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Red woke up with sweat on his forehead and a deep, burning ache in his chest. He kept hearing it- the noises were the worst- the muffled screaming and the pathetic sniffles and the rhythmic thuds of Blue’s body against the carpet-
He felt the arms around him move slightly and he gasped. He pushed them away and went to stand, to run, before he caught sight of Sans.
The smaller skeleton rubbed his sockets and blinked as he propped himself up on his elbow. “Mmm… Red? Everything okay?” he asked softly.
Red’s breaths came out labored. Blue let out a quiet sigh before he scooted over and drew Red against his chest.
“Just a nightmare, it’s okay,” he said, and Red hugged him.
“I’m sorry,” the bigger monster whimpered. Sans shushed him and gave him a gentle skeleton kiss on the top of his skull.
“I’m here. Everything’s okay.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again. His soul was still pounding.
“It’s okay. It’s over now- it was just a nightmare. I’m right here.”
“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he whined. Sans hugged him tight and tried to envelope him as best he could- tried to drive away the bad. The alarm clock said 3 in the morning.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he said. He rocked the both of them. “You’re okay.”
Red sniffled. Sans brushed away the beginnings of tears that grew in his sockets and gave him a chaste little kiss.
They laid back down, where Blueberry threw the blanket back over them and held Red as best as he could.
“I’m sorry,” Red said, but it was soft. He was always so tired- he was already drifting back to sleep, but he fought to stay awake.
“It’s alright, really. I promise.”
“Are you sure?” he said with a yawn.
“Have I ever lied to you?” Blue asked softly.
“Well… one time ya… told me that we were out of taco seasoning… so we had to go to Muffet’s for dinner, but… really you just wanted cake,” he drawled. A small, idle smile lit up his face for a few seconds until the fatigue drew it away.
“I would never,” Sans said, but he was smiling too. “You’re silly.”
He hummed and pressed his face against Sans’s chest. “Sorry fer… wakin’ ya up.”
“It’s okay. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said at once, but his breathing was slowing and his harsh grip on Sans’s hand was beginning to relax.
They were both asleep again in a couple of minutes.