"BUT SANS! I WANT TO SEE IT! CAN'T I JUST TAKE ONE LITTLE PEEK?" Papyrus begged even as his elder brother gently ushered him back towards the couch for what had to be the hundredth time that day. Sans shook his head.
"no way, bro. you gotta wait until we're done. you don't wanna ruin the surprise, do ya?" he scolded lightly, though he couldn't seem to wipe the grin off of his face even as the taller skeleton let out a groan of disappointment. He couldn't help it. Just seeing his brother so excited over something always made him happy. Hell, Papyrus hadn't been this excited about anything since they'd made his favorite costume over a year ago. He'd probably be dancing in anticipation just as he had then if only he wasn't almost to term in his pregnancy.
Sans helped the expectant skeleton ease down into his seat on the couch, slipping a pillow behind his lower back as he did so. Papyrus let out a tired sigh as he let himself sink back into the cushions of the couch, his hand rubbing lightly at the large, bulging barrier that just barely fit under his sweater anymore.
"it won't be too much longer, i promise." The shorter skeleton assured, giving his brother a reassuring smile. "as soon as the paint dries, i'll come get you right away so you can see it. until then, just watch some tv and relax, okay? and if ya start feelin' weird at all, just holler up at us and we'll come right down."
Papyrus arched a brow at that last bit.
"'FEELING WEIRD?' YOU'LL HAVE TO BE MORE SPECIFIC THAN THAT. I'VE DONE NOTHING BUT FEEL WEIRD FOR THE PAST EIGHT AND A HALF MONTHS!"
"alright… holler if you start hurting at all, or if it feels like the baby's coming. is that specific enough for ya?"
"I SUPPOSE I COULD WORK WITH THAT…" Papyrus grumbled in reply, folding his arms across his chest with a light huff. "BUT DON'T DAWDLE! I'D LIKE THE NURSERY TO BE READY BEFORE THE BABY'S BORN!"
"don't worry. we'll have it done by the end of the day, i swear. we aren't gonna leave this little guy hanging without a room of his own." Sans replied, giving his brother's belly a gentle pat. That seemed to coax a small smile out of the younger skeleton, at least.
With that matter finally settled, Sans made his way back upstairs, past Papyrus's bedroom to the new door a little further down the hall. A piece of paper was taped to the outside, reading: "No peeking! That means you, Papyrus!" He couldn't help but smirk at that. It had been written by Undyne, so there was a decent chance that his brother would actually do as it said. Of course, half of the time Sans still expected to come out into the hall and find Papyrus standing there, staring at the door and fidgeting indecisively, unsure which was stronger; his urge to peek at the baby's unfinished nursery, or his absolute obedience to the Captain of the Royal Guard.
Said Captain was still busy at work when the shorter skeleton walked in, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth slightly as she concentrated on the Gyftrot she was painting into the mural on the wall. She only looked up once she got done with the particular bit she was working on.
"You take care of him for good this time?" Undyne asked, a clear note of annoyance in her voice. Sans could only reply with a shrug of his shoulders.
"can't make any promises on that one. you know how stubborn he can be. he could be up here in five minutes for all i know." he said as he made his way up the step ladder in the center of the room. Undyne watched him with a bit of unease as he picked up the paintbrush left at the top of the ladder and resumed his work on the ceiling.
"Are you sure you don't want me to do that? I mean, I don't have as far to fall as you do."
"oh, short jokes. real funny." He grumbled to himself under his breath before answering her proper. "nah, i wanna do this part. it's… it's important."
After a short moment, Sans set down his paintbrush, wiping his hand on his already blue- and yellow-stained shirt. Papyrus had already given him a hard time about getting paint all over his clothes, but he hoped perhaps seeing the final result of their work would take his mind off such trivial things.
"hey, undyne… i've been meaning to ask… why are you doing this? i mean, painting nurseries and putting together babies' cribs doesn't exactly sound like something that'd be in the royal guard's job description." Sans asked, mostly just for a bit of small talk. Undyne let out a scoff, turning back to her painting.
"Tch! Giving cooking lessons ain't part of being in the Royal Guard either, but I still do that, too! Papyrus is my friend, and I'll help out a friend whenever and however I damn well please!" she replied as boisterously as ever. Sans let a smirk creep across his face, and he opened his mouth to issue forth a witty retort, but he didn't get the chance.
"Besides…" the sea sprite continued, her tone markedly more subdued and serious than a moment ago. "I… I've got a lot of hope riding on this kid…"
The skeleton's smirk faded quickly, and he soon found himself staring down at Undyne's back as she continued to paint.
"what do you mean by that?" he asked hesitantly, his brows furrowing in mild suspicion. Did she know about..? No, that was impossible. He'd done very well at keeping the whole Gaster thing under wraps. Undyne let out a sigh, her fins drooping lightly as she lowered her paintbrush down from the wall.
"What I mean is… I'm hoping this kid will finally give him something better to focus his energy on rather than trying to get into the Royal Guard."
"oh…" Sans replied, the stiffness in his shoulders easing away at that, though not in relief. "you know, if he doesn't qualify, you should just tell him. leading him on like this is only going to make it hurt worse for him in the end."
"That's the problem! He does qualify!" she growled out, running her fingers roughly through her ponytail in aggravation. "Hell, he more than qualifies! Papyrus is one tough bastard, in his own weird way. Normally, I'd jump at the chance to have a guy that strong in my ranks, and then I'd have to start worrying about him taking my job! But… C'mon, Sans. You were there. You saw what happened with the human. Even fighting to save his life, even fighting to save his baby's life… He still couldn't bring himself to finish that crazy little bastard off. You had to do it."
Sans let out a sigh at that. Yes, he and Undyne had had a good long discussion after the 'human' incident about what happened. There wasn't really any way he could hide the truth from her, not with the evidence splattered all over his body. He just wished the truth didn't have to come at the expense of his brother's life-long dream.
"so there's no chance, then? none at all?" he asked softly, to which the sea sprite shook her head.
"'Fraid not… I love the guy to death – platonically, of course – but I just can't have someone in the Guard who's too nice to kill when he has to. But… There's just no way to derail the stubborn bastard. Any time I make up an excuse why he can't join, he just starts working extra hard to overcome some flaw I just made up off the top of my head. I can't keep doing that to him. He lives for this stupid dream of his. I know that. I'm just really hoping this kid will give him something more worth-while to live for, something better to pour his love and his passion into. So, if doing this lame domestic shit helps him do that, even if it's only a little bit, then it'll be worth every second I spend here…"
Sans could only stare down at her for the longest time. Did she… Did she really mean all that? A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. She may not have a problem with killing, but sometimes Undyne had her 'too nice' moments as well… and right now he wouldn't change that for the world.
"alright, papy, close your eyes!"
Papyrus narrowed his eyes down at his elder brother almost disdainfully, his arms folding across his chest once more.
"CLOSE MY EYES?! BUT I THOUGHT YOU WERE FINALLY GOING TO LET ME SEE THE NURSERY! HOW CAN I SEE IT WHITH MY EYES CLOSED?!" he complained loudly, now glaring at the plain-looking door in front of him. He'd actually gotten somewhat comfortable down on the couch, and now that they finally dragged him upstairs to see the baby's room, they were going to make him do it with his eyes closed?! If this was Sans's idea of a joke, it was one of his worst yet!
"c'mon, bro. just trust me on this." Sans replied, his grin never faltering.
"BUT—"
"Oh, for fuck's sake! C'mere!" Undyne growled, coming up behind Papyrus and clamping her hands over his eyes. The expectant skeleton let out a startled yelp, but could do little more than wriggle ineffectually in her iron grasp. He then felt Sans take his hand, gently leading him forward into the room. Only when they were right about in the middle of the room did the sea sprite finally uncover his eyes to let him see.
All of the furniture had been set up; the crib pushed against the wall that separated the nursery from Papyrus's own bedroom, a mobile featuring tiny stuffed woodland creatures hanging just above it, a rocking chair sitting just next to the window, and a dresser already filled with the baby's clothes. Papyrus had seen most of that stuff before, of course. It was hard to hide big things like that when Undyne and his brother had to carry them through the house and up the stairs. What he hadn't seen was the paintjob the two had kept hidden from him for the past several days.
The walls seemed to stretch out into a vast field edged by a lush green forest, pale blue mountains towering in the distance. A herd of Gyftrot were painted frolicking at the forest's edge, and bunnies the color of cinnamon sugar munched happily on clovers among the golden flowers. Papyrus opened his mouth to say something, but he felt a tug at his sleeve before he could find the right words. He looked down to see Sans standing there at his side, offering him little more than a grin as he pointed up towards the ceiling. He looked up, and this time he fell truly speechless.
A bright yellow sun had been painted in the center of the ceiling, surrounded by a light blue sky that was only occasionally broken by a puffy white cloud swirling about. If he looked hard enough, he might have noticed the countless tiny flecks of glow-in-the-dark paint that discolored the mural ever so slightly, but would glow like stars when the lights were turned off.
"so? waddaya think? was it worth the wait?" Sans asked, grinning ear to ear and eager to see his brother's reaction to all of the hard work they'd put into everything. His grin flicked away when Papyrus finally looked back down at him. He was crying, tears streaming down the sides of his face. The shorter skeleton shrunk back a little. Had he chosen wrong when he decided to paint the nursery like the surface world? Had he perhaps only served to dig up the feelings of failure that had made Papyrus so depressed in the weeks following the human incident? Maybe this hadn't been such a hot idea after all…
Suddenly, Sans felt himself being pulled into a tight hug along with Undyne, his brother burying his face against his shoulder.
"I LOVE IT! IT'S ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Papyrus more or less sobbed out, making no attempt to mask how emotional the whole thing had made him. Undyne's eye twitched slightly at the sudden close physical contact, but she managed to reign in her annoyance for now, even managing an awkward pat on the pregnant skeleton's back. Sans wasn't nearly so hesitant, hugging his brother back warmly as he let out a quiet little sigh of relief to himself. So he'd managed to hit the mark after all.
The day had been a long and tiring one, but in the end it was all worth it. Undyne had made sure Papyrus had something to eat before heading home for the day, and now the two skeletons were cuddled close on the couch to enjoy an evening of television together. Sans was tucked under his brother's arm against his side, his head resting gently on Papyrus's swollen belly. It felt warm, even through the younger skeleton's thick sweater, and he could feel the gentle beating of the unborn infant's soul against his cheek, along with the occasional kick. Papyrus had grown so used to them that he didn't even flinch anymore.
Everything about that moment seemed to be conspiring against Sans's flimsy intent to stay awake. It was all very comforting in a way he hadn't felt in years. His eyelids seemed to grow heavier with each soft beat of his little nephew's soul, and his whole body seemed to melt into relaxation as Papyrus absent-mindedly rubbed at his back. This was nice. So much better than all the worrying he'd been doing these past nine months or so. In fact, he was so sleepy at the moment that he could have almost fooled himself into thinking he was back in a time when everything was better, when he didn't have to worry about anything at all, when it felt like his family was still whole.
"dad…" he mumbled out so softly that he'd hardly noticed it himself, snuggling into his brother's soft sweater as sleep finally took him.
Sans was roused from his little nap a few hours later, though by what he couldn't tell. The living room had grown dark, illuminated only by the pale glow of the static-filled TV screen. It must have been pretty late at night if Mettaton wasn't even broadcasting anymore. He looked up to Papyrus. The taller skeleton was fast asleep, his head propped up against his hand with his elbow resting on the arm of the couch. Sans smiles lightly. His younger brother was normally so full of energy that he wouldn't dream of finding him just falling asleep on the couch like this. Of course, these past few months had been more trying for him than for anyone else, and he wasn't surprised to find that Papyrus was growing more and more easily exhausted by the day. A lot of that was the baby's fault. This close to his due date, the little thing would be draining his magic like crazy in preparation for the birth.
Careful not to wake him up, Sans pulled himself out from under where Papyrus had draped his arm over him. He then turned the TV off and retrieved a blanket, covering his brother with it and tucking him in as best he could. Papyrus hadn't stirred a bit throughout it all, though he did seem to pull the blanket close around himself after the smaller skeleton had finished making sure he was completely covered up to his shoulders.
Sans then let out a yawn and wandered upstairs to his bedroom. He felt a little uneasy leaving Papyrus on the couch like that, but he didn't want to interrupt his sleep just to make him go upstairs to his own room. It was getting so hard for him to find a comfortable position to lay in that it really didn't matter where he slept anymore, or how.
Sans didn't even bother to take his hoodie off before flopping face-first down onto his bare mattress. He didn't fall asleep right away, instead finding himself staring blankly at the wall his bed was pushed up against. All of the worry that seemed to have melted away while he'd been curled up with Papyrus seemed to come flooding back to him.
It was getting down to the wire now. The baby would be born within the next few weeks, and Gaster would have his new body. He'll have achieved what he'd set out to do in the first place, though admittedly not in the way he'd been trying for. But… what then? Would Gaster's mind return as well? Would the infant be born intelligent, or would he have to coax the memories out of him? His jaw clenched tightly at that last thought. He wasn't sure he could bear do that, wasn't sure if he could actively and deliberately work to take his brother's baby away from him.
Sans clutched at the bare pillow top of his mattress. He so dearly wished his father was there to help him in this, to tell him what he should do or, better yet, to take the burden of this horrible task off his shoulders. Of course, it was that very wish that had gotten him into this mess in the first place, wasn't it?
Before the skeleton could lament his situation any further, he felt a weight press down on the mattress behind him, then a familiar warmth against his back as two slender arms wrapped themselves around his stout frame. A gaunt face rested against the back of his neck, and he could feel a tell-tale trembling.
"papyrus? hey, what's wrong? are you okay" Sans asked softly as he carefully flipped himself around to face his brother. Papyrus immediately buried his face against his elder brother's shoulder, likely trying to hide the tears that were already plainly obvious to him.
"I… I-I DON'T KNOW…" Papyrus replied, clearly trying – and failing – to choke back the trembling in his voice. "Y-YOU'VE SEEMED SO UPSET LATELY, AND YOU'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO HIDE IT FROM ME… DID I… D-DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG? WH-WHATEVER I DID, I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"
"ah, jeez, bro…" Sans replied softly, wrapping his arms around his brother and hugging him close. "s'nothin' you did, i promise. c'mon, you know i get like this sometimes. i just… got a lot on my mind right now, is all. you don't gotta worry 'bout me."
"YES I DO!" Papyrus retorted immediately, unable to stop the sob that came out with it. "I'M ALWAYS SO AFRAID OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IF I'M NOT HERE TO TAKE CARE OF YOU! A-AND I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO HARDLY ANYTHING THESE PAST FEW MONTHS! I-I'VE BEEN A TERRIBLE BROTHER!"
"hey, don't say that, papy… yeah, brothers are supposed to take care of each other, but… i'm your brother, too. sometimes it's okay for me to hafta take care of you, like when you were still little, or at times like these when you can't move around like you normally could. seriously, it's okay, bro. besides, you only got a little bit left to go, and then i want ya to focus on bein' a good mama instead of worrying 'bout me all the time. can ya do that for me?"
"C-CAN… CAN I STILL WORRY ABOUT YOU SOMETIMES..?" Papyrus asked after a moment of thoughtful hesitation. Sans let out a small sigh, but smiled.
"okay, but only worry about me half as much as you do now. deal?"
His reply was a tiny nod against his shoulder.
"good. so… do ya wanna sleep in here tonight?"
Another nod, this time quite a bit more vigorous. Sans let out a chuckle, pulling his brother a bit closer and gently rubbing his back in soothing circles.
"get some rest, papy. everything's gonna be okay… i promise…"