When Sans finished, he stared down at the piece of parchment in amazement, scanning over each word and sentence again.
He could hardly believe he had written something so personal and private in is own freestyle altered handwriting.
He could feel how cold his bone cheeks were. It was almost as if they had frozen to the point where his teeth would chatter.
'I can't believe I did it.'
His soul made the magic within his bones shiver.
Suddenly, he found himself quickly folding the parchment up, stuffing it inside a letter envelope, and shoving the letter into his coat's pocket.
Sans couldn't help but feel rushed, but so he teleported outside, now a few feet from Papyrus's mailbox.
Then reality sets in, and he reflects on what he's doing
There was a feeling of dread, and he was overwhelmed with a wave of anxiety. Raspy whispered questions began to surface that made him hesitate.
'How will Papyrus react?'
'What if he finds out it's me?'
His worries silenced as he pulled out the letter from his pocket and held it firmly with both hands. Reassuring himself that once his brother rejects this letter, he'll go back to normal, then these feelings will vanish for good.
Sans perked up a sheepish yet pitiful smile
'I mean, he can't love someone he doesn't know, right?'
With that thought, he placed the letter into his brother's mailbox, which caused the metal flag on the side of it to flip up, signaling that there's mail inside.
As a result, this sets into motion a series of events.
"SANS!!!"
The voice startled the skeleton half to death as it sent a violent shiver up his spine, and then his soul went into a phase of panic when he could identify, exactly, who the voice it belonged to.
Slowly, he looked to his left and could see his brother angrily marching toward him, with his fists clasped tightly and furiously as he came.
Sans didn't know what to expect, and that scared him. So he tries to play it cool like he usually does and prays to the stars that his brother didn't just see him mailing him that letter.
As a nervous reflex, he quickly shoved his hands within the pockets of his coat.
"O-oh! Hey, pap!"
Sans silently cursed at himself for stuttering, while hoping his voice didn't betray him.
"DON'T JUST 'Hey' ME, SANS!" Papyrus responded his hands now to his hips, standing in front of Sans.
Sans did his best to prepare for the worse scenario. His fear consumed him like a black hole as he held his breath, waiting for what his brother was about to say next.
Then, with narrow eyes, Papyrus confronted Sans.
"YOU HAVE MADE UNDYNE VERY SUSPICIOUS," He begun, holding his chin as he dragged out the word 'suspicious.'
Sans's body instantly relaxed, free from all the tension as the darkness released their grip.
He did leave abruptly and asked some weird questions, but nothing Sans can't come up with excuses for, and he was familiar with that.
"Oh?" Testing out the sound.
"NOT TO MENTION YOU WENT WITHOUT ME!" Papyrus added, sounding disappointed and annoyed at the same time.
However, Sans couldn't see what the problem was.
"So? I still went, didn't I?" Shrugging as Sans said: 'So?'
Papyrus frustratingly sighed, but then he paused, having realized something.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING OUT HERE ANYWAY?" His brother asked curiously, to which Sans bluntly replies while wearing his poker face grin.
"Staring at your mailbox."
Papyrus gave a suggestive skeptical look as if raising an eyebrow at him.
"WHY?"
Instead of answering, Sans returned his gaze to the mailbox
"Look for yourself."
Daring to take the suggestion, Papyrus looked at his mailbox, and the metal flag immediately got his attention.
Papyrus's face lit up with an expression of what could only be pure happiness. Papyrus let out a surprised gasp as if he'd explode with excitement.
He was on his mailbox in a matter of seconds.
"Looks like someone sent you a letter," Sans subtly confirmed, with a bit of a teasing tone laced with his voice.
Sans could feel his soul become giddy all of a sudden, while at the same time, a bit bashful at how overly excited Papyrus became, having received a letter.
His brother's overwhelmingly radiant smile made him want to cherish that moment forever.
'he looks happy' he thought fondly 'I mean, he rarely ever gets letters'
When Papyrus opened the envelope and skimmed it over, it was as if the words flew past him, and left him utterly perplexed. For a moment, he reluctantly paused, then hastily studied every word more closely. And as he started from the beginning, and read those words once again. Papyrus could feel heat collect upon his cheekbones, as they reveal a soft and warm orange hue.
Dear Papyrus,
I can only imagine the look of joy you'll be expressing right now when you come across this letter, for your smile enlightens me more than any light source within the Underground. I, more than anything, love how you chase your dreams with contagious enthusiasm.
You're so cool, for your existence provides me more than you realize.
Because to me, whenever I find myself lost, you would act as my compass. The thought of you gives my soul-satisfying comfort. You gave me purpose when I felt it was all pointless.
You are my everything.
Without you, I would feel nothing.
Deep down, I long for us to be together, and although we may never meet in person, I knew I had to get these feelings off my chest.
With great love,
- Someone who really cares about you
After reading the letter once again, Papyrus still couldn't believe what he was reading. His thought process was interrupted by Sans, who noticed he had gotten quiet.
"So... um... what's it say? fan-mail?" Sans asked casually, but curious.
Papyrus tried to think of a way to reply.
"n-not exactly."
Sans began to sweat nervously. 'Oh no, did my letter made him uncomfortable?'
Papyrus tried to think of what to do because this was the first time he's ever received a love letter. He decided to tell Sans sense hiding things from him never works, so he'll just have to assume Sans will support him like he always does.
"IT'S A LOVE LETTER!" Papyrus squealed.
When he finally said what it was, he found his gaze lingering on the letter's words, and it's handwriting.
Papyrus could tell that whoever wrote this put as much as they could express, of how much they wholeheartedly cared and laid it bare for him to recognize. Papyrus could feel his soul grow warm toward the amount of effort.
Sans once again sees his brother zoning out, but he's able to snap him out of it by asking a question.
"Pap? is something wrong?"
"OH, NO! ACTUALLY-" Papyrus began to trail off, trying to think of what to say.
"IT'S JUST...um..."
"It's just..." Sans mimics calmly
Then, an idea struck Papyrus
"YOU WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO KNOW WHO WROTE IT, DO YOU?"
The question caught Sans by surprise because he was expecting the letter to get rejected, not to have a question directed at him.
"What? doesn't it say..." Sans trailed off, he knew he didn't sign his name on it, but he had to play 'oblivious.'
"NO, AND WELL..." Papyrus looked at the letter again before returning his gaze to his brother.
"I MEAN, THIS PERSON SEEMS SO PASSIONATE, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY HAD EVEN MORE TO SAY"
To Sans, it felt like time froze as he tried to comprehend what is currently going on.
'what?'
Did his writing express to Papyrus that much?
Sans almost felt flattered, but at the same time confused about what Papyrus is getting at.
Sans found himself suspicious about what his brother's tone suggested-
'Was Papyrus... Interested?'
"W-Wait, Pap! You don't even know who they are!" Sans exclaimed in a panic.
Papyrus's expression fell, and suddenly Sans found himself regretting speaking out like that.
Papyrus's voice became quieter, to that tone Sans couldn't say no.
"But, it would be a shame, after all, it took for them to send this" Papyrus paused, skimming the letter again "I should at least reply to them."
"Oh..." Sans replied, realizing what he meant.
So there's still a chance.
'Well, if that's the case...'
"Well, ok, then..."
Papyrus perked up immediately, and became excited, as a smile lit up his entire face.
"I WONDER WHAT THEIR LIKE!" Papyrus pronounced cheerfully
Then he turned to Sans, with an expression that resembled determination. Suddenly, Papyrus grabbed Sans by the arm and started dragging him inside their house.
"COME ON, SANS!" Papyrus declared: "WE MUST FIND A WAY TO SEND THEM A REPLY!"
And as the tall skeleton dragged his brother through the living room and up the stairs to Papyrus's room, Sans couldn't help but ask lethargically:
"Just curious, but why are you so bent about it?"
Papyrus became quiet as he stopped dead in his tracks, lingering on the staircase.
Sans could see his brother's face, that seemed overwhelmed with an orange-colored blush.
The silence made Sans uneasy, so he spoke first, trying to explain himself for questioning it.
"Well, you seem so passionate to find them despite not knowing them..."
Papyrus turned to face Sans, and Papyrus had a perplexed expression despite the orange blush coloring his cheeks.
"Sans, I can assure you I'm just curious."
his voice sounded reassuring, and Sans couldn't help but find himself liking it because to him, it was warmly comforting.
The brothers continued up the remaining steps, Papyrus opened the door, and together, they entered the room.