Work Text:
Sans lay on the sofa in a slight delirious fever, hollow eyes staring up at the ceiling while his face was flushed faintly red from what appeared to be a fever. Every now and then he'd cough, quite a pathetic small sound that would occasionally give away to a more bone-wracking hack which caused him to sit up and clutch his chest in pain, before flopping back down again being unable to move much further than simply sitting up and down.
He was sick. Very sick. The short skeleton showed signs for what would be considered a cold or flu in the monsters with flesh and organs, but thankfully being a skeleton meant that his nose wasn't running like a fountain, though his nasal cavity did feel ridiculously stuffy.
He hasn't even been able to get up and go to Grillby's to crash on the counter and watch the purple flame coerce and blackmail his customers from a quiet corner. After Papyrus had left for guard duty, Sans had shuffled downstairs, planning on heading to his own sentry point or Grillby's to sleep, only to end up on the sofa in a coughing fit and unable to move any further.
Cringing a little at the thought of his younger brother, the chubby monster wondered what Papyrus would think of hid predicament. He could already hear the shrill angry sounds of his voice in his head, telling him off for being lazy and telling him to get to his sentry post regardless because even if he wasn't going to move he was going to sit there and do his job.
It was thoughts like that which made him try to move, to sit up and shuffle over to the door at least to attempt to leave the house. But every movement in the upright position made Sans' head spin. His vision went hazy and his head felt heavy and sore, and it was all he could do to lie back down again.
He had no idea how long he had been lay there for, perhaps at one point he fell asleep but if he did he didn't feel rested at all. He felt tired, sluggish, dizzy, and vey very stuffy and sore.
The sound of the door opening sharply, practically being bashed off of the hinges, was what startled him 'awake'. Sans sat bolt upright and instantly regretted his decision, suddenly groaning and clutching his head and chest as another coughing fit shook his small skeletal frame.
"THERE YOU ARE, BROTHER!" Papyrus announces loudly, kicking the door shut with his boots upon entering their home. "WHY AREN'T YOU AT YOUR SENTRY STATION, LAZYBONES? WHAT PATHETIC EXCUSE DO YOU HAVE THIS TIME?"
Sans tried to speak, he really did, but the cough just wasn't letting up. Every time he paused and tried to make a sound his throat would tickle once again and he'd be left coughing up a metaphorical lung whilst clutching his chest and curling up into a ball.
"s-sorry br- boss." The fatter skeleton managed to apologise amidst the choking. "'m not feelin' too good..."
The taller one raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to snap back at him for being lazy yet again, planning to berate him for not making an effort to go to work and generally being useless. Only his words caught in his throat when it dawned on him just how pathetic his older brother looked in that moment. The bags under his hollow sockets were worse than usual, the coughing sounded like he was about to die any moment, and the flush on his face spoke of a bad fever. When his small fit subsided he was left trembling and curling tighter into a ball.
"i-i'll get to work soon, promise." Sans offered him a weak smile, one final pathetic cough escaping his throat. "can just... sit at my station as always, bein' a lazybones."
Papyrus rolled his eyes. At the very least he'd give his brother credit for thinking of work and presuming he was disappointing him. On any other day he'd be right, Papyrus would throw him outside and force him to do his job, but today was different.
"YOU'REOF NO USE TO IF YOU ARE THIS ILL, WEAKLING." He stated loudly, walking over to the sofa in only a few long strides. "TODAY I WILL FORGIVE YOUR LAZINESS AND YOUR ONLY JOB IS TO GET BETTER AGAIN."
Hardly believing what he was hearing, Sans' eyes widened, looking up dumbfounded at his younger brother. Papyrus 'ahem'ed awkwardly, a faint blush appearing on his own cheeks as he scooped Sans up from the sofa and carried him in his arms bridal style. The smaller skeleton could only yelp and cling to Papyrus' spiked armour for dear life at the sudden movement, face flushed even more, not just because of the fever.
"p-p-paps?" Sans stammered out, arms slung around the taller's shoulders for balance, refusing to look down lest he grow dizzy again.
"YOU'RE SO USELESS YOU CAN BARELY EVEN WALK." Papyrus told him as he strode up the stairs, heavy boots clomping on the worn out carpet.
He wasn't aiming for Sans' room. Instead the Royal Guard took him into his own room, where the four poster bed was neatly laid with crimson bedding and fluffy pillows. It almost seemed mature and elegant were it not for the fact there were figurines of action heroes and model cars tacked onto the wooden frame. And the wooden frame itself was carved with the impression of a race car on the ends.
"I'M NOT LETTING YOU STAY IN YOUR ROOM, IT'S FILTHY. YOU'VE NOT CLEANED IT IN MONTHS, DESPITE ME ORDERING YOU TO COUNTLESS TIMES." Papyrus frowned at him as he laid him down on the bed, dropping him the last few inches a little unceremoniously, as if catching himself after being gentle. "YOU'RE JUST A FAT LAZY PILE OF BONES."
"y-yeah, heh." Sans chuckled weakly, still in shock from being treated so nicely. Well, nice for what Papyrus' usual temperament was. He made to get up off the bed, slowly sitting on the edge and starting to shuffle off. "guess i'll go to that and just get out of your way..."
"NO!" The younger of the brothers all but roared, shoving the smaller harshly to make him fall back on the large and plush bed, though instantly a pang of guilt shot through his soul when Sans began another small coughing fit in response to the rough treatment. "SEE? YOU ARE PATHETIC. YOU CAN'T EVEN TAKE A SMALL SHOVE WITHOUT CHOKING. THAT IS WHY YOU WILL STAY HERE IN A CLEAN ROOM WITH CLEAN BEDDING, NOT YOUR FILTHY CAVE OF A ROOM."
The way Papyrus folded his arms had an air of finality to it, an air that suggested "Don't you dare try anything other than what I tell you", so Sans just smiled weakly , still coughing a little, and rested back against the pillows he'd been thrown on.
"you're the b-boss." The chubby skeleton muttered, his voice sounding a little hoarse now from all the aggravation to his throat.
Papyrus grumbled a little to himself, taking a look over his weak and feeble brother and realising that the other was still wearing his outdoor clothes. With little flourish, he pulled Sans up, divested him quickly of his coat, and pushed him back down again before a comment could be made. He fought with the laces of his brothers shoes but upon growing frustrated at the knots he found them in simply cut them with his sharpened phalanges. Sans didn't know what to say, so he remained silent and let his brother work, his soul growing warm with the idea that he was actually being taken care of for once.
"I AM NOT HAVING YOUR DIRTY SHOES IN MY BED." Papyrus answered the unanswered question as the offensive dirty sneakers were left by the bedroom door and the jacket he'd taken from the other was hung on a hook on the back of the door.
Refraining from speaking, the shorter monster lay on the other's bed helpless. He didn't want to bury under the covers without permission, in case Papyrus had other plans, but he wasn't sure what else he should be doing. But moving so much hurt anyway, so Sans kept still. His brother in the meantime was ridding himself of his armour and boots, apparently deeming them inappropriate bedroom wear. Eventually he was left in nothing but a plain black shirt and pants that he was hesitant to take off, even if Papyrus would normally wear nothing at all to sleep.
"MOVE OVER." He demanded, turning back to the bed and striding towards it with an air of authority, where Sans rolled onto his side away from the edge to give Papyrus more room to sit should wish to. Papyrus didn't quite so much as sit so much as yank the covers out from underneath his fat brother and flopping down behind him, purposefully leaving a good few inches distance between the two of them.
An awkward silent filled the air. Well, almost silence. Sans was softly wheezing where he lay, trying to keep quiet lest his sounds aggravate his brother. "s-sorry for gettin' sick, bro." The smaller apologised with a cough. "didn't mean no ill-will behind it."
More silent, though this was tinged with Papyrus' ire at Sans' bad jokes and Sans trying not to laugh at his own stupid humour. Instead the younger skeleton hit him sharply but not too hard on the shoulder as punishment for the stupid pun.
"THAT WAS TERRIBLE EVEN BY YOUR STANDARDS." The Captain growled in annoyance, batting at him again in warning. "AND DON'T APOLOGISE. FOCUS THAT STUPID ENERGY YOU PUT INTO BAD PUNS INTO GETTING BETTER INSTEAD. IT'S A MORE VALUABLE USE OF YOUR TIME."
With another weak chuckle Sans settled further into the blankets, revelling in the small act of kindness Papyrus gave him at this moment. He was allowed in his bed, was even lying next to him, and hadn't outright punched him for his jokes. He really must've looked pathetic for his younger brother to take pity on him like that.
"you got it, boss." The shorter one murmured, his dizzy head growing heavier as he felt himself sink into the warmth and comfort of the bed he lay upon, softly inhaling the scent of his brother, a wave of comfort washing over him.
As he dozed, Papyrus coughed awkwardly, hovering a hand above his brother unbeknownst to the other. After a moment of hesitation he growled to himself and roughly wrapped the arm around Sans' pudgy stomach, yanking him closer to spoon against him. The shorter was jolted from his doze with a racing heart, quickly turning his head to look frantically up at the other.
"s-somethin' wrong?" He asked, coughing once again, only to find one of Papyrus' hand soothing his chest by rubbing in circles on it.
"YOU ARE COLD." Papyrus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, bringing the blankets up and over the two of them as he purposely made sure Sans' entire body was covered. "YOU WILL NOT GET BETTER IF YOU DO NOT ADEQUETLY COVER YOURSELF."
Smiling a little, Sans settled back down once his heart had stopped racing. He was so used to the rough behaviour meaning something else, often leading to being beaten or pinned beneath the lankier skeleton. But right now apparently he was just concerned for his health, so concerned he was letting more of that 'brotherly love' show than he usually let on.
For now the chubby monster would just relish the attention and the fact that he was being given a break. He was sure Papyrus would later scold him for getting sick in the first place and put measures into play to ensure he always stayed healthy (he predicted another ban from going to Grillby's in his future, which he would obey for maybe a week).
"love you, bro..." Murmured the sick skeleton as he dozed off, peaceful and comfortable in the arms of the other. Eye sockets slipped closed and his body completely relaxed for the first time in hours, drifting off into a quiet slumber
The room was silent once more, broken only by a soft wheeze from the fat monster.
"...LOVE YOU TOO, BROTHER." Papyrus quietly responded, tucking the blankets around Sans a final time and holding him close.