You and Papyrus enter your apartment with a loud slam as Papyrus throws open your door, and you carefully close it and lock it. You double check its locked while Papyrus begins chastising Sans in his slightly-louder inside voice, and triple check as you observe Undyne hunched on the couch.

Seems she did not take well to that shortcut Sans plays around with. That little skeleton bastard just seems amused. Repeatedly he assures Papyrus that Undyne is fine. Only dizzy from a first time, and Undyne scowls at him with her one bright eye.

You hover near the doorway, uncertain if you should cut in. maybe its your house, but it feels wrong to get in the way.

You have things to do, but you… aren't sure how to get it done.

Undyne needs a shower, both to warm her up and out of a concern about how dry a fish woman should get, but you don't know how to imply or offer it without seeming accusative that shes dirty. You should make dinner but, you don't know if you have… enough food in the fridge… to feed all four people in this house now. Or enough cash in the house to get enough food right now. And your sure Undyne is still hungry, too. You should probably look up Undyne herself just to see what your getting into, how much local authorities know that shes even in your area, if theyre looking for her in the city. You… probably should even figure out… how she escaped the kill switch on her collar, but you cant fucking imagine asking her about that, nor getting caught researching her. You should probably put together the second room, too, but then again she made a point saying she might not be staying, would the insinuation be insulting?

You don't even have a mattress for the second room, either, just the one in the skeleton brother's bedroom that sits on the floor under the window. Do you have sheets or a blanket, anyway?

You slip down the hallway, vaguely listening to Undyne (jokingly, you think) complain at Sans about the 'fucking shortcut'. Unlocking your room with your key you move in and check the top of your closet and… no blankets. Only the throw blanket, then, to spare for her. Then again its usually in use- whoever tanks it on the couch uses it, and its thin. Too thin, maybe, for a cold blooded monster woman- maybe even too cold for a warm blooded human like yourself, givin its winter and getting colder by the night. Pillows- you don't have any extras of those, either.

You look to your bed.

Your blanket, freshly laundered this morning by a bored Papyrus, is still waiting there folded with a clean pillowcase. You dress the pillow with it, set it on the stack, and meander back down the hall.

Its just as rowdy as when ya left them a minute ago, and move up to the empty spot on the couch- acutely aware of Undyne on your immediate left. She, of course, is just as aware of you, as you settle the pillow and blanket down.

Since shes staring, you take the opportunity. "Theres a second room, but no bed in there. Couch would probably be more comfortable- and I think its warmer in here through the night, since theres more heat vents."

No one responds to you. Not Undyne, or either of the brothers who shushed to listen.

"-right." You sigh, feeling worn down- to the bone, hah- and start toward the kitchen. "we don't have a lot of food in the house right now- and, I just started a new job, and I'm not completely clear on when the first paycheck is yet- I think its… biweekly, but until I get it, I don't have access to much more food yet."

"DON'T WORRY, HUMAN! My garden will produce us much food, here soon!"

You look around the house and take in… Papyrus' crop of plants. Most of the have been tucked away to window sils, based on which ones need more light, but you don't have enough windows for… everything. The coffee table is still covered in seed packs and new gardening tools, some herb plants line the kitchen counters (you know those will probably need to get some sort of artificial light source to survive there, not that you can afford that.), and the baby lemon tree and other fruit trees and plants which will one day… be /way/ too big are scattered across the bar counter and sitting around the living room in places you guess Papyrus thought looked nice.

"i… don't think you'll be harvesting much soon, pap." You pull a tag on something that turns out to be a chili pepper plant. "…most of your plants are still, uh… babies. And not everything here is in season. Like… your tomatoes and your peppers, I- I'm pretty sure those don't grow food til summer, and your trees wont grow anything til their bigger…"

Papyrus deflates, but quickly stands taller. "NOT TO WORRY! The great Papyrus' second new hobby will save the day sooner! I have been following these interesting Couponing Documentary Shows! We can buy out half a store for 6 cents!"

You don't have the heart that people on those shows… have to spend most of their weeks getting and organizing and planning a single shopping trip. And one expired coupon throws the whole thing off. and the stores hate and fight the people who try and do that. And most of the places in your town aren't big name supermarkets that o coupons on that scale.

"…thanks, pap. I'm sure you make us proud." You turn back to inspecting the frige as he wops excitedly and immediately leaps into telling Undyne about those New Hobbies he's started. You wince, hard, when he starts bragging that you bought all the plants for him.

"kid."

That fucking asshole just appearing beside you—you have half a mind to slam the fucking fridge door in his face, fuck—

"If it's that strapped, I can-"

"You can't steal food if that's what your going to ask."

He doesn't respond as you scan the open fridge. You don't have much- not even condiments, what with Sans living here.

"You gunna leave tonight? To be doin whatever you do to come back with a handful of cash?"

You close the fridge and check the cabinet with cans. You have some canned shit, but that's mostly the Final Stock Pile. Nonperishable cans you've been storing up. "I'll do what I have to, Sans." Looks like its down to this. Down to… that.

"You know." He starts lowly, keeping his voice down. "First night I came back with you, I remember a big picture on that wall. And a bracelet you used to wear sometimes. And a newer looking blender on the counter. And a few things that used to hand in the hall way- a clock in the office, too. And you used to have a purple case on your phone." He pauses again. "I've seen a lot of them end up in that thrift store you like to shop at."

"Perceptive." You sigh. Too bad you're out of things to pawn.

He mirrors your thought out loud- "of course, nothing else seems to have sold in quite a while. You still went out quite a lot at night. What else happens at night?"

"Really?" you pull out little cans of Tuna. Undyne would eat that, right? "You really want to pick now to try and confront me on what happens at night, knowing I don't have much of a choice in doing whatever I'm doing right now, Sans?"

Hes quiet. Then, states, "You have a choice."

"Oh? Oh? Let you go wild on stealing food and money from people who work hard for what they have? No one just has stuff, Sans. You've probably bankrupted a man who gardens and sells plants for a living, what, you want me to tell you to go wild and steal a stock of food from a grocery store so the corporate can take it out of some- some worker whos working off student loans' paycheck? Or would you rather they take it out of the single parent whos trying to support a family on a shitty low salary cashier's check?"

You turn to him, making sure you put the can down on the counter quietly despite the impending feeling of building frustration. Hes only an inch shorter than you but in the moment he seems small as looks at you. You take a step away, despite an instinct that tells you to yell in his face. your voice stays low despite it, because you're aware that Papyrus is still prattling on to Undyne.

"I know you hate humans, Sans, humans are terrible but not everyone out there is being horrible, Sans. Humans dont just hurt monsters, they hurt each other, and maybe they aren't slaves but the word powerless still has merit. People exist with no one to ask for help and mouthes to feed, that are defenseless. Do you think I'm the only person in this city that gets mugged in a dark alley? They face bullshit, too, Sans. You, stealing, makes you the fucking mugger in this situation. So my choice here, that you want me to make, is let you go fucking mug a twenty off someone who needs the money too in a dark alley- or something entirely fucking similar."

He seems completely taken aback. Maybe because your taking the side of humans, and you've never done that to him. maybe because you called him a mugger, you don't fucking know.

You pop cans of tuna, steaming internally, as you listen to Papyrus talk about how great he'll be at couponing. The only condiment Sans hasn't layed into is Mayo- you're gunna make a fucking Tuna Salad.

"what if I found a place that's not gunna come back and bite some single parent or college student in the ass?"

Jesus fucking Christ.

It takes all your personal willpower not to slam the jar of mayo on the counter. You put it down. g.e.n.t.l.y.

And walk toward the back rooms. Sans follows, aware you're trying to leave the presence of Papyrus and Undyne. You step into the little office- a converted, large closet.

Still, your aggressive tone stay just above a whisper. "have you considered for a single moment in your life you can know every detail of a persons life when you start judging them, Sans? For the love of god. You try and call out my sister, a hard working woman, to my face, and now your asking to- to be the judge of character of people you don't even know to pick out victims? Are you this fucking arrogant?" you feel like pulling you fucking hair out.

"Hey- its fucking survival. Giving a damn about a shitty asshole's penchant isn't in my To Do list as much as finding the money for food."

"Was it survival when you stole Papyrus a hobby, sans? Did Papyrus need all of the plants? Did you need slippers and joke glasses and all the other petty shit you've stolen as long as ive known you?" you hold up your hands when he goes to retort and spin the other direction, exasperated. "You know- no, I don't care about the shitty 2 bucks you've taken out of someones pockets for shit like that. Just the hundreds of dollars of plants and tools and what not you took from a single person at one time."

"he- that asshole fucking deserves it, id know. If theres some assholes I know details about it's the assholes that owned me."

"fucking deserving it aside, Sans, that's the kind of shit that gets reported." You turn back to him gesturing at him. why he can't fucking grasp the issues with this you can't comprehend. "hundreds of dollars is worse than a 20$ mugging, Sans, when something gets reported like that it gets take seriously. You cant just go around stealing shit, especially not in this area, Sans. Police will start looking around, newspapers make a story out of anything. Did you seen the wanted criminal in our living room? Can we afford to have police looking for odd activity in this city right now? Can we afford something shit to happen and you get caught, Sans? What the hell would we do if you got caught, Sans? Fuck- if I had the money for a lawyer it wouldn't even help, the courts wouldn't take your favor even if you weren't guilty as all hell."

"what, like whatever you're doing at night is legal? Theres only so many legal things you can do in the dark of night to make money in a city and we both know pawning your shit at the thrift store didn't last long, with no actual shit to sell being as broke as you are. What're you doing, selling drugs? cause that's so much better than theft in a court."

"what I'm doing, what I'm doing, is what I have to. Do you want your brother to have a bed? Do you want there to be food in the fridge?" you laugh bitterly before changing your questions. "hell, do you want to be here, Sans? Since doing what I'm doing makes no fucking difference in anything, do you even want to be here? Do you wanna go somewhere else? do you wanna try taking off with Undyne, take your brother, just fucking leave? Cause if I'm not fucking doing good enough and if my only fucking option just isn't fucking good enough for you, take the fuck off with your royal guard captain so I can finally fucking drop dead."

"fuck it, then, if you're so fucking desperate for us to be gone then why don't you just sell us to the pawn shop, you already bought Papyrus. Money's so tight and all but you bought another slave, just sell us back, and then hell, drop dead. Do the world the favor."

For a moment the line does what it most likely intended; it infuriates you and offends you.

But only for a moment.

For the next, against your wishes, the will drains right out of you. Your mind screams for the capacity to stay angry, be offended, scream, insult, something.

But in the next heartbeat even that little spark of fight drains out of you. the spark drains out. Ice water squelches a struggling, dim flame.

You feel cold. Tired. Empty.

You could say you don't feel anything, but you do. You feel cold.

You turn, pick up the jacket on the back of your cramped little office's chair, and pull it on without a word to him.

"what the fuck are you doing?"

Youd don't look back at him, or say a word. When you've pulled it on, you ignore what he says. You ignore what he says as he follows you down the hallway. You ignore what Papyrus says as you walk through the living room, and what Sans says as you unlock the front door.

You close it behind you, numbly aware you aren't wearing shoes.

You leave.