The loud stamps from heavy pacing could be heard all throughout the cozy, tan house. The tall skeleton had been at it for hours, just walking around in circles while muttering words of reassurance, and of worry. Unfortunately for all the others residing in the home, Papyrus' "quiet muttering" was more like a loud stage whisper, and combining this with his heavy pacing left everyone else to be rather disturbed by this. Papyrus, however, couldn't help this. It was his way of attempting to think... And cope...
He missed his brother ever so dearly. On the days leading up to Saris' sickness, Sans had been taking control less and less, and the fusion more and more. Papyrus had barely talked to his brother... It hurt the younger skeleton inside. And... He wanted to be able to see his brother.
His brother that would read him Peekaboo with Fluffy Bunny each night. His brother that would slack off at each turn. His brother that took care of him...
He wasn't going to be selfish and childish, however, and he would settle for just talking to Sans... But...
It had been all too long since the fusion had woken up, and, secretly, Papyrus blamed himself. Had he not doubted them, after all, they may not have fainted. And... Had he not fused with Mettaton... Frisk and Sans wouldn't have been fused to begin with... Oh gods, it was all his fault.
Each day, anxiety would eat away at him, a cold, unsettling feeling seeping deep into his bones.
'Will they wake up today?' the normally-jubilant would silently wonder each morning when he woke up from his half hour of sleep.
And each morning, he silently told himself that, yes, today would be the day.
After a bit, however, darker thoughts came into his skull. Thoughts that no one would have ever expected the naive skeleton to have. Thoughts that chilled him to the bone and sent shivers down his spine.
What if they get mad at him when they wake up?
They won't, neither Sans nor Frisk ever get mad at him.
What if Frisk doesn't care about him anymore?
Frisk cares about all their friends. Especially their bestest friend.
What if Sans doesn't love him anymore?
Sans loves him. Sans will always love him. That's what brothers do.
What if they wake up and unfuse, but they forget everything?
That doesn't make sense.
...
What if they don't wake up?
...Will they wake up?
Of course, the younger skeleton did not want to drop his cheerful facade, as he knew it would only stir up more concern among the group.
Despite his seemingly childish, oblivious, innocent personality, he was actually rather perceptive, especially when it came to the emotions of his friends and family.
And right now, everyone's emotions were haywire. Frantic. Desperate. They hadn't the need to be concerned with this as well.
Papyrus tried his best to keep everyone's worries down and spirits up, despite everything. And if that meant making twice- no- three times as much 'Lets Be Happy' spaghetti, cooked by the Great Papyrus, then so be it. The daunting task would be accomplished if it would cheer his dear friends up.
Undyne had been smiling her signature smile less, although her attempts to keep it up were evident. The fish was constantly telling everyone to cheer up, reassuring them that the "punk" would be fine, insisting that, because they survived her, they could survive anything. This, however, was a weak argument, even to her own ears... And she knew it.
Asgore tried to comfort Toriel, but respected her wishes to be distant. He would leave a warm, steamy cup of Golden Flower Tea on her dining room table every morning, and would visit the fusion, telling them words of encouragement.
"Child, stay determined. You are the future of humans and monsters alike..." the ex-king's voice would often break and lower to a whisper by the end.
Toriel rarely left her home, as most of her time was spent looking after the fusion. Eventually, she had to go back to the school, but as soon as she came back, she would tend to Saris.
Alphys had been holed down in her lab for quite some time, only coming out for more ramen, or to update Toriel on any new discoveries.
The fusion was, from what Alphys had said, in a comatose-like state, but not quite. The lanky skeleton was unsure at to what this meant, but, from how the others were taking, it had something to do with sleeping for a long time.
It must have been an odd sleep, however, as when Papyrus visited them, they oftentimes were mumbling, with a purple blush resting on their cheeks. Once, the skeleton had even see them holding hands with themselves, the skeletal thumb tracing circles onto the base of the human hand's thumb.
"Th-the human p-portion of their b-body may b-be attempting to reject Sans' magic, w-which, if my h-hypothesis is true, w-would be why they g-got sick and..." Papyrus had overheard Alphys explaining to Toriel one night. The fusion was in her majesty's care, after all, and she was Frisk's mother and Sans' friend, so it would make sense to explain everything to her.
Toriel decided taking the fusion with her would be best, since she did know the most about humans. No one disagreed, since she was absolutely correct. But the boss monster could not handle it alone.
The bags under her soft, kind scarlet eyes showed proof of long nights, hoping for the fusion, for her child and friend, to wake up. Agonizing nights of praying that they hadn't fallen down, that they would be alright.
The first month passed with no change in the fusion.
No stirring, other than the ocasional twitch of the hand. A think, purple blush coated their face throughout it all, and they were burning to the touch still.
It was like... They were at death's door.
Toriel's heart clenched at the thought, and her stomach twisted into right knots. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes just thinking that they could have fallen down. They were just sick, right...?
Oh, but being sick yielded life-threatening dangers, too, as Toriel had learned all too well.
Sweet Chara... A mere child...
Sickness' cruelty far exceeds that of humanity's, with its cold hands ready to grab the lives of many, pulling them away from families and loved ones and down into death's embrace.
She needed help, support, a shoulder to lean on, someone to talk to, to tell her everything is alright...
Maybe...
No.
No, she would not go crawling back to him so easily, even if he was her soulmate. She could not be weak, not when she had held together and remained strong for so long.
But...
The boss monster slumped up against the door to Frisk's room where Saris currently lay, a hot, fat tear rolling down her face. She brought her paws up, pressing them hard against her eyes, red and puffy from crying.
"I don't know how much more I can take..."
A/N-
apologies for the short filler chapter! but trust me, i've got some good things coming for this story! i really do so deeply appreciate all the support i've been getting for this story, and all the reviews and favs and follows has just motivated me so much. i'm not the kind of person to finish things, but all this support has made me so determined to see this story through its end! so, thank you all so much for reading, faving, following and reviewing!