Tune stared at the mess of papers in their nest. It was starting to take too much space. They would have to find another proper place to put those if they wanted them to stay intact. Tune neatly stacked them into a pile. Ah, there was the pen; under crossword number three and the tenth maze. They grabbed the newest sheet of paper and reviewed their progress. They were missing just the last word in this one. What had that guy called it? Young… Jumble, or something among those lines.

Just as they deciphered the word 'Patience', there was a knock on the door. Tune tensed immediately. They remained silent and halted every movement, waiting for whoever was there to speak. Considering all the time they had been there, they had a pretty good idea who it was, but it was better to be prepared in case of being wrong. Time was easy to get mixed when you couldn't even see the sunlight.

"GOOD DAY, MY DEAR FRIEND!" Oh, just him. Never mind. "I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU NOW HAVE A NAME OF YOUR OWN. THAT IS FANTASTIC NEWS, INDEED!"

They didn't answer. They never did. And even if he was aware of it, he would always give them enough time between his own statements in case they did want to speak. He was a curious guy, this Papyrus. And yes, they knew his name. How could they not if he repeated it like it was his favorite word? Probably was.

"TUNE! I MUST APOLOGIZE!" he said with a melancholic tone, "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CANNOT FOLLOW THROUGH WITH MY PROMISE OF DELIGHTING YOU WITH MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI!"

Actually, scratch that. Thinking back, his favorite word was probably 'spaghetti'.

"APPARENTLY, ASGORE IS CONVINCED YOUR PALADAR IS NOT YET READY FOR THE MAGNIFICENCE THAT IS MY COOKING. BUT WORRY NOT! I'LL MAKE SURE ITALIAN DISHES ARE GRADUALLY SERVED TO YOU, NOW THAT FRISK HAS INFORMED US OF YOUR PREFERENCE FOR HUMAN FOOD!"

Frisk. That was another favorite of his.

"THAT WAY, YOU'LL BE READY TO TRY THE SUPERIORITY OF MY SPAGHETTI IN NO TIME! IT'S THE PERFECT SOLUTION! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

They could hear his loud voice echoing through the corridor. After weeks and weeks of listening to it, Tune was long ago able to identify it as the one that belonged to the first monster they saw when they arrived. The memory was still fuzzy and they couldn't quite remember how he looked -stupid sedatives-, but there was no mistaking that voice.

"SAY FRIEND," Papyrus said casually, "HAVE YOU FINISHED ALL THE PUZZLES I HAVE BROUGHT TO YOU YET?"

Tune glanced at the stack of papers, their face warming a little. They had ignored them when they had appeared under the door at first; as much as they had Papyrus' earliest 'talking' sessions. They didn't want to do anything that gave their captors the slightest idea they were going to listen to them. Tune wasn't a fool. They knew how it all worked.

Afterwards, that huge furry monster (Asgore, if they remembered correctly), would take the papers with him and return them to Papyrus, just so that he could offer them to Tune once again. It was getting annoying, until one day he came to the 'realization' that maybe they didn't understand puzzles, because perhaps they hadn't come across many of them on the surface. So he explained how to solve the first puzzle. Truth was, he wasn't that far off. Tune finally succumbed to boredom, and when they picked the paper up, they realized they couldn't have known what to do without instructions. They really hadn't done any puzzles before. Though it also took him a week to finally have the idea of giving Tune a pen…

"I THINK THAT, MAYBE," Papyrus continued, bringing them back from their thoughts. "THEY ARE GETTING KIND OF… REPETITIVE. AND I DREAD TO EVEN THINK YOU COULD BECOME BORED BECAUSE OF A LACK OF VARIETY!"

They heard the door creaking a little. Huh. Judging by Papyrus' character, he most likely had leaned dramatically against it. Tune couldn't tell from there. He was either not tall enough for them to see him through the window in the door, or he was sitting down while talking.

"BECAUSE OF THAT! I THINK IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF PUZZLES! HERE I HAVE WITH ME THE KEY FOR YOUR NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS OF ENTERTAINMENT! I PRESENT TO YOU…"

Tune waited. Nothing slid under the door.

"HMMM… ACTUALLY, MAYBE THIS ONE IS TOO BIG TO GIVE IT TO YOU THE CONVENTIONAL WAY." he paused for a second. "WAIT HERE, MY FRIEND! I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"

The sound of quick steps in the distance told Tune he had run upstairs. They sighed. They really didn't know what to think of the guy. He had an enormous ego, that was for sure. But, in a way, it felt like he was trying to give that ego to everyone else. He always talked about his friends like it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Tune practically knew everyone by name because of how often he mentioned them (they wouldn't admit it though). Frisk, Alphys, Undyne, Queen Toriel, King Asgore, Sans –who was spoken of in an especially fond manner; all in the favorite-to-talk-about list. It was really impressive how he could just pick one of them and talk for hours without needing Tune to participate in the 'conversation'. It was… nice. They could deny it all they wanted, but the truth was that they had found themself very interested in everything he had to say. Topics varied from the Underground to the many discoveries he made on the surface. Tune wonder if this was what it felt like when someone read a book to you. They tried to imagine his tales. Caverns with crystals that shone as stars, adventures with their friends in the little area of their town, a robotic star… It almost was too much.

Tune frowned. They knew they were envious and they hated it. They didn't like wanting something that one (or all) of their captors had. They didn't like wanting something they knew was out of their reach. They didn't like wanting what Papyrus constantly offered to them. What he was trying to convince them that he and his friends could offer them. They didn't even know how Frisk had made them accept their new name so easily. They sighed.

That… had to be their strategy, right? All of them were just trying to break them. To make Tune believe it was for the better if they listened. They were just rubbing in their face what they had, just so that in the moment they accepted their offers, they would take it all away. It was cruel. And the scariest part? It all seemed less of a charade with every day that passed.

"I HAVE RETURNED, MY FEATHERY FRIEND!" The loud voice interrupted Tune's thoughts once again. "AND I HAVE BROUGHT THE KEY TO SOLVING OUR CONUNDRUM! …LITERALLY."

Wait. What?!

Tune heard the lock of the door click open and they automatically stiffened. They weren't expecting he would come in. They focused on his every move. Papyrus' magic power wasn't a secret. It was one of the easiest to detect since not only he didn't hide it, but rather he exposed it like a badge of honor, whether he did it consciously or not. He wasn't as strong as that fish lady, Undyne, but he could certainly deal a good amount of damage if he wanted to.

Tune breathed in and out, trying to calm themself. By the time Papyrus had closed the door behind him, they had managed to put up a disinterested face. It didn't even waver when they finally saw Papyrus clearly. They had known he was a skeleton, since they had seen his brother a lot. Ah, yes. Now they remembered him better from the first day they had arrived. He wasn't as tall as Asgore, so he wouldn't be able to reach them on the wardrobe, but his height gave him a bit of an advantage. A red scarf (cape?) was hanging loosely from his neck. It would be good for blinding him momentarily, if it came to it. Tune examined him some more before realizing he was saying something.

"AND HERE IT IS, JUST AS I PROMISED! I PRESENT TO YOU..."

Papyrus placed himself in the exact center of the room and raised a cardboard box above his head.

"…THE JIGSAW PUZZLE!"

He waited for a reaction. Tune did nothing. Papyrus continued as if he'd received one.

"AH! YOU MUST BE PONDERING: WHAT IS THIS JIGSAW PUZZLE THAT THIS COOL SKELETON IS TALKING ABOUT?" He placed a hand on his chin in an exaggeratedly thoughtful gesture. "WELL, I'LL EXPLAIN! IN THIS KIND OF PUZZLE YOU FIT MULTIPLE PIECES TOGETHER UNTIL THEY FORM A FANTASTIC PICTURE! AH, THE THRILL CAUSED BY THE SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS! THE EXCITEMENT WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE JUST A FEW PIECES AWAY FROM SUCCESS! THIS IS INDEED WHAT YOU NEED FOR A REFRESHING CHANGE! AS ALWAYS, THE GRET PAPYRUS COMES THROUGH FOR HIS VALUABLE FRIENDS! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Tune was caught off guard when, after he had placed a hand on his chest and smiled at his own 'plan', his scarf-cape started waving as if a breeze was moving it. Tune lost their neutral expression and stared at it, wondering how that was even possible in an underground room. Then again, they had seen weirder stuff. They shook their head and regained their composure before he noticed they had been distracted.

"SO… HERE YOU GO!" he said with a smile. He raised the box once again, offering it in her direction. Of course, Tune didn't even move. Problem was, neither did Papyrus. They stared at each other for several minutes, in which the only change that occurred was the shift in the skeleton's eye sockets that went from confident to a little unsure. After another couple of silent minutes, he cleared his throat.

"TUNE." he said, "I-I KNOW THAT THE FIRST TIME WE MET, IT DIDN'T END IN THE MOST PLEASANT WELCOME YOU COULD HAVE HAD."

In that he was right. Tune could never have imagined that being headbutted by a fish could leave such a lasting headache.

"I KNOW THAT YOU MUST HAVE BEEN INTIMIDATED BY MY STRONG AND MUSCULAR DISPOSITION!" He 'flexed' his right arm to prove his point. Tune rolled their eyes. "BUT YOU MUST KNOW THAT I ONLY WISH THE MOST ESTELLAR OF STAYS FOR YOU! AND… I REALLY THINK THIS PUZZLE WOULD HELP THAT GOAL!"

He stretched his arms to hold the box even closer to them. Tune could see an image of a pond on its front. It was pretty. They looked at the box, then at Papyrus, then the box again. They did kind of wanted to know how long it would take them to solve one of these jigsaw puzzles. They gulped. Was there a trick to all this? He had never entered the room before, and Tune had a feeling he wouldn't leave if they didn't grabbed the box. It was getting on their nerves. They felt like the room was a lot smaller with him around. Their muscles were starting to hurt from holding the same tense position and their heartbeat didn't match at all their external calm demeanor. What were they so afraid of? …Well, they knew the answer to that. It was strange how after deciding they didn't care anymore, their survival instincts would kick in. But they were so tired. Too tired to listen to them.

So they closed their eyes. They let themself inhale deeply and then exhale. They wanted to believe so badly in what every monster had tried to tell them during the last couple of weeks. Even after promising themself they wouldn't fall for any tricks… Ha. Maybe they were a fool after all. If something bad happened during the next moments, they would make sure it wouldn't last for long.

After picking up their little collection of puzzles, they climbed down from one of the sides of the wardrobe. They ignored Papyrus' gasp and stayed there for a moment, grasping the front edge of the piece of furniture with their eyes closed. No sounds. He wasn't moving towards them. Good. They opened their eyes and took a step forward, short enough distance that would let them climb back up in a hurry.

Papyrus stayed very still, an encouraging look on his face despite the few drops of sweat on his skull. Tune let go of the wardrobe and advanced two steps further. The box was within reach, as were they. They stretched their arms very slowly, without being able to decide whether to look at the monster or the box. They couldn't hide the slight tremble that coursed through their arms. Their hands finally landed on the smooth surface of the cover. Papyrus waited until they had a good grasp of it before letting go.

Tune's eyes were stuck on the box. When they looked up, what would they see? A condescending grin? An incoming attack? They forced themself to look anyway. A radiant smile received them. Now that they noticed, Papyrus' bones were rattling slightly. He looked like he was trying really hard not to bounce up and down, or say anything for the matter, as if speaking could ruin the moment. Tune was confused, but fortunately, they didn't feel like running away.

Before they could regret it, they extended the hand that was holding the previous puzzles. Papyrus gave them a quizzical look. Tune averted their gaze.

"Can you…"

Papyrus gasped again. He was ignored.

"…store them?"

He didn't say anything as he grabbed the papers. Tune didn't let go right away. They were giving him the only thing they had actually worked on for weeks, after all. Papyrus stared at the puzzles as both of them hold the stack, as if he was trying to decipher something Tune couldn't understand. When they finally let the papers slide from their hand, time seemed to accelerate. Tune hugged the box to themself and backed away. They hurried to return to their makeshift nest before the skeleton could get any ideas to prevent it. But he did nothing, waiting for them to accommodate up there. Then he spoke.

"WOWIE! YOU SOLVED THEM ALL ALREADY! OF COURSE I WILL KEEP THEM SAFE FOR YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND!" he said. He was holding the papers delicately, like they were the most precious treasure in the world. "THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING ME!"

Well, 'trust' wouldn't be the word Tune would use, but at least if the monster was happy he wouldn't insist on staying much longer. They weren't sure they could take any more of this. They nodded briefly at him.

"SO… YEAH! I'LL, UH, I'LL GO NOW!" he announced, "OH, AND, I SEE NOW WHY FRISK CHOOSE THAT NAME FOR YOU! IT CERTAINLY FITS YOU WELL!"

Papyrus looked at the puzzles in his hand, his smile growing wider. Without saying anything more, he exited the room in a dash.

Tune looked at the box in their hands. They ran their thumbs over it, feeling its smooth surface. It must have been pretty new. They wondered if he had bought it instead of just looking for an old one. Tune inspected the image more thoroughly. The pond was inside a clearing in a forest. A few rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves of the tallest trees, making the water shimmer. They carefully removed the cover, half expecting something on its inside to jump at them, but there was only a bag with little cardboard pieces. Tune frowned. Their nest wasn't a straight enough place to keep the pieces together. They would have to use the desk down there. Sighing, they closed the box once again and directed their gaze to the aforementioned desk.

Yeah. They were most definitely a fool.

"hey, there."

Tune jumped at the voice behind them, nearly throwing the seventh piece of their puzzle. They spun around to face whoever had managed to slip into the room without their noticing. For the second time that day, a skeleton stood in front of them. This one, however, was shorter and less imposing. Or that's how it seemed. Tune quickly tensed, bared their teeth and hissed. The monster was between them and the wardrobe so there was no way they would get there without getting closer to him. They jumped backwards onto the bed, putting as much distance between them as they could, which truly wasn't much since the corner they pressed themself against wasn't that far away from where he was. They expanded their wings in an attempt to intimidate the skeleton.

Sans. For some reason, Tune couldn't feel his magic power, their defense, or how much of a threat he was. Nothing… and that freaked them out to no end.

"heh, sorry. didn't mean to give ya the goose bumps." he said with a shrug. Tune resisted the urge to roll their eyes in order to keep them on him. They didn't want more surprises. "don't worry. i won't take too much of your time."

Tune was at a loss of what to do or how to respond. Their chest was expanding and contracting rapidly, and cold sweat settled on their face. They were okay, they were okay. No need to panic, right? As long as he didn't get close, they wouldn't be forced to attack.

"hey. c'mon. no need to get all worked up, there." Sans said while raising his hands to show they were empty. "if you keep reacting like that every time someone comes down here, then you are going to need a lot of roost."

Tune forced their lips together to prevent a little smile from coming out. They didn't know if they actually found the joke funny or if they were just hysterical. This was an enemy. Enemy, enemy, enemy. They shouldn't lower their guard. But apparently, the small gesture did not go unnoticed, because the skeleton grinned, satisfied.

"look," he said, shoving his hands back in his pockets. "i didn't get the best first impression from you, ya know? with the first thing you did being an attack to paps and all that…"

He closed his eye sockets. Tune stayed silent. That's what it was all about, huh?

"but… this afternoon he came running to me, all happy and excited, to tell me about the good time he had spent with his new friend." He opened his eyes and looked sideways, as if remembering the scene. "he even began scheduling the next twenty-five visits. you, uh, will probably see him a lot around here."

He waited a moment, giving Tune space to talk. They refused to say anything.

"so, i know you don't usually do much of… anything, really, when someone comes to see you. that's okay. i get not doing anything at all. someone's gotta not do stuff. me included." he winked at them. "but papyrus? he would do everything there is to do in this world if he could, even getting lazy guys like me to move a little bit more. he's cool like that. so… thanks, i guess, for breaking your routine of absolute nothingness just to make him happy. i really appreciate it."

Against Tune's best instincts, they averted their eyes. He sounded genuinely grateful, and they didn't know what to make of that. They didn't know what to make of anything in this crazy place. People weren't nice just because, and Tune just couldn't tell what any of them wanted from them. They slid down on the mattress, letting themself sit down, still without looking at him. They were so tired.

"and hey, who knows?" he continued, "maybe when all of this is over, he could get to show you about the things he's been telling you about. you could say he'd take you under his wing."

Tune just couldn't believe this guy.

"and i know that if he keeps coming to see you, once he asks you about the case, you'll sing like a canary."

This time, Tune couldn't help but to smile.

"that'll make the weight you're carrying light as a feather."

Tune gritted their teeth, trying not to let out a single sound. They'd rather not laugh in front of him; it would encourage him to come back.

"see? i'm already this close and you're not acting like a porcupine."

Tune's head snapped up. Sans was way closer to the bed than he had been before. But… they hadn't heard him take any steps. Both of them remained silent for the longest time, just staring at each other. Tune felt trapped, but… they didn't attack. Why weren't they attacking? Why did they feel like that would be the worst thing they could do right now? It didn't even had to do with whether Sans could beat them or not. They just… didn't do it.

"welp." Sans said looking at a non-existant watch on his wrist. "i can't believe you made me stay this long. i have to go. too much time has passed without anyone doing nothing at my house." He winked again, before turning around. "i'll tell papyrus you said hi."

Tune couldn't even think of something to say, because after they blinked, he was gone.

Sans ended going to Toriel's instead. With all the jokes he'd come up with down in that basement, he just needed to tell them to her. The more she laughed, the more he knew Papyrus would groan, or slap his hand against his forehead… or both. That was always funny. And maybe she could give him some ideas if he needed to make another visit down there.

However, when Sans appeared on the doorstep, he was surprised to find the door was already open. Was she having any visits? He knocked twice to announce his arrival.

"hey, tori. you home?" he called. He peeked inside the house. No one in the living room.

"Sans!" came Toriel's voice. "Please, come in! We are in the kitchen."

Sans did. 'We'… Well, the kid was with Undyne, so she did have visits. He made his way to the kitchen in silence. It would take too much energy to yell bad jokes at her from the entrance. Anything similar to a pun left his mind, however, when he reached his destination. Along with Asgore and Toriel, there was a human in the kitchen.

"Good evening!" the stranger greeted, "You must be Mr. Sans. My name is Jacob Sharpe. I've been assigned as the attorney of the monster you now call Tune."

I hope the change in POVs isn't too misplaced.

Well, let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!