First of all, forgive me for the pitiful excuse for an epilogue at the end of this. I wasn't going to write it at all, but I wanted this to end on a more hopeful note.

This is the last chapter for this story, from Papyrus's point of view. Couldn't leave the poor kid out after all. I hope you enjoy it!

If you do, please check out my other story 'Scattered'. It'll be quite a bit longer, and I would love to know what you think of it!

The streets on the outskirts of the Capital were narrower than those closer to New Home. Some paths winded through taller structures meant for housing families and led to wider roads that opened up to the common areas and shops. Here there were street lights that stayed lit at all times. Their glow flooded the open area and filtered down the smaller streets just enough to light the way. From a longer distance they were a beacon to follow.

The monster hospital was situated just off the main road. One of the street lanterns stood just in front of it. Papyrus as sure he knew the way there well enough, he remembered visiting once when he'd gotten really sick, but when he crept quietly out into the darkened street in front of the children's home he lived in, he was glad to have the soft glow of the lights to follow.

Hours earlier he had thought about feigning illness and going to bed early to make sure he would be left alone, but Papyrus didn't like lying. As it turned out, he didn't need to anyway. The other young monsters had already been avoiding him since the incident, and his guardian hadn't spoken to him directly since his outburst after being told he couldn't see his brother.

He understood, he really did. He couldn't control his magic, he'd almost turned his brother to dust.

Sans was going to have to go away because of him.

That didn't mean he had to agree. They were brothers, and had always been together. Papyrus could not accept that that could change. He needed to see Sans so they could figure out what to do together. Sans could convince the adults that they should be together, in all his protests, Papyrus could not make them see reason. As far as his control over his magic, Papyrus would simply not use it near Sans until he learned how to use it properly. Guilt weighed heavily on him for hurting his sibling so seriously, but that couldn't be enough for Sans to agree to this arrangement.

I'm not dangerous. At least, he wouldn't stay dangerous.

Waiting for everyone else to fall asleep was difficult. Impatient, Papyrus attempted to rest too, but anxiety and guilt gripped at him. He laid in his little cot until he finally heard the familiar click of Mrs. Granton's door closing as she settled in for the night. He held on for another hour, then sneaked carefully out.

Papyrus stumbled in the dark, his fingers clacking against the wall of a merchant's home as he caught himself. Regaining his balance, he stepped forward carefully, idly wondering if he should continue. He'd never sneaked out before. One of the other kids went out after curfew once, they found him hours later and was brought back. It caused a lot of trouble, and he was punished and kept under close watch for some time. Papyrus felt bad for causing trouble for the older woman who watched over them. She was strict, but kind, and he knew she would worry if she found him missing. Any punishment he received however, he had already decided was worth it.

He kept his hand on the wall and his fingers tapped and scraped quietly as he continued. Eyes were locked forward as a lantern came into view. The narrow path began to open up and he could easily see the rest of the way. When he reached the commons area, the hospital lay just across the open ground. Stopping himself from darting across immediately, he scanned the street, looking for a sign of anyone else up and about. After several moments he sighed in relief, seeing no one, then ran.

The hospital wasn't very large, but it did well for the area. Papyrus remembered kind healers there, and was sure Sans was well taken care of. When he reached the doors he didn't stop, pushing them open and stepping in quickly. Then he froze.

His way had been clear the whole way to this point. When he walked in three monsters were gathered in the front lobby. A short lizard-like woman was standing up straight talking to a taller scaly man who was leaning over the front desk. The long white coat on the woman revealed her occupation as healer and was stark against her green scales. The man in contrast was dressed casually and seemed to be a visitor. Sitting on the other side of the desk was a thin clerk with slick skin. She glanced down at Papyrus first, motioning to the other two.

"Oh! Hey there little one!" The healer said warmly turning fully to face him.

"What're you doing in here so late?" the man gazed down at him without moving. "Where's your mum?"

Papyrus stared up at them, gulping. He hadn't thought about what to do or say if he ran into someone. It seemed obvious to him now that there would be staff up and about in the hospital in case of emergency. His magic raced in his chest as realization dawned that he might not even make it to Sans's room.

"I…I'm here to see my brother…" he stuttered.

The healer shared a quick look at the clerk behind the desk. Slowly, she crouched down until she was almost level with him and smiled warmly. "Are you Papyrus?"

Caught, he looked at the tiled floor and nodded.

"Did you come here alone?"

He nodded again, feeling tears prickling at the corners of his eye sockets. The woman sighed, and a moment later he felt the weight of her hand on his shoulder.

"Your brother's upstairs. I'll take you to his room okay?" Shocked, Papyrus looked up at her.

"Dea…"

The healer shook a clawed hand at the clerk. "I'll contact his guardian, but the boy is here now, no reason why he can't go up and see his brother. But…" she looked hard at Papyrus, holding up a finger in warning. "You're not to wake Sans. He needs rest to heal properly. And when someone comes to pick you up, you're to leave straight away without any problems, alright?"

The skeleton considered this for a moment then grinned at her gratefully. "Okay!"

Without another word she took his hand and led him up a flight of stairs and down a hall. They didn't go far before stopping in front of a door. Looking up, Papyrus could make out his brother's name on the wall next to it. She repeated her warning and waited for his confirmation before letting him in and closing the door behind him, leaving them alone.

Standing in the small dark room, Papyrus felt heavy again. He peered around, rooted to the spot, letting his eyes adjust. Furniture was limited to a small table and chair pushed up against the wall by the door, and the bed on the opposite side where his brother lay. Seeing the familiar lump under the blankets, Papyrus felt almost like they were back in their own room. He took a shaking step forward, then changed his mind, and went for the chair instead.

He distracted himself by moving the seat as quietly as he could closer to the bed. A nagging feeling told him he was taking up too much of his now much more limited time, but he couldn't quite bring himself to look at Sans yet. When he finally situated the chair so that it was angled beside the bed, he settled into it, his feet dangling just above the ground. Taking a breath that was shakier than he liked, he looked down at his feet, remembering how, just a few days okay, Sans had observed how the younger brother was getting closer to the older in height. The smile that spread over his features fell quickly as guilt and worry took over once again.

It was much different now that he was next to Sans. Before he'd been filled with hope, defiance, and determination. Now he could scarcely look up at his injured sibling.

Seconds ticked by, the silence interrupted by soft taps of his fingers on the sides of the chair and quiet sniffles.

"Paps?"

The younger skeleton started. "B-brother! You're awake!"

The blankets shifted as Sans carefully rolled over to face Papyrus, flashing his signature smile. His voice was smaller and rougher than normal, but the younger boy tried to ignore it as he wiped a sleeve over his face quickly. "What are you doing here bro? No way the old lady brought you to visit me."

The grin that had stretched across Papyrus's face when Sans woke up faltered. "I snuck out…." he confessed, looking to the side.

Sans tisked. "They're not gunna like that."

Despite that, his eyes held an amused light as he looked over his younger brother. After a moment, they dimmed slightly. "You shouldn't be here bro," he muttered. "i don't want you gettin' in trouble."

"I already got caught," Pap shrugged lightly, not seeming bothered by the fact. "That lizard healer said she was going to call Mrs. Granton to come get me. But…she let me come in here anyway."

The boy avoided Sans's eyes, staring hard at the corner of his dark blue blanket instead, where it laid hanging just over the side of the mattress. Mrs. Granton must have brought it for him. "I know I'm going to get in trouble, but I don't care. I just had to," he paused briefly, jumping at a creaking sound from the bed. Sans was starting to sit up. "I had to come see you….before…"

Sans winced as he moved, but kept his eyes trained on his brother. Papyrus's hands balled up into fists on his knees, still avoiding any eye contact. The smaller skeleton made a mumbled sound of distress and continued.

"I-I don't want to hurt you Sans," he said guiltily. "Not again. But….but I don't want you to leave either."

His voice broke as he said it, and Sans's eye sockets widened. Papyrus inhaled deeply. When he entered the room the heavy weight that settled in his chest had brought with it many emotions. He was not used to feeling angry, but right now he could hardly help it. Everything felt too wrong.

"This isn't fair!" Papyrus almost shouted. He noticed Sans flinch and tried to lower his volume, but he could not stop the words. "Why do they get to make this choice without us? They didn't even ask what we wanted! H-How could they just decide to separate us?"

"paps, bro…"

"I…Maybe I'm selfish, I know I am, a-and I don't care if they think I'm bad!" Papyrus sniffled. "But I can't stay there without you! I could…I'll stop playing around and I'll never use magic again! No one will ever have to worry about me hurting anyone again. It won't ever happen because I won't let it!"

The boy slammed his fists on his lap with finality, hoping the gesture showed he meant every word. He looked up at his sibling finally. Sans was sitting up completely, watching Papyrus with wide eyes. His expression was always difficult to read, but Papyrus saw a flicker of sad acknowledgement before his brother covered it with a more encouraging smile. He lifted his hand with a shrug.

"c'mon bro," he said. "no playing around? yea right. what are you gunna do, play junior jumble puzzles all day every day?"

"I could! I like junior jumble!"

Sans tilted his head, looking amused. "not that much bro. and no magic? you've been dyin' to practice magic for ages. no way would i let you give up just like that. what if somethin' happened and you had no magic to defend yourself with?" Sans winked. "you'd be in a skele-ton of trouble."

"SANS THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

The grin fell entirely from the older skeleton's face. Papyrus glared at him, angry tears threatening to spill from his eye sockets. Sans's own sockets narrowed as he heaved a sigh.

"you're right bro, it's not funny." Sans scoot forward a little and swung his legs over the side of the bed, leveling his gaze with his brother, who suddenly had trouble looking him in the eye again. "it's not funny to think of you not playing around and being happy. you know you wouldn't be happy like that. mrs. granton and the others are just…doing what they think is best for you."

"Well they're wrong!" Papyrus insisted. "It's best for us to be together no matter what!"

"don't be a brat papyrus!" Papyrus recoiled. Sans's arm jerked to his ribs as he winced. Papyrus automatically reached forward in concern, but his sibling leaned away from his touch, glaring at the floor between them.

Trembling, Papyrus looked down too. Deep regret welled inside of him, drowning out the anger. Sans was injured, wasn't resting, and instead was sitting up arguing and in pain because of him. He almost thought about getting up right then to leave, but the same fear that brought him to this point kept him rooted to the spot. Papyrus watched his sibling who seemed to be having another feud of his own in silence.

"I'm sorry," the younger brother whispered.

The lights in Sans's eyes dimmed until they disappeared completely. He didn't move except to place his hand on the bed beside him. He seemed to come to a decision.

"it's…." he swallowed. "it's better if you stay with everyone else."

Silence fell between them again, long and heavy. It crushed them both.

"Why…?" The word was so quiet, and such a long time passed with no answer that Papyrus thought his brother hadn't heard him. A quick glance up revealed Sans staring, tiny pinpricks of light on him and attentive. He went on, voice shaking. "Why do you get to make that decision?"

"wh-what?"

"What about me?" Papyrus voice rose again. "Why don't I get to choose? How do you know I'll be happier with the other kids? Are you really going to be happy by yourself?"

Papyrus was shaking so hard his bones rattled. Frustrated tears spilled out before he had a chance to catch them. He started to reach up, but decided he didn't care. Instead he blinked up at Sans, whose expression had turned to shock. Again Papyrus looked away, guilty. Sans didn't want them to stay together either. He agreed with Mrs. Granton and the rest.

Anger gave way to grief. He was a danger to his own brother. Happiness wasn't the issue, it was safety, his brother's safety from him. Sans had never pulled away from his touch before, had never looked at him with that expression before…It would be fine if he just had to refrain from using magic at all, but even then Sans didn't want to stay.

"Do you really want to leave?" His voice cracked, grief weighing on every word. "Would it be better if I stayed away from you so you don't get hurt? I r-really didn't mean t-to…."

Feeling as if he were melting in his seat, Papyrus wrapped his shaking arms around himself.

"You almost died Sans…" he wept. "I almost…because of me…I'm really sorry! I thought you would be gone forever! I'm sorry!"

All at once he was swept off the chair into an embrace he knew so well, where he fit perfectly. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around his sibling, clinging tight. Then they were falling. Limbs clattered against tile and a sharp pained groan came from Sans. Papyrus cried out in worried alarm, receiving no other response than his brother's arms tightening further around him.

Sans clung to him desperately, pushing Papyrus's face to his shoulder. Warm magic came off him, strengthening the embrace and making the older boy's feelings clear to the younger. He didn't blame Papyrus, and he didn't want to leave him. Reeling, Papyrus accepted it, and sobbed into the thin shirt Sans wore. He felt his brother's fingers rubbing circles into his spine, a gesture of comfort he didn't feel he deserved. Still, he held on, shuddering and whimpering. He felt Sans shaking too.

"I'm sorry…" he cried. Sans shushed him, but he couldn't stay quiet. "We have t-to stay together Sans…we're brothers."

He thought he felt warm droplets on his back.

"You're all I have…"

Sans's arms tightened around him again. "i'm so sorry bro," he muttered.

Papyrus sniffled and hiccupped. "We're brothers Sans.."

"i know pap."

"We're brothers."

"….i'm sorry."

Epilogue:

The skeleton brothers didn't own much, which meant they didn't miss much when they left. For both boys it was like an adventure, they had never been farther than Waterfall before. They explored caverns for some time, but continued on, feeling the area wasn't their style. Well that's what Papyrus thought anyway. Sans was content to let him decide that for them. He was healed as much as he could be, but he was tired. In the name of 'taking in the sights' he had been able to convince his little brother to stop several times for rest, then they walked on until snow crunched under their feet. The trees and open and snowy area excited the brothers, and they happily continued their journey until they reached the small village they'd only ever heard of before.

Snowdin was as open and friendly a town as the grounds around it. To two young boys it was perfect. The innkeeper let them stay, and tired though he was, Sans agreed to help around the place to earn their stay. It was enough for them. They could make a home here.

It was enough to be together.