The Time Before (Undertale)

27 ~ Learning

Taking Papyrus out around New Home for the first time was... difficult, to say the least. The one time he had really been out of the hotel was when he was at an age that he really didn't remember anything. So his entire world was practically the hotel room, with Sans and Jeff as the world's only other occupants.

So he was scared of the noise, scared of the people, scared of the busy streets. Sans carried him on his back for a little while. Papyrus's arms were so tight around Sans' neck that he was quite glad skeletons didn't need to breathe, as he doubted that he would be able to do it well with the way Papyrus was clinging to him.

Eventually, Papyrus got used to it, and wanted to walk himself. He still stuck close to Sans, gripping his hand tightly. But now that he was on his own two feet, he could go where he wanted, dragging Sans along.

So the entire rest of the day was spent with Papyrus running place to place, pulling Sans along by the hand, with Jeff tagging along a little ways behind. Everything in the city was met with wide-eyed wonder and excitement, from the bridge over the river, to the signs above the shops, to the ice cream cone Sans got him, to the cracks in the pavement, and the weeds poking out of said cracks.

To be honest, Sans didn't mind all the running around-- his gait was longer than Papyrus's, so he kept up with Papyrus easily. And Papyrus was grinning wider than he ever had. If Papyrus was happy, Sans was happy.

But Papyrus was still quite little, and his energy was not boundless, and Sans still had to meet the requirements of his boosted Magic capacity. So, as the huge crystals in the Underground's ceiling began to dim, Sans said goodbye to Jeff and started back to the hotel, Papyrus half-asleep and riding on his back.

When he got there, he just collapsed onto the couch, and they slept together there.

~o0o~

Time went on, and Sans and Papyrus ventured out into New Home almost every day-- Sans was a little nervous taking him much farther than that, as Hotland was dangerous and Sans didn't think they would be making it past there without thorough exploration. So, until Papyrus was a bit older, they stuck to New Home.

A few months went by, and Sans started the hunt for a job. He figured it would be easy- he was smart and responsible, and would work for a ridiculously low amount of pay. It wasn't that easy.

For the most part, he could have done okay, but there was just one major problem- no one wanted to hire someone who also came with a curious toddler. Because then there not only was the problem of Papyrus potentially getting into trouble, but then there was the problem of Sans not putting all his attention into his work, having to take care of Papyrus, too.

Eventually, he realized there were only two options: put Papyrus in some sort of daycare or preschool, which he was not ready to do, if he did it at all, or, make his own job, where he could take care of Papyrus and work at the same time.

The latter would be difficult- insanely difficult, but Sans just didn't think Papyrus was ready yet to be without him- or maybe Sans wasn't ready for Papyrus to be ready- and, on top of that, Sans had Determination.

So he borrowed a bit of money- more money- from Jeff, bought a little stall in one of the market streets of New Home, and started selling hotdogs. That way, Papyrus could play in the small lot space behind the stall (Sans made it clear to him that he needed to stay there) or sit in Sans' lap and "help" him sell hotdogs. Truth be told, people bought more hotdogs when Papyrus was in Sans lap. Something about adorable advertising. And Sans' tip jar filled even faster when he told people it was just him raising Papyrus, and that was why he was selling hotdogs.