It wasn't their very first night, but it was one of the first. Neo New Home wasn't fully set up back then, and Papyrus wasn't even sure he was finished with their own house. He was sure that there were still bits he had to add to the roof. He'd been slow about it. He'd been worrying too much about Undyne making a ruckus back then.

That was a mistake, since he learned quickly that the surface liked to "rain" a lot. Still, he didn't mind things getting a little wet. Wet was another word for clean, right? Water cleaned things, right?

It was different that night, though. It had been grey all day, and Papyrus had simply expected it to rain and to feel it through the cracks in his room's ceiling. He hadn't expected the thunder, an earth-shattering clap and rumble that sounded out while he struggled over something as simple as going to sleep.

It brought him upright with a yelp, that horrible sound which made the walls tremble. A second yelp followed after that, when his window lit with violent light for just a few seconds and then it was gone. And then after that, another horrible clap and rumble that he could feel in his bones. Something terrible was happening.

Heaven knew why. But he scrambled out of bed, untangled himself from his sheets, and went straight to Sans' room.

But Sans wasn't on his mattress, it seemed, and that just made it all the worse. "SANS?" Papyrus turned in a circle, trying to ignore how gross Sans' room was. There wasn't time. Another low rumble sounded in the distance, this time at least without the clap to precede it. "SANS WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"down here boss," came a muffled reply, and Papyrus put his hands on his hips as he expectantly looked down. Didn't seem to be a Sans there at first. Until he realized that the lumpy mattress in his brother's room was sporting a particularly large lump tonight.

As he knelt down, he could faintly see his brother shivering underneath it. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING GET OUT FROM THERENYAH-!" The room lit up with electric blue for just a moment, and Papyrus grit his teeth against another house-shaking clap.

Sans waited until the rumble had faded to respond. "nnnah i'm gonna stay here."

"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS." A moment of pause, and Papyrus smothered another yelp at another flash and clap, both fairly close together that time. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

He could hear Sans chuckling, a breathless constricted sound. "it's called thunder and lightning."

"WELL IT'S ANNOYING, MAKE IT STOP."

"can't." Sans gulped in a breath. At another flash, Papyrus punched the ground with one fist to disguise his shaking shoulders, and Sans seemed to curl in tighter as he continued, "it's all up in the sky. when two clouds rub together they cause the lightning. 's static electricity."

"OH."

"lightning burns the air, makes it expand. when it's gone it all contracts. that makes the thunder."

"OH," he hissed through his teeth at another blue flash, and later a clap and low rumble. He didn't like being on the second floor while the sound filled the house... almost like someone was wandering around downstairs. "IT'S NOT GOING TO. STATIC ELECTRICITY US, RIGHT?" he asked, as he caught Sans' little form shivering in the glow of the lightning.

"t-ten seconds," Sans wheezed. "or more. over two miles away. prob'ly won't hit us."

"OH." Papyrus frowned at him, even if his brother wasn't looking. "THEN WHY ARE YOU COWERING LIKE A MORON UNDER THERE?"

"can't stop."

There wasn't a good reply to make to that. Even if he were to sneer at Sans and call him a weakling, Papyrus just banged against the ground again as he jumped at the latest clap to shake the house. He quickly sat down next to the shivering mattress, wishing for the first time that he was that small so he had something to hide under.

He scowled. "WHEN I'M BETTER RESTED, I'M GOING TO FIGHT THE FUCKING RAIN. NYAHHhhh!" That one seemed close, that time.

"yeah uh good luck with that."

At that, and the little wheeze that followed it, Papyrus growled. If it weren't for his agreement with the human Frisk, he would drag Sans out from under the mattress and demand that he shop making those pitiful fearful sounds. He folded his arms, staring at his boots and trying not to look towards the window, where even between flashes there was rain pounding on the glass. It was nothing like the dripping of waterfall. It was nothing like Snowdin.

But that was no reason to hide and pretend it wasn't there.

"hey boss? wh... what are you, uh, what are you doin in here anyway."

Papyrus jumped, and gave the mattress an uneasy glance without moving his head. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'M CHECKING ON YOU, OBVIOUSLY."

"suddenly worried about me are ya."

"OH PLEASE, LIKE YOU'RE WORTH WORRYING ABOUT!" Papyrus lowered his head further into his arms, as if huddling closer together would silence the rattling on his shaking bones. "BUT BUT... IF THE ROOF COLLAPSED UNDER ALL THIS WATER, OR SOMETHING, AND YOU WERE CRUSHED TO DEATH, FRISK MIGHT NEVER FORGIVE ME."

"nah they'd get over it," wheezed Sans, a breathy chuckle following.

Damn him, now he was out of excuses. Rather than give him the satisfaction of admitting anything Papyrus just sat in silence, squinting into the dark and flinching whenever light suddenly filled his vision. His rattling, and his brother's piteous breathing, were both almost drowned in the pounding rain and sonorous rumbles.

This had better not become the norm for the surface.

Or he was going to have some choice words for Frisk about that whole "freeing" them thing.

Although, somehow, it it had gradually become a little less unbearable the longer he sat there. Well, he doubted it would become enough that either of them would get to fall asleep. But that was fine, he would rather die than sleep in Sans' room.

CRACK!

Papyrus shivered.

The last time he slept in the same room as Sans, let's see... well, obviously they were children. Before they'd even moved to Snowdin. He remembered there was that year where he had to bunk with Sans for a couple of months, it was just awful. Kept getting locked in the closet.

He'd fought it the whole time. He had a perfectly nice room, even in that tiny house of theirs, but he had to give it up for...

STOP. It was a chance train of thought but Papyrus halted it right there, as he sometimes did, like a record skipping. He raised his head a little to peek at the mattress lump that was his brother, and he breathed out slowly.

Things had changed quite a bit since then. Hell, they'd changed quite a bit in the last several days.

He hoped that meant that those times would never come back. Neither those times, nor that face that had stolen his childhood bed, that filled him with anxiety.

Not even if the rumbles softened to a hum through the house and a gentle tap tap on the windows. Not even if the lightning flashes became few and far between. Not even if he made the mistake of nodding off in Sans' room.

Don't let them come back.

He'd rather brave thunderstorms and the occasional, awkward close proximity.

Author's Note: Rip it's been years since I've made the first fic and I still want to finish this series. Don't think this means I won't finish the Undyne fic as well. I just wanted to actually work on this and it was turning the Undyne fic into a chore to wait till it was done before I did. (You won't necessarily need to read the Undyne fic to get this one anyway, although it should give you some more context.)

Next Chapter: Wrapped in Black