Chapter 8- Sleep Over

I was coaxed awake, inexplicably drawn back to consciousness. Slowly, my eyes drifted open. There was a thick yet unobtrusive blackness all about, save for a faint golden-yellow glow illuminating the immediate area. It was tranquil.

My gaze focused on what had woken me. Dream was there, flopped onto the side of the bed, head resting on folded arm, reaching towards me with the other. I realized the gentle light came from my soul, encased in healing magic. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. To test, I focused on the lazy pulsing of my soul; a flare of teal flickered amongst the gold. With a surprised gasp, Dream snapped his head up; the tired, semi-alarmed expression morphed into a relieved smile.

"heya dream," I slurred, happy to see him.

"Serif! Thank heavens, you're okay," he whispered, looking grateful. "Sleep well?" I couldn't decide between a chuckle or a frown; a blank stare was apparently telling enough. "Sorry, bad question," Dream admitted. A brief grin tugged at my face. I sluggishly glanced around again, realizing I had questions.

"where…?" Dream laughed quietly.

"In the True Lab of an unnamed, unfinished universe. Everything else is sealed. Ink's gone to try and find an opening in your world, but I doubt we'll be going anywhere till morning. Not the best thought-out plan, but we weren't sure how long your brother would be able to stay inside the Doodle Sphere; it was a miracle it let him in at all."

I became aware of Papyrus behind me, hugging me like a life raft, face buried in my hoodie. Beyond him, the tip of an azure bandanna steadily rose and fell; Blueberry was snuggled into the back of my bro's scarf.

"He was really worried about you," Dream said, implying Papyrus. "He's been like that for hours."

"time?" I asked, lightly confused.

"About 2:00 in the morning. You should sleep longer." I frowned, somewhat nervous at the concept of surrendering to the darkness again. I shook my head slightly, both in disagreement of Dream's suggestion and to keep myself awake.

"i'm not tired anymore…" I murmured. Dream chuckled.

"Only a bit, Serif. I can fix that." It seemed he was planning on doing something about my insomnia, when he added—"It's about time you took a vacation, anyway. Rest for a while when you get home too, alright?"

I understood his meaning; I should lay low for a bit. I nodded slightly, acknowledging the fact it'd be nice to take a break. Dream smiled.

A warm, gentle shower of golden speckles glowed faintly about my soul. Peace washed through my mind, melting fears away. It was as soft as a lullaby. As my surroundings blurred, going black, the last thing I saw was Dream still smiling at me, an unreadable expression behind his eyes, now. I thought he whispered something. I couldn't catch what he said. I did my best to return a clumsy, lopsided grin of thanks. It fell neutral. A silent, gentle melody breathed my name. sleep. Somehow I knew; there would be no nightmares waiting for me tonight. Only happy memories. I was safe.

It was like no time passed. Suddenly, on instinct, I rolled. My hand was swinging down before my eyes could open or mind register. A startled shriek snapped me awake. Luckily, I had reached safely over Dream, but Ink—who had been partially sprawled across Dream and the edge of the enormous bed—flailed as I slapped him square in the face. At the same time, there was a muffled squeak as Papyrus did the same thing, surprising Blueberry awake as he reached across him and pounded the empty air. Two THUDS rang out as both flopped over the edge of the bed. All were instantly awake.

"Guess the slumber party is over," Blue yawned, sitting up from the floor and stretching, wincing slightly.

"oops," I murmured. "sorry 'bout that. guess it's 6:30— OOF!" I was suddenly cinched in an embrace so tight it felt like all my bones were going to snap.

"SANS!" Papyrus exclaimed, voice breaking, hugging me fiercely. "YOU'RE AWAKE!"

"hi paps," I wheezed. "can't breathe...!" He loosened his grip slightly.

"BROTHER… I ALMOST LOST YOU." Everyone went completely silent at his sob. It sunk in just how worried he had been. At times I forgot he wasn't used to the brushes with death like I was.

"i'm ok, bro. i'm ok," I insisted, managing to free my arms and return his hug. "don't worry about me."

"HOW CAN I NOT?!" he exclaimed in dismay.

"well, don't worry anymore. we're going home now. right?" I asked, glancing at Ink, who was on his feet, trying to find his balance after the rare nap and shocking wakeup call.

"Yep. Found an opening. It's safe for you to go home."

I nodded, glad. I couldn't think very straight. Conscious, yes. Awake? No. But two important things began to sink in: Papyrus was in the Multiverse, and…

"the kids!" I exclaimed. Papyrus gasped in horror.

"IT'S WEDNESDAY!"

"we gotta get home now—!"

"Doesn't your family homeschool Lark and Asriel?" Blueberry asked.

"YES, BUT WEDNESDAY IS OUR DAY TO TEACH THEM!"

"science and math—"

"AND P.E.! AND COOKING CLASS IS BEFORE LUNCH—"

"and lab comes right after!" I considered this anew. "maybe we should change that to before lunch in the future. post-lunch biology might be a problem."

Dream's chuckle temporarily distracted us from our dilemma. Shaking his head, he swung his legs over the edge and stood, reached for the unreachable ceiling, then sighed with another happy chuckle.

"Is this normal life?" he asked, brushing his fingers through space and beginning to pull open a widening, glowing gateway. "You need to tell me more some time. It sounds absolutely wonderful."

"thank you dream," I breathed, scrambling up and darting for the portal— just to have Ink snag the back of my hoodie as the floor tiles churned in my sight and I took a plunge.

"Maybe you should just show a science video," the Artist suggested. "And get some coffee, and naps. Not in that order." I groaned.

"but we were gonna do endo/exothermic reactions today…"

"What are you teaching, intro to physical science or honors chemistry? Take it easy on yourself and the children today." I was placed in Papyrus's care, who was thankfully a morning person and steady enough for both of us.

"guess that means no worksheets to grade," I murmured, still rather disappointed about the experiment, but beginning to warm up to the idea of taking a bit of a break. "alright." I smiled at Dream and Blue, too. "thank you guys." They grinned back.

Just as Papyrus and I stepped through the portal, to unlock our universe's front door and go home— I caught Pap's glance over his shoulder, back at the world we left behind. I couldn't read his expression. He got his wish. He'd come to the Multiverse. Now, after seeing how dangerous it could be… A grin twitched across my face as the color and shining stars blurred in details of our house.

Perhaps the whole fiasco was for the best. I doubted Papyrus would ask to go back anytime soon, and though school was in session, I would practically be on summer break for a while. I smiled.

guess everything worked out ok after all.