Nothing Good Happens At 3 AM
The room is dark when you next open your eyes. Man, that cough syrup had really done its job of knocking you out. You squint over at the stove top clock; it's too far away for you to really see what time it is. Two thirty? Three in the morning? Your gaze falls to the coffee table. There's a stuffed teddy bear holding a heart that says 'Get Well Soon!' on its surface. You can only assume it's from Papyrus. You smile to yourself. What a sweet guy. It must have killed him to stay quiet enough not to wake you. Or you'd been so dead to the world it hadn't mattered anyway. You stretch and groan quietly. You still feel awful, but at least that crippling headache is finally gone. At that moment you become aware that you're alone on the couch. An unexpected stab of disappointment hits you. Well, you can't expect Sans to stay with you all night. What was it he had been saying before? You were practically asleep, but you're pretty sure he had said something about going to a space museum. That would be a fun place for a date. Not that you would ever actually say that out loud.
Wait.
Did you say that thought out loud before?!
You slap your hands up over your face. You honestly can't remember if you had spoken your medicine/sick hazy thought out loud, but the simple fact that you are even questioning it is a bad sign. You might as well wear a sign that says 'Attention! Desperate for companionship!' at this rate. A breath hisses out from your teeth. You seriously need to figure out what the heck is going on in your head when it comes to Sans. Is he a friend? Yes, absolutely. He and Papyrus are the best things that could have happened to you. But is that it? If that was the case, then why does your stomach flutter whenever you see him? Why is he always the first thing you think of whenever something monster related came up?
You trust him, and care about him. But honestly, you barely know a thing about him. It was days, just DAYS ago that you met him! And even if you are starting to....oh geez, it's embarrassing to even think it! It's all too soon, too fast. Too many things were still left unsaid both on your end and his. Furthermore, when all was said and done, you are a human. He's a monster skeleton. Can he even see you in that way? You sigh deeply. Even if he could, it wouldn't matter in the end. Sooner or later, you would have to tell him everything about your scars, your fear of fire and the fog in your head. You would be extremely lucky if he stuck around at all after that. Maybe it's better to let these frightening and wonderful feelings lie quietly in your heart.
You decide to try and sleep some more. You don't have to be in to work until the afternoon and hopefully your fever will at least be gone. You roll over and are about to fade away when you hear an odd sound. It's a soft groan and sniffle and it's in the same room as you. You freeze for a second and slowly push yourself up. What you see makes your heart melt all over again.
The coffee table had been blocking your view, but now you can see Sans wrapped in a blanket lying on a small, worn mattress on the floor. You watch him sleep for a moment, a tender feeling rising in your chest. You felt bad for worrying him enough to drag his bed out here, but the fact that he cares so much almost makes you tear up again.
He shifts in his sleep, eye sockets squeezed tightly shut. He's frowning and gripping the blanket tightly. Another groan escapes him, and for a split second, you see a flash of blue seep from his left eye. What on earth? You slip from the couch as quietly as you can. He starts muttering words you can't understand, the words garbled and utterly foreign. It's like no human language you've heard before and it sends a chill down your spine.
"...gaster...."
Gaster? What is a gaster?
Sans moans loudly and his feet start kicking slowly against the bed. He's having a nightmare. You reach out and gently touch his hand. He flinches away, curling into a ball. "g-gaster! paps!" There's no mistaking the blue light building in his closed eye now. Whatever he's seeing, it's clear that it's scaring him. You grab his bony shoulders, tightening your grip when he attempts to pull away again.
"no!"
"Sans, wake up!" you plead, trying to keep your voice low. The last thing you want to do is wake Papyrus. "Sans, it's just a dream. C'mon, wake up!"
His eyelids shoot open and you let go of him in alarm, falling back on the ground. His right eye socket is completely black, while the left is glowing with a large round pupil that flashes between blue and yellow. He's breathing heavily, staring at you with wide sockets and you find yourself frozen to the spot. You can't tear your eyes away from the utterly inhuman look on his face. In the dim light leaking in from the window, he looks like a monster from a horror movie.
He blinks and the blue light is gone just like that, replaced by his usual white lights in both eyes. The frightening image is gone and the Sans you know is back. "_-____?"
"H-hey." Your voice is hoarse and for the first time, you're glad that you're sick and can blame your shaky tone on your throat. "You okay? It sounded like you were having a bad dream."
Sans sits up, rubbing at his sweaty skull. How is he sweating? "um. yeah." He drags his hand down over his sockets and sighs. "sorry i woke you."
You wave your hands quickly. "No, no I was already awake! I did sleep most of yesterday." You lower your hands. "Do you want to talk about it?"
He shakes his head a little too quickly. "nah. i barely even remember it."
"Okay then. Um." You're not sure how to bring it up but that strange light in his eye had scared you a little. If that isn't normal, you have to let him know. "Your...your eye was doing a...." You gesture at your left eye, a little lost for words.
"oh." Sans presses his hand against the socket, a grim smile on his face. "it does that. don't worry about it."
"What was that?"
Sans looks away from you. "like i said, i'm made up of more than just bone. all monsters have a little bit of magic in them. some more than others."
You inch a little closer. "And that's what that flash was?"
He looks at you and sighs again. "do you really wanna talk 'bout this now? at-" he squints at the clock "three in the morning?"
"Well, I mean, you're awake. I'm awake," you mumble. But if he wants to go back to sleep it wouldn't be right to keep him up. He still looks shaken from his nightmare. You reach out and take his hands in yours. For a few minutes, you rub the back of his oddly thick and solid carpels with your thumbs. He watches you silently, eyelids heavy. "I just want to know more about you," you admit quietly. "But you're right, we should both go back to sleep."
He gives you a genuine smile and pulls one hand out of your grip, placing it against your forehead. "i think your fever's gone," he murmurs, brushing your hair back. "but it's better to be safe than sorry though. i promise i'll tell you about my magic if you go to sleep for now. ok?"
You squeeze his hand. "It's a deal."
~~~~
BANG!
You yelp and flail, rolling off the couch. You hit the ground with a heavy thud (thank heaven for carpets). "Gah!"
"HUMAN! I AM SO SORRY!" Papyrus scrambles to pick up the many metal pots he had just knocked to the floor. "ARE YOU OKAY?"
"Just peachy Pap," you groan, flat against the ground. "I'm just gonna stay here for a bit, 'kay?"
A moment later you feel yourself rising into the air, Papyrus lifting you with ease. With more gentleness than you thought possible from him, he sets you back down on the couch, pulling the blanket back up around you. He then tucks the teddy bear he got you next to your face. He pats your head, smiling at you.
"YOU ARE VERY FUNNY ______. BUT A SICK PERSON SHOULD NOT LIE ON THE GROUND."
You laugh, your voice still scratchy. "Thanks Pap." You look over at the ground. Sans and his mattress are gone. "Where's your brother?"
"SANS HAD WORK THIS MORNING," Papyrus announces, going back to the kitchen. "I VOLUNTEERED TO REMAIN AND COOK YOU BREAKFAST TO HELP AID YOUR RECOVERY."
Your heart sinks a little. But work couldn't be helped, right? You didn't have long before you'd have to get ready yourself. "Sounds good to me."
You watch him bustling in the kitchen for a few minutes. "Hey, I have a question for you," you say a little hesitantly.
"YES? WHAT IS IT?"
"Does-" you clear your throat. "Does Sans have nightmares often?"
The clanking from the kitchen stops for several long seconds. "MY BROTHER...SANS HAS ALWAYS HAD TROUBLE SLEEPING," Papyrus finally says. "I HAVE TRIED TO SPEAK WITH HIM ABOUT THEM BUT SANS IS NOT VERY WILLING TO DISCUSS IT."
"I see," you say softly. You play with the ears of the teddy bear. It made sense that Sans wouldn't talk about it. He wasn't the type to worry others, especially his brother. He had brushed you off last night, but the way he acted made you think the dreams were a regular occurrence. It had happened enough to you so the signs were easily recognizable.
"DO NOT TROUBLE YOURSELF HUMAN," Papyrus calls to you cheerfully. "I AM ALMOST DONE WITH YOUR BREAKFAST!"
You just pray he isn't making spaghetti.
~~~~
It's not spaghetti. Papyrus does his best to heat up a can of chicken noodle soup and with some directions from you, manages not to set anything on fire. You eat together, Papyrus telling you all about his gardening job. He's very proud of the fact that he's working with Asgore, the king of monsters (this news makes you choke on your soup) and how he uses his royal guard training with Undyne in shaping various bushes and shrubs. You're not quite sure how the two connect, but you give your full support and interest. When you finish you head back to your place, waving off his concerns. Your fever is gone and as you've experienced in the past, it takes a few days for a cough to heal. But it's not enough to stop you from getting back to work. Furthermore there was no way you were calling in sick less than two weeks since your first day. You allow yourself to take a very long hot shower, washing away the sick. You let yourself move slowly but finally make your way to the station.
"Hey you! Woah." Abby takes in your bundled up appearance and the thick scarf wrapped around your mouth. "You okay?"
You wave, coughing a little pathetically. "I'm good. Sound worse than I am."
She gives you a skeptical look. "All right then. Your flyer was approved, so there's that good news." She starts shuffling through some papers as you start shedding layers. "Bad news, there was a mix up with the food permissions for the vendors. They've gotta all be done over."
Fantastic. You sigh and plop down next to her, popping in a cough drop. "Let's get to work then."
You spend the rest of the day attempting to fix the mess and your head is starting to pound by the time you and Abby finish. It's boring and tedious work, but at least it doesn't make you use your brain very much.
"You know you could have called in sick," Abby says as you two clean up the remaining papers. "Tod is super chill about stuff like that."
This you did know. Tod had told you early on if you needed a 'recovery' day, no matter what the reason, you didn't need to hesitate. But you didn't want to make it look like you were taking advantage of that. Besides, better to save those days for recovering from more serious things than a cold. "I promise I'm okay," you say to her, smiling as best as you can. "I'm much better than I was last night."
"I'll warn you now, I'm gonna send you home early if you're like this tomorrow," Abby says in a semi-serious tone. "Now go rest."
You wave goodbye and head home, looking forward to wrapping up in a warm blanket with another bowl of soup. It's as you're passing a bakery that you remember you still have to find a sponsor. Ugh. You had told Tod it was no big deal but your sickness had thrown a real wrench into the mix. You still have no clues about where to go and you are starting to run out of time.
"Bake sale! Bake sale! Run by spiders, for spiders, with spiders!"
The words catch your attention as you're about to head up the stairs and you pause. It's a new shop in the circle called Muffet's Web. You can see a monster standing outside the shop in a gorgeous red suit and tie combo covered in a spider web pattern. You grin and turn towards the shop, grateful you had thought to stuff the sponsor file in your bag. You approach the monster, a reptilian creature with deep purple skin. She gives you a large toothy smile and hands you a flyer as you enter the shop. The inside is covered in spiderwebs, which wasn't surprising considering the logo. There's a large black chandelier that casts the whole room in a slightly purple lighting tone. The walls are lined with shelves displaying various baked goods and your mouth starts watering. You approach the counter, which is covered in decorative spiders. There's no one there so you tap the little bell. Immediately, the decorations start moving and oh those are real spiders! A whispering fills the room.
"Customer!"
"There's a customer!"
The hissing grows louder and you feel your legs quivering. You aren't the biggest fan of actual spiders. Hold your ground! You can do this!
"Welcome." The voice melts out of the dim lighting and a huge spider monster appears before you, gently bobbing her multiple arms. Her many pitch black eyes blink at you and she grins, showing off fangs. The whole deadly spider look is a little offset by the pigtails on her head and the sharp bow on her classy outfit. "How may I assist you today?" Her 's' hiss slightly. You have to assume this is Muffet.
"Um, hi I'm _____," you introduce yourself, trying to keep your voice from shaking. You pull the folder from your bag. "I'm with E.B.B.T radio, down the road a ways."
"Ah yes, delightful music," she hums and that sets you a little more at ease. So she's already familiar with the station. That will make this easier.
"I'm glad to hear that! We're holding a fall festival on the 21st and I was wondering if you would be interested in setting up a booth with us?" You hold the folder out and she takes it delicately with one of her many arms. "The booth itself would be provided by the station. You just need to provide the goods you wish to sell and any decorations you want to use."
"Hmmm. Seems like an interesting prospect," she hisses thoughtfully as she scans through the folder. "Is this a monster friendly festival?"
Honestly you hadn't thought about that. But Tod himself is very open to monsters. Abby of course would be thrilled to have a booth run by spiders in pigtails. "Yes of course. E.B.B.T values all listeners, regardless of race or species."
She regards you with those big black eyes. Her gaze flickers down for the briefest moment. Sans had done that last night when he mentioned your Soul. Could she see your Soul too?
Muffet smiles again and extends a thin hand. You swallow nervously and shake her hand (claw? feeler?) and her strong grip surprises you. You match her smile and explain the rest of the folder and what information she would need to send directly to the station. And then, because you feel it would be rude not to, you order a bag of muffins. You munch slowly on one as you climb the stairs. It's really good but you sincerely hope it's not actually made WITH spiders.
Your phone buzzes just as you reach your door.
s: i have too much soup now. dinner?
You smile and walk down the hall.