Chapter 9: Sick day

A racket in the house woke you up. You blinked and stared at the kitchen where you could hear Papyrus fighting with pans. Breakfast spag, you guessed from the smell. Shifting into bed you noticed the small body next to yours. Frisk was glued to your side and breathing regularly in their sleep. Your fingers played with their hair, finding secret loops and curls. The child let out a smile and yawn before opening their eyes. You greeted them a silent morning and they responded with a hug.

'Papyrus ?' you called out loud and soon enough the tall skeleton appeared in the kitchen doorway.

'HUMANS! FINALY YOU HAVE AWAKENED, JUST IN TIME FOR THE GREATEST BREAKFAST OF YOUR LIFE!' you exchanged looks with Frisk.

'Let me guess,' you started 'breakfast spag?'

'WOWIE, HUMAN! YOU SURE HAVE A TALENT FOR GUESSING! BUT, AS MATTER OF FACT, YES; I HAVE COOKED THE MOST EXQUISITE NOODLE MEAL! HOWEVER, I WOULD RATHER CALL IT BRUNCH THAN BREAKFAST.'

Surprised you looked around for a clock, finding none. 'What time is it?'

'OH, ALMOST NOON.' The monster answered while he rearranged his apron. 'I FIGURED YOU WERE TIRED SINCE EVEN SANS WOKE UP BEFORE YOU.''

The mention of that name woke another wave of unease in your stomach.

'Hey, where's Sans by the way?'' you asked carefully treading your words.

'THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION, HUMAN! IT IS VERY SWEET OF YOU TO CONCERN YOURSELF WITH MY BROTHER, BUT AS USUALY, HE DIDN'T CARE TO INFORM ME OF HIS WHEREABOUTS. ALTHOUGH, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE HE IS AT GRILLBY'S.'

'Umh.' you nodded slightly in acknowledgement. You didn't know what you expected, but disappointment filled you anyway. 'What about Alphys and Undyne? Hope they're not mad I took their bed.' You tried to change the subject.

'OF COURSE NOT! THEY RETURNED TO UNDYNE'S TOGETHER LAST NIGHT SINCE SANS ASSURED THEM THEIR HELP WAS NO LONGER NEEDED. ALPHYS SAID SHE WOULD CALL TO INSTRUCT YOU ABOUT THE STICHES.'

You hummed a positive answer, your curiosity having been satisfied.

'COME, FRISK! LET US FINISH THE SPAGETI TOGETHER SO YOU CAN BRING IT TO THE HUMAN.'

The kid jumped right up and lifted a thumb to Papyrus. You reached for them, not wanting to be an inconvenience more than you already were. But before your fingers found Frisk they gripped the sheets next to you as a flow of pain gushed from your shoulder. Both the skeleton and the child rushed to you at the sound of the small cry you let out.

'It's fine, I'm fine.' You reassured them, but the look in Frisk eyes was pure guilt. Feeling too weak to counter Papyrus reprimands, you laid back down apologizing.

As for the rest of the rest of the day, Frisk was your own little servant. Every time you tried to stop them from getting something for you, they smiled back with such resolve you knew it wouldn't amount to anything. On the other hand, spending time with the kid was a more fun than you anticipated. After Pap left to attend to his guard duties, you both nested on the couch in front of the TV.

You were fascinated by this MTT Show Frisk showed you. The host, a humanoid robot by the name of Metaton, was quite the character. But what made it most enjoyable was the kid's moves in prefect synch with the robot. It looked almost as if they knew it by heart.

You couldn't tell when exactly, but after the sixth of seventh episode of MTT, you fell into a dreamless sleep.

Ӂӂӂӂӂ

Something inside you woke you up. A creeping feeling in your chest. You examined the darkness for a while. The house was silent for once. Slowly, with every precaution taken at every single step you stood off the sofa and made your way upstairs to the bathroom. Once you were done with the main business, you took care of the mess staring back in the mirror.

'It's me, .'

Startled, your eyes searched for the owner of the voice that had just intruded your privacy, but the room was empty. Opening the door, you listened for noises in the mute house. The front door creaked open, letting a dash of cold wind and fresh sunlight brighten the ceiling.

You steeped to the ramp, frozen in apprehension but sighted when you recognized a familiar fluffy blue coat.

'Up so early, pal? Sans greeted you as you made your way to him.

'Where's everyone-' your tone faded before you could finish your sentences as the voice rang once again in your ears: 'Too early for your face, comedian.'

Sans seemed to notice your discomfort and decided to step in closer: 'lets put ya back to bed, k?'

Both of you crashed on the couch as soon as you go there. The blue skeleton looked exhausted with his eyelids closed and pearls of sweat dripping on his skull.

'Long day?' you tried.

'Uphm, long nigh.'

'Where's everyone?'

'Pap and the kid are chilling at Undyne's. Something 'bout a cooking lesson.'

'Uhm…'

You were fighting the urge to ask him where he had been all night, but knowing him, he probably wouldn't have given you an answer. Instead you both stood there in silence watching rays of sunlight slide through the shades.

'I'm sorry.' You whispered

Sans seemed got off guard by your statement, turning around to face you: 'What are you apologizing for, kid?'

You shrugged. This was another bad habit of yours, excusing yourself for no reason. Being sorry to impose your existence to others. For mistakes you might make in the future.

'He never sees it coming anyway.'

Your stomach sank to your ankles as Sans sighted lowered his stance. 'Alright, kiddo, let me have a look at that shoulder.'

You agree docilely, still out of it a little. You turned around so the skeleton had a better access to your arm.

'Thought blood scared you.' You snickered.

'I guess I should have hemoglobeen less obvious.'

You giggled at the half-assed pun while Sans's bony fingers finished unwrapping the bandage. You saw him frown from the corner of your eye at the sight of the wound before regaining his neutral look. He searched around the room for the first aid kit. Shivers ran down your spine as you saw a blue aura form around the kit as it flew right straight into the skeleton's hand.

'Better kept an eye on that blue magic of his, partner.'

And there it was again, that childish voice speaking to you. Even Sans didn't seem to notice it. You expired deeply, calming yourself. Constant ache wasn't good for your mental health and probably getting to you.

'First time seeing a Soul that color.'

You titled your head in confusion at the skeleton cleaning your shoulder. Feeling you at loss, he indicated your chest with his chin. And just as before, there it was floating in mid-air; your heart.

'That's weird. I thought it only came out in a Fight…' your face froze. 'Sans?'

'Relax, kiddo, you'll know when you're gettin' a bad time from me.' He winked. 'Human souls appear when we, monsters, use magic on them.'

To demonstrate, he lifted his right hand as a blue flame sparked in his left eye socket. You felt the bed draw away from you when a blue aura englobed your Soul. You couldn't help swearing as you realized you were flying a couple of inches above the small skeleton grinning on the bed. However, soon enough, your body regained its original color while your body stopped defying gravity.

An awkward laugh left your mouth and you turned to lock eyes with sans, but the latter focused on your shoulder.

'How'bout this?' he asked with a hint of amused curiously in his voice.

The same aura surrounded your bandaged arm, making it float against your will. 'Whaa-' The pain stopped. It just disappeared. The continues wave of agony sieging your brain for the last 48 hours magically stopped.

'so?..' inquired the monster next to you, knowing far well your silence meat it all. So instead, you just nodded and laid back against your pillow, head slightly taking support on Sans tight. How did a skeleton feel so soft? was another question left unanswered. Bur part of you blamed it on magic as you slid into sleep.