Blue had completely exhausted himself from crying. He didn't think he had anything else left in him to cry. He was tied up in the shed, which normally would have been fairly easy to get out of, but Stretch seemed to have made some additions in here since he left. The bars were closer together, too close to get through, and every object had been removed, leaving Blue with no bed or food or even the kind notes he would have left a human if he had captured them.

What was he going to do? Red and Fell wouldn't think to come here for him. He hadn't even told them that he was leaving, let alone where he was going! Maybe they would think there had been a reset and that he'd been returned to his world? But no, they knew that when Swapverse had a reset, Blue stayed with them.

They would think he'd been dusted. They would think someone in their world had killed him.

Blue found himself hoping very hard that they wouldn't kill anyone. They'd been doing so well, Fell had even found the beginnings of gaining back the emotion he had lost to his LV. He didn't want them to lose all of that just because of him.

And what would happen when the world reset? He didn't have his soul bond anymore, he would forget everything! Would he return to UnderFell? That was his world now, but...he was pretty sure resets didn't cross multiversal lines. No, he would stay here...and he would forget.

What was he going to do?

His remaining piece of a soul gave a painful lurch, and he gasped slightly. He could feel the missing part as though it had been a piece of his body that had turned to dust. There was an intense sensation of something missing.

Had Red felt it when their connection had been severed?

Blue hoped not. Red didn't deserve to be in pain like he had been. This was borne of his own trusting stupidity.

The door creaked open suddenly, and Blue squinted at the sudden stream of light. Stretch stepped through carefully, shutting the door behind him. Blue glared at his brother, trying not to shake. There was probably nothing to be afraid of. Stretch had already gotten what he wanted, and despite everything, he did seem to have what he thought were Blue's best interests at heart.

Blue knew he wouldn't hurt him. He knew he could be better. He could be helped.

Blue could help him.

Red cracked his door open, more food in his hands. "Blue?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake him if he was still asleep.

"I'm awake," came the muffled reply, and Red shivered slightly at how tired he sounded.

"Brought you more food," he murmured, stepping through the door and closing it behind him. "Do you mind if I turn on the light?"

Blue made a noncommittal noise that Red chose to take as a no, and he flicked on the light. Blue was sprawled facedown across the bed, and Red couldn't help the ghost of a smile that flickered across his face. Blue was still wearing his jacket, and he had the hood flipped up so that Red couldn't see his skull and he had managed to kick off all of his blankets, which were now bundled down somewhere around his knees.

"Hey, who let the fluff monster in here?"

Blue let out a groaning sort of laugh, then rolled over. "I didn't mean to lay like that, that actually kind of hurt. I roll around a lot in my sleep, is all," he informed him.

Red smiled for real this time and said, "Oh, believe me, I know. Can't count the number of times I've woken up to you hitting me in the face with your flailing,"

Blue huffed and pulled himself into a sitting position. "I do not flail! " he protested.

"Oh, yeah? Tell my eye that," Red laughed, gesturing at a small crack under his left socket as he pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed.

Blue's eyes widened. "Did I really do that?" he asked, seeming a little surprised at his apparent strength.

Red laughed loudly and shook his head. "Nah. That was Doggo, I'm just messin' with ya."

Blue huffed and smacked him on the arm, and for a second, it almost felt how it used to. Then the moment was gone and he dropped his eyes, choosing instead to focus on the sheets that were now bunched around Blue's feet.

"Did I hear something about food?" Blue asked quietly, seeming to pick up on the mood of the larger skeleton. Red held out the plate, and Blue took it, digging in happily. "What's with all the lasagna?" he asked around a mouthful.

Red shrugged. "My brother makes it when he's stressed. I'd bring you some tacos but we don't have any left from when you were here." he said apologetically. He knew that the lasagna wasn't the best, but unless Blue liked mustard for some reason now, it was really the only option.

Blue hummed thoughtfully, taking another bite and swallowing it. "What happened to me?" he asked suddenly.

Red looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Like..." Blue set the plate aside and gestured to the room around him. "Why do you look so much like me? How did I end up here with you? Where was Papy in all of this? And where did I go? You found me in what I'm pretty sure now was a pile of snow, and you didn't even seem surprised. You just took me home and patched me up. Did I leave or something?"

Red studied him for a moment. "It's a bit complicated," he said finally.

"I'm not going anywhere," Blue said stubbornly, picking the plate back up and taking another bite.

"Alright," Red sighed. "I don't suppose you've heard of multiverse theory?"

As he explained, he refused to look at Blue's face, focusing down at his hands. He talked about travelling through different universes using the machine in the basement, meeting other versions of himself. He told him about the resets, and how so many other versions of themselves had gone through them too. He managed to hold his emotions in check through telling him how they met, and how Blue showed up at his house three days later, insisting on being let in so that they could be friends. He kept his eyes dry as he spoke about their growing friendship, how he fell deeply in love with him, coming to need him so much that Blue was often the only one who could help him out of his panic attacks and flashbacks. He told them about an annoying practical joke their friends had played on Blue that led to him proposing, and Stretch's reaction to that announcement. Blue tried to interrupt him then, probably finding that hard to believe, but Red ignored him and kept going. He told him how they took him in, how they were married and subsequently bonded, and Blue didn't make a sound as he told him how one day about a year after they'd left Swapverse, Red had come back from his job to find the house empty, an unusual and concerning thing for the world they lived in. He had, of course, immediately panicked, searching high and low for Blue through the entire underground, but he came up empty. He'd asked through the other universes, but everyone said they hadn't seen him. When he finally trailed off, Blue asked, quietly, "How long have I been gone?"

"Only about two weeks," Red answered, mouth dry from all of the talking he had done. "You were back in your world the whole time, and I..I thought you were dead."

There was a long silence, then Blue asked, "Didn't you check in my world? You must have at least thought I would go and try to fix things with Papy. He's my brother."

Red nodded tiredly, still not making eye contact. "Yeah, that's the first place I checked after I finished searching my world. But your brother told me you weren't there, and I...I was so sure you'd been dusted. I'd gotten in this big fight with Undyne, and she'd threatened to kill you, so I just assumed it was her. I almost killed the bitch, but--"

"Language."

Red's gaze shot up to meet Blue's, shocked. Blue looked horrified by his slip of the tongue, but Red found himself surprised that he had held out as long as he did. Suddenly, he found himself laughing, hard enough that the tears finally came, but they weren't sad. Blue looked surprised by his sudden laughter, but he'd always said how infectious Red's real laugh was, and he was soon joining him.

As he calmed down, Red stood and walked over to the closet, a huge smile still across his face. He slid open the door and reached up onto the top shelf, bringing down two jars and crossing back to Blue before handing them over.

Blue turned the jar that was stuffed full of Gs, and he started laughing all over again when he saw the label. "I made you have a swear jar?" he asked between breathless giggles.

Red nodded, grinning, then said, "Yeah, and my brother. His is even more full than mine. You always used it for groceries and fixing up the house, and let me tell you, they never ran low."

Blue laughed again, then looked at the other one. "Why do I have a G in here?" he asked, seeming somewhat surprised.

Red smiled again. "There was a bit of an incident involving Boss and a Halloween mask hiding behind the shower curtain for you to come in."

Blue seemed to like that answer, bursting into a new fit of laughter. Red watched him as he tried to calm himself down, still smiling softly as he watched.

After a few moments, Blue turned and caught his eye, and there was a spark of something Red had been missing that passed between them. Blue seemed to feel it, too, and his smile got sad.

"Is there anything we can do to fix me?" he asked quietly, having sobered quite a bit.

Red sighed, dropping his smile and looking at his hands again. "I don't know. The only thing we can think of to do is far too dangerous. It could easily kill you, with your soul being as weak as it is."

"My world is gone, isn't it?"

Red looked up at him, frowning slightly. He hadn't expected this turn in the conversation. "Yeah, I think so. Stretch might have done something he didn't understand when he did that to your soul," he answered.

Blue nodded thoughtfully. "Then I don't care. We need to try it, whatever it is."

Red's eyes widened as he stared at the determined expression on the other's face. "Blue, you could die--"

"I told you, I don't care. My world is gone, my memories of you are gone. What do I have left to live for?" Blue didn't look sad, he looked clinical. As though they were discussing how to fix the sink instead of why he wanted to risk his own dusting. "And won't I come back anyway? This world resets, right?"

"Blue, you can't just--"

"What's the point of my soul surviving if everything I love is gone?" he asked suddenly. "Tell me that. I've lost everything ."

Red stared at him. How could he say that with such a lack of emotion on his face? "Blue you haven't lost everything--"

Blue threw his hands up into the air in exasperation. "Red, I don't even remember you! And I loved you enough to have bonded with you! My world is gone, and there is no reason for me to be around without it and without you!"

Red didn't know how to respond to that. His face must have shown his indecision, because Blue sighed and set the jars aside before scooting himself closer and taking ahold of both of Red's hands, forcing him to look at him. "Please, Red. I've got nothing left. You've got to help me try to get something back."