Sans and Blue return home from the store. The bitty practically vibrating in excitement on his shoulder. Sans smiles at the display. As he levitates the boxes and bags from their trip inside Blue starts talking, his words so fast no one could keep up. Sans gets the jist of it, Papyrus would sometimes talk unnaturally fast too.
Sans set the boxes down beside the door and levitates the grocery bags towards the kitchen. As Sans sets the bags down he brings a hand up to his shoulder for Blue to jump on before setting him on the counter.
"Sans, where do you want the milk?" Blue asks as he uses his magic to levitate the jug out. Sans blinks at him in confusion.
"The...fridge?" Sans says. He watches Blue put the milk away with magic before digging into another bag.
"And this?" After a few more questions Sans realizes Blue has no idea what goes where. So, he describes each food item best he can and why you do or do not keep it cold. Sans actually finds it relaxing to explain everything to Blue. He's probably using what Papyrus calls his, "lecture voice".
When Sans finishes explaining everything he looks at Blue, expecting the bitty to have lost interest.
Blue is seated and looking up at him with star-shaped eye lights. A big happy smile on his face. Sans feels an embarrassed flush heat his skull.
"W-what?"
"You're really smart, Sans!" Blue grins. San's embarrassed smile is covered by his hand at the comment. He's going to pretend his skull is not glowing dark blue.
"Jeez Blue, you got me all hot and bothered," Sans groans. Blue tilts his head.
"I know?"
Blue notices over the next week how Sans eats out more often than not, and how most of the food they buy goes to waste, except of course the ketchup. Blue doesn't know what to do, he doesn't really like the greasy food and knows Sans asked him to say if he doesn't like something but… Sans has done so much already Blue feels like he's taking advantage. Still, they need to be honest with each other...what to do?
Blue paces the small cleared off section of the coffee table. Blue has been able to clean most of the apartment, he's never been so grateful to have strong magic until now. Unfortunately, he hasn't practiced his magic enough to get the precision he needs to flip a light switch or vacuum on. He thinks Sans can help him, if the way the other explains things and effortlessly uses magic is anything to go by.
Sans is napping on the couch, again. All the sleeping Sans does concerns him too, but Blue pushes that to the back of his mind for the moment. He will address the food problem first, then Sans's endless amount of naps. Then again, what if Sans yells at him? Blue is just a bitty, he has no right to question any big person, especially Sans. He might get hit again, or worse Sans will finally get rid of him-
"Hmm...Blue? You okay?" Blue jumps at Sans's question. He didn't think the bigger skeleton would be up so soon. He watches Sans sit up and tries to stop his fidgeting.
"Blue?" He winces at the concern in Sans's voice. He's the cause of it.
"G-Good afternoon Sans! I-um...Sans, I have something I need to tell you. I'm concerned about your eating habits. I want to help you eat better, do you have any ideas on how I can do that?" Blue watches Sans's eyelights carefully. They flicker for a moment under his scrutiny before brightening slightly.
"I'm glad you told me, Blue. I guess I should've known better, you remind me of my brother with all that energy," Sans sighs. He scratches his cheek with one finger, eyelights focusing to the side. Blue likes watching Sans think, it seems silly but the other gets so focused and his ideas never disappoint.
"Well, I think I have a cookbook somewhere that Paps used when we lived together, would you like to look through that?"
"I would love to!" Blue smiles. Why was he so worried about telling Sans? He needs to get over this paranoia of Sans responding negatively. The big skeleton is the nicest person Blue's ever met. Sans gets up and opens the closet by the door.
Blue watches as Sans rummages through boxes. Soon Blue's eyelights start to wander around the small apartment. He remembers telling his brother stories about how they will get out of that horrible place and live in a nice house together. Blue always mentions a nice big person to take care of them in his stories. His brother would adamantly argue against ever needing a big person, claiming they would be fine on their own. His brother...Blue misses him, it's gotten easier around Sans, the big skeleton's soothing magic always comforts him. Blue doesn't think the other even knows what his magic does to Blue.
"Here we are," Sans says. Blue feels panic as he sees Sans perched precariously on two stacked boxes so he can reach the upper shelf in the closet. Sans shifts his weight to get down and the bottom box folds under the pressure. Blue catches the top box with his bagic. Sans's equilibrium is thrown off, he falls forward with the book still in his hand.
When Sans lands Blue's eyelights shrink at the sickening crack that resounds in their home.
"SANS!" Blue screams. He jumps off the coffee table and rolls with his landing, wincing a little at the pain but pushing through it to get to Sans. He runs as fast as his small body can carry him. Never before has he been this frustrated with his small body. If only he was bigger, he could get to Sans faster.
"Sans! Are you okay? Can you talk? Please, please answer me!" Blue begs when he gets closer. Sans isn't moving, why isn't he moving? Blue reaches out to push Sans when he stops. He needs to breathe, think clearly. He's no use to Sans panicking and possibly making things worse.
Luckily, Sans was facing Blue when he fell. Blue quickly takes in Sans's face, his sockets are closed and it seems he's unconscious. Blue looks down and studies what he can see of Sans's body, no visible damage can be seen. Blue lets out a sigh, he shouldn't have panicked over a simple fall. Blue's magic made sure the boxes never hit Sans and a short fall can't hurt anyone too severely. He levitates the boxes towards the couch and away from Sans.
Blue's tense body relaxes, Sans should be fine when he wakes up. Blue notices the corner of the cookbook by Sans's skull and heads towards it. He needs a distraction while he waits for Sans to wake up. Blue gets closer to the book and as he pulls it away from Sans's skull horror has him freezing in place.
The book caved in Sans's skull. Dust is steadily falling from the hole.
SAns IS dYiNg.
Blue is moving before he can let the horror and grief take over him. He bolts towards Sans's pockets and reaches for the one he knows has Sans's phone. Blue tries to wrestle the phone out and snarls in frustration when it doesn't budge. He makes a bone appear with a sharp end that he uses to cut Sans's pocket open. Blue tumbles out with the phone clutched tightly in his arms. Before he even stops moving Blue is unlocking the phone and dialing the number Sans asked him to memorize if there ever was an emergency.
"This is 911, what's your emergency?"
Sans can't open his sockets, that's okay he's not sure he wants to. Did he fall asleep while talking to Blue? Hopefully not, the little guy would probably blame himself for it. He should…are there tiny hands on his cheek? Blue probably wants to talk, but the hands rubbing his cheek feel so nice...he'll... get up in a minute…maybe...
The next time Sans becomes somewhat aware he manages to actually open his sockets. The first thing he sees is the blaring white lights on an equally uncomfortable ceiling. There's a beeping sound coming from nearby. Sans closes his eyes again with a groan.
Great, he's in the hospital, again. He can't remember what he did to get Papyrus worried enough this time though.
"S-Sans?" a terrified whisper asks by his head. Sans's sockets snap open and when his eyelights meet Blue's everything comes back in a rush. His fall and Blue's magic grabbing the boxes. Sans sucks in a shaky breath.
"Sans!" Blue cries, light cyan tears leaking from his sockets as he rushes forward and gently hugs the side of Sans's skull. Blue's sobs joining the beeping in a sad song that fills the room. Sans struggles to lift his hand, his whole body feels heavy, but manages to pet the top of Blue's skull. For some reason Blue starts crying harder, his body starts shaking.
"Hey-" Sans cuts off as he coughs. His tongue feels like sandpaper, he needs something to drink. As if reading his mind Blue backs away with a sniffle and a second later he's back with magic holding a glass up to his mouth. Blue scrubs the tears away with a determined frown on his face. Sans reaches up to take it, but Blue huffs and moves the bottle out of his reach. Sans sighs, he really doesn't have the energy to fight for a glass of water. Blue brings it back and gently tips it into Sans's mouth. He gulps it greedily, like he hasn't had a drink in months.
Wait.
Sans sputters out a cough as he realizes he hasn't the faintest idea how long he's been in the hospital or what his injuries are.
"Sans? Are you okay? I can call for a nurse, I-I didn't want to yet in case you needed some time to adjust but-"
"Blue, how long have I been here?"
"A f-few months?" Blue sounds unsure, like he might be in trouble. Sans mentally scoffs at the idea. Blue is probably the sweetest guy Sans has ever met, well other than his bro.
"Will you call for the nurse, please?"
"Y-yes!" Blue says, Sans can hear the wobble in the other's voice. If Sans has been out for over a month he has a lot to do. He needs to see if he's been kicked out of his apartment, if Papyrus has heard anything about this, report to Asgore-
"Sans, what's wrong? Are you hurting?" Blue shifts on the pillow as his hands ghost over Sans's cheek again. The slow beeping from before has sped up. Sans turns his head, giving a reassuring- but exhausted- smile to Blue. Sans forgot about the soul monitor, he takes a deep slow breath to calm himself. Blue's worried, he needs to calm down for the bitty.
"I'm okay Blue, do you still have that water?" Blue immediately brings it back up. Sans finishes it in a gulp. As Blue moves the glass back Sans moves his hand for the remote he knows it there and adjusts his bed so he's sitting up more.
"W-wait!" Blue protests. Sans feels bad but ignores Blue anyway, he needs to see the damage for himself. All of his limbs are wrapped in bandages, probably because a doctor saw some dust from a scratch and panicked. Sans is used to doctors panicking over his condition. Sans reaches up to scratch an itch on his skull when he feels more bandages instead.
As Sans moves he can feel a little resistance. There are wires snaking out from underneath his hospital gown and feeding information into the soul reader, which has started beeping faster.
"Sans..." Blue trails off, tears gathering in his sockets again. Sans starts to reach up automatically to comfort the bitty when Blue shakes his head and rubs the tears away. When he meets Sans's eyelight again he's smiling, its strained but Sans appreciates the thought.
"Ah! Mr. Gaster, it's good to finally see you awake," a cat monster says as he walks in. Sans takes comfort in Blue nestling into his hand as the doctor talks.
Good news, they got San's magic back up before anything permanent happened. He's healing, but very slowly. Bad news, is brother knows, as does Asgore and Tori, he's been unconscious for about three months, way longer than he thought. Sans pushes the doctor to release him, to which the doctor refuses.
"He hasn't left your side once, you know," the doctor says after he finishes arguing with Sans about leaving. Sans follows the doctor's eyes to look down at Blue who's sleeping soundly in his hand. Sans smiles fondly at the bitty.
"I was starting to worry I would have to hospitalize him too. The little guy would only sleep when his body forced him to. Same thing for eating, only when he absolutely had to. You are very lucky to have such a loyal bitty," the doctor chuckles.
"Yeah," Sans agrees, he's drained. Sleep is already calling him back under. He barely hears the doctor continue speaking.
"One last thing, the king and queen have been notified that you are awake," the doctor says as Sans falls unconscious.
When he becomes aware again he hears voices talking. He can't seem to move, just listen. It sounds like Tori and...Blue. Sans focuses on what they are saying.
"-glad you came the other day. I'm sorry neither of us were awake to greet you," Blue apologizes. Tori's soft giggle fills the room.
"Please don't worry, we were just glad to find you both resting," Tori says.
"I agree, we were relieved to hear Sans finally woke up. He's a dear friend of ours," Asgore's deep voice adds. Odd, Sans didn't think both royals would come to his room just to see him. They are both very busy monsters, usually Sans is lucky to see one of them in person, almost never both at the same time.
"How long can you stay? I'm sure Sans wants to see you both when he wakes up," Blue says. Sans isn't sure he wants to see anyone yet. He isn't prepared for the scolding he knows will come.
"Actually, we managed to get the rest of the day to ourselves. Hopefully, Sans wakes up soon. We have so much to discuss with him," Tori says.
Well, isn't that nice. The one time Sans wants the royal couple to not have time for him they do. He might as well face the music.
Sans urges open his eyes and shuts them quickly with a groan. Who decided hospitals needed bright lights?
"Sans?" Blue's hopeful voice asks. Sans opens his eyes again and turns his head to see Blue sitting on the pillow. The bitty brightens when Sans looks at him.
"Oh, Sans!" Tori reaches out, as if to hug Sans but stops and takes his hand instead. Asgore gives him an encouraging smile.
"Soul good to see you, Tori, Asy," Sans says. He could use another drink.
"Water you too doing here?" he asks. Tori giggles and Asgore smiles at the puns. Blue huffs and levitates a glass to his mouth. Sans gulps down the water, if he had lips he'd bet they would be chapped right now.
"How are you feeling Sans?" Tori asks once the glass is empty. Blue levitates the glass away and Sans uses the remote to ease the bed up.
"I drink I've been better," Sans admits. The two royals look at each other for a moment. Sans knows that look, they're planning something.
"You've missed quite a bit of time my friend. We have much to tell you," Asgore's deep voice says.
"Yes, first you probably want to know about Papyrus?" Tori asks. Sans parks up at the mention of Papyrus. Sans knows his brother is going to scold him, but Sans hasn't heard his brother's voice in ages. Or seen him for even longer.
"Well, we sent word to your brother as soon as we found out you were in the hospital. It wasn't until a week ago we finally heard back. It seems he and Mettaton were hiking in a remote part of Russia when we sent the message. When he called us last week he said he was coming back immediately," Tori summarizes.
Sans's smile lifts a little. That sounds like his bro, braving every obstacle he can find. He's cutting his tour short to come back though.
"Do you know where he is now?" Sans asks. The royals shake their heads, "He's probably in a plane on the way here," Asgore assures him. Sans will try to call Paps later.
"Also, we tried to save your apartment, but that landlord is the biggest-" Tori took a deep breath to calm herself, her hands barely squeezing Sans's. Asgore gently rubs her shoulder. "We were able to get your stuff out, luckily."
He's homeless, again. At least he still has a job, but he needs to find shelter quickly. He refuses to let Blue suffer like he has.
"Sans, we were discussing your situation and have a suggestion. You by no means need to follow it, just please hear us out," Asgore pleads. Sans isn't sure why, he respects Asgore too much to not listen. That and his job won't let him disobey the king.
"I'm all ears, Asy," Sans says lightly.
"You know about the cabin we own by the war ruins, yes?" Tori asks. Sans nods.
"There was a report a month ago about an attack on the chief of staff there. It seems a bara attacked, the staff member wasn't seriously injured but has demanded the bara be put down. Or they will quit maintaining the cabin for us. We asked the chief for patience until we can come to a decision. Unfortunately, we received his resignation yesterday and need someone to watch the cabin. You can be there temporarily or permanently, just please let us know. Unless you don't-"
"What about the bara?" Sans interrupts. He's the only one who ever cuts off one of the royals. Asgore frowns in confusion.
"The bara? Well, from the report it seems the bara is hostile towards monsters and savagely aggressive towards humans. He's too dangerous to release or train. Unless a miracle happens, he will have to be euthanized, I'm afraid," Asgore explains.
"How about I investigate the bara while I'm there? I find it hard to believe the bara attacked for no reason. It is kinda my job to judge," Sans reasons. He keeps his voice low, no one except Tori and Asgore knows what exactly he does for the crown. Well, now Blue has an idea, but Sans will deal with that later.
Asgore rubs his hand through his beard in thought, Tori rolls her eyes.
"Of course Sans, if you can tame this wild bara then even better. You will heal so much faster!" Tori agrees. Sans stares at her blankly.
"What?" Sans jerks in surprise at Blue's sudden question. The little guy stayed so quiet Sans thought he fell asleep.
"How can a bara help Sans?" If Sans didn't know better he'd think there was some jealousy in Blue's tone. There's no way though, They've only known each other a few days-
Oh.
He's only known Blue a few days, Blue has been around him for months. In a hospital with no one to talk to except maybe the occasional nurse. Sans feels a wave of guilt with over him. He hasn't really given Blue much attention at all when he woke up before and definitely not this time either.
"Well, baras are like the opposites of bitties. Where you, Blue, absorb energy from Sans, a bara channels excess energy into someone else. Also, where you are about as tall as my palm, an average bara is taller than Asgore," Tori's voice cuts through Sans's guilty thoughts.
"So if Sans could get this bara to help him Sans will heal much faster with the extra magic," Asgore concludes.
"I understand, Toriel, Asgore," Blue says. He carefully climbs onto the hospital bed and nuzzles into Sans's covered hip. Sans looks at the bitty in confusion, he's never that abrupt in a conversation.
Tori shoots a sympathetic look at the bitty, "My apologies Blue, of course Sans still needs you too," Tori looks at Sans.
"Of course Blue, no one could ever replace you," Sans agrees. It's true, he may not have known the bitty long but Sans knows he likes Blue a lot. Blue looks at him for a moment before giving him a small, but sincere smile.
