Of a Better World

An Unwanted Houseguest (pest)

When Horror was finally allowed back into the house a few hours later, he found Lust peacefully asleep on the couch.

His leg had been carefully splinted and wrapped in bandages. Horror had tended to his own injury in the dankness of the shed. It would heal quickly he was sure, it scarcely compared to some of the more of the severe injuries he'd received. But the fact that he'd been kicked out of his own home to lick his wounds in shame left a more lasting scar.

Lust's broken leg had been a fair clean break Papyrus explained happily before he proceeded to chew Horror out. Something about disappointment and along the lines of Horror needing to be a better person, judging from the bits he cared to listen to.

And then Papyrus had gone off to recalibrate his puzzles or something of the like. But he made sure to tell Horror of the dire consequences he'd suffer if he dared lay hands on lust again.

So he took to skulking around the house, spiting the unwanted guest from the shadows. At the moment Horror stood at the staircase, examining him. 

It was only natural for him to be curious and he had a burning desire to know the circumstances of Lust's arrival. Multiversal travel wasn't simple in the slightest but he'd never heard of anyone getting lost. Horror could only imagine such a feat happening through either a faulty machine or pure ignorance. 

Horror watched the slow rise and fall of Lust's chest and allowed his mind to run rampant. The first thing that came to mind were the variety of ways he could get rid of him without angering Papyrus. Maybe he could break his legs and leave him in the forest, telling his brother that Lust had chosen to run away. Tainted food would food well too under the guise of simple food poisoning, if he was willing to waste food on Lust. Maybe plain starvation would do the trick-

"staring isn't polite."

The words were uttered in a feather thin voice that barely touched the air, Lust's eyes fluttering open soon after.

"showing up in other  people's universes unannounced isn't exactly polite either."

"and the same thing could be argued about trying to attack defenceless people."

So he was a little spitfire. Just Horror's luck.

"y'know, you're awful cocky after throwing that fit of yours in the shed." He clicked his tongue. "i would have never guessed you were such a character."

"a fit? you nearly killed me!" He squawked.

"and i would have made it fast and clean too if you hadn't been so keen on throwing a tantrum." 

"i figured that's a pretty normal response to nearly getting killed."

Horror refused to abandon his stand-offish air. "normal? i guess. convient? not in the slightest."

"i just want to go home, not argue."

His plead was met with silence as Horror decided that the wall was a lot more interesting than the current conversation.

"it'll be like i was never here, just let me leave."

There were three dents in the wall above the entrance to the kitchen. When had they gotten there? His hand instinctively reached for his head, hooking itself in the hole in his skull

"our interests line up don't they? i want to go home and you want me gone."

It was a bad habit that Papyrus had reprimanded him for on multiple occasions, picking at his head wound. But it was an action he barely had much control over anymore, being carried out by motor instinct in response to stress or boredom or frustration. 

The paint near the baseboards was chipped and peeling. Papyrus had fussed about getting that fixed, hadn't he? Maybe a few days ago- or years.

"i just need to use your machine for a split second, then we'll both be a lot happier. simple, right?"

Horro's wandering eye finally zeroed in on Lust, who had propped himself upright in the time that he'd taken to ignore him.

"shit outta luck then. I dismantled that thing a while ago." He said casually, as if it was some sort of minor inconvenience. A picnic day ruined by a high chance of rain.

Lust looked shaken for a moment, but it only seemed to strengthen his resolve.

"then you'll rebuild it."

"i will?"

"it'll take only a few weeks, i'm sure. we already know the basic structure and layout-"

"months actually. maybe well over a year," he mused. "i shredded the blueprints not long after i took apart the thing. and quite a few of the pieces have been spread to the wind, so it'd take a lot longer than you think. but that's in the scenario in which i agree to help you."

Horror watched with no small amount of amusement as Lust slid off the couch and hobbled over to him with astounding effort.

Lust looked Horror in the eye with a fierceness that tickled him pink. The little skeleton was, quite literally, purple in the face and was all puffed up like a defiant toddler. He didn't even have a lick of LV to attempt to intimidate Horror with, trying to seem threatening on one good leg.

"then i guess it would only make sense you decided to help me." Lust hissed through gritted teeth.

"i guess it would too, but you see the thing is- no one is stopping me from wringing your little throat here and now."

"except your brother."

"you're kidding yourself, bud"

"well i know a lot about my brother so that means i must know at least a little about yours. And i doubt he'd allow my death without probable cause." He had the audacity to yank Horror down by his jacket. "help me. please."

Horror looked down at Lust and two bold, purple eyelights stared back. He was a charming little thing, at least, as far as sanses went. A warm, affable looking fellow, left unhardened by what was probably a kind universe. But similar traits would be much better spent on someone less annoying in Horror's opinion.

Horror has a serious impromptu lesson on self control as he kept himself from slaughtering the small skeleton that so stupidly decided to manhandle him.

"you look nice and healthy after all you just been through," Horror kept his voice even as he shamelessly changed the subject."i'm guessing you had a plateful of pap's spaghetti, huh?"

Lust's tone was strained and irritated. "what does that have to do with anything?"

"nothing." He hummed. "nothing at all. i for one welcome a fellow humanitarian."

Horror promptly slipped past him towards the door, choosing to ignore Lust's disturbed face in his wake. He'd have to learn to tolerate eating humans if he wanted to last here long enough to get home anyway. Right now horror would busy himself deciding just how repairable his machine was.

 
"i'm heading to the shed. join me and maybe we can talk about getting you home." Hardly much effort was put into containing the snicker that followed afterwards. "break a leg, will you?"