Sans stood on the raised stand, staying obediently still as the seamstress rounded about him, scrutinizing every little detail. She nodded to herself before leaving and returning with Papyrus in tow.

"Is this alright, sir?" She gestured to her work. Papyrus stood off to the side, looking Sans up and down. He had requested a new outfit to be tailored for him as this was his last day with Papyrus. He would be going back to the Queen later today.

Sans stood, dressed in a long black sleeved shirt. Over it, he wore a loose striped dark purple t-shirt that buttoned down the front. They royal emblem was embroidered on his right chest pocket, Papyrus's name initialed under it. His black shorts reached his knees, white lines going down the side.

Papyrus regarded his own name stenciled in brilliant golden thread on Sans's new clothes. He wanted to give something to Sans that would be uniquely from him. And as courtesans were not really given the luxury to own personal items, he had decided to give this instead.

And he had devised a surprise for his queen. A gift, per se. Underneath Sans's clothes, an intricate knotting of thin rope criss-crossed in beautiful patterns all over Sans's body. They weren't enough to restrict movement, for they were just for show. He hoped Queen Toriel would be delighted by this gift, even though he was immensely sad to see Sans go.

"This is perfect. Your work is splendid, as always." He paid her with a generous amount of gold, then helped Sans down from the platform.

The ride to the castle was quiet, neither of them really having anything to say to the other. Sans stared out the side of the carriage's window while Papyrus just nervously fiddled with his fingers. He wanted to say something, anything, to Sans before he left. There was still a palpable tension between them that never seemed to go away since that first day Sans had told him he was his brother.

And although Papyrus was still pained by the mention of his dead brother, he couldn't help but entertain the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Sans was his brother. The thought made his soul flutter with conflicted emotions. On the one hand, he would be ecstatic that his beloved brother was really not dead.

But did it have to be Sans? Why couldn't it be someone else? He loved Sans in a way that would be seen as obscene if they were related. His desire for Sans was so strong that it broke through his carefully cultivated control like the snap of a twig. If they were brothers..

Papyrus sighed, stilling his fingers as he looked up at Sans, who was sitting across from him in the carriage. However, Sans didn't even change his position from staring out the window. Papyrus looked back down at his hands again.

He would find out whether Sans was his brother or not, even if the results did shatter his dream of them being together. But it wasn't like he hadn't already made that possibility improbable. He gripped his hands into fists at the thought.

The carriage came to a stop in front of the imposing castle, the chauffeur walking around to open the door for them. Papyrus got out first, pushing back the urge to offer his hand to Sans to help him out of the carriage. He knew Sans wouldn't take it.

They entered the royal hall again, Sans trailing behind like the whisper of a shadow. Instead of sitting on her throne this time, Toriel was standing on the steps to the thrones, smiling in welcome at them.

"Thank you so much for taking care of my courtesan, Papyrus." She smiled warmly at the tall skeleton, her queens's robes trailing after her on the ground. Papyrus inclined his skull, straightening to see that Sans had already made his way next to the queen's side.

"It was a pleasure, my Queen." He replied dutifully. He watched remorsefully as Toriel and Sans turned away and walked through another set of doors, the sound of them banging closed like a final sentence.