Flipping the script(swapfell)part 1

chapter 7

When the book explained that beginning this type of relationship was very trial-and-error, it wasn't kidding in the least.

The next several hours were spent just going over whatever notes Sans had managed to take, and listing off several things either might be interested in and finding that 98% of the things he had pegged out for Papyrus were duds. He was still sort of reeling over the fact that Papyrus was practically begging to be a sub, but he was also finding himself excited at the brand new prospect of being the dominant force in all this.

The book had stressed the responsibilities of being a good dom, however, and Sans was taking it to heart. The last thing he wanted was to misplace Papyrus's trust, regardless of the fact that Papyrus apparently got off on being used by him. There had to be boundaries to avoid things going too far, and the first thing he insisted on was a safeword.

They both agreed on 'reset' being the safeword, not something either would just blurt out accidentally, and Sans found it weirdly appropriate, like anything they did could be erased and restarted back at ground zero if need be.

As far as do's and don'ts went, that was going to be a work in progress, much like the limits of what either could take. Starting vanilla and working their way up seemed best, building up trust into trying out the more intense things later.

It seemed to be working out just fine, Sans came to find. Papyrus submitted with absolute trust after saying the safeword several times, sometimes in the middle of regular sex, and Sans would stop. As frustrating as that had been, seeing the relief and barefaced trust on Papyrus's face made it completely worth it.

Those expressions of Papyrus's were generally what got him through his days at work, able to recall them whenever he needed a distraction from the continuous hazing while he tried to focus on his work.

It was a bittersweet recollection; Papyrus's love and trust was intermingled with the worse aspects of Papyrus's life, recalling Papyrus telling him about his own hellish work day and how much he hated it, and how he wanted to END it—

...but the fact that he made Papyrus's life BETTER...made it WORTH living....THAT made it worth getting several piles of grunt work shoved onto his desk to finish before he could leave for home. Because he knew that what awaited him was worth it all.

Papyrus wasn't home.

And he wasn't home the next night.

Or the next.

And Sans began to get frustrated, anxious, and more than a little angry with basically every aspect of his life.

It wasn't Papyrus's fault; even during designated off days, Papyrus was often called back in to do something someone else was too incompetent to do. Sans knew that his little brother was the most capable person in the Guard, always patient, poised, and never rushing to do the job, and do it RIGHT. That being said, he was in constant demand, and those last few days off he had with Sans were very, very rare.

It made Sans take a mental note to tell Papyrus that the Guard should be raising their standards, if they required one person to fix EVERYTHING.

Sans kept that mental note on reserve for a long time, because Papyrus was gone for almost two straight weeks.

And the bullshit that kept piling up made the wait all the more unbearable.

Between staying late at the labs to finish off superfluous paperwork and double-checking, Undyne making him look through endless clips of Mettaton and Napstaton's routines to find [invisible] flaws that need fixing, and somehow finding time to do his own work on Void physics for an upcoming work review, Sans was in desperate need of something to put his hands around and squeeze until it stopped moving.