Work Text:
“Come on, brother, walk to me, you can do it!”
The little face looking up at him frowned, mentally calculating the distance between them, and its owner squirmed with uncertainty where he sat. P-01 let out a small sigh, but otherwise remained determined not to allow his positive, encouraging demeanor to slip. He instead extended his arms towards the child, keeping the gentle smile plastered to his face.
“Come on, it’s just a few steps and then you can rest, okay? Please, just try for me?”
“… Okay,” The little one replied in a small voice after a moment’s hesitation. Shuffling on his rear, S-01 leaned forward until he was able to push himself onto all fours. From there, he stuck his rear in the air and slowly moved his hands, one-by-one, from the ground onto his knees, until he was able to pull himself into a squat. Already exhausted and no doubt fed up, it took more gentle encouragement from P-01 before he pushed down on his knees, slowly moving his hands up his femurs until he managed to pull himself upright into a standing position.
Swaying uneasily on the spot, S-01’s eye lights traveled from his feet over to his brother stood on the other side of the room. “’S too far, bro!” He whined, his little lethargic body slumping and his face taking on what was as close to a pout as a skeleton could manage.
P-01 moved his hands to his hips with an exaggerated eye roll, “Don’t whine, brother, you’ve already made it this far and you can’t expect to get any better unless you put the effort in, now can you? Now! Come on, walk to me!”
Still not entirely convinced, S-01 shifted his weight from one foot to the other before carefully placing one forward. With slow, deliberate steps, the tiny skeleton began his journey across the room, frail legs trembling under the stress. His awkward, stumbling gait, coupled with his unusually small size, gave him the appearance of a child little more than a year old, though he was soon to turn five. S-01’s steps were quick and clumsy, but he didn’t slow down, probably out of fear that he’d lose his balance and fall if he did.
Once he was about a foot away from his brother, S-01’s legs crumpled under his weight and he fell forward with a startled cry. Before the child was even aware of what was happening, P-01 rushed forward and scooped him up into his arms before he could hit the floor.
“Sorry, bro, I couldn’t do it…” S-01 mumbled into his brother’s chest, voice laced with exhaustion.
P-01 scoffed, “What on earth are you talking about, brother? You made it across, didn’t you?”
“Y-Yeah, but… not all d’way…”
“You were perhaps three steps away from “all the way”, so be proud, tiny bones!” P-01 smiled, gently bumping his forehead against the younger’s, “And who knows, maybe soon the doctor will-, will grant us access to other parts of the lab! and then you will be able to practice walking even farther! Soon your stubby little legs will be as strong as mine, nyeh heh!”
“Are you sayin’ you have strong, stubby legs, bro?” S-01 giggled, earning a loud mock gasp from P-01 who held the child at arm’s length whilst doing his very best to look offended.
“What?! How dare you? I’ll have you know I-“ S-01’s laughter died when his brother suddenly froze mid-sentence, eyes widening to what would otherwise be an almost comical size. Startled, S-01 opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but before the question was even out of his mouth, he realized what it was.
Coming from down the otherwise silent hall was the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps. S-01 whimpered and clung a little tighter to P-01’s neck. P-01 didn’t seem to notice, his eye lights danced across his sockets as his mind flew into overdrive. As the elder pried the child’s hands free and threw him down on his mattress, S-01 had only seconds to regain his bearings before he heard a hissed “Turn towards the wall and keep still!” and several blankets were thrown over his body.
Bewildered (and slightly winded) into silence, S-01 could only obey and rolled over, his nerves certainly not calmed by the fact that he could no longer see his brother. How on earth was this supposed to help him? It could hardly be considered a good hiding place (not that there really was anywhere good to hide in their room), especially with S-01’s head uncovered by the blankets. With one trembling hand, the tiny skeleton reached out to tug the covers up and over his head and curl up underneath. It wouldn’t do much, but it would at least provide him with the illusion of safety, of security. Then he might actually feel like he could catch his breath, calm the tremors that wracked his weak body and rattled his brittle bones.
However, he was stopped when P-01 caught his hand. As he began to twist his head back around, P-01 gently pulled the blankets up to cover the lower part of S-01’s face and rolled his skull back towards the wall. “Pretend like you’re sleeping!” P-01 whispered in as quiet a voice as he could manage.
S-01 let out a shuddering, half-muffled sob and curled further into his blankets, “I d-don’t wanna g-go!”
A gentle squeeze on the shoulder was all P-01 could offer before the metallic screech of the door opening cut off any comforting words he might have had. S-01 whimpered and P-01 gasped and leapt to his feet, hands clasped in front of him to keep them from trembling.
“S-01, come with me,” a soft voice said, coupled with the sound of echoing footsteps. S-01 suppressed a shiver and fought to keep his breathing even. In, out. In, out…
“S-01, now,” the voice ordered, never once rising past a normal speaking level despite the clipped edge to it. But of course, the doctor never needed to raise his voice, never needed to bark orders at the two children to get them to comply. The doctor was always calm, always collected, yet that didn’t ease the terror the two children felt in their souls when they knew they’d done something wrong.
P-01 took a deep breath, rocking back and forth on his heels and clicking his clasped fingers against each other to ground himself, “E-Erm, D-Doctor Gaster, sir…?” The doctor’s sharp eyes landed on the older child, earning a barely suppressed flinch. However, when the doctor didn’t silence him, P-01 felt it safe to continue, clearing his throat to rid himself of the lump that seemed to have formed there, “Um, Brother…h-he wasn’t feeling well, his head was hurting a lot and he could…could barely stay awake!” “Keep your voice level, keep your face blank,” P-01’s mind whispered to him. “That is how weak he felt! So, I…I don’t think he is strong enough for his medicine today…”
For an awful moment that seemed to drag on forever, the doctor just studied P-01 with his eyes burning into the child’s very core. “Is that so?” he finally asked, shifting his gaze to the tiny bundle lying on the mattress.
P-01 nodded, perhaps a little too vehemently, which, in retrospect, probably broke the impassive mask he was trying to put on. Fortunately for him, the doctor was still studying S-01 with his eyes and didn’t notice. “Yes, sir.”
“I do hope you are not lying to me, P-01.” The doctor’s gaze was fixed back on P-01 whose breath hitched in his throat. “He knows! He knows! Idiot, now you’ve put your brother in danger! Why would you even try something so stupid?” P-01’s thoughts erupted into a swirling, deafening cacophony that left him dizzy and light-headed. He should have known. He should have known; the doctor knew everything!
“No, sir, I’m not.” It was honestly a miracle that P-01 could get the sentence out without stammering or shaking or really doing anything else that could shatter the illusion of sincerity he was so desperately trying to project. As it was, he just shook his head, forcing himself to look the doctor in the eyes, despite how uncomfortable it made him, whilst ignoring the unpleasant itching sensation creeping across his bones.
The doctor’s face didn’t betray any emotion or thought. He merely hummed and crouched down to examine the smaller skeleton feigning sleep on the floor. P-01’s thoughts never ceased screaming at him as all he could do was watch from behind. His view of his brother was blocked by the doctor, who turned the child towards him, and P-01 was forced to edge around him so he could see the child’s face, the clicking of his bones on the tiled floor threatening to betray his nervousness.
The tension was thick in air, or at least it was to P-01 who could only silently beg his brother to remain still and limp as the doctor pulled the blankets away from his face. Beads of perspiration were running from S-01’s skull, likely caused by the combination of his fear and the exertion of his walk across the room earlier. Even from where he stood, P-01 could see how exhausted the child was, as if each of his limbs was made of lead. As he watched, P-01 could only hope that the fearful trembling of S-01’s bones might be mistaken for shivering, the sweat on his skull for a fever. P-01 wasn’t very “bright”, he knew that, he’d accepted that, but he also knew that if there was even a slight chance of S-01 being sick, the doctor could not give him his medicine.
The risk was apparently too high.
Words could not express the relief that flooded through P-01’s soul when the doctor gave a very small annoyed sigh and rose to his feet. He couldn’t believe it; it had actually worked, his brother would be safe for another day!
“I suppose these things can’t be helped…” The doctor muttered, more to himself than to P-01 who nodded anyway. Under the scrutiny of the doctor’s stare, P-01 took care to make sure the relief did not show on his face, he couldn’t ruin this now. He was sure he could still see skepticism on the doctor’s face, he couldn’t let himself crack now.
The seconds seemed to drag on and on until the doctor finally turned his piercing gaze away and made his way back towards the door. Before leaving, however, he paused in the doorway, “As for you, P-01, I will see you for your session later.”
“Yes, sir!” P-01 replied, though the doctor had already left, shutting the door behind him with a loud click. Silence followed where the two children strained to hear the receding footsteps fading away. Only then did P-01 release all of his tension in a shaky, gasping breath and collapse to his knees, soul thundering against his ribcage.
He had a session scheduled for later? Well that was okay, P-01 could handle that. After all, his sessions were not like S-01’s, he never had different medicines given to him through needles and tubes that left him feeling sick and dizzy at best.
He could handle anything. After all, he was the successful one, wasn’t he? Project and not subject, whatever that really meant…
“Bro…?” S-01’s tentative voice called out, muffled from the blankets he’d pulled back over his mouth. P-01’s head snapped up and he half-crawled, half-dragged himself over to S-01’s mattress where he collapsed, pulling the child close to his chest. The sound of his soul pounding echoed inside his skull, now joined by the sound of his brother’s soul beating next to him. It was okay, though, S-01 was here, safe, unharmed in his arms. He repeated the thought to himself over and over, until his breathing was under control and his soul didn’t feel like it was trying to escape anymore.
There was something he didn’t understand though; if he was the stronger one, the one who could handle anything, then why was his weak, fragile brother the one being subjected to these tests? Why didn’t S-01 receive training like he did to make him stronger? Why didn’t the medicine the doctor gave S-01 make him any better? Why hadn’t S-01’s magic changed color like his had?
…Why had the doctor kept a weaker, useless experiment alive if he was not going to be used for the purpose he had been created for? An experiment who the doctor said could crumble into dust from the slightest mistake.
P-01 shuddered and tried to push the thought from his head. He had wondered the question for a long time, but dared not ask it out loud. For all he knew, the doctor would agree with him if he brought it to his attention and he would never see his brother again.
But surely the doctor already was aware of it, he had to be, didn’t he? There had to be a reason he hadn’t gotten rid of S-01, but P-01 couldn’t think what it might be…
…But then, P-01 never had been too bright…
But S-01 was. It never ceased to amaze P-01 how quickly the child picked up on things that P-01 would have never picked up on at his age. That had to be a useful trait! Perhaps the doctor just hadn’t noticed it, he didn’t really spend as much time with S-01 as P-01 did.
The doctor wasn’t always scary anyway, sometimes he could be quite nice! He would always give P-01 a piece of candy when he did what the doctor asked in his own sessions. Plus, if P-01 did everything the doctor asked in the sessions, he would sometimes be given a toy or a puzzle to take back to their room! In fact, P-01 would probably even say that he wasn’t scared of the doctor when it was just them, he was only scared when his little brother was involved. The little brother who had been deemed a failure…
P-01 unconsciously hugged S-01 tighter to his chest and rested his chin on the top of his head. S-01’s breathing had slowed and become even, P-01 didn’t even need to look at him to know that he’d fallen asleep.
Perhaps later, when the doctor came to collect him for his session, P-01 could try to talk to him about it, explain his worries about his brother. The doctor was reasonable, right? It didn’t make sense in P-01’s head that the doctor would waste this much time and effort on someone who he didn’t think would be any use, so there had to be hope, right?
Breathing out a sigh, P-01 allowed his eyelids to close as his stress was replaced by an exhaustion that seemed to engulf him and drag him into unconsciousness.
“I’ll talk to him later…”