Chapter Text
Walking towards an unknown destination should have been a hint that they would be staying in Waterfall.
The location was another place in the bioluminescent town near a large… waterfall. He feels a little confused, though he supposed he had to have expected something like this by this point. His brother was someone who likes making plans close by the point of meeting. It was as though he was setting up an accessible routine.
‘Of course there would be a waterfall in Waterfall,’ he thought, taking a quick and sneaky peek at Sans’ peaceful expression.
He had no idea what to expect. Was there something Sans wanted to show him? He hadn’t wanted to bother him with questions earlier, and even if he wanted to… well, it had been incredibly difficult to talk. As if he swallowed a handful of words and it wouldn’t come out because it grew complex inside him. He’d taken to casting his brother furtive glances, trying to see if Sans’ expression betrayed anything.
It only served to remind him how beautiful his brother’s bones looked under the mellow light of the echo flowers, highlighting his features extremely well. The magical flush on Papyrus’ face couldn’t be explained by Waterfall’s weather. Oh, no. It was a result of… being appreciative of… Sans. That… That wasn’t a bad thing to do, right? Sans was his brother and he was allowed to admire him. Allowed to… allowed to… l-love him.
He flushed and thanked the stars that Sans was focused elsewhere.
Papyrus gazed at the wondrously glowing trees as their steps took them closer to their destination. As beautiful as Waterfall appeared to be, the damp soil, the humidity, and the eerie noises of the clustered echo flowers spooked him. It didn’t seem like a nice place to hang-out. It was more of a place where one would take walks in their boots, something that they would surely clean once they reach home.
He had no idea how Sans’ slippers stayed unaffected by the mud. It defied every law of physics he recognized.
He glanced again at Sans. He looked happy. Content. Did he really want to spoil everything by complaining? His soul immediately protested at the idea. Even imagining it made his whole body feel paralyzed with horror.
He shuddered. ‘Stars, that would be…’ No matter. If Sans wanted to hang out near a waterfall, then the Great Papyrus would hang out with him! And he would enjoy it!
Although… sequestered in an area that attracted ghosts gave him shivers.
As they walked around clusters of bioluminescent foliage, the tension in his shoulders loosened.
‘Oh. What…?’
The sight of a strangely dry, and elevated, bed and blanket on the ground eased whatever worries he had. It was as though there was a tarp underneath the black material. (Oh stars, he hoped it wasn’t Sans’s mattress!) He should have thought Sans would find a way to make a place much more comfortable for them.
He only hoped the soil in this part was a little more dry than the rest of Waterfall.
“you’re probably wondering why it isn’t soaked,” Sans suddenly said, jolting him out of his qualms about the blanket. He looked at his brother with wide sockets, who wore a familiar grin of mischief. Was his brother a reader of minds, now?! “i found some clear tarp at the dump and had it cleaned, and then someone who owed me a favour and got me a good mattress from the capital. i got the blanket from muffet after i helped her spiders cross over a small stream.”
‘What?’
“AND HOW MANY MONSTERS OWE YOU FAVOURS, EXACTLY?” he couldn’t help but ask, dryly. First it had been Mettaton, and now a random monster and Muffet?!
“better not to know.”
“OH?” Papyrus narrowed his sockets suspiciously at the familiar tone. Oh, no. Sans’ mischievous grin never bode well for him!
“i stopped counting after five.”
He couldn’t stop the laughter escaping him. Oh, how typical! Of course Sans would be too lazy to count the monsters who owed him favours. Although… how exactly did Sans manage to gain that many favours?
“YOU LAZYBONES,” he murmured affectionately. “OF COURSE YOU WOULD.” He nearly froze at the way the words fell so naturally from his teeth. He shook his head, wiping away those thoughts. Now was not the time to… to think about his feelings!
“yeah, you know it…” Sans trailed off. Papyrus could only note the way he paused near the (upon a closer view) large bed on top of the clear tarp. His brother’s browridge were lowered with concern as he threw him a searching glance, pocketing his hands. “hey. you okay, pap?”
Papyrus’ soul thudded with a nervous beat, and he mustered up the willpower to smile. Was he okay? Well, besides the confusing desire to kiss Sans and the itching urge to hold his hand, he felt absolutely great! “Of course, Sans. I feel quite well! Why do you ask?” he asked more quietly.
“you’ve been quiet all the way here. it’s not like you.”
“THAT IS JUST THE GREAT PAPYRUS ENJOYING THE SCENERY!” he sputtered out in response, unable to think of another excuse. He was talking about Sans, of course, but Sans did not know that.
“yeah?” It must have worked, because his brother’s browridge smoothed out, and his endearing smile returned. “that’s… refreshing.”
He truly did not know what his brother meant by that.
“I WASN’T SURE WHERE YOU WANTED TO TAKE US,” he also admitted after a second more of Sans’ soft gaze. “I WAS SIMPLY TRYING TO GUESS.”
“did it work?”
“Did what work?”
Sans’ wink nearly made him stumble. “you, guessing the place.”
Papyrus blushed, and he looked down, mumbling a quiet but powerful, “NO.”
The clear tarp near the tip of his dirty boots made him stop walking. Glowing, magic-encased flat stones of various shapes seemed to be underneath the tarp, and he knew it was to stop the tarp from sinking into the moist soil. It was a simple tactic to make sure everything stayed clean, one that Sans had mentioned to him in the past.
It had also been Sans’ lazy excuse not to change his clothes, the bonehead.
“just put your boots outside the tarp, pap.”
Nodding, Papyrus followed the simple instruction. He placed his boots away and tentatively placed his bony feet on the tarp. When it didn’t sink, he climbed up to the bed, where Sans was already shrugging off his jacket. The sight nearly sent him faltering, but he grabbed the edge of the mattress and propped his body up, unable to stop his gaze from running over Sans’ delicate neck and the peak of his smooth clavicle. Only when Sans grasped an extra blanket from nowhere did he drag his gaze back to Sans’ face, flustered.
Sans turned bodily and watched the waterfall, smiling much more serenely. He shrugged on the blanket over his shoulders, removing his gloves, and somehow his appearance became much more vulnerable. It made Papyrus’ hands fidget on the edges of his brother’s extra blanket. That look… it was… something.
(He had the urge to trace the little dips of his bones, and perhaps wonder at the difference of their texture.)
“THE FLOWERS HERE DON’T SPEAK AS MUCH.” He wanted to take back his words when Sans’ gaze returned to him, sockets half-lidded and smile musing. A floating light fluttered beside his brother’s temple and Papyrus’ soul soared in adoration.
Sans looked beautiful.
Oh stars, he was so boned.
“the plants here are cool,” his brother began, as if he had no idea just what feelings his presence burned inside Papyrus, “the flowers are farther away from each other so it doesn’t make that weird whispering static that makes the place feel haunted.”
That made it much worse, as now Papyrus was thinking of other known places that were said to be haunted. He huddled closer for companionship, throwing the spacious distance between the echo flowers a frown of suspicion. Instead of usual monster wishes, the flowers echoed the roaring water of the falls. The static barely had a chance to manifest, not when there was a continuous change of sound happening.
“What is the plan for today, then?” he asked, glancing briefly at the waterfall. A beat of a second passed as Sans scooted closer, and Papyrus suppressed a gasp as their arms touched through the blanket. “N-Not that I doubt your planning skills, of course, but I am quite curious.”
It was Sans’ turn to appear shy. Papyrus was grateful for the change. “i… um. i brought stuff that i thought you might like.” There was a shuffle of clothing as Sans turned to the side of the bed. He dragged a wooden box onto his lap. The endearingly shy expression on his face would make Papyrus swear to every deity that whatever he brought would be perfect. “it’s not much, but…”
Sans opened the box, and various puzzle-like items were revealed. Multi-coloured cubes nestled within the silken red walls, along with metallic rings and ropes, and some strange carvings of wood. There were other trinkets underneath, but a simple, sphere glass caught his attention. He reached out and grabbed it, admiring the smoothness. It was dark blue, but with the light reflecting over its surface, he saw what looked like a thousand stars shimmering under the surface.
“that’s a copper-cobalt oxide glass.”
It was beautiful. And as quick of a thought that brought him, the glass orb glaringly reminded him of Sans. He hastily placed it back and then grabbed the multi-coloured puzzle cube, one that shifted when he turned the lower tier of its nine-by-nine form, as if it had more cubes hidden inside more cubes.
“And this?”
“found that in the dump, not sure what they call that cube. i haven’t found a book about it yet.”
“What of this one? There is a second one just quite like it. Do they go together?”
“another wooden puzzle, pap,” Sans replied with a deep chuckle. “mostly anything inside that box, i haven’t found a name yet. i don’t know if it goes together or not. why don’t you try solving it?”
Papyrus was intrigued. These puzzles were untouched by his brother’s mind. Wowie! “How do you solve it?” He fiddled with one of the other metal puzzles, and then returned to his little wooden puzzle with the ring and rope.
“i think you need to untangle everything and get the ring off,” his brother answered after a short while of staring at the box with a blank expression. “i didn’t want to spoil the fun, so i figured i’d wait until we get the time to solve it together.”
Papyrus smiled at his brother for his sweet thoughtfulness. Papyrus unknotted one of the ropes, but then managed to get a metal ring stuck between two of the wooden bars. He narrowed his sockets as Sans snickered beside him.
“let me try.” Sans grabbed another puzzle that was identical to his, and then managed to entangle the ropes even further after a few twists and pulls. Sans’ smile twitched into a frown as he turned the puzzle in his hands. “oh boy. this seems like a real challenge.”
Papyrus couldn’t stifle his laughter. “Sans, I don’t think that’s how you solve it.”
“whoever made this probably thought it would be funny to mess with people.”
“Or perhaps they were seeking a worthy opponent to challenge in solving this puzzle!” Papyrus exclaimed. He turned the puzzle in his hand, narrowing his sockets. “I’m sure there is a way to solve this!”
His brother flopped on his back beside him, chuckling. Papyrus resisted the urge to blush, knowing quite well it would be obvious if he did. The light was dim, but not so dark that it would cover him… not to mention his magic would glow brightly when he blushed.
“want to see who can solve it first?” his brother asked lazily, though Papyrus heard the mirthful challenge behind his words.
Papyrus nodded without a verbal reply, and then he started his untangling of the puzzle. Sans, for his own puzzle, sloppily looped the ropes in a complicated fashion. Papyrus stole quick glances at him. It was quite distracting when his brother was lying down so… so pliantly, with the blanket parted just so, the smooth edges of his bones exposed to the brilliant glowing lights that fluttered in the air. His tank top had ridden up ever so slightly, with just the hint of his iliac crests peeking out of the fabric—
“papyrus?” His brother sounded odd.
Papyrus hastily averted his sockets in embarrassment. “AHEM! Y-yes?” Stars, what had he been doing?!
“i think you made it worse.”
Papyrus glanced at his puzzle and immediately groaned, palming the side of his face with dismay. He had been so distracted by Sans’ supine form that his puzzle had been reverted back to normal by complete accident!
“I was so close,” he lamented. The ring had been at the other side of his two bars, and few more moves could have released the ring! Now he had to start over.
“well… that’s fine and all, but…” Sans made a frustrated sound. Papyrus turned back to him and found, somehow, that he had tangled his ring in a double loop.
“Sans…” he choked, hands immediately grabbing Sans’ puzzle to keep it away from experiencing an even more horribly tangled existence. It looked worse than before! “Sans, what...? How did you manage this, Sans? We are supposed to remove the ring!”
His brother stared at him, wide-eyed. And then Sans burst out in laughter. “stars, pap, that expression on your face!”
“Sans, this is serious!” Papyrus insisted, horror swelling inside him as he tried to fix Sans’ mess. But he didn’t know how Sans even manage it, so his efforts were futile! It was useless! He couldn’t think of a way to unravel it at all! Oh, Sans… He desperately needed the Great Papyrus’ help!
“i don’t think your expression is serious, more to the area of utterly terrified.”
“Sans, this is a matter of Life and Death to a puzzler!” He pointed at the double loop of doom. “What you did here just made things ten times worse!”
Instead of taking him seriously, Sans continued snickering, as though he had no clue just what havoc he’d created! “come down here,” his brother replied, pointing to the bed. “help me fix it.”
Papyrus didn’t even think, flopping down next to his brother and handing him back the puzzle. After a short second, he realized he was so close to the person he wanted to kiss… Then the only worst thing that could have happened… just happened.
He blushed.
Sans turned out quite preoccupied by the puzzle. His brother didn’t notice his magic. At least, he hoped so… Fervently hoped so!
Sans’ smile was warm. “so, tell me what you think i should do.”
Thankful for the distraction, he uttered his instructions quietly, fascinated by the jutting bone of his brother’s browridge and the weight of concentration in his expression. His brother’s hands were much smaller and more nimble than his were, and while he would be proud to say his hands were the most elegant between the two of them, Sans’ smaller ones were more… rough, but cute. Little scratches on the white surface may look out of place for a lazybones that worked at a sentry station or hotcat stand, but it was Sans’ hands, and somehow… Somehow, that made his hands very special.
“like this?” No, it still wasn’t untangled.
“What if we…” Papyrus reached out and manoeuvred his brother’s distal phalanges to hold onto a part of the rope while he coaxed the ring over the bar. His fingers trembled, but it was not an issue.
“oh, hey, we could…” His brother held a loop open and Papyrus followed his brother’s train of thought, easily unravelling the double loop that his brother had made. “and if we do it like this…”
Papyrus leaned down for a closer look. “Oh! Yes, that’s right. Here, try this instead…”
“we could move the rope over there, right?”
“If we move this… Now you can move it over.”
“hmm… what happens if we—”
“Sans, you’ll get it stuck again!”
“but… i want to see what happens.”
Papyrus’ soul sputtered at the sight of his brother’s doleful gaze. “O-okay, but we’ll have to…”
To his horror, Sans managed to coax him several times into messing up their progress to ‘see what happened’ and Papyrus’ delightful feelings caved in every single time just to make his brother laugh. Luckily, he also managed to urge Sans away from reverting their puzzle back to its previous state, and Sans allowed himself to be swayed to help him solve it.
They acquired the ring minutes later, perhaps more than enough time to solve it three times if Sans hadn’t been toying with him.
“whew,” Sans uttered with irony. “that was one tough workout.”
“You wanted to get it tangled,” Papyrus accused, sputtering when his brother threw him a sly smile to confirm it. “Sans!”
“i did want to see what it looked like,” Sans protested, though his mouth was twitching. So it was evidently a prank!
“Sans, it just made the process of solving it slower.”
“what can i say? i love seeing your pace.” And then Sans winked.
‘Oh gods, no, please don’t blush!’
“That’s… THAT WAS A HORRIBLE PUN!” he blurted, turning his head away to look at the glowing waterfall, hoping his face wasn’t visible. “PLEASE LEAVE ME HERE IN PEACE TO CONTEMPLATE WAYS TO GET RID OF YOU!”
“aw, c’mon, it wasn’t that bad!” And then Sans moved closer and crawled and lied on top of him, grinning widely while the blanket slid off his shoulders, shifting to cover them both with the soft fabric. ‘OH STARS.’ Papyrus panicked inwardly as his magic seemingly screamed at their proximity, his body stiff with surprise.
“No, it was!” he squeaked. Oh, his soul! His soul was erratically fluttering invisibly against his ribcage! “Bad. Very bad!” Why did Sans have to nestle himself on top of him?! Now his soul was acting…! So…! Odd!
Sans crossed his arms over Papyrus’ sternum, eyelights twinkling with lazy mischief and rounded jaw tucked comfortably into his makeshift pillow of bones. “we can time it and solve it again if you want.”
Papyrus released a dying sound of overwhelming distress as his thoughts derailed from the puzzle and instead to more kisses, to more touching, and to more things that he probably should not think of in this situation.
He gathered scattered pieces of his thoughts, hoping for the best. “But… But that would take forever…!” he replied in a high-pitched voice. Oh, but stars, Sans was… too close… He couldn’t well think like this! His mind was ablaze of thoughts that were not supposed to manifest in him, tempting him to plant skeleton kisses upon his brother’s brow and perhaps… maybe… No! No, no, not now. He needed to gather his feelings!
“it wouldn’t. i’d estimate maybe less than a minute, now that we know what to do.” Sans’ gaze turned to the side, where the sounds of the waterfall muffled the inner panic that Papyrus’ soul expressed. “it’s nice solving it with you, actually…” his brother said shyly, throwing him such a sweet, vulnerable uncertain expression, eyelights flickering all over his face as though expecting a comeback.
Oh… Wowie... Papyrus blushed as he twisted his fingers into the fabric below. His brother was being… being oddly… ah… affectionate today. And…
Was... was that a blush on his brother’s cheekbones or were the lights playing tricks on him? He was not sure. The Waterfall lights were more his brother’s colours than his own. Papyrus waited for his brother to say more, but he did not say anything else. Sans merely fully lowered his head into his arms and sighed sweetly against his sternum, seemingly having no plans to move away. He looked… he looked cute, staring at him with such a peaceful expression.
Deciding it would be strange for him to be unmoving, he moved. His arms had been set awkwardly at his sides, but he was slowly raising them hesitantly, watching Sans’ expression for discomfort. When Sans didn’t react to his slow movements but blink at him curiously, he settled for wrapping his arms around his brother’s ribs.
Sans released another soft sigh and melted against him, shifting closer.
Papyrus knew his face was fully flushed with magic by now. If Sans even caught sign of his weird infatuation, stars knew he would ask questions that Papyrus probably couldn’t answer. He hoped Sans wouldn’t notice… at least, not until he knew what he actually felt! For all he knew, kissing Sans would be very, completely and utterly platonic! Monsters kissed monsters all the time!
“you’re really quiet today,” Sans whispered suddenly.
Papyrus panicked. “I WAS THINKING OF MAGIC!” he blurted reflexively. It was a usually effective response, but at this time, it earned him Sans’ dubiously raised browridge. Oh, dear, there was no context! Sans could know he was lying by just that! Papyrus was normally so clear and composed. Now he really had to back it up with something else! “THE DIMENSIONAL MAGIC!” he added, remembering that it was such a strange thing that some humans could affect.
“dimensional magic?”
Oh, no! Did he say the wrong thing!? But… But…! No! He must persist if he ever wanted Sans to be sufficiently distracted from his disgraceful oral fumbling! “Y-Yes?” he affirmed in a questionable tone.
Sans chuckled against him and the vibrations sent shivers down his spine. His eyelights so seemingly emanated affection, bringing forth more question in Papyrus’ head. He wondered idly if being further apart had made Sans more tactile. His brother was lighter than he was, and, oh, his hugs felt fantastic.
“W-What is it?” he asked, hoping Sans would elaborate his mysterious chuckling.
“hmm…” his brother… moaned? Hummed? Oh, dear stars, he didn’t quite know which it was, but whatever Sans did flustered him further to the point of inevitably becoming a speechless pile of bones! Sans trusted him enough to make those… those noises around him. W… Wowie. “i didn’t know you finished the other book so quickly. you’re on your way to the dimensional magic now?”
“I… I skimmed it?” He did read it, but the words now have escaped his skull.
Sans blinked at him, and then he laughed. “you’re so excited about those books, papyrus. it’s cute.”
‘He thinks I’m cute!’ Papyrus couldn’t think of anything to say as his stuttered into a halt. ‘CUTE!’
“how about i show you something about dimensional magic?”
‘Cute…’
Wait! Papyrus struggled against his mental inhibition. Sans wanted to show him magic. His brother ever rarely used his magic at all, let alone in public! He usually used it for his regular theatrics at home. To do so now…
“pap?”
“PLEASE!” Papyrus responded hastily.
Sans removed himself from Papyrus and Papyrus so dearly missed him already. He sat up, propping himself up with his arms behind him, watching as his brother dropped the blanket on the bed in a careless fashion. His brother did not bother to dress back into his jacket, or even wear his gloves again.
Stars, he looked cool. In… In a Sans way, of course, not a Papyrus way!
“c’mon. i’ll show you by the water.”
Papyrus scrambled after Sans as he started putting his slippers on.
He managed to be in his boots just as Sans gathered more flat rocks into another square of rock-carpet closer to the banks.
San led him closer to the waterfall, stopping by the edge of the pool. He gazed at the falls with something odd in his expression, and Papyrus couldn’t understand why he seemed… lost. He waited patiently for his brother to start.
“remember when you had your basic lessons on magic? how it’s supposed to feel natural to you as a white soul to use other magical traits? we needed to use different magical types but we couldn’t hold onto it for so long or else we would irrevocably change something inside us.”
He did remember those facts. It was something rudimentary. Every monster had schooling for magic at a young age. He nodded. “Yes. I remember.”
“now, remember the mages that locked us up. there was seven of them to represent the seven major traits of a soul. right now, we have six different souls that are similar to those seven. we only need one more.”
Papyrus thought of his years of schooling, of the reason why the Barrier couldn’t be broken. They needed a human SOUL in order to break it… just one more – specifically the red one – and they would all finally be free… There had been smaller footnotes at the end of the book that described having to collect the specific traits of the mages, but...
“Yes, but what of it?”
Sans glanced at him and smiled. “but nothing. i just wanted to give you something to think about.”
Papyrus’ smile twitched and his browridge furrowed. What…? “SANS!” he sputtered, realizing that Sans had just been trying for a dramatic start.
“kidding, kidding!” Sans raised both his hands as though to ward off a scolding. “just that, hey, the mages had to have a special power to lock us up, right? the books don’t mention something really important, though. the mages were soul masters of their own traits.”
Papyrus did a double-take at that. “WHAT?!”
If the mages had been soul masters, that would mean they had used complex magic to trap them underground. Going against that kind of magic would take an incredible amount of power, or at least something that matched it would destroy it. The only monster Papyrus knew to be the strongest was King Asgore, and perhaps the Royal Judge. Maybe even Undyne, though he doubted it.
“BUT THAT WOULD MAKE IT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND HUMANS!” he blurted. Were there not many humans on the surface? How did the King manage to find those souls?
“yep. that’s why we really need to find the same soul traits.”
“HOW?”
Sans didn’t speak up. Instead, his brother stepped closer by the water, his eyes glowing eerily similar with the shade of the water. Soon, with quick gestures of his hands, a solid block of ice emerged from the depths of the rippling water. It… It was the ice made from the water, glowing.
Papyrus’ jaw gaped open.
The ice descended next to them on the muddy grass, and he realized that it was greatly contained by Sans’ cyan magic and blue magic.
“that’s how you make ice with magic, papyrus,” Sans murmured lowly. Papyrus shivered at the tone before he kneeled onto one of the flat rocks that Sans had set on the ground.
“How did you make this?” he whispered, awed. Sans’ illuminated magic retreated from the block of ice, fading away. A tentative touch on the surface of the ice proved to him that it was cold, and it was completely solid. “This is quite eerie.”
His brother set his knees on the other flat rock, and Papyrus himself looking up and across as his brother traced the ice with his shorter phalanges.
“remember how i stopped the molecules that had too much potential energy that created heat?” Papyrus nodded, and his brother’s expression shifted into one of fondness. “well, this is just a much stronger version, i guess. this is what happens if you stop all the molecules of water from moving – they bunch up together and form a solid mass. now, what would happen if someone has access to this kind of magic, and they use it for different dimensions… let’s say… fourth?”
“TIME?” Papyrus guessed. An expression flashed through Sans’ face, too fast for Papyrus to identify. “I… I SUPPOSE THEY WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO SLOW DOWN TIME… AND MAKE IT STOP?” And if the human expanded further into other dimensions… Oh… That would be so dangerous.
Sans’ browridge lowered from their jovial structure. “yes, pap. and that’s why soul masters rarely take students that don’t pass the preliminary character tests. remember your history lessons? those seven human mages were able to lock us up, and – hear this – they trained under a soul master. imagine what kind of human magic that would give them, since their souls are much stronger than monsters. that power made the barrier, paps, and that’s why it takes seven human souls to destroy it.”
They shared a moment of silence.
Papyrus was disturbed by the idea. If Asgore had picked ones that matched the soul traits of the human mages, then that meant there had been other humans that fell down. What happened to those humans? Did Asgore send them back to the Surface?
“WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER TRAITS?” Papyrus asked instead.
“which one?”
“ORANGE!” he decided after a moment. After all, it was one of his stronger traits.
“well, i’d imagine you could speed up everything, seeing as orange encourages movement,” Sans offered with a grin. “move fast enough and you’ll set things on fire from all that friction, and depending on how much energy you put into it, you might even amplify any kind of power.”
“W-Wowie…” So if he trained his orange traits further, he could strengthen his other traits’ powers! What a cool shortcut to strengthening his magic!
Sans laughed and then gestured to the block of ice. “try it. melt it for me, papyrus.”
Papyrus blushed and held his hands together. “B-But I don’t know how,” he mumbled. He knew how it worked, theoretically, but… but… implementing it was a different matter. No pun intended.
Sans’ face both brightened and softened into a fond expression. “give me your hands,” he said. Papyrus’ sockets widened as Sans took his hands, gently stroking over the back of his carpals. It sent fluttering feelings into his soul and his magic reacted with an almost instantaneous blush on his cheekbones. “let’s start with the basic, okay? i’ll help you.”
“O… Okay.”
“you’ll want to start slow, because too fast and you might make the ice shatter instead.” Sans guided the tips of Papyrus’ phalanges to the ice’s surface. “i’ll put my magic back into the ice and i want you to follow and undo everything my magic does.”
True to his word, Sans engulfed the ice with magic, and Papyrus strained not to shudder when he felt the barest hint of love from the glow of power. He only hoped he lived up to his brother rather simple expectations. He wasn’t that well-versed yet with any powerful magic.
He slowly poured his magic into the ice, trying to concentrate, but failing as his magic slid almost sensually against Sans, the languid movement forcing his thoughts back into the path he was trying to avoid.
He hoped to the higher pillars of the stars that he didn’t look like a beacon of mortification. He glanced at Sans, trying to see if he’d caught onto his mistake and… and…
Sans… Well, Sans was looking at him with wide eyelights. He was also blushing so brightly, expression akin to a startled maiden that was kissed so suddenly without warning.
There were no bones about it. Sans definitely felt what his magic had done.
Papyrus hastily lowered his head and pulled back his magic, closing his sockets. “I – I don’t think this is working.” His voice was slightly high-pitched and tight, utterly embarrassed that his magic managed to inadvertently act indecently rude against Sans.
“i… i think you just need to be a little more slow,” Sans stammered, chuckling in what sounded like surprise. “but… hey, papyrus…”
“YES?” he squeaked, sockets tightly shut.
“papyrus, look at me.”
Papyrus didn’t want to raise his head, but he had to. The way Sans had said it was soft, coaxing, and undeniable. He couldn’t have stopped himself even if he had tried. He peeked at his brother. Sans was wearing such an amused, understanding expression. There was no denying that he found humour in their situation.
“i’ll guide you again until you get it right, okay?” Sans intertwined their fingers and Papyrus fought even harder to contain his feelings of delight and shyness, though he could not stop the tremor from his hands and the hopeful expression on his face. “and i… i… i don’t mind it when you… when…”
“W-when I… m-my magic… did that?” Papyrus hoped that was the case, because he wasn’t sure if he could even control his magic. At that first touch, oh, stars, he didn’t know if he could. At first he had wanted kisses, but now his magic wanted Sans’ magic for other types of kisses. It was obscene—indecent! He shouldn’t be thinking of things like this while he was holding hands with Sans!
It was his brother’s turn to look embarrassed, and yet also contemplative. “yes. that. look, it’s… um… that feeling… it’s like…” Sans looked away for a moment, browridge furrowed with thought. “it’s like… hmm… well, i’m not sure. it felt… slowly… warm… and… affectionate. a kiss, maybe?”
Papyrus made a dying sound of mortification. Oh, stars, it was worse when Sans brought it up like this. It hadn’t felt like a kiss, more of Papyrus rubbing his sternum against his brother’s in a rather intimate fashion. A cuddle with a kiss, perhaps. “Sans, I—”
“no, no!” Sans interrupted him. He was looking at him now, eyelights bright and clear. “all i mean is… i don’t mind the magic kisses. you’re papyrus.”
Papyrus waited for a second before realizing that Sans wouldn’t continue. “I’m Papyrus,” he said slowly, trying to understand what exactly his brother meant by that. He couldn’t fathom what it meant, but perhaps he didn’t need to know. The warmth of Sans’ gaze was enough to lower his defenses. Maybe magic kisses were okay.
(Though Papyrus would describe it more extremely than a simple kiss. Oh stars, that silken magic was… it was intense.)
“it means you’re welcome to my magic,” his brother added, as though it was something so obvious, when it was so obviously not.
“S-Sans…” Papyrus’ soul stammered, stopped, and then continued on, on the verge of bringing forth even more embarrassment than usual. Oh, stars, Sans was going to kill him with his sweetness, and it would be his fault that Papyrus would die an early death for a skeleton monster.
“and it means i know you can do this,” Sans gestured to their hands with a nod. “so… let’s try again.”
“O-okay…” he whispered shyly.
• • •
It took Papyrus many more mortifyingly sensual magical kisses to finally melt the ice, and by then Sans looked like one of the Waterfall lights that floated around. No doubt he was the same, though a much more warmer colour. His brother had felt… stunned at each stroke of magic and after a third time it happened there was no more reason it could be called a kiss—it was akin to magic being intimate with each other, and with the opposing qualities of their magic, the connection was more vividly intimate.
When they got home, Papyrus took his retreat with quick, graceful steps and a ducked head, hoping to bury himself alive in his bed before nightfall.
• • •
On the other side of the wall, Sans hid his bright skull into his hands, soul pulsing rapidly.
The magic kisses weren’t magic kisses at all. He didn’t have the heart to tell Papyrus that it was something closer to monsters grooming each other, seeing as his brother had been embarrassed enough.
Despite all his assurances, he failed to focus solely on guiding Papyrus. He hadn’t expected his own lack of control, or the way Papyrus’ magic had called out for him to play, to move, to touch—please, please, please—it had been indescribable. He was helpless to the call, resorting to playfully teasing his brother’s magic into chasing him, using the ice as a nice little playground where their magic met and bloomed. A game of tag through magic ice was something he hadn’t thought of before, but he should probably consider it—
Oh stars, what was he doing? He was supposed to be teaching his brother magic, not playing around!
“oh stars,” he muffled into his hands, “i’m dying.” Dying from embarrassment. How old was he again? He was supposed to act more mature, but he really didn’t feel it when Papyrus was by his side. He supposed he could blame their bond, but he was equally at fault.
Still, Papyrus had teased him first, and wasn’t that a curious thing?
He shook his head and padded over to his bed, crawling under the sheets. He hoped Papyrus was feeling better… It didn’t sit well with him to leave his brother stewing in guilt. He should know that Sans would readily forgive him.
• • •
Deep within the Underground, a glass sphere cracked under the pressure of magic.