All we need is a little bit of momentum,
Break down these walls that we've built around ourselves.
All we need is a little bit of inertia,
Break down and tell.
It takes a while before either brother says another word.
Silence reigns between them as Papyrus slowly makes his way from each puzzle to the next, checking the trap mechanisms as he goes and ridding them of any excess snow or stray branches.
Sans is content to trail behind, grateful for his brother's slower than usual pace and even admiring some of his devices.
Say what you will about Papyrus. That he's boastful, immature, vain,... But seeing the things he gets up to in Snowdin forest one has to admit the tall skeleton is in the possession of a certain sly cunning.
Sans stops at a more recent addition, an electricity maze that fills the air with and odd buzzing sound. The mere fact that his brother has somehow been able to make this, from the rather meager supplies at his disposal, is actually admirable.
"Sans, would you stop looking like a fucking idiot and hurry up?" Papyrus' voice breaks through his thoughts, and the small skeleton can't help but smirk.
"Sorry, boss. Just taking a look at this a-maze-ing puzzle you devised." He says, relishing the gruff sound of irritation his brother makes, even as the corners of his mouth pulled up at the compliment.
Even if it was the second time it happened in just a few days, Sans feels the little thrill in his soul return. He will never get tired of Papyrus smiling at his terrible jokes.
The tall skeleton crosses his arms, gazing ahead of them as if he doesn't want his older sibling to see his face. He is still standing there, not moving ahead despite his empty complains.
Papyrus is waiting for him.
The realization only makes the thrilling feeling worse, and Sans opens his mouth to say something else, when his brother suddenly tenses, entire frame going rigid.
With his face still turned away, Sans is unable to see his expression, but the sudden agitation in the air is unmistakable.
It feels like the temperature has instantly dropped below the freezing point without warning, the desolate forest around them at once looking a whole lot more menacing.
Papyrus is beside him in seconds, the distance between them bridged in a heartbeat. At another time, Sans might register this, but right now his mind is too busy racing to comprehend the abrupt change in atmosphere.
"Sneaking up never did work on you, did it?" A gruff voice asks, tinged with irritation and amusement.
The crack in his head aches almost subconsciously, eyes narrowing at the dog monsters who have just arrived in the clearing.
Hostile magic hangs heavy in the air, a tension that is almost palpable and could be broken by just the slightest wrong move.
Something that smells like danger and accidents waiting to happen.
"Oh, it's just you." Papyrus forces his body to relax, arms still crossed in front of him, but in an annoyed rather than defensive manner.
Instinctively he shifts, putting himself between the two newcomers and Sans, almost completely hiding the smaller skeleton from view.
Dogaressa and Dogamy only smirk, observing the scene before them with a look of sadistic pleasure. Papyrus doesn't need to be a genius to know they are looking for trouble.
But if they want to get their asses handed to them, he'll be happy to serve.
"Didn't I tell you not to show your ugly mugs around here anymore?" He asks gruffly, skull tilting upward to look at the two opposing monsters snidely.
Dogamy growls at that, taking another step forward. They are ever so easy to anger.
"What's wrong? Pissed that we disturbed your little lover's stroll?" Dogaressa suddenly pipes up, and Papyrus can feel Sans shift behind him more, but keeps his eyes trained on the royal guards in front of him.
"Fuck off!" He snarls instead, magic rising in the air, bright red illuminating his none-broken eye socket.
He doesn't want to fight them, he really doesn't. The shit storm it might cause in hindsight is enormous, and if Undyne's words are anything to go by, this isn't particularly the right time for this kind of altercation.
Sans's words come back to him then... 'if they got really desperate'.
What has Undyne told the dog couple? They were always closer to the captain than the other guards have been, a constant threat to Papyrus's own position as second in command.
But he never really thought of this as relevant before now.
Dogamy leers, gruff laughter bubbling in his throat. "That wasn't a denial, was it?"
"The Great Papyrus sees no need to answer to the likes of you." It is almost a joke, bravado he doesn't really feel right now clouding his voice.
But the guards bark, angry. "Is that so? I think you've got plenty to answer for, you ass." Dogaressa flips back the hood of her dark cloak in an easy movement and steps forward, finally moving into the light. "Or maybe we'll just have some good old payback."
Two things immediately register in Papyrus's mind then.
The dogs look a mess. Their faces littered with pale, angry scars. He had really gotten them worse than he thought, even if the attack was uncoordinated and hastily put together, mind more occupied with timing than aim when he launched it.
Secondly, and infinitely more disturbing, is the dust covering their shapes. On their faces, their hands, their weapons.
Without a doubt, something that had been alive this morning, isn't anymore.
And while the well-being of others isn't something that often crossed the skeletons mind, much more concerned with himself, and in more recent ventures his brother, it occurs as something significant now.
If he felt he had the room to spare the attention, Papyrus might be inclined to check their LV.
As it is, he will content with the familiarity of the thrill caused by gaining such heartlessness and the want it leaves for more.
On the whole, this isn't the type of situation the second in command would relish being in.
The odds are certainly against them too, two against one, as Sans is nothing to be considered in a fight.
Papyrus will have to solve this the hard way.
The shift isn't perceptible at all.
One moment, they are standing across form each other, nothing but snow and tension between them.
The next, it's like a wire has just snapped.
Sans blinks, magic shifting as the air comes alive around him.
His fight or flight instinct fails him miserably now, body refusing to move an inch. Papyrus has summoned something and sends it flying, there is a flurry of movement and the next thing he knows, Sans is on his back in the snow.
The realization that his brother pushed him out of the way comes almost instantly, as well as the thought that moving might be a good idea right now.
He has barely made it into a seated position before Dogamy is in front of him, all snarls and razor sharp teeth.
Instinctively, Sans throws his right arm to the side, and the unfortunate canine goes flying, hitting a nearby tree trunk with a dull sound.
There is a whine to his left and Sans looks over just in time to watch Papyrus jam a sharp-edged bone straight into Dogaressa's eye socket, dust pouring out of the wound in seconds.
Still, her teeth do not dislodge from where they're buried into the tall skeleton's left ulna.
Their eyes meet and Sans can feel the gears in his head come to a screeching halt.
There is a look on his brother's face which he has never seen before, and it makes his soul simultaneously combust into giddy joy and turn absolutely frigid.
Then, something hits him and he's face down again, trying not to inhale the mouth full of snow he just acquired.
There is weight bearing down on his back and an unpleasant pressure against his spine, something sharp pushing against the edge of his skull as pain shoots through him, the crack widening minutely.
He makes a sound, unable to move beneath the dog monster pinning him down, as Dogamy's hand forces his already damaged skull harder into the unforgiving ground.
There is a small noise, like the splintering of wood, and it hurts even more now, blinding.
Just when Sans think it will break, the weight is gone. Papyrus is pulling him up and snarling something into his ear hole that gets lost beneath a layer of panic.
His ulna looks broken, shattered maybe, but Dogaressa is lying motionless in the background and Dogamy is whining pitifully, covering his face, and the tall skeleton has the audacity to grin.
It takes Sans a moment to realize his younger brother is repeating his name over and over again, something like irritation slipping into his voice, so he grabs him by the shoulders roughly and tries to concentrate through the unbearable stinging in his skull.
There is only cold and noises and magic and then there is nothing.
They are sitting in the middle of their living room, suddenly surrounded by a deathly quiet and Papyrus is looking about as confused as Sans felt the first time he did this.
"We uh... we need to stop doing this." He says, gesturing at his brother's ruined arm and his own skull and really they're a fucking mess right now.
The excitement in their souls is dying down and all Sans can see is that look, the worry and the protectiveness, and he feels as if he'll break down any second.
Papyrus opens his mouth, presumably to demand answers, but Sans doesn't give him the chance.
He is pressing against his brother, pushing him into the couch, and their souls are close enough to feel each other's rhythm, beating way too fast for comfort.
Their teeth bump against each other awkwardly, something in the back of Sans's mind reminding him that neither has probably ever done this before.
But there is not much experience needed.
His hands are grasping Papyrus's shoulder again, the material rough against his palms, and he doesn't know what to expect.
He is waiting to be pushed away. To be snarled at and rebuked and hated and despised. To be broken.
Instead, he feels something against his spine and Papyrus is pushing back, holding him as their left-over magic, high strung from the earlier fight, mingles automatically.
Skeletons can't kiss, because they don't have lips, but somehow they make due, pressed so close together their bones chafe against each other, a not entirely unpleasant feeling that send chills down their spines.
Their souls beat and it's as if he can feel Papyrus as acutely as he can feel his own being.
It is in that moment, that Sans realizes what they're doing.
His eyes snap open, not even aware that he closed them in the first place, and Papyrus is so close, so close it might just take his non-existent breath away.
He forces himself out of his brothers grip, slackened by surprise, and his face is as red as a tomato right now.
They stare at each other for barely a second and then Sans darts, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He's half-way up the stairs before he hears his brother call after him, but even then he doesn't stop until he has slammed the door closed behind him, locking it tight.
He half expects to have Papyrus banging for him to open up in seconds, but there is no movement, no sound.
Just dead silence bearing down on what they have just done.
He fucked up. He fucked up so fucking bad.
Panic is a despicable thing, and it pushes down on Papyrus, on everything. His arm hurts so much it's all he can feel yet somehow what just happened hurts even more.
The rejection.
He feels like banging his head against the wall right now.
But the room is quiet and cold and Papyrus probably fucked up the only good thing he had left in his life, so there's nothing to do but wait.