Branches On A Tree

At Grillby's

Author's note: So, I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that this fanfic has become an annual occasion xD I keep telling myself that this is the time I finish it, more frequent updates! This time being no different, but! ...

... well, thanks for being patient with me xD and thanks also for votes and comments! I've gotten bad at replying but I read them all, and it just makes me so happy!

If you like this fanfic, please consider visiting my linktree! :) There's a comic from the prequel on my deviantart, and I have every intention of drawing some more art related to this fic!

https://linktr.ee/pixiehobbit

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Sans immediately froze as he heard his brother's name. He couldn't, nor would he explain this to him. It was too much and the shame and guilt weigh too much.
Before Papyrus even had a chance to look at him, he was gone. Only the blanket falling down on the floor indicated that someone had even been there at all.
Left alone to ponder over Alphys words, he knew exactly where to go. Same place as ever when he wanted to be alone, away from his brother.

-

"Brother!" The lanky skeleton called, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Did... did he just use magic?" Alphys said, more like a statement to herself, as she had just told him that his soul was down on 0. Using magic in that condition was an incredibly foolish decision, and now she had no idea where he was, or if he was okay! Alphys caught herself off guard by being angry over his decision. "Why would he do that!?"
Papyrus saw the blanket drop to the ground. He closed his eyes, he should have seen this coming.
"He teleported?"
"Yes! And I told him that his soul is weak! Besides! Besides, that freak is out there, and this isn't an anime! He's not just some villain to be defeated with the power of friendship, this is real!!" Alphys huffed, waving her scaly arms in the air, her hands balled up into fists. A deep breath was taken before her hands dropped, adjusting her glasses again. Only to see Papyrus leaving too.
"Wait, Papyrus! Not you too!" She called.
"I know exactly where he is, I'll be right back," the skeleton replied. "I'll be right back, don't tell Undyne that I left."
"Absolutely not! Hey-!" But Papyrus was already off

-

"Tra la la~ Eat a mushroom every day! Why? So I know that you're listening to me..."

-

Papyrus waved the River Person off, scoffing to himself as his feet crunched against the snow. "What a strange person..." he told himself and shook his head. It was a wonder that they were still there and hadn't left for the surface with everyone else! Very convenient indeed!

Snowdin didn't look any different. The only thing that stuck out was the lack of monsters. The tree stood proud and tall on the town square, but there were no gifts around it, and no rabbits anywhere. Only skeletons, because he knew that his brother was here also.

The snow crackled softly under his red boots, like so many times before. He walked quickly, his goal straight in mind to minimize any potential encounters with his dad. While the vast majority of footsteps in the snow lead from Snowdin and towards Waterfall, the footprints left behind by the skeleton lead in the opposite direction.

In contrast to Snowdin as a whole, Grillby's looked the same. At least in the aspect of Sans, sitting hunched over the bar in his usual spot. His tail slumped against the floor, his forehead against the bar.
"Brother," Papyrus started but got rejected at once.
"Go away."
"Don't be stupid, I'm not gonna do that. I never did any of the other countless nights you spent here. Now, stay where you are, don't you dare teleport away from me."
"That was different."

Papyrus took a seat next to Sans, nearly folding his hands on top of the bar.
"Are you okay?" He asked before performing a stat check. Upon closer thought, he did not trust whatever his brother might say regarding the issue. There was no reply, but his stats were okay, so Papyrus could relax about that at least. The obvious elephant in the room was the way he looked now, Papyrus told himself that the only reason why he reacted was because he wasn't used to hearing his brother's voice from that shape. That's all.
"You don't have to reply. I just... I know, okay? About dad, what he did to you."
Papyrus leaned in, waiting for an answer. But none came.
"Fine, I guess that I'll do the talking. I'm... I'm sorry."
Finally a reaction. Sans turned his head and peered with the somewhat unsettling glowing eye straight at Papyrus. The taller brother swallowed thickly, metaphorically, before straightening his posture, trying to look nonchalant.
"For what?" Asked Sans.
"For everything."
Sans narrowed his eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I could have been there for you. I wouldn't have pursued my dream so passionately if I knew that you were struggling and needed help."
"That's stupid."
"No, it's not. What's stupid is suffering without asking for help when you need it. All this time... I didn't know." Good thing Papyrus' hands were folded on the bar, it made it easier to control the shaking.
Sans looked down again. "The reason I didn't tell you is so that you wouldn't have to worry about anything. So you can do what you wanted to, be whatever the fuck you like, do what makes you happy while we are stuck down here in this hellhole."
Without fully knowing why Papyrus got the feeling that this wasn't solely because of something their father did. It felt strange, like some kind of déjà vu. At least he figured out why Sans had never spoken a bad word about their dad. Why he never said anything at all about him.
"I'm worried regardless, and I'm not happy if you're not happy. You're my brother." A speck of dust on the bar caught Papyrus' eyes for now. He appreciated the gesture, it was hard to know where to even look right now.
"You can't change the past. Nobody can," Sans said eventually, running a clawed hand over his skull like he always did when he was stressed. His hand dropped when the motion was stopped by the horns protruding from his forehead.
"No. But the past is the past, it's behind us. And if I knew, then I wouldn't have been so hard on you."
"You would have learned that you're related to a raging psycho, and-"
"I would have learned that my brother might have needed my help. Sans, I'm not stupid, and I don't know why you treat me as such."
Sans flinched, his tail flicked slightly to the side as if trying to create a barrier between them.
"I could have handled that. It would have been shocking, yes. Would I have been sad? Probably! But I would have gotten over it!" For the moment that's what he felt like anyway, having the initial shock settled. Sans was more important to him than his pride after all. Grandpa always said that family is the most important thing.

"I know you're not stupid," Sans replied. "I'm sorry."
"And I forgive you. Will you forgive me?"
Again, Sans looked up before shaking his head.
"There's nothing to forgive."
"There is too! Forgive me!" Papyrus prompted once more.
"Fine. I forgive you," Sans said, although Papyrus had a feeling that there wasn't true genuinity behind those words.

A frown clad the bony face of the taller skeleton, before he leaned over, bringing his brother in for a hug.
"You better mean those words. And by the way, horns are cool."

-

Outside of Grillby's, a yellow flower poked up from the ground. A wicked smile stretched the lips on the unlikely face. The set of footprints leading into the shack belonged to one person only, which was why he knew that Papyrus was in there. Gaster was right about one thing. Flowey was bored and he had nothing to lose. Might as well see how this plays out.