The rebuild went quicker and smoother than expected, it only took a few months, and when it was complete it looked like a newer version of what was in there before. Gaster had taken the opportunity to get some new tech built in using some blueprints he'd been working on for a while, and all things considered he was actually pretty excited about the new working spaces. Sans, however, lacked the same enthusiasm. While the space was being remade, he passively did his lessons and obediently ran the tests in makeshift rooms. He ate only when Gaster forced him to, he spoke barely at all and spent most of his free time sleeping - and the more sleep he got, the more he seemed to want. He didn't touch his books apart from when requested, and passed the book off if asked to read out loud - the only show of defiance he made despite all the sleep, Tired dark circles deepened under his eye sockets every day. It worried Gaster more than he cared to admit. The beat down silence wore on his nerves almost constantly, he even wished Sans would snap or get angry if he couldn't manage a smile or his usual jokes. This passive silence was worse than any amount of bile the eldest son could spit when he was upset. Mind you, over those five years he hadn't really got upset in that way, only very occasionally, preferring to put on a smile and throw out a few jokes, then cry when he thought no one was watching.

Gaster had never seen him like this, and looking at his son sleeping after a day of silence gave him flashbacks to the broken child that they had almost literally stitched back together.

It's like he was watching Sans wither away.

Papyrus visited more frequently after the incident in an attempt to try and make Sans feel better, but he still only spoke enough to encourage the younger in whatever he was rambling excitedly about on that day to fill the space left by his elder brother's voice and personality. And that was on a good day. On a bad day he laid with his back to him and slept through the visit. Those were the most worrying days of all. Sans had never, ever shut his brother out like that. Today had been one of those days, and he was currently at home with the youngest skeleton curled in his lap sobbing his heart out. Not because his brother had hurt his feelings, either, as Gaster had worried was the case. No, when he had managed to get words out of Papyrus around the crying, it turned out he was petrified that Sans was angry with him or that he had hurt his brother's feelings and now Sans hated him.

Papyrus was far too precious for this world. Gaster could only hope it didn't end up hurting him too.

Sans' mood wasn't helped by the fact that everyone had a barely concealed nervous edge around him. Everyone apart from him, Papyrus, and the Dino assistant who'd been there that night. That, in itself, was a worrying development for many, many reasons. As for the assistant, he tried everything from sitting chatting with him to jokes. Sans refused to even look at him, even on days where he was up and silently engaging in whatever task he was set. After a fortnight of him trying, the dinosaur had gone to pat him consolingly with his tail, and Sans' hand had snaked out like a viper that had been waiting to strike. Whatever he had said had been low enough for only the Dino to hear, and the assistant had just shrugged it off when asked, but it was enough that he'd not tried again. Gaster didn't like the pity-laden look the assistant gave his son… or himself. The dino stopped trying to cheer his son up after that, but he still pulled the most amount of shifts in with him; which Gaster was glad about because honestly there were few and far between that were volunteering any more, and even fewer that wouldn't try to swap with someone when they were declined a shift change. And yes, Gaster was simmering somewhere around 'furious' at them for it. He knows he shouldn't blame them, but he does. He gets a little more frustrated every time he sees someone shoot him a scared glance and sees his son react to it by closing himself off even more. Sleeping more.

Gaster hates feeling helpless like this.

Finally the living area is completed enough to decorate, and Gaster prays to every deity he's read of that it will help drag Sans out of this depression that he's falling into. Even if he knows that logically the deities are a load of bullshit, the humans put so much stock in their various relics of worship that there's a small illogical part of his mind that really hopes they might be right about this one thing.

The new area on the second floor was supposed to make Sans feel a bit more comfortable and at home, but it ended up looking a bit more like a space for Papyrus by the end of it. Gaster had brought in loads of options for Sans to personalize the space, to try and make it look like home, and the only person that could even get him to engage in even looking at them was Papyrus. Looking about the room, he has to chuckle a little bit as he remembers all too clearly how the selection processes went.

"SANS. HAVE YOU PICKED OUT YOUR ROOM YET?" shrug. "YOU NEED TO, YOU NEED THE COOLEST ROOM EVER." that had made Sans roll over, and look at him. Mostly because Papyrus had tugged on the back of his clothing until he had.

"but why, when i've got the coolest brother ever?" his voice had cracked; he hadn't spoken in nearly a week, even to Papyrus. There was no inflection to it. "you should just pick it, you'll do better'n me anyway." He goes to roll back over, but Papyrus had stopped him.

"BROTHER, YOU'RE THE ONE STAYING HERE ALL THE TIME! I ALREADY KNOW I'M COOL, YOU ALWAYS TELL ME THAT … YOU WOULD LIKE WHATEVER I PICK ANYWAY, RIGHT?" A nod. "BUT... YOU STILL HAVE TO SAY WHETHER YOU LIKE IT." Gaster sees him narrow his eyes at Sans who is just staring at him blankly from where he's laid. "WITH YOUR WORDS."

The pause was like someone has stopped time, and then Sans had just shrugged and sat up. Papyrus wasted no time grabbing the selections and placing himself in Sans' lap so his brother would have no choice but to pay attention. It was the first time since the incident he'd seen a smile touch his elder son's eyes. It wasn't big, but it was there. Papyrus tried his best to pick out the things that his brother liked, but Sans had only nodded to whatever Papyrus had got most excited about. The only real piece of décor that really noted this as a space for Sans was the stars on the ceiling in the bedroom, which Sans hadn't been able to say no to when Papyrus had suggested it, following the excited child's imagination willingly on this one. There hadn't been anything written down or pictured about it, but that hardly mattered.

It hardly mattered at all, looking back on it, especially when they'd walked into the rooms when they were finally finished. Sans and Papyrus walked in hand in hand, Papyrus dragging his brother into the lounge area enthusiastically.

"WOWIE! ISN'T THIS AMAZING!"

"sure is." But Sans wasn't looking at the room, his eyes were on his brother, taking in his reactions. Observing every move the youngest skeleton made and how his face lit up. There was a flicker of emotion there, but it was long gone before Gaster could try to pin it down.

"COME AND SEE YOUR BEDROOM, SANS." He pulled him harder, and the older skeleton allowed himself to be pulled through the room into the bedroom area. While Papyrus' eyes were drawn to the room and he was talking excitedly and gesturing at things in the room, Sans' eyes were drawn to the ceiling above, and his eye sockets grew large. Gaster was sure that if it was able to, his jaw would have dropped as well. The ceiling was painted a swirl of dark blues, purples and blacks. Pinpricks of whites and yellows had been placed as according to an old star chart that he'd had in the house, and the colours painted as according to every picture and vidoe on the subject that he'd ever read or seen. Gaster had tried to get hold of some of the rocks that emulate the stars in waterfall to use, but that had turned out to be impossible. Instead, he'd used a tangle of white 'fairy lights' to accentuate the 'stars'. For the first time in years, awe sparkles in Sans' pupils, and for the first time in months, a small but genuine smile was touching his eyes.

Gaster leaves them to the room with his own smile, lingering close enough that he can still hear them if he's needed.

Sans lays back on the bed, staring at the whirl of colours above. "told'ja you'd do a better job than me, pap." he speaks softly, but the younger hears it and leaps onto the bed and plants himself on Sans' chest so he can't be ignored.

"YOU CAN'T BE SAD, YOU'LL MAKE THE STARS CRY." Papyrus points at the ceiling as he says it, and the statement completely baffles the older brother. He decides that it's best not to touch any of it.

"'m not sad." He says simply, feeling the previous sense of awe and small stir of happiness fall away into the void of his soul again. He's not sad. He's not anything.

"THEN WHAT'S WRONG?"

"nothing."

Papyrus groans in displeasure at him. "STOP YOUR LYING, SANS." Sans lifts his head and stares at the top of Papyrus' skull in surprise. He says nothing, and Papyrus fidgets himself round so he's looking in his brother's face. "DID I MAKE YOU SAD?"

"what? of course not! why would you think that? never think that."

"B-BUT..." Sans can see the little skeleton's cogs turning behind his eyes. "YOU DON'T PLAY ANYMORE. YOU DON'T SPEAK MOST OF THE TIME. HALF THE TIME YOU DON'T EVEN WAKE UP."

"that's not your fault."

"PROMISE?"

"promise."

"THEN WHY?" the little voice asks sadly, trying his best to understand what's happening to his older brother.

"i don't know." his hands ball up in the covers, then move over his eye sockets. "i just... don't want to. why should i want to?"

Gaster moves closer, listening intently.

"i feel... empty, okay? i don't know why. it gets worse when everybody looks at me. and you... it's not your fault before you think that again... but you make it worse too." he hears Papyrus gasp, but when he tries to move off of him he grabs on so the littler skeleton can't. "don't... please don't."

Papyrus stops trying to move. "BUT IF I GET OFF YOU, WILL THAT MAKE IT BETTER?"

Sans laughs quietly. "you're so special pap, don't change. it's not like that, bro. it's just... everytime you're here, i just see you... scared and crying... i hear you begging me not to hurt dad... i don't... want... you to ever... look like that again."

"BUT I WON'T." Papyrus says firmly. "YOU WERE FEELING SAD AND ANGRY, I THINK. AND IT GOT SO BIG AND SO SAD AND SO ANGRY THAT IT HAD TO COME OUT SOMEHOW, WHICH MADE YOUR MAGIC COME OUT. SO, WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T FEEL THE BIG SAD AND ANGRY AGAIN, RIGHT? AND THAT'S MY JOB, AND THAT'S DADDY'S JOB."

Sans goes to turn his head away, but little hands catch it and force him to look at him.

"OKAY?"

"...okay." he wraps his arms back around his brother after nodding. The little skeleton lays his his head on his brother's clavicle. Gaster pops his head round the door, and smiles softly at the sight of them.

"AND YOU'LL FEEL BETTER IN NO TIME, WITH YOUR AMAZING AND GREAT LITTLE BROTHER LOOKING AFTER YOU."

"hehe, i think you're right pap. i think you're right."

They both fall asleep entwined together, and Gaster doesn't have the heart to move either of them so he resigns himself to staying the night. He also gives a pointed look to the new camera in the room.

whatever the fallout, his boys were strong. he was certain they could all weather through it.

Together.