His New Favorite Color

Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. Someone in the crowd dove for one of the monsters, for Papyrus, nearly colliding with the skeleton. Before the human could make it, a wall of bones sprang up from the ground, separating them from the attacker. This only seemed to make the mob angrier, closing in on the couple. Catty and Bratty seemed to notice before you, but something- someone was pushing through the crowd. They were shrouded in something blue, as if they were radiating-

“Is that magic?”

“Like, he's not going to fight them, right?”

“He wouldn't.”

“Guys, who is that?”

They looked at each other nervously, then at you. “You've never seen him use magic?” They asked in unison.

“That's not- it's not-” You did a double take, looking at the blue aura. The same color as your band tee. The same color Sans’ cheeks when he was embarrassed. The same color as the magic things he'd make from thin air. “Sans,” you breathed.

Your feet had taken off before you had even registered what was happening. You were headed down the stairs in a flash, taking them two at a time. By the time you reached the lobby, you could feel magic crackling in the air. You threw the doors open, finally taking in the scene in front of you. There were at least a hundred people, some with signs, some with not-so-concealed weapons, and all of them were yelling. Chanting.

“DON’T STICK AROUND, GO BACK UNDERGROUND.”

Pushing through the crowd, you slowed down, trying to move around the people. You caught sight of the blue magic again, of Sans’ magic, and there was an out of place yelp. Any sane person would run away. They'd use their brain and get as far away as possible. But your brain wasn't focused on survival, or at least not yours anyways. All you could do was think of the danger he was in. You ran towards the source of the magic, weaving your way through a crowd that seemed to only grow.

Sans.
Papyrus.
Mettaton.
Chad?

You shopped dead in your tracks, mind fuzzy. No, it couldn't be. But there he stood, bleach blond hair and orange tan, shouting with the others. You didn't have time to stop. You kept moving.

“Sans!” You yelled, your throat sore. Had you already yelled his name? You screamed his name again, receiving dirty looks from more than one person.

“papyrus! c’mon!” He was loud, his voice thick.

“DON’T STICK AROUND, GO BACK UNDERGROUND.”

“Sans!” Pushing past one last person, you were finally to the center.

His eyes met yours, and what you saw was honestly terrifying. His left eye was flaring a blue light, his right eye was empty of any light, and his usual smile was replaced by a grimace. The air was filled with magic, radiating off of him and making him that much scarier. How the humans hadn't ran off the minute they saw him, you had no clue. As you stared at each other, his eye flickered out, replaced by complete darkness.

Without thinking, you ran to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards Papyrus and Mettaton. “Gotta go. Gotta go.”

“babe, it's not s-”

“She's with the monsters!” Someone screamed. There was an odd twang to their voice.

“Get her!” Another voice screeched.

Yelling. Hands on your wrists. You were yanked backwards, away from Sans. Someone else yelled- Mettaton? You were released. There was a crash- someone hit the pavement. You were on the ground, too. People were rushing over you, a blur of colors. Shots. More blue. More crashes. Yelling- but not chanting. They were in pain. You hurt, too. Blackness. Someone was yanking you up. You opened your eyes. When had you closed them?

“Papyrus?”

“______, WE MUST TAKE YOU INSIDE, QUICKLY!” He had picked you up, holding you in his arms like a baby.

You peeked over his shoulder, but God you wish you hadn't. Sans and Mettaton stood together, heaving, and next to them several unconscious humans. It's looked like most everyone had ran once the shots were fired. Papyrus was jogging back to the apartment building, but Sans and Metta weren't following behind him.

“No, I can walk, let me down,” you struggled to get out of his grip, but Papyrus held strong.

“YOU WILL JUST RUN AFTER SANS. I UNDERSTAND, BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS SIMPLY CAN NOT LET YOU GET HURT ANY FURTHER.” He took the stairs like always, three at a time. How his legs could even move that fast was beyond you.

“Please, I've got to make sure he's alright.” Your chest hurt, but not in the way that your arm or your legs did. Putting a hand over your chest, you took a deep breath. ‘He'll be alright. He is alright.’ you told yourself.

“HUMAN,” Papyrus sounded more worried than you had ever heard him, “NEXT TIME, YOU SHOULD STAY INSIDE. IT CAN BE VERY FRIGHTENING, AS I'M SURE YOU SAW.”

“There won't be a next time.” You'd never said anything so confidently before.

“WE CAN NOT BE SURE OF THAT. THANKFULLY, MY TRAINING FOR THE ROYAL GUARD REALLY PAYED OFF BACK THERE!”

“Paps,” you tugged on his scarf and he sat you down, just outside of his apartment. Your knees felt weak, so you leaned against the wall. “What even happened?”

Papyrus opened the door, lifting you off of your feet again before you could take a step yourself. He sat you on the couch more gingerly than he did most things. “I…” he paused, orange blush dusting his cheekbones and he sat next to you. “I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH METTATON. AS WE ARRIVED THIS MORNING, SOME MEN FORCED US FROM THE LIMOUSINE. THEY WERE VERY SCARY LOOKING, AND THEY HAD WEAPONS WITH THEM. I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS BETTER TO COMPLY WITH MOST HUMANS, SO WE DID AS WE WERE TOLD. BUT WHEN WE GOT OUT, MORE FRIGHTENING HUMANS EMERGED! THEY CORNERED US, SO I CALLED MY BROTHER FOR HELP.”

You nodded in understanding, putting an arm around the skeleton to hug him. That cleared up the beginning at least. “Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?”

“OF COURSE NOT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS FANTASTIC IN BATTLE! THE REAL CONCERN SHOULD BE YOU.”

“My arm is just a bit sore, that's all. I'm sure I'll be fine.” You flexed your arm to show him you were fine, but failed to impress him with a wince.

Papyrus rolled his eyes, taking your arm into his gloved hands. His eyes lit up orange, just like his brother’s did when he used magic. “HUMAN, THIS MAY HURT A BIT.”

A burning sensation flowed through your arm, not so much painful as it was warm and tingly. You screwed your eyes as tight as you could, biting your lip. “What… what are you doing?”

He released your arm, the sensation fading away with his touch. “QUEEN TORIEL HAS BEEN TEACHING ME HEALING MAGIC! SHE SAYS THAT I’M A NATURAL,” he struck a pose, his cape rippling in the wind…. that wasn't there.

The door opened suddenly, making you jump. Mettaton and Toriel entered the room, smiling when they saw the two of you.

“Papy darling! I'm so glad you're alright!” Metta rushed over to the skeleton, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. You didn't see them earlier, but now that you were up close, you could see dents and scratches on the robot’s frame.

“My child, are you alright?” Toriel’s soothing voice drew you away from Metta and Papyrus’ fussing.

“Yeah, yeah.” You peaked around her, looking for Sans. “My arm hurt, but Paps fixed me up.” Giving her a weak smile you hoped was convincing, you stood back up to go to the door.

“Sans will be here soon, dear. Right now you should rest, I can't imagine what it was like to witness that.” She took your hand in her paws, smiling reassuringly at you.

“Where is he? Why didn't he come back with you two?”

“Sans is only getting things sorted out, there's no need to worry.”

“No need to worry?” You asked her, your tone harsher than you meant for it to be. “There's plenty of reason for me to worry! I just saw my boyfriend get attacked for crying out loud.”

Toriel fought a pleased look from her face- no doubt caused from the affectionate term you used to describe her friend. “I understand that dear, but it isn't a good idea to be up and moving after passing out.”

“What are you talking about? I never passed-” you paused, trying to remember. Everything seemed fuzzy, like an old movie. There was a moment where everything had went black, but it couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds.

“Darling, don't you remember? Papy had to wake you back up,” Mettaton cooed, stroking Papyrus’ skull as if he had hair.

You shook your head, pushing your own hair out of your face. “I've still got to make sure that he's alright.” Tears were stinging your eyes, threatening to fall. Too much was happening too quickly, and it had all built up before you even knew it was there.

“HUMAN, MY BROTHER IS PERFECTLY FINE. I DON’T UNDERSTAND ALL IF THE FUSS.”

There was another pang in your chest. Even after Papyrus had healed your arm, your chest- your Soul- was still in pain. “I don't know why you guys aren't freaking out. You two,” you pointed at Papyrus and Mettaton, “we're just attacked.” You turned your attention back to the ex queen, “And shouldn't you be talking to the police?”

Toriel blushed, avoiding your gaze. “I must admit, that is my duty, but Sans told me that he'd handle it instead. I trust him to make good decisions.”

You groaned, hanging your head. “I just want to see him, yknow? With my own eyes, to make sure he's okay.”

“m right here, babe.”

You jumped up, spinning around to face the small skeleton. “Sans!” You threw your arms around him, planting a kiss on his mouth.

“mm!” He pulled back, laughing. “didn't think you'd want to jump my bones so quickly.” His eyes widened in surprise, cupping your face in his hands. “what's the matter?”

Looking over him, you tried to take it all in. He genuinely looked fine- no scratches or physical marks, though the bags under his eyes seemed darker than normal. The lights in his eyes may have been dimmer, but you couldn't really tell. “I'm so glad you're safe,” you murmured, ignoring the stray tears.

“course i am, babe.” Sans pushed your hair from your face, twirling a strand of your hair in his fingers, giving you the same examination you'd just given him. “you aren't hurt?”

Mettaton cleared his throat, a very mechanical whirl coming through. “As much as I adore your little reunion, must you really be on top of each other like that?”

You gave the robot and incredulous look. He was practically- no, he was sitting on Papyrus’ lap, and yet he thought you were on top of Sans. The skeleton next to you seemed to notice at the same time you had, releasing the lock of your hair and walking to the other side of the couch.

“get off my bro, would ya?” Sans asked the robot. Well, maybe “asked” wasn't the right word- “threatened” seemed a lot more accurate.

Mettaton rolled his eyes, huffing out a sigh that blew his bangs away for a moment. He sat on the end of the overstuffed couch instead, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Sans sat on the other side of his brother, sinking into couch.“tori, shouldn't you be picking the kiddo up soon?”

“Oh! Right, well, I must be off then. Goodbye everyone.” Toriel hurried out the door, giving everyone a curt nod before closing the door.

You looked to the crowd on the couch, letting out a long sigh. “I'm heading home, I need some tea. And a nap.” You weren't sure you'd be able to sleep for a while, but it'd be worth a shot. No way you'd be heading to work after today.

Sans grabbed your hand before you had the chance to leave, pulling himself up and dragging you into the kitchen. He reached into one of the cabinets without a word, handing you a box of tea.

“What's this?” You turned the box in your hand, reading the label.

“golden flower tea. it’ll help.”

You locked eyes with him, chewing your lip. “We'll talk about everything later, promise?”

“course, babe.”

God, he hated making promises.