Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters.
"There there," Papyrus soothed, gently patting the sobbing man in his hold. "Go ahead, let everything out."
He took a brief glance around his pub, momentarily considering using his preferred "group hug" tactic, but decided against it. This seemed like more of a personal thing for the big, leather bound biker who was currently holding onto him like his life depended on it. He might not quite be ready for the full experience just yet.
It took a few minutes, but the crying Human settled down and his grip loosened, allowing Papyrus to pull back and look into the man's face, his green eyes and russet beard wet with tears. The skeleton gave an encouraging grin.
"There! Doesn't that feel better?"
The biker, who Papyrus knew as Doran, sniffed, and quickly swiped at his eyes with the back of a heavy hand before giving a quick nod. Papyrus put a hand on his shoulder in response.
"But of course! You've been holding all that in for a very long time, my friend! But The Great Papyrus is a place where all your burdens may be brought to rest!" the skeleton's expression switched to one of concern as he adjusted the brown apron he wore with his free hand. "But you should really go back home to your wife and daughter! I'm sure they're very worried about you!"
Doran took another deep, shaky breath, calming his trembling body a little before nodding again.
"I… I think you're right."
"Of course! The great Papyrus is always correct! But you should take one of these with you!" he reached under the bar and pulled out something that looked like a small mint which he handed to the Human.
"This should clean you up a bit! You don't want to smell like booze when you make your joyful reunion, do you?"
Doran accepted it, popping it into his mouth in one fluid motion. The large man then looked Papyrus straight in the socket.
"Papyrus…" he paused for a moment, searching for the words, but finally settled with a simple; "Thank you."
"You're very welcome!" Papyrus pulled the Human in for another quick hug, then gave him a light push on the shoulder.
"Go on then! You can do it!"
Doran gave a sharp nod, and headed out with long strides, going around the bar and heading for the saloon doors. He slowed slightly as some of the occupants started clapping and calling encouragement, but quickly picked up his pace, right until he reached the exit. There, he paused and looked back.
Papyrus grinned and gave him an encouraging wave. "Remember, I believe in you!"
Doran smiled in response, then he was gone.
The skeleton gave a contented sigh, turning and pulling a glass off the shelf and starting to clean it with one of the cloths he always had in his apron pockets. He put his elbows on the bar as he did so and looking around his establishment happily.
"I still have no idea how you pull that off," Bill, a skinny fireman sitting at one of the tables close to the bar with three other Humans called, shaking his head in disbelief. "I thought he was gonna try and start a bar fight for a few moments there."
"Nonsense!" the skeleton exclaimed. "He just needed a bit of a Papyrus boost, that's all! A boost I am more than willing to give!"
"You always see nice in everyone," Sherry, Bill's girlfriend laughed. "No matter who they are!"
"That is because everyone is nice!" the skeleton explained. "Just sometimes they don't know that yet! That is why Papyrus is here to show the way!"
"You're really one of a kind, Papyrus."
Papyrus was about to reply to the bunny Monster who had spoken when suddenly, he felt a familiar presence. One he had not felt in a long time.
Everything else temporarily forgotten, he turned eagerly to the entrance to the pub. Sure enough, just a moment later, Sans stepped through.
"Brother!" Papyrus vaulted over the bar and raced to the shorter skeleton, kneeling down and wrapping his arms around him. "You haven't called or texted in two days! I was worried about you!"
"Sorry about that Paps." Sans returned the hug, patting his brother's shirt-covered back gently. "Got hit by a storm on the way back, lost cell phone coverage for a bit there."
"I haven't seen you for three months!" Papyrus berated. "Did you really need to be gone that long?"
"We had some rough spots out there, Paps. If we have to go out again though, I promise not to take that long."
"You might have to leave again?" Papyrus pulled back a little so he could look his brother skull-on. Sans nodded in response.
"Don't know for certain yet. But I'm back for now. And I'll be sticking around for a bit, so…"
"You had better," Papyrus grumbled. "I worry about you when I'm not around to look after you, you know."
"I know. Speaking of looking after, how about you set me up with a drink?"
"Do you even need to ask, brother?" Papyrus stood, striding quickly back to the bar, Sans just behind him. "What would you like?"
"The usual, I think." Sans sat himself in one of the barstools, resting his elbows gently on the wooden surface and staring blankly into space.
"Coming right up!" Papyrus crouched down, checking the bottles he kept below the bar. After a moment, he pulled out a bottle of spiced rum and set it gently before his brother who grabbed it without looking, opened it, and proceeded to drain half its contents.
His mouth never moved. It never did, always fixed in it's permanent smile. As the contents touched his teeth however, they dissolved into pure magical energy which slipped through the thin spaces between his teeth.
Sans put down the half empty bottle.
"Could'ya get another one ready for me?" he asked quietly.
Papyrus's sockets narrowed in concern, but he did as he was bid. There was definitely something bothering Sans, but at least he hadn't ordered what the regulars had dubbed the "Sans Special", a mix of several potent alcohols that Sans had created for those really bad times.
"So, why don't you tell me what's been going on down here while I've been gone?" Sans asked, taking another long swig from his bottle.
"Well, I have been very busy! Lots of people come in this time of year," Papyrus began, setting his brother's next drink beside him. "I even hired a new bartender!"
"Oh?"
"Emerald, she's a green fire elemental! She's been doing a very good job, though she still has some difficulty opening up to the customers. Even so, I'm very pleased with her progress, and it gives me more time to visit my friends!"
"I see…" Sans pushed his first bottle away, and pulled up the second one. He didn't drain this one right away though, seeming content to just hold onto it as he listened to his brother. "How's Toriel?"
"I'm not actually sure," Papyrus mused. "I haven't seen her in quite a while. I don't think she's left home in the last week. Not that she was going out very much before, but. The baby is due any day now, so I think they're getting ready for that. I haven't really seen Asgore or Frisk in a while either…"
"It'll be good for them to have their child," Sans murmured quietly, uncorking the bottle and taking a small sip of the contents.
"I agree! And it will be good to have another little friend running around!" Papyrus pulled out another glass to clean, watching his brother nurse his drink. "Also, I have decided to go through the Rift to visit our friends on the other side!"
Sans nearly choked on his drink, barely managing to keep from spilling the bottle. He looked incredulously at the other skeleton.
"What!?"
"Well, Lady Toriel says we should wait until they're ready to come through again," Papyrus explained, apparently oblivious to his brother's reaction. "But it's been a very long time! They must have forgotten, or perhaps something has happened over there!"
"No, Papyrus. You… you can't."
"Why not?" Papyrus looked in confusion at his brother. "Did something happen to the Rift again?"
"No…" Sans rubbed at his skull. "Paps, they're not coming back. And we can't go over there either."
"Why?"
"It's too dangerous. This Rift, the ability to access other worlds… this isn't something that should exist. We don't belong there, they don't belong here. It's as simple as that."
"Well that's just silly!" Papyrus exclaimed. "We were going to help them, remember? We can't do that if we're all the way over here!"
"Paps…"
"Trust me, brother, it'll all work out! The great Papyrus is never wrong!"
"I told them not to come back."
Papyrus stopped, and looked at Sans in confusion.
"What?"
"I told them." Sans repeated quietly. "Their Frisk, anyways. I told them to never come back."
"Why would you do that?"
"Chara died!" Sans looked up to his brother, his left eye blazing blue. "It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for those creatures from the other side! Everything that happened that day confirmed that interdimensional travel should not be possible for a reason."
"Sans, you can't blame them for what happened," Papyrus argued. "It wasn't their fault!"
"I know," Sans murmured, the blue in his eye fading as quickly as it had come. "Maybe I was too harsh with them. But that doesn't change the fact; we need to keep the Rift closed off. I can't…" he trailed off for a moment, then continued. "I can't lose anyone else."
"Sans-" Papyrus was cut off as his brother's hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist.
"Promise me," Sans's voice was filled with desperation. "Papyrus, please promise me you won't ever go out there. Please… I can't… I can't lose you."
Papyrus almost thought he heard Sans whisper "not again" but that didn't make any sense, so he chose to ignore it. He looked into his brother's pleading face, and relented.
"I still think you're being very silly, Sans," he informed his brother, putting his other hand atop the one clasping his wrist. "But if it's that important to you, then I'll stay here. At least until they come through again and prove how silly you're being right now!"
The shorter skeleton breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Paps."
Papyrus rubbed the top of his brother's skull affectionately.
"That's what big brothers are for, isn't it?" Sans gave a quiet chuckle at that, then took another sip of his drink.
"Hey!" The brothers looked up, Sans turning on the stool to see Undyne striding in with a big grin on her face, still in her officer's uniform. "What's going on here, nerds?"
"Undyne," Sans acknowledged, raising his drink at her. "How're things on your front?
"You talking about the Beasts?" the fish-woman settled on the stool next to Sans. "No sign for the last month. Even before that it was just a couple minor incidents." She flicked her eye at Papyrus for a moment. "So, uh… you finished your work out there then?"
Sans nodded, his grin turning grateful at Undyne's tact around his brother.
"Maybe. We didn't find any more trouble for the last couple weeks at least… and we were looking. Keep an eye out, but I don't think we need to be on high alert all the time anymore at least."
Undyne heaved a relieved sigh. "Good to hear. Maybe now Alphys can stop jumping at shadows all the time." A fond smile played about her lips. "You think I'm protective, you should seen how she's been about Alexander the past while."
"I bet his adventurous nature doesn't help that much."
"Not really. Actually that reminds me, Alphys really needs a chance to get out of the house, and now that we're not on red alert all the time I actually have some time to spare. I was thinking of taking her somewhere nice in a couple days, and I need someone to look after the squirt. Usually I'd just get Toriel and Asgore, but…"
"They're busy with their own child," Sans finished. Undyne nodded in response.
"Well, I think Sans should do it!" Papyrus cut in suddenly. Sans started and looked to his brother.
"Come again?"
"Well, you've been gone for quite a while! And I think it's time to put all your new experiences calming down the Beasts to the test! If you can take care of little Alexander, then nothing can faze you!"
"I thought you would have been all over this, Pap. Something come up?" Undyne asked, shifting on her stool.
"Not at all! But I will always have time to spend around the little ones, it is past time Sans got his opportunity." Papyrus tapped the bar for emphasis, grinning widely at the other two Monsters.
Undyne turned to look at Sans questioningly. After a moment, he shrugged.
"Why not? Can't be harder than what I've been doing, right?"
"Don't underestimate him," Undyne warned, amusement in her tone. "But hey, I'm sure it'll be fine. Just lock him in his crib if he gets out of hand. He can't break out of that! Yet…"
As Undyne and Sans began planning, Papyrus felt a warm sensation wash over him from the familiar presence in the back of his mind.
Thank you, Papyrus.
Well, it was a good idea! The tall skeleton replied mentally. He certainly seems under a lot of pressure, and being around small ones always helps with pressure! Maybe this will help him understand that he's wrong about the Rift!
He is stubborn, the warm voice chuckled. But in time, I believe he will come around.
I hope so! I am missing out on much great friend-making potential with the Rift closed! And I am worried about the tiny Frisk… they seemed to be in great need of more Papyrus affection!
Something anyone could use more of, the voice murmured. But you are right. They just need to be in a place where they can receive it.
Well, that place is certainly not on the other side! Worry not, Dad! I will make certain that they are safe and accepting of all the love and attention that the great Papyrus can muster!
From where he stood in the Place Between, Gaster smiled.
I know you will, Papyrus. I know you will.
