"DASH!" You yelled, eyes flying open and waking in a sitting position.

Your chest heaved and tears stung your eyes as they followed silently down your cheeks. Quickly realizing you were trying, you wiped the tears away and turned your gaze to your surroundings. The room was too dark to make out any real details, but you knew you were in someone's bed. Footsteps creaked against wooden stairs then pounded down a hallway, landing in front of the door.

The door swung open gently and Sans stood there, looking at you with an odd mix of emotions. Most of his expression looked forced and uncomfortable. He raised a brow towards you and smirked, still looking unsettled.

"Heh, you're finally awake. Boss has been needing to ask you some questions."

You processed the phrase a moment then nodded. "Yeah, anything to help Dash."

You pulled your legs out from under the covers one at a time and put them on the ground. "Um pet? I wouldn't-"

It was too late. You attempted to stand and landed facedown on the carpet. Sans held back a laugh and lifted you easily with magic. "Come on klutz. Boss is waiting." He said.

You groaned and rolled your eyes. "That is so annoying!" You growled.

"What?"

"Boss this! Boss that! He's your brother goddammit! Use his name or stop addressing him. There aren't supposed to be superiors in family."

Sans was silent a moment, then he smirked. "Clearly you don't get how things work down here, do you?"

You laughed. "It's not about understanding the Underground. That parts easy. It's about understanding family and friends. You should trust each other enough to at least use each other's name. Why else would I be so fearless again calling him Papy?"

Sans grunted in response and you rolled your eyes. "Just being helpful." You mumbled, crossing your arms.

Your bodies disappeared and you reappeared in front of Papy and Dash. This wasn't Toriel's home but you could tell you were still in the skelebro's home. Maybe their basement?

Papy looked at you and smiled. "You finally woke up! This will make treatment so much easier." He said happily.

You looked at Dash and you relaxed. Her large wings spilled over the edge of the table she laid on. Streams of dry blood trickled from the corner of her lip as she slept. Her ankle was wrapped tightly and she seemed to be sleepily soundly. A sigh took you over and you smiled to yourself.

"She's okay." You muttered.

Your body thumped down and the pain which had been suspended washed over you. A groan vibrated through you and you rubbed a hand against your aching muscles. Papyrus smiled towards you and took a seat, facing you.

"Good morning Frostbite. How'd you sleep?" He asked casually.

You were slightly alarmed by his casual conversation but still answered. "I slept, not too well but it's still sleep... I guess...."

He smiled with sickeningly sweet aura surrounding him. Sans looked at his brother, clearly catching the same drift as you. He made a beeline for the stairs, leaving only you, Papyrus and an unconscious Dash. You cursed Sans mentally as you looked at Papyrus.

Papyrus nodded slowly with your answer. "And how are you feeling? Sore? Cold at all?"

You nodded. "My muscles hurt and I might have a cold but I think I'm okay."

Papyrus smile again, chills climbing your spine like small demons. His expression suddenly changed to an odd variation of rage as he yelled. "AND WHO'S FAULT IS IT THAT YOU'RE LIKE THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?! WHAT MADE YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO GO COME TO OUR HOME SO EARLY IN THE MORNING NEARLY FROSTBITTEN WITH AN INJURED ALLY WHEN YOU LIVE WITH TORIEL?! WHERE WERE YOU COMING FROM? HOW LONG WERE YOU OUT THERE? WHAT HAPPENED THAT GOT YOU BOTH SO HURT?!"

You flinched away from his yelling, fragments of memories flashing over your eyes. A weak smile painted over your mouth and you chuckled dully.

"If I didn't know better Papy, I'd think you were worried about us."

Papyrus growled, grabbing your arm harshly. "Answer the damn questions." He hissed.

You gulped and broke your gaze at him, looking instead at Dash. Your legs still aching, but your mind begging for some excuse to move away from the frightening skeleton, you stood and walked to Dash's side. You pulled a blanket from the back of your seat and threw it over Dash, tucking it securely around her.

Papyrus waited impatiently as you made your way back to your seat. You sighed and looked at Papyrus. "Okay here's the story."
_________________________________________________________________________________
It took you half and hour to explain yourself to the skeleton. Most of it you had to lock your tears away so you wouldn't show weakness to the warrior.
"That's when I got here. You know what happened after that." You finished finally, sitting back.

Papyrus growled to himself and sat back in his chair. "Why would you risk your safety instead of calling Toriel, Sans or I?"

You laughed to yourself but kept a straight face. "The thing about being lost is you don't know where you are or how to get where you're going. Even if I did call either you or Toriel, it's not like I could describe the tree next to me and you would know exactly where we were."

He tried to think of a witty response, but came up short. Though your logic was met with triumph, you couldn't help but curl up into a ball as guilt ran thick through your veins. You stared at the floor, accusations running wild in your head. If you hadn't slipped in the tree, she wouldn't have jumped after you. No, if you hadn't been running through the woods like you knew them just for a hot beverage. Not even that! If you hadn't been sneaking off to some secluded and easily lost part of the woods... Maybe Dash wouldn't have gotten hurt.

This is my fault. You thought.

You hugged your knees closer and kept your gaze lowered. Papyrus' voice broke the silence, making you jump slightly.

"Why is it that you so willingly take blame for her injuries?" He asked, crossing his arms over his spiked body.

Your face flushed, realizing your thought had actually been voiced. You laughed awkwardly and averted your gaze from him to your injured friend.

"It's my fault. That's just a fact. There were several points at which I could have prevented this. Several times where if I hadn't been an IDIOT then she would be okay and at Toriel's in a warm bed."

"So? It was her decision to aid you when you fell. That choice was her own, not yours."

You snickered quietly, saddened eyes glazing over Papyrus numbly. "I doubt you'd understand what I mean." You said monotony.

His nonexistent brows raised in a challenging manner, his posture becoming more rigid.

"And why is that?" He asked.

You faked a snort and laughed. "Because humans don't work like monsters! You don't understand because love down here just some sick, twisted hierarchy." You paused and looked at Dash again. "On the surface, love applies to three kinds of people in a person's life. Their friends. Their family. And for most, but not all, their lover. Up top, love is mutual. We act to protect one another, even if we're scared. We hug each other and talk to each other. We stick up for one another. We hold the ones we love when they're crying, and when we're crying we're not afraid to do it in front of them because we know they'll understand."

Venom tainted your words as you continued past that. "Down here love is just a cruel ranking. 'Family' is just someone taking up the role of leader and bossing the others around until they get the balls to do it themselves. 'Friends' are just the people one respects enough to put up a decent fight against them. I don't even want to know how relationships work down here, if you can even call them that. Dating down here is probably closer to bullying. One of them pushed the other around until they're too beaten to break anymore, then they leave. Down here, Love of just a level of violence." You snapped.

Your words fell quiet a moment, then you smiled weakly. "It's the same with you guys too." You cooed. "You and Sans I mean. All the Sir/Boss crap makes me sick." Your gaze snapped towards Papyrus, face reddening and eyes widened in rage. "You're goddamn brothers! This isn't some fucking slave arrangement! He's your older brother but since he's smaller, and weaker he obeys you like a lost puppy! It's sick! I know I'm weak, and I try to get strong. But just because it's hard for me doesn't mean I let people treat me like shit. The strong people I love aren't afraid to protect me. They try to protect me even without knowing, and I do the same thing. It wasn't Dash's choice to leap to save me. It was because she loves me and that's my fault too! It's my fault she's hurt and all I can do is whine about it!

SHE WOULDN'T BE HURT! SHE WOULDN'T EVEN BE DOWN HERE IF IT WASN'T FOR ME!!! I MADE FRIENDS WITH HER AND DRAGGED HER INTO THIS, REY TOO. IT'S MY FAULT! IT'S MY FAULT!

IT'S MY FAULT...

it's my fault..."

Your voice had cracked and slowly faded away. Dash stirred slightly with your outburst, but your face was tucked into your knees, muffling the sound. Tears seemed to trickle down your cheeks with no rhythm. Salt crusted your cheeks. Running over your nose and connecting to your lips on occasion. A twisted smile stretched across your face as you spoke again, in a cracked, tear soaked voice.

"Human love is irrational and cruel. We're all just its dangling puppets. Sometimes I wonder if the revolting bullshit you treat your brother with is better."

Papyrus was astonished by your reaction. Sans was astonished you'd actually spoken against the way Papyrus ran things. You were astonished Dash hadn't woken up. Priorities definitely set straight.

You hid your face again and attempted to soothe your own sorrow, but came up empty handed and even deeper in your guilt.

She can't even see her brother because of me. I dragged her into my mess. It's my fault she even got into an of this in the first place.

A chuckled shook quietly from the other side of the room. The sound of a chair groaning slightly proceeded heavy boot thumps, then the remaining seat next to you sank. Your body fell against the new body but you didn't want to reveal you face in order to move away. You were ashamed in yourself.

"(Y/N), did you not say that when you love someone, you aren't afraid to cry in front of them?" He joked quietly.

Your breath hitched and you raised your head to look at him through your curtain if hair. "You also said they would hold you when you cried and help you when you needed them." He continued.

You were a bit confused until he leaned down towards you and swept you into his arms. Your legs fell away from your body so you were being held chest to chest with Papyrus. He embraced you tenderly, a smirk on his face.

"Yes (Y/N), you are my ally, but I also hold you as my friend. You need to trust me as humans would trust one another. I will protect you and all humans from now on. I'm not afraid to defy the king's orders if it means your safety."

Your heart stopped as you looked at Papyrus. His tough exterior melted away easily as he smiled at you. Even the crack over his eye seemed welcoming. You smiled weakly and hugged him. "Thank you Papy."

"You're welcome." He replied easily, releasing you and wiping a stream of tears with a gloved hand.

You sat in silence for another moment before Papyrus looked at you with curiosity. "Hey (Y/N)?"

"Yes Papy?" You said quietly.

"You never explained what Human lovers were like." He said blankly.

You chortled, looking at Papyrus in the eyes. "That's because I don't know."

"How could you not know?" He asked, peering at you.

You shrugged, staring off into the distance. "I told you Papyrus, not everyone experiences romance in the human race. Truth be told... I've never fallen in love."