Sans immediately went stiff. Papyrus was eyeing him carefully for his reaction, Sans knew it, but he could stop the panic from rising.
No, it was not ok.
Sans wanted to just say no but he knew he couldn't. He had already told him his whole life story what was some visual confirmation? Sans tried to tell himself it was nothing. However it really was everything.
Would Papyrus hate him?
Would Papyrus be repulsed by him?
Probably...
"Hey..." two hands fell on Sans shoulders. He looked up too see his brother looking determined but not in a bad way. "If you don't want to you don't have too, at least not today."
Sans was on the verge of tears. He didn't want to do this. He just wanted to take up Papyrus on his offer. Deep down though Sans knew if he put it off he would never do it. How could Papyrus ever forgive Sans if he was still keeping secrets?
"No, its ok. Lets just do it."
Papyrus looked unsure and griped Sans shoulders a bit more firmly.
"Sans, it's really okay. We can wait if you need more time."
"No, really it's fine." Sans took Papyrus' hands and gently removed them from his shoulders.
Papyrus took the hint and gave Sans room to stand.
"Just... give me some time to get ready. I'll call you when I'm done."
With that Sans went upstairs leaving his brother in the living room.
Papyrus didn't know how to feel.
Sick?
Sick was a good word for it.
If Sans story was true , and papyrus didn't doubt it was, he had been through hell. The thought of anyone hurting the person that had raised and loved him his whole life... Rage was to kind a word.
Even though he felt these things everything still had an almost fake feel to it.
To solidify everything he needed to see the person he called "brother" for what he really was. Papyrus was willing to wait for Sans to feel comfortable. It was painfully clear Sans didn't want to do this right now. But if Sans was determined to do this, despite his discomfort, there was nothing Papyrus could do to persuade him otherwise.
Papyrus didn't have long to wait.
There were footsteps upstairs and then a familiar voice drifted down from upstairs.
"Ready."
Then the door closed again. Papyrus heard quick footsteps and the thump of sans sitting on his bed.
Papyrus took a deep breath to steady his nerves before he mounted the stars.
He could do this.
No matter what awaited him in that room Papyrus decided he would be supportive. After everything Sans had been through in his life and everything he had done to make sure papyrus was happy it was the least the tall skeleton could do.
Papyrus tried to go about this with Sans feelings in mind. So when he reached the bedroom door he knocked. Even though Sans had given him permission earlier he didn't want to spook him by coming in unannounced.
"I'm coming in."
There was no response so Papyrus just opened the door and stepped in.
The first thing he noticed was that Sans had covered his mirror with a sheet. That was weird. The second thing he noticed was that there was a little dark skinned human sitting on Sans bed. He was wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts and his eyes were covered with his hands. Next to him on the bed was a neatly folded pile of clothes with a skull placed on top.
Papyrus still associated that skull with his brother. So to see it just sitting there on the bed not attached to anything made him feel a little creeped out. The uneasiness he felt towards that skull was overridden by his fascination though.
He had never seen a human before outside of magazines and books he had found at the dump. All the humans in the magazines were tall, skinny, with perfect hair. Sans was none of that and somehow it fit.
The short chubby human that sat in front of him was adorable. That was the only word he could use. He had little tummy rolls and the thick black hair that grew on his head was just a little too long too look trim and tidy.
Papyrus took a few steps closer to get a better look. When Sans heard him he flinched a bit but other then that made no move. With Sans' arms raised he could see a ton of small scars running the length of his arms along with a couple of small round burns. The thing that made Papyrus' metaphorical skin crawl was a large scar on Sans chest that ran from just under his left nipple all the way down to his belly button.
Papyrus remembered Sans story and if that scar was from the table incident...
How could anyone let something like that go untreated?! It hurt his heart to think about it so he stopped. Instead focusing on Sans stomach. Papyrus reached out a hand without thinking. It was just so tempting. He had never felt skin before and his tummy looked so soft.
He placed his hand on Sans stomach while applying light pressure.
The reaction was almost instantaneous. Sans let out a squeak and the hands that were covering his face flew down to push Papyrus' hands away. When he spoke his voice was filled with poorly contained laughter.
"Papy noooo!"
Papyrus looked up into Sans face and wow .
How could he have ever thought his brother was expensive before ?
The human's eyes were closed but the soft malleable skin on either side was creased with laughter. His mouth was turned up into a half smile and when he spoke his mouth actually moved. It was weird to hear Sans voice coming out of this foreign body but it was getting less and less so as he saw the human trying to push his hands away.
Even if the body was different Sans mannerisms and movements were the same.
"Ticklish?" papyrus asked gently poking Sans midsection.
The small humans eyes shot opened and he let out another squeak. Sans tried to cover his outburst with a pout but the damage was done.
"I'm not ticklish!" Sans exclaimed.
But Papyrus already had an evil smile on his face.
"So this." Papyrus said attacking the older ones stomach " 'snot doing anything for ya?"
Sans tried valiantly to keep a straight face. It didn't last long though and soon Papyrus had him flailing on the bed laughing and trying to get away. The fun didn't last though because in the tussle one of the brothers accidentally knocked Sans mask onto the floor.
The sound of it brought both of their attentions back to the present.
"Shoot sorry." Papyrus said even though he had no idea if he was the one who had knocked it over.
When Sans saw part of his costume on the floor he appeared to get more self conscious all of a sudden. He wrapped his arms around himself and looked away.
"It's okay." he replied.
Papyrus marveled at how easy it was to read Sans without the stiff skeleton costume getting in the way. Speaking of which...
Leaning off the bed Papyrus managed to grab the mask off the floor. He then readjusted himself with Sans fake head on his lap. Without it's owner it was just an empty shell. It looked like a normal skull had been taken off a skeleton somehow without turning it to dust. Flipping it upside down he examined the neck hole. It was way to small to fit a head though. There were no visible seams to the thing either.
"How the hell does this thing work?"
Two small hands took the "skull" from him.
"Dad made it for me." he said raising the fake skull until it was pressed against his cheek half balanced on his shoulder. His blue eyes flared a bright cyan for a moment and animation slowly leaked into the masks face.
It was kind of creepy.
"It runs of my magic." Sans explained as the mask mimicked his movements. "It copys my face the best it can without a mouth. However it can also do some really cool tricks!" Sans magic flared again and the skull got two very familiar star shapes in its pupils.
"How do you get it on?" Papyrus asked honestly puzzled.
"The mask runs off my magic so if I want to wear it the mask accommodates." Sans lowered the mask to his lap, breaking the connection to his face so the mask became doll like one again, then he ran his hand around the side of the head. Where his hand touched a line seamed to form. When the line was halfway around the skull the whole thing hinged open.
"That's so fuckin' cool" Papyrus said reaching for the open skull to get a better look. Sans slapped his hand away before he could get to close.
"Language!"
Papyrus just laughed "Sorry, freakin' cool. Can I see it again?"
"Sure." Sans said handing it over.
Papyrus noticed that the more they talked and just acted normal the more Sabs seemed to relax. He still looked a little like a fish out of water but the fear that had laced his movements early on was gone.
He spent a few minutes turning the skull over in his hands. He messed with it a lot because it was honestly the coolest.
Papyrus was interrupted when Sans spoke up in an uncertain voice.
"So are you still mad?"
He looked up to see Sans on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry for lying!" he said as a few tears leaked out the corners of his eyes. "I'm really really sorry! Please come home! I'm sorry!"
It was like a dam breaking and it looked like all of Sans pent up sadness rushed out at once. He was sobbing and holding himself head lowered.
Not wanting to see Sans sad Papyrus immediately leaned over and gave Sans a big hug. feeling this Sans returned the hug with vigor. The small one just kept repeating I'm sorry's and Papyrus monoverd Sans until he was sitting in his lap.
Not wanting to get his fragile finger bones tangled in Sans unruly black hair Papyrus had to settle with nuzzling his face into the mess. He hoped it was a comforting gesture and after some crying Sans calmed down enough for Papyrus to talk.
"I'm not mad anymore Sans. I promise I won't leave you alone again. At least not without some warning."
"So do you hate me?" Sans asked in a watery voice.
"what? No, I don't hate you!"
Sans flinched away from his forceful tone and Papyrus inwardly cursed himself.
"I don't hate you Sans. How could I ever hate you?" Papyrus said much more gently this time.
"B-because I lied to you! I'm a human and humans are b-bad and u- ugly!"
"Sans" Papyrus said "you are not ugly. Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror? You look like a good dam puppy!"
Sans just shook his head.
"Listen if you really think you are ugly I know there's probably nothing I can say to change your mind. I just want you to know that I think you look like a goddamn puppy dog. 'S honestly a little unsettling. How the hell are humans this cute?"
Sans laughed at that.
"Not all humans look like this." He said still a bit sad "Mostly just kids. When Dad messed with my soul I kind of stopped ageing? Or at least I age very very slowly. Dad could never quite figure that one out. I think right now I have to body of ten year old? It's kind of hard to tell sometimes."
Papyrus' eye sockets widened.
"So are you saying..."
Sans watery eyes looked towards Papyrus.
"that you're a kid !?"
Sans face turned into an annoyed scowl.
"No! I am still older than you!"
Papyrus had that mischievous smile on his face again.
"Nope, you are a child and I must care for you."
Sans tried to get out of papyrus grasp but to no avail.
"You have to go to bed by six and I expect you to eat all your greens at dinner." Papyrus said mimicking Sans moma bird voce.
"Papy! you are the one that does not eat his vegetables! I love vegetables!"
Papyrus finally let the squirming human go with a chuckle.
"Okay, you win Sans." Papyrus put his hands into his pockets "I couldn't be the older brother anyways. I have no self control."
A big smile shone on Sans face.
"So we can be brothers again?" he asked hopefully.
Papyrus' smile died a bit on his face.
"Maybe, after some time. This's just all a bit sudden. I think I still need some time to adjust."
Sans smille also fell but he nodded his head regardless.
"I understand."
Papyrus was grateful. Although he did forgive Sans the hurt was still there. He wondered if it would ever go away. Would he ever be able to refer to Sans as 'bro' again.
That was a question for another day.
Right now he was feeling a bit hungry.
"I think I'm gonna make us some dinner."
looking up at papyrus Sans had an uncertain look on his face.
"You? Making food? Are you sure Papy remember what happened last time?"
"Hey, I'm just going to make a couple of sandwiches. You can't burn the house down making sandwiches." He said getting up from the bed.
"That's what you said about the popcorn!"
Papyrus was at the door but he turned around to give Sans a wink.
"I promise not to touch anything that uses heat. Now put on some pants and come down when you're ready."
Sans nodded and Papyrus headed to the kitchen to make some food.
