(also: it may take a bit longer for the next chapter to happen than usual because, well... I need to make some big decisions for what I want to do)
Dream decided to sneak off to that same mall again.
The others told him not to but he was just too rebellious.
He donned the same "disguise" as he had previously. Perfect.
And believe it or not, he saw Sans again in the food court, berating another skeleton over something. Said other skeleton was way different looking than any skeleton Dream had ever seen before. For one thing, he was taller, despite slouching over:
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(please ignore the fish's face, for she is not present here)
"PAPYRUS!!!" Sans yelled (quite loudly). "You told me you were at your job!! What're you doing here!?!"
"Nothin' much," the taller skeleton (apparently Papyrus) said with a shrug).
"Well, you should be doing something!! What happened to your job!?"
"I'm on break."
"What do you mean you're on break!?! You're going to get fired for slacking off!!"
"Well, I don't see you working very often."
"YOU KNOW I-"
Papyrus chuckled.
"Relax, relax. You know I'm joking."
Dream decided he'd best try to avoid them and instead just order some fast food (sadly, he had no way around not using money at that time). He was walking to the line when, suddenly, they noticed him.
"Hey, it's you! That guy from a while ago! Hi!"
Dream turned. Sans was waving at him, while Papyrus just seemed...
Dream couldn't even tell.
He already didn't like him.
"Oh, uh, hey there," Dream said, waving back (albeit with little [fake] enthusiasm), "you're that guy I saw at the video game aisle the other day, right?"
"Uh-huh!"
"...who's this guy?" Dream asked, despite having already overheard their conversation (he didn't want it to look as if he had been spying on them or anything). Papyrus looked as if he were about to speak, but Sans cut him off.
"This is my little brother Papyrus. He's a bit of a numbskull."
The smug look on his face made it clear:
This was Sans's revenge for his brother's laziness.
Papyrus seemed... slightly irritated. He sighed.
"Welp, I'll leave you and your boyfriend here to make out in public."
What a comeback. Sans blushed in apparent embarrassment.
"B-BOYFRIEND!?! NO, HE'S-"
Papyrus just shrugged and walked away in smug satisfaction.
Dream's best guess was that he was going to either sneak snacks into the movie theater or commit arson. There was no inbetween.
That was certainly something.
The noise Sans made after could best be described as a growl, albeit without any of the threatening qualities a growl would usually carry.
"Dang it, brother!! Why must you always embarrass me like this?!" he said (out loud, despite not really being targeted toward anyone since Papyrus was already out of earshot). Then, he took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry for that, friend," he said, "as you saw, my brother can be... pretty annoying sometimes."
"So, this is how these people interact with their family?" Dream thought. "Pathetic as always. I bet those two couldn't even spend a day together without killing each other. Not like my brother and I."
He was just hoping he'd get a chance to finally get some food and leave. However, Sans continued before he got the chance to walk away.
"W-Well anyways, whatcha doing?"
"...I was just going to order some food."
"Oh, really? I was going to do the same thing! Ooh, why don't we both eat together then, like friends!"
...Dream didn't really like this overly-friendly attitude. It was weird. However, he supposed he might as well play along. After all, perhaps he could get some free food out of it, if Sans were willing to pay.
"Sure. I think I forgot to bring any money though. Can you pay for it?"
"Of course! Anything for a friend!"
~~~~~
The two ended up ordering the same thing: Fries (plus some ketchup to dip them in).
Funny coincidence.
Sans was already scarfing his meal down, while Dream ate more slowly.
"Mmm!! Delicious!!" Sans said with a smile.
"Oh, uh, yeah, they're pretty good."
Dream thought it was nothing special, but better than nothing.
He decided, out of boredom, to start a conversation.
"So... what was up with your brother? Why were you so mad at him?"
"Well, he's always lazy for one thing," he said, before biting another fry, "and then there's how he smokes all the time, and that's really unhealthy!"
"...(but skeletons don't have lungs-)"
Sans sighed.
"Alas, why must someone as rad as I be stuck with someone so lazy?"
The fact that Sans unironically used the word "rad" nearly made Dream cringe.
"But don't get me wrong, he's not a bad person or anything! I know he can get better! ...I just have to convince him to try."
"...huh..."
Dream was getting that same feeling of deja vu again. There was something very familiar about this, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
Sans took the last bite of his food, while Dream was only halfway done.
"You can leave without me," he said.
"Eh, I can wait. I can't just leave a friend to eat all alone!"
Dream sighed.
"Fine then."
~~~~~
When Dream finally finished and threw away his trash, he was about to leave when Sans spoke (as if he hadn't talked enough while eating).
"Oh yeah, forgot to ask! What's your name?"
"..."
Dream sped up his pace. He didn't want Sans to figure out who he was.
"Hey!! Where are you-"
And just like that, Dream ran out the door and left.
In all honesty, things weren't as bad as he thought they'd be. Sans didn't even seem all that bad. Did he find an exception to not being able to trust anyone? Was this a trick?
...for now, his focus was on covering up where he had gone so that his brother wouldn't get mad at him.
