His New Favorite Color

You were sat in your old bedroom, blowing up an air mattress. From across the room, your door opened, Sans reemerging. He looked tired, the long day clearly catching up to him.

“paps is out on the couch,” he said, coming over to sit on your old bed. “you sure you wanna sleep on that thing?”

Laughing, you rolled your eyes. “Trust me, I’m not. But if my parents ask? Yeah, I slept on it.” You turned off the air pump, quickly plugging up the air mattress. “I still can't believe they insisted on one of us sleeping on it. Sometimes I think that they think that I’m still a kid, y’know?” You moved to sit next to him, laying your head on his shoulder.

“guess it’s that whole ‘empty nest’ thing, huh?”

“They don’t even have an empty nest, Sans.” You sighed, grabbing the blanket you had folded up from the floor, “And it’s not like I moved that far away.”

Sans shrugged, using his magic to flip off the lights as you pulled on a string, illuminating the room in the soft glow of a lamp. “i know i would be upset if you moved that far.”

“I don’t plan on that any time soon.” You planted a kiss on his cheek before lying down with him, glad to finally get some rest.

_____

A scream rang out within the crowd, drawing your attention. You couldn’t tell where it came from, until a second scream sounded from within. You made your way through the people, your heart racing faster and faster the closer you got. These weren’t cries of fun or of laughter, someone was hurt. Your someone was hurt.

There was yelling, angry people surrounding you on all sides. You couldn’t make out what they were saying, but you knew it wasn’t good. Their nonsense filled your head, so loud that you thought your eardrums might burst. But still, you pushed through. It seemed that every time you got close to the center, you were pushed back again. It’s too late, you know. Still, you pushed forward, shoving people out of the way until you reached him.

Reached them.

There they were, lying on the ground as people surrounded them, howling a familiar chant. Your brain couldn’t seem to process any information- not the screams, the scene, or even the man holding the gun.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

“Sans?” Your voice was weak, and suddenly you were aware of the tears pouring down your face. “Papyrus?”

He wasn’t moving. Neither of them were. They weren’t going to move any time soon.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

It didn’t make sense. You had only turned around for a minute, and

Dead.

Seems that twice the monster is twice the pain, huh?

_____

When you woke up, the first thing you did was look at your clock. But your clock wasn’t there, and this wasn’t your room.

Well, technically it was. Used to be? You checked your phone, sighing as you read the time. Couldn’t you have at least slept until 4?

The blanket was too warm, your sweat and tears making you feel sticky. It occurred to you that you weren’t alone, that you should be quiet, but when you looked next to you, the bed was empty. A moment of panic set in, your head screaming to tell you that it was real. It had all been real.

You shook your head, clinging to yourself as you got out of bed. Just because the dream was different didn’t make it real. You headed downstairs, sure to not wake anyone else up. Opening the front door quietly, you stepped out onto the porch, walking across the stretch of wood to sit next to Sans on the steps.

He jumped when he saw you, unease written all over his skull. “what’re you doin up?”

“I could ask you that same thing.” You looked him over, realizing that you were in similar states.

He must have noticed the same thing, the worry on his face deepening. “what happened?”

You gave him a half hearted smile. “It was nothing, just a bad dream. You?”

Sans only nodded, which you took as confirmation of another nightmare.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“...no, do you?”

You shook your head. The two of you sat in silence for a minute, staring up at the sky. You felt better, knowing that he was here, that you could see him, hear him, touch him.

His hand was on top of yours, and you were starting to wonder if he could read minds. When you looked back at him, you saw him staring at you. Well, staring through you. You could feel the butterflies in your stomach, the feeling ever present when you caught him looking at you.

You took his hand in yours, pulling him to stand up with you. Neither of you had expected the force, which led to an awkward crashing of bodies. You backed into a pillar, Sans stumbling with you. He wiggled his eyebrows at you, which only resulted in your laughter.

“Let’s go for a walk.” You pushed him back, which earned you a small pout.

“a walk? isn’t it kinda late?”

You were already strolling down the sidewalk, going slowly until he caught up with you. “Actually, it’s early. What time did you get up?”

He looked at you confusedly before taking out his phone and checking the time. “yikes.”

“Yikes,” you agreed. “We could go to the park, I think they still have a swing set.”

“do they get rid of em often?”

You rolled your eyes, holding out your hand for him to take. After a second, he got the hint, and took it in his own. The two of you walked through your old neighborhood in silence. The humming of crickets filled the air, coupled by the distant sound of barking dogs and a chill summer breeze. You still felt on edge, your brain filled with false memories. Your dreams were so vivid, so intense, so realistic. You knew they weren’t real. You knew you were safe. So why did they keep happening?

“Hey Sans?”

“that’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he grinned lazily at you, “what’s up?”

You pursed your lips, searching for a good way to bring up the conversation. “When are we going to talk about what happened? About the mob?”

Sans looked away quickly, letting out a short sigh. “you’re really hung up on this, huh?”

“Sans, I don’t see how you aren’t! You guys were attacked, and then just went about your day as if it was just another Tuesday.”

“i don’t want to talk about it, ok?”

“No,” you started, stopping and shoving your hands into your pockets. “No, we need to talk about this. Why are you so against that?”

“because,” he shuffled his feet, looking at anything but you. “because if we talk about it, then you’re gonna ask questions i can’t answer.”

“Like what?”

“like how come i didn’t protect you.” He had that guilty look on his face, the one you’d come to recognize when he thought you were upset with him. God knows that you weren’t, and that that thought had never even crossed your mind. “or why it was paps who noticed you first. or why i stayed with mettaton instead of helping you. why i wasn’t there for you.”

You were at a loss for words. Of all of the things you had thought about, the things you had questioned, the reasons you were upset, he didn’t think a single one. No, Sans thought you were upset with him. It’s no wonder that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Sans,” your voice was barely above a whisper, “that’s not what I was thinking at all.”

He looked up at you, his brows furrowed. “then what?”

“I’m not mad at you Sans, not at all. I’m worried. For you, for Papyrus, for everyone. I don’t want my friends being attacked in broad daylight and it being normal. I just want you to be safe.” That familiar pulling in your chest led you to step closer to Sans as you looked him over. “I,” You drifted off, the words you wanted to say pounding in your head. “I care about you, Sans.” Not exactly what you had in mind.

His cheeks turned a light shade of cyan as he turned his head to the side. “you know i, uh, care about you too, right?”

The two of you talked. You talked about the mobs before, and the ones that were sure to come. About when they started, and how they had grown farther apart but so much bigger. About how violent they had become. About how scared it made you. Eventually the sun began to rise, and with it the people around you. The two of you headed home, hopefully sneaking in before anyone woke up.

‘Hopefully.’

You were greeted with a stern gaze and a tapping foot as soon as you opened the front door. Maybe you should have taken a shortcut inside, but hey, there was a lot on your mind.

“You’re up early.” Your stepfather’s voice was dull, quiet as to not wake anyone up, but filling you with fear regardless.

With a quick glance, you could see Papyrus still dead asleep on the couch. “Yeah, we thought it’d be nice to go for a walk before anyone else got up.” You walked over to him, giving him a quick hug and hoping you could play it off.

“After all these years, you’re still trying to sneak out.” He laughed, patting you on the back. “You better get back upstairs before your mom finds out. Adult or not,”

“She brought you into this world, she can take you out.” You spoke in unison with him. It was a threat that you had heard a million times.

With a roll of your eyes, you went upstairs, stopping just short of your old room.

“what’s the hold up, babe?” Sans asked from behind you, hands stuffed into his hoodie.

You backed up until you found a short chord dangling from the ceiling. Eventually you managed to snag it, pulling it down carefully to reveal a small staircase. “There’s was some stuff I wanted to grab from the attic before we went back.” You ascended the stairs, crawling into the small room. There was a thin layer of dust covering the objects, some clearly left here to be forgotten. You looked back down the stairs to see your boyfriend hesitantly stepping onto the steps.

“C’mon lazy bones, hurry up.”

“you sure this is sturdy?” He shook the access, sending a small wiggle throughout it.

“You just watched me climb up here, didn’t you?”

He sighed, finally succumbing and following your actions into the attic. Upon reaching the top, he grimaced, looking over everything.

“What, it’s not like we’re up here often. So things got a little dusty.” You shrugged, standing and beginning your search through the room.

“sorry, i just,” he paused, “monster dust is different, i guess.”

“So you guys don’t let things go untouched?” You plopped down next to him, an old yearbook in your hands. Thumbing through it, you found the children from your class, and began your search.

Sans shook his head, leaning over to view the book. “‘s not what i mean.” When you said nothing, he continued, “for us, dust is…” he shook his head starting over instead. “when a monster falls down, they turn to dust.”

You stopped, turning to face Sans. “You mean… when you die?” There was a great sense of dread that settled over you as he nodded.

Well, at least you knew that your nightmares were definitely fake.

“sorry, didn’t mean to bring down the mood.”

“No, no, it’s not you.” You laughed, the forced sound incredibly unpleasant. “But hey! I found little Jay, check it out.” Pointing to the yearbook, you showed him the old photo. “We must have been like, 12.”

He pointed to another photo, one you were hoping he’d gloss over. “‘n that’s you, right? you look a lot like your sister.”

You groaned, giving him a playful shove. “Shut up, everyone tells us that. It’s not even true.”

“you’re right,” he turned, winking at you, “you’re way hotter.” He laughed as you tried to shove him away again. The skeleton pulled you into him, planting kisses all over your face.

“You are the worst.” You giggled, giving in and kissing him back.

The speed at which you gave into him was rash, but by the time you could have thought it over you were already melting into him. His hands in your hair, your hands wrapped around his neck, and both of your heads in the clouds. Having him here with you provided all of the peace you could ever ask for.

A sudden flash of light pulled your attention away from the man in your arms and to the phone a few feet away. And to your sister’s nervous face.

“Shit,” she guiltily smiled at you, slowly backing down the stairs.

“Jennifer!” You rushed down the stairs after her, yelling as you chased her around the house. “Give me your phone you little brat!”

“HUMAN?”

You skidded to a halt just before running into the skeleton, anger and rage spreading across your face. “Paps, help me track her down. Get her phone at all costs, okay?”

The skeleton nodded, giving you a huge smile. The two of you parted ways, quickly tracking your sister down. Papyrus held the phone above her head, his clear height advantage making it easy to keep it out of her reach.

“Okay, delete the last picture Paps.” You stuck your tongue out at your little sister, who flipped you off in return.

“HUMAN, PERHAPS NEXT TIME YOU DO THIS SOMEPLACE A BIT MORE PRIVATE.” He scolded you, tapping on Jen’s phone.

“Perhaps next time she won’t be making out with a skeleton.” your sister mocked.

“At least I know how to respect someone’s privacy.” You spat back.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s just what he was thinking when you had your tongue down his throat, _____.”

“That’s not even what was happening!”

“Would you two stop fighting?” Your mother asked in between you, clearly exhausted. “Can’t you get along for two seconds?”

Both of you bursted out into arguments, trying to defend your own side. At some point your mom left and got a cup of coffee. At another, Papyrus returned Jen’s phone. Sans was behind you again. The two of you continued to bicker until your mom cleared her throat, looking at both of you impatiently.

“Are you two done yet?”

“She needs to keep her nose out of my business!”

“She needs to do her “business” somewhere else!”

“you got chocolate on my peanut butter.”

“YOU GOT PEANUT BUTTER ON MY CHOCOLATE!”

The brothers burst into laughter, wheezing as you and your sister glared them down.

“Whatever, I’m going to Billie’s.” Your sister grunted, heading for the door and shoving her shoes on.

Looking between her and your mother, you sighed. “I’ll drive you, let me get my keys.”

_____

“If mom finds out about this she’s going to kill us.” You warned your sister, looking nervously out of your car window. That wasn’t Billie’s house, this wasn’t even her neighborhood.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, dude.” Jen grabbed her bag, stepping out of the car. “She won’t find out.” She saluted you, strutting up to the house.

Sure, you has done some unsavory things in high school. You had snuck out, gone to a party or two, but your little sister…. well, she was your little sister! How were you supposed to know she’d make the right choices? That she wouldn’t do something dumb?

You sighed, tightening your grip on the steering wheel. “If that boy hurts her, I swear…”

“what’re you gonna do?” Sans asked from the back seat, amusement ringing clear in his voice.

“I’ll,” You bit your lip, “I’ll give him to Undyne for target practice.”

“that’s actually a pretty good one.”

You nodded, pulling the car back out onto the road and heading to the other side of town. Just on the outskirts of your hometown there was a little diner, probably a restored gas station or something like that. You should’ve known that after working there for so many years. Regardless of you knowing this history, you’d say you knew the place pretty damn well. You could recite the menu by heart, list every Sunday special, and knew the name of every “special guest” you’d ever had.

As you pulled into the parking lot, you let out a contented sigh. Of all the places here, this one said “home” the most. There were so many nights spent here, whether it be waitressing or with friends. So many nights filled with studying and laughter.

“_____?”

You turned around, blinking at the short skeleton. “What?”

“i asked if you were ok.” There was worry written on his features again. He reached out to you, cupping your face in his palm.

“Yeah, just reminiscing. Let’s go get some breakfast.”

The three of you hopped out and walked up to the diner. Once inside, you were wrapped in the cozy lighting and old music, the decades-ago vibes filling your heart with warmth. You lead the boys to the last booth out of habit, throwing your bag under the table.

“_____!” The familiar voice rang out, soon followed by a tight hug. “It’s about time you showed up.”

You laughed, hugging your old coworker back. “Hey Cat, how’s it going?”

“Same thing as always. Y’all getting some breakfast today?” She smiled at your company, but the shock was clear on her face. “I’m sorry, I, um,”

“Yeah, we are. Paps, you should try their breakfast casserole, you’d love it.”

The larger skeleton nodded happily, “THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS ENJOYS WHEN THE QUEEN MAKES CASSEROLES, I’M SURE THAT THIS WILL BE JUST AS GOOD!”

“you’re supposed to call her by her name, bro. you know she doesn’t like being called the queen.”

“REGARDLESS, I WOULD INDEED LIKE THE CASSEROLE, HUMAN. PLEASE AND THANK YOU.”

Cat nodded, turning to Sans. “And you, sweetheart?”

The small skeleton flipped through the menu, his face lighting up as he looked through the page. “is the quiche any good?” He tilted his head to the side, looking at you.

“Yeah of course, everything is good.”

Sans nodded to Cat, handing her the menus. She headed back to the kitchen, only stopping when you called her name to ask for an extra bottle of ketchup.

She of course came by to talk when she could, though she was only the first of many to stop by. The same questions were repeated every time, the whole cycle becoming a bit tiring. Yes, you were doing well. Yes, you were still living in the city. No, you weren’t still at that job. Yes, they were real monsters. Yes, you’d tell your parents they said hello. No, Jay and Maduh were not with you. No, you didn’t replace them with skeletons.

The three of you left with full stomachs. Or, you left with a full stomach and the brothers left satisfied. You drove back to your old house, hanging around for a few hours before packing everything into your car and driving home. About halfway through the drive, Papyrus began to complain about your music, claiming that it was too sad and angry to sound so happy.

“DON’T YOU HAVE ANY HAPPIER MUSIC?”

“Of course,” you grabbed your phone, handing it to the skeleton in the back seat. “I think it’s Playlist 4? It’s just a bunch of random letters.”

Papyrus hummed as he scrolled through the list. “HUMAN?”

“Yeah Paps?”

“WHY IS THIS ONE CALLED “DUMB SKELETON?””

“Oh, don’t-“

But it was too late. He had already pressed play, and the music was already booming through your car. Your face was as red as Papyrus’ boots, the feeling of the brothers’ eyes on you making you more and more embarrassed as time went on.

“When you smile, I melt inside. I’m not worthy for a minute of your time.”

You glanced nervously at Sans, who was already staring at you. He had the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face. Jerk.

A few songs went by, making the theme of the playlist obvious. They were almost exclusively love songs, save for a few dorky songs you knew from middle school. Papyrus seemed content with the change, at least. Sans did too, humming along with most of the songs. Every time you looked to Sans he wiggled his brows at you, causing you to blush harder. He wasn’t gonna let this one go anytime soon.

“It’s not like they make songs about liking someone.” You argued after a particular sappy song.

“mhmm,” Sans purred.

You knew that trying to argue would be pointless, but that didn’t stop you from defending yourself every so often.

Ultimately you arrived back at your apartment building, relieved to be rid of the playlist. The three of you couldn’t get upstairs fast enough. You were exhausted, hoping that you could manage to get some real sleep. Sans was surely on the same page, since he had gotten less slumber than you. Papyrus, on the other hand, was full of energy, practically bouncing off of the walls.

You quickly made your exit, promising to see the boys soon