Draconian Master: I'm doubtful of my own writing, but things like that make me feel better. Thank you for thinking so! :)
uniscold43:In zarla's comics on deviantart, we are never told exactly what happened to Sans that caused him to turn to dust.
Papyrus sat in a mute silence, staring at the pile of dust that had just hours before been tormenting him with pun after pun during their usual dinner of spaghetti. His hands trembled as he balled them up into fists, hugging them to his chest as small orange tears slid out of his eyesockets. Undyne walked over to him as Alphys scurried off somewhere, probably heading to her lab.
Undyne knelt beside the unusually silent skeleton, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on his arm. "... I... I'm sorry, Papyrus. I..." She trailed off, for once uncertain about what she should say. Papyrus made no movement, not even acknowledging she had said anything.
Alphys hurried back into the room, carrying a large, glass jar in her hands. As she walked over, Papyrus looked up, holding his hands out for the jar. Alphys briefly thought about telling Papyrus to step back, then thought better of it and handed the skeleton the jar. With shaky hands, Papyrus carefully reached down and started carefully scooping the dust into the jar. Undyne, having stood and walked over to Alphys, watched with her in silence as Papyrus put all his focus onto his task. When he was finished, he gathered up the clothing Sans had been wearing, folding the shorts and putting them down with the slippers neatly on top. Picking up the sweatshirt, Papyrus pulled it on, hugging it tight to him as he let out a soft sob.
Undyne stepped back over, kneeling down and picking up Sans's items, placing them on the couch. Papyrus snatched the jar before she could touch it, though Undyne made no remark and instead lightly grabbed Papyrus's arm. "... Come on, Papyrus." she says gently, helping pull the skeleton to his feet. Papyrus made no attempt to struggle, allowing Undyne to pull him to his feet and gently help him sit on the couch. Papyrus remained in his stunned silence, tears still slipping from his eyesockets as he stared down at the jar. Undyne sat down next to Papyrus, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. That was when the dam broke. Alphys darted forward, taking the jar from Papyrus as he broke into heavy sobs. With his hands free, he clung tightly to Undyne, burying his skull in her shoulder as the orange tears fell.
"WHY? WHY D-DID IT H-HAVE TO B-BE SANS? WH-WHY DID HE? WHY D-DID THIS? I-IT... WHY?" He asked between sobs.
"I'm sorry, Papyrus..." Undyne murmured in response to his constant questions. They sat their for the rest of the night until the sun rose, Undyne trying to comfort Papyrus as Alphys held the jar in her hands...
Shortly after the sun rose a few hours later, both Alphys and Undyne called off of work to keep an eye on Papyrus. The skeleton's sobbing fit had finally faded away, and he was staring mutely at the jar as he sat on the couch. Undyne was still sitting next to him, Alphys sitting in a chair she had dragged in from the kitchen.
"M-MAYBE... WAS IT S-SOMETHING I DID? M-MAYBE I MADE HIM C-CLIMB THAT MOUNTAIN TOO MUCH... I-IF I HADN'T..."
"Papyrus, it wasn't anything you did." Undyne stated. "You did nothing wrong, you did everything you could for him."
"MAYBE IF I-"
"P-P-Papyrus... You're th-the r-reason why h-he lived as l-long as he did." Alphys says softly. "Wh-When I f-first told him h-he had o-osteosarcoma, h-he didn't w-want you t-to worry... E-Especially since... I-It was too w-widespread th-throughout his body, t-treatment wouldn't d-do any good. Wh-When I asked him wh-what he wanted t-to do b-before he... Y-You know... H-He said he j-just wanted to spend it w-with you."
"And you did exactly that. You stayed by his side to the end. Just like he wanted." Undyne said gently. "... Sounds like you did everything right."
"IF I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT, WHY DOES IT HAVE TO HURT SO MUCH?!" Papyrus let out a sharp sob, bowing his skull and trembling as he hugged the jar tight to his chest. Undyne reached out, lightly placing a hand on his arm to try and send him some comfort. They remained in the position for the next hour... Then Undyne went to walk Papyrus home, carrying the remainders of Sans's clothes in one arm and keeping the other wrapped around Papyrus's shoulders as he took each painstakingly slow step back to the place that used to belong to his brother as well as him.
"Well, Papyrus... What are you going to do? Have you decided what his favorite thing is yet?" Undyne asked, sitting next to Papyrus on the stoop of the apartment building he lived in, Papyrus refusing to go in for the time being. He didn't want to go into the apartment just yet, see everything Sans had owned or they shared ownership of.
"W-WELL... IF SANS JUST WANTED TO STAY WITH ME... TH-THAT'S WHAT I AM G-GOING TO DO. KEEP HIM WITH ME." Papyrus stated, getting a confused glance from Undyne. "B-BECAUSE... WELL, IT'S BETTER THAN L-LIVING ON IN SOMETHING LIKE SOCK. IT... I THINK IT'D MAKE HIM HAPPIER. AND WHEN I DIE... M-MY DUST COULD BE IN HERE TOO. THEN, WHEN THE RIGHT THING IS FOUND... WE CAN BOTH LIVE ON IN IT TOGETHER, THAT WAY WE'RE ALWAYS TOGETHER..." The skeleton momentarily rubbed the top of the jar he held. "IT'S WHAT I WANT... AND I THINK IT WOULD BE SOMETHING HE'D WANT... THAT'S NOT WEIRD, IS IT?"
Undyne wrapped her arm around Papyrus, hugging him closer to her. The skeleton leaned into her grip, closing his eyesockets as he trembled slightly. "Papyrus? If you think that's what's right... That's all that matters..."