Fun fact: I misspelled omelette each time I wrote it in this goddamn chapter. I'm also returning to my regular schedule.

We need to go home, Sans.

Occasionally, Dust had the tendency to see red. Not metaphorically, but in the corner of his socket, just barely out of reach.

During the long night of watching his baby brother, he could hear them struggle to resurface. He could hear him specifically.

He's not your brother, I am.

Had he already resurfaced. Every so often he would hear that familiar whisper of a voice, sounding so far away, but at the same time, right next to his skull. He could see red glows where there clearly were none, or so he thought.

You need to finish what you've started.

Dust would always blink to make him disappear, but in just stark blackness, he couldn't escape it; he would see the red with almost every passing gaze. He, like the voices, were eternal, like the sun. They may seem to disappear every once and a while, but they would soon return and bear down its heat.

This wasn't Papyrus. Papyrus didn't have long, clawed fingers or red eyes that glowed softly like a smoldering fire. His laugh didn't echo the voices he heard and his scarf wasn't supposed to be so mangled, riddled with perfectly-shaped tears. He wasn't supposed to look like that. He was supposed to be complete. He was whole.

He felt physically ill when that thing touched Papyrus' skull lightly, giggling like him but unlike him at the same time as he traced along the jaw bone. It wasn't like Sans could do anything, though. For once, his magic couldn't will this enemy away, no matter how hard he wanted it to. He didn't need this brother because he had found the real one; this brother was just an imitation of the real thing. It was trying to trick him into going back, but he wouldn't comply. He could never go back. He didn't think he could handle it again.

He reached up to place a solid hand on the chest of his hoodie, where he could feel the soul pulsing with tireless energy, even through the fabric.

He envied Papyrus. He wished he could sleep right now and avoid what was, just as his baby brother did now. Despite all the envy, he could muster no bad taste for the skeleton; he couldn't. He placed a soft hand on the other's clavicle, the imposter disappearing at the lone touch. He watched his little brother, his sockets brightening with his glowing irises. Raising his hand higher, he hesitated only for a moment before giving Papyrus a gentle rub on the cranium of his skull.

"I love you."

There was silence.

"Do you love me, too?"

He received no response.

"Because I don't think I could control myself if you didn't."

There was only nothing.

Sans covered his skull with a corner of one of the blankets he was barely able to pull away from the blanket ball. He didn't want to get up. He never wanted to get up. There was, however, an obligation that kept him from hiding upstairs forever.

After he was finished denying that he couldn't hide from the sun forever, he groggily got up, rubbing one of his tired sockets. Looking down at his wrinkled white shirt, he thought for a brief moment on whether or not he should really wear it a third day in a row. In a brief moment of really no consideration, he decided another day wouldn't hurt. Papyrus would throw a fit if he wasn't wearing another jacket, however. His bro preferred that he at least care about his own appearance, but honestly, that was a feat in itself. He thought about wearing it just to get a conversation out of Papyrus.

Sans paused as he picked up his crumpled up jacket from the laundry pile. Papyrus had been in a bit of a stink yesterday, he could tell. Anything less than jovial was concerning for the smaller skeleton, who only wanted the best for the youngest living skeleton monster.

He looked down at the dirtied jacket, before tossing it away with an 'eh'. That would probably be pushing it. He always knew the perfect balance of annoyance that would get a good reaction. A few good puns would probably get him back to his usual mood, even he wasn't in it already. Perhaps he would scarf down some of the food he'd made for breakfast. That always seemed to trigger a good response. Besides, he'd been avoiding any contact with the food for ages; it was about that time where he should eat something his bro made for him before he went to Grillby's for a quick drink.

Going over to his drawer — he was too lazy to hang things up in a wardrobe — he looked at the messy bundles of jackets. Varying shades of blue and gray stared back up at him, each one tragically underused and awaiting his approval. He decided to go without zippers this time, searching for his blue hoodie he had been gifted a while back. "Gifted", by the way, is Sans' term for "traded for some hotdogs." He was a bit puzzled, however, when he couldn't seem to find it. While he liked its looser feel and its relative snugness, he wasn't distraught or anything; he had probably misplaced it. So instead, he just grabbed a regular gray jacket and threw it on, taking a shortcut downstairs.

"Heya, bro," Sans greeted, stepping into the kitchen. Papyrus looked up from his phone in faint surprise. "Brother!" he replied, setting his phone down and grinning happily. "You've awoken earlier than usual! It took a couple of years, but you've finally adjusted your schedule of four hours less of sleep."

Sans' permanent grin turned sheepish for a moment, looking to the side. "Eh, it may just be a one day thing, y'know? I hate to break my own track record," he chuckled. Papyrus gained that visible look of confusion he knew so well. "Track record? I've never seen you visit a track in my life!" Sans saw the opportunity and promptly nose-dived right into it.

"Ey, well at least someone's keeping track of me!"

There came that groan of annoyance Papyrus was so used to making.

"Terrible, brother. Just terrible." Despite being momentarily vexed, he still offered Sans a seat at the table, which he gladly took. He didn't fail to notice how the seat was already pulled out, though. He finally noticed the plate of food placed neatly on the table, stacked with several egg creations. It took him a moment, but he soon realized they were omelettes, each one looking progressively better as the small pile stacked higher.

"Oh, I see you have an atracktion to my food as always! Nyeh heh heh," Papyrus laughed, ignoring his brother's chuckle in response. "Come along! Come have a… flat, food-filled egg."

"Ya mean an omelette?" Sans corrected, quirking a socket as he looked over the stack of food. He was reluctant to have one, but was willing to scarf it down for his little bro. "An om-hmm?" Papyrus questioned, furrowing his brow in slight confusion. The older brother just chuckled and shook his head, sitting down and scooping one of the omelette's on the top onto a plate Papyrus had placed at his seat. Preparing his body, he picked up his fork and cut the meal into smaller pieces. The many hot dog eating contests he had taken up had helped him train to eat things fast without having to taste it. That's how he was able to get through most of the nightly meals of spaghetti.

Papyrus watched on as Sans devoured the meal within seconds. Had the food not been magic, it would have all fallen directly through his skull; thankfully, every bite seemed to disappear into thin air one right after the other. He grimaced to himself the best a skeleton could when Sans set down his fork. Bits of egg had fallen onto the tablecloth, no doubt from his brother's messy eating habits. "Sans! Look at the mess you've made!" he fussed, standing up out of his chair. "Clean that up!"

"Yeah yeah, I will," Sans shrugged, smoothly sliding out of his chair and coming to a stand. "Tell you what; I'll clean it up after I go pick up my sock, okay?" He turned to leave through the garage, ready to go visit Alphys and get the check up on the latest happenings.

"Another one of your loops with a hole in the middle, I see?" Papyrus huffed. "Well luckily for me, I've cut that hole in half!" Sans looked over his shoulder and back at his bro. "Oh? How's that, bro? You poked a hole in my loophole? A hole in a hole?" he chuckled, a hand on the doorknob.

"You're sock's already been picked up," the younger monster replied with a triumphant grin. "I suppose you'll have to get straight to cleaning your plate!" Sans had to admit, he was a little caught off guard. His expression didn't show it, but he was actually pretty surprised by news that would seem mundane to the average monster. That sock had been there for almost a year now and had been collecting a fair amount of dust. He had placed it there for the sake of familiarity, since the sock in the Underground was still there to this day and had literally never been picked up. Papyrus nearly bugged him about it almost every day, something he did more than insist Sans eat his spaghetti. He supposed his brother just got tired of having that sock in the same position day after day, but he'll give him one thing: he had been determined to get Sans to pick up his own sock. He would even sweep around it when cleaning up the house. He never went into Sans' room just because he demanded the eldest pick up his own room. Fair enough, seeing as it was his stuff after all. Now the sock had been picked up. What that meant now, he didn't know.

"Oh, really? Thanks bro," he shrugged. "I was gonna do it myself eventually."

Papyrus' expression fell slightly, just for a moment, but not unnoticed by his brother. "I swear, you need to take better care of yourself!" he huffed in annoyance, going to put away all the omelettes into the fridge.

"There's not much to take care of," he chuckled. "I would say I'm all skin and bones, but I don't even have skin!"

"Your stalling always gets under my metaphorical and nonexistent skin," Papyrus huffed. "So where are you off to today, brother?"

"Oh you know. Punnin' around," Sans shrugged. "I'm gonna see Alphys. Talk about nerd stuff and whatnot." He looked up as Papyrus was pulling out a sponge and some soap. He could only imagine how bored his brother must be just hanging out with himself all day if it got to the point where he actually picked up the sock. "Y'know, Toriel was needing some help with baking for Frisk's bake sale. You think you could help her out with that?" he mentioned to him, stuffing his hands into his pockets. To this, he was immediately denied. "As fun as that sounds, brother, I have a training session with Undyne at six! I mustn't be late!"

"Training? It's been a while," Sans noted, secretly hoping to another destroyed house. "At her place, right?" Relief was felt when he got a confirming nod. "Sweet. Maybe you'll learn some new moves this time, eh? She always was a good teacher," he chuckled. "Have fun, okay?"

"Of course! It's always fun and games over there!" Papyrus grinned, before his brow furrowed to a serious expression. "But also serious guard work. I may be a bit rusty, so I must play close attention at all times."

"If you say so, bro," Sans replied, heading to the door. "See you when I get home, okay?"

"I will see you soon!"

With that, Sans exited the house. The moment he was gone, Papyrus turned his head when he found that he could suddenly hear the clinking of metal against ceramic.

Dust was there, retrieving the plate and fork Sans had just eaten off of. "Oh, you don't have to do that," the younger skeleton quickly told him, rushing over to his roommate to take up the dish. Sans, however, tucked the plate out of his reach, already heading toward the sink. "Don't worry, I've got it," he was assured. He backed away once more when Papyrus made another move for the dish. "I want to. I promise." When he came up to the the extremely tall sink, Papyrus was about to offer his help in reaching; however, with only a quick shortcut, Dust was sitting atop the ledge of the sink, silently washing his dish with the running water.

Watching his not-brother wash actually clean was jarring, to say the least. When he had woken up and seen that the sock was missing, it was akin to the end of hunger itself. He definitely was not complaining, but he couldn't help be a little disappointed. It wasn't that he had expected Sans to eventually pick it up (which he hoped he would), but more of that it had almost seemed like another piece of furniture they owned to lighten up the house; an decoration that wasn't store-bought for you to hang up on the walls, but a piece specifically their own that seemed to ring true to their small, two-skeleton family. Of course, he could always put the sock back, but then it would just feel like a regular sock, not the one he had asked Sans endlessly to pick up.

He shook his skull, finding it ridiculous his mind was staying on a single sock for so long. Dust was already drying his hands by the time he returned to reality. "Once again, thank you for showing me how to make such a delightful breakfast!" Papyrus mentioned to him cheerily. "You don't know how many times I've tried to make omelettes. Most monsters always believed they were scrambled eggs! I had no idea salt made such a difference!"

"It's a bit hard at first, but you learn quickly enough," Dust shrugged sluggishly, looking over at the fridge. "You put them in there, right? I might just have a few while you're at Undyne's."

"Help yourself! Sans and I cannot eat it all by ourselves. We have too much to do in our spare time." Papyrus encouraged, gesturing to the fridge. He didn't miss how Dust visibly cringed when he mentioned Sans' name. The flinch caused him to remember his friend's little condition.

"Time for your hourly Papyrus hug!" he grinned, scooping up Dust into an embrace once again. It had been something he was doing every hour since they had (or at least he had) woken up. The touch-starved monster, as usual, stiffened in response. Despite this, he relaxed at a much quicker rate than the other night. It took a good minute or so, but it still counted. Papyrus wanted to treat him as well as possible, just in case the other Papyrus that he still assumed had to be real wasn't treating him as a brother should. Gently rubbing his spine, he murmured a soft "you're important, even if you don't know it" just for good measure. Inspirational quotes had always helped to brighten his own day up. Once he felt the hugging time was appropriate, he pulled away, grinning jovially down at his companion. Dust blinked and looked up at him, that worn grin of his twitching upwards as a reaction.

"Anyhoo, I must get ready," the taller skeleton hummed, retrieving a pot from a under the stove. "Undyne always destroys her own pot, so I insist on bringing her my own," he explained, checking to see if it was polished to perfection. "It always grants me bonus points, as well as making it more likely she will teach me some amazing guard moves!"

He noticed a speck of dust and quickly retrieved a hand towel to wipe the fiendish dirt off. Rubbing in circles, the blemish was no longer in just a few quick strokes.

"Hey… Paps?" Dust rasped, suddenly sitting on the counter when Papyrus looked over. He swung his legs idly, watching his soles of his slippers gently bump against the base of the counter. "What is it, roommate of mine?" he replied, sharing a grin with him. "Would you perhaps like to come?"

"Can I share an unpopular opinion with you?" the tired skeleton instead asked. Papyrus was a little unsure of the request, but saw no reason why he didn't need to, much less be required to ask. "I try not to dwell on the unpopular," he replied, setting the pot down. "However, if it will boost this poor little opinion's own popularity, I will be happy to lend my listening holes. Speak on, friend!"

"I don't think you should go over to Undyne's," Dust confessed.

Papyrus paused in his movement, for once not having a response in the ten seconds after the statement was said.

"I mean, you can do whatever you want," Dust clarified, his voice not having the same hurried backtracking as most when trying to explained themselves on a controversial topic. "I just believe that… well… it's a bad idea, is all." Papyrus didn't even know where to begin with his response. Still, he let his mouth roam as he does.

"Are you telling me not to do something?" he questioned, not sounding any degree of angry, but instead just confused. "Well, no," Dust replied, resting his hands in his lap. "You're an adult, Papyrus; we both know that. You practically take care of the house and me; you can make your own rational decisions. I'm just givin' my own opinion. If you still want to go through with it, I'll still support you no matter what."

"Why… why would it be a bad idea to go over to Undyne's?" the larger skeleton implored, adding hesitation that was so unlike him. The mood had soured considerably with Dust's contribution, but he still listened nonetheless, finding it to be important he do so. "Undyne isn't a bad person by any means," the not-Sans told him steadily. "It's more of that if you oh so really wanted to train, you might find it somewhere other than cooking. This might be fun for a binding time, but… it feels as though we're wasting time, don't you agree?"

"Are you asking if I think I'm worth her time?" Papyrus inquired his brow ridge furrowed in slight confusion. "No, I'm asking if you think she's worth yours," Dust retorted.

The room was soon filled with silence. Some may think his rude or even hurtful, but there was no hesitation in his words. Sans would never say something so, well, bluntly honest without proper prompt, especially to his own brother. He always liked to skirt around issues, coating it with a layer of honey before delivering them to Papyrus. He may not have been as alive looking as Sans, but the way he looked up at his not-brother with a twitching smile had the other convinced every word was spoken with sincerity, but also proper concern. While Papyrus was definitely taken aback, he wasn't without words or opinions.

"I understand your concerns," he assured his companion. There was a slight pause as he stopped to consider his next diction carefully. "I understand them more than you may think. And while I appreciate your courageous efforts to stop the Great Papyrus, Undyne is still my friend, and a best one at that. We haven't trained in ages; I'd really enjoy catching up on all the catch up we must do. I apologize if it may not be what you want, but I'm grateful you tried in the first place." He smiled wide at Dust. "Very very thankful! I greatly appreciate your honesty, as well!"

The smaller skeleton gave a slow, understanding nod. "I get you," he replied, scooting off the counter with a soft push. He reached forward with trembling hands and gently grabbed one of Papyrus' gloved ones. Apart from their first meeting— an event Papyrus would rather never think about— this was the first time Dust had actively moved for physical contact without permission first. The hourly hugs much be doing him some good. "Just remember one thing: no matter what happened in the past or what is happening now, I'm different."

"Of course you're different!" Papyrus agreed. "You may have your flaws, but you are unique, and that is what makes you special and important!"

Dust couldn't help it when he looked down with a stupid grin spread across his skull. "Yeah… that's true," he agreed, flexing his fingers around the other's hand. "However… that's not what matters. I just want you to know that no matter what, I won't lie to you. I won't disrespect you. I won't…." His body let out a small shudder that was greater than most of his trembles, closing his sockets as he spoke. The hands that clenched the gloved one tightened for just a moment, and for a second, it almost felt as though he would never let go. "I won't hurt you. Never again."

Flashes of the dust and purple bones in the alleyway immediately came to Papyrus' mind. He hated the mere thought of the event, but he couldn't shake it. He shivered for a second there, like humans would if they were cold. The hands squeezed tighter around his. "I promise. Never again." With that said and done, he let go. His grin twitched slightly as he looked up at his not-brother with a sincere expression not even Sans could pull off. "So. What time should there?"

Papyrus had to stop for only a moment, before his usual ardent demeanor took over from there.

"I'd say a good fifteen minutes before six!" he suggested, moving away and once again picking up the pot. "Undyne adores punctuality, after all!" The other took a moment to glance at the wall. "Well that's a good few hours away," Dust pointed out, slowly leaning on the wall with his hands deep in his pockets. "What will you do until then? Watch some Mettaton?"

"Well, not exactly," Papyrus responded, backing over to the fridge. "I was rather hoping…"

"Yeah?" the tired monster rasped, heavily lidded sockets raising some in mild interest.

"I was hoping you could teach me how to make stew for lunch?" Papyrus quickly requested, opening up the fridge and suddenly heaving out armfuls of ingredients, some of them not needing to be anywhere near a stew. Dust blinked in subtle surprise, before letting out a wheezing chuckle and going over to assist. He gently pulled away some of the various food and put them back into the fridge. "Okay, so for beef stew, you're going to need this meat here; specifically solid. Ground beef won't do with stew like it does with spaghetti. You also don't need this much butter."

Papyrus excitedly grabbed his pot and placed t onto the stove, feeling flicker of excitement welling up to replace his previous troublesome mood that had been so ungraciously introduced. All he could feel now was his own eagerness to spend some more time with Dust.

"Remember, wait until you make dinner, and then ask him," Alphys reminded her. "After dinner. Got it. I mean, I doubt he has anything to do with all of this, if anything," Undyne spoke into her phone, making sure she had all of the ingredients within the pantry. "Have you told Sans yet?" Alphys gave a soft hum of denial. "Not yet, but if something is going on, we may have to tell him. I'm afraid he'll be cross with me if I don't," her wife replied, her tone hushed as if someone was listening in on her. "Just be careful, okay? Don't hurt Papyrus' feelings. Even if he is somehow involved, I don't think he's doing it willingly."

That's when a knock sounded at her door. "You got it, Alph. Look, Paps is here. I'll call you afterwards, kay?"

"A-alright. I love you!"

"Love you, too, babe. See ya."

Hanging up, she strode over to the door and opened it up with a grin. "Hey, Paps! Ready for your super special, one-on-one training session?" Undyne grinned, her hands placed firmly on her hips as she spoke.

"Of course!" Papyrus replied, his arm around his favorite pot as he spoke with the excitement that she had frankly missed all this time. "Come on in, ya big goof," she laughed, beckoning him inside the house. The skeleton proved to be more than eager, running in and placing his favorite pot on his favorite spot on the stove. Luckily (and unfortunately for them), the stove was electric; it wouldn't be setting fires any time soon. She watched him for a moment before turning to shut the door. However, she couldn't help it when something caught her lone eye.

"Hey Sans!" she called, waving an arm to catch the skeleton's attention. "What gives? I thought you were supposed to be with Alphys or something!" The smaller monster didn't even acknowledge her presence as he kept walking, only flinching slightly at the sound. He was walking away from the house; he must have just come to drop Papyrus off and get on with meeting the Royal Scientist. She called out to him one more time, but still got no response. He disappeared behind a tree, and soon enough, he was nowhere to be found.

Undyne just grimaced, closing the door after taking one last scan around. "Weirdo," she shrugged, shaking the strange happening off as one of the prankster's more elaborate jokes. She didn't really get it, but he always did have a weird sense of humor. She just chalked it up to Sans being Sans and got on with the show.

She entered the kitchen, rubbing her hands with a grin. Despite her ulterior motives, she still found herself excited to practice with her best bud after almost a year of time off from each other. "So... Who's ready to make some delicious frickin' food?"