His New Favorite Color

It had been a few weeks since the mob. The cops had came, they took everyone's statement, and then they left. Nobody had heard from them since, or at least, not to your knowledge. No one really expected them to do anything anyways, or at least that's what Sans had said.

Any hope you had of getting Sans to talk about what had happened that morning quickly dissipated as you realized he had no desire to talk about it. The questions still nagged in the back of your mind, and occasionally you'd get small answers from Toriel or Papyrus. The ex queen and her child seemed to be around a lot more, too. Things looked like they were getting better- Sans had started to walk you home on certain days, and you started volunteering at the shelter. You gave Chad your two week notice, but left as soon as you got the job from Dorris. That day you had made a special point to kiss Sans in front of him- though Sans was the one to turn it into full blown making out. He had to take you home before anything too frisky happened.

The animal shelter was actually a really nice place to work. Sure, there were a lot of really gross messes to clean up, but other than that it was fun. You got to see Catty more, you got to play with the animals, and your boss was fine with your friends. You had learned the names of almost all of the animals, but one was by far your favorite. There was a certain cat, one of the fluffiest things you'd ever seen with tortoiseshell colored fur.

The funny thing was that she seemed to hate everyone but you- not that she would attack people (anymore,) but she refused to let anyone pet her or generally get close. Apparently she'd been at the shelter since she was a kitten, and her two brothers had found homes quickly. She, on the other hand, couldn't be rehomed yet due to her hostile nature. Eventually the cat, which at some point you'd started to refer to as “Karma,” started to let you pet and play with it- a feat few people had accomplished. The first time Catty had seen the cat rubbing against your leg she had been incredibly excited, hoping that they were finally warming up to everyone. But then Catty made the mistake of trying to pet her, resulting in a (thankfully harmless) bite from the small cat.

_________

“PLEASE COME WITH US, HUMAN.”

“We know how stressed out you've been, sweetheart. You'll get wrinkles if you keep worrying yourself like this!”

You looked at Sans, hoping for a reason to stay home, curled up with him on the couch. Okay, so maybe things hadn't been that great. Maybe you had been worrying a lot. Maybe you had been more than a little freaked out lately. But who could blame you?

“go with em, might be fun.” The skeleton shrugged, removing his arm from around your shoulders. “relaxing for once could do you some good.”

Sighing, you stood up from your seat on the couch, looking at the two monsters that towered over you. “You guys make it seem like you're giving me a choice.”

Mettaton looped a cold metal arm with yours, pulling you to his side. “Of course we are darling! This way we aren't dragging you out.”

“see ya, babe. make sure those two behave.” Sans gave you a lazy wave as you walked out the door with Papyrus and Mettaton.

Maybe a spa day really could do you some good.

_________

Let's admit it, going to the spa with two guys would be weird. Going to the spa with two monsters would be weird. Going to a spa with two boy monsters? It was just… bizarre. Especially since one was made out of bones, the other out of metal.

The weirdest part must have been the massages. Mettaton was clearly doing this just for the aesthetic, and Papyrus seemed to be truly enjoying himself. How he could feel anything through his battle body was beyond you- hell, how they let him keep his costume on was beyond you as well. Not only that, but whatever spa Mettaton was treating you to was actually ran by monsters. You were a bit worried at first, wondering how they would react, but everything was going surprisingly smoothly. Or at least, nearly everything.

“PLEASE, HUMAN? PLEEEEEASE?”

“Paps, you can go ahead, but there's no way I'm getting a pedicure. My feet are way too ticklish.”

“It'll be no fun if you don't join us, ______.”

“No way.” You were going to hold your ground on this, at least.

“BUT IT’S SO FUN!” Papyrus stomped his foot repeatedly, like a child throwing a fit.

You looked at him, brows knotted in confusion. “Papyrus, you don't even have nails. How do expect to get them painted?”

“THEY PAINT THE TIPS OF MY TOES, OF COURSE!”

“Can't I just wait for you two to finish?”

“Darling, this is how we always end our visits to this beautiful spa. It'll be like breaking tradition.” Mettaton pouted, lips puckered.

You groaned, pushing your hair from your face. “Alright, alright.” So much for holding your composure. “But they're not painting them pink.”

The boys sighed together.

________

You looked down at your now blue nails, wiggling your toes in the cheap flip flops. Given your ticklish nature, the polish turned out surprisingly well. Mettaton had been disappointed in your color choice, but both boys agreed that it was a beautiful shade.

“That's a wonderful idea, Pappy darling,” Mettaton purred, leaning into the skeleton next to him.

“He really deserves it,” you agreed, staring out the car window. The robot didn't have much time left in the city, so you didn't mind being such a third wheel. It was worth it to see them happy.

_________

“TADA!” Papyrus held out the bag to his brother, showing off the contents.

“uh, paps? what is this junk?”

“SINCE YOU DIDN’T COME TO THE SPA WITH US, WE DECIDED TO BRING THE SPA TO YOU!” The larger skeleton announced proudly.

“It was all his idea, really.”

“and you expect to do this where?”

“THEY ARE CALLED ‘AT HOME’ PRODUCTS FOR A REASON, SANS.”

“so you two know how to use all this?”

“WELL, METTATON WAS GOING TO HELP, BUT HE HAD OTHER PLANS.”

“They've got instructions, don't worry.”

“NOW BROTHER, LAY BACK AND RELAX! PREPARE TO BE SOOTHED! NYEH HEH HEH.” He laughed with a certain confidence, striking a familiar pose.

________

Papyrus spread the goop on his brother’s face as you stood back, giggling. “BROTHER, YOU MUST REMEMBER TO STAY STILL!”

“oh c'mon paps, this mask makes me feel so two-faced.”

Papyrus groaned loudly, mumbling about the horrible pun.

“We're almost done, okay?”

Papyrus finished spreading the paste, then took another one of the cucumber slices from you, carefully setting it on Sans’ eye. Nearly all of the others had ended up in his mouth. He took the last slice, placing it softly-

Thunk.

You exchanged a nervous look with the taller skeleton before slowly shifting your gaze towards Sans. He sat up, one cucumber slice falling into his hand. The light of his right eye was gone, the socket wide. He stared at you, his expression slowly changing from panic to a something near amused. Opening his mouth slowly, he held out the fallen slice on his tongue.

“O-oh my god,” you choked out, hand covering your grin.

“uh,” Sans stared at the vegetable, his eyes crossing in the process.

You took the slice from his tongue, holding in a laugh. “Maybe next time we should leave out the cucumber, huh Paps?”

Papyrus laughed nervously, wringing his hands. “GOOD IDEA, HUMAN.”

“i think we're done here.”

You nodded, shaking as you tried to hold in your amusement. “Let's go wash your face.”

_________

Thoughts raced through your head, each one coming and leaving quicker than the last. You had stopped listening to them an eternity ago- or at least it felt like that long of a time. The noise around you echoed, but it all sounded as if you were under water, dulled from your sense of panic. Everything happened as if in slow motion, each moment passing with a painfully slow speed. Moving from person to person, making your way through the dispersing crowd. You were too slow- too late. Still, you pushed on, determined to get there, to get to him.

If only you would have reacted quicker. You should have woken up sooner, ran faster. Run. Your brain was screaming, the only word you could make out amongst the madness. Run.

It was too late. You already knew it, you knew it before you were outside. Before you took the first step. Dead. Dead. Dead. You wanted to scream, to tell yourself to shut up. Not like you'd ever listen.

The sirens were louder, the ambulances were here. Thank God someone had thought to call the police. The crowd parted, and you finally reached the center. Too late, your head reminded you, as if you couldn't see in front of you. You wanted to talk, to shout, to tell them to stop. Get off of him, you wanted to tell them. Your mouth was too dry, your voice too weak. Pushing past the screaming doctors, you grabbed the end of the stretcher, tears pouring down your face.

“No,” your voice cracked, barely audible to even yourself. “No, you can't take him.”

He's already been taken from you, your thoughts reminded you, He's already gone.

You knew that people were trying to pry you away from his side, to get him in the ambulance, but you couldn't stand to see him go. Not again.

Again?

Your breath hitched in your throat as you took in the scene again. It was… familiar. Like you had witnessed it all before. You fall for it every time, don't you? Looking back at the stretcher- at the corpse upon it, you bit the inside of your cheek. Not real, you reminded yourself. Just like last time. Nodding to the paramedics, you allowed them to take the body away. It was the only way you knew you'd wake up.

__________

Gasping for breath, you jolted up, grabbing hold of the sheets beneath you. You could feel the sweat covering your body, making the fabric of your clothes stick to your skin. You tried to focus on your surroundings while breathing slowly, the pattern memorized by now. Check the clock. Check your phone. Contemplate texting Sans- don't do it. Stand up. Take a shower. Pretend to get more sleep.

God, this was getting old.