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“DID YOU JUST…SWIPE ME? WITH YOUR PAINTBRUSH?”
You chuckled. “Yeah, what’re you gonna do about it?”
Papyrus’ face went blank as he glanced down at the colorful stripe along his bones. Something bright and obnoxious, a color that somewhat suited his own rambunctious personality. He looked like he was about to get upset at first, but soon enough the mischievous gleam sparked in the depths of his eyesockets. He chuckled under his breath before fixing his gaze on the bucket that Sans was struggling to open, brandishing his brush with gusto.
“REVENGE!!!”
“Ah, no! Paps, paint doesn’t come off as easily on my skin!” you cried.
“YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU ATTACKED ME SO PASSIONATELY! PREPARE YOURSELF!”
You were just glad that you were wearing some old, torn, giant clothes of the brothers so you could get covered in paint and not worry so much. Sans had given you a massive t-shirt that he got from some kind of car wash that his company was a sponsor of once upon a time. He liked it because it was comfortable and perfect for lounging around in.
Papyrus’ shorts usually looked ridiculously small on him, but you were much shorter than his massive stature and they actually fit you really well. It was nice when you pulled them up and over your thighs. One part of you was surprised that it actually wasn’t too snug, and another was downright tickled at how enamored he was seeing you in his clothes.
The three of you were painting your room. It really wasn’t that big of a task, but you thought it would be best to get it out of the way before you moved all of your things in.
Sans was off to the side “mixing” the paint. He’d been letting it sit for about half an hour now because it had to saturate, whatever that lame excuse meant. Papyrus did his best to swipe at you with his brush, the bristles dripping with a thick, gooey mixture that was sure to force you to take yet another shower.
“AHA! I HAVE YOU!” Papyrus thrust his arm forward and nearly nicked you, but the both of you stumbled and fell when you heard a long, ear-shattering scream echo along the house.
“What the hell is that?!”
“IS SOMEONE GETTING HURT? IN OUR NEW HOME? DID I SET AN UNINTENTIONAL TRAP AND HARM SOMEONE?!”
Sans burst out laughing. “oh man. your reactions.”
“Sans?!” You should’ve known. “What IS that?”
He continued to go on, not able to hold himself up any longer. He just…plopped down on the floor with his shoulders shaking, grin tight and tears nearly beading up in his eyesockets.
“Saaaaaans! Come ON! You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“YOU NEARLY CAUSED OUR HUMAN’S VITAL ORGANS IMMENSE DISTRESS! PLEASE APOLOGIZE!” Papyrus shouted, nearly in tears.
“Oh my god, Paps, don’t take it so seriously, I was halfway joking!”
You weren’t going to wait for an answer, because you heard some vigorous knocking on the door downstairs. Like someone was pounding on it with a closed fist. So with the sweat coating your brow, your hair tousled and tangled, paint flecking your cheeks, hands and arms, your clothes in disarray and looking like the epitome of A Mess, you rushed to the front of the house to see what the fuss was about.
The door opened before you could reach for the handle, and you were surprised to look down and see…a tearful Alphys.
“A-are you busy? Can I come in?”
You weren’t sure you liked the look of this, but you weren’t going to turn her away for anything. “Aly, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
She peered around you and glanced at the living room. It was still mostly packed up; Papyrus did his best when he wasn’t at work to put things away, but he claimed he kept getting distracted gushing over all of your decorations and furniture. You thought it was adorable and Sans kept teasing him about it, and you really didn’t mind spending time together and doing it as a trio.
“I-I need to stay here a while. If…it’s okay.”
She looked so disheartened. You hadn’t seen her this upset since she found out one of her favorite voice actors retired, and that was quite a while ago. You knew that she was a really…not emotional, but passionate person, who experienced things much stronger than others did. That wasn’t to say that she overreacted to things, but that she was far more sensitive to bad news and negativity than others might’ve been.
“I really don’t mind, but our place isn’t exactly…cozy yet…” You glanced around. “But…I’m more worried about why you need to. Did something happen?”
Alphys wheeled her suitcase in before you could get another word out of her. Her body language spoke volumes about what she was feeling right now, and it really didn’t look like she was ready to spill the beans. That worried you even more, because for as long as you’d been close friends, she had shared so much with you – even stuff she thought of as a little silly.
“I…I-I…” She bit her lower lip. “Can we talk about this…later?”
You weren’t going to pry. As much as you loved her and needed to know what happened, it might strain your friendship if you forced her to fess up. And honestly, if she came here to stay, then it meant it was something going on in her marriage. You’d never seen her and Undyne fight over something so serious. But the fact was, not every relationship was perfect. They were allowed to have disagreements, and it was silly to think otherwise.
“Okay. No problem. Let’s see where I can put you, okay?”
Sans chose this time to head down to see what was going on. He glanced over at the bags, at the shrinking Alphys, and seemed to put two and two together. But, Sans being Sans, he wasn’t about to sit there and not take this opportunity to deflect with a joke.
“heh, you hear the high pitched scream when you rang the doorbell?”
Alphys narrowed her eyes at him, glasses glinting. “You…is that a permanent installation?”
“yep. gonna make sure the entire neighborhood knows as us as the banshee house.”
He managed to get a small grin out of her. You shook your head.
“Sans, if you don’t get rid of that obnoxious doorbell, you’re sleeping outside.”
“so i'll literally be in the doghouse?”
“Yes.”
Papyrus rushed down, covered in paint and looking annoyed. “I WASN’T FINISHED FLIRTING YET. WHO WAS AT THE…OH! ALPHYS! I HAD NO IDEA YOU WOULD BE COMING TO VISIT. I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN YOU A PAINTBRUSH AS WELL! HOW KIND OF YOU TO HELP US IN FINISHING UP THE ROOM!”
You weren’t sure if he was aware of the situation yet. Papyrus was an interesting person, because people assumed that he just had no clue what was going on around him. They would be gravely mistaken. He was a really perceptive and intelligent monster, someone who took in his surroundings and would shift the situation so it benefited the other person. He probably used the painting as a quick excuse for Alphys’ visit to get her mind off the real reason, which you were grateful for.
“O-oh…yes! I-I got a text that you three n-needed some help in making sure the room looked perfect!”
“THANK YOU! I’LL FIND SOMETHING FOR YOU TO WEAR. JUST PLEASE RETURN IT, ALL OF MY OLD CLOTHES ARE RESERVED FOR OUR HUMAN SO SHE CAN LOOK ADORABLE WHILE SHE’S COMFORTABLE AROUND THE HOUSE.”
You sighed. Dork.
Alphys waddled over to his room so he could give her some options on what to wear. Based on their laughter, it was clear that he was trying to cheer her up by showing her some ridiculous outfits that she wouldn’t touch in her wildest dreams.
“know what’s up?”
“No, she didn’t want to say.” You sighed. “I guess we should wait until she’s ready.”
“ok. i'll try to find some extra blankets and pillows.”
A small part of you was disappointed that your day along with the skelebros had come to an end, but you knew that was being selfish. Besides, you had an entire house to yourselves now. You would be able to spend as much time as you could without ever having to leave. If this meant you could help Alphys, then sure, you would accept her with open arms.
Alphys was dressed in an oversized t-shirt and shorts, paintbrush in hand while all four of you went to work. Papyrus was in charge of music, as Sans would’ve just put on stand-up comedy that was full of bad puns and terrible jokes. He really got a kick out of it. And the last time you were in charge of being the DJ, both of the brothers teased you about that one embarrassing song that popped up in the midst of your otherwise relatively safe shuffle. You still had nightmares about it.
“P-Papyrus, how do you get your lines so smooth?”
“Because he’s smooth,” you quipped, shooting her a wink as you slapped on another splash of paint. “I mean, have you seen him?”
That brought a blush to his face. “Y-YES, PRECISELY! I AM THE SMOOTHEST MONSTER THERE IS. IT IS HOW I MANAGED TO PICK UP THE MOST PERFECT HUMAN, AFTER ALL.”
“heh heh heh.”
Alphys burst out laughing. “Oh. Y-you three are too cute.”
You stood next to her and worked together. Papyrus had an entire wall to himself for a personal mural. He said he wanted to create something inspired by you. Knowing that he was a phenomenal artist, you were happy that he would take the time to make you a landscape of your favorite place. And he said he would change it up sometime, just slap another coat of white paint over it and start over once he was bored of the original piece.
“hey, looks like we’re low on blue. you guys mind stoppin’ at the hardware store?”
“NONSENSE. I…CAN MAKE DO. I KNOW OUR HUMAN IS SELF-CONSCIOUS AND SHE WOULDN’T WANT TO GO ALL THE WAY THERE IN HER RELAXFUL CLOTHES TO PICK MORE UP.”
You laughed. “Oh, Paps. Of course I will. Just for you, though.”
His face brightened up almost immediately. “THANK YOU! ANOTHER TWO CANS WILL DO. PLEASE DO NOT RUSH YOURSELF.”
“I-I’ll go with you!”
So you and Alphys loaded up in the car and headed to the store. Truth be told, you knew you looked like a complete mess. You were pretty worried about what other people in the store would think, but you knew it had to be done. There was no reason to get cleaned up just to pick up more paint, especially since you’d be coming right back to get dirty again. And Alphys was with you, so she was good company!
Well, usually.
Because the entire car ride she looked outside the window. Crestfallen. Completely consumed in her problems and refusing to share them with you. You knew her well, and if given the chance, she would stew and ruminate for as long as physically possible. It wasn’t healthy.
The hardware store was kind of intimidating. You really weren’t as well-versed in homemaking as a lot of monsters.
Since their return to the surface, monsters prided themselves in becoming experts on building homes and customizing everything. Which made sense; up here, they had all of the materials and knickknacks that they could dream of. They had a chance to piece together something personalized and would take care of it completely on their own. Monsters living Underground were already resilient and handy, especially since they had limited resources. But up here? They had a chance to flourish as fixer-uppers.
“This should be the right shade.” You plucked the cans from the shelf, glancing down at the picture Papyrus took for your reference. “They mix it here, too. So we can wait until they’re done!”
Alphys nodded in agreement, though she really didn’t seem to hear you.
The two of you wandered toward the back. The stuff that was mostly just marked down items because they were defective. You weren’t actually interested in buying them, but you thought it would be nice to get away from the shouts and raucous laughter of all the people in the store.
You bent down to inspect a nearby paintbrush set, wondering if Papyrus might’ve needed a new one, when you heard Alphys start to sob.
Oh, god. So it happened. You swallowed and did your best to approach her carefully. Not wanting to intrude on her space. But she was the one who initiated contact, burying herself in your stomach and tears streaming down her face. You hated seeing her like this, and it was a little uncomfortable with her so close and touching you, but you did your best to lift a hand and comfort her through gentle rubs on her back.
“It’s okay, Aly.”
“I-I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I-I wasn’t trying to…”
“No. It’s okay to cry, you know that, right?”
“Y-yes…”
“And no one’s around. It’s just me.”
It took another few minutes of her sniffling and wiping away her tears until she was calm enough to face you. Well, sort of. Her eyes were downcast, claws pressed together, shoulders slumped and looking more embarrassed than ever.
“…Undyne and I…h-had a fight.”
You gathered that much.
“W-we were talking about bonding. About you…and the brothers.”
Whoa. What?
“I-I said that…I didn’t think it was a good idea for the three of you to do it.”
You had no idea what to feel at this point. Alphys had always been one of the most supportive people, so why…?
“I...I’m sorry. I told Undyne that and she got upset with me, too. B-but it’s not because of what you think. I know everyone w-would be happy if you bonded with Sans and Papyrus, but realistically, t-there could be some very…complicated results. Did you know that…when bonded, t-there’s about a fifty percent chance that if one of the monsters dies, their bondmate w-will Fall Down?”
Your heart sank.
“I-I did the calculations. I-I was…I did…a lot of research on Falling Down. It was…hard to take sometimes. And it didn’t happen all the time, b-but…human lives are short. Y-you…have a few decades a-at the most, a century if you’re lucky. A-and…for the brothers to lose you…I-I don’t see them recovering.”
You suddenly understood why Undyne was furious. Why Alphys was heartbroken.
“I-it isn’t your fault. Or anyone else’s. B-bonding happens. And your feelings are real, I know it. I j-just…don’t want to lose three friends instead of just one.”
“Alphys…”
“I-I know, okay! I-I know. Undyne tried to talk with me about it. T-to say that…it wasn’t my place to worry. Anyone c-can Fall Down, we still have no idea what the cause is. For some, it’s old age. O-others…” She trailed off. “B-but I just don’t want to think about it happening. I-I can’t help it. Undyne said that it could happen to her anytime, but that it d-doesn’t mean she wants me to spend my life worrying about it. She wanted to talk more…about what sorts of things we could do if she ever d-dies, where she wanted her ashes spread…but I got t-too upset and left.”
She continued to rant and ramble. About how she was terrified that something was going to happen to destroy her happiness. She still felt as though she should be punished for her past mistakes. That she needed to go through life just waiting for karma to catch up to her. You knew that it was due in large part to her anxiety and other self-esteem issues, but it still hurt to hear.
By the end of her longwinded explanation, her tears had dried. Her heart was heavy. She searched your expression for anything, but you did your best to keep a straight face.
“Alphys.” You put your hands on her shoulders. “You deserve to be happy.”
“Y-you can’t mean that. You don’t know what I’ve…”
You shushed her. “You deserve to be happy, Aly. You’ve made mistakes in the past. You’ve faced things that no one should deal with alone. You’ve tried your best to make up for every single horrible thing you saw or did. And you have. Do you have any idea how much of a difference you’ve made for others? You make people happy every day. You recognize your shortcomings and work hard to correct them. I know you feel guilty, but one day, you have to learn how to let go. You can’t control everything. You can’t go back to the past. But what you can do is push forward and flourish despite being challenged every day.”
Her expression wavered. “A-and…losing people?”
“Everyone has lost someone. It doesn’t make it easy. But you fixating on it…is only going to make it hard for you to live, too. If I only have a short amount of time with you, I want us to make the most of us. Like when I start shrinking so we’re the same size.”
“O-oh my god,” she let out a watery laugh.
“Or when I start wearing granny panties. And cut my hair short and curly.”
“No!”
“It’s inevitable, Alphys. And then I’ll talk about the good ol’ days, and Toriel and I will drink wine together and sew or something. I’ll make sweaters that her kids hate and send checks worth five dollars to all of them for their birthday.”
That got a few more giggles out of her. She was in higher spirits when you left. On the drive home, she spoke about how she would get into contact with Undyne in the morning to set things straight. And she promised she would make it up to you by making some of those fresh pocky cookies that she swore up and down were actually really good despite the name.
She bounded back up to the room, fully prepared to get back to painting, carrying both cans with her so she could get started. You lingered at the front door and shut it behind you, trying to make sense of everything that just happened.
Yeah.
Humans didn’t live very long compared to monsters.
There was no doubt that you would die long before Sans and Papyrus did.
Was it selfish to think that you wanted to bond with them despite that?
You’d thought about it more often. Sharing SOULs was something that meant quite a bit when you did it, and melding even more still. Melding was…such an incredibly intimate experience. It was still something that left you completely weak and satisfied. And not purely from a sexual standpoint – it was so far beyond anything physical that you still had a hard time trying to properly articulate just how incredible it made you feel.
Bonding would be even more than that. You would carry a part of their SOULs with you for as long as you lived. Which…strangely, didn’t sound so terrifying any more. You would have laughed off the idea months and years ago, but now, facing the prospect of it…was exciting.
You wondered what they had to say about it. Papyrus would’ve…probably been happy to hear that you were interested, and Sans might have some reservations. Maybe for the same reason as Alphys. Maybe because he wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. But. You knew that this was a topic for you to discuss on your own terms. And not just because you felt a little slighted at Alphys’ suggestion that you would be responsible for their deaths if you went through with it.
“we’re makin’ s’mores later. just on the stove, though.”
“Pffft, because we need to call the chimney sweep guy for the fireplace?”
“yep.”
You and Sans took a break together on the floor. You would’ve rolled all over the couch, but you weren’t sure that all of the paint splotches on your shirt were dry just yet.
“Sans…”
“yeah.”
“Alphys fought with Undyne over us.”
He grinned. “wait, so who wanted to steal you away and who was against it?”
“No, not like that.”
“you sure? i've been gettin’ weird vibes from them ever since we moved to the surface.”
You had to laugh at that. “Ugh, be serious for a second. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, but I just thought I’d give you a heads up.”
“ok. gimme a few more hours to prepare myself.”
He made it seem like such a big deal. Well…maybe it kind of was. And you felt like these days there were bigger and more adult issues to worry about. Which was fine, since you could get through them with both of your boyfriends at your side. But it still felt strange to spend so much time worrying about complex things. What happened to the good ol’ days? When your biggest worry was just whether or not they actually liked you romantically?
Papyrus hummed and brought out the tray of supplies. Chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers. A few skewers, too.
All four of you huddled over the stove, using the burner to melt your marshmallows. It was funny how some things hadn’t been worked out yet. You knew that building a house would still come with issues and problems you’d have to resolve together. Ever place, new or not, had them. And it just so happened that Toriel’s kids thought it would be funny to dump bags of flour down the chimney so now you couldn’t use the fireplace.
“T-this is fun!”
“IT IS. A LITTLE. BUT NOT AS FUN AS IT WOULD BE IF WE COULD DO IT PROPERLY. WITH THE CHIMNEY.” Papyrus sniffed. “OH WELL. TORIEL SAID THAT SHE GAVE HER CHILDREN A STERN TALKING TO. I AM MUCH MORE CONCERNED ON HOW THEY GOT UP TO THE ROOF TO PLAY THE PRANK.”
Sans coughed. “don’t look at me.”
“WHAT!!! WHY WOULD YOU SABOTAGE OUR OWN HOME?!”
“you were supposed to be lookin’ up the chimney when they dumped it.”
“SANS!!! THAT IS AN EXCELLENT PRANK. WHILE IT DIDN’T WORK, I COMMEND YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS. UNFORTUNATELY, I AM FAR TOO CUNNING TO HAVE FALLEN FOR SUCH AN OBVIOUS TRICK.”
You chomped away at the s’mores while all of you huddled around the small TV that usually sat in the guest bedroom.
At one point, she was so enraptured with the show that she hadn’t noticed a long strand of marshmallow that pulled back and snapped into her face. You laughed so hard that you clutched your s’more too tight and it cracked down the middle, the graham cracked covered in chocolate flopping down onto your leg and causing you to jump up in surprise. Which got Sans laughing and Papyrus stressing out over scrubbing the food from the ground.
“P-Papyrus, why do you not put marshmallows in your s’mores?”
“THE TEXTURE OF THEM IS QUITE HORRIFYING. I DON’T KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD EAT THEM.”
“B-but they’re light and fluffy!”
“IT IS ALSO STICKY AND GETS EVERYWHERE.”
Alphys smirked. “O-oh. So you’re a little p-picky about the things you put in your mouth. H-how do you deal with that when you two are together?”
You choked and coughed, sending out a spray of the treat all over the floor.
“Aly…”
“oh my god. this is hilarious.”
“Sans. No.”
“ARE YOU TRYING TO…INSINUATE SOMETHING?”
“W-what? Of course not. I can j-just think that…maybe if you’re not comfortable with certain t-things, it might be harder on her…”
You took a marshmallow from the bag and promptly threw it at her face. Critical hit! It bounced off her glasses and dropped to the floor, promptly snatched up by the small white dog that somehow made its nest underneath the couch. Sans pretended not to notice it, and actually slid his hand close to the opening so he could sneak a few more to it.
“H-hey!!!”
“Don’t be weird, Aly. Or else when Undyne comes by, I’m going to ask her a bunch of weird questions about you two.”
She huffed. “F-fine!”
“nope, now we’re gonna know how she kisses you with all those teeth.”
“Y-you wouldn’t dare.”
It was getting late. Sans and Papyrus were preparing for bed, but you decided to stay with Alphys down in the living room so she wasn’t left alone. The last thing she needed was to be isolated again and start second guessing herself.
The two of you were on your phones, sending memes to each other, a small thunderstorm resounding just outside the window. You kept a few dim lamps lit so you weren’t completely enshrouded in darkness, the gentle whispers of the TV serving as just the right amount of white noise so the silence wasn’t stifling.
“D-do you want to bond?”
You froze. Staring at the text on the screen. It was kind of silly, but you'd been messaging both Sans and Papyrus so they didn’t feel too left out tonight. It was a little hard to compose yourself on such short notice.
“I should have asked first. W-when we talked earlier.” Alphys glanced down at her hands. “I-I think I know the answer, but I want to hear it from you.”
You chewed on your lower lip. The storm turned for the worse outside, the rain tearing on the roof and wind rushing through the trees.
“I…I want to know more about it. Outside of that video that Toriel made me watch. You and Undyne have done it, right? What’s it…like?”
She hadn’t expected that answer. Now she was a little flustered. “I-I…I don’t know how to explain it. It’s…p-powerful.”
“Do you mind telling me what you can?”
“N-no. I should. So you know what you’re getting yourself into.” She set her phone down and drew her knees up to her chin. Her eyes taking on a watery sheen. “B-bonding is…much more than a-anything. You could feel a thousand different ways for a p-person, but…
“When we m-make that promise to each other, we f-fully understand what it’s like. To love s-someone. Because we give ourselves, a tiny piece, and e-exchange our magic. We make sure that there’s a part of us that will always live on. Our hopes, d-dreams, fears and anxieties…all of it is embedded in that sliver that stays forever.”
You knew that it was probably like that, but…
“You exchange SOULs. You offer yours. They meld. And your magic mixes…p-permanently. You’re not the same as you were b-before. Now you have someone who will…f-feel your pain, your happiness, your fears. Not at that moment, but m-more like…a premonition of sorts. You can tell when your partner is distressed. I-it’s like static in the background, something faint that grows louder d-depending on the situation. It’s always there, a g-gentle buzz of their magic, to keep you company even when you’re all alone.”
That part…was a little jarring.
“I-I can see you think it’s weird, huh? It’s…uncomfortable at f-first. You…feel more than yourself. Takes some getting used to. B-but…then you settle in. And their magic feels like h-home more than a nuisance. And your SOUL makes sure that theirs is always r-reaching out to yours, to make sure everything is okay. As long as theirs exists somewhere, you’ll feel safer than you ever have.”
It would be nice. To know, even physically, that the brothers were there. If they were busy, sure, you always had a phone to text them. And it was kind of silly to think that they had to spend every waking moment with you for you to be happy.
But…it was nice. To picture that. Where you could go anywhere, do anything, and you’d have evidence – even more than your thoughts and experiences – to guide you through it.
“S-so what do you think? Would you want to bond? W-with both? Just one?”
You laughed. “I’d never do anything with just one of them, Aly.”
“I-I know. I was just making sure. You’re a trio.”
“Yup.” You sank more into the couch. “…I’ve thought about it a lot. And I do want to bond with them.”
The finality of your words brought a warmth to your chest. A flush to your cheeks. You hadn’t realized how much of a big deal it was until you said it. And maybe it was that much more embarrassing because it was to one of your best friends and not them.
“I-I see…”
“I’m sorry, Aly. I know you don’t…I know you worry about them. And hey, maybe they won’t want to bond with me either. It would be scary to commit to something like that if they knew the consequences, especially with how soon it would be. So…I’m just. Going to say this: I love them both. And I would never dream of hurting them. Whatever their decision, I’m going to support them.”
She nodded. “Y-you…have made a lot of sacrifices for them. I-I guess I kinda forget. It wouldn’t mean much for them t-to do the same. I-I don’t think anyone, not even you, could convince them to reconsider. I-if that’s what they want…which I’m sure they do.”
“You think?” You had a sneaking suspicion, but it didn’t hurt to hear it from someone else.
“O-of course I do. I-it was never a question of if…but when.” Alphys laughed bitterly. “I-I know it’s dumb. To worry so much about something that might not ever happen. I-I just know I won’t be ready if it does. When you go.”
“Aly. I’m not going anywhere. We still have years and years, you know? I…I know it’s hard to talk about, but please don’t worry about me. I survived a lot when we lived Underground. Nearly drowned in the marshes, almost fell off a cliff in Hotland, once gave myself food poisoning by eating something I bought from Bratty and Catty. The world’s dangerous, but humans are pretty persistent. And, according to my SOUL…” You puffed your chest out. “I persevere.”
She laughed. “O-okay, I get it. I’ll try not to…focus so much on it. Thank you. For helping me e-even when I said some…rude things about you and the brothers.”
“Nah, you’re golden. Literally.” You nudged her. “Hey, we should stream a few episodes of Supa Dupa Kawaii Bakeoff before bed.”
“O-oh! You’re right, the new episode is out tonight! I need to get caught up!”
Alphys crashed out early, which wasn’t surprising considering what she’d been through today. Usually she would eat ramen and drink Japanese soda until like four a.m., but tonight was different. She curled up in the big, fluffy blanket, buried herself in pillows, and snoozed on without a care in the world. Hugging her dakimakura of…what looked like to be a leek with a face on it? What a weeb.
You headed to the kitchen to get some water when you spotted Sans and Papyrus both in the kitchen. Both of them jumped when you walked in, like they were conspiring.
“What are you guys doing? I didn’t even hear you come down.”
They glanced at each other.
“heh, uh, we forgot to turn the stove off. paps smelled it from upstairs.”
“Oh, god. Sorry! I could’ve sworn they were all off when I finished making the popcorn.”
Both of them were grinning. But they didn’t look genuine. More…strained than usual. And you could see beads of sweat at their foreheads.
“Are you…okay? Both of you look a little sick.”
“WE’RE FINE. I WAS JUST WORRIED ABOUT THE STOVE AND DEFINITELY NOT ANYTHING ELSE. WELL, TIME FOR BED! THANK YOU FOR THE S’MORES AND SMOOCHES. GOOD NIGHT!”
He rushed past you without a goodbye kiss. That was weird. Usually he would plant a bunch of them on the top of your head until you started giggling and pushing him away. But he seemed kind of distracted…maybe dinner didn’t sit with him well?
You watched him go and sighed. Sans ended up next to you. Hands in his pockets. Staring straight ahead so he didn’t make eye contact with you.
“uh. heh. guess i should go, too.”
“Goodnight, Sans.”
He made a move to leave, but…paused. Midstep. Walked back to you and reached for your hand, bringing it up to press against his mouth. Squeezing your fingers in his and lacing them together for a brief moment before releasing you.
It was kind of scary to see him so serious, especially since you had no clue what it could be about.
You tromped over to the couch and flopped down. Staring up at the ceiling.
When did the brothers come down?
It couldn’t have been when the both of you were watching TV. They would’ve been nosy and asked you what was up, and you were sure you would’ve heard Sans’ shuffle and Papyrus’ lumbering walk against the floorboards. They would’ve stopped by to interact with you in some way, shape or form.
So maybe they were there for a while?
But…
The last time you remembered hearing from them, it was before you settled down with Alphys. Around the time that she…
OH.
The both of them must have been in the kitchen. You remember messaging them and Sans made fun of you because he said he was literally down the hall. They'd been cleaning up when she started asking you about…bonding.
And then they just…
Eavesdropped…
And hid in there…
Because they were too embarrassed to come out.
You squeezed your eyes shut and ignored the heavy heat that crept up your neck to your cheeks.
Tomorrow morning was going to be…interesting.