Flipping the script(swapfell)part 1

chapter 3

Even sifting through his memories for hours on end, Sans never really knew when exactly his and Papyrus's relationship became more than strictly fraternal. Maybe it never truly was. At some point or the other, they had turned to each other for comfort from the badness outside their home, and even if it had started out innocently enough, there had just come a point in their adolescent lives where they just craved affection from someone they trusted; being that they only had each other, that was who they settled with.

Despite their uncomfortably quiet relationship, Sans and Papyrus didn't really feel the need for flowery words in the bedroom. Sharing themselves was all they had left that remained unchanged from before that fight, and it was something they strove to keep.

That wasn't to say they didn't keep TRYING in that aspect...but being that Sans had more free time to actually think about these things, he made some strides to...improve. To keep things from being stagnant and making their time together a CHORE than anything else. He often took a few trips to the garbage dump for any means he could use to spruce things up or make things interesting.

Two days ago, he had been pilfering around for anything of interest and came across a book that had a nondescript black cover that he would have normally passed up but when it slipped off of a pile of junk and opened, Sans had seen it was obviously no mere boring book.

What was inside seemed to be the literal answer to his prayers. So many things to try, so many interests to sample, and any materials were readily available or easy to make. He scarcely slept since finding the book, too busy huddled back in his bedroom studying it and making a mental note of what he thought Papyrus might enjoy.

After the house was tidied and laundry was done, Sans walked upstairs with Papyrus, feeling the taller Skeleton's anticipation roll off in waves, about as much as his own. They were hardly in the bedroom before Papyrus was tugging his shirt off, and Sans suddenly felt glad that he found the book when he did. Things always seemed to run so quickly nowadays...

“Wait, Papyrus...” Sans said, taking a step away from his brother, who went still the moment Sans spoke. He walked over to his bedside table, opening the drawer and taking out the book. “....I...found this at the garbage dump,” he said, holding it tightly to his chest. “I thought we could....you know...use it.”

Papyrus stared for a moment. “....use what? What are you talking about?” he asked. Sans sat on the bed, inviting Papyrus to join him before showing him the book.

“This,” he said, his cheekbones tinged with blue with excitement. “Just...tell me what you think, huh? Anything you'd...you know, like?”

Papyrus looked through the book, his expression running the gamut of surprised to intrigued to....unreadable. Sans felt his excitement drain as he watched Papyrus turn the pages as he browsed through the chapters, and then felt a sinking feeling when the taller Skeleton just sort of grimaced.

“It...seems like a good bit of work,” Papyrus finally said, thumbing through the last bit of the book. “I...we don't really....have to put THAT much effort into it, do we?”

Sans's shoulders dropped, feeling like he had been punched in the sternum. 'I'. Papyrus had said 'I' first, that it was too much of an effort for HIM.

Gods, had he been THAT blind? Had it really become a chore by this point? Were they REALLY that divided, their one binding relationship just....gone?

Without really thinking about it, Sans snatched the book from Papyrus's hands and wrenched the bedroom door open, bolting down the stairs and out of the house. He wasn't aware that he was crying until he was too blind to run anymore, leaning against a tree as he struggled to get a grip on his emotions.