No matter how many times he told him the same old stories Papyrus would get just as excited and invested in his favorite parts as he had the first time he ever heard them. Just as the stories never got old to Papyrus, his brother’s enthusiastic commentary never got old to Sans. And maybe cuddlin’ up with him under the covers wasn’t so bad either. Nothing wrong with enjoying the close company of his bro. 

Papyrus sighs again looking ready to deny him again though he clearly doesn’t want to. “SANS, I-”

He stops when he hears something at the window. He glances over to see the cute little bane of his existence pawing at the window. It whines and barks with big innocent puppy eyes as if it were the most docile creature on earth. Papyrus knew better, he knows the little angel becomes a demon as soon as it gets the chance. 

It throws its head back and howls. Its eyes glistening brighter and bigger than usual.  Papyrus knows better than to fall for that.

It looks at Papyrus with nothing but betrayed trust and quiet hope that he would fling open the door with open arms at any moment now. P-Papyrus knows better. 

“papyrus... hey, papyrus.”

“HM? WHA-WHAT?”

“i think as long as that pup can see you it’s gonna be at the window all night. why don’t we go up to your room and maybe it’ll calm down and curl up on the steps for the night like it usually does, alright?”

Not that it happened that usually. What was more usual was Papyrus caving and begrudgingly letting the mutt back in after being under that pitiful gaze for a moment too long. He would always use the excuse that the tundra was too cold for the pup to endure at night (even though neither of them had seen the thing so much as shiver under the endless thickness of that fluffy coat), but he supposes that won’t work anymore. 

“UGH, FINE YOU WIN.” He concedes more so because he doesn’t trust his own judgement while being subjected to such a stare. “BUT ONLY FOR A FEW MINUTES.”

~

Papyrus is quieter than usual during the story. So quiet in fact Sans has to occasionally glance at him while he’s turning the pages to make sure he’s still awake. His eyes are still open, however, every time Sans looks. His hands folded over his chest. Staring at the ceiling. He doesn’t seem to be listening all that intently and his hunch is confirmed when he finishes the story and Papyrus doesn’t even notice.

“bro…” 

“HM?”

“story’s over.”

“OH. SO IT IS…”

“does... fluffy bunny wanna go on another adventure?” His way of asking if he wanted him to read another story. There were plenty of nights where Papyrus was too wound up to fall asleep after the first, even more nights where Papyrus simply got right back up and out of bed after the story, not even bothering to go to sleep. 

“NO…” Papyrus answers slowly. “I THINK FLUFFY BUNNY IS A BIT TOO TIRED FOR THAT…” 

“alright... does fluffy bunny want the lights out?” That was his way of asking if Papyrus wanted him to stay or not. If Papyrus said yes Sans would tuck him in and leave…

“NO...” 

But if he said no it meant he wanted him to stay and talk. 

Same little routine they’d had since Papyrus was a baby bones, however, Sans has noticed that he’s been saying no to that question a lot more frequently than when he was little. Papyrus had definitely outgrown the little stubborn independence streak he’d had for a while when he was telling Sans to leave even when he didn’t want him to, he could always count on a timid knock on his door later in the evening back then. 

No, Papyrus didn’t pretend with him anymore. He was glad for that. 

This quietness was new though. 

So, Sans picks up the covers and tucks his legs under them. Papyrus moves over to accommodate him and Sans shimmies down until he’s laying next to his brother. He turns to face him, hand resting in the space between them right next to Papyrus’s hand. 

“I’M ALSO BEGINNING TO THINK YOU LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING COZY IN MY BED EVEN MORE THAN I DO.”

“got me again.” Sans mumbles with a sigh as his head sinks into the endlessly plush sheets. Sheets were so nice when they weren’t in ball form. He would spread out his sheets on his bed like his brother’s but… he’s gotta keep up their complimentary aesthetics. His eyes fall closed immediately and it's so comfortable and soft around him that he nearly falls asleep before he remembers Papyrus had wanted to talk. 

He peeks open an eye, usually Papyrus would be off on a tangent by now. Papyrus is looking at him but he’s looking through him. Sans fights off his tiredness. 

“what’s up, bro?” He asks, lightly nudging Papyrus’ hand. 

“OH, UH…” He blinks back into focus. He looks at Sans in the face before his gaze flits down to Sans’s hand where it lingers. He lifts his fingers, reaching, but he stops, closes his mouth, and looks hesitant for whatever reason. Sans slides his hand toward him to let him know it was more than okay just like it’d always been. 

That reassures him enough to rest his hand on top of his brother’s but he doesn’t intertwine their phalanges as snugly he usually does. 

Huh. Well, this lapse in confidence was pretty unusual for him. He watches his brother intently.

Papyrus looks back up at him and when he sees the expectant look on Sans’s face he blinks again as if he’d forgotten he was supposed to say something. 

“I-...” He stops whatever he was going to say and tries something else. “HOW WAS… WORK TODAY?”

“pretty alright, for work i mean.” He wasn’t expecting such a mundane question. There was clearly something else eating at him but he wasn’t gonna rush his brother. “yeah, good actually. enjoyed it, even. crazy, right? who’d a guessed the day would come when i’d start likin’ work. maybe i’m finally growin’ up after all this time.” He says with a wink.

“REALLY???” He almost sounds offended. 

“yeah, heh. i mean it had to happen eventually, right? but maybe it’s finally time… i put this whole lazy bum schtick to rest.”

“WHAT?!” He almost sounds worried.

“hm. yeah, doesn’t sound half bad, maybe you were on to somethin’ all these years… since i’m a big boy now, maybe i should start thinkin’ about getting my own place.”

“SANS!!!” He squeezes Sans’s hand looking downright horrified. 

“then again… i’d have to do my own laundry, wouldn’t i? nah, actually growing up sounds dumb. i change my mind.”

Papyrus sighs in relief but he tries to make it sound like he’s annoyed. 

“heh heh, of course i’m jokin’, bro.” He says and pats Papyrus’s head reassuringly. “of course i’m never growing up. who d’ya think i am?” 

Papyrus groans, making Sans chuckle. “HONESTLY, SANS. DON’T GET MY HOPES UP LIKE THAT.” He says, but he loosens the death grip on Sans’s hand and relaxes considerably.

“well, someone’s gotta stick around to keep ya on your toes.” He softens his tone and inches ever so slightly closer to Papyrus. “‘sides, i think someone in this house would miss me a bit too much for me to bounce.”

Papyrus narrows his eyes and looks away. His cheekbones redden and he tries (not very hard) to pull his hand away, but Sans keeps a firm grip as he strokes the back of Papyrus’s hand with his thumb. 

“I- WELL… OBVIOUSLY I’D MISS YOU!” Papyrus says matter-of-factly as he sticks his nose up and jerks his hand away so that he can cross his arms, completing the gesture. “THERE WOULD BE NO ONE HERE TO READ ME MY BEDTIME STORY AND I KNOW WHATEVER POOR PLACE YOU WOULD TAKE UP RESIDENCE IN WOULD BECOME SUCH A PIG STY THAT I COULDN’T STAND TO VISIT IT AND-”

“oh. i meant, like… the dog would miss me too much, but, heh, good to know.”

Papyrus jaw drops and face gets even redder. He tries to stutter out a response to get across his dismay but he eventually just settles on shutting his mouth and pouting at his brother. 

“YOU KNOW.” He starts after a moment of angry staring. “I DON’T KNOW HOW WE GOT HERE. I ASKED YOU A SIMPLE QUESTION: ‘HOW WAS WORK’ AND SOMEHOW YOU BEAT AROUND THE BUSH SO MUCH THAT WE ENDED UP AT THIS POINT. BUT BEING THAT PATIENCE IS ONE OF THE MANY VIRTUES THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS IN SPADES, I HAVE HUMORED YOU. THIS TIME I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE GIVE A STRAIGHT AND SIMPLE ANSWER. HOW WAS WORK?”

Sans gives him a thumbs up. “great.”

“GOOD.”

He sighs and clears his throat, his embarrassment a bit evident in the coloring still present on his cheeks. 

“NOW, IF YOU DON’T MIND I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. ABOUT YOUR SHOP AND THE TOWN SINCE… WELL, I LITERALLY HAVEN’T SEEN EITHER YET TECHNICALLY.”

“shoot.”

And he goes on to ask about the town and its people and the shop and its wares, and Sans answers and their conversation is about as straightforward and to the point as it can possibly be between the two of them. Which is to say, not at all. 

But Papyrus eventually starts to wind down as they talk. His dialogue gets less boisterous as he gets more tired, his body language more subdued. And Sans just lays on his stomach, humming in agreement, his voice barely above a whisper. 

And then Papyrus asks, “HAVE YOU… MADE ANY FRIENDS?”

“mm, i think so. i met this real nice teacher, and let me tell you, her puns were even better than mine.”

“OH NO, THAT MEANS THEY WERE EVEN WORSE THAN YOURS. I HOPE I DON’T HAVE TO MEET HER.”

“nah, nah, you’d love her and she’s got this kid and-”

And, oh, he nearly forgot to tell him. 

“oh, oh, that reminds me.” He opens his eyes and props himself up on his elbows. Papyrus looks even more tired than him now as he blinks tiredly at him from his pillow. “i talked to her kid and they said they wanted to meet you.”

He perks up upon hearing that. “R-REALLY?”

“yeah, they seemed real excited about comin’ to the house tomorrow.” Maybe a little too excited but he doesn’t think that’ll be a problem… probably. “i told ‘em you guys could hang out while i’m at work, how does that sound?”

He has a huge grin on his face. “WOWIE, IT SOUNDS--” He stops and his grin falls. “IT SOUNDS LIKE WE’LL HAVE TO HANG OUT ANOTHER TIME.”

“what? why?”

“YOU SAW THE STATE THE HOUSE IS IN. THE LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN ARE IN NO CONDITION FOR LIVING AND… KITCHENING IN. I’M SORRY, SANS. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TELL THEM TO WAIT.” 

Papyrus looks very disappointed with his own answer. He slumps on his pillow, the sparkle in his eyes gone, his face set in a deep frown. Sans hates to see him look like this.

“they won’t come ‘till after school. isn’t that more than enough time to freshen the place up a bit?”

“SURE, BUT…”

Oh, this isn’t just about the house. 

“so, the place has seen better days. what’s it matter? they won’t be here for the house.” He thinks anyway. “they’ll be here for you.”

For some reason that seems to do the opposite of reassure him. His shoulders tense and he grips his pillow. 

Sans leans over so that he’s much closer to Papyrus’s face so that he can look him straight in the eye.

“they’ll be so focused on you they won’t even notice the mess.” He murmurs before winking. “you’re a real star, bro. you shine so bright they won’t be able to look away.”

Papyrus considers this for a moment before he finally cracks a smile and chuckles lightly. “NYEH HEH, THAT ONE WAS REALLY CHEESY, SANS.” 

Sans shrugs. “well, some say the moon is made out of cheese, so maybe the stars are too.”

He shakes his head, but there’s still a light smile there. “MAYBE…”

After a comfortable pause, Sans still looking in his eyes and not planning on moving away anytime soon, he asks, “so, what’s it gonna be?” He sees the apprehension return to Papyrus’s face as his brother wraps his arms around himself looking more insecure than he has in awhile. He kinda already knows the answer and there’s no way he’s gonna rush his brother into anything. “tell ‘em to wait?”

With an all but agonized look in his face, “TELL THEM TO WAIT.”

“done. and don’t worry about it.” He says softly. “we got plenty a time, no rush, okay?”

Papyrus sighs. “OKAY… TELL THEM I’M TERRIBLY SORRY.”

“there’s nothin’ to be sorry for, i’m sure they’ll understand.”

“WELL, I FEEL SORRY FOR THEM ANYWAY. SORRY THAT THEY DON’T GET TO BASK IN MY GREATNESS FOR A WHILE YET.” He sighs wistfully. 

“yeah, the poor soul.” Sans agrees with a smile. “lucky me though, huh? i got the coolest guy in town all to myself, heh heh.” 

Papyrus smiles back but there is a hint of something else behind his expression. He almost looks… bashful, that’s not something he sees from his brother very often. Something seems to have gotten into him lately and he’s not yet sure if it’s cause for concern or not. He guesses he’s like the kid in that sense, he’s just gonna have to wait it out.

“YOU ARE PRETTY LUCKY, AREN’T YOU?” Papyrus reaches over to him and there’s that moment of hesitation again. He smiles through it. “WELL, I THINK I’M PRETTY LUCKY TOO, ACTUALLY. NYEH HEH HEH!” 

Sans knows what to expect next, he just hasn’t seen Papyrus hesitate like this in awhile. And he was never the one to initiate, something about that felt wrong to him and he thinks that might be a bad thing to feel but, like most bad things, he chooses to push it to the back of his mind. 

Sans doesn’t break eye contact and smiles softly, hoping he’s silently encouraging him somehow. Finally Papyrus reaches across under the blanket and rests his hand on Sans’s ribcage. Sans sighs contentedly as his brother’s hand slides behind him and to his spine. Once his hand is on Sans’s back Papyrus slowly pulls his brother toward himself. Once Sans is close enough, he reaches a hand up to Papyrus’s shoulder and gently rubs it as he’s drawn toward his brother.

Then they’re chest to chest and nothing feels more right. Papyrus slowly and wordlessly lowers his head to rest it in the crook of his brother’s neck. And it feels like this is right where they’re supposed to be when they’re like this, so perfectly fitting into place--he wonders how he goes the whole day without it. 

Papyrus tentatively reaches under Sans’s shirt and gingerly touches his ribs. Sans leans into the touch letting him run his fingers down each one eliciting a soft ‘click, click, click’, the only sound that can be heard in the room. 

He wasn’t sure when they started doing this. It was just something that started happening. After the bedtime story, sometimes Sans would stay and eventually Papyrus reached over and first he held his hand, then the next time he wrapped an arm around him, next he pulled him into a hug and held him there for hours, and each time Papyrus looked up at him, looking for any discomfort, asking with his eyes if it was okay, if he should stop. Each time Sans looked back at him with nothing but pleased acceptance. 

Papyrus’s touches gained more confidence and then he seemed to get curious. His touches were curious and explorative. Running his knuckles along Sans’s spine, running the tips of his fingers along his clavicle, one night he just stuck both his hands under Sans's ribcage and grabbed them from the inside. Sans jolted and Papyrus immediately looked apologetic, but he nodded to his little brother letting him know it was fine, just… maybe a warning next time.

Papyrus was still curious some nights, lately he seemed less explorative instead just focusing on the spots he knew Sans liked. Like that one vertebrae on his neck that felt particularly nice when Papyrus rubbed it. 

Papyrus seems to be paying extra attention to those spots tonight. 

Sans realizes that there is a focused rhythm to his touches tonight. He goes from one spot to the next and then again in a loop, in an almost mechanical flow. Sans looks down at him, Papyrus’s eyes are closed, his brows knit together in focus. Wow, he seems really into it. The thought gives him a rush, a rush that he has to distract himself from. 

“papyrus.” Sans starts without really knowing what more he wants to say.

“HM?” Papyrus opens his eyes and looks at him. His face is very close.

“you… did you miss me today, or somethin’?”

Sans expects him to get all flustered like he did before. He expects him to scoff and maybe push him away which starts them on another comical banter. Instead, Papyrus just smiles.

“I’M BEING A BIT OBVIOUS, AREN’T I?”

“heh, a lil’ bit.” Not as distracting as he hoped. Kinda the opposite actually.

Man, he’s sure glad he doesn’t have a heart in his chest cavity because with his brother’s chest pressed up against his like this, he’s sure Papyrus would be able to feel it pounding if he did have one. 

And maybe that sounds ridiculous. Here he is in his brother’s bed, his said brother in said bed feelin’ him up like his life depends on it. So, it would seem pretty obvious to anyone else that maybe these fairly unbrotherly activities were eliciting some equally not so brotherly feelings, but… 

But. Well, Papyrus was just a touchy feely kinda monster. Maybe a bit more so than most. It’s just how he is and Sans wants him to be comfortable with how is and how he expresses himself and how he explores himself and…

And maybe Papyrus was aware that other people would most likely not be too keen on this sort of thing if they saw it. He’s certainly never this physically affectionate in public. He must know, he’s smart, as smart as he is cool and brave and kind, and what if this is a problem--

“SANS.” 

“yeah, bro?”

His thoughts were starting to spiral for a second there. Push it to the back, there’s no need for that right now.

“I… I WANT TO TELL YOU… I JUST WANT TO SAY…” Papyrus grabs Sans’s hand and runs his fingers along his wrist idly.

Push it to the back.

“I’M… I REALLY AM PROUD OF YOU. FOR A GETTING A JOB SO SOON AND NOT PUTTING IT OFF. I KNOW I MAY HAVE SOUNDED ODDLY DISAPPOINTED EARLIER I’M JUST… I’M USED TO WORKING AROUND YOU AND WITH YOU. I JUST…” The uncertainty leaves his face and he gives Sans a confident smile. “I’M NOT USED TO NOT HAVING TO NAG YOU. NEW ROUTINES CAN BE TRICKY IN THE BEGINNING, BUT I’M EAGER TO GET IN THE SWING OF THINGS!”

Whatever, apocalyptic thoughts were brewing in Sans's mind a few seconds ago, completely dissipate at Papyrus’s words. 

“did... did i hear that right? the great papyrus is proud of me? wow... heh, i don’t know what to say.”

“YOU NEEDN’T SAY A THING, BROTHER. I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW.” 

Papyrus is proud of him. What more could he ask for? What was he even worried about before? Other people? Pfft, who cares? Who’s opinions matter --who even matters more than his bro? No one, that’s who.

He chuckles to himself, he’s exhausted and he doesn’t care anymore.

He reaches his arms up and wraps them around his brother’s neck, the last thing he remembers before he drifts into a dreamless and peaceful sleep.

Chapter Text

Papyrus wakes to softness and warmth. A perfect serenity washing over his soul at the pleasant sensations surrounding him. He takes it in as he keeps his eyes closed without the slightest hint of urgency to get up. He realizes as he lies there, through the drowsy haze of his thoughts, that his arms are circled tightly around another warm form lying next to him. 

He smiles gently at the realization. His hand rises and falls to the rhythm of his bed partner’s breathing–Papyrus’s hand resting squarely on his chest. He presses his palm against it, languidly so as to not rouse him from sleep, and he pulls him close till his back is right against his chest. 

Papyrus hums contentedly as he buries his face into the softness and folds his legs around him. Completely enveloping him in such an embrace feels amazing. So amazing he can hardly believe it.

Was Sans always so small and cuddly? Was Sans’s hoodie always this plush and comfy?

“S… SANS…” His mind is still half asleep but he wants him closer. As close as they could possibly be, he wants every inch of his frame against his own. 

So, he pulls him closer still, nuzzling his face into his back insistently and tightening his hug.

Maybe he hugs a little too tight because he hears a tired growl. The form in his arms starts to squirm. Papyrus loosens his grip and when he does the other body turns to face him. He shivers when he feels a warm breath on his face. 

“SANS…” He’s too tired. Too tired to hide the want in his voice, too tired to really even know what it is he’s wanting. 

However, he starts to become increasingly aware increasingly quickly once he realizes that the breathy exhales against his cheekbones are getting closer and closer. He doesn’t notice that he’s holding his breath, waiting. Waiting for what, his mind can’t process. All he can–!!

Suddenly, he feels something wet slide across his mandible. He gasps and jerks back.

“SANS!?!?!”

Wait, skeletons don’t have tongues. 

His eyes snap open.

“Bark! Bark!”

“YOU!!!!”

The white puppy rolls onto its back eagerly, as if it honestly expects him to give it a belly rub after such rascality. It blinks at him, its tail swishing a million miles a minute and after a beat without receiving any pets it rubs its back into the bed sheets, drowning it in excess fur. 

“STOP THAT! STOP THAT RIGHT THIS INSTANT! THIS IS NOT A DOG BED!! ONLY SKELETONS ARE ALLOWED TO SLEEP IN COOL RACE CAR BEDS! EVERYONE KNOWS THIS!”

Everyone knows this incredibly obvious and well known fact except this little nuisance apparently because of course he doesn’t. 

His shouting does not deter the pup in the slightest as it continues its fuzzy assault to his bedding. The dog is shedding so fast that at this point he won’t be able to even see the bed underneath if he lets this go on much longer. He groans and narrows his eyes, hands on his hips as he glares down at the terror. 

He huffs a sigh, before he pulls the ends of the sheets up. The dog watches him curiously as he pinches the ends between his fingers. Then, without warning he yanks the sheet off the bed with all of his might. 

The dog yelps with wide eyes as it is launched a couple feet into the air. When it falls back down onto the plush but now bare bed below it, it quickly jumps to its feet and scrambles out of the room with surprised yapping. 

He sighs again, his shoulders drooping defeatedly once the dog is out of the room. He runs a hand over his face, that mutt was never going to let him catch a break was it. And wait…

“HOW DID IT GET IN HERE?! DID SANS SERIOUSLY LET HIM IN AGAIN?!”

When he removes his hand from his face something on his pillow catches his eye. He picks it up, it’s a note.

“nope. he was in here when i woke up. - sans” The note reads. 

“WHY DIDN’T YOU PUT HIM BACK OUT?!”

Something that was underneath the note catches his eye. Another note.

“couldn’t. you two were doin’ some serious cuddlin’. you were holdin’ him too tight and wouldn’t let go. - sans” 

Papyrus abruptly puts the note down and marches out of the room, as if doing so would allow him to pretend like he hadn’t just read that. 

Marching down the stairs and taking in the sight of the rest of the house only fills him with a more definitive feeling of defeat. He doesn’t know where the menace scampered off to, probably one of its many hiding spots which he does not have the patience or desire to locate at the moment. Though the pup is out of sight, the disarray it's left behind it certainly isn't. 

He assesses the damage. Fluff and marinara everywhere! This was certainly a level 9, no, a level 10 dog disaster! His eyes roam over the room before they fall on the clock on the wall.

5 o’clock. 

He double takes.

5PM. As in, 5PM in the afternoon the next day. 

He blanches. Had he really slept that long?! He supposes he hasn’t done much resting at all between preparing for the move and the move itself. He had kept himself exceptionally busy the entire time with little breaks, but… he’s pretty sure even Sans hasn’t slept over 12 hours before. 

Before he can let the horror of that fact sink in, he roughly pats the sides of his face. Nothing to do about that now! He’ll just have to make up for it with a deep clean of the entire premises.

He speeds over to the kitchen and throws open the excessively tall drawer of the sink. It’s a dark and cavernous void that stares back at him. He feels a chilly breeze blow past his cheek and it sends a shiver down his spine. The endless void is completely empty save for fur. Fur on top of fur on top of fur for what seems like miles. Was the space beneath the sink always so extensive and ominous??

Well, no matter. With a grim resolve, he picks up his cleaning supplies and dives in. And in the end it certainly was a deep, deep clean.

So deep he failed to hear the insistent knocking at the door. 

~

Sans comes home a little earlier in the evening. This time he doesn’t come back empty handed. He's got a little surprise for Papyrus this evening. It wasn’t something he had been planning on doing, but things just worked out that way. 

He expects to be swept up in Papyrus’s scheduled hijinks for the night as soon as he steps through the door, but he ends up a bit taken aback when he doesn’t receive so much as a greeting when he enters.

“honey, i’m home.”

He waits for the indignant squawk of a reply at such a remark, but… seems like Papyrus isn’t within hearing distance.

His eyes search the unusually quiet house, when he glances into the kitchen he has a hunch he’s already got his answer as to why that is. 

He stares at the void underneath their sink, the void stares back at him. 

“welp…” He slings the plastic bag in his hands over his shoulder and makes his way toward it.

He pokes his head in and glances around. It’s too dark to see, but for some reason the air is significantly colder inside than the rest of the house. He zips up his hoodie and pulls his phone out of his pocket for its flashlight. 

He drops down to the floor inside, his slippers hitting dirt (very clean dirt?? somehow??). He shines the flashlight straight ahead. The path before him seems very, very lengthy. He can’t even make out the end from here.

Is this new? Was there always a secret tunnel under their sink?? 

Eh, probably. He musta just missed it before. 

The path in front of him looks neverending, it would be a pain to walk all that way. He looks to either side of him, searching for perhaps another, significantly shorter pathway? 

There’s no other path. Just walls on either side.

Walls completely covered in what appear to be ancient painted murals. 

The walls are filled with crude drawings of monsters and humans. On the wall to his right, a mural depicts monsters and humans living together harmoniously. On the wall to his left, a mural depicts monsters and humans fighting each other. 

He walks forward and glances between the two walls, and the two stories of opposite tone. There’s a kid at the forefront of both tales. They almost look like the human kid in town but not quite, the child on the walls seems a little younger. 

Huh, weird. And it all looks like a real interesting story, but… all this walking is killing him. He shortcuts ahead. 

He ends up in front of an open doorway, really just an entrance cut out of the rocky wall at the end of the path. 

The wall around this entrance doesn’t depict any people, instead the messy colors paint a picture of some kind of corridor. With faux stained glass windows and faux soft golden light falling through them. Painted tiles on the floor beneath him, painted towering romanesque columns on either side of the door. And above the door a symbol. A circle with wings, three triangles beneath it.

This was all so… familiar to him. Yeah… he’s seen this before. He’s seen this corridor, he’s seen that symbol. He knows it, knows all this well… but…

He can’t quite remember what movie this was from.

Wait… maybe it wasn’t from a movie…

A TV show then…? One of Papyrus’s picture books maybe…?

Man, it’s on the tip of his non-existent tongue. This is gonna bother him.

Well, it’s not comin’ to him right now, maybe later. He figures there’s no need to stand there and dwell on it so he elects to move forward, inside the room ahead of him. 

Once inside he finally sees Papyrus. His brother’s back is turned to him as he stands and stares at the wall in front of him. Papyrus doesn’t even try to tear his eyes away from it even when he feels his brother walk up beside him. 

Sans looks up at Papyrus’s awestruck face, but before he can speak he feels something warm and fuzzy brush against his leg.

“Rrrruff!” The little white dog barks to get his attention and rubs its wet nose against him affectionately. When Sans pats his head with his free hand the dog tries to jump for the grocery bag in his other. Sans lifts it out of reach.

“nope. you can’t have this stuff.” 

The dog whines defeatedly. Not wallowing in its displeasure for long before it yawns, trots away, and curls up in a cozy ball against the back wall that Papyrus was currently so fixated on. And as Sans looks up from the dog’s form, he can see why. 

Another mural, this one taller and more grand than the others. It’s a beautiful scene, a glowing sky alight by a bright orange sunset. A city in the distance. From the perspective of a towering mountain surrounded by lush foliage. That in itself made it quite an eye-catching piece. 

But he didn’t even look at that, his eyes were fixed not on the scenery but on the silhouettes of the figures standing in the middle of it all. They were drawn facing away from them, but even just seeing their backs he recognized every person.

Tori. Himself. Papyrus. The sheriff. The kid’s teacher. The free pickles guy…

All standing next to that kid from the other walls. All of ‘em looked a little different, Tori and her ex looked like they were dressed up for some kind of renaissance fair? Huh. He looked the same though.  

“CAN YOU…” Papyrus trails off, his voice quieter than usual. “CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS??” Papyrus asks as he shakes his head. “HE…” He looks down at the sleeping puppy. “HE DID ALL THIS??”

The puppy grumbles and rolls in its sleep. It kicks its paws out as it dreams. He can see the paint drenching its paws, a wet paintbrush drops out of its fur when it rolls over. 

The bewilderment on Papyrus’s face only grows as he looks between the puppy and its art. He shakes his head and puts his hands on his hips, the usual frown he makes at the little animal returning to his face. 

“SERIOUSLY! WILL HE NOT BE SATISFIED UNTIL HE’S MADE A MESS OF EVERY INCH OF THIS HOUSE?! NOT EVEN OUR MYSTERIOUS SECRET TUNNEL IS SAFE NOW?! THE MYSTERIOUS SECRET TUNNEL IS THE MOST SACRED PART OF ANY RESPECTABLE HOUSEHOLD!” He sighs in exasperation. 

“yeeeaah… it’s pretty weird, right? in terms of mysterious secret tunnels, it’s alright i guess. i’ll give it a six outta ten, the story could use some workshoppin’. and i think ancient murals are a little dull, we should put somethin’ nice n’ classy down here instead like… uh, i don’t know a casino or somethin’.” 

“HMM.” Papyrus walks up to the wall and scratches his chin as he examines the picture. “AND WHO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE?? THERE’S YOU BUT… I DON’T RECOGNIZE THE REST. THEY ALL LOOK A BIT ODD, BUT…” He leans his face close and inspects the drawing of himself. “THIS MAN. WHAT AN INCREDIBLY HANDSOME AND STRONG LOOKING FELLOW!! DO YOU SEE HIS OUTFIT, BROTHER? WHAT POWER AND PRESTIGE SUCH ATTIRE EXERTS!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus eyes the drawing of himself with complete starstruck adoration. 

“heh.” Of course just looking at Papyrus is inspiring to anyone, even himself.

“I HATE TO ADMIT IT, BUT MAYBE THE MUTT’S TASTE ISN’T ALL BAD AFTER ALL! WHEN I SAW ALL THESE SCRIBBLES, I RESOLVED THAT I WOULD SCRUB EVERY LAST DOODLE OUT, BUT…” He gently lays his hand on his costumed counterpart on the wall. “THIS ONE… THIS ONE REALLY, TRULY SPEAKS TO ME. I COULD NEVER DREAM OF SCRUBBING AWAY THE HEARTENING IMAGE OF SUCH AN OBVIOUSLY LUSTROUS AND BENEVOLENT WARRIOR SUCH AS HE! AND… I THINK I’LL LEAVE THE REST OF IT TOO. I’M NOT SURE WHY BUT… I GET THE FEELING HE’S REALLY HAPPY BEING NEXT TO ALL OF THE OTHERS.”

He smiles wistfully as he stares at his own back. There is a hint of melancholy in his voice, the same hint of odd melancholy Sans feels in his own soul. Sans stands next to his brother mirroring the mural exactly, the version of Papyrus in the picture was looking forward to a bright future, he was sure, with all the friends the version of Papyrus in the real world has never met. 

Papyrus feels a sudden wave of intense loneliness thinking about the picture in front of him and when he realizes where he is in the present. What a bright and wonderful world he was looking at. But when he looked away he was in the cold basement of home he refused to leave in a town with people he didn’t know. He envied the cool guy in the picture, clearly popular and loved by his many friends, ready to take the world by storm. Papyrus wishes with all his soul that he could be like him. 

Papyrus feels an arm wrap around waist as Sans pulls him close. And yes, he can’t forget he’s not completely alone. Maybe he’s not as popular as the man in the picture. Yet! But he’ll get there someday. And for now he’s more than happy with what he does have. 

“yeah… he does seem pretty happy, doesn’t he? a guy as cool as him should be.”

“RIGHT! I THINK SO TOO, NYEH HEH HEH!”

Papyrus’s hand comes to rest over the top of his brother’s. His thumb gently runs over Sans’s knuckles, and Sans sighs contentedly at the pleasant repeated motion. The two stand there like that as a comfortable silence washes over them. Sans glances up at Papyrus, he’s still looking at that drawing of himself, seemingly lost in thought about something. Sans takes this moment to discreetly look around the rest of the room. 

He flashes the light at the walls on either side of them. There is a chaotic mix of things happening, contradictions in every picture and he realizes these are other endings of the story. Looks like the ending his brother was staring at was the happiest. 

Not all of them are too terrible… but most of them are. 

He can’t piece together entirely what’s happening in some of them from where he’s standing, he’s not sure he even wants to. He’s not sure he wants to be here much longer either. 

“so… ya ready to head back?”

Papyrus’s hand gives his a gentle squeeze before he lets go. 

“I SUPPOSE THERE’S NOTHING ELSE TO SEE. PROBABLY?”

He starts to turn toward the other walls but Sans quickly shows him the bag in his hand to distract him.

“probably not. and hey, look. i got ya a sweet lil’ somethin’ from the shop.” Well technically he wasn’t the one who got it, but it was his idea to give it to Papyrus. 

“OOO, WHAT IS IT??” His eyes light up as he focuses on it entirely. Distraction successful. 

“it’s a surprise is what it is. i’ll let you see once we’re back inside. well, i mean, i guess we’re still inside technically, i- is this still legally considered our property? like was this on the house deed? does our insurance cover this? anyway, anyway, once we’re back in the kitchen i mean.”

“OH, FINE. BUT BEFORE WE GO…” He turns back toward the sleeping puppy and slowly (as slowly as Papyrus can manage) approaches it. “I DON’T THINK IT WOULD BE WISE TO LET HIM KEEP HIS PAWS ON SUCH POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS UTENSILS…” He says referring to the wet paintbrush that he already knows will be taken into the house and used with reckless abandon on the furniture and walls if he doesn’t take it from him now. 

Papyrus manages to inch toward him slow enough so that the pup doesn’t wake up, but as soon as his fingers curl around the handle of the brush, the puppy’s eyes are wide open. 

“NYEH!!” Papyrus squawks in shock as the pup suddenly springs to life in the blink of an eye. It bites the brush and tries to yank it from his grasp. NO! NO! WE ARE NOT PLAYING TUG OF WAR RIGHT NOW!” Despite such a claim, both Papyrus and the pup keep a firm grip on the brush as they both try to yank it from each other’s grasp. 

Sans chuckles as he watches the two of them. Papyrus with his angry (and unintentionally cute) pout, and the puppy wagging its tail happily, all of it just a game to him. 

Sans puts his hands behind his head and turns on his heel. He knows he’ll be there awhile if he just stays and watches them and as cute as it is he figures he could go on ahead and–

He stops dead in his tracks. His eye lights vanish as soon as they fall on the wall that had been behind him. 

On this side of the entrance wall, there was another mural. It was just as big as the mural on the opposing wall. 

He sees himself, he sees red. He turns around before he sees anything else.

If the other wall showed the happiest ending, it didn’t take much imagination to figure out what kinda ending the other one showed. 

He grabs Papyrus’s arm and shortcuts them both out of the room and back into the kitchen. 

They hear a very quick yelp of surprise from the dog before it is cut off as it disappears out of sight. Papyrus stumbles with an equally surprised yelp and falls onto his back. His spine hitting tile flooring rather than dirt. 

He blinks from the ground. Staring straight up at the ceiling and holding the paintbrush out in front of him.

“SANS!!” He yells with irritation after a beat once he processes what just happened. “YOU KNOW YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO WARN ME BEFORE YOU DO THAT!”

He quickly picks himself off the ground and glares at his brother expecting to see a self satisfied smirk on his face, but Sans is facing away from him. It takes a moment for Sans to answer, Papyrus doesn’t miss the unusual hesitation.  

“sorry, bro.” He says with his usual smile and wink when he turns around. “i just couldn't wait a second longer to give you your surprise.”

“IF-IF YOU SAY SO…” Papyrus mumbles looking entirely unconvinced. “SANS, IF SOMETHING IS THE MATTER-”

“nope.” Sans says quickly but with a casual tone so he hopes it doesn’t come off as too suspicious. “here. knock yourself out.” He says as he hands Papyrus the plastic bag he’d been holding, and as he does he strides past his brother and lightly kicks the sink door shut with his slipper. He has the urge to set the trashcan in front of it to keep it closed, maybe the fridge too, but, nah, he thinks that would probably be ever so slightly conspicuous enough to give him away.

Papyrus eyes him with a little worry as he reaches in the bag to take out his gift, but once he looks down he gasps and his expressions shifts.

He lifts the Box of Heart Candy out of the bag with a look of delight and bewilderment. His expression switches between the two emotions, he can’t seem to decide which one to settle on.

His reaction wasn't that much different from his own earlier in the day when the kid had presented him with the same box (except he had been exceptionally amused rather than delighted). That same human kid came in, this time with a friend, but they walked right up to him and shoved the heart shaped box toward him. At first he thought it was some kind of prank, or something their friend dared them to do but the purple girl following them looked completely dumbfounded.

“Dude…???” She asked them under her breath.

The kid pretty much mirrored her expression, he saw them sweating, looking just as shocked and maybe even a little horrified by their own actions. 

When Sans had taken it from them, they really didn’t seem like they wanted to let go. They very suddenly loosened their death grip to allow him to take it looking utterly remorseful afterwards. He isn’t entirely sure what their intentions were, he has a couple guesses but with the way the kid was actin’ who knows, they didn’t seem ready to explain themself in any capacity. Whatever it meant, he played it off as an attempt at returning the item. 

Even though he was very certain that the sheriff was the one who bought it originally. How could he forget after she had spent a good hour and a half in the store staring at the chocolates, bringing them up to be checked out, changing her mind and taking them back repeatedly all while loudly assuring him that they were for the bike not the cute lady on the bike… She seemed real passionate about that bike, a shame it seems her passion nor the chocolates ever got to it. Not sure how the kid got their hands on it, but after seeing the note attached that threatened to arrest the little punk that dared to open it, he had a hunch.

After he gave the kid five bucks, they stormed out of the store just as quickly as they’d come in. Not fast enough that he didn’t hear the remarks from their friend.

“Really, Kris?? Him? The whole family wants to “befriend” him now, huh?” She laughs hoarsely as she jabs them in the side with her elbow. “Where the hell did you get that chocolate anyway? Dammit, we shoulda shared it.”

Teenagers are funny.

In the present, Papyrus seems like he doesn’t know what to say. “OH, SANS. FOR ME?? REALLY???” 

“‘course, bro. i think you deserve some dessert after being deserted here alone all day.”

Sans comes up to pat him on the back but hesitates when he sees the look on his brother’s face. The bewilderment is certainly coming through a lot more than the delight now. 

“somehtin’ the matter, bud?” 

“OH NO, NO… I JUST…” He struggles to find his words as he switches his gaze between the chocolates and his brother. “I DIDN’T KNOW YOU… YOU… THOUGHT THIS ABOUT ME...” Papyrus finishes awkwardly trailing off.

Sans feels as if his soul dropped right out of his rib cage. He fights his eye ligths from flickering out. 

Oh.

Oh, what a sucker he was. 

You’d think he would’ve gotten a clue about what kinda message a gift like this could send after the whole debacle with the kid earlier. 

He just really did not guess that Papyrus would interpret it that way. 

He wants to say, ‘no, no, papyrus, you’ve got it all wrong. of course i didn’t mean it like that.’ But… something is stopping him. He laughs a little, it sounds more strained than he would have liked. He doesn’t want to tell him it’s wrong, not until Papyrus tells him how he feels about it. It was a bad slip up on his part, but it could be worse, what if this could turn around? What if there’s a chance, a chance that he’s about to tell him that he feels the same-

“IT’S A LOVELY GIFT, IT REALLY IS BUT… I’M SORRY, SANS. I’M AFRAID I WON’T BE ABLE TO EAT THESE.”

And nope, no, that’s worse. That is much worse. He definitely isn’t able to completely hide the white dots of his eyes from flickering away for a moment. His smile hurts. Papyrus looks sorry when he sees the obvious (obvious to him anyway) distress on his brother’s face. 

“SANS, I’M REALLY FLATTERED.” He says as he tries to reassure him. “IT’S JUST-”

“no, i get it. we’re brothers, it makes sense. It was kinda ridiculous for me to… what…?” Sans trails off when he sees Papyrus look at him terribly confused at that comment. 

“WHY WOULD THE FACT THAT WE’RE BROTHERS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT??”

“uhhhh… i mean for most people it would kinda have everything to do with it…” 

Papyrus only looks more confused and Sans gets the feeling that they’re not on the same page.

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??”

“i.... i dunno.... what are you talking about…?”

“WHAT I MEANT WAS…” Papyrus starts slowly as if to make sure Sans is following him. “AS NICE AS YOUR GIFT IS AND AS MUCH AS I WANT TO, I’M AFRAID I WON’T BE ABLE TO EAT THESE CHOCOLATES… BECAUSE WHITE CHOCOLATE REALLY DOESN’T DO IT FOR ME. IT’S MUCH TOO SWEET FOR MY TASTE. I WAS UNAWARE YOU THOUGHT OTHERWISE.”

“oh, heh heh heh, oh, okay.” Sans sighs and laughs with relief as he runs a hand over his forehead. Dodged a bullet there. “that’s fine, bro.”

“WHAT DID YOU THINK I MEANT?”

“eh, don’t worry about it. it’s no big deal.” He shrugs it off and immediately shuffles over to the couch where he lays down. Man, today is weird. With the kid and Tori’s ex and now this, what is this…? 

Oh yeah, and the mural depicting his death under the sink. That was a little wacky too. 

Still, not the weirdest Friday he’s ever had. 

Papyrus follows him into the living room still looking down at his gift.

“WHY DOES IT SAY ‘GET WELL SOON TO YOUR BIKE’ ON THE CARD??”

“oh ya know, just in case.” 

Papyrus holds the box to his chest. “AWW, SANS YOU’RE ALWAYS THINKING OF ME… AND MY BIKE… EVEN THOUGH I DON’T HAVE ONE.”

“i’m just coverin’ all my bases.” 

Sans has his eyes closed as he rests his head on the arm of the couch. Papyrus’s voice sounds like its coming from right in front of him when he says, “OH, IT LOOKS LIKE NOT ALL OF THE CHOCOLATES ARE WHITE, THERE’S SOME DARK MIXED IN TOO. IN THAT CASE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE IT WITH ME, BROTHER?”

“sure.” Sans replies with a yawn. He then expects to feel the other end of the couch dip as Papyrus takes a seat on the other side, but instead he feels his brother’s hand gently slip under his back and carefully pull him forwards.

He opens his eyes and looks at Papyrus, Papyrus smiles back warmly in that way that makes his soul flutter every single time. He moves to get out of his way but Papyrus’s hand moves to his chest as he lightly shakes his head. Papyrus circles his arm around his brother once he’s sitting up and sits down beside him, then Papyrus lightly presses his chest to let Sans rest his head back on the armrest. In the same position as before, but now lying across Papyrus’s lap. 

Neither of them comment on this. Instead Papyrus merely plucks a white chocolate bonbon out of the box and holds it in front of Sans’s face. 

“SAY ‘AH’.”

“i mean i like chocolate an’ all, but i don’t think it’s anything worth screamin’ for.”

“JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH, SANS.” He sounds a little less annoyed and a little more amused than usual.

“ah…” Sans eyes flutter closed and he feels Papyrus place the chocolate to his mouth. His teeth graze Papyrus’ fingers ever so slightly, it nearly makes him choke. 

“HOW IS IT?” 

Sans gives him an okay symbol with his hand. It was maybe a little too sweet for his taste too, but like hell that was gonna make him quit.

~ 

Papyrus feels like he’s missing something. His soul is telling him something, but he can’t quite place what it is yet. There’s something about this scene… something…

It was late now. The TV was on, but neither of them had been paying attention to a word of it since it was switched on. It was background noise against the low mumble of Sans’s voice. Sans was facing away from it, over the course of the night he shifted and turned until he was nuzzling his brother’s chest. Papyrus had twisted and moved until he was resting his head against the admittedly not very plush kind of worn couch. For a while they had tried laying side by side, but the tiny couch hadn’t allowed that so instead Sans was adjusted to be laying on top of Papyrus’s broad ribcage.

His bones hum lightly against Sans’s voice. Not only is he able to hear him speak, he can feel him speaking now too. Sans’s chin rests on his sternum, Papyrus can tell just from looking at him that his eyelids are getting heavier with every word. 

“...so i said…” He stops to yawn, stifling the sound of it against Papyrus’s shirt. “i said to ‘im… maybe you should talk to your plants about that…”

“HMM…” Papyrus hums as he runs his hands underneath the back of Sans’s shirt, his hands running across his scapula. “AND WHAT WAS THIS FELLOW’S NAME?”

“uhhh....... umm....... i-i dunno uh, uh- fluffy buns?” Sans slurs tiredly. 

Papyrus laughs, Sans bouncing when he does. “I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT IS HIS NAME.” 

Sans shoulders rise ever so slightly which Papyrus supposes is his half-hearted attempt at a shrug. “ya never know.” 

“IF WE’RE NAMING BY THAT LOGIC, WOULD THAT MAKE YOUR NAME BONY BUTT?”

 He expects at least a chuckle at that, but he is met with silence.

“OH, COME ON. THAT WAS-” When he looks up, however, he sees that Sans had finally drifted off. 

He sighs, but with a smile. He rests his head back on the headrest and very slowly removes his hands out from under Sans’s shirt. Sans twitches in his sleep, his fingers curling to grip the fabric of Papyrus’s shirt. Papyrus gently circles his arms around him and concludes that maybe he was going to have to sleep on the couch tonight. Well, maybe sleep wasn’t the right word. It honestly felt like he had just woken up and, though he is ashamed to admit it, that might not be that far from the truth. 

He knows that if he looks away from Sans’s sleeping face he’ll see the marinara mess that had yet to be taken care of, and he knows he probably should attend to that immediately but… he just doesn’t want to look away. He’s seen that sleeping mug more times than he can count, but there’s just something about the way he can feel the steady rise and fall of Sans’s breathing, about the way Sans occasionally mumbles his name in his sleep, about the way he feels like he couldn’t let go if his life depended on it. 

He gets that feeling again. Like he knows there must be something more to this that he’s missing. He stares and stares at Sans’s face and he knows there’s something more to this. 

His eyes keep going back to the smudge of white chocolate next to his smile. It’s driving him crazy, that's what it is, it must be. 

So, he gingerly raises his thumb to his brother’s cheek, and careful not to wake him, he brushes away the smudge with his thumb. He has every intention to wipe the chocolate from his thumb into the napkin beside him.

Instead something possesses him and he raises his thumb to his own mouth.

Too sweet, he hates the taste. Yet, for some ungodly reason that doesn’t stop him trying to taste every last bit. 

“welp, cat’s outta the bag.” 

Papyrus’s entire body jolts at the sudden sound of Sans’s voice. His eyes had fallen closed while he was tasting it and when they shoot back open he sees Sans winking at him. 

“you actually do like white chocolate after all. heh heh, ya can’t deny it now. i caught ya red handed, or, i guess in this case, white handed.”

Papyrus pulls his thumb from his teeth, mortified. He looks down at his hand, baffled, as if someone else had put it in his mouth. 

“I-I JUST THOUGHT I’D TRY IT-”

“i guess ya just really wanted to share your chocolate with me, is that it? aww…” He coos infuriatingly sweetly. 

Well, now Papyrus has to backpedal in the other direction. 

“WHY Y-YES, I DON’T MIND WHITE CHOCOLATE!” He lies. “BUT SEEING AS SELFLESSNESS IS ANOTHER OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS’s ADMIRABLE QUALITIES, I CONCLUDED THAT I COULDN’T LEAVE YOU OUT. NYEH HEH… HEH…” He doesn’t even sound convinced of his own words.

Sans suddenly lifts his arms and places his hands on the armrest on either side of Papyrus’s head causing his little brother to flinch. Sans slowly lifts himself.

“ya sure about that, bro?” He asks lowly, his voice still slurred by sleepiness.

“NYOH HO HO,” His laugh sounds entirely off, nervousness  building as Sans’s face gets increasingly closer. “YES, I’M- I- I LOVE WHITE CHOCOLATE! LOVE IT! CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE STUFF! SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING DRIZZLING IT OVER SPAGHETTI IN THE FUTURE-” 

“oh yeah?” Sans’ voice is barely above a whisper, his face only centimeters away.

“YEAH!”

“well, if you like it so much i wouldn’t want you to miss out. i think there’s a little bit left.”

Papyrus glances at the entirely empty box.

“NO, WE ATE ALL THE BONBONS-”

“mhm…” Sans murmurs. The white dots of his eyes glance down at Papyrus’s mouth for the briefest moment. 

And Papyrus feels a shiver run down his spine. 

Something in his soul shifts. 

“but… i think you missed a spot…” 

Papyrus eyes go wide as saucers as Sans nearly closes the distance between their mouths. 

“OKAY FINE I HATE WHITE CHOCOLATE!!” He squeezes his eyes shut and shouts. 

Sans freezes. When Papyrus opens his eyes, he can definitely see some sweat on his brother’s brow. 

“you… heh, ya sure seemed liked you were enjoyin’ it a few seconds ago.” His tone tries to sound light and joking but he’s not entirely successful.

“I WAS.” Papyrus blurts, Sans blinks at him. “I WAS??”

“but… if-if you don’t like the taste then-”

“THE TASTE WASN’T WHAT I WAS ENJOYING.” Papyrus blurts again. Sans looks at him like he’s kind of insane and he kind of feels like it at this point. “I THINK???”

“oh… huh.” 

Well this was a very suddenly awkward environment. Sans usually had a joke to offer right about now. He waited for the shrug and the wink, but Sans looked just as put off as he did. 

It dawned on Papyrus then that his brother had nearly just kissed him. He was joking? But he also seemed like he wasn’t joking? Whether or not it was in jest, he was going to kiss Papyrus. If Papyrus hadn’t shouted, Sans wouldn’t have stopped.

Papyrus… thinks… he regrets stopping him. He thinks… he would like to know what it feels like to kiss Sans. 

And then in Papyrus’s mind something clicks.  

Oh, he knows what he was missing before! That makes sense! Well, he’s going to have to do something about that now, isn’t he? But not now! He has to do this properly! 

“I JUST REMEMBERED I HAVE TO CHECK MY EMAIL!!!!” Papyrus shouts loud enough for the whole world to hear. He springs to his feet, Sans falls flat on his back on the couch and doesn’t even have a moment to collect himself before Papyrus is sprinting up the stairs.

“bro, the internet is-”

The door slams shut.

“-still down…”

He stares at his brother’s door for a beat, before sighing and putting his head in his hands. 

Man, today was not his day. Did he seriously just try that? What was he thinking? Usually he thought he knew when to call it quits, when a joke was goin’ too far. But in the moment… he just… felt like he couldn’t stop himself. He knows he wanted it, and well, it was going to be all but impossible to lie to himself now. How annoying.

He hears a clattering from the kitchen as the sink door is thrown open and a white pup with a paintbrush in its mouth trots out smugly.

Speaking of annoying. 

The pup doesn’t seem to notice him as he trots toward the fridge and confidently raises its paintbrush about to make the first stroke… before the brush (and by extension the pup) is jerked up into the air. 

It whimpers, its eyes going wide. 

It looks at Sans and sees his eye glowing blue and yellow, holding the brush up with his magic. It starts to sweat before it quickly lets go and drops to the floor. As soon as it does, Sans throws the brush up into the sink with a clatter, causing the pup to startle. 

He winks at the pup, the magic in his eye flickering out.

“sorry, pup, but that would be a real paint in the ass to deal with and well… i think papyrus has already had enough of that from the both of us.” 

Not one of his best, but he thinks the message got across well enough as the dog slowly walks backwards out of the room. 

He shortcuts straight to his room and falls face first on his bed. He thinks the store might hafta open a little later tomorrow.

~

Once Papyrus is certain that Sans is fast asleep in his room he ventures out of his own. He quietly tiptoes down the stairs and into the kitchen. Slowly he opens the sink door careful that it doesn’t squeal on its hinges. Steeling his resolve, he makes sure he doesn't forget to bring all the things he needs and once he is sure, he steps in.