Hey, guys! Remember how I said that we would update soon? Yeah... sorry about that! We got stuck on how to end this chapter!

I'm also going to go ahead and warn you that, what with finals and EOCs coming up in the next few days, there might be another long while until the next update. But we will keep updating!

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Constructive criticism and reviews are always welcome!

~anipwrites

Chapter 3

"Sans! It hasn't even been three weeks since we've moved here, and your room is already a mess! Why can't you just clean it already?"

Sans shifted in his spot on the couch, moving his blanket off his head for a moment to tell Papyrus that he wasn't in the mood for cleaning before nestling back under it, all on top of the warm laundry. The TV hummed with voices. One particularly loud one stood out to Sans. Papyrus must have been watching Family Feud while doing the chores. A ding confirmed that, yes, Family Feud was on the screen. Sans just sighed and curled up a bit more as he heard Papyrus' footsteps. Maybe if he lay completely still…

His patience was rewarded with another load of warm clothes being dumped onto him. Sans' eternal grin grew wider as he reveled in the heat of the clothes. He felt himself start relaxing, and before he knew it, he was dozing off. It even seemed like, for once, he'd rest peacefully…

Then, the clothes and blankets were thrown off of him. Sans cracked open his eyes to see his brother standing there. He seemed upset.

"Sans, I've been looking for you everywhere! Didn't you hear me calling you?!" Papyrus asked, arms crossed. He had a few envelopes in his hand.

"Nope…" Sans said with a yawn. "I was sleeping. What's up?"

Papyrus hesitated a moment, his irritated demeanor shifting to one full of shame. "Well… I didn't make it."

"What do you mean?"

"I… didn't get into the military. I wasn't good enough. They said they didn't want me," he sighed, shuffling his feet.

"They… wait, what? How?"

"They… sent me a rejection letter." The taller skeleton handed one of the envelopes to his brother, who took out the letter and read it. His eyes narrowed at the words on the typed page.

"You passed all the fitness tests! You broke records! How did you not- Papyrus. This sentence says you would've gotten in if you weren't a monster."

"Well… I… Huh?"

"Yeah. You did very well, but they said that 'monsters can't serve in the army', and 'you did great, but [they're] not going to hire a soldier who is already dead.' What do they even mean by that?"

"I don't know, Sans…" Papyrus sniffled, wiping his eyes.

Sans sighed. He hated to see his little brother down like this, but… there wasn't really anything he could do about this.

"Hey… Pap. Y'know what? Forget the army! You don't need to be in the army to be the coolest dude ever. I hear it sucks, anyways."

"Really…?"

"Yeah. Hey, let's go explore the town. We've never gotten to see what's in this city. It's bigger than Snowdin, so we've gotta learn our way around."

"Okay, Sans…" Sans smiled at his brother and stood up, stretching.

"So, which way do you want to go?"

"How about… West?"

"Sounds cool with me, bro."

The two skeletons left the house, but not after Papyrus locked the door and turned off all the lights. Then they continued on, heading west.

The west side of town was almost just as busy as Main Street-except there were a lot more monsters and hipsters who didn't seem to care either way about the monsters. Papyrus lit up with excitement at seeing all the activity.

Sans was especially happy to find Grillby trying to get a sign onto a building.

"Hey, Grillby! Finally opening up shop?" The shorter skeleton called out. The flame-man turned his head and stepped down from the ladder he had been using after finishing up with placing a letter on the sign.

"Yes, at long last. I should be open by next Tuesday, if you're interested."

"Of course I'm interested. But… I thought you only had 20 D and 50 G left after the move."

"I did. As it turns out, gold and diamonds are worth a lot more on the Surface. Apparently, they're hard to find here. It took me a few weeks, but I finally managed to buy this place."

"Wowie! We all must be super rich, then!" Papyrus exclaimed.

"Guess so, Papyrus," Sans chuckled. Grillby smiled… Sans thought he smiled. It was kind of hard to tell with Grillby.

"So, how have you two been holding up? Everything going alright?"

"Neither of us have been able to find jobs. Nobody's a big fan of skeletons. They wouldn't even let Pap in the military."

"Really? Well, are you going to bring back your hot dog stands?" Grillby asked, crossing his arms.

"Not yet. Human and monster relations are kinda… tense. I can't just sell water sausages-might get mugged, y'know?"

"Sadly, I do know. The weather up here is bad too-there was water falling from the skyjust a few days ago!"

"It's not that big of a proble-oh, yeah. Have you got a nice umbrella?"

"I do now."

"That's a good start. Want me to help you with the sign?"

"Oh, yes, if you don't mind."

Papyrus sighed and stepped aside, knowing exactly what Sans was about to do. The shorter skeleton took a good look at the sign and held out his hand. The sign trembled a bit before glowing blue and floating up to the level Grillby needed it. With a bit of drilling, it was up. The fire monster stepped down from the ladder again and thanked them.

"So… Where are you guys headed?"

"We were just exploring the town and looking for a bite to eat."

"Well, Muffet has opened a bakery just around the corner from here. Perhaps you should drop by? I hear she's lowered her prices."

"Cool. Maybe we will. Ready, Papyrus?"

"Ready!"

"Alright. See you later, alligator!" Sans waved before walking off, leaving a desperately confused Grillby staring after him. The flame monster shook his head with a sigh and went back to his work.

The two skeletons continued exploring the street until they reached a store window filled with pastries. When they rounded the corner, they saw the sign for the store-Muffet's.

"Hey, look! Let's go inside!" Papyrus said, bones chattering in excitement. Sans nodded, and they headed inside.

Muffet was talking to another customer, who seemed to be excitedly looking at the different pastries under the glass and inquiring how much they cost. Sans couldn't help but notice a 'help wanted' sign on the counter beside the cash register. He chuckled and nudged Papyrus.

"Maybe you should try working here!"

Papyrus laughed. "You're funny, Sans! But I can't show off my wonderful skills as the greatest spaghettoire in a bakery! Plus, I don't even understand baking as well as I do regular cooking."

"I know. I was just teasing you."

"Oh. It's you, Sans. I see you've brought someone along with you," Muffet said, drawing their attention over to her. The customer had left without buying anything, and she seemed more than a little irritated at that.

"Hey, Muffet! I'm just here with my little brother, Papyrus."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Papyrus! Your brother has told me lots of great things about you~."

"Has he, really?" Papyrus blushed a little. Compliments always made him feel all warm inside.

"He sure has."

"Say, Muffet, what's your best dessert here?"

"My best dessert? Well, I think all of my desserts are the best! Ahuhuhu~! I do have some doughnuts that are almost ready to be taken out of the oven, so they'll be the freshest, warm and all. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking about buying something for us."

"You were?" Muffet and Papyrus asked. Papyrus seemed a bit confused, but Muffet was the happiest Sans had ever seen her. Her five black eyes glittered with surprise, and her mouth showed a toothy smile. Sans decided to go on ahead with it-even though he knew just how high her prices tended to be.

"Sure, why not? It's all I can do in return for you giving me tips on how to successfully sell goods to a large amount of people. Monsters need to look out for each other around here, right?"

"Oh, my! Thank you, thank you, thank you~! You won't believe how bad things have been! I've lowered my prices 75% since humans don't have gold, and I still haven't sold a single thing all week!"

"It might be because you're a monster, to be honest…"

"What are you saying?!"

"Well, Toriel and the crew… We all went out to get dinner, and most humans treated us oddly. Some people even thought we were abducting Frisk. This area seems nice, but most humans don't trust us."

"Oh… I guess that's why business hasn't been going very well. Should I set up my webs again?"

"I'm not sure that'll help much, but feel free to try it."

"No, no, I'll get through this. Setting up webs would only scare potential customers away. Besides, now that the spider clan is reunited, I don't need as much money as I did before. Thank you, Sans. I'll go take out the doughnuts," she smiled slightly, all of her eyes blinking at once before she went to the kitchen in the back of the bakery.

"After we get these donuts, do you think we can get ice cream, too?" Papyrus asked his brother.

"Yeah, sure. I think I've seen a map of this area-there's an ice cream parlor a few blocks from here."

"An ice cream parlor? One you… sit in?"

"Yeah. Why? What's the problem?"

"Well, we'll look weird, and… we always seem to leave a mess whenever we eat…" Papyrus kicked the air in front of his right foot a little and held his hands behind his back.

"Who cares? That's just how we are."

"The other people there might judge us, Sans..."

"Hm… Well, if it will make you more comfortable, we can find someplace outdoors to eat ice cream. Okay, Pap?"

The taller skeleton seemed to brighten up a bit at that.

"Okay, Sans. Thank you."

"No problem."

It was then that Muffet came back out with several trays of donuts; some were plain and glazed, and others had several different flavors and toppings on them. She set them all out on the counter.

"Here, which flavor do you want?" She asked.

"Glazed will be just fine." Sans said.

The spider woman slipped on some gloves and took two glazed donuts to give to the skeletons.

"Alright! That'll be… " she kneeled down to look at the price before standing back up. "Two dollars per donut."

"Okay! Sans, you have the wallet, right?" Papyrus asked, turning to his brother. The shorter skeleton was patting his pockets, sweating nervously. Nobody was quite sure how the skeletons could sweat-they just did.

"Uh… I'll be right back." He said. His eye seemed to glow blue a moment and he vanished from sight.

Papyrus sighed. His brother's life was so much easier since he could teleport, but Papyrus had never managed to figure out how to do it. Maybe he just wasn't strong enough?

"Got it!" Sans exclaimed. Papyrus turned around to find his brother coming back in the store, holding up a leather wallet. He took out a few dollar bills and gave them to Muffet, who finished the transaction.

"There you go! Have a nice day! Please, come again~! Ahuhuhu~!" The spider monster said, waving a few of her arms at the brothers after setting down the tray of spider cider donuts. They waved back before leaving, exploring the street a bit longer.

Eventually, a few blocks away, they came across an ice cream parlor with outside seating. They decided to just sit outside-no one else was out there, and Sans' legs were tired. After all, this was the most walking he had done in a while.

When they had ordered their ice cream and sat down at an umbrella table, Sans immediately got a phone call. The two skeletons looked down at the caller ID: Toriel.

Sans' cheekbones erupted into a raging blue blush while Papyrus nudged him playfully and took the phone.

"Well, Sans? You don't want to leave her waiting! See what she has to say! And maybe you can-"

"Papyrus!" Sans whined, grabbing at the phone and answering it. "H-Hello?"

"Hello, Sans! This is Toriel! I was just thinking, and I realized that you might want a job at the school! I remember you talking about how you knew physics material pretty well..."

"What are you trying to suggest?"

"Well… Maybe you could be a teacher? I have a few science teachers already employed, but a teacher for a higher level physics course needs to know what they're doing."

"Me? A teacher? Nah, Tori, I have experience on the field, not for dealing with kids. I mean, sure-I raised Papyrus, but that's different. I'd probably be better as a janitor than as a teacher. Thanks for the offer, but-"

"Oh? Well, actually, we do need a few more janitors. If you don't mind…"

"Hm… What's the pay?"

"We'd have to start you off at a decent amount above the minimum wage, but after a few months, we might be able to raise it to-"

"Sold! I'll do it. I've just gotta clean up messes and change lights, right?"

"Well… Yes, essentially."

"Sounds good. When do I start?"

"How about Friday?"

"Works for me. See you Friday."

"Perfect! Goodbye for now!"

The phone on the other line hung up. As soon as it did, Papyrus started loudly singing about Sans and Toriel sitting in a tree. Sans felt his cheekbones growing hot, hiding his head in his arms.

"Papyrus…"

"First comes love! Then comes marriage-oh! Are you guys going to get married?! That would be adorable!"

"Papyrus, please…"

"But, you haven't even had a first date! You have to have a date! Then,marry her!"

"But…"

"It will happen! I, the Great Papyrus, will make sure of it! I shall enlist Undyne for help on the planning and everything!"

"It's not going to happen, Papyrus!" Sans shouted suddenly, his hand clenching into a fist. "She's a very busy woman with a kid! She's not gonna want to date me!"

"Yes, she will! You are very cool-almost as cool as me!"

"No way, Pap. I'm nowhere near as cool as you."

"But, you are indeed the second coolest, and you are very close to my level of cool! Come! Our ice cream melts! Shall we head home?"

"... Home sounds nice. Ready to start walking?"

"Let's go!"

Before Sans knew what was happening, Papyrus had lifted him up and was carrying him under his arms. The feeling of shock subsided to peace and calm, and he could feel himself drifting…

… He blinked open his eyes, only to discover he was in his room. His blankets were nestled around him, and his room was cleaned up a bit, a heater warming up the room. Sans smiled to himself. Papyrus was pretty cool. He almost didn't want to leave the bed.

Eventually, the smell of ground beef cooking and the slight din of a song on the radio brought him out of his blanket-den and to the living room. The TV was turned off now, and all the laundry was folded. Sans almost felt bad for not helping. Then, he realized he probably wouldn't have helped if he had been asked to help, either. On the radio was some peppy pop song, and Papyrus was singing along to it and dancing a bit as he cooked. Sans decided to head in there.

"Every night! Every night is alright~!" Papyrus sang along with the voice on the radio. It took about a minute for Papyrus to realize Sans was there, but once he did, he seemed happy to have him there. He was also a little embarrassed to know that his brother had heard him singing and seen him dancing, so he stopped singing and turned off the radio.

"Finally awake, huh, lazybones?" He teased, nudging his older brother with his elbow. Sans chuckled and sat at the table.

"Yeah, seems so. How's the spaghetti going?"

"Fabulously, as usual! I cleaned your room for you."

"I saw. Thanks, bro."

"Not a problem!"

"Nice singing, by the way."

Papyrus blushed and stopped stirring the spaghetti he was cooking. His eyes were wide open, and his stance had stiffened. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and turned to Sans with as casual an expression as he could muster. Sans knew he was nervous-Papyrus kept his glance to the side as he spoke.

"So, you did hear me singing?"

"Sure did. Can I join you?"

Papyrus couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You want to join in?"

"Why not? It looks like you're having fun. I might have fun, too."

"Well, in that case, you are welcome to sing along! We shall make a great duo! Great enough to perform alongside the best monster singers on The Surface!" Papyrus took the wooden spoon he was stirring with a few seconds ago and rose it triumphantly into the air, looking upwards towards it in a heroic way. Sans laughed.

"Which singers are you talking about? Mettaton and Shyren?"

"Maybe…"

"They might be famous, but they have nothing on you, Pap."

"Sans… They're our friends. Besides! You mean they have nothing on us!" Papyrus pointed to Sans with the spoon. "We are singing together, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. I remember, Pap. Come on. Turn on the radio."

"But of course, brother of mine!"

As the radio clicked on, one song ended and transitioned into another. Papyrus knew the words right off the bat, but Sans, who didn't listen to human music much, waited until the chorus to join in. They harmonized fairly well, and, to Papyrus' surprise, having a singing partner made him feel infinite. If he really wanted to, he could sing his heart out for hours. The boost in confidence that his brother always gave him really worked wonders. As for Sans, he was content with seeing Papyrus enjoying himself. Perhaps some of the positivity was even rubbing off on him, because he began to dance a small jig next to Papyrus while snapping along to the beat of the song.

A few tracks later, the spaghetti noodles were cooked the way that Papyrus liked them, and as he drained away the water in the pot he had placed the noodles in, Sans retrieved two plates and placed them on Papyrus' side.

"Why, thank you!"

"No problem, bro."

"Sans…"

"Yeah?"

"Are you feeling well? You sang very energetically, complimented me, and now, you're helping with dinner! Did something good happen in your dreams while you were napping? Or did something else put you in a good mood?"

"I guess I'm just happy to finally be on the Surface. Walking around today and seeing Grillby setting up shop reminded me of that."

"But, of course! I should have guessed. Everyone has been feeling that way since we got here."

Sans nodded, then walked back to his seat at the table. He leaned back while holding his arms behind his head and setting his feet on the table.

"Sans! No feet on the table! I just washed it this morning."

"Aw, come on, Papyrus. I'm in a good mood."

"Well, if you're going to put your feet on the table, just don't get any dirt in the food." Papyrus said politely as he set down two plates of spaghetti with marinara sauce and meatballs on the table.

"Don't worry. I'll keep the food a few… feet away."

Papyrus gave his brother an unamused glare. Sans merely winked at him in response. The spaghettoire couldn't conceal his grin any longer.

"That wasn't funny, Sans."

"It was a little funny."

"Let's just get to eating!"

Papyrus picked up a napkin from his side of the table and neatly tied it around his scarf. It was a tight fit, but it stayed in place. Sans simply set his napkin on his lap. Then, both of them simultaneously picked up their forks and took a bite at the same time. Sans hid his expression as the taste of the spaghetti registered in his mouth. Despite how "unconventional" its taste was, it was actually edible for once.

"Not bad." Sans complimented his brother.

"You flatter me too much. However! My spaghetti is always good, is it not?"

"Sure is."

They both continued eating, but while Papyrus had his gaze stuck on his plate, Sans looked up from his to check on his brother's expression.

There had never been a bigger smile on Papyrus' face before.

Right as the two brothers had consumed all of the spaghetti from their plates, the phone in the living room next to the kitchen rang.

"That must be Frisk! I shall retrieve the phone!" Papyrus offered before quickly getting up from his chair and making his way towards the phone. Sans heard the ringing stop, followed by Papyrus exchanging "hello"s with someone.

"Good day, Frisk! … Why, yes, it is actually nighttime. You are correct," Papyrus admitted, blushing a bit and scratching behind where his other ear would be. "This means I cannot greet you with a 'good day', but rather with a 'good evening'. I have made an error. Could you ever forgive me, Frisk? Even someone as great as I makes mistakes sometimes."

Three seconds later, Sans heard Papyrus give a hearty chuckle.

"Thank you, thank you! Truly, your genuine mercy makes these cheeks of mine blush. … What's that? You want to talk to Sans? Why, of course! I shall give him the receiver."

Sans sat upright involuntarily. Talking to Frisk was one of the better parts of his day, and he couldn't help but look forward to it. After Papyrus handed the phone to Sans, the shorter skeleton widened his grin and spoke into it. It made Papyrus smile as well to see his brother so content.

"Hey there, kiddo. How are you?"

"I'm really happy! Thank you for asking!" Frisk replied through the phone. The tone of their voice complemented their statement.

"That's great. I'm happy to hear that you're happy."

Frisk let out a giggle.

"Why are you laughing? What's so funny?"

"You used 'happy' twice in the same sentence, Sans! Mom told me you shouldn't use words twice in a sentence."

"Well, then, let's keep this conversation a secret between you and me."

"Okay," Frisk whispered back.

"Frisk?" Sans whispered back, going along with the child's shenanigans.

"Hmm?"

"Why are we whispering?"

"Because, you want this to be a secret conversation! We don't want anyone to hear us."

"That's pretty smart of you to think about that, Frisk."

"Thank you, Sans! You're pretty smart too for realizing what I wanted you to do without me telling you."

"What can I say?" The skeleton shrugged. "I'm a wise guy."

"Uh-huh! And since you're wise, you can guess what I'm going to do next, right?"

"I actually don't know, Frisk. What are you going to do?"

"This!" Frisk answered before the phone speaker rang with the sound of lips pressing on the other side.

"What was that, Frisk?"

"It was your goodnight kiss! Didn't you hear me say, 'mwah'?"

"I know, I know. I'm messing with you. Do you want to give Papyrus his goodnight kiss?"

"Oh, yeah! Can you give the phone to him?"

"Sure."

Sans looked up at Papyrus, who was standing near his seat. Papyrus giddily accepted the phone as Sans offered it to him, then pressed his mouth to the receiver.

"Frisk! I have given you a goodnight kiss first through the phone. Did you hear it?"

"Uh-huh! Get ready for yours, Pap!"

"Of course, without further delay."

Frisk again pressed their lips to the phone on their side.

"There! Hey, Pap? Put the phone on speaker mode for a second!"

"As you wish."

Papyrus pressed a small button on the phone, and the static of the phone conversation began to reverberate through the room.

"Goodnight, Papyrus! Goodnight, Sans! I love you both."

"We love you too, Frisk." Papyrus and Sans both responded loudly.

"Hee hee hee! I have to go now, so I'll see you later! Bye!"

The room was filled with the sound of dial-up. Sans sighed, and Papyrus left to put the phone back. When he finished, he returned to the kitchen and wiped his right eyesocket with one of his hands.

"I think I'll be going to sleep, Sans. Today was fun, but also tiring."

"That's fine, bro."

"You… will read a story for me, yes?"

"Of course, bro."

With a rush of excitement, Papyrus leapt up from his seat and made a beeline for his bedroom. Sans followed, shaking his head. His brother was all too eager to hear a story that he had already probably heard ten times. It was, according to Papyrus, "Absolutely necessary that a bedtime story is read aloud" so that he could fall asleep.

When Sans caught up to Papyrus, he was waiting eagerly by his racecar bed.

"I assume you want me to tuck you in?"

"Why, of course! Is that not part of our nightly routine?"

"I know, I know. I was just making sure."

Papyrus flopped onto his bed, causing him to lie completely flat on top of his blanket and pillows.

"You forgot to let me pull back the covers first, bro."

"Nonsense! I do not need covers. I am a skeleton!"

"But you'll be more comfortable if you have blankets on you."

"Maybe…"

"Alright, bro, let's get to reading."

"Oh, oh! Could you please read Fluffy Bunny for me?"

"Sure thing. Where did you put it?"

Papyrus and Sans both glanced around the room, searching for the storybook. When they couldn't find it, Papyrus sighed and turned on his side.

"We must have left it at home… Nyoo hoo hoo…"

"We've been here for a few weeks and haven't noticed it until now?"

"Well, I was interested in all of the human bedtime stories when we first got here because I had never heard them before! We haven't read Fluffy Bunny in a long time, so I wanted to hear it again tonight…"

"Don't worry, Pap. I've got this."

Sans became quiet. Then, before Papyrus knew it, Sans' left eye glowed with an intense blue before his body became light and faded away. Papyrus lay in silence, wondering where his brother had gone. Sans couldn't have teleported all the way back to their house in Snowdin, could he? That was a long distance, even for him. To Papyrus' surprise, Sans reappeared in the spot he was standing in before he left, clutching a red storybook with a white bunny on the cover in his left hand.

"Found it," Sans announced proudly. Papyrus had been right about one thing. That teleportation was an impressive feat, and Sans had been successful with it.

"Wonderful job, brother of mine! Shall we begin?" Papyrus prompted, eager to hear Sans read.

"Yeah. Let's get to it," Sans replied, then opened the book to the first page. Before Sans could get one word out, though, Papyrus gave a small cheer.

"Huzzah! It's great to have the chance to hear my third favorite story again!"

"Your 'third favorite story'? What's your second favorite?"

"Why, the story of how I met Frisk and how Frisk saved our souls, of course!"

"And your first favorite?"

"The stories you tell me about the mystery man with the broken face. I can't help but feel a bit… attached to him-so much so that I sometimes can't help but get emotional when you tell me about his adventures with you. It sometimes feels as if I know him, too…"

Papyrus' voice trailed off. Sans couldn't help but look away when Papyrus mentioned the "mystery man". If only he could remember, like Sans could. If only he could remember his own fath-

"Sans, are you sulking?" Papyrus inquired with a small frown. He hated seeing his brother upset.

"Oh, uh… No. I'm fine, Pap. C'mon, we've kept Mr. Bunny waiting too long."

"It's 'Fluffy Bunny', Sans."

"Oh, right."

As Sans began to read the story, he saw Papyrus' eyes flicker with an occasional blink. Sans hadn't even gotten halfway through the book before Papyrus gave a small snore. Shaking his head at the sight of his sleeping brother, Sans arranged the blankets around Papyrus to be more comfortable, then patted Papyrus' forehead.

"Sleep tight, bro."

Sans slowly placed the storybook on the nightstand next to Papyrus' bed, then quietly crept out of the room, closing the door behind him carefully. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was thankful Papyrus had fallen asleep so early into the story.

He couldn't focus too well on reading with that broken face in the back of his mind.

So, how did you guys like this chapter? Send us your thoughts!

Hopefully, we can get the next chapter up a bit sooner! In the meantime, have nice days and enjoy yourselves!