You wake up in the middle of the night with a dry throat and a plugged nose. Not too surprising, since it's getting to be spring now, and that means allergy season. So your nose probably got full of snot and you started breathing through your mouth, which dried up your throat.

Not a real problem. You'll just get a glass of water and some decongestant medicine.

So, careful not to wake Flowey (you don't want him to start screeching in the middle of the night and wake everyone else up, too) you slip out of bed and leave your room.

Toriel keeps all the medicine, like ibuprofen and decongestants and stuff, in one of the kitchen cabinets. She says it's because she's an old lady who needs that stuff, and since the kitchen is where she spends the most time, it makes sense for it to be there. She doesn't like you getting stuff out of it on your own, but she's said she knows you're a responsible child, so she trusts you to read the dosage instructions and not overdose or anything.

As you near the kitchen, you see the light is on, and you can hear the soft murmur of voices. It's Gaster and Papyrus- Papyrus, apparently, got his energy from Gaster, and the two of them stay up late all the time.

As you get closer, you hear Papyrus talking about some idea for a puzzle design. Gaster gives just a little input every now and then.

And then, Papyrus's voice tapers off. For a moment, everything is silent.

"Papyrus?" Gaster asks. "Is everything all right?"

Papyrus is slow to respond. "... Yeah... Dad? Can I... Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

Papyrus hesitates a moment longer. "Do-... Do you love Sans more than me?"

Gaster's shocked response is immediate. "What?! No! No, not at all! Why would you ever think that?!"

"Well..." You can't see Papyrus, but you can imagine him nervously wringing his hands. "Well, just, because you always spend so much more time with him, and you're always hugging him, and you always talk to him about the designs for the new lab, and just... Of course, I'm very happy for Sans, because he's very happy, and that makes me happy! So if you do, it's okay, because that makes Sans happy. I was just-"

"Papyrus." Gaster interjects. "Papyrus. I love you and Sans exactly the same, and that's more than anything and everyone else in the world. Okay? Sans just needs me more, and I know you can--" Gaster cuts himself off with a sharp breath, and you can hear him muttering what you've come to learn are curse words in another language. "No, no that doesn't sound good at all. How do I..? Ah, a good analogy. You like making puzzles, right? Yeah, of course you do. You were just talking about it!" Gaster lets out a little breath. "... So, let's say... You have two puzzles, your two most absolute favorite puzzles-"

"Like the electricity maze and the ice-switch-panel puzzle?" Papyrus interrupts, his voice just as enthusiastic as ever.

Gaster chuckles a little. "Yeah, okay, the maze and the ice switches. We can go with those. Now, of these puzzles, which one do you like more?"

Papyrus lets out a hrmmmm. Then "NYEH! I-... I choose both! They are both excellent puzzles, built by a master puzzle craftsman!"

"Yes, exactly." Gaster responds. "They're both excellent puzzles. Now, let's say... the ice switches puzzle. That puzzle is doing just fine. Wonderful, even. It's working perfectly, and everyone is coming from miles around, just to catch a glimpse of this puzzle. Those that actually get to do it are faint with excitement. Imagine that, they, just a little monster, get to try a puzzle built by The Great Papyrus!"

Papyrus lets out a happy Nyeh Heh Heh!! "That is a very nice thing!"

Gaster laughs again. "Yeah. But, now, the electricity maze... something's wrong with it. You don't know what, or how, and for the time being, it's still working. You just know sometime soon, it's gonna break down, and then, no one will be able to enjoy it properly."

"Oh no! That would be horrible!"

"I know, wouldn't it?" Gaster sighs a little. "So, then, Papyrus. Two puzzles. One of them, working perfectly. And the other, about to break down. Of these two, which are you more likely to spend a lot of time around?"

Papyrus responds almost immediately. "The electric maze puzzle! Because if the ice switch puzzle is working okay, I don't need to watch it, but if the electric maze is going to break down soon, I want to be there so I can fix it as soon as possible!"

"Yes, exactly!" Gaster says excitedly. "That's exactly the point in trying to make!"

"Of course! Nyeh Heh Heh!!" Then, "... Wait. What is?"

Gaster chuckles. "Well, it's like this Papyrus. You and Sans? You two are like my puzzles. You're the ice switch one, and Sans is the electric maze. You? You're doing everything perfectly, and I couldn't be more proud. But Sans? He's... He's been through some really rough stuff, stuff that you and I can't even imagine. And... I just want to make sure that when that finally surfaces, when he finally breaks down... I'm there for him, and I can help him."

There's a second of silence, and then, "I-... I think I get it."

You get the sense Gaster is smiling. "I knew you would. You're the greatest."

"Nyeh Heh Heh! Of course I am! After all, I am the Great Papyrus!" Papyrus pauses for a second, and you can imagine him posing dramatically- maybe even in his pajamas. "... But, Dad...?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I still have a hug?"

Gaster's response is immediate. "Of course. You don't even have to ask."

Papyrus lets out a noise that seems like it was going to be a laugh, but then it turned into a just generally happy, contented sound. You've noticed the brothers both do that sometimes when Gaster hugs them.

Smiling a little at the thought, you risk a peek around the kitchen doorframe. Sure enough, Gaster has wrapped his arms around his son, and has Papyrus tucked against his chest. They both look happy.

And then Gaster's good eyesocket cracks open, and he's staring right at you. You just sit there, paralyzed with fear, as a frown furrows Gaster's brow.

Then, his expression smooths out to one of general annoyance as he releases Papyrus. "Did you need something, Frisk?"

Papyrus turns with a little surprise as you come into the kitchen. "Frisk! I thought you were asleep!"

You smile, hoping they can't see your nervousness. "U-um, yeah, but my nose got really clogged. So, um, I was just coming to get some decongestant."

Gaster sighs a little, annoyed. "Alright then. Come on, you're supposed to be in bed."

You just nod and hurry to get the medicine. In no time at all, you're back in bed, settling down to go back to sleep.

§

A/N

See what I mean? Since this is all from Frisk's PoV, if I hadn't blown up the skelefam's house, I wouldn't have been able to write this moment.

Also, geez Frisk. You really need to stop eavesdropping.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are my Favorite Things, and every notification I get makes my day!