Believe in Me

Sleep

Sans woke up quickly, just like he always did, beating his alarm clock by almost fifteen minutes. He high-fived one of the action figures he kept by his nightstand, impressed with himself in that he had managed to beat his own best time.

He hopped out of bed, dressing quickly before going to wake Stretch. He slammed the door open, posing in the doorway and yelling, "Get up, Papy! It's time to make the most of this day! Maybe it stopped snowing!"

To his surprise, Papy was already sitting up in bed, and at Sans's words, he smiled widely. "I'm sure it has, bro. Why don't you go check?"

Sans gasped happily and dashed to go look out the downstairs window.

After he left, Stretch collapsed back into his bed, a grin growing on his face. "It worked..." he whispered, almost unable to contain himself.

"Blue..."

Blue tugged on his hands, placing them on his chest, above where his soul lay. "Don't say that you can't. Please, Red. I just want to remember you," he begged, tears starting to gather in his eyes. "I...I can feel my soul reaching out for you. I didn't know what it was before but when you're right here, I can feel myself wanting to be closer to you. I've never felt anything like that before."

When Red stayed silent, staring at him with an unreadable expression, Blue kept talking, desperation making the tears come faster. "I have nothing left. Absolutely n-nothing. And don't t-tell me we can start over, b-because I can s-see the way you look at m-me when you think I'm not watching and I know you don't w-want me. You w-want the other me. Don't you?"

Red opened his mouth to protest, then closed it, finding himself unable to lie when Blue was looking at him like that. He hated himself for not being able to truthfully tell the other why it should matter, why they shouldn't do this.

"I would rather have you like this than dead," he said finally, relieved at himself that it was the truth.

"I don't have to die!" Blue said, gripping tighter onto his hands and leaning closer. "You said it yourself, it's just a risk! And isn't...isn't remembering you worth the risk?"

Red just stared at him. He didn't know what to say. Hell, there was nothing to say. Blue was looking at him earnestly, but Red could see he knew exactly what he was asking.

"I just want something to survive for," Blue said quietly, and that sealed it.

"Okay," Red said, too quietly to be heard. He cleared his throat and repeated himself, louder this time. "Okay. We can try. But you need to finish healing first. I'm not adding any more risk than there needs to be."

Blue nodded excitedly and, after a moment, let go of his hands, allowing Red to stand and grab the empty plate. He laid down slowly, wrapping Red's coat more tightly around him. Red pulled the blankets back over him gently, not making eye contact.

He turned to leave, but Blue shifted suddenly and said, "Wait!"

He looked back, and Blue blushed brightly. "I...I had nightmares last time. Can you..." he cut himself off, looking away and towards the blankets. "Can you stay?" he finished, still not looking up.

Red hesitated for a moment, then set the plate aside and crossed the room, kicking off his shoes and climbing into the bed awkwardly. Blue immediately turned over and pressed himself against the other. Red wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes, trying to pretend that everything was back to the way it had been.

"I see you are approaching, human. Are you going to give me a hug of acceptance?" Sans asked happily, extending his arms. Of course he, as magnificent as he was, was able to change the human's mind! Of course it had been he that had--
All thoughts fled his mind as the human's smile changed and they brandished the knife they held. He looked at them in shock as they began walking steadily towards him. No! No, they could change! They could be better!
Why were they doing this?
Sans made himself stay still, forced himself to trust in the human. He knew they could do better, and he believed in himself, that he could be the one to change them.
The human raised the knife, bringing it up high, and Sans realized, very suddenly, that he was about to die.
Almost before he had a chance to finish the thought, there was a flash of orange, and the human brought their knife down. "Papy!"