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Papyrus woke up late in the morning, very confused.
Uncharacteristically, Sans had not burst into his room at six in the morning, insisting that they go to work. It was nearly ten now. Grimacing, Papyrus hoped Captain Alphys wouldn’t be checking in on the sentries today. He’d be in trouble for sure.
As Papyrus exited his room, he noticed that the house was completely silent. He checked Sans’ bedroom. Empty. Sans wasn’t home, then. He must already be on the job.
But then why hadn’t he gotten Papyrus up like usual?
This was so unlike Sans that Papyrus decided not to go straight to his post and instead look for his brother.
Sans’ post wasn’t far from the doors to the Ruins, so Papyrus decided to check there first. To his surprise, Sans was not there; there was no sign that he’d even been there that day. His worries increasing, Papyrus thought he should head into town and ask if anyone had seen his brother yet that day.
He went to Muffet’s first—and breathed a sign of relief as soon as he opened the door. In all the chaos of the bar, Papyrus’s eyes were drawn to the one thing that stood out—a small figure in blue who didn’t seem to be joining in on any of the conversation.
Papyrus came up right behind Sans and found that his little brother was asleep. He nudged Sans until his arm slipped off the table and he woke up. “What are you doing here, Sans?”
“What? Papyrus!” It sounded almost like Sans had a stuffy nose… but that was impossible. “I, uh, I’m fine. Just thought I’d check around town and see if anyone had seen any humans!”
“And you just happened to fall asleep in a corner away from everyone else?” Papyrus raised a brow.
“Uh…” Sans stood abruptly and tried to run, but fell to the floor after only a couple of steps. He tried to cover a cough. “Just get—” He painfully cleared his throat. “Just get back to your post, Paps. I’m fine, nothing’s wrong!”
But Papyrus understood in a heartbeat. “You’re sick, aren’t you? Just like I was last week.”
“Am not!” Sans cried indignantly, struggling to stand. “I’m fine!”
“You really thought you could hide from me in Muffet’s?”
“Well…” Sans clung tightly to a chair and sighed. “I got cold, walking to my post. And I was counting on you sleeping in longer, honestly.”
“Come on, Sans. Let’s go home. Muffet won’t like it if you make her patrons sick.” Papyrus picked up Sans and slung him on his back, and Sans was too tired to protest.
As Papyrus walked home, he could feel Sans shiver and cling to him more tightly. Papyrus definitely remembered that feeling. Fever.
The minute they got home, Papyrus made Sans change back into his pajamas and put him in bed, then called two people: Captain Alphys to let her know they wouldn’t be in for work, and Doctor Undyne to get recommendations for treatment.
Of course, like with Papyrus’s illness last week, there wasn’t much to do except take care of the symptoms and wait it out. So that’s exactly what Papyrus tried to do. He was no healer, but he made sure Sans drank plenty of fluids, had some soup, and was as warm as he could get.
He didn’t leave Sans’ side except to fetch him things, either. Sans noticed.
“You know, for a lazy brother, you sure are responsible.”
“Oh, hush,” Papyrus said, but he was grinning as he threw another blanket onto Sans’ bed.
“At this rate, I’ll be able to go back to work tomorrow!”
Papyrus grimaced. He’d been in bed for five days when he’d been sick. “I wouldn’t bet on that, bro.”
“But… but I have to! Alphys’ll never let me into the Royal Guard if I don’t show her how hard I work!” Sans sat up and coughed.
“Alphys will understand taking a few days over for being sick. She wouldn’t want the Guard catching it.”
Sans huffed, probably figuring his brother was right and having nothing to say to it.
“Was that why you didn’t wake me up this morning? Because you knew I’d make you stay home?” Papyrus asked, taking a seat on the floor against Sans’ bed.
“Fat lot of good it did me,” Sans grumbled.
“Bro, I admire your dedication, but you’ve gotta take care of yourself.”
“Just like you do, huh?”
“Well… alright, you’ve got me. I know I’m not great at taking care of myself either. But that’s okay. S’why I take care of you, and you take care of me. As long as we’ve got each other, we’ll be fine.” Papyrus smiled. “Now lie back down and go to sleep. You’ll heal faster.”
Sans snuggled back into his covers. “You’re right, brother. Thanks for being there for me.”
“No prob, Bob.”
After twenty minutes or so, the sound of Sans’ snoring filled the room. Papyrus didn’t let it distract him from his thoughts.
He figured Sans would probably recover faster than he had—whenever he caught something, he tended to catch it really bad. If Sans had had the strength to walk from the house to Muffet’s, he was already better than Papyrus had been.
Still, Papyrus wasn’t planning on being away from Sans for a second—or not for too long, at least. Too many times Papyrus had failed to be there for his brother. He wasn’t going to do that anymore.
As long as we’ve got each other, we’ll be fine.
That’s how it always had been with the brothers. And, Papyrus hoped, it would be that way for a long time to come.