"Perhaps you require some rest!" Papyrus suggested, pulling away from shuddering Dust. "And you're shivering worse than before! Was the water too cold?"

"No," was his reply, presumably to both questions. "I'm fine… you don't have to worry about me anymore. I promise." Though Papyrus was confused by what that meant, he didn't protest. With Sans, he usually fought and pushed and pried until the smaller skeleton gave in and let him help, but for now, he was backing off. "If you say so," he sighed. "But on the bright side, you look much better! Your clothes are still being washed, so you'll have to get used to these ones for now, if that's fine with you." Dust looked down at the old hoodie he wore, seemingly fond of it; Papyrus could faintly remember giving the article to Sans for Christmas. The not-Sans slowly put the hood over his skull, taking a moment to rub the article against his clean bones, seeming as though he was mild bliss. He didn't blame him. The fabric was soft compared to the stiff and now uncomfortable feel of his usual jacket, tattered and more confining with app that gray powder. He didn't just look clean, but also seemed more alive. While he still had those heave sockets and sagging movements, the bath had definitely done a few wonders. "I feel better," he replied softly. "Thank you."

"Oh it's no problem at all! After all, Papyrus is the greatest host!" The taller skeleton came to a full stand and gestured downstairs. "You at least need to sit down. You're shaking like a wobbly leaf! Here, we can watch a movie together. Maybe that will help you get some sleep." Dust didn't say anything in return, but nodded slowly, walking downstairs with him with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

By the time he got to the bottom of the stairs, Papyrus was already on the couch, his legs crossed and picking up the remote. He trudged over to the other side of the couch, sitting down and curling up slightly in silence. "It's a movie I've been waiting to watch for a while," Papyrus hummed happily, searching through the channels. "It just came out on TV and I recorded it as fast as I could! Apparently it's called 'Ruff Ruff Precious Puppy'." The TV showed the cover of the movie on full display. Dust wasted no time in replying.

"It's not good," he said. Papyrus blinked in surprise, looking over at him with a furrowed brow bone. "Hmm? What do you mean? You've already seen it?" he asked, but Dust just shrugged. "You could say that. It's just not good. You won't like it." The taller skeleton stayed silent for a moment, before laying back against the cushion. "Well I certainly don't want to see a movie I won't enjoy." He looked over at the other skeleton. "Does this call for a 'thank you' on my part? I suppose it does. Thank you for warning me against the treachery of what would have been a bad movie. I should ask Alphys about it when she gets around to watching it." He stopped to think for a moment. "Well, now that the movie's over quicker than I expected, I should make us some lunch. How does spaghetti sound?"

"Spaghetti sounds great, Paps," Dust mumbled with a contented sigh. "Then spaghetti I shall make!" Papyrus cheered, coming to a quick stand and hurrying off. The smaller monster watched silently, lost in his own thoughts, before getting up and following.

Once he was through the door, he was met with the scene of Papyrus turning he heat of the stove way past maximum and smashing a few tomatoes with all his might. It was what Undyne had taught him during his training sessions with him, and in order to achieve her recipe, he needed to be as aggressive with the tomatoes as possible, showing them no mercy when it came to putting them in their place and making them into a thick paste. He was stopped, however, when someone grabbed his arm.

"Let's turn this down a bit," Dust murmured, using his unoccupied arm to turn down the hight of the flames. "Here, let me help you." He let go of his arms and went into the pantry to grab the stool. He did find it, of course, but Papyrus had never told him about it in the first place. Perhaps he just happened to see it earlier on.

Dust placed the stool next to the taller skeleton and stepped onto it, now around the height of his companion's ribcage. He had also grabbed a bottle of olive oil along the way. He poured a bit of the slick liquid into a pan. "If you want it to taste better," he explained slowly, "then you should try to sauté a few of your vegetables." Papyrus looked confused, but nodded and leaned in to watch. "So no smashing?" he asked, admittedly eager to learn. "No, you can smash the tomatoes," Dust replied, "just take it easy. No need to liquify them, okay? We need a lot of it and scraping it off the wall isn't as appetizing as Undyne'll have you believe." He leaned over to the cabinet and grabbed a few, never-before-used spices. "You'll also want a bit of this. It makes your food taste better."

"Are you saying my food is bad?" Papyrus to quick to ask, but Dust kept his cool. "'Course not, Paps. Your food tastes great, but this makes it taste better, okay?" He grabbed a garlic clove. "You'll want to sauté this, first, and not too much, okay? Maybe two cloves of the head."

Papyrus couldn't seem to respond. He watched, taken aback by his words. He wasn't offended or mad by any means, he was just surprised. Sans had never offered to teach him how to cook.

"How about onions?" he asked, handing a bulb over. "What do you do with these?"

"Peel them and dice a bit of it up," the other explained. "Then you sauté them and any other vegetables you want to add. The only vegetables that need mashing are tomatoes. Just chop up whatever you want and add it in, alright? You can do that, I know you can."

Papyrus seemed almost lost for a moment, pausing to process the words of encouragement, and wasted no time in preparing the vegetables. This would be the first time he ever used a knife in cooking. Undyne had always said they were unnecessary. For him, of course. He quickly brought over the diced up vegetables, the questions he'd long had about cooking spewing out as he sought to learn more. Dust was slow in his movements and responses as usual, but never seemed to be bothered by all the questions. He actually seemed rather cheerful about it.

"How long do you cook the noodles?"

"Depends. These kind? I'd say eight minutes."

"What do you do with the tomatoes?"

"You cook them with the sautéd vegetables. You don't just scrape them off and put them on the noodles all cold n' stuff."

"How hot do you make the stove?"

"For the sauce? Simmer. The water? Boil it, but don't overdo it. They're supposed to be cooked slowly."

These question persisted all throughout the cooking session. Papyrus found himself more than eager to learn, while Dust seemed happy to tell him every small detail, teaching him how to stir the noodles so the water didn't go flying, or cooking the sauce slowly to draw out the flavor.

"Alright, I think it's ready," Dust said under his breath, though just loud enough for Papyrus to hear. He took a spoon, dipped it into the sauce, and had a taste of their creation. "It's great," he grinned, dipping it in once again and handing the spoon over to Papyrus. The trainee was reluctant at first, and who could blame him? The skeleton didn't even eat his own food. Still, with the intention of being polite, he took a small taste anyways. He was pleasantly surprised.

"This is… this is really good!" he exclaimed, watching Dust make a small plate for himself. "But who could ever doubt it with the combined skills of the Great Papyrus and his new cooking friend?"

"Yeah, who could ever doubt you-"

"Honey, I'm home," someone called from the living room, causing the two to turn their attention to that room. Sans soon stepped in, his typical lazy grin spread across his face as he entered the room. "Sup, Papyrus?" he chuckled. "What smells good?"

"Well, you see, I was cooking wi-" Papyrus stopped in his tracks. Dust was no longer there. He had disappeared into thin air. "I was… just cooking."

"With who?" Sans asked, noticing the stool. "Did Frisk come over? Try to teach you a few things?"

"No," Papyrus replied, perhaps a bit more curtly than he had meant to. "Really? You become best friends with a cook book?" his brother asked. There was a slight pang that the younger skeleton hadn't felt in quite a while. "Why?" was all he asked. "Well, seeing as you like to read and cook, a cookbook would be your best friend," Sans shrugged, leaning against a chair of the table. "Besides, it's not tall enough to reach the counter, so it would probably need a stool."

"Would you like some?" Papyrus was quick to ask, but he got a shaken of the skull as a reply. "Sorry, bro," he replied. "I'm sure it's great like always. All your cooking's great, but I already ate at Grillby's for breakfast, so I'm kinda full. Need a bit of a nap after all that eating."

"Oh that's just like you," he sighed, a bit less enthusiasm present than usual. He lifted his voice a little, making his tone sound more jovial. "You're such a lazybones! Too lazy to even eat more!" He began to pile food onto a plate for himself, which was quite an oddity.

"Yup. That's me," Sans replied slower than usual, watching Papyrus for a moment. There was silence for a moment, before he decided to speak again. "How about that movie you wanted to watch? What was it? Pretty Puppy or something? I can watch it with you, if you want. I know you wanted it pretty badly, y'know," he offered. "Though, I might fall asleep to it." He added a small chuckle at the end for good measure. "No thank you," his brother replied, causing Sans to stop as he headed for the living room. "No?"

"Mmhmm. I hear it's not that good, anyways," he explained. Sans furrowed his brow, walking back over to him. "Who told you that?" he asked, a sudden purpose coming to his voice. "Someone spoil the movie for you? You didn't hear it from Mettaton, did you? I wouldn't trust the guy. I can tell when I guy's bad at watching movies. I know; I've Mettaton of them." Papyrus groaned at that as usual, though it wasn't as dramatic as it usually was. "That was awful, Sans, but no. I just… heard about it on the internet," he made up.

Sans watched him for a few seconds, his expression not changing. With a shrug, he gave a nod, said his goodbyes, and headed upstairs. Papyrus just sighed and took a bite of his spaghetti. He had to admit, it was really good. He took another bite, savoring the taste as he headed towards the living room.

Dust was sitting on the couch when he got there, his own plate of spaghetti sitting on the coffee table untouched. Even though he had Sans' expression, his looks, and even his voice and way of concealing emotions, he looked absolutely seething right now. Papyrus said nothing and sat beside him. "You two should meet," he said softly, grabbing the remote. "You would like each other."

"No. We wouldn't," Dust whispered, his shaking only intensifying as he hid his sockets under his hood. "Trust me. I know."