You felt you could rest easy that night.
Unlike the other time where the smaller brother had bounced in to hook you by the throat─── You were given the opportunity to do little but rest. Papyrus had mentioned to you that Sans was busy that day - Even going so far to exclaim how proud he was that he was taking his sentry duties more seriously.
He'd spent a long time with you──── Making sure you were always well-hydrated, well-fed (even if the only thing the skeleton could provide you with was concerning-looking spaghetti) and bringing you items whenever you could to help your health along the way. It felt strange ─── You'd lost half of your left leg, and funnily enough - you still felt it was there. You were unsure if you'd have to go looking for something to help you walk, or if there was a magical item out there that would help you walk regularly again.
Eyes watching your friend in the darkness, his arms were folded politely as he sat next to you. While he was confident his guard rock could do more than protect you, it was tonight that he was sure to be there to hold your hand.
You find yourself smiling. He'd fallen asleep looking after you.
You give his mitt a thankful squeeze, letting out a quiet sigh as you adjust yourself a little more comfortably against the couch pillow. Today had been crazy, and what was worse was─ You knew Frisk would be back.
Your brows furrow── Watching Papyrus inhale slowly, and give a the tiniest chatters of "nyeh-nyeh-nyeh-nyeh-nyeh" as he snored. He was the first boss outside of the ruins, and now - lying by him, you couldn't help but feel afraid for him. He would seek out the human soon, and Sans would have to follow. It was what the code made them do, and in the end - there was no fighting it for the game characters.
You let out a sigh - holding his mitt tighter.
There had to be a way to make it work.
"...?"
Your attention is drawn to the sound of drills and whirring. Away from here - but feeling strangely intimate. Your eyes blink as your head sits above the cushion. A few hammers - clicks, metal scraping and the occasional "shit." It wasn't coming from inside the house... Maybe outside?
You look back to Papyrus─── lips pursing, before you ever-so-gently let his hand go. He stirs a little, snorting and muttering something unintelligeable, before going back to sleep. Your leg had healed to the point where it no longer bled ─ or even scarred for the matter. The items had completely healed you up ─ But for now, it could do nothing about what you had lost.
This would be a challenge ─── But since you got here, what wasn't a challenge?
Sitting up on the couch, adjusting yourself── You swallow, holding steady to the cushioning below, before rocketing yourself upwards. From the first attempt, you almost fall straight back down── Having one leg to support yourself wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do.
You fight cursing, holding to the support of Papyrus' chair as you use it to hop. Squinting a hard glance every now and again back to the sleeping skeleton, you go from the chair, to the table, to the wall, to the door.
You're left huffing - You really needed to start exercising more often, didn't you?
Regardless, you made it. Opening the door with a gentle rattle - the door lets out a squeak. Imitating the same behaviour as last time, you thank the gods for not waking up the skeleton. You couldn't help but wonder what he dreamed about ──── Probably capturing humans.
You offer him a smile before you go outside, silently promising him that you'd be back.
And hitting the outdoors, a hand kept to the side of Papyrus' house─── You follow the noise. It didn't extend any farther than around the corner, and at the dead of night - you were glad you didn't have to hobble too far.
Soon, you're met face-to-face with a door. A locked one, at that.
Just around the side of Papyrus' house ─ Was it Sans?
You knew there were secrets to the game, but you were never bothered to explore them. Running your finger over the well-aged marks, you couldn't help but wonder how long this door had been here. A breath out, deciding if it would be better of you to leave him alone───
───The annoying part of you decides that your curiousity was a better cause than whatever he was working on, and with that, you rap your knuckles to the wooden door.
At first, you're not heard over the sound of the whirring─── He didn't seem to move a muscle at the knock. Your lips purse, before you knock again, and this time - you hear the tools come to a stop.
"..who's there?"
Yeah - it was definitely Sans. He sounded tired.
"It's me," you timidly respond, letting a pause linger - you go to request about coming in, but soon, he cuts you off, "why aren't y'sleeping?"
"─You were making lots of noise. I just wanted to see what you were doing."
There's silence── And if you strain yourself, you hear him let out a sigh. You hear the shuffling of metal, and scrapping of paper, hands shoved back to pockets, soon, the lock clicks and the knob turns - and you see him, eyes barely keeping themselves open.
"hey."
"Hey there.." You try your best to offer him a smile ─ While trying to secretly take a gander over his shoulder, "─Whatcha makin'?"
"nothin' special," with a quick throw of his hand── Your head is forced to look back down to his own, "hobble your way all over t'here, did you?"
Your smile turns a little crooked, "─To the best of my ability."
There's a twitch in his own, "gotta hand it to ya, kid - I didn't think you'd survive that mess," something about him seemed sheepish─── What was it?
"Or should I say leg?"
There's a chuckle, before he steps aside, "c'mon. I got somethin' you'd wanna see - pinch 'yer nose, it may get a little rotten in there."
He turns around, and you quirk a brow── Hobbling past the door, you come into what seems to be a clean workstation. Nothing left out of order - Something much more different to Sans' room. It was astonishingly white - Lights illuminating every nook and cranny.
You couldn't help but gawk - that is, until you come to a rather gross sight.
There it was. Your lost leg ─── Slowly defrosting against Sans' counter on what appeared to be graph paper. There were numbers scrawled onto it, along with various amounts of notes and scribbles. You feel your stomach twist - and for a moment, you fight throwing up Papyrus' spaghetti all onto Sans' laboratory.
"───Your puns are disgusting," you manage to choke out── Your hand twitching over your mouth as you lean against an opposite counter. Luckily there were no bugs on it - the blood had clotted and the skin was barely in working order. Truly, Sans was made of something stronger than your gore tolerance.
"guess you could say that," he practically giggles, before fingers wrap around a drawer── And you hear the shuffling of parts. He brings them out, slapping them all down to the counter just a little further away from the leg ─── Seperate parts, some fired together, some welded - some knitted, and some wired.
"i heard 'yer apology to my brother ─thought it would be better of me to help ya along, rather than to let you suffer after i tried to kill ya," he made it seem so non-chalant ── And something about that quickly made you shiver.
"So I was right," you knew it - Looking off to the side, your voice seems to draw quiet, "─Guess I can't blame you."
"don't get me wrong - you still won't come out of this alive, kid.
but 'fer now ── consider yourself atoned for. i'll give ya a spankin' new limb - and now, you'll be able to run away from me as easily as before," there was something in his eye that twinkled── It almost made you smile yourself. You couldn't help but wonder when the last time was that he'd... come here.
"and it ain't finished - heck, i don't think it'll be finished for a while, but i'm on my way.
guess that means you gotta stay with my brother for a little while longer - think 'yer up to it?"
Sans was terrifying. In the sense of someone who was both as hopeless as he was hopeful───
He could kill you, and today, he almost did alongside Frisk. And if you hadn't come to Papyrus - you doubt he'd even be here. He'd just be sitting in his room ──── Counting out the seconds where he'd have to intervene with Papyrus' battle.
..It made you.. happy.
For a moment, you're left quiet. Smiling like a love-struck puppy─── Smile as warm as a dawn's sunshine, you could see it little-by-little making the skeleton sweat.
"..gotta leg it to ya - as someone who smiles constantly, that's a little unsettlin'."
And your face lights up── Practically glowing as you let out a gentle laugh.
"────Thanks for your help, Sans."
And eventually - with your goofy laughter, eventually - he too comes to let out a bit of a snort.
"'s no problem. just keep making my bro happy and i may even give ya a third arm."
