Chapter 5: Dangerous Fears
Sans shook his head. This was just Papyrus being friendly. Nothing but a Monster being overly kind. If Sans didn't want to talk, he just wouldn't. He shouldn't be worrying about this so much.
Sans knocked on the door. He could hear loud crashes coming from inside. Moments later, Papyrus swung open the door with a huge smile on his face. "Hello! Come in! I still have some things to get set up, but you're welcome inside!" Papyrus greeted him. Sans couldn't help but smile back as the tall skeleton greeted him. Papyrus seemed to do that to Monsters.
Papyrus' house was very well kept. The only sign that he had just moved in was the lack of furniture, besides an old sofa next to a "wall window". The house itself was in pristine condition. It was almost sparkling. Papyrus obviously spent a lot of time cleaning.
"I hope it wasn't too much trouble to come over on such short notice. I'm sure you have more important things to be doing,"
"Don't worry about it," Sans answered, "I don't really have much on my schedule." He had already found himself a comfy spot on the couch.
He had been invited to Papyrus' house only two hours before, but Sans didn't have anything else going on. It was pretty easy to "find time" to meet up with Papyrus.
"I really am sorry. I just got so excited to finally meet you. I've seen you around town, but you never seemed to want to talk." Papyrus said from the kitchen, clanging around as if he were drumming on the pans.
"It really was no problem. I've also seen you around town, but you just seemed to be doing something else every time," Sans shrugged.
That wasn't entirely a lie. Sans had seen Papyrus a couple times as he was watching the foot-traffic outside Grilby's. Papyrus was always carrying bags, strolling in a way that made him look like a "monster on a mission", or talking with the other residents. Papyrus certainly kept himself busy.
Unlike Sans.
Sans was usually at Grilby's or sleeping, so he was surprised that Papyrus had even seen him around. The only time he went out was to get his weekly supply of food. Sans was too lazy to even do that half of the time. He just ate at Grilby's anyway.
Another, louder crash came from the kitchen and Sans jumped, his left eye lighting up a greenish-blue color.
"Hey. Lemme come help."
"Not to worry! Everything is okay! Anyway, I'm so glad you could come! I don't get many visitors."
Papyrus was practically yelling over the sound of his stove.
"I'm surprised. You're pretty great."
Papyrus didn't respond, and Sans immediately got worried. How had he left even Papyrus speechless?
He just meant that Papyrus… ugh… Even he didn't know exactly what he meant.
"I guess just 'cause he's not like me," Sans thought.
Sans had met many Monsters who had given up. Ones who thought that they'd never get to The Surface. Some even believed it was imaginary. Just a story the royal family made up to keep them at peace.
Sans knew that The Surface was real. Sans took a detour to the CORE almost every time he went out to see if he could find anything of value in the trash there.
One day, as he was rummaging through the dumpsters outside of the CORE, he found a stack of old magazines. They all were a Human series titled National Geographic. He brought them home, reading each and every edition. He even found newer ones sometimes. They detailed so many interesting things about The Surface. Sans knew that these books were far too detailed to be a lie of the royals.
"All done!" Papyrus yelled from the kitchen.
Sans had fallen asleep on the couch, but was quickly awoken by Papyrus' loud voice echoing through the empty house.
When Sans went into the kitchen to help Papyrus out, he discovered why the simple lunch had taken so long.
The kitchen was a complete mess. Cooking utensils were everywhere. There were crushed tomatoes on the walls and ceiling. Papyrus' apron had even gotten slightly burnt.
"Woah! Lemme help 'ya with cleaning up!" Sans said as he dashed to the counter where most of the mess was.
"It is okay, my friend Sans. This is just the aftermath of cooking with your heart!" Papyrus said proudly.
When Sans didn't respond, he went on. "It is messy because of the passion I put into making this. I-"
Papyrus was suddenly cut off.
Sans wondered why for a moment, and then he realized he was using his magic to clean the counters. He was levitating 4 rags at once, all working on different things.
Sans used his magic for anything and everything, but he had never let another Monster see him use it. He immediately dropped the rags, laughing it off.
"Heh heh heh… You didn't see that, did you?"
It was obvious that Papyrus had seen Sans using his magic. If it hadn't been attached to him, Papyrus' jaw would have clattered onto the floor.
Papyrus' expression was that of surprise, yes, but not one of terror. Sans thought that Papyrus would be scared of Sans' unusual magic. Perhaps it was just another irrational fear he had…
After a long pause, Papyrus spoke, "Sans."
"Yes, Papyrus?" Sans was scared. He was scared of what Papyrus thought of him. He was scared of what Papyrus would say to the others. And he was especially scared of what his next words would be.
"… I will teach you how to use magic properly. You could even stay here. It's pretty obvious that you don't have a place around here."
Sans did live at the inn, but he stayed silent. He had that much pride left.
Papyrus continued. "This must be a lot for you, but please. I want to help you."
He thought.
For some reason, Sans knew those words; "I want to help you". It was as if he'd heard them before.
"Alright. I understand if-" Papyrus took Sans' silence as a quiet "no".
"Ok. I'll stay with you… You know more than you let on."
"Really?! You looked like you were going to run away…"
He had wanted to run from this. This whole situation. The world. Papyrus. But he couldn't run. He wouldn't run from him. This Monster had accepted him, with all his… problems…
"Nah. Plus it'll be fun. You're The Great Papyrus! It'd be awesome to learn from you!"
Sans had heard a lot of the townsfolk calling the skeleton "Great," just as a joke. But when Sans said it, the compliment was genuine. Papyrus really was the greatest Monster in the Underground.
"THANK YOU! You are a wonderful brother!"
"...Brother?" Sans did NOT expect that.
"Yes! Isn't that what people who live together call each other?"
"…um… Yeah, bro"
It wasn't untrue. Not really correct either, but not completely wrong. And it would feel nice to have some "family".
"Wowie! Ok! We will start our first lesson… right now!"
"Wait! I don't think I'm ready for that!" Sans was still trying to wrap his mind around all this.
But Papyrus was already pushing him out the door and into the forest outside of town.
