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Home alone on a bad day. Sans unlocked his door and stepped out of his room, berating himself for leaving it. What was he trying to accomplish? Nobody was here to see how miserable he was. He stood a moment, mindlessly fiddling with his doorknob. If it’d really accomplish nothing in the end, then he might as well spend time downstairs instead of in his room. Mix it up a little. He stepped down the stairs and lay face down on the couch. He was playing a version of Russian Roulette. He had no clue when Papyrus would be back, so there was no telling when he ought to go back into hiding. If Papyrus found him in the living room like this, he’d have to ask Sans what was wrong.
Or call him lazy.
He turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling in silence. A muted but constant sense of fear rattled his bones today. There was too much to think about.
Gotta pay the bills, his tab at Grillby’s has to hit a limit soon, taking the day off is going to mess with his budget, his pun flew over a friend’s head the other day, something good could happen just in time for a reset, something bad could happen just in time for the resets to stop, and a human his brother trusts with all his soul is running around. Not a bad kid, but kids can be fickle. Anything could happen.
Why did he want to talk to Papyrus about any of this?
Sans covered his face and took a deep breath, wishing he could consistently deal with this mess. One tear escaped him, and he regretted noticing it. It seemed to give the other tears validation to come on out, too. He wasn’t going to let Papyrus see him like this. It was a terrible time to make that decision, however, as Papyrus walked in not a moment later.
“SANS! WHO HURT YOU? I WILL TURN THEM IN TO THE ROYAL GUARD AT ONCE.”
Fight or flight took hold, and Sans fell on the floor trying to scramble off the couch and run upstairs. He got up and tried again, successfully making it up the stairs and slamming his face into his bedroom door.
He had locked himself out of his own bedroom. He became a laughing ball of defeat in front of it. It was a feeble attempt in the first place. Papyrus had, of course, followed him. He was an optimist, but that didn’t mean he was going to let this go.
“BROTHER, WHY ARE YOU SCARED? HAS TODAY’S TRAINING MADE ME BECOME EVEN MORE INTIMIDATING THAN WHEN YOU LAST SAW ME?”
“Y-Yeah, you’re getting really-“ Sans reached for the excuse.
“THAT WAS A TEST! I DIDN’T TRAIN WITH UNDYNE TODAY. I WAS RECALIBRATING MY PUZZLES. I CAME BACK TO GET YOU TO SCOUT FOR MORE HUMANS WITH ME. YOU’RE HIDING SOMETHING IMPORTANT!”
Sans sat up on the floor, but didn’t say anything.
“DID SOMEONE HURT YOU?” Papyrus asked. Sans shook his head.
“ARE YOU IN DANGER?” Papyrus asked. Sans hesitated, but shook his head.
“…IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP YOU?” Papyrus asked. Sans turned his face away from him. Papyrus ceased his interrogation and sat on the floor next to him.
“COULD IT BE THAT YOU THINK THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM TOO GREAT TO BE BOTHERED WITH YOUR PROBLEMS?”
Sans drew his legs close to him and hugged them, still not looking at his brother.
“IS IT THAT I, YOUR LITTLE BROTHER, AM NOT SUPPOSED TO WORRY ABOUT YOU, MY BIG BROTHER?”
Sans was stiff, locking in his tears.
“IF YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM BOTH TOO LITTLE AND TOO GREAT TO HEAR YOU, THAT’S A BIT SILLY, ISN’T IT?”
Sans laughed through shaky, crying breaths. Papyrus wrapped an arm around him.
“IF YOU REALLY CAN’T TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG, YOU CAN CRY AND SPEAK GIBBERISH INSTEAD!” He offered, “OR JUST CRY. OR SCREAM. I’M HERE.”
Sans leaned on him then, and Papyrus held him close. He chose to cry quietly, mumbling gibberish now and then. His brother’s support dulled any urge to scream significantly. They sat like that for a long time, and even when Sans was still and quiet, Papyrus didn’t let go of him. When he decided it was time to stand up, he picked Sans up with him. He went into his bedroom, grabbed the blanket from his racecar bed, and went downstairs.
“What are you doing?”
“WE ARE HAVING A SLUMBER PARTY. IT’S BEEN A WHILE.”
“It’s four in the afternoon.”
“THE FIRST RULE OF A SLUMBER PARTY IS NO SLEEPING. THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO HAVE IT!”
With the re-arrangement of several household items, his blanket, and his sheets that he went back to get after deciding they were needed for his creation to be the greatest, Papyrus turned the center of the living room into a fort. Complete with a television. Within the fort, the world was small and cozy. Papyrus gave Sans a pillow.
“NOW, SIT IN THE CENTER. I’LL BE RIGHT BACK.”
Sans shrugged, rubbing his tired face. It sounded like Papyrus might be talking to someone in the kitchen, but through the fort and the noise of Mettaton on the television, it was hard to tell what he was saying. His brother soon returned with popcorn and they watched TV quietly until there was a knock on the door, and Papyrus was gone again.
There were footsteps, voices, and then a couple of fresh faces crawled into the fort with food, and more blankets and pillows.
Undyne brought spaghetti for everyone, and the Frisk handed over a paper bag from Grillby’s with Sans’ name on it. They didn’t usually allow take out. Papyrus entered with plates and forks for anybody craving aggressively cooked spaghetti.
Sans was effectively surrounded by people. Papyrus pulled out a slumber party guide book. The group played games together and took turns trying to braid Undyne’s hair since hers was the only long enough to braid. Frisk ended up with a ponytail Mohawk.
Time went on, and Papyrus was the first to fall asleep. Undyne busied herself finding the right braided hair selfies to upload every time Alphys made a status. Frisk, so small and tired, was starting to drift in Sans’ arms. The quiet was creeping in on him, and he pushed back on his negative thoughts best he could.
He’s never missed a bill. He’s not on Grillby’s bad side just yet. A day off certainly isn’t the end of the world. He can’t do anything about the resets. His friends don't have to laugh to enjoy his company. And this human kid… well, they liked him enough to sleep in his lap. They probably won’t betray him, and he’d make good on his promise to look out for them. Humans looked fragile when they slept. He draped their blanket over both of them and used Papyrus as a pillow. Undyne thought that was a funny idea and put her pillow on Sans’ legs.
He had no idea what was next, and who ever does? For this moment, everything was okay, and he could rest.