Just as he had predicted, when Sans woke up, he had a headache, and he had an aching fatigue that came from lack of food, but at the same time he wasn't hungry.

At the very least, he was mostly comfortable, lying in his bed.

He lay there for some time, without moving, trying to counter his discomfort with the pleasing knowledge that he not only was in his own bed, but he didn't have to get out of it any time soon.

Eventually, he heard voices, and the sound of his bedroom door being opened.

"- be waking up soon," Gaster was saying, "if he hasn't already."

Sans shifted in bed and opened his eyes just a crack. A soft light was filtering in through his window, probably dusk. Gaster and Papyrus were walking in the door. Gaster was carrying a mug, which Sans assumed was the origin of the sweet scent he caught a whiff of.

When Papyrus saw that Sans was awake, he hurried over to the side of the bed, climbed up to sit beside Sans, and wrapped him in a hug. "Sans! You're awake!"

"heh. yeah. guess i am." After Papyrus released him, Sans pulled himself to sit up. The bright cheeriness of his brother alone was nearly enough to combat his headache.

Gaster sat down on the edge of the bed. He offered the mug he was holding to Sans. "Here. For your headache."

Sans smiled and took the mug. He gripped it for a moment, just enjoying the smell. It was warm and sweet, almost the smell of the flowers in the king's garden, or honey. Struggling over his total lack of an appetite, Sans lifted the mug to his jaw and took a sip.

"'s good. thanks." He lifted the mug again and this time took a big gulp.

Gaster nodded in response. "I thought you might like it." He paused a moment, in though, then continued. "Anyway, now that that's been taken care of, there's more or less nothing on your schedule for the next two weeks, so-"

"So we can do LOTS OF THINGS TOGETHER!!" Papyrus shouted happily. "We can build puzzles and cook spaghetti and you can help me with Blue Magic and--"

As Papyrus continued with an obviously very well thought out list of things he wanted to do with Sans, Sans couldn't help but smile. All Papyrus really wanted was to just spend time with his brother. And Sans fully supported that.

"Hang on a second, Papyrus." Gaster interjected, a slight note of concern in his voice. "Your brother just got back from the frontline. I'm sure he's very tired, and he'll want to get a lot of rest while he can."

Papyrus's shoulders slumped and he turned back to Sans with a pleading look.

Sans couldn't. He just couldn't.

"hey." he pulled one hand away from the still-warm mug and set it on Papyrus's shoulder. "it's true. i do wanna get some rest. but, if you give me... oh, say, th' next two days to nap, laze, and generally loaf around, then as long as you take it slow, i promise we can do whatever ya want."

Papyrus's expression brightened. "Really?"

Sans grinned at his brother and nodded.

Papyrus practically lunged at his brother, almost spilling Sans' drink in his eagerness to hug Sans. "You're the best, Sans!"

Sans wrapped his free arm around Papyrus. "and you're the greatest, bro. just don't make me spill this."

Papyrus shifted to allow Sans to better hold the mug, but wasn't done hugging his older brother.

Gaster just smiled at his sons.

~o0o~

True to his word, Papyrus allowed Sans to spend the next two days in complete, utter laziness. He would even do nothing with Sans for as long as he could bear, after he got home from school. He only could stand to sit and do nothing for about thirty minutes before his boundless energy forced him to do something, but Sans appreciated the attempt nonetheless.

Papyrus was quite happy that his first day of doing-everything-with-Sans fell on a Saturday. Luckily for Sans, Gaster interceded before Papyrus could wake him up at six thirty in the morning. He told Papyrus to let Sans sleep until eight, at the very least. This was, after all, supposed to be a recovery time for Sans, and of all the monsters in the Underground, Sans was most in need of a good sleep.

When Sans was slowly dragged out of his dreams by Papyrus, he had no idea of the extra hour and a half of rest that he hadn't originally been going to get.

"mornin', pap." He yawned as he sat up.

Papyrus smiled brightly at him. "Good morning, brother!"

Before Papyrus could continue, Sans took his opportunity. "hang on, pap. before we do anything, i gotta get dressed and eat, alright? taking it slow, remember?"

Papyrus hesitated a moment, then nodded.

"hey, so that we don't waste any time, howsabout you go get some breakfast ready for me while i find some clean clothes?"

Papyrus thought on that for a second, and came to the conclusion that it was a good idea. "Yes! I'll make you the best breakfast!"

Sans grinned and nodded happily. "alright. you'd better go get started on that."

Papyrus nodded enthusiastically, then ran out of the room, shouting to Gaster that they had to make Sans the BEST breakfast, accompanied by a gleeful NYEH-HEH-HEH!

Sans let out a breathy laugh and flopped backwards. He allowed himself another few minutes with his eyes closed, before throwing off the bedsheets and climbing out of bed.

A few minutes later, he wandered into the kitchen to find Papyrus, with Gaster's assistance, pulling a pan out of the oven.

"what's that?" He asked.

"Muffins!" Papyrus responded happily.

"muffins, huh?" Sans peered at the pan. There were several vaguely roundish lumps of somewhat breadlike stuff.  "what's in 'em?"

Papyrus rattled off a list of ingredients, a number of which Sans was quite certain did not belong in breakfast baked goods.

"that's it?" Sans asked. "muffin else?"

Gaster grinned. Papyrus glared.

"oh come on, pap. i knead to know."

"Sans, I do not answer questions with puns in them!"

"awww, bro, that's a pretty pasty excuse!" Sans' grin widened. Gaster snickered softly. Papyrus just kept giving Sans an annoyed look.

They just stared at each other for a moment, before Sans' grin widened.

Papyrus noticed. "Sans. Don't."

"come on, papyrus-"

"Sans!"

"-donut glare at me like that, i'm-"

"SAAAAANS!"

"-just curious about the hole thing!"

"Sans, no more puns or you don't get breakfast!"

Sans let his shoulders slump, defeated. "alright, alright, fine." He sighed, still smiling widely, and held out a hand for a muffin. Papyrus tested the muffins to see if they had cooled down more or less, then plucked one off the pan and gave it to Sans. Slowly, with Papyrus's eager grin pushing him onward, Sans lifted the muffin and took a bite of it.

It took every ounce of his willpower to not pull a face, to keep his brother from knowing just how horrible it was. But, for Papyrus, he would eat a jillion horrible muffins.

"How is it?" Papyrus asked excitedly.

Sans took a moment to choke down his mouthful. "well, pap, it's, uh- ... i'll just say i have never in my life tasted anything even remotely nearing this, and i'll leave it at that."

Papyrus, of course, took that as a compliment. His grin widened. Sans took another bite of the muffin. At the very least, the muffins seemed to fit within whatever guidelines established what counted as Magic food, and did give Sans a bit of a Magic boost. Sans managed to choke down the rest of the muffin, but when Papyrus offered him another, he made a run for it. "ah, pap, these muffins are so filling, i don't think i could take another bite if my soul depended on it."

That, too, was a compliment in Papyrus's eyes.

After a quick cleanup of the kitchen, Sans sent Papyrus off to put on his shoes, as Papyrus had deemed that the first thing on his doing-everything-with-Sans list was going to the park in New Home.

Gaster and Sans both stared at the muffins.

"They're not really that bad, are they?" Gaster asked, glancing at Sans.

"yeah."

"Oh." A moment of silence. Then, "Annoying Dog?"

Sans just nodded grimly. The Annoying Dog would eat just about anything, or bury it if he couldn't, and he and Gaster were on mostly good terms, so those muffins would probably be long gone by the time Sans and Papyrus got back.

"Sans! Are you coming?" Papyrus called from where he waited at the door.

"yeah, pap! coming!" Sans hurried off to join his little brother.

"See you later, boys!" Gaster called after them. "Stay safe!"

"We will!" Papyrus shouted back.

And then they were out the door.

~o0o~

The park in New Home, Gaster had once told his sons, was one of the few places that, so long as you didn't look up to the Underground's ceiling, you could almost pretend you were on the surface. It was large, a few square miles, and covered in a thick carpet of grass. The middle was occupied by a variety of trees, and there was a pond in the middle of that, fed by a small waterfall. There were also a number of small clearings in the forest, and it was to one of these that the two skeletons were headed.

As they walked through the crowded city, only a few monsters directly greeted Sans. He was just as well-known in New Home as Hotland, but most monsters seemed to take Papyrus riding on Sans' shoulders as a sign that they were in the middle of quality brother bonding time, and didn't want to interrupt. Whether the brothers knew this or not, they were both happy to make it to the park with few stops.

When they made it to the park, they paused at the entrance. A few monsters were loitering around happily, with or without friends. Papyrus climbed off Sans' shoulders.

"alright." Sans knelt down in front of Papyrus, looking him in the eyesockets with a serious expression. "commander pap, sir, this is general sans."

Papyrus grinned and stood a little straighter. He loved this game.

"sir, my scouts have reported a vicious corrupter hiding around the clearing. we can't clear it out without your help, sir!"

"Acknowledged, General Sans! I'm on my way! Dismissed!" Papyrus took off running towards the trees.

Sans grinned. He hated the War, hated playing it out, but Papyrus loved to play commander, and Sans loved to see his brother smile. And if that meant he was playing the corrupt for Papyrus, it was worth it.

He pulled at his Magic, readying it for a shortcut. He stepped into the clearing that Papyrus was making his way towards, and looked around.

It was quite beautiful, actually. Serene. The trees formed a loose ring around it, and the Magic crystals in the Underground ceiling were nearing their brightest. A warm golden light spilled into the clearing, making the woods seem that much darker in contrast. The ground was a combination of soft moss, grass, and a variety of flowers.

It was... tranquil.

Heh. Sans laughed slightly. Not for long.

At that moment, Sans heard a shout behind him. He turned around to see Papyrus emerging from the forest, a bone in his right hand.

He pointed the bone at Sans. "Stop, corrupt fiend! I, the Great Commander Papyrus, will defeat you!"

Sans made an expression of mock fear. "oh no! the great commander papyrus! whatever will i-" Sans swiftly summoned a bone in his left hand and pointed it at Papyrus. "ha! i will never surrender!"

With a laughing shout, Papyrus ran forward and swung at Sans. Sans lifted his weapon and blocked.

For some time,they tussled back and forth, laughing, their attacks doing no damage on the occasions that they did make contact. After a while, Sans allowed Papyrus to land what could have potentially been a fatal blow, if they were actually putting power in their strikes.

He felt the soft shiver of Magic pass over his ribs and let the bone in his hand dissolve, taking on a shocked expression.

"Nyeh HEH!" Papyrus laughed triumphantly as Sans fell backwards, landing with a soft THWUMP! "The Great Commander Papyrus triumphs once again!!" As Sans closed his eyes, Papyrus set one foot lightly on Sans' chest, raising his bone sword high in the air. After a moment, he stepped back.

Sans didn't move.

"Sans?" Papyrus asked.

Sans didn't respond.

"Brother? Sans? Are you alright?"

Sans still didn't respond.

Soon enough, Papyrus was kneeling at Sans' side, gently shaking his shoulder. "Sans! Wake up!"

With a roar, Sans suddenly lunged up, wrapping his arms around Papyrus and rolling over him. Papyrus let out a surprised shriek, but it quickly changed to laughter as he struggled to escape Sans' grasp.

But Sans had him firmly pinned to the ground. He let out an evil laugh. "hahaha!! i, the corrupt commander sans, have trapped you, the great commander papyrus! tremble beneath my mighty strength, and surrender!"

Papyrus growled and squirmed. "You evil fiend! You tricked me!"

"yup. i did. surrender." Sans loosened his grip just a little, and...

"NEVER!" Papyrus was away in a flash, running behind Sans as he slowly got up. Papyrus tackled his brother from behind. Sans toppled forward, Papyrus sitting on his back. Sans felt the Magic of Papyrus's attack spearing through his ribs, just brushing against his Soul. He went limp.

With the careful, non-damaging "attack" touching his Soul, Sans could feel the love and happiness of Papyrus's emotions rippling off it. Papyrus was beyond joyful, having the time of his life with his brother. Sans was contented.

After spending a moment sitting triumphantly on Sans' back, Papyrus climbed off his older brother. "Sans. You can get up now."

"... nah."

"Sans."

"eh."

"Saaaans! Get up!"

Without lifting his face out of the ground where it was quite nearly buried, Sans said, "can't, bro. you killed me."

"Sans, you're just being lazy!"

"nuh-uh. i'm being dead."

"Stop making excuses, Sans!"

"excuses!?" Sans spluttered with joking indignation, finally looking up at Papyrus. "i was murdered!! by my own brother!!!"

Papyrus evidently didn't notice that Sans was joking, though, his expression suddenly turning horrified. "I- I didn't actually hurt you, did I?" His voice had a stab of panic in it.

Sans smiled at Papyrus. "nah, pap. you don't need to worry, your magic was perfectly controlled. couldn't  have done better myself."

Papyrus's concern vanished, and he seemed to glow with the compliment. He grinned.

Sans stood up and dusted himself off. "anyway, i'm startin' ta get hungry. muffet's sound good to you?" He held out his hand to Papyrus.

Papyrus reached out and held Sans' hand. "Yeah. Okay. Muffet has pretty good food."

"alright, come on. i know a shortcut." Sans pulled Papyrus through the shortcut, stepping into Muffet's small pastry shop. Together, they walked over to the counter.

"here, pap. whaddya want?"

Papyrus looked between the options for a minute before settling. "A donut!"

Sans bought two donuts. After paying and thanking Muffet, he pulled them through another shortcut to a somewhat secluded part of Hotland. After eating, they spent a few minutes just sitting, enjoying each other's company, leaning against each other.

Sans looked out across the bubbling lava and smiled. He still had a week and a half home, and he was determined to spend every possible second of it with his brother.

On impulse, he grabbed Papyrus's shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "... love ya, bro."

Papyrus looked up at Sans with a smile, before wrapping his arms around Sans. "Love you too, Brother."

§

A/N
Welp. It was fun while it lasted. Now let's get on to the real plot.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are always appreciated!