Sans was stuck.

He'd like to claim that he didn't know how he got into this situation, but it was really because he was a complete dumbass. Completely aware of the fact that, for some reason, the basement of UnderSwap locked both ways, Sans had still, for some reason, gone in without a key, and, for some reason , without telling anyone where he was going.

He had locked himself into the only place in the entire underground that he couldn't just shortcut out of, and now he had two choices: stay down here until he dusted, or bite the proverbial bullet and call Red to come bail him out.

Welp. Looks like we're starving to death, then. What a way to go.

He sighed loudly, sinking down to sit on the top step as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Red was going to be a real asshole about this, he just knew it.

Accepting the inevitable, he entered Red's name, putting the phone to the side of his skull as it rang.

"Hullo?"

Red's voice was scratchy, as though he'd just woken up.

Has he fallen asleep on the couch again? What a nerd, I would never fall asleep on the couch in the middle of the day.

Snickering to himself at his private joke, Sans put on his biggest grin and straightening his spine, despite knowing that Red couldn't actually see him. "Well hello there, handsome! How are you doing today?"

"...What's going on?"

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love you? Because I just...it's a lot, man. I love you a lot."

Red sighed, and Sans imagined to himself that it was a happy sigh. Who wouldn't want to get a call like this in the middle of a nap? He was just the best boyfriend ever. "What do you want, Sans?"

"Aw, c'mon, can't a guy just tell his--"

"Sans, so help me, I will hide every single one of your socks."

This dick...

"I'm stuck in the basement, I don't suppose you want to come let me out?"

Red snorted loudly, then said, "Why would I do that? I was having a really great dream where you were locked in a basement and I didn't have to see your face ever again."

"Oh, man, fatal hit, .9999999, you've killed me."

Red burst out laughing, and Sans grinned as he heard Red trying to muffle himself. He was pretty sure he would never get tired of hearing Red laugh. God, he hoped he never got tired of it.

Red cleared his throat loudly as he regained control of himself, and when he spoke, his voice was even gruffer than usual, as though he was trying to cover for his lapse of grumpiness.

"How the hell did you even manage to lock yourself in the basement? Don't you have a key?"

Sans rolled his eyes, then shot to his feet, letting his voice rise in excitement and sarcasm in equal measure as he said, "Thank you so much, I completely forgot that I can just unlock the door! It's a miracle, you've saved me!"

Click .

Sans burst into laughter as he realized that Red had just hung up on him.

Unworried about his possible impending starvation, Sans leaned back against the locked door, waiting for the telltale crackle of magic that meant his knight in leather jacket had arrived.

Sure enough, less than a minute went by before Red's voice was ringing through the closed door.

"Heya, Sansy. You in there?"

"Sansy's not home, leave a message after the beep!"

"I don't think that's how doorbells work," Red intoned as he pulled out his key, making Sans laugh. He backed away from the door as he heard the lock rattling, then the door flew open, revealing the grinning face of his savior.

"My hero!" Sans exclaimed, but Red just rolled his eyes. He was still grinning, however, and Sans couldn't help but return the expression. Then he leaned to one side, sticking out his hip and propping his head in one hand with his elbow against the door. "How could I ever repay you?"

Red just looked at him for a long moment, then gave a long-suffering sigh. "You can let me lock you back in the--"

"Boo!"

Sans jumped as a small pair of arms appeared to accompany the sudden voice, wrapping around Red's waist from behind. He started to chuckle, leaning part of the way to be able to see Blue before he saw the look on Red's face.

"Blue--" he tried, but the smaller skeleton was already talking again, his skull appearing around the edge of Red's shoulder as he smiled.

"Did I get him?!"

Red's eyelights had disappeared completely, and his jaw had clenched, along with his hands. He looked completely frozen except for the panicked magic that was escaping from his soul through the collar of his shirt.

Sans raised his arms in a show of peace, recognizing the signs of one of Red's episodes. It was easy to bring him down, usually all he needed was to be shown that he wasn't in any danger and he would--

"I got Alphys earlier today, too!" Blue said happily, his arms tightening as he tucked his face into Red's scapula. "And Papy was always a lot of fun to scare, he would--"

"Blue, shut up !" Sans growled, keeping his attention firmly on Red. If he was careful, he could get him calmed, but with Blue holding onto him like that, he had to feel trapped, and they would be lucky if he didn't devolve into a full-blown panic attack.

Blue looked shocked for a moment, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open before he snapped it closed. He looked like he might be about to cry as he let go of Red and took a few steps back, unsure what to say. Sans had never come close to speaking to him like that before, but he couldn't bring himself to worry about Blue's feelings. He breathed a sigh of relief as Red seemed to relax, his breathing starting to slow and the minute shaking in his hands calming.

After a moment, Sans stepped forward, reaching slowly for Red's hands so that he would have time to snatch them away if he needed to. He didn't move, eyelights beginning to clear as Sans carefully took hold of him, rubbing his thumbs calmingly over the phalanges.

There was the sound of a slamming door, and Sans glanced over at the place where Blue had been a moment before. Then Red breathed in, hard, signalling his return to reality, and Sans shifted his focus back to where it needed to be right then. He would apologize to Blue later. He'd understand.

---

Blue had his knees tucked tightly under his chin, listening carefully for any sign of the other two. He wiped away another stray tear, silently berating himself for being such a crybaby. He knew Sans hadn't meant it, that there had been something going on with Red, but it still hurt , and that combined with his own worry and confusion was effectively overwhelming him.

Had it been his fault? Was that all it had taken this time? How could he be so stupid ? He should have known better than to sneak up on him, he should have known that Sans was just worried about Red, he shouldn't have stomped off like a rebellious teenager, he should have figured out the problem and tried to help! What if Red attacked Sans? From what he'd told them, he didn't always know who was around him when he was in a full-blown panic attack, when he made it that far, he couldn't fully control himself. He'd had to kill to survive in his world, what if he--

Blue cut himself off of that train of thought, letting out a muffled sob. Sans knew what he was doing, and all Blue could do now was to trust that he'd be fine. Sans had been dealing with his own panic attacks for a long time, he knew what to say to bring Red back if he'd tipped over the edge, he'd be okay, he'd be okay, he'd be okay .

There was a crack from the direction of their bedroom that signified a shortcut had been taken, and Blue couldn't help the strangled gasp of relief that escaped him as he jumped off the couch and practically ran to the stairwell. He'd gone up three steps before he realized that even if Red was back, they still might not...want him.

He came to an abrupt stop, caught in indecision as he listened to the sounds of their voices, muffled through the closed door. He stepped backwards down the stairs until he was on the ground floor, wringing his hands nervously and trying to decide what to do.

The choice was taken out of his hands as a moment later, the door opened and Sans eased through, shutting the door carefully before turning around and catching sight of Blue, who promptly burst into tears.

"Shit--" he heard Sans mumble, but he was crying too hard to say anything about the curse, not that he would have anyway. He...he wasn't completely ... he cried harder, covering his face with his hands as he turned away, trying to hide his face. This wasn't about him, why was he being such a baby? A moment later, arms went around him and he heard Sans' voice saying, "It's okay, Blue, he's fine. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

Blue thought about fighting against the hug for a split second before he melted into the hug, crying into Sans' shirt and trying to calm himself down. This wasn't about him , why couldn't he control himself?!

"I'm s-so s-sorry!" he sobbed out, gripping onto Sans as though he were the last lifeline.

"Shh, it's okay, you didn't know, it's okay..."

Sans kept up his steady stream of reassurances, rubbing Blue's back and pushing off his own tiredness. He could sleep later. They were more important.