Chapter Text
"Uh...are you sure, Pap? We can take the kid-
Papyrus shook his head, making a disapproving noise as he shooed Toriel and Sans out the door, helping them with their bags. "NONSENSE! THE HUMAN WOULD BE TOO MISERABLE STAYING SOMEWHERE WITHOUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S COOKING! YOU TWO, GO ALONG AND DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO!"
"And what is it that we are doing, Papyrus?" Toriel asked in amusement as they walked outside and stored the luggage inside Asgore's truck.
"UHH...ROYAL KING...SCIENCE STUFF?"
"heh. wait till I tell Asgore that he's driving us 300 miles for "royal king science stuff." it has a royal ring to it. thanks bro!" Sans cackled as Papyrus huffed, pushing his older brother's head away.
"GAH! BROTHER! WHY MUST YOU CRACK PUNS BEFORE NIGHTFALL?!"
"because... I wanna crack myself up?”
"SANS!"
"Boys, boys, calm down! You know how fussy humans get when with loud noises. Especially Linda next door." Toriel separated the brothers. They at least had the decency to look chastised and held embarrassed smiles.
"WE'RE SORRY!"
"...sorry Tori."
After the car was fully packed, Sans and Toriel headed back inside the Dreemur home. A 5-year-old Frisk was sleepily lying on the couch, surrounded by used tissues and scattered water bottles.
"And they will need their inhaler. I don't even know how they did it in the underground, but 2 puffs every 4 hours, please." Toriel fretted, handing what Papyrus thought was another list.
He already had three.
"And this is their favorite stuffed animal list-
"MISS TORIEL," he interrupted politely, taking her hand. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, PROMISE THAT LITTLE FRISK WILL RECEIVE THE BEST CARE SINCE THEY FEEL 'UNDER THE WEATHER'!" he chirped.
At the sight of her pained look, he softens his voice. "I know you worry so much because you are a great mother, but they will be fine. We will be fine!”
"I'm sorry." Toriel blushed. "It's just that Frisk may be a handful when they're sick-"
"NO MATTER, I CAN HANDLE IT! I AM, AFTER ALL, THE BIGGER BROTHER!"
Toriel chuckles softly. "Of course, what am I talking about? You've never let me down." She left a kiss on Papyrus's cranium, making him giggle.
Toriel strolled over to the child bundled in blankets. She gently ran her paw against Frisk's hair.
Frisk wiggled, a ragged cough escaping their throat.
"Oh..my poor child! Papyrus will take good care of you," She gave a peck and rubbed their chubby cheek. "Be good, will you not?" Toriel smiled softly before heading outside with Asgore, who gave a gentle wave to Frisk.
Sans ruffled the kid's hair, causing them to hum softly. "you're in good hands, kiddo. feel better."
Sans turned to Papyrus. "you..sure you want to do this Pap? We can always send them with Undyne and Alphys-"
"YES, OF COURSE! FRISK IS MY FRIEND AND WILL NEED TO BE LOOKED AFTER IN THEIR SICKLY CONDITION. I AM THEIR BIG BROTHER AFTER ALL, IT'S MY DUTY TO PROTECT!" Papyrus frowns as Sans glances away. "YOU..DONT THINK I CAN DO IT?"
Sans' eye sockets widened. "no that's not it, bro. It's just..."
"Just..what?"
Pap watched as Sans glanced at the kid again, then back to him. He couldn't exactly tell what his brother was thinking, but his brother seemed a little...down.
"i just..would've liked you and the kid to come. we have uh...extra seats and stuff..."
Pap sighed fondly. Of course, who wouldn't miss a brother as grand as Papyrus? "AWW, SANS!"
Suddenly, Frisk broke out into nasty, wet coughs. Papyrus sprinted to the human, picked them up gently, and patted their back. Frisk whined uncomfortably.
"WORRY NOT FRISK! THE GREAT PAPYRUS COMMANDS THAT YOUR THROAT WILL NOT PRODUCE SICKLY GUNK. PLEGM? NO MATTER, MY FIRM PATS WILL MAKE SURE IT EXITS YOUR BODY!" His reassurances soothed the child's whines.
Sans chuckles. "you know what, it would be cruel if we took them with us like this. we can always text and video message, right?"
Pap just gathered his bro in a big hug after placing Frisk back on the couch. "OF COURSE! FRISK AND I WILL UPDATE YOU ON OUR MARVELOUS ADVENTURES WE HAVE! SURE, ITS LIMITED WHEN YOUR SICK, BUT I HEAR HUMANS HEAL VERY FAST!”
"just keep your guard up bro, Frisk gets a little..frisky..when they're sick."
"SANS!"
After a few more goodbyes and hugs, the King, Queen and Sans were off, leaving Papyrus in charge.
***
WOW, MY FIRST NIGHT AS BIG BROTHER!
“I DO BELIEVE I AM THE BEST OPTION.”
He works on his spaghetti soup for dinner. ALYPHS IS TOO FORGETFUL WITH FRISK, AND UNDYNE ISN'T THE MOST...MATERNAL FISH.
He scoffs to himself.
AH! NO MATTER! I SHALL USE MY NATURAL MATERNAL INSTINCTS! NOTHING IS TOO COMPLICATED FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NYEH HEH HEH!
He was almost done stirring his spaghetti soup. Just a touch of shredded cheese, turmeric, and garlic, and it shall be done!
Prepping the bowls, he set them down on the coffee table in the living room. A messy bed-head shuffled and peeked its eyes out from under the blanket.
"Pap..?" Frisk murmured, rubbing their eyes rather harshly, making Pap flinch.
"GOOD LATE EVENING/NIGHT FRISK! I MADE DINNER SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GAIN YOUR ENERGY BACK," Papyrus scooted the bowl closer to Frisk, his grin increasing by the second, "I MADE A MORE SOUPY SPAGHETTI SO YOU CAN STILL ENJOY MY PAPYRUS TRADEMARK GOODNESS!"
Frisk blinked, looking extremely out of it. It took them a couple of minutes to comprehend what Papyrus said before they slowly sipped the soup from their tiny spoon.
"Where's Mama?"
Pap couldn't help the small coo that came out of his mouth. "MISS TORIEL LEFT FOR HER TRIP WITH ASGORE AND SANS. I CAN ASSURE YOU SHE SAID GOODBYE AND PLANTED MANY KISSES ON YOUR HEAD!"
Frisk yawned, their eating slowing down. The small child looked at Papyrus with big eyes.
"YOU HAVE NOT EATEN ALL DAY, TINY FRISK. ARE YOU NO LONGER HUNGRY?" He pushed the soup closer to Frisk. "OR UHH... NO LONGER APPETIZING TO YOU?"
Frisk's eyes widened, shaking their head rapidly. "No Papy! It tastes yummy, I promise!"
They suddenly grappled their head and let out a whine.
Papyrus frowned. "Frisk?"
The child whimpered and made grabby hands towards the skeleton.
The frown disappearing, Papyrus picked up the bundled child and placed them on his lap. Frisk proceeded to point at the bowl and then at their mouth.
"OH! "Papyrus sat on the couch and dipped the spoon in the soup. "I WAS RIDICULOUS TO THINK YOU DIDN'T WANT ANY OF MY SPAGHETTI SOUP! SILLY ME!" He began to feed Frisk. "YOU LOVE IT SO MUCH, YOU WANT THE CHEF TO HAND FEED IT TO YOU!"
Frisk playfully rolled their eyes, which made Papyrus laugh.
"I AM JUST PLAYING! I KNOW YOU FEEL WEAK. BUT THAT'S OKAY, YOU WILL GET BETTER IN NO TIME!"
As Frisk greedily sipped, Papyrus made sure to keep their face and clothes clean. Papyrus won't lie, cleaning up their face with a napkin is very adorable!
WOW! THEY ATE THE WHOLE BOWL! I CAN'T WAIT FOR SANS TO TRY SOMETHING WHEN HE COMES BACK!
Papyrus was proud. He was acing this!
"HYDRATION FLUIDS, CHECK. FED. CHECK. He checks off the boxes on his big checklist. He then picks up his laptop. "ACCORDING TO THE INTERNET, IT SEEMS YOU HAVE THE MILD FLU. MISS TORIEL WAS MAKING IT SEEM LIKE YOU HAD THE PLAGUE!"
"...plague?" Frisk coughed loudly. "I do feel yucky."
Papyrus rushed into Toriel’s kitchen and brought back an assortment of medicines Toriel and Asgore bought for the child. He was surprised by all the different medications humans needed. Monsters just needed magic and spaghetti after all!
“BUBBLE GUM FLAVOR, GRAPE FLAVOR AND…STRAWBERRY FLAVOR?! I HAD NO IDEA THAT MEDICINE COULD HAVE SUCH AMAZING FLAVORS!”
Frisk blinks as the tall skeleton pours a dollop into a silver spoon. The child crawls out of the blankets, going unnoticed.
"OKAY FRISK, TIME TO TAKE YOUR MEDICINE! SAY AH- OH.”
The kid was gone.
***
“OH! THERE YOU ARE, FRISK!” he finds the child hiding in Toriel’s bed. “YOU SILLY-GOOSE! WHY DID YOU RUN AWAY?”
Mucus dropped down their nose. "Mmh...hide and seek?"
“I LOVE HIDE AND SEEK,” he pulls the covers fully off of them. “BUT WOULDN’T IT BE MORE FUN TO PLAY AFTER YOU TAKE YOUR MEDICINE?” He wipes their nose with a handkerchief. “SO, BUBBLE GUM, GRAPE, OR STRAWBERRY FLAVOR?”
Frisk narrowed their eyes and huffed.
"...No."
Papyrus blinked. “HMM?"
Frisk crossed their arms, hiding under Toriel’s blanket again, "I don't wike medicine."
This amused the tall skeleton. "BUT WHY NOT? IT’S SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER!"
Frisk shook their head. "Tastes yucky."
“YUCKY?” He raises a brow. “BUT THEY ARE CANDY FLAVORS, AND CHILDREN LOVE CANDY.” He presents the 3 bottles of medicine again. “SO, WHICH SHALL IT BE?”
Frisk growled, a sound Papyrus was not used to. “I don’t wan' medicine! It feels weird on my tongue!”
“FRISK, I AM AFRAID THIS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.” He puffs out his chest in a proud manner. “AS YOUR CARETAKER, I MUST GET RID OF YOUR FEVER AND THAT IMPENDING STRING OF SNOT DOWN YOUR NOSE!” He opens the grape flavor and pours a dollop on a spoon.
Frisk whined and backed up to the headrest.
“YOU LOVE GRAPES! SAY AHH!” He leans the spoon towards their mouth.
The child’s face reddens as they flap their hands towards the medicine. “NO!”
The spoon lands on the bed, the medicine spilling, creating a sticky, purple mess. Papyrus gasps as Frisk jumps out of the bed and shoots out of the room.
“WHAT THE?” Papyrus groans, his face turning a light shade of orange. “OKAY, NO MORE NICE GUY! I HAVE TO BE A MISTER ASSERTIVE GUY!”
After cleaning up the stain the best he could, while also adding an apology note on Toriel’s bed, Papyrus rushed around the house to find Frisk. He will admit he is a bit flustered and annoyed by Frisk’s behavior. Not that he doesn’t know children react this way when they don't want something. Heck, he remembers giving Sans a hard time when they were both children. It’s just…
He’s never seen Frisk react this way before. He wipes the sweat off his bony forehead.
“FRISK! FRISK!” he calls out as he inspects every room, “I AM NOT MAD, BUT I AM WORRIED ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND BEHAVIOR! I DON’T MIND CLEANING YOU SEE, I LOVE CLEANING!” He checks under the couch, nothing. He sighs, heading into the kitchen.
“BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT. YOU MUST TAKE THIS MEDICINE AT ONCE! HUMAN CHILDREN CAN’T BE SICK FOR LONG!” He hears shuffling in the lazy susan.
Papyrus opens the cabinet. Inside, big brown eyes glanced away.
“There you are,” He softens his tone, reaching in and grabbing the child. He sets Frisk on the dining table, getting a new spoonful of medicine ready.
“Do I have to?” Frisk scrunched their nose.
“OF COURSE!” Papyrus chirped. “YOUR MOTHER INSISTED ON THESE MEDICINES, SO I TRUST THEY HAVE MADE YOU BETTER IN THE PAST?”
“They d-did, but Papy-”
“THEN IT'S SETTLED,” He nears the medicine-filled spoon close to their mouth.
“SAY AHH!” He plops the spoon in their mouth, watching them quickly gag and drink the medicine. “HORRAY! YOU DID IT FRISK!” He clapped.
However, to Papyrus's horror, Frisk emits a loud wail.