Pick your Prison
Chapter 4: Pressure makes Diamonds
It had been two days since Red had been in the workshop, and he was starting to feel lighter with each passing hour despite the random panic attacks that plagued him. Something small, like a dish falling into the sink would make his heart race and it would be a few minutes before he could breathe easy again. He couldn't find the source of the anxiety; things with the brothers had been going really well after their little soiree in the woods and he had started hanging out with the bros instead of holing up in the little shed.
Sans had been inviting him on his patrols, probably hoping that Red would take a liking to the puzzles he made, but more often than not Red just watched the blue ball of energy flit around in the snow making puns the entire time. Papyrus had been hanging with him too, during his numerous breaks the two of were often found on the couch making horrible commentary about the multitude of Napstaton shows.
But still the anxiety plagued him, as if something was going to rip him away from this rare happiness, and he feared it would be his own actions instead of an outside force. Resolving to put this behind him, he tried to concentrate on the here and now, things he could control.
It was a beautiful day that morning and both brothers had the day off so they decided it would be a good idea for the three of them to spend some time outside and in the town to officially introduce Red. Most of the folks had bought the "cousin" lie with ease, seeing the similarities between Red and Sans and making assumptions without the prompt. They walked together; Sans insisting they all held hands as they walked, stopping by all the shops and waving at everyone they saw.
Despite his teeth and scars, no one seemed afraid of Red making it easier for him to relax around the townspeople. Many of them were people he already knew but their personalities seemed to be switched with their significant others or friends to the point where he was having trouble remembering names.
It was the kids that really got him though. They were happy and carefree, playing in the snow and running all over the main road. Extensive snowball fights were being played, even dragging some of the adults into it when they were unfortunate enough to walk through the playing field.
Sans had run off at the first sight of the snow being hurled though the air, ducking and weaving through the underbrush at the edge of town. Every so often Red would hear his signature "MWEH HEH HEH!" before some poor kid got a snowball to the face. Pretty soon Papyrus and he had been pegged, forcing both to make their own stand.
Red had found a decent hiding place behind some bushes with a tree at his back. Every so often one of the kids ran out of their cover and he was able to get them and duck behind his fortification before they returned fire. Papyrus was nowhere to be seen but Red could hear lumps of snow fall from tree branches, coating the adversaries below.
As Red was lining up his next victim, a short yellow monster with no arms, he felt the back of his skull drench in the cold slush. It wasn't the cold that triggered the episode, it was the dripping feeling that he couldn't see that set him off.
Before he had time to register the situation his vision went red.
Papyrus loved this break from monotony but the churning in his gut told him it wouldn't last forever. He hadn't seen the human kid yet but his nerves were starting to wear with every passing day that they didn't appear. It was hard to keep the worry off of his face but the hundreds of resets had given him good exercise in his acting skills.
Still, he was enjoying this break with his brother even if he may never remember all that they did. His thoughts returned to the Blaster race between himself and Red, stars had that been only two days ago?
Papyrus had used the makeshift sled as a snowboard and roped his blaster with magic as Red had opted to ride on top of his Blaster, both of them eager to show off their skills.
"TWICE AROUND THE CLEARING! FIRST PERSON WHO CROSSES THE FINISH LINE GETS TO… WAIT! WHAT'S THE PRIZE?" Sans had asked as he had pulled off his blue scarf, preparing to use it as a flag.
"if I win, i get the bed tonight," Red had announced.
"heh! if i win, you do the laundry," he countered.
"you're on stretch!" Red laughed.
Sans had waved his flag and they had taken off, their blasters whining from the force of their magic. It had been a close race, Red only pulling ahead at the last second, but it had been satisfying for them both. The taller skeleton didn't have the heart to tell him that he had lost on purpose, everyone had been too happy.
Pap broke out of his musings as he teleported to another cluster of trees, his added weight making lumps of snow fall on the participants below. He was watching his brother and Red defend their little forts when he felt a sharp pain in his soul.
His head swung to where Red was crouched behind a set of bushes, an unholy red light beginning to glow in the deep cover.
"shit."
He teleported over, appearing behind the smaller skeleton as he began to shake, hunched over and feeling the back of his head.
"red? red, you ok man?"
Red's head turned slowly, his movements jerky and stiff, to look at Papyrus. His eyes were tiny pinpricks of red, the panic and rage contorting his face into something monstrous before he launched himself at Papyrus. It was all the taller one could do to keep Red's arms away from his face as the ball of hate flailed around trying to attack him. They rolled in the snow for a few seconds, each playing for dominance before the hoodied skeleton way able to wrap the other in a bear hug. This set the smaller one off more, his failing becoming desperate as tears began to leak out of the corners of his blown out eye sockets.
This was too dangerous for any of the kids so Pap braced himself and teleported once more. They had landed in his room, his back against the door and he had hoped the familiarity of the room would help calm Red but as he thrashed in his arms it seemed to do the opposite. He was losing him. All the work they had done was being unraveled by a simple snowball. At a complete loss, Papyrus scrambled for something to bring Red back to reality. The only thing that popped in his mind was a moment from one of Sans' animes.
Fuck it.
Papyrus loosened his hold on Red and quickly tunneled his hand underneath the others heavy jacket and shirt, reaching for his pocket-marked shoulders and pressing the tips of his fingers to them. It was enough to make the smaller one pause before Pap pulled him close and pressed his teeth to the others in a skeleton kiss.
Magic, wild and powerful filled the room at the connection. Red had stilled completely, but Papyrus was too taken in the kiss, closing his eyes and letting the feelings wash over him in the quiet. It was a full minute; their teeth pressed together the entire time, before Papyrus pulled back and looked at Red. His arms were pressed against his chest, a red blush staining his cheeks and a half lidded daze graced his face.
Papyrus could feel his face growing warmer and his companion smiled and reached for his face, their teeth connecting again. He groaned at the contact, his fingers drifting under the clothing to feel more of the other's back. He had wanted to apologize, to say he was sorry for the kiss but this… this was better than anything he had ever felt before.
When Red pulled away, both of them were breathing heavily.
"thank you…"
"i couldn't leave you like that."
"h-how did you know?"
"i could feel it."
"really?"
"yeah… at first I thought it was sans… but then I saw you-"
"no, how did you feel it?"
"i-in my soul. it's usually strong emotions, and again…I usually only feel sans'."
Red swallowed audibly, finally sitting on the floor in between Papyrus' legs. He hadn't removed Pap's hands from his hips where his long fingers had curled during their kiss.
"wha-what happened?"
Red's eye light's disappeared this time, whatever he was seeing in his mind pulling him away from the moment. Papyrus moved his thumbs in lazy strokes at the tips of his hips, trying to keep the other grounded.
"i thought it was marrow… drippin' down the back of my head…"
What the fuck had this guy gone through?
"he'd gotten into tyin' me up for 'punishments' recently. i mean i know i'm a fuck up but… this shit was getting' out of hand. at first they were like normal things. i broke a plate so he broke a hand, i fell asleep at my post so i had to sleep outside all night… normal shit. but then, he started hangin' out with mettaton. i would do anythin' to go back to a few months ago and stop that date from ever happenin'."
Red could remember the first time Boss had tied him up for a 'punishment'. His initial panic had devolved into full on terror when he couldn't escape the bonds around his arms. It had been even worse when his brother had flipped him on his stomach so he couldn't see what was going on behind him.
"at first i thought it would be a passin' thing but pretty soon anytime i did anything to piss him off i would get tied up and beaten. the worst one was about a week before i came here. he cracked me in the skull so hard, it split my old scar. i thought i was gonna dust…"
His throat closed up. Just the thought of the pain in his skull had brought back that terror, but Papyrus' fingers never stopped their caress, keeping him grounded.
"that's why you freaked even worse when i tried to hold you down, or when i grabbed you that first day…"
"yeah… I'm not too proud of that…"
Papyrus leaned forward and kissed the top of his skull and Red hummed in appreciation. This was no brotherly kiss, he knew that. There was a craving in him for the taller skeleton that had been growing since he had first come to this place. He didn't know how Pap felt, but the fact that neither of them wanted to stop touching each other spoke for them.
"we'll work on that…"
Red glanced up at Papyrus as he leaned back against the door. His blush came back full force with the implication. Maybe he did know how Pap felt…
"i'll hold you to that…"
They sat in Papyrus' room for a few more minutes before his cellphone went off.
"shit! sans!"
He dug into his shorts and answered his phone before it could go to voicemail.
"PAPY? WHERE ARE YOU?! I CAN'T FIND YOU OR RED! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"sorry bro, we got a little cold in the snow and popped home for a minute."
"WELL, IF YOU TOO ARE WARM ENOUGH WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET ME AT MUFFET'S FOR DINNER? I DON'T FEEL LIKE COOKING TONIGHT."
"are you sure bro? you hate muffet's."
"YES PLEASE. I WANT ALL OF US TO ENJOY A DINNER OUT!"
"alright, we'll be there in a few."
He hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket again, his hands reaching for Red's hips again.
"you up for dinner?"
"yeah, I could go for a bite."
The stood up together, Papyrus having to use the door so Red wouldn't back away. He placed another kiss to his skull before pulling him in closer. It was hard to keep his hands off the smaller skeleton now that he had started to open up, plus the mutual attraction was a breath of fresh air. They would talk about it later tonight but for now, his metaphorical stomach was growling.
"how about we walk there?"
"lead the way stretch…"
He glowed at the pet name as he opened the door. Yeah they were gonna have to talk.
But that didn't mean he wasn't excited.