Chapter 8
"WHAT IS THE SURPRISE BROTHER?" Papyrus asked in his usual loud voice. Noting the cup of now cold hot chocolate was sitting on the floor, Sans lifted it with his magic and reheated it, giving it to his brother.
"Made you some hot chocolate. Figured in weather like this you'd be chilled to the bone." Papyrus groaned in annoyance at the joke, but accepted the hot chocolate gratefully. Sans loved how his brother always took things at face value. Made his lame excuses actually work.
The night went like every other, Papyrus making his favorite spaghetti, the brothers sitting on the couch watching tv, Sans getting yelled at for leaving his sock in the living room again. At one point Papyrus started boasting about how he was going to be in royal guard once he caught a human. Sans couldn't help poking some fun at him.
"I don't know Pap, humans are pretty tricky." He chuckled softly, wondering if the child upstairs could hear him.
"MAYBE. BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE MORE TRICKIER, AND WILL CATCH A HUMAN FOR UNDYNE." There was no way the human hadn't heard the boast. Sans couldn't resist it.
"What if I told you there was a human in this house right now?" Sans asked, grinning at his brother.
"WHAT? WHERE?" The excited skeleton jumped up, looking around the living room and then at Sans.
"In the kitchen." Sans said, barely able to finish the last word before his brother ran off. He could hear cupboard doors slamming open and shut, and heard his brother getting more and more frustrated.
"SANS. THERE IS NO HUMAN IN THE KITCHEN!" Papyrus almost whined, but still managed to sound chastising.
Sans only shrugged. "Did you check the fridge?" A loud rattle filled the house, and part of Sans expected the fridge door to be completely off when he looked over. It wasn't.
"SANS! THERE IS NO HUMAN IN THE FRIDGE EITHER!" Now Papyrus was getting mad, starting to be aware it was a joke.
"Oh. What about the bathroom?" Sans asked, and he could swear he heard the kid jump. It took all his effort not to laugh out loud.
"SANS. I DO NOT BELIEVE THERE IS A HUMAN ANYWHERE IN THIS HOUSE. YOU ARE MISTAKEN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD KNOW ABOUT IT IF THERE WERE." Papyrus came back into the living room and struck a pose, and that's when Sans did chuckle a bit.
"Yeah, you're right bro. My bad. Still want your bedtime story?" Sans asked, standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets. Papyrus nodded enthusiastically and ran up to his room, getting ready for bed. Sans followed behind slowly, shutting off the lights before he went in to his brothers room.
It took a couple stories to get Pap calmed down enough to go to sleep, his scavenger hunt having really excited him. Not that Sans minded, he loved spoiling his brother. He scratched his ribs and yawned as he headed to the bathroom. What a day. Carefully he opened the door, not wanting to spook the kid. What he saw made him smile warmly. The human girl had wrapped herself up in the blanket and fallen asleep in the tub. Her wet clothes hung on the towel rod, and he saw her backpack sitting on the floor near the sink, clothes sticking out of it.
In her sleep the kid looked pretty cute, and there was no hint of the fear or panic that had been there before. Gently, trying not to disturb them, Sans lifted the kid up with his magic and into his arms. She was really light, almost weightless to him. So small and fragile. A dark part of him, the part who knew this child brought them a step away from being free, said to kill her now and bring her soul to Asgore. She wouldn't even know, it would be quick and painless. Papyrus had always wanted to see the stars.
Then the kid rolled a bit, her hand coming out and grabbing onto his sweater, and the moment was gone. This kid was too cute for him to do that. His bones must be getting soft. Chuckling to himself, he carried the kid into his room and gently set her on the bed. He tried to stand, but found her hand still clutching his sweater. Carefully he attempted to uncurl her hand, and when that didn't work tried just pulling away. That got a slight cry from her, so quiet he almost didn't hear it, and a shake ran through her body. Giving up, Sans tucked himself under his blanket and curled up beside the kid. She radiated warmth, and he fell asleep quickly.