Promise
Papyrus and Undyne soon decide to go to the small grocery store in the village. Since destroying (or “pulverizing”) all the ingredients, there isn't enough at the house to make dinner.
They both bid everyone else goodbye, then head out. Toriel retires to the kitchen for some baking, while Asgore heads back to his room to unwind for a bit, leaving Alphys, Frisk, and you in the living room.
Frisk lays on the carpeted floor, humming a cheery sounding song to themselves while pulling a clean sheet of paper out from their purse. Alphys is sitting next to you, eyes attached to the screen of her phone. For once in this exciting household, you manage to have a time of peace and quiet during the day, besides the distant sounds of Toriel baking, and Frisk’s song.
You sit comfortably on the couch, mind blank, free from unwanted thoughts. Mind taken off of things you want to forget. It's so peaceful, you could fall asleep, and you want to, despite the looming threat of nightmares, but you notice Alphys turning to you in your peripheral vision.
“S-sans, you know you c-can tell me anything, r-right?”
Briefly pausing to recall why exactly she would ask that, you remember the discussion in the library. About how broken you are.
“yeah, but what brings this on?” you ask, although you already know the answer. However, you wonder if she will tell you about her and Papyrus’ “private” discussion.
“W-well, when we we w-were at the library, umm… P-papyrus pulled me a-aside and told me some things. Um. L-like about you.”
Fidgeting nervously in her seat, she continues, “And I j-just wanted to remind you of our p-promise…”
Alphys’ sixteen birthday was last night, and judging by her tired gaze and dark circles beneath her eyes, it seems as if she spent the whole night marathoning anime. Not the worst way to spend your birthday, but most definitely not the best. You wanted to come over her house, you really did. Despite the age gap of three years between you two, you were both really close.
Unfortunately, he has been cracking down on you. Getting harsher. Barely allowing you to leave the house without consent from him. He never did this before, but maybe it's your fault. Maybe you're just a bad child. You're probably so frustrating and annoying that you can turn the nicest people into the worst. You're now afraid he won't even let you leave the house soon without him.
So, unfortunately, you weren't able come over last night. Apologizing profusely, you told her you couldn't come, expecting hate and disappointment in her eyes. Maybe it was how you looked on the verge of tears, or maybe it was the way you turned away shamefully after telling her, but she didn't seem upset. At least at you. She didn't ask any questions though, which you were grateful for. She shouldn't have to learn about your problems. Especially problems you were the cause of.
Walking to the lab together now, the sudden heat and bubbling of lava below you signifies your arrival into Hotland.
“alph. can we stop here for a hot sec?”
“Sure…”
She trails off, looking at you expectantly as you rummage through your coat pockets. You pull out a small, messily wrapped package, with a small tag the displays the name “ALPHYS” in large bolded letters.
“i would’ve given it to you in the lab but…” you snuck out to get this present, disobeying his strict rules, and you're sure he would notice something amiss if you gave this to Alphys within his sight, “i just wanted it to be between us.”
“Oh Sans! You really shouldn't have!”
Despite the words she said, her face is lit up, making you glad you did this, even if you'll get punished.
Carefully tearing the wrapping, as to not let any stray pieces be littered on the ground, Alphys opens the package and gasps in surprise when she sees what it is.
“Sans! Ohmygod! How did you know I wanted this?”
Alphys drops the wrapping, completely forgotten about in the sudden excitement. In her hands she proudly holds a new copy of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.
“c’mon alph. you've been raving about it the past few months. figured it was about time you actually got to see it.”
“Thank you thank you thank you! How can I ever repay you?”
“it was a present alph. ya don't needa repay me. your expression was repayment enough.”
And that it was. The way Alphys had a little skip in her step, the way her eyes shined a little brighter, it was worth the punishment you would get if he found out about you sneaking out.
As soon as you both get to the lab, you both grab lab coats and suit up. You both head into the wash room, with Alphys going over to the sink first and turning the cold water on.
She rolls up her sleeves, pushing her hands under the cold water, when you catch a glimpse of something on her wrist.
“hey alph. um… what's on your arm?”
The reaction is instantaneous, she reaches up to pull her sleeve back down, seemingly not noticing or caring at the moment that her sleeve is now soaked.
“Nothing.” she manages to squeak out, her voice a few octaves higher than usual.
“c’mon alph. you know you can tell me, right? i promise i won't judge ya. i won't tell anyone about it if you don't want them to know.”
Even though you only had a quick glance at her exposed arm, you saw the pink scars contrasting against her yellow scales. Although it’s different for skeletons, you know where those scars came from. And she knows that you know.
You make sure the door to the room is closed, then head over to where Alphys is standing, not having moved except to pull her hand out from beneath the cold water. You reach out and gingerly pull her arm up to you, carefully rolling the sleeve back up. She shows no resistance to this, only carefully observing your face for expressions of judgment that never come.
Running your fingers along her arm, brushing gently against all the scars, some of which are new, you look her in the eye and say, “it's okay.”
Then you suddenly pull her into hug, leaning into her ear and whispering reassurances as she begins to break down. She trembles, shaking in your grasp, but you remain her rock for the time being.
Eventually, both of your grips on each other loosen, while Alphys apologizes, wiping the rest of the tears from her eyes, and you keep informing her there's no reason to be sorry.
She calmed down enough now that you back out of the hug and look her in the face. This is someone who has exposed their whole being to you. From the obsessing over anime, to the scars from the burdens of life. This is someone you fully trusts you, and you realize you can truly trust them.
You start unbuttoning your lab coat as you say, “i get it alph, i really do.”
You pull up your shirt, exposing your weak, thin frame that you're already ashamed of. But what you want to show is displayed prominently on your ribcage, deep cuts in the bone that line all areas you could get your hands on. For failing to be a good brother. For failing to be a good son. For failing to be strong. For failing at everything life throws at you.
Alphys gasps quietly as she catches sight of the marks. You roll your shirt back down, and both of you stand there in silence, knowing you both have responsibilities right now, but not being able to stand the thought of completing them.
Alphys is the first to break the silence, uttering a phrase that will always stick in your mind.
“I promise i'll always be there if you need it.”
and without any hesitation you add,
“i promise too.”
“Sans?”
“oh yeah sorry. there's… just a lot going on right now.”
Alphys seems dejected, so you add, “i...i'll tell you later. just, not in front of the kid.”
Frisk looks up to where you two are sitting at the mention of “kid”, but simply goes back to coloring.
You enjoy the silence some more when you can, and Alphys thankfully lets you rest, maybe noticing how tired you seem.
Your thoughts seem to drift as you think back to the memory. You promised to be there for Alphys, but yet, when it came to the failed Determination experiments with monsters, you were too caught up in your own troubles. Troubles that involved a man everyone forgot, and a flower with a little too much Determination. Yet another broken promise.
It's almost funny. For the amount of promises you make, you think you would be able to keep them. But no, you, as usual, are a failure, and can't stick to anything you promise.
You can hear the door slam open from a mile away, as Papyrus and Undyne come in simultaneously shouting, “SPAGHETTI TIME!”, and rushing into the kitchen with arms overflowing with groceries. This is unfortunate to say the least, for Toriel, who will have to hand the kitchen over to the “master chefs”, and for everyone else, seeing as it seems that you're also having spaghetti for dinner as well as lunch.
That being said, you're reminded that your HP is still dangerously low, looming at a mere .075. And if the cooking is any bit similar as to what it was at lunch, it looks like your HP won't go up unless you get yourself something else to eat.
You stand up, prepared to ask Toriel for a taste of whatever she's baking (her cooking heals massive amounts of HP), but you are hit with a sudden spell of dizziness and stumble slightly. Whether it be from standing up too fast, or your weakness from the low HP, Alphys seems to notice, and is instantly concerned.
“Sans! Are y-you okay?”
“yeah”, you say as you steady yourself, “i'm fine. just stood up too fast.”
“I mean I could just c-check your stats real quick, j-just to be sure-”
“no.”, you answer a little too quickly, with a louder tone than anticipated.
“i mean. it's fine. like i said, just stood up too fast.”
Alphys seems to doubt this however, and unfortunately for you, pushes the issue.
“It's just to c-check, it would take l-literally two seconds.” She adds, with a small laugh at the end.
“i'm fine.” You say, but with a sharp edge. Alphys seems to know your hiding something now, and seems hell-bent on figuring it out.
“Sans. D-don't lie. Come on, i'm your friend right? You trust me? I won't judge you for w-whatever it is you're h-hiding. I j-just want to help you, like you did f-for me.”
You sigh as she says the last bit. You know you DID help her out, but obviously not enough. Too wrapped up in your own issues to even realize how depressed and antisocial she was truly becoming. Selfish.
However, you comply, seeing as nothing else will satisfy her. Sitting yourself back down on the couch, you pull down all mental defenses, and let her check your stats.
Sans
.075/1 HP
1 ATK
1 DEF
The easiest enemy
“Sans!”
“yeah.”
She brings her voice down to a shouted whisper, realizing that it won't do any good for her to be shouting your current stats aloud, “What h-happened?! H-how did you lose so much HP?!”
“uh…”
There's no good answer to this question.
“Never mind that! W-we need to h-heal y-you! You could l-like, stub your toe and d-die!”
“alph we both know that won't happen.”
“But if it does?!”
You shrug and look back at her as she starts to get up.
“I’m getting food. Y-you're going t-to eat it, t-then you're g-going to tell me w-what h-happened.”
You notice her stutter got worse while speaking to you. That only happens when she gets worked up or nervous about something. She never used to have a stutter.
She leaves the room, and heads to the kitchen. You pray silently that she won't tell anyone else, and knowing her, she probably won't.
Unfortunately though, you're going to have a bit of explaining to do once she gets back.