Learn To Love.

Chapter 3

    Red tried to sneak inside, hoping Blue had gone to bed. He didn't have a jacket- he couldn't hide the fresh wounds on his radius. Muffet had already asked if he was alright- she might have already called Sans, but Red was holding out hope.

He made it four steps inside before he spotted Blue, sitting at the table on his phone. As soon as Red saw the other Sans, Sans saw him, and he was on his feet in an instant.

"Red!" he gasped, hurrying over and going to hug him- but he stopped himself. Red couldn't help the wave of regret that washed over him.

"Hey," he mumbled. He couldn't meet Sans's eyes.

"Red- I'm so sorry. What I did wasn't right- I should have asked you first- I'm so sorry for doing that to you..." Sans trailed off. He'd looked down.

Red took a step back, trying to hold his arm casually. Sans was quiet for a moment, and Red stared at the ground in shame. He couldn't explain it. He had no excuse- it'd been awhile since he'd done it, Blue was going to be so disappointed, he'd-

"R-Red," Sans whispered. "Is... is that... because of me?"

"No!" Red said immediately. He jerked his head up to see Blue's tears, a hand over his mouth.

"Oh my g-god... Red, I'm... I'm so sorry-"

"It's not your fault," he said. "I... I'm sorry... I know I've been doing better-"

Blue rushed him and wrapped his arms around Red, rubbing his back in a familiar way. Red leaned into the hug.

"I'm so sorry," Sans said with tears in his voice. "Red- I'm so sorry for doing that to you. I promise I'll never do it again, not without asking you, I'm... I'm so sorry."

Red had nothing to say. He wasn't crying, he was just... numb. The aftershocks of his panic attack were making it hard to feel much of anything. He wrapped his arms around Blueberry.

"Come on- you're freezing," Sans said as he untangled the two of them. "I'll make you hot chocolate, okay?" He wiped the tears from his eye sockets.

"Yeah..."

Red was guided over to the couch, where Sans sat him down and covered him in a blanket. The skeleton was happy to have something to cover his wounds- he felt exposed now, ashamed of what he'd done. He didn't want to disappoint either of the brothers again.

In a matter of minutes, Sans returned with two cups of hot chocolate. He set one down on the end table and offered the other to the shivering monster.

"Thanks," Red said. "You didn't have ta do this... it ain't your fault-"

"I did something reckless, and you weren't comfortable with it," Sans said immediately. "The least I can do is make sure you're okay now."

"M'fine... it just... caught me off guard, that's all."

"Red-"

"I'm sorry I... did that," he said, pulling up the blanket so he knew his arm was covered. "I know you don't like that shit..."

"Of course I don't like it when you hurt yourself," Sans said, resting a hand on Red's knee. "But you've been doing so well- I'm not upset. I'm sorry for... advancing on you like that."

"S'okay," Red said, taking a little sip of his drink. God he loved hot chocolate. "I know you didn't mean it."

Sans was silent. Red's chest grew tight as he looked over at his friend and saw him staring down at the couch, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You... you don't really... want to do that, do you?" Red asked. He tried to keep the fear out of his voice. He didn't do a very good job.

"Kiss?" Sans asked.

"N-no.. what comes next..." Red had to look away when he said it. "I know you wouldn't hurt me, I'm just... I'm..." Red didn't know how to say it. Scared? Traumatized? He kept his eyes down for a moment. He could only imagine his brother- the pain- When he had the guts to look at Sans again, he saw something very dark and sad in his eyesocket.

"Red... I don't want to do that, either," Sans said slowly. "If you don't want to be more than friends, I'm okay with that! I really am, I just want you to be happy-"

"What?" Red blurted, and it silenced Sans immediately. "What the fuck do you mean? How can you be 'more than friends' without fucking?"

Blueberry recoiled at the language.

"Shit- I'm sorry for shouting-"

"No, no, it's okay," Blue said. Both of them sat back for a moment. Red tried to calm the feeling in his ribcage.

"Back in my timeline... you didn't kiss unless you were having sex. People didn't do that... that romantic stuff." Red rubbed the back of his skull nervously. "Is that what you're talking about?"

"Yeah," Sans said, a bit more subdued than usual. "Gosh, Red, I didn't mean to make you think I... wanted to do that ... I'm sorry."

"You didn't know," Red said quietly. Why was his soul beating so fast? Why did he feel... something? He met Blue's eyes. "Do you... uhm... d-do you really like me like that?"

Sans blinked. "More than friends?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Blueberry played with his bandana for a moment before he spoke. "I... I think I have a very strong potential to," he said. "But you're also a very good friend, and I wouldn't want to ruin that if you don't feel the same way."

Red kept quiet. He sipped his hot chocolate, trying to process what he'd just learned. Sans... didn't want to have sex. But he still wanted to kiss and be close?

"I don't know shit about this..." Red began slowly, softly. "s-so I... I don't know how I feel... I like you a lot, but... but don't you deserve somebody who ain't as fucked up as me?"

"I don't think that," Sans said, almost as quiet. "I think you're wonderful."

Red blushed.

"...Do you want to give it a try?"

Red blinked at him. He didn't know what to say. Blue played with his hands before he looked up again, a slight blue across his face.

"We can go as slow as you want to, and... if you decide you just want to be friends, we can stop. Or we can just... keep things the way they are, and go from there."

"Can I think about it?" Red asked, more than a little sheepish.

"Of course! Of course you can," Blue said. "I know this is all really sudden. Lets just... lets just keep things the way they are, okay? If you decide you don't want it, that's fine, and if you do, that's fine, too!"

"Can we... still hug and stuff?"

Blue giggled for a second. "Of course. Hugs and couch cuddles are completely platonic. And free of charge!"

"You're so generous," Red said before a smile settled onto his face. Things were okay- things would be fine. Blueberry liked him enough to... want to kiss and stuff. The thought warmed Red's soul.

"I'm a giver," Sans said with a grin. "Do you wanna watch a movie? Alphys lent me one the other night that she said was super cool. It isn't even anime!"

"That sounds really fucking nice, actually," Red said. Things weren't awkward. Blueberry really meant it. "I hope you're ready to be my space heater. I'm absolutely freezing."

Sans had already stood up to go get the movie ready, but he gently poked Red between the sockets. "When am I not your personal heat source?"

"Good point."