Work Text:
~thievery~
It only happens occasionally.
Only on the days where their cupboards are bare. Only when the meager paycheck is enough to cover electricity and rent, but nothing else. When his brother comes running home from school without having eaten lunch. When he looks at the rest of their food with that painfully bright smile and wide eyes and says, “It’s okay, brother! As long as you have food! We both know you need it more than I.”
Sans tries his best to not make a habit of it. He really does.
But when days like these come around, Sans allows himself to bend his morals just the slightest bit.
It’s simple, really. Just a quick get in, grab a bag of rice, maybe some ketchup, get out. It won’t hurt the shopkeeper much, but it will keep food on the table for a couple days.
He waited until Papyrus leaves for school. Pap reminded him to clean up after himself and then runs out the door with a jaunty little wave.
Then it’s just a quick shortcut, and he was in business.
This part of New Home was over-populated, so he should have been able to remain relatively anonymous, even if it wasn’t too far from where Sans and Papyrus holed up. It didn’t take long to spot a small but fairly busy store.
There was an inattentive fox monster helping a customer near the front. Hopefully they were focused enough that he wouldn’t be noticed.
The rice was fairly easy to find, and Sans had a stroke of luck when no one else was in the aisle with him. He already looked pudgy under his jacket anyway, so simply slipping the rice into his ribcage wasn’t a big deal. Now he simply needed to make it to the shortcut in the alley, and he would be set.
A couple of nonchalant steps toward the door, a hand on the door knob, and freedom!
“Hey, skeleton buddy.” A voice halted him in his tracks. “You gonna pay for that?”
Sans looked over. The fox was still looking at the item he was scanning, but his nose was twitching.
Something in him twisted. “you talkin’ to me?”
“Yep. You’re the one that smells like rice, friend. Heard you pick it up, too. You paying for it?”
“um.” Sans looked at the door with a sorrowful expression. Could he make a break for it?
The fox noticed his hesitation and finally put the scanner down. It beckoned Sans over. “Come here. Let’s chat.”
After a moment, Sans gave in. He could try and make a break for it, but it would probably do more harm than good. Plus, he had no idea what kind of magic this guy had.
Bringing no food home was an undesirable outcome, but being dust on the breeze due to a mistake, well. He couldn’t put Papyrus through that. And frankly, this shopkeeper didn’t deserve that mess, either.
Sweat ran down his brow as he drew closer to the waiting fox, whose fingers were drumming against the counter.
They looked at each other for a couple seconds, before the fox nodded towards his stomach. Sans sighed and reached under his jacket to pull out the rice.
“You got money for this?”
“nah. no money.”
He grabbed the bag of rice with a hard expression. “Well, then. Feel free to see yourself out of my shop. You’re lucky I’m not going to call the cops on ya.”
Sans nodded and began to walk away.
Before Sans could make it to the door, a small streak of orange showed through the other side, before the door flew open. Papyrus stood in the doorway, determined expression etched on his face.
“p-paps?”
“SANS! THERE YOU ARE!” the small skeleton ran up and hugged his brother. “I’VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU.”
“paps, why are you here? you are supposed to be at school!”
Papyrus looked up at him with a stern expression. “YOU HAD THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE THIS MORNING, BROTHER. THE ONE THAT SAID YOU WERE UP TO NO GOOD.” His eyes lightly squinted. “I KNEW I NEEDED TO GO TO SCHOOL…” His eyes brightened. “SO I DECIDED TO RUN TO SCHOOL FIRST, AND THEN COME AND FIND YOU!”
“well, paps, you really shouldn’t be running around new home on your own. that’s dangerous, bro.”
Papyrus nodded absently, looking at the rice on the counter. “SO, HAVE YOU BOUGHT ANYTHING? I’M TIRED OF FIGHTING WITH YOU OVER KETCHUP AND CRACKERS.”
“nah, i’ll buy something later,” Sans said with a shrug. “‘sides, we don’t really fight over them.”
“YES, WE DO. YOU TRY TO MAKE ME EAT THEM.”
Sans glanced at the fox, who was watching their conversation interestedly. He nudged his brother’s back to get him to move towards the door. “i’ll get something later, okay? let’s just get you back to school for now.”
“VERY WELL. AS LONG AS YOU’RE NOT IN TROUBLE”
They were about halfway across the room when the fox stopped them again. “Hey.” Sans turned around.
The fox was looking down at the bag of rice. He then tossed it towards Sans, who caught it with wide eyes.
“It’s on the house,” he said. “You ever run out of food again, and I’ll hook you up, okay? No starving children on my watch.”
Sans nodded gratefully. Then in an instant, the small skeleton was gone from his side, hugging the shopkeeper.
“THANK YOU. I WAS GETTING TIRED OF FIGHTING OVER CRACKERS.”
The fox rubbed the back of Papyrus’s head with a smile. “Of course, kiddo.”
“WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”
“Reggie. Now.” Reggie leaned down and put his hands on Papyrus’s shoulders. “Get back to school, okay? And keep that brother of yours out of trouble.”
Papyrus nodded very seriously. “I ALWAYS DO, REGGIE.”
The fox laughed and gave him another pat on the head. Papyrus ran back to his brother, and the two exited the building.
Sans hefted the rice with one hand and held his brother with the other.
A few moments passed. “SANS. DID YOU TRY TO STEAL FROM MR. RAG?”
“...maybe. if i did, i didn’t do a good job of it.”
“STEALING IS WRONG, SANS. EVEN IF WE HAVE URGES TO DO THINGS, WE SHOULDN’T DO THE ONES THAT ARE WRONG.”
“yeah, bro. you’re right.
“OF COURSE I AM!”
“heh. i’m lucky to have a bro like you watchin’ out for me.”
Papyrus nodded definitively.
“OF COURSE.” Papyrus stopped abruptly and turned to look at his brother with a very serious expression, his usual expression grin gone from his face. “SANS.”
“yeah?”
“NO MATTER HOW ANNOYING YOU CAN BE. NO MATTER WHAT. I’M ALWAYS LOOKING OUT FOR YOU, BROTHER.”
~nightmares~
The rise to consciousness was slow and uncomfortable. He could feel the sticky wet of sheets that had been sweated through, which was almost outdone by the hammer that pounded against the side of his skull.
The worst feeling, however, was the hollowness that the now forgotten dream had left behind.
There had been something. Something that used to exist. Something that never did.
Sans sighed and covered his face with his hands and willed himself to stop shivering.
After twenty minutes of laying in discomfort, enough was enough. If he couldn’t go to sleep, then maybe he needed something to calm his nerves.
Sans detached himself from his sheets, before trying to get stand up. He caught his foot in a blanket, and fell to the floor with a thump.
A couple seconds passed before Sans finally had the energy to pull himself off of the floor. He stumbled to his feet and exited the room.
The kitchen of their small apartment was just around the corner. It was fairly bare, but Sans figured there must be something he could munch on. After ruffling through the cabinets for a few minutes, he found some chisps. He had splurged a couple days earlier when his paycheck was slightly larger than it normally was.
Sans plopped on the ground right where he was, chewing gratefully on the food. One chisp, two. Three chisp, four.
Four, three, two, one. A countdown.
The next chisp fell out of Sans’ hand. The inside of his chest felt oddly hollow again. Which was funny, because technically it was always hollow. A quiet chuckle made its way out of his mouth.
“YOU KNOW THOSE CHISPS AREN’T VERY HEALTHY, BROTHER.”
Sans almost threw the bag across the room. How long had Papyrus been coloring at the table?
“I WAS SEEING HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE YOU TO NOTICE ME. YOU DIDN’T. I MUST BE SPECIALLY STEALTHY TODAY.”
“bro, it’s like, three in the morning. what are you doing up?”
Papyrus shrugged, and went back to coloring. “I HAVE TOO MANY THINGS TO DO TO SLEEP. BESIDES, I COULD ASK YOU THE SAME THING.”
“eh. just needed a midnight snack. it’s not a big deal.”
Papyrus studied him for a couple of seconds. “FOR GETTING UP FOR AN UNHEALTHY MIDNIGHT SNACK, YOU DON’T SEEM TO BE EATING MUCH.”
Sans looked down at his bag, the countdown echoed again in his head. His appetite shriveled and died. He threw a grin to his younger brother. “just listening to your advice, bro. this stuff’s not healthy.”
The small skeleton seemed to brighten. “REALLY? BUT YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU ABOUT FOOD!”
“there’s always time to turn over a new leaf. anyway,” Sans pulled himself to his feet and walked over to his little brother. “i think it’s time for both of us to get back to bed.”
Papyrus’ expression hardened. “I’M DOING SOMETHING IMPORTANT, BROTHER.”
“you can always color tomorrow, pap.”
“I COULD, BUT I WOULD RATHER DO IT NOW. AND I DON’T NEED AS MUCH SLEEP AS YOU SEEM TO THINK I DO.”
“you have circles under your eyes, bro. i think you could use the sleep.”
“NO THANK YOU, BROTHER. YOU HAVE YOUR MIDNIGHT SNACKS, SO I SHOULD BE ABLE TO MIDNIGHT DRAW, TOO. JUST BECAUSE YOU DECIDED YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY DOES NOT MEAN I SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DRAW.”
Sans groaned in frustration. “fine, bro. you do what you’re going to do. but tomorrow when you can’t get to school, it’s your fault.” He started to walk away.
“BELIEVE ME. THAT WON’T BE A PROBLEM,” came Papyrus’ confident voice from behind him.
The older skeleton stopped and turned around curiously. “i don’t know if i’d be so sure of that kid.”
Beads of sweat appeared on the sides of Papyrus’s skull. He was looking oddly guilty. “WELL, I AM.”
“and why would you say that?”
“I DON’T KNOW.” Papyrus started coloring with increased intensity.
“you don’t, huh?”
“NO.”
“you sure?”
“YES.” The coloring got more feverish.
He wandered closer to his younger brother and sat down next to him. He took a quick glance at Papyrus’s picture, and then quickly did a double take.
His entire body froze up. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the picture.
It was a bit of a jumbled mess, but what Sans could see--a core, an extractor, a lab--resonated with that hollow pit in his chest.
“pap?” Sans’ voice came out a bit strangled. Papyrus looked at him with wide eye sockets. “are you awake because of nightmares? and has this happened before?”
The little brother stared hard at his own paper.
Sans gently put his hand on the small shoulder. “it’s okay if you are, pap. nightmares happen to me, too.”
“REALLY?”
“yeah. woke me up this morning, too.”
“THEY WAKE YOU UP, TOO? BUT, YOU WERE GOING TO GO BACK TO SLEEP!”
“yeah, bro. the dreams aren’t fun, but it’s still important to get rested.”
Papyrus glanced off to the side, contemplating. Sans stood up and stretched, before tugging his brother from the table.
“come on. i’ll read you a story to help you get settled again.”
Papyrus still looked a bit reluctant, but eventually left his coloring behind and followed. They both walked to Papyrus’ room, and Papyrus climbed back into bed. Sans sat next to each other on the bed. He began to read the bunny story. Papyrus was getting a little old for it, but it was one of the only ones they owned that weren’t about astronomy.
Half way through the book, Papyrus dropped off to sleep. Sans was half asleep himself and decided that the walk back to his own room was too far. Besides, tomorrow he could ask Papyrus about his dreams--what he remembered, what he felt. For now, though. Sans gave his brother a pat on the head, and quickly dropped off to sleep, himself.
~food~
Hate was a strong word, but one that Papyrus didn’t mind using in special situations.
For instance, Papyrus hated how chisps broke apart when he bit down. He hateF how they were so hard and and grainy and bumpy and the oil. The oil was the worst. It felt like the chisp had just been taken out of a giant wooden vat of oil, a vat that threatened to explode and coat his body in grease.
Just trying to eat it made his bones crawl and his magical processor do nauseating somersaults.
Such a food couldn’t be healthy, and considering his brother’s soul’s instability, healthiness was very high on Papyrus’ list of Important Things.
Chisps weren’t the only Bad foods. Crackers broke apart when he ate them. He couldn’t stop crumbs from getting everywhere. The only way he could really eat crackers was to try and digest them whole, which was hard for his magical processor.
Ketchup was too sweet on its own, but if you put it on something else, the flavors would mix. Because of how it triggered his spit reflex, that couldn’t be healthy, either.
Almost anything was better than chisps, though. Papyrus hated chisps.
There were some okay foods, thankfully. Foods that when Sans set it down in front of him, he could actually convince himself to eat.
Rice was okay, as long as he only ate a few grains at a time. Papyrus hated making messes, and too many grains of rice could get everywhere.
To be honest, if he had his way, while Sans would have all of the food he needed to stay healthy (which was so much more than himself), Papyrus would never have to eat anything. Besides, perhaps, ice cream. Ice cream days were special days. They meant that things were looking up for him and Sans.
Unfortunately, this dream was not to be. Sans didn’t like it when he didn’t want to eat the food they had. His brother could be surprisingly unrelenting when it came to the most random of things.
Papyrus didn’t mind, though. It was good to know that his brother cared. Even if the worry was unwarranted--Papyrus knew how to be healthy.
It was strange, though. Lately, when Sans had extra money, he would bring different foods home for Papyrus to try.. He was always hesitant to eat the new food, which he could tell bothered his older brother.
That was okay, though. Sans got healthier food himself when he tried to find something Papyrus liked, which is all the younger brother could ask for.
~friends~
“Oh, you’re gonna play here? Come on, guys. Let’s go somewhere else.”
Papyrus watched as the small group of monsters gathered up their playing supplies and walked away.
He sighed from his seat on the ground. It didn’t make any sense--why did they feel the need to run away from him? He tried his best to be friendly. To tell jokes. Did they not like his jokes? Or did they just not like him?
He flicked a stone with one of his phalanges. Either way, the stone of New Home was cold, and school had been out for a half-hour before he had finally had gotten up the courage to talk to his peers. He wiped a tear away from his eye and stood up. Sans would be expecting him home soon. Time to get going.
Papyrus walked home slower than he usually did. He knew what awaited him when he got there--he’d be expected to talk to his brother, to eat food, to sleep, none of which appealed to him. There was a part of him that felt bad. Normally, talking to Sans wasn’t as anxiety producing as other interactions. Today, though. Today he just wasn’t feeling up to it.
It was unavoidable, though. And anyways, Papyrus figured that he should be grateful to have a brother that wanted to talk to him. He could have a brother that didn’t. But Sans was always willing to listen to him.
When he finally reached home, Sans was waiting for him, sitting at their dining room table. “hey, pap.”
Papyrus hung his backpack up. “HELLO, BROTHER.”
“you doin’ okay?”
“OF COURSE.”
“good to hear. anything happen on your way home?”
Papyrus was much too tired to come up with a believable lie. “I MET SOME PEOPLE. I HOPED TO MAKE THEM FRIENDS. IT DIDN’T WORK.”
“aw, pap. you already have friends, though, yeah? you don’t need those kids to like ya to know that you’re loved.”
Papyrus silently pulled out his paper and crayons and sat down to color on the floor.
“pap?”
“I SIT ALONE, BROTHER.”
“what? like, in lunch?”
“I SIT ALONE ALWAYS.”
Sans stared for a couple minutes. “you mean…”
“I DON’T HAVE FRIENDS.” Papyrus’s coloring grew forceful. “NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY TO BE COOL, THEY DON’T LIKE ME.”
“oh.”
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.
“well, uh, maybe you should try telling them jokes, you know? maybe liven the atmosphere a bit.”
“I HAVE. IT DIDN’T WORK.”
“how ‘bout making them something to eat, huh? maybe people like it when they get food.”
“I DON’T LIKE IT WHEN I GET FOOD.”
“sure, but other people do, bro. and maybe that would help you learn how to like food better, too.”
Papyrus’ coloring stopped, before he looked up with sparkling eyes. “YOU REALLY THINK THAT WOULD WORK?”
“sure, bro!”
Papyrus jumped to his feet. “REALLY??”
“well, it’s certainly worth a try.” Sans paused, before walking over to crouch in front of the littler skeleton. “listen, bro. even if it doesn’t, and monsters still don’t think you’re cool, you’ll always be the coolest monster in the whole underground to me. i couldn’t live without you. got it?”
Papyrus looked up at his brother with sparkling eyes, before wrapping him in a hug.
~magic~
It was bound to happen at some point, Sans figured. Papyrus was about that age. It was around the same age where it had happened to him, after all.
He just never would have thought it would happen like this.
Papyrus had been working at the counter, trying to make some food. It was fine one second, and the next, he was covered in blue flame.
Both of them stood there in silence, which was broken a second later by Papyrus screaming.
His baby brother had fallen to his knees in pain, the tears running down his face quickly evaporated by the heat that surrounded him.
Sans rushed over, but Papyrus saw him coming and backed away. With Papyrus’ movement, a huge pillar of bones burst out of the ground. A pillar that Sans barely avoided, to his brother’s horror.
Sans continued towards Papyrus, only to see the small skeleton fervently shake his head. “bro, please! let me help you!”
“I D-DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON!”
“i know! i can help.”
“N-NO. YOU’RE TOO FRAGILE.” His voice cracked. It took another step forward from Sans for Papyrus to make a mad dash for the door, magic fire licking the walls as he ran past.
Sans tried to follow, but Papyrus had always been a faster runner. When he made it to the front door, the small skeleton was nowhere to be seen.
It took an hour and several shortcuts to finally find his baby brother sitting on a cliff in Hotland, tears rolling down his face. The fire had died down somewhat, but still burned around his hands and his face.
“hey, bro.”
Papyrus whipped around. “Sans?” His voice seemed weak from exhaustion. “I thought I told you to stay away.”
“no can do, pap. this is too important.”
“But I can hurt you!” Papyrus said, backing up an inch towards the cliff edge.
“Papyrus, listen. i know you’re in pain, but that magic is yours. if you don’t want to hurt me, it won’t hurt me.”
“B-but I almost hurt you before…”
Sans approached his brother.
“you were just scared, pap. and this is so new for you. you’ll get so you can control it. you work on it, and it won’t hurt anything you don’t want to hurt.”
Papyrus looked doubtfully to the side. “But…”
“hey, lemme help you, ‘kay? i’ve gone through this, too. you can get through this, but you need to let me help. trust me.”
Papyrus nodded, and Sans pulled him into a hug.
“But what if I can’t control it?” came the soft voice from his shoulder.
“i have full faith that you’ll be able to. after all, you’re the coolest monster i know.”
Papyrus hiccuped and hugged Sans fiercely back. The final flames finally died down. “Thank you, brother.”
“of course, Pap. i’ve always got your back, okay? Always.”