Five Places Sans Most Definitely Should NOT Be Sleeping (An Undertale Fanfic)

Chapter Three

  This one is short but super sweet! Papyrus is the best bro.  

Monsters had made it to the surface.

Frisk had pulled through once more and had freed them from their imprisonment beneath the mountain. The humans had been surprisingly receptive this time around – it varied from timeline to timeline – and the two species were integrating quite well. The first thing Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, and Mettaton had done was get mass joint custody of Frisk, so the humans' weird laws wouldn't get in the way of their savior's constant house-jumping, though they stayed with Toriel and the brothers most of the time. Mettaton became an overnight sensation, only one month on the surface and he already had his own TV show. Alphys had immediately gotten a job at some fancy government lab after they'd seen her work from Hotland's Lab and learned that she was the one who built Mettaton's host body. Toriel was working toward getting her dream school, but for now she settled on being a substitute teacher for the local schools. Asgore had his own little flower shop, Undyne had gotten a fitting job as a personal trainer, and Papyrus was taking actual cooking lessons at the nearby college.

And Sans?

Sans was addicted to the light.

Every possible moment he could spare was spent outside, staring up in awe at the stars or basking in the sunlight. It didn't matter how many RESETs he lived through; the feeling of genuine, natural light on his bones was a sensation he'd never get tired of. When the monsters first emerged from Mt. Ebott and they were all scrambling for housing, Sans had immediately gravitated to a house with floor-to-ceiling length windows just inside the city borders, not caring about the cost. Turns out, the gold monsters had been using as currency for centuries was worth much more to the humans than it ever was to them. Papyrus, delighted at seeing his brother so genuinely excited for something, had instantly agreed it was perfect, and they'd bought it that afternoon.

At first, Sans had been so paranoid that Frisk was gonna RESET that he couldn't help but tense and shake whenever they saw them, despite their promises. It was only when they'd hit the one-month mark, longer than any time they'd lingered on the surface before, did he at last begin to relax and believe them, finally allowing himself to enjoy his new life and his dream home. He spent all night in his backyard that night, staring up at the stars through his telescope, his grin bright enough to match the twinkling diamonds so far above.

That being said, he was still Sans, and, after a while, the novelty of the surface and his constant excited bouncing more characteristic of Papyrus than himself began to fade (never completely, stars no). He began to resume old habits, like cracking clever puns that made Toriel howl with laughter and the rest of the room groan.

And, of course, falling asleep in the most inconvenient of places.

"SANS? LADY TORIEL SAYS WE NEED TO GO SOON IF WE ARE TO GET TO THE FURNITURE STORE IN TI–IIIIIIIIIME!" Papyrus' sentence quickly evolved into a panicked screech as he tripped over something while he was trying to walk through the back-deck doorway, thinking Sans was probably in the backyard daydreaming again. He managed to right himself just in time, stumbling onto the deck a few paces, before turning around to see what he tripped over.

He sighed. Sans was laying sprawled in the doorway, eyes closed and breathing deeply, clearly asleep. He was completely spread eagle, his jacket shed and wearing only his white t-shirt and shorts. Papyrus figured it was so he could soak up more of the sunlight. Normally, the younger skeleton wouldn't hesitate to chew his older brother out for being lazy and wasting his day away by sleeping, but something about the surface was making him go soft. Perhaps it was because Sans seemed so...happy. Papyrus couldn't remember a time he'd seen Sans so relaxed and carefree. It was like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he'd de-aged ten years. Even his stupid puns had gotten better...not that he'd ever admit that out loud. He just couldn't bear to disturb his brother when he looked so peaceful.

Well...that and Toby was sleeping on Sans' chest as well and Papyrus really wasn't in the mood to deal with the spastic little dog. He never really got along with the dog, not like Sans did. He was perfectly fine with his pet rock, thanks. Sighing again, but now smiling faintly, Papyrus moved to step back into the house, and Sans grumbled in his sleep, frowning ever-so-slightly as the taller skeleton blocked his light. In turn, Toby whined, scratching at the air as if sensing his living bed's current discomfort.

Papyrus was quick to step inside, and Sans immediately relaxed again once the sunlight hit him, grinning widely in his sleep. He rolled over, curling around Toby and burying his face in his fur. The little dog jarred awake, licking Sans' face a couple of times before falling back asleep himself, making a small little 'boof' noise. Papyrus blinked a few times as he watched the scene unfold. He was suddenly struck by just how much Sans did for him. He'd find a way to give Papyrus the world if he thought it'd make him happy. His right eye flared orange for a brief moment as he steeled his resolve, then he spun on his heel and pulled out his cell phone, heading toward the front door. "Hello? Lady Toriel?" He spoke softly, trying to avoid waking his dear brother. "Yes, I am on my way. Sans is...busy, yeah, that's it. He's fine, but he won't be joining us. Thank you!" He cast one last look back at the sleeping skeleton, smiling softly, before charging out the front door to go meet his friends.

After all, Sans deserves to be happy, too.