Chapter Text
“heheheh, c’mon, officer, it’s almost like ya got a bone ta’ pick with me.” The taller skeleton lets out an exasperated sigh, leading the much shorter, handcuffed skeleton into the guard station.
“YES!!! I DO! THIS IS THE THIRD FUCKING TIME THIS WEEK. YOU’RE MAKING MY JOB INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT.”
“i didn’t know the guard took loiterin’ so seriously.” Papyrus lets out and angry huff and pushes Sans into the chair by his desk.
“YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL THAT YOU’RE NOT JUST ‘LOITERING,’ SANS.”
“now, whatever could ya’ mean by that officer? I was mindin’ my own business. i’d never tell you a fib…ula.” Papyrus glares at him, shuffling through the papers on his desk and pulling out an arrest report. He picks up a pen with a sigh.
“STOP. FIRST NAME?”
“Sans.”
“LAST NAME?”
“The Skeleton.” Papyrus puts down the pen and rubs his nasal ridge.
“CAN I GET YOUR ACTUAL LAST NAME THIS TIME?”
“hey, that is my last name. cross my heart an’ hope ta die.”
“…SKELETONS DON’T HAVE HEARTS.”
“huh. tibia honest, Paps, it’s just an expression.”
“Sergeant.”
“Sergeant Paps.” Papyrus lets out a long, aggravated groan, while Sans grins.
“I HATE YOU, YOU KNOW THAT?”
“then why d’ya keep coming ta see me, bud?”
“BECAUSE YOU’RE ALWAYS ON MY PATROL! AND I KNOW YOU’RE THE LOOKOUT! YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE SHIT!”
“yeah but can ya prove it?” Papyrus glares harder at Sans, who’s making his best ‘innocent’ face. Papyrus sighs.
“NO.” Sans stands up.
“well then I guess we’re all done, buddy. you can just-“ Papyrus pushes him back down into the chair with a hand on his shoulder.
“NO. I HAVE TO FILL OUT MY REPORT. YOU KNOW THAT. AND I MIGHT NEED TO HOLD YOU OVERNIGHT TO-“
“hey- c’mon ya don’t gotta throw me in the tank just ta’ be spiteful.” His grin finally falters. “you know those cells are shit.”
“AND YOU KNOW I NEED YOUR TESTIMONY TO MAKE A CASE HERE!”
“an’ you know I can’t do that without gettin’ myself dusted.” Papyrus picks up his pen again, tapping it sharply against the desk. He scowls at Sans for a minute before letting out an angry huff.
“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GIVE ME ANYTHING THIS TIME EITHER, ARE YOU?”
“nope. my lips are sealed.”
“YOU DON’T HAVE- UGH. FINE. FINE! YOU CAN GO! I KNOW ALL YOUR EXCUSES BY HEART ANYWAY! I COULD FILL THIS OUT IN MY SLEEP.” Sans stands, turning around, but grins over his shoulder at Papyrus. He wiggles his cuffed hands mockingly at him. Unamused, Papyrus takes out the key and unlocks the magic-suppressor cuffs. Sans turns around to face him.
“Thanks, Sergeant Paps. seeya round!” He salutes him cheekily. With the barest flicker of red, Sans disappears. Once he’s gone, Papyrus lets out a long groan and leans over his desk, letting his forehead rest on it. The monster in the next desk over looks at him.
“You know they take advantage of you. If you ever want them to listen to you, or tell you anything at all, you gotta rough ‘em up a bit. Put the fear of Asgore in ‘em.” The groaning ceases and Papyrus looks up, something resembling disgust across his face.
“OH, OF COURSE. I FORGOT TO CHECK MY HANDBOOK OF UNETHICAL AND ILLEGAL WAYS TO OBTAIN CRIMINAL TESTIMONY. MY MISTAKE.” The other monster glares at him and looks away, returning to his work. Papyrus straightens and begins to fill out his paperwork.
---
Then everything changes. The human comes through, opens the barrier, and doesn’t harm a single monster. Barely anyone even knew there was a human in the Underground at all. It’s what everyone has been waiting for. Wishing for. There’s talks of war, but those are quickly squashed. Asgore is tired of war and death and just wants his people to finally be free. Efforts are made to integrate into human society. Results are mixed, but both sides seem to be trying.
---
It’s months before things settle enough for Papyrus to feel like he’s doing his job properly again. There was so much work to be done with the transition, but there was so much progress being made. It’s his first official day as an officer on the surface and he is almost bouncing with excitement. He still takes occasional glances at the sun- he’ll never get tired of that big, fiery ball in the sky. It’s beautiful. He smiles at the sun, and then returns his gaze to the street.
Just in time to catch sight of a very familiar figure skillfully lifting a wallet out of a human's pocket.
“SANS!!!” His mood is completely ruined. Sans jerks at his name, dropping the wallet and whirling around. He spots Papyrus and-
“NO YOU DON’T!” Papyrus grabs him by the soul with blue magic before he can teleport away. The human jumps a little in surprise. Papyrus stomps over, glaring at Sans. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?”
“wh-“ Papyrus jerks him around, cuffing him a little more roughly than he normally would, but he’s so angry.
“WE’RE ON THE SURFACE! AND EVEN HERE I FIND YOU- PICKING POCKETS! LIKE A DELINQUENT! I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU’D- AT LEAST TRY TO DO BETTER!” Sans looks baffled.
“wh- what do- what’re you talking about?”
“WE HAVE THIS- WE HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE- THE SUN AND SKY AND- YOU’RE JUST…DOING THE SAME THING. STEALING. TAKING THINGS THAT AREN’T YOURS. MONSTERS AND HUMANS ARE TRYING SO HARD TO GET ALONG AND YOU’RE TRYING TO- RUIN EVERYTHING!” The human retrieves their wallet quietly, watching the two of them warily.
“i- wh- Pap? I mean- Sergeant-“ Papyrus is fuming, eyes burning bright red. His voice is accusatory and angry. “what- what did you expect me to do?” Papyrus has never talked to him like this- he’s never seen him like this at all.
“I EXPECTED MORE- ANYTHING! ANYTHING AT ALL!”
Sans’ eyes narrow. He’s angry now as well, and stands up straighter, glaring right back into Papyrus’ face.
“ya know what, Sarge? you can just fuck off. you don’t know me, you don’t- you don’t fucking get to tell me how to live my goddamn life! so you can just- fuck off!” Now it’s Papyrus’ turn to be baffled. He’s never seen Sans drop the cool, laid-back persona. He grinds his teeth in frustration.
“WELL I’M NOT GOING TO JUST FUCK OFF! WE’RE GOING DOWN TO THE STATION AND THIS HUMAN-“ He turns to the human- and finds them gone. “WHAT- WHERE THE- WHAT THE HELL?” He looks around. The crowd is moving around them, not wanting to get involved. But there’s so many people. And the human is gone. Sans sneers at him.
“guess there’s no complainin’ witness. so that means there was no crime here, officer.” Papyrus looks angry.
“WELL THAT’S JUST GREAT. YOU ALWAYS MANAGE TO WEASEL YOUR WAY OUT OF EVERYTHING, DON’T YOU?” He snarls at him. “YOU JUST DO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT, DON’T YOU?”
“yeah, guess so. i guess i’ll be going now.” He turns around so that Papyrus can reach his cuffs. “so you can take your cuffs back, asshole.”
Papyrus is infuriated. This criminal- he’s acting like somehow I’ve done something wrong! After robbing a human right in front of me! Don’t know him!? I’ve known him longer than most of the officers in my unit! This little- He lets out an angry noise of frustration and uncuffs him, shoving the handcuffs back onto his belt.
“s’been real fun,” sneers Sans, and then he disappears, leaving Papyrus alone in a crowd of people.
---
Papyrus was indignant for almost a week, stomping around the station angrily and barking orders a little more tersely at the other officers. But he didn’t stay angry, and eventually calmed down. It was hard to maintain that much negative energy for so long. Slowly, though, he started to feel…guilty?
Why would I feel guilty!? I didn’t do anything! He’s the one running around, making no effort to better himself! Why doesn’t he just get a job on the surface! There’s so many opport- hmm… The surface was…well, they were making great strides, of course. But he’d seen a lot of displaced monsters, and human prejudice wasn’t uncommon. It was much harder for a monster to be hired over a human, unless they were using the monster in some sort of publicity stunt. Everyone who had been in the guard was fine- the two legal systems were similar enough, and all the retraining had taken little time, thankfully. Various treaties had mandated that human law was was maintain on the surface, but monster authorities must be integrated. The monster guards had been merged with the police force with relative ease. But…
Sans wasn’t exactly the most desirable employee, even before we reached the surface, was he? Was he expected to just…’get a job’? Papyrus’ stomach twists. Or what passed for a stomach in a skeleton. Why are you worrying about this? He’s just some guy. He’s in my way, he’s making my life harder and my arrests difficult. Why the fuck do I feel bad about this??
“I EXPECTED MORE- ANYTHING! ANYTHING AT ALL!”
The words echo in his head. Why would that matter? Sans should try to be better, not some loser who- Oh… Well. That cleared that up. He’d rather flagrantly implied that Sans was a complete failure. He still wasn’t sure why he cared. Sans had never been anything but a thorn in his side, from the day they met.
Did he like talking to him? Did he secretly like the puns? Did he keep playing catch-and-release with only this one person? Had they developed a rapport? Yes. Dammit. He knew, obviously, that being in the guard gave him more options both underground and on the surface. But he’d never really thought about it.
I guess I’ll…apologize. Somehow, the idea lifted a little weight from his shoulders.
---
It was proving damn hard to find him, though. He wasn’t hanging around the spot where Papyrus had found him before. Papyrus checked the plaza on multiple days. He started to question the other pickpockets he inevitably found working the crowds. It really was a prime spot for to find easy targets. He didn’t make a lot of progress there, though. Finally, he got somewhere.
“Yeah, I saw him. Spikey skeleton guy, right? Tacky gold tooth? You gonna let me off for this one if I tell ya, though?”
“YES, BUT IF I FIND OUT YOUR INFO IS BAD, I’M GOING TO MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL, UNDERSTAND?”
“Yeah, sure. Well, he got arrested way back. Few weeks ago.”
“WHAT?”
“Yeah, he got sloppy, picked a cop’s pocket, like an idiot.” The monster chuckles. “Went for a human’s wallet, and they cuffed him right there. I mean, c’mon, it was pretty easy to see he was a cop. S’in the way you guys walk.”
“OKAY, DO YOU KNOW THE NAME OF THE OFFICER?”
“Pssh, no, you think I stuck around? No way.”
“WHAT DID THE HUMAN LOOK LIKE, THEN?”
“Uh…tall? Brown hair? Human?” Papyrus sighs. Very helpful.
“FINE. YOU CAN GO.” He watches the other monster leave, annoyed. I never considered he’s been arrested. I’m an imbecile. Of course he got arrested. Ugh.
When he gets back to the station, after finishing his patrol, he checks the system. He’s probably at F39. That’s the closest station to where he was arrested. He types it in and searches. Nothing.
“HUH…”
He checks the next closest station, and the next after that. No one listed under Sans. He even searches for the last name ‘The Skeleton.’ Nothing. He searches for any skeleton monsters arrested within the time frame. Still nothing. Was that monster lying to me? Why? That was so specific? He frowns. I guess I can swing by F39 tomorrow, just to ask them if they let him weasel out of being charged. Again. Maybe they know where he went. Papyrus shuts down his computer and stands up with a sigh. He heads home.
---
It's dark. Sans shivers. He can hear them talking.
“You wanna grab a quickie with it before we let the night shift take over?” Sans stifles a whimper. Please no. Please just go home.
“Yeah, sounds good to me. My wife’s been such a frigid bitch lately, I need to get it somewhere.” There’s laughter. Sans squeezes his eyes shut, tears leaking out. His hands clench behind him, wrists raw from the cuffs. No. Please. I’m so tired please go home. Footsteps move over to him, and the locker door is yanked open. He sobs into the gag as he’s pulled out by his shoulder and dragged over to a table.
“mmmngh- mmmngh.” Stop. No more. I can’t I can’t-
Humans surround him, and he’s pushed face down onto the table, his legs hanging off the side. He’s breathing hard. He can’t even tell how many of them there are. A hand unceremoniously shoves into his pelvis, rubbing coarsely at his aching sacrum. He squirms, but someone- or more than one someone, he can’t tell- grabs his legs, spreading them apart. He whimpers now, unable to stop himself.
He isn’t even slightly turned on- the hand rubbing his bone just hurts. But he can work through it to summon- it’s what they wanted and it would just hurt more if he waited for them to forcibly summon his ecto. It blinks to life, the soft expanding ecto slowly pushing the human’s hand away. He can hear pants unzipping behind him and he struggles again, despite knowing there was no way to fight them. He starts to cry- he always starts to cry and he feels weak and pathetic and-
“MNNNNN!” There’s never any real warning when one of them forces their way inside of him, and he’s never used to it. He’s never ready. He wasn’t even sure the humans knew it was mostly ecto blood and not vaginal fluids that they were using to lubricate themselves. He doubted they would care either way. The human starts to thrust, and his head clacks against the table with each push. He cries. He cries the whole time. He doesn’t know how. How there’s any tears left after all these…weeks? It feels like he’s been here forever. Should he be grateful that his ecto forms a new vagina every time? Would it hurt more if he was already torn and aching? Maybe. But it feels like they’re just breaking him in again over and over. He’s wet and hot and he can feel hands everywhere. His shoulders, his legs, even laced into his ribs. Whoever is behind him grabs his spine to pull him further backwards onto their dick. He lets out an involuntary moan and there’s laughter from above him. He blushes red, feeling ashamed and ridiculous. Feeling bashful when they’ve been ramming you senseless for days? Stupid. Stupid fuck you fuck them fu-
Sans feels sick. He wants to vomit but there’s nothing to bring up. He’d absorbed the last of his food a while ago. Even if he did manage to get the cuffs off, he was useless now. His magic was completely drained. Just summoning his ecto is eating into his life force at this point. Skeleton monsters don’t technically need to eat to live. That had always been an advantage in the past.
Three of them rape him before they pause to have a cigarette break. They leave him on the table, and he’s trembling so hard it rattles the table slightly. They’re not done they’re not done. He can feel their eyes on him, watching him shake and drip various fluids onto the floor. The anticipation makes it even worse, and he starts to hyperventilate.
“Haha, it can’t fucking wait. Look, it’s getting all worked up.” One of them walks over and puts the cigarette out on his pelvis. He squirms a little, more out of fear of what’s coming than in reaction to the actual pain. He can feel a hand spreading his labia, and he lets out a series of panicked whimpers. Any stimulation the touch could evoke is easily stifled by the situation. Sans is exhausted, and even if his legs aren’t pinned, he’s too panicked to do anything but freeze up. The human holding him open pulls out his nightstick and drags it down his ribs, making a clacking sound. He moves down the spine, and eventually rests the tip of it at the entrance to his vagina. His breathing and whimpering have both picked up in pace.
“You ready, you filthy little monster?” He shakes his head, barely able to think. White-hot terror grips his bones. “Too bad.” The nightstick is shoved in, all the way to cervix, and he screams into the gag. “Don’t be like that. We’re not fucking you, right?” The human twists and pushes the nightstick in, cum and blood lubricating its movement but doing little to ease the agony of the intrusion. He passes out from the pain somewhere during the third minute.
Sans wakes up in the showers. The water feels hard and cold against his bones. He doesn’t feel any cleaner. He never does. He’s shoved back into the locker, and it’s dark again. He hears them lock the door and he sags against the wall. He can’t even sit, let alone lay down. There’s no room in the tiny, cramped, metal prison they keep him in. He cries until he passes out again.
---
He’s woken by a loud, familiar voice.
“WELL, I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU. I’VE INTERVIEWED THREE INDEPENDENT WITNESSES SAYING THAT THEY SAW OFFICER BARRETT ARREST AND ESCORT HIM INTO THE STATION. BUT HE’S NOT IN THE SYSTEM, AND YOU’RE SAYING THAT NO SUCH THING HAPPENED. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU LOST THE PAPERWORK AND ARE TRYING TO COVER YOUR ASSES, BUT EITHER WAY I’M GOING TO HAVE TO TALK TO OFFICER BARRETT.”
“He isn’t here at the moment; I am the only one here. There was a call about a bank robbery. We’re short-staffed; I’m afraid you’ll have to come back later.”
Sans blinks. It can’t- can’t be? Why- how would he-
“WELL, I CAN WAIT. DO YOU HAVE-“
Sans starts to bang his head against the locker as hard as he can. Please. Please hear me. Pleasegodsplease.
“WHAT- WHAT IS THAT SOUND?”
“Oh- I don’t know perhaps it’s one of the officers.”
“…YOU SAID NO ONE ELSE WAS HERE.”
“I said- hey- you can’t go back there-“
“MMMMGH!” BANG. “MNNNNGH!!!” BANG BANG. His head feels like its cracking but he doesn’t care. There’s footsteps approaching. Please.
“You stupid fucking monster I said you can’t go in there!” There’s a gunshot. No! NO! But then there’s the sound of bone impacting flesh, and then a familiar huff of annoyance.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE.” Sans bangs his head into the door again. “AND WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT-“ There’s a snapping noise and then the door opens. Sans looks up, trembling. Papyrus is there, staring down at him in shock. He gapes for a moment. Sans can see an unconscious human cuffed to the table.
“mmmngh. mnnnngh?” Tears leak out. Ohgodohgodthankgod. Papyrus springs into action, leaning over and removing the gag. Sans breathes in sharply. It hadn’t been taken off since he got there. “th-th-“ he croaks out, unable to say more.
“SANS, DON’T TALK IF IT HURTS.” Papyrus picks him up and moves him so he can get the cuffs off. With a click, they come off and Papyrus lets them drop without ceremony. He shucks his uniform jacket and wraps Sans in it. It’s big enough to cover Sans completely, with only his head poking out the top. He whimpers and curls up. “OH GOD-“ Papyrus looks over at the human. “THEY- THEY KNEW YOU WERE IN THERE, DIDN’T THEY? THEY- THEY PUT YOU IN THERE?” Sans nods shakily.
“y-ye-yes.” His voice is hoarse.
“OKAY THEN WE- WE NEED TO GET TO SOMEWHERE SAFE- I- I’M GOING TO THE MONSTER HOSPITAL.” He steps over the human and hurries to the door. He sprints out of the station, in the direction of the hospital. Sans clings to the front of his shirt with shaking hands. He closes his eyes.
Thankyouthankyou. He’s shocked that anyone found him. He doesn’t even know how Sergeant Paps did it. No one knew him- no one cared that he was missing right? That was the whole point- why they’d kept him. No one would notice. No one would care. He whimpers and leans into Papyrus’ chest.
But someone did notice? Papyrus noticed? He clutches tighter to his shirt. He noticed. He lets out a sob. Henoticedhenoticedhelookedforme. ItakeitbackItakeitback. Papyrus looks down as he runs.
“DO NOT WORRY SANS. IT WILL BE SAFE AT THE HOSPITAL. THERE WILL BE DOCTORS. YOU’RE GOING TO BE OKAY.” He takes out his phone, as if just realizing he had it. He dials quickly, despite the jogging. “CAPTAIN, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO ME CLOSELY. STATION F39 IS- I FOUND A MONSTER CIVILIAN BEING HELD CAPTIVE. NO. NO. HE WAS NOT PUT INTO THE SYSTEM. HE WAS NOT PROCESSED AT ALL. HE- HE HAS NO CLOTHES, UNDYNE. HE’S BEEN KEPT IN A FUCKING LOCKER. THE STATION WAS– THEY ONLY LEFT A SINGLE PERSON TO GUARD IT- I MANAGED TO GET AWAY- NO, I DID NOT. BECAUSE I HAD TO LEAVE! NO! BECAUSE THE ENTIRE STATION IS COMPROMISED! IT WAS THE BREAK ROOM, UNDYNE! ANYONE WHO HAD ACCESS TO THE BACK WOULD HAVE HEARD HIM! THEY’RE ALL COMPLICIT! I DON’T- I DON’T KNOW HOW- HOW SAFE WE ACTUALLY ARE UP HERE…”
Sans starts to drift off, the voice comforting, the jacket warm, and the rhythm of Papyrus’ gait hypnotic. His head falls forward, and he passes out.
---
He wakes up in- a bed? It’s been a long time since he’s been in a proper bed… Someone’s- holding his hand? He opens his eyes, moving weakly. He blinks and sees that the hand he’s holding is connected to Papyrus. He makes a small noise and squeezes the hand. Papyrus looks up from his phone.
“YOU’RE AWAKE! THAT IS GOOD.” There’s a few tubes and wires running from Sans to various machines. “I’VE BEEN VERY…CONCERNED. YOU HAVE BEEN SLEEPING FOR A LONG TIME. YOU’LL BE HAPPY TO KNOW WE’VE MOBILIZED ALL AVAILABLE UNITS TO…DEAL WITH THAT STATION. I HAVE TO HOPE THAT F39 WAS AN OUTLIER AND- NOT ALL THE HUMANS ARE DOING THIS.”
“you- f-found me.”
“I- YES, I DID. YOU’RE SAFE NOW.”
“how? wh-why?”
“OH…I…THE LAST TIME WE TALKED, I WAS…INSENSITIVE. I SAID…I IMPLIED THAT YOU WEREN’T…” He swallows. “I ASSUMED THAT YOU WERE…SIMPLY WEREN’T TRYING. I IMPLIED THAT YOU WERE HURTING HUMAN-MONSTER RELATIONS ON PURPOSE AND…I WAS VERY CONDESCENDING.” Sans gapes at him. “I WANTED TO APOLOGIZE…SO I TRIED TO FIND YOU. IT- WAS HARDER THAN I ANTICIPATED. SO…I AM SORRY, SANS.”
“you- w-wanted to-“ He makes a choking noise and squeezes the hand again. “t-to me? just-“ He starts to cry. Papyrus looks worried.
“I- I’M SORRY WAS THAT- I DIDN’T MEAN TO UPSET YOU.” Sans shakes his head.
“no I’m not-“ He wipes his face with his free hand, but can’t stop crying. He hiccups, trying to compose himself.
“IS- WHO DO I CALL FOR YOU, SANS? FRIENDS? FAMILY? YOU- SHOULD HAVE THEM HERE.” Sans hiccups again, followed a whimper.
“th-there’s- n-no one.” He hunches over, but continues to cling to the hand. Papyrus frowns, and lets go of his hand. Sans deflates but…Papyrus leans over, and draws him into a hug.
“WELL- THERE’S- ME. AND I WON’T LEAVE.” Sans breaks down completely, clinging tightly to Papyrus and sobbing.
“thankyouthankyou.” Papyrus’ heart breaks. He hugs him tighter.
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO THANK ME, SANS. I- YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH- SOMETHING VERY AWFUL. AND I’M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT-“ What am I doing? “-THAT YOU ARE CARED FOR FROM NOW ON. ALRIGHT?” Sans looks up at him, confused, amazed, and trembling.
“y-you- wh-what?”
“I- SOMEONE NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. YOU’RE- YOU’VE BEEN- TRAUMATIZED AND- YOU NEED- YOU SAID THERE WAS NO ONE TO CALL AND…SO I’M GOING TO TAKE CARE OF YOU…” He feels stupid. “I- MEAN, ONLY IF YOU WANT, OF COURSE- I KNOW YOU MIGHT STILL BE- UPSET WITH ME BUT-“
“nononononoi’mnotno.” Sans clings to him desperately. “i’mnotipromise.” He hiccups. “pl-please you’ll- really?” His voice wavers and his tone is urgent. Any doubts Papyrus have fade when he sees the desperate hope on his face.
“YES.” Sans sags against him. Papyrus rubs his back, and he melts into a sniveling mess. “DO NOT WORRY.” Papyrus shifts, and picks up Sans, who lets out a little gasp. He’s careful of the tubes and wires, but holds Sans close to his chest in a careful embrace. Sans starts to blubber. He’s never had anyone hold him like this. Papyrus rubs Sans’ head and Sans buries his face into his shirt, weeping.
“pleasedon’tletthemfindme.”
“I WON’T. I PROMISE. YOU’RE IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY NOW. UNDER MY PERSONAL PROTECTION. HOW DOES THAT SOUND?” Sans nods into his shirt. “AND THE GUARD IS GOING TO FIND THOSE HUMANS AND THEY’RE ALL GOING TO GO AWAY FOR A VERY LONG TIME.”
“thankyou. thankyou. forlookingi-“ his voice catches. “i- th-they-“ He hiccups. “th-they p-picked me c-cause n-no one would g-go looking- i- my c-crew dumped me wh-when we got to the s-surface- said they didn’t-“ Papyrus hugs him close. “ne-need me anymore so- so I went back to- p-pickin’ pockets i-i’m s-sorry.” Papyrus feels guilt pressing heavily on his soul.
“NO, DON’T- OH- DON’T APOLOGIZE…” He strokes his head. “IT- I WAS…I SHOULD NOT HAVE EVER SAID ANY OF THAT. I NEVER MEANT- YOU WERE TRYING TO SURVIVE. AND IT WAS PRETTY SHITTY OF ME TO JUDGE YOUR CHOICES. AND- VERY UNPROFESSIONAL, I MIGHT ADD.” He looks down at the trembling skeleton in his arms. “BUT I SUPPOSE PROFESSIONALISM IS OUT OF THE WINDOW NOW.” Sans whimpers.
“i’msorry.”
“DON’T BE SORRY. I- THINK OUR RELATIONSHIP HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE UNPROFESSIONAL, SANS.”
“h-huh?”
"I HAVE TO ADMIT, I- WELL, I ARRESTED YOU SO MANY TIMES, SANS. YOU WOULD ALWAYS BE ON MY PATROL ROUTE…I MAY HAVE- DEVELOPED A SOFT SPOT FOR YOU, DESPITE HOW MUCH- NYEHEH…MAYBE BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU CAUSED.”
“wh-what?”
“YOU- WERE- FUN, SANS. I WOULD CHASE YOU AROUND, BUT YOU NEVER REALLY HURT ANYONE. YOU NEVER SPAT IN MY FACE OR CALLED ME A PIG OR TRIED TO KILL ME.” He sighs. “YOU WERE ALWAYS FUN TO TALK TO EVEN- EVEN WITH ALL THE PUNS. AND YOU NEVER REALLY SEEMED TO END UP ARRESTED BY ANYONE ELSE- I DON’T KNOW, SANS.” He shrugs.
Sans looks up at him. “f-fun?”
“YES, FUN.” Emotions flicker across Sans’ face. Confusion, disbelief, and then…something like realization.
“youwerealwaysnicetome,” he mumbles. “ithoughtyouwerejustlikethatwitheveryone.” Papyrus snorts.
“NYEHEHEHEH…NO. I’M KIND OF A DICK, SANS. I’M NOT ALL THAT POPULAR IN MY SQUAD, EVEN.” He grins. “NOBODY LIKES A STICK-IN-THE-MUD WHO, AND I AM GIVING YOU A DIRECT QUOTE: ‘FOLLOWS PROTOCOL LIKE IT’S THE LAW OR SOMETHING.’” Sans laughs weakly, wiping at his face.
“youknow- you’re the- o-only-“ He sniffs. “you’re the- only one who- didn’t-“ He hiccups, trying to compose himself. “rough me up. just- just for- you’re- i’m not- without my magic i’m not- any- i can’t-“ He rubs both his eyes with his hands. “i’msmall. yourpatrolwassafe. younever- used - the fuck do they call it when the cops beat the shit outta you - ‘excessive force’ on me and-" He lets out a sharp breath. He’s trying his best not to look and sound completely pathetic. “thankyou.”
“OH…” Papyrus swallows. “SANS- YOU…DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT EVER AGAIN.”
“h-huh?”
“I SAID I WOULD TAKE CARE OF YOU. I MEANT IT. EVEN AFTER ALL THIS IS OVER. YOU DON’T HAVE TO STEAL, OR SMUGGLE, OR BE THE LOOKOUT ANYMORE. I CAN HELP YOU FIND A LEGITIMATE JOB. WHERE YOU WON’T BE IN DANGER.”
There’s another weak laugh. “y-you knew about the smuggling?”
“I HAD A PRETTY GOOD IDEA, SANS.” He taps the side of his own head lightly, near his eye. “YOU KNOW IF YOU KEEP ITCHING AT IT, IT LOOKS VERY SUSPICIOUS.” He winks. “I AM A SKELETON, SANS. I KNOW ALL THE TRICKS.”
“hhhhhnn…thanks.”
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO THANK ME SANS. I’M RATHER CERTAIN SEARCH AND SEIZURE DOESN’T COVER THE INSIDE OF A MONSTER’S HEAD.”
“no- no i mean- for- just- everything. the- the being nice to me, the- giving me breaks, the-“ his voice cracks. “for- lo-lookin’ for me. when- nobody- nobody else c-cared. i-“ He sags. “ithoughtiwasgoingto- diein-inthatlocker. ithought- they would- just- fuck m-me f-forever until- until i was- onlydust.” Papyrus’ soul sinks further. He had suspected, of course. Sans had been naked. He just…had hoped that…there was some other explanation. Any other explanation.
“SANS.” He strokes Sans' head. “I PROMISE YOU, FROM NOW ON- I SWEAR, ON MY LIFE- ON MY HONOR AS A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUA- ER- I SUPPOSE THE POLICE FORCE NOW- I WILL ALWAYS CARE. I WILL ALWAYS LOOK FOR YOU. YOU DESERVE THAT.” Sans starts to sob into his shirt again. Papyrus holds him close for a long time.
Finally, Sans pulls himself together and wipes his face, embarrassed.
“DO YOU FEEL ANY BETTER?” Sans nods. “DO YOU WANT ME TO GO GET YOU SOME FOOD? I THINK THEY SAID YOU CAN ONLY HAVE APPLESAUCE OR JELLO AT FIRST.”
“i…i don’t care. i’m just really hungry.”
“ALRIGHT THEN. I WILL GO ROUND UP AS MUCH JELLO AND APPLESAUCE AS I CAN, THEN.” Gently, he shifts Sans back to the bed, then pulls the covers up around him, tucking in the sides. He adjusts Sans’ pillows. “THERE! I’LL BE RIGHT BACK!” Sans smiles at him, eyes watering.
“y-you’re the best.”
“NYEHEHEH! I KNOW, RIGHT?” Sans laughs. It’s a little stronger than before. Papyrus leans over and rubs the top of Sans' head. “I WILL BE QUICK.” He leaves the room, and Sans watches him go.
i’msolucky. ican’tbelieveit. He rubs his eyes. They’re drooping. He said he’d be right back. Don’t be an asshole. Stay awake. But it’s only a matter of minutes before he nods off, propped up by the pillows. His dreams are a little less dark, and a little less lonely.