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He was tired.
"Look, I don't ask much from you runt."
He was so tired.
"So when I finally do ask you to do something for me, I expect you to do it!"
He didn't think this would be so...tiring.
"So, why the fuck can't you just say one word! It's just one word, that's all I ask!"
Nothing.
Chara said nothing, not even giving him any hand signs as a response.
"After all I've done for you... and this is what I get as thanks? Nothing but silence?!"
Chara looked down sadly. Sans noticed their shoulders starting to shake and sighed to himself. He let his head fall and body slouch, feeling the exhaustion catching up to him. Who knew he could feel this drained in just a few hours? He had to give the runt some credit though, it wasn't easy to tire the Maleficent Sans!
He looked up again and saw a tear silently fall down on Chara's cheek. Sans mentally cursed at himself and quickly grabbed their shoulders. They looked up to him with teary eyes, and he frowned. He hated seeing the runt like this. It was such a disgusting face that was just a few tears away from becoming an annoying and obnoxious sob! He knew humans were ugly, but...
...A smile looked better.
"Runt...it's going to be Papyrus' birthday in just a few days. As the Maleficent Sans I must be the one to get him the best gift! I must be the better gift giver in all of underground! But in order to do so...I need you to speak."
Chara wiped their eyes with a single hand, successfully getting rid of their tears. Though, Sans could still feel their shoulders shaking and gave them a firm squeeze.
"It would mean so much to my brother if he heard you speak. You giggle, you hum, you cry...so why won't you speak?"
Chara signed.'I can't.'
"Yes you can! You can just...just try."Sans sighed again."You don't know how much my brother loves you, runt. You've...you've changed him into a different monster. He's not the same because of you, you know that? That mutt was lazy, annoying, and can never be responsible with anything, not even at his own job!"
Chara looked at Sans, and noticed his eye lights growing soft.
"...But ever since I gave him the task to keep an eye on you, a filthy human...well, I've never seen him act so responsibly for someone before...other than taking care of me when I was little of course. I didn't think he would take the task so seriously, but he did. It's something that he...that he actually enjoys doing. He enjoys taking care of you and actually tries to do everything that he can to make you happy...because you make him happy."
Chara gave him a smile hearing that, and Sans smirks.
"Don't get me wrong, he's still an obnoxious, lazy slob...but it's been years since I've seen him actually try to make an effort in something and genuinely smile about it. He loves you, runt...and as crazy as it's sounds, I think he might think of you as his own."
Chara gasped.
Sans chuckled."Well, don't take my word for it. He's never actually said it before, but he sure as hell acts like it! He must think of you that way, there's no other excuse to his protective behavior of you. I just know he thinks of you that way. The Maleficent Sans is sure of it!"
Chara giggled and signed.'I believe you.'
Sans blushed a bit and looked away, clearing his non-existent throat."O-Of course you do! Who doesn't? N-Now is not the time for flirting human!"
'I wasn't flir-'
"Anyways, runt! But first...You must tell me...do you think of my brother as a parental figure?"He didn't receive an answer right away, but he could see a slight blush growing on their face, even when they shyly looked away slightly with a smile. Sans grinned."Excellent! I knew you felt that way about him!"
Chara looked at him and clapped happily, before signing again.'You're always right.'
Sans blush grew brighter."S-Stop flirting with me you filthy human!"
'I'm just being nice!'
"Excuses! So, now knowing that Papyrus thinks of you as his own child, will that be enough encouragement to continue our speech training?"They nodded."Good! There's still hope for me to outdo everybody in gift giving yet!"
Chara giggled again, before looking down sadly once more.'...What if he doesn't like my voice?'
Sans was surprised they would even think that, before showing them a rare, soft smile."He will, ru-Chara. I know he will."
Chara gasped and smiled brightly, while Sans looked away again. He felt his face burn in embarrassment. He doesn't call the kid by their name often, but whenever he did, the filthy human would-
"Gah! G-Get off of me! I never gave you permission to hug me!"
Papyrus was worried.
Throughout his entire birthday party, which only consisted of his best friend Undyne and her crush, Alphys, Sans and Chara were acting strange. Sans wasn't trying to be the center of the attention like usual, and Chara refused to look at him for very long. Everytime their eyes would meet, they would look away and start signing to Alyphs and Undyne about anything. He tried asking the kid if everything was alright, but they would sign him that everything was fine before turning their attention elsewhere. He tried asking Sans, but he would ignore him and start a conversation with their friends for a few minutes before keeping to himself every now and then.
Did he do something wrong?
He kept asking himself that the longer the night went on. When he opened all his gifts, which were a collection of slightly torn and worn down science books Undyne and Alphys found at their many trips from the dump, the two said their farewells and left. As soon as they left, he couldn't help but wonder why Sans and Chara didn't get him anything. Sans would always try to outdo any gifts he received, which was usually a collar or a picture of himself, and Chara...well, he didn't really know what they would give him, since this was the first time the kid would be celebrating his birthday.
He hoped they would have given him something at least...anything really.
He always loved the little things the kid would bring to him, whether it was a flower, a drawing, and whatever they thought was good enough to give to him.
Tonight, he received nothing from the two, and that made him feel a bit down...ok, really down. He sighed to himself and sat himself down on the couch. He must have done something wrong. There was just no other reason for the two to be ignoring him like that...and on his birthday no less! He must have done something terrible to upset his brother and the human enough to treat him like this.
Damn it...he felt awful now and he didn't even know what he did to upset them!
A sudden tap on his knee made him jump a bit where he sat, and he looked down to see it was Chara who wanted to grab his attention. They gave him a warm smile that immediately made him feel a bit relieved. Still, he gave them a nervous smile in return.
"s-sweetie, hey there! d-did you like the party? Like seeing Alphys and Undyne again?"
Chara nodded enthusiastically.
"t-that's great, i'm...i'm glad."
They signed to him.'Did you have fun?'
"oh, uh y-yes I had fun, but um, sweetie...is there a reason you and my brother have been-"
"Mutt!"Papyrus jumped at his brothers voice, and saw him walk towards him with a smug grin. He stopped right beside Chara and posed dramatically."As you may have noticed, neither I nor Chara have given you much attention tonight have we? You didn't even receive a gift from us!"
Papyrus looked down sadly and fiddled with his fingers nervously."y-yes, m'lord...i've noticed that."
"Well, ha!"
"w-what?"The tall skeleton look up at his brother with wide eyes, stunned that he was mocking him about this. He knew Sans could be cruel, but...never like this. Not on his birthday at least, and Chara...was his brother making them ignore him? Or did they really not...like him anymore. Did Sans not like him anymore either?
The thought that two of his most loved ones didn't like him anymore made him want to cry.
"You've fallen right into our trap!"
...Wait. What?
"Those tears better not fall just yet, mutt! I haven't even given you your present and you're already crying!"
Papyrus was confused.
"m-m'lord, I...I don't understand."
"We tricked you! We made you think you were ignored by us, and as a result, my gift will be even more surprising and amazing to you!"He picked up Chara by the waist and placed them on Papyrus' lap."Bask in my incredible gift giving skills brother, for I, the Maleficent Sans have given you the best gift ever!"
"Mutt!",Sans pointed at Chara, who gave Papyrus a small wave, and grinned arrogantly at his brother,"Chara is your gift!"
...Papyrus was so confused.
He looked at the small skeleton in surprise, then turned his head to look at Chara in confusion. Chara just smiled at him, and he wanted to smile back, but he had no idea what was going on anymore. He looked back at his brother with an even more confused look."um...thank you?"
Sans smirked at the confusion on his brothers face and smirked."Runt...",He snapped his fingers,"speak."
"D-Daddy!"
Papyrus jumped for the third time that night, and gasped. He looked at Chara with wide eyes and with his mouth slightly ajar.
"s-sweetie..?"
"Don't like the sound of that title, mutt? Not to worry as I have taught them many titles to call you just in case you were picky with any of them! Speak more, runt!"
"Dad! Fa-Father! Pops! D-Dada! Papa!"
Chara spoke as loudly as they can, which was just above a whisper as they weren't used to talking, but it was the loudest sound Papyrus has ever heard them being able to make. Each word that came out their mouth made his soul beat faster and faster. He tried to say something, but only soft, incoherent noises came out of him. He felt tears threatening to escape his eye sockets and sniffles.
Sans started to panic a little and sat down next to his brother, grabbing his arm and shaking him."Mutt! B-Brother? What's wrong?"A sudden thought just occurred to him, causing a wave of anger hitting him."Do you not like my gift, you ungrateful bastard?"
Papyrus ignored him.
Sans heard another sniffle, but it wasn't from his brother. He looked at Chara and saw them starting to cry. They whined and signed to him,'H-He doesn't like my voice...'
"i love your voice!"
The two snapped their heads to Papyrus, who was embarrassed how loud he got and blushed. He cleared his throat and spoke in his normal, soft voice again."i...i love your voice, sweetie. it's gentle...an-and kind like you."He smiled warmly at them and touched their forehead with his while wrapping his arms around them.
"it's one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard. i-i'm so h-happy...to hear you call me that, sweetie. d-do you mean it? do you...actually think of me as your-"
"I love you!"
Papyrus let his tears fall freely from his cheekbones, down to his chin, and on his clothes. He quickly hugged them with all his might, sniveling happily and showering Chara's face with kisses."i-i love you, too! i love you so much sweetie, i really do! n-nyeh!"
Chara giggled in complete joy, blushing bright red as they kissed Papyrus cheek, forehead, and anywhere on his face that they could reach. Papyrus laughed heartily as his face lit up brightly with each kiss they gave him. Sans smiled to himself, eyelights going soft and almost mesmerized at the scene beside him. It's been so long since he's seen his brother genuinely happy like this. He would never say it out loud...but this was nice.
Seeing his brother and the ru-Chara like this, all sickenly happy and whatnot...was quite a nice sight.
Sans was so caught up in it all that he didn't realize Papyrus was staring at him with a huge grin on his face, while Chara cuddled him. The small skeleton wiped the smile off of his own face and looked away with a blush, ashamed he'd been caught smiling like that. Suddenly, a long arm pulled him close, and the next thing he knew he was looking at Papyrus' face, stuck in a one armed hug.
"are they really not just...saying that, m'lord? it's not an order you gave them...is it?"Papyrus whispered nervously to him, not wanting the kid to hear him ask that. He needed his brother to reassure him that the kid actually meant what they were saying, and not just saying it because they were ordered to.
Sans eyes widened in shock."Of course not, you idiot! They genuinely think of you as a father figure!"
Papyrus blushed more."i-i tried so hard to get them to speak...and you did it so easily, m'lord."
The small skeleton rubbed his neck tiredly, hesitantly admitting that it wasn't."Actually, you have no idea how long it took me to get them to talk. Hell, It took days! The only way to truly convince to them to speak was telling them how you really felt about them."
"if I've known sooner...i would've said something."
"Well, as usual, I have to do everything around here! Typical...so...you never did answer my question, brother. Do you like my gift?"
Papyrus' grin grew brighter and turned his head to Chara, cupping their cheek and giving it a kiss."they are one of the most greatest gifts i could ever have in my life, brother."Chara hummed in delight.
"...One of the most greatest gift? What do you mean by that, mutt?! It should be THE most greatest gift your miserable existence could have ever hoped for! What other gifts are you talking about?!"
Papyrus looked at him fondly."you, sans."
The small skeletons whole face turned bright blue as he tried to form words, but nothing but choked noises could be heard from him. He wanted to yell at his brother for not calling him by his title. He wanted to scream at him for even daring to make him feel so embarrassed about himself. He...He wanted to...
"Y-You're welcome, Papyrus!"He quickly said and buried his head on his brothers side, hugging him tightly while successfully hiding his burning face. Papyrus chuckled and gave him a little kiss on his head. Chara patted him on the head and gave him a small kiss too. He could hear his own soul pounding wildly against his chest. He couldn't describe the feeling he was experiencing now, but he didn't want to.
He just wanted to enjoy this moment while it lasted.
"hey...sans?"Papyrus heard a muffled "What" on his side."i think Chara is trying to say something to you."
Huh?
Sans looked and saw Chara opening and closing their mouth a few times, a sound coming out every now and then, but no words.
"did you teach them to say anything else?"
"I...only taught them the words they said to you."
"U...Uh."
"y-you can do it, sweetie! what are you trying to say?"
"Uhh...Uhhhhhn."
"Spit it out, human!"
"Uncle!"Chara said happily while pointing at Sans.
Sans blushed heavily, his face the brightest blue the either of the two have ever seen him. He looked at Chara as if they grew a second head. Once again, nothing but choked noises came out of his mouth as his body shook tremendously.
"b-brother?"
THUD
The small skeleton's body fell out of his brother's arms...and landed on the carpeted floor.
...Sans fainted.
Papyrus and Chara stared at Sans body for a moment in shock, before looking at each other with big smiles on their faces.
"good job, sweetie. never seen him faint out of happiness before."
"I love him!"
"nyeh heh. i bet he feels the same way."
"I love you!"
Papyrus grinned and wiped whatever tears were left on his face from before, failing as new ones were beginning to form. He nuzzled Chara's cheek before holding them close to his chest. He felt so happy he didn't want to let the kid...his child go. Not until he tucked them to bed and kissed them goodnight. This was the best birthday ever.
Tonight, he became a father.
Tomorrow...he could only hope there will be so many more tomorrows to watch his child grow.
"i love you too, sweetie..."