_Sans POV_

"ugh."

I groaned as I woke up. Everything fucking hurt. Worse than usual, this morning. Today is

gonna be shitty. But I have to pretend I'm OK.

For Papyrus.

Alright. Gotta get up. Can't have Papyrus see how hard it is.

Easy does it.

*CRACK*

"oh stars, ow." I whimper, tears starting to form in my eye sockets.

One pop down, a dozen to go.

My joints pop, crackle, and snap as I roll my shoulders and twist my back.

I take the time to pop the joints of each finger, my knees, ankles, and toes.

Sighing in relief, I lay back down. I can't let Paps know I'm awake before he is. He'll know

something's wrong if I do that. I'll just relax here till he comes to get me up, then I'll do my thing.

Yeah, I can do this.

I can do this.

Yeah.

"SANS! GET UP YOU LAZYBONES! IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST!"

"sure bro. be down in a sec.

"SANS! GET DOWN HERE! YOU'LL BE LATE FOR WORK!"

"sure bro." I pretend to fall asleep again, a simple ploy to keep Paps in the dark.

Stars, I hate lying to him, but he can't know.

He can't know… about HIM.

"SANS! YOU BETTER NOT BE ASLEEP AGAIN! YOU NEED TO EAT BREAKFAST." I could

hear Paps stomping up the stairs as he yelled, coming to get me up. Heh. classic Paps.

SLAM

"SANS, GET UP! YOU NEED TO EAT! WE CAN'T BE LATE TO WORK, WHAT IF A HUMAN

COMES?"

My door slams open, bouncing off the wall. Paps comes barging in, ready to get me out of bed. I

shift, getting ready to get out of bed when.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH, SANS. IF YOU WON'T GET OUT OF BED, I'LL GET YOU OUT OF BED

MYSELF."

Papyrus roughly lifted me out of bed by my armpits, causing my pain to flare. I could feel tears

beading at the edges of my eye sockets, and the pain lanced it's way up and down my spine,

spreading to the rest of my bones and encompassing my being.

It hurts, too much, too much I can't…...

"AUGH, papyrus, put me down!" I scream, tears streaming down my face.

Papyrus fumbles, causing pain to once again flood through my body, before gently setting me

down on my bed and sitting beside me.

"SANS, WHAT IS WRONG? DID I HURT YOU? TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED."

I couldn't speak yet, tears still streaming down my face from the pain that was just barely

starting to fade. I sat there, sobbing, while Papyrus sat by my side. I could feel that he

desperately wanted to comfort me, but he was afraid to touch me again. My sobbing slowly got

quieter and eventually stopped. Papyrus remained right next to me, waiting for me to explain

what was going on. When I had calmed down enough, he repeated his question.

"SANS, WHAT IS WRONG? DID I HURT YOU? PLEASE SANS, I'M WORRIED ABOUT YOU."

"n-no, bro, you didn't hurt me. i was already hurting when I woke up…."

"SANS. TELL ME WHY. NOW."

"O-ok. I will. it all started with a skeleton known as W.D. Gaster. You don't remember him.

nobody does, except me… but he was the royal scientist before Alphys. He created the core.

When King Asgore ordered him to find another way to break the barrier, he started to

experiment with creating artificial souls. He failed to make any artificial human souls, but he

managed to make several artificial monster souls. Most of these souls, didn't survive. But two

did. Eventually, those souls became you and me. I was brought to life first, but something went

wrong, and all of my stats were set to one. I… was experimented on. A lot. He had no intention

of keep me alive or healthy till he noticed that your soul was starting to weaken, so he rushed to

anchor you to a body as well. He…. made the mistake of allowing me to help care for you. You

became attached. We cared for each other, deep in the lab. It made sure we both survived.

Then one day, the power went out. The door to our cell opened, and you no longer remembered

Gaster. But I did. Later, I found out he had fallen into the Core, and been erased from existence.

Some traces remained, though. The scars on your hands, my low stats, and the pain. Gaster's

experiments caused me to feel pain constantly. Some days it's worse, some days it's better. But

it never goes away."

"OH, SANS. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? I COULD HAVE HELPED."

"i didn't wanna worry ya bro. and not remembering Gaster was…easier on you. I've had never

seen you happier. i couldn't ruin that."

"SANS. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! YOU WERE IN PAIN, AND I KEPT PUSHING YOU! I'M

SORRY SANS."

Papyrus gently scooped me into a hug, doing his best not to jostle my sore bones.

"I'LL GO EASY ON YOU FROM NOW ON. BUT SANS, I NEED TO KNOW YOUR LIMITS. I

WON'T BABY YOU, BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHEN YOU'RE HURTING AND YOUR PAIN

LEVEL. WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO COMMUNICATE. PROMISE ME YOU'LL KEEP ME

INFORMED, SANS."

"sure, bro."

"PROMISE ME, SANS."

"...i promise, Paps."

"GOODY. I'M GOING TO STAY HOME TODAY. WE CAN SIT ON THE COUCH AND WATCH

THOSE SCIENCE PROGRAMS YOU LIKE TO WATCH SO MUCH."

"you're so cool, bro." I say, tears trickling down from my sockets.

"NYEHEHE, OF COURSE!"

Paps carried me down the stairs and got me some ketchup. I later fell asleep leaning against my

brother, watching a rerun of a program about the stars. I've never felt so comfortable before.