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You and the skelebros made plans every weekend. It was kind of like…tradition by now. Sans was usually the only one that picked what you would do and submit his request for your approval, which you always gave. Papyrus just sort of tagged along because he had nothing better to do.
It was going to be awesome today. You’d been looking forward to it all week. You guys were going to grab some lunch, pick up a few cones from the delicious monster creamery, and then head over to the massive mini-golf park that just opened up. You’d been practicing on your swing because you knew that Sans would give you a run for your money, but also because you were also aware that Papyrus would somehow win without any spent effort.
Dressed in shorts and a tanktop, you burst through your door and expected to see the cheerful, sunny skies that reflected your mood.
Imagine your surprise when you were doused with a cold rush of water instead.
Ugh. You had to dodge back inside and change, opting instead for a sweatshirt that would warm up your chilled skin from the onslaught outside.
In the midst of your attempt to clean yourself up, you heard your phone buzz angrily on the bed. It was Sans.
“Hell—”
“MYOO HOO HOO!!! OUR PLANS ARE RUINED!”
“Oh my god. Sans. It’s okay.”
“BUT YOU TOLD ME HOW EXCITED YOU WERE. THIS IS THE WORST. I SHOULD HAVE NEVER SUGGESTED IT.”
“Pfft, what? I was looking forward to it, but it’s not the end of the world.”
“BUT MY BACKUP PLANS ALL ACCOUNTED FOR FAIR WEATHER. I DID NOT PREPARE FOR THIS!”
“You know, sometimes this things just come up. I’m okay, really. But I’d still like to see you today.”
“YOU WOULD? I-I MEAN, OF COURSE YOU WOULD. MY COMPANY IS INCREDIBLE NO MATTER WHAT THE PRECIPITATION LEVELS.” Yeah, that sounded much better. More like him. “BUT WHAT CAN WE DO?”
You thought for a moment. “How about I come over? We can watch some movies together. I’ll bring the snacks.”
“OH!!!! YES! I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN. EXCELLENT. HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE? FIVE MINUTES? SIX?”
“Um, maybe more like fifteen to twenty? I need to pick up some stuff.”
“HMM…OKIE DOKIE. BUT I WILL BE WAITING YOUR ARRIVAL DILIGENTLY. AT THE DOOR. SO PLEASE HURRY!!!”
You loved that small monster, but that was too much. Sans put his heart and SOUL into everything, including your new relationship. Now that the both of you were dating, he was a little…well, clingy wasn’t the word you were looking for. Dedicated? Maybe that was a nicer way to put it. You were happy that he enjoyed your company so much, but he sometimes went a little overboard with expressing his affection.
It took another five minutes to actually get out of the house and head to the convenience store. You didn’t have very much to take from home, so shelling out a quick few bucks to make Sans happy wasn’t too big of a hassle. You picked up some popcorn, ice cream (since your plans to have some earlier were dashed away), and candy.
By the time you got to the checkout lane, you realized that maybe you had bought a little too much. You’d be there the entire day, and probably stay for dinner, too, but maybe you were putting too much effort.
As you were deciding what to put back, you heard a lazy chuckle behind you.
“Ew, I’d recognize that anywhere,” you joked, turning around with a bright beam that contradicted your harsh words. “Hi, Papy.”
He regarded you with a smug grin. You weren’t sure what you did to deserve that, but he ambled over and tugged at the sleeve of your hoodie.
“is this mine?”
“What?” you squawked, glancing down. Oh, god. It was his. You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks as you tried to stammer out an excuse.
“listen. i’m all for being together, but it’s a little early to wear matching outfits, dontcha think?”
You scowled. “Like this was planned? I just picked up what was on my floor.”
“learning from the best, then.” He chuckled. “anyway. i’m guessing you’re coming over?”
“Oh. Of course Sans didn’t tell you.” You sighed and rubbed at your face. “Little dork.”
“heh, no worries. i figured you two would find some way to see each other today. am i invited?”
“Maybe. If you’re good.” You beamed at him and he reached up to pinch at your cheek affectionately. “Hey!”
“i want that hoodie back.”
“No way. I’m not wearing anything under it.”
“heh. what?”
“Don’t give me that look.” You set your things on the conveyor belt, seeing as how the person in front of you finally paid and left. “I had an outfit picked for today and it got ruined. And I was planning to do wash when I got home.”
Papyrus busied himself with flipping through a magazine while you loaded everything up. Lazybones. He could’ve at least pretended to help you by handing you stuff from the cart. By the time everything was rung up, you lingered at the machine with your card positioned and ready to swipe.
“Thank you very much. Have a great day!”
You blinked. “Um, I didn’t pay yet.”
“took care of it.” Papyrus walked past you, stepping backwards toward the exit. “let’s go.”
Well. He could still surprise you sometimes.
You ended up giving him a ride back to the house. He took a nap on the drive there, which was ridiculous because it was only five minutes. Still, you couldn’t help but sneak a glance at him every now and then. Your relationship with him was much more convoluted. He never outright said that he wanted to date, but it was pretty much implied that he was interested. He didn’t put much effort into making you feel like you were together, but little things like this definitely showed that he cared.
You gathered a few bags in your hands. Sans already swung the front door open, fully dressed in a large blue raincoat despite the rain not being as heavy as it was earlier. He rushed over in a flash with a massive umbrella before you could even make it halfway out of your car, shielding you with a concentrated look on his face.
“Ah, Sans…”
“I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SAY, BUT I DO NOT WANT YOU TO CATCH A COLD. HUMANS ARE…DELICATE. AND FRAGILE. SOMETIMES IT IS HARD NOT TO…” He shook his head violently. “NEVER MIND!!! PAPY! GRAB SOME BAGS AND HELP US, PLEASE!”
You both turned and saw that his older brother was already in the house. He waved at you from the window.
“BROTHER!!! WHY???”
“It’s okay,” you laughed, not really surprised. “C’mon, I think you’ll like what I got.”
Sans definitely did. When everything was put out on the counter, he glanced from the candy to you and back again. His pupils shifted into hearts and they grew in size with every laugh he drew from you.
“WOWIE!!! THIS IS MY FAVORITE. HOW DID YOU KNOW?” He popped it into his mouth and crunched down, vibrating with excitement. “YOU ARE THE BEST GIRLFRIEND EVER IN THE HISTORY OF TIME AND THE UNIVERSE AND HUMAN AND MONSTERKIND!”
“Well, then that makes you the best boyfriend.” You grabbed the bowl of freshly made popcorn and headed toward the couch. “Did you pick what movie we’re going to watch?”
“YES!!! IT’S A SCARY ONE. I’M NOT SURE WHAT IT’S ABOUT. I THINK THE UNDEAD? ANYWAY, THE SUMMARY ON THE TV SOUNDED…INTERESTING.”
Hmm, odd choice for him. You didn’t mind. “Okay.”
“PAPY, ARE YOU JOINING US?”
“sure. just be over here.” Papyrus had his spot on the opposite side of the room, already resting his chin in his hand and nodding off.
“WELL, WE’LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE TO ENJOY IT DOUBLY FOR HIM. MY BROTHER MAY BE LAZY, BUT HE IS ALSO A SCAREDY BABYBONES IF HE THINKS HE CAN JUST TRY TO IGNORE THE TERRIFYING IMAGES ON SCREEN WITHOUT US NOTICING HIS RUSE!”
His brother’s eye snapped open. “heh, you know what? count me in.”
All three of you squished together on the couch. With the lightning flashing just outside the curtains, the wind howling, the rain coming down like bullets and crashing against the windowsill, the heavy gray clouds hanging over the house and swallowing up the house in comfortable darkness, it was the perfect atmosphere for this kind of movie.
“scoot over.”
“No, you already have your third of the couch.”
“fine, don’t blame me if i get handsy.”
“W-what?!”
“SHHH, IT IS STARTING!!!”
The credits opened up and the speakers thrummed with the low bass from the soundtrack. You had to admit, it was enough that it sent a chill up your spine. You cuddled in closer to Sans and reached for the popcorn bowl, the both of you taking turns in grabbing handfuls of it to shove into your mouths. Papyrus didn’t eat anything, content to just gaze at the TV with about as much enthusiasm as you expected out of him.
It was your typical ghost movie. Tons of jump scares and bad decision from the people in it. You were so engrossed in it, though, especially because it was one you’d never seen.
Sans didn’t seem to react much to it. He just sat there. Quietly. That…was a problem. You’d never seen him like this. When he got excited, he got chatty. When he enjoyed something, he said so. And he was always vocal about how he felt. So why…?
“Sans, um, can you help me in the kitchen? I’m going to make cocoa.”
“OH. WE SHOULD PAUSE THE MOVIE!”
“I think it’ll be okay.” You took his hand and pulled him up from the couch, leading him further away from the screen and the chilling images in full HD.
You stood in the middle of the kitchen. Sans still seemed off, but moved toward the cabinet to rifle through for ingredients. You stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“JUST PEACHY!!!” He shot you a half-hearted smile. “WHY DO YOU ASK?”
“Sans.”
“O….OKAY. WELL. UM. THE MOVIE IS VERY INTERESTING, BUT I DO NOT THINK IT IS FOR ME.”
“Then we can change it.”
“NO! NO…UM…IT…” He rifled through his pocket and showed you a page from his guidebook. “DATING HUMANS IS A VERY RITUALISTIC THING, AND I AM FOLLOWING THINGS BY THE BOOK! IT IS CLEAR THAT MOVIES LIKE THESE ARE KEY IN BUILDING TRUST AND…AND…”
You plucked it from his hands. “What else?”
“I WANTED TO IMPRESS YOU.” His head hung low. “YOU ARE SO COOL AND BEAUTIFUL. AS MY GIRLFRIEND, I WANT YOU TO BE SURE THAT YOU WANT TO DATE ME!!! BUT MY DATING POWER IS VERY LOW BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE MUCH EXPERIENCE. I WANT TO PROVE THAT I AM STRONG AND…CAN TAKE CARE OF YOU!!!”
He was going to be the death of you. You bent down and put a hand on his cheek, planting a warm kiss against him. He froze up with a sharp intake of breath, stammering out your name in a muted whisper.
“You don’t have to prove anything to me, Sansy. I know that you’re the toughest, bravest, most courageous monster alive.”
His pupils shifted into stars. “W-WOWIE…”
“So…let’s do something else. I’ll shut the movie off and we can do something else. Besides, the rain sounds really nice against the roof.”
He held your hand as the both of you came back out to the living room. Papyrus had taken up the whole couch anyway for a snooze, so it didn’t look like you were welcome there any more. The both of you pushed the table to the other side of the room and set up the massive board for your next game, Sans excitedly picking out his player piece and starting everything up.
It was much more calm now. The weather outside was still raging, but in here, you were cozy. Wrapped up in your (sort-of?) boyfriend’s sweatshirt, fuzzy socks, and with a warm mug of tea that Sans warmed up for you when it was your turn. Papyrus joined in at the last second and somehow won the entire game, which sent both brothers into a half-hearted argument that brought a smile to your face.
The lights flickered.
“OH NO. I HOPE THAT THE POWER DOES NOT–”
And died.
“GO OUT.”
It was hard to see where you were in the living room. Your eyes hadn’t adjusted yet, and you didn’t have anything on you to light your way. All of your phones were in the kitchen charging.
“no worries, bro. i’ll check to see if we’ve got any juice in the generator downstairs.”
“BE CAREFUL. YOU ARE VERY CLUMSY IN THE DARK.”
Papyrus laughed. “no i’m not.”
You felt him trip over your leg and immediately come down on you. Hard.
“WHAT WAS THAT?”
“nothin’, don’t worry about it. just pick up the board game the best you can.”
You didn’t want to say anything to get Sans riled up. But this wasn’t exactly your idea of a good time. Staring up at Papyrus while lightning flashed and showed you his complex expression after every other second. Sans had his back turned and was so busy cleaning up, like his big brother asked, that he hadn’t noticed what the two of you were doing.
“heya.”
“Hi.” You stared at his eyesockets. They weren’t as wide and expressive as his brother’s, but there was something there. Something you’d never seen before. At least not this close. You shifted underneath him and he let out a small noise, his body weight shifting so he lowered himself further onto you.
“W-what are you doing?” you hissed, putting your hand on his chest.
“humans sure are soft.” He continued to bury his face in your hair. “could use you as a pillow, ya know?”
“Ugh. You’re just…saying this to embarrass me!” You couldn’t deny that you were. Papyrus wasn’t exactly as tactile of a person as Sans was. He never gave you hugs or did stuff like this. What had gotten into him?
He said something that was completely muffled. You blinked rapidly a few times before feeling him completely settle in-between your legs, urging you to spread them just wide enough for him to rest there.
“Papyrus.”
“hmm.”
“The generator?”
You heard him laugh. “mmmyeah. almost forgot.” He reluctantly peeled himself away from you, threads of hair sticking to his mandible. “gotta head down to the lab. stay put.”
You wanted to see his little hidey hole, but respected his privacy. Papyrus finally disappeared from the room as you struggled to compose yourself. It felt…really, really good to have him so close. You weren’t normally one to admit that. Most touch drove you crazy, but this was different. Even though you two were…together (?), he hadn’t exactly been as forward with his romantic and physical urges as Sans had.
“THERE WE GO. SETTLED TOGETHER IN ONE BOX AS YOU WERE INTENDED TO BE.” Sans shut the lid. “OH!!! IT LOOKS LIKE PAPY IS COMING BACK. PERHAPS HE FOUND SOMETHING?”
Papyrus deposited a lantern in the center of the room. “welp. kind of forgot to pick up more gas for the generator, so it looks like we’re…heh, boned.”
“UGH!!! NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN.” Sans rearranged everything so you could get the most light. “THERE WE ARE. NOW WHAT CAN WE DO? OH! I KNOW! A GAME! A GUESSING GAME! I WILL THINK OF SOMETHING AND YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS.”
You were totally cool with that. Papyrus went to grab his phone while you and Sans began. It was more like “I Spy” the more he got into the details, but you weren’t going to burst his excited little bubble with technicalities.
“Whipped cream.”
“MWEH HEH HEH! NO! YOU GET TWO MORE GUESSES OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE MAGNIFICENT SANS!”
You put a finger on your chin.
“Hmm…okay. Is it…my phone cover?”
“NOPE!!! ONE MORE TRY!”
You were never gonna get this. “Err…my socks?”
He tackled you before you could even think about whether you got it right, the both of you letting out surprise giggles as he pinned you to the floor. He peppered you with kisses between laughter, his fingers brushing against your sides as he attempted to tickle you. It had gone from downright silent to chaos, Sans not letting up even as you could barely ask him to stop between choked breaths.
“hey, whenever you guys are done, check it out.”
You and Sans rushed to the window and peered outside. It was flooded now. The entire driveway was littered in flower petals torn from the neighbor’s bushes, the wind tossing them around violently. It was hypnotic. You shifted your stance on the windowsill and found your hand resting on top of Papyrus’s, who didn’t seem to mind whatsoever.
“WE SHOULD GO OUTSIDE.”
“no.”
“JUST FOR A LITTLE BIT.”
“you got clean clothes?”
“YES.”
“what if she gets sick?”
“Hey, I won’t!” You kind of wanted to feel the spray on your face, too. It would be a little cold and damp, but it was nature in all its glory.
“SO IT IS SETTLED. WE WILL GO OUT FOR JUST A FEW MINUTES.”
Sans dashed out the back door in a hurry. Seemed like he was less worried about how fragile you were now that you’d eased his fears about trying to impress you so much. You followed him and the both of you just stood on the porch, gazing at the streams of light that struggled to poke through the clouds.
“SOMETIMES, I DO GET SCARED OF THINGS LIKE THIS. BUT THEN I REMEMBER THAT I AM LUCKY TO BE HERE AT ALL.” Sans smiled triumphantly. “THE SKY IS VERY BIG. BIGGER THAN THE CEILING UNDERGROUND.”
Papyrus settled next to you. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with you, the familiar warmth enough to bring a flush to your face.
“HUMANS ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE LIVED UP HERE FOR SO LONG. WITH ALL OF THIS.”
You flinched when you felt fingers lace with both your hands. Papyrus on one side, Sans on the other. Both brothers were so busy staring at the sky and rain that they hadn’t even noticed your complicated expression.
You stood there for a little while longer, thankful that Sans persuaded everyone to pop out for just a bit. It was…easy to take something like this for granted. Sometimes you forgot how trapped and cramped it was living Underground because it had been so long since you’d returned to the surface with them. But in instances like this, it was easy to go back to a time where everyone was clinging to their last threads of hope. When you and the skelebros were nothing but mere acquaintances.
You were glad that this was where you ended up instead.
“WELL, WE SHOULD HEAD BACK IN. I WILL GET YOU SOME PAJAMAS SO YOU CAN CHANGE. THEN WE CAN MAKE DINNER! WE HAVE LEFTOVERS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE REHEATING, I THINK…”
He rambled on and headed back inside before you could follow him. Papyrus didn’t budge when you made a shift to leave.
“hey.”
“Yeah?”
He turned to you. “thanks. for comin’ over.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“what, can’t get enough of me?” He winked.
“Pretty much.” You sighed. “Besides, how else would I return your hoodie to you? Looks like you’ll get your wish once Sans finds me some clothes.”
“y’know what? on second thought, you should keep it. lots of girls have their boyfriend’s clothes and wear ‘em. heh, at least, if my research was right.”
Ah. So he was being vocal about this now. You bit your lip and realized that he was rubbing his thumb along the curves of your hand, squeezing it affectionately. A twitch of a mischievous smile and he turned his gaze onto you.
“Yeah. That’s true.” You scooted in closer to him and rested your head on his shoulder, earning a surprised grunt on his end. He was just the perfect height for you to do so, especially with that lazy slump he had going on. “Um, you know, I…”
“hey, look at me for a sec?”
You stopped midsentence and did as he asked. Papyrus didn’t waste any time in laying one on you, not even bothering with a half-assed excuse to get there. You felt his magic surround the both of you in a faint glow, heartbeat stirring in your chest as soon as you felt him grin against your lips. You lost yourself in how safe he felt despite everything happening around you, reaching up to grip the collar of his sweatshirt so he wouldn’t think of going anywhere.
When you pulled back, he shook his head. “nuh uh. i say when we’re done.”
Well. So it was gonna be like that. Whatever reservations you had about his feelings dissipated with the rest of any coherent thoughts. And this more than made up for whatever lost time you had in relationship limbo.
Sans had the couch prepped for you. Fluffy pillows, blankets, stuffed animals for your choice of a bed partner and everything. You would eat dinner first, but it really meant a lot that he was so thoughtful.
That night, you fell asleep with their lilting voices and the rain coming to a crawl outside.
“HELLO! IT IS I, YOUR DASHING AND INCREDIBLE BOYFRIEND. ARE YOU ON YOUR WAY TO THE MINI-GOLF PARK? WE ARE WAITING AND CAN’T SEEM TO FIND YOU.”
You blearily cleared your throat and tried not to sound as bad as you felt. “Yeah, so…um…you know how last week we went out in the rain?”
“YES.”
“…I got sick.”
You heard something crack on the other end and the call ended. Papyrus was the one to call you back on his phone.
“hey, babe. we’re on our way.”
Sans screamed in the background. Something about how it was his fault and he should have known not to trust your sweet lies.
“Really, I’m fine!”
“…yeah. unlock your front door. we’re bringing supplies.”
You reclined in your bed with a half-smile, definitely grateful that you wouldn’t have to spend the weekend alone.