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You are barely awake and barely register what you are doing before you are standing in the heavy rain, slamming your fists on the door to the skeleton brother’s house. Your head is still clouded, your mind still haunted by the foggy images of the nightmare that ripped you out of your sleep in the early morning hours.
The door opens and you don’t care who managed to get to it first, you just fling yourself at him, your soft body crashing into his hard one. Short arms wrap around you and you guess it must be Sans who got to the door first. Part of you feel guilty for ruining his and Papyrus pajamas party when the tears starts falling down your face and you can barely breathe because heavy sobs of despair has your throat closing up.
“Human!” Sans exclaims surprised. The force from your crushing hug has him stumbling back until the back of his body rests up against the couch in his living room. “What’s the matter? Who hurt you?”
“No one,” you sob pathetically. “I’m just so happy you are alive.” Sans pats your back gently and you can practically feel the confused look he shares with Papyrus that is in the middle of closing the front door behind you.The feeling of his hand slapping against the wet jacket you have on not disgusting enough to make you pull away.
“I’m happy you are alive too, my friend,” Sans says, “but I must admit I am confused why you had to check on my health that in the middle of the night during a storm as bad as this one.”
“I-i had a bad dream,” you admit with a wobbly voice.
“What kind of bad dream, human?” Papyrus asks. He’s right behind you and you quickly spin around so you can hug him too. He doesn’t hesitate before he pulls you up to be cuddled close to his chest. Sometimes you forget how stupidly strong Papyrus is.
“You d-died,” you tell them. “Both of you. I-I killed you but I don’t remember why. I j-just remember feeling so good that I laughed and I s-stomped on your dust so hard that I breathed it in and then I started choking on it and then I woke up.” You have to take a larges breath of air before continuing your rushed explanation. “And then I woke up and I don’t remember how or why I left, I just know I had to make sure you were okay because it felt so real.”
Papyrus and Sans doesn’t say anything when your explanations turn into even louder crying. Papyrus just peals off your wet jacket and sweater underneath before he holds you closer and walks over to sit down on the couch with you. He starts stroking your back in a loving way, cradling your head with a hand so you can lie against him without even trying to keep yourself up. When he starts humming and whispering soft sentences into your ear, telling you it’s okay to be sad and that he’s going to protect you for as long as you are not able to do it yourself, you finally feel yourself break apart for real. His body starts getting hotter so you don’t freeze now that you have less clothes on.
An entire month's worth of stress over work and school and your family being in war with each other comes crashing down over you. The many panic attacks you have fended off during the month all seem to come back with renewed force. Normally it would have left you terrified and broken on the floor somewhere, but being held tightly in Papyrus’ arms and feeling his soft caress and gentle voice rumbling in your ear keeps you just strong enough to find your way through.
Sans appears from somewhere suddenly and you end up as the center of a skeleton sandwich. Sans invites himself into the embrace and Papyrus allows him to fit himself around you before he hugs you both close again.
For what feels like hours, you all three sit there. You are completely surrounded by bones and love and hear both your friends tell you in their own way that being weak is not a bad thing and that they are there for you.
When your tears run out Sans rearranges you so you are leaning against Papyrus’ chest, head rugged underneath his chin. Sans helps you take off the rest of your damp clothes and borrows you some of his brother’s so you won’t get cold. Then he covers both you and Papyrus in a warm blanket and tugs it in so you are completely wrapped up. Then he offers you a cup of the newly brewed tea standing in a pot on the table. Papyrus is offered a cup too but he shakes his head no.
Sans puts on your favorite movie and cuddles up next to Papyrus too, somehow managing to get himself underneath the blanket with the two of you before grabbing his own cup of tea.
For the duration of the movie you stare blankly at the screen, feeling empty and drained inside. The skeletons says nothing to you. They just sit silently next to you, offering you their support without asking for anything in return.
The credits starts rolling just as you finally find your voice again. “I’m sorry.” The words have barely left your mouth before both of them shush you.
“Don’t even think about it, friend,” Papyrus says.
“It’s our duty as the best friends in the multiverse to help you when bad dreams make you sad!” Sans continues. You know you won’t be allowed to apologize for ruining their fun night, but that doesn’t stop you from feeling guilty about it. The way they smile at you, all soft and forgiving helps you ignore the feeling though and it makes it easier to accept their offer of being the center of another skeleton sandwich when they drag you with them to the pillow fort they had been sleeping in earlier.
Just before falling asleep, cuddled close to Papyrus behind you and Sans in front of you, you can’t help thinking “I love you” to your best friends in the world. One day you swear you will make them understand just how grateful you are that they are there for you.