Somniphobia

Sans x Serif

((Note: Serif is the name I decided to give Underfell Sans.))

((I apologize in advance for their personalities. I have never been adept at writing Sans; nor any variations of him. Sorry for being weird lately, some stuff went wrong but it's all good now? Uh, and by the way, this chapter touches on abuse… Also, as with all of my stories, I ask you to please keep an open mind. I know not a lot of people like this ship, but you can ignore it if you don't like it 3))

((For the smut story coming out soon, what pairing would you like to come first?))

Had one not been acquainted with Serif, many would have believed that after a skeleton suffered from sleep deprivation for an excessively long time, they wouldn't show any signs of it, aside from being tired. But to those who had been sharing a house with him, like Sans, Serif's brother, and Sans' brother, they would know quite well what someone could be like after going about a week without so much as an hour of sleep.

Serif's appearance was a complete and utter mess; his jacket was disheveled and dirty, his shorts were almost always on backwards, and he rarely took care to put on shoes anymore, if he even remembered in the first place. Although he had no eyes and rather only had holes where they would have been, Serif's eye sockets seemed even more deeply-set than they normally were.

The original Sans had secretly been keeping tabs on him since he noticed Serif appearing more and more weary with each passing day. He was smart enough to understand that Serif's Papyrus wouldn't care enough to address the issue, that the original Papyrus would be too clueless and wouldn't be able to adequately provide assistance had he noticed, and that Serif was too stubborn to help himself. He decided that he wouldn't take action until he was sure things really were severe enough that he would have to step in and find the problem.

The day when Sans decided that Serif needed help was the day that he stumbled out of his room, dizzy and weak, and let the gentle, comical Papyrus give him a huge, swooping hug without so much as a single word of complaint. He also didn't appear to be angered or even affected in the slightest by his own brother's taunts and hideously rude jeers, which he usually responded to with a quick wit and sharp tongue, only to be hit later so as to punish him for speaking back in a harsh manner.

Needless to say, something was definitely wrong with Serif. He was a variation of Sans, after all… sleeping was most certainly among most of their top priorities and favorite "activities". Sans could barely imagine not sleeping; every chance he got, he was sprawled out across the couch, the floor, the closet, the table, or curled up inside of a cabinet, under the table, or in the sink; oddly enough, his bed seemed to be, in Sans' mind, the least desirable place to sleep. Because sleeping in the sink is really that much better.

It was around eleven at night, and both the Papyruses had gone to bed. They shared a room, with the original Papyrus insisting on being a gracious host and practically forcing his counterpart to take his race-car bed while he slept in his closet. Both of them were heavy sleepers and quick to be able to get to sleep.

The original Sans stood outside the bedroom that Serif should have been sleeping in, straining his hearing to see if he could hear any faint snores or rustling of sheets. Instead, he heard graceful- yet still somewhat heavy- footsteps pacing around inside, and after a moment, the hiss of bed springs and soft grumblings.

After waiting with utmost patience for several minutes, Sans heard a repetition of the sounds. The pacing, the bed springs, and the soft mumble of incoherent words. He took a spare key from his jacket pocket and unlocked the door, being as quiet as he could. Even though most people would indeed notice a door opening and a short, big-boned skeleton walking in, Serif probably wouldn't, if he was still acting like he had earlier that day.

Serif had a thin, black blanket wrapped around his shoulders and he sat on the very edge of Sans' bed, shaking his head and whispering indecipherable and nonsensical phrases. His jacket was folded sloppily and placed next to him.

"Hey, buddy," Sans said quietly, standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. "You should be asleep, y'know?"

Serif flinched, and it took him at least several seconds to process what his counterpart was saying. He raised his gaze and coiled back, as if he had forgotten he was standing there in those seconds passed. He stared at him, not saying anything.

"Are you alright?" Sans asked, somewhat unnerved by being stared at so intensely.

"...'m fine… Get out of here…" Serif flicked his hand back and forth, as if it would do something or dismiss Sans.

"Why aren't you sleeping? I know you haven't been for the past week or so," Sans walked forth more, so he was standing at Serif's bedside.

"I have been sleeping," Serif denied the obvious, stifling a yawn and trying to pretend like he wasn't practically drooping from how tired he was.

"Be honest with me. There is absolutely no good lying can do right now. What's up, bud? I am literally you, so I can probably relate to some degree. You can trust me, Serif." Sans fell backwards onto the bed next to his counterpart.

"You… wouldn't be able to relate to this… you've had the perfect life, the perfect brother, nice friends… I don't have any of those…" He pitied himself, slowly opening up to the other skeleton.

"Is that all that's bothering you? Having it a bit rougher than me?"

"...'a bit' doesn't even begin to cover what's happened to my b-brother and I." Serif stumbled over the word, "brother", as if the mention of Papyrus caused him emotional anguish.

"I'm all ears, buddy. Tell me your story."

In all other circumstances, Serif would have hit Sans and refused, but he just couldn't keep it inside anymore. It was hurting him, and killing him slowly. "I w-was twelve when my bro and I were taken in by that s-scientist…" He spoke that word with as much hatred as 'brother' had been spoken in. "He's not like your Gaster. He d-did experiments on us, and Pap w-was only six or so... but he fed us and kept us alive, if only b-barely… even after he fell into The Core, I still was… harmed. Papyrus grew up and… became this… this sadistic, horrifying criminal… How could I let that happen to him…?" Serif clutched the blanket that was wrapped around him tighter, drawing his knees to his chest.

"Oh... " He had been right. Sans could in no way relate to this. "I'm… sorry… but, I don't really know how to respond. I'm not the best with being serious, y'know? But if all that happened so long ago, why's it botherin' you now?"

"...Gaster's influence affected P-papyrus a-and… he's been t-taking it easy on me for the past few w-weeks after you took us in, but he's… done s-some things to me n-no one ever should experience… I-I-I-I'm afraid if I s-sleep he'll h-hurt me when I can't f-fight back…" Serif's breath hitched and he shuddered. "L-leave, now, and if you tell anyone w-what I told you, I'll snap your spine in two..."

Sans just sat there, letting this newfound information sink in. "That's… that's tough. But you need to sleep, you can't even speak properly."

Serif shook his head, somewhat dismissively. "I c-can't sleep. I'm n-not going to s-sleep. I'm g-going to b-be killed if I sleep…"

"No, you're not going to be killed in your sleep. Do you know why?"

"...why…? If you're trying to be helpful, y-you a-aren-"

"I'm gonna sit here and protect you, a'ight? If you sleep, I'll stay awake all night and make sure no one gets in."

Serif shriveled back. "N-no, that w-won't-"

"Don't you say it won't help. You're hurting yourself by not sleeping. I will protect you, but only if you'll let me. Sound good? Even if it looks like you're having a bad dream, I'll wake you up, I promise. I'll fight off any dick that tries to hurt 'ya, in your mind or not, got that?" Sans sounded utterly and completely determined, and knowing him, he would stay true to his word.

That was the first time in all of his life that someone had promised Serif something and was entirely sincere, or that honestly wanted to protect him… "I-if I wake up and you aren't th-there, I'm n-not going to trust you ever again…"

"Yeah, yeah. Now lie down and-" Sans murmured to Serif, who didn't quite have time to lie down before his body acknowledged being let rest and collapsed against his shoulder, his eyes closing and almost immediately falling asleep.

Sans snickered quietly.

That adorable, edgy little shit was sleeping on top of him, weighing him down, completely limp, utterly and completely exhausted.

"...Heh, I guess I've got a bone to pick with your brother, eh?" Sans pat his counterpart's shoulder, chuckling quietly at his own joke. "I'll keep you safe from him, I promise."

And he kept his promise.

I'm sorry, that was an incredibly rushed ending…! Soon there will be a kind of 'coming out' chapter with the skelebros, and a certain smol human with anxiety meeting Flowey… Probably also a BP x NCG. Then another Sans and Frisk. Probably also a Frisk x Muffet. Definitely an Underswap story soon.