Papyrus was up and going far too early in the morning, not that he had been sleeping properly to begin with. Unable to remain in his room for more than the half hour it took for him to admit defeat and get dressed, he closed his bedroom door and started to wander the halls in the hopes that the late night stroll would help him sleep.

He was surprised to find he had forgotten how much the lab didn't sleep. The hall lights were dim but he passed one guard on his walk and could hear the distinct sound of laughter echoing down the hall from some lab still occupied by its scientists. He gave the guard a nod, the other returning the gesture in kind with a bit more formality than he thought necessary.

He paused at his brother's door, listening to the low snores coming from within. Whatever churned his soul keeping him from sleeping seemed to be partially soothed by the sound. As long as it seemed Sans was getting some much needed rest, he could get through a sleepless night just fine.

The wall beside Sans's door held his weight when he leaned back against it. Oh how he wished he could be asleep like Sans was now, instead of tormented by what had happened over the last who knew how long. Despite knowing the proper amount of time that had passed, he was not convinced they hadn't lost more time.

The things Gaster had done still haunted him, still gnawed at his very consciousness that it caused sleep to evade him thoroughly for the last two nights. It was all he could do to get a few hours of sleep before he was wide awake again. Perhaps that was just the conditioning left over by Gaster's work. Perhaps he wasn't convinced they had been rescued.

He rubbed at his face only to let his head rest against the appendage, propped against a knee. Jealousy churned in his soul at the thought of Sans having no problem sleeping. Guilt and self loathing were quick to rid him of it. He knew it wasn't true. Sans sleeping was a good thing, even if it was exhaustion driven. Despite how powerful Sans was magically, his body was still as frail as ever, if not more so due to both the coma and Gaster's toying. No amount of teasing and complaining about Sans napping all the time erased how aware he was that Sans was a workaholic by nature and would push himself to his limits till his body told him 'enough'. This – the sound of Sans's deep snores rolling softly from behind the closed door – was a blessing that Papyrus was not about to deny. If Sans could manage to sleep through his demons, Papyrus could manage to not let his take over.

It was hard, though. Shifting so that his back was flush with the wall, he looked around. This particular hallway was presently deserted, the low lights even dimmer with no one walking through. Even his slight movements weren't going to trigger the motion detectors to increase the lighting, magical or otherwise.

His soul manifested before his chest with a soft tug of magic. A part of him was too used to seeing a blue – regardless of the hue – soul appearing that he recoiled from the orange one that appeared. Ugly flittered through that part of him and he dismissed it vehemently. As much as he didn't like it and what it represented in him, he was not about to bash the bravery trait he was now in possession of.

His fingers curled carefully around the soul with barely a breath between bone and magic. He wondered if having the new trait meant he was braver now or if he now simply housed more bravery than patience or integrity.

He gripped the soul probably harsher than he needed to and a jolt shot down his spine from the sensation. He couldn't help it. After everything he had gone through, to change from integrity to patience and now this? It felt like everything he had gone through was for not. Everything he had done was utterly useless.

The magic in his hand vanished as the full weight of his soul returned to his ribcage. His hand collapsed into a fist and he squeezed it tight before resting his head against it, propped up by a knee.

"Pap?"

He brought his head up, unsure if he had fallen asleep there next to Sans's door or had simply been zoning out for the entire time. He got to his feet, too tired to make it quick, as Sans's hands hovered close.

"You alright, bro? You seemed to be pretty out of it."

Sans wasn't wrong. The hallway wasn't a busy thoroughfare to begin with because of it housing the private quarters but scientists never kept good hours to begin with and he could see a small number milling to and from their labs. He sighed and offered what he could even if he didn't believe the words fully himself. "It would seem my inability to get more rest caught up with me. I had not intended to nap next to your door."

The expression that crossed Sans's face left an odd urge to say something on the back of Papyrus's tongue. It didn't go away when Sans smiled at him. "Taking a leaf out of my book, bro?"

Papyrus huffed a laugh as he fell into step beside Sans. It wasn't hard to figure out where they were going. "Please. Any soldier should be able to rest wherever they get a chance to stop."

The laugh that escaped his brother did nothing to mask the concern Papyrus could still see. It pulled on his soul and it was all he could do to not try and urge Sans to not worry. It would only make it worse.

They came to a stop before Alex's door and, for a moment, Papyrus thought Sans would open it. The stout skeleton didn't but stared at it instead, asking, "You've got him, then?"

Papyrus rested a heavy hand on Sans's shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "We'll be right behind you."

Sans nodded but it took a moment longer before he stepped out from under Papyrus's touch and disappeared. Papyrus did not miss the fact that Sans had not torn his gaze from the door in the process.

The first thing he noticed was how bright it was in the room. Bewildered, his gaze went to Alex's bed searching for the human in hopes of finding him awake and ok.

He wasn't there.

With every instinct suddenly screaming at him that something was horribly wrong, his gaze snapped around the room looking for any sign that there had been an intruder. Maybe it was a sound or maybe it was instinct, but his gaze moved to the corner opposite the door and locked onto Alex huddled on the floor pressed as close to the wall as he could get.

He found Alex's name escaping him in a shout – or was it a cry – as he cleared the distance between them in an instant. He hesitated only for the briefest of moments before he wrapped his hands around the other's shoulders, feeling the tremors he could very clearly see as he called for Alex again.

Alex jerked back at his name, blinking at him. Dark bags clung to the underside of those large eyes that seemed larger behind the man's glasses. Had he been there all night?

"Pap?" Alex croaked, blinking some more. A shaking hand reached out and clung to Papyrus's shirt. It seemed to shake worse there. "What are you doing here?"

Papyrus pulled him into his chest, wrapping his arms around the thin frame only after Alex had settled into him. "It's morning," he offered hoarsely. "Why didn't you come and get one of us?"

Alex gave a breathy laugh and Papyrus couldn't fathom where he found humor in all of this. "Sorry. I must have gotten stuck there." A breathy chuckle bubbled up through his words briefly. "Funny. I don't even remember making it to the floor."

Papyrus's grip around him tightened. He hoped the edges of hysteria were just his imagination. "Let's get you back in bed. I'll let Sans's know and–"

"No!" The shout startled him and his gaze quickly returned to Alex's face. He could see Alex's own surprise at the shout through the fear clearly written across that exhausted face and his arms tightened around the human briefly. Alex sent him a smile but it didn't erase the exhaustion, nor the fear. "No, I'm fine. I still want to go through with Sans's plan."

"But–" Papyrus tried to protest but there was no strength behind it and Alex was already extracting himself from Papyrus's hold.

"Besides, I want to see if anything's changed." Alex settled on his own two feet, offering Papyrus a hand when he was steady. "It's not like anything can get to me while you're here. You're part of the Royal Guard, after all."

Papyrus frowned but took the offered hand. He stood without putting any weight on Alex. Either the other hadn't noticed or didn't care because the smile had remained on Alex's face and the other even took the lead to the door.

That lead lasted all of the trip through the door. Out in the hallway, Alex's steps came to a halt. Papyrus half assumed it was because he was waiting for him to close the door but when Papyrus not only heard but felt the door click shut, Alex didn't move till he did.

"Did you sleep well?" Alex asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"Unfortunately no," Papyrus responded, concern rolling through him at the quake in Alex's words. "Though that is nothing new, considering what Sans and I went through recently."

Alex hummed but offered nothing more.

A curious glance at the other was enough for Papyrus's speculations about the style of response to be wrong. Confusion had filled that exhausted face and spoke of things that sent up every red flag he had. This was a bad idea and he knew it but Alex kept walking and that confusion slowly bled into apprehension. He started to wonder if fear was filling the other's throat and weighting down his tongue as the silence thickened between them.

With each passing minute and every person they passed, Alex got closer and closer till their arms were brushing. They stayed that distance for most of the remaining trip. It only changed when the first sounds of the dining room reached them; Alex took a solid step closer. Instinct drove him to raise his arm out of the human's way and he quickly found Alex flush against his side. He should have turned them around long before they had gotten there and knew it was too late now with the dining hall in sight. Alex would fight him and Papyrus was positive that would only escalate things.

Alex shot him an apologetic smile, muttering, "Sorry."

There was a shift from Alex like he was fighting the urge to stay pressed up against Papyrus but couldn't win. Papyrus didn't give him an option; he placed his hand on Alex's other shoulder and gave the other a soft squeeze, effectively pinning the human to his side. The only good thing about it was that it would put Papyrus between Alex and those in the dining room on their way to the kitchen. "There's no reason to apologize, Alex. You're doing just fine."

The smile he received looked strained. It did nothing to distract him from the white knuckle grip Alex had of the fabric over his heart.

He should have turned them around.

The first step into the dining room was a cautious one and the majority of his focus was on Alex waiting for some sort of reaction. But when none came, when he simply kept step with Papyrus, Papyrus kept moving.

But sometimes triggers happen when least expected and not always with a clear cause. The only warning Papyrus got was Alex fisting the back of his shirt before the human froze completely, jerking him to a stop.

Papyrus turned, floundering for the briefest of moments as he fought the urge to leave Alex and get Sans. It was an easy urge to fight as he placed himself between Alex and the rest of the room. The noise of the room seemed to fluctuate but he couldn't give it enough attention to understand why or how.

"Alex," he tried softly, his hands going to Alex's shoulders, his neck, his face. "Come on, Alex. It's ok. I'm right here."

The urge to wash his magic over Alex was far harder to fight and he nearly broke under it - until he felt someone undoing Alex's hold from his shirt.

That urge was suddenly the need to protect and the magic surged backwards towards whoever was there. His brother's magic was strong and unrelenting, clashing with his and containing it so easily, Papyrus felt his own magic cower under the enormous might of his brother's magic.

"What happened?" Sans carefully demanded with a steady voice. Papyrus wasn't sure if the lack of verbal reaction to his magical response upon Sans's arrival was a good thing or a bad one.

Papyrus shook his head. "I didn't see but he needs to be taken out of here."

Sans nodded. "I've got him. I'll take him back to his room while you–"

Alex jerked back, a strangled noise escaping him, and the brothers moved forward as the human tried to retreat. Papyrus's hands found Alex's hair as Sans's found Alex's hands, boney fingers tangling with flesh ones to keep Alex from grabbing at his chest again.

"My room," Sans rushed, tugging on Alex's hands. "We'll go to my room." He shot Papyrus a gaze drowning in the same toxic blend of emotions he was trying not to drown in. "We'll see you there."

Papyrus nodded, removing his touch from Alex's head. "I'll bring food."

They were gone before he had finished the last word, leaving him feeling lost and useless. With a bitterness towards himself more than anything else settling over his soul, he started for the kitchen.

Sans grunted against the sensation of using a shortcut as his legs gave out from under him. Alex went down far harder than he did and it was everything he could do to keep the human from doing any more damage.

The trip had not been kind to Alex and Sans almost regretted not trying to get Alex to walk down the hallway back to his room. Almost.

Alex started coughing and choking as his lungs refused to take in the air properly, his heart probably not handling the stress any better. Sans grabbed at Alex and pulled, getting the human up enough to get under him. Alex spasmed around him and it was all he could do to not use magic again.

He half guided, half dragged Alex to his bed where he got the human to sit. The coughing fit spattered out and ended but the panic didn't go away. Sans grabbed at Alex again and from one moment to the next, Sans had Alex on his side, head resting on a pillow on Sans's lap. He buried a hand into Alex's hair as the other rubbed circles into Alex's back with words tumbling from his chest.

He wasn't really thinking of what he was saying because if he thought too hard, he was certain he would say the wrong thing. It was working, though, whatever it was he was saying. The tremors under his hands were calming and the tension eased from the other's form till he suddenly realized Alex was asleep.

His words sputtered out till silence rang in the room but Alex remained asleep. Sans leaned his head back against the wall, grateful he had had the forethought to give himself something to lean against.

A soft tapping woke him from the doze he had ended up in. He opened a socket, not caring to exert more energy than that. He found Papyrus standing in the doorway, tray in one hand, doorknob in the other. He sat upright, focusing on Papyrus as the other entered fully, asking, "How is he?"

"Asleep, from what I can tell," Sans offered in the same soft voice. "Whatever had triggered him had been bad. I don't think we can try that again and get him anywhere near the dining room before he's incapacitated."

The look that crossed Papyrus's face matched the emotions he was feeling but he didn't pay it any mind as his attention went to the door. It had remained open but not unoccupied.

Toriel and Undyne were hovering there, both looking like they wanted to help without not knowing how. He focused on Undyne. "Thank you for getting me. I'm glad we didn't have to discover what would have happened had you not."

Undyne gave him a sharp nod. "It's my job to protect the people of the Underground, and, as stubborn as he may be, he's still one of my responsibilities." Her fins folded down partially. "I just wish there was something more I could do. I hate feeling so useless."

Sans shook his head. "You're not useless, Undyne. Far from it."

"We'll spar later," Papyrus cut in, gaining her attention. The lankier skeleton grinned at her. "You'll see how far from useless you are."

Undyne snorted. "Not sure how whooping your ass is proof of my merit."

"It will."

From the expression on her face, it looked like she believed him. She gave him a sharp nod, offering in turn, "Looking forward to it, then."

"Thank you as well, Tori," Sans voiced.

She smiled at him. "Glad I could help."

Toriel closed the door as the pair left. The silence that fell was only broken by Papyrus messing with the dishes and Alex's soft breathing. Sans watched his brother, fingers running through Alex's hair. "Any idea what triggered him?"

Papyrus shook his head. "I had been too focused on him to pay any attention to what was around us." There was a bitterness to his words that Sans wanted to get rid of but his brother kept talking. "Whatever it had been, it made him freeze. Wasn't anything like what we've dealt with up to this point."

Sans looked down at the sleeping human. "Do you know if he slept last night?"

The sound of the dishes stopped abruptly and Sans looked up to find Papyrus staring at the dishes in his hand. It took a moment but the other met his gaze, answering, "He hadn't. All the lights were on when I arrived and he was in a corner, frozen in what I'm assuming was terror. He didn't even see me when I was right in front of him till I...woke him up."

Sans sucked in a breath at that, a hiss escaping him as he did so. "Shit, Pap. We shouldn't have done this. You should have just sent word to me instead of bringing him to the dining room."

Papyrus shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "I had wanted to turn around but he was determined to see it through. It was either going with him and making sure he had support or fighting with him about it and possibly ruining everything."

"Stubborn human," Sans ground out.

"As stubborn as his partner, if memory serves right."

Sans blinked before looking up at Papyrus. As fond as the statement had been, the look he received was almost sad. Something dark and heavy coiled in his gut because of it. "We have to do something, Pap."

"I agree but there isn't much we can do right now except let him rest. But first," Papyrus turned back to the food and picked up a shallow bowl before crossing to the bed. Papyrus's touch was just as soft as his words. "Alex, food's here."

Alex jerked awake but it didn't seem they had woken him from a bad dream. Instead, the human smiled at Papyrus, sitting with some difficulty. Sans reached out and helped the human sit up proper, feeling the tremors that flickered over Alex's muscles under his fingers. Even the human's face was tight with exhaustion but his hands were steady as he offered to take the bowl. "Smells good."

Papyrus gave a mischievous grin. "I would hope so." His brother's hands didn't leave the bowl till he was certain that Alex had a good hold on it. "I did put it together, after all."

Alex brought it to his lap, smiling again up at Papyrus. "Everything you put together is great."

Sans snorted as Papyrus straightened and sent a glare lacking any heat at Alex. "Flattery will get you nowhere. Now eat."

There was some chatting here and there but, overall, the meal was a quiet – and quick - affair. Alex fell asleep halfway through. Despite their urgings throughout the meal, Alex had eaten far less than Sans would have liked. He shared a concerned look with Papyrus as they cleaned up. Sans tucked his blankets in around Alex, commenting softly, "We can't let him sleep alone again."

"I doubt he will give us much of a choice."

Sans wasn't sure how Papyrus meant those words to be taken but he agreed with the two meanings that came to mind.

Silence settled over them but it wasn't bad. Sans watched Alex's chest rise and fall, mind wandering slowly from topic to topic. It wasn't long till it settled. "I'm not sure he's going to be able to stay here."

For a moment, he thought that maybe Papyrus hadn't heard him. But the silence between them only lasted for a minute at most.

"Is there truly no hope for him here?"

Sans leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his face. "I wish I could say that I had high hopes that he would get better, that today was just a fluke, but there's a part of me that can't be wistfully optimistic. We have to prepare for the worst and, right now, that's Alex getting worse staying here."

"So then where else could we take him? Our house isn't overly ideal, is it?"

Sans shrugged. "I have a lab there he and I can utilize and it won't have the number of people wandering about the halls like there is here. Would let you go to work without having to fret about us and would provide a better environment to get used to others in anyway." He offered a tired smile. "I'm sure Grillby would be glad to see us again."

Papyrus blinked. "We have been away for quite some time, haven't we?"

"Close to four months at this point, if I'm doing the math right. Wonder what's changed?"

Papyrus offered him a soft smile. "Knowing our little town, probably nothing more than the residents at the inn and what Grillby's special is."

"Probably."

Papyrus rose to his feet. "So do we have a new plan, then?"

Sans settled more into his chair. "We'll let him sleep as long as he will sleep and then we'll relocate to your room. I'm unfortunately not the best of bunkmates and I'm still waiting for a bad night to hit me. From there, whatever he feels up to. Probably some sort of work, maybe he'll be up for a round of cards. Or food. He may be hungry when he wakes."

"Then you will move him to my room and I will get food before meeting you both there." The tray shifted precariously in his hands as he moved it about but nothing fell off. "And tomorrow?"

Sans shrugged. "We'll try introductions again, but we'll go about it differently. See how he reacts to Toriel and then maybe Undyne. Beyond that? I don't know. Flowey? Alphys? We could probably try Frisk and see how he reacts to a complete stranger."

"Do you want me to ask Frisk if they know Alex first?"

"Probably best since we can't ask Alex. If they have some sort of history, we could always try one of Undyne's people stationed in New Home, or Grillby, even. It's been long enough that even if they had met in passing, I doubt there would be anything negative in their interactions to trigger."

"I will pass on the plan. See you both in my rooms whenever he wakes."

Sans nodded, leaving the conversation at that.

When Alex woke, it woke Sans from a doze. He had dozed hard enough to have bizarre dreams so there wasn't any hard feelings towards the awkward wakeup. Alex looked like he could do with another twelve hours of sleep with how he blearily blinked at the room around him, blankets that had once been so nice and neatly tucked in around him pooling in his lap.

"Whose room we in?" Alex asked groggily.

"Mine," he offered. "Wanted to take you to Pap's but I couldn't focus well enough."

Alex frowned at him and for a fleeting moment, he wasn't even sure if Alex even knew what had happened to him.

"Why?"

He closed his sockets against that. "You froze in the dining room from another panic attack. You reacted negatively at the mention of your room, thus my room."

Silence settled over them but it wasn't enough for him to look quite yet.

"And why you couldn't focus." He opened his sockets, meeting Alex's gaze. "You said you had originally wanted to take me to Papyrus's room?"

Sans nodded. "I'm not a good bunkmate even before my coma, let alone the events that led to your own amnesia. Pap will be far more consistent in his hours and his room will remain guest friendly." He shrugged. "I'm not the neatest of monsters and I'm honestly surprised we can even walk through my room right now."

Alex gave a faint chuckle at that, drawing his gaze again. "Alex." The human looked at him, looking just as weary as Sans felt. He wondered if it was more than just a physical exhaustion. "You can protest all you want but we're going to have you sleep with Pap till things stop triggering you so badly. It'll get frustrating, what with being forced to have a bunkmate, but I'm hoping it'll help your recover by allowing you to get some actual sleep. Depending on how tomorrow goes, we'll be relocating to Pap's and I's house."

"Too much here, huh?" Alex asked with a sad little grin.

Sans returned it. "Unfortunately. Good news is the house has a lab so we won't have an issue continuing some of our work."

"Good."

With nothing more to talk about - as far as he could recall - Sans stood up, Alex's eyes on him the entire time. "Whelp, Pap should be at his room by now. Care to go for a walk?"

Alex pushed at the covers. "I may not be overly steady."

Sans wrapped his hand around Alex's arm as the human started to stand, his other going to Alex's chest to help keep him upright. "That's why I'm here." Alex leaned into the assist. Sans could feel the tremors from the effort it was taking for Alex to stay standing. "Just take it slow. I'll follow your pace and take your weight so just focus on getting to Pap's room."

"Ok."

The walk was slow. The tremors running through Alex's body worsened the farther they went. By the time they made it to Papyrus's room, Sans was certain he was the reason why Alex was even upright right now. They arrived in time to hear the clatter of dishes on the tray Papyrus was placing on the nightstand. Papyrus didn't seem overly surprised to see them when he turned around but Sans wasn't sure if that was because he had known they had been approaching or if it was something else. "Just in time," Papyrus spoke, grinning. "The food is still nice and hot."

"What is it?" Alex asked eagerly as Sans helped him sit on Papyrus's bed. It was hard to tell if it was a genuine interest or if Alex was doing it for their sake. With how little Alex had eaten earlier, he was pretty sure it was genuine.

Papyrus looked pleased with the response and started talking, Alex holding his own in the lanky skeleton's conversation. Sans, for his part, settled into a chair with a sigh. Despite the nap he had gotten, he was bone tired and there was still so much to do. He took the offered food and ate it, content to just watch.

Alex managed to eat his entire share before passing out again. Sans gathered the used dishes realizing he had eaten far less than his brother and Alex. He knew there was no point trying to hide it from Papyrus; the other skeleton would have already noticed but he still tried to hide it under the other dishes. Unease at his own actions made him talkative and he asked softly, "So what did Frisk say?"

"They have not interacted with Alex as far as they recall but they are uneasy about meeting him alone," Papyrus informed him as the lanky skeleton tucked Alex in. Standing straight, he looked at Sans. "I offered them if Alex doesn't negatively react to Toriel, they can meet Alex while she is here. They seemed to be quite happy with that idea, if not a bit hesitant still."

Sans nodded. "Then we'll do Toriel first. Probably after breakfast." A yawn cut in, making his jaw ache afterwards.

Papyrus put a heavy hand on his shoulder but he welcomed the touch. "Go get some sleep, Sans. I have him."

Sans smiled up at his brother, offering unnecessarily, "Call if you need anything."

Whatever other well wishes his brother sent after him were left behind with used magic.