Deltarune: Things I Never Told You

Papyrus

"Frisk," he began, looking defeated, staring at his lap that held the uninteresting magazine. "I... I'm glad you're back," he resigns, glancing my way.

I nod, fingers still running though Kris's hair. At this point he had begun to snore. I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. "Yeah, me too, Russ. I forgot how much I loved this tiny town. Beats city scenes for sure..." I trail.

"No, Frisk... I... ugh." He exhales, obviously frustrated with himself. "I meant I'm glad you're here right now, here with Kris and here with... uh..." He glances over at Sans, who had also finally nodded off, resting his skull on the window of the room. "here with us. Things haven't been the same since both you and Asriel left." He smiles, "It's good to remind myself of what you look like."

I huff in response, forcing down a blush. I knew he knew the effect he had on me, and I had little intent to let him know anything else of it. "Thanks, Russ. It's good to see you too."

The room goes silent for a moment, devoid of any sound except the clicking of monitors and Kris's and Sans's breathing. This was so different from what I was used to, and definitely different than things had been in the past.

"When did you know?" I ask quietly, still focused on Kris. "About him being hurt."

"We knew pretty much immediately. When Toriel couldn't find him, Sans knew pretty instantly. It was kind of strange how he knew so soon, he said he just had this "feeling" that something bad had happened." Papyrus breathes, staring at the wall. "Frisk, I would've called sooner, but I wasn't sure if you'd wanna talk since... you know, we kind of weren't talking."

I shoot a frustrated glance his way. "That doesn't matter! This is my son we're talking about here! It would've been different if it were anything else, Papyrus." I frown. "He's still a kid, you know? Humans don't stay the same forever like monsters do, Russ... He's still just a kid."

"And Toriel is taking care of him!" He whispers back, hurt. "Why do you care now to be back in his life, back in our life, huh? Just because he got hurt? Frisk, you had no business showing up, and you know it."

My heart skips in my chest. He'd never been this severe before.. "'OUR' life?" I hiss back. "As far as I remember, he doesn't know who you really are either. What makes you think you can just hang around? I at least had good reason to do what I did..."

He grinds his teeth, looking away, frustrated. He exhales heavily and places his face in his hands. "If we're going to talk about this, we might as well go outside," he whispers through his fingers. "The both of them could use the sleep that they're getting now."

Begrudgingly, I nod, and attempt to shift out from underneath Kris's body. Slowly, I set his head on the pillow and walk away, Papyrus's arm bracing the door open.

----

The patio door shuts behind him. Rain pounds on the top of the tin roof and I wrap my arms around myself. It's freezing out here.

He stands, hands in his jean pockets. The mustard yellow sweater he had on complimented his age old red scarf, and I attempt to push down my interest in him, even after all this time. I'm too upset to care.

"So what now, huh?" I say, looking up at him. "What do you want me to say? That I regret the choices we made? That I regret leaving you and Kris and all of the life I'd ever known? Huh? Would that make it better?" I shudder.

He frowns, offering his scarf to me. "No, Frisk, I just wanted it to have end--"

I swipe the scarf from his hand and interrupt him, "What? Ended differently than it did? Too bad," I growl. "You remember what that was like! There was no way I was going to stay here and watch monsterkind get bullied and shoved into a corner by society! There was no way I could've sat by and watched that happen! We could've never taken care of Kris, and you know it. I had to do something! Monsters were getting slaughtered left and right! Kris would've been next! Papyrus, I had to choose!" I cough, feeling the heat of my emotions flood into my face.

He freezes. "You thought you had to choose? I didn't have a choice! I have lived here since we got out of the Underground and since Kris was born and had to watch him grow up in someone else's arms, in someone else's care! Sans is more of his father at this point than I am! How is that a choice?!" He seethes. "You never tried to make it work. We could've been a team, we could've stayed together... but you left us all before anyone had a chance to help you!"

He takes a step closer to me, now towering. I'd never seen him truly angry before, but I felt this was as close as I'd ever get. Still, there's an overwhelming energy emanating from him, and it felt more upset than angry.

"...Frisk, I loved you... and I just... I wanted us. I wanted us to be happy and take on the world together. I wanted..." his voice breaks.

"Don't..." I shudder. "Don't do this to me," I felt my heart begin to shatter. A sob works its way into my throat, and I try to swallow it.

He wraps his long arms around my shoulders and pulls me in. I let him do it, and I stay silent. I didn't have words. Too many 'should haves' and 'could haves' worked their way into my subconscious and I couldn't control them anymore.

"Papyrus, I'm so sorry. I just wanted the best for everyone, even if it meant I wasn't in the picture... I had no clue it'd end up like this." I croak, voice quavering. I inhale sharply and breathe in the musty smell of his sweater, arms around his back. "Maybe I should just leave... I only came to see Kris get better. I didn't mean to intrude..." I look up at him, and he's looking in the distance, tears rolling down his cheekbones.

"Please don't leave... not yet. I think somehow you were meant to be here."

"...maybe." I exhale, hugging him tighter.