There was something off about Papyrus. Sans could tell.

He was moved home from the hospital earlier than expected, with the promises to stay inside and not exert himself too much. Sans was practically bedridden at home, really, his brother taking care of him. Toriel and Frisk made sure to pop by within his room every once in awhile, but both had been unusually busy now as of late.

Either way, that didn't change the simple fact about Papyrus. Something was wrong.

He moved... differently. Sometimes spacing out, other times looking absolutely terrified at his hands for no reason. He kept his distance from Sans, which was odd, because his bro was usually the huggy type. Papyrus loved physical contact, wrapping his arms around people and showing them how much he cared. As much as it made life so much harder for Sans, to deal with his feelings, he'd rather Papyrus go back to that than how he was doing now.

One thing Sans noticed was that, even though he despised this fact, Jandle was an excellent teacher for Papyrus' cooking lessons. His meals skyrocketed in quality. They were delicious! Now, frankly, would be the perfect time for his parents to disappear. Yet they remained, and visited the brothers at their house. He hated it when they did that. But at least he wasn't in the hospital.

The dust from the drama settled down, and now, life was returning to normal. Well, as normal as it could get, since normal would never be achieved again. That was the sad thing about it, about his life. Sans liked the normal they had before, but his parents barging in unannounced broke everything. And he couldn't do anything but accept it.

They had all of the power. Sans had to fold each and every battle they had.

It was hopeless at this point. Unless he found an escape plan, which was rather unlikely, he'd have to let this continue. He didn't have much money, he couldn't escape, and he was recovering from an injury.

Not to mention, his only hope didn't respond to his messages.

Sans, trapped in the hospital, decided to tell Undyne everything. She had to know what she was going up against. So, in a fit of desperation, he texted her the entire story. A plan that could possibly work. She, now away from their parents, could work under the shadows while Sans distracted them. After all, he had promised his Dad he'd spend a "bonding" day with one of them, hadn't he? He'd bring them both out of the house, give Undyne the address, and let her find evidence on them. That's all Sans needed. One picture of a bloodied knife, one single, solid piece of evidence that couldn't be deflected. It could work.

Of course, until Undyne replied with a short text of "fuck you" before she blocked him promptly. That's what Sans woke up to the next morning. Not Undyne agreeing with him, nor any better plan that would help them both escape from the hold his parents had.

Fuck you. That's what she said.

He almost cried reading that. His only sense of hope, bashed away within moments notice. In two words, the light at the end of the tunnel was consumed by darkness.

He didn't bother to dwell on it, accepting the loss. She was a decent friend, but right now, with that response, he had to suck it up to deal with the bigger problems he faced. There wasn't anything he could do.

Once again, he was forced to play his parents game.

They didn't lessen their visits at all, and it felt even more suffocating with the lacking presence of their friends around. Toriel and Frisk were so busy they practically didn't live there anymore, doing something they wouldn't share with the skeleton brothers.

Everything was more dull now. It was calmer. Not less threatening to Sans by any means, but it feels like he's slowly grown to accept the fact that his parents weren't going anywhere. They didn't seem to be trying to kill any of his friends, either,

It felt like the end of a war, or some type of battle. The sense of lingering destruction hung in the air, people quietly accepting what happened as they shuffled away on the battlefield, counting losses and what they had left. No brutal fighting, no sense of tension, just the aftermath of everything.

Sans gently tucked his fork into the meatloaf, watching ketchup ooze down the side much like a poorly made volcano would drip with fake lava. While Papyrus' cooking was exceeding everyone's expectations, his mood was dropping rapidly. Sans would take a happy, terribly cooking Papyrus over a depressed, perfect chef any day.

"Hey bro," Sans said.

Papyrus jerked up from his own plate, looking at his brother with wide eye sockets. Yup, definitely on edge.

Did... did he find out? About his parents 'hobbies'? He acted exactly how Sans acted before.

"You okay?" He asked, voice quiet and restrained.

"I... of course! Yes!" Papyrus said, nervously dipping his own fork into his dinner, missing the entire slice and scratching against the plate itself.

Sans watching him fumble about. He didn't look scared, just nervous. Regretful. He didn't find out then. Good. Sans knew Paps already had a difficult life as it was, it was one of the reasons why he never uttered a word.

"Hey, since I'm almost done with my healing, that means I can go back to the lab and work again. I'm sure Alph would be happy if you visited, since Undyne never went to work with her."

Papyrus only lowered his expression, further sinking into his saddened state at the mention of Undyne. Yup. Something definitely happened with her then.

"Why don't we just have a movie night tonight?" Sans asked, gently pushing aside his plate.

"Movie night?"

"Yeah!"

Sans watched Papyrus perk, finally gaining the energy he once again lost. It was always terrible to see Papyrus like that. To see his usually up and happy bro down for the count.

Papyrus straightened, wrapping his scarf firmly around his neck. "A movie night would be awesome! We haven't had a movie night in forever!"

It was a good idea. Papyrus looked like he really needed a break, and it'd give them a chance to spend sometime together. Not to mention how Sans wanted to show to his bro that he was fine. Sure, he almost died, but he was on the verge of a full recovery right about now. Papyrus didn't have to worry about him. Sans would be working soon, and he'd start saving up money to pay off what the bills cost.

He didn't want his parents to hold the payment over his head in the future. That was something he couldn't risk.

Their setup after dinner was quaint, but enjoyable. A thick quilt was tugged over the two brothers, situated with a few feet between them, a Sci Fi humming on the T.V. An odd choice, since Papyrus was never really big on those types of things.

"Why don't we watch Mettaton?" Sans asked.

"I don't feel like watching him."

Sans slowly leaned forward onto his knees, suspiciously watching his brother. Paps wasn't lying. He looked almost dejected, as if he wasn't worthy of watching Mettaton.

"You know... bro, ya can talk to me." Sans tried to break through the barrier between them, tilting his head to the side. "I know somethings wrong. You didn't even make one comment when I made a pun a few minutes ago."

"You made a pun?" Papyrus said, "On a movie night? Sans!"

"See? You didn't even notice. I can tell when something is wrong, bro." He tapped his fingers onto the arm of the sofa, hesitant. He wanted his brother to be happy, but he might be pushing it.

Papyrus nervously fiddled with his scarf. He didn't share whatever plagued his mind.

"Did our parents say something?" Sans asked.

No response.

"I dunno what's wrong, bro, but just so yer know... I care about you. A lot. And I'm here for you." Sans scooted over, ignoring the throb of his soul when their knees brushed together. "And I want you to be happy. If our parents said anything or did anything, you should tell me."

They better not have. If Sans learned this his brother was hurt, he'd probably start throwing hands. Dispute his terror of their parents, he'd do anything for his brother. And he has. Time and time again, he gave away logic for his brothers happiness, allowing for serial killers to enter their house without a fight. Without so much as a word. Just to see his brother smile.

"I... I went to Undyne's house," Papyrus forced out, his face scrunching with disapproval at his own actions.

"Did anyone see?" Sans asked, "I don't want her to get arrested."

Even after what she sent, he didn't want her to get arrested. If she was, she'd once again be thrown under their parents thumb once more, unable to escape. She had freedom. Sans could only watch from the societal chains his parents placed onto their situation, watching her and Alphys sprint free in the open field, lacking that manipulation to keep them bound.

"No," Papyrus shook his head, "No one saw. But... I did something so much worse..."

Sans' heart dropped. "What... what'd you do?"

"I wanted to protect you. I-I wanted to... to finally prove I was - you know, capable!" Papyrus gestured to his chest. "I'm not stupid, I see how hard you work for me, for us! And I don't feel like it's fair. I wanted to prove, just once, that I can protect you! That the Great Papyrus is actually as great as I claim!" After that, he sucked in a breath, forcing his eye sockets closed. "You almost died, and I wanted to confront Undyne. Instead I ended up attacking her, like some crazed buffoon!"

"You attacked her?" Sans echoed, voice weak. "Again?"

Sunlight from the window crept back, retreating into the horizon as the sky darkened ever so slightly. Night was approaching. They had stayed up rather late. Ignoring that, Sans fully turned towards his brother, fear etched in his soul.

"Paps, you don't have to protect me," Sans said.

"No, I do!" Papyrus moved his hands over his face, voice strained. "You raised us, you've always worked for us, put food on the table, and it's my turn. I have to -"

"Papyrus. Look at me."

Sans gently peeled away Papyrus' hands from his face, observing his brother. Papyrus sat, their chests almost touching from how close they were, breaths shallow.

"You don't have to prove anything. I took care of you because I love you. That's all that matters. That we both try our best to show that we care for each other. You don't owe me, or anyone else, anything. They love you the way you are. I love you the way you are."

Papyrus couldn't seem to respond, only staring at Sans. He nodded, head heavy with shame. "I feel awful, and I'm just... confused."

Finally, for the tall skeleton, did the darkening feelings creep away, giving his soul a chance to breath. And he found that by looking at Sans, feeling his small hands wrapped around Papyrus' long wrists, so tiny compared to him.

Their breaths tickled each others faces.

When it happened, Sans wasn't sure if he actually did move forward. He never had the guts to initiate something like this, so he could only look back and wonder if somehow, a gust of wind gently persuaded him forward. But, nevertheless, his body did move forward, and he was thrown into the reality when their teeth touched lightly.

His entire body was suddenly consumed by a warmth then their teeth locked together, hands tightening around his brothers wrists as his taller brother returned it. Gently, Papyrus turned his head to the side, deepening the kiss as he dragged Sans' hands forward, moving them to his shoulders. Sans' body responded automatically, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. After the kiss, they pulled away from one another, looking widely into each others eyes before, this time, Papyrus leaned forward, dragging his own hands behind his older brothers back, pulling him flush onto his lap as their teeth met again.

Sans couldn't breath. Everything felt on fire, warm and so right. The moment Papyrus' orange tongue prodded against his teeth, his mind shut down instantaneously, returning the favor with similarly eager want.

He wasn't sure what was happening anymore, only that it was perfect and he wanted more. The couch rustled against his back when they moved down, and he could only let out a shaking breath when his hoodie started to be pulled off.

The front door opening was like a bat, ramming against the window of their mental blockage, throwing the two back to reality. Papyrus and Sans jumped away from each other, as the previous flames that felt perfect now suddenly burned them. Sans even slipped off of the couch, tangled in his half stripped hoodie with a blush clinging to his face.

"Frisk and I are back," Toriel announced.

"... Welcome back," Sans forced out from the floor, eye sockets wide.