A few days had passed since then and Papyrus was getting used to the Red Sans living in the house instead of his brother. At first it was really awkward, since he kept expecting to wake up and discover it was all a dream. But seeing those sharp teeth, one replaced with gold, always reminded him that this was his new reality. Sans was missing, but it was neither his nor Red's fault.
Since they had shared energy and bared their souls to one another, there was nothing secret between them. Though it did take a few days for some things to sink in. Like the fact that Red Sans actually loved his brother dearly, regardless of how he had been treated. And that he had the power to teleport. Some memories made no sense, since they seemed to either repeat or glitch, only be replaced with a similar memory later. But the fact of the matter was this; Sans had told his own brother everything. About the timelines, about how he was the only person who remembered, and about his powers. If all of it was true, then his Sans was probably suffering from a similar burden, and it made him sick to his stomach.
"Uh... Pa-Papyrus?" Coming out of his thoughts, Papyrus turned to Red and smiled. Currently he was in the middle of washing clothes and must have looked silly just standing there staring off into space.
"Yes Sans?" It was strange not to immediately call him brother, but both of them had acknowledged that they were, in fact, not really brothers. That didn't change the fact that Papyrus was going to treat him like family, however.
"D-do you want me to do that instead? I thought you had to go out on patrol..." So far things were looking pretty good. He'd been able to get the smaller skeleton to stop stuttering as much, and because he was trying his damnedest to be supportive and nice, he had even stopped shaking in fear whenever spoken to.
"Gee, that would be wonderful! I really do have to go out on patrol soon. Alright then. The Great Papyrus shall leave this task to you. I am sure you will do admirably." Giving him a broad smile he stepped away from the washing machine and went to leave the room. As he passed Sans he could see the skeleton's face was pointed downward, his chin tucked behind the fur on his jacket. Papyrus was about to stop to ask what was wrong when he noticed the pleased blush across Red's face. It was painfully obvious that this Sans was not used to compliments or praise. Which just made Papyrus want to praise him more. Maybe if he showered Red with affection, the cracked pieces of his heart might seal back together again.
"I shall see you when I return in three hours! Good-bye until then." It made him feel really awkward leaving Red alone in the house, but the other skeleton understood that Papyrus couldn't shirk his duties. Other than the first morning, where he had gone out to collect some groceries by himself in order to let Sans rest, he had stuck close to the smaller skeleton. It had been really nice of Undyne to give him that time off so he could care for Sans. He should come up with a way to thank her later.
oooOOOooo
When Papyrus left the house Sans sighed in relief. Being told he was amazing, being relied upon without judgement, and being told that he had done a good job were things he really wasn't used to. The outpouring of affection was unhealthy, in the way that too many sweets were unhealthy. If he kept getting this much praise he was going to become addicted and when he returned home he would have to not only deal with his own brother but with the loss of that affection. The thought of returning made him shudder as he took over Papyrus's chores and finished them quickly.
Some habits died hard was the saying, wasn't it? Even though this orange Papyrus was always being nice to him, making sure he got rest and didn't overreach himself, Red still couldn't shake the habit of trying to finish everything as efficiently and promptly as possible. Just thinking of the trouble he'd be in if he didn't get things done made him shudder and begin panicking a little. But his brother wasn't here.
Thinking about that didn't help his panic any. It was clear he was the outsider in this world, and even though Undyne and Alphys were apparently kind, much kinder than the ones back home, he still couldn't help but cower when they showed up or called Papyrus on the phone.
"I could really use a bottle of mustard..." Eyes lighting up he finished putting away the dishes and ran out the front door.
"If this really is Snowdin then there should be a Chillby's!" Concentrating on where he wanted to be he felt the darkness surround him momentarily, the pressure building in his bones, before he popped into existence in front of his favorite pub. Looking up at the sign he frowned. Grillby's? That didn't look quite right. Shrugging his shoulders he walked inside and was astonished how warm the interior was. Even more surprising was that, where his grudging ally usually stood behind the bar, there was a flaming guy who looked much the same. Though his presence was entirely different. Walking up to the bar he kept his eyes to the ground, trying to ignore the stares.
"..." Sitting down at the familiar bar, he felt a little less self conscious as he gave Grillby a grin.
"I'll have a bottle of mustard." For a moment the flame monster stopped, as if completely poleaxed. Even the room seemed a little quieter and he couldn't help but turn and glare menacingly at everyone who was staring. In his town people knew not to mess with him. Not just because he could kick their ass five ways to Sunday, but because his brother always found the scariest way to retaliate if their authority wasn't recognized.
'Even if you are pathetic you are still my brother. If people go around disrespecting you, then that will reflect poorly on me. That is the Only reason I defended you.' The memory surfaced momentarily then dissipated when he turned back to Grillby, raising his eye-ridge expectantly.
"..." With a small laugh he shook his head and grinned up at the flaming monster.
"Yeah, I'm not." He had to hand it to Grillby, he was just as sly and observant as Chillby back home. It made for a good source of information. After all Chillby didn't really hide the fact that he had a thing for Sans. A flirt here, quickie there, or a good make-out session usually got him all the info he'd need to help his brother stay on top of everyone. Maybe that would work here. Maybe he could use his quick wit to help Papyrus gain more standing in the community.
"..." Taking the bottle of mustard from Grillby he gave the bartender a smile and sly wink.
"Since I'm not, you know, I think I better start my own tab here. Dontcha think?" Behind the glasses he could have sworn that the flame monster had rolled his eyes.
A couple of bottles later he was feeling very relaxed and a little tipsy. The mustard here was a little different from what he was used to back home. With a small hiccup he lifted his head from the bar to order another when the door to the pub opened with a bang.
"Sans!?" Swiveling his head to look behind him, eyes wide, he spied an angry Papyrus storming over. When he came closer the smaller skeleton began to tremble uncontrollably.
"d-don't hurt me B-boss! I-I'm sorry!" Cowering away from Papyrus, he waited for the pressure that meant papyrus had grabbed his jacket and was about to throw him to the floor. Grovelling was the only way out of his punishment and he knew it.
"What!? Why would I, the Great Papyrus, want to hurt you?" Looking through his arms, which he had brought up to block any potential attacks, he recognized that this was not his Papyrus. That realization made him lower his arms in confusion, his mind buzzing from his drunken state.
"I am sorry to disturb you again, Grillby. Thank you for always looking out for Sans." It was probably the first time he'd ever heard those words before. Papyrus was thanking someone for taking care of him? Tears sprang to his eyes.
"P-papy~" Sniffling he reached up to grip the taller skeleton in a way that his brother would have called disgraceful. But this Papyrus just smiled at him, before picking him up in order to carry him home. On the way back he sighed, frustration clear in his voice.
"Wh-wha's wrong?" Stopping, Papyrus put Sans down and gave him a stern look.
"When I came home to find you were gone, I was so worried that something had happened to you! That you had... vanished. Or maybe you'd gotten hurt or, or..." Or maybe he'd killed himself. That was the feeling he got from the other skeleton. Worry, fear that he would leave, fear that he would die, concern for his safety, concern for his happiness. All of it in one fell swoop. Flushing red he looked down and scuffed his sneaker in the snow, ashamed.
"Oh crap. I'm s-sorry Pap. I should have waited for you to come home. I caused you to worry..." Reaching out hesitantly he hugged the taller skeleton, even as his body tried to pull back and began to tremble. Papyrus already knew of his secret fear of showing weakness, and after what his brother had done to him, the taller skeleton didn't blame him.
"It's okay, we'll be okay. I just want you to remember that I will never hit you. Do you understand? Never." The conviction in his voice was enough to make Sans shiver in delight. All this hope couldn't be good for the Soul.
"Now let's go home and eat some spaghetti!" With a wobbly smile he nodded as Papyrus lifted him back up and shifted him onto his back. Clenching his hand in the red scarf, Sans couldn't help but smile into the warmth. Was this what love felt like?
oooOOOooo
It had taken the imposter two days to break down. Much longer than his brother to be sure, but certainly not long enough to achieve anything of worth. He'd had to be a bit rough, but that was just par for the course. With his magic invading the smaller skeleton's Soul he was able to monitor the fluctuations that would indicate sleep, hunger, and even the activation of his powers. So far, in those two days, he had only left the room for a moment. Once he had finished upstairs he came back down, retook his chair, and sat on it; one leg crossed over the other as he continued to stare Sans down.
"Can you quit staring at me? You're making me blush Tibia-nest." Raising an eye-ridge at the feeble attempt at a pun Papyrus sighed. Weak as he might be, this version of his brother certainly was far more stubborn.
"Honestly, your puns are getting worse by the minute." He shouldn't have even graced that pun with an answer. But he was curious how his prisoner would reply.
"Oh, you didn't find that one Humerus?" Reaching up to press his hand to his face Papyrus let out an audible coughing sound, hiding the fact that he had inadvertently laughed. Not only was this Sans stubborn but he had an amazing amount of guts for a 1hp monster. It was almost impressive really. But he was getting sick and tired of waiting.
"I would say my amusement is because you have yet to fall silent. I was planning on waiting until you were too weak to fight back before I started training you. But I see now that I will have to work harder. Rejoice; you have made the Grand Master Papyrus serious." Lifting his hand, so that it was within Sans's line of sight, he snapped his gloved fingers with a malicious grin.
"Gh-? Gaaaaaahhhh!" Hearing the sweet screams coming from that mouth made him sigh contentedly. From the thorn embedded in Sans's Soul purple tendrils of power spread out to latch onto, and squeeze, the blue heart. This caused immense pain that made his captive's body spasm uncontrollably. After a moment he snapped his fingers again, ending the torment.
"The next time you open your mouth it better be to grovel or beg." Due to the nature of the spell making the recipient unable to control themselves there was now a line of spit running down Sans's chin. His eyes had gone hazy as he gasped. Each sound was like music to Papyrus's ears.
"Wh-why are you d-doing this? How can you be so calm torturing your own brother?" With another snap of his fingers he sent a jolt of pain through the smaller skeleton, licking his teeth as Sans writhed in pain once again. This time he let the punishment last a little longer before stopping.
"This will only get harder the longer you try to resist."
oooOOOooo
When the intense pain finally stopped he sagged against the ropes, his knees weak and body quaking. It felt like his entire being throbbed with hurt and he could barely make a sound, let alone raise his head to resist. He was soaked with sweat, tired to the bone, and everything ached. Compared to this the kid killing him didn't seem so bad now. At least that was relatively quick.
"Now then. Are you going to beg me to stop?" The thinly veiled hostility in Papyrus's voice was enough to make his whole body shake in fear. Not of Papyrus himself, but of the pain. He doubted that even this horrible version of his brother would go out of his way to kill him.
"I'll just have to-" Panic flared inside of him and before he could stop himself he'd spoken up again.
"P-please wait!" Seeing the glare of annoyance he swallowed thickly before speaking again; his face flushed with the dark blue of utter humiliation.
"I mean, uh, please wait M-master." Eyes trained on the floor, too embarrassed to look up, he couldn't see his captor's face. Though the delight in his voice was plain as day.
"Excellent, I knew you were a quick learner. But you still spoke out of turn, so I'll have to punish you. Not right now though. I'll let you rest a while before we start on the next phase in your training." Sans could hear the chair scrape across the floor as Papyrus stood up and walked toward him. Refusing to meet his eyes he looked anywhere but at the purple bastard, as he had begun to call him in the privacy of his own mind.
"Be a good boy now, Master has to do some work." Too weak to fight back he felt his mouth invaded by a long ecto-tongue and shuddered in what he hoped was revulsion.
'This can't possibly get any worse, can it?'